"When you get caught between the moon and New York City"
Arthur's Theme-Christopher Cross
Gone are the days of racing on inferior tracks like Glen Mills,Swarthmore or Albright,these days I tend to run most of my indoor meets at The Armory in New York,right now 5 of my 7 scheduled race indoors this winter are at The Armory.
Even w/ mass transit it only took 3 and 3/4 hours to travel from Philly to The Armory,catching up on my diary,taking a nap and and listening to some INXS on my ipod,I arrived at The Armory by 5.30pm leaving me 90 mins to get ready.
My last trip here was in mid March for the Front Runners meet when I shaved fractions off the 2 mile club record,tonite was a more conventional mile.
I seeded myself at 4.30 which put me in the seeded heat of the mile w/ guys half my age,never a worry to me taking on guys I'm old enough to be the fathers of,eventually I'll have to start"acting my age"and dropping down the pecking order but till then I'm planning on mixing it up w/ the younger guys.
12 men per heat and a waterfall start,I drew #3 but got another awful reaction to the gun and ended up taking one step forward and two steps back to allow myself a clear run down the back straight.
No clock which was some what frustrating,I heard splits of 33,64 and 2.13 for laps 1,2 and 4 after that I don't recall the time keeper calling times.
I'd gotten myself upto 4th I think b4 a bunch of guys went by me,on the final lap I felt strong and worked my way back up to 8th to finish in 4.33.7.
For a season opener it was a refreshing start and went a long way to exorcising the demons of last years opener but clearly there's still work to be done,while I never felt I was taken out of my comfort zone tonite I do know I can run harder and faster,but that said it's the first race of the season and there's a long way to go in the season.
Left The Armory by 8.30pm and got home by 12.10am,since I'd scheduled a day off I allowed myself the chance to stay up till 2.30am a little blog and Facebook activity and a chance to revel in England winning The Ashes vs Australia in Australia for the first time in 24 years.
Hit"the slopes" around 1pm to get another easy 8 miler in to get any residual junk out of my legs b4 tomorrow mornings 400m race in Delaware,last year after the opening nite of the Thursday Nite At The Races I struggled to run a 6 miler,no such worries this year,another ghost exorcised so now for the third and final one,last year I failed to make the Millrose 4x400m team,tomorrow I have a chance to book my place on this years team...two down,one to go.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Up And Running
Given the lateness of the hour I could be forgiven for not going into detail right now but sometime later on today a full account of the season opener over the mile at The Armory in New York will be forthcoming.
For now,8th in a 12 man field in the seeded heat w/ a time of 4.33.7 which ranks as #13 all time.
Rumours of snow later today,yea!! still need to get my easy 8 miles in,time for some zzzs
For now,8th in a 12 man field in the seeded heat w/ a time of 4.33.7 which ranks as #13 all time.
Rumours of snow later today,yea!! still need to get my easy 8 miles in,time for some zzzs
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
If It's The First Wednesday Of January.......
That means a trip up the Jersey Turnpike to the New York Armory for the first of the Thursday Nite At The Races.
W/ the notable exception of the 08 season when I was recovering from my stress fracture I've faithfully made the short pilgrimage up to New York for the Thursday Nite meets,The Armory is the best indoor track I've had the good fortune to run on since my 06 debut at the Mac C'ships and I seldom baulk at a chance to run there.
In 07 I ran a then pr there in the mile on opening nite,4.33.0 and two years later I went 4.28.1 which still ranks as my track mile pr,we'll have to see what tomorrow night brings...
As for today it was another easy 8 miler,the calf and hammy are down to a two on the discomfort meter,I'll make sure to stretch b4 and after the race.
Were this a regular week and not one w/ two races in three days either today or Friday would've been a rest day but if I want to log 55 miles and still get both races in no dice,at least after this week my race schedule is a little more conventional,ie only one race a week but since I wanted to throw my bandanna in to the ring for a place on the Millrose relay then I had no choice but to rebound and run a 400m on Saturday but one race at a time the mile in my home away from home in New York City first.
W/ the notable exception of the 08 season when I was recovering from my stress fracture I've faithfully made the short pilgrimage up to New York for the Thursday Nite meets,The Armory is the best indoor track I've had the good fortune to run on since my 06 debut at the Mac C'ships and I seldom baulk at a chance to run there.
In 07 I ran a then pr there in the mile on opening nite,4.33.0 and two years later I went 4.28.1 which still ranks as my track mile pr,we'll have to see what tomorrow night brings...
As for today it was another easy 8 miler,the calf and hammy are down to a two on the discomfort meter,I'll make sure to stretch b4 and after the race.
Were this a regular week and not one w/ two races in three days either today or Friday would've been a rest day but if I want to log 55 miles and still get both races in no dice,at least after this week my race schedule is a little more conventional,ie only one race a week but since I wanted to throw my bandanna in to the ring for a place on the Millrose relay then I had no choice but to rebound and run a 400m on Saturday but one race at a time the mile in my home away from home in New York City first.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
More Of The Same.
Another easy 8 miler in mild conditions this evening.
The good news is my calf and hamstring feel much better,on a scale of one to ten yesterday I was probably at six,today four,if I get down to two tomorrow I'll be happy going into Thursday and my season debut at The Armory.
It's two weeks now since Winter Solstice and it's noticeable that the evenings are staying lighter just that little bit longer,I can get down to the South St bridge and the banks while there's still daylight,it may not sound like a lot but when you can get half way through an 8 miler in the daylight in winter that's a huge psychological advantage.
Crossing South St bridge this evening I though I was going to get hosed by my nemesis the CSX Freight train again however by the time I came out from Markward Playgrounds I saw the final freight car rumble through the crossing at Locust St...no detour tonite!
Talking of South St bridge I omitted this from yesterdays entry,as I was heading back over the bridge on my inbound leg I felt someone trying to overtake me on my left hand side,my first instinct was to hold him off but the last thing I needed three days b4 a race was a needless"pissing contest" so I let him go....or so I thought,we both sped up to beat the lights at the I76 off ramp and next thing I knew as Franklin Field loomed in the distance was me reeling him in and then over taking him,I thought he'd hung a right at 34th St at first until heading up Spruce St when I heard footsteps again,had I not hung a left at Hamilton Walk as is my wont I think we'd have been battling it out up Spruce St,good to know that even after no races on the track since Aug 15th or any race since Nov 20th that my race instincts are primed and ready for Thursday.
The good news is my calf and hamstring feel much better,on a scale of one to ten yesterday I was probably at six,today four,if I get down to two tomorrow I'll be happy going into Thursday and my season debut at The Armory.
It's two weeks now since Winter Solstice and it's noticeable that the evenings are staying lighter just that little bit longer,I can get down to the South St bridge and the banks while there's still daylight,it may not sound like a lot but when you can get half way through an 8 miler in the daylight in winter that's a huge psychological advantage.
Crossing South St bridge this evening I though I was going to get hosed by my nemesis the CSX Freight train again however by the time I came out from Markward Playgrounds I saw the final freight car rumble through the crossing at Locust St...no detour tonite!
Talking of South St bridge I omitted this from yesterdays entry,as I was heading back over the bridge on my inbound leg I felt someone trying to overtake me on my left hand side,my first instinct was to hold him off but the last thing I needed three days b4 a race was a needless"pissing contest" so I let him go....or so I thought,we both sped up to beat the lights at the I76 off ramp and next thing I knew as Franklin Field loomed in the distance was me reeling him in and then over taking him,I thought he'd hung a right at 34th St at first until heading up Spruce St when I heard footsteps again,had I not hung a left at Hamilton Walk as is my wont I think we'd have been battling it out up Spruce St,good to know that even after no races on the track since Aug 15th or any race since Nov 20th that my race instincts are primed and ready for Thursday.
Monday, January 3, 2011
The Ice Man Cometh
I skipped yesterdays 12 miler due to tightness in my left calf and left hamstring.
My calf felt a little tight in the latter stages of Saturdays 16 miler and w/ it being damp and not to mention my season only a few days away I opted for the not often used"less is more "mind set.
W/ two races at the end of the week on Thursday and Saturday and the issue in my calf and hamstring I went easy this evening an easy 8 miles,hopefully loosening any tightness in my calf and hammy,the ice packs will be working overtime between now and Wednesday.
Maybe tomorrow I'll explain the previous Nick Cave entry...or maybe I won't but I am digging Nick Cave right now.
My calf felt a little tight in the latter stages of Saturdays 16 miler and w/ it being damp and not to mention my season only a few days away I opted for the not often used"less is more "mind set.
W/ two races at the end of the week on Thursday and Saturday and the issue in my calf and hamstring I went easy this evening an easy 8 miles,hopefully loosening any tightness in my calf and hammy,the ice packs will be working overtime between now and Wednesday.
Maybe tomorrow I'll explain the previous Nick Cave entry...or maybe I won't but I am digging Nick Cave right now.
Did I Stutter???
"It aint that in their hearts they're bad they can comfort you,some even tryThey nurse you when you're ill of health they bury you when you go and die
It ain't that in their hearts they are bad they'd stick by you if they could
But that's just bullshit baby,people they just ain't no good"
People Ain't No Good-Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Welcome To The New Year
New Years Day,a chance to look ahead to the new year and plan how you'd like the next twelve months to play out.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the biggest thing on my 2011 schedule is the World Championships in Sacramento this July,and everything I do between now and then is to get me ready for that,in fairness everything I've done since October has been geared towards early July.
Indoor season kicks off in earnest on Thursday nite at The Armory in New York,it'll be a strange indoor season knowing there'll be no Indoor Nationals to compeat in,I'm not heading to New Mexico in early March so my indoor season will be between 6 and 8 races between 400m and 3,000m to get some speed to go w/ the strength I've built up over the past few months and give myself a solid foundation heading in to April and the outdoor season.
Used today as my long run and logged my 16 miler as I begin to taper heading to Thursday,12 miler on tap tomorrow to round out at 50 miles.
I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out the biggest thing on my 2011 schedule is the World Championships in Sacramento this July,and everything I do between now and then is to get me ready for that,in fairness everything I've done since October has been geared towards early July.
Indoor season kicks off in earnest on Thursday nite at The Armory in New York,it'll be a strange indoor season knowing there'll be no Indoor Nationals to compeat in,I'm not heading to New Mexico in early March so my indoor season will be between 6 and 8 races between 400m and 3,000m to get some speed to go w/ the strength I've built up over the past few months and give myself a solid foundation heading in to April and the outdoor season.
Used today as my long run and logged my 16 miler as I begin to taper heading to Thursday,12 miler on tap tomorrow to round out at 50 miles.
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