Another successful 5 day week including my first 16 miler.........
Tuesday Feb 13th another week where work cost me a weekday run on Monday so I knew I was in for a Sunday run.....again...... in the immortal words of a Monty Python sketch" still I was getting used to it by now"....
As has become almost customary now it was 2pm b4 I hit Market St up to the Schuylkill River and out and back just beyond Girard Avenue bridge at 39 degrees it was hat and gloves weather
A modest 50.16.9 time off 8.23 mile pace out in 26.06 back in 24.10, always good to get the first run of the week under my belt....even if it's on a Tuesday!
Wed Feb 14th Happy Valentine's Day!💘 a shout out to Mrs Shamrock Warrior/Mrs Gypsy Rebel for not only being my trusty side kick and partner in crime the last five years but also for her unwavering support of my running, in the past I dated women who not only treated my running like a massive inconvenience but refused to come and watch me run, the list of excuses w/ one individual read something like this: No I don't want to drive to Albany for he weekend, No I don't want to get up early to go to New York, No I don't want to come to your track meet to watch you run around in circles, No I don't want to drive to Ithaca or take the bus for the weekend but the absolute topper was when I ran the Rothman 8k which is three miles from where I live, she not only refused to go but was still in bed after I jogged the 3 miles to the race, ran the 8k then jogged the 3 miles home afterwards.......I don't need that negativity in my life period and it makes me extremely grateful for the love and support from Sibeal💚
Today's run felt like a cross between Winnie The Pooh and Marcel Marceau......yes it was a blustery day and at one point I felt like I was doing that walk against the wind auld shite! to underline how windy it was out there along the Schuylkill mile three where I'm w/in arms length of the river was a 9.21 split....the same mile in the other direction after I made the turn was 8.10............
49.23.3 off 8.14 mile pace out in 25.48 back in 23.35
Thursday Feb 15th, file this one under "Better Late Than Never" w/out getting too deep in to inter office politics it was 3pm b4 I got to lunch on Thursday, this is where getting boned on Monday when we were short staffed and couldn't take a lunch hour came back to bite me, if I'd been able to run Monday I could have said I'll pass today since it was so late but that wasn't an option and since I wanted my 5 day/40 mile week it was the late show today
Suitably fired up due to the bullshit I cranked out a brisk 47.18.8 off 7.52 mile pace, out in 24.08 back in 23.10, it was also a run where upon the recommendation of a co worker I ran up and back on JFK Blvd rather than Market St as it cuts out the last 4 cross streets after 20th St, it's always a bone of contention more so on the inbound leg that I have 7 cross streets I have to potentially slow or stop at moving forward I feel I'll continue to use JFK Blvd
Saturday Feb 17th Woke up to falling snow which had been predicted overnight, did I really want to go long in this????
I went back to bed since as is my won't I'm up early on a Saturday for the long run and by early afternoon the snow had stopped, I never did get an official amount of snowfall for Saturday but it has to be said doing my trusty out and back 6 miler along Powelton Ave and Mantua Ave the sidewalks and roads were pretty clear which bodes well for the long run on Sunday
Could I have gone long this morning? maybe but since I had the leeway to do so Sunday which isn't always the case I figured it wasn't worry worrying about and a rare Sunday long run it was, I know I quoted Jumbo Elliott the other week about trying to maintain a strict routine but as the Marines often say we don't plan we improvise" and while I'm keen to retain a certain schedule I also know sometimes you have to be flexible w/ it
Sunday Feb 18th Holy Mother Of God..........when I woke up around 7am dressed and stretched and looked out window the sun was shining, looked like a great morning for a run period, long run no worries.......
Ever the Boy Scout I checked my phone to look up the weather........26 feels like 15, warm thoughts were NOT going to cut it I doubled up on socks and SHOULD have doubled up on gloves as it almost was my undoing......
Out the door by 7.40am sidewalks were clear no melting/refreezing overnight issues for the opening 4-5 miles I always knew once I reached Fairmount Park and then crossed into East Falls this could be an issue but I'm happy to report I managed to stay upright the entire 16 miles and circumnavigated any potential falls, the funniest one came as I reached the Strawberry Mansion bridge roughly around mile 10, I always use the footbridge as it's made of wood and it has a bit of "give" compared to asphalt/ sidewalk......however it was still covered w/ snow and ice so after a brief "oh shit" I swung the other side of the median and ran across the bridge on the road....great thing about it being an early Sunday morning I didn't have to worry about traffic
I knew once I hit Edgley Dr /Reservoir Dr in East Falls the Soccer/Baseball/Softball fields would still be covered w/ snow and the wind whipping off of them as I negotiated them was chilling but I was now in the second half of the run, grit your teeth and keep going, crossing the Schuylkill on Girard Ave bridge the 13 mile marker came up on my Garmin I was too close to home now to quit, however by mile 14 on Powelton Ave my hands now felt like two blocks of ice, early on in the opening 4 miles my fingertips were numb but now my whole hands were frozen solid and as is often the case when I move up a distance those extra 2 miles at the end on the first run always seem that much tougher to get through, it was too friggin' cold to be walking the final 2 miles and while my pace was nothing to write home about I was able to see it through to the finish
2.19.02 off of 8.41 mile pace, my splits were:7.27-7.59-8.31-8.58-8.30-8.31-8.24-8.28-9.08-8.33-8.46-8.53-9.19-9.19-9.36,I knew mile 10 was going to be 9+ as I have to do the on ramp up to Strawberry Mansion Bridge and the navigate another uphill along Strawberry Mansion Bridge Dr but maybe over the coming weeks of these 16 milers I can see if 16 & 0 is doable, I'm happy enough w/ 12 & 4 today for my maiden run{ side bar this was my first 16 miler in 18 months} period muchless dealing w/ the below freezing temps throughout the run, I can't be sure if it ever got above freezing the entire run, it was a "comedy of errors" trying to get the key out of my half zip pocket let alone putting it in the lock and turning it when I got home just gone 10am, and it took a while after getting home b4 I could even text Beth to let her know I hadn't frozen to death out there this morning as my fingers were just that numb.......
A successful 5 day/40 mile week and my first 16 miler under my belt, in a week we lost two icons of distance running Kalvin Kiptum at 24 was a rising star who in my opinion was going to be the first man to run a sub 2.00.00 marathon, he almost did it in Chicago last October running 2.00.35 but sadly died in a car crash last weekend
Henry Rono was a long distance runner also from Kenya who in 1978 in the space of 81 days broke world records at 10,000m 5,000m 3,000m and 3,000m steeplechase also that summer he won 2 golds at the Edmonton Commonwealth Games over 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase both will be missed
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