Five years back and turning more out impressive times with each season.

High altitude training pays off !!

Petrina Edwards

 

 

1. When did you start running

I ran the a little bit of cross country as a child ( Grandad coached us all)

In 2015, I ran my first race, Fr Murphys 10km and it all escalated from there. That July two of my colleagues on a trip to the states convinced me that I was “well able” to run DCM that Oct and had me signed up by the time I got home.

 

2. When did you join Trim AC?

I joined Trim AC Sept 2015, my friend Valerie Malone & fellow club member, encouraged me to join as I was struggling with the long runs. I was hesitant as I didn’t think I would have had the confidence or be good enough to Join a club but  have never looked back .

 

3. Why do you run?

Since starting running I’ve always had a marathon on the horizon and my running has pro dominantly been based around them.  I’ve been fortunate to have run 5 of the 6 World Majors and was looking forward to completing that challenge in Tokyo of March this year. Tokyo was the first event to have been cancelled due to Covid 19, so I’ll have to keep at them until I get my hands on that BIG blue and silver medal hopefully in 2021.

 

I also love that I’ve meet such fabulous people through running and made some really great friends . It was great to met fellow club member Micheal counsel in Boston and Helen, Ciara and Olivier in Berlin ( oh the Craic 😉)and Don in London while completing the Majors .

 

4. Favorite event , race or competition ( other than a Trim AC event )?

My favorite is definitely DCM. It’s by far the friendliest marathon I’ve ran, the support on route is inspirational and the shout outs “go wan Trim “ are amazing and to see so many familiar faces out supporting and running alongside fellow club members. I love having a friendly chat along the way with other runners too. You nearly get to know whose going to be cheering in what spot and look forward to the familiar faces, especially at around mile 25 1/2 where Senan parks himself with Aaron and Rebecca .

 

5. Do you listen to music, podcasts 

I listened to music when I first started running but now it only annoys me .These days I’m listening to a battle In my head telling me I can’t do it so I’m definitely looking forward to phase 3 when I can listen to all my running buddies .

 

6. Favorite type of training

I love having a plan to follow for a marathon and sticking to it as much as I possibly can and the satisfaction of completing all the tempos and speed sessions .

 

7. Who is your athletics hero?

The real hero’s are my club members .

Berlin 2019 was my best race to date with a PB of over ten minutes 3:28 something I never would have in my wildest dreams ever thought I could achieve.

My fellow club mate Andrew Revington offered to draw up a plan for me, I remember looking at it initially and thinking not a hope am I doing that(or more so can I do that)

However, stubbornness, sheer hard work and Shane ‘love the hills’ Parkinson and also Andrew (who not only wrote it ran half of it to keep me on track) for dragging me around the country that I succeeded, so I’ve so much to be grateful to them for .

 

 

8. What is your best memory from the sport ?

New York Marathon it was just crazy from start to finish, every time I thought about it for the month after, I just laughed . It was like a constant 26.2 mile scream tunnel . Starting on the Verrazano bridge and the skyline in the distance to coming down into Manhattan from the Queensboro bridge and finishing in Central Park, it was just electric .

And Berlin marathon but I can’t remember half of that 🎉

 

9.What is the best race or athletics competition you ever watched but did not take part in?

Watching Eliud Kipchoge breaking the 2 hour marathon. I was sitting in the car at the airport waiting to go into work and now running late, then juggling putting a suitcase on a trolley, discreetly trying to watch the race while walking up to the terminal in my uniform, phone on top of the trolley and wanting to jump up for joy as he crossed the line, amazing stuff.

 

10. What aspect of the sport gives you satisfaction?

Having a plan, working really hard at it, keeping me accountable and then on the day, thankfully reaping the reward of sheer hard work. Running doesn’t come easy to me and I wouldn’t have huge confidence in myself as a runner so when it all falls into place it’s very satisfying.

 

11. How important is group training to you ?

Really important as it’s very easy to say “oh I won’t bother today or I’ll stop here for a little break“. When you have your club members pushing you on and going from strength to strength it’s great . Mind you, I’m nearly always at the back of the pack dying a death. It’s great to meet up for the chats and banter and the euphoric feeling when you’ve done a session that really pushed you .

 

12. Has the sport influenced life in general?

Yes especially in recent weeks, I used to hear people say running is great for your head and I never really understood the true meaning of that until recently, especially with “ home schooling “ 😂. I think it’s great too for the kids, to see myself and Senan as role models getting out running and Rebecca saying are you going on a long run, her having no idea what it is ... and Aaron is running the marathon challenge at the moment and loving to head off with my Garmin.

Overall yes it definitely has been one of the best things for me and the friends I’ve made along the way.

 

13. What do you feel is your best sporting attribute?

Willpower..., marathon training, you reap the rewards on the day. It takes sheer willpower to train to get there , sacrificing lots of different life events along the way , small sacrifices for something you want , but sometimes when your going to bed thinking how the heck will I run 20 miles tomorrow am, willpower gets you through .

 

14. What motivates you to go training on a wet and windy day ?

I always had a real fear of getting my feet wet, no way would I go out In the rain. Last summer Helen, Ciara, Tony, Shane and I headed out on what was probably the wettest day on record!!! Tony Ryan reckoned it was character building, 22 miles of hell literally, it really stood to me ever since, as I always think “there will never be a wetter day than that”. The last 10 miles of Berlin marathon was quite wet but again “there will never be a wetter day that that“.

 

15. What advice would you give to a new member

Don’t hesitate for one minute with Joining, everyone is there to help and encourage you along the way. A 5 minute mile and a 10 minute mile are the same distance. If nothing else, join to meet the lovely people in Trim AC, I for one am glad I did.