"Just two boys from the flats sittin' around now having a chat,representing Dublin 1 talkin' bollox all day long"
Two Boys From The Flats-Eddie Sherlock & The Rattling Kind
Since last Monday through Saturday were...to put it mildly a " cornucopia of cock ups " I opted to blog Sundays long overdue double digit 12 mile long run and this mornings 10k together......a little unconventional but shur feck it tis Kevinrunningfree after all.....bit late in the shaggin' day now for conventional don't ye think????
Basically Monday thro Saturday went like this: Monday August 31st too tired to get up at 5.35am,Tuesday September 1st copy & paste,Wednesday September 2nd 93% humidity at 5.35am,Thursday September 3rd copy & paste,Friday September 4th got home from New York City at 2.40am......not much chance of getting up at 5.35am to run,Saturday September 5th still feeling the effects of the New York City trip.....
Sunday September 6th Now or never for this long run,the clock is tickin' on PDR in two weeks time so I needed to have a cut off of a 12 miler today, not exactly ideal w/ a 10k on tap almost 24 hours later but needs must and beggers can't be choosers.Up by 5.50am although there were another 43 mins till sunrise,on a weekend I have some leeway w/ pushing back the alarm but not during the week, I think it was closer to 6.30-6.40am when I left by which time sunrise was in bloom 68 degrees and 74% humidity a far cry from the 81% last Sunday that banajaxed me, opted for an auld route I hadn't ran in a while just to mix things up and try and keep things fresh,Powelton Ave,Mantua Ave,34th St,Lansdowne Dr Fairmount Park,Lansdowne Dr,34th St,Mantua Ave,Powelton Ave and home..........I wasn't overly concerned re pace and splits the more important numbers were the miles at the end, if I went sub 1.48 off 9 min mile pace fair fucks to me, if I didn't no harm no foul as long as I got 12 miles in. 8.40 for the opening mile b4 8.52 at mile 2 and 8.51 on Mantua Ave at mile 3......so far so good. 8.59 at mile 4 and perhaps the proverbial writing on the wall,I didn't panic when mile 5 came up as 9.04 as the first half mile is uphill on Lansdowne Dr and is a notorious hoor of a hill.......Rut Roh Shaggy!!!! crossing Belmont Ave into Fairmount Park b4 I hit mile 6 my gallop was slowed by a locked gate,I'd encountered this once b4 2 years ago and ended up having to take a crazy arsed detour, feck all that shite today I was almost at mile 6 so I swung a left onto nearby Montgomery Drive and ran till Hal the lil bollox Garmin registered mile 6 and I turned to make this an out and back.9.19-9.16-9.19 as I made my way back to Lansdowne Dr.when I hit mile 9 on Mantua Ave in 9.28 I knew I was going to have to go into head down get her done mode to see this through.....9.51 at mile 10 on Powelton Ave just b4 Penn Presbyterian hospital, stick or twist, call it a 10 miler and hope to tack on two extra miles next Sunday?.. OR gut it out and grind out the final 2 miles no matter how slow......."I'll take B please Neil".......9.54 at mile 11 and 9.57 at mile 12......BOOYAH! 12 miles in 1.51.35 off 9.17 mile pace.....slight pause as I shed the 600 pound Gorilla off my back! In March prior to the Love Run 1/2 marathon I logged an all important 12 miler the week b4 in what must be said much cooler conditions, hopefully next Sunday I can register a second 12 miler pre PDR period, if it's faster than today that's an added bonus
Monday September 7th For the second year the Freedom Run took place although this year it was out and back on W.River Dr/MLK Dr which was still off limits last year,the organizers added a 10 miler this year and while I was initially miffed and not knowing that given I was coming off of my 12 mile long run yesterday 10k was enough of a challenge let alone 10 miles! Decent race conditions sunny 64 degrees but 82% humidity to put that into perspective a fortnite ago at Philly 10k it was 68 degrees but 91% humidity.I questioned the logic of back to back long run/race long b4 getting into the starting corral in front of the Art Museum b4 the air horn went off at 7.30am, the simple truth was I needed both the long run to bolster my chances of a good 1/2 marathon in 13 days time at PDR and the race to register medal #10 for the season but more importantly #279 for the career......as a wise man once said at an AA meeting way back when and I quote "you can do anything you want in this life.......if you're willing to pay the price that goes w/ it"......To be honest I just needed to finish speed, pace, splits,overall position,age group position weren't that important that said even on those days I still like a target to aim for so I opted for 8 min mile pace roughly 48 min....opening in 8.01 was heartening despite the 5k and 10k going off together I not only got a clear run but more importantly didn't getting pulled out by the 5k speed merchants.8.16 at mile 2 and the humidity was already taking its toll.....not that this is my first rodeo so I knew to suck it up and be grateful for the foresight to have drank plenty of water yesterday 8.32 at mile 3 and if memory serves me 25.39 at the turnaround b4 Strawberry Mansion bridge 51.18 pace??? 8.38 at mile 4 I knew I probably didn't have it to start emptying the tank now better wait till the 5 mile marker for that, as it was I dropped down to a 8.29 split b4 throwing what little I had at it for the final 1.2 miles 8.22 for mile 6 b4 closing in 1.29, a fortnite ago I closed in 2.02 51.47.2 off 8.21 mile pace, all things considered something to hang my bandana on.....oh and for good measure for the second year in a row overall winner of the 60-64 age group.In keeping w/ 100% transparency I must point out this was my slowest 10k of all time and the first time in 69 10ks since my debut in Wimbledon in 1983 that I failed to stay below 50 mins.....ok so there was always a strong possibility of that happening today off the back of a 12 mile long run but frankly if it wasn't today it was coming,at Philly 10k two weeks ago I snuck under the 50 min barrier by the skin of my teeth in 49.58.3 so the proverbial cheque was in the mail, in 07 I had my first non sub 40 time a 40.03.0 in fact since resuming my road running career in 18 I've only once gone sub 40 a 38.55.0 time in 2019 and since 24 my times bar a smoking 45.43.1 last year at the Bridge Run have all been 48-49 mins so like I said it was coming.....but like I took it on the chin when sub 40 was no longer a rite of passage I will deal w/ the potential that at almost 63 maybe sub 50 is no longer a given
Long run and medal #279 in the books, I suspect a well earned day off is on the cards tomorrow b4 hopefully jumping back in on Wednesday morning to see if a 5 day week is doable, I suspect the 90%+ humidity mornings are done this year....now to adjust my pre dawn vision and get ready for post 6.30am sunrises......it's seldom dull for the wee Fenian that's for shur......
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