The Return Of Mars Blackmon

 "I'm not looking for a clearer conscience, peace of mind after what I've been through and before we talk of any repentance try walking in my shoes, try walking in my shoes you'd stumble in my footsteps keep the same appointments I've kept if you try walking in my shoes, try walking in my shoes"

Walking In My Shoes-Depeche Mode

New week,new runners, new highs......same auld Fenian bollix......just another week of Kevinrunningfree...

Monday July 21st A chance to take advantage of a dip in the bastard humidity this week and make inroads into my July mileage, traditionally a tough month for me two years ago I logged 51 miles  last year 48 miles I came into the week on 37 miles.....

86 degrees but more importantly only 42% humidity as I looked to get a 5 miler in thus far I was 0 for 9 since resuming hostilities  w/ training two weeks ago, the humidity had cost me last week but now I had a chance to get through that barrier and thankfully I did

The last mile wasn't pretty by any standards but I'd swop style points for  that fifth and final mile and got it today........ onwards and upwards........

Tuesday July 22nd 85 degrees and 41% humidity as I logged back to back 5 miles for the first time since June 2nd/3rd

The psychological barrier of yesterday lifted off me helped I'm sure, once I could prove to myself I could do it once there was no reason I couldn't do it again....yes the conditions helped but the inner belief I could do it was a big plus......and for those of you playing a long at home my monthly mileage was now up to 47 miles.........

Wednesday July 23rd 86 degrees 42% humidity again as I logged a third 5 miler and for only the 4th time this year got above 50 miles{76 in February, 78 in March,65 in April}

I had hoped June was going to be the month I laid foundations........as is my won't a day late and a dollar short but feck it better late than never, two years ago off the back of a 51 mile month in July I logged  103 in August,100 in September,87 in October,101 in November b4 148 in December......not so much last year when I needed  it in heading into Dublin but maybe the bitter disappointment of that is the driving force this year heading into Philadelphia and the 40th anniversary of my marathon debut

Thursday July 24th,my luck ran out w/ the weather today 87 degrees but 49% humidity, I knew at 1.5 miles "I didn't have it over 5 miles today" and had to settle for 3 miles,glass half full I'm getting out there and putting the miles in and w/a week to go I now have 55 miles, can July be my best month to date....?

Saturday July 26th the fact I  not only got out on a Saturday but also waited it out till 2pm when the humidity was less oppressive underlines my desire to get in marathon shape{17 weeks  and counting} Full disclosure I would have liked 10 miles but I know I'm not there yet 2 weeks ago I managed a ropey 5 miler that was probably highly generous on my part, the final mile was stop/start 10.28 pace,Sunday  I had to settle for 4 miles over 2.5 miles/1.5 miles so the fact I got a solid 6 miles in at 54.56.7 off 9.09 is a major feather in my cap

I hadn't realized the Schuylkill  River Trail extension beyond Christian St linking the Schuylkill Trail to Grays Ferry had opened in mid May, this will be a game changer moving forward as I can cut out the 2 miles from my front door to the South Street bridge now and cut across West Philly to the start of the trail in  Grays Ferry and be on the trail

For the record at 2pm it was 87 degrees and 56% humidity.....crazy to think at 8am it was 78 degrees  but 86%.....but hey kids " global warming doesn't exist, it's fake science and the planet is NOT heating up each year..........me hole!

Big shout out to the new runners I broke in this week, I'm still a few miles shy of a seasons best of 28 miles per week but I feel I'm closing in on that,at best next week I'm looking at 28 miles { 4 times 5 miles Monday-Thursday 8 miles on Saturday} but IF I can do that next week and the humidity doesn't bollix me the week after I could be looking at 30 miles.......like the man once said"money I'm telling ya....it's the shoes"......

Perspiration,Desperation,Determination,RebelNation

 "When my time's at an ending when my days are no more bury me w/ my hurley by the river Dissour"

Killeagh Kingfishr

A frustrating week to say the least, fecking heat and humidity took a toll on my week and the tin lid on it Cork got blown out in the second half of the All Ireland Hurling Final on Sunday ......not a good week to be a rebel........

Monday July 14th looking to build on last weeks 5 day 21 mile week the hope/plan was to up my lunchtime 4 milers to 5s........mother nature had other plans

88 degrees and 63% humidity coupled w/ still feeling the effects of Saturdays 20 and a half hour day to and from New York City to catch The 2 Johnnies in concert meant I struggled to  log 4 miles..........little did I know this was a precursor to the rest of my week.......

Tuesday July 15th 88 degrees and 64% humidity this time time I managed to go 4.5 miles out and back up the Ben Franklin Parkway and along the Schuylkill River Trail/Kelly Drive

I hate the .5 on a run it always smacks of "unfinished business", glass half full I got an extra .5 in today that puts me .5 closer to my target of 5 miles.....glass half empty I need to tack on an extra .5 somewhere this week to round things up......alas it wouldn't be on Wednesday.......

I opted out of a run Wednesday I was off from work after the Hozier show over in Camden, I learnt the hard way last August after seeing Springsteen at Citizen Bank Park that a long nite on my feet at a summer gig tends to drain my batteries so I skipped Wednesday w/ the plan that if I could go long on Saturday maybe I could tack on an easy/recovery 4-5 milers Sunday to make up for it........the best laid plans of mice and men as they say........

Thursday July 17th......so the good news was the humidity had dropped to  a semi respectable 56%......the bad news was it was 92 degrees at 2pm when I ran and I had to pull the plug on this one at 3.5 miles.....at least now I was at a round figure of 12 miles for the week, could I push the envelope on Saturday and  squeeze out an 8 miler and then tack on an extra 4 miles on Sunday?..........could I fuck...........

Sunday July 20th Saturday never materialized,my arse was draggin' from work on Friday.....at the risk of going off on a diatribe about work let's just say recently my mantra ( the one I can print!!!!!) has been " why have a Dog if you're gonna fuckin' bark for it????" I got ran ragged Friday and that coupled w/ heat and humidity all-day  Saturday meant any hopes of a long run rested w/ Sunday and that meant no 5 day week this week

The less said about the Hurling Final the better, up by  6 at the half we were 35 mins away from ending a 20 year drought in Cork to bring the Liam  MacCarthy back  to the Leeside, Tipp outscored us 3.14 to .02 to win 3.27-1.18 and the fact I'm sat here typing my blog and not watching my beloved "Sunday Game" as I can't bring myself to relive the horror show that second half was should tell you how much it sickens my hole........I do know two lads from Cahir and Roscea {The 2 Johnnies}who are fuckin' delighted right now......if we had to lose to someone it might as well be Tipp

As for my run another struggle 87 degrees and 67% humidity at 1pm{ it wasn't any better at 7-8am when I woke up otherwise I'd have had a crack at it, I barely managed a 4 miler split between 2.5 miles and then another 1.5 miles

A 4 day/16 mile week....small potatos in the general scheme of things but it's another 4 days and 16 miles under my belt in two weeks i've logged 37 miles .....in May and June combined I only logged 39 miles so that's some cold comfort on a otherwise frustrating day/week

Much like my beloved Cork I will rebound it will be a tough end to their summer as they return to their clubs to head into the Fall and see out the club season,December will arrive b4 they know it and the drive for the 26 season will resume for me I need to put this week behind me and get after it tomorrow, the weather looks like it will be  on my side during the week,I'll tackle that b4 worrying what the weekend and the prospect of a long run holds

Final word on Cork, there will be the inevitable slaggin' and bandwagon jumping the next few days, weeks months......for me I am the son of a proud Corkman,I was Cork Hurling fan when I woke up and I'll be a Cork Hurling fan when I go to bed.....and when the sun rises I'll still be a proud Cork Hurling fan.....Rebels Abu!!!!!!

Each Tinker Has His Own Way Of Dancing

 ''It's not the shade, we should get past it,it's the light and it's the obstacle that cast it it's the heat that drives the light it's the fire that ignites it's not the waking,it's the rising"

Nina Cried Power-Hozier

So apologies for the lack of blogging.....as usual due to a lack of running, sad to say the month of May only produced 18 miles.....10 of which were at Broad Street and then June the month I was going to put down serious base heading into the summer only yielded 21 miles, so the time honoured issue" if not now when" came to the fore as of the week ending July 6th I was looking at 7 weeks to Philly 10k the unofficial start to my Fall road race season,11 weeks to PDR a clear idea of what shape your in heading into October/November races and 20 weeks to the Philadelphia Marathon,this Falls "Holy Grail" so no better time than now to knuckle down and  start the process that has been my bread and butter the last several years......no ye can't "teach  an auld dog new tricks" but ye can show him how to improve on what he knows........

Monday July 7th I knew jumping back in at 5 miles was wishful thinking so I set myself 4 miles sans Garmin, time was not an issue reestablishing good training habits and returning to a system was, of course it's July so it was 89 degrees and 78% humidity and off a three week layoff it was no surprise my lungs felt like they were on fire by a mile.......

I could've turned at the mile and eased my way back in w/ 2 miles......to be honest 2 miles didn't seem worth the effort and when I reached Lloyd Hall at the start of Boathouse Row at 1.5 miles a turnaround for 3 miles was an option.......I kept going to the 2 mile mark just beyond the last of the houses on Boathouse Row, it was evident not long after making the turn that 4 miles might've been too much to ask for so I had to settle for 3.5 miles......but it was a start

Tuesday July 8th Frankly if I could run on a day like today 94 degrees I can run any day.......it did help it was only 49% humidity and while I wouldn't have gotten many if any style points for the final mile I did grind out and log 4 miles, back to back runs since the first week of June.......from little acorns big trees grow so they say......

Wednesday July 9th 88 degrees and 53% humidity and a much better 4 miles today.....little by little I feel it's getting there,b4 my mid season lull I had put in a body of work and w/ only three weeks off I haven't lost all my gains, at the end of June last year I'd logged a respectable 500 miles(cue The Proclaimers!!!} this year only 282 but if things go to plan September October I could be looking at some serious miles come December 31st, July is now the month to lay foundations and hope August isn't too humid so that I can kick on

Thursday July 10th Took advantage of 80 degrees and 71% humidity and tacked on the extra half mile from Monday so I didn't have it hanging over me going into Saturdays run when I knew the humidity was going to be fierce, also w/one eye on returning to  lunchtime 5 mile runs next week this 4.5 mile run felt like a bridge to that,in the opening week of June I logged 4 days back to back b4 falling on my hole on Saturday so I wasn't getting carried away just yet

Saturday July 12th, looking at the big picture I know that getting back into the habit/routine of Saturday running is clutch so I made a point of getting my arse out of bed by 7am to run, it wasn't till post run that I discovered outside of two Saturday races his was my lone Saturday run.....maybe I blew off Saturdays due to a heavy GAA schedule but given that we're down to the business end  of the Provincial season I don't have that excuse to hide behind plus as I stated earlier it's''piss or get off the pot time"

Christ! a modest 76 degrees but 90% humidity........what I wouldn't have given for it to be the other way around.....no such luck, since I wasn't 100% sure where the 3 mile mark would be I wore my Garmin hence why ye're getting mile splits 8.27 for the opening mile time wasn't an issue I just wanted 6 miles    8.46 for mile 2 and I could feel the sweat bouncing off of me, at this point I was grateful for the breeze coming off of the Schuylkill

9.30 at the turnaround and I knew I was in trouble,not ashamed to say I walked back up the on/off to South Street bridge, at this stage 6 miles felt like wishful thinking,9.24 for mile 4 and I think I already knew it was going to be a 5 miler.....the final mile was as ugly as sin, stop/start, walk/run as was reflected by the 10.28 mile splits.....yeah it was that ugly!!!

46.34.5 off 9.19 mile pace, far from pretty but g'wan to fuck it was 90% humidity......hopefully as the weeks go by the humidity goes down the mileage goes up and the speed/pace improves

First 5 day week in 12 weeks and remarkably as many  miles in 5 days as the entire month of June,don't call it a comeback.....(sorry LL Cool J!!) more of its it's not the waking its the rising.....

Stop Me If Ye've Heard This One Before?.....

 Another post race inquest as to why things didn't go to plan, glass half empty my second slowest time all time for ten miles, glass half full on a day when the elements  weren't in  my favour and physically I wasn't at the pitch of it I dug deep to finish and at least had the  satisfaction of going gun to tape w/out having to stop......while to my critics that may smack of"trying to make a silk purse from a pig's ear"  it was another in a long line of  a worrying trend of  days when I had to dig deep mentally and physically to see it through

Silly O Clock got even earlier this race, the traditional 8am start was brought forward an hour to facilitate a Phillies home game so it was 4.35am when I got up to leave b4 5am to get to my auld stompin' ground of Broad & Olney by 6am

Even then there was a line for the prerace Portajohns which seemed in short supply for a field of 40,000 runners, that said my "business was taken care of" and I was into the Orange Corral by 6.35am, I had gone to the rear of the corral b4 eventually moving forward as the two corrals ahead of me Red & Purple were called up to the starting line at Broad & Somerville  ,conditions were grey and overcast....a pre cursor of what was to unfold,full disclosure I didn't check the temps pre race,not that it would've made any difference as the proverbial cheque was in the mail in terms of what was about to unfold, I will say however in my defense that I had drunk ample water the day b4 in an attempt to ward off dehydration

Off the back of the illness that laid me low a fortnite ago I wasn't expecting a fast time so I really didn't come into this race w/ a finish time/pace in mind that said I was pleasently surprised to clock 7.31 for the opening mile...however this was short lived.....as mile 2 was a 7.49 split,I would've expected mile 1 to be 7.49 as I weaved my way through the corral in the opening mile and then opening up the throttle w/ a 7.31 split.......

When mile 3 registered a 8.13 split I knew I was in trouble,my stomach was bothering me more than usual, I'm well used to "dodgy guts" pre race but usually once the race starts I'm fine.....not today.....it was going to be a long 7 miles to the finish

Somedays you have to create your own motivations when things aren't going to script....b4 mile 4 around Broad & Cecil B Moore I spotted a large Irish Tricolour off to my right......the flag of my homeland will always inspire me and raise my spirits period muchless when things aren't going to script as I approached it I saluted it, high fived it's owner and said " Tiocfaidh ar la"{our day will come for ye who aren't well versed in Gaelic} on a day things weren't  going my way that interaction bought me another mile

At this stage I was thinking one mile at a time, I don't think not finishing was ever a consideration,asides from a rare DNF{ only one in my 49 year career thus far and that's one too many} I also wanted my medal {#260} plus my bag w/my phone and keys was at he finish line so unless I was going to punk out jump on the Subway and get down to Patterson Ave to get to  the Navy Yard and  bullshit everyone  that I ran the whole race I was going to have to grind it out

8.25 for mile 4, 8.38 for mile 5  at Broad & Spring Garden now I needed to think about my daily 5 milers to get from Spring Garden to the Navy Yard, I was dripping in sweat and having to take water on which I normally don't but this wasn't my typical Broad Street Run,.....any day a runner dressed as a giant Hot Dog passes me inside the final mile underlines that fact......more power to him but it was the exclamation point on my day......

8.41 for mile 6 heading in to South Philly,reversed a trend of each split getting slower by dropping a 8.34 at mile 7....not sure where that came from ...however it was short lived as mile 8 was a 8.46 split followed by a 8.48 split at mile 9

I believed a sub 1.25 finish was there for the taking if I could dig deep, after a couple of years of construction in the Navy Yard the last two years it has had its traditional finish in the Navel Yard which always helps,once I went through the gates of the Navy Yard I knew the finish line was just up ahead and somehow I dredged up an 8.28 final mile to cross  the line in  slow 1.24.29 off 8.22 mile pace

And so to the post race inquest, what went wrong? two things I had feck all control over getting over being sick and the humidity both lent themselves to a slow time, for me the more worrying trend is another slow time, ok I dug deep to grind it out but "moral victories" are becoming the norm of late, looking back at the last twelve races since last years Broad Street Run they have mostly been slow and or me having to dig deep to salvage something from them,I had hoped after a semi decent Hot Chocolate 15k last time out I'd reversed that trend......then I got sick and lost ten days of training which was always going to hinder me coupled w/ the humidity which is always  my Ktyptonite 

I now have a long stretch of no races on the schedule through choice until the Philly 10k in sixteen weeks time,in that time I would like to start  building  base  mileage for the Philly Marathon in  twenty nine weeks time hopefully the trend of slow times and moral victories/ grinding it out will pass, last year I didn't log enough mileage in May, June,July,August, September in the build up to Dublin to make sure Philadelphia isn't deja vu I need to crack on starting Tuesday

Love,Hope & Strength

" Cos I'm a man of emotion who can't hide the tears,I'm a man of feeling who can't hide the pain, I'm alone on the outskirts of town where no one knows my name, I'm at the point in my life where I need affection, won't you give me love ,give me hope, give me strength, give me someone to live for"

Strength-The Alarm

Seldom a dull moment in the world of Kevinrunningfree, one minute I'm logging my first 5 day training week in  ten weeks the next I'm on the DL{Disabled List} for ten days leading up to the final third of the Spring Triple Crown and the first leg of the Big Three in Philly road racing circuit{Broad St Run,Philadelphia Distance Run and Philadelphia Marathon}

Monday April 14th An easy 5 miler to kick off the week 44.26.2 off 8.53 mile pace w/ splits of 8.24-8.40-9.08-9.21-8.53

The auld adage goes  music soothes the savage beast and a good run helps clear the head, I had missed a potential long run over the weekend due to coming home from work on Friday to a ''Notice To Vacate" on the inside of the front door......it's a long drawn out saga that's been rumbling on for almost a year now but I'm happy to say while I was out running that lunchtime the situation was correcting its self to the point where I now have a new lease for the next 12 months and potentially the freeloaders in the building will leave or  be moved on, this has been my home for better or worse for the last 12 years,it's far from Shangri la but its home and I'd prefer to leave when I'm good and ready and not b4 time

Tuesday April 15th An untimed 5 miler to keep things ticking along not only for the long overdue  5 day week but the equally long overdue triple digit mileage month,at this stage halfway through the month I was now on 42 miles and seemingly well on course to brake the now 13 month drought since I clocked 154 miles last February.......a week's along time in politics so they say.....it can be a lifetime in Masters running.....

Wednesday April 16th A tempo run no seasons best this week off a 41.49.4 thanks to 8.20 mile pace and splits of 8.14-8.43-8.29-8.27-7.55

While I was some 1.23 shy of last weeks seasons best time{40.26.3} I could at least hang my hat on negative splits out in 21.29 back in 20.20 at 3.5 months into the season I feel I'm slowly getting into a groove,I'm painfully aware that the"big picture" needs to be addressed here,blowin' the shaggin' doors off now won't mean shite come November when I hope to conquer the Philly Marathon on the 40th anniversary of my marathon debut so for now it's small victories

Thursday April 17th An easy 5 miler at a modest 43.53.3 off 8.47 mile pace w/ another negative split out in 22.45 and back in 21.08,more importantly this was my first four in a row since Feb 10th-13th and had set me up nicely for my first 5 day week since the start of February.....however little did I know what was lurking below the surface ready to bring things crashing down around my ears.....

Sunday April 20th Not the 12 mile run I had set out to do but w/ hindsight I can now see why things went tits up on me

Things began well enough as I clocked 8.29 for the opening mile on my way  to Powelton Avenue, the next two splits were close to identical 9.19-9.18 b4 somehow mile 4 ballooned upto 11.06, there was a Garmin malfunction where I didn't reset it after getting caught at the junction of 34th St and Spring Garden and didn't realize till I reached West River Dr

I haven't had the pleasure of training on West River Dr in eons, the longest construction job ever on the section below Spring Garden St bridge for the past two years has thrown a spanner in the works there hence the 34th St/Landsdowne Dr to Sweetbriar Lane to West River Dr route,the malfunction w/ the Garmin meant I would have to head further north bound on West River Dr b4 making the turnaround between Strawberry Mansion bridge and the Conrail bridge b4 Falls bridge

9.24 at mile 5 and 9.33 at mile 6, 56.29 at halfway as I made the turn around......9.40 for the 7th mile and like that I stopped,w/ hindsight I thought I had made a balls  of my prep by not drinking enough water the  day b4 or that morning and that's how I framed it as I managed to tack on one more mile at 9.46 to settle for 8 miles in 1.16.36 off 9.35 mile pace

Glass half empty another long run/double digit run up in smoke and another setback in my quest to get double digit miles in, glass half full at 28 miles my longest weekly mileage week this year,equaling the 28 miles I logged the week of The Love Run  three weeks prior

Over the next ten days I came to realize I had gotten sick which might explain the sub par long run Sunday,initially I blew off Mondays 5 miler as I felt sore....the proverbial cheque was in he mail as I woke up under the weather Tuesday  and by Wednesday it was full blown, I don't get sick often but when I do its usually a doozie, the last time I was this sick was probably 8 years ago.....and if it's another 8 years b4 I get this sick again I'll be ok w/ that........

Wednesday April 30th Back at it after a ten day hiatus w/ an untimed 5 miler in glorious mid 70 degree temps

Having been on pace for triple digit mileage this month till I lost ten days I now had to settle for 65 miles a dip from the 78 I logged in March but that couldn't be helped period and as I keep saying last year I began all guns blazing only to see my season taper off over five of the next seven months so if it takes another month {or two} to get there so be it.....

Thursday May 1st Another untimed 5 miler to kick start the month period but also hopefully rebuild my monthly mileage

I didn't realize until I was looking at last years log that my only miles in May were the 10 I clocked in last years Broad Street Run, so at least w/ this run  and hopefully Sundays Broad St Run I'll be ahead of the curve

Hopefully the 10 days I lost won't come back to bite me in the hole, I have no pre race goals other than to cross the finish line in South Philly in the Navy Yard Sunday morning, a reasonable time is just Gravy

In closing I feel compelled to mention the passing of The Alarm's lead singer Mike Peters on Tuesday,I was a huge Alarm fan back in the day and enjoyed seeing them live  maybe a dozen times, Mike Peters was as genuine as they came, walked it how he talked it and I was fortune enough to meet him several times after an Alarm gig or during his solo career, several years ago at a show at the Hard Rock Cafe here in Philly he saw me down front w/ a tshirt from their first headline tour in 1984 and pulled me upon stage and asked me what Alarm song I wanted to hear.....who does that?......I'll tell ye who does that Mike Peters he was the real deal and will be sadly missed but he left a legacy of music and memories for those of us who followed The Alarm......as the lyrics go in "Majority" "it was all those words, that saved my dreams, there were times when I felt like a human being"........ Rest In Peace Michael thank you for the lifetime of Love,Hope & Strength...
 

Just Doin' Cowboy Shit All Week.......

 Up before the sun before the wind cuts cold cowboys packing heat pushing cattle up and down the Yellowstone, it's a choice you make live and die alone ride high and shoot low  from the saddle when you ride for the Yellowstone

A Song For The Stone Ryan Bingham

Another week in the books, another missed opportunity at a 5 day train week/ Sunday long run......but hey I finished watching "Yellowstone" so it wasn't all bad......

Another week I had Monday off work but failed to muster the chops to get out the door to run although in my defense it was pissin' out of the heavens so I could be excused or forgiven for not getting out there...however as I've said countless times b4 when you miss a Monday run it puts you behind the eight ball for the week in terms of getting a five day week in.....I could play the "quality over quantity" card but I won't what I will say as I get older is that I've come to appreciate rest days, it's early in the season, I've gotten into the routine of running at lunchtime the previous ten weeks now I just need to get the Saturday/Sunday long run back into the rotation but I also need to make sure I don't peak too soon, I had a huge volume of mileage under my belt last December, January and February and never came close to  replicating it the remainder of the year when I needed to for the Dublin Marathon so it's a juggling act right now, get into a routine, be race ready.......but don't shoot your load now b4 the Fall when it's time to get in Marathon shape, having ran a 15k I know I have it in my saddle bag to run a good ten miles at the upcoming Broad Street Run but I'm also painfully aware that the Summer is around the corner and the last few years I have struggled to handle the heat and humidity so it's a classic case of "knowin  when to hold em, knowin' when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run"......

Tuesday April 8th

The now very welcome untimed run, as I said before it's a matter of getting every ounce I can out of myself, back in the day everything felt it had to be fast, at almost 62 and two knees that don't seem they got the memo/group text that yours truly is on a mission to reach 300 medals and there are 41 still to go the easy/recovery/untimed runs are just as clutch as the tempo/long runs

It was also a good thing today was an untimed run as the wind was fair savage out there this lunchtime file this one as a Winnie The Pooh run......it was a blustery day, when you can feel the wind at your back after making the turn past Girard Avenue bridge on Kelly Drive you appreciate how windy it is....

Wednesday April 9th

A new season's best for 5 miles, taking 1.22 off of  March 27ths time  of 41.48.5 

Benefitting off of two rest days and an untimed run I hit the opening split in 7.40 which is brisk, the question now was could I hold onto that pace?....at eleven weeks into my training I do feel I have enough "hay in the barn" to hang on to that kind of opening split, my volume of mileage may only be  just over 200 miles but the weekly repartition is paying off

8.12 at mile 2 just past Boathouse Row on Kelly Drive, mercifully yesterdays savage wind had died down and I clocked 20.03 at the 2.5 mile turnaround, 8.23 for mile 3 my splits were slowly creepin' up but still  south of respectable 

8.38 at mile 4 now for the charge down Ben Franklin Parkway towards 16th St, I felt off of 20.03 for the opening half I was on pace for something in the region of 40 mins and a new season's best time

7.30 for the final mile and a second half of 20.23 and a time of 40.26.3 off 8.04 mile pace, any doubts about my fast twitch muscles have been  answered between today and the 7.54 mile pace of last weeks Hot Chocolate 15k, question moving forward is how much faster can I go and how much lower is that PR going to be is sub 40 on the cards?

Thursday April 10th

Nice easy/recovery 5 miler, it's amazing what a world of difference 20 years makes, I cherish the slower run now w/ the handbrake on after letting the clutch out the day b4  20 years ago a 45.44.8 5 miler off 9.07 mile pace would have seemed woefully slow, 20 years later and god knows how many miles since I take it in stride

One notable foot note from the run how often do you manage identical splits? out in 22.52 back in 22.52, a second here, a second there on the way back could've been a negative split but I kinda like the all too rare identical splits

Sadly I didn't get out on the weekend to go long, I'm a little pissed about it but I'll deal w/ it, again looking at the bigger picture I don't need to be going off half cocked I have Broad Street coming up but I know I can run a decent ten miler so maybe the next two weekend look at 12 mile runs to springboard into May and upping the weekend long runs w/ a view to being at 20 miles come June

On the subject of marathons on Saturday nite I finished watching "Yellowstone" I think I began in late December/ early January  watching all 53 episodes I had three left come Saturday and w/ a date at the Miller Theater this Saturday for the 30th anniversary of "Riverdance" I knew it was all or nothing this weekend.

I will say this much, "Yellowstone" is one of the few series I've watched either in real time or binge watched where I felt the finale wasn't a cop out a la "Sopranos" "Boardwalk Empire" "Game Of Thrones" "Sons Of Anarchy" and "Vikings", I look forward to the Beth & Rip spin off and have "1883" and "1923" to enjoy while I wait, happy trails cow folk.....

Forty Shades Of Green{White & Gold}

 I wish that I could spend an hour at Dublin's churching surf I'd love to watch the farmers drain the bogs and spade the turf, to see again the thatching of the straw the women glean, I'd walk from Cork to Larne to see the forty shades of green

Forty Shades Of Green-Johnny Cash

Another week, another race, another medal, #3 for the season,#259 for the career as I close in on #300 and 2/3rds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books

Monday March 31st Off the bat I'm gonna be 100% honest and say if it weren't for the fact it was the final day of the month I might've skipped this run,although it would've been counter productive as I needed to get some of the crap out of my legs from Sundays 1/2 marathon

The plan was 5 miles but it was obvious from the get go I didn't have it in me to do 5 muchless w/in the confines of a lunch hour, were time not an issue I'd have ground out the 5 but on a good day I'm pushing it to get 5 miles in w/in an hour when you include a stretch pre run and drying off and getting back into my work clothes for the afternoon

When I opened in 9.37 the proverbial writing was on the wall so I figured at 1.5 miles I'd turn and make this 3 miles at Lloyd Hall,10.34 for mile 2 followed by 10.27 for mile 3, 30.38.1 off 10.13 mile pace but more importantly 3 miles to pad March's tally to 78

Sadly 22 miles shy of the triple digits I had hoped for but 2 miles further than February so at least the numbers are heading North not South, it would be nice to get triple digits in April but the last two months of 76 miles and 78 miles confirm I'm back on the right track

Tuesday April 1st No April's Fools here an untimed 5 miler to kick off the month and my quest for the elusive triple digit month not seen since February of last year is underway

I could feel the benefit  of yesterdays recovery 3 miler to get the 1/2 marathon out of my legs and hopefully this bodes well heading into tomorrow's tempo run

The old adage "a week's a long time in politics" bore fruit today, yesterday I questioned running back to back races at 61 going on 62 however getting a recovery run in loosened my legs up nicely to the point that backing it up today w/an untimed run today meant any thoughts of picking one or the other next year between the Love Run 1/2 marathon or Hot Chocolate 15k was banished,my knees may be shot and I have to manage my body on  a day to day basis but running smart, not hard is becoming the mindset

Thursday April 3rd So work got in the way yesterday of a run, it happens, no point spittin' the dummy out and throwing my toys out of the pram,I'm there to work and run on my lunch hour not fit work around my running schedule

I didn't realize it was going to be 74 degrees at 2pm if I had've the trusty half zip would've stayed in my back pack, b4 I reached mile 2 on Kelly Drive along Boathouse Row I had to take off said half zip and wrap it around my waist at this point I was overheating and w/ one less day to recover for a race on Saturday not Sunday I figured why fly in the face of it, turned at mile 2 and tacked on another mile for a semi respectable 26.19.8 off 8.47 mile pace, the proverbial chalk and cheese from Monday's laboured effort over 3 miles,my splits were 8.20-8.32-9.28

Saturday April 5th I believe this is my 5th Hot Chocolate 15k since 2018 it always serves as sighter for the Broad Street Run a month later, last year I came in a little shell shocked off the back of a below par Love Run 1/2 marathon b4 rebounding nicely for one of my few podium finishes,last week my time was very little to crow about but I felt the overall performance outshone the time,so coming into a race that was 4 miles less and considerably flatter what might I do?

57 degrees and overcast close to picture perfect conditions although as ever w/ low cloud cover that meant Hal the little bollix of a Garmin was going to play up, if I was a shade over ambitious last week hoping for 8 min pace pace and eventually running 8.25 mile pace  today I hoped for quicker than 8.25 per mile......

I got a clear run from the siren and worked my way into a good spot,my garmin went off  b4 the 1 mile marker....according to Hal 7.32.....at the mile marker I saw 8.04, again for blog purposes I'll go w/ what Hal  said.....even though he's a lying little fecker!!!!

7.51 at mile 2 followed by back to back 7.55s for miles 3 & 4 I felt I was running well w/in myself at this stage, not sure why they can't keep us on Kelly Dr a bit further b4 the 4.5 mile turn around, this semi ridiculous up and back b4 the up and back for the actual turn around is annoying and having ran back to back 7.55's I now clocked a 7.57 split for mile 5

8.06 at mile 6 now for the clusterfuck that is the back markers of the 10k, they might want to consider having them go off earlier rather than at the same time as the 15k,the 10k got added 2 years ago and has been a bit of a ball breaker the last two years.....don't get it twisted I whole heartedly encourage people to get out and run irrigardless of pace but when I now have to weave in and out of them in the final 3 miles of a 15k it's an issue

7.48 at mile 7 b4  my slowest split of 8.12 at mile 8, a little fatigue a little weaving in and out of 10k back markers b4 another 8.06 split at mile 9,threw in a 1.47 for the .3 to cross the finish line in 1.13.11 off 7.54 mile pace which is roughly 1.12.04 for 9 miles, 9 miles at 8 min mile pace =1.12.00......not too shabby if I say so myself,I never lowball my pre race aims, off the back of a 1/2 marathon at 8.25 mile pace 6 days ago if you offered me 7.54 mile pace today I'd have jumped at it

The good news kept coming 2nd in the 60-64 age group,nice to be back on the podium again, last year I won my age group and they waived my entry fee for this year, in previous years they gave bonus medals.....gotta say I'm good w/ either this year, granted a bonus medal means one less race to run on the route to #300 but given the price of races these days saving $60-$70 can't be sniffed at either

Two thirds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books, hopefully the next three weeks can yield some longer runs starting w/ 12 this weekend,one eye on Broad Street, another on the Summer and potentially getting up to 20 mile runs come June,Philly Marathon is 35 weeks away....

Reports of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated....

 "Well look down yonder ,Gabriel put your feet on the land and the sea but Gabriel don't you blow your trumpet ,till you hear it from me there ain't no grave can hold my body down"   

Ain't No Grave Johnny Cash

It isn't Easter yet so biblical tales of " being risen from the dead" might be a tad premature but for those penning my running obituary......hold the front page and shut the front door......still life in the auld dog yet!!

For the fifth time since 2018 I ran the Love Run half marathon it's become a big race on the calendar, I'd say in Philly but according to the pre race announcer 13,000 runners{ that may include the recently added 7k} 20 countries  and 37 states toed the line yesterday morning at 7.30am,I can see the appeal after a long Winter runners are eager to get out and race and have something to show for weeks and months of hard grind, Spring Marathons are just around the corner too so what better way to gauge your level of training than a half marathon?

It's been well documented in my blog that this race chewed me up and spat me out last year and began a domino effect that lasted the whole year, was this redemption? was this me looking to even the score? maybe a little of both.....or it could be race #2 of my season and the start of The Triple Crown {Love Run 1/2 Marathon, Hot Chocolate 15k, Broad Street Run} over the next five weeks either way I was "all in" maybe a little undertrained w/ only one 10 mile run to my credit four weeks ago but last year I had  four 12 milers,  four 14 milers and three 16 milers under my belt coming into the race and proceeded to "shit the bed" so taking a leaf out of my former coach's playbook" sometimes it's better to be a little underprepared than overcooked" I came in a little on the back foot, being gung ho last year believing a sub 1.30 time was there for the taking blew up in my face and I wasn't looking for a repeat of that thank you very much......

Up at Silly O Clock to be dressed and out the door by 6am and down to Eakins Oval by 6.35am,why so early for a 7.30am gun time? have you ever seen the lines for the Portajohns at these races....13,000 runners all need that last prerace dump the lines at 6.35am compared to 7am are night and day and trust me there's nothing worse waiting in line to shed those pre race nerves when the line isn't moving but the contents of your bowels are dancing a feckin' rumba in your lower stomach.....ergo why I get to my races and hour b4 start time.....

45 degrees and overcast pretty good race conditions, I remember one year, maybe 2019 when it was frigid as feck and the start got delayed by 15 minutes.....fuckin feet felt like two blocks of ice by the time the gun went off.....no such worries today as I took my place in the third corral aptly the Green Corral.....so I blended right in!!!!, the Lebanon flag was just behind me and the Irish Tricolour  albeit wrapped around it's flagpole was on the other side of the Ben Franklin Parkway sadly NO PALESTINE FLAG.........but I made sure to wear  my Palestine bracelet and give the Israel flag the finger b4 turning onto 16th St, I could be wrong but I thought I was asked if I wanted to put a message on my running bib when I submitted my entry and I chose RUN4GAZA.....it didn't make it to said running bib....now it could've been for Saturdays Hot Choc 15k,Broad Street Run or August's Philly 10k but I saw a lot of other runners w/ "Vanity Plate Running Bibs" so I tend to think I got fucked over.....fine you find my RUN4GAZA bib offensive.....I'll just wear my Paddystinian  t shirt after the race.....don't get mad, get even...........

8.40 for the opening mile, I was aiming for 8 min miles so I was a little off pace however the start of the opening mile is always crowded as the corral sorts its self out so I didn't feel the need to press the panic button and mile 2 yielded a  7.55 split so it was give or take where I wanted to be, while my target time was 1.45 off 8 min mile pace I was more focused on running a complete race both of my half marathons last year were stop/start, walk/run affairs and I didn't want a repeat of that, slow and steady it was, however w/ the cloud cover it was clear my Garmin aka Hal The Little Bollix was acting up each mile registered on the garmin b4 I reached the mile marker flag.....annoying as that is I'm plenty used to it w/ Hal and I continued to  check my overall time at each mile marker, I'm citing the actual time on Hal for my splits.....

8.18 at mile 3 and 8.04 at mile 4 as I made my way back up the Parkway, as I say a lot these days" this ain't my first Rodeo" { next year will be my Golden Jubilee of running 50 years} so I knew not to over project just take each mile on face value, add 8 mins to it for the next one and repeat, 8.14 at mile 5 and a slightly slower 8.50 for mile 6.....which has the long twisty uphill of Brewery  Hill b4 crossing the Schuylkill via Girard Ave bridge

I had elected to " run my own race" and not worry about the pacers, they do a fine job pacing runners but today was  about " running on feel" another gem from my former coach  so when I passed the 1.55 group  on West River Drive around mile 7 I knew I was a little below the 1.45 I had thought I could run.....that said last year I thought I was gonna crush a sub 1.30 and had to settle for a 1.39 so at this point a sub 1.50 might be doable, w/ last year in mind I got blindsided by the hill on Black Road after mile 10 so I was keeping something in reserve this year...plus I only had one 10 mile run under my belt for my long run so this was a case of playing the long game

Last year caught me off guard, due to a hip injury in 22 and a knee injury in 23 I hadn't ran the Love Run since 21 and back then the hill on Black Road wasn't part of the course so a bad day and an unexpected hill resulted in the wheels coming off, maybe running at a slower pace this year and being prepared for it meant that hill while still a bastard wasn't as bad as last year, it would result in my slowest split at 9.12 but a hill at mile 10 of a half marathon will do that to ya...... but unlike last year it didn't brake me

Now for shades of my 1/2 marathon debut in Leicester in 84 when I'd never gone beyond 10 miles b4 the final 3 miles were The Twilight Zone  that day and now some 42 years later here I was again.....back then I was 20 now I'm rockin up on 62.....there is an older wiser head on these shoulders.... sadly I have the knees of a 61 year old who's been doing this for 49 years......

I recovered from the Black Road hill  w/ a 8.33 split for mile 12 as I reached the foot of Brewery Hill and trusty Kelly Drive just over a mile to go last year trying to negotiate the slight uphill towards the Art Museum  was hard work and I remember some arse clown in front of me talking on his phone which boiled my piss but I didn't have it to get passed him, more insult to injury...... in my final race of last year I got beat by someone in my age group I routinely defeat 8/9 times out of 10 hey every dog has its day and I had no business being on the course that day but I wasn't going to "cop a plea" and undermine his victory by saying I hadn't ran a lick in three weeks I let him have his victory but today w/ just under 1/2 a mile to go his wheels were coming off and I took great pleasure passing him and digging a little deeper to get to the finishline b4 him off an 8.27 final mile

1.51.56 off 8.25 mile pace, by the numbers this is slow, it's my second slowest ever 1/2 marathon and 11 mins slower than last year but sometimes ye need to look beyond the xs and os....after a couple of bad races last year this one included today I went gun to tape w/out stopping....sure maybe small potatos in the general scheme of things but when your confidence, moral and self belief have gone in the crapper and were as low as whale shit to run a smart albeit slow race is a great way to rebuild that confidence, moral and self belief 1.51.56 equates to a 3.43.12 marathon, after a 4.36 marathon in Dublin last year I'd willingly take a 3.43.12 marathon....the good news is I have 34 more weeks to get quicker and faster, like I said reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.....don't send flowers, don't throw dirt on my grave, my last rodeo is a ways  away yet........

Catch Up?......More Of A HP Man Meself...

"Oh once you get to know me I'm a coyote in a field of wolves, oh I'm a red letter rebel but some become the devil when the moon is full"

I'm A Little Crazy-Morgan Wallen

 So on the eve of race #2  for the year I thought it prudent to catch up on the last couple of weeks,thankfully my lack of blogging was more a result of just being stretched a little thin of late both personally and professionally and nothing more

I have missed both of my projected long runs the last 2 weekends which I'm not thrilled over but the first one on March 16th was warranted there's not much that  I prioritize above said long run period muchless when a half marathon is looming but w/out going TMI let's just say on this occasion  it was justified, sadly in the last three weeks I have missed one or two of my lunchtime runs the upshot of which is I,m gonna fall shy of triple digit miles this month,probably looking at 80 mile this month, glass half empty 20 miles shy of the target, glass half full 4 miles more than February and hopefully starting Tuesday I can build towards triple digit mileage for April, in retrospect I feel I did too much too soon logging back to back 148 milers in Dec of 23 and Jan of last year b4 logging 154 miles in Feb.....before the arse fell out of my season, w/ my sights set firmly on the Philly Marathon on Nov 23rd it's clutch not to peak too soon like I feel I did a year ago

Tuesday March 11th  my final week of lunchtime 4 miles,I feel it's time to move up to 5 miles next week and in keeping w/ recent weeks an untimed  run to save something for the following days tempo run,it remains to be seen if I resume longer evening runs, the clocks have gone forward and it is lighter now, that said I kinda like the lunchtime run, in an ideal world in a few weeks {probably mid May post Broad St Run} I could be logging 40 mile weeks 4 x 5 milers Monday thro Thursday w/ a 20 mile long run on the weekends{sounds good in theory!!!} we'll have to see how hot it gets in the summer if I have to get up in the mornings to run b4 work

Wednesday March 12th Final 4 mile tempo run and a new seasons best,18 seconds off my previous best of 33.12.4,not exactly text book out in 15.44 {7.43-8.01} back in 17.09 {8.43-8.26} off 8.12 mile pace I knew I'd gone out hard and hoped I could hang on hang on, thankfully 7 weeks of conditioning meant I could and I could close the book on 4 mile tempo runs w/ a bang

Thursday March 13th, a nice easy run after lettin' the clutch out the day b4 little did I know it would be my final run of the week to round out the week at 12 miles and put me at 37 for the month,for the record my time was  a modest 37.31.7 off 9.22 mile pace w/ splits of :8.38-9.06-9.53-9.52 

22 4 milers since Jan 13th, a lot less huffin' & puffin' than when I began,to put that in perspective on  Jan 13th after a lengthy hiatus I went:38.35.4 off 9.39 mile pace off of splits of:8.41-9.39-10.33-9.42

Tuesday March 18th my debut at 5 milers and a modest 46.06.1 off 9.13 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.33-9.19-9.21-9.31-9.21,basically an extra half a mile along Kelly Drive beyond the end of Boathouse Row to just beyond the Girard Avenue bridge 

Wednesday March 19th an untimed run which tends not to leave much to blog about.....however it was 69 degrees when I finished just b4 3pm which meant being able to ditch the trusty half zip top, the other was the return of the flags along the Ben Franklin Parkway...... however I spotted one glaring omission.... where in the name of jaysus is the Palestine flag????

Heading eastbound on the Parkway the first flag after Eakins Oval is Kuwait, by the time you reach 22nd St we're into the P's......by the time you reach the R's there is no sign of  the Palestine flag......and trust me I've looked!!!!!

According to the City Of Philadelphia website " several flags have been taken down for repair".....I call bullshit on that, when the flags were taken down for the Eagles Superbowl in mid February and now put back up, all the flagpole/lamposts they are attached to have name plates in case there's a flag you don't recognize by sight.......I don't see a name plate for the Palestine flag?????

The Lebanon flag will be just b4 the starting line on Sunday w/ the Irish Tricolour on the opposite side of the Parkway and I'll pass it  between miles 4 & 5 but I'm fucked off there is no Palestine flag to salute.....I will however reserve my contempt  for that when I pass the Israel flag at the end of the Parkway b4 turning onto 16th St to get over to JFK Blvd,it's inside the opening mile so I'll have enough energy to be verbal about it ....or at least give it the middle finger.......

Sadly this was my final run of the week so only 10 miles in the bank to add to the 37 I already had

Tuesday March 25th a modest 44.31.8 off 8.53 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.28-9.01-9.08-9.13-8.40,technically a seasons best given my previous 5 miler last Tuesday was only 46.06.1 but knowing come Thursday I'd be going for a tempo run I figured I'd wait till then b4 lauding a new SB.....

Wednesday March 26h an untimed run in savage windy conditions, how savage was it? I fully expected Winnie The Pooh out there underlining it was indeed " a blustery day",a week ago it was 69 degrees and I ran sans half zip today  it was fackin' chilly out like, last Thursday was the end of Winter and now less than a week later I still need my half zip out there,I guess I won't be putting them away for a few more weeks

Thursday March 27th Officially a Seasons Best.....41.48.3 off 8.21 mile pace off of splits of:8.42-7.39-8.31-8.53-8.02

There will be faster times over the coming weeks and more even splits so while I'll acknowledge the Season's Best I won't get carried away w/ it period but there is a bigger prize on the horizon on Sunday at the Love Run half marathon,last year not only did this race chew me up and spit me out the other end  it also signaled the downward trajectory of my season so I feel I have a score to settle.....

An Irish Two Step.....One Step Forward....Two Steps Back......

 "This love's gettin' dangerous, feels like a loaded gun, my my its turning like a cloud of dust my heart always wants to run"

White Horse Chris Stapleton

Another up and down week for your truly, " up and down like a whores draws" as the auld fella used to say.......welcome to another week of Kevinrunningfree....

Monday March 3rd

Easy/Recovery 4 miler to kick off the week, 36.26.1 off 9.07 mile pace w/ splits of  8.32-9.27-9.30-8.55 nothing fancy but I was just looking to get the crap out of my legs after Sundays long run

I noticed the nations flags that hang from the lamp posts on the Ben Franklin Parkway are being rehung, they got taken down for the Eagles parade as I'm sure some of them would've gone home as souvenirs , my guess is come the Love Run on March 30th they'll all be flying, the starting line is  close to where the Irish Tricolour hangs which always gives me a boost, the pride I get from wearing my Ireland running uniform is second to none, as JFK famously said "I may not have been born in Ireland....but Ireland was born in me".......

Tuesday March 4th

An untimed 4 miler which I have to say felt good, nice to have a run that isn't dictated by speed, pace splits, just a runner and his thoughts, I have to say since I opted for the Parkway and Kelly Drive sometime in late fall this route has become my favourite lunchtime run cutting out Market St and JFK Blvd both of which had way too many red lights for my liking, it does mean less time along the Schuylkill River which can be a blessing and a curse, the Schuylkill River Trail is great to run along but if the wind is whipping off of it or on the rare occasions it breaches its banks it's not so much fun

The clocks are going forward this Sunday which frees up evening runs if I so choose, to be honest I'm happy to run at lunchtime, the week after next I might bump the run up to 5 miles it's much easier to get my miles in at lunch time than worry about coming home after work and getting my arse back out the door, granted I could get more miles in that way but looking at the big picture if I do 4 times 5 miles Monday thro Thursday that's 20 miles plus my long run on the weekend which could be 20 miles later in the year for a 40 mile week, that could work.......

Thursday March 6th

Ye can't fight City Hall or Mother Nature, Wednesdays run got rained off, don't get it twisted I've no issue running in the rain but yesterday was a doozie, at 2pm I ducked into an empty office to get changed and stretched b4 heading out, when I looked out the window to Chestnut St 21 floors below me everything looked a go no umbrellas etc, in the time it took to get out of my work clothes and into my running gear the rain was bouncing off the window and the wind was howling, stick a fork in it!

So now off the back of an untimed run and an unscheduled rest day I had a crack at a hard/tempo run ,I wasn't aiming for Feb 12ths Seasons Best time of 33.14.6 when I set off around 2.10pm.......

8.05 for the opening split, as the saying goes " can't put the Genie back in the bottle now" by the time I reached the Schuylkill River Trail/Kelly Drive I could feel the wind in my face, mile 2 was going to be a fight...8.38 split, hopefully after the turn at the end of Boathouse Row the wind would be at my back and I hadn't used up too much energy fighting the wind heading north

8.33 for mile 3 it was going to be close but this ain't my first Rodeo....nor my last.......7.55 for the final mile.....sure it was wind assisted but I'll take it.....

33.12.4 a new seasons best time by 2 seconds off 8.18 mile pace to compare w/ the previous sb my splits were:7.35-8.30-9.06-8.02 off 8.17 mile pace

At six weeks in to my training I feel I'm back to a level of strength speed and stamina where I can go out hard and hold on, however the old adage of not getting too high off your wins was about to  play out......

Sunday March 9th

You'd have thought off the back of last weeks 10 miler on top of the fact on the final day of the European Indoor Athletics C'ships Ireland won a Gold and 2 Bronze medals and Cork's 15 point annihilation of Clare in the Allianz League Hurling I'd be fair flying it.......

I don't know if the time change threw me off it was 2.30pm when I headed out 1.30pm in old money if said clocks hadn't gone forward so my normal time to go long on a Sunday I do know the wind was fair savage so I nixed any thoughts of going out and back along the Schuylkill and opted for Powelton Ave

8.37 for the opening mile b4 the turn on to Powelton Ave, I could feel the wind in my face and when mile 2 clocked in at 9.28  making the left onto 31st St at roughly 2.5 miles I knew "it wasn't going to be my day" I stopped once  on 31st b4 it becomes Mantua Ave after Spring Garden St and again on Mantua Ave and turned around to head back, this race was run a 9.42 mile for mile 3 b4 I called " time of death" at 27.07 off 9.16 mile pace.....

Was last Sunday a "false dawn??" is the monkey still on my back w/ double digit runs? I don't know I have 2 more weekends b4 the Love Run to try for a 12 miler and maybe 14 miler....I  DO NOT  want a repeat of last years Love Run debacle nor a rerun of PDR from September at a time I'm embracing my "Inner Cowboy" I would prefer to keep my Texas Two Steping  to the dance floor and not my running thank y'all very much, time to round up the doggies, piss on this camp fire and head off into the sunset and hope for happier trails next week........

Boldly Going Where I Haven't Gone For A While

 "Yeah, we all had our day in the sun when a horse wants to run, there ain't no sense in closing the gate you can have your space, cowboy"

Space Cowboy Kacey Musgraves

Not a bad week, rounded out February w/ 76 miles and  finally nailed a 10 mile run.......

Tuesday Feb 25th

Having sat out Monday for health concerns I discovered on Tuesday in my haste to get out the door at 7.10am that I'd forgotten to unhook my Garmin from the charger, having missed a run Monday I was loathe to miss another one today so I went old school and ran sans Garmin.......

I must say it was somewhat liberating not to be governed by the Garmin for once, not obsessing over time, pace, splits, etc  at week five of my training I know full well where the 2 mile turnaround at Boathouse Row on Kelly Dr is by now

Moving forward I may skip the Garmin once a week, I was thinking Monday is an Easy/Recovery run, Tuesday Untimed, Wednesday Tempo/Hard run, Thursday  Easy/Recovery run.......sounds good in theory but we all know theory and practice are often a horse of a different colour

Wednesday Feb 26th

Maybe it was the benefit of a rest day Monday and an untimed run yesterday but Wednesday yielded my second fastest time of the year 34.19.1 off 8.33 mile pace thanks to splits of: 8.37-8.41-8-54-8.06

I knew by the turn around in 17.18 I was on for something fast, mile 3 kinda got away from me but I finished strong and post run  realized it was another negative split out in 17.18 back in 17.00

At week 5 of my return to regular training I'm starting to see and feel the benefits of getting back out there 4,5 times a week, granted the mileage is still low but we're a month away from the clocks going forward and the option of longer evening runs although I may just stick to my Monday-Thursday lunchtime routine and bump it up to 5 miles b4 going long on the weekend, at some point in May post Broad St Run I could be up to 20 miles for my long run plus 4x5 miles during the week, I could live on 40mpw....again it's theory and practice but in theory it sounds good

Thursday Feb 27th

Final run of the month, an easy/recovery 4 miles in 35.05.3 off 8.46 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.39-8.48-9.04-8.35

Nothing much to write home about, other than it bringing my monthly total to  76 miles, my best return since April of last year when I logged 81 miles, again little by little I feel it's getting there and I'm turning the corner, still a ways to go but as long as I see progress I'm not overly concerned how little it's by.....that said I'm hoping for a return to triple digit mileage in March.....

Sunday Mar 2nd

Third time's a charm! finally nailed a 10 miler however my trials and tribulations w/ double digit runs go back to June/July of last year, in the build up to PDR in mid September I couldn't buy a 10 mile run, in fact my last 10 miler was on July 27th when I was aiming for 12 miles, I clocked a 1.28.56 off  8.54 mile pace, I had to walk/run the final 5 miles of PDR and while I did get through the opening 10 miles of the Dublin marathon I then had to walk run the final 16 miles......

Each failure meant the proverbial " Monkey on my back" was starting to feel like King Kong period but w/ only 4 scheduled long runs in the build up to the Love Run 1/2 marathon in 5 weeks time the pressure was starting to build again....

Out the door by 1.30pm it was at least sunny....34 degrees but sunny, I opted  not  to run along the Schuylkill when it's that cold I don't need the wind whipping off the Schuylkill River for miles, 3-4-5-6-7-8 so I opted for Powelton Ave to Mantua Ave,34th Street to Lansdowne Dr, Fairmount Park to Belmont Ave and back

I wasn't overly concerned about time, speed, pace however  on my 7 and 8 mile "long runs" I was averaging 9.35 mile pace so realistically I was looking at a 1.35 finish......finish being the operative word here, I needed to shed this millstone from around my neck that I couldn't log double digit runs

8.33 for the opening mile, it was a tad chilly to be hanging about but I needed to look at the big picture and pace myself accordingly....so when mile 2 came up at 8.07 I was a little concerned, however things settled down w/ almost identical splits at 3 and 4 miles,8.53-8.54

I knew mile 5 would be slower, the winding uphill on Lansdowne Dr to Fairmount Park is tough so no alarm bells when I clocked 9.46 43.32 at the half, a few rough moments along the way but unlike last week at the turn when I pretty much knew I wasn't going to make it all the way home I dug deep both mentally and physically, I needed this and I was going to dig deep to get it

8.59 for mile 6 the downhill Lansdowne Dr is always easier, 9.28 for mile 7 as I turned on to Mantua Ave, I now had to focus on 1 mile at a time, mile 8 was as far as I've ran not just this year but for a while take away PDR, Dublin Marathon and Rocky Run my last run over 8 miles was 9 miler on Oct 13th when I clocked 1.31.38 off 10.11 mile pace.....

9.44 for mile 8 down Powelton Ave, w/ 2 miles to go it would be a crime not to finish now so no matter how slow it got, how tough it got, how deep I had to dig I was gonna see it through to the bitter end if need be

9.26 at mile 9...I could taste it and while the final mile did get away from me a little 10.04 I finally had a 10 mile run under my belt

1.31.55 off 9.12 mile pace never felt as good as this did, one Swallow does not a Summer's make, but hopefully King Kong is off my back now and I can build on this, a 12 miler next weekend would be nice

My yurt and dirt of the week go to the same thing, finally in it's 12th year the Philly 10k is offering a finishers medal, it's the only race on my schedule that doesn't but given it ends a long drought of no races after BSR in early May to the end of August and sets me up for PDR in mid/late September and sets me up for the Fall Road Race season I run it anyway.....my dirt is they charged extra to runners who want the medal......WTF!!!!??? aside from the balls faced nerve to say" we're offering finishers medals....but ye have to pay extra to enter if ye want one" how  how in the name of Jaysus are you going to determine  who paid extra and who doesn't want the medal at the finish???....tbc....

It's Enough To Give Ya The Gawkes........

 "We're just some wild hearts chasin' something that could tear us apart"

Tear Us Apart Sam Barber

Not the week I had planned/hoped for but that's why my schedule gets written in Pencil.....

Tuesday Feb 18th

Remembering the old adage " listen to what your body is telling you" I made a game time decision not to run on Monday, both my knees were bothering me and having just gotten back into a routine of training on a regular daily weekly basis it would be foolhardy to risk missing a week or two by being gung ho so I sat Monday out.....that coupled w/ below freezing temps made it a no brainer to sit that one out

The temps hadn't gotten any warmer come Tuesday but I knew I had to get after it, I deliberately  didn't look at the temps b4 leaving at 2pm, sometimes ignorance is bliss, "what you don't know won't hurt ye" the old expression goes so rather than fixate on how cold it was I chose to focus on getting the run in

37.07.3 off 9.17 mile pace, modest enough in below freezing temps w/ a strong headwind on the outbound 2 miles, mercifully it was at my back on the inbound 2 miles, splits:8.36-9.37-9.53-9.01 not earth shattering but I felt I used up so much energy fighting the wind on the way to Boathouse Row that I didn't have the reserves to drop the pace on the way back and down Ben Franklin Parkway

Wednesday Feb 19th

Still ber, still below freezing but a little quicker than yesterday, mercifully not as windy as yesterday which was reflected by my time 34.49.3 off 8.42 mile pace w/ splits of:8.05-9.07-9.16-8.20

Still early days but little by little I feel my strength and conditioning is returning and the time honoured Three S's Speed, Strength, Stamina are coming back, off the extended lay off I took at the end of last year and the beginning  of this year I believed it would take a good four to six weeks to get back to where I was, I'm not there yet but I'm starting to see green shoots of a return, I'm not huffin' and puffin' like I was, yes I still slow/stop to take red lights but I noticed now I'm not waiting till they turn to green b4 starting up again, hopefully in another couple of weeks I'll be speeding up to beat green lights turning red

Thursday Feb 20th

Still below freezing, still windy but to quote the always quotable Monty Python "still I was getting used to it by now"......

Glass half empty slower than yesterday 35.12.4 off 8.48 mile pace, glass half full negative splits: 8.29-9.18-9.11-8.14 out in 17.47 back in 17.25 this lends considerable weight to yesterdays claim my S&C is returning , sadly this would be the highlight of my week.......

Sunday Feb 23rd

I had the option of trying to make up Mondays lost 4 miles on Saturday but didn't,

 Another old adage from my former coach " you can't chase lost miles" last week I managed four 4 mile runs but blew my long run so I'd happily sacrifice  one of my  four milers this week for a long.....don't get it twisted as I channel my "inner Barbie" I want it all  four four miles and the long run but I'm not quite there yet

Mercifully the below freezing temps from during the week were long gone mid 40s at 1pm and going up to the mid 50s this week, since that was the case I opted for the South St bridge, Schuylkill River Trail, Kelly Drive out and back  route for my 10 miles.....and judging from the volume of other runners out there at lunchtime I wasn't the only one singing from that hymn sheet........

Based off of my 7 and 8 mile runs I was aiming for 9.35 mile pace so when I opened in 8.58 I was reasonably confident I was on pace, this was followed by a 9.19 b4 I hit the trail and then a 9.28, it was evident this was almost deja vu from  two weeks ago on my 8 miler when each mile got progressively slower.....difference being that day I was confident of seeing it through to the very end....not so much today

9.44 at mile 4 just passed Lloyd Hall at the start of Boathouse Row followed by 9.54 at the turnaround for mile 5......I wasn't exactly brimming w/ confidence I was going to complete the inbound 5 miles.....CLUNK the all too familiar  sound of the wheels coming off on a planned double digit long run, b4 reaching Lloyd Hall I had stopped  to walk and after a brief breather tried to get going again.....once again the ghosts of long runs passed came back to haunt me and after rounding up to mile 6 in 9.49 I did the all too familiar " walk of shame" down Powelton Ave home

What truly gives me the gawkes is I've now lost back to back long runs the past two weekends, I only have 4 more on tap b4 the Love Run in 5 weeks time, there is little to no margin of error

57.13.1 off 9.32 mile pace but the nagging fear it's either mental or physical that I struggle w/ anything above double digit milage ....a concern w/ a half marathon on tap in 5 weeks not to mention one eye further down the road at another in September at PDR and a potential 40th anniversary marathon at the end of November..... hopefully today was just " one of those days" and I can correct things next Sunday w/ another crack at a 10 miler....at a time when Country music rules the roost I'd sure hate to have  start singing the blues........

Four Fifths Of Reckless, One Fifth Of Jack.......

 "Road road ,Roadrunner Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona, Road road roadrunner rollin' down the road tryna find me another" Road Runner Lainey Wilson

Not quite the week I had hoped for but as Mick Jagger always says "you can't always get what you want"

Mon Feb 10th

Easy/recovery 4 miler to kick off the week, while most of the city was nursing a hangover from the Eagles Super Bowl victory a semi respectable 36.38.6 off 9.10 mile pace w/ splits of :8.09-9.30-10.02-8.57, bit po'd w/ that 10.02 not sure if I switched off mentally after the turn on Kelly Dr on the way back to the Parkway but it was a slow split, that said I've come a long way from the 10.33 split on my season debut run on  Jan 13th and last week I only logged a 39.11.3 off 9.48 mile pace on my Easy/ recovery run 2 days after my long run so it's progress and sometimes as a runner that's the best currency  you can have

Tue Feb 11th

Didn't set out to try and brake my Jan 30th seasons best time for 4 miles 34.33.1 but came awful close, IF I didn't know what my Seasons Best was pre run I damn sure did post race.........

34.35.9 off 8.39 mile pace w/ splits of:8.16-8.48-9.10-8.21( no feckin' 10.02 mile 3 split today!!!) 2 seconds off my Jan 30th 34.33.1

There's an old adage about the shit that goes on behind the curtain the audience never sees and that feels true right now, I'm not going into detail if and when the time comes to purge my soul I will for now it's hard running, a lot of soul searching in my journal and a steady diet of Country music, say what you like about Country music but ain't a god damn emotion you or I have felt in our lives that doesn't surface in a Country song, don't believe me listen to any number of Country songs and you'll hear shit you can relate to........

Wed Feb 12th

Seasons Best!!! Having gone close yesterday I was determined to go one better today and 1.3 inchs of snow wasn't going to stop me....

Thankfully it began snowing overnight and hadn't a chance to freeze so the sidewalk up Ben Franklin Parkway and along Kelly Dr were just damp when I set out at 2pm

W/ an opening mile of  7.35 the proverbial genie was out of the bottle, question was could I hold onto that pace?....... I knew when I clocked 8.30 at mile 2 this had the potential for a fast time.....providing I didn't tie up/ blow up on the inbound 2 miles back to 16th St

W/ three weeks of training under my belt now I feel my strength and conditioning is returning....don't get it twisted I still have a ways to go but it's " trending in the right direction"

9.07 for mile 3, whatever I had left in the tanks was getting left on the Parkway to 16th St............

8.02 final mile for a 33.14.6 time off 8.17 mile pace.......#CowboyUp

It's good to know the fast twitch muscles are still working and that my levels of  S&C are coming back, while my next three races are over 1/2 marathon, 15k and 10 miles ain't nothing wrong w/ a little speed work

Thur Feb 13th

Following 2 "pedal to the metal" runs an easy run was in order no need going to the well too often, gonna be a long season{ain't they all?}someone one said and I quote "gotta know when to hold em, gotta know when to fold em".........

36.54.4 off 9.14 mile pace w/ splits of:8.50-9.28-9.31-9.04 respectable enough, next week is a whole new week and a whole new ball game, little did I know this would be my last run of the week.......

Sat Feb 15th

The plan was to buck the trend of the last few weeks/months of not getting up to run long on Saturday and get out there for a 10 miler and resume double digit mileage, best laid plans of mice and men or whatever auld shite they say.....

I did actually get up b4 7.30am, got dressed and stretched and out the door so far so good.....

.93 of a mile in on 46th and Walnut I stopped, I just knew I didn't have it and the further out I went inevitably the further home I was gonna have to walk home so I cut my losses and stopped and turned around to walk home, for the record I was on for 8.56 mile pace

Can't quite put my finger on why I didn't have it, I know it's been a hot minute since I did a long run period muchless on a Saturday morning and maybe it was a shock to my system but moving forward that has to be the way it is, I can't always rely on the Sunday afternoon long run as was the case this weekend

So a bit of a mixed bag for the week another 16 miles in my legs 75 for the year, a seasons best time over 4 miles but sadly no long run/ return to double digit mileage back to the drawing board on Monday

No Threepeat, No Worries

 Another five day training week, another Sunday long run, first race of the season first medal #257 as the countdown towards #300 continues

Tue Feb 4th Easy 4 mile recovery run, after the 7 miler on Sunday I did plan to run again on Monday....however getting up from my desk after penning my blog on Monday lunchtime I could feel how heavy and sore my legs were, a 4 miler would've been hard work let alone another 7 miler so I opted for a rest day w/ a view to going long Sunday after Saturdays race

Knowing this was a recovery/easy run I wasn't overly concerned about time, speed, pace which was subsequently reflected in my time 39.11.3 off 9.48 mile pace w/ splits of:9.41-9.57-9.51-9.42 to be honest I was just happy to get a run in  and hopefully get the crap out of my legs for the rest of the week, not that long ago missing a Monday run and having sore legs on a Tuesday might have seen me blow the whole week off.......safe to say that corner has been turned....

Wed Feb 5th Slightly more effort and a reduction in overall time, speed and pace.....not  too difficult after the previous effort! 35.08.5 off 8.46 mile pace w/ splits of:7.32-9.07-9.38-8.48

W/ a race only  4 days away there was no need this week to " leave it all out there" on the Ben Franklin Parkway/Kelly Drive there will be ample time to push for fast times post Cupid's Chase 5k and the Love Run 1/2 marathon in seven week time

Thur Feb 6th Fairly similar time and pace to Wednesday 35.56.0 off 8.41 mile pace, splits:8.00-9.10-9.40-9.06

As for Saturdays race....I'm in the best shape I can be w/ so little training under my belt, I should have started sooner but when all's said and done the Cupid's Chase 5K is a building block towards the Love Run 1/2 marathon, w/ out Saturdays race I may not have started training on  Jan 27th, better late than never they say.......

Sat Feb 8th If the alarm is going off  at "Silly O Clock" it must be a race, that said hopefully next week and the subsequent  five weeks after it I'll be getting up early on a Saturday for my long runs

A tad" nippy around the gills" at 6.45am as I made my way up Haverford Avenue to 34th St and the Philadelphia Zoo a brisk 28 degrees which meant race attire was gloves, long sleeve shirt and running tights under my vest and shorts, this is the third year Cupid's Chase 5k at the Zoo has been my season opener which helps otherwise it's a long haul from the season finale Schuylkill River Loop in early December to the Love Run at the end of March

A decent turn out 400 plus runners for a race this early in the season, got a clear start and clocked 8.04 for the opening mile, I was figuring 24 mins plus at 8 min mile pace was a fair return for the small amount of training pre race, sadly a lack of signage, flags or race marshalls meant I and several other runners cut a section off of the opening mile and why my Garmin only recorded  2.99 for a 3.1 race

I'm well versed in the loop outside the perimeter off the Zoo as I've used it for an out and back 8 miler, I did pick off a couple of runners on the back straight b4 reentering the Zoo 8.12 for mile 2 and eventually finishing in 24.10.21, the third mile split obviously came up short due to the fuck up in the opening mile

33rd in a field of 408 and 3rd of 9 in the 60-69 age group, technically on the podium however like last year they only gave one medal to the winner of the 69-69 so no bonus medal this year....I had said in the build up to the race that if I somehow won the age group the extra medal would have a been a bonus, I have no qualms w/ not winning the age group w/ the meager amount of mileage under my belt in the run up to the race, as I said b4 and stand by Cupid's Chase 5k was a stepping stone towards the Love Run 1/2 marathon in seven weeks time, I'm still looking at #300 in early 2028 so one less medal today doesn't alter that, that said winning my age  group three years in a row at Cupid's Chase would've been nice but I didn't put the work in in December and early January so I have no axe to grind there

Sun Feb 9th Having gotten a 7 miler under my belt last Sunday the plans was to go 8 miles today, set off at 1.30pm conditions were grey and overcast but at 43 degrees mild enough

Took the road well travelled up Powelton Avenue to Mantua Ave, had considered swinging over to the Art Museum and Kelly Dr but at the junction of Spring Garden and Mantua kept going straight towards 34th St and eventually over Girard Ave bridge to Girard and Popular and turned there to head back

Hadn't given any though to overall time and pace when I set out when I clocked 9.07 at the opening mile I spitballed 1.12-1.15

9.15-9.27-9.45 for miles 2,3 and 4, 37.34 outbound, at the turn I was  cognizant that each mile was getting slower but I was more concerned about getting the miles in for now, fast times/splits will come in time

9.47 for mile 5, managed to reverse that  trend w/ a 9.41 split for mile 6 b4 my slowest split of 9.50 for mile 7 however last week over 7 miles I had 2 spits over 10.00 10.06-10.19 so this feels like progress

9.48 for the final mile  38.16 for the inbound for a 1.16.41 off  9.35 mile pace

Another semi long run that I was able to conduct w/out having to stop and or walk....progress in the coming weeks I hope my red light brakes will become less and shorter

Hopefully starting next weekend not only am I getting up early on a Saturday for my long run but I'm also back into double digit mileage, little by little Philadelphia Marathon is 42 weeks away, hopefully I can put the disappointment of Dublin behind me

In closing  my homage to my good friends The 2 Johnnies my dirt of the week, at the junction of 40th and Powelton I had to wait for the red light to change " homie" hits me up " yo my man, spare any change?"......cuz I'm out for a run last thing I carry is a pocketful of change...muchless my phone to Venmo you some spare change..... fuckin' gowl.......

{Therapy} Couch To 5K 2025

Monday January 27th

Welcome to the next few weeks/months, lunchtime 4 mile runs out and back along the Ben Franklin Parkway and Schuylkill River Trail/Kelly Drive

Temps were in the low 40's just gone 2 pm when I made my way westbound on the Parkway, there were still patches of snow and ice from last weeks snow as temps failed to get above freezing till the weekend, thankfully they were patches and not sheets of ice, I just had to exercise a little caution as I navigated them.......not that I had a full head of speed up......

I had no time target for this run....hell I wasn't sure I'd get 4 miles in but I did.....sucked a lot of air in doing so but I got there

36.17.9 off 9.02 mile pace.....hardly gonna strike fear into the hearts of my opponents but for the record an improvement on my previous 4 miler on Jan 14th of 37.23.7 off 9.20 mile pace......all great journeys have to start somewhere I guess this is mine

Tuesday January 28th

Three things ye can rely on.....Death, Taxes and my Garmin acting the bollix!!!!

When the opening mile came up way too early on said little bollix I knew mile 2 would be off also, to combat that I paused the fecker at mile 2 but continued my way along Boathouse Row and turned where I turned the day b4 to at least give me a fairly accurate closing 2 miles

For the numberphiles  out there among ye:34.31.4 off 8.38 but w/ a huge feckoff * next to them

Wednesday January 29th

First three in a row in long time and to mark the occasion a bastard wind to contend w/......nowth like adding a degree of difficulty to proceedings eh?

8.08 to open things, maybe a tad too brisk as mile 2  was 9.19 2 seconds slower than Monday,mercifully mile 3 is coming down as my levels of S&C {Strength & Conditioning} begin to slowly  return since Jan 13th my splits have been:10.33-10.01-9.51-9.57-9.42

The final mile down the Parkway to 16th St is getting easier and quicker:9.42-9.23-8.50-8.53-8.7 overall my time was 35.37-4 off 8.53 mile pace, IF Saturday was the Cupid's Chase 5k I don't think I'd be pulling up any trees, however I have another 6 runs till then hopefully I can continue to lower the 3S's...Speed,Strength,Stamina

Thursday January 30th

4 in a row hasn't happened in almost a year but so I could've been forgiven if I'd just " mailed it in today" and logged 4 easy miles.......nah.....feck that auld shite!!!!

When "Life Gives You Lemons Make Lemonade", fair to say work has been a major source of irritation of late and today was no different so when I headed out at 2pm I had the proverbial " full head of steam up" and any thoughts of " mailing it in" went for a burton....w/ a 7.39 opening mile....which was always going to comeback to bite me in the arse

8.47 for mile 2 and 9.23 for mile 3....a far cry from the 10.33 3rd mile back on my debut on Jan 13th, closing mile was  a modest 8.44 as I finished in 34.33.1 off 8.26 mile pace

What I can continue to do next week w/ my times and splits remains to be seen? it's the week of a race where I need to "keep my powder dry" it may behoove me to take my foot off the gas a little and just focus on logging the miles

Sunday Feb 2nd

Somewhat churlish to call 7 miles a long run but when I've  only been logging 4 milers in January I guess this is a long run as I plan to up my mileage over the coming weekends to get ready for the Love Run 1/2 marathon in seven weeks time

Out the door by 1.30pm, hopefully in the coming weeks Saturday will be my default day to " go long"but given my struggles w/ that most of last year I'm just happy to have gotten out today,next Saturday is my race but from Feb 15th to March 22nd I hope to "go long" in prep for the Love Run 1/2 marathon

Opted for the "short loop" Baltimore Ave,South St bridge,Schuylkill River Trail,Powelton Ave,I may need to tweak it slightly to make it it 7 miles as a loop or make it an out and back 7 miles minus Powelton Ave on Monday but for today I threw in a slight detour to get it to the required 7miles

Time, speed, pace were secondary aims, the primary goal was 7 mile and...to that end it was a success 67.7 off 9.35 mile pace w/ splits of :8.48-9.19-9.32-9.20-10.06-9.43-10.19 the step up to 8 miles hopefully on Feb 15th should be a little easier

Overall a  good training week back to back to back to back for the first time in almost a year, a five day week also for the first time in almost a year and a weekend long run for the first time since 2 weeks b4 the Dublin Marathon in October, 24 miles for January,meager but a step up from the paltry 8 miles I managed in December { which was my race at the Schuylkill Loop} November was only 25 and 22 of that were my 4 races so the 23 I logged this week feels like a quantum leap, on a level playing field I could have 25 miles next week........more that I logged in the opening month of the year......motivation for the next  6 days....