We had a bit of drama in Dublin. On Tuesday afternoon, the day before we were meant to drive all the way across Ireland back to Kerry, Niamh rang me to tell me that the car had broken down. Luckily it was just half a mile from the house, so I ran down to help her. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, and we ended up calling the AA (as in Automobile Association, not Alcoholics Anonymous). The guy arrived an hour later, and, after on hour of a lot of head scratching, figured the fuel pump was broken. There was nothing he could do about it there, and he towed us all the way to AA headquarters. From there the car will be brought to a garage in Tralee for repairs (which will hopefully be done by Friday). We got a rental car, and drove back to Kerry yesterday. Niamh had to give it back today, and, please God, we will have our full complement of cars (two) back by tomorrow. Our cover plan with the AA meant that the whole episode didn’t cost us anything, apart from 14 Euros to upgrade the rental car. When the plan had been up for renewal in February, I discussed with Niamh if it was worth it, and she decided yes. Good Call!
Oh, this is supposed to be a running blog.
Liam asked where I did my running in Dublin, so I used the magic of
Google Pedometers to whip up a map of the 7 miles route I did on Wednesday. According to the computer, it was a bit less than 7.2 miles, so I guess my estimations weren’t too far off. Said run was a tempo run, which I did a tad too fast, because on one or two occasions my heart rate crept into the high 170s, which is too high for an aerobic workout. I have to be more careful about this in future. I have to say I'm quite jealous of you City dwellers, as that bit of software is utterly useless if you live and run in Kerry. Today I just did a 5-mile recovery run to shake off my usual stiffness after several hours in the car. It went well, and it was great to be back in my familiar woods.
I’ll do an 11-miler on Sunday, to get me used to longer distances again. The half in Bantry bay is just a week after that and I won’t be in top shape, but I knew that when I signed up for it.
Apr 20: 7.1795306 miles, 57:44, 8:02 pace
Apr 21: 5 miles, 46:33, 9:18 pace
Oh, this is supposed to be a running blog. Liam asked where I did my running in Dublin, so I used the magic of Google Pedometers to whip up a map of the 7 miles route I did on Wednesday. According to the computer, it was a bit less than 7.2 miles, so I guess my estimations weren’t too far off. Said run was a tempo run, which I did a tad too fast, because on one or two occasions my heart rate crept into the high 170s, which is too high for an aerobic workout. I have to be more careful about this in future. I have to say I'm quite jealous of you City dwellers, as that bit of software is utterly useless if you live and run in Kerry. Today I just did a 5-mile recovery run to shake off my usual stiffness after several hours in the car. It went well, and it was great to be back in my familiar woods.
Cars breaking down while you are on a trip - that's the worst! Cars breaking down at home is the second worst. So do you have to drive all the way back to pick it up when it's fixed?
ReplyDeleteOh, the horror of having a car...I hope yours will be short-lived.
ReplyDeleteHave fun on Saturday run, and the weekend in general!
Good job you were in the AA (Loved the way you explained that one for our American friends).
ReplyDeleteThat Gmap pedometer is a great tool, but only really useful here in Dublin, not sure if Cork, Galway etc are covered yet, but sure helps in working distances out.
Do you always run with a HRM? I have never got into the habit, I have one but hardly used it. I always feel I run better by "touch", if you know what I mean.
Am I allowed to ask so many questions on a comment?
That was a marathon, thanks to the broken car!
ReplyDeleteVehicles!!! GRRRrrrr. Seems there's always something eh? I've got a couple of vehicles that always seem to be on the brink of breakdown. I'm too cheap to buy new stuff so I guess it's my own doing.
ReplyDeleteGood work on the runs Thomas and good luck with the 11 miler on Sunday. Question: Do you guys measure K's or M's in Ireland? It's K's in Canada. You drive on the left hand side of the road?
Feel happy the way things work there with ensurance, mechanic, and secure, just fine!! Don't want to say how it works here...
ReplyDeleteSounds like you are already back in shape, good recovery !!!
oh, man, glad you had AA! (I laughed at your explanation!)
ReplyDeleteLuckily here in the U.S. we have AAA so we can differentiate between AAA for automobiles and AA for alcoholics.
ReplyDeleteGood job on the miles. Your "not top shape" will still be better then me. Good luck with your race.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for AA.
When I lived in NYC, I dodn't have a car, so I never worried about it breaking down on me. My wife and kids, on the other hand (I was commuting from Upstate on weekends and living in the city weekdays) being in a 10-year old car kept me awake nights more than once. I would still prefer not to have a car, but it's hard to get by without one.
ReplyDeleteNice 7 miler Thomas...quick.
ReplyDeleteCar troubles suck.
sorry about your car nightmares. we're going to have to get one soon - and this sort of thing is my idea of a nightmare. nice running =)
ReplyDelete