I must be chasing after rainbows one thing's for sure you never answer when I call
And I wipe away the water from my face to look through the eyes of a stranger
For rumour in the wake of such a lonely crowd trading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down walking away like a stranger
For rumours in the wake of such a lonely crowd treading in my shelter for danger
I'm changing my name just as the sun goes down in the eyes of a stranger
Seventh Stranger-Duran Duran
#yourhavingafuckinbubble
70 degrees on the last Monday of November??????? this time last week we were bracing ourselves for a couple of below freezing days.......but there's NO Global Warming!!!!!!
Wasn't sure how trashed my legs might be following Sundays race but was pleasently surprised to feel no ill effects from four times up the back hills of VCP.
That said I only opted for an easy 7 miler as I had "time constraints" on my docket that made a preferably longer run problamatic but in the general scheme of things not a big deal.
Since I want my "cake and eat it" and get a 5 day 50 mile week in on top a race AND take Sunday off there's very little "wiggle room" on this weeks schedule.....touchwood I can go 7,10,10,14,9 w/ back to back 10s Tuesday & Wednesday take care of my "long run" on Thursday since I have off and then get a rest day b4 Saturdays race 3 mile warm up,5k race,3 mile cool down.....let's just hope it's not a case of Theory and Practice being the horse of a different colour!!!!
It would've been a crime not to have ran yesterday in 70 degree temps,tempted as I was to bust out a sleeveless running shirt for the fuck of it I went w/ short sleeves.....me thinks I'll be wearing said short sleeve shirt under my half zip shirt the rest of the week.
Time to start thinking new running shoes,providing I dot all the eyes and cross all the tees this week my current shoes will have 399 miles on them as I'm probably looking at a 200 mile month......
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Monday, November 24, 2014
A Bronx Tale
Up at the ungodly hour of 5.10am.......strewth it's enough I have to awaken from my slumber at that hour on a weekday but on the weekend????
Out the door by 6am the #34 trolley was slowly filling up w/ marathon and half marathon runners taking part in this mornings Philadelphia Marathon and half marathon......yours truly was planning a marathon of his own a 15k xc race at famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
It's been a few years since I've ran xc at VCP but since 05 I'd ran the 5k course a number of times which would be a big help today since I'd be tackling it three times!!!
It was always going to be a long day and not just from the standpoint of a 9 mile race w/ another 6 miles tacked on for warmup/cool down but to get to VCP I had to: take the trolley to Center City,take the local R7 train to Trenton,change there for a New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station and then the Subway to 242 & Broadway......but armed w/ music on my phone,my diary,a book and a couple of Venti Zen Teas from Starbucks along the way it was civil enough.
Arrived at Van Cortlandt Park by 10.45am a little later than I wanted but still w/ enough time to take care of registration and do a mile warm up.
The original plan was a lap of the 5k loop to warm up followed by another to cool down but given the intestinal issue I was dealing w/ I thought it maybe prudent to only do a mile in my warm up and save myself for the three loops,if I had to do a 5 mile cool down post race sobeit.
Glorious conditions,I didn't have an official temp reading but let's just say I didn't need a hat,gloves arm warmers or long sleeves,Saturdays 5k back here might be a different story but I'll worry about that then.
Setting off at a comfortable pace for the opening loop I didn't concern myself w/ what the field was doing this was unchartered waters for me over 15k,in my road running days I ran a couple of 15ks out at Downingtown on July 4th but never in xc,where I've only ran 1 10k which was 2 years ago in Kentuckey at Club Nationals,couple w/ the fact noone from the club had ran 15k xc this was a case of "to boldly go where no man has gone b4".
It might've been a few years since I last graced the field of VCP but I'd logged enough races there to know the "lay of the land",three times up those back hills was going to be a test but frankly if I didn't think I was up to it why bother coming all this way?
Sadly no mile markers and the only clock was at the finishline but since I had no real idea of what I should be running I guess it didn't really matter too much in the general scheme of things.
Little by little I was picking off runners ahead of me w/ the exception of a Van Cortlandt Track Club runner whom I jockeyed back and forth w/ on laps 2 and 3 I was never overtaken, a testimony to good pacing on my part.
23rd overall in 63.22,second in the 50-54 age group good enough for a silver medal,while the pr and club record had come by default I had at least earnt my medal
No time for back slapping though,still had the wee small matter of a 5 mile cool down to take care of if I wanted a 50 mile week so "once more w/ feeling" around the 5k loop and a 4th trip up the back hills b4 2 miles out around the front section of VCP.
All in all a good mornings work,a 15k xc under my belt,a silver medal to add to the collection,a pr and club record and another 50 mile week,lets hope come the 10k Club Nationals at Lehigh in three weeks time I'll benefit from "going long" today,to that end Saturday Foot Locker 5k will give me a better idea of where I'm at.......only one set of those bastard back hills to contend w/ then!
Out the door by 6am the #34 trolley was slowly filling up w/ marathon and half marathon runners taking part in this mornings Philadelphia Marathon and half marathon......yours truly was planning a marathon of his own a 15k xc race at famed Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.
It's been a few years since I've ran xc at VCP but since 05 I'd ran the 5k course a number of times which would be a big help today since I'd be tackling it three times!!!
It was always going to be a long day and not just from the standpoint of a 9 mile race w/ another 6 miles tacked on for warmup/cool down but to get to VCP I had to: take the trolley to Center City,take the local R7 train to Trenton,change there for a New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station and then the Subway to 242 & Broadway......but armed w/ music on my phone,my diary,a book and a couple of Venti Zen Teas from Starbucks along the way it was civil enough.
Arrived at Van Cortlandt Park by 10.45am a little later than I wanted but still w/ enough time to take care of registration and do a mile warm up.
The original plan was a lap of the 5k loop to warm up followed by another to cool down but given the intestinal issue I was dealing w/ I thought it maybe prudent to only do a mile in my warm up and save myself for the three loops,if I had to do a 5 mile cool down post race sobeit.
Glorious conditions,I didn't have an official temp reading but let's just say I didn't need a hat,gloves arm warmers or long sleeves,Saturdays 5k back here might be a different story but I'll worry about that then.
Setting off at a comfortable pace for the opening loop I didn't concern myself w/ what the field was doing this was unchartered waters for me over 15k,in my road running days I ran a couple of 15ks out at Downingtown on July 4th but never in xc,where I've only ran 1 10k which was 2 years ago in Kentuckey at Club Nationals,couple w/ the fact noone from the club had ran 15k xc this was a case of "to boldly go where no man has gone b4".
It might've been a few years since I last graced the field of VCP but I'd logged enough races there to know the "lay of the land",three times up those back hills was going to be a test but frankly if I didn't think I was up to it why bother coming all this way?
Sadly no mile markers and the only clock was at the finishline but since I had no real idea of what I should be running I guess it didn't really matter too much in the general scheme of things.
Little by little I was picking off runners ahead of me w/ the exception of a Van Cortlandt Track Club runner whom I jockeyed back and forth w/ on laps 2 and 3 I was never overtaken, a testimony to good pacing on my part.
23rd overall in 63.22,second in the 50-54 age group good enough for a silver medal,while the pr and club record had come by default I had at least earnt my medal
No time for back slapping though,still had the wee small matter of a 5 mile cool down to take care of if I wanted a 50 mile week so "once more w/ feeling" around the 5k loop and a 4th trip up the back hills b4 2 miles out around the front section of VCP.
All in all a good mornings work,a 15k xc under my belt,a silver medal to add to the collection,a pr and club record and another 50 mile week,lets hope come the 10k Club Nationals at Lehigh in three weeks time I'll benefit from "going long" today,to that end Saturday Foot Locker 5k will give me a better idea of where I'm at.......only one set of those bastard back hills to contend w/ then!
Friday, November 21, 2014
Down,But Not Out
I sat out Wednesdays scheduled run due to a combination of maybe paying for my bravardo on Tuesday and having a slightly questionable constitution,trust me these weren't the conditions to get x ammount of miles into the run only to discover you didn't have the chops to finish it so I sat it out.....and re rewrote my schedule!
Having logged 9 miles on Tuesday I now needed to go back to back 10 milers Thursday & Friday w/ an easy 6 miler on Saturday to put me at 35 miles going into Sundays 15k xc w/ a 3 mile warm up and a 3 mile cool down for 15 miles to round out a third week of 5 day/50mpw.
Mercifully conditions were much warmer than Tuesday,46 degrees compared to the 28 I ran in 48 hours prior.
I'm lead to believe things will be "brisk again" tomorrow when I tackle my second 10 miler....hey ho nobody said the road to the "promised land" was going to be easy,at least w/ the easy 6 on tap Saturday morning I can hopefully flush out any crap in my legs from back to back 10s b4 "going long" on Sunday as I not only tackle my longest ever xc race but also look to add another entry onto the GPTC club records.
Nobody has" had the balls" to do 15k xc so muchlike when I got the 10,000m record on the track back in 2011 and the 1,000m track record in January it's by default but a record is a record right?
Having logged 9 miles on Tuesday I now needed to go back to back 10 milers Thursday & Friday w/ an easy 6 miler on Saturday to put me at 35 miles going into Sundays 15k xc w/ a 3 mile warm up and a 3 mile cool down for 15 miles to round out a third week of 5 day/50mpw.
Mercifully conditions were much warmer than Tuesday,46 degrees compared to the 28 I ran in 48 hours prior.
I'm lead to believe things will be "brisk again" tomorrow when I tackle my second 10 miler....hey ho nobody said the road to the "promised land" was going to be easy,at least w/ the easy 6 on tap Saturday morning I can hopefully flush out any crap in my legs from back to back 10s b4 "going long" on Sunday as I not only tackle my longest ever xc race but also look to add another entry onto the GPTC club records.
Nobody has" had the balls" to do 15k xc so muchlike when I got the 10,000m record on the track back in 2011 and the 1,000m track record in January it's by default but a record is a record right?
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Brass Monkeys,Polar Bears & Penguins
First real test of my Fall training a severe dip in the temps,it was below freezing most of if not all day and it's one thing I've gotta freeze my nads off all day out on the loading dock but then I've gotta go out and run ...not sure there was room for my "big boy pants" w/ all my other layers of clothing but this was not a day for the faint of heart or bereft of "bottle" you wanna dance Mother Nature??? let's fucking dance!!!!
Dressed to the nines w/ regular socks,thermal sock,.3/4 length tights,warm up bottoms,running shirt,half zip jacket,heavy duty hoddie,thermal gloves and thermal ski hat I was out the door by 4.17pm and frankly that was always going to be the hardest part,once I'd gotten out the door the rest was frankly gravy....ah warm gravy....!!!!!!
I was pleasently surprised to see other runners out in this,not that I thought for one second I'd be the only one demented enough to tangle w/ Mother Nature but it's always uplifting to come across "other members of your tribe" who refuse to yeild to the conditions #respect
Initially the plan was 10 miles but when I reached 3 and 3/4 miles at Kelly Dr and Spring Garden bridge I got a face full of arctic wind,you know those mimes you see doing that "walk against the wind" shit that's what I felt like trying to run northbound on Kelly Dr......another mile and a quarter of this.....fuck off!!!
A quick recalibration of my 4 day 35 mile tally from 10 10 7.5 7.5 and I came up w/ 9 9 9 8...I could still front load the week and taper down to Sundays race,just my luck to have two days of below freezing temps when I didn't have the "wiggle room" to move my schedule around.
Remarkably after making the turnaround at 4.5 miles just b4 Columbia bridge the wind had died down.....either that or my face was too frozen to notice the difference!!!! 4.5 down,4.5 to go and don't spare the horses!!!
Even w/ thermal gloves on my finger tips were starting to go numb w/ about two miles left......how cold was it out there????? well let's just say trusty Peco Tower which normally gives time and temprature after 5pm wasn't on display,I had visions of "It's whore's heart cold" in large letters on the electronic display as I braced myself for the final mile and three quarters upon reaching South Street bridge!!!!
A hot shower and a hot mug of Apple Cider helped take the edge off post run,according to #10 News it was now 28 degrees at 6.05pm to quote the old Lipton Iced Tea commercials "that's brisk baby"....
let's see what tonite brings....
Monday, November 17, 2014
Back To Back 50 Mile Weeks
All that stood between yours truly and a second 5 day/50mpw was a first Sunday long run over 14 miles in 13 weeks,having taken care of my first track repeats in 10 weeks on Saturday it seemed like the weekend for ending long streaks....
I set off at 11.41am armed w/ hat,gloves,half zip and running bottoms....oh yes the cooler temps had set in and running along the river wasn't going to be that forgiving so I felt it prudent to be dressed to combat that,last thing I wanted was to bail on the run cos it was cold.
My calves were a little tender following yesterdays 6x1 mile repeats but I tried to put that out of my mind as I made my way onto West River Drive for the first time since August 17th.....things sure were a lot warmer back then!!!
There were a few other hardy souls out there getting their Sunday run in mostly going in the opposite direction of me but I was more concerened w/ my own running than anyones.
Having to really dig deep last Saturday over the closing mile of my 12 miler and not having ran a 14 miler in 13 weeks there were some question marks in my mind about my ability to "go the distance today".
Given I have races the next two weekends I could've sidestepped the 14 miler by going 10,10,10 during the week and making today another 12 miler but I figured come Dec 7th I'll be thrust back into the realm of Sunday long runs over 14 miles so why not "bite the bullet" today and get it over w/ and hopefully make Dec 7th run that much easier on myself???
To aid and abet that I opted to turn around at mile 7 at Falls Bridge as oppossed to going across and making it the whole loop....???? why you may ask,to be honest it felt psychological if I'd had the legs to go 7 miles out I should in theory have the legs to make the reverse journey,as time evolves I'll hopefully conduct the more traditional whole loop on my Sunday long run but today I had "nail my colours to the mast" moving forward ergo the turnaround at mile 7
W/ little in the way of knee lift and or leg turnover to offer I made my way southbound back down West River Drive picking off three runners who I passed going northbound towards Falls Bridge,so maybe I wasn't as "deadlegged" as I thought or felt I was.
W/ each quarter mile I ate into the 4 miles along W.River Dr I told myself I could do this,mile 5 would be along the Schuylkill Bank and when I reached 2 miles to go along the recently opened footpath connecting Schuylkill Banks to South St bridge I could hopefully find the physical and mental strength to see it through.
Unlike last week when the 12th and final mile proved to be a grind today I was able to shuffle along w/out the stop/start routine that blighted last Saturdays 12 mile,granted w/ just over half a mile to go my lack of kneelift and leg turnover resulted in tripping on a uneven paving stone but thanks to my catlike reflexes I stayed upright and then w/ just two blocks to go I managed to avoid being tripped over by somone raking leaves infront of his house who neither saw or heard me doing the "soft shoe shuffle" along the sidewalk....not sure if "leaping over his rake" means I've gotten married in some weird custom or other but frankly I was too bleedin' knackered to care!!!!
Home in one piece in an unofficial 2.06,I'd left at 11.41am and returned by 1.47pm which equates to 9 minute mile pace....I'll take it along w/ my second 5 day/50mpw
Money I'm Telling You It's The Shoes!!!
So after a 10 week hiatus from the track it was back to my old friend armed w/ said new flats and my new Under Armour Spurs half zip shirt I braved the considerably cooler temps at 1.30pm,I'd deliberetely pushed back my start time to try and have warmer conditions to work out in warmer conditions,in a week that had seen me run at 5.30pm when it was in the low 60s temps had now plundered some 20 degrees I think the high for Saturday was gonna be between 40 and 42,maybe 44 degs.......welcome to Fall.
Following a mile mile warm up on what should come as no major surprise was a next to deserted track at Geasey Field on the Temple campus it was have at it time,6x1 mile repeats,why 6? w/ a 15k and 10k xc race on my schedule in the upcoming weeks I felt 6x1 mile repeats was the way to go,fer not come December 15th and the start of track season it will be back to the tried and tested 4x1 mile repeats.
The goal,albeit a modest one was to keep all 6 repeats under 6 mins since that's the goal at Pete McCardle 15k and Club Nationals 10k......
#1 mile
1.17-1.25-1.25-1.21=5.28.4
Not too shabby obvously I only needed to keep things under 1.30 per lap which is a modest target but at times 6 plus being my first repeats in 10 weeks I wasn't sure what to expect of myself
#2 mile
1.23-1.27-1.27-1.22=5.39.0
An 11 second drop but still "playing w/ house money" and a 21 second cushion
#3 mile
1.24-1.28-1.28-1.24=5.44.9
That old chestnut of laps 2&3 being the slow laps was in full effect but I have weeks/months to work on that
#4 mile
1.25-1.29-1.29-1.25=5.48.2
Venturing into the unknown now above a 4th mile but still keeping my head above water so to speak
#5mile
1.25-1.29-1.30-1.27=5.51.2
Creeping closer to the edge,did I have the legs for one last repeat at sub 6????
#6 mile
1.26-1.26-1.31-1.23=5.46.7
A little bummed to see that 1.31 creep in but pleased w/ the response.
All in all not too shabby,I have races the next two weeks so it'll be Dec 6th b4 I tackle 6x1 mile repeats again,let's see if I can improve on these splits.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Goodbye 50.....And Maybe 60's???
In terms of running turning 50 worked out well for me a new age group gave me the running version of a "mulligan" if you like and also helped me refocus and rededicate myself to my running,as for life.....ah same old same ole I'm sorry to say,any thoughts,hopes,dreams I had that" things would be different" in my 50s didn't materialize yet.....still another nine years I guess he said trying to look at the glass half full....
At 61 degrees I also think I'm saying goodbye to the warmer temps.....it's probably a good thing I recently ordered an Under Armour half zip running jacket cos I got a feeling come the weekend I'm gonna need it!!!
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