A pivotal week for yours truly a chance to equal Decembers total of 148 miles and round out my 14 milers...........
Monday Jan 29th an easy 6 miler to kick off the week, knowing I was potentially looking at running 6 days in a row and that Wednesday would be a 10 miler there was a sense of caution going into this lunchtime run, cut your cloth accordingly to make sure by the time Thursday rolled around there'd still be gas in the tank
A respectable 48.05.0 off 8.00 mile pace not too shabby out in 25.34 back in 22.31, once again the stiff tailwind off the Schuylkill River helped me on the inbound leg, w/ our clocks going forward on March 10th there's the realization that my lunchtime runs will be replaced by longer evening runs though I may keep one lunchtime run in the rotation for speedwork so these next six weeks or so I'd like to make the most of these lunchtime jaunts along the river
Tuesday Jan 30th if I was happy w/ the 48.05.0 on Monday then I was pleasantly surprised by todays 47.47.3 off 7.57 mile pace
Maybe the knowledge that I was off from work on Wednesday had put an extra " pep in my step" at lunchtime also looking at " the bigger picture" I'd just signed up to race the Cupid's Chase 5K on February 10th at the Philadelphia Zoo, while the upcoming Love Run half marathon and Dublin Marathon are very much at the forefront of my mind right now a little speed work over 5K will be good to see how the fast twitch muscles are doing as I look to master the "Three S's" Speed, Strength & Stamina
Wednesday Jan 31st Only because I had scheduled a day off weeks in advance was I in a position to equal December's monthly total of 148 miles today via a 10 miler, had I been scheduled to work I would have had to settle for the customary 6 miles on my lunch hour, now I know what some people might say if I fudged Sundays 6 miler to 7 miles and or did 11 miles today I could've gone 149/150 and beaten Decembers total.....this is true but the simple fact was were I not off from work today I wouldn't have been in a position to do anything other then 6 miles and while I'm a tad sore about the 26 miles I lost between Jan 20th-22nd the fact was while I hadn't gained any extra mileage in January I also hadn't lost any.....and to really keep things in perspective last year my total mileage for January was 57 miles....a case of the glass being half full and not half empty
Out and back along the Schuylkill{ sadly my options along West River Driver via Powelton Ave are on hold until the restoration work on the bridge is finished} via the South Street Bridge a little variation on my daily 6 miler as I eventually picked up along the trail where I enter from at Market St on the weekday lunchtime runs
Distance more so than time was the goal here that said I'm seldom one to set a low bar for myself so if I was using 9 min mile pace as my guide I was looking at something in and around 1.30......clocked 1.25.30 off 8.33 mile pace however in keeping w/ a runner mindset that that we're seldom satisfied w/ our times my out and back splits were 42.35-42.54 not a negative split and as usual w/ this route I could point to the long up ramp exiting the Schuylkill River Trail as the culprit for the 19 second difference, it used to be I'd take the steps on the other side of the bridge and also exiting the river trail on my weekday runs at Market St but early on in my runs when I was still building up leg strength I felt the steps slowed me down almost to a walk, I feel now I could negotiate them a lot better but as the creature of habit mindset tends to rule the roost I've stuck to the ramp
10 miles for the day, and 148 miles for the month I could rest easy in the afternoon knowing I'd done what I set out to do....but the wheels were already turning re February and my monthly totals......never let it be said I'm one to rest on my laurels
Thursday Feb 1st Once more into the breach.....a 6th run in 6 days was always a big ask but once again it was a classic case of " carrot and stick".........
Yes I could have exercised the option of a rest day today and then ran Saturday & Sunday as I have been doing the past five weeks......however w/ the return of the Allianz Football & Hurling Leagues to my schedule last weekend till the end of July I now had a decision, take a day off today and run Saturday & Sunday OR suck it up today and then enjoy Sunday off after Saturdays long run and cop a double header of Cork vs Clare Hurling and Derry vs Tyrone Football...... in running as is in life always give yourself a Plan B.......
Knowing that the run was now very much a case of just putting the miles in I wasn't overly concerned w/ time, pace, splits or even negative splits just getting it done was the goal as was reflected in my modest 50.20.1 off 8.23 mile pace, sometimes it's not the worst thing in the world to ignore the Garmin and just focus on the miles as opposed to the speed of them job very much done and now all that was left for the week was my Saturday long run
Saturday Feb 3rd Remember that creature of habit comment from Wednesday?........so as has been my won't since December 9th when I began my Saturday long runs I've been getting out the door by 8am or so give or take 10 mins depending on long it's taken me to get up and get going on a Saturday morning however this Saturday I was faced w/ a dilemma as the Spurs game vs Everton had been moved to the early kick off time of 7.30am, up until now this hadn't been an issue, did I record the game and watch when I returned but in doing so have to stay off my phone and social media to avoid knowing the score? or watch the game then run but worry about upsetting any equilibrium I had built up over the past 8 weeks.......anyone who knows me knows I bow down at the alter of Jumbo Elliott the legendary Villanova track coach who trained "The Holy Trinity" of Irish milers Donnie Delaney, Eamon Coghlan and Marcus O Sullivan who are the focal point of my inspiration as an Irish runner
In his book" Maker Of Milers, Maker Of Men Jumbo once told his athletes and I quote" get up at the same time every day, run at the same time everyday, eat at the same time everyday, go to bed at the same time everyday....and if possible shit at the same time everyday!!!!" I think given my creature of habit mindset I'd have fitted in well at Villanova under Jumbo.....but that as they say is a whole other story!
Out the door by 9.40am as opposed to 8.10am I tried not to get caught up in the 90 min delay and just go out and execute my run easier said than done but once I got into my rhythm early into the run things fell into place nicely as I shaved 52 seconds off of last weeks time of 2.03.57 w/ a 2.02.05 off 8.43 mile pace to complete my four 14 milers
I said last week it feels like I caught the proverbial "lightning in a bottle" that first week w/ a 1.56.10 off 8.18 mile pace as the next three 14 milers went:2.04.30 off 8.54 pace,2.03.57 off 8.51 pace and now 2.02.05 off 8.43 pace
In week 1 I went a perfect 14 & 0 keeping my splits at sub 9.00 min mile pace the past three weeks have gone 6 & 8, 8 & 6 and today was 12 & 2 it was good to finish the series strong, it's possible that knowing I didn't have to get back out there on Sunday to log an easy 6 miler I was able to push the pace the last few miles, I snuck a 8.59 split in at mile 10 b4 reeling off splits of 8.24-8.45-8.42-8.10 a far cry from week 2 when I hung on for dear life over the closing 3 miles w/ splits of 9.10-9.20-9.20
So back to the old 16 mile course on Feb 17th a mish mash of the 12 and 14 mile course I've been using.....see creature of habit again.......but if it ain't broke don't fix it!
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