The Hay Is In The Barn Now.....

Two day,three runs,20 miles and that's all she wrote for the preparation for the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon folks........

As I mentioned last week this was my final week of taper and while I was grateful for the fact I didn't have to tackle runs of any distance in the dark I won't have that crutch for much longer.
That said as a runner it's almost impossible NOT to run but I feel I've earned this taper so I "kept my powder dry" until the weekend.

Sat {Sham}Rocky Run
Two things out of my control almost derailed this,the sudden dip in temperatures and Septa!!!!
While the Arctic conditions couldn't be helped the cock up in the trolley tunnel probably could've been
W/ a 7.15am gun time for the 5k I figured the 22 block trolley ride didn't need to be till 6.25,15 mins at worst,a 10 min walk to the Ben Franklin Parkway,that gave me 25 mins to warm up,stretch and wait till the last possible moment to strip down to my race gear......that part I did manage!
Just outside 33rd St there was a signal failure and we sat there for 20/25 mins,when we finally reached 30th St it was now 7am.........
My warm up was me running up the Schuylkill footpath towards the Art Museum,thank Christ I'd picked up my race number on Thursday as it was 7.10am when I got to Eakins Oval,the 5k runners were lined up at the start and the National Anthem was being sung as I frantically stripped down to race gear and made my way into the corral.
Insult to injury my Garmin wouldn't load in time for me to use it so I have no idea of  my pace or splits,I do know even w/ thermal gloves on my fuckin' fingers were Novocaine numb!!!!
Given I've done no interval or tempo work I had no idea what to expect of myself over 5k,what I got was a 26th place finish overall in 18.36 and winner of the 50-54 age group.....
24 mins later the gun went off for the 10 mile race........
At least by 8am it was warming up a bit but given my piss poor circulation my fingers were still numb,nowth like 10 miles of open road ahead of you to try and distract you of that.
Said Garmin was now up and running so my mile splits were as follows:
6.34-6.28-6.37-7.31-5.57-6.49-6.56-6.53-6.38-6.26,if you're curious as to the disparity of miles 4 and 5 mile 4 had two major uphills.....and mile five had two major downhills!!!!
22nd overall in 67.02,again a clear winner in the 50-54 age group{although no age group prizes or first Masters award on offer......{really????} off of 6.40 mile pace
If the 5k had been a mild disappointment time wise this made up for it,to put things in perspective on May 5th at Broad St I ran 10 miles in 78.18 off very little/next to no training,fast forward six months and I ran 10 miles in 67.02 after a 5k!!!!!

Sunday easy/recovery 7 miles
The original plan was 5 miles as I planned to have a mile warm up/cool down either side of my races Saturday....that didn't happen so 7 miles it was to round out at 20mpw
If I thought I could blow off one last run{I didn't but given I was up at 5.25am for yesterdays races I could have been forgiven for wanting at least one lie in this weekend!!} I was sadly mistaken as my upper thighs were sore while doing my pre run stretches so"once more into the breech" and once more for old times sake!
Mercifully it was nowhere near as frigid today as yesterday,that said once again  long sleeves and three quarter length bottoms were the order of the day and even at 9.20am I was ruing not going w/ gloves{curse you my piss poor circulation!!!!}thankfully said long sleeve running shirt pulls down to cover my hands on days like these
And that was it,an easy uneventful final run,time to sit back this week,hydrate like it's going out of style,eat well try and get some early nites and not over react every time I sneeze or someone in my general vicinity does likewise!!

Have I done everything I can to prepare for my first marathon in 12 years? I have to hope so,like I said the hey is in the barn now I have to hope for no Septa cock ups race day and warmer temps and a firm belief that everything I've done since August 1st is enough to carry The Pale Kenyan" from start to finish over 26.2 miles.........
To Be Continued......