Swan Song........But Only For The Season.....

 "At the crossing of the border between the night and day where the lost and lonely find their twilight sway and the curse of their existence is the loneliness they feel where waking up w/ a stranger's  the only thing that's real so don't sing me your swan song baby there's life  in this  ol' dog yet it ain't over till it's over until the fat lady sings, it ain't over until the swan spreads her wings and flies away"

Swan Song-The Mission

First and foremost sincere apologies  for the lack of a blog last week.....in fairness I only ran two days and it didn't  seem worth blogging......however this week I only managed one run but it was my season finale race so I'll blog the ever lovin' shite  out of that.......what can I tell ye I'm complicated........

A little " house cleaning" first as I feel the " Elephant in the room" needs to be be addressed......loathe as I am to talk about my job in the blog it's the reason why I didn't run all week  bottom line we went from being a three person  outfit  to a two person outfit this past week and frankly not only was lunch not an option but leaving for an hour to knock out my  lunchtime 5 milers was null and void.......I don't know if this is going to be the norm moving forward....IF it is it means a hopefully substantial  pay increase as in essence my coworker and I will be doing the work of three people so ye fuckers better  be paying us  as we've grown weary of the "Dead Donkeys" ye keep sending to our office period much less who collectively sit on their holes all day while we do all the work while they make more money than we do.......the yang to that ying is I will have to return to running in the evenings as I'm not willing or prepared to stop running, it will be a shock to the system after 2 years of running at lunchtime but needs must as they say, I only work two days this week b4 flying home to Dublin for a well earned vacation, hopefully  upon my return just b4 the holidays the powers that be will have decided what the fuck they're doing and I can start planning my training for the upcoming  2026 season aka "The Golden Jubilee" 50th anniversary tour........I'll keep ye posted on what happens but rest assured the blog isn't going away just yet, neither am I and by Christ if I have to run in the evenings after work to log my miles per week then that's just the way it is.......nobody fucks w/ Cu Chulainn Cu Chulainn does the fuckin'.......... ye'll have to visualize the mic drop  as I exit stage left.........BOOM!

So to the season finale race in the 2025 Redemption Tour.......last year I hit so many lows and slowest times it wasn't funny and the final insult to injury was a below par performance at the 2024 Schuylkill River Loop where I got my arse handed to me,I'd pretty much mailed it in after the Dublin Marathon, and in fact following the Penn Relays 5k on Nov 16th in the three weeks leading up to the  Schuylkill River Loop I didn't register one run,I knew I had no business  being out there but "medal hoor" that I am I figured show up trot around get my finishers medal, feck off home, the fact I ran a woeful 1.11.00 off 8.27 mile pace finished  130th overall and had to settle for 7th in the 60-69 age group was punishment enough but hey  as Roy Keane always said "Failure to prepare,prepare for failure" this year if there was any arse kickin' to be done it'd be me doing it......

Glass half empty w/ Penn Relays 5k clashing w/ the Rocky Run and not being able to get into either the Half Marathon or 8k the following weekend when the Philly Marathon was ran it meant I hadn't raced in 4 weeks, glass half full fresher legs and the fact I hadn't ran a lick since Wednesday of last week meant I was well rested going into this mornings race

After 2 years of having to go " out and back" on Kelly Drive, over the Falls Bridge and a short distance on W. River Dr this year the Grand Auld Dame that is the Schuylkill River Loop was not only celebrating  her 54th running{ the oldest race in Philly no less!} but restored to her former and rightful glory as the 8.4 mile loop,starting on Kelly Dr up towards and in front of the Art Museum steps over to W.River Drive upto and over Falls Bridge and back down Kelly Dr to finish in front of Lloyd Hall at the start of Boathouse Row

It was a brisk 37 degrees but sunny at 10am when the siren went off, definitely a day for gloves for yours truly, long sleeved base layer under my Palestine running vest {#FuckNetanyahu} and 3/4 length running tights.....fairly sure since the Radnor Run  at the end of October this has been my race wear, got a reasonably clear start on what is a narrow sidewalk w/  almost 400 runners jockeying for position I didn't want to be right up front and pulled out to a brisk opening mile  by the speed merchants and yet I clocked a brisk 6.59 opening mile split, as my former coach used to say " can't put the Genie  back in the bottle, can't put the toothpaste back in the tube now"....

7.15 for mile 2, 7.24 for mile 3 and 7.23 for mile for, the lack of training the last  10 days meant I hadn't given any thought to what kind of pace/ time I should be looking at,when I ran the 10 miler at the Rocky Run a month ago I managed 8.09 mile pace so I felt something a bit quicker today was fair game.....how much quicker we were about to discover.

Based  off of my splits I'd gone thro 4 miles in 29.01 were it not for that pesky .4 of a mile at the end I might've been looking at a sub 60 time, not shur how mile 5 ended up as my slowest split at 7.36 but after clearing the Conrail bridge overhead after crossing the Falls Bridge I did roll my sleeves up metaphorically and  physically, as I always say be it a race or training  when the sleeves get rolled up it time to get down to business.....

7.29 for mile 6 I was pretty much in "no mans land" and had been since mile 1 nobody snapping at my heals but the runners ahead didn't look like they were coming back to me either w/ 2 miles to go it was a case of keep on keepin' on

7.28 for mile 7 and the knowledge the finish was coming, I reeled in and passed the one runner who'd snuck by me around the Columbia bridge,7.21 for mile 8 a 29.54 split which for 8 miles was 58.55 b4 a 2,12 .4 of a mile to cross the line in 61.07 off 7.20 mile pace......a far fuck cry from last years 1.11.00 off 8.27 mile pace to channel my inner Juma Ikangaa " the will to win means nothing w/out the will to prepare"

47th out of 372 runners and second in the 60-69 age group,nice to finish the season on the podium, as of today I have 765 miles for the year 4 shy off my 769 total in 2023 but 42 more than last years total of 723, while I don't envisage any miles this coming week but it's possible while in Dublin I could get some in and I would hope to finish off the year w/ a few runs  upon my return from the motherland to not to let all this years hard work get away from me period......after all it's only  10 weeks till the opening race of the 2026 season.........

Medal #13 for the season, #269 for the career, more of the same next year would be nice as I continue to close in on #300

And That's Why There's Erasers On The End Of Pencils..........

 "Tell us commander, what do you think? cause we know that you love all that power is it on then? are we on the brink? we wish you'd all throw in the towel we'll not fade out too soon not in this finest hour whistle your favourite tune we'll send a card and a flower saying it's a mistake, it's a mistake, it's a mistake"

It's A Mistake-Men At Work

A pair of missed runs, a few " comedy of errors" a long the way,  a revisit of auld courses not ran in a while and a return to double digit weekend long runs.......variety they say is the spice of life.........

Tuesday November 18th For the second week in a row skipped the Monday run which almost proved to be my undoing, need to revisit the mantra that skipping Monday can put your entire week behind the 8 ball, between missing Monday because work had gotten on top of me again and Tuesday having to reroute mid run perhaps the proverbial writing was on the wall this had the potential for being " one of those weeks"

The top of Lemon Hill Drive was " off limits" to the point  that  barriers had been placed across it ....more to deter motorists I would  imagine but as it came at me on the fly I now had to  reroute mid run,  if  I'd gone w/ my first instinct to carry on up to Girard Avenue and over the Girard Avenue bridge I think I'd have been ok instead I " followed my  nose" which lead me to a trail above Kelly Drive.......fuck me if I didn't get flashbacks to my one and only Trail Run race The Ugly Mudder way back when, a race that saw me utter through clenched teeth as I crossed the finish line "never the fuck again!" I survived that day and I survived Tuesday but I would NOT be risking life or limb again this week on that route, for the record I ran  a semi respectable 43.49.8 off 8.46 mile pace but was more grateful for finishing in one piece and unscathed  all nine lives still in tact........

Wednesday November 19th Since today was an untimed run and I wouldn't have  Hal the little Bollix Garmin w/ me and I had zero intention of doing the run I did yesterday  I needed to channel my inner Marine and improvise, it wasn't a hard choice, pre Schuylkill River Trail and brief  dalliance  w/ the then reopened West River drive my out and back 5 miles was up the  Ben Franklin Parkway onto the Schuylkill River Trail behind the Art Museum and onto Kelly Drive at Lloyd Hall/Boathouse Row and out to just beyond the Girard Avenue bridge and back. it's a run I've done countless times so no need for Hal....

Felt good to mix it up a little, I get caught between two trains of thought re my routes, stick to what I've been doing and I can monitor if I'm getting faster, getting slower but in doing that it can become " the same auld same auld" same course, same scenery so maybe I need to think about mixing things up a little in the New Year next week is a short 2 day work week, the following week I work a full week and the week after that another 2 day work week b4 flying home to Dublin......upon my return it's another 2 day work week b4  the final week of the year chances are I won't be able to get out New Years eve lunchtime  as we'll probably only work till 3pm so no lunch.....ergo why it might be next year when things settle down to regular 5 day work weeks again and I consider mixing things up route wise

Friday November 21st If Wednesday had seen me make a  Lenny Kravitz/The Simpsons  reference to " he's kickin' it olde school!!" re my route choice  on my post run social media post then Thursday was a full blown Homer Simpson "D'oh"!!!!!! moment....... I had  forgotten to unhook Hal the little Bollix Garmin off its charger b4 leaving for work.....ok not a deal breaker I could do another untimed 5 miler no bother..........however I'd also neglected to throw in either a bandana  or hat  to my backpack the night b4 and I wasn't risking a run w/out something on my head period......much less along the Schuylkill River in mid  to late November, last thing I need is getting sick period but w/ virtually all my PTO time covering the Dublin trip I'm not looking to be up shits creek sans feckin' paddle......this is where opting out of a Monday ran came back to bite me in the hole,I knew Saturday morning would be raining and my schedule in the afternoon didn't allow a run so I was going to have to settle for a 4 day week....again not the worst thing in the world  considering last week I only ran 3 days....however it's another missed run and lost miles as the month is drawing to a close if I aim to log my 4th consecutive triple digit mileage month.....

Opted to show West River Dr a little love for this run as I had no way of knowing if Lemon Hill Dr was still "on lockdown", two major takeaways from this run almost a sub 40 time 40.07.6 off 8.01 mile pace which is one thing but to be honest when I set off just gone 2pm I wasn't thinking sub 40/tempo run it just happened, out in 20.23 back in 19.44......the second takeaway was having to slalom  in and out of the Geese  on West River Dr.......I can tell ye two things....one there are no feckin' Geese on either Kelly Dr or when I tackle the hills on Sedgley/Lemon Hill Drives....and two my Geese/Slalom game is very much on point thank ye very much{ ney Geese were harmed while yer man was running!!!!!}

Sunday November 23rd It's been a minute since I got out there on a Sunday and logged double digit miles partly due to races three of the previous  four weekends however I needed to get back into that groove sooner rather than later period but I also knew a 10 miler today would not only round out my week at a semi respectable 4 days/25 miles it would push my monthly mileage to 79 miles w/ a week to go if I'm to continue my current run of triple digit mileage months

On Philadelphia Marathon Sunday I was aware of "what might've been" if my training hadn't deserted me when I needed to up my long runs in September 12 miles felt it was my plateau in late August  and if that's the case moving forward I can I hope look forward to  several half marathons over the coming seasons, to that end it was important to get out today and nail this 10 miler bad enough I missed a chance last week, I have another "bite of the Cherry" next weekend b4 my season finale race the Schuylkill River Loop the following weekend, the weekend after that I'm in Dublin which then leaves 2 weekends in mid/late December to hopefully  notch two more 10's b4 the opening weekend of January when I hope to move up to 12 miles and eventually 14 miles in prep for the Love Run half marathon  on March  29th

Conditions were sunny and mild at 1.20pm when I set off, given this was the day of the Philadelphia Marathon I had to give some consideration to my route, I suspected both Kelly Dr and West River Dr could be "off limits" even at that hour, and I saw first hand Wednesday & Friday there was a fence across  the Schuylkill River Trail near the Art Museum which ruled out an extended run along the trail beginning at Grays Ferry......feck it in a week of revisiting auld courses I opted for the tried and tested Powelton Ave,Mantua Ave,34th Street,Lansdowne Avenue,Avenue Of The Republic,Belmont Avenue route......pleased to report no issues there and back

Outside of my 10 miler a fortnite ago at the Rocky Run I hadn't logged double digit miles  training since August 30th but I needn't  have worried as not only did I cruise through all 10 miles I did so well under the 1.30/9 mile mile target, 1.26.32 off 8.39 mile pace and for good measure threw in  negative splits, out in 43.36 back in 42.50,earlier in the year that wasn't the case.....earlier in the year it was feckin' hot and humid which also resulted in low mileage weeks/months

My only gripe was mile 5 which is a bastard up Lansdowne  Avenue was the only mile not under 9 mile pace, my splits were:8.23-8.41-8.37-8.42-9.15-8.41-8.38-8.41-8.26-8.28, it would've been nice to keep all  10 under 9 min mile pace but I'm not Barbie,I can't have everything and I'm not looking for "jam on both sides" shur we'll have another  cut off of it next weekend and see what happens"....

We Make Plans ......And God Laughs.........

 "Then I'll rip the head off ya give it a new name buy it an Nintendo get it all the games and I'll make em dance for us to an old tune find a girl to love who'll kinda do I keep on running, planning running planning oh yeah, I keep on running planning running planning oh yeah"

Running/Planning-CMAT

Not the week I thought I'd have in or out of training but that's the beauty of life  it'll throw you a curve ball  from time to time.....question is how you'll respond?........

Tuesday November 11th Perhaps the proverbial  writing was on the wall  for the week when I sat out Monday lunchtimes planned run, the two races on Saturday had been  a challenge and no point fronting my calves were still a little tender from Mount Drago so in that time honoured  adage of " listen to what your body's tell ye" I figured an extra days recovery was called for........however  for all my talk of "Gypsy Blood" had I been able to predict Wednesday was going to get shot to shit because of work I would've taken the option of an easy run......#IfIKnewThenWhatIKnowNow.....

As it was lovingly referenced in my socials post run it was a "Winnie The Pooh" type run......cos t'was a feckin' blustery day I forget the actual temps 45 degrees maybe? but the wind was fair savage out there as I logged a decent 42.39.8 off 8.28 mile pace and also  a negative split out in 22.02 back in 20.37, was it wind aided.....? maybe but I seldom cop a plea when I'm battling strong headwinds out there so " turnaround is fair play" if the wind was at my back today

Thursday November 13th So Wednesday got shot to shit due to work which meant Thursday now became an untimed run, I was happy out to be out running period but given the situation at work it was a much needed stress reliever, w/out going into a full blown diatribe re the work place let's just say  not for the first time this year there is "trouble in the sandbox"  and it's now to a point as well as counting the weeks till my vacation {four as of Wednesday} I'm now counting the workdays till I depart for Dublin, I made a Fenian Advent Calendar w/ a picture of the Samuel Beckett bridge in Dublin covered w/ small yellow Post It  Notes  w/ the days written on them, at the end of each day a Post It Note gets removed and I see a little bit more of the bridge......I just hope I don't throw myself the feck off of it into the River Liffey below when I finally get to Dublin.....tis been a long feckin' year and I would just like to get through the remaining 16 work days till Tuesday December 9th when they can.....and I quote form a line to kiss my " lilly white, South London, mother fuckin' Irish areshole.........BOOM! mic drop.......

Friday November 14th As a rule there's a reason I don't work on my birthday as I like to remove the potential for being aggravated on it.......sadly this year that wasn't an option and what do ye know I was aggravated to the feckin' back teeth all feckin' day........said birthday falls  on the weekend the next two years{thank christ!!!!} but best be sure however many more years I have to work till I retire either in  2030-2033 I WILL be off

When I'm that beaten up/beaten down by work I can't do a full blown Tempo Run there's a problem I settled for a quasi Tempo Run and still managed a semi respectable 42.26.5 off 8.24 mile pace my 4th quickest time of the  thirteen hill runs  I've been doing since Oct 7th  and for good measure another negative split, out in 21.38 back in 20.48

Little did I know this was to be a Porky Pig run ........"that's all folks!" I had hoped to get out at least Saturday or Sunday if not both days....that didn't happen.....and ya know what?.......that's ok.....I have for the last  12 weeks thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at my training, maybe a three day/15 mile week is what I need right now, most runners won't schedule an easy/low mileage week unless they're injured, ill or the weather isn't cooperating, the week of  August  11th-17th I only logged 17 miles  and then went on a run of 12 weeks  where I logged:21-32-21-29-33-22-25-20-28-20-21-33 so if this week is the springboard to another 12 week run like that I'll happily take a  backseat this week and resume things next week starting Monday

I still have 54 miles logged halfway through November so the potential for a fourth  consecutive triple digit mileage months  is  w/in my grasp, shur that requires work to settle down and the universe to stop feckin' w/ me  but as the auld saying goes " hope springs eternal" tomorrow is a new day and a new week......

Shamrocks,{Rocky Run} & Shenanigans

 "And the old religion humming in your veins some animal instinct starting up again and I am wound so tightly,I hardly even breathe you wonder why we're hungry for some kind of release so tired of being careful, so tired of being still give me something I can crush, something I can kill A lightning strike, a fallen tree and I'm afraid oh don't let it find me but you can't outrun yourself, you'll see and I am powerless, oh don't remind me"

The Old Religion-Florence & The Machine

A 5 day 33 mile week for the second time in  seven weeks, three more medals to the collection......oh and a long overdue age group win......not  yer average week for the Shamrock Warrior.........

Monday November 3rd Off the back of Sundays  brisk 10k at the Bridge Run I needed a shake out run to get any lingering crap out of my legs.....also w/ a rare Saturday race/races on the schedule I wanted to get my reps in Monday through Thursday so I could be fresh come 7am/8am Saturday morning

The morning at work had been a bear so I was only too happy to duck into the empty office I use to get out of my work gear and into my running gear this lunchtime and blow off a little stream, a semi respectable  46.26.0 off 9.04 mile pace which for a recovery/easy  run is fine, having ran my fastest 10k in 2 years the day b4 if ever there was a day to ease off the gas a little it was today

Tuesday November 4th Mercifully a less " all hands on deck" morning in the office and an untimed run on tap......now wonder I was smiling when I did my post run socials, the sunshine and the 62 degree temps didn't hurt either........

Wednesday November 5th NOT the fireworks last weeks Tempo Run produced on  Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night sadly but none the less my second fastest time on this course over the last five weeks

No sub 40 or negative split this week but at 41.21.6 off 8.16 mile pace  it wasn't something to be sniffed at either, having thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the Radnor 5 Miles and Bridge Run 10k in the past two weeks it will be interesting to see what kind of time I can register Saturday in the 5k, the last 18 weeks have seen me rededicate myself to my training and I'm finally starting to see the rewards now in training and my races, granted the season is winding down but unlike last year where I pretty much mailed it in post Dublin and then didn't resume training till late January once December 7th's season finale is ran I don't plan on easing off, even if it means using a treadmill in my hotel in Dublin while I'm away for 10 days

Thursday November 6th The big takeaway from this run was how badly it effected my fingers post run, at 55 degrees it was hardly cold out there and certainly no need for gloves{that friggin' cheque is in the mail trust me,maybe not December  but I'm sure come January!} however post run from my fingertips down to the middle knuckle turned ghostly white and trying to operate the frigging  Remote Data Link handheld on the 4pm mail run was problematic  to say the least......

I know I'm cursed w/poor circulation to begin w/ it's always my extremities, fingers and toes that feel it first on a run......but I wasn't expecting it to happen in early November, reasonably sure HR won't sign off on Whiskey as a " medicinal beverage" pre run so I may just have to keep an eye on this and see if it was a one off or if it happens again

Saturday November 8th For the eighth time in nine years{2020 being the outlier for obvious reasons} yours truly was not only getting the feck up at 5am{I know tis insanity, as a hand held sign between mile 8 and 9 read today "You paid to do this!!!"}  but also was doing the "Italian Stallion Challenge" the 5k and 10 miles......why?..... simple cos they offer a bonus medal......that's feckin' why!

In 2017 when I returned to road racing after 10 very fruitful years running Masters Track my medal count was  #157 I started thinking about getting to  #200 so when I saw that The Rocky Run offered a bonus medal for signing up for the "Italian Stallion Challenge" I signed up......and have kept signing up ever since in 2019 the 5k yielded #200 but since I then turned my focus on #300 so the thought of either the 5k or the 10 miles hasn't really played out,on my current trajectory I believe #300 could come at the end of the 2027 season or early 2028 so that means for the next two years its ye auld "Italian Stallion Challenge"

I paid more attention to the fact it was going to be raining at 5am than what the actual temperature at race time/times was going to be..... it was almost my undoing in the 10 miles as I had opted for a base layer which I actually didn't need but for all my yackin' about being a Boy Scout and "Be Prepared"  I never  brought or thought to bring compression shorts opting instead for my 3/4 length running tights, boy did I sweat in them and the long sleeved running shirt under my running vest......t'was honest sweat in fairness and I'd rather sweat than be under dressed and be cold out there

22.19.8 for the 5k off 7.11 mile pace my second fastest time in the last 2 years, at Cupid's Chase in February of 24 when I was in a rich vein of mileage I logged 21.02.5, this is why the fact the Penn Relays 5k clashed w/ the Rocky Run this year is a double pisser, A one less medal and B the chance to run a 5k w/out holding something back for the 10 miler, guess I'll have to wait 14 weeks till Cupid's Chase  26 to run my next 5k.......motivation to "keep er lit" over the Winter.......

I won't lie, I had some concerns about the 10 miler going into this, since PDR on September 21st my longest run  was 8 miles on October 19th as I opted to focus on the shorter distances but again in "full disclosure" the plan is 10 mile long runs between now and years end minus my time in Dublin so that come the first weekend in January I'm ready to step up to 12 miles and  by late January/ early February I'm upto 14 miles as my sights will be on the Love Run half marathon on March 29th

8.04 for the opening mile,I was hoping for something around 8 min mile pace/1.20 finish....give or take, when I logged back to back 8.08 splits for miles 2 and 3 it felt like I'd gotten into a good rhythm and 8.10 at mile 4 confirmed that

Not sure how or why mile 5 ballooned  upto 8.23 pace......I suspect I was preparing for "Mount Drago" a series of up hills that would make or brake me, again this is why I've spent several weeks on the hills of Sedgley Drive,Lemon Hill Drive and Kelly Drive doing hill work........although in fairness those hills have feck all on these yokes, sweet mother of God these are some serious feckin' hills to begin w/ and it's just over half way in the race/races for those of us insane enough to do both distances

9.11 at mile 6 just after the final uphill now I don't quote Sir Isaac Newton that often.....if ever........however "what goes up must come down" and I knew there were downhills back onto West River Drive so the fact mile 7 was a 7.53 split shouldn't come as a great surprise

Maybe it was the momentum of the downhills and the decent mile splits at mile 7 but mile 8 was another 8.08 split, there was no doubt in my mind now I was finishing this and doing so w/out stopping, I don't know what the official temperature was at 8am-9am but it was warm and sunny and in the second weekend of November ye'd take it every time

8.02 at mile 9, granted my average mileage per week of late has been  mid to low 20s but I had racked up some decent longer weeks at the tail end of August, early mid September when the Philly Marathon was a consideration so I had that "muscle memory" in the legs

7.32 for the final mile as I crossed the line in 1.21.41 off 8.09 mile pace.........remarkably quicker than Broad Street in May which was 1.24.29 on a very  humid  morning, last year post Dublin Marathon I ran 1.30.27 here which was my slowest ever time for 10 miles.......what a difference a year makes!

I won the 60-64 age group in the 5k, got 4th  in the 10 miles{at least it wasn't feckin' 5th for a third week in a row!!} 2nd in the  Italian Stallion Challenge and 5th in the Mount Drago challenge ......not a bad mornings work if I say so meself!

Normally I'd be half way through a five week cycle of Fall Road races,next weekend would've been the Penn Relays 5k and the following weekend would've been either the half marathon or the Rothman 8k neither of which are happening this year......which is grand as I can hopefully log three 10 mile long runs the next three weekends b4 the season finale Schuylkill River Loop on December 7th and finish the season on a high note not the bum note last season ended on and the fact it took till the last week of January to get back into the swing of things......a fully motivated Shamrock Warrior is a dangerous Shamrock Warrior....

Revenge Is {Almost} A Dish Served Smoldering.......

 "Burning  drives me wild yearning for the snow child blind men cry but shed no tears see no evil but speak in tongues and hearsay all lovers leap 'cause there's no other way across waters deep fuel the fire and the fool is learning to run from flames of bridges burning"

Bridges Burning-The Mission

A couple of missed runs but still managed another triple digit mileage  month b4 another missed podium at this weekends race......all  grist for the mill for the Shamrock Warrior.........

Tuesday October 28th So stop me if ye've heard this one b4.......but I missed a training run at lunchtime because of work......... hence why my week began on Tuesday

As I say when it happens my running schedule  has to fit around my work schedule not the other way around.......however that said I would've liked to have gotten out Monday as it was the 41st anniversary of the auld fella dying and it would've been nice to honour his memory w/ a run  period but especially over 5 miles as that was the distance he chased me and his godson Liam home in the middle of a particularly  rainy night back home in Berrings County Cork in August of 72...........were he still alive today we'd probably joke about it but trust me it was no laughing matter that night, I was convinced he was going to kill the pair of us

As for Tuesdays run I went the untimed route and even though it was a day later than I had hoped for it was good to get any lingering crap out of my legs from Sundays race,at 55 degrees and overcast it was short sleeve weather the thought I might get away w/ sleeveless the final week of October was wishful thinking

Wednesday October 29th On the 38th anniversary of leaving home in South London for Philadelphia a run for the record books

I was planning to make this a tempo run to begin w/ but I decided it would be a tempo run on the hills, last week in a quasi tempo run over the hills I went 41.24.8 off 8.17 mile pace w/out truly  droppin' the hammer today I was channeling my inner Thor" to me,my hammer!!!!"

A brisk opening mile on the Parkway in 7.43 I then dropped an 8.03 on Lemon Hill, I clocked 19.57 at the the turnaround near Lemon Hill Mansion, if I hadn't gone  off half cocked this was going to be fast 8.31 at mile 3 one final downhill on Lemon Hill Dr/Sedgley Dr b4 an uphill on Kelly Dr upto the Art Museum,7.54 I knew this had potential to not only be fast but maybe sub 40.......

7.30 for the final mile 39.41.9 off 7.55 mile pace AND for good measure a negative split out in 19.57 back in 19.44.......no wonder I looked like the Cat that got the Canary all afternoon at work........ also I was now at 98 miles for the month, another triple digit mileage month was there for the taking w/ two days to spare..........

Friday October 31st So I'd know most of the week that Thursday was going to get rained out which meant Friday would be my last chance to get miles in to maintain my run of triple digit mileage, that couple w/ it being Halloween or Samhain as we refer to it back home and the fact the new Florence & The Machine album "Everybody Scream" not only got released but was having a listening party on South St after work probably all put a little pep in my step at lunchtime

While not as blisteringly fast as Wednesday 42.58.5 off 8.36 mile pace ranks as my third fastest time on this course over the last three weeks, it was also another negative split out in 22.23 back in 20.35

#103 miles for the month, glass half empty less than August #105 and September #110, glass half full first time since November/December 23 January 24 I've logged back to back to back triple digit mileage  months.....for the record my record  is four months as in February 24 I added a fourth triple digit mileage months so no prizes for guessing  that triple digit mileage is firmly in my sights  for November...

Sunday November 2nd The Bridge Run 10k in Camden has become a regular fixture on my race calendar the past few years and is already penciled in for 26.....shit last year I ran it a week after the Dublin Marathon such is my love of this race!

Sadly 10k has almost become  obsolete in the realm of race distances,back in the day it felt like the distance du jour as there we several 10k ran throughout the year,these days not so many,my theory was then and is now  most weekend warriors knew they couldn't bluff their way through 6 miles.......however if ye make it a 5k and 3 miles more participants are likely to sign up, kind of a win/win  except for runners like me who really enjoy 10k, I usually earmark the Bridge Run  10k to be my seasons best given it's later in the year and the training has hopefully been done,plus first Sunday in November weather tends to lend it's self to great race weather

This was another year when the weather gods smiled on the over 1700 runners who showed up at 8.30am on the Camden side of the Ben Franklin bridge, 46 degrees and sunny but given the opening three miles are all over the bridge  and back and the final mile is  along the Delaware River I opted for a base layer under my customary Shamrock bandana, Palestine running vest and Ireland shorts #Represent

7.42 for the opening mile which is mostly uphill, over 5 miles last week at Radnor my mile pace was 7.41 so I'd started how I meant to go on,6.57 for mile 2 which is mostly downhill once ye crest the top of the bridge and begin your way down to the Philadelphia  side b4 making a sharp turn and heading back up hill to the Camden side of the bridge

7.14 for mile 3 they hadn't put clocks on the bridge for fear of the wind maybe blowing them over so I was having to do math on the fly to workout my overall time......math isn't my strong suit period as was underlined during the week when I realized my trip to Dublin that I've been counting down to since it was 29 weeks is actually 6 weeks not the 7 I had it at..........ok I can't do basic math but my go to defense in a case like that is"in my defense I was left unsupervised and it was a full Moon".........

7.00 flat at mile 4, 28.53 off 7.41 mile pace I was thinking  high to mid 44 mins so now it was a matter of hanging on, I was kinda in "no mans land" there was a cluster of runners ahead of me if I could reel them in 

7.47 at mile 5 I was afraid I was going to give some time back but as long as mile 6 didn't get away from me something in the 44-45 min range was there for the taking,7.35 at mile 6 as I dug in, a few runners had gotten by me in the last mile I was determined not to let anyone else pass me,I love races that finish on a track, probably harks back to days as a track athlete  and I made sure whatever was left in the tank got left on the track......

45.43.1  off 7.20 mile pace, not only a seasons best but also my fastest 10k in two years since I ran 45.15.7 probably here, 114th out of 1702 runners  but for the second week in a row 5th in my age group,meh! big whoop I missed the podium again, last week I was a tad salty at missing the podium as the prize in the age group award was a medal, I don't know what they were giving out here, a mug, a glass.....I don't need either to me it the prestige of "being on the podium" the prize outside of a medal is neither here nor there, last year at the Penn Relays 5k I finished 3rd in the age group and my prize was a pair of plastic Penn Relays Sunglasses.......I don't they ever made it out of the box they came in........

The bigger takeaway from this week is that three months of 100 plus miles is beginning to  yield negative splits and fast times in training and my races,motivation to keep my foot down this month, three races to go another triple digit month and hopefully three fast times over 5k, 10 miles and 8 miles

All That Glitters Isn't {Kerry}Gold

"Solider blue in the barren wastes hunting and killing's a game raping the women and wasting the men the only good Indians are tame selling them whiskey and taking their gold enslaving the young and destroying the old, run to the hills run for your lives run to the hills run for your lives"

Run To The Hills-Iron Maiden

The last of the 70 degrees days maybe, a missed training run and a plot twist Stephen King would've been feckin' proud of........seldom a dull moment in Kevinrunningfree..............

Monday October 20th Frankly Mondays Easy 5 miler should've been brought to ye by Lipton's Iced Tea......why ye ask?......cos it was feckin' Brisk out there!!!!! feck me all I needed was my umbrella  and I could've lived out my Mary Poppins fantasy and flown the course!!!!!

66 degrees and 41% humidity was fair but dear lord the wind was something savage when I set off just gone 2pm,in a week when I had a race waiting for me on Sunday there was a sense of " keep the powder dry" outside of the tempo run and race its self so opening in 8.43 felt about right, mile 2 was 9.02 as the hills on Sedgley and Lemon Hill drives kicked in, as I made the turn around I saw 22.25..........

9.24 for mile 3 again I was happy out w/ easy pace but something seemed to kick in over the final 2 miles, 8.44 for mile 4 b4 a 8.13 finale......44.07.1 off 8.49 mile pace but a negative split, out in 22.25 back in 21.42, was there a tailwind in the final 2 miles down Lemon Hill Dr,Sedgley Dr and  up Kelly Dr  to the Ben Franklin Parkway? maybe......

Tuesday October 21st Ah the untimed run.....perhaps my favourite run of the week when I don't have to worry about time, speed and pace and just enjoy the run period but today might've been  the final day we see temps in the 70's it was 70 degrees and sunny and 31% humidity so what better way to enjoy it that than being able to run w/out having to focus on the pesky auld garmin

Of course one drawback of a run like that is not paying attention to key components a la knee lift  and leg turnover and just b4 mile 4 on the opposite side of Kelly Dr from the Art Museum I managed to clip the uneven part of a broken piece of paving and almost went arse over it again......thankfully thanks to ones catlike reflexes I stayed upright but it was another harsh reminder that it only takes a split second for it all to come crashing down around ones ears if ye aren't careful........

Thursday October 23rd Maybe there's more Gypsy Blood in me than I let on?........for the last two weeks I've been saying the last of the good weather days were coming to an end.....ok so ye don't need a degree in Science to work that out in mid to late October but I also said at the end of my blog last week that in order to reach another month of triple digit mileage I would need the weather and work to play ball......and on Wednesday work threw me a curve ball that meant no lunch and no run.....shur it happens when it does I say "my training schedule has to fit around work not the other way round" so ney point throwin' the toys out of the pram or spiitin' the dummy out.........however that said since I was now heading up to New York City on Friday lunchtime there would be no chance to make up that lost 5 miles.......#thirdworldproblems and #worsethingshappenatsea ........as my former coach once said " you can't chase lost miles" so now my bigger issue what to do re the type of run as it was either a tempo run or easy/recovery run.......or maybe I could channel my "Inner Barbie" and have everything........

Opted for a hybrid tempo run but on the hills, what the fuck one final balls out 5 miler out and back on the Schuylkill River Trail wasn't going to effect how Sundays race goes but another  six hills would be useful and at a quicker pace than I've been doing them

At 60 degrees this could also be the swansong of my sleeveless running vests for  awhile  as next weeks forecast has temps of:59-57-58-60 but rain and 58

A lively enough opener in 8.28 b4 dropping down to 8.42 which ends after the uphills of Sedgley & Lemon Hill Drives 21.26 at the turn almost a full minute up on Monday, stick or twist ? shit or bust.......

8.40 at mile 3 b4 dropping an 8.12 split at mile 4,no point backin' off now shur and threw in a final mile of 7.21 to not only log a 41.24.8 time and course record.......but  also another negative split out in 21.26 back in 19.58........the Three S's Speed,Strength and Stamina all present and correct heading into Sunday.....

Sunday October 24th If it's Race Season then that means the alarm is going off at Silly O Clock......5.45am this morning, file under " the things I do for the things I love" which also applies to getting to bed at 3am Saturday morning upon my return from NYC as I was one of the fortunate few selected to attend a Rolling Stone interview w/ the one and only Florence Welch of Florence & The Machine at Cherry Street Theater Friday evening #TheQueenIsBack......

Out to Radnor by 7.25am for an 8.30am start it was sunny but brisk probably 47 degrees so I opted for my Ireland 3/4 length running tights under my Ireland running shorts and a long sleeve running shirt but w/ the sleeves rolled up come race time under my Palestine running vest

Unlike my debut here three years ago this time I knew what to expect from the course so I got out to a comfortable start and went through the opening mile in 7.50, pre race the mindset was that 40 mins would get me on the podium so 5 times 8 min miles equals  40................. 7.08 for mile 2 which I'm sure ye can workout was downhill unlike the opening mile......unlike 2022 I knew what to expect from mile 3 this year so I knew I'd be giving something back so wasn't surprised to see 8.23 on Hal

8.00 flat for mile 4 suddenly the prospect of sub 40 was real and given my hill work over the last few weeks coupled w/ tempo runs I felt I had fuel to burn in the final mile, as the great Carl Lewis once said and I quote"I just wanted to know I left it all out there"..........7.18 for the final mile as I crossed the finish line in 38.40.7 off 7.41 mile pace.........however my euphoria was short lived.........

In 2022 the 60-69 podium went:38.27.3-38.31.0-40.10.3 in 2023 it went:38.33.8-40.05.8-40.54.21 and in 2024 it went:38.36.4-41.26.0-41.50.0 based on that data my 38.40.7 would've gotten me 3rd in 22, and a close 2nd in 23 and 24.........5th today..............

I'm gobsmacked not only not even close to the podium in a respectable time, the winning time was 33.41.1 which is fair moving on this course at any age let alone 60-69,second was 35.03.3, third was 35.59.2.....if I'm salty spare a thought for yer man in 4th who crossed the line in 36.40.5 a time that would've won him  the last three years only to discover he finished 4th........

I'd like to think I don't take podium finishes as a given, I train hard and put the work in but in 8 races this year I've only seen the podium 3 times 3rd at the Cupid's Chase 5k, 3rd at the Hot Chocolate 15k and 1st at the Freedom 10k this one is going to take a while to process.....thankfully there's another race next Sunday at the  Bridge Run 10k to try and get over todays disappointment, rest assured I'll be taking no prisoners in training this week........

 

Easy Tiger........But Eyes On The Prize

 "Give me your kings let me squeeze them in my hands, your puny princes your so called leaders of your land, I'll eat them whole before I'm done the battle's fought and the game is won I am the one, the only one I am the god of kingdom come gimme the prize, just gimme the prize"

Gimme The Prize-Queen

A so so week in training having made peace w/ not pursuing the Philadelphia Marathon time to embrace the here and now and getting ready for  Fall Road Race Season.........

Tuesday October 14th Having gotten spoiled last week running a rare Monday thro Thursday rotation it was perhaps inevitable this week there'd be  a day I couldn't get out and run.......turned out to be Monday, however when life gives ye Lemons ye should make  Lemonade and I took full advantage of a three day mini brake which was as good physically as it was mentally

I shaved 2 100ths of a second off my previous 5 mile recovery run on Thursday w/ a 43.11.1 off 8.37 mile pace thanks to splits of:9.02-8.42-8.44-8.33-8.09,would've been  grand if miles 2 and 3  been the other way around then I would have had 5 miles that got progressively quicker.......then again I'm not Barbie and I can't  have everything!!!!!

After three days of feckin' rain  and gray skies it was nice to see the sun again even if the humidity was higher than the temperature 65 degrees 68% humidity

Wednesday October 15th Fuck sake we're half way through the month already, feckin' month  has flown by! an untimed 5 miles today........possibly my favourite run of the week as I don't have to worry about speed, pace, mile splits etc kinda nice to just run on auto pilot if ye like

69 degrees and 52% humidity......were it not for the rain on Monday this would've been my Tempo run......but knowing what was coming down the tracks weather wise tomorrow I wasn't too upset.........

Thursday October 16th I know close only counts in a game of Horseshoes but feck me  today was awful close to a PR!!!!!!!

62 degrees but a mere 22% humidity to quote Budgie  star of the upcoming single by The 2 Johnnies  "The Auld Lad In The Pub" "unbelievable like, ye'd  get that fuckin' nowhere!!!!", for all my considerable bollixin' about the weather{ tis an Irish thing, shur we love to complain about the feckin' weather!!} today was as close to idyllic conditions period,much less in the back half of October

39.21.5 off 7.46 mile pace, three seconds slower than I ran  on October 1st, glass half full anything that's sub 40 is always welcome, glass half empty the last mile just got away from me my splits were:7.52-7.42-7.44-7.58-8.05 so I'll be working on that in the coming weeks

Given my recent " defection" to Ben  Franklin Parkway,Kelly Dr,Sedgley Dr and Lemon Hill Dr for the hills for my upcoming  races it was nice to get back to the Schuylkill River Trail, it's pancake flat and miles 2 thro 4 are uninterrupted  ideal for the tempo run

Friday October 17th It's gotten to the point where the Pagan gods don't even bat an eyelid when I'm out running on a Friday anymore.....just sit and nod at each other thinking " we knew ye'd be back out there on the Pagan Sabbath ye Fenian bastard!!!!"

Another glorious day weather wise 64 degrees  and 30% humidity, I know these days can't last forever so I try to cherish them while they last, won't be that long now b4  I'm bitchin' about the cold!

44.29.1 off 8.54 mile pace, a recovery run that wasn't that much slower than my easy run 1.18 for those of ye so inclined to look these things up........

Sunday October 19th For the first time in weeks/months the unbearable weight of needing a long run for a potential Marathon wasn't hanging over me, I will say since I made the decision not to run the Philly Marathon in  5 weeks time I have felt unburdened  by that, it's allowing me to focus on the upcoming races period w/out having to keep one eye on the marathon and since I now can't get into either the half marathon or the 8k that weekend as for the second year in a row all three races have sold out and the Penn Relays 5k now clashes w/ the Rocky Run on November 8th and not the 15th I'm only looking at three weekends in a row of races not five b4 a weekend off over Thanksgiving b4 the season finale Schuylkill River Loop this year restored to an actual loop and not an out and back as it has been for the last two years

I was maybe over ambitious thinking I could run 14 miles today, I have to go back to August 30th for my  last successful long run at 12 miles, the 14 miler I ran on Sept 14th was a little stop/start over the final 4 miles  and my failures over 16 miles have been well documented here in recent weeks, ergo the decision not to pursue a marathon right now

When I reached mile 5 of my run approaching the Mann Music Center in Fairmount Park I kinda knew I didn't have it to go 14 miles so I turned around and headed back the way I came hoping for a minimum of 10 miles.......#Notions....

Having gone out at a reasonable pace of 8.35-8.51-8.38-8.43-9.03-8.58 for the opening 6 miles I was a little alarmed when mile 7 ballooned up to 9.12 and when I saw 9.36 for mile 8 I said feck it, no point grinding out two slow arsed miles to round up to 10 and  called it a day at mile 8

1.10.16 off 8.57 mile.......of course it's the feckin' weekend and the temps went up....75 degrees and 57% humidity.........

28 miles for the week, 68 for the month, a potential 25 miles on tap this coming week would leave me at 93 miles going into the final week of October w/ a potential{weather and work permitting} 20 miles to finish October at 113 miles all food for thought but right now this coming week the focus is getting ready for next Sunday and the Radnor Run.