And We're Back . . .

 

Well, sort of.

Okay, the title is a bit off-putting and we apologise for getting people's hopes up. However, we had a couple of our regular features back this week. Our Saturday morning coffee morning was back for the first time this year. This is a great way to catch up with those that we cannot get to see due to Level Five restrictions and is a nice way to spend a Saturday morning. 

On Saturday, Andy brought back the fantastic music Zoom. There are many people that are afraid to join this as they do not play an instrument and feel like they can't sing. However, Andy is quick to point out that you do not have to sing or play to appreciate good music. A particular highlight this week was Cecile and Leyla's version of Memories by Maroon 5. We are very impressed, is there anything that these two cannot do! For those that are interested in joining in or just listening, keep an eye on the Whatsapp group for the Zoom details on a Saturday. Thanks to Pete and Andy for organising.

We are Very Lucky

We know we might harp on a bit about this but we are absolutely blessed to have the facilities that we have around us at the moment. It is easy to forget how beautiful our park is when we are so used to it. However, something that is always said to us by parkrun tourists is how nice our park actually is. At this time of year it can look particularly spectacular with ice and snow making the paths glisten and shine. Some others in the Whatsapp group have the Estuary within their 5km and have been saying how lucky they are to be able to visit this spot every day. If you are getting out today or over the next week, take some time to look at the park and to remember how special it is.

A word of Warning

While the park is beautiful, it can be very dangerous at this time of year as well. A very quick reminder to take it easy on those slippy paths and to remember that if in doubt, avoid the paths. To really hammer this point home, one of the most important pieces of video footage in our nation's history is ten years old this year - the guy that slipped on the ice on RTE News. This has come up a few times this week in the Whatsapp group because of how slippery it has been. In case you have never seen it (how!) or need a quick reminder of that faithful day, you can see it at this link. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh6HFMBREB4

10 years! How time flies!

Some New Opportunities

With the paths being as slippery as they are, it is important to remember that there are many other forms of exercise other than running and walking that can be done in the safety of your own home. Now, more than ever, one can engage in numerous forms of exercise through the wonders of the internet. There are lots of exercise videos on Youtube for whatever you fancy, whether it be Yoga, HIIT, dancing, boxing, etc. Peter Carr told us this week that he is following a training program from his Garmin watch (accessed through Garmin Connect) and Fitbit have a number of training programs that you can access as well. Of course, lockdown means one other thing - Joe Wicks is back! If you can't catch him during the day, he has dozens of videos on Youtube to get you up and moving. We would also urge you all to keep an eye on Fingal Sporting Offices facebook page (found here - https://www.facebook.com/FingalSports) as they have some excellent initiatives on throughout the year. 

Some Not so New Opportunities

All of this brings us to something that had slightly slipped our minds this year - Operation Transformation is back! This week would usually have marked our annual Operation Transformation walk in partnership with Fingal County Council. It is usually one of the biggest events that we host and still holds the record for the most participants at one parkrun. 

While we cannot host a walk this year, we do recommend that you keep an eye on the program on RTE during the week. The ad break challenges are good ways of getting active while sitting on your couch and can give you ideas for keeping fit even when it seems that there is no way of doing it at the time. 

One of the things that has stood out to us the most this year is the inclusion of Andrew Burke Hannon in the list of OT leaders. During the week, he was described as one of the most important leaders that the show has had in years. Why? Well, as Andrew said himself, he probably only has a stone or so to lose but he wants to highlight that there are many people like him that want to lose that weight but struggle with it. While he may not be carrying as much weight as others on the show, he wants to set a good example for those of us who want to shift those last few pounds. If you want to follow any of the leaders' plans, they can be found at https://ot.rte.ie/. 

The Guidelines

One of the things that came up during the week is the importance of following the Government guidelines to help to combat the virus. We had extraordinary numbers this week. While we cannot do anything to speed up vaccinating, we can follow the guidelines and avoid contact with others as much as possible. While we are permitted to meet up with one other household in an outdoor setting, we still always recommend keeping our distance. Katie gave a great example of how to do it during this week. She meets with her friend to run the parkrun route. While she runs one way, here friend runs the other way and as they pass each other they give each other a wave and some encouragement. Great idea Katie, love it!

The Grove Show

Brian Tucker's The Grove Show featured artists who sadly passed away in 2020. Some of our favourite artists feature on this list. I still remember hearing an unbelievable rendition of 54-46 (That's My Number) by Toots and the Maytals in Crawdaddies years ago and this show got me listening back to Toots's back catalogue again. There are many artists on it that will be missed we are sure. 

(Not) parkrun results

Last week we gave a last minute shout out to people to get out and help us to claim back our fourth spot. Well guess what? We are going the same again this week! Clonbur Woods and Erris are both ten runners ahead of us. Can we do a certain politician and ask to find eleven runners to leap ahead of them? Don't forget to log your runs this week if you haven't already. 

Looking at our own results this week, we can see a brand new first finisher - David Mullen. David has only one (not) parkrun to his name, what a way to make an entrance! In second place with a new PB is Francesco Petroni. Rounding out third place is Bryan.

Our first female finisher this week is Sigita again but it was very tight between her and Imelda Kavanagh this week (only 5 seconds!). Ann-Marie Gargan was our third female finisher but just behind her we have Cecile who is beginning to make a recovery from injury. Remember to take your time Cecile and not come back too soon.

Our first Junior runner across the line this week is Sean McCarthy again. Sadhbh Beirne is our second Junior finisher and Jessica Reid was our third. We had 5 Juniors again this week with Luke and Aaron Beirne being our final Junior runners. 

As a little aside, well done to Brooklyn, Sigita's daughter, on being the first (and last) finisher for Holywell Junior parkrun this week. Brooklyn submitted her first ever (not) parkrun result this week and is looking forward to when parkrun is back to add in a real 2km parkrun. Keep it up Brooklyn and Sigita, great running from the both of you!

This week, despite no OT run, we had three new (not) parkrunners. Well done to David Mullen, Nicola Murphy and Christine Brennan on your first runs. We also had 5 PBs this week. Congratulations to Francesco Petroni, Cesar Garcia, Niall Nolan, Rachel Byrne and Claire McCarville. A final congratulations has to go to Imelda Kavanagh who reached her hundredth (not) parkrun this week. Well done Imelda, a great achievement!

Pete's Story

Pete is still getting messages from people asking if he is alright after his hospitalisation last month. So here is the man himself to let everyone know that he is flying. 

A series of unfortunate events

OK it feels a bit weird but I am writing this in the 1st person. Firstly thanks to Bryan who continues to write the run report ( I just secretly wish he wasn't so good at it 😂). I am just taking a bit of a break. 

Some of you will have read that I was not well and others are hearing rumours so I thought it would be best to give the full picture of what happened. The bottom-line is that it is all good and it really was just as the title says, a series of unfortunate events.

I woke up on Friday the 18th of December with a severe bout of dizziness. It felt very strange indeed. I knew I had an important meeting on-line that I could not miss and forced myself into the shower and dressed. All the time feeling very uncomfortable. When I hook up to the on-line meeting to talk to the guy in Taiwan I could barely look at the screen without feeling sick but I got through the meeting.

Once it was over I knew I couldn't just see if this was going to pass. I called the doc and arranged to go down immediately with my daughter Sam dropping me down. The doc took about 3 minutes to examine me and tell me to get my ass down to A&E (do not pass Go, do not collect €200).

Once I get to Beaumont it now transpires that a motorbike accident from 10 years ago is going to come back to haunt me. I was pretty much rushed in to see a doc. In fact in about 5 minutes after arriving I had about 4 docs crowded around me. They held a finger up in front of me and told me to follow. My left eye when looking to the right would go up instead of to the right and that coupled with the dizziness, and high blood pressure led them to believe I may have had a mild stroke. 

So 4 nights later, a Cat scan, MRI, Echo and examination by a eye specialist leads to the believe that I had a bad case of vertigo brought about by crystals forming in the ear. A simple Epley manoeuvre got rid of that and I was sorted.

And what about the Motorbike accident? Apparently I have a wonky eye, medical term being Wonkius Eyus. The eye specialist took about 4 seconds to tell me that I have that a long time and that it was probably related to some previous trauma injury ergo the motorbike crash.

So thanks for all the well wishes and messages. I am absolutely fine and just a really good slacker! 

I take a certain pride in fact that I did use the opportunity to get 5k in for the (not) parkrun by roaming the corridors of Beaumont hospital.

Happy New Year everyone. Never forget your health is your wealth!   

A Great Read 

A couple of interesting reads were mentioned to us this week. First of all, we were thrilled to see Fiona Dowling contribute to the parkrun official blog. Fiona's story can be found here (if you haven't read it already) - https://blog.parkrun.com/ie/2021/01/06/you-can-put-your-mind-to-anything/. It is great to hear her talking about how important parkrun was to her.

Speaking of which, Artur drew our attention to a book that may appeal to a lot of you out there. 

'How parkrun Changed Our Lives' is a book about how parkrun has impacted on the lives of ordinary people. It looks at how the movement has done so much good in people's lives. If you are interested in buying it, it can be found at this link - https://gritstonecoop.co.uk/books/how-parkrun-changed-our-lives/

That's it this week folks, have a great week. Stay safe and enjoy your runs and walks in our fabulous park.