Yesterday I did St Anne’s parkrun. It’s a trek up to Clontarf but it is also one of the most popular runs in the city, averaging 344 runners per event (second behind Marlay). The course is a tarmac paths around the perimeter job, but with some lovely bits through some trees and past the duck pond. And one edge of the park looks across the bay towards the mountains.
Very well organised with a big finish funnel and plenty of friendly marshalls.
This is a hidden gem of a parkrun. The Sport Ireland Campus is based on a former country estate and contains a mix of historic buildings and new state-of-the-art sports facilities. The parkrun course varies but is usually a couple of laps all run on grass and trail. It’s so scenic you wouldn’t even realise you were in Dublin. And there is tonnes of parking and a public toilet, too.
The Thursday Murder Club is a murder mystery novel by Richard Osman.
It was pretty good. I listened to the interview with the author after the book and it won be around, or maybe made me feel stupid for not seeing how much the book has to offer. It does have a lot: there is incredibly character depth and a beautiful human touch in the way it explores life in a luxury retirement village. There are some twists and turns and a lot of story going on. And I finished the whole thing willingly.
That said, so many books are described as “unputdownable” these days. I could put this down. In a way that was easier to put down than The Trial or Neverwhere. I always picked it back up again but I was happier to read a bit and then go to sleep than trying to balance whether I really needed a full night’s sleep or whether I wanted to start the next chapter. That is no fault, though, and maybe just a reflection on how much I enjoyed the other two.
I am alo not against reading further books in the series so it was enjoyable.
Lovely beach outaide of the bay so you get proper waves, and they have toilets, too.
It’s been a while since I’ve done much in-person yoga but I’ve finally found a new yoga studio I like: Yoga Lab. They do gentle flow classes which are great because they are relaxing but also have a sufficient level of challenge that we’re not doing nothing.
After four weeks of not running it is good to be back! I’m still not feeling great but I managed to run the whole thing so I was pleased with that.
The parkrun itself is nice enough. Three laps around a field, so nothing to write home about (although I am writing about it here) but the marshals were friendly and everyone had a good time. Not to be confused with Waterstown which is, ironically, next door.
Neverwhere is a fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman.
I put off reading it because I wasn’t sure if I would get all of the London Underground references but you really don’t need to understand the tube to enjoy it. And enjoy it I did. More than American Gods which was good in itself.
For the past month, I’ve been having a hard time with my physical and mental health. it has been a tough gig because I have been doing client work throughout, so helping others manage their mental health while managing my own has been quite a challenge. Not made any easier due to medication limiting my ability to exercise.
Luckily, I have a very supportive family to draw upon. One of the downsides of greater mobility is that we can often find ourselves in a new cities, or even new countries, that take us away from our support networks and it can be difficult to rebuild those locally, especially when working multiple jobs, and studying, and doing whatever else we may have going on in our personal lives.
I’ve also gone as far as to do nothing. Or at least nothing “productive”. I’ve read a lot of books, destroyed a lot of civilizations on Age of Empires II, and finished off the whole of Downton Abbey. Not forgetting some time at the beach, as well.
The Trial is a murder mystery novel by Rob Rinder.
I was briefly ensure about the overly descriptive language and characters announcing their beliefs in an Atlas Shrugged manner but this soon gave way to a fascinating narrative that provided intrigue, drama and human interest. I can’t wait for the next one.
Venla had her second birthday party of the 2023/2024 year today. I’m not ready to have a daughter with a better social life than me. It’s too much too fast!