See track - think train

Today was my first proper race. My number was 345 and I came first in the Under 15 girls - not bad as I'm only 10:)

In the morning I was very excited, especially when we arrived at the race. There were runners everywhere. They all looked fast.

At the start, Dad and I lined up near the back of the pack. The first 400m was uphill, so we started off slow. When we got to the top of the hill, we started to pass lots of people. We went through the first mile in 7:57 and I felt ok. During the race nobody overtook me. By the halfway point I knew I was winning my age group and beating most of the older boys too. The race was an out and back course and I could see everybody who was in front of me.

We went through the second mile in 7:55 and I was still passing people and I felt ok but dad told me to hold back. Lots of the grown ups were surprised when I overtook them.

We hit the third mile in 7:33 and I out sprinted dad down the hill to the finish. He said that it was because of his gammy Ieg:)

At the finish lots of people came over to me and told me that I had run well. A teacher from my school, Mrs Daly, finished 5th in the ladies section. She ran 19:xx. I think dad was very surprised at how fast I ran. He said that he expected me to run about 27 minutes.

The next race in the series is in 2 weeks. Hopefully I will improve my time. The results will be up on the "Running In Munster" blog later today or tomorrow.

Slán

Today I ran 3 miles along the canal with dad. My next race is on Saturday.

Today I'm off school because I'm not feeling very well - I have a cold. I hope I'll be ok for my race on Saturday:(

Today I ran in my second race of the series. It was on the same course in the Killarney National Park. It rained.

Although I have been sick all week, I was still excited about the race. I didn't have a temperature and my cold hadn't moved into my chest, so my dad said that I could run. Just as well  - I want to win the series:)

I didn't think I would run very well as I haven't trained all week because of my sickness. 

I did a warm up jog and some strides with my dad and my younger sister, Olivia, before taking my place at the start.

We went off a bit quicker this week and settled into a group of runners. We went through the first mile in 7:40 and then slowed a bit. I could feel the cold forcing me to slow down and we went through the second mile in 7:48.

I knew I was leading the under 15's as I could see everybody in front of me as they came back along the course. I found the third mile tough and slowed down on the long uphill section. Once I got to the top of the hill I started to run faster and sprinted away from dad. Yet again he blamed his gammy leg. He said that Doc Poulsen's going to chop it off for him - whatever that's about!

I came first in the under 15 girls and that's two races and two wins. The final race of the series is next week and I'm excited:) Hopefully, I'll be feeling much better and will set a new pr:)

Today was the final day of the Killarney Spring 5k Series in the National Park. I had run two out of the three previous races and finished first both times in the under 15 age group. I wanted to win again today - to make it a clean sweep:)

In the morning I felt nervous but excited because I knew if I won the race I would receive a prize. I also wanted to run a good PR. My previous best was from the first race when I ran 24:24. Even though I had been sick and had not trained for a while, I knew that  I could go faster - so long as dad would let me. Dad let me...

Before the race we warmed up by jogging a half mile and then did some dynamic stretching and more jogging with some strides.

Just as we were about to start, we had to move off the course and let a jaunting cart go through - there were tourists from the US on it:)

We started at a good pace and went through the first mile in 7:47. I was leading in my age group and felt ok. The second mile had a hill in it and we did that mile in 7:53. I felt ok and decided to go faster. I worked hard to the finish and out sprinted dad. No excuses this week as his leg was better. I finished in 23:55 and took 29 seconds off my PR. I feel like I can run much faster.

We jogged back to the hall and had a buffet and drinks before the prize-giving.

They didn't give me the prize for the under 15 girls but they gave me a prize for being the youngest runner - what's that about:( But they did give me a special mention and said about my time.

I won a Euro 30 voucher for the Nike Outlet:)

I can't wait to race again but I think it will be sometime before dad lets me. I would like to thank everybody for all the nice comments.

Today I ran 3 miles along the canal after school. It was an easy run but my hair annoyed me. After the race on Saturday I got my hair cut into a bob. People say it suits me because I have a small face but the only problem is when I'm running I can't tie my hair up because it's too short. This means, when I run my hair goes into my face and eyes and annoys me. It stings my eyes:(  I couldn't see where I was going and I nearly ran into the canal:) Dad told me that he's going to shave my head - I'd like to see him try:)

Slán