Saturday, May 14, 2016

Confidence Boost....Check

It was once said of my hero Jimmy Connors he equated the loss of a tennis match to the loss of a tooth in a bar room brawl.....I feel the same way off the back of a bad race or bad repeat workout...... so following Sundays substandard Mo Farah Workout at Temple I headed to the friendlier confines of Haverford College this afternoon to try and correct last Sundays shit show.

Arrived at the track by 2.20pm and had it all to myself which  always makes me happy....it's not that I don't share well it's just that somethings in life are better all by your lonesome and for me track workouts are one such thing.
5 lap warm up complete into my flats and as "the auld fella" would say "time to let the dog see the rabbit"*
*I don't condone Rabbit hunting,tis only an expression #luvbunnies


Mile
1.23-1.24-1.25-1.19=5.31.59
A far cry from the piss poor 5.41.16 I opened w/ on Sunday but not quite the 5.13/5.20/5.24/5.21 my four prior opening miles have yielded

1,200m
1.21-1.22-1.17=4.00.15
I believe it was Bob Dylan who sang "Idiot Wind" and the fecking wind around the top turn and up the home straight felt like it cost me a sub 4.00.....not that 4.00.15 sucks w/a closing 400m in 77 seconds!

1,000m
1.19-1.21-36=3.16.58
Beginning to close in on that 3.12 range I had in January b4 the hiatus of all things repeat,not so much "softly softly catchy monkey" more "run run ye little fecker!!!!"

800m
1.19-1.17=2.36.52
Oh!!!! negative splits,yeah,still working my way back to 2.30/2.32 territory but getting there...

600m
1.18-36=1.54.60
Dec 30th=1.48.50-Jan 7th=1.49.10,how long b4 I'm back at sub 1.50???

400m
67.79
Was thinking 68 would round out the workout nicely but here's my feckin' arm twist it....ok ok ok I'll take the 67.79!!!

Yes an improvement on Sundays times.....der!!! but to quote my former coach " there's alot more meat on that bone"
I race Monday so I'll forgo the Mo Farah Repeat next weekend but  the following 7 weekends....oh it's on like Donkey Kong!!!!

Friday, May 13, 2016

Less Is More/Going The Extra Mile

So,I sat out my scheduled 13 miler on Wednesday.....bad runner,shame shame!!!!! but I feel I have a valid reason......
The last thing I need going into Mondays 5,000m at Swarthmore is to show up "leggy" it's an important race to begin w/ my first track 5,000m in almost 5 years plus it's a collage meet meaning at 52 & 1/2 I'll be the "old man of the field" but given the 411 that came my way re a potential meet in June that's now very much  off the books I now need to rewrite my June race schedule.
Providing I can "handle my business" at Swarthmore Monday I'll not only have a seed time for Michigan for Nationals{now nine weeks away...single digits...gulp!!!} but potentially no need to run another 5,000m in June, I would like to go: 3,000m-800m-1,500m on June 14th,21st,28th as my final tune up races b4 Nationals kick off on July 14th so now Mondays race takes on more importance ergo the decision to cut back my training this week to 4days/40mpw......any other week I'd have put on my "big boy pants" and dealt w/ the leg weary issue but sometimes "less is more" even if that concept is alien to  most runners...it just isn't in our DNA but having laid off the miles in November I felt ready to "throw down for 6 weeks in December/early January at 50mpw b4 my four week race schedule and taper which resulted in two Silvers so..............


The plan yesterday was another 13 miler but mid run that altered, seems this weekend is the Dad Vail Regatta,the big daddy of Rowing ergo why they're setting up shit now not Friday.
Bad enough I'm weaving in and out of rowing boats being held above head height,there are tents on either side of the path and vehicals coming down the path.
"Jobsworth" in front of me slows,I can't swing wide right cos of the tents,can't swing wide left as there's an oncoming Jeep coming up the footpath on Kelly Dr so I slow....cue "Jobsworth" coming to a complete stop to rap w/ the driver of said Jeep and as he throws his right elbow back it clatters  himself square in the chest........the feck I was dealing w/ more of that so rather than turn at 6.5 miles b4 Falls Bridge I kept going and made it a 14 miler plus avoided the chance of being up b4 the Judge for turning "Jobsworth" into a human Popsicle w/ a rowing oar up his arse.......


The extra mile was neither here nor there I did a 14 miler Saturday so it's not like it was out of my wheelhouse even if when I normally do the whole leap I go counter clockwise up West River Dr down Kelly Dr,but the old adage "a change is as good as a rest" seemed applicable
Sunny and 71 degrees for a nice change of pace always good to work up a bit of a sweat out there.


Friday by default is a rest day it's my busiest day at work w/ skids and I seldom get out on time or close to it plus there's food shopping,need to eat well this weekend pre race so Stuffed Clams w/ Alfrado Fettuchini, Seafood Linguine and Steak & Chips w/ Peas & Mushrooms are on the menu,I'm also trying to up my water intake I drink water each day but always feel I could drink more w/ a 12.5 lap race on the  horizon getting ever close now feels like the time to hydrate.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Wise Head Old Legs

Even though it's almost 7 years since my coach and I went our separate ways there are still some elements of his influence on my day to day training.
One of GP's "pearls of wisdom" was "listen to your body" and what my body told me on Monday was my legs were still a tad shot,in general I was knackered and rather peckish so the prospect of a run period muchless a 12 miler seemed unlikely and w/ that I not only sat out Monday but forced a rewrite of my entire weeks schedule......and this kids is why we write said schedule in Pencil!!!!


Switching from a:12-12-10-10-6 Monday thro Thursday rest day Friday Repeats Saturday rest day Sunday to a: rest day 13-13-13-6-5 Tuesday thro Thursday rest day Friday Repeats Saturday  5 miles Sunday has it's up side
Following my repeats on Saturday I now have the opportunity to get an easy/shake out 5 miler in on Sunday to remove any residual gunk/crap from my legs b4 Mondays 5,000m at Swarthmore so all in all not the worst thing in the world.


Out the door by 4.30pm it was a mixture of grey skies and raindrops and sunshine trying to peer out from behind the clouds in 56 degree temps for my out and back along Kelly Drive almost to Falls Bridge.
I felt comfortable and relaxed and maintained a near metronomic 9 min mile pace as the 1.17 finish indicated,out by 4.30pm home by 6.27pm,more of the same again today and tomorrow would be nice,having officially "thrown my bandana into the ring" for Mondays Swarthmore Last Chance Meet everything I do this week is geared towards my first track 5,000m in almost five years

Sunday, May 8, 2016

You Better Run

Not quite the repeat session I wanted but having "cut my cloth" to get my long run in Saturday so I could go out to Glenside last nite to enjoy the Pat Benatar Neil Geraldo gig{hence the title!!!} this morning I was up at 7am to have breakers and be out the door by 8am to get to my favourite "wateringhole" Fado's to cop the 8.30am Spurs Southampton game and then hit the track for my "Mo Farah" repeats
Having just missed the 11.05am Paoli train I had two options wait and hour for the next one OR hit "old faithful" Geasey Field at nearby Temple University which is what I ended up doing.

Arrived there by 11.40am and did my 5 lap warm up, a more or less deserted track which suited moi b4 switching into my flats to have at it

Mile-1.25-1.25-1.27-1.24=5.41.16
Kind of knew I was "up shits creek w/out a paddle" when I opened in 1.25 but did hope I could pull it back if not over the remainder of the mile at least the remaining 5 distances......

1,200m-1.26-1.27-1.21=4.14.78
Any hopes of "turning this repeat around" evaporated when I opened in 1.26 but props on closing in 1.21.....a modicum of salvation

1,000m-1.21-1.25-.38=3.24.00
I already knew I was on for my slowest ever series of splits on this workout but rather than "mail it in" or worse yet quit  mid workout I kept plugging away

800m-1.21-1.20=2.40.99
Technically even splits at 1.21/1.21 but I'm taking a negative split at 1.21/1.20.99.....feck it I need to take some positives from this workout eh?

600m-1.21-.37=1.58.03
At least I'd gotten a string of 1.21 400m splits on a day when I wasn't firing on all cylinders

400m-69.72
"Kitchen sink" time,threw what little I had into my final repeat and ran faster than the 70.12 I ran last week

Ok a few observations here,DON'T attempt a workout off the back of a 14 mile run,but credit where credit's due after the mile and the opening lap of the 1,200m I could've been forgiven for running up the white flag.....I didn't I kept going and while my splits/overall times are feck all to blog or "write home" about the glass half full aspect here is even on tired legs I kept going and didn't "check out mentally" this will come in useful somewhere down the road I believe

Saturday, May 7, 2016

What's That Orange Ball In The Sky?????

Stone the feckin' crows,after 12 days of either grey and overcast skies or poxy rain it was a pleasant change of pace to actually run in the sunshine this afternoon!!!!
I switched up my schedule at the last minute since a commute to Haverford,my "Mo Farah" repeat and commute back would take longer the the 2 hours it takes me to do the 14 mile Art Museum Loop,glass half empty I'll have to do my Mile,1,200m,1,000m,800m,600m,400m tomorrow on slightly tireder legs but at least getting out by 1.25pm and getting home by 3.25pm meant time to shower,get "suited & booted" and out by 4pm to hit my my favorite Starbucks to blog said run"the run ain't over till the blog's written kids!!!" b4 hoping another train to Glenside to catch Pat Benatar @ The Keswick tonite.

Not sure of the official temps at 1.25pm I did hear 62 degs last nite on the local news,feck me above 60.......the feck you say!
Pretty deserted out there today,fine by me,since it's Mother's Day Weekend here in America I guess they nixed a Rowing Regatta,it seems to be Regatta season on the Schuylkill from all the Rowing boats I see during the week and the pratt last Sunday who yelled at me and Gerry to "get off the path" as her crew were carrying said Rowing boat to wherever pissed me off,Rowing boats are for the river,runners run on the footpath,I understand when you're done said Rowing boat needs to be attached to a vehicle of some some sort to transport it but I'm fecked if I should have to run out in the street because somebody died and left you the feck in charge.......pause as I climb down from my soapbox....

No issues w/ the run,done deal,less traffic on the roads so less fear of becoming a "hood ornament" at the junction of South St bridge and the on ramp to I 76 and now that ye olde blog is posted it's off to The Keswick to "get my Pat Benatar on"

Friday, May 6, 2016

Three Tenners.....And One Fat Bastard

Another easy 10 miler in the log book last nite putting me at 30mpw for the week so far,providing I take care of business over the weekend  w/ my "Mo Farah" workout on the track Saturday and a Sunday long run around the Art Museum Loop at 14 miles I'll be looking at a 5 day/50mpw which is where I need to be right now.


Yesterday marked 11 days b4 my next race a "make or brake" 5,000m at Swarthmore College on May 16th and my first 12.5 on a track in almost 5 years,also yesterday was ten weeks to go till Outdoor Nationals in Grand Rapids Michigan.
Losing two weeks to the virial infection meant I have little or no leeway w/ my schedule  from here on in I need all my workouts despite how tired I might feel.


For the third day in a row it was grey and overcast out there around 4.30/4.40/4.50pm but at least dry as the temps ranged from 59 to 53 and back to 59,hard to believe it's May as it don't look or feel like it.....but come late July/August when I'm sweating my knackers off in the heat and humidity maybe I should remember these conditions yeah??


What's that old adage " once bitten,twice shy"? I made sure as I waited patiently at the junction of South St bridge and the on ramp to I 76 for the lights to be in MY favour that I didn't step off the curb......sure as a fat kid likes birthday cake some Mario Andretti type came whipping around the turn as the light had changed from red to green......funny how there's a sign next to said traffic lights that says No Turn On Red.........


And I wasn't done yet,5 blocks from home w/ the lights once again in my favour some fat fecker decides the "Pedestrains have the right of way" law needn't apply to me as he turned onto 45th St.....what the fuck tubby Crispy Crème about to sell the last donut you fat bastard?
"who ate all the pies? who ate all the pies? you fat bastard,you fat bastard,you ate all the pies"
Still at least I'm not picking on "Chav Central" for a change eh???

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Reble W/ A Cause

Another 10 miler to keep me tickin' along to this weeks 50 mpw,an interesting evening as after a period of being on my best behavior the gloves came off w/ cyclysts,pedestrians and my always favourite motorists.


Maybe it's the residual anger w/ "Chav Central" or maybe I just have issue w/ people being complete and utter prats but when I stand and wait for the lights to change in my favour the last thing I need is you trying to take the turn to the on ramp to I 76 like fuckin Lewis Hamilton trying to make sure he's got pole position going into the first turn....
Surfice to say the C Bomb was flying around the junction of South St Bridge and I 76 as well as a index finger jesture that was NOT to let "plonker" know he was #1 in my book!!!!


I don't know maybe I take my Cork roots to heart,Irish history 101 Cork is known as the "Reble County" for it's stance against British Rule back in the day but having shown up at Penn Relays last Friday sans club warm up jacket and thus sticking out like a bulldogs bollocks in the photo after the race w/ my team mates and made a point of avoiding the line down in the storeroom for my uniform,it's one thing to work w/ these Chavs.....but you want me to dress like them also.......fuck off will ya....what's next? a lobotomy!!!!!


Here's to another 10 miler post work this evening,here's to not almost becoming some wankers hood ornament and here's to another day of listening to Spotifty on my phone to drown out the Chavs.....

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Running Away From Chav Central

A few years ago on one of my sister  Lynn's visits to Philly she seemed  amused that the Broad St Run began at Einstien and ended at the Naval Yard "surely it should be the other way round" said my big sis who it has to be said the least athletic of me and my siblings,this the same person who said the day b4 my second New York City marathon "oh take a taxi for god's sake it'll be easier!!!"
If like me she had the misfortune to work at "Chav Central" like I do she'd fully understand the desire to run away from here not towards it!!!!!


So I took Friday off to run Penn Relays,not an unreasonable request period but when you're anchoring your teams 4x400m relays at 7.25am the last thing you need is to be up at 5.09am and putting in a full day of putting skids away which has been known to take until 4.45pm/5.30pm in recent weeks yeah?????


I returnerd to work Monday to not only find eight skids not put away but a bunch of skids "cherry picked" in the back of the storeroom......ie "oh this is misc shit,I don't feel like looking for it on the shelf...feck it I'll leave it till he comes in on Monday to do it"!!!!!!
Then there came the finger pointing when I raised cain as to why the shit wasn't done "oh Chris screwed us he didn't bring skids down"......knob,knob,knob,wank,wank,wank,wank I've heard it all  b4 my bone of contention is how is I can stay late and or work thro my lunch to get ALL of Friday's skids away week in week out but you feckers can't??????


Surfice to say the atmosphere down in the storeroom since Monday has been fraught,I guess these feckers thought I was going to work through my lunch hour Monday and or stay late to get the skids from Friday and Monday up.....................you thought wrong dip shits!!!! I took lunch and left on time Monday leaving three skids behind and while yesterday I got everything put away by staying half an hour late you can bet as I head down to "Chav Central" now it'll be w/ my earbuds in and not a feckin' word to them.........


Trust me last nites easy 10 milers did wonders to "taking the edge off"......but these dumb arses don't know that do they............. as they're the same arseholes who couldn't be bothered to ask how I did at Penn Relays...........
This just in I've been offered a position in OBGYN......that's ok I already work w/ a bunch of "see you next Tuesdays" to begin w/........yeah I went there!

Sunday, May 1, 2016

May Day! May Day!!

Ah the old adage "birds of a feather flock together" was seldom more true this morning,while the masses{40,000} gathered outside Albert Einstein Medical Center for the 2016 Broad St Run myself and my celtic brother Gerry O Hara met up outside The Inn At Penn to run together around the almost deserted Art Museum Loop.

Left to my own devices I might've fecked off the run,it was pissing down and my calves were shot following yesterdays repeats but having told Brother Gerald I'd meet him at 8.30am I couldn't or more's the point didn't want to be "that guy" who says "yeah yeah I'll run w/ you" and then bails.....those feckers get on my tits!!!!!!

As the self confessed "Poster Child" for The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner it's rare I run w/ someone....in fact the last time I shared a run was the last time Gerry was in town to visit his son and daughter who attend nearby University Of Penn back in late October.....I recall it being warmer and feckin' dryer that morning!!!!

Despite the rain....we'd call it a "soft morning" if we were back in the auld country Gerry and I went about our Sunday morning run w/ ease by runs end Gerry had 11 miles I had 13,giving me 32 miles for the week,not the 40 I had hoped for due to bailing on Thursday run but 0 to 32 after a fortnite on the DL is fine w/ me,plus 13 today will make Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursdays scheduled 12 milers that much easier.

No run tomorrow,calves and thighs have filed a protest for "chronic overuse" the last few days,Fado's is beckoning to me for the second half of a massive game for SPURS .....PLUS my running shoes may have dried off by Tuesday!!!!