He's A Rebel And A Runner

Bugger! a sub par week,a tick over the 800m time I was looking for, a sub par interval session and "Mother Nature" fecked me over for 4th consecutive 50mpw.......otherwise a good week!!!

Monday 12 Miles
Jaysus it was Baltic out there this afternoon!
Given it was a race week I opted to get my longest run out of the way first knowing it was Brass Monkeys out there
Threw my sleeveless hoodie on under my running jacket to keep the wind off my face,dug out the running tights,went w/ heavy duty gloves and would rue not doubling up on socks as by mile 4.5 I could feel the tips of my toes getting numb
There was however a satisfaction in knowing tomorrow was now only 10 miles......and it'd be feckin warmer!!!

Tuesday 10 Miles
So remember back in late September/early October I had a week of encountering all kinds of creatures on my runs that week......add a Possum to the list now....
Just beyond the South St bridge where they extended the Schuylkill Banks upto Christian St there's a footbridge where I encountered the Rat back then.....tonite my foe was bigger and uglier{ God must have been in a pissy mood when he created the Possum....just saying!}
Thankfully for both of us a wire fence separated us,I didn't need this ugly bollix going after my ankles and he didn't need a size 10.5 running shoe going up his hole!
It's almost 10 years since the infamous "Possum Gate" war of words between Joel Dubow and yours truly in case anyone has forgotten him likening me to a Possum........

Thursday 800m
Thursday Nite @ The Races #3
12th  Seed in heat 4 w/ my 2.20 seed time the field was comprised of 2.14-2.20 runners although only 9 of us toed the starting line
Off the top turn I moved into 8th place as I opened in 35.98 I was hoping for 34s...
35.46 for a 1.11.4 400m splits
Mr fecking consistency a third 35 second lap,35.89 for 1.47.3 at 600m
Kicked like mule over the final lap and passed runners 6 & 7 on the back straight but ran out of real estate up the home straight to reel in 5th
33.6 split for a 2.20.98 finish that was rounded up to 2.20.99....
Hindsight is a wonderful thing,I wish I'd been more aggressive on that third 200....that said would I have dropped a closing 200 in 33.6........

Saturday
Fuck Sake! A week removed from the snow that banajaxed my repeats I got to my front door at 7am to be greeted by pissing down rain....that shite was coming down sideways!!!!
No point trying to run period in that much less intervals and w/ a prior commitment on tap for the afternoon I had no wiggle room.........
Insult to injury yer man reading the local weather tells us "no precipitation in the forecast for the next seven days".....that's fuckin' grand!

Sunday Repeats
Two choices,do repeats at the expense of my long run,or vice versa either way I wasn't getting my 50 miles in this week.....
Since last weeks repeats in the snow were a shit show and in two weeks time I have a race on the Sunday which puts a spanner in the works for a repeat that weekend I felt it was prudent to go w/ repeats over a long run.......
So the good news the track had dried out from Saturdays rain of Biblical proportions the bad news the fecking wind was fierce along the back straight and top turn

Mile
1.26-1.32-1.32-1.27=5.57.3
Sub 6 but last time out I went 5.53.....last time out I wasn't doing that mime shite down the back straight and top turn either!!!!

1,200m
1.30-1.32-1.28=4.30.1
While I was only 4 seconds down after the mile any hope of making a fist of it went out the shaggin window now

1,000m
1.29-1.34-42=3.45.9
Shamrock Warrior is getting angry.......

800m
1.31-1.28=2.59.8
#Negativesplits

600m
1.29-43=2.12.3
 A sub 1.30 opening 400......to quote Monty Python"still I was getting used to it by now"....

4x400m
1.22.9-1.22.8-1.20.6-1.17.5
At least I didn't "mail it in" and managed to get each split faster than the previous one....albeit by the skin of my teeth on #2

Insult to injury my 3/4 mile cool down was me running back to the Haverford train station to catch the 10.51am train or wait an hour till 11.51am
Upon boarding the train I instinctively went to my phone to pull up the National Hurling League results.......BOLLOCKS!!!!! Cork lost their opening game by a point......and hit 17 wides.......t'was that kind of a shaggin week I guess.....

Roll The {Old} Bones

Lady luck is golden,she favours the bold,that's cold stop throwing the stones the night has a thousand saxophones so get out there and rock and roll the bones

Roll The Bones- Rush

Another week,another 50 miles under my belt,my first brush w/ Old Man Winter........

Monday 12 Miles
As is my won't a Monday run to kick off the week.....nothing out of the ordinary there other than the fact this was now my seventh day in a row running not something I make a habit of but that was the hand I was dealt so I had to go w/ it
62 miles over 7 days.....boy was grateful Tuesday was a rest day......

Wednesday 12 Miles
While my legs were rested from a day off my  middle finger got a workout tonite on this run.......seriously a collection of Gobshites,Ejits and assorted motherfuckers and arseholes out there
WHY??? did I spend $50 on a white Ireland tracksuit jacket to heighten my visibility in the evenings and yet motorists and pedestrians alike claim they didn't see me.......try opening yer feckin eyes!!!!!

Thursday 12 Miles
Not because I wanted to avoid South St bridge/Upenn/Hup where the "legally blind" or just plain fuckin' ignorant seem to dwell I opted to make Thursdays 12 miler out and back along Powelton Ave/W.River Dr for a change of pace/scenery having done 2 12 milers along Kelly Dr already this week
I won't deny avoiding the Hup/Upenn/South St bridge area is a blessing at times but it sucks cos I enjoy running along the Schuylkill Banks to Kelly Dr it might be time to bust out the Garmin and find a route down Powelton Ave and along Kelly Dr and back via Powelton Ave b4 they have to surgically remove my size 10.5 running shoe from someones arse........he hinted.....

Saturday Repeats
Well......in theory anyway,a week removed from 62 degree temps we had 25s and snow......told ya we'd pay for it!
The boot in the bollocks so to speak was IF I'd gotten to Haverford at my usual time of 8am I'd have been golden however w/ a 7.30am Spurs game dictating things it was 10am b4 I boarded the Paoli train to Haverford and between 30th St and Overbrook the snow began to fall
By the time I reached the track b4 10.30am it was already covered in snow,I couldn't see the lines of the track and did my mile warm up in my Hightops......
My racing flats in the snow seemed like a recipe for disaster so I opted for my regular running shoes
Mile
1.33-1.43-1.41-1.38=6.35.0
This is bullshit! a week ago I ran 5.53 and after an opening lap of 1.35 on the next repeat I threw in the towel,I'd have raised the white flag but w/ all the shaggin' snow you wouldn't have seen the fucker!
3 lap cool down to round out to 3 miles and a retreat home.....fuck you Old Man Winter!!!

Sunday 11 Miles
W/ my repeats shot to shit I at least salvaged a 50mpw thanks to a mid morning 11 miler out and back along Kelly Dr to register my 3rd consecutive week at 50mpw

I have no control over the weather or my digestive system evidently as there were Gastrointestinal issues at play also on Saturday which along w/ the snow screwed me,however I live to fight another day.....hopefully 5 next week as I close in on 200 miles for the month.......

There's A Little Alf Tupper In All Of Us

Another week,another 50 miles logged{albeit it over six days}a first race of the year and decade and my longest long run since early November.....all in a weeks work for yer old Shamrock Warrior.....

Tuesday Easy 8 Miles
Loathe as I am to skip a Monday training run I thought it was wise to sit it out given my nose was drippin' like a faucet and I had a race scheduled on Thursday
Caution being the better part of valour I ran an easy 8 Tuesday despite the threat of rain to kick start the week and also prep for Thursdays 1,000m race at The Armory

Wednesday Easy 8 Miles
Couple of strange phenomenas on this run,the Sun & Moon both visible when I headed out around 4pm and also getting my run in b4 daylight faded,at this time of year I'm used to finishing my runs after sunset but since this was only 8 miles  I was home and hosed just after 5pm

Thursday 1,000m Race
First race of the new year and new decade and second of the four "Thursday Nite @ The Races" series at The Armory in NYC
Following my "baptism of fire" in the mile three weeks ago I at least came into this meet w/ some mileage under my belt
Opted for a 3.05 seed time which earnt me  the #7 seed in heat 3 of 15
Splits:36.2-35.6-36.6-37.0-34.1
Laps:36.2-1.12.8-1.48.5-2.25.6-2.59.7
8th in 2.59.7,from a race stand point still some work to be done,to run sub 3.00 at 56 w/ only one recent repeat session under my belt very pleasing and gives me confidence of a sub 2.20 for the 800m in two weeks time

Friday Recovery 8 Miles
Unlike Tuesday & Wednesdays 8s over the South St bridge and along the Schuylkill Banks to the Art Museum I ellected for a change of route and went Powelton Ave and W.River Dr to Spring Garden bridge

Saturday Repeats
No fog this week but gloriously unseasonal temps at 8am
Mile
1.26.1-1.32.1-1.32.1-1.23.1=5..53.3
1200
1.28-1.30-1.29=4.17.2
1000
1.21-1.27-43=3.31.21
800
1.26-1.22=2.48.5
600
1.24-39=2.03.2
4x400
1.18.0-17.2-1.17.2-1.15.0

A 37 second improvment from last week,again like Thursdays race I'm not the finished article just yet and there's more meat on that bone but it's getting there

Sunday 16 Mile Long Run
More unseasonably high temps...a whopping 62 degrees at 10.40am which allowed for no hat,no gloves no jacket
I'm sure b4 Winter has ended we'll pay for this but in the time honoured tradition of not looking a Gift Horse in the mouth I took full advantage
Back to back 50mpw's



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New Year,Same Shamrock Warrior

Hola dear reader,first and foremost heartfelt apologies for the lack of blogging in the past two months........in my defense there hadn't been any real running to blog about until three weeks ago when I got off my arse and began to log the miles again.
I'm happy to report last week saw the return of the tried and tested 5 day 50 mile week so it feels as good as place as any to return to the blogisphere

Monday 12 Miles
Final run of the year{time wasn't going to afford me a run on New Years Eve sadly} so as well as a jump start on my 50mpw it also served as the final 12 miles of the 1866 I logged during 2019
Had I not slacked off in mid May/early June and again in early November/mid December I didn't doubt I would have reached 2000 miles for the year........something to shoot for in 2020

Wednesday 12 Miles
Just as the old year ended the new one begun w/ another out and back 12 miler along the trusty Schuylkill Banks and Kelly Dr to just b4 the Colombia Bridge
Having gotten out a little later than planned I ended up finishing gone 5pm and ergo sans daylight not a big deal except for the fact ye olde fingers were numb long b4 I got home inspite of my thermal gloves.....how numb you ask? lets just say I needed a shower to warm my hands up b4 I could turn the light switch on my living room lamp.........damn my piss poor circulation!!!

Thursday 10 Miles
Two longest runs out of the way it was time for a pair of 10 milers bookending my return to the track on Saturday
Two days into the new year/new decade and my wafer thin good will to cyclists on my run is already shot.......seriously dude the last fecker that close to my arse was at least giving me a rectal exam what was your excuse?

Saturday Repeats
Having baulked at the last two attempts to get repeats in on a Saturday "third time's a charm" rang true this week
My splits were feck all to write home about muchless blog......but having been away from the track for repeats since Nov 2nd that was to be expected
Glass half full I have legit targets for next weeks mile,1,200m,1,000m,800m,600m,400mx4
Interesting anomaly .......FOG..... I could see the length of the straights and across the infield but it was a strange environment to conduct a run of any description,let alone repeats

Sun 10 Miles
An easy/recovery run if ever there was,my calves were a tad sore from Saturdays repeats but that was to be expected
Another brisk one out there along the river,upon returning home I checked the temperature online......42 degrees but feels like 32 degrees.....yeah no shit Sherlock!

So a return to basics to kick off the new year,I am eyeing up a return to mid 50s in a few weeks time{weather permitting} but this was what I needed to kick off the opening week of a new season