All Roads Lead To Cork

"Then we used to meet by the courthouse on Washington Street, walked to Pairc Ui Chaoimh and get a Crio out of KCs, she took me for a jar in the Brog, The Wash,Clancy's and The Old Oak and I can here the echo and that young one busking Fields Of Gold, take a bow all the lights of Cork City, shine brighter now from Shandon out to Ringaskiddy I can't believe i'm falling for someone who drinks Tanora,but when you smile you stop the lights will you stay, will you stay,will you leave, will you leave, will you leave walk one last time hand in hand down Patrick Street,back home they won't believe us this girl has got me drinking Beamish way in the country, she'll still probably leave me for Roy Keane"

The Lights Of Cork City-The 2 Johnnies

Well, well, well what can I say quiet the week for the Wee Fenian, another week of 6am 5 milers, a rare July race,a return to the realm of triple digit mileage for the month{ w/ a week to go till the 31st!!!} and some amazing news not only for next year but also my quest for medal #300.......

Monday July 20th In what would prove to be a pivotal week for me a lively start to things,in pretty good conditions 64 degrees and 66% humidity I knocked out not only  negative splits out in 22.00 back in 21.09 but also all 5 miles at sub 9 min mile pace:8.37-8.57-8.32-8.35-8.27 for a  brisk 43.09.7 on the Baltimore Ave,South St bridge,Schuylkill River Trail to Locust Point and back.How much of this was down to an"exchange of views" w/ a Lance Armstrong type on the Schuylkill River Trail, if he was any further up my hole at the on/off ramp he'd have been giving me a Proctology exam......is up for debate but the positive takeaway for me was after dropping a 8.32 split on mile 3 in and around our  clash/war of words I maintained that pace and dropped closing splits of 8.35-8.27{ ok I'm no Josh Kerr.....but who is?} which tells me the Three S's Speed,Strength and Stamina are in full effect period, but in mid July, which hopefully bodes well moving forward.

Tuesday July 21st I opted to make this my rest day but it was a major day for my running.......I've made no secret of my desire to run several 1/2 marathons in Ireland over the next few years in Cork,Belfast,Dublin{ both City 1/2 and Phoenix Park} and Galway to list five and to be honest the list grows as Dingle,Tralee,Viking 1/2 marathon in Waterford and recently discovered Clonrarf have also been added for consideration but as the son of a proud Rebel man Cork was always going to get top billing, it's been on my radar for a few years now what I didn't realize till I went on the race website on June 28th was it now has a ballot system to gain access to either the full marathon, half marathon or 10k AND the deadline for said ballot was midnite on June 30th....another couple of days I'd have been banajaxed,I duly sent off my application and tried not to over think the outcome, that said mentally July 21st had been circled if not on my calendar but in my head.......Technically they never said when on the 21st the results would be sent out online via email so at 7.01pm here Monday it was 12.01am in Cork and yer Man here was no stranger to his emails checking for news/updates.....shur I even checked at 3am here when I woke up hoping by 8am back home the results were posted.....nada!! Given I walked into a situation upon arrival at work at 7.45am there wasn't time to check emails until closer to 9am...............YEAH BAI!!!!!!!!!! I'm in!!! the chance to run the Cork City 1/2 marathon means everything to me period.......but to do it next year on June 6th is extra special as there is good chance it could also be medal #300...........how cool would it to be to hit the 300 mark in the very city my running began unofficially on August Bank Holiday 1972????? In order for that to happen there will be some tweaks to my race schedule both this year and early next year but hopefully if all goes to plan the Broad Street Run on May 2nd will be medal #299 and the next stop will be Cork City on June 6th.........#staytuned

Wednesday  July 22nd 74 degrees and 93% humidity hardly scream negative splits and 5 sub 9 min miles but maybe the euphoria of getting into the Cork City 1/2 marathon the day b4 was still driving me out and back on Powelton Ave 43.34.3 off 8.43 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.46-8.55-8.31-8.34-8.48, out in 21.55 back in 21.39 I should for the record state at the turnaround on Mantua Ave when I saw 21.55 I was thinking 22.55 which would be slow.....this might explain the brisk 8.31 3 mile split till I realized "hey gobshite 21.55....not 22,55" in my defense I was 6.15am.......I'm hardly bright eyed and bushy tailed at that hour let alone doing a 5 mile run....in 93% humidity I might add! To that end I could be forgiven for thinking it was a mirage when I counted  not only 4 other runners on the inbound leg but all four in the last few blocks up Cedar Ave the final two being inside the final block.While I'm not naive  enough to think I'm the only runner in my neighborhood it was nice to see other like minded individuals  period much less that early in the morning.

Thursday July 23rd Any thoughts of a third negative split and 5 sub 9 min miles run in a row were dashed early on and while hardly the end of the world it was somewhat frustrating given it was my favourite route out and back on 49th St, Paschall Ave,Greys Ferry Ave bridge and the start of the Schuylkill River Trail and back and conditions lent themselves to a fast time,67 degrees and 60% humidity.As soon as 9.06 came up as I hit Paschall Ave I knew it wasn't going to be brisk.....and frankly that's ok,each run doesn't have to feel like a time trail and while I did pickup the pace going downhill on Grays Ferry Ave bridge 8.51 the last three splits went :9.12-9.25-9.26, for the record out in 22.30 back in 23.31

Friday July 24th In an ideal world I'd have preferred to have ran Monday thro Thursday to keep my powder dry for Saturdays race but I also knew seven weeks into this block of training that a semi fast 5 mile at 6am Ftiday wasn't going to impact my 10k in 25 hours time.66 degrees and 79% humidity as I reeled off splits of:8.50-9.02-8.37-9.05-9.18 on the Baltimore Ave,South Street bridge,Schuylkill River Trail and 49th St loop, at least I had the satisfaction of a sub 45 min time,44.54.0 off 8.58 mile pace

Saturday July 25th Races in July are as rare as All Ireland's coming home to Cork{2005 in Hurling, 2010 in Football} but as luck would have it not only did I find one, it's part of a series of races across the country by The Best Races,that offer either a 5k,10k or 1/2 marathon in Atlanta,Memphis,Miami,New York,Phiily/New Jersey,Tampa,Austin,Chicago,Dallas,Denver,Houston,Kansas City,San Antonio,Las Vegas,LA,Phoenix,Sacramento,San Diego,San Francisco,Seattle, evidently they've had races over in Camden since May, they only just showed up on my radar prior to the July 4th race but I duly printed out all the races between today and Dec 26th and circled the ones I wanted to do, there are  ten more races on the schedule of which I plan to run five.....and yes before ye ask the website had the magical words finishers medal in the race info medal hoor that I am period but w/ the chance to hit #300 in Cork City in June I need to pick up the pace for my medal haul, should all the stars align  between now and Dec 26th I can end the year on #292 and hope conditions are mild enough in January when they have 2 more races{I may switch to 5k for them} b4 my traditional Winter/Spring schedule of Cupid's Chase 5k,Shamrock Run 5k,Love Run 1/2 marathon,Broad St Run 10 miler{ I could potentially axe the annoying Hot Chocolate 15k in April in favour of a long run in my build up to the 1/2 marathon in Cork in June}I knew ahead of time these races were " low key" no start/finish line no clock basically show up at the Wiggins Park Marina at either 7am,7.30am or 8am get your race bib and let them know which distance you were running.It was  along the river trail along the Delaware  River  from the Marina to the Ben Franklin bridge and back twice for the 5k, four times for the 10k or just over 8 times for the 1/2 marathon,I have to say prior to that knowledge my plan was 10ks this year and 5ks in January I couldn't imagine up and back over 8 times  for the 1/2 marathon, that's mentally draining but more power to anyone today who was tacking that I got a clear start in the 7am wave{given the trail isn't super wide the organizers try to limit it to 20 runners per wave on a first come, first serve basis} the eventual winner of the 10k and I would imagine eventual winner of the 1/2 marathon  went out at a pretty brisk pace I was happy to register 7.34 for my opening mile I was pretty much in no man land although another runner overtook  me  b4 we reached the Ben Franklin bridge b4 I eventually reeled him in and passed him by the third circuit.Given this was my first 10k of the season I had no real idea of mile pace I knew 7.30 was probably wishful thinking for now but not out of the realm of possibility later on this fall and 8 min mile pace  probably was setting the bar too low as it was I averaged 7.53 mile pace which means hopefully on a more traditional course for the Philly 10k in four weeks time maybe 7.45 mile pace isn't too far  out of my reach.the first 5 miles were all sub 8 pace:7.34-7.52-7.57-7.56-7.56, sadly 6 got way from me 8.11, I did check heat and humidity b4 the 7am start but for the life of me couldn't recall what they were, I can tell ye my Palestine running vest was soaked by the time I finished and had  dripped down onto my race shorts, thank the lord for a dry sleeveless shirt and  dry short waiting for me at the finish.According to Hal the little bollox Garmin it was 6.84 miles when I reached the start/finish at the end of 4 loops of the up and back, again when I run a more traditional course at Philly 10k in 4 weeks it should be 6.2 miles  and when I next rock up here in Camden on Sept 21st for the Octoberfest 10k I'll make shur to eyeball where 6.2 come in, stop the Garmin but keep running till I get back to the start/finish at the Marina.Medal #8 for the season,#277 for the career.......oh and by the way, 103 miles for the month, I had 97 coming into the race, potential for another 20 between Monday & Friday to round out July at 123 mile, I didn't hit triple digits till August last year, w/ that in mind at last years Philly 10k I ran 48.31.9 off 7.46 mile pace so lets see how much I can shave off of that in four weeks time?
 

Eyes Down For {Another} Full House

"His essential complications are hung up on confused it's a planet full of traffic lights and traffic light abusers but that's no stranger than strange, or any other stranger he claims it's dangerous to be innocent 'cause  uou're  the victim every time histories of insanity intruding on the same celebrate this party's over I'm going home"

Celebrate-An Emotional Fish

Another 5 day/ 30 mile week in the books, another 5 mornings of answering the call of the alarm at 5.35am, another week it was far easier to deal w/the heat and humidity {and heatwave #5} at 6am!!! and more importantly not only edge closer to a triple digit mileage month but also tack on another double digit long run.....little by little it's starting to fall into place.....

Monday July 13th Glass half empty just missed out on a negative splits,glass half full a sub 45 min 5 miler......what can I say I'm not shaggin' Barbie, shur I can't have every thing!!! 68 degrees  but 80% humidity.Monday or Tuesday whenever I kick my week off the route is Baltimore Ave,South St bridge, left onto the Schuylkill River Trail down to Locust Point and back,made the turn literally as ye have to go around the circle at Locust Point in 22.18 I did feel a negative splits was doable, however as is often the case it's mile 3 that throws a spanner in the works, the 9.09 split proved to be my undoing in my quest for a negative splits,8.54-9.02-9.09-9.05-8.31 for a 44.43.4 time off 8.56 mile pace  while I'm a tad miffed at coming up 5 seconds shy of a negative splits I can take great satisfaction in a closing mile of 8.31, week 4 of early morning runs off the back of  5 runs over 2 weeks prior to the conversion I can see progress

Wednesday July 15th On a day the afternoon temps topped out at 99 degrees it was no surprise to count seven other runners heading east on Powelton Ave after I'd made the 2,5 mile turnaround, even at 6am it was 77 degrees and 79% humidity.Sadly this run goes into the log as an untimed run at roughly 3.5 miles at 42nd & Powelton I caught a red light and while I thought I'd hit restart after I resumed running clearly I didn't.....meh! I'm strongly considering making the Powelton Ave route my untimed run for the week anyway so maybe improvisation is the mother of all fuck ups no matter how small they are after all??

Thursday July 16th It was noticeable to me anyway that at 5.35am it not as light as it was say a few weeks ago,I've been tracking Sunrise times since I began my morning runs, now I don't recall what the actual time Sunrise was on June 23rd but it's noticable it's not as light as it was a few weeks ago, by  Friday July 31st Sunrise will be 5.58am and little by little it will get lighter later but by that time I should be a fully paid up member of the Dawn Patrol Fraternity  so hopefully it won't effect me any.79 degrees and 69% humidity as I made my way up 49th St to Paschall Avenue and the Grays Ferry Avenue bridge into the park that links the start/end of the Schuylkill River Trail.I was well on pace for a negative splits and sub 45 min time early doors,8.43 and 8.54 for the opening 2 miles,I forget what my actual turnaround time was but probably 22 mins and change......somehow mile 3 ballooned up to 9.40.....WTF!!!! I had to have " switched off mentally" but got things back on track w/ a 9.02 4th mile and rounding out w/ a 9.16 final mile for a 45.36.1 finish off 9.06 mile pace.For the cynics who say" running doesn't pay" I found a $20 bill on the ground outside the Mini Mart on the corner of 49th and Springfield Ave.......as the auld saying goes " all donations gratefully accepted"!!!!

Friday July 17th There is something about the hybrid route I round out my week on that I quite enjoy, it's important to mix things up on the 4 weekday  morning runs, running the same route day in, day out would be boring no matter the route so combining Monday/Tuesdays Baltimore Ave,South St bridge but now a right onto the Schuylkill River Trail and over the bridge into Grays Ferry Park, up and over Grays Ferry Avenue bridge and the back down 49th St to home a la Thursdays run gives me that.While not a negative split as this is an actual loop{ again a small tweak to keep things from becoming rote} and not an out and back it was a sub 45 min time 44.06.5 off 8.49 mile pace thanks to splits of:8.39-8.51-8.09-9.06-9.19 it was very noticeable after the fact so few other runners were out this morning, 73 degrees and 60% humidity but a threat of  poor air quality due to fires in Canada may've keep others indoor.....not this mad Fenian fecker......shur the only smoke I was worried about was the smoke coming off of me w/ that sub 45 min time!!!!!!

Sunday July 19th I'd say "if it's Sunday, it's a long run".... however next Saturday I have a race and as we matriculate from Summer to Fall I will have a hape of Saturday races on the auld  schedule so the auld Sunday long run is very much the glue that holds all this together,morning 5 milers are grand don't get it twisted....but w/ a pair of half marathons {PDR & Philly}on the Fall schedule not to mention the time honoured "Italian Stallion Challenge" at the Rocky Run where mad feckrs like myself willingly I should add sign up for both the 5k and 10 miler it's important to throw in a weekly long run to help facilitate that.After a pair of overcast mornings on Thursday & Friday it was nice to see the sun out at 6am when I set off,right now my 10 miler and I suspect the 12 mile long run are out and back on the Schuylkill River Trail, when it comes time to go 14 miles{ potentially Sunday August 16th the Sunday b4 Philly 10k} I would like to revisit the tried and tested Fairmount Park/East Falls route w/it's hills......what can I say I'm a gutton for punishment......then again as a long suffering Cork Hurling fan shur that just comes w/ the scenery........{ sidebar, a tip of the auld bandana to Limerick  for winning this years All Ireland Hurling Final this morning, pains me to say it but well done and fair play to ye}72 degrees and 77% humidity my main objective here was 10 miles, while I got spoiled last week going not only sub 1.30 but also keeping all 10 mile splits at sub 9 min mile pace  today I just wanted to get the 10 miles in period,but w/ a race next Saturday a blown 10 miler today would mean a redo in 2 Sundays time and that would be at the expense of a potential 12 miler, granted I'm ahead of where I was a year ago and let's NOT even revisit the shit show that was the 2024 season when I couldn't buy or even lease  a double digit long run,but in running as is in Chess it's important to be thinking one or two moves ahead I feel.The proverbial writing was perhaps on the wall re all 10 splits being sub 9 when I opened in 8.57, for the record last Sunday I opened in 8.33...... this was followed by split of: 9.02-9.00-9.04-9.09- for a turnaround time of 45.12....however  I suspected Hal The Lil Bollox Garmin was up to his auld tricks again as the turnaround came beyond where I turned last week for mile 5.....and when mile 7 not only came up early after the turnaround but said 7.06 I knew this little bollox was acting up.W/ 3 miles to go it was a case of keeping my head up,picking off runners ahead of me who were heading south along the Schuylkill River Trail and honing in on my finish.The last 3 miles were slow 9.24-9.21-9.40 so how much faith and trust I can put in Hal  recording 10 miles in 1.29.59 off 9 min mile pace is up for debate, what isn't up for debate is the fact that I logged another 10 miles to complete back to back 5 day/30 mile weeks and put myself w/in striking distance of triple digit mileage for the first time since October of last year

I had said  towards the back end of last year and early this year 2026 was a big year for yours truly as it marks 50 years since I began competitive running as a Freshman in High School on an auld cinder running track in Charlton Park that sadly isn't there anymore,little did I think that Thursday afternoon in July on either the 1st or the 8th I was about to embark on the journey that I have, from track meets to eventual road races a Marathon debut in 1985 to then coming to Philadelphia in 87 and continuing the journey......albeit running on the other side of the road!!!!!,I'm not done yet as I channel my inner John Bender from "The Breakfast Club"  not even close bud!!! it's a shame Covid fecked me and everyone else in 2020,had it not been for that I could potentially be looking at celebrating not only my Golden Jubilee Tour  but also reaching the #300 medal mark......who knows maybe the Running Gods have something else in store for this wee Fenian...........

 

Oh No! Jeffery Bungle!!!!

 "We're here at the afters and it's a disaster cunts are talking politics, there's a lack of laughter skaggin" out on the sofa, Arlene's chinned Paro off her head,she believes she's sinned Donaldson has started w/ his homophobic chat so everyone has started on him and that's enough of that Stalford's lickin' coke off a plate you've got issues mate,Get your Brits out, Get your Brits out,Get your Brits out We're on a mad one"

Get Your Brits Out-Kneecap

Revenge, they say is a dish best served cold......this week I feel it was served mildly humid........

Tuesday July 7th having burnt my one week day off right off the bat on Monday I knew what lay in store now Tuesday thro Friday 67 degrees was fine.....not so much the 90% humidity that greeted me at 5.50am heading down Baltimore Ave towards the South St bridge and the Schuylkill River Trail towards Locust Point and the turnaround.Out in 22.44 I fancied my chances of a rare negative splits, sadly in retrospect it was mile 4 that did me in as my splits went:9.19-9.01-9.11-9.19=8.45 for a 45.34.7 my inbound second half was 22.50 and while I'm a tad salty to miss a negative splits period,much less by 6 seconds I took great satisfaction from the closing mile up Baltimore Ave in 8.45, it tells me a couple of weeks in to serious training and the strength is returning.....even that early in the morning

Wednesday July 8th For the days leading up to today I kept hearing how weather wise Wednesday was the pick of the week......and they weren't wrong,70 degrees and only 80% humidity.....those days are few and far between in the Summer so it really is imperative to try and take full advantage of them when they come along.Opting for the road less traveled  out and back on Powelton Ave I went out in 22.40 and once again fancied my chances  of a negative splits.....however  today it was mile 3 that threw a spanner in the works,9.01-9.09-9.25-9.02-8.51 back in 22.49 for a 45.29.0 time off 9.05 mile pace.the closing 2 miles were solid and strong but the damage was done probably just after the turnaround on Mantua Ave, and while I appreciate it's a big ask to be getting up 5 mornings a week at 5.35am and going out to run I need to pay attention to mentally turning off,Powelton Ave is tough it's usually just me out there unlike runs along the Schuylkill River Trail where the rest of the Dawn Patrol Fraternity seem to congregate,that said last week my negative splits was on Powelton Ave so.......???

Thursday July 9th Boo to the mutha fuckin' Ya! yes a negative split, out in 22.42 back in 22.17 but also a sub 45 min time 44.59.9 {could ye have cut it any closer???!!!} off 9.00 mile pace 72 degrees and 90% humidity on perhaps my favourite route down 49th St, over  Grays Ferry Ave bridge and onto the Schuylkill River Trail and back,for the record my splits were:9.04-8.51-9.05-9.12-8.47,I ran into one of my co workers Ernie just as I hit the Greys Ferry side of the bridge that links Greys Ferry park to the Schuylkill River Trail and we crossed paths again after we'd both made our respective turnarounds w/ a nod of acknowledgement, a wave and a " see ya in he office" as we went about our business,we both have one eye on Philly Marathon weekend in late November, 1/2 marathon for me on the 21st, full marathon for Ernie the following day.....I dare say our paths will cross a few more times out on he Schuylkill River Trail between now and then.....

Friday July 10th Thankfully I didn't allow myself to get all Billy Big Bollox{ William Large Testicles doesn't look or sound the same so Billy Big Bollox it is!!!!!} w/Thursday's negative splits but in my defense yer honour{I do work for a law firm after all!!!} it was 94% humidity at 5.50am off the back of 74 degrees.I went w/ the hybrid run Baltimore Ave to the Schuylkill River Trail and back down 49th St, an actual loop and not an out and back so there's no turnaround time to check for a negative splits......however based off my splits of:8.47-8.58-9.16-9.18-9.28 safe to say there was a snowballs chance in hell of a negative splits today.....and that's ok the more important number was the number of miles 5 off of 9.09 mile pace

Sunday July 12th When Saturdays 5.25am alarm went off and I didn't stir from my slumber I knew a well earned day off was coming and as it turned out cooler conditions.....however ye can't make omelets w/out braking eggs as they say and the price of yesterday afternoons rain storm was not only seven hours w/out electricity but several downed trees.....YES whole trees not just branches  that came down in Greys Ferry park but also  along the Schuylkill River Trail just after the bridge that links Greys Ferry park to the start of the trail leading to the South St bridge, I suspect the Parks Department will be busy Monday morning sorting that out.72 degrees and 81% humidity felt like Wednesdays conditions as I set off down 49th St towards Greys Ferry Ave bridge around 5.50am, the pre run plan was out and back along the Schuylkill River Trail to just beyond Boathouse Row on Kelly Dr and back and while the first downed tree in Greys Ferry park was an easy work around the three fallen trees that lay across the trail between exiting the foot bridge and heading towards South St bridge forced to me to actually stop running to  go around,under and over them, at this point I knew I wasn't coming back this route and forced me into coming up w/ an alternate route on the fly,Boy Scout motto ''Be Prepared" Marine motto { albeit unofficially!}"Improvise,Adapt and Overcome" Things had been going tickerty boo so far 8.33-8.46-8.34-8.54-8.28 as I now hit W.River Dr the plan was hit Sweetbriar Dr to Lansdowne Dr and head back along 34th St to Mantua Ave and Powelton Ave and home.....was all sounding grand  as I added splits of 8.46 and 8.58,I believed in my black Celtic Pagan  heart 10 miles was doable, could I continue this sub 9 min mile pace?When I hit mile 7 at the junction of Spring Garden St and Mantua  Ave I knew to continue down Mantua/Powelton and home was going to come up slightly short and the last thing I wanted/needed  was pissballin' around closer to home looping loops or blocks to round  up to 10 miles.......SO....a hard left onto Spring Garden St and back towards the  Art Museum and back onto the Schuylkill River Trail and down to the South St bridge and back via Baltimore Ave.8.57 for mile 8 I could ill afford any let ups now, I'd worked too hard to this point to get all 10 mile splits at sub 9 to let it get away from me now and at least along the trail I'd have other runners to push, pull, drag me to my goal.8.40 at mile 9 just after coming off the South St bridge,normally it'd be 2 miles to go......normally I'm not circumnavigating feckin' fallen trees so it was time to lock in for the final mile.......8.58 to clock 1.27.35 off 8.45 mile pace....#hup! I'm not one for "breakin' my hand patting myself on the back" period but I also  know the difference between a pat on the back and kick in the hole is about  6 to 12 inches but I also know it's worth acknowledging even the smallest of victories,a 5 day/30 mile week my best return this year to date, a 10 mile long run period my first non race long/double digit run since March 22nd and keeping all 10 miles at under 9 min pace, it's also worth pointing out last year in the build up to PDR I didn't log a double digit long run till August 10th when for the record I went 1.32.27 off 9.15 pace and the final 6 miles were all 9 min plus...., all in all a good morning's work to round out a good week, at three weeks in I feel I've become a morning runner,maybe I should've made the switch sooner but let's stay humble and say better to have done it now and hope it continues moving forward.......

It would be remiss of me period,muchless on today July 12th  not to have my Fenian opinion on disgraced former leader of the DUP {Dirty Ulster Pedo's} and former Orange Order member Jeffery Donaldson.....guilty on  ALL  18 charges in his recent and hardly surprising often delayed trial for sexual offenses......NOT   such a "man of God" or "holier than thou" are ye? I hope when he gets sentenced on Sept 25th he goes away for a  LONG,LONG,TIME.......from Queen's Birthday/Honours list to Sex Offenders list......" oh no Jeffery" if ever there was an effigy getting burnt on those poxy Orange Order bonfires this weekend it's his and everything him and the Orange Order stand for.............Tiocfaidh ar la!

To Win, Just Once.........

"To win just once would be enough for those who've lost in life and love for those who've lost their guile and nerve their innocence and their drive and verve, for those who feel they've been mistreated discriminated robbed or cheated to claim one victory inspired to win just once is their desire to win just once, to win just once to win just once, that would be enough"

To Win Just Once-The Saw Doctors

Glass half full, another week in the books{and 10 morning runs in the last 13 days....am I becoming a morning runner after all these years?} glass half empty my auld nemesis the humidity reared its ugly head this week for heatwave #4 for the year and scuppered my last three runs

Monday June 29th Knowing the humidity was coming it was important to kick off the week on the front foot, 68 degrees and 90% humidity at 6am as I opted for the Baltimore Ave,South Street Bridge and Schuylkill River Trail out and back making the turnaround at  Locust Point, while I'm not looking at negative splits right now force of habit has me check my turnaround time out in 22.23 back in 23.29 for a 46.02.0 off 9.12 mile pace a sold start to the week

Wednesday July 1st Unfortunately the events of Monday at work meant when the alarm went off at 5.25-5.35am  Tuesday I wasn't feeling it, it meant I had to settle for 67 miles for June and 363 miles for the half way point in the year, this time last year I had 312 so hopefully this bodes well for  getting over the 769 mile mark I managed in 2023 and 2025 {723 in 2024} opted for the road less traveled again out and back along Powelton Ave 75 degrees and 74% humidity and remarkably a negative splits out in 23.21 back in 23.02 thanks to a closing mile  of 9.02 and 46.23.2 off 9.17 mile pace

Thursday July 2nd The start of the heatwave, in the afternoon it hit 103 degrees so if this hadn't been my 8th morning run in 10 days I would've had to be a part of the Dawn Patrol Fraternity  today as it is it's slowly becoming second nature to be up and out the door by 5.50am 87 degrees and 81% humidity so I knew I was up against it from the get go, as I had to drop off my rent at 40th & Locust I opted for the Spruce St/Baltimore Ave out and back,by the time I hit 2 miles at Franklin Field I knew trying to cross the South St bridge was wishful thinking, one advantage of doing this for 50 years now is I know when it either is or isn't my day......today wasn't my day! Had to settle for 3 miles in 28.00.2 off 9.20 mile pace

Friday July 3rd W/ the  luxury of today being a holiday I knew if the humidity{89 degrees and 71% humidity at 6am!!!!} got the better of me I didn't have to concern myself w/ finishing the run and heading  to work so w/ that in mind I opted for the 49th Street,Schuylkill River Trail out and back route, however b4 I hit the trail just after mile 2 I was reduced to a walk and I already knew this was probably only going to be a 4 miler so I continued along the Schuylkill River Trail to take advantage of the breeze off of the Schuylkill and head back home via the South St bridge, Spruce St and Baltimore Ave 4 miles in 37.03.0 off 9.16 mile pace

Sunday July 5th Thankfully we got some rain Saturday nite to cool things off  but  while it was only 77 degrees at 6.10am.......it was 84% humidity and while I could wait it out for the humidity to drop the heat would increase so figured  whatever I got this morning  was more than all the weekends I wasn't getting up at 5.25am and out the door b4/around 6am in recent months.Once again felt good for the opening mile down 49th St 9.10 but by the time I hit mile 2 in Grays Ferry Park my pace had gone up to 9.25 and I was dripping in sweat I had 2 options turn at 2.5 and make it 5 miles or roll the dice keep going down the Schuylkill River  Trail and hope whatever breeze was coming off  the Schuylkill  would combat the humidity, if I could maybe squeeze a 6-7 miler out of this that'd be grand but the humidity as it always does just drains me and I had to settle for 5 miles coming back down  Powelton Ave 47.28.8 off 9.30 mile pace

A 5 day/22 mile week not what I was aiming for  but July was a grind last year when I was running at lunch time looking at my running log I went:5/21-4/16-5/24-3/14- and it was August b4 I registered double digit long runs so I won't be pressing the panic button just yet my next three races  are 10k's but I do need to keep my eye on the bigger picture and PDR on Sept 20th in 11 weeks time, hopefully next weekend will yield a 10 miler, the weather looks favourable at least

Been a rough week for The Rebels,knocked out of the All Ireland  Football 1/4 finals last Saturday and the Hurling semi finals yesterday along w/ the women's football 1/4 finals{sidebar we won the Minor Football final this morning!!!!Rebels Abu!!!} so all our hopes {once again!} are pinned on the women's  Camogie to bring some silverware back home, it's never easy being a Cork fan but I was a proud Rebel when I woke up yesterday morning, was a Rebel when I went to bed and when the sun came up this morning proud Rebel blood still flowed through my veins.......#RebelAndProud #RebelForLife #RebelsAbu

Looking For Smooth Sailing In Unchartered Waters

 "I roam all alone on the island I can hear your voice in my mind I can feel the cold,cold of your hand I'm lost,you're one of a kind the water's not as blue as it first was it's no longer the island of sun the mountains are taller than ever before I know it's not an island for one"

The Island-Amble

Yes,yes and yes!!!!  first 4 day training week during the week since March 30th, first weekend non race long run since March 22nd and first five day 28 mile week since  April 5th......don't look now but Himself is starting to knuckle down and crank up the mileage.......

I had touched on his in my last post that lunchtime runs had gone the way of the Ark although for two weeks  between  June 8th and the 17th  due to a schism in the schedule I was able to log 5 lunchtime 5 milers to kick start the process, had they not've presented themselves I'd like to think my long overdue conversion to morning running would've begun sooner but as it was I began that this week

Tuesday June 23rd In 50 years as a runner my ability to get up first thing in the morning to run has been found wanting but  I knew in May that was going to have to change if I had any designs on weekly mileage so b4 I went to bed on Monday nite I set the alarm for 5.25am in the hope I would be up by 5.35am, dressed, stretched and out the door by 5.50am in the immortal words of Rush in the song "Subdivisions"  conform or be cast out.......

W/ a potential 4 days of runs on tap I felt the need to mix up my routes this morning I opted for Baltimore Ave/Spruce St to South Street bridge and onto the Schuylkill River Trail till I hit 2.5 miles then turn and head back when I hit the South St bridge I saw 72 degrees on trusty auld Peco Tower but never checked the humidity pre run......judging from the sweat rollin' off me it was pretty high.......welcome to summer training in Philly!

44.47.4 off 8.57 mile pace, my splits went:8.08-8.41=9.31-9.03-9.26 to be honest, time, pace, splits were secondary today the important thing was to get out and run and hopefully have morning running become the new normal

Wednesday June 24th Obviously getting up early once to run wasn't going to cut it so I was hopeful I could answer the call of the alarm again at 5.25am this morning.....happy to say that I could and having learnt a harsh lesson w/ the humidity yesterday  I made shur to check my phone  this morning, 65 degrees and 64% humidity

Opted for the Powelton Ave route, the road less traveled it has to be said, I must've counted a dozen or so runner yesterday morning today not so much today..... but as long as I'm out there that's what matters

46.23.7 off 9.17 mile pace,my mile splits were:9.06-9.14-9.23-9.17-9.24 nothing earth shattering but it doesn't need to be, hopefully moving forward as I adjust to running first thing in the morning my pace will pick up

Thursday June 25th 66 degrees but 81% humidity so I was glad this run was down 49th St to Gravs Ferry Aveune to get onto the Schuylkill River Trail, albeit only for half a mile but the breeze effect off the Schuylkill just over a mile into the run when it's  humid is clutch

45.05.7 off 9.01 mile pace, splits:8.33-8.51-9.03-9.24-9.14, three for three, could I hit for the cycle tomorrow?

Friday June 26th Opted for a hybrid of Tuesdays run and yesterdays run, Baltimore Ave/Spruce St/South St bridge, Schuylkill River Trail/Grays Ferry Ave/49th St

71 degrees w/ 75% humidity clocked 46.26.1 off 9.12 mile pace w/ splits of:8.56-9.27-9.11-9.11-9.41,like I said earlier it had been a minute since I logged 4 weekday runs so this was a nice return to form, based on this week I think I could get the hang of this morning running lark period but prior to this week when I'd tried to get up first thing on a weekend to run the last few weeks it just wasn't happening.....could I buck that trend this weekend getting up at 5.35am during the week....????

Sunday June 28th, ok so full disclosure  when the alarm went off at 5.25am Saturday morning I hit off not snooze button by mistake,getting up at 5.35am four days in a row had caught up w/ me so I opted to " go long" on Sunday

I was out the door by 5.45am and two things concerned me one the 68 degrees but 89% humidity and also the fact my last non race long run on a weekend was March 22nd some 14 weeks ago,neither lent themselves to going 10 miles out and back along the Schuylkill River Trail via 49th St/Grays Ferry Ave but I figured go for it, if I had to settle for 8 miles this week sobeit there are still 12 weeks till PDR ample time to get my long run up to 10,12 and eventually 14 miles, there was really little to be gained only going 6 or 7 miles today

I kinda knew making the turn at mile 5 on Kelly Drive just beyond Boathouse Row in 45.09  that my chances of this being 10 miles out and back were  few and far between, each mile had crept up a little slower than the last:8.36-9.06-9.08-9.09-9.10 and it was a question of when not if the wheels came off, one glaring error I made yesterday knowing I was going long today was not hydrating enough period, much less dealing w/ 89% humidity.......trust me this error won't be getting made again in future weeks

Stopped to walk twice on the route back along the Schuylkill Trail, at this point I knew I was looking at an 8 miler, final three splits 9.28-9.39-9.59 for a 1.14.11 off 9.16 mile pace.....nothing to write home about but a long overdue 5 day/28 mile week period and  two weeks earlier than last year when I begun to knuckle down and prepare for the long haul that is the Fall road race season

Hopefully I'm back to 5 day training weeks w/ a weekend long run, my next three races are all 10ks but w/ PDR looming in the distance{ no pun intended!} the need to get long/double digit weekend runs in is clutch

Is It A Bird? Is It A Plane?.......Nah Bai, Tis Himself Getting Back At It Like.........

 "Miotaseolaiocht, see I love all that An bradian feasa big lad Setanta what fuckin' legend thought of that?Seo an chaint's tu ag coisireacht le Kneecap taimaid lan de Chao fuck knows what or who we're laughing at? Tiocfaidh are la, somebody sample that F-E_F_E_F_E-F-E-N-I-A-N"

Fenian-Kneecap

Just when ye thought it was safe to go back to the interwebs the Shamrock Warrior,Pale Paddy,Fenian Bastard returns to feck up yer day.......,apologies for being away so long not that I'm one for dropping a John Lennon quote but he  did famously say " life's what happens when you start making plans" and that has rang true the last several weeks, I didn't even get to blog the Broad Street Run on May 3rd and trust me there was plenty mad shit to blog that day but as my ex coach used to say " ye can't make up lost  miles" I can't go back retrospectively  and fill in all the blanks, better to draw a line in the sand in it and move on

I will however throw out there that as of May 5th I no longer have lunch hour runs at my disposal, rather than go into excruciating  detail  the six month fight by yours truly and his long suffering co worker for the last almost six years to make a living wage finally saw fruition......however there were strings  attached {cos there always is w/ contract negotiations!!} and in order to get the money we wanted management reduced the work force by 1/3rd so while I still get a lunch it has to be at my desk ergo putting the kybosh on my  four days of lunch hour runs.......I have never been great at getting up first thing in the morning to run and while I did manage a handful of morning runs to work the first week it was tough running w/ a backpack on my back, I weighed the hoor the first morning I did it and it weighed 10 lbs.......fuck sake!....As of right now I am considering trying to run before I leave for work it's doable during the summer months as most mornings I'm woken up by the sun coming through the windows around 5.15 am, it'll be the lesser of two evils, try and get out the door b4 6am, knock out a five miler in  give or take 45 mins, hop in and out of the shower and be back out the door around 7.15am to be at my desk by 7.45am {technically my start time is 8am} it all sounds good in theory but as a wise man once told me"theory and practice are often a horse of a different colour so we'll have to see how that plans out, I have to work something out cos not running sucks the pre work run feels like the best option as running to work has issues and trying to run when I get home while not undoable  is also going to have issues {sidebar last Tuesday it was an option only to have work throw an industrial size spanner in the works and I clocked out at 5.45pm not 4.45pm......run? I could barely see or think fecking straight}.....but in the immortal words of D4 Dad on The 2 Johnnies " we move".......

So the back drop going into todays race was I hadn't even ran for the trolley in the last 24 days......hardly ideal prep for a race much less a 15k, when I signed up for it in April the 15k seemed doable.......w/ hindsight either the 5k or 10k would've been  a better option but it was too late to change it now, given the race was a 5k loop I could've maybe done two loops for the 10k and called it a day but that feels a bit bush league to me, much like in Dublin 24 when I signed up for a marathon but knew I didn't have it in me to run 26.2 miles  but threw linguine at the wall to see if it would stick.....it did for 10 miles b4 a painful 16 miles of walk/run/repeat,normally I don't do Philly Run Fest as I have an unsettled score w/ Philly Runner from  four years ago, that said they organize other races I run in the city {Philly 10k and PDR} so maybe it was time to stop cutting off my nose to spite  my face, I signed for the same reason I sign up for all my other races........I wanted the feckin' medal.#NoShameInMyGame.....Broad Street had been #275 and I'm eyeing up a shot at #300 next fall so I paid my money, rolled outta bed at 5.30am and walked the 40 mins to Belmont Ave & Parkside to be there in ample time for the 7.30am start

This was very much a trot around the course, collect yer finishers medals and feck off  home kind race,again at least I'm honest, about it,had the last 3.5 weeks been different I might've gone in w/a more deliberate game plan but tis hard to make a silk purse out of a pig's ear so w/ that in mind and knowing it was a 5k,10k,15k all for one, one for all I went to the very back of the field I didn't need to get swept up by a bunch of speed merchants for the 5k who'd chew me up and spit out and then leave me hanging on for dear life over the final two loops, again sound in theory but now I had to negotiate the slow 5k runners it was probably almost a mile into the first loop b4 I got a clear run at it, that said w/ my lack of training and the fact even at 7.30am it was warm maybe not going balls out was a better move?

I was hoping for 1.21 off 9 min mile pace, what I got was 1.24.20 off 9.05 mile pace......know what else I got? a feckin' medal.....#7 for the season,#276 for the career so I have no grounds to be Mr Pissy Pants, as the great Roy Keane once said "failure to prepare, prepare for failure" hopefully this boot up the hole  will jump start me to knuckle down again a find a way to train,I'm debating if I want to race in Camden on July 4th, the race said the magic words"finishers medals" which for a medal hoor like me is enough of a carrot  to dangle under my nose, it would also brake up what is always the longest stretch of the season as the next race after that  is the Philly 10k on August 23rd which is 11 weeks from now so we'll have to see which way the wind blows between now and then

Hopefully today is the start of me getting back at it, after a semi decent start to the year mileage wise, 74 in January, 73 in February,and 80 in March it's gone south in April and May 43 and 26 respectively , that's not cutting enough Mustard moving forward period much less w/ two half marathons on tap{maybe three!} in the Fall so let's hope today's kick up the Ravioli has the desired effect.....

Coming Soon........

 So apologies for the lack of blogging recently, I say all the time my greatest commodity  is time and sadly there just hasn't been enough of it recently to sit and post my runs, even if a 25 hour day or an eight day week were a thing I still doubt I'd have time to get all the things I needed to do done......such is life!

As of last week my lunch time runs went the way of the ark so I'm hoping by running to work in the mornings I can not only get my daily miles in but it will get me into a routine where getting up early during the week will make getting up early on Saturdays for my long runs possible and maybe just maybe posting the blog Saturday evening........ we'll see if that works.......stay tuned!