See track - think train

Today I ran 2 miles. That feels good to say considering I’m 10. The first mile was easy. I ran quite fast and did it in 8 minutes 30 seconds. The second mile was a different story. I did it in 10 minutes. The worst 10 minutes of my life. I wished that I hadn’t drunk half a bottle of apple juice before I left. When I was running I could feel all the apple juice juggling around in my tummy. I kept telling my dad I was going to be sick. He told me that when Paula Radcliffe was tired she counted from 100 down to 1. I tried, but I only got to 70. I’m not a very patient person. My legs were really tired but I kept going to the end.

Through the whole run there were dogs on the path. I thought one of them was going to chase me. Luckily it didn’t.

When I finished I realised that my back was covered in muck and that was why everybody was staring at me.

Embarrassing! J

I had a rest day today. I did not get up until 12:30:) Now that's what I call a good start to a new year:)

I have something to look forward to tomorrow. I'm going to my friend's birthday party. We are going to the cinema and then we are going for pizza (Yummy yummy in my tummy).

My next run is on Friday. Another 2 miler. This time I am going to go slower on the first mile and then speed up on the second. Hopefully I'll have a faster time.

slán

Today I ran 2.25 miles along the canal. I ran the first mile with my sister and dad and did it in 9:50. After we dropped my sister off we picked up the pace and did the second mile in 8:08. We then cooled down for 0.25 of a mile.

When I woke up this morning my legs were sore. I thought that I was not going to be able to run today): But dad fixed my legs and I was able to run:)

To be honest with you, I could have run another mile. I'm very happy with my run today.

My next run will be on Sunday and will probably be at the beach, running barefoot. (YAY!) Dad said that we will not be using the watch for a while now. We will be doing some Kenyan style running. I have to pretend that I am late for school. I'm never late for school - my teacher is very nice and he's a runner.

I had a rest day today. Tomorrow I am going running at the beach.

This afternoon I watched the Edinburgh cross-country races. In the women's 6k race Fionnuala Britton (from Ireland) came first. She was the captain of the European team. Mattie Suver captained the US team and she came third.

Before the race they interviewed all the captains and Mattie Suver sounded very nice. She said she would be happy enough to finish in the top ten and that she was just going to have fun out there.

Hopefully the weather will be good for my run at the beach.

Slán

Today I ran at the beach. My warm up was 1 mile. Then I did 2x4x15seconds of strides. I did 5 minutes jogging between the sets. Then I did 1 mile warm down. In total, I ran for 30 minutes, all barefooted.

My favourite thing that I did was the strides. It's when you run down the beach towards the ocean at a good pace and then jog back to the start.

At the same time as running, I was concentrating on:

1. Making sure every part of my body was moving forward.

2. I wanted to make sure that my arms were relaxed.

3. That my head stayed still.

I love running at the beach. There were lots of people there playing hurley (an Irish game using sticks that are similar to hockey sticks and a sliotar - that's a small, hard, white ball). Fact: hurley is the fastest game in the world.

On Wednesday, I'm going to my athletics club where we play games and race. It's great fun:)

Slán

Back to school today:(  I am very tired and I have lots of homework. I have to write a story about being stuck on an Ireland:(

My next run day is Wednesday when I'll be going to athletics.

It's dad's birthday today:) He's 48. That's very old. He says that he feels like a 28 year old. Yeah, right.

I went to school today and I'm really tired. Luckily I didn't get too much homework tonight:) I'm looking forward to athletics tomorrow night.

Slán

I went to athletics today and we did lots of running drills. We were also learning about starting a race, to be in the right position. The lady said that I was very good at jumping over hurdles but I hate doing them. I had to demonstrate how to do the hurdle drills to all the girls and then all the boys. Embarrassing.

slán

Today I ran three and a half miles of cross country with my dad. The grass was all muddy and wet. When I finished I was covered in muck. About two miles into my run a black dog jumped on me and pulled my pants down to my knees. Embarrassing. The dog was called Magic. I know this because the lady who was walking him was shouting at him to get down.

Through the run we were jumping over walls and fences. We ran along a narrow bank next to the river and at one point I was looking out at the mountains and I fell. It was very sore but I carried on.

At the end of the run I had to run up a big hill. I sprinted away from dad. He couldn't keep up with me. He said it was because of his sore bum. Likely story.

Slán

3 miles in the rain and wind and hail stones:( I ran along the canal with dad. It was the worst run EVER! The wind pushed me everywhere and the hail stones were like real stones falling from the sky. The rain was pinning down and my tracksuit was soaked. To be honest with you, there was probably no point me wearing clothes. I mean, all the rain went through my clothes and besides, there was nobody out anyway, well, apart from one random lady.

A couple of minutes into the run dad slipped and damaged his leg. He nearly fell in the canal:)

This Saturday I'm running in a 5k race in the National Park in Killarney. I can't wait:)

slán

I went to athletics tonight and  we did lots of drills and shuttles. In a few weeks time we will start athletics on the track in Castleisland on Sundays. So I'll be doing athletics twice a week and running with dad once. I'm excited about the 5k race on Saturday. Dad told me I'll be able to do a race report:)

slán

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