And The Horse Ye Rode In On......

" Giddy up now baby bless my soul I rode that fucker round a field back since he was a foal, he runs a bit like Shergar and jumps like Tir Na Nog, he looks like Billy Piper after half a bag of yokes and all the boys are looking jealous as I lead ye wan away and just before I close the door I look at her and say would be my girl and she says I will  of course .....and if ye grab me by the ponytail and ride me like a horse......Fuck your Honda Civic, I've a horse outside,Fuck your Subaru,I've a horse outside,fuck your Mitsubishi,I've a horse outside, if you're looking for a ride,I've a horse outside"

Horse Outside-Colin Graham

A throw back to 70s England......a feckin' 3 day week and in all likelihood the end of my training for January........the week began w/ snow and ended w/ snow and below freezing temps......welcome to feckin' Winter on the east coast!!!!

Wednesday Jan 21st Between the snow over the weekend and below freezing temps Monday & Tuesday I was climbing the walls  come Wednesday and had to get out

Thankfully the mercury had finally climbed above freezing by the time I headed out on Kelly Drive for an easy 5 miler, at 36 degrees it was hardly balmy but it did mean some of the snow and ice from the weekend was slowly beginning to melt, there were still a few patches out there so I had  exercise a little caution reign in my inner Eamon Coghlan and channel my inner Penguin as I negotiated the patches

42,51.4 off 8.33 mile pace, out in 21.16, back in 21,35, normally a blown negative split would stick in my craw but staying upright and in one piece meant more than gunning for a fast time and potentially injuring myself, I think it was 81 when Steve Ovett fell and impaled his thigh on a low church railing, pretty much ending his 82 season......sometimes caution is the better part of valour.....ye always want to see another day

Thursday Jan 22nd I had hoped for a tempo run on the hills of Sedgley Drive,Popular Drive and back up Kelly Drive to the Ben Franklin Parkway........Hal the lil bollox Garmin  had other feckin' ideas!!!!

Conditions at least were in my favour 50 degrees and sunny, was able to ditch the hat and gloves for a day,here endeth the feel good factor.......when I felt Hal  go off three quarters of the way up the Ben Franklin Parkway I knew that was too early and the fact it said  7.47 for the "opening mile" I knew that was bollox....then for good measure he went off too early up Sedgley Drive for mile 2  I was about 13 clicks ahead of where mile 2 should come in....at that point I said feck this for a game of soldiers I'd settle for 5 miles mid tempo on the hills, ney point bustin' a gut when the Garmin is doing the bollox

Friday Jan 23rd A 5 mile recovery run out and back on West River Drive,I forget the actual temps it was above freezing but overcast, hat and gloves weather, I was also resigned to the fact this was probably it for me, if not just this week but potentially next week

42.30.0 off 8.30 mile pace another run I let a potential negative split get away from me out in 21.10 back in 21.20, I think knowing what was coming down the pike probably had a lot to do w/ that

As I sit here right now mid afternoon on Sunday it's a feckin' Winter Wonderland out there,I didn't even bother trying to run yesterday at 8am it was a bone chilling 11 degrees......I walked the 5 blocks from here to the laundromat and my fingers were numb w/in a block.....I can't imagine what trying to run period,much less  10 miles would've felt like, 2 years ago I did a Sunday long run 12, maybe 14 miles and my hands were like 2 blocks of ice coming down Powelton Ave and I swore never again, there's the brink of insanity......and then there's the fuckin abyss

As of right now the highs for the next 8 days are:28-23-22-22-25-29-31-32 so there will be little to no melting of the snow that fell this morning, now granted I know weather is changeable but I don't anticipate getting out this week, anything I might get by the weekend will be a bonus......so yeah fuck auld Man Winter.....and the horse he rode in on......

 

Auld Man Winter Is A Bollox!!!!

"You know there ain't no street like home to make you feel so all alone so many folks to tell you what to do but they don't speak the same language as you, they want to have me here have me and hold me near hold me down fasten and tie but the cars are all flashing me bright lights are passing me I feel life passing me by, gotta gotta get away"

Gotta Getaway-Stiff Little Fingers

This weeks blog is brought to ye by the letter W........Work,Weather,Winter & Wankers........and What The Fuck!!!!!!.........

Monday January 12th While most of the city seemed to be in mourning that the Eagles were out of the playoffs I went about my business of running an easy 5 miles out and back along Kelly Drive,been said b4 and will be said again by me if the Eagles went 17 & 0 in the regular season or they went 0 & 17 it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to yours truly......and if that comes across as callous or uncaring, I don't recall anyone giving a fiddlers when Cork lost the All Ireland Hurling final in July so "turnaround is fair play"......

41.15.5 off 8.15 mile pace, looks like I didn't record the temperature  but I do recall the sun being out, 8.15 mile pace is a tad brisk for an easy run but the fact it wasn't the day after my long run on Saturday probably contributed to that

Tuesday January 13th An untimed 5 miles out and back on West River Drive in 50 degrees.....what's not to love? at this point in the game I had 49 miles logged for the month and we aren't half way through January........brain" don't fuckin' say it!!!!" mouth" what could possibly go wrong???".......were this a movie or TV show the faint sound of suspenseful music would be murmuring in the background.........

Wednesday January 14th The tempo run.....tis a love/hate relationship to be shur!!!! I love the benefits from it come race day{season opener in 31 days time} and I love the fact the following day is a recovery run......I hate how I feel before, during and after it, I know I have push myself and I know if I do there's a strong chance I'll reap what I sow somewhere down the road like.....but feck me if it isn't pure hell at the time......

I will always put my hand up and admit when I get it wrong in a race or a training run.....today I went out too quickly, the opening split of 7.56 was probably a hair too fast, when I saw 7.44 heading up Sedgley Drive for mile 2 I kinda knew that was a bit too rich for my blood......but the feckin' genie  was out of the bottle now and there was little to no chance of getting the hoor back in......live by the sword, die by the sword......

7.58 for mile 3 as I made my way back down Sedgley  Drive after looping over to Popular Drive and back rather than have to feck w/ the off ramp from I 76 on 34th St I tried to take advantage of the downhill to Kelly Drive as I knew the slight uphill to the Ben Franklin Park was going to hurt.....

8.07 for mile 4.......not a surprise, it was a case " shit or go sailing" for the final mile mail it in or dig as deep as I could?.....I went w/ plan b.....a 7.59 split to finish in a respectable  time of 39.45.4 off 7.56 mile pace but no negative split today out in 19.38 back in 20.07.......I get it #thirdworldproblems there are far worse things going on in the world  than me not getting a negative split and or not keeping all five miles at sub 8 min mile pace and that 50 degrees and sunny I just ran in.......take a mental picture boi......might be a while b4 ye see the likes of that again..........{suspenseful music in the background getting a bit louder.....}

Thursday January 15th Hindsight they say is 20/20.....they also say it's a wonderful thing, I knew the temps were about to take a dramatic nose dive what I didn't know was what was lurking round the feckin' corner at work so it's a good job I didn't bottle it when I saw 34 degrees w/ a wind chill that was going to make it feel like 23 degrees

I opted against  a mile and a half out and a mile and a half back along the Schuylkill River Trail in those conditions, I opted for Kelly Drive as I'd only be exposed to a mile along the Schuylkill  River  at the end of Boathouse Row to just beyond the Girard Avenue bridge

42.20.6 off 8.26 mile pace....again a bit rich for a recovery run, but trust me these were  NOT the kind of conditions to be lollygagging or dawdling in, get out there, get it done and get it over w/, at this point I was thinking about a rest day and a Saturday or Sunday long run.....we make plans and God laughs.......

Feels a bit churlish to sit here and bitch about snow in January, the auld adage it's cold enough to snow rang true Saturday & Sunday and while there's a huge part of the Celtic Warrior in me that says feck it fortune favours the brave there's also a voice of reason that says don't be a bollox  and go out there and get sick and or injured and miss a bunch of training so I've spent the weekend looking out of my window at the falling snow in the hope that it won't be around for long and that come Monday since I have the luxury of a day off for Martin Luther King day I do have the option of a longer run than my regular lunchtime 5 miler would afford me....but if I don't I don't it won't be the end of the world

Remember the hindsight comment from Thursday? IF I'd rolled the dice and said ah look it tis too cold to run at lunchtime I'll hold off until Friday I'd have been shit outta luck, I don't wish to go off on a diatribe about work but not only did it fuck me over on Friday to the point I worked  over seven hours straight w/out a break{ if I stopped twice to make tae and twice to take a piss in those seven hours I'm being fuckin' generous!!!!} it also meant no lunch hour, so now my chores had to be done after I left work.....half an hour late.....by the time I got home I'd missed the local 6 o'clock news and weather forecast and frankly I was too fuckin' tired to stay up till 10pm or 11pm to catch them then....l knew there was snowing coming like I knew last weekend it was gonna piss down mid morning so then I was able to get up and get out the door by 7.20am......NOT this fuckin' weekend if I hadn't had me hole handed to me on a plate Friday I'd  been up b4 7am dressed stretched and out the door by 7.20am and the 10 miler would've been in the books b4 the snow began.....I believe 212 degrees Fahrenheit is boiling point, to say missing a run due to work boils my piss is a fuckin' understatement.......BOOM!!!!!!! mic drop......exits stage left.......
 

Singin' Ra Tunes On A Tuesday Nite

"I was on the back of another auld snug just taking the time to watch the wall paint dry, the sound of a bauld auld crowd dull chattering filling the air w/in an inch of its life, a man on either side of me the bar to the right I'll be lucky to make it outta here w/me life and isn't that yer man that barred us last time for singin' Ra tunes on a Tuesday nite?"

The Round-The Scratch

First five day week of training in nine weeks as I hopefully laid down a marker moving forward this season and the weather actually warmed up to boot!

Monday Jan 5th an easy 5 miles out and back along Ben Franklin Parkway and Kelly Drive to kick start the week, off the back off Sundays 7 miler I was just looking to flush out any crap in my legs

42.19.4 off 8.14 mile pace is probably a little brisk for an easy  run.....but at 37 degrees it wasn't exactly hanging around weather out there,,,,,however I was comforted by the  fact there was an unseasonable warm up heading our way this week

Opted to do my online registration for the upcoming Love Run 1/2 marathon as there'll be another price hike soon, first three races of the season are paid for at a time when I'm trying to live w/in my means any $$$ saved on race entry fees areas welcome as the temperature getting back to where it should be this time of year{42 degrees}

Tuesday Jan 6th Untimed 5 miles out and back on West River Dr a pleasant 42 degrees which had me ruing the fact I hadn't thrown a trusty bandana in my running backpack the nite b4, it's crap shoot it's Winter I need to err on he side of caution that the weather is going to be cold ie hat and gloves but on days like today a bandana and no gloves would've been ok.....that said I made sure a pair of bandanas were available for the next two days

Two down,two to go re the new rotation of trying to mix up my runs, the scenery may change but the bullish attitude of gettin' it done remains the same

Wednesday Jan 7th There is always a sense of trepidation....almost dread when it comes to the tempo run, I know it's gonna hurt but I also know it's gonna pay off, there's an auld Jumbo Elliot  quote that features quite prominently in my apartment that says"to strive to be world class demands  payment of a bitter price but the serious competitor must be willing to pay it,even if he hates it because he must be convinced that the rewards justify his sacrifices".......so a little short term dread and discomfort to hopefully yield fast times come race day feel like a trade off, pain it is said is temporary.....glory lasts forever!

W/ that in mind I set off for my first tempo run in seven weeks, I opted to keep the tempo run on the hills also, I don't remember the exact temperature but it was above 42 and I did work up a bit of a sweat on this run, it's possible the sleeves of my Dublin half zip got rolled up  passed the elbows today!!

Bugger!!! whatever pissballin' around they were doing on Lemon Hill Drive in mid/late November is still going on so I continued  along Sedgley Dr to Girard Avenue, hung a left over the Girard Avenue bridge then another left onto 34th Street, not quiet enough real estate to be able to make the 2.5 mile turn around b4 the off ramp of I 76 so I have to transverse that twice if  Lemon Hill Drive continues to be off limits I may have to tweak this run, the less stopping/slowing down to cross intersections on a tempo run the better

Out in 20.37 and back in 20.10 for a brisk 40.47.8 off 8.09 mile pace.....not terribly unhappy w/ that but I will be looking to get back to sub 40 pace sooner rather than later

Thursday Jan 8th to use a Kneecap lyric/song title "It's Been Ages" since I've managed  to go Monday-Thursday w/ my runs, either work or the weather  manages to  bollox that up but I made sure to make the proverbial hay while the sun shone this week{ long may it continue.....but it probably won't!}

Recovery 5 miles out and back on the Schuylkill River Trail in 52 glorious degrees, I know this can't last forever so fuck yeah I'm taking full advantage of it while it does!!!!

43.41.3 off 8.44 mile pace, another run sans hat and gloves w/ the half zip sleeves rolled up, is it too early to be eyeing up triple digit mileage for January? the application and willingness on my part is there, that three week lay off probably did me a huge favour w/out compromising all the hard work I put in during August to the end of November so I'll just have to hope work and the weather continue to be on my side

Saturday Jan 10th it's been a "hot minute" since I got up early on either a Saturday or Sunday to knock out my long run but A I wanted this to become the rule not the exception moving forward and B they were calling for rain mid morning/lunch time so it felt prudent to get up at 6.50am  and be out the door by 7.20am as daylight broke to tackle my 8 miler

A pleasant 46 degrees this early in January is always welcome and while the skies were grey and overcast as I made my way up Powelton Ave I was happy out that one I'd done the hard part, gotten up when the alarm went off, two not gone back to bed and got my running gear on stretched  and gotten out he door, the rest now should be gravy.....

Once I hit West River Dr I was aware of the fact I wasn't the only one w/ an early am agenda on tap, having other runners out there always helps, someone to push/pull ye along and also reinforce the narrative that ye are not the only one neurotic enough to get up just as daylight begins!!!

Given it was a pleasant 46 degrees out I opted against the traditional out and back and continued down the Schuylkill River off West River Dr I figured having other runners on the Schuylkill River Trail down to the South St bridge would be to my benefit as opposed to heading west down Powelton Ave alone.

67.24 off 8.26 mile pace, last Sundays 7 miler was 61.49 off 8.50 mile pace so I'm already seeing some encouraging signs 10 days into the new campaign.....but lets keep things in perspective it's still early days  yet.....that said I was slow getting back into the swing of things at the start of last season and it took a while b4 I felt I got rolling so if the proverbial hits the fan this week w/ the weather and/or work a five day 28 mile week this week will go along way....it'll go even longer if next week is a 5 day 30 mile week period but w/ the potential of returning to  a double digit long run at 10 miles 10 weeks out from the Love Run half marathon I could be singin' Ra tunes on a Saturday or Sunday nite.....Tiocfaidh ar la!!!

 

Fenian.......Start Yer Engine

"New gold dream, she's the one in front of me,the siren and the ecstasy New gold dream crashing beats and fantasy,setting sun in front of me New gold dream and the world goes hot and the cities take and the beat goes crashing all along the way She's your friend until the ocean breaks and when you dream, dream in the dream w/ me, 81,82,83,84 New gold dream"

New Gold Dream-Simple Minds

Ahh shit! recess is over and the Shamrock Warrior Golden Jubilee Tour is underway.....after a 3 week break from training following the season ending Schuylkill River Loop race on Dec 7th it felt as good as time as any to get back at it this week

Last year I was slow coming out of the blocks,my first run of the year wasn't till Jan 13th but it was another 2 weeks b4 I knuckled down to 5 days a week training I  didn't want a repeat of that this year period I'd like to go into the season opener Cupid's Chase 5k in 6 weeks time w/ a decent amount of training under my belt but I'm also looking to lay the groundwork for the Love Run 1/2 marathon in 12 weeks time also in a year I celebrate 50 years of competitive running that feels like motivation to get back at it

Tuesday December 30th Stop me if ye've heard this one b4  by I couldn't run Monday due to those yokes at work......it's not worth the aggravation  to explain why but I will say this and move on, when I added my December mileage{ all two runs} it was 12 miles I ended November on 757 miles for the year the 12 miles I managed in December put me at 769 miles......the exact same total I had in 2023.....one more shaggin' run and I'd have beaten that total{I'd already beaten last years total of 723} but after Thanksgiving and until I left for Dublin on the 10th those hoors screwed me everyday w/ zero coverage and negated not only a lunch hour but also the ability to run......pissed doesn't come close to how I feel

As for the run it's self a comfortable 4 miles out and back along the Parkway and the start of Kelly Drive past Boathouse Row, it had been 23 days since I last ran.......if ye don't include the nite of December 16th in Dublin when I ended up running from  Matthews Bridge to O Connell  Bridge  after the Damien Dempsey gig at Vicar Street to get back to Connolly station to catch the last train back to Grand Canal Dock!

Pleasantly surprised how comfortable it felt....ok so at 35.49.9 off 8.58 mile pace it's far from earth shattering but given my lack of training and the fact my strict diet had been ignored while on vacation and over the holidays it was nice to know I hadn't lost too much of all the hard work and hard miles I'd put in over August,September,October,November

Friday Jan 2nd I had hoped to run New Years Day but when the temperature never got above 28 degrees which in Celsius is -2 ye'll understand why I waited a day to kick off the new year.......I know runners are crazy.....but we're not insane!

I forget what the actual temperature was Friday lunchtime 31-32 degrees, far from balmy but not below freezing like Thursday when I set off around 1.40pm, same route as Tuesday but 1.14 quicker 34.35.3 off 8.38 mile pace, already seeing the "green shoots" of improvement in one run

While I didn't venture out on New Years Day I did write out my race plan for 2026 14 races between February 14th{Cupid's Chase 5k} and December 6th{Schuylkill River Loop 8.4m} fairly similar to my 2025 schedule, there are 15 medals up for grabs which if achieved would see me end the year on 284 which means w/ a slight tweak and maybe a bit of luck 300 could arrive by the end of the 2027 season.....shur if that doesn't motivate me this season then feck all will!!!!

Sunday Jan 4th A nice lunchtime 7 miler to round out the week and kick start the slow climb back up the mileage ladder

Sunny and 36 degrees around 1.20pm when I set off on a somewhat unconventional route,starter for 10 I had to drop the rent off which meant a slight detour just under a mile into the route but now I don't have to feck around in the morning dropping it off, back on terra firma I got down to the South Street bridge and began  mapping out potential routes,from mid November to my knowledge the Schuylkill River Trail had been fenced off between JFK Blvd and the Conrail gate a little further up the trail I needed to know if that was still or no longer the case but if it was  I wanted to tack on a little extra mileage so upon exiting the South St bridge I headed south along the trail and onto the Grays Ferry Avenue bridge where mile 3 populated b4 heading back north towards the Art Museum......Ta Da!  the temporary fencing that had blocked the trail the last 2 times I'd been down there was gone which meant I could continue my route to the Art Museum and then come back via  Powelton Ave and tack on an extra mile AND resume week day runs up and back on the Schuylkill River trail next week....winner winner Tayto Sandwich dinner!

The target was 9 min mile pace for either 6 or 7 miles I clocked a respectable 61.49 off  8.50 pace not too shabby for starters but as the auld saying goes " there's still some meat on that bone" going into today the plan was 6 miles this weekend, 8 miles next weekend, 10 miles the weekend after, 12 miles the following weekend and then round out January w/ a 14 miler leaving me w/ a potential half dozen 14 milers  b4 the Love Run on March 29th.....granted in the dead of Winter the weather will have some say on that but I feel content moving forward that things are moving in the right direction

Also having eased myself  back into the daily/weekly routine off the back of a pair of 4 milers and made the step up to 7 miles today, returning to lunchtime 5 mile runs can resume this week.....providing the hoors that be don't screw me again w/ no coverage at work.....I had said towards the end of last season that I would like to mix up the routes during the week so the hope is Easy 5 miles on Kelly Dr,untimed 5 miles on W.River Dr, Tempo 5 miles on the hills on Sedgley Dr/Lemon Hill Dr and recovery 5 miles on the Schuylkill River Trail, let's see if I can channel my Inner Hannibal from the "A Team".....and love it when a plan comes together.....