Leader Of The (Mid) Pack

Mr. Guappa

Ah brilliant!!! Wasn't sure where that post was headed for a moment, but I'm beaming now. Congratulations to you both.

Laineyfrecks

Oh wow, what a beautiful name for your beautiful daughter 😍 big huge congratulations to you & mammy 🤗

ariana`

Oh wow, was not expecting that either! Massive congratulations to you and to your better half! And welcome baby Isla to the world. Amazing news, just lovely ❤️

diego_b

That's great news, congrats to you and your wife J. A whole new world for you now!

ReeReeG

Oh my goodness, what lovely news!!! This is fantastic, congrats to you guys😊 hope all is going well!

Sunny Dayz

Congrats on the addition to your family. Hope all are doing well.

Bluesquare

Congrats fab news ! What a beautiful name !

AuldManKing

Fantastic news J - you could see the Smiling beam coming from you from miles away when I bumped into you last week.

Enjoy every minute.

Kellygirl

Awe! That is such a lovely post J. Huge congrats to you and your wife and welcome to the world Isla! Enjoy all the newborn cuddles.

Annie get your Run

Congratulations J!! What a beautiful name 😍. Welcome to the world Isla Wubble 😄

Wubble Wubble

Thanks everyone for all your kind words ! Especially glad that so many of you love the name :) she's grown so much already, great feeder, very alert.

I haven't run at all since, although I might jump in a parkrun this Saturday, if the new boss allows me.

No thoughts given to training plans or anything like that yet. I remember Ecoli/Testosterscone used to go out for runs in the dead of night when new arrivals came along. Not me though. At this stage I'm just happy enjoying fatherhood, and if I can get to a parkrun or race (BHAA 5k on the 26th?) well and good. As all the parents on here know, this is time ye never get back, and I'm lucky enough to have another 2+ months off work, so just relax and see where it takes us, I think :)

Laineyfrecks

Aww enjoy every minute of it, my 1st born daughter turns 26 on Sat, feels like yesterday I was a scared 1st time parent taking her home from hospital 💛

ariana`

You are dead right J. Enjoy every second, it's magical. They do indeed grow so fast. Every stage is a blessing to be fair but the newborn stage is particularly special 💕

py

Time to get a running buggy. You get exercise, mummy gets a break. Everyone wins.

Wubble Wubble

Sat 15/4 - Porterstown parkrun

Although I hadn't run in almost an entire calendar month, I wasn't in the least bit apprehensive as I made my way to the local parkrun. Most people there hadn't heard my news, so I was only too delighted to share! I started near the back and ran purely for enjoyment, passing one or two every so often. One of the days where the time and result really was irrelevant. 27:29, 22/72, 2nd M50. My 184th in total - I'm hoping to reach 200 this year. I was solely of a mind to savour this run, and you can be sure that I did. Also pleasantly surprised to discover that some in MSB still remember me, given it's been so long since I ran with any of them !

Oh and to answer a frequently asked question of late. No, there will be no buggy running. We've discussed that one 😉 much as I hate to disappoint anyone !

Not sure what this week will bring. Hopefully another parkrun if nothing else. That said, if I'm running the BHAA race next week, ideally I'd like to get another couple of runs/sessions done in advance. Thanks for reading! J.

ariana`

Good on you getting back out and enjoying it J. Babies are a blessing but it's good to have a bit of a side hustle as well, a bit of an escape in the interests of a balanced & healthy mind and body. And if nothing else you'll be well able for junior parkrun when the time comes 😉

Wubble Wubble

So Much For The Ten Year Plan

Still logging ! and still running, a little bit.

Since the last update, I've a few more parkruns under my belt, as well as a race.

The race in question was the BHAA Bristol Myers Squibb 5k, on a breezy Wednesday evening in D15. I felt bad leaving my two ladies, as little Isla was in a fouler even before I closed the door. She's doing great, healthy and strong, as well as we could hope for so far. It's a flat course, but I knew I wasn't remotely fit enough or strong enough to chase a fast time, so I didn't. 24:06 was however good enough for me to pick up a team prize as our third scorer. The fourth lad was about ten seconds behind me, so it was worth the effort to at least keep him at bay.

Last week marked the 10th anniversary of my first ever parkrun, so to mark the occasion I made the trip to Malahide, where it all began. As it turned out, it was my 10th time to run this one too. First since November 2019, mind. As with the other runs recently, it wasn't a day to go hard, purely to be run for enjoyment. Still one of my favourites, as I started towards the rear and eased my way forward. I probably passed about 100, and was passed by maybe 5. Not to worry, nice to reminisce as I work my way towards the target of 200 parkruns this year.

More recently again, I've ordered a new competition singlet, as my nearly 7 year old MSB vest has long since seen its best days. Maybe that'll give me some added incentive to train more and get fitter when time allows. It's unlikely I'll be doing any serious racing over the next few weeks. However, I've offered to pace 30 minutes for the Castleknock 5k, taking place on Sunday June 18 (Fathers Day). I'm not sure if I'll have much worth logging in the meantime, so hopefully some of you can shoehorn that one into your busy racing calendars. Thanks for reading! J.

Dubh Geannain

Congrats on the great news J. Really delighted to read that update.

Wubble Wubble

Just sneaking back in here among the DCM race reports - well done to all ! I got out to support up by Castleknock College for a while - nice to see some of you in action.

I never did pace the Castleknock 5k, and as it turned out I wasn't even in attendance. I injured my knee in the BHAA trail race earlier in June in the Phoenix Park, and between that and baby bonding (among other things) running has been very limited apart from a few parkruns. I'm on 196 now, so the target of 200 by year end is looking good. I walked some of these with Isla, now seven months old. Thankfully, she slept for most of the way round, although she was all smiles when we met AMK (walking with dog and daughter) a while back.

It's only the last few days I've dared to go beyond walking/strolling through parkruns. So far so good, no pain afterwards, even after the hilly Avondale Forest parkrun. I haven't thought that much about racing yet. After all, the last time I ran for the club was the Ratoath HM. Last year.

Probably the first tentative target is the National Novices XC, in Navan in early December, probably more so because (a) the course isn't too bad, and (b) it's fairly close to home. Remember I now also have to justify leaving a little baba behind for X amount of hours when entering these races. More realistic targets are the Dublin and Leinster Masters XC races. Both are in January, with the Leinster event returning to Avondale. Sure it's something else to keep me going through the winter. Thanks for reading! J.

Annie get your Run

Welcome back!

AuldManKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121306668#Comment_121306668

:) - That was a 40 year old neighbour of mine who has children aged 7 and 4.

Either I look old or she looks very young!

When I first seen that you had a post my 1st thought was - "he's not gone and attempted DCM has he"

Mr. Guappa

Welcome back J! Best of luck with the comeback

Wubble Wubble

Quick update....

I finally made it to a double century of parkruns, last Saturday. In Porterstown, appropriately enough. I've run all my milestone runs there, with my 50th and 100th both in 20:36, then my parkrun PB. I also got my one and only first place finish there, eight years ago today. In contrast, I shared the 200 milestone with a neighbour of mine, who has more first places in Irish parkruns than any other man.

As regards racing, I've decided I'm better off not worrying about it for the next while. I sensibly didn't enter any of the races mentioned above that have passed, and I won't be entering the Masters XC races. With baba (thankfully healthy and happy) and life in general, it's been very hard to find the time to do anything. Unless, that is, I run at 5 AM (as some clubmates do) or 10 PM (as some past and present Boardsies have done following new arrivals). Quite frankly, I don't have the motivation needed to do that at the moment. With nothing to train for, best (in my opinion) not to stress over races slipping by.

I'll still keep my eye in at parkrun, and there's a few BHAA cross country races scheduled in the New Year where I can get my feet wet. Not really worth writing about though, unless I come up with some spectacular result out of the blue. Hence, I'm going to put the log into cold storage for the foreseeable.

Go dtí an chéad uair eile....

The Black Oil

We'll be here when you wish to thaw it out.