Category Archives: Ireland

My First Race: Dublin Run In The Dark 10k

Posted on by under Dublin, Ireland, Running
Pre-race!

Pre-race!

I ran my first race last night, a 10k night run in the docklands of Dublin. The day before the nerves set in, though I’ve run 6.2 miles a multitude of times, in fact, it’s the most common distance I run these days, I felt all of a sudden completely unsure of my abilities. Not that I could finish it, but that I could finish near my goal time and feel good about it. I’d never run a race in my 29 years, and that inexperience made me extraordinarily nervous. I thought, I probably should have run a 5k at some point, why did I start at 10k? But, of course, I knew I’d run it. Based on my training times I set up three goals, 55 min, 56 min, sub-1 hour (aka, all else fails).  Continue reading →

Five Months of Running

Posted on by under Dublin, Ireland

  
Five months! I can’t believe it’s been that long since I started running. I’m very proud of how far I’ve come, but I’m also humbled, I imagined I would be much faster, and be able to run further than I currently can. Of course, those expectations were not rooted in logic, more like blind optimism, and my progression has been respectable. But, it’s been a lot different than I expected it to be.

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Dublin Running

Posted on by under Dublin, Ireland, Running

Phoenix Park

I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back to Dublin running! Well, for now. Until it rains, and gets miserable, then I’ll complain constantly. But for now, it’s perfect! I can run at any time of the day (it’s almost never over 64 in the fall) and only run hills if I want to, otherwise it’s smooth and flat for miles. The last time I ran in Dublin I was just weeks into learning, logging three slow miles each run max. Now, with some solid baseline training behind me, I finally get to explore what Dublin has to offer runners. We haven’t been back a week and I’ve been able to log nearly 30 miles and complete my first 100-mile month, aiming for 150 for October. It’s such a different experience, being able to run for miles without struggling or gasping for air or getting side cramps, I’m finally able to enjoy my runs.  Continue reading →

Hiking Wicklow Mountains

Posted on by under Dublin, Europe, Hiking, Ireland

Views over Glendalough

Months ago, after returning to Dublin from Morocco I joined a hiking group. This weekend I finally went on my first hike. I’ve only been back from the Camino ten days, but have been itching to get back on the trail. So, I dove in, choosing to join a 20km higher difficulty hike around Wicklow, an area I’d been but had never hiked. But I figured, 20km was nothing, even with a near 1,000m elevation gain, right? Saturday brought a cool, clear day during a week of bizarre and mercurial weather. A welcome change, and a good thing too, as this hike would wind up being hard enough without the often present inclement weather.  Continue reading →