Doing The Early Bird.....And Liking It

After two days of sitting it out due to the first taste of winter I was back out there this evening to run 12 miles.
I hate to play the wuss card but frankly it was too frigging cold Wednesday and Thursday to get out there,it's one thing to deal w/ temps hovering around the freezing mark but when you spend most of the day working in what feels like a walk in meat locker and you struggle to get warm and or stay warm and then try and run it's an uphill battle,I'm reasonably confident if I worked in warmer conditions I'd be better equipped to deal w/ the harshness we've endured the last few days.

The fact today was mildly warmer than the last two days helped me get out and run this evening and also the fact that I was on the road by 4.10pm didn't hurt either,a full half an hour earlier than usual thanks to leaving work 40 mins earlier than usual by way of working through my lunch today and frankly I may look at revising my hours at work during the winter to leave at 3pm from now on till it begins to get lighter in the evenings,granted after this evening there won't be much in the way of 12 milers over the coming weeks but even at 10 miles getting on the road by 4pm might not such a bad thing,something to ponder.

Reached the turn around w/ the last vestiges of daylight still hanging on which made for a picturesque view of the river heading back towards Center City,hard to appreciate this in the dark.
Tonite was another nite I was forced into a detour around a CSX freight train,on Tuesday when I got to the railroad tracks coming back along the banks I had to wait as the behemoth of freight trains was slowly making it's way along the tracks,I couldn't even see the last freight car and gave up waiting and looped back to the Walnut St bridge,this evening as I crossed the South St bridge I saw another CSX freight train w/ no final car in sight another detour around Walnut St to get back on to the banks,here's hoping for no detours tomorrow morning.

You Make Me Happy When Skys Are Grey

I opted to exercise my rest day option yesterday,it was whores heart cold out there and I was feeling slightly fatigued after 150 miles in 13 days,this now meant that in order to notch my final 75 mile week I'll have to log 12 milers between now and Saturday,for every action there's a reaction.

I can't say w/ any degree of certainty that today was any warmer than yesterday but I felt the rest day had done me the world of good,that and the fact I was bundled up to the nines{the first time I've worn my running tights in a while...and evidently not the last either},even w/ my thermal gloves on my finger tips were starting to get numb at the 10 mile mark but it was a case of sucking it up and finishing off the run.

A great night for my beloved Spurs,we finished top of our Champions League group tonite w/ a 3.3 draw w/ FC Twente while Werder Bremen did us a solid by beating Inter Milan 3.0,when the draw for the group stage was made in late August/early September I'd have happily taken 3rd place and a spot in the Europa League but here we are 6 games later top of the group and seeded going into the December 17th draw for the knock out stage,glory glory hallelujah and the Spurs go marching on

Not For The Last Time Afterall

W/ a 15k xc race at Van Cortlandt Park scheduled for next Sunday this was originally scheduled as my last Sunday 16 miler......however!
After some considerable thought I've decided to keep the Sunday 16 miler in my rotation even after I'm done w/ base mileage this week.

I quite enjoy the Sunday 16 miler,I may be singing from a different hymn sheet during the winter months but I am keeping in in my rotation.
Jumbo Elliot would insist on his runners running long on Sundays,in Eamon Coghlan's autobiography"Chairman Of The Boards" he talks of how after the first one he had to take a taxi back to Villanova and blowing off his Monday classes as he was knackered,after my first one 6 weeks ago I know how he felt but gradually over the weeks I've grown used to it and think it will continue to serve me well,since I'm borrowing another Jumbo Elliot workout once my repeats begin next week why not stick w/ what made the likes of Coghlan,Paige,Maree and O Sullivan such modern day greats??

Had a wry smile to myself on this mornings run,as a rule on my 16 miler I head up West River Drive,over Falls Bridge and down Kelly Drive but on my 10 milers I've been sticking to the Schuylkill Banks and out past Lloyd Hall and Boathouse Row b4 turning at Girard Bridge,as I came along the banks this morning I was considering going counter clockwise for a change up Kelly Drive and down West River Drive but I saw a group of a dozen and a half runners heading up West River Drive.....someone to chase for a change as more often than not I'm out there by my lonesome......however when they reached Sweet Briar Drive they hung a left,oh well.....
Coming down Kelly Drive at the 3 mile mark I looked up to see two runners ahead of me at St Joe's boathouse I passed the second of them w/ 2 miles to go till Lloyd Hall and never gave it a second thought until my approach to Lloyd Hall as I prepared to hang a right and rejoin the banks via Fairmount Waterworks I heard footsteps and after pealing off to my right I glanced over my left shoulder.....the guy I passed at St Joe's boathouse,he must've worked his arse off over the two miles to catch up w/ me......hunter and the hunted all w/in a few miles....another reason the Sunday 16 miler stays in my rotation.

Staring At The Sun

Sometimes I guess we take things for granted or just don't give them a second thought.....like running in the daylight.
I was out reasonably early for my 9 miler along Cobs Creek Parkway by 10am and couldn't help but marvel at the daylight,I guess the fact I'm currently running every night during the week and doing most of those runs in the dark makes me appreciate the daylight that much more when I can run in it.

A pretty straight forward run,I'm sitting on 59 miles for the week w/ tomorrow's 16 miler to come to give me another 75 mile week.
Final foot note,seems England is in the grip of some early winter weather this week to the point where several soccer games were postponed today including Blackpool vs Man Utd which was scheduled to go off at 12.30pm here,w/ that falling by the way side the Birmingham Spurs game was moved up the schedule to fill the 12pm-2pm time slot,we drew 1.1 to keep us in 5th place and right now in a rare treat I'm watching Millwall Scunthorpe,nice to know can still visit my old stomping ground of South East London w/out having to leave my room.

10,40,50.

Another 10 miler,another nite of 40 degrees and 50 miles for the week.
Having gotten spoilt last week w/ 5 of my 6 runs during daylight it was always going to be a shock to the system going back to running Monday through Friday in the evening,factor in 40 degree temps and you can see why getting my thermal gloves and skull cap was such a huge boost this week.

W/ 50 miles under my belt already I can at least look forward to 2 runs in the daylight over the weekend ,although the temperature isn't going to be much better than the last three days at least w/ the sun being out it'll feel warmer....he said hopefully!

A 9 miler tomorrow,for once my run isn't dictated by the Spurs game,for some strange reason it's not being shown till 5pm.....this does however mean having to avoid seeing the score till then...the lengths I'll go to to follow my beloved Spurs!!

New Shoes

Paulo Nutini may not have made it on to my"See You Jimmy" St Andrew's Day mix tape but I tip my thermal skull cap to him today as I got to brake in my new running shoes on my 10 miler this evening.
I was quite impressed w/ my last pair of shoes,Asics Gel Pulse that I sprung for another pair this time around,for most of the last 9 years I've favoured Asics I did have a brief dalliance w Under Armour earlier this year but I switched back to Asics in the summer.

40 degrees out there this evening,it's gonna get colder as I look to add some more cold weather running clothes to my wardrobe,I'd rather spend the money on cold weather running clothes than miss training runs because it's cold

On the subject of hot and cold Russia and Qatar the surprise winners today in the World Cup host vote in Zurich.
It was a double blow as England had bid for the 2018 and USA to host 2022 but neither won,hey ho.
And on the subject of Russia,I hope the loading dock doesn't feel like Siberia again tomorrow,I may need to start wearing my thermal skull cap and gloves at work also!

Unexpected

I realize taking another dig at the weather forecasters is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel but reading today's forecast yesterday didn't fill me w/ hope in terms of being able to run today and when I heard the wind and the rain first thing this morning I could've been forgiven for thinking today would be a wash out.

However come lunch time the rain stopped and now the prospect of notching another 10 miler this evening was very real.
Somewhat timely was the arrival of my thermal running gloves and skull cap,I put both to good use this evening,granted 44 degrees is hardly frigid but coming off of 61 degrees yesterday it was a sizable drop but thanks to my new gloves and skull cap I didn't feel it,money well spent I feel.

Funny story to finish up w/, heading out along Kelly Drive just beyond Boathouse Row I thought I heard someone yell "hey" but I couldn't be sure it was directed at me so I continued on my way to Girard Ave bridge which is my turn around point.
Suddenly I was aware someone was trying to catch up w/ me,I kept going but eventually the runner overtook me and my first reaction was "ok hot dog it's all yours"
The runner then slowed and turned around.....turns out it was my team mate Nick Berra!!!!
Nick was on a lay over in Philly{he's a pilot} and was out for a run,the chances of us running in to one another were remote but here we were,after the turn around we ran together till Market St b4 Nick went east and I continued south,there was a noticeable pick up in the tempo but what do you expect from a 1.56 800m guy!!