What Fate Awaits

First and foremost a big thanks for all the positive feedback I got re my 800m race Friday and the issue of if I should go w/ the 800m or 5,000m at Worlds.
W/ two 800m races on tap prior to the entry deadline on April 2nd and April 17th I don't have a lot of time to fine tune things so I'm reverting to last years training schedule,5x10 miles followed by a 5x1,000m repeat,this lead to a 2.02.4. 800m,15.36.8. so if that worked so well last year maybe it could jump start me right now?
If the entry deadline for Worlds was March 24th I'd be leaning towards the 5,000m right now,Saturday and tonites 10 milers along Cobbs Creek Parkway were both in the 64-65 minute range,the acid test will be Sundays 5x1,000m and compare it to this time last years repeats and see where it stacks up.
Of course March wouldn't be March w/out talk of more snow....yeah snow,let's see what tomorrow brings weather wise....please tell me Sundays track workout won't get scuppered due to snow on the track......

Weekend Update.....W/ Dennis Miller

I don't mean to start off on a rant......but....

First and foremost I want to apologize for taking three days to post but getting home at 1.30am Saturday morning having left home at 2pm Friday afternoon to sit around for 5 hours between 5.30pm and 10.30pm to run an 800m in 2 minutes 10 seconds is hard to put a positive spin on so I let the dust settle for a while and subsequently found myself not sitting at the pc till now.

While the meet in general was good one{the Frontrunners meet each March is usually well ran and well attended and generally well liked by mostly everyone who shows up to compete}my 800m race left me w/ more questions than answers at the end of my indoor season and also left me considering not only what event to run at Worlds in July but also question what events to run in future indoor Armory meets,standing around for 5 hours from 5.30pm till 10.30pm for the second year in a row did little for my pre race prep and for future meets next year I may just run the first event so as to avoid the hours of waiting around to race,w/ hindsight Friday I may've done better running the mile which went off second following the 60m,I could've been done by 8.30pm at the latest and only waited around for three hours.....!!!!

Unlike last year the heats were seeded by time not age so when the 800s were finally called I was drawn in heat 1 w/ a 2.04 seed time,in fairness I'm sure some of the 800m entrants who had entered had either ran other distances or just given up,I only recognised one of the other runners in heat one Neil Fitzgerald who had originally planned to run the 2 miles but upon seeing he was 40 seconds faster than the next runner opted to jump in the 800m which meant the 800m just got a lot faster!

I got a good reaction to the gun and from the #2 position on the line I was able to squeeze by on the rail going into the first turn and tucked in behind Neil and Michael Brown,80m in and things were going to plan...........

My friend and teammate Nick Berra mentioned in his blog after the last 800m race here on Feb 10th how younger runners tend not to know how to race,it's a mad scramble for the the turn and screech go the brakes as they slow down......

Cue a younger runner overtaking me on the back straight.....and screech went the brakes as he hit the turn.......sonofabitch!!!!any and all momentum I'd gotten in the opening 100m came to a grinding halt,w/ hindsight I should've ran right into the back of him and ran the risk of a DQ,like Nick said these kids go from JV to Olympic Trails in a nano second.

I came through 200m in 31 seconds and 400m in 33 seconds 64 seconds but after that the race got away from me,I missed my 600m split and finished 5th in a woeful 2.10.0.

Granted the 5 hour wait didn't help any but 2.10 Jesus, when I ran 2.06.0 three weeks ago w/ zero speed work but 3 400m repeats and 1 set of hill repeats in between I had some rights to expect at least a 2.04???

Overall my indoor season gets a 6/10 grade,neither of my 400s or 800s were anything to write home about, a pair of 4.33 miles but a 9.08 3,000m and a 15.47 5,000m lead me to wonder if maybe I should forget the 800m at Worlds and focus on the 5,000m?

I have two 800s scheduled in April prior to the entry deadline,if neither of them are Worlds worthy I may switch to the 5,000m......watch this space!

Pale,Paddy,Possum And Proud

Down from the glen came the marching men w/ their shields and their swords
To fight the fight they believed to be right overthrow the overlords
To the town where there was plenty they brought plunder,swords and flame
When they left the town was empty children would never play again
From their graves I heard the fallen above the battle cry
By that bridge near the border there were many more to die
Then onward over the mountain and outward towards the sea
They had come to claim the emerald,w/out it they would not leave

Emerald-Thin Lizzy

Happy St Patrick's Day!
As is my won't it's a quiet nite in,I have a race tomorrow which means the time honoured bowl of Linguine and Clams w/ Texas Toast plus an Irish movie on tap,a toss up between "Ash Wednesday" and "State Of Grace" b4 calling it a nite.
As tomorrow is a race today was a rest day from training,I did knock out an easy 8 miler yesterday and suffered no ill effects from whatever was ailing me on Monday,chalk that one up to"one of those things"

So,what did it mean to me growing up Irish?for starters going to a catholic grade school and high school,being an alter boy,attending mass every Sunday and every holy day of obligation,going to confession every six weeks,not eating meat on Fridays,always giving up something for Lent.

Spending most if not every summer vacation back home in Ireland,listening to my father play his Irish records in the kitchen on the weekends at the time I'm sure I made a face as I grew up listening to Top 40 radio but the reason I adore the likes of Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys today is I recognise the traditional Irish songs and love the modern versions that Dave King and Ken Casey have meshed from modern day punk and traditional Irish music as they no doubt grew up on Top 40 radio and a house where traditional Irish music ruled the record player/stereo.

I didn't need to go to South Africa to witness apartheid or the deep south of America to witness racist bigotry, my parents told me how jobs and apartments frequently posted positions or rooms that said"Irish Need Not Apply",it wasn't enough the British Army were in Northern Ireland,or that in the great famine the British government turned it's back on a nation that were they neighbours as they starved or that Oliver Cromwell plundered Ireland for the gain of the British crown but I digress.

It's been 24 years since I spent St Patrick's Day in Dublin standing on O Connell Street by the GPO which if you know your Irish history you'll understand the significance,since then I've done very little on a grand scale to celebrate my heritage....next year marks 25 years since Dublin and St Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday.....either New York City and the Parade on 5th Avenue or Boston to see Dropkick Murphys either way should be a blast.

One Country Not Two

And so as I patrol in the valley of the shadow of the tricolour I must fear evil ,for I am a mortal and mortals can only die.
Asking questions,pleading answers from the nameless faceless watchers that stalk the carpeted corridors of Whitehall.
Who orders desecration,mutilation,verbal masturbation in the guarded bureaucratic wombs
Minister,minister care for your children,order them not into damnation to eliminate those who trespass against you
For who's is the kingdom,the power,the glory forever and ever,Amen,halt who goes there?
Death.......approach friend..................
You're just another coffin on it's way down the emerald isle where the children's stony glances mourn your death in a terrorist smile
The bombers arm place fiery gifts on the supermarket shelves,allys sing w/ shrapnel detonate a temporary hell
Forgotten sons
From the dole queue to the regiment a profession in a flash, but remember Monday signings when from door to door you dash
On the news a nation mourns you unknown soldiers count the cost,for a second you'll be famous but labelled posthumous
Forgotten sons,forgotten sons
Peace on earth and mercy mild,Mother Brown has lost her child,just another forgotten son.

Forgotten Sons-Marillion

Originally I was planning to use the Stiff Little Fingers lyrics to"Harp"hence the picture however I realized I'd used them b4 so my back up plan was "Forgotten Sons" by Marillion as it dealt w/ Northern Ireland a subject that was hard to escape from 30 years ago.

W/ unemployment at an all time high a career in the Army seemed like a way out,however you just knew your first "tour of duty" would be in Belfast and suddenly the dole queue didn't seem so bad after all period but if you were like me born in England to Irish parents that was a double whammy,there's just no way could've gone there.

I did visit Northern Ireland for a week in the mid 80s and spent a day in Belfast,it was like any major city on the British mainland....except for the checkpoints on main streets and the fact somebody waved a metal detector wand over you at every store entrance,even outside of Belfast in Armagh the presence of the British Army in uniform and armed w/ their rifles made you realize"we're not in Kansas anymore"

I for one was delighted in 1988 when the Good Friday peace treaty was signed and ended years of sectarian violence that existed between two sides who in truth probably didn't know why they were fighting each other and told to hate one another,my friend Volkan who's a Turk told me he didn't agree w/ his Grandfather and Father who grew up at odds w/ the Greeks,as Volkan said "that's their fight,"I didn't grow up fighting the Greeks or hating them and that's where the new generation of Northern Ireland found themselves,they didn't hate the other side,and didn't know why they hated them other than being told for years to dislike and distrust them.

And yes I know there are those who would like to see a united Ireland but I think that's unlikely,Michael Collins couldn't get it he he was one of the country's favourite sons so for now let's settle for a peaceful Ireland and embrace the peace,long may it continue.

Fly The Flag

His eyes they close and his last breath spoke,he has seen all to be seen
A life once full,now an empty vase wilt the blossoms on his early grave
Walk away me boy,walk away me boy and by morning you'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear and raise what's left of the flag for me
Then the rosary beads count them one,two,three fell apart as they hit the floor
In a garb of black we must pay respect to the colour we're born to mourn.
Walk away me boys,walk away me boys and by morning we'll be free
Wipe that golden tear from your mother dear and raise what's left of the flag for me

What's Left Of The Flag-Flogging Molly

After yesterdays slog over the closing miles of a routine 10 miler and feeling"dead below the knees"I opted to evoke a rest day,my former coach told me to"listen to what your body is telling you"and what it told me was take a rest day.

I feel a lot better,the real test will be when I run,hopefully tomorrow,at least going down the steps from my room to the kitchen was a lot easier tonite compared to yesterday,the day off probably the right decision

Shamrocks And Shenanigans

Some hearty jigs,the water around me bubblin'off to Hollyhead,fool I could no longer stand it blood began to boil temper
The boys in Liverpool when we safely landed called me an arsehole,what says I, let me shellaillagh fly,some Galway boys saw I was losing poor Erin's isle they began abusing.
Hooray were nigh saw I was a hobblin w/ a loud array they joined me in the fray and soon we cleared the way on the rocky road to Dublin

Rocky Road To Dublin Dropkick Murphys

Ah yes,Irish week kicks off again!! easy 10 mile run post work to get the week off to solid start,did briefly consider a series of 9 milers between today and Wednesday but I may now go w/ back to back 10 milers and take two rest days b4 Fridays race,I could still have another 50 mile week,on the subject of which I've just logged 50 miles in 4 days which is another reason why I may take an extra rest day if I feel sluggish tomorrow.

I'm a little nicked up right now,as Linford Christie once said and I quote"as an athlete you're always injured"so a few aches and pains at 47 aren't enough to set alarm bells ringing but I'm astute enough to listen to what my body is telling me,there's nothing to be gained by racing a meaningless race at the end of the indoor season if it throws a spanner in the works for my outdoor season so I'll tread w/ caution the next day or two

Double Trouble

Fear not dear reader I haven't slid back to old habits,one day one,one day off,truth is after yesterdays 14x400m repeats I was too knackered to even sit at the pc,what the frig I ran 14 miles going around in circles if nothing else I was dizzy!!!

As far as yesterday went it began well enough clocking splits of:72.1,74.8,73.6,71.6,75.3,72.7,75.7.
then the arse fell out of it:77.3,77.4,75.2,80.2,77.0,NT,80.4.
The NT came about as a result of a stop watch malfunction but judging from the times I'd been clocking #13 would not have been anything to write home about.
I don't think upping my workload from 12 to 14 had anything to w/ my second half collapse I think it was just "one of those days"I felt after #7 I had no knee lift or leg turnover,but rather than just throw the towel in I kept grinding away to the end,there's always next week.

As for today it was back to ye olde Sunday 16 miler,although today had a twist.
Thanks to Facebook I hooked up w/ Rich a newcomer to the Greater Philadelphia Track Club who was looking for someone to run 10 miles w/,I mentioned doing the Art Museum Loop as part of my 16 miler and w/ that Rich and I met up at Locust Point to do an easy 10 miles.
It was a nice change of pace to have someone to run w/ as we shot the shit about running,maybe we can do this again next week.

50 miles for the week,back to where I was b4 getting sick and Hobbes dying,short week leading up to Friday's indoor season finale at The Armory,10 miles tomorrow,9 miles Tuesday,9 miles Wednesday b4 a rest day Thursday.....which is St Paddy's Day.....here comes another Irish week on tap....