An Evening I Will Not Forget{In A Week Not Worth Remembering!!!!}

 "Confessions should be better planned alone that night I'm surely damned,run away I'll understand What's important is the evening I will not forget Purple, Blue,Orange,Red these Colours of feeling, give me love I'll put my heart in it and I think about it all the time Lights went out, you were fine you kinda struggle not to shine I still love you though I still love you always so hold me when I'm home keep the evenings long"

An Evening I Will Not Forget-Dermot Kennedy

Spoiler Alert,This blog entry contains zero running..............

It's Sunday afternoon and the remnants of the Nor'easter that have pounded us the last day and a half are still hanging around, not only did it banajax a long {or regular} run today it cancelled yesterdays race also, that coupled w/ fatigue on Wednesday,Thursday and Friday means zero miles for the week......as for the Nor'easter I recall Super Storm Sandy several years ago when  yer man out reporting on it for the news said ....and I quote"when you're arguing w/ Mother Nature she always gets the final word"......  as for the fatigue I felt after the Dermot Kennedy show Tuesday evening and again on Thursday & Friday I'm aware of a comment my former coach made way back when " listen to what your body is telling ye?"

Wednesday marked nine months to the day I went back to work  after 11 days off to go to Dublin last December, since then I haven't had a week off, there was a  4 day weekend around my trip to Kansas in June to see Amble and another earlier this month to see Biird in New York but that's it so asides from a well earned week off from work{I go back on Wednesday after going to New York again to catch another Irish band Florence Road on Monday} maybe it wasn't the worst thing in the world to take a week off from training, those things are seldom planned it's either injury/illness  enforced or brought about by fatigue and or the weather,we'll see if  I can coax myself to lace em up tomorrow b4 heading to NYC{if I don't I do know I'll get a shit load of steps in, my last 2 trips to,the Big Apple have yielded my best step totals so....} but also based on last three trips to NYC for gigs I'm fair bolloxed the next day so I don't foresee any miles being run on Tuesday, remains to be seen IF I can get up and get out Wednesday morning b4 going back to work.........Sunrise is 6,56am on Wednesday.......

While I whole heartedly endorse the decision to cancel yesterdays race period......much less that it was out and back along the Delaware River it does throw up the issue of one less medal for the year......which in the general scheme of things not a biggie.......however in the bigger picture if June 6th's Cork 1/2 marathon IS going to be #300 I'm going to have to find another race......the good news is I have  nine months to do so

Final shout out to Dermot Kennedy, I only just discovered him and his music in March thanks to Today FM's 100 Greatest Irish Songs countdown, while those countdowns/lists are kinda subjective I was made aware of songs I mightn't have heard b4......case in point two Dermot Kennedy songs "Power Over Me" and "Giants"......the rest was history, after a deep dive of all his songs on Spotify I made a pair of playlists and when his new album "The Weight Of The Woods" was released I added them and made shur of getting tickets for his show in Philly last Wednesday......it truly was an evening I will not forget......even if I was absolutely bolloxed the following day!

Slan Go Faill

These Colours Don't Run,But I Do......All Be It Slowly!

 "This is a rebel song this is a a war I'll tell you a story  bout ten thousand people at heaven's door It never occurred to you how  the west was won, keep stealing  and then it's yours they won't ask questions if you allow none The bullets never lie they pierce a hole inside the enemy's own pride they shouted " self defence" but the gun's still smoking we're on our own again"

A Rebel Song-Dea Matrona

I forget how long I've been writing the blog,nineteen years I think next month,I have always tried to be honest even when things didn't go to plan.....this will be one of those days..........

Thursday September 17th After a couple of misfires earlier in the week  I finally was able to answer  the call of the alarm.......by virtue of waking up 17 minutes b4 it went off at 5.17am, unlike previous days when I woke up around 4 am and fell back asleep this time when I awoke and saw 5.17am I thought feck it I'm awake now shur,might as well get up get dressed and stretched  and be out the door so.....5.47am and pitch black as I headed down Baltimore Ave towards Upenn and Chop hospitals on Spruce St and the South St bridge.Obviously I couldn't see the ground beneath my feet at that hour so it behoved me to exercise a little caution so my overall time,pace and  splits were neither here nor there,staying up right and in one piece was the first priority,the opening mile mark came up a little later than usual down Baltimore Ave which came as no surprise I ended up going beyond my usual turnaround at Locust Point to register 2.5 miles in 21.55.While not fully daylight yet it was getting lighter as the run continued,I remember crossing the South St bridge at roughly mile 3 and it was  still not light, but somewhere in the next two miles as I made my way back up Baltimore Ave it became daylight.44.12.4 off 8.49 mile pace 70 degrees but 84% humidity{so much for it cooling off in September!!!} for the record I was home by 6.36am......Sunrise was officially 6.43am.......

Sunday September 20th......if it's the third Sunday in September it must be PDR, since my debut in 1989 I think I've run this race 20 times making it the most run race in my career,I've always said how much I love this race but three years on the spin now it's had issues making it a love/hate affair, at the risk of looking too far down the road there are two editions coming up in 28 and 31 where I plan to be running 1/2 marathons in Ireland on the same day,initially I was a little miffed  to have to pass on PDR,after todays shit show I won't bat an eyelid running Belfast in 28 and Phoenix Park Dublin in 31 let me tell ye!....,,,,,,,..I knew  coming in to today I didn't have the full compliment  of mileage  I wanted,since late July it's been a little hit and miss between my achilles,and Sunrise getting later and later,at least last year I came in w/ a bunch of lunchtime 5 milers under my belt to give me 20 miles during the week and whatever I got on the weekend, race/long run.......ye can bitch all ye like in running and in life...still have to play the hand ye are dealt....even if it's a shit hand!First issue at this time of year ye'll be arsehole lucky to get 6pm local news since the networks all want to show college Football on a Saturday .....and b4 anyone says it....FUCK NO I'm not staying up till 11pm for the late local news and weather when I have to be up at 5.30am the next morning so I was unaware of the rain in the forecast, strike 2 w/ said rain the fact that the always reliable Septa mass transit system had elected to take the trolleys out of commission for the weekend and run buses to 40th and Market St instead came into play, schlepping down 50th St to Market St b4  hitting 52nd & Market for the El didn't exactly "pump my nads" and now it was raining.....how bad could it be to take the bus to 40th & Market and jump on he El to 30th St??????......I'll tell me how feckin' bad it could be instead of getting to Eakins Oval by 6.35am for a 7.30am gun time I now get there at 6.55am......predictably the lines for the portajohn are ridiculous ......and to add further insult to injury the line for gear check is longer than the lines at a Ticketmaster site asking for a full refund on  an Ed "I Don't Take Sides"Sheeran  show.......fuckin' ginger coward,better not be touting that auld "I'm Irish" bollox after this week.....pussy!!!!! Based on my predicted finish which I think was 1.40/1.45 I was assigned corral 2 at the start......that went for a burton, I was still waiting to check my bag when the Star Spangled Banner was being sung.......I had no idea what corral I was in but the first hint it was slow was when the siren went off  nobody seemed terribly concerned w/ getting after it  and I was soon well clear  of them and already passing stragglers from the previous corral rounding Logan Circle........at mile 4 I passed the 2.00 pace group........THAT'S how far back I was.........fuckin' flashbacks of the 2017 Philadelphia Marathon shitshow/debarcle .I realized all the shite that had lead up to this point could not be undone to quote an auld Usain Bolt quote that's on my front door when I leave" worrying gets you nowhere, if you show up worrying about how you're going to perform you've already lost. Train hard ,turn up,run your best and it will take care of its self".....sound out like.....when ye only have to run 100 or 200 meters,,,,,bit different for a half marathon!At this point my pre race aim of 8 min mile pace and a potential  1.42 finish was a pipe dream, while the on/off rain hardly bothered me and the 67 degrees, the 82% humidity was becoming a factor, my mile splits were up and down like a hoors knickers:7.20-8.06-8.15-8.34-8.22=8.49-8.27-8.39-9.05-9,01-8.45-9.08-9.10-.57 ye know ye are having a bad day at the office when the mile markers seem to take longer to show up, yep I"ve had races when the mile markers pop up sooner than ye's expect and I've had days when ye're praying the next mile marker will show up, today sadly was the latter, I had hoped when I passed mile 11 at  Columbia bridge I could " empty the tanks"over the closing 2 miles.....the fact my last two splits of 9.08 and 9.10 were my slowest of the day underlined I had almost zero knee lift or leg turnover left and at the risk of braking my hand patting myself on the back{ remember the difference between a pat on the back and a kick in the arse is about  15 inches!!!!} at least  the guts to grind it out and finish was still burning/ragin' inside me.1.52.38 off 8.35 mile pace.....my second slowest half marathon in two years, medal #11 for the years and #280 for the career felt like scant consolation after crossing the finish line

I have a week off from work beginning Wednesday, as well as some much  needed time off from work I'm hoping to get a weeks worth of training under my belt to round out September on a semi  positive note, I have  11 more races between Saturday and December 26th to try and put myself at #292 by years end,Philly 1/2 marathon is  nine weeks away hopefully today will be a distant memory on Saturday November 21st when I tackle 13.1 again for the 47th time in 42 years......

Irish Music Soothes The Savage Celtic Pagan......Ok......Sometimes......Not All The Time!!!!!

"Oh tell me the legends of long ago when the kings and queens would dance in the realm of the Black Rose, play me the melodies I want to know so I can teach my children so,Pray tell me the story of young Cu Chulainn how his eyes were dark his expression sullen and how he'd fight and always won and how they cried when he was fallen.My Roisin Dubh is my one and only love it was a joy that Joyce brought to me while William Butler waits and Oscar, he's going wild ah shur Brendan where have you Behan? looking for a girl w/ green eyes my dark Rosaleen is my only colleen that  Georgie knows best but Van is the man starvation once again drinking whiskey in the jar-o Synge's Playboy Of The Western world,As Shaw Sean I was born and reared there where the Mountains of Mourne come down from the sea,it's a long,long way from Tipperary"

Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) A Rock Legend

Whoever coined the phrase "we make plans.....and God laughs" should either be taken behind the shed and given a good hiding or shot.....or  praised as a true visionary because once again I sit down here on a Sunday afternoon looking back over my weekly schedule  and having almost feck all to blog.........since I blogged Monday after my race the plan was to take a day off on Tuesday given I'd been up b4 the crack of dawn Sunday for the long run and again Monday for the race and have at it Wednesday,Thursday,Friday and Sunday.........pause now as the creator has a good laugh at my expense..........

Wednesday Sept 9th the only non race run of the week...and even that didn't go off  properly......for those of ye not up at 5.35am these days trust me it's dark at this hour...a far cry from a few months ago,I didn't see the first hint of daylight till 6.05am b4 leaving at 6.10am, officially daylight was at 6.36am,the slightly later start had put me behind schedule but to be honest I was overly concerned work will be there if I get in at 7.45am or 8am......my official start time so cutting the run short wasn't an option.....at that point.......When I reached the South St bridge I instinctively looked at the auld Garmin......and recoiled in horror when it wasn't moving.......bollox!!!! when I hit traffic trying to cross 39th St I guess I hadn't hit the reset button so instead of registering 2 miles it now said 1.28.........bollox....now I've been doing this route long enough all summer since my conversion to morning runs to know exactly where 2.5 miles comes in but I guess being behind schedule to begin w/ and now the prospect of an untimed  run lead me to do a 180 degree U turn and head back for an untimed 4 miler, for the record it was 71 degrees and 83% humidity and while I was a tad miffed at the loss of a mile I was still on schedule for the week the extra mile of the 10k and 4 miles this morning  equaled  10 miles.....2 more 5 milers and a Sunday long run at 12 miles a season best 32 miles for the week.......what could possibly go wrong.............?

Thursday Sept 10th I just didn't have it when the alarm went off at 5.25/5.34am.......waking up at 4.15am didn't  exactly lend its self to the cause but at this stage Saturday was still in play if need be.........

Friday Sept 11th W/out going off on an absolute diatribe re Thursday at work let me just cliff note it for ye, clocked in at 7.46am.......and clocked out at 7.56.......PM to say it was the mother of all shit shows is under selling it a 12 hour day 8 of which was spent on ONE feckin' project I began at 11.30am and didn't finish till 7.30pm, if I stopped twice to make tae at 1pm and 6pm I'm being generous, needless to say getting home at 8.30pm and not eating till 9pm and then having the hardest time falling asleep after the day from hell didn't really lend its self to getting up at 5.35am and going for a run,no need to throw in a Saturday run now to stay on track for 32 miles period but given my late departure meant an industrial size feckin' fork getting stuck into my traditional Thursday  post work trip to Aldi that now had to wait till Saturday morning.......still the Sunday long run was still a go yeah...........??????!!!!!!

Sunday Sept 13th well it's a good feckin'  job I nailed the all important 12 mile run last Sunday cos I was awoken at 5.50am to the sound of rain bouncing off the window..... we make plans and God laughs remember? asides from the lashing rain the humidity was off the charts and while I checked the phone to see if pushing my run back to the afternoon was doable I saw that while  the humidity was reasonable the heat had now gone up, 80 degrees fuck it anyway, a 2 day 10 mile week it is then!

I'm pissed but I'll get over it, we're only 2 days removed from the 25th anniversary of 911 so missing a few runs pails into insignificance  in comparison that's not to say I happy about it but in the general scheme of things it's small potatoes......and if there's one thing I know a lot about as a Paddy it's Potatoes!

 Another thing I know a lot about is Irish music which is becoming a bigger staple in my life  w/ each passing year,my parents met in an Irish pub in South East London where as legend has it the auld fella was singing, Irish folklore has it that the mother asked him if he'd be back there the following week," I will be  if you're going to be here" he informed her......smooth talker the auld fella and however long after that clandestine meeting  took place  yours truly entered the picture so yes Irish  music has always played an active roll in my life, both parents loved Irish music so it was always there growing up even if I was more interested in top 40 radio and whatever genre was  popular, Disco,Punk,Classic Rock/Heavy Metal,New Wave/New Romantic etc back in the day outside of traditional Irish bands  a la The Dubliners there weren't too many other acts to see on Top Of The Pops etc the odd sight and sound of Horslips and then slowly Thin Lizzy,Boomtown Rats,Van Morrison,U2,The Pogues,Hothouse Flowers changed that....and for the better

These days we have the likes of:Kneecap,Hozier,Amble,Kingfishr,Damien Dempsey,Mary Wallopers,Fontaines D.C all tearing it up {I'm also throwing in The 2 Johnnies given they also make music} and everytime I turn around a new Irish band is on my radar: Biird,Florence Road,Dermot Kennedy,Chasing Abbey,Madra Salach, Gurriers, Bleech 9.3,The Cliffords, Sprints,CMAT,The Scratch, and Huratan to name a dozen, in 53 years of being an avid music fan I don't recall a time when SO MUCH good music was coming out of Ireland......long may it continue period but when life keeps throwing industrial size spanners into the works for my running this wee Fenian needs  to replace it w/.....in an ideal world i'd like both........shurly not TOO much to ask now is it?
 

Never Mind The Bollox Here's A Double Digit Long Run And Medal #279.......

 "Just two boys from the flats sittin' around  now having a chat,representing Dublin 1 talkin' bollox  all day long"

Two Boys From The Flats-Eddie Sherlock & The Rattling Kind

Since last Monday through Saturday were...to put it mildly a " cornucopia of cock ups " I opted to blog Sundays long overdue double digit 12 mile long run and this mornings 10k together......a little unconventional but shur feck it tis Kevinrunningfree after all.....bit late in the shaggin' day now for conventional don't ye think????

Basically Monday thro Saturday went like this: Monday August 31st too tired to get up at 5.35am,Tuesday September 1st copy & paste,Wednesday September 2nd 93% humidity at 5.35am,Thursday September 3rd copy & paste,Friday September 4th got home from New York City at 2.40am......not much chance of getting up at 5.35am to run,Saturday September 5th still feeling the effects of the New York City trip.....

Sunday September 6th Now or never for this long run,the clock is  tickin' on PDR in two weeks time so I needed to have a cut off of a 12 miler today, not exactly ideal w/ a 10k on tap almost 24 hours later but needs must and beggers can't be choosers.Up by 5.50am although there were another 43 mins till sunrise,on a weekend I have some leeway w/ pushing back the alarm but not during the week, I think it was closer to 6.30-6.40am when I left by which time sunrise was  in bloom 68 degrees and 74% humidity a far cry from the 81% last Sunday that banajaxed me, opted for an auld route I hadn't ran in a while just to mix things up and try and keep things fresh,Powelton Ave,Mantua Ave,34th St,Lansdowne Dr Fairmount Park,Lansdowne Dr,34th St,Mantua Ave,Powelton Ave and home..........I wasn't overly concerned re pace and splits the more important numbers were the miles at the end, if I went sub 1.48 off 9 min mile pace fair fucks to me, if I didn't no harm no foul as long as I got 12 miles in. 8.40 for the opening mile b4 8.52 at  mile 2 and 8.51 on Mantua Ave at mile 3......so far so good. 8.59 at mile 4 and perhaps the proverbial writing on the wall,I didn't panic when mile 5 came up as 9.04 as the first half mile is uphill on Lansdowne Dr and is a notorious hoor of a hill.......Rut Roh Shaggy!!!! crossing Belmont Ave into Fairmount Park b4 I hit mile 6 my gallop was slowed by a locked gate,I'd encountered this once b4  2 years ago and ended up having to take a crazy arsed detour, feck all that shite today I was almost at mile 6 so I swung a left onto nearby Montgomery Drive and ran till Hal the lil bollox Garmin  registered mile 6 and I turned to make this an out and back.9.19-9.16-9.19 as I made my way back to Lansdowne Dr.when I hit mile 9 on Mantua Ave in 9.28 I knew I was going to have to go into head down get her done mode to see this through.....9.51 at mile 10 on Powelton Ave just b4 Penn Presbyterian hospital, stick or twist, call it a 10 miler and hope to tack on two extra miles next Sunday?..  OR gut it out and grind out the final 2 miles no matter how slow......."I'll take B please Neil".......9.54 at mile 11 and 9.57 at mile 12......BOOYAH!  12 miles in 1.51.35 off 9.17 mile pace.....slight pause as I shed the 600 pound Gorilla off my back! In March prior to the Love Run 1/2 marathon I logged an all important 12 miler the week b4 in what must be said much cooler conditions, hopefully next Sunday I can register a second 12 miler pre PDR period, if it's faster than today that's an added bonus

Monday September 7th For the second year the Freedom Run took place although this year it was out and back on W.River Dr/MLK Dr which was still off limits last year,the organizers added a 10 miler this year and while I was initially miffed and not knowing that given I was coming off of my 12 mile long run yesterday 10k was enough of a challenge let alone 10 miles! Decent race conditions sunny 64 degrees but 82% humidity to put that into perspective  a fortnite ago at Philly 10k it was  68 degrees but 91% humidity.I questioned the logic of back to back long run/race long b4 getting into the starting corral in front of the Art Museum b4 the air horn went off at 7.30am, the simple truth was I needed both the long run to bolster my chances of a good 1/2 marathon in 13 days time at PDR and the race to register medal #10 for the season but more importantly #279 for the career......as a wise man once said at an AA meeting way back when and I quote "you can do anything you want in this life.......if you're willing to pay the price that goes w/ it"......To be honest I just needed to finish speed, pace, splits,overall position,age group position weren't that important that said even on those days I still like a target to aim for so I opted for 8 min mile pace roughly 48 min....opening in 8.01 was heartening  despite the 5k and 10k going off together I not only got a clear run but more importantly didn't getting pulled out by the 5k speed merchants.8.16 at mile 2 and the humidity was already taking its toll.....not that this is my first  rodeo so I knew to suck it up and be grateful for the foresight to have drank plenty of water yesterday 8.32 at mile 3 and if memory serves me 25.39 at the turnaround b4 Strawberry Mansion bridge 51.18 pace??? 8.38 at mile 4 I knew I probably didn't have it to start emptying the tank now better wait till the 5 mile marker for that, as it was I dropped down to a 8.29 split b4 throwing what little I had  at it for the final 1.2 miles 8.22 for mile 6 b4 closing in 1.29, a fortnite  ago I closed in 2.02 51.47.2 off 8.21 mile pace, all things considered something to hang my bandana on.....oh and for good measure for the second year in a row overall winner of the 60-64 age group.In keeping w/ 100% transparency  I must point out this was my slowest 10k of all time and the first time in 69 10ks since my debut in Wimbledon in 1983 that I failed to stay below 50 mins.....ok so there was always a strong possibility of that happening today off the back of a 12 mile long run but frankly if it wasn't today it was coming,at Philly 10k two weeks ago I snuck under the 50 min barrier by the skin of my teeth in 49.58.3 so the proverbial cheque was in the mail, in 07 I had my first non sub 40 time a 40.03.0 in fact since resuming my road running career in 18 I've only once gone sub 40 a 38.55.0 time in 2019 and since 24 my times bar a smoking 45.43.1 last year at the Bridge Run have all been 48-49 mins so like I said it was coming.....but like I took it on the chin when sub 40 was no longer  a rite of passage I will deal w/ the potential that at almost 63 maybe sub 50 is no longer a given

Long run and medal #279 in the books, I suspect a well earned day off is on the cards tomorrow b4 hopefully jumping back in on Wednesday morning to see if a 5 day week is doable, I suspect the 90%+ humidity mornings are done this year....now to adjust my  pre dawn vision and get ready for post 6.30am sunrises......it's seldom dull for the wee Fenian that's for shur......