Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Yesterday: 6 mile recovery run
The books all said 'rest day' but I had a work day from hell that demanded a running sacrifice, so against all wisdom I headed out for 6 miles, with the Manchester derby on the radio. Bombed after around 3 miles, when I completely ran out of energy, but was ok again by mile 5. One of those stupid runs, where I should have known better, but at the time, I felt I needed it. When running becomes a 7 day/week activity, it's tough to let go. Followed up with P&D core strength and weights.

Summary: 6 miles in 50 mins, @8:17/mile, HR=~118

Pisco Sour

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Most good off-licenses would have it. Few bars would have it for sale, but the likes of the Bull and Castle, Porterhouse, Against the Grain, Black Sheep Pub, L Mulligan Grocers, Kavanaghs, etc. would likely have it, as it's one of the more popular Belgian beers. They usually have a clip-board or beer book stashed away somewhere with their list of bottled beers. You wouldn't really get it on draft over here though.

I think your future could be in the beer mile. You're a trained distance runner, and also a trained beer swiller. This event would be right up your alley. You'd have the edge over the alcoholics who can't run, and the skinny Africans who don't know how to drink. So we're agreed on this?

Krusty_Clown

04072511 wrote: »

I think your future could be in the beer mile. You're a trained distance runner, and also a trained beer swiller. This event would be right up your alley. You'd have the edge over the alcoholics who can't run, and the skinny Africans who don't know how to drink. So we're agreed on this?

That all makes perfect sense, except that I was never very good at chugging beers. A buddy could knock back a pint in approximately 0.6 of a second, but my best was a paltry 6 seconds. Now if it were a relay event, where he could chug and i could run, we'd be a killer team. I still reckon I'd beat the Kenyans though.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 8.86 miles with some 5k'ish stuff
Gradually increasing the intensity of my workouts, I figured I'd take on some 5k stuff today, in case the Gods of family commitments were lenient and allowed me to run a 5k this weekend. The 2 mile warm-up into horrendous winds cast-aside any thoughts of hitting target paces, so I focused on effort levels instead. Odd-numbered intervals were with a strong tail-wind and even numbered intervals into a strong head-wind. Went grand. I just ignored the watch most of the time and just ran fast.
Average time (800s): 2:43
Average pace: 5:26/mile
Average HR=155
Intervals: 2:41/2:49/2:38/2:47/2:37

Summary: 8.86 miles in 61 mins, @6:54/mile

Dory Dory

:eek::eek::eek:

Really?

Emer911

Dory Dory wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:

Really?

Oh dear got that looks particularly awful! And the name really doesn't help :eek:

Krusty_Clown

Today: 5 mile recovery run in sloppy conditions in Corkagh, in 39 mins, @7:51/mile, HR=~125

Krusty_Clown

Dory Dory wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:
Really?

Were you expecting it to be cheaper?

meathcountysec

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Were you expecting it to be cheaper?

Do you get much to the pound?

Krusty_Clown

meathcountysec wrote: »

Do you get much to the pound?

That gives me a net-weight value of £211.78 (Sterling mind you).
Meh.. Over-priced if I have to be honest (but you do get a smiley face with every slice).

aero2k

Hi Gary,

A long overdue post here.

I think I joked before about us playing leapfrog with marathon times and I was hoping your Boston run would continue the progression. I wasn't expecting it to echo my Edinburgh '11 experience (though my time was as much due to poor preparation and an unrealistic goal as to the weather). I took a little peek here and had a little wry smile to myself at the memories of an experience that must have been similar to yours - knowing what you can do on a good day, but raging at the weather gods who mocked your plans.

I broke my vow about not logging onto boards during working hours (it's okay boss, I've a day off today) to follow your progress and I'm grateful to all who provided updates. I lived close to the route in Newtonville for about 3 months in '86 and I remember thinking how cool (awful choice of words:cool:) it would be to run the race. Following the updates and reading your report made me feel I was a part of it - your gift for writing is a match for your running skill. One for the bucket list....

I hope all that good beer recovery drink has got you back into shape for thinking about your next marathon - we're all looking forward to the log and the report.

Krusty_Clown

aero2k wrote: »

Hi Gary,
A long overdue post here.

Thanks for the kind words Sean. I clicked on the link and was confused for a moment, as I thought they were the splits from my own marathon experience!

Us Irish guys just don't do hot weather very well, particularly when it's unexpected and preceded by an Irish Winter and Spring (essentially the same thing!). Hope your recovery is in the advanced stages, and we'll see you trotting around the park real soon.

Krusty_Clown

Last night: Medium long run
Worked till 8pm, home by 8:30pm, and hit the road by 8:45, with the plan of doing a medium long run (as I won't get the chance this weekend). I got re-routed by a couple of horses (can't really out-run a number of trotting horses (complete with riders) from behind, on a small country lane, so ended up heading around my long run loop, which added a couple of miles to the journey. Pace was motivated by my need to meet some friends in town for some pints, but by the time the run/shower/dinner was done, it was 11pm, and too late to hit town and the promised scoops. I was a little knackered at that stage anyway and had lost my zeal for beer(somebody ring my emergency contact; I may be unwell).

Summary: 15 miles in 1:43, HR=~142

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I was a little knackered at that stage anyway and had lost my zeal for beer(somebody ring my emergency contact; I may be unwell).

Wouldn't worry about it, that's age for ya Fair play for sacrificing the beer for the run. Is their a sneaky goal race on the horizon mr KC ?

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Wouldn't worry about it, that's age for ya Fair play for sacrificing the beer for the run. Is their a sneaky goal race on the horizon mr KC ?

We're both getting older. Only one of us is getting thinner.

There's a few sneaky goals actually. Hoping to knock out a good time in a 5k and 10k on the back of the marathon training (without doing any event-specific training), which will hopefully give me some good targets to beat during the summer, with some training focussed on those specific distances.

Immediate targets are:
5k: 16:xx
10k: 35:xx (hopefully on the lower side).
I also want to run a sub-60 400m, and a decent 800m (2:25 maybe?), which will take some shorter distance specific training. no idea how to approach these though.

After the disappointment of Boston, I'm all about enjoying myself. After many months of hard graft, it's good to be in a position to pick and choose among various races without having a grand scheme in mind. I have been beating myself up of late on the running front though (two races last week and potentially two races this weekend, so at some point the body and legs are going to push-back (definitely an age thing ).

shels4ever

Nice targets there, think your 800m time will be a lot closer to the 2:10 mark than you expect.

Krusty_Clown

shels4ever wrote: »

Nice targets there, think your 800m time will be a lot closer to the 2:10 mark than you expect.

Cheers. Having never done short stuff, I really have no idea. This year I ran my first ever:
Track race
Mile (same as above)
3k race
6k race (xc)
First ever race where I was battling for first place (SJ's hill race).

I've ran 9 races so far this year, and been in the top 10 for a large number of them (careful selection process ) which brings a whole new angle to running. Despite missing out on the Boston pay-off, it's been a cracking start to the year and I'd be a miserable git, if I wasn't happy with the outcome!

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

We're both getting older. Only one of us is getting thinner.

If I was sensitive I'd put down the crunchie that is now in my hand....... yom yom, I'm not sensitive

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I also want to run a sub-60 400m, and a decent 800m (2:25 maybe?), which will take some shorter distance specific training. no idea how to approach these though.

Any decent track coaches in your club? Don't think it will take you too much to run those (you actually have very good basic leg speed) but will definitely require a few weeks of MD specific track sessions.

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

If I was sensitive I'd put down the crunchie that is now in my hand....... yom yom, I'm not sensitive

Lol. Keep munching. I'm hoping when all this baby-stuff is done, we can have a 10k race while you're still carrying your baby-weight, and you'll only beat me to the finish line by a minute or two.

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Any decent track coaches in your club? Don't think it will take you too much to run those (you actually have very good basic leg speed) but will definitely require a few weeks of MD specific track sessions.

I don't actually know (have only made it out for a couple of easy runs with the club) but they do run track sessions. I just can't get to them with work commitments. Beepbeep would be the expert as a middle-distance man, so I'll sound him out in a month or two, when I've got all this foolishness out of my system.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Lol. Keep munching. I'm hoping when all this baby-stuff is done, we can have a 10k race while you're still carrying your baby-weight, and you'll only beat me to the finish line by a minute or two.

It's too late to butter me up (hmmmmm butter ) You are now on my black list.

myflipflops

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I also want to run a sub-60 400m, and a decent 800m (2:25 maybe?), which will take some shorter distance specific training. no idea how to approach these though.

I would not say you will have much trouble ticking off either time here. The 800 goal is way below your potential. Take 10 seconds off that.

You need to get on the track in training and see what the speed is like and work out some sessions from there. With your aerobic capacity, I would say some longer sessions rather than anything aimed at 800's: 10 or 12 X 400 on track with goal times depending on how your 400 speed fares up. I believe in training to your strengths so getting out running 200 meters intervals would not be the ideal, maybe pyramid sessions working 600/400/200/400/600 to put some shorter stuff in. Take advantage of all that strength built up over the last few years.

How did it feel getting out and being at the front of a race? It's a completely different world from when you are running in pack.

Krusty_Clown

Thanks a lot for the advice. Have never done anything like pyramid sessions, or any kind of variable length track intervals, so it'll make a nice change from 70 mile weeks and I look forward to it.

myflipflops wrote: »

How did it feel getting out and being at the front of a race? It's a completely different world from when you are running in pack.

I actually won a small-field 10k race in Roscommon last year (think around 120 runners), where I went out in front in the first mile up a steep climb and held on to the lead to the finish line (I think around 20 seconds clear of dna_leri (that be right?). So I got to enjoy the buzz of chasing a Garda squad car around country roads, always nervous and looking over my shoulder, waiting for the charge. Paranoia and self-doubt at its best, but a great experience nonetheless.

But last Sunday's race was a better buzz, because I felt we had the potential to battle it our for the win (at least for the first two miles anyway!). I enjoyed giving the winner a little tester on the flat part of the trail by moving in front to see how he'd react (and react he did!). Then later on the tough climb, I saw him grab his side a few times, and I hoped (evil clown!) it was a sign of a stitch, so I was keeping an eye out for weakness. Ultimately the weakness was mine, but what a buzz! You're not too bothered about who's coming up behind you when you're in a tussle for first place.

Krusty_Clown

Well, the general running mayhem continues, this time with the Lecheile 5k. I had a loose plan to run sub 17, but hadn't set myself up well for it, with a pretty hard 15 mile run and some 800m intervals at 5k pace over the last few days. Throw in a poor week of sleep, and I wasn't too optimistic, but I was doing it for the craic anway, so what the hell. A quick look at Macmillan dictated that 5:25/mile would have me well under the goal time, so I switched the watch over to show average pace and nothing else. Nice easy warm-up with Meno and Aimman (thanks for the loan of your boot!) and we lined-up at the start. Loads and loads of familiar faces both running and among the volunteers, which made for an incredibly chilled atmosphere. I lined up about 35 people back (which probably cost me 2 seconds), but it helped prevent me over-cook it over the first mile.

Gun went off and I was held back a little, but soon had a bit of space to maneuver as we climbed the initial hill. As we crested the watch read 5:28, so I picked up a pace on the downhill passing large groups of runners. Rounded the first corner and the runners were thinning out, but I was still pushing past lots of runners who were now in single file (first mile: 5:22). I caught up with the leading lady and pushed on, but she stuck in behind me and stayed there for the next two miles. There was a small pack just ahead and with a slight head-wind it was worth pushing forward to catch them, but as we did, they started to slow, so we pushed on again and were on our own. I didn't notice the slightly slower mile split (5:29), but it was largely down to the head-wind.

Rounded a corner, and I couldn't believe we were already on the road headed back to the finish line with one mile to go (these 5ks take a bit of getting used to). I felt at this stage that I probably could have pushed the first two miles a little harder, but I'm still quite inexperienced in the world of 5ks, so will try to remedy that situation next time around. Picked off another two runners on this stage and we were turning off for the grassy loop to the finish. Watch was showing 5:23/mile average pace at this stage, and the split for the third mile was a solid 5:23. A bit of a lefty-righty and the lead female dropped off the pace. Onto the track and I saw the clock reading a disappointing 16:50, with around 120m to go. I pushed hard, but it was too little too late, passing under the which read 17:05 or something like that (17:01 official chip-time and a 20 second PB). Great to catch-up with so many familiar faces afterwards, and hear about the various PBs in such a fantastic race.

Finished in 14th place (351 finishers) and possibly 1st M40 (though RedTag have my category wrong, so others ahead may be wrong too). Had a fab time (probably too good!) and will definitely be back next year, for what is a seriously good race.

Summary: 5k in 17:01, @5:29/mile (actual), HR=168 (could go a few beats higher)

smmoore79

Great time there Krusty!! Id say if ya do some 5-10km specific training you'd deffo be hitting the low 16's Maybe you could be tempted from marathon to the world of middle distance?!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

You could have at least tried....2 secs pfft:) seems like you are enjoying the running freedom since Boston and posting solid results as well!

digger2d2

Vaughn Easy Stepchildren wrote: »

You could have at least tried....2 secs pfft:) seems like you are enjoying the running freedom since Boston and posting solid results as well!

I saw him before the start of the race, warming up with Aimman, far too casual for his own good :D

Krusty_Clown

Vaughn Easy Stepchildren wrote: »

You could have at least tried....2 secs pfft:) seems like you are enjoying the running freedom since Boston and posting solid results as well!

I didn't know there was two seconds between me and my time, until I saw the finish-line gantry some 100m and ~14 seconds away (and the clock was running off gun time)! I crossed the line at 4:55/mile pace so it wasn't for want of trying! Yeah, the last few weeks have been a blast. It's good to throw caution to the wind and just have a mini-melt-down every once in a while. Works been crazy, so the races have been a good release of steam. I've a couple more PBs to update over the coming weeks, then I'll figure out what I want to do next. I'm thinking a sprint in June, Oly in July, and an IM in September. I just need to sort out my swimming (but I think I know what I need to do).

digger wrote:

I saw him before the start of the race, warming up with Aimman, far too casual for his own good

You gotta save your race for the the race-track.

Dory Dory

I think we'd all love to see you in a wetsuit and your Oakleys.

shotgunmcos

Dory Dory wrote: »

I think we'd all love to see you in a wetsuit and your Oakleys.

Speak for yourself... a clown in rubber?!

Krusty_Clown

Dory Dory wrote: »

I think we'd all love to see you in a wetsuit and your Oakleys.

Youtube fail. This one however? Much better.