So it's been a few weeks since my last post,fear not the Pale Kenyan has been diligently loggin' some miles...just not enough time to post them
So last time out I'd just gotten my feet wet w/ 10 milers and as of this weekend I'm back up to 13 milers,the two things I'll say in my non blogged runs are the evenings have gotten lighter later which means we're moving out of the arse end of Winter{hooray!!} and the Schuylkill footpath now extends south of the South St bridge
I think it was my Sat Feb 3rd 10 miler I discovered this fact.....sadly as is more often my won't I was running sans Garmin so I was unable to take advantage of this new found wrinkle in my training...however the following morning I made sure to take my Garmin w/me so I could recalibrate my routes.
Basically if I up and back from South St bridge to the Conrail bridge out and back it adds half a mile to my runs so now an 8 miler is upto the Art Museum, a 9 miler to Lloyd Hall and essentially taking half a mile off all my previously calibrated runs
Which brings us to this week.....
Mon Feb 12th
10 Miles W/ several 10 milers under my belt I felt it was time to bump up to 12s,the only fly in the ointment so to speak was this run came 12 hours after my first soccer game in 25 years......
Early on I was gung ho about making this a 12 miler but by the time I hit Kelly Drive at mile 4.5 bravado took a back seat to common sense
While delighted I had the chutzpah to want to run I felt it was prudent to channel my inner Dirty Harry......"a man's got to know his limitations" so 10 it was w/ the promise of "another day" to follow come Thursday
Thur Feb 15th
10 Miles Settled for 10 again but knew the weekend was ripe for a 12 miler,if not two
Biggest take away from this run times two A how warm it was,mid Feb and a balmy 54 degrees,any time in Feb I ditch the thermal hat and gloves and roll my sleeves up is a good day
Unlike several of the masses I saw out there during my 10 miles I didn't ditch my jacket or running tights, a couple of nice days in mid Feb does not a Spring make
B Beginning at 4.25pm I was delighted to still have the last vestige of daylight over the West Philly as I returned home around 5.55pm
It's only a matter of time b4 I return to runs that start and end in daylight.....even if and when I bump up my midweek runs to 12 miles
Sat Feb 17th
13 Miles SO this was meant to be a 12 miler till I went all "Billy Big Bollocks" on myself and ran a 13 miler.......
Out the door by 9.25am I was loving the sunshine and lack of killer wind as I reached South St bridge at mile 2,even at an early hour there were numerous fellow runners out there gettin' their miles in
Sans Garmin I figured I just had to make the turn at 1.5 along Kelly Dr which comes in just b4 the Columbia bridge,the only problem was I guess my mind was somewhere else as I was the other side of the bridge when it dawned on me"oh shit I should have turned back there".....
At this point several options were available to me but having felt last week I had the measure of 10s I thought why not push the envelope and see if 13 was doable...it was
Sun Feb 18th
13 Miles Seemed counter productive having gotten upto 13 miles albeit by accident yesterday to dip back to 12 so 7.30am I was out the door in ironically warmer temps than two hours later yesterday...
W/ trusty Garmin on my wrist I not only got an "eyeball" on where the 6 mile turnaround is for future reference I also was able to see what my splits were
7.22 7.18 8.07 7.52 7.56 7.54 7.56 7.55 7.58 7.55 7.58 7.55 7.54
Pretty fuckin' consistent,would love mile 3 back as my non sub 8 min mile,average pace 7.51 per mile for a 1.42.01 time
W/ five weeks to go till the Love Run Half Marathon I'm happy w/ where I'm at,were the race next Sunday I'm confident I could grind out a 1.40 off of 8 min miles.....since I have five weeks of training my hopes of a sub 1.30 time off of 7 min miles are realistic
Moving forward this week I'm hopeful of a 5 day training week,12s Tue,Wed,Thur and 13s on the weekend.../although w/ a 7am Spurs game and a 8.20pm Philly Spurs 7 a side kick off Sunday might be a stretch.....ah feck it 14 miles on Saturday for a 4 day/50mpw......
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Back Upto Double Digits
Another week in the books,three runs.....could and should've been four.......read on McDuff.....
Wed Jan 24th
8 Miles
I could've had 8s both Tuesday and Wednesday but for "Postman Pratt" on Monday.....
So I arrive home around 5.30pm,too late for a run but what I figured would happen,shock,horror probe mail delivered.....this was a shock since last week mail was arriving gone 6.30pm!!!!
Tuesday morning at 5am as I was leaving for work I find the time honoured "we tried to deliver" bullshit card through my door.......fuckin' seriously you had to have attempted delivery gone 5.30pm when I returned home and found mail sitting inside the door but god forbid you ring a fuckin' doorbell!!!!
The upshot of this ....and NOT for the first time is yours truly having to schlep to the "boonies" to collect my mail and getting home gone 5pm,I need a good 15 mins to change and stretch so Tuesday was shot,pity it was a mild evening
No such worries on Wednesday,home by 4.25pm changed,stretched and out the door by 4.45pm for an easy 8 miler
If last weekends 8s had seen me "huff and puff" a tad I had no such issues on Wednesday,more a result of running after I'd been upwardly mobile for the best part of 12 hours and not tackling a run of any distance not long after waking up
Back to back 8s would've been nice but I felt Wednesdays smooth outing meant I could bump back up to 10s next time out....
Fri Jan 26th
10 Miles
I figured Thursday was shot for a run thro work and wasn't disappointed by that guess....however I had scheduled Friday off and figured why not period but w/ the threat of rain in the forecast for Sunday it would be prudent to make the proverbial hay while the sun shone today
A rare Friday run to begin w/ muchless mid morning but I was happy to be out there period,sunny enough for shades but mild enough for gloves....ie typical January weather!!!
Only a month removed from my last 10 miler on Boxing Day the step up in mileage didn't phase me and while it was an unspectacular run it was at the very least solid,I'll settle for solid right now
Sat Jan 27th
10 Miles
Out the door just gone 9am as I had a 12.30pm Spurs kick off to factor in, more of the same from Friday solid if unspectacular and even though I went w/out the Garmin as is my won't I'd hazard a guess it was a 1.20/1.25 time so give or take 8 min mile pace
Could've gone w/ a lighter base layer under my training top but hedged my bets w/ the conditions,working up a good sweat in Jan never hurts....and hurts less than under dressing and freezing out there period muchless running along the river
So at three weeks in I'd say I'm 2/3rds of the way back,speed is lacking but will come,strength and stamina are both there
So I'm back to 10 milers and in double digits again,this bodes well moving forward,also three runs not two.....if work ever settles the fuck back down I could forsee a return to 4 runs a week sooner rather than later......of course "old man winter" will still have some say over the next 8 weeks but fingers crossed a pair of 10 milers during the week and the potential for back to back 10s next weekend would have me back upto 40mpw.......easy tiger.....someone will mistake you for a real runner......
Wed Jan 24th
8 Miles
I could've had 8s both Tuesday and Wednesday but for "Postman Pratt" on Monday.....
So I arrive home around 5.30pm,too late for a run but what I figured would happen,shock,horror probe mail delivered.....this was a shock since last week mail was arriving gone 6.30pm!!!!
Tuesday morning at 5am as I was leaving for work I find the time honoured "we tried to deliver" bullshit card through my door.......fuckin' seriously you had to have attempted delivery gone 5.30pm when I returned home and found mail sitting inside the door but god forbid you ring a fuckin' doorbell!!!!
The upshot of this ....and NOT for the first time is yours truly having to schlep to the "boonies" to collect my mail and getting home gone 5pm,I need a good 15 mins to change and stretch so Tuesday was shot,pity it was a mild evening
No such worries on Wednesday,home by 4.25pm changed,stretched and out the door by 4.45pm for an easy 8 miler
If last weekends 8s had seen me "huff and puff" a tad I had no such issues on Wednesday,more a result of running after I'd been upwardly mobile for the best part of 12 hours and not tackling a run of any distance not long after waking up
Back to back 8s would've been nice but I felt Wednesdays smooth outing meant I could bump back up to 10s next time out....
Fri Jan 26th
10 Miles
I figured Thursday was shot for a run thro work and wasn't disappointed by that guess....however I had scheduled Friday off and figured why not period but w/ the threat of rain in the forecast for Sunday it would be prudent to make the proverbial hay while the sun shone today
A rare Friday run to begin w/ muchless mid morning but I was happy to be out there period,sunny enough for shades but mild enough for gloves....ie typical January weather!!!
Only a month removed from my last 10 miler on Boxing Day the step up in mileage didn't phase me and while it was an unspectacular run it was at the very least solid,I'll settle for solid right now
Sat Jan 27th
10 Miles
Out the door just gone 9am as I had a 12.30pm Spurs kick off to factor in, more of the same from Friday solid if unspectacular and even though I went w/out the Garmin as is my won't I'd hazard a guess it was a 1.20/1.25 time so give or take 8 min mile pace
Could've gone w/ a lighter base layer under my training top but hedged my bets w/ the conditions,working up a good sweat in Jan never hurts....and hurts less than under dressing and freezing out there period muchless running along the river
So at three weeks in I'd say I'm 2/3rds of the way back,speed is lacking but will come,strength and stamina are both there
So I'm back to 10 milers and in double digits again,this bodes well moving forward,also three runs not two.....if work ever settles the fuck back down I could forsee a return to 4 runs a week sooner rather than later......of course "old man winter" will still have some say over the next 8 weeks but fingers crossed a pair of 10 milers during the week and the potential for back to back 10s next weekend would have me back upto 40mpw.......easy tiger.....someone will mistake you for a real runner......
Sunday, January 21, 2018
{Re}Building The {Im}Perfect Beast
So it feels like a while since I last blogged,quick recap going into the final week of the year I needed 5 x10 milers to round out a 1,000m season,notched back to back 10s Christmas Day & Boxing Day and promptly didn't run for two whole weeks due to temps never getting above freezing!!!!
How cold was it? last Tuesday when I logged my first run in two weeks as I crossed the South St bridge that links to the Schuylkill foot path and eventually the Schuylkill trail I saw first hand that said Schuylkill River was frozen solid........yeah it was that cold for two weeks!!!!
My other takeaway from my first evening run in a while was at 5.08pm it was still daylight a small victory but none the less a valid one post Marathon training in late November by 4.50pm it was dusk so we're getting there little by little
The following evening I notched a second 6 miler,given my two weeks of in activity I felt it was prudent to ease my way back into things,6 miles felt comfortable and had I've gotten out again on Thursday I would have nudged it upto 8 miles w/ a view to making the weekend 10 milers.....cue "old man winter" sending another arctic blast that stuck a fork in that notion!
I did however hit the trifecta on Wednesday of an idiot runner,an idiot pedestrian and a idiot driver over my six mile jaunt so I guess things were returning to normal afterall......
While the weather improved this past week my workload was brutal,I finished the week 58 mins shy of a 50 hour week,glass half empty too late to go out and run each evening when I did finally get home,glass half full w/a couple of races coming up in March & April paying for them just got a lot easier!!!
Cue the weekend,not since Dec 23rd/24th have I been able to get out the door to run but yesterday lunchtime I was able to log an easy 8 miler and enjoy some quote/unquote warm weather training which I must say felt nice
Despite a 11am kick off today for a Spurs game I was up by 7am stretched,and out the door by 8am for a second 8 miler in reasonable conditions for January period muchless 8am
I'm 9 weeks out from the season opener a half marathon on March 25th at the Love Run so it's important to continue to up my mileage,fingers crossed this will be a less brutal work week and a few more midweek 8 milers would set me up for back to back 10s next weekend,anytime I get into single digits for training I know it's serious but b4 I can tackle a half marathon I need to get my baseline miles back to 10 milers b4 slowly tweaking it upto 12s and 14s
How cold was it? last Tuesday when I logged my first run in two weeks as I crossed the South St bridge that links to the Schuylkill foot path and eventually the Schuylkill trail I saw first hand that said Schuylkill River was frozen solid........yeah it was that cold for two weeks!!!!
My other takeaway from my first evening run in a while was at 5.08pm it was still daylight a small victory but none the less a valid one post Marathon training in late November by 4.50pm it was dusk so we're getting there little by little
The following evening I notched a second 6 miler,given my two weeks of in activity I felt it was prudent to ease my way back into things,6 miles felt comfortable and had I've gotten out again on Thursday I would have nudged it upto 8 miles w/ a view to making the weekend 10 milers.....cue "old man winter" sending another arctic blast that stuck a fork in that notion!
I did however hit the trifecta on Wednesday of an idiot runner,an idiot pedestrian and a idiot driver over my six mile jaunt so I guess things were returning to normal afterall......
While the weather improved this past week my workload was brutal,I finished the week 58 mins shy of a 50 hour week,glass half empty too late to go out and run each evening when I did finally get home,glass half full w/a couple of races coming up in March & April paying for them just got a lot easier!!!
Cue the weekend,not since Dec 23rd/24th have I been able to get out the door to run but yesterday lunchtime I was able to log an easy 8 miler and enjoy some quote/unquote warm weather training which I must say felt nice
Despite a 11am kick off today for a Spurs game I was up by 7am stretched,and out the door by 8am for a second 8 miler in reasonable conditions for January period muchless 8am
I'm 9 weeks out from the season opener a half marathon on March 25th at the Love Run so it's important to continue to up my mileage,fingers crossed this will be a less brutal work week and a few more midweek 8 milers would set me up for back to back 10s next weekend,anytime I get into single digits for training I know it's serious but b4 I can tackle a half marathon I need to get my baseline miles back to 10 milers b4 slowly tweaking it upto 12s and 14s
Sunday, December 24, 2017
All I Want For Christmas Is For The Universe To Stop Fuckin' W/ Me*
* Actually there are a few things I'd prefer but this would be a start........
Mea Culpa time first,sorry for the lack of blogging of late......this stems from a lack of actual running!!!
Did notch a 10 miler on Tue Dec 5th....blink and you'd have missed it
Throw in two midweek Spurs games,some late afternoons at work,a bit of fatigue,brass monkeys cold{snow three times in seven days between Dec 9th & 15th} and a need for new running shoes and there you have two weeks off the books
Tue Dec 19th
10 Miles: I had hoped to get things back on schedule on Monday...and would have IF Postman Pratt had done his job properly on Saturday and rang my doorbell while I was home,instead he shoves the old "we tried to deliver" card thro the mailbox and forced me over to the local Sorting Office to collect a book and dvd I'd ordered from Amazon Monday after work,it was gone 5pm when I got home so I stuck the proverbial fork in it....what's one more day yeah?
Tuesday saw me break in the new running shoes after logging 350 miles on the last pair,it was also the maiden run w/ my new Nike long sleeve Yellow Spurs training shirt,warm enough to use as an outer layer to be visible in dead of Winter and thin enough to use as a base layer when it'll freeze the bollocks off a brass Monkey during said winter
Felt good to be out running again.
Wed Dec 20th
10 Miles: Swooped bandana for thermal hat and gloves today,maybe not that cold but way milder than yesterday{case in point Tue I ran w/ my sleeves rolled up,today sleeves down,gloves on!!} and w/ miles 3 through 8 along the Schuylkill River I wasn't about to play "fast and loose" w/ conditions period,muchless w/ my pisspoor blood circulation.
Highlight of the run just after mile 6 I was cognizant of footsteps behind me and then heavy breathing on my left hand side.......really.....you wanna do this dance??? my conditioning level maybe in pre season level but my you want it,you're gonna earn it level is right up there in mid season form as I pushed the pace a little and dropped my would be overtaker,as Patti Dillon famously said"make em spit blood if they want to pass you".....
Thur Dec 21st
10 Miles: It's been a while since I've logged back to back to back runs period,muchless in midweek but if I needed to prove/underline my desire to get things back on schedule hopefully this went a ways to doing so.
Highlight of the run,observing the crescent moon over W.Philly on the other side of the Schuylkill River as I made my way to the five mile make along Kelly Drive,while a fully paid up member of the "Loneliness Of The Long Distant Runner" society it was kind of reassuring to think someone was watching over me in the pitch black dark of the early evening
Sunday Dec 24th
10 Miles: So in yet another classic example of work screwing my running schedule w/ their uncanny ability to and I quote fuck up a Teddy Bears Picnic Saturdays proposed Tempo run and Sundays Track intervals got obliterated thanks to an 11 hour work day Friday......by the time I got home just gone 6pm I wasn't heading back out to go grocery shopping now....so that took precedence Saturday morning thus putting the kybosh on the Tempo run....
Sunday my choices were: 8 Mile Tempo Run,5x1000m repeats,10 miler or saying BOLLOCKS.......I opted for the 10 miler!
A rare Sunday run,I think the last was my Tempo Run on Dec 3rd,it was nice to run in the daylight again even if it was a tad brisk at 8.40am.
If Accu Weather are to be believed{I don't believe in Santa,Cupid or the Easter Bunny so why the fuck would I believe in the Weather peeps!!}from Wednesday onwards it won't get above freezing so today,tomorrow,and Tuesday are going to be positively "balmy" compared to what's in the forecast...
A 4 day/40mpw....not too shabby it puts me at 950 miles for the year....SO the hope for the final week of the year is a minimum of 5 days at 10 miles or 4 days at 10 miles and a Tempo Run/Track Intervals on the weekend for 54 mpw either or gives me 1000/1004 miles for the year.....in a year of small victories what's one more?
Mea Culpa time first,sorry for the lack of blogging of late......this stems from a lack of actual running!!!
Did notch a 10 miler on Tue Dec 5th....blink and you'd have missed it
Throw in two midweek Spurs games,some late afternoons at work,a bit of fatigue,brass monkeys cold{snow three times in seven days between Dec 9th & 15th} and a need for new running shoes and there you have two weeks off the books
Tue Dec 19th
10 Miles: I had hoped to get things back on schedule on Monday...and would have IF Postman Pratt had done his job properly on Saturday and rang my doorbell while I was home,instead he shoves the old "we tried to deliver" card thro the mailbox and forced me over to the local Sorting Office to collect a book and dvd I'd ordered from Amazon Monday after work,it was gone 5pm when I got home so I stuck the proverbial fork in it....what's one more day yeah?
Tuesday saw me break in the new running shoes after logging 350 miles on the last pair,it was also the maiden run w/ my new Nike long sleeve Yellow Spurs training shirt,warm enough to use as an outer layer to be visible in dead of Winter and thin enough to use as a base layer when it'll freeze the bollocks off a brass Monkey during said winter
Felt good to be out running again.
Wed Dec 20th
10 Miles: Swooped bandana for thermal hat and gloves today,maybe not that cold but way milder than yesterday{case in point Tue I ran w/ my sleeves rolled up,today sleeves down,gloves on!!} and w/ miles 3 through 8 along the Schuylkill River I wasn't about to play "fast and loose" w/ conditions period,muchless w/ my pisspoor blood circulation.
Highlight of the run just after mile 6 I was cognizant of footsteps behind me and then heavy breathing on my left hand side.......really.....you wanna do this dance??? my conditioning level maybe in pre season level but my you want it,you're gonna earn it level is right up there in mid season form as I pushed the pace a little and dropped my would be overtaker,as Patti Dillon famously said"make em spit blood if they want to pass you".....
Thur Dec 21st
10 Miles: It's been a while since I've logged back to back to back runs period,muchless in midweek but if I needed to prove/underline my desire to get things back on schedule hopefully this went a ways to doing so.
Highlight of the run,observing the crescent moon over W.Philly on the other side of the Schuylkill River as I made my way to the five mile make along Kelly Drive,while a fully paid up member of the "Loneliness Of The Long Distant Runner" society it was kind of reassuring to think someone was watching over me in the pitch black dark of the early evening
Sunday Dec 24th
10 Miles: So in yet another classic example of work screwing my running schedule w/ their uncanny ability to and I quote fuck up a Teddy Bears Picnic Saturdays proposed Tempo run and Sundays Track intervals got obliterated thanks to an 11 hour work day Friday......by the time I got home just gone 6pm I wasn't heading back out to go grocery shopping now....so that took precedence Saturday morning thus putting the kybosh on the Tempo run....
Sunday my choices were: 8 Mile Tempo Run,5x1000m repeats,10 miler or saying BOLLOCKS.......I opted for the 10 miler!
A rare Sunday run,I think the last was my Tempo Run on Dec 3rd,it was nice to run in the daylight again even if it was a tad brisk at 8.40am.
If Accu Weather are to be believed{I don't believe in Santa,Cupid or the Easter Bunny so why the fuck would I believe in the Weather peeps!!}from Wednesday onwards it won't get above freezing so today,tomorrow,and Tuesday are going to be positively "balmy" compared to what's in the forecast...
A 4 day/40mpw....not too shabby it puts me at 950 miles for the year....SO the hope for the final week of the year is a minimum of 5 days at 10 miles or 4 days at 10 miles and a Tempo Run/Track Intervals on the weekend for 54 mpw either or gives me 1000/1004 miles for the year.....in a year of small victories what's one more?
Sunday, December 3, 2017
As You Were/Pretending To See The Future
I've never been one to sit on my laurels when things have gone to script so when things turn to shite aka the Philly Marathon the mindset is just the same,get out there and get after it.......
Monday 10 Miles
My legs may have recovered from the pounding the marathon put on them but judging from the edge this first post "we can't organize a piss up in a Brewery or a bunk up in a Brothel" run exhibited there was, and still will be some residual anger towards the event,but as John Lydon sang in "Rise" anger is an energy and boy was I energetic......
It felt good to be out there running again anger or not and while I didn't bother to wear my Garmin since I know where the five mile mark is nor did I need to time the run I figured on 10 min mile pace for a comfortable 1.30.....I left at 4.50pm and got back by 6.20pm....more like 8 min mile pace for 1.20.......no wonder my calves were screaming a tad......
Thursday 10 Miles
Wednesdays proposed run got 86ed at the last minute but I wasn't allowing myself to slide into bad habits and made sure to get out and get after it on Thursday.
Given it's more or less dusk by 5pm now I once again opted for one of my several Yellow Spurs shirts over a long sleeve running shirt given it was mild enough not to require a jacket.....to that end as we enter December and Winter I bought a long sleeve Yellow Spurs training shirt recently,I refuse to not run because it's dark....nor do I want to hear the "I didn't see you" excuse that's almost contractually obligated during Dec,Jan,Feb
Saturday 10 Miles
Spurs kick off at 10am.......no worries,up at 6am and out the door by 7am to "handle my business" b4 8.20am
W/ a 7am start I did go w/ my thermal hat and gloves which felt prudent,the trade off for brisk am running is daylight so old fateful my Blue Spurs training jacket got an airing.
Felt good to run in daylight again,something that will be in short supply the next few months unless it's the weekend or day off from week during the week
Sunday 8 Mile Tempo Run
B4 I lost out on a track season for 2018 I had opted to reintroduce the 8 mile tempo run into my weekly rotation,the logistics are a bit of a ball buster for a 54 min run it took two and a half hours from when I left home 8am till my return 10.30am but that has as much to do w/ Sunday service on mass transit and NOT a reason to not have it in the rotation.
My baseline was 7 min mile pace over 8 miles for a target time of 56 mins,my splits were:6.12 6.46 6.36 6.49 7.09 7.06 7.06 6.59 for 54.43.4 off 6.50 mile pace
If I thought not starting till 8.45am would not require gloves I erred and after mile 1 balled my fists up and pulled my jacket sleeves down to cover them but by mile three they were ok and by mile 4 I was able to roll my sleeves up a tad.
So fingers crossed on Friday when I scheduled a day off from work I can get over to the Art Museum Loop and have at it again between Lloyd Hall counter clockwise up Kelly Dr,down W.River Dr and finish at the foot of the steps of the Art Museum and beat 54.43
W/ the dust now settled on the marathon debacle I've been able to tentatively rewrite my 2018 season,heavy on half marathons the tentative schedule looks like this:
Jan 21st Fred Lebow Half*
Mar 18th United Airlines Half
Mar 25th Love Run Half
May 5th Indianapolis Mini Marathon Half
May 20th Airbnb Brooklyn Half
June 3rd Oddessey Half Marathon
July 29th San Francisco Marathon
Sept 16th Philly Rock & Roll Half Marathon
Oct 8th Portland Marathon or Half
Nov 10th Rocky Run 5k & 10M....equals a half marathon
The Fred Lebow half is tentative because mid January who the fuck knows what the weather is doing,to that end I could run indoors at The Armory on Jan 11th over 3,000m and or Jan 25th over 5,000m,however I would need to see a dramatic improvement in my pace on the tempo runs and also reintroduce weekly interval workouts which I have penciled in for Dec 16th and 23rd.
As much as I wanted to consider the LA Marathon on Mar 18th finances or a lack thereof have ruled that out,since I didn't think I'd be worrying about another marathon after Nov 19th I didn't make any fiscal plans and now that I have opted to tackle another marathon that requires entry fees,airfare,accommodation and w/ a family trip to "the auld country" Ireland NOT Kenya...in mid July I can't swing LA hence why San Fran is on the schedule,w/ Portland as my fall back
The Portland half is linked by the MLS Schedule,IF the Portland Timbers have a home game the weekend of October 7th/8th I can kill two birds w/ one stone IF I can't swing San Fran from a $
standpoint then it's the Portland marathon irregardless of a home game or not
This is ALL subject to change but for now it's the blue print I'm working from
Monday 10 Miles
My legs may have recovered from the pounding the marathon put on them but judging from the edge this first post "we can't organize a piss up in a Brewery or a bunk up in a Brothel" run exhibited there was, and still will be some residual anger towards the event,but as John Lydon sang in "Rise" anger is an energy and boy was I energetic......
It felt good to be out there running again anger or not and while I didn't bother to wear my Garmin since I know where the five mile mark is nor did I need to time the run I figured on 10 min mile pace for a comfortable 1.30.....I left at 4.50pm and got back by 6.20pm....more like 8 min mile pace for 1.20.......no wonder my calves were screaming a tad......
Thursday 10 Miles
Wednesdays proposed run got 86ed at the last minute but I wasn't allowing myself to slide into bad habits and made sure to get out and get after it on Thursday.
Given it's more or less dusk by 5pm now I once again opted for one of my several Yellow Spurs shirts over a long sleeve running shirt given it was mild enough not to require a jacket.....to that end as we enter December and Winter I bought a long sleeve Yellow Spurs training shirt recently,I refuse to not run because it's dark....nor do I want to hear the "I didn't see you" excuse that's almost contractually obligated during Dec,Jan,Feb
Saturday 10 Miles
Spurs kick off at 10am.......no worries,up at 6am and out the door by 7am to "handle my business" b4 8.20am
W/ a 7am start I did go w/ my thermal hat and gloves which felt prudent,the trade off for brisk am running is daylight so old fateful my Blue Spurs training jacket got an airing.
Felt good to run in daylight again,something that will be in short supply the next few months unless it's the weekend or day off from week during the week
Sunday 8 Mile Tempo Run
B4 I lost out on a track season for 2018 I had opted to reintroduce the 8 mile tempo run into my weekly rotation,the logistics are a bit of a ball buster for a 54 min run it took two and a half hours from when I left home 8am till my return 10.30am but that has as much to do w/ Sunday service on mass transit and NOT a reason to not have it in the rotation.
My baseline was 7 min mile pace over 8 miles for a target time of 56 mins,my splits were:6.12 6.46 6.36 6.49 7.09 7.06 7.06 6.59 for 54.43.4 off 6.50 mile pace
If I thought not starting till 8.45am would not require gloves I erred and after mile 1 balled my fists up and pulled my jacket sleeves down to cover them but by mile three they were ok and by mile 4 I was able to roll my sleeves up a tad.
So fingers crossed on Friday when I scheduled a day off from work I can get over to the Art Museum Loop and have at it again between Lloyd Hall counter clockwise up Kelly Dr,down W.River Dr and finish at the foot of the steps of the Art Museum and beat 54.43
W/ the dust now settled on the marathon debacle I've been able to tentatively rewrite my 2018 season,heavy on half marathons the tentative schedule looks like this:
Jan 21st Fred Lebow Half*
Mar 18th United Airlines Half
Mar 25th Love Run Half
May 5th Indianapolis Mini Marathon Half
May 20th Airbnb Brooklyn Half
June 3rd Oddessey Half Marathon
July 29th San Francisco Marathon
Sept 16th Philly Rock & Roll Half Marathon
Oct 8th Portland Marathon or Half
Nov 10th Rocky Run 5k & 10M....equals a half marathon
The Fred Lebow half is tentative because mid January who the fuck knows what the weather is doing,to that end I could run indoors at The Armory on Jan 11th over 3,000m and or Jan 25th over 5,000m,however I would need to see a dramatic improvement in my pace on the tempo runs and also reintroduce weekly interval workouts which I have penciled in for Dec 16th and 23rd.
As much as I wanted to consider the LA Marathon on Mar 18th finances or a lack thereof have ruled that out,since I didn't think I'd be worrying about another marathon after Nov 19th I didn't make any fiscal plans and now that I have opted to tackle another marathon that requires entry fees,airfare,accommodation and w/ a family trip to "the auld country" Ireland NOT Kenya...in mid July I can't swing LA hence why San Fran is on the schedule,w/ Portland as my fall back
The Portland half is linked by the MLS Schedule,IF the Portland Timbers have a home game the weekend of October 7th/8th I can kill two birds w/ one stone IF I can't swing San Fran from a $
standpoint then it's the Portland marathon irregardless of a home game or not
This is ALL subject to change but for now it's the blue print I'm working from
Sunday, November 26, 2017
Thanks For Nothing Philly.......
I have said more than once on Kevinrunningfree that it's never easy to sit and blog when things have gone pear shaped.....last Sunday is NOT the exception to that rule and while my lack of blogging the cock up that was the 2017 Philly Marathon had more to do w/ a lack of sufficient time to do the debacle justice it must be said that a whole week later I still harbour resentments and anger towards who ever was responsible for cock ups of biblical proportion that ruined my race b4 it began and thus took my three and a half months of hard work and sacrifice and basically pissed them up against the wall......thanks for nothing arseholes!!!!
I 100% accept that we live in a time when terrorism and or the treat of a lone wolf attack on a major event is a concern so while the security check of all runners entering the runners area was maybe required I do ask where was this at Broad St when 40,000 runners gathered to run? where was this in September for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon? or even last weeks Rocky Run both of which used Eakins Oval a la the marathon?
If memory serves me correctly in my last Philly Marathon bag check was in a tent on Eakins Oval.....but this year any and all tent space seemed to be utilized for either commercial or merchandise purposes,hooray for the all mighty dollar but fuck you to the runners who like myself had devoted weeks/months of training and sacrifice to this day.
While the UPS trucks have worked for gear check for several years they dropped the ball BIG TIME last Sunday,the lines were ungodly as time was ticking down to the 7am start and then to add considerable insult to injury as I got w/in five feet of the truck I'd spent 20 mins in line for they pulled the shutter door down and told us they were full and we'd have to join another line.............are you fuckin' kiddin me???????
If you've ever watched the news when there's a natural disaster and a relief truck shows up to offer food,water,blankets,medical supplies to the needy Sunday was a reversal of that,instead of hands outstretched to claim bags you had hundreds of runners w/ out stretched hands trying to hand bags to the UPS trucks............it was so bad I saw runners towards the end of the marathon running w/ their gear bags on their backs.....like 26.2 isn't difficult enough!!!!!!!!
By now the National Anthem had been sung,the Wheelchair athletes had started and the corrals were being sent off in 5 minute intervals,I forget what I used for my seed time as I entered in May post Broad St but when I picked up my race bib on Saturday I was given a Maroon corral place.....just behind the elite athletes......problem was having finally gotten my gear onto a UPS gear truck I was stuck at the very rear of the field.......how far back was I?????? I was behind the pace runners for the five hour runners............
Someone had the bright idea to "pen in the runners" w/ railing fences either side of the Ben Franklin Parkway,there was zero guarantee I could work my way on the outside of the pen to find a gap to squeeze in ahead of the rear of the field and given the overnight rain had only just stopped between 6 and 6.30am it would be my dumb luck to slip/trip climbing the railings so reluctantly I stayed put w/ the five hour runners preferring to try and stay positive and not use up energy ranting and raving about the cock up unfolding b4 me,eventually at 7.25am some 25 mins after I should've begun I got to start.
Prior to Sunday I had ran 14 marathons..........NEVER between Harrow in 1985 and Athens in 2005 had I encountered a situation where the mile markers were only posted on ONE SIDE of the road.......evidently said mile markers at miles one,two and three, miles were ALL posted on the left hand side of Arch St and Delaware Ave..........I had elected to run on the right side of the street and thus didn't see a mile marker till mile FOUR on Front St......ALSO on the left hand side of the street,I had swung left left to avoid the water station otherwise I would have missed that one also..........
Had I seen the mile marker at mile one I would've seen my split was 6.04 and eased the fuck off the gas,the plan was 7 minute mile pace but by the time I hit mile 4 in 25.36 the damage was done
I heard runners complain about a lack of clocks out on the course and while most runners prefer to use their own timing frankly a running clock from the gun going off at 7am and then 7.25am when we started would've been pointless
8 of my first 10 miles ended up at sub 7 mile pace so it is NO SURPRISE at mile 21 I just ran out of gas,my final five miles were a painful combination of walk,run,walk as my splits ballooned to 11.26-10.29-11.53-12.21-12.00 hence my 8.04 mile pace and 3.34.07 finish.............
Had I thrown caution to the wind and said "fuck it I'm going balls out to break three hours" and up my record to 9&6{nine sub three hour marathons,six plus three hours} and blown up at mile 21 fair enough but thanks to a catalog of cock ups by the Philadelphia Marathon I got well and truly STUFFED four days b4 Thanksgiving............
The blueprint coming into Philly was to notch a marathon in my 50s to go w/ the 14 I'd ran in my 20's 30's and 40's that way IF in my 60's there was a desire to try one I wouldn't have a missing decade,I had also planned to return to track in 2018 post marathon.......that has now been shot to shit,I cannot,nor will not allow this shit show to be my last marathon until Nov 2023 when I turn 60 so I'm looking into options for 2018.....I can tell you next November's Philadelphia Marathon will NOT be an option,this was my 4th and final Philadelphia Marathon after the shit show they produced.
I need a little time to lick my wounds" before regrouping and beginning to train again not to mention save the required airfare,entry fee,accommodation/travel expenses that coming w/ an "out of town" marathon but the Philadelphia Marathon can go fuck it's self..............
I 100% accept that we live in a time when terrorism and or the treat of a lone wolf attack on a major event is a concern so while the security check of all runners entering the runners area was maybe required I do ask where was this at Broad St when 40,000 runners gathered to run? where was this in September for the Rock & Roll Half Marathon? or even last weeks Rocky Run both of which used Eakins Oval a la the marathon?
If memory serves me correctly in my last Philly Marathon bag check was in a tent on Eakins Oval.....but this year any and all tent space seemed to be utilized for either commercial or merchandise purposes,hooray for the all mighty dollar but fuck you to the runners who like myself had devoted weeks/months of training and sacrifice to this day.
While the UPS trucks have worked for gear check for several years they dropped the ball BIG TIME last Sunday,the lines were ungodly as time was ticking down to the 7am start and then to add considerable insult to injury as I got w/in five feet of the truck I'd spent 20 mins in line for they pulled the shutter door down and told us they were full and we'd have to join another line.............are you fuckin' kiddin me???????
If you've ever watched the news when there's a natural disaster and a relief truck shows up to offer food,water,blankets,medical supplies to the needy Sunday was a reversal of that,instead of hands outstretched to claim bags you had hundreds of runners w/ out stretched hands trying to hand bags to the UPS trucks............it was so bad I saw runners towards the end of the marathon running w/ their gear bags on their backs.....like 26.2 isn't difficult enough!!!!!!!!
By now the National Anthem had been sung,the Wheelchair athletes had started and the corrals were being sent off in 5 minute intervals,I forget what I used for my seed time as I entered in May post Broad St but when I picked up my race bib on Saturday I was given a Maroon corral place.....just behind the elite athletes......problem was having finally gotten my gear onto a UPS gear truck I was stuck at the very rear of the field.......how far back was I?????? I was behind the pace runners for the five hour runners............
Someone had the bright idea to "pen in the runners" w/ railing fences either side of the Ben Franklin Parkway,there was zero guarantee I could work my way on the outside of the pen to find a gap to squeeze in ahead of the rear of the field and given the overnight rain had only just stopped between 6 and 6.30am it would be my dumb luck to slip/trip climbing the railings so reluctantly I stayed put w/ the five hour runners preferring to try and stay positive and not use up energy ranting and raving about the cock up unfolding b4 me,eventually at 7.25am some 25 mins after I should've begun I got to start.
Prior to Sunday I had ran 14 marathons..........NEVER between Harrow in 1985 and Athens in 2005 had I encountered a situation where the mile markers were only posted on ONE SIDE of the road.......evidently said mile markers at miles one,two and three, miles were ALL posted on the left hand side of Arch St and Delaware Ave..........I had elected to run on the right side of the street and thus didn't see a mile marker till mile FOUR on Front St......ALSO on the left hand side of the street,I had swung left left to avoid the water station otherwise I would have missed that one also..........
Had I seen the mile marker at mile one I would've seen my split was 6.04 and eased the fuck off the gas,the plan was 7 minute mile pace but by the time I hit mile 4 in 25.36 the damage was done
I heard runners complain about a lack of clocks out on the course and while most runners prefer to use their own timing frankly a running clock from the gun going off at 7am and then 7.25am when we started would've been pointless
8 of my first 10 miles ended up at sub 7 mile pace so it is NO SURPRISE at mile 21 I just ran out of gas,my final five miles were a painful combination of walk,run,walk as my splits ballooned to 11.26-10.29-11.53-12.21-12.00 hence my 8.04 mile pace and 3.34.07 finish.............
Had I thrown caution to the wind and said "fuck it I'm going balls out to break three hours" and up my record to 9&6{nine sub three hour marathons,six plus three hours} and blown up at mile 21 fair enough but thanks to a catalog of cock ups by the Philadelphia Marathon I got well and truly STUFFED four days b4 Thanksgiving............
The blueprint coming into Philly was to notch a marathon in my 50s to go w/ the 14 I'd ran in my 20's 30's and 40's that way IF in my 60's there was a desire to try one I wouldn't have a missing decade,I had also planned to return to track in 2018 post marathon.......that has now been shot to shit,I cannot,nor will not allow this shit show to be my last marathon until Nov 2023 when I turn 60 so I'm looking into options for 2018.....I can tell you next November's Philadelphia Marathon will NOT be an option,this was my 4th and final Philadelphia Marathon after the shit show they produced.
I need a little time to lick my wounds" before regrouping and beginning to train again not to mention save the required airfare,entry fee,accommodation/travel expenses that coming w/ an "out of town" marathon but the Philadelphia Marathon can go fuck it's self..............
Monday, November 20, 2017
Evidently My Unfinished Business Is Unfinished........
I had planned to come to the table this lunchtime and blog yesterdays marathon.......this will have to keep for a day or two,having slept on the issue last nite I can say I DO plan another crack at 26.2 potentially Los Angeles in March if some logistics can be worked out.
Things did not go my way yesterday morning and for that I hold UPS and the organisers of the marathon to blame,I will get into this in detail when time permits but for now know The Pale Kenyan is NOT done w/ the marathon just yet......
to be continued.......
Things did not go my way yesterday morning and for that I hold UPS and the organisers of the marathon to blame,I will get into this in detail when time permits but for now know The Pale Kenyan is NOT done w/ the marathon just yet......
to be continued.......
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