Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Today: 30 mile bike ride - Shankill, Bray, Greystones, Newcastle, Glen of the Down, Rathmichael and home.

Plenty of hills, and I've never ridden this far (my bicycle years were half a lifetime ago) but actually faired pretty well. enjoyed the experience, but got a little knackered after 20 miles. Thankfully, I had brought a gel with me, and my most wonderful Nathan drinks bottle, both of which kept me trucking.

A liberal layer of body glide kept things moving without significant pain, so hopefully my a$$ won't look like Honeymonster's feet after the MDS. Best part? My calf muscle seems to have loosened out a bit and isn't tugging on the ligament (for the moment).

Hats off to you Duathlon/Triathlon guys. It's hard work climbing those steep hills.

Summary: 30 mile bike ride in 2:24, @12.6mph. HR=137.

Seres

ya might get into the triathlons yet !:)

asimonov

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

How does that fit in with a 2:21 half marathon?
Yeah, I know, I should be fine. The problem with a 24 week marathon schedule is that I would hate to put in all that work and only shave a couple of minutes off of my PB. I'd like to make a significant dent. But we'll see how the next few weeks go. If I were you, I would be signing up for a late summer marathon, and aiming for 3:05, with your Wexford time. But that's just me!

ahem..i meant other than the 2:21 and the knee - you're in peak condition .

A late summer marathon is very tempting, especially when i look at marathonguide and see whats on in august / september. But between family holidays and wanting to give my next marathon a real go, I'm going to stick to my guns and go with a long prep to Dublin as my next with a summer of higher mileage and shorter races as the base. With luck i should be able to aim for somewhere around the 3:05 mark.

Krusty_Clown

asimonov wrote: »

I'm going to stick to my guns

That's why you're running, and I'm limping.

Krusty_Clown

Today:

• 15 miles on the bike, @14mph in 1:04 (HR=133).
• Weights
• Core strength exercises/Stretching/Foam Roller

Physio again tomorrow. Hopefully back running during the week.

Walls

Pfft.


Slacker.

Seres

hey krusty
do you think you will be able to take part in the roscommon mini marathon next monday ?

Krusty_Clown

Seres wrote: »

hey krusty
do you think you will be able to take part in the roscommon mini marathon next monday ?

Hi Seres, it's looking very unlikely. Tried to go for my first run today, and could only manage a couple of strides. Will definitely be there though, as the OH will be running. Might bring the camera, and take some photos for the racepix365 site. Looks like it'll be a longer rehab. Beginning to wonder if Edinburgh is now a realistic option.

Seres

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Hi Seres, it's looking very unlikely. Tried to go for my first run today, and could only manage a couple of strides. Will definitely be there though, as the OH will be running. Might bring the camera, and take some photos for the racepix365 site. Looks like it'll be a longer rehab. Beginning to wonder if Edinburgh is now a realistic option.

thats very disappointing for you ,hopefully it wont come to that , what time is your OH targeting ?

Krusty_Clown

Seres wrote: »

thats very disappointing for you ,hopefully it wont come to that , what time is your OH targeting ?

She's hoping to beat the hour. It's a milestone that's been a beggin' for a couple of 10ks, so here's hoping she'll do it this time!

Krusty_Clown

Today: Physio told me I should be good for a 20 minute run today, so it was with great eagerness and some trepidation that I put on the running gear again, and walked to the park, did some stretching, started the Garmin, took a couple of strides, then stopped again. Pain on front and back of knee. Home again. Pick up bike. Very frustrating, particularly as it's such a minor injury. So, instead I did 20 angry bike miles on a route I ran a month or two ago, on a long run. At least the sun was shining.

So:
Cycled 20 miles, in 1:23, @14.4mph, HR=140
Weights x 12 reps
14 reps of core strength exercises
Foam Roller, ice, elevation, frustration.

MCOS

The cycling will pay dividends when you are back into your stride. Ease back onto that calf.... best of luck to your OH breaking the hour

Seres

good luck to your OH Monday , sure who knows we might cross paths !

Krusty_Clown

Thanks. I actually feel the bike doing me some good, particularly up the steep inclines. More importantly, I'm keeping the fitness levels up, should the injury come good in time.

Krusty_Clown

Today:
Went to the gym for a chance of pace. Don't really like the gym, but man cannot live on bike alone.

• 20 mins on bike, followed by 10 minutes on each of:
• Cross Trainer
• Stepping/climbing machine-thingey
• Treadmill (at 6km/hour)
• Rowing machine
• Before finally, going back to the bike for a final 10 minutes

Krusty_Clown

Almost forgot to update my log, as there's not much worth mentioning.

Yesterday: woke up with my entire calf in one long agonising stiff knotted.....um...thing.. Dunno what happened. Didn't overdo it in the gym. Different problem area to my original complaint. So... No cycling now either..

So I'm taking a grander view of the whole thing at this stage, and figure that it's more important to recover, than it is to make the marathon in Edinburgh. So if I fix up on time, I'll run the race with a slower target (still a minor PB). If I don't mend in time, I'll set some new target races. No sense in getting upset. The 600 or so miles in preparation for the race won't go to waste, as I've reached a new base that I can continue to improve on. Running isn't just for Christmas, it's for life.

Today: Weights, core strength, foam roller, ice, compression, yawn.

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

So I'm taking a grander view of the whole thing at this stage, and figure that it's more important to recover, than it is to make the marathon in Edinburgh. So if I fix up on time, I'll run the race with a slower target (still a minor PB). If I don't mend in time, I'll set some new target races. No sense in getting upset. The 600 or so miles in preparation for the race won't go to waste, as I've reached a new base that I can continue to improve on. Running isn't just for Christmas, it's for life.

Yeah, you've a good understanding going on here. It can be real easy to let an upcoming marathon magnify in terms of importance, so its nice that you can see the bigger picture. You'll be over this soon, plenty more fast races then.

Krusty_Clown

Today: First post injury run today. Could only feel a minor niggle this morning, so decided to try out a gentle 20 minute run. Went well, except I noticed that my left foot (injury leg) was turning out, in some kind of subconscious compensation for the injury. So, while I was in the park, did 6x100m jogs at easy pace barefoot on the grass, which seems to have helped, but earned me some very strange looks. Think I'll add this practice to the end of my runs over the next couple of weeks, so I don't pick up any running form issues.
Summary: 2.5 miles in 20 mins (+ another 1/2 mile).

Afternoon: Weights, Core strength training +foam roller.

Slogger Jogger

Good to have you back running KC.

Walls

Where do you get the time for this? I get up early because there isn't any other time available, and even then it takes a chunk out of the day...

asimonov

Good stuff kc, nice and easy.....

kennyb3

glad to her your back albeit gently. if the injury doesnt react will you be running edinburgh?

Krusty_Clown

Thanks all. Plan is still to run Edinburgh, but will adjust time backwards according to how the next 3.5 weeks go. I need a training program that takes me from 2.5 miles to 26 miles in 3 weeks, and includes a taper.

I don't think I've lost too much, as I kept the overall effort levels up, so hope to still run for a PB, so will aim for sub 3:15 (assuming recovery continues to go well). Original plan was to aim for 3:05 - 3:07. That'll have to wait for the next race.

Krusty_Clown

Walls wrote: »

Where do you get the time for this? I get up early because there isn't any other time available, and even then it takes a chunk out of the day...

Redundancy helps (kind of :mad:)! Kids are in school during the day, so it's the best time for me to do my running. Started some college courses recently though, so exercise hours are being shifted around. Also still trying to be re-employed, so the dream could be over soon.

RacoonQueen

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

The 600 or so miles in preparation for the race won't go to waste, as I've reached a new base that I can continue to improve on. Running isn't just for Christmas, it's for life.

What a great quote, and how right you are.

Glad to hear you're back running, still plenty of time to go till Edinburgh you'll still breeze through it.

Krusty_Clown

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Glad to hear you're back running, still plenty of time to go till Edinburgh you'll still breeze through it.

Thanks mp1972.
First to the pub buys the first round. :cool:

Seres

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Redundancy helps (kind of :mad:)! Kids are in school during the day, so it's the best time for me to do my running. Started some college courses recently though, so exercise hours are being shifted around. Also still trying to be re-employed, so the dream could be over soon.

at least you have something to aim for , i imagine you would go mad redundant and not having nothing to occupy you.
By the way , glad to see that edinburgh is back on the cards , hope the next couple of weeks go well for you ,training wise

Krusty_Clown

Today: 30 mins easy run with a couple of buddies at very easy pace.
Summary: 3 miles in 30 mins (slow but progressive).

Krusty_Clown

Today: Went out for an hour, at easy to aerobic pace, and covered 7.75 miles. Was quite dehydrated (probably down to post-Counting Crow's gig pints), and HR was very high. I'm hoping this is down to the dehydration rather than a loss of aerobic fitness. Leg injury still pinging me, and my running form is suffering badly because of it (running on outside of foot). So followed run with some more barefoot grass running, and a warm down, for a total of 9 miles. A lovely day for running, but was plagued by kamikaze flies, who seemed to be aiming for my mouth, followed by much dry-heaving. I'd nearly prefer a nice windy day!

Summary: 9 Miles, at around 7:44/mile, HR=167
22 Days to Edinburgh.

Krusty_Clown

Today:

Morning: Weights, Core strength exercises, and foam roller.

Afternoon: Very hilly 22 mile cycle around the Sugarloaf, via Enniskerry, and stopped to hike up the Sugarloaf. Beautiful day for a cycle, even the flies stayed away, but the hills! Killer.. My legs were wrecked by the time I got to the Sugarloaf car-park for a hike up the 'mountain'. Perhaps doing core strength stuff on the same day as a hilly cycle is not such a good idea.

Cycle elevation profile (without the hike):


Hope to have another go at the running lark tomorrow.

Summary: 22 Miles on the bike, and a quick hike up the Sugarloaf.