Easy Tiger..........

 Another 5 day/ 40 mile week another 16 mile long run.....to quote an old Monty Python sketch " still  I was getting used to it by now"...........

Monday Feb 19th An easy/recovery 6 miler at lunchtime out and back along Powelton Ave and Mantua Ave since today was  President's Day and I had the day off from work

Given I was coming off of my long run on Sunday this was always going to be a easy/recovery run and a chance to get any leftover gunk/crap out of my legs as I took it easy and logged a 53.23.4 off of 8.53 miler pace

One advantage of a day off from work asides from not having to get up at 7am was having sometime at home to catch up on  watching some running on tv, I'd missed the actual Olympic Marathon Trials on Feb 3rd as I was out doing my long run that morning so it was nice to watch the  Men's and Women's races and also watch The New Balance Games from Boston

I miss not running track but sadly the issues w/ my left knee and hip mean it's better to avoid all those left turns on a track which on an indoor track is twice as many but it doesn't stop me from watching the top flight athletes doing their thing, I've already preset Peacock's coverage of the upcoming World Indoor C'ships to  My Stuff  .....when I'll actually get around to watching it is another matter......

Tue Feb 20th Easy 6 miler at lunchtime out and back along the Schuylkill River a modest 50.28.8 off 8.24 mile pace, I was already cognizant of the fact I was looking at a potential 6 in a row having ran Saturday, Sunday, Monday and now today, it was a case of " cutting your cloth accordingly" run  6 in a row and have Sunday as a rest day or take Wednesday or Thursday off and run both days on the weekend which has been the case so far this year ,given Cork have  a Hurling game at 10.45am  on Sunday I figured go for the gusto run today, tomorrow and Thursday and then just the long run on Saturday.

I was also cognizant of the fact that not every  lunchtime 6 miler out and back along the river has to be " hammer and tongs" some days just putting the miles in is enough w/out  being overly concerned about time, speed, pace, splits etc it's very easy to allow the Garmin to dictate how you run sometimes it's good to just log the miles

Wed Feb 21st A slight tweak to my route, last week I mentioned heading up JFK Blvd rather than Market St to cut out a couple of cross street b4 the river the only drawback of that is the steps up and down to the River Trail, I find them a real momentum killer so ever the Boy Scout I looked into a way to circumnavigate them

There's an on/off ramp on the right hand side of JFK Blvd that leads to 22nd St which leads to Race St, sharp left and w/in a block the Conrail tracks and then the Schuylkill River Trail.....no steps!......the caveat to this is IF there's a Conrail train approaching those gates will be locked which then means finding another way onto the trail but I figured I'll cross, burn, jump, paint that bridge when the time comes

So remember yesterday when I said about not allowing the Garmin to always dictate things....... today I ran 50.00.4 off 8.18 pace and won't deny I'm slightly  miffed I didn't sneak under  49.59.99..... live by the Garmin, die by the Garmin........the struggle continues.......

Thur Feb 22nd My 6th run in 6 days.....this was always going to be an easy run as I racked up  46th mile since Saturday 50.29.0 off 8.24 mile pace

In running as in life it's all about choices while six days in a row is a big ask I do now have the luxury of Sunday off which hasn't always been the case so far this year in an ideal world I'd like to run Monday through Thursday then Saturday..... it doesn't always play out like that and in order to get this Sunday off and avoid a potential 6 in a row again next week I had to run today so if you're willing to give a little to get a little in return you'll be just grand

Sat Feb 24th Bollix! woke up at 6.30am to the sound of rain bouncing off my window.......not how I wanted to tackle a 16 miler, however I knew if I waited it out a little it would stop and since time wasn't an issue for once { a rare day for the Shamrock Warrior when " time wasn't an issue"!!!} I figured I could delay my start time, eventually out the door by 8.20am

After Sundays Baltic 16 miler I was relieved to see 38 feels like 32 on my phone for 8am talk about " once frostbitten, twice shy" as Winter is coming to a close I'm hoping I won't be faced w/ another long run in those conditions anytime soon

Things were clipping along nicely for the opening six mile b4 an unscripted " spanner in the works" threw me off......in the past couple of years on this particular route for my 16 miler I've never had an issue w/ this particular gate being locked........until today......double bollix!!!! I had to reroute myself on the fly and  w/ hindsight maybe I could've done a U Turn back to Belmont Ave to Concourse Ave to Lansdowne Dr to Sweetbriar Dr to W. River Dr what I ended up doing was hanging a left to Montgomery Dr to W. River Dr....ultimately where I was looking to end up.....however  I now needed to find 2 extra miles to make up the two I'd lost through Fairmount Park......

Eventually I settled on running my normal route through the drives on East Falls and down Fountain Green Drive to Kelly Dr which give or take was going to bring me out at 11 miles and a give or take 5 miler home along the Schuylkill River Trail to South St bridge and Baltimore Ave

Just b4 the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial aka The Immigrant statue I passed a runner w/ a Palestine flag on his back....I gave him a thumbs up as I passed and we chatted for a minute when he saw my Ireland half zip running jacket he knew we were on the same side and it was good to share a moment w/ a kindred spirit I always say running is about bringing people together and breaking down barriers

Remarkably my time was 2.07.31 off 7.58 mile pace how accurate that is I don't know given this wasn't the route I normally run, maybe like my opening 14 miler on Jan 6th when I " caught lightning in a bottle" today like Grace Jones was a "Slave To Rhythm" I'm a "Slave To The Garmin" I go by what it tells me.....I also know the Garmin can be a fickle bitch  and the issue I have running a different route today is I have no point of reference to what my time would normally be......I could run this route again next Saturday and see what my time is.....and who knows I may have to if the gate in Fairmount Park is locked again  but if that's the biggest issue I have to deal w/ right now then I guess I have it pretty good