"Here we go again, we're on the road again we're on the road again, we're on the way to paradise, we love the jungle deep that's where the lion sleeps for then those evil eyes they have no place in paradise Graffiti on the walls, just as the sun was going down I see graffiti on the walls for the Celts! for the Celts, graffiti on the walls says we're magic, we're magic, graffiti on the walls it says oh ah up the Ra, say ooh ah up the Ra"
Celtic Symphony-The Wolfe Tones
By my calculations this mornings Love Run 1/2 Marathon was my 45th half marathon since my debut over the distance in Leicester in September of 1984 42 years on and 44 half marathons later 13.1 still produces surprises that even this Gypsy couldn't predict or see coming!!!
At the risk of selling the story short I feel I have to go back to the 2024 edition of the Love Run, w/ one eye on the Dublin Marathon that year I trained hard through the Winter targeting a fast 1/2 marathon in March w/ the intentions of it catapulting to "rarefied air" and times I hadn't seen for a few years.....oh I saw times I hadn't seen in eons......problem was they were slower not faster and thus began an 18 month tailspin that not only saw me record my slowest times ever from 5k through the marathon in 24 but it continued into 25 suddenly the days of sub 1.30 1/2 marathons were from a bygone era I had now reluctantly become a 1.50 half marathoner granted I'm in my 60s now but I still believed I was better than 1.50 for a half marathon, time to set the record straight........which of course is easier said the done!
After several mild winters here this years proved to be a hoor of a Winter, things were ticking along nicely in early January as I was rebuilding my mileage after a well earned down periods at the end of 2025 until we got hit w/ a one two sucker punch 9.3 inches of snow followed by 9 days of below freezing temps however in mid February a day after my season opening race at the Cupid's Chase 5k I finally nailed a double digit run a respectable 1.25.50 off 8.35 mile pace, the significance of which didn't truly hit home till early this week, a disappointing 8 miles when I was shooting for 12 a fortnite later meant I only had one shot at 12 miles prior to today last Sunday which I duly handled in 1.46.12 off 8.51` mile pace, if nothing else I knew I had the distance in my legs............
It wasn't till mid week two very interesting stats jumped off the pages of my blog, last year I only managed one 10 mile run prior to the Love Run 1/2 marathon, this years 10 miler was 6.05 faster than last years plus there was no 12 miler last year.........suddenly the prospect of a 1.45 half marathon off 8 min mile pace was more attainable than I thought.......that said the time honoured adage "theory and practice are often the horse of a different colour" sprung to mind in 2024 I had logged four 12 mile runs, four 14 mile runs and one 16 miler in the build up to the Love Run hoping that a 1.25 half marathon in March would potentially set me up for a sub 3 hour marathon in Dublin in seven months time, I could only muster a 1.39.17 and well"the rest is history" in terms of my 2024 season, last years Love Run was a moderately satisfying 1.51.56 and was only moderately acceptable as the previous September's PDR 1/2 marathon had been my slowest ever time for the distance in a pitiful 1.54.44 I went into last years Love Run kinda on the back foot w/only one 10 mile run under my belt and just happy to go " gun to tape" w/out stopping, while there had only been one 10 and one 12 mile long run this year compared to just the one one 10 miler last year the real difference lay in total mileage prior to last years Love Run I had logged 162 miles for the year this year I came in w/ 206.........#VolumeVolumeVolume
Last time I looked at Peco Tower pre race at 7.05am it said 34 degrees but at least the sun was out and that always makes a world of difference irregardless of it being a race or training run no matter the temps the sun being out helps it was still base layer and gloves weather as we made our way down the Ben Franklin Parkway and Arch Street to 6th Street then over to Market St, Up to 20th Street over to JFK Blvd down to 16th Street and back up the Ben Franklin Parkway towards MLK Dr/W.River Dr,the course had been modified the last few years to accommodate the reconstruction of the bridge at the start of the Dr but w/ that now complete the course had gone back to a version akin to when I began running the annual end of March Phila Love Run 1/2 marathon in 2018 out and back on MLK/W.River Dr.
I had wondered what this years course would be like now that there was no need to circumnavigate the section of MLK/W.River Dr below Sweet Briar Lane, the big take away was the up hill at mile 10 coming off MLK/W.River Dr on Black Rd was now a downhill just after mile 7, that hill banajaxed me in 2024 as I didn't know it was coming nor was I prepared for it, at least last year it didn't spit me up and chew me out, however to even things out this year coming off MLK/W.River Dr onto Sweet Briar Lane and onto Landsdowne Dr we would have to negotiate the twisty uphill on Landsdowne Dr to Parkside Ave,across to the Please Touch Museum{Memorial Hall in auld money if like me ye are of a certain age} down Avenue Of The Republic and then Black Road to MLK/W.River Dr to a point beyond Strawberry Mansion Bridge but b4 the Route 1 bridge and Conrail bridge b4 Falls Bridge, from there it was a turnaround and back down MLK/W.River Dr to the finish in front of the Art Museum.
I wasn't paying much if any attention to my overall time for the first seven miles just focusing on my splits however at mile seven I copped a look at Hal who informed me I'd gone through seven miles in 54.21 so if I could average roughly 8 min mile pace for the final 6 miles I could be close to a 1.42 finish.......oh it was on now!! taking full advantage of the downhill down Black Road I began to pick off the final six miles one by one,7.28-7.46-8.02-7.38-7.32-7,31, to be fair there wasn't much of a kick in the final.1 as I had pretty much left it all out there over the 13 miles but thankfully enough of a kick to cross the line in 1.41.59 off 7.45 mile pace in the immortal words of Noel Furlong "drive it, drive it, drive it"........
I'd have been happy out w/ 1.45 to be honest but passing the 1.45 pace group at mile 11 I knew it would be close to 1.42......at 1.41.59 it couldn't have been much closer but I'll take it,my fastest time in the last 2 years and while the days of 1.30 half marathons may be in the rear view mirror maybe 1.40 is doable? hopefully I have two more bites of the cherry over 13.1 this year the PDR 1/2 marathon in mid September and also the Deitz & Watson 1/2 marathon the weekend of the Philly marathon in late November, to achieve that I will need to continue putting the miles in,I've yet to hit triple digit mileage in the opening three months of the year but I'm getting there I feel I'm probably operating at 75-80% right now if I can get up to 100% things could get interesting
Medal #4 for the season, #273 for the career if I can "handle my business" Saturday over 15k at the Hot chocolate 15k that sets up the potential of Broad St Run being #275 I don't want to start thinking too much about the potential of next November being #300 but it's coming down the tracks.........and fuck yeah I will continue to sing "Up The Ra" despite what that dishrag hoor arlene foster says....yeah go ahead make it a criminal offense ......think ye have a prison overcrowding issue in the UK now.....wait till all the arrests in Trafalgar Sq next March at the annual St Paddy's Day celebration.......fer feck sake have a bit of cop on ya pratt and failing that build a bridge and get over yerself, as always I am an Unrepentant Fenian Bastard......"Up The Ra"........
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