Declaration/Marchin' On

"Take this song of freedom,put it on and arm yourself for the fight,our hearts must have the courage to keep on marchin' on and on

There's a young boy standing,staring at the world,you know he can't control his anger you can see it in his eyes,he's gonna smash the windows,he's gonna tear down the walls hey mister you don't understand it take a look at it through my eyes.

These are the kids they're powerless,so you tell them so,these are the kids they're powerful,don't say you haven't been told and we'll go marchin'on hear our sound hear our voice we're growing stronger,we're not alone and we're keeping on we're marchin' on"

Declaration/Marchin' On-The Alarm

If I had a dollar for every time I've sung "Marchin' On" since I first heard it 27 years ago when I first saw The Alarm I'd have a nice pile of cash tucked away by now.

Back in 83 when I was 19/20 I was"the young boy standing,staring at the world" 27 years later at almost 47 I do want to"smash the windows and tear down the walls" where work is concerned.

It was brought to my attention today that "when you're not here the skids don't get taken down to the storeroom".......................oh really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So why am I getting taken for a mug by the powers that be at work,and what you ask does this have to do w/ my running,well I'm getting to that.

Since last Wednesday the aggravation factor at work has gone through the roof and lo and behold since Friday evening I've been suffering intestinal issues to the point where I haven't ran this week,coincidence????

Granted a few days off won't hurt me,runners seldom conform to the "less is more"mindset and w/ my season winding down it might not be the worst thing in the world to ease up a little rather than run myself into the ground.

Of course the catch 22 in all this is when work gets that frustrating a run usually helps defuse all that anger and angst but the last two days my intestinal fortitude has dictated that running wasn't an option,more's the pity as work well and truly did a number on me today.

We'll see what tomorrow brings re work and getting out and running,if it were up to me work would get blown off but I have responsibilities......who'll take the goddamn skids down in the morning if I don't show up???

Don't Say I Didn't Warn You,This Prophecy's Coming True

"After all time building up,comes inevitable knocking down,One by One
Come receivers,liars,gamblers,pickpocket entourage,Two by Two
Selling out is a cardinal sin,sinning w/ a safety net,Three by Three
They say that all things come in threes,where here comes the third degree"
Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?-The Alarm

And so a week fraught w/ bullshit at work{there's always bullshit at work....this week there just seemed to be an extra large helping of it heaped onto my plate!}and having to juggle my training schedule to accommodate the weather and band practice......came to a fitting climax.
On July 5th 08 I ran my first ever set of sub 5 minute 4x1 mile repeats:4.53.6-4.51.8-4.55.4-4.56.8. and periodically through to October 28th where I ran:4.59.4-4.59.7-4.56.1-4.50.9 I was able to make this an almost weekly thing.
In the 22 months since my last 4/4 @ sub 5 I haven't gotten close to those heights what w/ one thing and another but the writing has very much been on the wall since June 11th when I clocked 5.03.7-5.01.6-4.59.4-4.54.7. and thus began a one man crusade by yours truly to rescale those heights I'd been able to dial up week in week out in the 08 season.

I'm not going to front,I wasn't overly confident of my chances yesterday,I was physically and mentally whipped but having notched my first sub 5 decathletes mile{4.59.9.}on Wednesday and my first sub 60 10 miler w/ a 59 min out and back on Cobbs Creek Parkway on Thursday it was there for the taking to begin w/ and having just missed out last week when I clocked 5.00.0. on my 4th mile I wanted it badly enough to erase the mental and physical tiredness from my thoughts and flesh,fortune it is said favours the brave............

It was 11.05am by the time I lined up for my first mile after a mile warm up and 20 mins of stretching,conditions were ideal,sunny but not broiling hot and the track was reasonable free of obstacles,here goes...............
#1 mile,1.10-1.16-1.16-1.13-4.55.5.So much for going out conservatively??? but unlike last week where I went out in 1.10-1.14-1.13-1.12 I had the good sense to back off a tad and remember it was 4 1 mile repeats.

#2 mile,1.13-1.14-1.14-67-4.48.8.Had I done it again? at 3.41 at the bell I was well in control but somehow I managed to drop a 67 second closing lap,I felt the reason last weeks final mile got oh so slightly away from me was not having enough left in the tank and here I was dropping a 4.48.8 on #2.

#3 mile,1.13-1.14-1.15-1.11-4.53.9.So close I could taste it now! take away the back to back 1.16s I'd deliberately eased up on in mile #1 and this was an near clinic in even pacing at a reasonably brisk pace,and now for the sixty four billion dollar question,what did I have left in the tank?

#4 mile,1.12,1.14,1.16,68-4.50.1.GOTCHA!!! I'm not going to front I was huffing and puffing on the second lap and had to really dig deep on the third lap but I knew I was close to a return to the summit and to do it I'd have to suck it up,a wise man once told me"pain is temporary,glory lasts forever" and frankly I'd have the remainder of the day to recovery from going through the pain barrier but I'd be able to bask in in the knowledge I'd done what I set out to do.

What was the difference between today and last week and a fortnight ago? I think today I went in w/ a "one lap at a time"mentality and paid more attention to each lap split as opposed to thinking about the overall mile time.
I also think no pun intended repetition helped,I've noticed it in my 4x400s that the more I run them week in week out the more they become second nature,ditto now for the mile repeats,through different phases of my training this season it's been hard to have week in,week out repeats,this current phase allows me to revisit the same repeats w/in a week of the last one and I feel that helps,physically doing what I do is second nature but now mentally as I proved today I'm better equipped to handle the rigours of these repeats.

What next?if only for myself I want to prove today was not a one off so it's important to come back next week and do it again,it would be nice to get to a stage where I can also run my 4x1 mile repeats in descending order,granted time is ticking on my mile repeats{potentially 4 more} b4 I switch to the next phase of my training but rest assured I'll be looking to try and get there.

..............And That's Why I Wear The Bandanna

I'll spare you the gory details but this morning was a prime example of why I wear a bandanna....it keeps my devil horns hidden and hides the fact I have Welcome tattooed across my forehead.....evidently I must have cos several people w/in my department think they can walk all over me......

I loathe people who"piss in my ear and tell me it's rain" and frankly if people didn't talk shit I wouldn't tread in it and track it all over the hospital,"I'm going to stay till 9.30pm if I have to to get the skids put away so you'll have room to bring them down in the morning"....yeah right!
And my other favourite you want me to do the working and the thinking.....jesus christ.....and yet these same arseholes wonder why I won't join them for lunch or go to Phillies games w/ them.

Somehow I was able to dredge up a 59 minute 9 mile post work,mentally and physically I was beat but in the immortal words of Queen"The Show Must Go On"I'm damned if work is going to bollocks up my running,I just have to hope there's enough fuel left in the tank for mile repeats tomorrow b4 a well earned and well overdue fuck off day on Sunday

Switching The Fundamentals

"I wear an oxygen mask as I ride on the wheels of excess,alcohol is pollution I can watch w/out feeling oppressed
Newspapers used to to be good for scraping the shit from your shoes,now they just write it and sell in truckloads as news"
White Noise-Mike Peters

It's been a while since the "red mist" has engulfed me at work but most of yesterday and nearly all of today saw me fighting an uphill battle w/ it,somehow,don't ask me how I've managed to walk through the eye of the storm but I still have tomorrow to deal w/.
I often talk about how running is a metaphor for life but today I applied the fundamentals of running to get me through work and it paid off.

I won't bore you w/ "on the job war stories"we all have them I guess it's how we deal w/ them,as the day began to get away from me very early on I had to remind myself how I deal w/ my training,sure there are days I'd rather not be out there but I always find a way to throw on my running gear and get out and do what I have to do,I doubt very much I'd be where I am in running if I half stepped my training so using that as a yard stick I applied those principles to work today,get on w/ it,suck it up,deal w/ it,defeat it.own it.....end of
By days end Chris and I had done the work of three people by ourselves and dealt w/ the upheaval of having Hill Rom take over the dock to switch out 50 patient beds and no matter what awaits me tomorrow it'll be off of a clean slate as unlike yesterday nothing was left undelivered from today.

In spite of my butt dragging which it has been all week I not only got out and ran when I got home,I also clocked a 59 min 10 miler,early to mid way through the run I could feel myself pushing the pace,probably a reaction to all the crap from yesterday and today on the job,yesterday I notched a sub 5 mile at the end of my repeats,today I notched a sub 60 10 miler,is this an omen for 4 1 mile repeats at sub 5 on Saturday?.....let's get through work tomorrow and my 10 miler first and then see what Saturday brings

No Rain,No Band Practice,No Worries

After two days of planning to run repeats but being thwarted by rain and band practice....yes I said band practice I was hoping to get on the track this evening to run,if tonite had gone tits up for whatever reason I was looking at either repeats tomorrow and Saturday or just Saturday and then being forced to choose between my 2x150m,4x400m,decathletes mile or mile repeats,thankfully it never came to that,despite grey skies the rain stayed away and frankly after an at times infuriating day at work I was looking to blow off some steam via my repeats.

After my 5 lap warm up and stretches it was time to have at it,I had a feeling tonites repeats may suffer from the fact there were more people on the track than usual which would mean weaving in and out,never an ideal thing on repeats but sometimes it can't be helped,in running as is in life,you play the hand you're dealt.

2x150m-21.55-22.28.Having gotten a pair of 21s in my last two repeats obviously I was disappointed to see that 22.28 in there,of the 4 times I've done this repeat I have 6 21s and a 22 and a 23,at least I'm consistent.

4x400m
#1 400m 62.24. Last time out I had 3 61s b4 my 4th 400m at 62.83,the fact I had to weave between lane 1 and 2 probably contributed to opening in 62.
#2 400m 61.06. Amazing what being able to stay in lane 1 and hug the rail will do eh?this was also my fastest 400m split on these repeats,how long b4 I notch a 60?
#3 400m 61.69. Being able to stay in the 61s was a huge plus,where as last week the conditions and having the track more or less to myself were in my favour tonite I was having to deal w/ what was being thrown at me.
#4 400m 62.89. Again a 62 second split as I had to weave in and out of lanes 1 and 2,that said it's still a long way from week 1s 63.91,63.42,65.02,65.22 and week 2s 63.41,64.13,63.41,63.92.

Decathletes Mile
Week 1 5.15.0. week 2 5.08.1. week 3 5.04.2
Tonite splits of 1.15,1.19,1.18,66-4.58.9. ....BOYAH! I said a sub 5 was coming over the last few weeks and tonite I delivered,ironically tonites splits almost match up w/ Saturdays #4 mile splits:1.14,1.19,1.20,67.

I'm not going to be blinded by the sub 5 and say it was great workout,the 150s and 400s were a little choppy but I'd gotten the repeat in that was the important thing first and foremost,the sub 5 mile was very pleasing and upon arrival home I caught the highlights of Spurs spanking Young Boys of Berne 4.0 to reach the group stage of this seasons Champions League....C'mon You Spurs!

If It's Not One Thing,It's Another

So once again it was all going tickety boo until 3.15pm when it began to rain again.....I swear the Weather Gods must sit around all day playing cards etc etc till 3.15pm and then think"eye eye it's 3.15pm,Forde must be getting ready to run.....start the rain fellas.........'' and w/ that the heavens open!!!
Unlike Monday this was a shower and not the heavier downpour that forced me to switch from repeat to road so after some deliberation and a look at Wednesdays forecast which was calling for Thunderstorms I said feck it track it is,unlike yesterday when there seemed no let up in the rain the shower seemed mild and frankly not an issue,when you're taking 5 minute recoveries in between 400s standing in the pouring rain isn't much of a selling point, a soft shower I can live w/,so w/ that it was off to the track at Temple.......................

I arrived at the track to the sound of a marching band.....no need for a fanfare people,I do this twice a week!!!!
NO,this seemed to be a full fledged band practice and while I might've been able to do what I had to do on the track there was always a chance I would be told the track was off limits,or worse still have to dodge Tuba's Trombone's and other large musical instruments if the band practice became Marching Band practice.

Using Temple's track is all new for me,since 06 thro May of this year I've conducted most of my workouts at Franklin Field but since the powers that be there have made that almost impossible for Jo and Josephine public to access the track I've made Temple's track my home,during the summer it hadn't been an issue but w/ classes about to start maybe the rules have changed,I'll need to check the Temple Track Oracle...........my Celtic Brother Sean to see what he knows about band practice,granted in another 6 weeks time after Syracuse working out on the track won't be an issue as I'll begin doing base mileage for several weeks but till then I still need to get on there once during the week and on a Saturday.

I did however get my miles in,a brisk 60 min 10 miler out and back on Cobbs Creek Parkway,we'll have to see what the Weather God's,Marching Bands etc etc have in store for Wednesday b4 I know if it's another 10 miler or my 2x150,4x400,decathletes mile this evening.

Rainy Days And Mondays Not Getting Me Down

In running as is in life you have to be able to be flexible,it's all well and good having a plan and or a schedule but unless you're willing to be flexible w/ it you'll end up being frustrated.
The plan was repeats this afternoon....however by 3.15pm the heavens opened and frankly standing around in between repeats didn't seem like much fun.
I did try to wait out the rain but it looked and felt like it was in for the afternoon and evening,oh well in running as is in life....plan b
Since a repeat session on the track was out I opted to come home and hit Cobbs Creek Parkway for a 10 miler,running in the rain is not an issue for me,in fact it's almost 38 years since my baptism of fire when my running career effectively began as my rather irate father chased me and my cousin Liam home in the pouring rain one night after we'd lost track of time at a b'day party.

I've told that story countless times,it was the unofficial beginning to my running career and a source of amusement between Kevin and I for several years until his passing in 84,were he still alive I think we'd still be laughing about it to this day,at least these days when it's raining and I'm out running I don't have a towel flicking,shoe swinging maniac running behind me telling me if I stop either his shoe or the towel is going in my arse!!!

The rain wasn't too bad,I've often likened running in the rain to standing under the shower,you can only get so wet and there comes a saturation point where you just can't get any wetter,frankly getting out there this evening and taking care of business in the rain was country mile better than blowing off the run and keeps my preferred Monday-Saturday rotation in tact,fingers crossed the rain will have buggered off by tomorrow so I can try my repeats again,but if showers are still in the forecast it's another 10 miler and we'll try the repeats Wednesday.

Built Forde Tough

Since I rather sensibly used my rest day Monday following the Track Pentathlon I had to lace em up this morning and get out there for a 9 miler to round out another 50 mile week.
The conditions couldn't seem to make their mind up what they wanted to do,when I looked out the window at 9.30am the skies were grey and the threat of rain seemed quite strong.
Minus the odd spritz of rain it wasn't too bad,but the grey skies and the humidity meant by the time my run was over I looked like I'd stepped out of Cobbs Creek let alone ran along Cobbs Creek Parkway!!

So another 50 mile week into the record books and I get to do it all again starting tomorrow w/ a more conventional Monday through Saturday rotation on tap kicking off w/ repeats tomorrow and hopefully finishing off w/ repeats on Saturday w/ three 10 milers and one 9 miler in between.

Close,It Only Counts In Horseshoes

"Today,just like yesterday I'm ascending and descending
Travelling,not arriving that's the story of my life
I've been close,closer than close,not close enough
Somewhere,I don't know where there is someone
Someone,Somewhere
I've been close,closer than close,not close enough
So close,so close,so close"
Close{The Journey Is Destination} The Alarm

After my last mile repeats two weeks ago at Villanova I felt I was knocking on the door of 4/4 @sub 5,something I haven't done since late on in the 08 season,I've been edging nearer and nearer w/ my last sets of mile repeats,the problem being they haven't been on a week to week basis due to scheduling,so between today and either 5th Avenue Mile or Masters 5K Road Race at Syracuse the following week I want to "throw the kitchen sink"at trying to get back to the plateau I was at two years ago.

I opted for the track at Temple this morning as I knew there was a soccer game at Villanova in the evening and I didn't want to risk not being able to get on the track,or worse still get half way through the repeat and be asked to leave,Temple has become my home track this summer since the nonsense of Franklin Field has made the track there off limits and to be honest I like working out there.
Mile warm up,20 mins of stretching and into my flats,by in large I had the track to myself and conditions were near ideal.....showtime!

#1 mile,1.10,1.14,1.13,1.12-4.49.0. Evidently easing my way into the repeats wasn't happening today!!
After opening in 1.12 on mile#1 and mile#2 two weeks ago,I had hoped to open in 1.14 today....in my defense I will say the 1.10 to open didn't feel like a 1.10,I felt I was cruising.

#2 mile,1.12,1.16,1.16,1.17.-4.51.5. W/ the "Genie out of the bottle" now I had to hope that the weeks of 45 miles a week training in June and the subsequent 50 miles a week since returning from Sacramento would pay off,my strength was going to get me through this.

#3 mile,1.14,1.17,1.18,1.17.-4.56.7. I could feel it getting tougher and tougher but I'm nothing if not a gutsy sob,I was gonna dig deep to try and do this....or at least go down swinging,each recovery found me telling myself to hang in,dig deep and go for it,after all I am the Iron Man of the track!

#4 mile,1.14,1.19,1.20,67-5.00.0. Son of a bitch!! I don't know how much closer I could've gotten than I did today.
Obviously the opening mile caught up w/ me at the end as laps 2 and 3 were my slowest of the day but rather than dwell on the negative and look at it as a missed opportunity,I take the positives,clearly w/ a tad more restraint on the opener I can take care of business next week.

Repeats over the other business of the day took center stage,chores,food shopping a quick catch up of the mornings soccer{yes I dvr'd the Stoke Spurs game at 10am so I could be on the track by 10.35am}b4 I head off out to the movies to catch "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.....no chance of a rest day tomorrow,a 9 miler to round out the week at 50 miles,more food shopping and laundry....and then I can think about putting my feet up!

Keep Your Grubby Mitts Off!!!!

The 2012 London Olympics are still two years away but the vultures are already circling for the rights to the stadium after the closing ceremony.
I don't care for West Ham United to begin w/,let me be honest about that but frankly if it was my beloved Spurs looking to hijack the Olympic stadium I'd have the same attitude.
As of right now the only major stadium for athletics in London is Crystal Palace,yes it's adequate as was proven last weekend w/ a 2 day Diamond League meet but that stadium was built in the late 60s early 70s so it's hardly state of the art these days,London was meant to host the 05 World Championships but the debacle of building a new stadium at Pickets Lock or having a track around the pitch at the then under construction new Wembley stadium dragged on and on,in the end Wembley said no to a track,Pickets Lock fell through and the IAAF awarded the 05 World C'ships to Helsinki.

Fast forward a few years,London wins the bid to host the 2012 Olympics and a new Olympic stadium gets built in East London,a state of the art stadium that post 2012 could host the World C'ships,Commonwealth Games,European C'ships,Junior Olympics...hell World Masters Athletics World C'ships but already the likes of West Ham are trying to get the stadium for themselves once the Olympics are over..............PISS OFF!!!
You want a new stadium?..........build one,arsenal did,Spurs will,London needs a top flight track stadium,when Manchester held the 02 Commonwealth Games the track was removed and the City Of Manchester stadium became home to Manchester City football club,it's happened once already in England,it should NOT be allowed to happen again,for London to host the Olympics and not have a major track facility to cater to the knock on effect the 2012 Olympics will have on the youth of Great Britain is criminal.

I got off my soap box long enough to run a 63 min 10 miler,cognisant that tomorrow is mile repeats and leaving it all out on Cobbs Creek Parkway today will do me no favours tomorrow as I go in search of my first 4/4 @ sub 5,I got close a fortnight ago,I'd like to nail it tomorrow.

That's The Ticket

Yours truly closing in on his 3,000m pr Sunday at the Track Pentathlon,Dan Anders took 245 photos of the event which can be viewed at http://dananders.smugmug.com/
True to my word I used my prize money from the Track Pentathlon to pay for my ticket to the US Open in New York in two weeks time.
Hard to believe I haven't been to Flushing Meadows since 1993 17 years ago....eek,that's so long ago I didn't even have Hobbes then!!!!
Having been to Wimbledon at least 4 times when I lived in London I made 2 trips to the US Open in 92 and 93 and talked about going back last year....but talking was as far as it went so this year I was determined to get up there and Sundays extra $100 took care of that.
I chose the first Friday of the tournament as my day to go for two reasons,there'll be a bunch of 2nd and 3rd round matches on the outside courts so I'll get more bang for my buck.....plus it's Labor Day weekend and by taking Friday off I get a four day weekend sandwiched in between two four day work weeks.....not just an awesome possum,but a clever possum too!

A mild return of the heat today as I clocked 64 mins for my 10 miler,I've always said the time of these runs is unimportant and w/ an all important repeat coming up on Saturday it might be prudent to back off a little today and again tomorrow so I can have a crack at 4/4 @ sub 5 for my mile repeats on Saturday.

A Good Omen?

The photo is from the 1,500m final at Nationals,probably at 500m,Francis B,Jeff Mann,Tom Fitz,Me,Jeff Adkins and Pete Magill,it was brought to my attention by a friend and teammate who alerted me to the fact that WMA{World Masters Athletics}has added an August update to their Sacramento 2011 site and are using this photo,pretty neat eh,of all the races that could've used they picked one of mine.....and no doubt somewhere in Eugene my friend Mike Blackmore is thinking"why didn't they use the photo of me catching you 30 meters from the 800m finish line"????!!!!

Back to the tried and tested 10 miles today,a quirk of scheduling meant I hadn't done one since Friday but given this is roughly my 65th 10 miler this year I think I know how to run one!
It looked like I was going to get caught in a downpour as the first tell tale spots of rain fell as I left at 4.55pm,however that was as bad as it got as it stayed dry under grey skies as I notched a brisk 62 minutes,I thought I might be feeling yesterdays repeats....then again yesterday I thought I might be feeling Sunday's Track Pentathlon.....

So Much For Being On The Back Foot!

Rather sensibly yesterday I opted for a rest day,there seemed to be nothing to gain and so much to lose by even trying to run after 5 races in just under two and a half hours on Sunday,so I opted to take my rest day yesterday b4 returning to the fray today for my 150,4x4,decathletes mile at Temple this afternoon.

I'm always amazed how my warm up stretches which take 20 minutes last longer than some peoples time on the track,I swear to God there were half a dozen joggers on the track as I lay down on the infield to stretch and by the time I got done they were gone....
Given what I'd done on Sunday I went into today w/ the mindset"just try and contain what you achieved last week"if I was off the mark it was to be expected......yeah right!

2x150m,21.28-21.81. last week I went 21.39.-21.95. this was a pleasant surprise but I didn't want to get carried away,they were only 150s after all....................
4x400m,61.43.-61.40.-61.20.-62.83.Eileen my dear old mother reads my blog so I have to be careful what I write here.....Mother F!!!!!
Where did those 61s come from??if this is me on the back foot I'm curious to see what happens when the jets open up??
I said back on week 1 that dropping down to 400s again was going to be a shock to the system but tonite it felt as if my knee lift,leg turn over and arms were all on the same page for 400,maybe I should bookmark David Gillick's blog and see what a top class 400m runner does,and YES I was pissed my final 400 wasn't a 61!

Decathletes Mile,again I could be forgiven if I thought that maybe the previous repeats had eaten into my reserves......
1.15.1.21.1.19.69.-5.04.2.no let up tonite on the final lap like last week,I'd like to eliminate that 1.21 but all in good time,w/ 5 more weeks of this repeat on tap I have to fancy a sub 5 coming soon.
By virtue of taking a rest day yesterday I will have to run Sunday b4 coming back here next Monday to do this repeat again but providing I keep that in mind on Sundays run I could be on for another big day w/ this repeat next week.

Not Bad For A Morning's Work

"Now the time is here for Iron Man to spread his fear,vengeance from the grave kills the people he once saved

Nobody wants him they just turn their heads,nobody helps him now he has his revenge

Heavy boots of lead,fills his victims full of dread

Running as fast as they can Iron Man lives again"

Iron Man- Black Sabbath

When the idea of the Track Pentathlon was first brought to my attention roughly a year ago my feeling was it sounded like a novel idea and something a little different to try as this year went on the thought of being the Iron Man of the track grew on me,in Boston in March at Indoor Nationals I ran 3 races in 3 days{3,000m,mile,800m}and won 3 medals,last month in Sacramento at Outdoor Nationals I ran 4 races in 4 days{5,000m,800m,1,500m,4x800m}and won 4 medals,to truly cement my Iron Man credentials I felt I would have to win yesterdays Track Pentathlon.....you know me,I love a challenge!!!

Five races,3,000m,800m,200m,1,500m,400m w/ 35 minutes recovery between each race,easier said than done and in mid August,here in Philly that can be a train wreck waiting to happen.....mercifully the running{and throwing there was a Throwathon also}and weather Gods smiled upon us,I don't think it ever got above 80 degrees and the fact I never wore my shades tells the story of the sun staying behind the clouds all day.

37 of the 43 runners who'd entered arrived at the Larry Wilson track in Gywnedd Mercy for the 8am start,first up the 3,000m

I felt this race gave me a leg up over some of my rivals for first place,my team mate Nick Berra isn't known for his 3,000m prowess...yet,it's been a running joke all year between Nick and I as he's taken my 800m,1,500m and mile club records that I moved up to the 3,000m and 5,000m in the hope he wouldn't follow suit,after my bronze at Sacramento when I lowered my pr and club record to 15.36.8. Nick joked "you need to cut that shit out.....now I have to run 15.35. to get the club record!!"

Just like he did in the 800m and 1,500m at Nationals Nick went to the front followed by one of the younger runners RJ Every w/ Brian Crowley in third and me in 4th,we clicked off 75 second splits and after 2 laps I moved up behind Nick and RJ to make sure I was in position to cover any surge they may make.

As we came to the bell I made my move,8.00 at the bell I threw in a 67 second closing lap to win in 9.07.1.a good start to the Pentathlon but also a pr/club record.

My 9.11.4. from Boston was the club record and my pr,my plan this summer was to get down to 9.05. at least but I never got the chance to race 3,000m outdoors,the 2 Tuesday Nite Speed Series 3,000s I planned to run fell by the wayside and it didn't look like I'd get the chance at an outdoor 3,000m until today.....sub 9 is coming either indoors or next season outdoors.

After the first event I was in the lead{you can check the point scoring on the age graded system on www.fastcatsports.com}and I was hoping to stay there,next up the 800m.

The seeding for each race was based on each runners 800m time,there was a quartet of good 20 something 800m runners,Daniel Geary,RJ Every,Chris Contino and Mike Pflueger plus Nick,Brian Crowley,myself and one other in heat one,Daniel if I'm not mistaken had a 1.58 seed time and hit the front from the gun,Nick gave chase and I quickly moved into third.

60/61 at the bell I felt comfortable,in order to win this whole event I was going to have to dig in, I held my place,3rd in 2.07.1. and remained in the lead,two down,three to go but after the familiarity of the 3,000m and 800m it was time for the one distance I had no real experience at 200m

One of the unique sides of the Track Pentathlon was to pit sprinters against distance runners,I watched one of my teammates Mark Onwuji a 60m,100m,200m guy dig deep and suck it up in the 3,000m and 1,500m so now it was my turn in the 200m to get taken out of my comfort zone.

The 200m and 400m were each being ran in lanes on the 6 lane track,again based on our 800m times the lane assignments went:Daniel,RJ,Mike,Nick,me and Chris,for once in a lane race I didn't crap out w/ the lane assignment,lane 5 at Delaware in January I drew lane 6 which sucked at least today I had Chris to work off of.

50 meters in and disaster struck,just as he was making up the stagger on my inside I saw Nick pull up,I suspected it was a hamstring which it was,as a runner you hate to see a fellow runner go down but when he's a team mate and friend that's a double whammy,Nick and I spoke via email last nite,he won't know for a few days if his season is done or not,speedy recovery bud.

5th in 27.35 but more importantly I'd finished and was still in the lead.

The 1,500m would've been a lot different had Nick still been in the event but w/ him out of the running I felt I could attack the 1,500m from the gun and probably not have to worry,when I heard Daniel and RJ openly dreading the 1,500m I knew there was only one way to run it,hard from the front,as I hit the front w/in a few strides I heard a "whoa" from behind me,I heard splits of 68,2.18,3.30 at 400m,800m and 1,200m,I came through the bell in 3.13 and closed in 66 seconds to win in 4.19.0.

I felt the hard part was over,a 400m to finish and I still lead,there could be no let up,being drawn in the fast heat was going to help but I didn't want to ease up now.

400m,originally it felt like a cruel way to round off the Pentathlon but I think it was better than the 200m,Nick and Mike had dropped out so it was Daniel in lane 1,RJ in 2,me in 5,Chris in 6.

Down the back straight I made up the stagger on Chris,something I wasn't able to do in the 200m,Daniel had gone by me but I was hell bent on holding on to 2nd,off the final turn I conjured up the mindset of David Gillick Ireland's 400m runner and held onto second in 57.81.

Now I had to watch and see what my two nearest rivals would do in their heats,Brain ran 61 and I think Lorraine Jasper ran a 67......

I did it! I won,430 points,Lorraine had 416,I forget what Brian had,we'd been the top three since the 3,000m,score one for the 45-49 age group!!

The whole event had been a lot of fun,I think it went well and I think next year will see even more people showing up for what is a rare and unique event.

Bragging rights for winning were enough,but the shiny trophy and the $100 didn't go amiss either,on her blog http://dervalorourke.blogspot.com Derval says"I've been lucky to have won some nice shiny medals for running as fast as I can"and it's been a while since I won a trophy so I'm quite pleased w/ that,the $100 will go towards my day at the US Open tennis in New York in 2 weeks time.

Would I do it again?probably,I do think there'll be a 2nd Greater Philadelphia Track Club Track Pentathlon and Throwathon next year.

Move Over Robert Downey Jr....I Am Iron Man!

You'll have to indulge me that my full blog account of today's Track Pentathlon won't be forthcoming till tomorrow............give me a brake I ran 5 events{3,000m,800m,200m1,500m,400m}w/ only 35 minutes recovery between each so I'm a little knackered after my mornings work.....not to mention getting up at 5.20am in order to get to Gwynedd Mercy b4 6.40am to help set up for the 7am registration and 8am kick off to the whole thing.
Cliff notes version reads as follows
3,000m 9.07.1 1st{4 second pr also!}
800m 2.07.1 3rd
200m 27.35 5th
1,500m 4.18.0 1st
400m 57.81 2nd
Tomorrow I will give a race by race account of the Track Pentathlon but for now it's a huge brontosaurus bowl of Baked Macaronni and Ribs and feet up in front of the tv.....I'll be impressed if I see 10pm!!!!

One Day At A Time

Even though today is my rest day for the week I couldn't let the significance of the date go by w/out mention.
As of today,August 14th 2010 I have been sober for 22 years,everything good in my life is a result of that.
Hard to believe sometimes that what comes naturally theses days not drinking one day at a time was such an alien concept back in the bad old days,I know for sure I wouldn't be the runner I am today if I still"bent my elbow" and knocked back a few "sherbets".
I thank God for another day of being sober and pray to stay that way one day at a time.

Premiership soccer kicked off today,Spurs drew 0.0 at home to Man City,trust me when I say we did everything but hit the back of the net over 90 minutes,I said Joe Hart should've been the England keeper in South Africa and today underlined that,I hope Mr Capello was paying attention at White Hart Lane today.

Deadline for the Track Pentathlon/Throwathon has closed 44 of us for the track,26 for the throws,see you all at Gwynedd Mercy tomorrow at 8am

Friday The Thirteenth

Being of a slightly superstitious nature you could imagine my somewhat trepidatious attitude towards today,thus far{touchwood}it's all gone well,let's hope the final 5 hours of the day stay that way.

Took full advantage of the slightly cooler conditions again and the fact tomorrow is a rare Saturday off and clocked 61 mins for my 10 miler.
It wasn't until the final mile and a half that I realized I was "feeling my oates" so to speak,more often than not on the downhill of Catherine St I'm shortening my stride but tonite I was almost in free flow motion on the downhill and as I'm prone to do every once in a while I really worked the uphill,after making the turn at Marshall St the light went on that tomorrow is a rest day so why not"give it some welly"over the closing half a mile,ergo the 61 min pr.

Well if I can work my way past the gathering paparazzi outside my front door I'm off out for an all too rare evening out,hopefully the first of several over the last four and a half months of the year,truth be told if tonite wasn't the Beth Orton gig I'd be hitting the movies "Eat Pray Love' and "Scott Pilgrim Vs The World"both open this weekend,maybe next weekend I can catch one of them.

Countdown To The Weekend

After a few "dog days" it was a nice chance of pace to have temps in the low 80s today,in fact it was so grey and overcast by the time I headed out for my 10 miler I left the shades,bandanna and sleeveless running shirt indoors in favour of my regular glasses,baseball cap and short sleeve t shirt in case it rained and while the grey skies looked foreboding at times I got through the run w/out the heavens opening on me,the cooler conditions also saw a 2 minute reduction in my time, 62 mins.

For once I have a busy weekend on tap,very unlike me I must say,tomorrow is Beth Orton at World Cafe Live,Saturday sees the new Premier League soccer season kick off and Sunday is the Greater Philadelphia Track Club Track Pentathlon/Throwathon.
Beth Orton should be a good show,hard to believe it's been 4 years since her last cd and tour so I'm looking forward to seeing her for the 5th or 6th time,I'm also happy for a nite out,all work,training,blogging make Kevin a tad unbalanced so it'll do me good to get out for a few hours.

The World Cup Final was only 5 weeks ago and yet the new Premier League season is upon us,as luck would have it I'm not running Saturday due to the Track Pentathlon so I can get up at 7.30am and watch the Spurs Man City game b4 tackling the chores of the day.

And so the Track Pentathlon I've mentioned fleetingly for a few weeks,my club is organising the event,5 races or three throws if you're doing the Throwathon{Shot,Javelin and Discus}the track pentathlon is 3,000m,800m,200m,1,500m,400m.
As it stands right now w/ one final day to enter 41 of the 54 track pentathlon spots have been taken up and only 6 spots remain on the throwathon 26 of 32.

From my understanding there will be 35 mins recovery after each event,I'm not sure what the limit per distance will be for the 3,000m and 1,500m you could run three heats at 18 per heat,the shorter distances 4x12 w/ one heat of 6,all this is new to me I've never done anything like this and it remains to be seen if I ever do it again but I figured for shits and giggles why not,the $100 to the winner,$75 to the runner up and $50 to third helps too,providing I still have basic motor skills post event I'll blog my report Sunday.

August Top Ten List

First off,apologies for the tardiness of my entry,long story short Tuesday nite my bedroom did it's best Native American sweat lodge impression and a somewhat restless nite ensued,however I don't think I imagined the vocal rumble out on the porch below my bedroom window between 12.30am and 1.15am between one of my house mates and his friend as they looked to reinact the "Rumble In The Jungle"I was sorely tempted to either call the cops or go down there and either knock some sense into them....or knock them both out..............the upshot of all this was post 10 miler and dinner last nite I called it a nite sans blog,ergo the 6.20am entry this morning!

Given the recent spike in the mercury....and the fact yesterday was one of the quietest days at work in a long time there wasn't much to write/talk about,my 10 miler was a typical 64 min out and back along Cobbs Creek Parkway so I thought a Top Ten list of songs to go w/ the heat was in order..................submitted for your approval.............

10 Hot In The City Billy Idol
9 In The Heat Of The Night Pat Benatar
8 Melt Siouxsie & The Banshees
7 The Heat Is On Glen Frey
6 Melting In The Sun Inxs
5 Gonna Make You Sweat C&C Music Factory
4 Burning Up Madonna
3 Cruel Summer Bananarama
2 Hot Summer Nights Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
1 Hot Hot Hot The Cure

Return Of The Dog Days

Yes folks,the dog days of August are here.
In spite of the heat and humidity I was out the door by 4.40pm to ease my way through a 64 min 10 miler.
I had alot of time to think about the fall and what I plan to do once my season comes to an end after the Syracuse Masters 5k Road Race C'ships on October 3rd and I also began to mentally tinker w/ what repeats I'll do once I return to the track in December,it might sound premature to start planning for next season already but the truth of the matter is I was writing out a rough draft of my summer,fall,winter,spring summer leading up to next years Worlds on the flight home from Sacramento two weeks ago,the old Juma Ikangaa quote"the will to win means nothing w/out the will to prepare" and the Roy Keane quote"failure to prepare,prepare for failure" are seldom far from my mind.
Another hot and humid one is on tap for tomorrow,I'll deal w/ it

If A Picture Could Paint A Thousand Words............

Another great photo from the Melanie Berra collection.
As the clock reflects Mike Blackmore won the 800m in 2.02.12. w/ yours truly in second in 2.02.40.
The F bomb had either already been expelled from my lips or was about to be,all praises due to Mike for pulling off the unique 800m/5,000m double but couldn't he have done the more traditional 1,500m/5,000m double and left the 800m to me???

Heading In The Right Direction

After the rarefied air of mile repeats at Villanova on Saturday it was back to Temple this evening for my 2x150,4x400,Decathletes Mile.
After last weeks ok debut I wanted to kick on and make inroads into my times from last Monday
21.83-23.98-63.91-63.42-65.02-65.22-5.15.0.
Following my 1.4 warm up and 20 mins of stretches it was time to get medieval w/ this repeat,kill or be killed,go hard or go home.

2x150-21.39-21.95.This is what I was looking for last week,21s at 150m,not sure what the difference was today other than getting used to sprinting something there hasn't been much call for this season.

4x400m-63.41-64.13-63.41-63.92.I feel there should be an asterisk next to #2,were it not for having to slow down 30 meters from the line and zig zag off the track and back on it to pass a young child occupying lane 1 there's little or no doubt I would've hit 63s across the board.
Glass half full I was consistent over all four 400s,#1 and #3 were identical,I said I was looking for 63s and I more or less got that this evening.

Decathletes mile-1.16-1.20-1.19-1.13-5.08.1.In 08 on week #6 I ran a 5.09.5 mile,it had taken me 6 weeks to get a sub 5.10,here I am two weeks in and clocking 5.08.1.
I'm actually disappointed my final lap was only a 73,I think seeing 3.55 at 1,200m meant I didn't push hard enough over the final lap,as my former coach used to say"there's more meat on the bone" and I believe that,not just at the mile but at the 150s and 400s.

Tonite was an improvement on last week and hopefully next week will see another improvement on tonite

Every Picture Tells A Story

This was the picture I wanted to go w/ Saturday's blog entry,the statue of James"Jumbo"Elliot looking up the home straight of the track at Villanova.....no wonder I almost went four for four at sub 5 on this track under the watchful eye of the great man himself,my pacing may've given him fits,but I think he'd have admired my guts and heart.

Hallowed Ground

"Now I've seen the future,and I've seen the past I've seen the lights go down on this world fading fast
And mister I walk in the valley of the shadow won't someone have mercy on my soul
On my soul,soul,soul
Hallowed ground how sad is the sound in the valley that once sang out,sang proud"
Hallowed Ground-The Alarm

Sadly the pc isn't allowing me to upload the great picture of Jumbo Elliot's statue in the west end of Villanova Stadium looking up the home straight,maybe I can upload it on my work pc and use it during the week,more's the pity as it would've made this entry more poignant.
You have to go back to the summer of 76 and the Montreal Olympics and my freshman year in high school to get to the heart of today's workout.
I'd won my freshman year 400m and 800m c'ship races and thus began a 34 year and counting love affair w/ running,that summer I watched my first Olympics,I have fleeting memories of Munich 72 but given my love of running began that summer I consider Montreal was my first major track event as a true athletics fan.

I knew nothing of the splash one Eamonn Coghlan had been making this side of the Atlantic Ocean in the NCAA's or the fact he was considered a strong medal hope in the 1,500m,as we all know he came up short in the final and finished 4th but it began my hero worship of the man known as "The Chairman Of The Boards" and lead to my discovery of Villanova.
As the years have passed,I've become quite steeped in the traditions of Villanova,the Holy Trinity of Irish milers Ronnie Delaney,Eamonn and Marcus O Sullivan and of course the man himself Jumbo Elliot who made Villanova running what it is.
Quite why it had taken me until now to venture up the Main Line to workout on the Villanova track I don't know but it's something I'd been considering for a while now,I had at one point planned my final track workout b4 Nationals to be there but things didn't quite work out,anyways today felt as good as any day to set foot on the hallowed ground that is the Jumbo Elliot Track at Villanova Stadium and put that right.

As I entered the stadium I stood in awe of the statue of Jumbo at the west end of the stadium and looked at the who's who of Villanova running greats on the wall near by,Coghlan,Delaney,O Sullivan{Marcus},Patrick,Huber,Rimes,Maree,Paige,Liquori,Ross,Tuppeny,Pyrah,O Sullivan{Sonia} this was more than just a set of mile repeats,this was a run down memory lane for me.
That said all that had to be put to one side as I conducted my 4x1 mile repeats....easier said than done but had I've gone to Temple,Lower Merion,Haverford etc it still would've been about ending the week w/ mile repeats and notching my first series of mile repeats in my build up to 5th Avenue Mile and Syracuse.

#1 mile,1.12-1.17-1.19-1.15-5.03.0.Clearly uneconomical splits and a tad too fast to open w/ but that said had I not gotten it so wrong a sub 5 was there for the taking which is heartening.
#2 mile,1.12-1.17-1.15-1.19-4.53.5.Are you shitting me a 4.53 mile!!!!????nice to know I'd saved my fastest mile split of the season for today.
#3 mile,1.14-1.18-1.12-1.16-5.00.5.Were Jumbo still alive I could picture him squeezing his tweed cap in his hands yelling"what kind of pacing do you call this???"
#4 mile,1.14-1.18-1.17-68-4.57.1.Holly Mary,mother of God....my slowest lap was a 1.19 all day??

Clearly from a pacing point of view today was flawed but I have to say to run those times by my lonesome at the end of a 44 mile week ain't too shabby.
Next Sunday's Track Pentathlon sticks a fork in mile repeats next week and it remains to be seen if I venture back to Villanova the following week for another crack at my mile repeats,as I said the other nite once college football kicks off in September the stadium and the track will be off limits but I might be able to squeeze in one or two more trips b4 then.

On June 11th I went 5.03.7-5.01.6-4.59.4-4.54.7.and on June 25th I went 5.00.4-4.59.4-5.03.0-5.04.2.and on July 12th when I was tapering for Nationals over 3x1 mile I went 4.58.3-5.00.2-4.59.1. so I feel it's only a matter of time b4 I return to the realm of 4x1 mile at sub 5, w/ slightly modified pacing today it was there for the taking but that's ok I know what needs to be done to take care of that and when I next attempt 4x1 mile repeats be they at Villanova or wherever I hope to go 4/4 at sub 5.

Things Can Only Get Better

No day should begin the way mine did,I arrived at work to discover some Ahole had left a skid right behind the electric jack which gets charged up each night,so I had to go down to the storeroom to get the pallet jack to remove 2 skids manually just so that I could get to the electric jack to take the remaining 12 skids down............this lead to the 3Ms on my Ipod Motorhead,Motley and Maiden.............so I guess it's not ALL bad!!!???

Mentally and physically the last few days have been,I wouldn't say a grind but tough,this was my first 5 day week in three weeks either side of Nationals in Sacramento so I think I was finding it a little strange to be back into that routine on top of the fact after a few weeks where my mileage was working it's way down due to my taper and week of competition I'm now working my way back up,50 miles last week and going into this evening 35 miles on my way to another 50 mile week but w/ 2 repeats thrown also.

Given tomorrow is 4x1 mile repeats w/ a mile warm up and mile cool down I opted for a 9 miler this evening to round out at 50 miles,I like round figures so 50 as opposed to 51 w/ a 10 miler tonite suits me better.
Clocked 58 mins,which tells me a 64 min 10 miler was probably on tap,as long as I can deliver the goods tomorrow morning at the track for my mile repeats this is all I care about.

Seems a lot of people are getting their knickers in a twist over Tyson Gay's surprise victory over Usain Bolt in the 100m in Stockholm this evening,
Props and respect to Tyson for beating the World Record holder,Olympic and World Champion.....BUT unless he can repeat this next year at Worlds or the following year at the Olympics it won't mean jack.

Smile,The Camera Loves You

Courtesy of Nick and Melanie Berra a great post 800m shot as Nick celebrates his gold and I celebrate my silver.
Don't feel bad that you're only seeing Nick's back.........that's all the M40 field in the 800m 1.56.0 and 1,500m 4.04.3 saw as well!!!

Living For Today,Thinking About Tomorrow,W/ One Eye On Saturday.

Another day,another 10 miler.
Time will tell how prudent or foolhardy it is of me to "bookend" my repeats w/ 3 10 milers and a 9 miler in between,I'll have a better idea after Saturdays mile repeats and make an assessment afterwards,w/ the Track Pentathlon the following week it'll be another week b4 I look at maybe doing the mile repeats on a Friday and then finishing off the week w/ a 10 miler but for now this is all"thinking out loud".

I am strongly considering doing Saturday's mile repeats at Villanova,w/ college football a month away I can forget using the track at Villanova Stadium after this month so I figure a short hop skip and a jump up the Main Line might be in order.

Watching the Philadelphia Union vs Columbus Crew right now,the MLS has done a great job building it's self up slowly,another two new teams next year to make it 18,I'm looking forward to seeing the Union on Sept 11th.

Picked up my Beth Orton ticket for next Friday,looking forward to seeing her for the 5th time.
Alrighty,one more day of work and a 9 miler on tap manana....oi....Columbus just scored right on half time.....GER!!

Get The Balance Right

"There's more besides the joyrides little house in the countryside,understand learn to demand compromise and sometime lie,get the balance right get the balance right.
Be responsible,respectable stable but gullible concerned and caring help the helpless but always remain ultimately selfish,get the balance right get the balance right"
Get The Balance Right-Depeche Mode

While I was in Sacramento it dawned on me just how much stuff I'd put on hold in order to go to Nationals this year.
As of the end of July I've been to one gig{Flogging Molly} and one movie{Sherlock Holmes} and I need to do a better job of that over the final 5 months of the year,it's all well and good being focused and driven to go to Nationals etc etc but it's also important to do other things and have the money to do so, so I'm hoping to be a bit more fiscally prudent over the next few months to allow myself a few shows{Beth Orton,James,Gary Numan and Social D are on tap between now and the end of October}
Saw a few movie trailers that float my boat and I also want to take in at least one Philadelphia Union game b4 the end ot their debut season in the MLS,penciled in the Sept 11th Chicago Fire game and if I finish in the prize money at the upcoming Greater Philadelphia Track Club Track Pentathlon I'd like to put that money towards a general admission ticket at the US Open tennis in New York the Friday of Labor Day weekend.

Mentally and physically I tried to take it easier this evening on my 10 miler....and still came out at 64 mins..............I'm telling ya it's not in my dna to run slow!!!
As well as all the things I want/need to do for me I also have running related things to pay for,new flats,pay my entry fees for 5th Avenue Mile,Syracuse etc,finally get a back pack,pick up thermal gloves and a skull cap for the fall/winter,buy my USA uniform for Worlds AND starting saving for Worlds,entry fees,flight,hotel,oi vay.

Tis Himself

Yer man on his way to bronze at 5,000m at Nationals
Ok so it wasn't as dramatic as Eamonn Coghlans's Gold in Helsinki in the 83 World Championships but at the start of the year my 5,000m pr was 17.03 and the club record was 16.29......................
Both are now 15.36.8.

If This Was Me Taking It Easy..............

A so called easy 10 miler after last nites repeat.
Last Wednesday when I resumed 10 milers out and back along Cobbs Creek Parkway it was a mild jolt to the system,it'd had been a 2 and a half week hiatus from July 11th till the 28th since I'd ran 10 so it was a bit of a wake up call but by Sunday I was averaging 63 mins per run,my bench mark used to be 65,what surprised me was the fact that both Saturday and Sunday traditionally my slower days I managed to crank out back to back 63s.
Usually on Saturdays and on the rare Sundays I have to run my times creep up,you'd thank getting up at 9.30am instead of 5am and not having to put in a whole day at work I'd run better but I think that on a week day by the time I get done a whole day at work my body is ready to "throw down" where as getting up at 9.30am and sitting for an hour b4 running my system hasn't had a chance to jump start it's self.....maybe last weekend was a one off since I'd only worked a three day work week?

Tonites run came out at 63 mins,now granted it's cooled off somewhat this past week but I'm still mildly taken aback by the fact w/out "going for it"I'm cranking out faster than average times,I was thinking this yesterday as I headed to the track that for alot of athletes once they've ran their final event at Outdoor Nationals that's their season over,and I'm not saying there's anything wrong w/ that,take my team mate Chuck 9 days removed from Nationals he's already running cross country...but then again Chuck's the only runner I know who uses track to get ready for cross country!!!

Had the rare treat of watching a video of my 5,000m & 1,500m races from Nationals today both Mike Blackmore and Jeff Mann had great finishes and I didn't realize how close Pete Magill was to me up the home straight in the 1,500m,check them out on Flotrack if you get the chance.

In Case You Think I Only Play The Irish Catholic Card For Fun

"But the day may come when you've got something to lose and just when you think you're done paying dues
You say to yourself dear God what have I done?and you hope it's not too late cause tomorrow may never come"
Reach For The Sky-Social Distortion

Yours truly in prayer b4 the 5,000m,thanks to Ken and Chris Stone for this photo.

One Part Social Distortion,One Part Jay Z

I guess I should explain that,the Jay Z reference comes from moving"On To The Next One"Nationals are over and now it's time to get ready for 5th Avenue Mile,the Social Distortion reference comes from the fact I've been listening to one of my all time favourite west coast punk bands since the day b4 I left for Sacramento"Highway 101" came up under a list of songs about California and it made me download a bunch of Social D cds onto my ipod and reminded me what a total Geezer Mike Ness is,trust me some anti social Social D lyrics are brewing beneath the surface......

Anywho it was off to Temple's track after work today to begin my 5th Avenue Mile preparation,in the past I've had 6 weeks to get ready but w/ Nationals getting earlier and earlier each year I now have 8 weeks and I aim to take full advantage of that.
The tried and tested work out for the past three years has been:150,250jog,150,250jog,4x400m,mile,in it's original form the 400s were broken down into 150,100,150 but I just feel running the 400m and worrying about my 400m time instead of what my splits are at 150,100,150 suits me better,this is what I meant yesterday when I said I'd revised the workout.

Comparing what I did today to last year and to a degree two years ago seemed pointless....although this didn't stop me from checking all 4 of last years workouts and all 6 of 08s just to see what I did,in a lot of respects today was about laying down a marker for the next 7 weeks and hoping to get faster each week,that said I set myself 21 seconds for my 150s,63 seconds for my 400s and 5.20 for my mile.
21.82.-23.98.
A good start,I was a little disappointed w/ the second 150 but w/ several components in this repeat you're almost always thinking ahead and making sure there's fuel in the tank.
63.91.-63.42.-65.02.-65.22.
Obviously over the coming weeks this is going to be the crux of the workout and it may take a week or two to get used to 400s,it's not like I have any recent 600s to draw upon so getting back into speed repeats may require some patience but I thought it was a good start,if I can hold onto those 63s and try and get them all at 63 that'll be a start and then look to lower them.
"Decathletes Mile" the trick to this mile was always how well I could run the final lap,I felt a 5.20 mile at 1.20 per lap was respectable,as the weeks go by I'll look to lower that but interesting footnote in 08 my 5th week saw me clock a 5.15.9 mile b4 a 5.09.5. mile in the 6th and final week....
1.20,1.23,1.23,69-5.15.0.
I was delighted w/ the mile,my 400s might be slower than 08 but clearly the summer of 45-55-60 mile weeks is paying off.

All in all a good beginning to the proceedings,there is room for improvement but over the next 7 weeks I'll know what to expect,this evening was in some respects about getting an idea of where I'm at w/ this workout and now that I know I look to improve upon it.

If This Is A Motely Crew Which One's Tommy Lee?

A great picture of Tom Fitz,Francis Burdett,Nick B and yours truly post 4x800m at Nationals last Sunday

August And Everything

Having spent the past few days recapping Nationals today is a recap of the last few days.
I skipped Tuesday as I had too much catching up to do after almost a week away but Wednesday through Sunday I ran 10 milers to get ready for the next several weeks of 50 miles a week w/ 2 repeats on the track bookending 4x10 miles beginning w/ a revised in and out 400m repeat, a staple of my last three 5th Avenue Mile build ups tomorrow.

I've been following the European Championships from Barcelona since Monday, obviously I'm delighted Derval O Rourke won a silver for Ireland yesterday in the 100m Hurdles,Derval is the one Irish runner who's been able to deliver at major championships over the last few years so fair play to her.
Britain won 19 medals,a record for the European C'ships and this bodes well for London 2012 which gets underway in just under 2 years{July 27th}respect to Mo Farah pulling off the 5,000m/10,000m double.

More photos from Sacramento are coming through,I may be able to spruce up the blog w/ them in the next few days,Ken Stone got a great one of me kneeling and praying prior to the 5,000m that I want to use.
Back to the track tomorrow,Track Pentathlon is 2 weeks away,5th Avenue Mile in 8 weeks,Masters 5k Road Race C'ships in 9 then I can call it a season.