Run Like An Irishman (Run 74)

It had been well over a month since I last ran with the Irish (possibly longer). It had been a rainy, cold day for August, and I decided that I would run with the Flying Irish for my fifth run with them.* Little did I know I arrived on the day they were completing their longest route (closer to 4 than 3 miles).

The "River Loop" starts at O'Doherty's (as does every FI run), heads west on Spokane Falls Blvd., down to Clarke and through Peaceful Valley, across the Sandifur Bridge, up the winding hill path towards the former (current?) Kendall Yards project, around by the health building, down Monroe, back through Riverfront Park, all to return to O'D's. The route is hilly (downhill for a good portion of the start), rocky, and long. Despite this, I ran considerably faster than I had during my previous FI runs. Was I the fastest? Usain Bolt, I was not. But, there were more people finishing after me than there were on my previous runs.

Next time I run with the FI, I get "shirted," which from what I understand involves me standing on the bar at O'D's and telling and Irish joke. I think I have one--an Irish lawyer joke, no less.**

*Yesterday was also my dad's 65th birthday. So, basically when my dad was born, people still ran road races in their barefoot--mostly for the purposes of avoiding rival clans/tribes/Greeks & Romans.

**If you complete 6 runs with the FI, you get a technical running shirt (long sleeve) with the FI logo. There is a brief "initiation" to get said shirt. For more on the FI, go here: http://www.flyingirish.org/.

Missed Run (13 is unlucky)

Yesterday, I missed my run. I was up too late on Tuesday night (until 10 p.m.), and I couldn't get out of bed to run early. I figured that I would run after work, but that didn't happen--I worked later than I planned and was too tired to lace up my Sauconys. I felt like such a huge slacker last night, as I watched "Top Chef" and realized that I had missed a run.

But, today's a new day. I have my running gear with me at work, and I going to run with the Flying Irish tonight. As The Hives say, "You get up/you get down/and you try again."

The Apple Loop (Training Run 9)

Last night I ran with the Flying Irish Running Club, which meets at O'Doherty's every Thursday night at 5:45 p.m. to run at 6. They have a variety of 3-ish mile routes with everything from runners to walkers (and people with pets and children participating). There's no fee, you just have to show up and run. Apparently, if you run 6 times, you get a Flying Irish T-shirt. It is my understanding that to get "shirted" you must stand on the bar at O'Doherty's and tell a joke. I'm not sure if the joke needs to be an Irish joke or not. I have 3 runs to go until I get "shirted," so send me your jokes!

The Irish run last night was the "Apple Loop," which has to do with a program at Garfield Elementary and not the shape of the loop. It was drizzling during the run, but I kind of like that. The one drawback of the Irish runs is that they are primarily through town, so you often have to stop at corners and crosswalks to wait for traffic. So, if you're really worried about timing your pace, you'll have to take that into consideration. I treat it as a nice breather and nothing else.

9 training runs down, 115 to go! Last night's run featured the music of: Lily Allen, Duran Duran, Alkaline, Prince, Fergie, The All-American Rejects, Poison, Guns N' Roses, and Jay-Z.