WEEK 9: HALF MARATHON 2020

The Chicago River dyed green for Saint Patrick's Day. By Knowledge Seeker - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75465

​WEEK 9 HALF SAINTS DAYS 5K & 10K Training Plan Starts
The fun continues this week if you are anticipating running or walking the 'tune-up' St. Patrick’s Day 10K scheduled in each of the full half marathon plans.

​Last week’s post discussed how this shorter distance race fits into your half marathon training. By the way, you can find this week's schedule on both Part 1 and Part 2, which overlap a couple weeks to allow visualization of the previous training weeks once part 2 is officially entered, after the 10k 'tune-up' race.
 
This post will be about the fun of the holiday! Did you know the Irish in North America may have been responsible for the first St. Patrick’s Day parade?  Bostonians take credit for an event on March 17, 1737, held as a “gesture of solidarity among the city’s new Irish immigrants”, to “honor the memory of the beloved Patron Saint of Ireland”, according to information on the South Boston parade website. 
 
However, a History.com item indicates that the first recorded parade took place on March 17 in New York City, commemorating the  anniversary of the saint’s death on that date in 461. Irish soldiers serving there in the British army had the idea of marching through the streets in 1762 to celebrate the holiday.
 
Wikipedia.com informs that new research has revealed the world’s first parade took place in the Spanish Colony of St. Augustine, Florida in 1601!
 
Regardless of the city in which the practice of organizing this parade originated, history.com says it all started because  “early Irish settlers to the American colonies, many of whom were indentured servants, brought the Irish tradition of celebrating St. Patrick’s feast day to America.”
 
In their home country, the Irish had observed this day as a religious holiday.   They attended church services in the morning and then spent the afternoon enjoying food and drink. In the New World the feast day seems to have begun with festivities rather than church services.  History.com says that over the years parades eventually became “a popular celebration of Irish-American heritage”.
 
And here we are now, running and walking races on that day as well! Enjoy your readiness to compete on this day, earned by hard work and perseverance, as well as the post-race revelry.   .
 
If your event has been cancelled due to coronavirus infection concerns, commit to running or walking it as a personal race of your own design. Don’t let circumstances out of your control derail your opportunity to train with this tune-up race. 
 
Get your green on and celebrate the unofficial start of the spring race season.

RUN & MOVE HAPPY!
 
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-st-patricks-day-parade
 
https://southbostonparade.org/history/
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day_in_the_United_States
 
http://dcstpatsparade.com/

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