Back at it.... training and blogging!
So following my 15k race on Saturday I knocked out an easy/recovery 7 miler on Sunday to round the week up to 16 miles but also get me back into a routine of getting out there and getting the miles in that had fallen by the wayside of late
Mon April 8th
I always say that Monday is the most important day of the week re a training run, handle business Monday and set yourself for the week, miss/blow off Monday and allow for the potential of getting jammed up later in the week
The fact I had this Monday off of work made it easier for me to get out there and start the week off on the front foot so taking full advantage of that fact I ran at lunchtime
Opted for an out and back along the trusty Schuylkill River Trial via the South St bridge which basically takes me to the back of the Art Museum at 4.5 miles then a quick u turn and back the way I came
They are extending the Schuylkill River Trail beyond it's current end at Christian Street down towards Grays Ferry not sure what the time frame is on that project but once complete it will give me another option on my runs, it'll be interesting to see which construction job finishes first the extension to Grays Ferry or fixing the bridge at the end of West River Drive under the Spring Garden St bridge
Tue April 9th
The acid test....it's all well and good going out on a Monday lunchtime on a day off but could I come home from a days work and get myself out the door for a run......?
Since the clocks went forward on March 10th I'd only managed to take advantage of the extra daylight in the evenings on March 11th and 12th, after five months of lunchtime 6 milers I had struggled to make that adjustment.....that's all well and good but if I hold any ambitions on a decent Spring/Summer/Fall I need to be out there post work in the evenings putting the miles in and its what I'm used to, I only ran at lunchtime during the Winter to counter the dark
After a week when it frankly " pissed out of the heavens" almost everyday the fact that not only was the Sun out this evening but also 78 degrees at 6.20pm when I hit the Schuylkill River Trial was a sight to behold.......however in a reverse Dolly Parton "You Can't Have The Rainbow W/out The Rain" w/ the good weather comes the masses descending on the Schuylkill River Trial and space is limited, this is where West River Dr being out of commission plays a major role hopefully they finish reconstruction on that bridge sooner rather than later and free up both West River and Kelly Drive
Thursday April 11th
I knew five in a row was a big ask when I'm just coming back to full training so reluctantly I sat out Wednesday, mentally and physically I was beat and even the prospect of a shorter 6 or 7 mile run rather the the 9s I'd set myself for the week was a big ask, remembering an old adage my former coach taught me" listen to what your body is telling you" I elected to take a rest day Wednesday and have at it tonight anyway......given the day I was to encounter at work on Thursday the run would prove cathartic.........
I'm not going to get into specifics re my job that's what my journal is for what I will say is if things don't change and soon swaths of trees will need to be cut down to provide me the reams of paper I require to pen my daily frustrations at work, while I fully understand bitchin' about our jobs is "The National Pastime" I don't wish to be the poster child for the destruction of more trees and we'll leave it at that.....
Conditions were grey and overcast at 6pm as I headed out for my 9 miler w/ the hint of rain in the air.....I needed this run so if I had to go the baseball cap/ rain jacket route to get the miles in I would have
I also opted for a change of route tonight up Powelton Ave to the back of the Art Museum around the front of said Art Museum to Kelly Drive and down Kelly Drive to just under Girard Ave bridge to 4.5 miles and then back
I wasn't really paying attention to my mile splits but I opened in 7.56 which is a tad brisk and then followed up w/ an 8.05 fair to say I was on a mission.......
W/ three miles to go coming back down Powelton Ave I could feel the effects of some uneconomic pacing my final three splits were 8.51-8.42-9.02 as I finished in 1.16.03 off 8.27 mile pace for the record Tuesdays run was 1.20.33 off 8.57 mile pace.....
It's rare I play the "No Mas" card at the end of a run I'm pretty good about rehydrating showering making something to eat........not tonite! I collapsed on the bed post run lay there motionless for over 90 mins and by 9pm channeled my inner George Burns and said "Good Night Gracie" threw my running clothes on the floor at the end of the bed turned the tv and the light off and called it a night!!!
Sunday April 14th
Saturdays long run got away from me, I should have stuck to my routine of getting up around 7am and out the door by 8am, I opted for the Spurs Newcastle game at 7.30am under the pretense I'd run at 9.30am when the game finished.........
When your team doesn't show up and gets spanked 4.0 it's a bitter pill to swallow and frankly a run of any type let alone a 16 mile long run was about as miserable a prospect as the train ride back to London from Newcastle for the Spurs fans who'd travelled North for that shit show.....
Mercifully Spurs don't play another Saturday game till May 11th which is their final Saturday game of the season so I won't have to worry about that potentially happening again till August
It had been a long week mentally and emotionally and try as I might to get up early Sunday for a long run it just wasn't on the cards....however come 2pm I did galvanize myself to get out the door and knock out a 9 miler.... mercifully not at the kamikaze pace of Thursdays ran on the same route!!!
1.17.47 off 8.38 mile pace and thankfully no repeat of me crawling into bed at the completion of said run this time........
A 4 day/36 mile week better than it has been of late so that's the blueprint moving forward Broad Street is three weeks away, another week of 9 milers this week and then 2 weeks of 10s leading upto Broad Street and beyond
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