So Far So Good

Before Maia was born, we were worried about how Cian would react. After all, he was losing his status as the baby in the house, and this might not go down well. However, we need not have worried. He is absolutely nuts about his baby sister. Last might he wanted me to give her to him to hold, and once I had them both secure on the sofa, he kept smothering her with kisses. Long may it last.

Since I’m off work this week, finding time for running is not a problem. Once the older three kids are in school/preschool, Niamh usually settles down for a feed with Maia, and then they both fall asleep. That’s my time to head out. I can’t have more than two hours, which means the 15.5 mile loop around Caragh Lake is the most I can do, but I can live with that. Yesterday was a very sunny day, so much that I brought a bottle of water along with me, which is something I very rarely do (in fact, I can’t remember the last time I actually carried water with me on a training run). The run itself was great, I felt fantastic. But I’m not sure how much longer I can go on and call this easy running. I just ran normally for the first 12 miles, after that the mountains are behind me and the terrain is merely undulating, and I pushed the pace a bit. Not too much, I tried to keep the HR under 160 at all times, apart from the last mile, which I hammered in 6:52, for no other reason than that I could. It’s fun to run like that.

I took it a bit easier today, not only to recover but also because I only had one hour. Niamh wanted to have a peaceful breakfast after the kids were in school, as well as a bath, and since Maia refused to sleep it was left to me to hold her in the meantime (yes, I know, what an awful job, but someone’s got to do it). I experimented with various songs, I sang German, English and French lullabies, as well as football songs, and she definitely preferred the football chants, though Niamh doesn’t believe me. I’m telling you, that girl is already into sport. Oh, and the run was fine. 8 miles, with 9x100 strides on the way back. I was surprised to see the HR relatively low, for what was still well below 8:00 pace. Maybe I’m finally getting the hang of this running thing. Just a shame that I might be forced to take a break once I have to get back to work. Niamh already asked me not to go running in the morning. We haven’t decided yet, but I know that I promised to compromise, and I still know where my priorities are.

6 Nov

15.5 miles, 1:54:52, 7:24 pace, HR 155
last 5 in 35:37 (7:07 pace), last in 6:52

7 Nov

8 miles, 1:02:13, 7:46 pace, HR 147
including 9x100 strides