Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Yesterday: 12 Miles easy
Instead of surrendering my spare week of marathon training, I decided I'd put up a fight, and try and reclaim the week back. This meant a pretty tough weekend, with 40+ miles and three core sessions. First up, 12 miles easy. It just felt so good to be back home and running outside, that I barely noticed the cold, after hitting the road and felt as strong as an ox throughout the run (benefits of a crap running day the previous day). A nice loop over Vico Road, down to Glasthule and back by the 'noggin, with another short hill, on the route home.
Summary: 12 miles in 1:27, @7:11/mile, HR=138

Plus: 5 minute core strength exercises

Krusty_Clown

Today: 10 miles with 4 miles @ Half Marathon Pace
Could still feel last night's run in the legs, but that's the price of juggling schedules. Four mile warm-up, and into the tempo miles; target = 5:55/mile. As usual, I screwed the start and a glance at the watch said 5:23/mile. Yeah, that wasn't going to last. Gradually the clock slowed to 5:48 and then started to creep up to 5:55. I took this as a personal affront (running nearly five years now, and still just as stupid), so I picked up the pace, and got the clock back to 5:50. Was fairly dying at the end, but that's the price of stupidity. Glad to see the end of it. Ironically, a far better performance than my race a few weeks back. What a difference a few drinks makes. Good training for Ballycotton anyway. Two miles warm-down. Tomorrow's 20 miles is going to be a painful affair, but we're back on track for this week, having only missed out on a couple of recovery runs.
Summary: 10 miles in 1:07, @6:44/mile, HR=~142

Later: 18 x 15 core strength, and 15 x 2 x 4 weights

Slogger Jogger

Just catching up on your log. Nice running. Don't envy your run Sunday.

Ventured onto Krusty territory with a run from Cabinteely through Lehaunstown over M50 to leadmines and back via some of the Dublin mountain way looping back to Cab. Nice trails up there and lots of scope for variation. Quite slippery in road shoes and lots of horsey people in evidence (are they allowed on your trails )? View from leadmines over Dublin bay today was terrific.

Krusty_Clown

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Just catching up on your log. Nice running. Don't envy your run Sunday.

Ventured onto Krusty territory with a run from Cabinteely through Lehaunstown over M50 to leadmines and back via some of the Dublin mountain way looping back to Cab. Nice trails up there and lots of scope for variation. Quite slippery in road shoes and lots of horsey people in evidence (are they allowed on your trails )? View from leadmines over Dublin bay today was terrific.

The path up by the golf course is quite mucky, but most of the other paths/trails are in very good nick. But yeah, there's a huge amount of variety. Love, love, love running up there, and don't do enough of it (stoopid marathons!).

Krusty_Clown

Today: 20 mile long run
A hape of very enjoyable pints with my fellow-boards pacers, and as expected, I wasn't in great running form, so this one got dragged out until 1:30pm (the rain and a cracking tennis final didn't help with the motivation to head outside either). Pissing rain for the entire run, so within 30 minutes I was drowned and frozen, and my clothes had almost tripled in weight (even body-glide couldn't save my poor nips!). Pace was easy enough after yesterday's tempo and a total of 42 miles for the weekend. Managed to get in some hills (some intentional and some by accident) and was kept company by an assortment of podcasts (must do this more often). Not bad for a first 20 miler. More focus and speed the next time.

Summary: 20 miles in 2:28, @7:24/mile, HR=132, nips=sore.

Krusty_Clown

Lunch: 6 Miles recovery run
Evening: 4 Mile recovery run

Lunch-time run with work-buddy, and the legs were a little stiff from yesterday's long run. Soon loosened out, and the only remaining pain was my nips. Seriously, what purpose do they serve? What higher power saw fit to equip us with these useless appendages, whose only purpose is to sting on wet days? Someone in work recommended these as a possible solution, so I might give them a try. Anyone else any experience with them?

For my second recovery run, I figured I'd get it ticked off before heading home from work (had a few late things to finish up in work), so I threw on the smelly gear and headed out for an easy four miles. Note to self: two sets of running gear on double Mondays.

Summary: 10 miles in two runs, 7:42/mile, HR=126

Peckham

52 miles in 4 days. Be careful!

Are you long running on Sunday? Am down Greystones direction and might be doing long run Sunday morning. 20 miles.

Krusty_Clown

Peckham wrote: »

52 miles in 4 days. Be careful!

Are you long running on Sunday? Am down Greystones direction and might be doing long run Sunday morning. 20 miles.

I'd better suck it up; my plan maxes out at 85mpw. Bad timing, unfortunately. I have a PMP run this weekend (18 miles, with 8 miles @6:11/mile). Fancy some of that? Give me a shout next time your in the area. We should try and do a long run before the big day.

Peckham

6:11 is a bit rich for me! Will try and join you on a non-PMP week.

Krusty_Clown

Peckham wrote: »

6:11 is a bit rich for me! Will try and join you on a non-PMP week.

By my reckoning (subject to change!) my next (and last) official PMP run is the 26th February. I also have Donadea (18th February), Ballycotton (4th March), and Connemara (1st April). Ok, on paper, admittedly, not the best selection of build-up races ever.

Would like to do a couple of nice long runs in Phoenix Park at some stage, to take the pressure off the knees.

Peckham

Full or half in Connemara?!

Will be up for any Phoenix Park runs, so let me know when you stick one in the diary.

Not sure if it's on your radar, but registration for the BAA 5k, which is on the day before Boston, opens tomorrow at 3pm. Mrs P is having a go at it, I'll limit myself to spectating.

Krusty_Clown

Peckham wrote: »

Full or half in Connemara?!

Will be up for any Phoenix Park runs, so let me know when you stick one in the diary.

Not sure if it's on your radar, but registration for the BAA 5k, which is on the day before Boston, opens tomorrow at 3pm. Mrs P is having a go at it, I'll limit myself to spectating.

The half! I'm dumb, but only slightly stupid! Plan is to do it at marathon pace. Cool. Emer_911 might be interested in that. I think we're in the city on the Sunday and Monday, and then out in the 'burbs for the rest of the time.

Krusty_Clown

Afternoon: 8 Miles with strides
Food tendons a little sore after the weekend's mileage, but soon loosened up, and headed for the soft and squidgy grass in Corkagh Park. Launched into the strides, but lost count so just kept doing them approximately every half mile. It's funny when you think you're just plodding along and you glance at the watch to see 6:30+/mile (all down to the strides of course).
Summary: 8 Miles, 58:20 mins, @7:09/mile, HR=135

Evening: Weights and core (19x).

Night: A group of good mates chipped in and bought me a Forerunner 910xt for my milestone birthday, which one of 'em dropped over this evening. It took all of my will-power not to take it for a spin this evening, but with 13 miles in the plan for tomorrow, I opted for just having a play. Looking forward to giving it a proper try out tomorrow. I've only read the manual the two times.

ManFromAtlantis

good training krusty. looking forward to hearing what you think of the garmin 910. bet it wont go bezerk due to wet/sweat like some of teh 405s.

Krusty_Clown

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

good training krusty. looking forward to hearing what you think of the garmin 910. bet it wont go bezerk due to wet/sweat like some of teh 405s.

Yeah, the 405 was driving me mad over the weekend with the heavy rain. Very frustrating, so the arrival of the 910 was well-timed. I feel a little sad though, as I've had the same 405 since I started running in early 2008, and it's seen me through nearly 8 thousand miles. I briefly had another 405, when I left my original in South Africa, but when it was returned, I got rid of the replacement (for €30 less than I paid for it) and returned to my original watch. I feel a little like I'm cheating on it; we've been through so much together.

First impressions (pending 13 mile run at lunch-time!): It's really light. A lot lighter than it looks. Interestingly, it does have a bezel of sorts (double tap the screen to turn on the light), but this doesn't seem to work very well (thankfully there's a 'hard' button to turn on the light too). It's extremely comfortable to wear. Far more comfortable than the 405 (and the 305 I wore for a couple of miles). Great to be able to alternate between training screens, without having to muck about with the bezel. Also great to have the map feature and the option to turn on 1 second recording (both features already available on 305/310). Really quick to pick up satellites (no more waiting around in the cold) and the vibrate feature on notifications (lap, interval etc) is nothing short of brilliant! The barometric altimeter is unfortunately supposed to be pretty crap, but haven't have the opportunity to put it to the test yet (hopefully will be fixed by firmware update). Can't wait to take it for a swim and a cycle (but don't tell donothoponpop who has become a tri-evangelist!).

shels4ever

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Afternoon: 8 Miles with strides
Food tendons a little sore after the weekend's mileage, but soon loosened up, and headed for the soft and squidgy grass in Corkagh Park. Launched into the strides, but lost count so just kept doing them approximately every half mile. It's funny when you think you're just plodding along and you glance at the watch to see 6:30+/mile (all down to the strides of course).
Summary: 8 Miles, 58:20 mins, @7:09/mile, HR=135

Evening: Weights and core (19x).

Night: A group of good mates chipped in and bought me a Forerunner 910xt for my milestone birthday, which one of 'em dropped over this evening. It took all of my will-power not to take it for a spin this evening, but with 13 miles in the plan for tomorrow, I opted for just having a play. Looking forward to giving it a proper try out tomorrow. I've only read the manual the two times.

Yep its been very squidgy this week, i keep saying "at least its not snow" to myself as I run.

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Can't wait to take it for a swim and a cycle (but don't tell donothoponpop who has become a tri-evangelist!).

Swim? Cycle? Where can I get one? Does it come in Tri colours?

shotgunmcos

910xt - are you the first boardsie to get your hands on one... I'm jealous. Do tell us how is goes in the water, thanks

Krusty_Clown

donothoponpop wrote: »

Swim? Cycle? Where can I get one? Does it come in Tri colours?

Unfortunately the Carbon Fibre strap isn't available until Q3 2012.

shotgunmcos wrote:

Do tell us how is goes in the water, thanks

Sadly, it'll be some time before I get a chance to try it on either the bike or the water. Might try and get a swim in on Saturday, but most of my time these days is spent on the hoof.

shels wrote:

Yep its been very squidgy this week, i keep saying "at least its not snow" to myself as I run.

Gonna try and get to Tymon Park for today's run (5 miles to get there) but don't really know the way, so could be a very long run.

RayCun

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Gonna try and get to Tymon Park for today's run (5 miles to get there) but don't really know the way, so could be a very long run.

That's a long way to go for a not very interesting park.
I know, 5 miles is not really far. But Tymon is really not interesting.:)

Krusty_Clown

RayCun wrote: »

That's a long way to go for a not very interesting park.
I know, 5 miles is not really far. But Tymon is really not interesting.:)

Once you've done a thousand loops in Corcagh Park, 'interesting' becomes a relative term. Open to other suggestions (please!)! Lots of mid-week 13 and 15 mile runs for the next few months. What's Ballymount park like?

RayCun

Ah, it's not that bad really, it's just very flat and new,but I suppose the same is true of Corcagh. At least it's a different set of pitches to run around, and you can follow the loop on the other side of the M50 for a bit of variety.
When you start getting tired of Tymon you can also cross the N81 (at the Spawell roundabout) and get to Cherryfield park. Again, you won't be stopping to take photos of the scenery, but adds a little more variety.
You might just barely have enough miles to get to Bushy Park, which has a nice hill, and some paths through woods. But you might just get there and have to turn around again...

donothoponpop

You and your fancy watch could cycle to Marlay, and do your run around there. That's called a "brick" session. Stop in for a few laps of Dundrum swimming pool on your way home, and you're sorted for lunch.

Turbo for the afternoon at your desk.

brownian

Looks like you got back from Sofia just in time. Record breaking cold there this week. My plans for tomorrow in Copenhagen (a mere minus fifteen) are in the ha-penny place.

Krusty_Clown

RayCun wrote: »

Ah, it's not that bad really, it's just very flat and new,but I suppose the same is true of Corcagh. At least it's a different set of pitches to run around, and you can follow the loop on the other side of the M50 for a bit of variety.

It's as much about the journey, as the destination! Only managed 1.5 miles (a very pleasant 1.5 miles, I might add!) in Tymon Park, before heading back to Clondalkin. Will try and find a different destination for my 13 miles on Friday.

donothoponpop wrote:

That's called a "brick" session.

You know what you can do with your brick?

brownian wrote:

Looks like you got back from Sofia just in time.

Absolutely! Looks like the airline we used (Malev) might be going bust too, so we had a lucky escape. Enjoy Copenhagen (if you can!).

RacoonQueen

Where do I find me friends who'll buy me a new garmin? :eek:

Krusty_Clown

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Where do I find me friends who'll buy me a new garmin? :eek:

College. And it helps if you're really old..

Krusty_Clown

Today: 13.5 Mile easy run
Nice run out to Tymon Park, via some new tarmac (I have a not-so-secret fetish for fresh tarmac) and a quick loop around the lake, before heading back the way I came, picking up the pace over the last couple of miles to stretch the legs, finishing at marathon pace. Incidentally, I passed the 13.1 mile mark, in 1:29:50 (a subconscious pacing job).

Only problem about these mid-day medium long runs, is that I end up having meeting after meeting for the rest of the day, and don't get to eat lunch until around 6:30pm, which isn't great from a recovery perspective, but still better to get out in the sunshine, rather than heading out after work in the icy darkness.
Summary: 13.5 miles in 1:32:31, @6:51/mile, HR=~140

shels4ever

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Today: 13.5 Mile easy run
Nice run out to Tymon Park, via some new tarmac (I have a not-so-secret fetish for fresh tarmac) and a quick loop around the lake, before heading back the way I came, picking up the pace over the last couple of miles to stretch the legs, finishing at marathon pace. Incidentally, I passed the 13.1 mile mark, in 1:29:50 (a subconscious pacing job).

Only problem about these mid-day medium long runs, is that I end up having meeting after meeting for the rest of the day, and don't get to eat lunch until around 6:30pm, which isn't great from a recovery perspective, but still better to get out in the sunshine, rather than heading out after work in the icy darkness.
Summary: 13.5 miles in 1:32:31, @6:51/mile, HR=~140

Would you try some sort of recovery shake just to get something into the body after the medium long run?

Krusty_Clown

shels4ever wrote: »

Would you try some sort of recovery shake just to get something into the body after the medium long run?

Yeah, I actually bought some chocolate slim-fast the other day, for this specific purpose, but I haven't had the heart to bring it into work yet, because of the slagging I'd get (watch it, Keith123!). I also had to wash and run straight into back to back meetings today, so just didn't have the time. Crazy afternoon.