Best Laid Plans.........

 "You gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em, know when to turn and walk away And know when to run you never count your money when you're sitting at the table There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done"

The Gambler-Kenny Rodgers

Warning, This weeks blog ends w/ a  boot in the bollix.......wearing a protective cup is optional.......!!!!!!!

Truly a case of " the best laid plans of Mice & Men" this week, tis not my first rodeo.....nor my last but I will emphasize this well known fact.......when you argue w/ Mother Nature be prepared for the fact she  always gets the last word............

Monday August 11th Off the back of Sundays grind em till ye find em 10 miles the mindset was easy/recovery 5 miler period but also knowing Monday was the only day this week w/ low humidity it was probably the only chance to get 5 miles in at lunchtime, I'd be pushing it like Salt N T Pepper to get 4 milers Tuesday,Wednesday and Thursday......

86 degrees and 37% humidity as I made it out and back along Kelly Drive just beyond Girard Avenue  bridge, I took the "road well traveled" today because I know where  all my mile markers are, today was not a day for the Garmin and going via the Schuylkill River Trail to map out a new route, granted the trail puts me closer to the Schuylkill River and I can get the benefit of a breeze off the river.....but at only 37% humidity I wouldn't need it plus whenever I strap on ye auld Garmin there seems to be a compulsion to run quicker since I can see each mile splits and off the back of Sundays long run this didn't feel like the day for that

Tuesday August 12th the start of the 4 mile vs humidity along the Schuylkill River Trail trilogy........87 degrees w/ 56% humidity, if this were a cage match only was of us was coming out and channeling my inner Queen" I am the one the only one,I am the god of kingdom come,Gimme The Prize!!!!!"

8.42 for the opening mile up the Ben Franklin Parkway, slow and steady, hung a left onto the Schuylkill River Trail and began heading  South towards Locust Street which I had eyeballed as give or take mile 2, 8.48 at that split but continued on a little to the water fountain for some much needed water, not so long ago I wouldn't have done that.....these day the friggin planet is heating up at an alarming rate each year{sidebar Heatwave #6 in Philly this week!!!!} plus w/ 62 getting closer I have to accept A i'm not as young as I used to be and B if I don't adapt I'll perish....

9.34 for mile 3 this was a grind at at this point the prospect of a 3 or 3.5 miler was  a strong possibility......however I knew if I could get to the Ben Franklin  Parkway and "work the lights"between 24th and 16th Streets I could get that respite I needed to see it through 

9.13 for the final mile, granted aided by  a few red lights in my favour that allowed me a much needed breather I completed 4 miles in 36.18.6 off 9.05 mile pace......not that those numbers carried that much clout, the most important number was the miles, 4 +5 = 9.....the dream was still intact......

Wednesday August 13th 89 degrees,57% humidity and 1.26 faster than yesterday........

My splits were:8.25-8.52-8.41-8.55 for a 8.43 mile pace time again not the big take away here in my opinion, don't bury the lead Bernstein getting another 4 miler in meant 13 miles for the week w/ the potential for  4 more more tomorrow to put me at 17 miles heading into Saturdays long run of 12 miles....dare I think it......29 miles for the week a new seasons longest tally AND my longest run of the year........." don't tread on my dreams.....my dreams are all I have"...........

Thursday August 14th It's been a while since Hal the little bollix of  a Garmin got involved in one of my runs  but today was the day he was an uninvited guest.......

86 degrees and 65% humidity.......not a typo.....65% humidity..... w/ it came low cloud cover which  always  seems to effect the Garmin so when mile 1 came up b4 I reached 24th St and the Parkway I knew things were about to go off kilter .....the 7.34 " mile split" underlined that fact, on the 37 year anniversary of getting sober I could say the Serenity Prayer "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"......or the short version "God, grant me the serenity to ......ahh fuck it".....for the purpose of the run I went w/the short version, but let's not get it twisted I am only still here through the grace of God and the fellowship of AA celebrating 37 years of sobriety  and that's something I don't take lightly

It feels pointless recording the remaining splits much less the so called mile pace based off said splits but for the record they were"7-34-8.41-8.25-8.43 for 8.16 mile pace.....mile 4 I went a little longer  so I knew I had at least covered the full 4 miles not what Hal the little bollix  was trying to convince me,  4 days 17 miles............short version of the serenity prayer incoming..............

Saturday August 16th remember what I said about Mother Nature  always getting the final word......? Awoke once again on a weekend to insane humidity close to 90%,I know better than to fuck w/ that period much less for a long run,sadly by 1pm  it only dropped to 56% and while I was desperate to at least "go down swinging" I dredged up an auld  chestnut from my ex coach who once said " listen to what your body is  telling you" the fact I hadn't even thrown on my running gear much less stretched told me " it's not your day"

Sadly tomorrow is an almost carbon copy of today plus  I have something on my agenda in the afternoon so reluctantly i'm  calling it a 4 day 17 mile week..... what boils my piss.....and no it's not the feckin' heat and humidity it's grinding so deep Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday to put myself in a position to have a crack at it today only to have it evaporate,yeah it sucks but as a wise auld lad once told me " bury it deep in the tough shit cemetery".......there are far worse thing going on in the world than a missed training run.

As it stands I have 52 miles mid way through August, I only logged 45 the entire month last year,so the potential for a triple digit month is still on, sadly at best next week I can only log 26 miles for the week if I can notch 4 times 5 miles at  lunchtime Monday thro Thursday and then run my 10k race next Sunday,the bigger boot in the bollix is missing out on a long run,obviously next Saturday I'd prefer to keep my powder dry for Sundays race which means it won't be till Saturday August 30th b4 I can attempt my longest run of the year and it's one less  double digit run b4 PDR on September  21st and potentially one less 20 mile run  pre Philly Marathon on November 23rd

The desire to eclipse 28 miles for the week  is a driving force for me right now,deep down I know i'll get there sooner rather than later,sweet and merciful Jesus this feckin' can't last forever {it can't....can it???}I know September can have a few humid days but hopefully w/ the "Dog Days Of August"behind us in a fortnight the temps and the  humidity will drop and my weekly mileage and weekend long runs will go up......it's a simple dream but as I said earlier "don't tread on my dreams,my dreams are all I have"....

If Ye Didn't Laugh Ye'd Cry

 "Cos Monday I'd go drinking,Tuesday I'd go drinking,Wednesday I'd go drinking and on Thursday too And Friday I'd go drinking, Saturday I'd go drinking Sunday shur I'd go for wan or two Hey! Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints you'll have an auld pint Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints,Pints lovely cans"

Pints-The 2 Johnnies

Jaysus another week in the books, they don't get any feckin' easier but I now have 35 miles logged for August and it's only the 10th.......how did that happen......read on.........

Monday August 4th A solid start to the week a 5 miler in 86 degrees w/ 34% humidity,I was eyeing up a potential 30 mile week w/  four 5 mile runs during the week, plus a 10 miler on Saturday......as the auld fella used to say" it's not a lot when ye say it quick"........

Tuesday August 5th Uh Oh the start of the slippery slope, had to settle for 4.5 miles as the  84 degrees but more importantly the 48% humidity got the better of me and the proverbial "cheque was in the mail" for Wednesday.........

Wednesday August 6th BOLLIX!!!!!! 65% humidity I might as well have been running in a Turkish fuckin bath....... had to settle for 3.5 miles and believe me it was an effort to log 3.5 miles.........suddenly my projected 15 miles had dipped to 13 miles, and now I was looking at 6 miles on Thursday to put me back on pace to beat the 28 mile weeks I logged the weeks of March 24th and April 14th.........

Thursday August 7th Desperate times call for desperate measures  and I figured if I could utilize the Schuylkill River Trail over Kelly Drive maybe the breeze off the Schuylkill would help combat the humidity which continues to be my fuckin kryptonite ......emm the best laid plans of mice & men........Had to settle for 4 miles off 8.58 mile pace  my splits were:8.53-8.25-8.59-9.36..... as you can tell from the final mile the 48% humidity in 82 degrees had taken it's toll 17 miles not the 20 I was aiming for and even w/ 10 miles on Saturday I'd come up a mile short,11 miles would only equal what I've already done and frankly a leap of 4 miles from last weeks 8 to 12 was too great an ask so while I could in theory equal my longest run of the year (10 miles on March 2nd) I was going to come up short on the weekly total,I'm not Barbie and I can't have everything but it's still frustrating to be that close and come up short.......

Sunday August 10th So I pushed back my long run by 24 hours, I woke up Saturday and knew something wasn't sitting right in my stomach, maybe I ate something that didn't agree w/ me or the stress of another frankly frustrating week had caught up to me,either way I wasn't willing to risk a blown long run by being gung ho when I another day to do it, as my former coach once said " listen to what your body is telling you" and what it told me Saturday was "not today champ"

Had to bide my time again as the humidity at 7 am was 87%......NO not a typo that was the fuckin humidity but by being patient and playing the long game and waiting  it out seven hours lo and behold at 2pm it was  37%  and  86 degrees

Logged a brisk opening mile of 8.21 which was probably too rich for my anemic blood but once on the trail I got into a rhythm 8.43-8.55-8.52 but I could feel the proverbial "cheque in the mail" waiting to be cashed 9.38 for mile 5.......a year ago and in fairness the last couple of years  when I've toiled w/ issues getting double digit long runs under my belt my go to move was fold the tent, piss on the campfire and do the "walk of shame"home.........I'm  beyond tired of this,last year in my prep for Dublin I couldn't buy a double digit run and evidently my running credit didn't extend to loaning  double  digit runs which would explain why I recorded my slowest times ever for most if not all of my distances from 5k to 26.2 miles........

I walked back to Lloyd Hall at the start of Boathouse Row to take on some water from the water fountain and to be 100% honest I wasn't sure if A I'd get going again and B if so how far would I get but once I got back on the Schuylkill River Trail I began to run.......9.30 for mile 6 at this point I was just thinking 1 mile at a time not the whole five, 9.31 at mile 7 thanks in no small part to some arsehole on a bike who nearly took both me and himself out going through a space that wasn't wide enough going under the Chestnut St bridge. yes I appreciate you raising your hand to say "my bad" but your recklessness nearly cost both of us

9.36 for mile 8 I was now at the end of the Schuylkill River Trail in Grays Ferry,stick or twist if I continued towards home via Grays Ferry Avenue I'd only log 9 miles.....I wanted 10 so I headed back along the trail towards the bridge which was just over  a mile b4 looping back for the  fourth time over said bridge and towards the end of the trail and more importantly 10 miles 9.36 at mile 9 and 9.44 for a  1.32.27 time off 9.15 mile pace

Pre run I might've looked at 9.30 mile pace and a 1.30 finish but again being 100% honest speed and pace were not the goal, the goal was  10 miles and somehow I did it......now I'm not the type to brake my hand patting myself on the back to begin w/ but I'm also mindful that the difference between a pat on the back and a kick in the hole is about a foot and a half.....give or take.......

It's been a rough week w/one thing or another but I got through it,Roddy Doyle's classic "The Complete Two Pints" has  helped, I have lost count of the PMSL moments on my way to work and sometimes at work when I need a pick me up, starting tomorrow the annual Septa{ regional mass transit }Tunnel Blitz normally 2 weeks ....this year a fucking month ends and I can go back to my 20 min commute to and from work and immerse myself in two auld fellas in a pub  in Dublin talking pure shite......it's the little things in life sometimes that mean the most.........

Global Warming Is Fake Science.......Me Bollix!!!!

 "I'm melting in the sun and this is what they call the life I suppose too much sun makes a desert Arab say and I really love this country and there's a lot I want to see"

Melting In The Sun-Inxs

What a week, first two runs reduced to 3 milers due to the weather, second  two runs cancelled due to  wankers but a Saturday long run at 8 miles to kick off August............

Monday July 28th Heading into the final 4 days of the month there was  a remote chance I could set a new monthly record I logged 76 miles in February, 78 miles in March and 65 in April and as of last Saturday July's total stood at 61.........

Any hope of a 5 miler at lunchtime was snuffed out by the heat and humidity at 2pm, 91 degrees and 49% humidity,by the time I reached Lloyd Hall at Boathouse Row 1.5 miles in I knew going any further out along Kelly Drive was a fools errand so I reluctantly made the turn to head back towards the Ben Franklin Parkway and the office

Knowing this current blast of heat and humidity was going to last until Wednesday or  Thursday meant 5 mile runs were flights of fantasy so if I was reduced to 3 miles till at least Wednesday that would be 70 miles w/ an outside chance of 5 miles on Thursday.....75 miles still #3 for the year

Tuesday July 29th.....Frankly this was Biloxi Blues weather 96 degrees and 40% humidity,I think I had said on my social media posts on Monday that usually I can tell by Lloyd Hall the 1.5 mile point of my run if I have it or don't have it for  a 4-5 mile run.....by the time I hit the mile point on Ben Franklin Parkway I didn't have it today and upon reaching Lloyd Hall I turned back, 3 miles on the day felt better than nothing and at 67 miles I was now into third place for monthly mileage w/ two day left............

Three things ye can rely on, Death,Taxes.....and work fucking up your day, Wednesday I got lumbered w/ Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber at work......seriously these two couldn't work their way out of a wet paper bag on a good day so when a paralegal sent a nearly 4,000 page binder print job at 11.30am muggins here got lumbered by the time I finished the binder it was  2.30pm and too late for lunch so there went that run.......then on Thursday the powers that be granted three people off leave me w/ "Doodles"in the mailroom in his self written notes he's written "check emails".........I don't know what ye were checking cos of the 14 emails/print requests for the day I did 11 to his 3...........needless to say he couldn't be left unsupervised for an hour so no lunch again for muggings and w/ that my monthly mileage for July remained at 67 miles........

I was never going to get into the rarefied air of triple digit mileage this month sitting out the opening 6 days of July however it was frustrating heading into the final 4 days of the month w/ a legit shot at a new monthly record to have it snatched away from me by the heat and the humidity and  work......however that said two years ago my July mileage total was 51 miles and last year it was 48 miles  so to that end I should be pleased to eclipse them period but also log my third best month of training this year......a good omen kicking off the second half of the year

Saturday August 2nd Once again I had to wait out the humidity at 7am that was off the charts till 1pm when it was a comfortable 79 degrees and 44% humidity.....you could just feel the difference in the air quality

I also made good on my plan to utilize the extension of the Schuylkill River Trail from Grays Ferry which is just over  a mile from here,making the turn onto the trail off Grays Ferry  Avenue bridge I could feel the breeze coming off the Schuylkill River .....this maybe counter productive come Winter but for the remainder of the Summer and Fall training this is the way to go

I had no time/pace goal set for this,getting the 8 miles in was my primary goal.....for the record last Saturday I ran 6 miles in 54.56.7 off 9.09 mile pace so by that barometer I would be looking at roughly 9 min miles and  72 mins give or take

8.33 for the opening mile along 49th St which I'm not sure I'll use again I came back via 47th St which frankly had a better vibe even if it means crossing Grays Ferry Avenue exiting the trail....safety first, hard to run relaxed when you feel you're looking over your shoulder 

8.21 for mile 2 as I was able to open it up on the bridge over the Schuylkill it was a nice day out so this brings out the walkers, runners, joggers, rollerbladers, skateboarders, cyclists etc so the next two miles  from Christian St along the trail dropped to 8.45 and 8.44 respectively  33.43 at he turn roughly 68 mins if I could hold onto this pace

8.29 at mile 5 but I began to feel it catching up to me at mile 6 w/ an 8.51 split, I was now entering uncharted territory this summer, earlier in the year in February March and April I had one 8 mile and one  10 mile run to my credit b4 an attempted 12 miler that ended at 8 miles right b4 I got sick it's always a step up adding 2 miles to the previous long run but I impressed myself having the legs to get up and over the Grays Ferry Avenue bridge to mile 7 in 9.13    ok so the sub 9 min miles were gone for a burton  but I was a mile from home now and  solid 8 mile run to my name.

9.23 for the final mile for a 70.20 time off 8.48 mile pace a grand start to August's mileage quest ,is August the month I finally get into triple digits?........the one plus of today's run is w/ two 10ks coming up in the next 3-5 weeks is that I've gotten over 6 miles under my belt today and w/ PDR now 7 weeks away hopefully I'm building my mileage up,double digits next weekend? triple digits by months end...... in 2023 I logged 103 miles in August which began a six out of seven month triple digit mileage spurt for  yours truly.....what I wouldn't give to repeat that one month at a time...