Stop Me If Ye've Heard This One Before?.....

 Another post race inquest as to why things didn't go to plan, glass half empty my second slowest time all time for ten miles, glass half full on a day when the elements  weren't in  my favour and physically I wasn't at the pitch of it I dug deep to finish and at least had the  satisfaction of going gun to tape w/out having to stop......while to my critics that may smack of"trying to make a silk purse from a pig's ear"  it was another in a long line of  a worrying trend of  days when I had to dig deep mentally and physically to see it through

Silly O Clock got even earlier this race, the traditional 8am start was brought forward an hour to facilitate a Phillies home game so it was 4.35am when I got up to leave b4 5am to get to my auld stompin' ground of Broad & Olney by 6am

Even then there was a line for the prerace Portajohns which seemed in short supply for a field of 40,000 runners, that said my "business was taken care of" and I was into the Orange Corral by 6.35am, I had gone to the rear of the corral b4 eventually moving forward as the two corrals ahead of me Red & Purple were called up to the starting line at Broad & Somerville  ,conditions were grey and overcast....a pre cursor of what was to unfold,full disclosure I didn't check the temps pre race,not that it would've made any difference as the proverbial cheque was in the mail in terms of what was about to unfold, I will say however in my defense that I had drunk ample water the day b4 in an attempt to ward off dehydration

Off the back of the illness that laid me low a fortnite ago I wasn't expecting a fast time so I really didn't come into this race w/ a finish time/pace in mind that said I was pleasently surprised to clock 7.31 for the opening mile...however this was short lived.....as mile 2 was a 7.49 split,I would've expected mile 1 to be 7.49 as I weaved my way through the corral in the opening mile and then opening up the throttle w/ a 7.31 split.......

When mile 3 registered a 8.13 split I knew I was in trouble,my stomach was bothering me more than usual, I'm well used to "dodgy guts" pre race but usually once the race starts I'm fine.....not today.....it was going to be a long 7 miles to the finish

Somedays you have to create your own motivations when things aren't going to script....b4 mile 4 around Broad & Cecil B Moore I spotted a large Irish Tricolour off to my right......the flag of my homeland will always inspire me and raise my spirits period muchless when things aren't going to script as I approached it I saluted it, high fived it's owner and said " Tiocfaidh ar la"{our day will come for ye who aren't well versed in Gaelic} on a day things weren't  going my way that interaction bought me another mile

At this stage I was thinking one mile at a time, I don't think not finishing was ever a consideration,asides from a rare DNF{ only one in my 49 year career thus far and that's one too many} I also wanted my medal {#260} plus my bag w/my phone and keys was at he finish line so unless I was going to punk out jump on the Subway and get down to Patterson Ave to get to  the Navy Yard and  bullshit everyone  that I ran the whole race I was going to have to grind it out

8.25 for mile 4, 8.38 for mile 5  at Broad & Spring Garden now I needed to think about my daily 5 milers to get from Spring Garden to the Navy Yard, I was dripping in sweat and having to take water on which I normally don't but this wasn't my typical Broad Street Run,.....any day a runner dressed as a giant Hot Dog passes me inside the final mile underlines that fact......more power to him but it was the exclamation point on my day......

8.41 for mile 6 heading in to South Philly,reversed a trend of each split getting slower by dropping a 8.34 at mile 7....not sure where that came from ...however it was short lived as mile 8 was a 8.46 split followed by a 8.48 split at mile 9

I believed a sub 1.25 finish was there for the taking if I could dig deep, after a couple of years of construction in the Navy Yard the last two years it has had its traditional finish in the Navel Yard which always helps,once I went through the gates of the Navy Yard I knew the finish line was just up ahead and somehow I dredged up an 8.28 final mile to cross  the line in  slow 1.24.29 off 8.22 mile pace

And so to the post race inquest, what went wrong? two things I had feck all control over getting over being sick and the humidity both lent themselves to a slow time, for me the more worrying trend is another slow time, ok I dug deep to grind it out but "moral victories" are becoming the norm of late, looking back at the last twelve races since last years Broad Street Run they have mostly been slow and or me having to dig deep to salvage something from them,I had hoped after a semi decent Hot Chocolate 15k last time out I'd reversed that trend......then I got sick and lost ten days of training which was always going to hinder me coupled w/ the humidity which is always  my Ktyptonite 

I now have a long stretch of no races on the schedule through choice until the Philly 10k in sixteen weeks time,in that time I would like to start  building  base  mileage for the Philly Marathon in  twenty nine weeks time hopefully the trend of slow times and moral victories/ grinding it out will pass, last year I didn't log enough mileage in May, June,July,August, September in the build up to Dublin to make sure Philadelphia isn't deja vu I need to crack on starting Tuesday

Love,Hope & Strength

" Cos I'm a man of emotion who can't hide the tears,I'm a man of feeling who can't hide the pain, I'm alone on the outskirts of town where no one knows my name, I'm at the point in my life where I need affection, won't you give me love ,give me hope, give me strength, give me someone to live for"

Strength-The Alarm

Seldom a dull moment in the world of Kevinrunningfree, one minute I'm logging my first 5 day training week in  ten weeks the next I'm on the DL{Disabled List} for ten days leading up to the final third of the Spring Triple Crown and the first leg of the Big Three in Philly road racing circuit{Broad St Run,Philadelphia Distance Run and Philadelphia Marathon}

Monday April 14th An easy 5 miler to kick off the week 44.26.2 off 8.53 mile pace w/ splits of 8.24-8.40-9.08-9.21-8.53

The auld adage goes  music soothes the savage beast and a good run helps clear the head, I had missed a potential long run over the weekend due to coming home from work on Friday to a ''Notice To Vacate" on the inside of the front door......it's a long drawn out saga that's been rumbling on for almost a year now but I'm happy to say while I was out running that lunchtime the situation was correcting its self to the point where I now have a new lease for the next 12 months and potentially the freeloaders in the building will leave or  be moved on, this has been my home for better or worse for the last 12 years,it's far from Shangri la but its home and I'd prefer to leave when I'm good and ready and not b4 time

Tuesday April 15th An untimed 5 miler to keep things ticking along not only for the long overdue  5 day week but the equally long overdue triple digit mileage month,at this stage halfway through the month I was now on 42 miles and seemingly well on course to brake the now 13 month drought since I clocked 154 miles last February.......a week's along time in politics so they say.....it can be a lifetime in Masters running.....

Wednesday April 16th A tempo run no seasons best this week off a 41.49.4 thanks to 8.20 mile pace and splits of 8.14-8.43-8.29-8.27-7.55

While I was some 1.23 shy of last weeks seasons best time{40.26.3} I could at least hang my hat on negative splits out in 21.29 back in 20.20 at 3.5 months into the season I feel I'm slowly getting into a groove,I'm painfully aware that the"big picture" needs to be addressed here,blowin' the shaggin' doors off now won't mean shite come November when I hope to conquer the Philly Marathon on the 40th anniversary of my marathon debut so for now it's small victories

Thursday April 17th An easy 5 miler at a modest 43.53.3 off 8.47 mile pace w/ another negative split out in 22.45 and back in 21.08,more importantly this was my first four in a row since Feb 10th-13th and had set me up nicely for my first 5 day week since the start of February.....however little did I know what was lurking below the surface ready to bring things crashing down around my ears.....

Sunday April 20th Not the 12 mile run I had set out to do but w/ hindsight I can now see why things went tits up on me

Things began well enough as I clocked 8.29 for the opening mile on my way  to Powelton Avenue, the next two splits were close to identical 9.19-9.18 b4 somehow mile 4 ballooned upto 11.06, there was a Garmin malfunction where I didn't reset it after getting caught at the junction of 34th St and Spring Garden and didn't realize till I reached West River Dr

I haven't had the pleasure of training on West River Dr in eons, the longest construction job ever on the section below Spring Garden St bridge for the past two years has thrown a spanner in the works there hence the 34th St/Landsdowne Dr to Sweetbriar Lane to West River Dr route,the malfunction w/ the Garmin meant I would have to head further north bound on West River Dr b4 making the turnaround between Strawberry Mansion bridge and the Conrail bridge b4 Falls bridge

9.24 at mile 5 and 9.33 at mile 6, 56.29 at halfway as I made the turn around......9.40 for the 7th mile and like that I stopped,w/ hindsight I thought I had made a balls  of my prep by not drinking enough water the  day b4 or that morning and that's how I framed it as I managed to tack on one more mile at 9.46 to settle for 8 miles in 1.16.36 off 9.35 mile pace

Glass half empty another long run/double digit run up in smoke and another setback in my quest to get double digit miles in, glass half full at 28 miles my longest weekly mileage week this year,equaling the 28 miles I logged the week of The Love Run  three weeks prior

Over the next ten days I came to realize I had gotten sick which might explain the sub par long run Sunday,initially I blew off Mondays 5 miler as I felt sore....the proverbial cheque was in he mail as I woke up under the weather Tuesday  and by Wednesday it was full blown, I don't get sick often but when I do its usually a doozie, the last time I was this sick was probably 8 years ago.....and if it's another 8 years b4 I get this sick again I'll be ok w/ that........

Wednesday April 30th Back at it after a ten day hiatus w/ an untimed 5 miler in glorious mid 70 degree temps

Having been on pace for triple digit mileage this month till I lost ten days I now had to settle for 65 miles a dip from the 78 I logged in March but that couldn't be helped period and as I keep saying last year I began all guns blazing only to see my season taper off over five of the next seven months so if it takes another month {or two} to get there so be it.....

Thursday May 1st Another untimed 5 miler to kick start the month period but also hopefully rebuild my monthly mileage

I didn't realize until I was looking at last years log that my only miles in May were the 10 I clocked in last years Broad Street Run, so at least w/ this run  and hopefully Sundays Broad St Run I'll be ahead of the curve

Hopefully the 10 days I lost won't come back to bite me in the hole, I have no pre race goals other than to cross the finish line in South Philly in the Navy Yard Sunday morning, a reasonable time is just Gravy

In closing I feel compelled to mention the passing of The Alarm's lead singer Mike Peters on Tuesday,I was a huge Alarm fan back in the day and enjoyed seeing them live  maybe a dozen times, Mike Peters was as genuine as they came, walked it how he talked it and I was fortune enough to meet him several times after an Alarm gig or during his solo career, several years ago at a show at the Hard Rock Cafe here in Philly he saw me down front w/ a tshirt from their first headline tour in 1984 and pulled me upon stage and asked me what Alarm song I wanted to hear.....who does that?......I'll tell ye who does that Mike Peters he was the real deal and will be sadly missed but he left a legacy of music and memories for those of us who followed The Alarm......as the lyrics go in "Majority" "it was all those words, that saved my dreams, there were times when I felt like a human being"........ Rest In Peace Michael thank you for the lifetime of Love,Hope & Strength...
 

Just Doin' Cowboy Shit All Week.......

 Up before the sun before the wind cuts cold cowboys packing heat pushing cattle up and down the Yellowstone, it's a choice you make live and die alone ride high and shoot low  from the saddle when you ride for the Yellowstone

A Song For The Stone Ryan Bingham

Another week in the books, another missed opportunity at a 5 day train week/ Sunday long run......but hey I finished watching "Yellowstone" so it wasn't all bad......

Another week I had Monday off work but failed to muster the chops to get out the door to run although in my defense it was pissin' out of the heavens so I could be excused or forgiven for not getting out there...however as I've said countless times b4 when you miss a Monday run it puts you behind the eight ball for the week in terms of getting a five day week in.....I could play the "quality over quantity" card but I won't what I will say as I get older is that I've come to appreciate rest days, it's early in the season, I've gotten into the routine of running at lunchtime the previous ten weeks now I just need to get the Saturday/Sunday long run back into the rotation but I also need to make sure I don't peak too soon, I had a huge volume of mileage under my belt last December, January and February and never came close to  replicating it the remainder of the year when I needed to for the Dublin Marathon so it's a juggling act right now, get into a routine, be race ready.......but don't shoot your load now b4 the Fall when it's time to get in Marathon shape, having ran a 15k I know I have it in my saddle bag to run a good ten miles at the upcoming Broad Street Run but I'm also painfully aware that the Summer is around the corner and the last few years I have struggled to handle the heat and humidity so it's a classic case of "knowin  when to hold em, knowin' when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run"......

Tuesday April 8th

The now very welcome untimed run, as I said before it's a matter of getting every ounce I can out of myself, back in the day everything felt it had to be fast, at almost 62 and two knees that don't seem they got the memo/group text that yours truly is on a mission to reach 300 medals and there are 41 still to go the easy/recovery/untimed runs are just as clutch as the tempo/long runs

It was also a good thing today was an untimed run as the wind was fair savage out there this lunchtime file this one as a Winnie The Pooh run......it was a blustery day, when you can feel the wind at your back after making the turn past Girard Avenue bridge on Kelly Drive you appreciate how windy it is....

Wednesday April 9th

A new season's best for 5 miles, taking 1.22 off of  March 27ths time  of 41.48.5 

Benefitting off of two rest days and an untimed run I hit the opening split in 7.40 which is brisk, the question now was could I hold onto that pace?....at eleven weeks into my training I do feel I have enough "hay in the barn" to hang on to that kind of opening split, my volume of mileage may only be  just over 200 miles but the weekly repartition is paying off

8.12 at mile 2 just past Boathouse Row on Kelly Drive, mercifully yesterdays savage wind had died down and I clocked 20.03 at the 2.5 mile turnaround, 8.23 for mile 3 my splits were slowly creepin' up but still  south of respectable 

8.38 at mile 4 now for the charge down Ben Franklin Parkway towards 16th St, I felt off of 20.03 for the opening half I was on pace for something in the region of 40 mins and a new season's best time

7.30 for the final mile and a second half of 20.23 and a time of 40.26.3 off 8.04 mile pace, any doubts about my fast twitch muscles have been  answered between today and the 7.54 mile pace of last weeks Hot Chocolate 15k, question moving forward is how much faster can I go and how much lower is that PR going to be is sub 40 on the cards?

Thursday April 10th

Nice easy/recovery 5 miler, it's amazing what a world of difference 20 years makes, I cherish the slower run now w/ the handbrake on after letting the clutch out the day b4  20 years ago a 45.44.8 5 miler off 9.07 mile pace would have seemed woefully slow, 20 years later and god knows how many miles since I take it in stride

One notable foot note from the run how often do you manage identical splits? out in 22.52 back in 22.52, a second here, a second there on the way back could've been a negative split but I kinda like the all too rare identical splits

Sadly I didn't get out on the weekend to go long, I'm a little pissed about it but I'll deal w/ it, again looking at the bigger picture I don't need to be going off half cocked I have Broad Street coming up but I know I can run a decent ten miler so maybe the next two weekend look at 12 mile runs to springboard into May and upping the weekend long runs w/ a view to being at 20 miles come June

On the subject of marathons on Saturday nite I finished watching "Yellowstone" I think I began in late December/ early January  watching all 53 episodes I had three left come Saturday and w/ a date at the Miller Theater this Saturday for the 30th anniversary of "Riverdance" I knew it was all or nothing this weekend.

I will say this much, "Yellowstone" is one of the few series I've watched either in real time or binge watched where I felt the finale wasn't a cop out a la "Sopranos" "Boardwalk Empire" "Game Of Thrones" "Sons Of Anarchy" and "Vikings", I look forward to the Beth & Rip spin off and have "1883" and "1923" to enjoy while I wait, happy trails cow folk.....

Forty Shades Of Green{White & Gold}

 I wish that I could spend an hour at Dublin's churching surf I'd love to watch the farmers drain the bogs and spade the turf, to see again the thatching of the straw the women glean, I'd walk from Cork to Larne to see the forty shades of green

Forty Shades Of Green-Johnny Cash

Another week, another race, another medal, #3 for the season,#259 for the career as I close in on #300 and 2/3rds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books

Monday March 31st Off the bat I'm gonna be 100% honest and say if it weren't for the fact it was the final day of the month I might've skipped this run,although it would've been counter productive as I needed to get some of the crap out of my legs from Sundays 1/2 marathon

The plan was 5 miles but it was obvious from the get go I didn't have it in me to do 5 muchless w/in the confines of a lunch hour, were time not an issue I'd have ground out the 5 but on a good day I'm pushing it to get 5 miles in w/in an hour when you include a stretch pre run and drying off and getting back into my work clothes for the afternoon

When I opened in 9.37 the proverbial writing was on the wall so I figured at 1.5 miles I'd turn and make this 3 miles at Lloyd Hall,10.34 for mile 2 followed by 10.27 for mile 3, 30.38.1 off 10.13 mile pace but more importantly 3 miles to pad March's tally to 78

Sadly 22 miles shy of the triple digits I had hoped for but 2 miles further than February so at least the numbers are heading North not South, it would be nice to get triple digits in April but the last two months of 76 miles and 78 miles confirm I'm back on the right track

Tuesday April 1st No April's Fools here an untimed 5 miler to kick off the month and my quest for the elusive triple digit month not seen since February of last year is underway

I could feel the benefit  of yesterdays recovery 3 miler to get the 1/2 marathon out of my legs and hopefully this bodes well heading into tomorrow's tempo run

The old adage "a week's a long time in politics" bore fruit today, yesterday I questioned running back to back races at 61 going on 62 however getting a recovery run in loosened my legs up nicely to the point that backing it up today w/an untimed run today meant any thoughts of picking one or the other next year between the Love Run 1/2 marathon or Hot Chocolate 15k was banished,my knees may be shot and I have to manage my body on  a day to day basis but running smart, not hard is becoming the mindset

Thursday April 3rd So work got in the way yesterday of a run, it happens, no point spittin' the dummy out and throwing my toys out of the pram,I'm there to work and run on my lunch hour not fit work around my running schedule

I didn't realize it was going to be 74 degrees at 2pm if I had've the trusty half zip would've stayed in my back pack, b4 I reached mile 2 on Kelly Drive along Boathouse Row I had to take off said half zip and wrap it around my waist at this point I was overheating and w/ one less day to recover for a race on Saturday not Sunday I figured why fly in the face of it, turned at mile 2 and tacked on another mile for a semi respectable 26.19.8 off 8.47 mile pace, the proverbial chalk and cheese from Monday's laboured effort over 3 miles,my splits were 8.20-8.32-9.28

Saturday April 5th I believe this is my 5th Hot Chocolate 15k since 2018 it always serves as sighter for the Broad Street Run a month later, last year I came in a little shell shocked off the back of a below par Love Run 1/2 marathon b4 rebounding nicely for one of my few podium finishes,last week my time was very little to crow about but I felt the overall performance outshone the time,so coming into a race that was 4 miles less and considerably flatter what might I do?

57 degrees and overcast close to picture perfect conditions although as ever w/ low cloud cover that meant Hal the little bollix of a Garmin was going to play up, if I was a shade over ambitious last week hoping for 8 min pace pace and eventually running 8.25 mile pace  today I hoped for quicker than 8.25 per mile......

I got a clear run from the siren and worked my way into a good spot,my garmin went off  b4 the 1 mile marker....according to Hal 7.32.....at the mile marker I saw 8.04, again for blog purposes I'll go w/ what Hal  said.....even though he's a lying little fecker!!!!

7.51 at mile 2 followed by back to back 7.55s for miles 3 & 4 I felt I was running well w/in myself at this stage, not sure why they can't keep us on Kelly Dr a bit further b4 the 4.5 mile turn around, this semi ridiculous up and back b4 the up and back for the actual turn around is annoying and having ran back to back 7.55's I now clocked a 7.57 split for mile 5

8.06 at mile 6 now for the clusterfuck that is the back markers of the 10k, they might want to consider having them go off earlier rather than at the same time as the 15k,the 10k got added 2 years ago and has been a bit of a ball breaker the last two years.....don't get it twisted I whole heartedly encourage people to get out and run irrigardless of pace but when I now have to weave in and out of them in the final 3 miles of a 15k it's an issue

7.48 at mile 7 b4  my slowest split of 8.12 at mile 8, a little fatigue a little weaving in and out of 10k back markers b4 another 8.06 split at mile 9,threw in a 1.47 for the .3 to cross the finish line in 1.13.11 off 7.54 mile pace which is roughly 1.12.04 for 9 miles, 9 miles at 8 min mile pace =1.12.00......not too shabby if I say so myself,I never lowball my pre race aims, off the back of a 1/2 marathon at 8.25 mile pace 6 days ago if you offered me 7.54 mile pace today I'd have jumped at it

The good news kept coming 2nd in the 60-64 age group,nice to be back on the podium again, last year I won my age group and they waived my entry fee for this year, in previous years they gave bonus medals.....gotta say I'm good w/ either this year, granted a bonus medal means one less race to run on the route to #300 but given the price of races these days saving $60-$70 can't be sniffed at either

Two thirds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books, hopefully the next three weeks can yield some longer runs starting w/ 12 this weekend,one eye on Broad Street, another on the Summer and potentially getting up to 20 mile runs come June,Philly Marathon is 35 weeks away....

Reports of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated....

 "Well look down yonder ,Gabriel put your feet on the land and the sea but Gabriel don't you blow your trumpet ,till you hear it from me there ain't no grave can hold my body down"   

Ain't No Grave Johnny Cash

It isn't Easter yet so biblical tales of " being risen from the dead" might be a tad premature but for those penning my running obituary......hold the front page and shut the front door......still life in the auld dog yet!!

For the fifth time since 2018 I ran the Love Run half marathon it's become a big race on the calendar, I'd say in Philly but according to the pre race announcer 13,000 runners{ that may include the recently added 7k} 20 countries  and 37 states toed the line yesterday morning at 7.30am,I can see the appeal after a long Winter runners are eager to get out and race and have something to show for weeks and months of hard grind, Spring Marathons are just around the corner too so what better way to gauge your level of training than a half marathon?

It's been well documented in my blog that this race chewed me up and spat me out last year and began a domino effect that lasted the whole year, was this redemption? was this me looking to even the score? maybe a little of both.....or it could be race #2 of my season and the start of The Triple Crown {Love Run 1/2 Marathon, Hot Chocolate 15k, Broad Street Run} over the next five weeks either way I was "all in" maybe a little undertrained w/ only one 10 mile run to my credit four weeks ago but last year I had  four 12 milers,  four 14 milers and three 16 milers under my belt coming into the race and proceeded to "shit the bed" so taking a leaf out of my former coach's playbook" sometimes it's better to be a little underprepared than overcooked" I came in a little on the back foot, being gung ho last year believing a sub 1.30 time was there for the taking blew up in my face and I wasn't looking for a repeat of that thank you very much......

Up at Silly O Clock to be dressed and out the door by 6am and down to Eakins Oval by 6.35am,why so early for a 7.30am gun time? have you ever seen the lines for the Portajohns at these races....13,000 runners all need that last prerace dump the lines at 6.35am compared to 7am are night and day and trust me there's nothing worse waiting in line to shed those pre race nerves when the line isn't moving but the contents of your bowels are dancing a feckin' rumba in your lower stomach.....ergo why I get to my races and hour b4 start time.....

45 degrees and overcast pretty good race conditions, I remember one year, maybe 2019 when it was frigid as feck and the start got delayed by 15 minutes.....fuckin feet felt like two blocks of ice by the time the gun went off.....no such worries today as I took my place in the third corral aptly the Green Corral.....so I blended right in!!!!, the Lebanon flag was just behind me and the Irish Tricolour  albeit wrapped around it's flagpole was on the other side of the Ben Franklin Parkway sadly NO PALESTINE FLAG.........but I made sure to wear  my Palestine bracelet and give the Israel flag the finger b4 turning onto 16th St, I could be wrong but I thought I was asked if I wanted to put a message on my running bib when I submitted my entry and I chose RUN4GAZA.....it didn't make it to said running bib....now it could've been for Saturdays Hot Choc 15k,Broad Street Run or August's Philly 10k but I saw a lot of other runners w/ "Vanity Plate Running Bibs" so I tend to think I got fucked over.....fine you find my RUN4GAZA bib offensive.....I'll just wear my Paddystinian  t shirt after the race.....don't get mad, get even...........

8.40 for the opening mile, I was aiming for 8 min miles so I was a little off pace however the start of the opening mile is always crowded as the corral sorts its self out so I didn't feel the need to press the panic button and mile 2 yielded a  7.55 split so it was give or take where I wanted to be, while my target time was 1.45 off 8 min mile pace I was more focused on running a complete race both of my half marathons last year were stop/start, walk/run affairs and I didn't want a repeat of that, slow and steady it was, however w/ the cloud cover it was clear my Garmin aka Hal The Little Bollix was acting up each mile registered on the garmin b4 I reached the mile marker flag.....annoying as that is I'm plenty used to it w/ Hal and I continued to  check my overall time at each mile marker, I'm citing the actual time on Hal for my splits.....

8.18 at mile 3 and 8.04 at mile 4 as I made my way back up the Parkway, as I say a lot these days" this ain't my first Rodeo" { next year will be my Golden Jubilee of running 50 years} so I knew not to over project just take each mile on face value, add 8 mins to it for the next one and repeat, 8.14 at mile 5 and a slightly slower 8.50 for mile 6.....which has the long twisty uphill of Brewery  Hill b4 crossing the Schuylkill via Girard Ave bridge

I had elected to " run my own race" and not worry about the pacers, they do a fine job pacing runners but today was  about " running on feel" another gem from my former coach  so when I passed the 1.55 group  on West River Drive around mile 7 I knew I was a little below the 1.45 I had thought I could run.....that said last year I thought I was gonna crush a sub 1.30 and had to settle for a 1.39 so at this point a sub 1.50 might be doable, w/ last year in mind I got blindsided by the hill on Black Road after mile 10 so I was keeping something in reserve this year...plus I only had one 10 mile run under my belt for my long run so this was a case of playing the long game

Last year caught me off guard, due to a hip injury in 22 and a knee injury in 23 I hadn't ran the Love Run since 21 and back then the hill on Black Road wasn't part of the course so a bad day and an unexpected hill resulted in the wheels coming off, maybe running at a slower pace this year and being prepared for it meant that hill while still a bastard wasn't as bad as last year, it would result in my slowest split at 9.12 but a hill at mile 10 of a half marathon will do that to ya...... but unlike last year it didn't brake me

Now for shades of my 1/2 marathon debut in Leicester in 84 when I'd never gone beyond 10 miles b4 the final 3 miles were The Twilight Zone  that day and now some 42 years later here I was again.....back then I was 20 now I'm rockin up on 62.....there is an older wiser head on these shoulders.... sadly I have the knees of a 61 year old who's been doing this for 49 years......

I recovered from the Black Road hill  w/ a 8.33 split for mile 12 as I reached the foot of Brewery Hill and trusty Kelly Drive just over a mile to go last year trying to negotiate the slight uphill towards the Art Museum  was hard work and I remember some arse clown in front of me talking on his phone which boiled my piss but I didn't have it to get passed him, more insult to injury...... in my final race of last year I got beat by someone in my age group I routinely defeat 8/9 times out of 10 hey every dog has its day and I had no business being on the course that day but I wasn't going to "cop a plea" and undermine his victory by saying I hadn't ran a lick in three weeks I let him have his victory but today w/ just under 1/2 a mile to go his wheels were coming off and I took great pleasure passing him and digging a little deeper to get to the finishline b4 him off an 8.27 final mile

1.51.56 off 8.25 mile pace, by the numbers this is slow, it's my second slowest ever 1/2 marathon and 11 mins slower than last year but sometimes ye need to look beyond the xs and os....after a couple of bad races last year this one included today I went gun to tape w/out stopping....sure maybe small potatos in the general scheme of things but when your confidence, moral and self belief have gone in the crapper and were as low as whale shit to run a smart albeit slow race is a great way to rebuild that confidence, moral and self belief 1.51.56 equates to a 3.43.12 marathon, after a 4.36 marathon in Dublin last year I'd willingly take a 3.43.12 marathon....the good news is I have 34 more weeks to get quicker and faster, like I said reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.....don't send flowers, don't throw dirt on my grave, my last rodeo is a ways  away yet........

Catch Up?......More Of A HP Man Meself...

"Oh once you get to know me I'm a coyote in a field of wolves, oh I'm a red letter rebel but some become the devil when the moon is full"

I'm A Little Crazy-Morgan Wallen

 So on the eve of race #2  for the year I thought it prudent to catch up on the last couple of weeks,thankfully my lack of blogging was more a result of just being stretched a little thin of late both personally and professionally and nothing more

I have missed both of my projected long runs the last 2 weekends which I'm not thrilled over but the first one on March 16th was warranted there's not much that  I prioritize above said long run period muchless when a half marathon is looming but w/out going TMI let's just say on this occasion  it was justified, sadly in the last three weeks I have missed one or two of my lunchtime runs the upshot of which is I,m gonna fall shy of triple digit miles this month,probably looking at 80 mile this month, glass half empty 20 miles shy of the target, glass half full 4 miles more than February and hopefully starting Tuesday I can build towards triple digit mileage for April, in retrospect I feel I did too much too soon logging back to back 148 milers in Dec of 23 and Jan of last year b4 logging 154 miles in Feb.....before the arse fell out of my season, w/ my sights set firmly on the Philly Marathon on Nov 23rd it's clutch not to peak too soon like I feel I did a year ago

Tuesday March 11th  my final week of lunchtime 4 miles,I feel it's time to move up to 5 miles next week and in keeping w/ recent weeks an untimed  run to save something for the following days tempo run,it remains to be seen if I resume longer evening runs, the clocks have gone forward and it is lighter now, that said I kinda like the lunchtime run, in an ideal world in a few weeks {probably mid May post Broad St Run} I could be logging 40 mile weeks 4 x 5 milers Monday thro Thursday w/ a 20 mile long run on the weekends{sounds good in theory!!!} we'll have to see how hot it gets in the summer if I have to get up in the mornings to run b4 work

Wednesday March 12th Final 4 mile tempo run and a new seasons best,18 seconds off my previous best of 33.12.4,not exactly text book out in 15.44 {7.43-8.01} back in 17.09 {8.43-8.26} off 8.12 mile pace I knew I'd gone out hard and hoped I could hang on hang on, thankfully 7 weeks of conditioning meant I could and I could close the book on 4 mile tempo runs w/ a bang

Thursday March 13th, a nice easy run after lettin' the clutch out the day b4 little did I know it would be my final run of the week to round out the week at 12 miles and put me at 37 for the month,for the record my time was  a modest 37.31.7 off 9.22 mile pace w/ splits of :8.38-9.06-9.53-9.52 

22 4 milers since Jan 13th, a lot less huffin' & puffin' than when I began,to put that in perspective on  Jan 13th after a lengthy hiatus I went:38.35.4 off 9.39 mile pace off of splits of:8.41-9.39-10.33-9.42

Tuesday March 18th my debut at 5 milers and a modest 46.06.1 off 9.13 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.33-9.19-9.21-9.31-9.21,basically an extra half a mile along Kelly Drive beyond the end of Boathouse Row to just beyond the Girard Avenue bridge 

Wednesday March 19th an untimed run which tends not to leave much to blog about.....however it was 69 degrees when I finished just b4 3pm which meant being able to ditch the trusty half zip top, the other was the return of the flags along the Ben Franklin Parkway...... however I spotted one glaring omission.... where in the name of jaysus is the Palestine flag????

Heading eastbound on the Parkway the first flag after Eakins Oval is Kuwait, by the time you reach 22nd St we're into the P's......by the time you reach the R's there is no sign of  the Palestine flag......and trust me I've looked!!!!!

According to the City Of Philadelphia website " several flags have been taken down for repair".....I call bullshit on that, when the flags were taken down for the Eagles Superbowl in mid February and now put back up, all the flagpole/lamposts they are attached to have name plates in case there's a flag you don't recognize by sight.......I don't see a name plate for the Palestine flag?????

The Lebanon flag will be just b4 the starting line on Sunday w/ the Irish Tricolour on the opposite side of the Parkway and I'll pass it  between miles 4 & 5 but I'm fucked off there is no Palestine flag to salute.....I will however reserve my contempt  for that when I pass the Israel flag at the end of the Parkway b4 turning onto 16th St to get over to JFK Blvd,it's inside the opening mile so I'll have enough energy to be verbal about it ....or at least give it the middle finger.......

Sadly this was my final run of the week so only 10 miles in the bank to add to the 37 I already had

Tuesday March 25th a modest 44.31.8 off 8.53 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.28-9.01-9.08-9.13-8.40,technically a seasons best given my previous 5 miler last Tuesday was only 46.06.1 but knowing come Thursday I'd be going for a tempo run I figured I'd wait till then b4 lauding a new SB.....

Wednesday March 26h an untimed run in savage windy conditions, how savage was it? I fully expected Winnie The Pooh out there underlining it was indeed " a blustery day",a week ago it was 69 degrees and I ran sans half zip today  it was fackin' chilly out like, last Thursday was the end of Winter and now less than a week later I still need my half zip out there,I guess I won't be putting them away for a few more weeks

Thursday March 27th Officially a Seasons Best.....41.48.3 off 8.21 mile pace off of splits of:8.42-7.39-8.31-8.53-8.02

There will be faster times over the coming weeks and more even splits so while I'll acknowledge the Season's Best I won't get carried away w/ it period but there is a bigger prize on the horizon on Sunday at the Love Run half marathon,last year not only did this race chew me up and spit me out the other end  it also signaled the downward trajectory of my season so I feel I have a score to settle.....

An Irish Two Step.....One Step Forward....Two Steps Back......

 "This love's gettin' dangerous, feels like a loaded gun, my my its turning like a cloud of dust my heart always wants to run"

White Horse Chris Stapleton

Another up and down week for your truly, " up and down like a whores draws" as the auld fella used to say.......welcome to another week of Kevinrunningfree....

Monday March 3rd

Easy/Recovery 4 miler to kick off the week, 36.26.1 off 9.07 mile pace w/ splits of  8.32-9.27-9.30-8.55 nothing fancy but I was just looking to get the crap out of my legs after Sundays long run

I noticed the nations flags that hang from the lamp posts on the Ben Franklin Parkway are being rehung, they got taken down for the Eagles parade as I'm sure some of them would've gone home as souvenirs , my guess is come the Love Run on March 30th they'll all be flying, the starting line is  close to where the Irish Tricolour hangs which always gives me a boost, the pride I get from wearing my Ireland running uniform is second to none, as JFK famously said "I may not have been born in Ireland....but Ireland was born in me".......

Tuesday March 4th

An untimed 4 miler which I have to say felt good, nice to have a run that isn't dictated by speed, pace splits, just a runner and his thoughts, I have to say since I opted for the Parkway and Kelly Drive sometime in late fall this route has become my favourite lunchtime run cutting out Market St and JFK Blvd both of which had way too many red lights for my liking, it does mean less time along the Schuylkill River which can be a blessing and a curse, the Schuylkill River Trail is great to run along but if the wind is whipping off of it or on the rare occasions it breaches its banks it's not so much fun

The clocks are going forward this Sunday which frees up evening runs if I so choose, to be honest I'm happy to run at lunchtime, the week after next I might bump the run up to 5 miles it's much easier to get my miles in at lunch time than worry about coming home after work and getting my arse back out the door, granted I could get more miles in that way but looking at the big picture if I do 4 times 5 miles Monday thro Thursday that's 20 miles plus my long run on the weekend which could be 20 miles later in the year for a 40 mile week, that could work.......

Thursday March 6th

Ye can't fight City Hall or Mother Nature, Wednesdays run got rained off, don't get it twisted I've no issue running in the rain but yesterday was a doozie, at 2pm I ducked into an empty office to get changed and stretched b4 heading out, when I looked out the window to Chestnut St 21 floors below me everything looked a go no umbrellas etc, in the time it took to get out of my work clothes and into my running gear the rain was bouncing off the window and the wind was howling, stick a fork in it!

So now off the back of an untimed run and an unscheduled rest day I had a crack at a hard/tempo run ,I wasn't aiming for Feb 12ths Seasons Best time of 33.14.6 when I set off around 2.10pm.......

8.05 for the opening split, as the saying goes " can't put the Genie back in the bottle now" by the time I reached the Schuylkill River Trail/Kelly Drive I could feel the wind in my face, mile 2 was going to be a fight...8.38 split, hopefully after the turn at the end of Boathouse Row the wind would be at my back and I hadn't used up too much energy fighting the wind heading north

8.33 for mile 3 it was going to be close but this ain't my first Rodeo....nor my last.......7.55 for the final mile.....sure it was wind assisted but I'll take it.....

33.12.4 a new seasons best time by 2 seconds off 8.18 mile pace to compare w/ the previous sb my splits were:7.35-8.30-9.06-8.02 off 8.17 mile pace

At six weeks in to my training I feel I'm back to a level of strength speed and stamina where I can go out hard and hold on, however the old adage of not getting too high off your wins was about to  play out......

Sunday March 9th

You'd have thought off the back of last weeks 10 miler on top of the fact on the final day of the European Indoor Athletics C'ships Ireland won a Gold and 2 Bronze medals and Cork's 15 point annihilation of Clare in the Allianz League Hurling I'd be fair flying it.......

I don't know if the time change threw me off it was 2.30pm when I headed out 1.30pm in old money if said clocks hadn't gone forward so my normal time to go long on a Sunday I do know the wind was fair savage so I nixed any thoughts of going out and back along the Schuylkill and opted for Powelton Ave

8.37 for the opening mile b4 the turn on to Powelton Ave, I could feel the wind in my face and when mile 2 clocked in at 9.28  making the left onto 31st St at roughly 2.5 miles I knew "it wasn't going to be my day" I stopped once  on 31st b4 it becomes Mantua Ave after Spring Garden St and again on Mantua Ave and turned around to head back, this race was run a 9.42 mile for mile 3 b4 I called " time of death" at 27.07 off 9.16 mile pace.....

Was last Sunday a "false dawn??" is the monkey still on my back w/ double digit runs? I don't know I have 2 more weekends b4 the Love Run to try for a 12 miler and maybe 14 miler....I  DO NOT  want a repeat of last years Love Run debacle nor a rerun of PDR from September at a time I'm embracing my "Inner Cowboy" I would prefer to keep my Texas Two Steping  to the dance floor and not my running thank y'all very much, time to round up the doggies, piss on this camp fire and head off into the sunset and hope for happier trails next week........