Killarney womens mini marathon 2015

Saturday morning, I was running a bit behind schedule. So by the time I got to Killarney and headed to meet the girls, I felt slightly flustered. Also, as I hadn't the best run last year at this event, I was wary of what was ahead of me... Aggghhhh!!! There was a large crowd gathered as both the 5K and 10K were starting together, you could feel the excitement or nervousness. After a quick catch up and a photo or two, people started running, we were off...

Last minute prep.. 

Ready for action!

We began by running down Mission road, on the road, up on the kerb, dodging past people, we turned into the park. The route had been changed this year due to the flooding in parts of the park, we would have to run a loop of the park twice for the 10K once for the 5K. At this stage I was running beside Michelle and Anna, as we ran down by the canal it is a bit of a bottle neck.  I noticed the ground was littered with wet leaves. As we turned right to go up the hill, the girls pulled away. I ran up the hill, which wasn't too bad as my legs were fresh. The hill isn't steep but it has a steady pull which deserves a bit of effort.  Passing the playground, I felt comfortable, so I steadied myself and settled into the run. I cranked up U2, let my feet just move and switched off my brain. This worked great for next 5K or so, I knew I was running well. It felt easy in parts, I was smiling more than grimacing. The drummers at the bottom of the hill were a welcome distraction as I headed up the hill again, this time my legs felt it a bit more.

Dreaming of the finish line...

As, I moved forward, I decided to walk each time I took a sip of my water.(which wasn't too often as I finished with some water left). This time around I had to push myself more. As I passed the golf course, I knew there was less than 1 KM to go, I tried to dig deep and push forward. But I felt tired, I let my pace slow especially as I knew I had to go up that hill for a third time...Ughhhh!!!  But to finish I had to get up the hill , some one said 'go on' as I passed just at the end of the climb I'm sure I said I was *********.  Anna and Michelle, came back to urge me to the finish line. But whether I was ********* or not I kicked it up and ran across the finish line..

Signature thumbs up!

Done!
Bling!
I had survived! I was smiling, no tears, no drama, just running!  It was a relief to finish knowing I had run the best run I could, that I hadn't checked out when it felt too tough. Progress! Woohoo!!
Then, to make it really great there was Ice cream and donuts..

Having caught up with the girls everyone seemed happy with their mornings run.

Smiles and bling, you could say we're glowing!