Four Minute {Recovery} Miles

As is my won't,a Friday off work means a lie in and then a lunch time appointment at Franklin Field for a workout.
In recent and hopefully following weeks this will be for 4x1 mile repeats,after two less than stellar outings in the previous fortnite I was hoping for something better today.
Two ticks in the plus box b4 I even began today,no bastard wind at Franklin Field like last Friday and I donned my flats again to underline the fact they would make a difference over the mile repeats as they had over the 600 and 1,000 repeats on Mon and Wed.

Mile#1,1.17,1.21,1.19,1.14-5.11.57.A far cry from any of my recent mile repeats and confirmation that I'm heading in the right direction.
Mile#2,1.19,1.20,1.21,1.14-5.14.21.Another solid effort,over the coming weeks I need to lower the 1.19s and eliminate the 1.21s to make further inroads to lowering my splits.
Mile#3,1.22,1.24,1.22,1.18-5.26.27.Predictably on mile#3 is when it starts to get away from me but that's nothing a little strength and stamina over the coming weeks won't resolve.
Mile#4,1.21,1.23,1.21-68-5.13.58.Nice! no question today was my best set of mile repeats post 5th Avenue Mile,also no question regarding the flats,they've made all the difference this week.

But now for the stunner,it wasn't till after my #3 mile I realized I'd only been taking 4 minutes recovery not 5 minutes as usual!!
How did this come about? as a rule for my 600 and 1,000 repeats I wear two stop watches one to record my splits and the other to count down my recovery,I have until today not worn my other watch for mile repeats preferring to give myself a minute after the repeat b4 counting down to 4 minutes to begin the next,as I was catching my breath after repeat #3 I caught myself saying to myself"better start the other watch" and then realized I already had!!!
Since I'd only taken 4 mins between repeat #1 and #2 I opted to keep things uniform for #3 rather than take an "extra" minute and then second guess my final repeat.
Granted today was an accident,but guess what?I 'll continue to only take 4 minute recoveries in between mile repeats from now on I may just have stumbled on the key to unlocking faster mile repeats and hopefully faster mile/1,500m times,I've always lamented that repeats no matter what distance are only as good as the recovery,we could all be world beaters w/ extended recoveries....I want to be a world beater w/ diminished recoveries!!

Toto We're Not In Kansas Anymore!

Hard on the heels of one major anniversary two days ago comes another.
Today marks 22 years since I left home in South East London and moved to Philly.
It would be churlish of me to say it was a bad move,a lot of good and great things have stemmed from my move here just from my running alone but in life there's always that "what if" card to play,what if I'd stayed in South East London?what if I'd never met Erica and moved 3,500 miles to begin a new life?
Who's to say staying home would've been the right thing to do,it'd be nice to think that my life would've been like I dreamt it would be,the object of my desires back then Jean and I married w/ children,a nice home,flat screen tv, satellite tv, new car in the drive way,money in the bank and a family vacation every summer.....like I said it's a nice dream but these days a more tangible dream seems to be of National C'ships and maybe even World C'ships,being an idyllic dreamer can be dangerous but as a wise man once said"don't tread on my dreams,my dreams are all I have"

It's Gotta Be The Shoes

Just by showing up at the track last nite I felt I was a winner b4 even taking one step of my 5x1,000m.
After a late nite on Tuesday at the David Gray show{he was awesome and yes he did perform "The Other Side" which felt like a fitting tribute to my late father and further kudos to his and my beloved Spurs w/ a 2.0 win over Everton to put us in the 1/4 finals of the Carling Cup}I then stayed up an extra hour to watch "Sons Of Anarchy" my new favourite show on tv so it was 12.30am b4 getting to bed and the alarm goes off at 4.51am....eek!!
Throw in the rain most of the day and I could've been forgiven for blowing off my scheduled repeats citing fatigue,damp conditions or needed an extra days rest on my achilles now that I'm back into my flats.....phish!it's like the old Bally's Health Club commercials when Cher was a spokesperson"there's a 101 excuses for not working out....but in the end that's all they are excuses"
It's never too soon to repeat the time honoured manta"the difference between working out and not working out on days like these is standing on the podium or standing next to it at Nationals" so here I was ready to throw down on my 5x1,000m,despite a morning of rain conditions were now almost ideal,still short sleeve and shorts weather but now that my workouts are ending at dusk and w/ the clocks about to go back they'll be beginning in the dark it's only a matter of time b4 my winter wardrobe of tights,gloves,jacket and ski hat gets broken out.

#1,1000m,1.16,1.20,38-3.14.32.I wanted to open in 76 seconds and that's just what I got,76/80 sets the ideal tone for 1,000s,it took me a while to grasp that concept but I've always said "like father,like son" I'm a headstrong paddy..........and feckin proud of it!!
#2,1,000m1.16,1.18,38-3.12.02.Not even having to weave in between moving goalposts on the approach to the 800m mark could throw me off,I'm very familiar w/ "moving the goalposts"expression....leave it to an Ivy League school to make it quite literal!!!
#3,1,000m,1.14.1.20,39-3.07.48.Holy crap! this was either gonna blow my repeats wide open or blow them altogether,the 74 second opening 400m caught me off guard but didn't derail me but the 3.07 was an eye opener,would I hold or fold over the final 2 repeats?
#4,1,000m,1.16,1.20,38-3.10.52.The days of crashing and burning on #4 seem to be a distant memory now,learning to go out at a comfortable pace on the opening repeats means I've got plenty in hand when I get to the business end of my 1,000s these days.
#5,1,000m,1.15,1.17,34-3.06.50.Blistering would best describe my final repeat,opening in 75 set me up nicely and not blowing up on the second 400m and clocking a 77 was the spark to light the fuse,I felt so strong and so full of running off the final turn it was no wonder I clocked a 34 second closing 200m and also racked up my fastest 1,000m in the process.
Combined I ran 15.49.again my fastest time to date.

So is it the shoes?two repeats in my flats two seasons bests,there's no smoke w/out fire,I had hoped by late October I'd be rounding into form and the past two weeks have lead me to believe that's the case.
If I can register a decent set of mile repeats Friday in my flats then I'll know I'm on course slowly, but surely indoor meets are being announced and I'm starting to flesh out my 09/10 indoor season....and to think I almost didn't hit the track for this workout...

In Loving Memory

Today marks 25 years since my father passed away,one of the darkest days of my life to date.
No anniversary of Kevin's passing is easy,the fact this year marks a quarter of a century makes it a little more poignant this year.
It wasn't lost on me last nite after my 6x600 repeat that in and around October 27th each year I produce a performance worthy of the ould fella, a few years back I won the Northeast Road Runners 25k and last year ran a pr at xc8k in New Jersey,Kevin was instrumental in my running from the very beginning and even now some 25 years removed from this life he still influences me.
On his 2002 cd "New Day At Midnight" David Gray wrote a song "The Other Side" about the loss of his father,it's one of several classic David Gray tunes and one I hope he performs tonite at The Tower,unlike Saturday's proposed show in New York that I never got to thanks to the heavy rain knocking out the power on the train tracks and meant I sat for over two hours outside of Rahway on my way to Penn Station and eventually 4 hours into a 90 min train ride from Trenton to New York I gave up at Newark Airport and headed home I hope to not only see David Gray but also hope he performs this number..... oh yeah and if the ould fella's beloved Spurs could beat Everton in the Carling Cup that'd be awesome too!!!

Kevin used to tease me when I was younger how I'd forget about him long after he was gone,that couldn't be further from the truth,gone but never to be forgotten rest in peace dad.
"Meet me on the other side,meet me on the other side,I'll see you on the other side,see you on the other side
Honey now if I'm honest,I still don't know what love is,another mirage folds into the haze of time recalled,and now the floodgates cannot hold
All my sorrow all my rage a teardrop falls on every page"
The Other Side David Gray.

Money,It's The Shoes

Looking to halt a slide of bad days that began Friday when I got blown all over the track during my mile repeats and ended this morning w/ the news that a fellow runner and blogger had suffered a dnf at the Marine Corp Marathon yesterday{so sorry nyflygirl,better luck next time}I arrived at Franklin Field w/ my mind very much on a decent 6x600m repeat.

Prior to the workout I had opted to try wearing my racing flats again,6 weeks into my recovery I wore them for two repeats and backed off as my achilles began to hurt again,now some 6 weeks on from then I felt it was time to test the waters again,I had toyed w/ the idea of switching from my running shoes into my flats for the last couple of repeats,the fly in the ointment w/ that on 600s and 1,000s is my recovery is only 3 minutes,by the time I've drawn breath and switched shoes my three minutes are up and I've still got to get back over to the starting line for the next repeat so I went w/ the flats from the get go and hoped for the best,my run of bad luck had to end at some time didn't it.........?

600#1,69,39-1.48.18.Another lively opening 400m split,w/ indoor season on the horizon and the need to post a decent 400m time to secure my place on the Millrose 4x400m relay the 69 second 400m boosts my confidence of a decent 400m time in an open 400m race.
600#2,69,37-1.46.06.Back to back sub 70 second opening 400s could I keep this up or would it come back to bite me in the rear come repeats 5&6?
600#3,71,36-1.47.65.Having gone 3/6 last week in my season debut over 6x600m my first goal tonite was to go at least 4/6,thus far I was on pace and hopefully running w/in myself to have gas left in the tank.
600#4,70,35-1.45.98.4/4 and my first 1.45 600m of the year,the next progressive step after coming to terms w/ 6/6 600s at 1.50 is to get back down to 1.45s,all in good time.
600#5,74,34-1.48.43.I didn't panic when I saw 74 at 400m,having ran reasonably consistently over the opening 4 600s had allowed me to have reserves to go to when I needed them.
600#6,73,34-1.47.94.How'd ya like me now???a remarkable performance for only my second 6x600s this year and w/out a doubt the best repeat workout in my 13 week post injury return to training.

So the 64 billion dollar question? was it the flats that made the difference? it's hard to make a case against them I don't believe in coincidence 4oz compared to 12oz on my feet has to factor in,the key will be how my achilles reacts in the next 48 hours b4 trying to run my 5x1,000m in my flats.
Have I turned a corner? it's perhaps too early to tell but this was the shot in the arm my training needed and I hope the upturn in fortunes my life needed,time as ever will tell.

Huffin' & Puffin'

It's never easy to come to the pc after a race or repeat workout hasn't gone as planned but I refuse to be one of those people who only want to talk about the good performances and try to sweep under the rug anything less than satisfactory,my list of character defects may well run long but I'm nothing if not honest even if it goes pear shaped.
Conditions at lunchtime seemed more akin to late October,grey skies and a strong wind blowing through Franklin Field,anytime I notice the flags atop the stands in full flight I know I'm in for a battle.

Mile #1,1.18,1.22,1.25,1.22-5.27.36.I was hoping to target 1.16/1.18 pace clearly the wind was already playing havoc but I was guilty of not being fully focused on laps 3 and 4,at 800m I was on pace at least for a 5.20 mile.
Mile#2,1.19,1.26,1.24,1.17-5.26.27.As in mile #1 the middle two laps proved to be my undoing,the risk of going out at a high end pace of 1.18/1.19 is that when that dips you're into the 1.20s which will always reflect slow splits.
Mile#3,1.24,1.28,1.31,1.29-5.52.91.Just plain ole butt ugly!! I almost bailed after the third lap wind and fatigue do not make for great splits as was evident here,5.52 per mile will NOT cut it for me.
Mile#4,1.24,1.27,1.28.1.10-5.29.24.At least the was something redeeming w/ the final mile but being able to throw in a 70 second closing laps off of the prior three lap splits will not see my name on the Milers Hall Of Fame ballot anytime soon.

Not quite what I had hoped for today,clearly conditions hampered any hopes I had of improving on my splits from two weeks ago which is a blow but also having ran reasonably decent spits over 600 and 1,000 it was a shame my mile splits couldn't follow suit.
I have at least put in three repeat workouts this week and w/ another 10 miler scheduled tomorrow in between Spurs vs Stoke and traveling up to NYC for David Gray it could end up being a half decent week after all.

If I Could,I'd Fly For You

It was hard to believe it was late October this evening when I arrived at Franklin Field for my 5x1,000m repeats,clear skies,warm sunshine,no wind it's as close to idyllic as you could get in any month,much less October,you know evenings like this won't come around too often so not only is it paramount to take advantage of them but also produce a repeat worthy of such conditions.
As of Monday I reintroduced my core strength stretches to my pre workout warm up,leaving my achilles strengthening stretches to post workout,come late March when Indoor Nationals roll around it's the work I've put in now that'll hopefully pave my way to success,while the achilles still isn't 100% I've learnt to work w/it,next week I'd like to retry wearing my racing flats,if the results are the same as 6 weeks ago then plan b is lightweight racing shoes.

#1,1000m,1.15,1.19.38-3.12.43.I was aiming to open in 1.16 so I'll take only being off by a second,unlike the 9 second plus minus I clocked Monday in my opening 600.
#2,1000m,1.15,1.17,39-3.11.90.A near carbon copy of my opener,last time out I averaged 3.15 per 1,000m tonite I was on pace to shave a little off of that.
#3,1,000m,1.18,1.18,37-3.13.35.Despite my opening 400m creeping up by three seconds I was still keeping an even pace,but here comes the acid test.........
#4,1,000m,1.18,1.18,39-3.15.71.Just like a fortnite ago by taking a little off of my opening repeats there was gas left in tank for #4 and I didn't implode as had been my won't in my earlier 1,000s.
#5,1,000m,1.19,1.23,34-3.16.64.Obviously the 1.23 doesn't sit well but I like the fact I could throw in a closing 200m in 34 seconds on my 5th and final repeat.

Combined my splits came out to 16.07.last time out I went 16.15. so I'm moving in the right direction,next time out hopefully no 1.23 splits or 3.15 plus 1,000s.
In the "what if" game of life we sometimes like to play"what if" money wasn't an option...in that case my workouts this week would've been conducted on a track in London as I would have flown home to catch the reunited Spandau Ballet perform one of their three comeback shows at the O2 Arena in Greenwich.
Spandau were one of my favourite 80s bands,long b4 cds when vinyl ruled the roost my record collection bares testimony to that as I own every Spandau album and 12'' single from 1980-1987.
It remains to be seen if they come stateside next year to promote their first album of new material in 20 years,like alot bands from England success this side of the Atlantic for some reason seemed to elude them despite being huge in Europe,if they make it only as far as New York you can bet I'll be there.

Setting Foot Inside The Death Zone Once Again

First of all allow me to apologize for no blog entries last week,it's not that I was short of things to write about......problem was they had nothing to do w/ running!!!!
Cliff Notes version,I got sick at the begining of the week,my rotation got thrown off b4 I even began,the rain stuck it's size 9 bovver boots in by Thursday and even if I'd wanted to run the 5K XC at VCP Sunday I couldn't since thanks to a "cock up of biblical proportion"my pay cheque was off by a couple of hundred bucks and I didn't have the $30 to catch the train/enter the race........and that's just the tip of the iceberg,surfice to say I needed to get out and run just to release some pent up frustrations that had been backing up like I95 in rush hour for the past week.
Glass half full{yes despite all my angst,anger and rage I can look for a silver lining}not racing Sunday would allow me the chance of a Mon,Wed,Fri rotation on the track w/ the option of a 10 miler on Saturday and w/ that in mind I hit Franklin Field for a 6x600m repeat.
Ah the good ole 6x600m or as it's lovingly often referred to "The Death Zone"it was once said of this repeat in order to be successful on the track one needs to spend time in"The Death Zone" it was also the same person who coined the phrase "mind numbing,gut wrenching,self inflicted pain,repeat" of 6x600m and w/ that in mind I set out to conduct my first 6x600m in a while,and if I'm not mistaken my first this year.

I wasn't sure what to expect of myself,what I did know was I'd set myself a 1.50 per repeat target and I would go for all 6 600s no half stepping it or building up from 4x600m,foolhardy maybe,but it's said that "fortune favours the brave"....and besides HUP, Hospital of University Of Pennsylvania is right across the road from Franklin Field!!!
#1,600m,67-39-1.46.18.So much for going out in a comfortable,conservative opening 400m of 76 seconds,question was would this come back to bite me in the bum a few repeats later?
#2,600m,71-37-1.48.65.So far,so good I was feeling comfortable even w/ marginally faster opening 400 splits,but could I keep up this pace?
#3,600m,72-37-1.49.45.Still on target but edging towards the plus side of 1.50,that opening 67 second 400m was about to come into play.
#4,600m,76-37-1.53.84.Not so much a case of the time honoured "cheque being in the mail" more a case of it being delivered,I knew that the final two 600s would be torture.
#5,600m,83-46-2.09.78.It came as no great surprise this happened but in running as in life I'd rather do it the hard way,taking the easy way out at 4x600m would leave me questioning how well I'd make the jump to 6x600m next week?
#6,600m,84-37-2.01.56.A modicum of redemption and while I'm never thrilled at anything in plus 2.00 realm on 600s all things considered I'd handled my return to "The Death Zone" reasonably well.

It would've been all to easy to set a slower target time than 1.50,nothing would've been gained from that,had I've gone w/ 4x600m I'm convinced I could've gone 4/4 at sub 1.50 but that'll mean precious little next week stepping up to the full 6x600m and in all honesty if you'd offered me 3/6 b4 the work out began I'd have taken it.

What Once Was Old Is New Again

Never let it be said I don't listen to advice,just over a year ago it was brought to my attention that my training regime lacked a long run,I thought about it at the time but that was as far as it went,fast forward 11 months and the same person again questioned why I opted against a long run,perhaps a longer run would help me in my 5ks,be they track,xc or road,as was painfully evident last Sunday in Syracuse I'm capable of opening fast but not having the strength or stamina to follow through.
When I read Eamon Coghlan's biography he talked about how Jumbo would send the Villanova guys out on long runs on the weekend,clearly it's not a radical part of middle distance training so I opted for a 10 miler this afternoon to get used to being on my legs a while longer than I have been of late.

Pre achilles injury I ran 6 or 7 milers along Cobbs Creek but I fancied something a little different so I thought once around the Art Museum Loop at 8.4 miles would be fun,between 1989 and 2006 I often conducted training runs on the loop but at the last minute I said feck it added on part of the Schuylkill Banks and made it a 10 miler,my first 10 miler since Oct 2nd 2006.
Remembering what JC had said about not worrying about time I deliberately left my stop watch at home,I just needed to focus on running,I was probably going to have my work cut out for me,three years removed my last last 10 miler,almost 6 months since my last long runs a 7 miler on April 19th followed by a 6 miler 3 days later.

I opted to go up West River Drive and back down Kelly Drive towards the Art Museum,the logic being that Kelly Drive tends to be more populated and I figured over the later half of the run I'd need other runners to to push and pull me along,for some reason West River Drive always seems less populated and I may need all the help I could get in the final miles.....of course if I used West River Drive for my second half less people would witness a "soft shoe shuffle" if it all went tits up on me,but in the end I felt positive thoughts would lead to positive actions.
I passed three other runners along West River Drive b4 crossing Falls Bridge but remarkably only passed one runner on Kelly Drive and that wasn't till Girade Bridge but to be honest it didn't matter as remarkably I was able to cruise along at a comfortable pace to complete my 10 miler w/out any ill effects.

I'll look to keep this run in my rotation,next week is out as I plan to hit Van Cortlandt Park next Sunday for a 5kxc race but in a fortnite's time I plan on doing this run again.
21 miles for the week.

Little Acorns

After a five week hiatus from my bread and butter repeat 4x1mile it was time to revisit it and get reacquainted w/ it as I begin the stretch drive for indoor track season.
Despite the wind it was a glorious lunchtime to run,maybe I was too hasty putting my sleeveless running shirts away after all?

Mile#1,1.19,1.23,1.26,1.19-5.27.03.I had hoped to clock 1.20/5.20 lap/mile pace,perhaps a tad overly hopeful given how long I'd been away from this repeat.
Mile#2,1.20,1.24,1.23,1.18-5.25.68.Had I've gone for 5.25 pace I'd have been reasonably pleased at this point.
Mile #3,1.22,1.24,1.25,1.19-5.30.87.Clearly a "work in progress"I knew I couldn't come in today swinging for the fences{yes a baseball metaphor since it's playoff time!!!}but I was hoping for marginally better than this.
Mile#4,1.22,1.26,1.25,1.13-5.26.31.A reasonably decent finish,what I lacked physically today I felt I was able to compensate mentally,granted my splits don't reflect uber fast times but I knew to push mentally and sometimes that's the hardest thing to do,the faster splits will come w/ time.

This has been somewhat of a transitional week for me,after two weeks of scaling back to be race ready this week was about reintroducing myself to what I need to make routine,to that end a jaunt around the Art Museum Loop tomorrow....on foot,not bike,it was suggested to me last weekend post Syracuse that I need to get used to being on my feet for longer than I've been doing recently so we'll see how that plays out for me.

3.15 The Gospel According To Top Cat

That old adage the best time to run is when you don't feel like it ran true this evening.
I'm not sure what it was,a hangover from Sunday's race,trying to get used to being back at work,coming to terms w/ life after ''The Queen Of The Slipstream"whatever it was I wasn't feeling it prior to arriving at Franklin Field.
Not only did I ditch my sleeveless shirt this evening but the first of the fall evenings complete w/ wind rattling through Franklin Field greeted my 5x1,000m repeats.

1,000m#1,1.16,1.19,38-3.13.23.I wanted to open in 1.16 as I felt that would set the tone for the workout,in all of my previous 6 1,000m repeats I'd failed to open in 1.16.
1,000m#2,1.18,1.21,38-3.17.03.A tad slower than I would've liked,I was miffed not to hold that opening 1.16 pace and also allow a 1.21 into the mix,granted my pace was slower than my recent opening ks but maybe that could work in my favour.
1,000m#3,1.19,1.20,36-3.15.63.Wow,take 2 seconds off my 3.17,put them on my opening 3.13 and I was holding a 3.15 average per split,w/ the wind picking up and the potential for fatigue to derail me I knew I had to focus.
1,000m#4,1.20,1.20,37-3.17.10.Finally a 4th 1,000 where I didn't implode,granted not going out gangbusters helped to aid and abet that but I have to confess that was more accident than design.
1,000m#5,1.19,1.19,35-3.13.38.Oh baby!inspite of the wind picking up and tired limbs I was able to close in an almost identical split to the one I opened w/.

My combined splits came out to 16.15. and I averaged 3.15 per repeat.granted not my fastest 5x1,000m repeats ,however my most consistant in less than favourable conditions.
If I wasn't feeling it on my way to Franklin Field I sure as hell was on the way home.

Just Not My Day

Often the hardest part of a run or race that dosen't go to plan is having to sit down and commit it to writing,in running as is in life you have to take it on the chin,dust yourself down and get on w/ it.
Why I could only muster a 17.16.81.chip time{gun time has me at 17.20}is still beyond me,was I as flat as the course?is 5k above my distance?did I just have an off day? or did I just get my race plan all wrong?
I'm leaning towards the latter,my 1k and 1mile target times were 3.14-5.24 but I went through them in 3.09-5.10,my half way split was 8.15,16.30 pace but I just couldn't hold it,my second half was 9.01,just not good enough.
Post race it was suggested I build some milage base,there's merit to that,the clocks going back will nix any evening bike rides and it's going to get too cold to do the long ride on the weekend so maybe it's time to get back out there on the weekend and log long runs,start off at 6 miles and work off of that.
Will there be any other attempts at my 5k pr?not in the forseeable future,I recall coming off my stress fracture and trying to get a spot on the Masters 3,000m Invitational at the Olympic Trials and failing miserably at Indoor Nationals,rather than carry on I cut my losses and refocused on the 800m/1,500m,by seasons end I was runner up in the 800m and winner in the 1,500m at Nationals so w/ phase three of my training about to get underway it's time to get refocused and think about the upcoming indoor season.....and who knows maybe w/ some base milage under my belt an indoor 3,000m is on the cards,we'll see.

Less Is More

As is often the case at Franklin Field when Kim isn't on duty as the security guard things tend to be off kilter,bathrooms locked,and access to the track denied for no good reason,since today was scheduled as an easy day I took the less is more approach and did two sets of stadium steps on the lower level as good knee lift exercise and then threw in an impromptu mile cool down to wrap things up.
Like last week I've done all I can to prepare,sure I'd like there to be more but I've always said it's in our runners dna we never settle for less is more,I'm as prepared as I can be for Sunday,all I can ask for is a good ride up to Syracuse,a good nites sleep the nite b4,good conditions and to awake ready and rearing to go Sunday so that when the gun goes off at 9am I'm in a position to lower my second oldest pr 16.44 set in 1990.

After The Lord Mayors Show

"October,and the trees were stripped bare of all they were,what do I care,October kingdoms rise,and kingdoms fall,but you go on and on"
October U2

Following all the hoopla of 5th Avenue Mile and all the accolades that came w/ it it was time to knuckle down and get ready for Sunday's 5k in Syracuse.
I arrived at Franklin Field at lunch time knowing this was my last 5x1,000m repeat b4 leaving for Syracuse this weekend,like all final workouts you want it to be a good one to send you off on a good note.

1,000m#1,1.14,1.18,38-3.10.20.a strong opener,unlike recent weeks I didn't want to open in a brisk sub 3.10 as I doubted my mini vacation in New York would afford me my best today
1,000m#2,1.14,1.19,36-3.09.79.a near carbon copy of repeat#1 at this stage I was confident of a solid workout.
1,000m#3,1.17,1.21,37-3.15.51.the proverbial writing was on the wall w/ that 1.21 split,several days of having my schedule disrupted was about to catch up w/ me I feared.
1,000m#4,1.22,1.25,41-3.28.23.of the 30 1,000m repeats I ran in my build up for Syracuse this was my slowest,even my #4 in the rain on 9.11 was 3 seconds faster.
1,000m#5,1.20,1.22,34-3.16.53.I'll take a closing 3.16 k on Sunday.

My combined time was 16.18,to give me the following times for the last six week:16.19,15.59,16.14,15.53,15.53,16.18,would I have liked a better final workout?yes but I felt going into today that I wasn't going to be at my sharpest so it is what it is and following tomorrows easy 5k I'll have done all I can to prepare for Sunday,to quote Queen"It's In The Lap Of The Gods"