Happy Halloween all,it should come as no great surprize I celebrate Halloween,it is afterall the one true Pagan holiday on the callender!!1
My easy 5 miler was an interesting one against a backdrop of young trick or treaters and revellers returning from the Phillies victory parade,who dosen,t love a parade? 2 million Philadelphians by the sounds of it,and while I,m pleased for the city I have to say todays festivities caused me a fair share of aggro,another"ahem sickness"call out on my staff and then a war of attrition to get home,a 50 min commute took me an hour and 50 mins,a 20 min trolley ride from City Hall took an hour,I couldn,t even get on the first two #34,s as it was I had to squeeze my way onto a #36 in order to get home when I did.
I realize I must come off like The Grinch or Oscar the Grouch but the fact is 2 million people showed up for a parade today,how meny people cut/ditched school,called out from gameful employment to do so?and most of these "front runners"seldom bat an eyelid for the Phillies,think I,m being harsh?the numbers don,t lie,2 million at the parade,but what,s the average attendence at a regular Phillies game?
Sermon over I,m off to The Troc to"get my goth on"Sisters Of Mercy are playing,seeing The Sisters is always a treat but on Halloween to boot??!!,there was a time when the whole head to toe in black,sullen and morose was my regular mo,these days I prefer colour and sunshine and smiles in my day to day exsistance,that said one nite of woe is me,dark and brooding shoe gazzing won,t kill me.....afterall next to candy isn,t Halloween all about dressing up as someone else for the nite???
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Taking The {Top}Cat Out Of Catastrophe
Other titles up for consideration tonite included"arsene arsene,What,s The Score?","Mama Told Me There,d Be Days Like These"I also thought about"A Mexican Funeral In Paris"the first two make sence,the third is a title of a Shane Macgowen song I haven,t been able to get out of my head all week....the title,not the song....
A wise man once told me"you can do anything you want in life.....you just have to be prepared to pay the price that goes w/ it",I guess sometimes you have to pay the price for other people,w/out mentioning names somebody decided they would be"ahem,sick"Tuesday believing the Phillies would clinch the World Series Monday,the parade would be Wednesday and they,d be back to work today.....as we all know the weather pushed the schedule back so now I,m doing the work of two people to accommodate this individuals"ahem sickness" and frankly my butt was dragging come 2.30pm,the prospect of a repeat workout seemed less than thrilling.......
However,running into a team mate on the subway home gave me a second wind and a dozen Inxs tracks on a mix tape b4 leaving for Franklin Field put some extra pep in my stride as I arrived for my 2x1,000m repeats,my last 2x1,000m four weeks ago weren,t great,2.49.76-2.57.09,which lead to the infamous"Bollockingate"email I never got from Charlie Dibble,I wanted to make sure there be no cock ups and no bollocking tonite.
#1,69,72,31,-2.52.37.I aimed for 70,70,32-2.52 so I was pretty darn close,I felt I ran w/in myself and there,d be no repeat of Oct 1st.
#2,70,75,30,-2.55.37.ugh,that 75 ballsed everything up for me,granted tonite was a major improvement on the last time out but it could,ve been better,I think mentally I fell down on lap 2,physically I felt fine,the fact I could close in 30 seconds sat well,so all in all not a bad nite.
November is a day away,w/ the notable exception of the final week when there,s a race on the 29th which will force me to cut my repeats to two that week the remainder of November will see mother nature permitting three repeats per week,right on schedule,October was all about keeping the motor running,November,it,s time to rev it up,December a few road test b4 I hope to burn rubber in January,Febuary and March,here,s to life on the open road.
A wise man once told me"you can do anything you want in life.....you just have to be prepared to pay the price that goes w/ it",I guess sometimes you have to pay the price for other people,w/out mentioning names somebody decided they would be"ahem,sick"Tuesday believing the Phillies would clinch the World Series Monday,the parade would be Wednesday and they,d be back to work today.....as we all know the weather pushed the schedule back so now I,m doing the work of two people to accommodate this individuals"ahem sickness" and frankly my butt was dragging come 2.30pm,the prospect of a repeat workout seemed less than thrilling.......
However,running into a team mate on the subway home gave me a second wind and a dozen Inxs tracks on a mix tape b4 leaving for Franklin Field put some extra pep in my stride as I arrived for my 2x1,000m repeats,my last 2x1,000m four weeks ago weren,t great,2.49.76-2.57.09,which lead to the infamous"Bollockingate"email I never got from Charlie Dibble,I wanted to make sure there be no cock ups and no bollocking tonite.
#1,69,72,31,-2.52.37.I aimed for 70,70,32-2.52 so I was pretty darn close,I felt I ran w/in myself and there,d be no repeat of Oct 1st.
#2,70,75,30,-2.55.37.ugh,that 75 ballsed everything up for me,granted tonite was a major improvement on the last time out but it could,ve been better,I think mentally I fell down on lap 2,physically I felt fine,the fact I could close in 30 seconds sat well,so all in all not a bad nite.
November is a day away,w/ the notable exception of the final week when there,s a race on the 29th which will force me to cut my repeats to two that week the remainder of November will see mother nature permitting three repeats per week,right on schedule,October was all about keeping the motor running,November,it,s time to rev it up,December a few road test b4 I hope to burn rubber in January,Febuary and March,here,s to life on the open road.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Twenty One Years Is A Mighty Long Time
After yesterdays washout I was happy to be back out running again today,opted to keep the Monday,Wednesday,Friday Clark Park rotation,knowing there,s a good chance I could be out here again Sunday if I don,t add 5 miles of warm up and cool down to Saturdays race to log 30 miles for the week
Easy run a bit ber,but dry I guess unless you,re Barbie you can,t have everything.
Today is the second of two pivitol landmark anniversaries w/in two days for me,21 years since I left home to come to America,the old saying goes"you can take the boy out of South East London,but you can,t take the South East London out of the boy"a fact punctuated by the fact I recently requested the soccer shirts of Millwall,Charlton and Crystal Palace as upcoming b,day gifts from my family,I figured after a 21 year absence I need to remind myself where I came from,and while the afore mentioned clubs represent my old stomping ground I still can,t quite bring myself to order a Dulwich Hamlet,s jersey{Dulwich is my birth place}due to the pink and blue colour scheme!!!
While South East London will always be home for me,I have to say Philly has done right by me for coming up on a quarter century,they say"home is where the heart is"if that,s true then my black savage celtic pagan heart does indeed belong to Philadelphia......although technically roughly seventy miles just outside of Philly,or am I confusing that w/ my hearts desire.........
I hope the Phillies can clinch the World Series tonite,this city has been crying out for a major championship since it,s last one,the Sixers in 83,we,ve come close, Phillies 93,Flyers 97,Sixers 01,Eagles 05 so dispite my allegencies to all teams Boston I will indeed for once"root,root,root for the home team"tonite..............GO PHILS!
Easy run a bit ber,but dry I guess unless you,re Barbie you can,t have everything.
Today is the second of two pivitol landmark anniversaries w/in two days for me,21 years since I left home to come to America,the old saying goes"you can take the boy out of South East London,but you can,t take the South East London out of the boy"a fact punctuated by the fact I recently requested the soccer shirts of Millwall,Charlton and Crystal Palace as upcoming b,day gifts from my family,I figured after a 21 year absence I need to remind myself where I came from,and while the afore mentioned clubs represent my old stomping ground I still can,t quite bring myself to order a Dulwich Hamlet,s jersey{Dulwich is my birth place}due to the pink and blue colour scheme!!!
While South East London will always be home for me,I have to say Philly has done right by me for coming up on a quarter century,they say"home is where the heart is"if that,s true then my black savage celtic pagan heart does indeed belong to Philadelphia......although technically roughly seventy miles just outside of Philly,or am I confusing that w/ my hearts desire.........
I hope the Phillies can clinch the World Series tonite,this city has been crying out for a major championship since it,s last one,the Sixers in 83,we,ve come close, Phillies 93,Flyers 97,Sixers 01,Eagles 05 so dispite my allegencies to all teams Boston I will indeed for once"root,root,root for the home team"tonite..............GO PHILS!
Rain Stops Play
It wasn,t just the Phillies and Devil Rays who got rained out,I opted....wisely not to run today,after a frigid day on the loading dock I really couldn,t see me getting out there to run period muchless easy run/track workout.
Glass half empty my 3 fast workouts{2 repeats 1 race}schedule had gone for a burton I do still have the chance to log 6 days and 30+ miles by running Sunday,glass half full a day to rest and relax at home,took a nap,put my feet up,relaxed in front of the tv and no burning the midnite oil watching the World Series .
The sun will come up tomorrow....at the very least the rain will stop,game 5 will be concluded,I,ll run and life as we know it will carry on
Glass half empty my 3 fast workouts{2 repeats 1 race}schedule had gone for a burton I do still have the chance to log 6 days and 30+ miles by running Sunday,glass half full a day to rest and relax at home,took a nap,put my feet up,relaxed in front of the tv and no burning the midnite oil watching the World Series .
The sun will come up tomorrow....at the very least the rain will stop,game 5 will be concluded,I,ll run and life as we know it will carry on
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
In Loving Memory
An easy 5 mile run this evening,w/ the clocks about to go back this Sunday the days of coming straight home and heading straight out for my training run will be my mo again,however w/ all rules their are exceptions,and Oct 27th will ALWAYS be one of those days as that,s my late father Kevin,s anniversary and I make a point of going to church to lite a candle in his memory.
It,s hard to believe it,s 24 years since he died,I still recall vividly that last nite we spent together on Thurs Oct 25th 1984 two guys knocking back several pints of Guinness and shooting the breeze w/out a care in the world,little did anyone know we,d never get to do that again,two days later I came home to find Kevin had died in his sleep at a mere 51,I,ve tried not to carry a chip on my shoulder these past 24 years that my dad was taken away from me too early,he still had so much to teach me.
My love of running stems from Kevin,ditto for my never settle for second best,in running or in life and dispite being born into a Chelsea supporting family my love of Spurs also comes from Kevin,who chose "The Lillywhites"because Danny Blanchflower was one of the first Irish players to come to England and establish himself.
Far from being an Ivy League grad Kevin taught me some of life,s finest lessons"life,s too short and we,re only passing through and we,re never coming back so you may as well enjoy yourself""don,t be a punk and start trouble,but always be a man and stand up for yourself"and prehaps my favourite"if you can,t be yourself,don,t be anyone"
I miss Kevin each and every day,his anniversary just reminds me how long it,s been since we last saw one another,I,ll close w/ a set of lyrics that 24 years ago struck a chord then,still do and were the words I had on Kevin,s headstone,Stuart Adamson of Big Country wrote "Tall Ships Go" in memory of his late father who was lost a sea,I read that interview a week b4 my own father died,Stuart said the only only time he ever heard his father was in his dreams,and I,ve been dreaming for the last 24 years
"I hear your voice and it keeps me from sleeping,why must it always be dreams when your voice comes to me"
Love and best wishes,Dad,gone,Never to be forgotten,your son Kevin xoxo
It,s hard to believe it,s 24 years since he died,I still recall vividly that last nite we spent together on Thurs Oct 25th 1984 two guys knocking back several pints of Guinness and shooting the breeze w/out a care in the world,little did anyone know we,d never get to do that again,two days later I came home to find Kevin had died in his sleep at a mere 51,I,ve tried not to carry a chip on my shoulder these past 24 years that my dad was taken away from me too early,he still had so much to teach me.
My love of running stems from Kevin,ditto for my never settle for second best,in running or in life and dispite being born into a Chelsea supporting family my love of Spurs also comes from Kevin,who chose "The Lillywhites"because Danny Blanchflower was one of the first Irish players to come to England and establish himself.
Far from being an Ivy League grad Kevin taught me some of life,s finest lessons"life,s too short and we,re only passing through and we,re never coming back so you may as well enjoy yourself""don,t be a punk and start trouble,but always be a man and stand up for yourself"and prehaps my favourite"if you can,t be yourself,don,t be anyone"
I miss Kevin each and every day,his anniversary just reminds me how long it,s been since we last saw one another,I,ll close w/ a set of lyrics that 24 years ago struck a chord then,still do and were the words I had on Kevin,s headstone,Stuart Adamson of Big Country wrote "Tall Ships Go" in memory of his late father who was lost a sea,I read that interview a week b4 my own father died,Stuart said the only only time he ever heard his father was in his dreams,and I,ve been dreaming for the last 24 years
"I hear your voice and it keeps me from sleeping,why must it always be dreams when your voice comes to me"
Love and best wishes,Dad,gone,Never to be forgotten,your son Kevin xoxo
Sunday, October 26, 2008
For Your Honour
A pivitol race in my xc season,#4 of the 8 on my schedule and also the first of three successive weeks of racing.I,d never ran at Deer Path Park b4 and I,d only one previous xc 8k race to my credit,a disastrous Bad Boy last October at VCP{irony alert,my next race......Bad Boy!!!}
Conditions were ideal,come 10.30am the temps were in the high 50s/low 60s and sunny,from the gun I moved up behind the leaders into 5th b4 dropping back to 6th as I clocked 5.34 for my opening mile.
Having jogged the outer loop pre race I knew what to expect and where to expect it.....that said I compleatly missed the 2 mile marker as it came b4 a tight turn where I was focusing on taking the tangent and not the spray painted sign.
By the time I reached 3 miles on the second loop in 17.01 I was dueling for 8th place,when I got dropped for 9th I allowed myself a quick glance back to 10th,it was Chuck who was yelling at me to go after the 8th place runner whom I been dueling and duking it out w/ for most of the race,w/ hingsight I wish I,d dropped the hammer on the final downhill on the second loop like I had on the first,subconsiously I think I knew I need to compesate for the extra 2k I was running today.
24.42 at 4 miles both club record and course record{27.51-28.01} were going to be hard to bring down and although 8th place was getting away from me he passed 7th b4 the final turn......a grassy 100m straight to the finish,my cue to dig deep and haul in the now fading 8th place runner b4 the finish,8th in 28.16.62.
I had hoped for a 27.45 plus time,it wasn,t to be,no club record,no course record,however a pr ecilpsing last Octobers woeful 31.21.17. and not only an age group win but first masters finisher overall,medal#14 for the season,#118 for my career.
A nice touch post race,beer,burgers and hot dogs and a nice day for it,a gamble when you,re holding a race at the end of October.
Home to watch my beloved Spurs notch their first win of the season under new boss Harry Redknapp,all in all a good day,period but one my father Kevin would,ve appreciated.
There,s a Dave Matthews Band song off of "Everyday" called "Dreams Of Our Fathers"the chorus goes so
"I don,t want to wake up,lost in the dreams of our fathers,oh it,s such a waste child to live and die for the dreams of our fathers, oh I must confess yes memories of wonder about this,this love I possess lord,it must be the dreams of our fathers"
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Setting My Sights
An easy 5 miler this morning to "lay the table"so to speak for tomorrows race.
After Thursdays shot of adrenaline that was my mile repeats"possibly you,re best ever"said Charlie Dibble I,m hopeful that tomorrow I can bring down either the club record for xc 8k,27.51 or at the very least the club course record 28.01,"Mr XC"Chuck owns both records,interestingly set in 04 and 06,who am I to tamper w/ recent history...........
Based on recent mile repeats and my 6k xc pr/club record of 20.12 I have to like my chances,granted Osprey was pancake flat,I,ve no idea what to expect of Deer Path Park tomorrow,I will naturally get a "lie of the land" pre race manana,rembering the old running adage"the will to win means nothing w/out the will to prepare"
8K is a little out of my comfort zone,but the 6k told me I,m capable of running further than I,m used to faster than prehaps even I expect............and I have high expectations to begin w/ let me tell ya!!
I have a target time in mind,tomorrow will see if I nail it,hit it out of the park,fall short or miss it compleatly,since I don,t do pre race boasts I,ll keep that number to myself,I will as ever be 100% brutally honest post race.
W/ Monday being my late father Kevin,s anniversary I need no more motivation to perform"the ould fella" was a xc runner back home in Cork in his youth,he will expect nothing less of me than to perform to my best and to give 100%,so here,s to a pr/club/course record,top three age group award and three vital points for my beloved Spurs at home to Bolton,the latter I have no control over,the former.....oh it,s on.........
After Thursdays shot of adrenaline that was my mile repeats"possibly you,re best ever"said Charlie Dibble I,m hopeful that tomorrow I can bring down either the club record for xc 8k,27.51 or at the very least the club course record 28.01,"Mr XC"Chuck owns both records,interestingly set in 04 and 06,who am I to tamper w/ recent history...........
Based on recent mile repeats and my 6k xc pr/club record of 20.12 I have to like my chances,granted Osprey was pancake flat,I,ve no idea what to expect of Deer Path Park tomorrow,I will naturally get a "lie of the land" pre race manana,rembering the old running adage"the will to win means nothing w/out the will to prepare"
8K is a little out of my comfort zone,but the 6k told me I,m capable of running further than I,m used to faster than prehaps even I expect............and I have high expectations to begin w/ let me tell ya!!
I have a target time in mind,tomorrow will see if I nail it,hit it out of the park,fall short or miss it compleatly,since I don,t do pre race boasts I,ll keep that number to myself,I will as ever be 100% brutally honest post race.
W/ Monday being my late father Kevin,s anniversary I need no more motivation to perform"the ould fella" was a xc runner back home in Cork in his youth,he will expect nothing less of me than to perform to my best and to give 100%,so here,s to a pr/club/course record,top three age group award and three vital points for my beloved Spurs at home to Bolton,the latter I have no control over,the former.....oh it,s on.........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
