Cu Chulainn 3 Achilles 2............#Ye'llNeverBateTheIrish

 "When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph in Cologne and you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone Frank Ryan bought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid and you decked some fucking blackshirt who was cursing all the yids at the sick bed of Cu Chulainn we'll kneal and say a prayer but the ghosts are rattling at the door and the devil's in your chair"

The Sick Bed Of Cu Chulainn-The Pogues

Full disclosure I've waited weeks for that title and those lyrics.....but I needed a week when I ran more than I didn't........Kevinrunningfree.....it may not be pretty....it shur as shit ain't Shakespeare.........but it's always 100% the truth!

Since I'm "cleansing my soul here" apologies for the lack of a blog last week but w/ only one run all week a 7 miler Saturday morning it really didn't seem worth  blogging.......and now  allow me to channel my inner Fin Wallace and D4 Dad......"I digress/We move" and onto this week

Wednesday August 19th I had planned to run either Monday or Tuesday but it just didn't happen, when I began getting up and running at 6am back on June 23rd it was a lot easier as it was a lot lighter now at mid way through August it's not light till almost 6am sunrise was officially 6.20am this morning.... to the point I had to dig out an auld bedside table lamp from the bedroom and put it next to the bed so that when the alarm goes off at 5.25am and 5.34am I can see what I'm doing when I get up, again in a case of being 100% transparent after I blew off Mondays attempt to kick start things the plan very much was to get up Tuesday and run.....I was awake b4 the alarm went off.....but I just couldn't rise to the challenge, the last four weeks have seen me revert to being a non morning runner, I've gone on record saying that it scares me how quickly I can fall in and out of a routine, I had 5 weeks of getting up and out the door by 6am  5 days a week until the achilles began acting up and now it's not automatic to do that...this too shall pass Opted for the Baltimore Ave,South St bridge,Schuylkill River Trail to Locust Point and back route......I had considered doing it untimed I know the route like the back of my hand.....and while I wouldn't advocate doing it blindfolded I could do it in the dark.....which will be useful in a few weeks time when sunrise is 6.30am at the start of September!!!!As it was everyone's favourite mischievous Garmin Hal the lil bollox Garmin decided this morning was as good as any morning to act said bollox,the opening mile came up a tad early going up Baltimore Ave after 42nd  St so I already knew my splits would be off.....force of habit I checked it again on the trail and saw 2.54 before I'd even made the turn at which point there seemed little to any point paying attention to splits, pace,negative/non negative splits etc etc I was just happy out to be back up and out the door by 6am  running, the achilles felt ok, post run as the day wore on it felt a bit tender but during the run it was fine, if that's the new normal moving forward then so be it

Friday August 21st I did plan to be up and out said door by 6am on Thursday  however the  alarm didn't go off......the same alarm that didn't go off the morning of Broad St......as ye can tell I don't have a great relationship w/ technology!!!!!! Since it was Friday I opted for the Baltimore Ave,South St bridge,Schuylkill River Trail, Grays Ferry Avenue bridge, 49th St loop 67 degrees and 81% humidity almost ideal 80/80 conditions, I will say since  converting to morning running my tolerance to the humidity has improved the last few years it felt like it  was my kryptonite but now despite still sweating worse than a hooker in a church I have found a way to  deal w/it it.At 41.33.0 it's fair to say I was moving at a clip, my mile average was 8.19 off splits of:7.50-8.15-8.26-8.38-8.23.A couple of point of note I spent over 11 years running Masters track between 400m, 800m, the mile and 1,500m,3,000m,5,000m and 10,000m I automatically got up on my toes to try and running quicker.....that mindset still resonates w/ me now in my road races which A is probably unnecessary and B doesn't help my achilles so I was very cognizant of trying to stay on the flats of my feet today and mid way through Wednesdays run  when I realized I had inadvertently "reverted to type" it's a small adjustment but if it keeps the achilles from bothering me it will be worth remembering on my runs.Also I tweaked  the end of this run,50th St doesn't run all the way to Paschall  Avenue if it did I wouldn't have felt the need to go up and down a block to 49th St on my runs  last Saturday when I basically had a "shot to nothing" on my 7 miler{another run where Hal the lil bollox Garmin  was acting the bollox!!!!!} I did a lil recon and  discovered heading home after Chester Avenue I can make a left on St Bernards St  which brings me out to Springfield Ave another left and  ta da......50th St on my right and  a straight shot home,sadly between Chester Ave and Kingsessing  Aveune there's a park so I'm not shur if I could continue in a straight line to and from my front door to Paschall Aveune but it might be worth checking out but that's for another day.

Sunday August 23rd It's race day the Philly 10k,my unofficial start to the Fall road race season,the first of 4 races in 6 weeks and the start of what looks like a very busy second half to my season, potentially 14 races between today and December 26th.....normally I come into Philly 10k a tad ring rusty as it's been my won't not to race since the first Sunday in May at Broad St.....however  plot twist the prospect of Cork 1/2 marathon next June 6th  being medal #300 has seen me throw in 2 races in between  {Philly Run Fest 15k in June and the Coffee Run 10k in Camden last month}  this year and adding another 5 races in Camden b4 years end w/ further potential for 2 more in January  to give myself the chance of  Cork 1/2 marathon being #300......it all sounds good in theory......let's hope it rings true in practice! No issues getting up by 5.30am and out the door by 6am and getting down to South Street by 6.40am to take advantage of next to no lines at the Portajohns b4 dropping off my bag at bag check and gettng into the corral just gone 7am following my pre race stretches.Got a spot in the A corral which hasn't been the case the last 2 years but the pre race plan had been to be near the rear of the corral and hopefully work my way through rather than go off half cocked and die in the second half of the race,then I saw the temps and humidity for 7.30am a comfortable 68 degrees but 91% humidity, thankfully this summer has prepared me for that but it's still a hoor to race in.Pre race the plan/hope was 47 mins off 7.45 mile pace but the 91% humidity was going to throw a spanner in those works so plan B go out at a comfortable pace and hope to hold on to it and work off the runners around ye.7.39 for the opening mile which is always slow as they are some tight streets in South Philly and I can't knock any of the residents who parked their cars outside their houses/row homes 7.47 for mile 2 as I made my up Snyder Ave to 13th St people were walking already,either ye went off half cocked or got into a corral ye had no business being in.7.58 at mile 3 I forget exactly what my 5k time was 24 mins and change sub 47 seemed unlikely at this point, the mindset was try and hold onto this pace and come mile 5 on 12th St  between Spruce and Christian   if there was anything left in the tank empty the fucker.8.11 for mile 4 and 8.20 for mile 5 the humidity had taken its toll but good to my word I emptied the tanks in the final mile 8.01 for mile 6 as I hauled arse making the turn at 7th and South St to cross the line just below 6th St in 49.58.3 off 7.57 mile pace A tad slower than last year when I ran 48.31.9 off 7.46 mile pace......in my defense yer honour I am a year older and the heat and humidity last were were both in the 70s......I rest my case! Medal #9 for the season, but more importantly #278 for the career, if memory serves me correctly last year {the first year Philly 10k gave finishers medals it was #261 so that's 17 medals in 12 months......not bad for an auld fart w/ a bum knee and dodgy achilles!!!!!!

Hopefully the achilles  will continue to cooperate w/ the extra icing and stretching I may invest in a ankle brace also, anything that will keep me out there logging miles in training and continuing to plunder races for medals will be welcome at this point, hopefully this week I can get back to a full compliment of 5 training runs  back into the swing of getting up by 5.35am and out the door by 6am,temps look favourable this week,need to double check on the auld humidity.........we move!

When Is Too Auld For Auld Shite?.........Asking For A Friend!!!!

 "Come here to me and I'll tell ye now did ye know I've got  300 cows the tax man  won't get my cash come into the jacks and have a look at me rash ye young lads think I'm a fool, I bet ya  ten bob I'll bate ya  at pool I don't clean up shur I live on my own ah go on to fuck would ye drop me home, I am the aul, the auld lad in the pub came for the craic not for the grub you'll have a bit of soup, you'll have a bit of soup this is the auld fella in the pub"

The Auld Lad In The Pub-The 2 Johnnies

Well the feckin' Dog Days Of Summer are back, hopefully a new pair of runners and some days off have helped the achilles and this blip in training is just that a blip.........

Tuesday August 3rd after  five days off I was chompin' at the bit  to get back at it....and how! Not only a negative splits out in 21.56 back in 21.10 but kept all five miles splits below 9 min mile pace:8.30-8.40-8.54-8.36-8.27 for a 43.06.8 time off 8.37 mile pace in 68 degrees and 72% humidity on the tried and tested Baltimore Ave,South Street bridge,Schuylkill River Trail to Locust Point and back route,Accu Weather had earmarked today as the pick of the week weather wise so it felt right to use today as my return to training........however for all my craic about coming from a long line of traveling people and having Gypsy  blood in my veins.......even I couldn't have predicted the ''catalog of fuck ups" that would shape the next  four days............Stephen KIng eat yer heart out.....here comes a real horror story!!!!!

Wednesday August 4th-Thursday August 6th Wednesday was innocent enough, I always  say I know if and when a rest day is on the cards when I don't wake up b4 the 5.25am alarm goes off.....on Wednesday it was the alarm that woke me not me waking up and checking the time on my phone, no biggie I still had Thursday,Friday and the option of Saturday b4 Sundays long run........Thursday August 5th,glass half full I was awake b4 the alarm went off......glass half empty upon checking the temps and humidity I discovered  95% humidity......and channeled my best Matthew Broderick in "Biloxi Blues"........man that's hot......Africa hot.......Tarzan couldn't stand that  heat..... and fecked off back te bed till 6.45am, even w/out a suspect achilles that was going to be a big ask.......on the subject of the auld achilles I had looked into new runners w/ more cushioning to help w/ that, not to plead poverty but until my substantial pay increase in May I have had to eek out a day to day/week to week existence over the last five years  in life in general, rent, food, bills trying to save for trips and putting money aside for my eventual retirement {seven years and counting.......but who's counting????me  muthafucker I'm counting!!!!!!!!} as well as my running,races don't come cheap and when it's come to shoes I've had to rely on cheaper,no name brands and up until this current pair have done ok but I can't help but feel w/  not quite 200 miles on these shoes it's no coincidence my achilles began to throb, in life as in Running shoes  ye get what ye pay for and I don't think it's a coincidence that these shoes w/ less cushioning than the last several pairs I've  bought were the ones that gave up the ghost on me........Found a reasonably priced pair of New Balance shoes on Amazon and figured I'd have at it, catch 22 the money on these shoes was roughly the price of my next race entry fee......however the shoes needed to come first if I didn't address the cushioning issue the race in late September may be a mute point and my entry fee a " charitable donation".........

Friday August 7th-Saturday August 8th Outside of Amazon I have next to nothing delivered here to the house, too much shit has " disappeared" off the door step in the last few years, I feel 90% of things I've ordered online  have gone AWOL.....might as well put a red flashing arrow on the door pointing to the item left on my doorstep saying Free Stuff, Help Yerself, Already Paid For!!!!!!!, at least w/Amazon  they are good about replacing stolen items.......however the runners were a time  sensitive delivery, nine orders out of ten I place on a Friday  for Saturday or Sunday delivery so at least I'm home  and even then 99% of the delivery drivers don't ring my doorbell to let me know it's there I've had deliveries left and after the fact checked my emails to see the "delivered" email in my emails w/ said photo{ funny how they have time to fire off a photo to cover their arse to say it was delivered but can't/won't ring a shaggin' doorbell???? and upon going to the front door the shit's gone.......According to Amazon if I ordered the runners Thursday morning they would be delivered between 5pm and 10pm  Thursday evening......given I could brake them in Friday morning and  maybe squeeze in a make up run Saturday  I figured why not.... I got home from work 6.20pmish  and checked my email "out for delivery".......and proceeded to keep checking my emails till I went to bed at 10.20pm only to be informed " sorry for the delay."..... ye didn't have to be an Ivy League school grad to see what the feck was coming down the tracks?????????????? Friday morning I get an email at 9.48am "delivered" w/ said photo of my $85 brand new New Balance runners sitting on the door step........what a fuckin' turn up for the books upon getting home later than usual gone 7pm to  find them gone!!!!!!!!!! Now comes the time honoured auld shite messaging Amazon re the delivery after a thumbs down emoji and explaining to them the delivery is gone I get the " if your order doen't show up by August 10th we will replace it"......ye'll do fuckin' what now ye shower of shite?? I appreciate I'm arguing w/ an automated bot it's like arguing w/ a jerk off on social media.....an utter waste of  my time so I asked { several times I have to point out!!!!!......feckin' computers.....Hal the lil bollox Garmin being a prime example!!!!!!!}  for an actual representative I could speak to .....I will say Carl w/ whom I spoke to  was very gracious  re the issue and asides from apologizing profusely { he didn't botch the original delivery Thursday nite or leave an $85 pair of runners in a shoe box on my door step in the heart of West Philly in broad fuckin' daylight b4 10am!!!!!!!} and assured me my new runners would be dispatched and delivered tomorrow.......

Saturday August 8th No point trying to run w/out the new runners so I was resigned to it being back to back 2 day weeks of training.....hey ho sometimes less is more and  maybe just maybe  all of this auld shite was the universe telling  me to slow my roll, I put in a serious body of work in July period but we were also heatwave free.......I'm a lot of things  but stupid and or naive I am not and it was a given we'd endure another heatwave or two b4 the end of August.....and maybe one in September, who knows? Officially heatwave #6 yesterday....and they're calling for another 3 days of 90 degree plus heat Sunday,Monday and Tuesday.....meh!As for the runners YES they were delivered yesterday afternoon while I was home .....and NO  the langer of a delivery driver did NOT ring my door bell to inform me  of this.....but did have time to snap a photo of said delivery on my front step.......God job I run to deal w/ this kind of auld shite!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday August 9th When I answered the snooze button at  5.34am and looked at my phone I saw 89% humidity.......not exactly great for a 5 miler.....hardly runner friendly for a long run, but in running as in life my attitude is "I'd rather try and fail, and know I tried then second guess could I have???"  and I was dressed, stretched and out the door by 6.15am 74 degrees was grand,,,,,but the 89% humidity was always  going to be a killer as I made my way down 49th Street to the Grays Ferry Avenue  bridge and the Schuylkill River Trail, I was heartened by seeing 3 other fellow runners  as I entered the path in Greys Ferry park that leads to the trail.....always somewhat reassuring ye are not the only one insane and or neurotic  enough to be out there that early in those conditions....#safetyinnumbers....9.00 flat for the opener and 8.29 for mile 2 .........however  b4 reaching mile 3 and the on/off ramp at South St bridge in 8.30 I knew my Goose was cooked........feckin' roasted goose in that humidity of Flambe Fenian......take yer pick!!!! continuing along the Schuylkill River Trail was folly so I opted to head home via the South Street bridge and Baltimore Avenue.At best a 5 milers but I had to settle for a stop/start 9.20 mile 4 and called it a day at 35.21.1 off 8.50mile pace........not so much no mas more ahh fer feck sake!!!!

Between the achilles last week and this week, the piss ballin' around w/ Amazon and now heatwave #6 it's been a frustrating two weeks but all I can do is " control the controllables" I've addressed the achilles issue, taken some time off, bought new shoes w/ more cushioning,iced it, put Wolf Balm on it, increased my stretches as for Amazon deliveries and global warming I'm fecked in the immortal words of John Bender in "The Breakfast Club"....."it's out of my hands!!!" hopefully this coming week sees less heat and humidity and more miles........not too much to ask for now....is it???......asking for a friend!!!!!!!

It Did Come Home........To Mayo..........Finally!!!!!

"Oh the Green and Red of Mayo I can see it still, it's soft and craggy boglands it's tall majestic hills where the ocean kisses Ireland and the waves caress it's shore oh the feelin' it came over me to stay forever more forever more stay forever more, oh the Green and Red of Mayo"

The Green And Red Of Mayo-The Saw Doctors

Not exactly the week I was hoping for.....but ever mindful that "caution is the better part of valour" a step back was better than a grinding halt......

Tuesday July 28th While there wasn't a Cow milked in Mayo on Monday I too opted for a day off to revel in Maigh  Eo's long overdue All Ireland celebrations, as a long suffering Cork Hurling fan I know what it's like to wait and wait and wait to climb the steps of the Hogan stand in Croke Park {Pairc an  Chrocaigh if we're being  technical!!!} but 21 years is feck all compared to Mayo's 75  year wait, to put things into perspective my late Uncle John was a young man when Mayo last lifted Sam Maguire in 1951 23 maybe 24 when he pasted away in 1998 some 47 years later Mayo had yet to reclaim Sam despite several near and at time calamitous  misses,mad to think he and so many other sons and daughters of Mayo never got to witness the unbridled joy in Croke Park last Sunday where even the hardest of hearts and the biggest of begrudgers would  resent Andy Moran and his team the sweetest of victories,Maigh Eo Abu!!!!Came up 8 seconds shy of a negative splits out in 21.51 back in 21.58 for a 43.49.8 off 8.46 mile pace in 71 degrees and 94% humidity.......not that's not a typo ......94% humidity,I was grateful for the breeze coming off of the Schuylkill River  for the middle mile on the traditional kick off to the week route Baltimore Ave, South St bridge,Schuylkill River Trail to Locust Point and back

Wednesday July 29th A negative split out in 22.51 back in 21.40 out and back on Powelton Ave in 70 degrees and 90% humidity.....it's bad when ye  celebrate a 4% drop in the humidity........!!!!!For all my grumbling about the Powelton Ave out and back it continues to provide me w/ negative splits, today was not the first and hopefully not the last I have registered, it continues to be the road less travelled in terms of other runners out there compared  to  my other three routes which all feel like they are more popular but as I said a few weeks ago it doesn't matter who else is out there on a Tuesday or Wednesday as long as I'm out there.44.31.3 off 8.42 mile pace.

Sadly this would prove to be the end of the week for me, post race on Saturday I was painfully aware my right achilles  was a little tender.....the same right achilles that became an issue in 09 and cost me my shot at Worlds in Lahti  in Finland and flared up again 4 years later scuppering the 2013 season and another trip to Worlds in Porto Alegre in Brazil, since then I have made a point to stretch b4 each training run and race so why now after 13 years all of a sudden it's stuck it's head above the parapet is beyond me?

It wasn't lost on me that Saturday saw me return to triple digit monthly mileage for the first time in  eight months but I be hard pressed to say that's why now all of a sudden an auld injury  has flared up, I'm painfully aware that in order to make Cork #300 next June I have had to schedule  9 extra races from June 26 to June 27 to make that a reality......and IF push come the shove I have to drop some races and make #300 later in the year I will.....I plan to run the Cork 1/2 marathon  #300 or not, hopefully this bump in he road is all it is......while I don't drive i'm not unfamiliar  w/  ignoring the "check engine"message on the dashboard, catch 22 would I have been so willing to draw a line in the sand this week on 113 miles for the month had I been on 93 mile and 2 days left to log a pair of 5 milers Thursday and  Friday?......thankfully I don't have to wrestle w/ that.

I have  been icing the shit out of my achilles  since last  Saturday on a daily basis and a couple of times on the weekend, I looked into remedies for an achilles  injury and R.I.C.E {Rest, Ice,Compression,Elevation} remains the main cure, earlier in the year I bought Wolf Balm for my knee hoping it would help it didn't but in fairness to the makers of Wolf Balm it's more of a  Muscle and Nerve remedy where as the knee is more of a bone/cartilage issue and I have to say between the Ice, the Wolf Balm and a few rest days it feels better, I have also looked into stretches to strengthen  it so if ye see me w/both hand on a wall leaning back on my right achilles for 30 seconds at a clip don't be alarmed it's not some weird Fenian yoga just yours truly trying to stay injury free and on schedule!!

#113 miles for  July and a pair of 10 mile long runs,I'm way ahead of where I was  a year  ago when I relied on lunch time runs, I'm very aware we are entering The Dog Days Of Summer now in August, I plan to be back out there Monday or Tuesday morning just b4 6am to continue the journey, fingers crossed no issues w/the auld achilles  and hopefully next Sunday a 12 mile long run..........