Three Down,Two To Go!

Having managed to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" and number of times recently in terms of a 5 day/40mpw I was hell bent{for leather????}to make sure this week would be different......
It wasn't lost on me on Friday that I should've been flying upto Boston for this weekends Indoor Nationals but obviously w/ all the training I'd lost over the winter it wasn't worth going.....however I did keep my day off request from work in ergo the rare lunch time run not to mention even rarer  Friday run.

Having done a "recon" mission to the supermarket prior to my run I was able to guage the conditions and work out attire,having gotten spoilt w/ 53 and 63 degree temps on Monday and Tuesday Thursday dropped dramatically to 29 degrees and frankly w/ the "saftey net" of a Friday run in my back pocket I figured fuck having to suffer another below freezing run when I didn't have to subject myself to it,w/ Spring less than a week away I figure "Old Man Winter" probably has at least one final parting gift for us.b4 he's done this Winter.

Obviously at 12.45pm there weren't the numbers of runners out along the Banks/Kelly Dr as I'd had Monday and Tuesday evening when it was also sunny and warm.....and yet I shaved another minute off my time.1.23,like the Robert Plant song says "Little By Little".....
It wasn't all plain sailing,exiting Markward Playground I almost "took a header" on a slab of paving stone that's not flush......thanks to my catlike reflexes and semester of Interprative Dance at Goldsmiths College I stayed upright.....ok so I never went to college,muchless took Interprative Dance but scuse me for making lite of a near fall,the irony being that that section of sidewalk just beyond Markward Playground was almost my downfall a number of times when we had snow and ice on the ground and now w/ them gone I still almost went arse over tit.....trust me w/ 2 miles to go on Sunday on my 12 miler I'll be looking for that slab of uneven paving stone.....

Best Laid Plans,Yada,Yada,Yada

Seems fitting to use a Pat Benatar lyric as my musical pick for this blog entry as I just begun her 2009 autobiography "Between A Heart And A Rock Place" the otherday.
Hoping to build on Mondays good 8 miler the plan was to hit the track at Temple after work for 5x1,000m repeats,outside of my 3 races in Febuary I haven't been on a track since Feb 1st.......guess what I still haven't!!!!

W/ the last of the recent snow  now melted I thought I'd have no worries accessing the track in the afternoon as I had earlier this winter b4 the snow kicked in since Temple had cut its Track and Field program in December.......so imagine my horror to not only find the track in use{not sure by whom if Temple no longer has a Track program?} but also the gates to the track were locked{which is a first}whoever was using the track wasn't about to let "Joe Public" stick its nose in......
Not sure if this was a one off or if it's about to become a regular/semi regular afternoon thing,having thought I'd rid myself of the weekly hike to Roxborough to use the track out there like I have every spring since 05 it would seem I'll have to get used to that again......glass half empty it's a hike and a half.....glass half full lots of time for reading which should never frowned upon.

So in a classic case of "life immitating art" and the lyrics of "You Better Run" very much much front and center in my head I headed straight home and back out the door tout sweet for a 6 miler.
Having already gotten dressed to run thinking I'd be doing repeats the time I'd lost detouring via Temple didn't matter so much period but w/ daylight savings time in full effect I needn't sweat the 30 mins difference as I made my way down Cedar Ave along the route well travelled
64 degrees ensured shorts,short sleeves and shades and a ton of activity out on the Schuylkill Bank when I got there just after 5pm,I felt comfortable ie no effects from yesterdays run in fact I felt so good I could've ran an 8 miler but having originally set out to run 6 miles{1.5 warm up 5x1,000m repeats,1.5 cool down=6 miles} I thought I'd stick to the plan,hopefully I can take care of an 8 miler this afternoon....but if I get caught in a down pour in the final 2 miles of that 8 miler I'll rue that choice

{No More}Fear Of The Dark

Well at least untill Daylight Savings ends on Nov 1st!!
In fairness running in the dark probably hasn't been an issue since late January......but did you really expect me to pass up a photo op of my beloved Iron Maiden??? c'mon the blog is "Kevinrunningfree" named after the debut Iron Maiden single "Running Free"!!!!

While we're still officially in Winter you wouldn't have know it yesterday,53 degrees and sunny,tempted as I was to give "Old Man Winter" the finger and go w/ the "Three S's" Shorts,Shades,Sleeveless I figured that miserable old bastard probably has one more bout of bad weather to dump on us b4 Spring so I just opted for shades.....however I was able to run sans ski hat,gloves,heavy duty hoodie and running tights under my warm up bottoms......I probably could've gone sans half zip warm up top but having avoided getting sick all Winter now didn't feel like the time to "fly in the face of it".....it's not like I haven't missed enough training this Winter??!!!

I guess I should address last week,having been forced to sit out Monday due to 3.5'' of snow I logged back to back 8 milers on Tuesday/Wednesday and looked set to log only my second 5 day/40mpw of the Winter.........
Thursday I didn't have it mentally or physically,no biggie I'd try to run 8 miles on Friday to stay on pace..the only fly in that ointment is I don't run on Fridays on a regular basis and once again by the time I got home mentally I wasn't "Up" for it.
I still had a shot at a 40 mile week IF I ran back to back 12 milers on the weekend......it sounded good in theory but you know the old adage about "theory and practice being the horse of a different colour" and you also know what they say about "If"......
Fatigue was crreping into the picture I went to bed at 9.30pm on Wednesday,8.30pm on Thursday and then slep from 12.25am till 10.15am on Saturday which really threw an industrial size spanner in he works for Saturday as there were domestic issues to negotiate on top of the run and w/ that he first 12 miler went for a burton and frankly a run of any length on Sunday seemed futile.

I'd like to address the fatigue issue,granted I'm not conditioned to the level I'd like to be which may explain why a three in a row had a degree of difficulty normally not found for me on Thursday but I am due to have my blood checked again to see if there are any abnormalities at work again circa 2011 when Anemia disrupted my season......I DO NOT want to have to go back to running 10,000m on the track again so off to he lab for blood work again for moi by weeks end/early next week.
As for yesterday s run,I've said on countless occassions in my blog,failing to kick the week off on a Monday often leads to a week not complete.....you only have to look back to last week for the evidence of that mindset so w/ 53 degrees and sunshine how could I NOT run?????

Strike one,having to run the dock single handedly as my coworker took off for a family funeral,strike two no lunch hour as a byproduct of working solo on the dock,and then losing the battle w/ Mr Sandman on the trolley ride rome.....was this the fatel strike three?.....was it fuck!!
W/ the sunshine beating down on my face as I put my front door key into the lock I told myself"you're a cunt if you don't run today" and having ran like a cunt over the mile on Feb27th I knew I had to get changed and get out there w/ the quickness.
Once I got dressed and out the door I felt fine,it's been a while since it's been this warm and that in of its self is a huge psycological boost to motivation,I keep telling myself everyting is a process right now,I need to get into a routine of 5 day/40mpw training which in turn will elevate my levels of stamina,speed and confidence which will go a long way to helping me return to a level of running and training I'm acustomed to.

The warmer weather means not freezing out along the river,nor bundling up like "Nanook Of The North" to combat that,w/ warmer weather comes more runners which will being a good thing in general also means more targets to chase while out and back along the Schuylkill Banks and Kelly Drive,so it will come as no great surprise that last nites time for 8 miles was my fastest all winter.
While I've always stressed that times on my easy/recovery runs is neither here nor there the fact is my 4 most recent times have been slower than the "benchmark 1.25" I shoot for:1.34,1.32,1.27,1.31 so imagine my delight at a 1.24 last nite,providing I can "deliver the goods" this afternoon on the track over 5x1,000m repeats I'll feel I've maybe turned a corner and prehaps this "Winter of my discontent" is coming to end in more ways that one.....

Run To You

Ok I know what you're thinking,what's New Years Day's Ashley Costello got to do w/ running???????????
frankly nothing even though in this bloggers humble opinion she is Fit As Fuck!!!1 but hey freedom of choice,freedom of speech,freedom of expression,my blog I'll post whatever I feel fit to do so....and god damn she's fit!!!!!

So for those of you still actually reading this and NOT Googling Ash Costello here's how yesterday broke down,despite feeling tried from the moment I woke up at 5.27am and fighting a losing w/ Mr Sandman on the trolley ride home I resisted the urge to blow off the run and got myself out the door by 4.18pm for another 8 miler.
It isn't lost on me that as I try for only my second 5 day/40mpw this winter in early March I should actually be tapering for Indoor Nationals but it just hasn't worked out that way this season,however that said each day I can get out there and log valuable miles now is going to benefit me down the road this season,sure I'd like to have been going to Boston for Indoor Nationals and or Budapest for Indoor Worlds but there's still a lot of racing to be done between May and December and the only way to make sure I'm part of that is to grind it out now till it becomes second nature.

42 degrees wow,had I have known that I'd have left the gloves and heavy duty hoodie behind but having avoided getting sick thus far this winter I don't wish to play fast and loose w/ the weather as we're only 2 week away from Spring,the last thing I need now as I build mometum and confidence is to be sidelinded by illness.
Not as prolific as Tuesdays time,1.31 to be honest time is immaterial right now,getting into the groove of running 5 days a week and logging 40 miles each week is the goal,the times will come once I get into that pattern and the only way to do that is to keep plugging away,three for three tonite?

Know When To Hold Em.....

It's often said that "Patience is a virtue" and that may well be true,it certainly worked in my favour yesterday.
Following a sluggish 8 miler on Saturday I nixed Sundays scheduled 10 miler......sometimes the old "less is more" mindset works beter than just going through the motions and the fact I slept for 10 hours on Saturday nite into Sunday morning{1.15am -11.15am} highlighted my need for some rnr.....as oppossed to GNR!!!!!!!
The 15th snowfall of the winter on Monday made my decision not to run that much easier,I figured why not wait another day,the sidewalks would be clearer,the temps would be warmer and hopefully two days rest would rejuvinate my legs and hopefully propell me to semi respectable terrortory for 8 miles.

As I set off just after 4.20pm I could be forgiven for not feeling justified in that choice,the sidewalks were far clearer than they would have been some 24 hours earlier and I almost rued not switching to shades as it was unseasonably sunny for once.
I think Monday's high was 20 degrees so 28 degs yesterday had a almost "tropical" feel to it.....and it's scheduled to get warmer as the week goes........who knows  maybe a trip to the track on Saturday for repeats is on the cards.......I know I've been out in the heat for too long but WTF it is almost Spring afterall!!

Right now everything is a process,I need to get that day in,day out,week in ,week out 5 day/40mpw schedule down pat,w/ that will come not only consistancy but also the "Three S's Speed,Strength,Stamina" which should then lend themselves to better times both in training and racing,last nite saw me return to the realm of semi respectability for my 8 milers,I'm used to averaging 1.25 for 8 miles and 1.45 for 10 miles so logging a 1.27 felt like a positive step in the right direction......now to repeat that this evening and again tomorrow evening.....like I said it's a process,Rome wasn't built in a day and how long did it take for "Chinese Democracy" to get made eh???

The Manhattan Project Side Two

Some twenty four hours after my self inflicted public humiliation at The Armory over the mile I returned to the "scene of the crime" to run the 800m and try and reclaim some self respect not to mention build some confidence and momentum going forward.
While tonite and my indoor swansong here in three weeks time at the Front Runners meet are indoor races I'm already planning for the outdoor track season and these final two races are as much about hoping to return to the realm of respectability as anything,while I can boo hoo my lack of form thus far to a bad winter and 17 month hiatus from competitve racing the fact is over my first four indoor races I've done very little to convince myself I have a right to sit at the table w/ the upper echelon of M50 masters 800m and 1,500m runners,if that right has to be earnt then tonite felt like as good a place as any to start earning that seat....

I was seeded #1 in heat #2,ironically Getulio Echeandia was seeded #9,ironic because at 50-54/45-49 we bookended a field of open runners inbetween us.....some of whom didn't look like they'd hit pubity yet but given the seed times of the 55-59 and beyond field in heat #3 it would have been crule to have put either of us in that heat.
I got a good reaction to the gun this time and held my postion on the rail going into the first turn,a number of the younger guys went by me but at 50 that's to be expected at least I wasn't dead last down the back straight like I was three weeks prior to tonite.
I couldn't tell you my position at 200m or my exact split I saw 31 seconds on the clock which seemed fast but when I came through 400m in 62 seconds it indicated back to back 31 second splits,after Thursdays "brain fart" mile I told myself to run tonites 800m as aggressively and maybe I could get a semi decent time.

Lap three of an indoor 800m is always interesting/dangerous......tonite took that a tad to literal for my liking!
Going into the bottom turn the runner ahead of me clipped the runner infrot of him and  spun perilously close to me as he tried to regain his form.thankfully I was alert enough to the situation to avoid a wipeout but then going into the top turn as I overtook another runner to claim 5th the runner behind me caught the back of my spikes,touchwood I've never gone down in a track race in my  38 year career but tonite w/in the space of 100m I'd dodged 2 bullets.
1.38 at the bell in 5th I was aware Getulio was breathing down my neck and while I don't have that explosive final 200m kick just yet {but trust me I'm working on it!!!} I did all I could to hold him off untill coming up the home straight,glass half empty I'm disappointed to get overtaken in the final 100m.glass half full at least I made him work for it.

6th in 2.14.11. a two second improvent on my previous 800m effort and an overall much better race,providing I can keep taking two seconds off of my 800m times per race I should be "in the conversation" come Wake Forest and Outdoor Nationals in 20 weeks time.
I'm not sure when my next 800m race is,probably late May at Ichan in the "Twilight Series" which hopefully means beacoup repeats between now and then to ensure a faster time and not getting passed in the final 100m......a nite after one of my worst races ever I hope this is a turning point in my season......

The Manhattan Project Side One

Originally the plan was to run back to back races at The Armory to prep for Indoor Nationals and simulate the schedule in Boston,mile then 800m.....however I opted against  a trip to Beantown given the lack of form and loss of training this winter that said I still planned my mile/800m back to back races last Thursday and Friday for shits and giggles and a chance to get a few more races under my belt.....after the cock up that was my Thursday Nite @ The Races 800m on Feb 6th it was evident I needed them!!

Seeding myself at a generous 4.50 off my last indoor mile at Cornell {4.57.1} I wound up in heat 4 of 10 each heat was stacked w/ 20 runners per heat which while maybe too big 10 heats was enough to be getting on w/.
Given the #4 spot I had a decent run into the first turn,got a good reaction to the gun and got clear as we broke down the back straight,I was 4th or 5th as we came throught the opening lap in 35 seconds,I hadn't given much thought to splits pre race but 35/36 seconds per lap seemed right.
I heard 36 at 2 laps and again at 3 laps w/out ever looking up at the clock on the scoreboard by which time I'd worked my way to the front of the field,w/ hindsight I wish I'd gotten the bad start to the 800m  in this race because I had no business being up in front of the race.

I didn't check my 800m split but maybe should've checked my ego as I now suffered the humiliation of going backwards through the field,over the final 4 laps I went from 1st to 17th of 19 runners and clocked a woeful 5.02.4.............
Once again it was painfully pointed out to me that I don't have the strength and stamina over the second half of the mile right now,since Hartshorne no thanks to work and the weather my weekly mileage totals have been 40,30,10 and 8 which underlines that point only too well.
Glass half empty I brought on an arsekickin of public humiliation tonite w/ my gung ho attitude,glass half full rather than guess where I'm at at least now I know and now I can build from my weakness.