by Julie

Advent

My running coach Mary Jennings is doing a running Advent calendar and todays action is to write down what we love about running, and keep it somewhere to help when we need motivation. Well I love running because it makes me feel enthusiastic about life. It helps me physically and mentally and has allowed me achieve things I never would have dreamt of. It has led me to meet and interact with people all over the world who also love running. And it burns calories. Is that enough?
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by Julie

Remembrance Run

On Sunday I took part in a lovely 5k event for Remembrance Day, the Remembrance Run. As the MC said, it’s not a race, it’s an experience. It’s an event focused on remembering the dead and celebrating their lives. It also falls exactly two weeks after the marathon, so a good excuse to see if the legs still work. The good news is they do. It was a lovely easy run on a beautiful clear cold autumn morning. There was music beforehand and a gospel choir afterwards who were absolutely amazing. I stood listening and dancing…
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by Julie

Finishing the race

Almost a week later, my legs are just about getting back to normal so it’s probably time to document my second Dublin marathon. In some ways there is not much to say: I finished, 13 minutes quicker than last year; it was a glorious autumn day, perfect running conditions; I had a great time; I walked like a zombie after it. My knee was fine in the end - it was my back that knackered me, but it was a familiar pain I could cope with. For the record my time was 5.20.18.  However we…
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by Julie

Here we go

Well it’s the night before the marathon. After everything that happened this summer, it’s time to see what happens. At this stage I don’t know how my body is going to hold up: I’m hoping that my back and my knees will be ok and allow me to run most of the course. But it could go pear-shaped too. Either way I’m doing it and hoping for the best. It’s going to be a cold, dry and bright day so that will definitely help. I’m off to bed now. The clocks go back tonight so…
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