Archive for May, 2009
Loot!
On Friday I picked up my race number and scored a sweet bag of loot!
I love the can of tuna. Amazing! I also got a pretty handy recipe book from Yakult. I’m honestly not the biggest fan of the Yak, but the recipes (surprisingly Yakult free) are really great. All my goodies came from the Women’s World Show, a nice little woman-centric trade show featuring everything from make-up and wellness to cheese and Ann Summers. Interesting. Chris was thrilled I brought him along. Luckily there was plenty of free grilled cheese samples from the kind folks at Dubliner.
I also played with Wii Fit. Despite looking like an absolute idiot as I tried to catch imaginary hula hoops or keep a cartoon penguin balanced on a melting glacier, I am hooked and totally want it! Victory prize perhaps?
It’s all very exciting! In less than 24 hours, I’ll be done and will have conquered something I never thought I could, let alone would do.
5..4..3..2..1
Five more days until the big race! I’ve been running loads (though a bit too busy with this to update the blog).
Today I had a great run around the ‘hood. I think I could have run a bit further by there were tacos waiting and my coach was tired. I am a bit nervous as we get closer to the race, but I’m looking forward to being out on the road with so many thousands of other women. And I must tell myself, there’s no shame in walking!
Now, don’t forget…I’m doing all this hard work (running the best part of 10K) to raise money for a wonderful organisation, One Home Many Hopes. So if you haven’t already made a contribution, please make sure you do.
One Homes Many Hopes supports an orphanage in Kenya that is doing amazing work for 30 young girls, giving them a loving family, an education and the care they need to make their futures a little brighter. A small contribution of $10-$50 will go a long way to helping the girls and will make you part of the global family.
All you have to do is go to One Home Many Hopes to make a donation. Then send me an email or note to let me know you’re supporting my run, and I promise to go a little bit faster…just for you!
6K and the FWMM only days away!
I ran 6K today through Castleknock and Cabra. That’s my longest run so far and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would. Granted, Chris lied to me and told me the route was much shorter. He’s been a great coach, providing me motivation when I need it most and giving me tips along the way. Just goes to show how important a coach is. While I’m sure I could do anything I decide to do, it’s always better to have positive support along the way.
In the same way, it’s important for the girls of OHMH to have a positive family environment. The home provides them with the support they need to grow and thrive…and in the risk of being to punny, go the extra mile.
So what have I learned from Chris?
- Wait 2 hours after eating before running
- Porridge (or Oatmeal) makes a great pre-running meal
- Even if there’s gale force winds, you still have to run…but if you run in a loop, the winds might be at your back and you’ll go faster!
- It can actually be fun to test your limits
Thanks coach! 
5k – What a Day!
After a hearty breakfast, Chris and I laced up and headed out to Phoenix Park for a 5K run and a visit to the Farmleigh House Food Market. It a beautiful, sunny, warm(-ish) day and I ran way more than I ever have before. Result!
We are really lucky to live so close to Phoenix Park. There’s so much to see and a nice mix of paved and unpaved paths to explore. It was also filled with ridiculously adorable children and dogs (and cows, horses and donkeys at Farmleigh). We also saw a HUGE herd of deer (are groups of deer called herds?) hanging out minding their own business when a not so adorable group of children started chasing after them. Awesome kids, run through a 50+thick group of wild animals and see what happens.
Post run, we checked out the goods at Farmleigh, taking advantage of the generous samples and loading up on goodies for lunch and dinner. Highlights of the food market included freshly made springrolls, grilled salmon rolls, lots of fresh squeezed juices, potato pancakes served by a surly German man, pistachio pesto, super hot curry sauce and fresh made cheese. I highly recomend the monthly Farmleigh market, especially after a good run.
I was definitely able to keep going after the run, so I’ll have to turn it up a notch for the next run.
The Mini Marathon is less than a month away–10K, here I come!
