Next Stop Baton Rouge*

Final week of prep b4 heading to Baton Rouge for Indoor Nationals on March 12th
Thus far this winter it had for the most part been plain sailing,I was concerned only allowing 12 full weeks of training through the Winter may cost me a day here, a week there but w/ the noteable exception of the one Saturday when the snow bollixed me on my repeats I have thus far been lucky w/ the weather

Monday 6 Miles
The downscaling of miles continued w/ the first of two 6 milers....it will be a jolt to the system post Nationals when I resume 10-12 milers during the week but for now I'm enjoying the shorter runs

Tuesday 6 Miles
As is my won't w/ back to back runs of the same distance I switched up from South St bridge/Schuylkill Banks on Monday to Powelton Ave and the Art Museum today
Very little to blog/report other than running "on the backfoot" a little w/ a mile race at The Armory on Thursday,no point "leaving it all out there" today and having nothing for my final tune up race.....

Thursday Mile
Thursday Nite @ The Race #4
Fresh off my  5.06.85 last week at Ocean Breeze I was hopeful of a quicker time tonite, I figured the banked track at The Armory tonite would help shave a few seconds off of last weeks time when they didn't bank the curves over in Staten Island
Heat #5 seeded 16 of 20,according to the heat sheets a dozen or so 5.00 milers so while a larger field than I'd have preferred{15-16 would've been my preference but hey.....I'm just the runner why should I have a say in matters}.... I figured it'd be a competitive heat
20th when the field merged at the top of the home straight I didn't even see the infield clock for   my opening split{40.0}
Off the bottom turn I knew I had to move up the field for fear of being in a bottleneck for the next few laps and thanks to a swift change of gears I moved up the field b4 the next turn
I'm not sure of my exact position at that time as I went thro 400m in 1.16.6 and 600min 1.53.7
On either lap 3 or lap 4 I hit the front, was I looking to win? not really it was more of a "let's see what I can run move" that happened to propel me from hunter to hunted
2.30.8 at 800m this was where I'd find out where I was in terms of speed,strength and stamina
3.08.6 at 1,000m,3.46.5at 1,200m and 4.24.6 at the bell
I was aware of another runner coming up on my outside going into the top turn on lap 7 but didn't yield or buckle if he wanted it he'd have to earn it
I forget when he passed me but he did and coming off the final turn 2 more runners went by me,again I didn't run up the white flag and crossed the line in 4th in 5.02.38
My splits were:40.0-36.5-37.1-37.1-37.7-37.9-38.1-37.7
Pretty feckin' consistant if I do say so myself,equal to a 4.44.38 1,500m it also  threw up the question was a return to the rank and file of Sub 5 minute miles doable?
Off tonites performance I'd have to say it is....however of the three meets remaining on the indoor circuit the next 2 races are 1,500s w/ a "all or nothing" final crack at things at Ocean Breeze on March 26th in the Miles Mania Grand Prix Finals..........,said date has been circled on my calendar...

Saturday Repeats
One final early morning trip to Haverford for Intervals b4 Indoor Nationals but believe me my weekly visits to Haverford will continue post Baton Rouge
Another brisk morning w/ the omnipresent wind down the back straight......but to quote a Monty Python sketch"still I was getting used to it by then"......

Mile
1.24-1.35-1.37-1.27-6.03.2
Still having issues w/ laps 2 & 3 in the mile,that needs a dramtic improvement post Baton Rouge

1,200m
1.29-1.25-1.29-4.23.1
A bit more like it as I began to get to grips w/ the back straight and top turn wind

1,000m
1.24-1.31-40-3.35.2
At this stage I was 8 seconds up on last weeks times but wasn't ready to"mail it in"just yet....

800m
1.24-1.23-2.47.7
Yes! continued my streak of negative split 800s asitwas pointed out to me pre race at The Armory by my good friend Mark Williams "the strength is there"

600m
1.23-38-2.01.6
Looks like I'll have to wait a while longer for a sub 2 600m but it's coming

4x400m
1.18.3-1.19.4-1.19.1-1.16.8
No decending 400s again butfingers crossed come late March/early mid April the wind willhave stopped battering me throughout the repeats and I can see each 400m get  faster

18 seconds faster than last week, a  nice way to sign off of repeats pre Nationals

Sunday 8 Mile Tempo Run
Opted to go early this week as my monthly Facebook Live "Philly Nicholson 90" was due to air at 2pm
Aided by the clocks going forward I hit Boathouse Row at 9.40am....technically 8.40am and it felt a tad brisk for someone like me w/ piss poor circulation,for the opening 2 miles I questioned my choice to leave my gloves at home but by mile 3 I was no longer concerned by that
Time:55.24.8 off 6.56 mile pace
Splits:6.44-6.56-6.54-7.05-7.04-7.06-6.50-6.46
If indeed "good things come in threes" then my final race,repeats and tempo run b4 Nationals were testimony to that
Season's best time for the tempo run,but I am looking to go faster and eventually go 8 for 8 on sub 7s

Have I done everything I can to put myself in medal contention next weekend in Baton Rouge? I believe I have,all that remains is to fly down to LSU and put it allon the line next week.....

Tapering

So down to the final two weeks of training for Baton Rouge and Indoor Nationals,less volume same intensity

Monday 10 Miler
The final double digit run of my training program an out and back along trusty Kelly Dr to kick the week off
Any thoughts,hopes,dreams,wishes,desires of this being a "run of the mill" training run almost came crashing down around my ears w/ just over a mile to go......
I was aware my left shoelace had come undone and while the over riding temptation was to say feck it w/ just over a mile left I thought it better to  play safe and pull over to the side and retie it rather than tempt fate and potentially have all my hard work over the last 11 weeks blow up in my face.....
Laces retied I begun to resume my run along the sidewalk......when some feckin Lance Armstrong wannabe comes flying up on my right hand side w/out so much as a "on your right!!!" and almost took me out.......
Ya motherfucker you.......IF you're too Chickenshit to ride on the road at least have the feckin decency in ya to let those of us on the sidewalk know you're coming while you live out your Tour De France Time Trial fantasy........
Arsehole,Lance Armstrong only had one testicle.......if I'd have caught up to ya ye'd have had none.....

Tuesday 8 Miler
The only issue going into this one was would the rain scupper my plans altogether or force me to tweek the miles in favour of a slightly longer recovery run on Friday......
Mercifully the much touted rain held off and once out the door it was no longer a question of if but when I got my out and back 8 miles in along Powelton Ave and W.River Dr done
W/ the notable exception of two more Tempo Runs I won't be logging anything more than 5s or 6s now till post Indoor Nationals

Thursday Indoor Mile
Against a backdrop of self inflicted turmoil I headed back upto Ocean Breeze on Staten Island to make my long overdue debut in the Miles Mania series
For the past couple of years Miles Mania has provided either an alternative to Thursday Nite @ The Races at the Armory or welcome addition for those inclined to get the most out of the Indoor season,having gotten a "lie of the land" in terms of making my way up here a few weeks ago I now felt confident of finding  my way in the dark on a Thursday evening.
Putting 5.04. as my seed time I was seeded in heat 2,38 seconds per lap x 8 would equal 5.04......saying it and doing it,well that's a horse of a different colour now isn't it......
In a field of 10 or 12 I was 5th off the starting line and came through the opening 200m in 39.6
Down the back straight I moved into 4th and came through 400m in  1.16.4 a 36.8 split
1.55.2 at 600m off a 38.7 split I'd now moved into 3rd and was keeping close tabs on the Garden State runner who lead the field
2.34.6 at 800m off a 39.4 split,5.04 was there for the taking....but so was the win,having occupied the rear of the fields in my previous mile,1000m,800m and 3,000m races tonite felt like an actual race and not a race against the clock as I moved into 2nd place.
3.13.9 at 1,000m a 39.2 split,3.52.8 at 1,200m off a  38.8 split
4.31.4 at the bell off a 38.6 lap ,it was time to see what I had "under the hood"
Closing in 35.4  I crossed the line in 2nd place in 5.06.85,7 100ths of a second behind the winner in 5.06.15,out in 2.34 back in 2.32......
It's a far cry from the 5.14.82 I opened the season w/ on Dec 19th and is worth a 4.48 1,500m time going into Nationals
Ironically tonite the track was flat,the turns weren't banked,which given the Carl Maddox track in Baton Rouge will be flat suited me,I have another indoor mile next Thursday at the Armory,we'll see what difference banked turns will make then.

Friday 5 Miler
Easy/recovery 5 miles out and back along Powelton Ave to 31st St at lunchtime to get any lactic acid out of my legs b4 returning to the track on Saturday for my repeats

Saturday Repeats
I knew it was going to be brisk out there this morning so since I had some leeway w/ time I pushed the repeats back an hour from 8am to 9pm
While the extra hour helped combat the cold,it did feck all where the wind on the back straight and  top turn was concerned.....

Mile
1.28-1.34-1.33-1.28=6.03.1
A second down on last weeks time,once again laps 2 & 3  were slower than I'd like

1,200m
1.30-1.30-1.26=4.26.2
The 1.30s were an indication of how brutal the wind down the back straight was,that said I was only 4 seconds in the hole......

1,000m
1.27-1.34-39=3.40.5
The 1.34 on lap 2 just killed not only the 1,000m but now put me at +14 compared to last week.....

800m
1.26-1.19=2.45.4
Despite  a painfully slow opening 400m I maintained my streak of negative splits in the 800......

600m
1.24-41=2.05.4
At this stage it was just about seeing it through to the end.....no matter how bitter that may be.....

4x400m
1.21.0-1.21.7-1.20.8-1.18.4
3 and 4 should come w/ an * next to them.....upon compleation of #3 I discovered my Garmin never started recording the repeat so I took my 3 min recovery,reran #3 and then ran a 5th 400m to get a 4th split
In the words of Bob Dylan"Idiot Wind".......

Sunday 8 Mile Tempo Run
To complete my 6 day 40mpw the trusty 8mile tempo run around the Art Museum Loop
Mercifully at 4pm temps were warmer than 9am yesterday morning.....and there was no wind to speak of
Time:56.30.5 off 7.04 mile pace
Splits:6.55-7.09-6.55-7.14-7.14-7.14-7.00-6.50

25 seconds down on last week which is frustrating but considering it looked like a 57 min time was on the cards when miles 4,5 and 6 all came in at 7.14 I can take some solice for "not mailing it in" and making a fist of it over the closing two miles

Another week in the books,another week closer to Baton Rouge and Indoor Nationals,let's see what next week brings