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Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge
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Better old than pudgy.TheRoadRunner wrote: »I think your new watch is spot on. Your metabolism slows down with age. You're not a young man anymore
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Today:
am: 4 Mile recovery run @7:53/mile
pm: 6 Mile recovery run @7:59/mile
Once again astounded at the positive benefits of recovery runs. This morning I felt like I needed a stair-master to get downstairs, but by the first recovery run, I'd loosened up, and by the second, I was moving easily again. Still stiff, but I've gone from 80 years of age, back to 40 years of age. <= Roadrunner insert ageist comment here.
Core and weights later. Frickin Mondays... With 5 weeks to go, I'm also off the booze (two gimmies: One night this weekend, and another after the Connemara half). Otherwise my body is a temple. A sad and lonely temple, with no beer.0 -
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Today:
am: 4 Mile recovery run @7:53/mile
pm: 6 Mile recovery run @7:59/mile
Once again astounded at the positive benefits of recovery runs. This morning I felt like I needed a stair-master to get downstairs, but by the first recovery run, I'd loosened up, and by the second, I was moving easily again. Still stiff, but I've gone from 80 years of age, back to 40 years of age. <= Roadrunner insert ageist comment here.
Core and weights later. Frickin Mondays... With 5 weeks to go, I'm also off the booze (two gimmies: One night this weekend, and another after the Connemara half). Otherwise my body is a temple. A sad and lonely temple, with no beer.
Thats been my experience of them too. Have had the severe walking issues in the morning also, especially in lower legs. Good to know the recovery runs are also they are also making you stronger, lighter, increasing global volume and AT (and longer term Aerobic development) etc while also doing their healing work.0 -
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Haha, not yet! I have never in my life ran at sub 5:00 pace, or ran a track-race, so I think it's fair to say, an opportunity to spend some time training for the target (just as I had to for sub-3) would be a fair prerequisite. I'll be doing mile intervals again at around 5:20 in a few weeks time, so I reckon it's a good goal to have 4-8 weeks after my marathon has been completed, if there are any suitable races available. However, I might give the mile a shot in the near future, but my goals will not be quite so lofty!
Give one a bash just off your marathon training anyway and see where you stand. Will give you a good idea of how much you'll need to do to get to that target. Also try a 400m TT to see what sort of top speed you have in the legs. Will give you an idea of your potential.
Also you'll need to give the 400m a go if you want to manage a clean sweep of the Big 10 0 -
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ManFromAtlantis wrote: »The world reckons he should try it (sub 5) before he gets too much older.
He wouldn't be too much older if he did the mile in Greystones tonight 0 -
Nah.. Way too soon. Sure I don't even know where Greystones is; Cork somewhere? I don't have track spikes. It's cold outside and there's a bit of a breeze. No chance.Sprocket77 wrote: »He wouldn't be too much older if he did the mile in Greystones tonight0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Meant to ask you, where do you do your training?
Myself and the OH were driving up to Monaghan (through Meath) late Friday afternoon, and while stuck in traffic, we saw a runner doing loops of a GAA field. I bet'cha that's meathcountysec, I said.
If ye were going to Monaghan through Meath and saw me training you need to get a new sat-nav:D:D
I can be seen struggling manfully around laps of our own grounds - none of yer GAA flat rubbish - near Athboy 0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Nah.. Way too soon. Sure I don't even know where Greystones is; Cork somewhere? I don't have track spikes. It's cold outside and there's a bit of a breeze. No chance.
Just south of Bray, we'll get you a lend of spikes, it's to heat up later, they don't do breezes in Wicklow 0 -
Well, there was a guy who looked exactly like I imagined you look manfully running laps in Ardee (which I now realize is in Co. Louthmeathcountysec wrote: »If ye were going to Monaghan through Meath and saw me training you need to get a new sat-nav:D:D
I can be seen struggling manfully around laps of our own grounds - none of yer GAA flat rubbish - near Athboy
). You could have been twins! 0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Well, there was a guy who looked exactly like I imagined you look manfully running laps in Ardee (which I now realize is in Co. Louth). You could have been twins!
I could be carrying twins by the shape of me. :eek:0 -
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I really wasn't sure whether to stick with the plan and run my 6x800m reps, or toss it all in for a bit of frivolity, and have a pop at my first track race, so just in case, I threw my light Musha shoes into the bag, and headed off to work nice and early, so I'd have the choice of either session, depending on how the work day went. Not used to the heavier rush hour traffic earlier in the morning, let's just say that I was a little reckless in my haste to get into the office early, and before I took the turn-off for the N7, I saw blue flashy lights in my wing-mirror. A good ticking off, 2 points on my license and €80 later, i was cursing my decision to do the race. As the day went on, I figured I had already invested this much, I might as well head out to Greystones and run the track.
I've never done a track race before, and have never run at these kinds of speeds (except perhaps during strides) so I was nervous about the race in a different kind of way to normal pre-race nerves. I realized I had no idea what that pace felt like, no strategy, and the watch was as good as useless in a 1 mile track race. Met up with youngest child and OH, who were also running, and my daughter was bouncing around the place full of nervous energy. Had a chat with Beepbeep beforehand, that thankfully provided a broad strategy for the race: 75 second laps, and once you hit the point where there's half a lap to go, give it socks.
Cara's race:
I didn't realize at the time, but my daughter was paying careful attention to BB's words. Before her race, I asked her what her strategy was, and she said it was to stay comfortable until she hit 'that point' (indicating the point BB had pointed out earlier) and sprint from there to the finish line. And she did exactly that. She started from the back of the field, and over the course of the first two laps worked her way up through the field, into 5th place, smiling each time she passed us at the end of each lap. Once she hit the mid-way point of the final lap, she picked up the pace and stormed her way to the finish line, picking up a position to finish in 4th place, in around 7:03 with a kick any of us oldies would be delighted to replicate.
OH'es race was next, and she also outdid herself, again starting from the back of the back and moving up through the back of a aggressively paced race, to finish solidly.
My Race:
Nothing quite so accomplished as the previous two races, I lined up with those aiming for sub 5:30, with the plan of having a pop at sub-5. Beepbeep had earlier pointed out a runner who had previously broken 5 minutes and he seemed a nice solid type, so I figured I'd do well to track him during the race. Lined up on the very outside of the start line (out of harms way) and with the crack of the starter's pistol, we were on our way.
Lap1: Started very quickly, and within 100m, I was on the inside lane, about 10-12 runners from the front, running way too fast. I started to relax into a more suitable pace and then my HR monitor started slipping down my chest. Arrgghh.. Over the next 200m, it slowly slinked down my mid-riff, until it stayed put hula-hoop style around my waist. I tried to adjust it once, but it just fell back down again. A big distraction, until I decided to ignore it completely. Then relaxed into the race. Glanced at my watch: 6:27/mile. WTF? I hadn't restarted it after my warm-up, and it was now showing my average pace for all today's mileage. Double-Arrgghh! No clue how fast I was going, but I was settled into a pack, so I stuck with it. Hitting the end of the first lap, BB was counting off the seconds, and he counted 74, 76 so I was bang on pace, despite my idiocy.
Lap2: Was quite chilled out and confortable. The runner who had previously run sub-5 eased his way in front of me, and I stuck behind him. There was only a very slight breeze, but at this pace there seemed to be a significant advantage to dropping into someone's shadow. Or at least any time I stepped out of the race line, I felt a breeze, so I just stepped back into the pack again. Finished lap2, and I realized that I should have paid more attention when BB was telling me what the lap splits should be. So at this stage I had no idea if I was on target.
Lap3: Still with the same pack, I was getting suspicious, as I was feeling too comfortable. I noticed that the group I was running with was slowing marginally, and one or two runners were breaking forward, so I did likewise. I completed the third lap, still feeling good, and because of it, feeling like I was off target.
Lap4: I was getting worried at this point, so 1/3 into the lap, I indicated right (like a cyclist), and pulled out into the second lane. I pushed past the group I was running with, and started heading to the finish line, in what felt like a full sprint. I'd love to have seen my HR values, as I reckon it would have redefined my new max HR value. My lungs were busting, but instead of slowing, I was getting faster, hoping beyond belief that I might somehow manage to pick up a few seconds, and get close to my target. I crossed the finish line at full speed and finished with no idea of my time, or finish position.
I stumbled around for a bit, trying unsuccessfully to force some air into my lungs, but the pain after finishing far exceeded the pain during the race. Beepbeep dropped over, to pass on some kind words, and I asked him if he had any idea what my time was. 4:57 he said very assuredly, with a final lap of 70 seconds. I couldn't believe it. I thought I'd messed up the race completely, but finished faster than I had hoped. It was definitely that decision in the final lap to push on past group of runners I was with, that made the difference. For 5 minutes afterwards, the pain in my lungs was unbearable, but over the course of the next 30 minutes (:eek:) the pain and taste of blood subsided.
First track race and I really enjoyed it. It was a great buzz, and I wouldn't mind racing other competitors at some point, as opposed to racing against the clock. Next time, hopefully, I'll have a better idea what to do (forget watch-pace, and focus on 200m splits). Thanks Beepbeep for providing the basic foundations of a structure for the race, without which I'd have been lost!
Summary: 1 mile in 4:57, @4:57/mile.
*Update*: 7th place and first m40.
Arrived home, and had to finish off the day's mileage, which was a tired stiff 10k affair, out to Bray Head and back.
Summary: 6.33 additional sore miles, in 49 mins, @7:53/mile, HR=~1261 -
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