DNA 1 DNF 0

 Another week in the books/blog another 38 miles on the legs

Monday Jan 8th An easy 6 miler to kick off the week, w/ the threat of a soaking rain in the forecast for tomorrow it was prudent to get the proverbial hay in the barn today

I've said in previous posts and will continue to emphasize  the importance of the Monday run, I feel it sets me up for the week period plus if something jumps off during the week at work or the weather isn't in my favour  I have Sunday as my " get out of jail free card" to complete the 5 day/38 mile week target........

Wednesday Jan 10th SO as I was saying.....Tuesday pissed out of the heavens it was rare to spend a lunch hour not out and back along the Schuylkill getting my 6 miles in but given this was rain of a biblical proportion{ Noah would NOT have looked out of place in that deluge yesterday.....just saying} I had no choice but to sit that one out

I've seen the Schuylkill breach it's banks in recent weeks as we have had some considerable rain of late but not to the point of it actually spilling onto the trail its self as was evident from the mud and debris on the trail however kudos to the clean up crew for making it " user friendly" for the likes of yours truly and the other lunchtime runners I saw  today and see on a daily basis

Thursday Jan 11th Three for Three w/ the 6 milers along the Schuylkill on my lunch hour, mercifully the Schuylkill had receded  overnight and was back to a level that didn't look ominous, I was reminded of a comment during Super Storm Sandy several years back when the Eastern Seaboard got pummeled  and lead to mass flooding "when arguing w/ Mother Nature just remember, she always gets the final word"...... 

Saturday Jan 13th A week in running can feel like a lifetime.....last Saturday I felt I crushed my 14 miler 1.56.10 off 8.18 mile pace and all 14 miles under the 9 min mile mark...............

Things began well enough it was 57 degrees at 8.15am when I set out, for once I was able to ditch my gloves and swopped my hat for a bandana, by mile 4 the sleeves on my half zip were rolled up the sun was out and my opening 4 splits were 8.48-8.33-8.30-8.31

At mile 5 as I began the hills behind the Mann Music Center I clocked a 9.01 split so much for a repeat of last week, not to worry....9.10 at the next split b4 dropping  almost identical splits of 8.23-8.22 as I crossed the Strawberry Mansion bridge and into East Falls

Suddenly the sun was replaced by dark clouds I was noticing considerably less runners than a week ago perhaps the heavy rains of Tuesday and yesterday had scared away the " fair weather" runners I will say I anticipated  worse conditions under foot granted there were sections of the run that were strewn w/ fallen branches  but mercifully no major surface water to contend w/.....other than a massive area near Reservoir Drive{ oh the delicious irony!!!} that I normally run tight to the curb but today had to swing  far left to avoid waterlogged shoes for the final four miles

I was cognizant  at this point  I was having to dig deep 9.10-9.10 splits, thought I'd pulled it back when heading over Girard Avenue bridge and clocked a 9.01 w/ three miles to go, was I thinking about quitting this close to home????? I won't lie the thought entered my mind briefly but I was able to drown out the negative voices in my head as I dug deep to see it out, 9.10-9.20-9.20 for the final three miles, 2.04.30 off 8.54 mile pace

If I crushed the long run and the hills last week they crushed me today, why the 360 turn in fortunes I don't know, maybe the Running Gods keeping me grounded and reminding me there's a long way and a lot of miles to go b4 the starting line in Dublin in 41 weeks time......

Sunday Jan 14th Time to " pay the piper" as they say and make up for Tuesdays rain day, to be honest I was glad of the easy out and back along trusty Powelton Avenue/Mantua Avenue at 9am to get some of the crap out of my legs from yesterdays long run, a modest 56.08.0 off 9.21 mile pace, remarkably I counted more runner out there over 6 miles this morning than I did over 14 miles yesterday when conditions were far cooler than than had been on Saturday

Another successful 5 day/38 mile week logged, thanks in part to my Kerry DNA for tackling those hills yesterday, I know I said it could be a "Rocky Road To Dublin"  and maybe yesterday was a reminder that there is still a long way to go