DUBLIN
Event date: 07.08.16
Distance: 21 km
Route: partly hilly
A weekend trip and a race combined! Perfect!
The funny thing is that the idea for this weekend/race came from a friend after we finished Edinburgh Half. I was so excited when I saw the course and was up for it. At the end my friend Mary was not able to come but I discovered last minute who else was in Dublin that weekend.
RACE REPORT
Pic: Race map by http://www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/
Pic: The start line. It was windy and cloudy. Luckily no rain.
Ideal for the great weather my bright orange Adidas shirt with my name on it with matching Adidas Adios shoes. These #Boost my way to the finish line. Watch out!
Waiting in the blog just after the 2:00h mark. Mollie and I were enjoying music and killing the time with a few selfies. Two days before flying to Dublin I posed in FB about my race to find out who else is going. It turned out Mollie would run as well. I know her just over a year now, we met on fitness events been on a Yoga retreat together. I was sure we talked about our upcoming races but obviously missed to mention Dublin.
The course started along the riverside, crossing over the bridge further along the river until we were running in the city.
We passed GUINNESS and I had to snap a quick selfie. Now the sun was out and we were all happy running together trough the lovely city.
Mollie is a stronger, faster runner than I am. She was checking her watch and kept us up to date with the pace. I felt slightly challenges as it was faster than my usual pace. I never run a race with a certain pace in mind. We did want to keep it a training run but I was hoping for a new PB. Running with Mollie was great and a new learning that I can do faster! We sticked together motivating each other. Both had a niggle to cope with. Mollie felt her hip and I had my usual right ankle to cope with. It was a course with more hills than expected but that kept it interesting as well.
The more important it was to enjoy the course and different bands along side. When we turned into the park and had another few km to go downhill something incredible happened.
A few meters in front of us a deer crossing happened. I couldn’t believe it, there were about 10 deers crossing our course. I was worried about any runners getting run over. All happened so quickly, everyone was fine. What an experience! Amazing!
FINISHED !
Wow what an amazing time! I did cut off 5 min from my last Half race. Thanks Mollie for the great pacing and enjoyable chats during the race. Looking forward to run with Mollie in Berlin. She is absolutely my “Running Buddy 2016”. We did run a few more races together… Spitfire Scramble!
Pic: After the race the party goes one and on…
I went straight for Pub food and beer in the city. Find more about my weekend in Dublin in my next post. I had a confession to make…