The Return Of Mars Blackmon

 "I'm not looking for a clearer conscience, peace of mind after what I've been through and before we talk of any repentance try walking in my shoes, try walking in my shoes you'd stumble in my footsteps keep the same appointments I've kept if you try walking in my shoes, try walking in my shoes"

Walking In My Shoes-Depeche Mode

New week,new runners, new highs......same auld Fenian bollix......just another week of Kevinrunningfree...

Monday July 21st A chance to take advantage of a dip in the bastard humidity this week and make inroads into my July mileage, traditionally a tough month for me two years ago I logged 51 miles  last year 48 miles I came into the week on 37 miles.....

86 degrees but more importantly only 42% humidity as I looked to get a 5 miler in thus far I was 0 for 9 since resuming hostilities  w/ training two weeks ago, the humidity had cost me last week but now I had a chance to get through that barrier and thankfully I did

The last mile wasn't pretty by any standards but I'd swop style points for  that fifth and final mile and got it today........ onwards and upwards........

Tuesday July 22nd 85 degrees and 41% humidity as I logged back to back 5 miles for the first time since June 2nd/3rd

The psychological barrier of yesterday lifted off me helped I'm sure, once I could prove to myself I could do it once there was no reason I couldn't do it again....yes the conditions helped but the inner belief I could do it was a big plus......and for those of you playing a long at home my monthly mileage was now up to 47 miles.........

Wednesday July 23rd 86 degrees 42% humidity again as I logged a third 5 miler and for only the 4th time this year got above 50 miles{76 in February, 78 in March,65 in April}

I had hoped June was going to be the month I laid foundations........as is my won't a day late and a dollar short but feck it better late than never, two years ago off the back of a 51 mile month in July I logged  103 in August,100 in September,87 in October,101 in November b4 148 in December......not so much last year when I needed  it in heading into Dublin but maybe the bitter disappointment of that is the driving force this year heading into Philadelphia and the 40th anniversary of my marathon debut

Thursday July 24th,my luck ran out w/ the weather today 87 degrees but 49% humidity, I knew at 1.5 miles "I didn't have it over 5 miles today" and had to settle for 3 miles,glass half full I'm getting out there and putting the miles in and w/a week to go I now have 55 miles, can July be my best month to date....?

Saturday July 26th the fact I  not only got out on a Saturday but also waited it out till 2pm when the humidity was less oppressive underlines my desire to get in marathon shape{17 weeks  and counting} Full disclosure I would have liked 10 miles but I know I'm not there yet 2 weeks ago I managed a ropey 5 miler that was probably highly generous on my part, the final mile was stop/start 10.28 pace,Sunday  I had to settle for 4 miles over 2.5 miles/1.5 miles so the fact I got a solid 6 miles in at 54.56.7 off 9.09 is a major feather in my cap

I hadn't realized the Schuylkill  River Trail extension beyond Christian St linking the Schuylkill Trail to Grays Ferry had opened in mid May, this will be a game changer moving forward as I can cut out the 2 miles from my front door to the South Street bridge now and cut across West Philly to the start of the trail in  Grays Ferry and be on the trail

For the record at 2pm it was 87 degrees and 56% humidity.....crazy to think at 8am it was 78 degrees  but 86%.....but hey kids " global warming doesn't exist, it's fake science and the planet is NOT heating up each year..........me hole!

Big shout out to the new runners I broke in this week, I'm still a few miles shy of a seasons best of 28 miles per week but I feel I'm closing in on that,at best next week I'm looking at 28 miles { 4 times 5 miles Monday-Thursday 8 miles on Saturday} but IF I can do that next week and the humidity doesn't bollix me the week after I could be looking at 30 miles.......like the man once said"money I'm telling ya....it's the shoes"......

Perspiration,Desperation,Determination,RebelNation

 "When my time's at an ending when my days are no more bury me w/ my hurley by the river Dissour"

Killeagh Kingfishr

A frustrating week to say the least, fecking heat and humidity took a toll on my week and the tin lid on it Cork got blown out in the second half of the All Ireland Hurling Final on Sunday ......not a good week to be a rebel........

Monday July 14th looking to build on last weeks 5 day 21 mile week the hope/plan was to up my lunchtime 4 milers to 5s........mother nature had other plans

88 degrees and 63% humidity coupled w/ still feeling the effects of Saturdays 20 and a half hour day to and from New York City to catch The 2 Johnnies in concert meant I struggled to  log 4 miles..........little did I know this was a precursor to the rest of my week.......

Tuesday July 15th 88 degrees and 64% humidity this time time I managed to go 4.5 miles out and back up the Ben Franklin Parkway and along the Schuylkill River Trail/Kelly Drive

I hate the .5 on a run it always smacks of "unfinished business", glass half full I got an extra .5 in today that puts me .5 closer to my target of 5 miles.....glass half empty I need to tack on an extra .5 somewhere this week to round things up......alas it wouldn't be on Wednesday.......

I opted out of a run Wednesday I was off from work after the Hozier show over in Camden, I learnt the hard way last August after seeing Springsteen at Citizen Bank Park that a long nite on my feet at a summer gig tends to drain my batteries so I skipped Wednesday w/ the plan that if I could go long on Saturday maybe I could tack on an easy/recovery 4-5 milers Sunday to make up for it........the best laid plans of mice and men as they say........

Thursday July 17th......so the good news was the humidity had dropped to  a semi respectable 56%......the bad news was it was 92 degrees at 2pm when I ran and I had to pull the plug on this one at 3.5 miles.....at least now I was at a round figure of 12 miles for the week, could I push the envelope on Saturday and  squeeze out an 8 miler and then tack on an extra 4 miles on Sunday?..........could I fuck...........

Sunday July 20th Saturday never materialized,my arse was draggin' from work on Friday.....at the risk of going off on a diatribe about work let's just say recently my mantra ( the one I can print!!!!!) has been " why have a Dog if you're gonna fuckin' bark for it????" I got ran ragged Friday and that coupled w/ heat and humidity all-day  Saturday meant any hopes of a long run rested w/ Sunday and that meant no 5 day week this week

The less said about the Hurling Final the better, up by  6 at the half we were 35 mins away from ending a 20 year drought in Cork to bring the Liam  MacCarthy back  to the Leeside, Tipp outscored us 3.14 to .02 to win 3.27-1.18 and the fact I'm sat here typing my blog and not watching my beloved "Sunday Game" as I can't bring myself to relive the horror show that second half was should tell you how much it sickens my hole........I do know two lads from Cahir and Roscea {The 2 Johnnies}who are fuckin' delighted right now......if we had to lose to someone it might as well be Tipp

As for my run another struggle 87 degrees and 67% humidity at 1pm{ it wasn't any better at 7-8am when I woke up otherwise I'd have had a crack at it, I barely managed a 4 miler split between 2.5 miles and then another 1.5 miles

A 4 day/16 mile week....small potatos in the general scheme of things but it's another 4 days and 16 miles under my belt in two weeks i've logged 37 miles .....in May and June combined I only logged 39 miles so that's some cold comfort on a otherwise frustrating day/week

Much like my beloved Cork I will rebound it will be a tough end to their summer as they return to their clubs to head into the Fall and see out the club season,December will arrive b4 they know it and the drive for the 26 season will resume for me I need to put this week behind me and get after it tomorrow, the weather looks like it will be  on my side during the week,I'll tackle that b4 worrying what the weekend and the prospect of a long run holds

Final word on Cork, there will be the inevitable slaggin' and bandwagon jumping the next few days, weeks months......for me I am the son of a proud Corkman,I was Cork Hurling fan when I woke up and I'll be a Cork Hurling fan when I go to bed.....and when the sun rises I'll still be a proud Cork Hurling fan.....Rebels Abu!!!!!!

Each Tinker Has His Own Way Of Dancing

 ''It's not the shade, we should get past it,it's the light and it's the obstacle that cast it it's the heat that drives the light it's the fire that ignites it's not the waking,it's the rising"

Nina Cried Power-Hozier

So apologies for the lack of blogging.....as usual due to a lack of running, sad to say the month of May only produced 18 miles.....10 of which were at Broad Street and then June the month I was going to put down serious base heading into the summer only yielded 21 miles, so the time honoured issue" if not now when" came to the fore as of the week ending July 6th I was looking at 7 weeks to Philly 10k the unofficial start to my Fall road race season,11 weeks to PDR a clear idea of what shape your in heading into October/November races and 20 weeks to the Philadelphia Marathon,this Falls "Holy Grail" so no better time than now to knuckle down and  start the process that has been my bread and butter the last several years......no ye can't "teach  an auld dog new tricks" but ye can show him how to improve on what he knows........

Monday July 7th I knew jumping back in at 5 miles was wishful thinking so I set myself 4 miles sans Garmin, time was not an issue reestablishing good training habits and returning to a system was, of course it's July so it was 89 degrees and 78% humidity and off a three week layoff it was no surprise my lungs felt like they were on fire by a mile.......

I could've turned at the mile and eased my way back in w/ 2 miles......to be honest 2 miles didn't seem worth the effort and when I reached Lloyd Hall at the start of Boathouse Row at 1.5 miles a turnaround for 3 miles was an option.......I kept going to the 2 mile mark just beyond the last of the houses on Boathouse Row, it was evident not long after making the turn that 4 miles might've been too much to ask for so I had to settle for 3.5 miles......but it was a start

Tuesday July 8th Frankly if I could run on a day like today 94 degrees I can run any day.......it did help it was only 49% humidity and while I wouldn't have gotten many if any style points for the final mile I did grind out and log 4 miles, back to back runs since the first week of June.......from little acorns big trees grow so they say......

Wednesday July 9th 88 degrees and 53% humidity and a much better 4 miles today.....little by little I feel it's getting there,b4 my mid season lull I had put in a body of work and w/ only three weeks off I haven't lost all my gains, at the end of June last year I'd logged a respectable 500 miles(cue The Proclaimers!!!} this year only 282 but if things go to plan September October I could be looking at some serious miles come December 31st, July is now the month to lay foundations and hope August isn't too humid so that I can kick on

Thursday July 10th Took advantage of 80 degrees and 71% humidity and tacked on the extra half mile from Monday so I didn't have it hanging over me going into Saturdays run when I knew the humidity was going to be fierce, also w/one eye on returning to  lunchtime 5 mile runs next week this 4.5 mile run felt like a bridge to that,in the opening week of June I logged 4 days back to back b4 falling on my hole on Saturday so I wasn't getting carried away just yet

Saturday July 12th, looking at the big picture I know that getting back into the habit/routine of Saturday running is clutch so I made a point of getting my arse out of bed by 7am to run, it wasn't till post run that I discovered outside of two Saturday races his was my lone Saturday run.....maybe I blew off Saturdays due to a heavy GAA schedule but given that we're down to the business end  of the Provincial season I don't have that excuse to hide behind plus as I stated earlier it's''piss or get off the pot time"

Christ! a modest 76 degrees but 90% humidity........what I wouldn't have given for it to be the other way around.....no such luck, since I wasn't 100% sure where the 3 mile mark would be I wore my Garmin hence why ye're getting mile splits 8.27 for the opening mile time wasn't an issue I just wanted 6 miles    8.46 for mile 2 and I could feel the sweat bouncing off of me, at this point I was grateful for the breeze coming off of the Schuylkill

9.30 at the turnaround and I knew I was in trouble,not ashamed to say I walked back up the on/off to South Street bridge, at this stage 6 miles felt like wishful thinking,9.24 for mile 4 and I think I already knew it was going to be a 5 miler.....the final mile was as ugly as sin, stop/start, walk/run as was reflected by the 10.28 mile splits.....yeah it was that ugly!!!

46.34.5 off 9.19 mile pace, far from pretty but g'wan to fuck it was 90% humidity......hopefully as the weeks go by the humidity goes down the mileage goes up and the speed/pace improves

First 5 day week in 12 weeks and remarkably as many  miles in 5 days as the entire month of June,don't call it a comeback.....(sorry LL Cool J!!) more of its it's not the waking its the rising.....

Stop Me If Ye've Heard This One Before?.....

 Another post race inquest as to why things didn't go to plan, glass half empty my second slowest time all time for ten miles, glass half full on a day when the elements  weren't in  my favour and physically I wasn't at the pitch of it I dug deep to finish and at least had the  satisfaction of going gun to tape w/out having to stop......while to my critics that may smack of"trying to make a silk purse from a pig's ear"  it was another in a long line of  a worrying trend of  days when I had to dig deep mentally and physically to see it through

Silly O Clock got even earlier this race, the traditional 8am start was brought forward an hour to facilitate a Phillies home game so it was 4.35am when I got up to leave b4 5am to get to my auld stompin' ground of Broad & Olney by 6am

Even then there was a line for the prerace Portajohns which seemed in short supply for a field of 40,000 runners, that said my "business was taken care of" and I was into the Orange Corral by 6.35am, I had gone to the rear of the corral b4 eventually moving forward as the two corrals ahead of me Red & Purple were called up to the starting line at Broad & Somerville  ,conditions were grey and overcast....a pre cursor of what was to unfold,full disclosure I didn't check the temps pre race,not that it would've made any difference as the proverbial cheque was in the mail in terms of what was about to unfold, I will say however in my defense that I had drunk ample water the day b4 in an attempt to ward off dehydration

Off the back of the illness that laid me low a fortnite ago I wasn't expecting a fast time so I really didn't come into this race w/ a finish time/pace in mind that said I was pleasently surprised to clock 7.31 for the opening mile...however this was short lived.....as mile 2 was a 7.49 split,I would've expected mile 1 to be 7.49 as I weaved my way through the corral in the opening mile and then opening up the throttle w/ a 7.31 split.......

When mile 3 registered a 8.13 split I knew I was in trouble,my stomach was bothering me more than usual, I'm well used to "dodgy guts" pre race but usually once the race starts I'm fine.....not today.....it was going to be a long 7 miles to the finish

Somedays you have to create your own motivations when things aren't going to script....b4 mile 4 around Broad & Cecil B Moore I spotted a large Irish Tricolour off to my right......the flag of my homeland will always inspire me and raise my spirits period muchless when things aren't going to script as I approached it I saluted it, high fived it's owner and said " Tiocfaidh ar la"{our day will come for ye who aren't well versed in Gaelic} on a day things weren't  going my way that interaction bought me another mile

At this stage I was thinking one mile at a time, I don't think not finishing was ever a consideration,asides from a rare DNF{ only one in my 49 year career thus far and that's one too many} I also wanted my medal {#260} plus my bag w/my phone and keys was at he finish line so unless I was going to punk out jump on the Subway and get down to Patterson Ave to get to  the Navy Yard and  bullshit everyone  that I ran the whole race I was going to have to grind it out

8.25 for mile 4, 8.38 for mile 5  at Broad & Spring Garden now I needed to think about my daily 5 milers to get from Spring Garden to the Navy Yard, I was dripping in sweat and having to take water on which I normally don't but this wasn't my typical Broad Street Run,.....any day a runner dressed as a giant Hot Dog passes me inside the final mile underlines that fact......more power to him but it was the exclamation point on my day......

8.41 for mile 6 heading in to South Philly,reversed a trend of each split getting slower by dropping a 8.34 at mile 7....not sure where that came from ...however it was short lived as mile 8 was a 8.46 split followed by a 8.48 split at mile 9

I believed a sub 1.25 finish was there for the taking if I could dig deep, after a couple of years of construction in the Navy Yard the last two years it has had its traditional finish in the Navel Yard which always helps,once I went through the gates of the Navy Yard I knew the finish line was just up ahead and somehow I dredged up an 8.28 final mile to cross  the line in  slow 1.24.29 off 8.22 mile pace

And so to the post race inquest, what went wrong? two things I had feck all control over getting over being sick and the humidity both lent themselves to a slow time, for me the more worrying trend is another slow time, ok I dug deep to grind it out but "moral victories" are becoming the norm of late, looking back at the last twelve races since last years Broad Street Run they have mostly been slow and or me having to dig deep to salvage something from them,I had hoped after a semi decent Hot Chocolate 15k last time out I'd reversed that trend......then I got sick and lost ten days of training which was always going to hinder me coupled w/ the humidity which is always  my Ktyptonite 

I now have a long stretch of no races on the schedule through choice until the Philly 10k in sixteen weeks time,in that time I would like to start  building  base  mileage for the Philly Marathon in  twenty nine weeks time hopefully the trend of slow times and moral victories/ grinding it out will pass, last year I didn't log enough mileage in May, June,July,August, September in the build up to Dublin to make sure Philadelphia isn't deja vu I need to crack on starting Tuesday

Love,Hope & Strength

" Cos I'm a man of emotion who can't hide the tears,I'm a man of feeling who can't hide the pain, I'm alone on the outskirts of town where no one knows my name, I'm at the point in my life where I need affection, won't you give me love ,give me hope, give me strength, give me someone to live for"

Strength-The Alarm

Seldom a dull moment in the world of Kevinrunningfree, one minute I'm logging my first 5 day training week in  ten weeks the next I'm on the DL{Disabled List} for ten days leading up to the final third of the Spring Triple Crown and the first leg of the Big Three in Philly road racing circuit{Broad St Run,Philadelphia Distance Run and Philadelphia Marathon}

Monday April 14th An easy 5 miler to kick off the week 44.26.2 off 8.53 mile pace w/ splits of 8.24-8.40-9.08-9.21-8.53

The auld adage goes  music soothes the savage beast and a good run helps clear the head, I had missed a potential long run over the weekend due to coming home from work on Friday to a ''Notice To Vacate" on the inside of the front door......it's a long drawn out saga that's been rumbling on for almost a year now but I'm happy to say while I was out running that lunchtime the situation was correcting its self to the point where I now have a new lease for the next 12 months and potentially the freeloaders in the building will leave or  be moved on, this has been my home for better or worse for the last 12 years,it's far from Shangri la but its home and I'd prefer to leave when I'm good and ready and not b4 time

Tuesday April 15th An untimed 5 miler to keep things ticking along not only for the long overdue  5 day week but the equally long overdue triple digit mileage month,at this stage halfway through the month I was now on 42 miles and seemingly well on course to brake the now 13 month drought since I clocked 154 miles last February.......a week's along time in politics so they say.....it can be a lifetime in Masters running.....

Wednesday April 16th A tempo run no seasons best this week off a 41.49.4 thanks to 8.20 mile pace and splits of 8.14-8.43-8.29-8.27-7.55

While I was some 1.23 shy of last weeks seasons best time{40.26.3} I could at least hang my hat on negative splits out in 21.29 back in 20.20 at 3.5 months into the season I feel I'm slowly getting into a groove,I'm painfully aware that the"big picture" needs to be addressed here,blowin' the shaggin' doors off now won't mean shite come November when I hope to conquer the Philly Marathon on the 40th anniversary of my marathon debut so for now it's small victories

Thursday April 17th An easy 5 miler at a modest 43.53.3 off 8.47 mile pace w/ another negative split out in 22.45 and back in 21.08,more importantly this was my first four in a row since Feb 10th-13th and had set me up nicely for my first 5 day week since the start of February.....however little did I know what was lurking below the surface ready to bring things crashing down around my ears.....

Sunday April 20th Not the 12 mile run I had set out to do but w/ hindsight I can now see why things went tits up on me

Things began well enough as I clocked 8.29 for the opening mile on my way  to Powelton Avenue, the next two splits were close to identical 9.19-9.18 b4 somehow mile 4 ballooned upto 11.06, there was a Garmin malfunction where I didn't reset it after getting caught at the junction of 34th St and Spring Garden and didn't realize till I reached West River Dr

I haven't had the pleasure of training on West River Dr in eons, the longest construction job ever on the section below Spring Garden St bridge for the past two years has thrown a spanner in the works there hence the 34th St/Landsdowne Dr to Sweetbriar Lane to West River Dr route,the malfunction w/ the Garmin meant I would have to head further north bound on West River Dr b4 making the turnaround between Strawberry Mansion bridge and the Conrail bridge b4 Falls bridge

9.24 at mile 5 and 9.33 at mile 6, 56.29 at halfway as I made the turn around......9.40 for the 7th mile and like that I stopped,w/ hindsight I thought I had made a balls  of my prep by not drinking enough water the  day b4 or that morning and that's how I framed it as I managed to tack on one more mile at 9.46 to settle for 8 miles in 1.16.36 off 9.35 mile pace

Glass half empty another long run/double digit run up in smoke and another setback in my quest to get double digit miles in, glass half full at 28 miles my longest weekly mileage week this year,equaling the 28 miles I logged the week of The Love Run  three weeks prior

Over the next ten days I came to realize I had gotten sick which might explain the sub par long run Sunday,initially I blew off Mondays 5 miler as I felt sore....the proverbial cheque was in he mail as I woke up under the weather Tuesday  and by Wednesday it was full blown, I don't get sick often but when I do its usually a doozie, the last time I was this sick was probably 8 years ago.....and if it's another 8 years b4 I get this sick again I'll be ok w/ that........

Wednesday April 30th Back at it after a ten day hiatus w/ an untimed 5 miler in glorious mid 70 degree temps

Having been on pace for triple digit mileage this month till I lost ten days I now had to settle for 65 miles a dip from the 78 I logged in March but that couldn't be helped period and as I keep saying last year I began all guns blazing only to see my season taper off over five of the next seven months so if it takes another month {or two} to get there so be it.....

Thursday May 1st Another untimed 5 miler to kick start the month period but also hopefully rebuild my monthly mileage

I didn't realize until I was looking at last years log that my only miles in May were the 10 I clocked in last years Broad Street Run, so at least w/ this run  and hopefully Sundays Broad St Run I'll be ahead of the curve

Hopefully the 10 days I lost won't come back to bite me in the hole, I have no pre race goals other than to cross the finish line in South Philly in the Navy Yard Sunday morning, a reasonable time is just Gravy

In closing I feel compelled to mention the passing of The Alarm's lead singer Mike Peters on Tuesday,I was a huge Alarm fan back in the day and enjoyed seeing them live  maybe a dozen times, Mike Peters was as genuine as they came, walked it how he talked it and I was fortune enough to meet him several times after an Alarm gig or during his solo career, several years ago at a show at the Hard Rock Cafe here in Philly he saw me down front w/ a tshirt from their first headline tour in 1984 and pulled me upon stage and asked me what Alarm song I wanted to hear.....who does that?......I'll tell ye who does that Mike Peters he was the real deal and will be sadly missed but he left a legacy of music and memories for those of us who followed The Alarm......as the lyrics go in "Majority" "it was all those words, that saved my dreams, there were times when I felt like a human being"........ Rest In Peace Michael thank you for the lifetime of Love,Hope & Strength...
 

Just Doin' Cowboy Shit All Week.......

 Up before the sun before the wind cuts cold cowboys packing heat pushing cattle up and down the Yellowstone, it's a choice you make live and die alone ride high and shoot low  from the saddle when you ride for the Yellowstone

A Song For The Stone Ryan Bingham

Another week in the books, another missed opportunity at a 5 day train week/ Sunday long run......but hey I finished watching "Yellowstone" so it wasn't all bad......

Another week I had Monday off work but failed to muster the chops to get out the door to run although in my defense it was pissin' out of the heavens so I could be excused or forgiven for not getting out there...however as I've said countless times b4 when you miss a Monday run it puts you behind the eight ball for the week in terms of getting a five day week in.....I could play the "quality over quantity" card but I won't what I will say as I get older is that I've come to appreciate rest days, it's early in the season, I've gotten into the routine of running at lunchtime the previous ten weeks now I just need to get the Saturday/Sunday long run back into the rotation but I also need to make sure I don't peak too soon, I had a huge volume of mileage under my belt last December, January and February and never came close to  replicating it the remainder of the year when I needed to for the Dublin Marathon so it's a juggling act right now, get into a routine, be race ready.......but don't shoot your load now b4 the Fall when it's time to get in Marathon shape, having ran a 15k I know I have it in my saddle bag to run a good ten miles at the upcoming Broad Street Run but I'm also painfully aware that the Summer is around the corner and the last few years I have struggled to handle the heat and humidity so it's a classic case of "knowin  when to hold em, knowin' when to fold em, know when to walk away and know when to run"......

Tuesday April 8th

The now very welcome untimed run, as I said before it's a matter of getting every ounce I can out of myself, back in the day everything felt it had to be fast, at almost 62 and two knees that don't seem they got the memo/group text that yours truly is on a mission to reach 300 medals and there are 41 still to go the easy/recovery/untimed runs are just as clutch as the tempo/long runs

It was also a good thing today was an untimed run as the wind was fair savage out there this lunchtime file this one as a Winnie The Pooh run......it was a blustery day, when you can feel the wind at your back after making the turn past Girard Avenue bridge on Kelly Drive you appreciate how windy it is....

Wednesday April 9th

A new season's best for 5 miles, taking 1.22 off of  March 27ths time  of 41.48.5 

Benefitting off of two rest days and an untimed run I hit the opening split in 7.40 which is brisk, the question now was could I hold onto that pace?....at eleven weeks into my training I do feel I have enough "hay in the barn" to hang on to that kind of opening split, my volume of mileage may only be  just over 200 miles but the weekly repartition is paying off

8.12 at mile 2 just past Boathouse Row on Kelly Drive, mercifully yesterdays savage wind had died down and I clocked 20.03 at the 2.5 mile turnaround, 8.23 for mile 3 my splits were slowly creepin' up but still  south of respectable 

8.38 at mile 4 now for the charge down Ben Franklin Parkway towards 16th St, I felt off of 20.03 for the opening half I was on pace for something in the region of 40 mins and a new season's best time

7.30 for the final mile and a second half of 20.23 and a time of 40.26.3 off 8.04 mile pace, any doubts about my fast twitch muscles have been  answered between today and the 7.54 mile pace of last weeks Hot Chocolate 15k, question moving forward is how much faster can I go and how much lower is that PR going to be is sub 40 on the cards?

Thursday April 10th

Nice easy/recovery 5 miler, it's amazing what a world of difference 20 years makes, I cherish the slower run now w/ the handbrake on after letting the clutch out the day b4  20 years ago a 45.44.8 5 miler off 9.07 mile pace would have seemed woefully slow, 20 years later and god knows how many miles since I take it in stride

One notable foot note from the run how often do you manage identical splits? out in 22.52 back in 22.52, a second here, a second there on the way back could've been a negative split but I kinda like the all too rare identical splits

Sadly I didn't get out on the weekend to go long, I'm a little pissed about it but I'll deal w/ it, again looking at the bigger picture I don't need to be going off half cocked I have Broad Street coming up but I know I can run a decent ten miler so maybe the next two weekend look at 12 mile runs to springboard into May and upping the weekend long runs w/ a view to being at 20 miles come June

On the subject of marathons on Saturday nite I finished watching "Yellowstone" I think I began in late December/ early January  watching all 53 episodes I had three left come Saturday and w/ a date at the Miller Theater this Saturday for the 30th anniversary of "Riverdance" I knew it was all or nothing this weekend.

I will say this much, "Yellowstone" is one of the few series I've watched either in real time or binge watched where I felt the finale wasn't a cop out a la "Sopranos" "Boardwalk Empire" "Game Of Thrones" "Sons Of Anarchy" and "Vikings", I look forward to the Beth & Rip spin off and have "1883" and "1923" to enjoy while I wait, happy trails cow folk.....

Forty Shades Of Green{White & Gold}

 I wish that I could spend an hour at Dublin's churching surf I'd love to watch the farmers drain the bogs and spade the turf, to see again the thatching of the straw the women glean, I'd walk from Cork to Larne to see the forty shades of green

Forty Shades Of Green-Johnny Cash

Another week, another race, another medal, #3 for the season,#259 for the career as I close in on #300 and 2/3rds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books

Monday March 31st Off the bat I'm gonna be 100% honest and say if it weren't for the fact it was the final day of the month I might've skipped this run,although it would've been counter productive as I needed to get some of the crap out of my legs from Sundays 1/2 marathon

The plan was 5 miles but it was obvious from the get go I didn't have it in me to do 5 muchless w/in the confines of a lunch hour, were time not an issue I'd have ground out the 5 but on a good day I'm pushing it to get 5 miles in w/in an hour when you include a stretch pre run and drying off and getting back into my work clothes for the afternoon

When I opened in 9.37 the proverbial writing was on the wall so I figured at 1.5 miles I'd turn and make this 3 miles at Lloyd Hall,10.34 for mile 2 followed by 10.27 for mile 3, 30.38.1 off 10.13 mile pace but more importantly 3 miles to pad March's tally to 78

Sadly 22 miles shy of the triple digits I had hoped for but 2 miles further than February so at least the numbers are heading North not South, it would be nice to get triple digits in April but the last two months of 76 miles and 78 miles confirm I'm back on the right track

Tuesday April 1st No April's Fools here an untimed 5 miler to kick off the month and my quest for the elusive triple digit month not seen since February of last year is underway

I could feel the benefit  of yesterdays recovery 3 miler to get the 1/2 marathon out of my legs and hopefully this bodes well heading into tomorrow's tempo run

The old adage "a week's a long time in politics" bore fruit today, yesterday I questioned running back to back races at 61 going on 62 however getting a recovery run in loosened my legs up nicely to the point that backing it up today w/an untimed run today meant any thoughts of picking one or the other next year between the Love Run 1/2 marathon or Hot Chocolate 15k was banished,my knees may be shot and I have to manage my body on  a day to day basis but running smart, not hard is becoming the mindset

Thursday April 3rd So work got in the way yesterday of a run, it happens, no point spittin' the dummy out and throwing my toys out of the pram,I'm there to work and run on my lunch hour not fit work around my running schedule

I didn't realize it was going to be 74 degrees at 2pm if I had've the trusty half zip would've stayed in my back pack, b4 I reached mile 2 on Kelly Drive along Boathouse Row I had to take off said half zip and wrap it around my waist at this point I was overheating and w/ one less day to recover for a race on Saturday not Sunday I figured why fly in the face of it, turned at mile 2 and tacked on another mile for a semi respectable 26.19.8 off 8.47 mile pace, the proverbial chalk and cheese from Monday's laboured effort over 3 miles,my splits were 8.20-8.32-9.28

Saturday April 5th I believe this is my 5th Hot Chocolate 15k since 2018 it always serves as sighter for the Broad Street Run a month later, last year I came in a little shell shocked off the back of a below par Love Run 1/2 marathon b4 rebounding nicely for one of my few podium finishes,last week my time was very little to crow about but I felt the overall performance outshone the time,so coming into a race that was 4 miles less and considerably flatter what might I do?

57 degrees and overcast close to picture perfect conditions although as ever w/ low cloud cover that meant Hal the little bollix of a Garmin was going to play up, if I was a shade over ambitious last week hoping for 8 min pace pace and eventually running 8.25 mile pace  today I hoped for quicker than 8.25 per mile......

I got a clear run from the siren and worked my way into a good spot,my garmin went off  b4 the 1 mile marker....according to Hal 7.32.....at the mile marker I saw 8.04, again for blog purposes I'll go w/ what Hal  said.....even though he's a lying little fecker!!!!

7.51 at mile 2 followed by back to back 7.55s for miles 3 & 4 I felt I was running well w/in myself at this stage, not sure why they can't keep us on Kelly Dr a bit further b4 the 4.5 mile turn around, this semi ridiculous up and back b4 the up and back for the actual turn around is annoying and having ran back to back 7.55's I now clocked a 7.57 split for mile 5

8.06 at mile 6 now for the clusterfuck that is the back markers of the 10k, they might want to consider having them go off earlier rather than at the same time as the 15k,the 10k got added 2 years ago and has been a bit of a ball breaker the last two years.....don't get it twisted I whole heartedly encourage people to get out and run irrigardless of pace but when I now have to weave in and out of them in the final 3 miles of a 15k it's an issue

7.48 at mile 7 b4  my slowest split of 8.12 at mile 8, a little fatigue a little weaving in and out of 10k back markers b4 another 8.06 split at mile 9,threw in a 1.47 for the .3 to cross the finish line in 1.13.11 off 7.54 mile pace which is roughly 1.12.04 for 9 miles, 9 miles at 8 min mile pace =1.12.00......not too shabby if I say so myself,I never lowball my pre race aims, off the back of a 1/2 marathon at 8.25 mile pace 6 days ago if you offered me 7.54 mile pace today I'd have jumped at it

The good news kept coming 2nd in the 60-64 age group,nice to be back on the podium again, last year I won my age group and they waived my entry fee for this year, in previous years they gave bonus medals.....gotta say I'm good w/ either this year, granted a bonus medal means one less race to run on the route to #300 but given the price of races these days saving $60-$70 can't be sniffed at either

Two thirds of the Spring Triple Crown in the books, hopefully the next three weeks can yield some longer runs starting w/ 12 this weekend,one eye on Broad Street, another on the Summer and potentially getting up to 20 mile runs come June,Philly Marathon is 35 weeks away....