{No More}Smokin' In The Boys Room

Back at it after a days "injury" enforced rest,the good news is said "hammy" is feeling a lot better I didn't feel any problems w/ it during my easy 8 miler although as a precaution I did run w/ the ace bandage wrap on it but it was all plain sailing on a glorious 63 degree sunny day,the bigger test will be this afternoons 4x1 mile repeats at Roxborough.

I'll be the first to admit I've gotten away from the pre run stretch routine......I know I know bad runner!!! maybe this is the Running Gods way of tell me just because you don't see a Horse stretch b4 it goes off on a gallop or canter that I can do likewise,I was really good about the pre run stretch a few years ago b4 it somehow became obsolete{a bit like my social life of late!!} so maybe it's time to address both issues.

If things at work get testy this week it may have everything to do w/ the fact as of Monday the hospital has become a smoke free zone.
While I gladly quit smoking over 12 years ago and never looked back  I know several people who continue to indulge but as of Monday they can't do so on the hospital property which I 'm sure will become an issue for the addicted to nicotine crowd so look for some pissed off employes on campus.....I'm not saying you should take up running as an alternative but maybe in thye long run{no pun intended!}the hospital is trying to do you a favour,just saying??

A Little Knowledge Goes A Long Way

Running it has been said is very basic,put one foot in front of the other and repeat the process,as runners we tend to over complicate it rather than simplify it,getting from point A to point B as quick as humanly possible b4 the X's and O's begin to either bog us down or sometimes derail us.
Coming off of what was w/out doubt my best week of training where my repeats are concerned the last thing I needed were complications but one presented its self b4 I'd even left the house in the morning.

My right hamstring was a little tender,it might've been a result of the 300m/200m/300m repeats on Saturday but clearly it was not 100%
I guess working in a hospital I'm fortunate to have access to ice packs and ace bandages which helped during the day till I got home,then it was "cut bait or go sailing"?
Obviously there was a temptation to just say to hell w/ it and run but having just put in 4 consistant weeks of training I didn't want to find myself on the DL for a few days because ego took over so I remembered the advice I'd been given over the years that I'd tucked away in the knowledge bank.

Listen To What Your Body Is Telling You
Clearly the slightly hamstrung hamstring was letting me know I may have over extended myself on Saturday doing my best Usain Bolt and maybe sitting this one out was the bettter way to go.

Buy Yourself Another Day
Too often as runners we approach training w/ "tunnel vision" only concerned w/ todays training there's little or no point jepordizing tomorrow and the day/days after by being headstrong.

Less Is More
I've said it several times b4 but it bares repeating it's not in a runners DNA to subscribe to the "Less Is More" theory we just don't when sometimes we really should!!!

Act Your Age,Not Your Shoe Size
My former coach once told me,"the older you get the more susceptible you become to injury,and the longer it takes to heal so you just have to be smart about it"
Words to live by,hence my decision to take a rest day yesterday and give my hamstring the chance to heal a little along w/ the icing and wrap on it,by taking Monday as my rest day my next repreat session isn't scheduled till Wednesday now and at 4x1mile it's a lot less explosive than the 6x600m ot 8x300x200x300m repeats that may have caused the slight strain.....tomorrow as they say is another day!

PS
It's possible this is the most I've ever blogged about a non run!

PPS
As a counter point to my blog I also have to throwout the time honoured Linford Christie quote
"As an athlete you're always injured"!!!!

Circles & Rings,Dragons & Kings

Thankfully it's become redundant to say "it's another 5 day/40mpw" over the past 4 weeks it's become the rule and not the exception as it had over the winter,and while the past 2 weeks have yeilded me 2 repeats per week in that 5 day period which is clutch going forward,however this would be my 4th consecutive Sunday long run over 12 miles.
When I'm putting in 2 8 milers during the week it felt like a wank to make my Sunday long run a 10 miler hence the bump in milage to 12 miles 4 weeks ago and it's now become a staple in my weekly training.
Out the door by 1.45pm.....I know I said last week that w/ Spurs done w/ Sunday kick offs I should have more leaway w/ when my Sunday long runs begin but as die hard Formula One fan I couldn't pass up the Bahrain Grand Prix between 10.30am and 1.30pm....ergo the 1.45pm start

Unlike the grey overcast conditions of two weeks ago and the rain last week today was bright sunshine and 59 degrees a new wrinkle to deal w/ over 12 miles.
Something else I haven't had to deal w/ on my Sunday long runs is the Philly Phanatic at Markward Playground,which surfice to say drew a crowd for me to weave through,as much as I like the Phanatic this didn't feel like the time or place to announce my loyalty to the Boston Red Sox!!!
I mentioned last week there was no Regatta in the rain unlike the two previous Sundays,well guess what? there was one today although I have to say I knew ahead of time after hearing the traffic report on WXPN on Friday morning.

As usual a Regatta calls for weaving in and out of people and  rowing boats between Columbia Bridge and just beyond St Joe's boathouse but coupled w/ the warm weather there were more spectators this Sunday plus more walkers,runners,joggers,rollerbladers and cyclists to add to the bottleneck,I tried to keep the weaving about to a minimum.
Having gone 2.00,1.55,1.59 the last three weeks I was confident of a 2.00 time today but hd to settle for a 2.01 which in the general scheme of things is neither here nor there,I will say coming off the 8x300x200x300 repeats yesterday I felt a little shot from the knees down w/ 2 and 3/4 miles to go the downhill by the Art Museum and then the next downhill w/in a quarter mile as I passed Paine Park didn't see me "freewheel" down them like I normally do but I'm ok w/ that,the hard work had been done over the course of the week.

That said my post run plans were much, a shower and a quick trip to the laundromat 2 blocks from home and my day was done,now to enjoy dinner and the season 4 premier of "Game Of Thrones".....hence the Dragons and Kings reference in the title,not sure who they'll kill off this season but if it is Joffery PLEASE  make it a long slow painful death..........#littleprick

Forget 666 The New Number Of The Beast Is 300x200x300x8

Woe to you,oh earth and sea,for the devil sends the beast w/ wrath because he knows the time is short
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast for it is a human number ,it's number is six hundred and sixty six"
Number Of The Beast-Iron Maiden

I'n not sure when I came up w/ the 8x300x200x300m repeats,I know I didn't begin using them till Sept 8th 2012 b4 revisting them again last August,September and October of last year.
Like some deranged scientist in lab I felt like this could be the workout that could help me rule the world.....or at the very least be competitive on the track,which more or less the same thing right??
It is a beast of a workout period,it also takes two hours from mile warm up to mile cooldown but it's time well spent if it gets me on the podium at Nationals in Winston-Salem in just under 15 weeks time,the irony of the fact I conducted this repeat on a Saturday the same day as the 800m final was not lost on me!

It looked like I was going to be SOL when I first arrived at Temple's track as there appeared to be "something official" going on....I think it was ENT training....whatever it was it didn't force me to come up w/ an alternate plan which was just as well since at 1.05pm to begin treking across the city to either Roxborough,St Joes,Lower Merion or Haverford would be  a pain  not to mention time consuming,my other option was to head home,do my 12 long run and return to the track on Sunday to try again w/ the 300x200x300m......surfice to say I waited till the ENT crew got done!!!!

Mile warm up concluded it was  have at it time,having not done this repeat since October 19th I wasn't sure what to expect,I felt if I could keep it 55/35/55 I'd be doing ok........
49.3-33.3-52.4
52.1-33.7-51.2
52.7-34.7-52.5
51.5-34.2-53.4
52.8-34.4-52.8
53.3-34.5-52.9
53.7-34.6-53.9
53.2-33.5-54.2

My initial reaction when the 16th and final 300 crept to 54.2 was "son of a bitch!!!" it wasn't till after my mile cool down and a slow walk back to the Cecil B Moore subway stop when I could set and review my previous splits I discovered on my last 8x300x200x300m on Oct 19th some 24 weeks ago I'd logged 6x54 second splits plus one each at 55 and 56 seconds,plus on the 200s I'd logged 5x35 seconds a far cry from todays efforts.
Tempted as I am to make this my "go to" repeat I do think on weeks when I have races in May,June and July I do feel this is one workout that will stay in it's "weekly rotation" along w/ the 4x1 mile repeats if they;re on the rotation on a race week,as sadistic as it may seem I do enjoy the 8x300x200x300m repeats.....even if my calves,hamstrings and glutes may've said otherwise as I gingerly made my way along the City Hall subway platform to catch the #34 trolley home......

Getting My House And Priorities In Order

It's amazing the amount of "good feelings" one can generate from  a good workout,Tuesdays 6x600m repeats were my fastest since July 29th.....2012 so needless to say I was not only feeling good about my running by generally lovin' life and even feeling good about work.......I know it's scarey!!!!

W/ Nationals now 15 weeks away it's that time honoured scour the internet for airfair and hotels time,ever the Boy Scout{Dib,Dib,Dib!!!}I believe in "Being Prepared" and not leaving things to the last minute hence the need to begin looking up stuff on the net,I have 7 pay cheques between now and then which also factors into the equation,what concerts I can afford or not{just discovered the Queen & Adam Lambert show I had hoped to see in Philly on July 16th is the day I leave for Winston-Salem.......agh!!!}  what cds and dvds I can and can't afford etc.
Whilst doing a bunch of this online at work I missed one of my few and far opportunites for "face time"  w/ a woman at work who's peaked my interest recently......now those of you who know me probably know there's a "Do Not Resuscitate" label on my love life.......I think Reagan was still in office when I had my last romantic interlude{you think I'm joking......!}so the last thing I need right now as I'm trying to focus on my running not to mention balancing the budget to finance Nationals is another of my "Flights Of Fantasy" or "Cinderella Searches" as I call them that usually all end in tears....mine.
Having said all that I will say that just because I'm old and been left on the shelf doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be taken down and dusted every now and again"........moving on.......

8 mile recovery run to keep things ticking over for the week plus flush out any leftover lactic acid from the 600s on Tuesday,I was pleasently surprised that my calves weren't screaming blue murder today.....I doubt I'll be so lucky after Saturdays 8x300x200x300 repeats.....No Pain,No Gain right?
The last piece of my pre Nationals puzzle was solved yesterday,the 2 Twilight meets at Icahn Stadium in May I penciled in as my Outdoor openers have a schedule now.
I'll go 800m on The 15th and 1,500m on the 29th b4 reversing the process at the first two Tuesday Nite Speed Series races also at Icahn Stadium in June b4 going mile.800m in July pre Nationals.
One small "fly in the ointment" so to speak the deadline for entry for Nationals is June 19th which means my only chance to submit an 800m seed time is my season opener on May 15th......no pressure right??!!

No Foolin'

If it's Tuesday then it's repeats at Roxborough......no seriously that's not a joke cos trust me taking the subway from work in North Philly to Center City to catch a bus out to Roxborough to hit the track b4 then bussing back to 30th St and taking the trolley home to West Philly is a hike and a half.....that said if it's what I have to do to get a weekday repeat session in then so be it.

No falling snow this week,sunny and warm when I arrived at the track by 4.40pm,a smattering of people walking/jogging on the track as I did my mile warm up but off to my left a group of  CYO runners gathered w/ their coach each year I'm out here at this time of year I have to deal w/ them as they prepare for Penn Relays and they always  cause me a problem.......today would be no different!!!
Having gone the 4x1 mile/5x1,000m route last week this week the plan was 6x600m today followed by 8x300x200x300m Saturday b4 switching back to 4x1 mile/5x1,000m next week and so forth this way I can gauge my progress over the weeks at each repeat and make alterations if need be,my last set of 6x600s came way back on Jan 20th 10 weeks ago when I went:
1.14-37=1.51.1 1.18-38=1.56.2 1.19-40=1.59.0 1.28-40=1.58.5 1.23-42=2.05.3 1.22-41=2.03.5
anything better today would be a step in the right direction but other than that I hadn't given any thought to what I might run,come repeats end maybe I need to keep that mindset for my other upcoming repeats.....

#1 600m
1.13-37=1.50.5
As is my won't w/ repeats I went out hard on the opener{on Jan 15th I opened w/ 1.14-35=1.49.8}b4 "shiiting the bed" would I need a bedpan by the end of this repeat or could I keep my sheets???

#2 600m
1.13-37=1.50.5
Ok back to back 1.50s not too shabby but the 64 billion dollar question was how long could I keep this up?

#3 600m
1.14-38=1.52.2
The fact I'm now putting in consistant 40 mile training weeks and getting into a routine w/ repeats so sadly lacking during the winter is paying off,suddenly thoughts of keeping all six repeats at sub 1.55 was not a far fetched notion......

#4 600m
1.16-38=1.54.3
Ah that familiar feeling of lactic acid choking the life out of my leg muscles as I try my damnedest to keep myself on pace how I've missed you!!!

#5 600m
1.17-37=1.54.9
I knew at 400m I had to give it "some welly" over the closing 200m if I was to stay on pace for my 6xsub 1.55 and somehow I found the spirit to do so,no mailing it in today,no folding the tent and saying next time,c'mon one more!!!

#6 600m
???-??=1.54.5
B4 I launch into a tiraid about those little CYO bastards let me stay positive and say despite not seeing my 400m split and thus having to run the final 200m "blind" I managed a 6th sub 1.55 600m and that was really all that mattered.

Ok let me state "for the record" just because I'm  a three time National Champion and two time 5th Avenue Mile champion that I don't expect to "call dibs" on lane one any time I'm on a track doing repeats.....what I do expect however is a little track etiquette from others.
While I appreciate that the CYO Coach was working on hand offs w/ his group in the outer lanes those not involved chose to congregate in lane one despite several requests from him to "stay out of lane one" granted he dosen't have eyes in the back of his head but on the last three or four of my 600s I was constantly having to swing out wide into lane 2 and on #6 I whad to swing out into lane 3 to avoid them which is why I missed my 400m split.
I don't want to be "that guy" who plows into a bunch of kids standing on the track to "teach them a lesson" but I also want to be able to come to a track and get my repeats in w/out having to "mark my territory" chance are I've got to deal w/ them the next two Tuesdays prior to Penn Relays but over 4x1 mile repeats next week it's not all speed related like the 6x600m where each second counts.

I'm delighted w/ the overall outcome of this workout,I couln't have imagined going 6x sub 1.55 but I did...the trick now is to go faster in two weeks time when I revisit 6x600m

In Like A Lamb,Out Like A Lion....

I'm well aware the saying goes"In Like A Lion,Out Like A Lamb" in reference to March but you know me I like to dance to the beat of my own drum......especially when it's John Bonham,Cozy Powell,Nicko McBrain,Ian Paice or Neil Peart behind the drumkit!!!!!
However the facts show that while I began my March training on the backfoot due to the then continuing "Winter Of Our Discontent" I have finished strongly w/ three successive 40 mile weeks that made up 120 of the 152 miles I logged in March compared to the 118 miles I managed in January and paltry 76 miles I managed in Febuary......here's hoping to continue to move full steam ahead as went enter April.

Easy 8 miler to kick the week off,thankfully no rain ergo no raingear it was shades and shorts conditions at 59 degreess but w/ a decent wind whipping up off the Schuylkill which kept the sleeveless running shirts in their mail tote bin for now but all in good time!
A slightly later start than usual,most given weekdays I'm on the sidewalk by 4.20pmish to take care of my run but given the biblical preportion of rain this weekend{did anyone notice that this was the weekend the movie "Noah" opened????.....coinsidence?!!!}the only time I ventured out the door was to run so there was some "provisions" that needed to be bought on the way home.....I can't live on Power Bars and Gatorade alone and unless I wish to wake up to find my perfectly good Adidas Adizeros shreaded to fuck then Precious demands her Cat Nip flavoured treats......trust me "Don't Mess W/ The Cat"!!!

W/ 6x600m repeats on tap on Tuesday there was no need to go "hammer and tonges" on this run,having now hopefully gotten into a weekly routine of 5 days/40mpw I can hopefully start getting 2 repeats per week in during a non race week to sharpen my speed leaving the Monday/Wednesday 8 milers to the realm of easy/recovery runs.