Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

dev123

Jesus, about time with the report. I'm too tired to read it now so will wait to read the comments from your groupies to see if its up to scratch :-)

TRR

Great stuff Gary. If it's any consolation I reckon Mondays effort would have easily got 2.41 on a fast course like London. Anyway nothing like the feeling of unfinished business to get you in the mood for your next block of marathon training.

BeepBeep67

You looked strong at Belfield, there's a bit more to come off that PB alright.
What are the winter plans?

tunguska

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Note to self: Never write your name on your bib!

I ran the marathon for charity 3 years ago and the T-shirt they gave me had my name printed on it. I was a little reluctant to wear anything with my name on it but I didnt wanna be disrespectful to the charity.......Never again. I know it sounds great and all everybody calling your name, but itgot annoying very quickly. Definitely more of a hindrance than a help.
You ran a good race. That was your first time actually racing that marathon and I think its a tricky bugger, can catch you out very easily. I'd be sure you'll get 2:40/2:41 in london. One thing though, I know you're planning on following daniels elite, which I think you'd be able for, but I recommend you cut it to 12 weeks and not 18(excluding base buliding). I was out with mark keneally yesterday talking about things while he battered my calves and he himself will only be doing a 9 week marathon plan from now on. He reckons 9-12 is ideal and 18 is too much. Having followed daniels elite for the last two marathons I'd have to agree. Better get to the startline 95% fit as opposed to 105% cooked.
By the way thanks for helping (literally putting)my shoes on after the race. My legs just wouldn't work and I think I'd be still standing in the baggage area now had you not helped me out. Cheers.

Krusty_Clown

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

What are the winter plans?

Hi Dom, the goal now is London. Everything between now and then is just steps along the path. Some races along the way: Wicklow Senior XC, Dungarvan 10 mile, Ballycotton 10 mile and some 5k/10k races where I can fit them in. Would like to have a pop at my 10k pb, as I felt I was in pb shape a couple of weeks before the marathon. So winter will be about building up a good base again, with speed-work. Will check out some of Jack Daniels shorter plans.

Tunguska wrote:

I was out with mark keneally yesterday talking about things while he battered my calves and he himself will only be doing a 9 week marathon plan from now on. He reckons 9-12 is ideal and 18 is too much. Having followed daniels elite for the last two marathons I'd have to agree. Better get to the startline 95% fit as opposed to 105% cooked.

Cheers Tunguska. I have traditionally done a 12 week marathon program on the back of a 10k plan, so this would suit me down to the grand. How do you think something like that would work though? Would you do the first 10 weeks of the program and then jump into the last two weeks? I'd have thought that doing the last 12 weeks of the program would be jumping into the middle of a very tough program.

Tunguska wrote:

By the way thanks for helping (literally putting)my shoes on after the race.

Ha! I remember not being very successful! It's been a long time since I had to help dress anyone! Hope you're on the path to recovery.

KielyUnusual wrote:

Maybe throw in a complete stinker in your next race to keep the fans interested.

Consider it done! Next time I have a stinker, it is entirely to average out the performances, not because I'm crap.

Wideball wrote:

Did you run the race solo or did you not shower beforehand??

Some of 'A' and some of 'B'! I'd say I was on my own for around 70% of the race. I think it might have been worth running slightly slower in the first half of the race in order to settle in with a pack. Those who did (Barry and Mayo AC fared better than I did in the long run and finished in 2:41, despite a slower start). It's hard to make decisions like that at race time though. Early in the race it's easier mentally to speed-up, rather than slow-down. But those guys ran perfect races and there's another lesson for me.

Rocky6 wrote:

wat was d the one session dat u did, that after it u said "yea dcm is my bitch"(for want of a better expression)

I think the sustained easy mileage really helped, as it meant that I could handle the sessions, high mileage and remain injury free. But the sessions were the key. Long runs with large sections at tempo pace built strength and confidence. I'd like to give the elite plan a go, as it incorporates intervals and repeats, which are skipped in plan A, over more tempo runs.

Pisco Sour wrote:

Won't be long before you are pushing the likes of TRR I think.

Perhaps pushing around in a chair, but never in a race. While age is no barrier to progress, it can be a barrier to training, as I found out last Saturday. It doesn't mean you train any less, you just have to keep any eye on training smarter. Besides, if I ever beat TRR, I wouldn't have any goals left in life.

Beepbeep67 wrote:

He must have needed the safety glasses due to the smashing of PB's!

Lol. They are my invisibility shield. When times get tough, I flick down the glasses, hide from the world and settle into what the triathletes call the pain cave. Forgot to wear the lenses with the tint this time though! What's with the Sli Cualann singlets by the way? Are they built for big hairy Wicklow mountain men? It's like wearing a tent with straps! <-Warning! Gratuitous finish-line photo!

Dory Dory

A couple of random thoughts that hit me while reading it...

I am in awe of all things Krusty.
You are still sharing your drink with strangers.
You only missed your target by ~5 seconds per mile which got me thinking about how close you came, statistically speaking, when considering race time and mileage.
Who the heck were Shamrocks, frog, and Fiachra and did you beat them?
What did Jack open and close with....and what was the best song from the night?
I am in awe of all things Krusty.
:):D
Class.

BeepBeep67

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

What's with the Sli Cualann singlets by the way? Are they built for big hairy Wicklow mountain men? It's like wearing a tent with straps! <-Warning! Gratuitous finish-line photo!

I thought you needed it to keep your rugby shorts up?

theboyblunder

Must have been tough to have run most of it alone. Makes a big difference. 3 min pb is great running and leaves you nicely motivated for london. Just booked rotterdam myself so ill be on for hilly wintry lsrs

Krusty_Clown

Dory Dory wrote: »

I am in awe of all things Krusty.
You are still sharing your drink with strangers.

Marathon running is not a sanitary sport. At some point you end up covered in other people's snot, saliva and worse! Besides, you stick your fingers up animals bottoms for a living! How could you be worried about a few germs?!

Dory Dory wrote: »

Who the heck were Shamrocks, frog, and Fiachra and did you beat them?

Shamrocks are 'Raheny Shamrocks'; a large Dublin-based club. They had massive support throughout the entire route. Not many spectators would be very familiar with the Sli Cualann vest (though some were), and the Raheny logo is very readable. Frog/Fiachra (same person) was another runner who had written both his first-name and nickname on his bib. I think he got tired of people calling his name pretty quickly! Yep, I beat them but was in turn beaten by so many others (like Barry and Mayo man, who ran so much better than I did).

Dory Dory wrote: »

What did Jack open and close with....and what was the best song from the night?

He played a large selection of his solo-Blunderbuss tracks, but also reached into the Raconteurs and White Stripes collections. I have a particular fondness for the Raconteurs stuff, particularly Consolers of the Lonely, so one of my favourite tracks of the night was 'Top Yourself' off that album, however the big hit of the night was 'Seven Nation Army', which I've grown a little tired of (done to death over here on the radio). At one point he played a country music style tune, which I wasn't familiar with, and it was comical to watch so many of the fans choose that opportunity to go for a smoke/beer/pee! Can't for the life of me remember the running order, but in my defense, I was doing a bit a' boozin'!

Peckham

Great read - worth waiting for. I've lots to learn from how the likes of yourself undertake your training and racing if I want to move the step or two up to post times that are in the same category as you. Fortunately I've a couple of years on you age-wise in order to close that gap!

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Heading towards the canal bridge I spotted Peckham up ahead. I tried to share a joke with him, but he was having none of it. He too was of the rousing adrenaline-pumping variety of cheer-leader and sent me off on my way with a little rebuke for not taking my race seriously enough!

With TRR having responded to my rousing cheering a few minutes earlier with an icy stare, I decided I needed to up my game. If I thought I could keep up with your pace for more than 100 metres the support would have been more like this.

Slogger Jogger

You hid the pain well KC, you'd a big smile when I roared your name at the turn into Westland row. Another great honest report of a great 26.2 mile run. Its brilliant to be able to follow your improvement curve year by year. Onwards and upwards.

Badreputation

Unreal running and great report. Well done on a great race. Was on a bike around 20m.. gave you a shout. Was supposed to run it but pulled out 4 wks before with a injury. Got into London next year on good for age entry so roll on 2013.
Your training log is an inspiration and your race reports are classic. Well done!!!

TRR

Peckham wrote: »

With TRR having responded to my rousing cheering a few minutes earlier with an icy stare, I decided I needed to up my game. If I thought I could keep up with your pace for more than 100 metres the support would have been more like this.

You are the 4th person on boards and eight in total to comment on my icy stare/ non-reaction to cheering last monday. I was sure I gave you a thumbs up! My wife has told me I have a gaze that can cause serious offence. I'll have to work on that in the future

BeepBeep67

TRR wrote: »

You are the 4th person on boards and eight in total to comment on my icy stare/ non-reaction to cheering last monday. I was sure I gave you a thumbs up! My wife has told me I have a gaze that can cause serious offence. I'll have to work on that in the future

Surely that rumour is unfounded

TRR

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Surely that rumour is unfounded

Don't know what you are on about. That's me basically smiling

RacoonQueen

Well done again Gary. The one thing that struck me when you passed was that you were running on your own and how difficult it must be. The chap a bit ahead of you who completely ignored my very existence ( I won't name any names ) was in a small group at the time, I was almost willing you to catch them.

Well done again, great running. Look forward to seeing what you can churn out for London.

seanynova

nice one KC, again great read...and ever better race result! onwards and upwards you go...

Krusty_Clown

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Surely that rumour is unfounded

Does 'The Shining' spring into anyone else's mind when they see that photo?

I shouldn't comment as I look feckin miserable in every photo, essentially from the start line until I smile as I cross the finish line, but TRR you gotta work on your gamesmanship, or myflipflops will have the entire series in the bag!

myflipflops

Another great read.

I still reckon there is a much better marathon in you. 3-5 minutes there waiting to come out. In London, the size and quality of the field will mean you will always have a group to work with which seems to be something that suits you.

You know more about these things than me but I would say focus on the 10km and half speed for a while and then get into another marathon build up. Get out hard from the gun next time and see what happens. 2.3x.xx a given on the right day.

TRR

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

TRR you gotta work on your gamesmanship, or myflipflops will have the entire series in the bag!

Dont worry, I've a few sneaky tricks up my sleeve. I'll be positioning ice cream and burger vans around the 10k race and will make sure the 5k race passes a McDonald's or burger king, myflipflops inner fat boy won't be able to resist and will have to stop while I continue on up the road looking at people as if I want to bite their heads off. Funny thing about that photo above is it coincided with my fastest mile and I felt great. Obviously inner TRR isn't reflected on the exterior

myflipflops wrote: »

In London, the size and quality of the field will mean you will always have a group to work with which seems to be something that suits you.

Definitely and even if you don't have a group you'll constantly have somebody to aim for or somebody aiming for you I found Dublin a bit strange in that way, as I was moving quite well over the last 4 miles but because the field hasn't the same dept I probably only caught 3-4 people where in London and Berlin I probably passed 30-40 people easily. Have to say it was a great feeling in Dublin when there is nobody within sight ahead or behind you, you feel like you own them roads

ecoli

Great run Gary. I know you are a little disappointed however i still reckon all the signs are there for a big run just around the corner for a few reasons:

1) The big goal IIRC was always London as such there was alot of sampler sessions and testing of Daniels in order to see would it work for the London plan

2)talking to few people who ran they reckon the temperatures were a little too cold for perfect race conditions. That coupled with nature of the course and there is room for quicker times irregardless of next training cycle.

Best of luck in the coming months more than welcome to hope in any sessions I am doing (and I am sure the other Tallaght lads will say the same) over the winter

Krusty_Clown

Cheers ecoli. Nail on the head there. I keep forgetting that the original plan for Dublin was to do it for the craic, get as close to 2:42 as possibly, and try out the Daniels style of plan, and from that respect, I nailed all three. Doesn't stop me from being a greedy fecker though.

So, did all of those runners making their way past you in Clonskeagh generate any marathon-induced envy? Yes I know, you've just made it out of your teenage years and have years of hard training ahead of you (lucky git!).

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cheers ecoli. Nail on the head there. I keep forgetting that the original plan for Dublin was to do it for the craic, get as close to 2:42 as possibly, and try out the Daniels style of plan, and from that respect, I nailed all three. Doesn't stop me from being a greedy fecker though.

So, did all of those runners making their way past you in Clonskeagh generate any marathon-induced envy? Yes I know, you've just made it out of your teenage years and have years of hard training ahead of you (lucky git!).

There has alwas been a plan for next year

My training is going to go one of two ways in the new year after I get in shape. Ill be racing on Sunday 14th of April but the question is will it be The Phoenix Park or Rotterdam

Either way Ill be tring out the 26.2 next year be it spring or Autumn

Krusty_Clown

Great stuff ecoli. Looking forward to following your training for it already.

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great stuff ecoli. Looking forward to following your training for it already.

Be looking to the experienced guys in terms of both training and fueling/Hydration (Something that will probably take the most work for me )

RacoonQueen

ecoli wrote: »

There has alwas been a plan for next year

My training is going to go one of two ways in the new year after I get in shape. Ill be racing on Sunday 14th of April but the question is will it be The Phoenix Park or Rotterdam

Either way Ill be tring out the 26.2 next year be it spring or Autumn

Leave it till Dublin so you can be there for McGrattans.

Funniest drunk ever.

ecoli

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Leave it till Dublin so you can be there for McGrattans.

Funniest drunk ever.

Why do you think I run? It keeps me out of trouble. Could you imagine me being drunk on a regular basis

theboyblunder

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great stuff ecoli. Looking forward to following your training for it already.

+1 would be good to see you in a marathon ecoli. Preferably rotterdam as ive just signed up (apologies to kc for highjacking).

Killerz

Cracking report, KC, and great time too. Sorry you didnt get the time you set out for, but nonetheless, you pulled out a superb performance which you can build on. I totally agree with you about the magic of the DCM - puts many other races worldwide firmly in the shade.

Krusty_Clown

Some closing stats, before I open a new chapter on London:

• I came 39th in the National Marathon Championship. I came 51st in the National Half marathon championships. The Half-marathon championship, despite having 1,000 runners less, is more competitive than the national marathon championship.
• Myself, Abhainn and Pronator came 12th out 72 teams in the Masters team category, despite the fact that the two lads were pacing the three hour group. If they had been competing and ran close to their PBs, we'd have won the Masters competition. Easily. With 12 minutes to spare.
• If I put my 10k time into McMillan, it predicts a marathon finish of 2:43:30 (7 seconds out from my actual time). I wasn't targeting that time, so no self-fulfilling prophecies there. Just a bit of chance!
• My half-marathon (which I was a lot happier with) scored 579 in the IAAF scoring table. My marathon scored 642.
• As a result of the marathon, my VDOT dropped a point, from 61, down to 60. If I had stayed at VDOT 60, I would have beaten my vdot marathon prediction by four seconds.
• I have never ran more miles and needed physio or rest days less.