Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Friday: Ugh...
Today was a 9am-8pm work affair and with the horrific conditions, I figured if I went home, it'd mean a 9pm run around miserable, wet Shankill, arriving back at around 10pm. Instead, I threw on the run gear, and was home by 9pm. Much better solution. Pi$$ing rain but the wind had the decency to push me all the way home. A small consolation.
Summary: 5.47 miles @6:53/mile

Krusty_Clown

Saturday: 10k steady

After a couple of sensible beers with the missus, I had to go pick up the car from Blackrock, before the youngest had to be taken to gymnastics. Ran too fast, for a final run the day before a race. Compounded it with two overdue core sessions and some weights. I knew these were all bad ideas, but I'm a stubborn feck and the idea of not doing them at all carried a greater mental debt, than the impact they might have on the race. Gobsheen!
Summary: 6.23 miles, in 42 mins, @6:48/mile

Krusty_Clown

I'd better get this down on paper before I forget all the detail (at my age, remembering what I had for breakfast proves a challenge). The goals for Dungarvan were three-fold: Get some kind of return from my pre-Cristmas 5k-15k training, notch up a PB and finally, get a barometer for where I am in training. My last 10 mile race had been Ballycotton almost a year ago, where I ran a very satisfying 58:37, a couple of weeks before heading over to Boston for the marathon. Since then I had improved both in terms of speed and endurance. So despite losing a couple of weeks to illness, I felt that I could perhaps take a minute off that time, if everything lined up well.

I drove down to Dungarvan with Mrs Clown and buddy Keith, gripping the steering wheel firmly, to counteract the strong winds, hail and sleet that threatened to send us off course. I was pretty tired, having slept poorly for the previous few nights (a trend that has since continued) and the previous day's workouts certainly didn't help. On arrival, I met up with Pronator and we headed for an easy warm-up, at which point, given the strength of the wind, I revised my target to 57:xx. I also determined to change my strategy to ensure that I ran in groups constantly, and didn't get isolated.

A further run to the start-line and we gathered with the other 1,200 challengers. The MC announced the course records and also called out the names of some of the leading participants. Which was when I devised the 'Lizzy Lee strategy'. The plan was simple. Chase Lizzy Lee around the streets of Dungarvan and hold on as long as possible (or until someone told me to stop). She's a solid mid '57' 10 mile runner, is instantly recognizable, and would, no doubt, be surrounded by a group (who coincidentally also devised a similar Lizzy Lee strategy).

First half:
As I lined up near the start line, I felt a tug on my shorts, which could only mean that Beepbeep had surrendered his death-bed to briefly join the living. Great to see himself and Finn make an appearance and bolster our team numbers. A couple of minutes of feet shuffling and we were off. Despite the wide start line, I was pretty hemmed in, and there was quite a bit of jostling over the first mile. I'm not one for pointing the elbows out or doing a bit of barging, so instead, I lost some ground and found myself drifting backwards.

The first mile had a bit of tail wind, so it was banged out in a rather fast but comfortable 5:41. I pushed from group to group, until I recognized Pronator in the Sli Cualann singlet and spotted Lizzy just ahead. As predicted, she had a large entourage around her (including the second place female) so I settled in to the group, trying to shield from the wind as much as possible. Next few miles passed in a tough but manageable: 5:53 (wind), 5:41, 5:47. During this time, we lost a couple of runners, but still had a sizable group. Lizzy Lee was doing much of the work, leading the group into the wind. Pronator moved forward and took his turn at the front. I felt obliged and moved to the front for a spell. It was during this mile that I spotted a runner ahead, struggling alone into the wind, bearing a Rathfarnham singlet. Of course it had to be SureWhyNot, who I have a habit of bumping into in the middle of races. A brief chat, and he joined the collective.

The second half:
It was during my stint at the front that things started to go pear-shaped. I was running into a head-wind up a gradual rise, when I began to struggle. Nothing immediate, I just started feeling a gradual weariness. I looked back and urged someone else in the group to take their turn at the front and after a few moments, another runner duly assumed the lead position. LL drew level and joked that the current leading runner was surging, as if to try to lose the pack, or prevent them from taking advantage of the wind-shield. Gradually, I was falling through the pack. Pronator urged me to dig in and stay with the group, but as we rounded a sharp corner, I felt like I was running through treacle and myself and another three runners got detached from the group on another gradual climb. Within moments, we had formed our own group, so despite losing the momentum of the stronger pack, we kept each other honest and forging ahead instead of continuing our decline. The next few miles were off target, with miles passing in: 5:54 and 6:01, despite some good fast running alongside the river (on a windless day, this would be a very fast section), followed by miles in 5:56 and 5:59 as we continued to forge ahead.

Finally at around 8.5 miles, we turned left and the wind was behind us as we headed back into town. Still on a gradual climb, the two other lads fell slightly behind, but I felt a bit of strength return, so managed to pick up the pace a little. As the weather turned to stinging hail, I was passed by a runner, so I matched his stride and we worked our way to the finish. A little unsure of how far we were from the finish line, I took a glance at the watch for the first time in 15-20 minutes and was dismayed to see just how much ground I had lost. My watch was showing 58 minutes and I couldn't see the finishing gantry. We turned a couple of corners and the finish line lay ahead, so I surged forward in the hope that I might realize even the smallest of PBs, but it was just too much of a challenge, as I passed under the gantry with 58:37 showing on the clock, after a final mile in 5:43. As it turned out, my previous 10 mile PB was 58:37, so I matched it to the second, which is a little uncanny.

The dissection:
So, what of my race goals? Well, the 57:xx time was lost by mile 6 and the PB clearly didn't happen, but I got a pretty good barometer reading of where I currently am. Despite Pronator's post-race reassurances, I couldn't help but feel a little dejected. I trained hard before Christmas and had little to show for it. I made some good improvements last year, but they were well stashed away, during the second half of the race.

So what went wrong? I guess the key lies in the fact that I hadn't been doing marathon training, with few if any) long runs. The 5k-15k training plan was yielding improvements, but I only managed to compete the first half of the program, before being struck by illness, which later forced a switch to marathon training and an urgent clamber to rapidly increase the mileage and effort (which understandably has left me tired). So I only managed to complete half of a good program. All of my good 10 mile - 1/2 marathon performances have come on the back of solid marathon programs, so in hindsight, equaling my previous PB is a fair reflection of my current ability.

There are two positives from all of this. The first is that I am just at the beginning of an intensive marathon phase and the second is that I have another pop at the PB in Ballycotton in 5 weeks time. Next time, I hope to be a little more rested, a little more focused and a little more ready. Delighted to see that SureWhyNot, Ronnie and Lizzy Lee managed to stay the course and finished in decent 57/58 minute times (which also proves that you can't write off a poor time to the wind alone). I have also started tracking my dietary habits in a food diary, as I'm hovering around 11st 8lbs and would like to get down to a proper race weight for London. For Dublin marathon, during intensive training, my weight dropped to 11st 4lbs, but climbed back up an extra few pounds in the weeks leading up to the race. If I'm to hit my target and improve on my Dublin time, I need to take a more holistic approach, and ensure that everything (diet, sleep, etc.) are pointing in the right direction, rather than simply focusing on training hard.

Summary: 10 miles in 58:37 (again!) @5:51/mile

Dory Dory

I could read your writings all day long. Very nice assessment, which proves you gleaned a good bit from this race, and that will serve you well and set you up nicely for London. Focus. Plan. Train. Execute. You'll be grand.

Gringo78

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

So what went wrong?

I monitor my fitness level by the TSS/CTL/ATL/TSB method which is something used more by triathletes but I think is a very useful tool for runners also. Basically the intensity of your run (or lack of run) each day is used to calculate an accumulated fitness score. Your TSB or Training Stress Balance (fatigue) is calculated by seeing what the difference is between that days training & your short term accumulated fitness score (your training load over the last 10 days). TSB is a measure of fatigue - to race well you ideally need to have a TSB score close to zero or better. If you've been training consistently for 2/3 weeks your short term fitness scores will be same as your average daily load so your fatigue will be close to 'zero'. You can improve you fatigue score close to a race by reducing your training in the previous few days (i.e tapering to some extent). If you get sick (as you did) when you start back running your shortterm (10 day) fitness score will be zero thus your daily fatigue score will be high after a training session- however as you had been sick and not running your 'banked' fatigue score will be quite high thus the way the figures work, up to 10 days after returning from injury/illness your fatigue score will be ok (cos you were 'rested' but after this (and for maybe 3-4 weeks afterwards) you'll be more fatigued than you had been in months.

Thus you should race ok say 5-10 days after returning from break in training but will likely be much more fatigued than normal from +10 to +40 days after returning, particularly if you actually increase your training load over that of pre-training break (i.e playing catch up). I'd say this would explain why you died a bit in Dungarvan.

Summary: If you have upped the training load a bit now, don't expect to race well over the next month but the positive is in about 6/7 weeks time your fitness & fatigue will probably be right at where it would have been if you had had no break at all (so should not affect your marathon preparedness)

Krusty_Clown

Monday: 5.5 + 5 + 5.5 miles recovery

Heavy mileage week, so the plan is just to rack up miles when I can. Ideally, my runs should be of at least an hour's duration to be useful and relevant to the marathon goal, but given the rapid ramp-up in mileage, recovery from Sunday's race and high mileage target, this week I'll take what I an get. I now seem to be carrying a backpack for most of my runs. I stuck my bag on the scales out of curiosity and it came in at a hefty 7lbs. No doubt it increases the training load, but also puts the legs under some additional strain. I find that I'm also associating the run-mutes with work (and the routes are becoming very familiar), so while it's a good way to get some extra miles completed, the runs are not as enjoyable as heading out for an easy 10k. Some half-decent weather wouldn't go astray either.
Summary: 15 miles @around 7:20/mile

Tuesday: 5.5 + 8.74 easy
More of the same, however, weather conditions have dis-improved. Some pretty horrific conditions. Still, nice to get out for an easy hour, despite the sleet and gale. Got a lift home instead of running, as was planning a session on Wednesday.
Summary: 14.25 miles @around 7:29/mile

Gringo78 wrote: »

I monitor my fitness level by the TSS/CTL/ATL/TSB method which is something used more by triathletes but I think is a very useful tool for runners also.

Cheers Gringo. Makes sense. Any more info on this approach of tracking fitness? is there some form of spread-sheet template or is it an online tool?

Oregano_State

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Monday: 5.5 + 5 + 5.5 miles recovery

Heavy mileage week, so the plan is just to rack up miles when I can. Ideally, my runs should be of at least an hour's duration to be useful and relevant to the marathon goal, but given the rapid ramp-up in mileage, recovery from Sunday's race and high mileage target, this week I'll take what I an get. I now seem to be carrying a backpack for most of my runs. I stuck my bag on the scales out of curiosity and it came in at a hefty 7lbs. No doubt it increases the training load, but also puts the legs under some additional strain. I find that I'm also associating the run-mutes with work (and the routes are becoming very familiar), so while it's a good way to get some extra miles completed, the runs are not as enjoyable as heading out for an easy 10k. Some half-decent weather wouldn't go astray either.
Summary: 15 miles @around 7:20/mile

Tuesday: 5.5 + 8.74 easy
More of the same, however, weather conditions have dis-improved. Some pretty horrific conditions. Still, nice to get out for an easy hour, despite the sleet and gale. Got a lift home instead of running, as was planning a session on Wednesday.
Summary: 14.25 miles @around 7:29/mile


Cheers Gringo. Makes sense. Any more info on this approach of tracking fitness? is there some form of spread-sheet template or is it an online tool?

16 miles? :P

Also, how do you find running with a bag? Is it a special running bag? I've never gone on a 'run' with a bag on my back, but any time I've had to run when carrying a bag, I found that it (or the stuff inside) bounced around a fair bit, and was annoying.

Krusty_Clown

Oregano_State wrote: »

16 miles? :P

Also, how do you find running with a bag? Is it a special running bag? I've never gone on a 'run' with a bag on my back, but any time I've had to run when carrying a bag, I found that it (or the stuff inside) bounced around a fair bit, and was annoying.

Krusty Clown lose Brain? Oh-Oh!

The bag I have is a Deuter Race bag. I have to say, it's feckin' brilliant. It's about the limit in terms of size compromise and usability. Any smaller, and you wouldn't get a useful enough amount of stuff into it. Any larger and I wouldn't be too keen on lugging it around for 11 miles per day. So the small size forces me to make sacrifices about what I would carry, which also makes it more manageable. Because of the small size, there isn't much room for everything to jiggle about, so no worries there! Usually I can carry:
Deoderant, hairbrush, emergency gel, phones x 2, wallet, inhalers, keys, towel, wash-cloth, 2 complete sets of running gear (no shoes), some undergarments (I keep full sets of clean work clothes in the office), breakfast, fruit and sometimes, lunch. Not much room for anything else! I also wear a run-jacket that has a couple of pockets for gloves, hats etc.

wrstan

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

(at my age, remembering what I had for breakfast proves a challenge).

Sure haven't we seen your recipe for microwave mortar porridge round these parts

Jokes aside thanks for another incisive and entertaining race report. I'll be looking out for the trail of smoke in Ballycotton as a fit healthy clown burns up the course!

Krusty_Clown

Wednesday: Jack Daniels 4 x 2 Mile at Tempo

Took the motorcycle into work (as the run-mute would be counter-productive for a session) and was once again blown all over the road, by the 18 m/s winds. I knew that attempting to hit tempo paces of 5:50/mile into that wind would be pointless at best (and my current fragile disposition couldn't take another hard-knock ) so I checked the schedule (which confirmed as usual that I'm performing the sessions on the wrong days) and found an 'out'. I should in fact have been performing a 20mile/2.5 hour long run. Yippee! the day was saved. I could trot around for the evening, and disregard my pace in the strong gusts. I even contemplated taking a half day and running during the day time. The squall got worse and by the time I looked up from my computer-box, it was mid-afternoon and opportunities for a half-day escape had passed. Reading a thread on the main forum on the subject of running into the wind, I hatched a plan. I'd head home, run to the gym and perform the tempo sections in a wind/pace controlled environment on a treadmill, before running home.

My hatred for treadmills is already well-documented in this training log, but I figured that armed with a specific task, it should be manageable. One thing that made me uncomfortable though is the idea of paying for a run; particularly when you run 'free' to the gym, pay for the middle section of the run, then run home 'free' again. It strikes me as being similar to cooking a starter, getting a take-away for your main course, and then cooking a dessert. When the receptionist asked me for €6.50, I wanted to let her know that I wasn't planning on keeping the treadmill, I just wanted it for an hour. Too late, I paid my money, threw on a lighter set of clothes and headed for the dread.

Having leafed through JD's book, I did my best to interpret a similar effort to the outdoor work, which from my inexperienced perspective so I reckoned the closest I could get was: 2% grade, 16.5km/hour for 11:40. This should give me similar effort levels to running 5:50/mile for two miles. Tunguska had suggested a much greater grade of climb at a slightly lower speed, but I wanted to maintain the leg turnover as much as possible, and having visited these treadmills a few weeks previously, knew they were good for speeds up to 18 km/hour.

Halfway through the first, I was sweating buckets and struggled with the last couple of minutes. Next one was even tougher. Same thing with the third. In fact the third was so difficult, that I had to take a break after finishing and walk on the treadmill for five minutes while my dizzy spell cleared up. I figured it was better to take a break for a couple of mins, than to give in and skip the final tempo section. Everybody else seemed to be merrily jogging along on their respective treadmills at 8-10km/hour. I must have looked a little like a berserker, sweat emanating from every pore, flung wildly across the gym, like the virus carrying droplets of blood from the creatures in 28 days later. I fully expected to see vacant treadmills on either side of me, but for some reason, my bodily fluids didn't seem to scare anyone off. I finished in a disheveled mess, looking like I had just emerged from a hot-tub, complete with red face and dripping clothing. A quick shower, and out into the comparatively freezing conditions for a three mile warm-down.

Did I enjoy the session? No, not one bit. It was horrific. But at least now I have an understanding of where runners like Tunguska get their race-toughness from. Next time, I think I'll save my €6.50 and my dignity and do battle with the conditions (or just opt instead for that 20 mile run). One clear benefit though, is that unlike running outdoors, effort is distributed very evenly and you can gradually bring your heart rate close to max. Job done. Kind of..

Summary: 2 mile warm-up, 4x2 miles @~5:50, 3 mile warm-down

RunningKing

Dory Dory wrote: »

I could read your writings all day long.

+1 to that.
Krusty and MarthaStew should have a 'write off' :-)

T runner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Monday: 5.5 + 5 + 5.5 miles recovery

Heavy mileage week, so the plan is just to rack up miles when I can. Ideally, my runs should be of at least an hour's duration to be useful and relevant to the marathon goal, but given the rapid ramp-up in mileage, recovery from Sunday's race and high mileage target, this week I'll take what I an get.........

This Article which monitored single run a day mice vs triple run a day mice should give you some consolation. My experience from last year was that doubles and triples gave a body a stimulus that singles couldnt. I found it actually helped and adapted my ability to recover (shortening the time between runs). So if needs must dictates to get 30k in you need to run 3 runs, i dont think youre losing out at all.

BeepBeep67

RunningKing wrote: »

+1 to that.
Krusty and MarthaStew should have a 'write off' :-)

Feck that - when's the bake off and the brew off

Krusty_Clown

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Feck that - when's the bake off and the brew off

'Martha Stew' - the clue is in the name. You can't pitch me against the domestic goddess of baking; it would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight! I have no doubt that if she turned her hand to brewing beer, she'd kick my ass on that score too. But if a cook were measured on the basis of their roast potatoes; there's a field on which we could do battle.

wideball

Great running in Dungarvan, I wouldn't be too disappointed once you look at in context. As someone else posted, from having been sick to suddenly ramping up your mileage and even the pre race day session(s), you were bound to be not at your optimal. You'll be flying for Ballycotton.

I did have to laugh a few weeks ago when you had your first week back post sickness and you ran a near 100 mile week. I thought I was getting somewhat close to what you were ( a couple of 70 mile weeks) running but I can't complete with that :eek: !! Respect

Krusty_Clown

T runner wrote: »

This Article which monitored single run a day mice vs triple run a day mice should give you some consolation. My experience from last year was that doubles and triples gave a body a stimulus that singles couldnt. I found it actually helped and adapted my ability to recover (shortening the time between runs). So if needs must dictates to get 30k in you need to run 3 runs, i dont think youre losing out at all.

Great reading those articles, particularly by Steve Magness, whose opinions I put great stock in. I did read in one of the linked articles (by the man himself) that doubles/triples should be unbalanced (e.g. 75 mins/25mins), which needless to say I wont get from running into and out of work. Just this morning, on my run-mute, I was pondering the very same subject. I can see advantages and drawbacks to the multi-part run:
1) Always running on empty: because the run to work is first thing in the morning, I have a cup of coffee and hit the road. Lunch-time run (if any) is done before lunch and evening run is done before any evening meals.
2) Great for weight-loss, as you are really ticking off the calories (miles) without the same level of body stress
3) Good use of time (40 minute run instead of 15 minute commmute), with minimal impact on family/work/social life

Disadvantages:
1) Obviously there is little or no endurance benefit. So multi-part runs must be supplemented with 60+ minute runs and long runs (2+ hours).
2) Not very economical. As Jack Daniels explained, runs should be of a duration of 60 mins, just to make best use of time (changing, hydrating, showering etc).
3) You don't get very long recovery periods (rarely more than 12 hours between runs; often less than 3 hours).
4) 2-3 sets of running gear in the washing machine every day

Still, I reckon the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Where I've done a third run (at lunch-time) it has just been a recovery run, as the triple run days have come the days after sessions/races. I think in future on heavy mileage weeks, I'll do as Magness suggests, and incorporate a fartlek session in the middle instead, to maximize return on running investment.

wideball

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great reading those articles, particularly by Steve Magness, whose opinions I put great stock in. I did read in one of the linked articles (by the man himself) that doubles/triples should be unbalanced (e.g. 75 mins/25mins), which needless to say I wont get from running into and out of work. Just this morning, on my run-mute, I was pondering the very same subject. I can see advantages and drawbacks to the multi-part run:
1) Always running on empty: because the run to work is first thing in the morning, I have a cup of coffee and hit the road. Lunch-time run (if any) is done before lunch and evening run is done before any evening meals.
2) Great for weight-loss, as you are really ticking off the calories (miles) without the same level of body stress
3) Good use of time (40 minute run instead of 15 minute commmute), with minimal impact on family/work/social life

Disadvantages:
1) Obviously there is little or no endurance benefit. So multi-part runs must be supplemented with 60+ minute runs and long runs (2+ hours).
2) Not very economical. As Jack Daniels explained, runs should be of a duration of 60 mins, just to make best use of time (changing, hydrating, showering etc).
3) You don't get very long recovery periods (rarely more than 12 hours between runs; often less than 3 hours).
4) 2-3 sets of running gear in the washing machine every day

Still, I reckon the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Where I've done a third run (at lunch-time) it has just been a recovery run, as the triple run days have come the days after sessions/races. I think in future on heavy mileage weeks, I'll do as Magness suggests, and incorporate a fartlek session in the middle instead, to maximize return on running investment.

+1 on the runmutes advantages. I do 3 double days a week and i find the time management and running on empty works for me. I drive part of the commute and so I can split my two runs into something like the 75/25 mix you note. Depending on time, the major session of the 2 can be done in the morning vs evening. Which tends to be steady runs in the morning, with tempos/intervals in the evening (my body just can't do that with any quality in the early morning). The running on empty is great once you get the hang of it and I manage to run another day to work door to door with a small bag.

Mind I get by with one set of running gear, I like my own smell!!

RayCun

What if you skipped the lunchtime run and took a 20 minute detour on your way in and out? It would solve some of those disadvantages, and you'd still be using otherwise wasted commute time.

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Disadvantages:
1) Obviously there is little or no endurance benefit. So multi-part runs must be supplemented with 60+ minute runs and long runs (2+ hours).
2) Not very economical. As Jack Daniels explained, runs should be of a duration of 60 mins, just to make best use of time (changing, hydrating, showering etc).
3) You don't get very long recovery periods (rarely more than 12 hours between runs; often less than 3 hours).
4) 2-3 sets of running gear in the washing machine every day

Wouldn't put this solely in the disdadvantage column. You are trying to stimulate the body to recover quicker, in the short term not ideal especially with you ramping up the mileage and intensity however long term it should train your body to recover quicker from sessions

Krusty_Clown

wideball wrote: »

Great running in Dungarvan, I wouldn't be too disappointed once you look at in context. As someone else posted, from having been sick to suddenly ramping up your mileage and even the pre race day session(s), you were bound to be not at your optimal. You'll be flying for Ballycotton.

I did have to laugh a few weeks ago when you had your first week back post sickness and you ran a near 100 mile week. I thought I was getting somewhat close to what you were ( a couple of 70 mile weeks) running but I can't complete with that :eek: !! Respect

It's one thing to run high mileage. Quite another to run useful mileage! As others are fond of saying 'quality over quantity'. My mileage progress over the last few weeks can only usefully be described using one word: stupid. Only a gobsh1te would have a weekly mile progression like: 24->31->90->74->100. However, I am that gobsh1te. Part of the foolishness was sparked by the sudden (almost unintentional) signing up for the Donadea 50k race (in two weeks time :eek:). The other foolishness has come from the fact that I ran identical mileage for my last marathon outing, and felt very strong, even during high mileage weeks with races/sessions. Part of the reason I can manage higher mileage, is that I let the legs dictate the pace, and no longer display pace on my watch. If you look at my Garmin Connect account, you'll see lots of runs at 7:50/mile (like this morning's run to work). See the sensible people would just see that as junk miles and just wouldn't bother, preferring instead to do one 8 mile run for the day at a quality pace. I'm too old to be sensible.

Krusty_Clown

RayCun wrote: »

What if you skipped the lunchtime run and took a 20 minute detour on your way in and out? It would solve some of those disadvantages, and you'd still be using otherwise wasted commute time.

On the way in to work, the run is not the most pleasant. Prolonging it just isn't that appealing (may change when the wind dies down and the weather improves!). On the return journey, I just want to get home as quickly as possible after a long day in work (also lets not forget the 7lb bag strapped to my back!). Sure I'm happy enough the way things are going at the moment. Later in the plan though, I'll likely take the bike into or out of work which will allow for a 8-10 mile mid-day run, and a recovery run on the same day.

RayCun

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

(also lets not forget the 7lb bag strapped to my back!)

forgot that. :eek: I'd be keeping those runs short too

Patrick_K

Tempo runs that involve near death inducing effort and showers in the middle of training sessions, you're one crazy Clown!

BeepBeep67

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

'Martha Stew' - the clue is in the name. You can't pitch me against the domestic goddess of baking; it would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight! I have no doubt that if she turned her hand to brewing beer, she'd kick my ass on that score too. But if a cook were measured on the basis of their roast potatoes; there's a field on which we could do battle.

In all honesty I don't really care who wins, once I'm on the tasting panel

Krusty_Clown

Thursday: 5.75 easy + 4 recovery + 6 easy
Another horrendous run to work uphill and into the wind, in the rain, with stiff legs from the previous night's session. An easy recovery run on the grass at lunch-time helped to ease out some of the kinks, so by the time I finished work, the legs were back to normal again and the pace naturally picked up.
Summary: 15.78 miles @~7:27/mile

Friday Runmutes: 5.5 + 5.43 miles
Usual painful windy run into work, followed by the easy run home, though this time, I was continually trying to ease back on the pace in preparation for Saturday's long run/session.
Summary: 10.93 miles @~7:35

Krusty_Clown

Saturday: 22 mile JD-style session

When Pronator suggested getting together for a session, I thought - awesome. Then he said Saturday and I thought - what about Friday beers? Then he said we were starting at 7:45 am and I thought - this guys clearly a nutter, sure that's the middle of the night. But sure you can't pass up the opportunity for a solid training session with a couple of solid sub-2:40 runners, so I was delighted to forgo the ritual Friday beers, the lie in and the lazy morning. I met up with Neal and Pronator out in Newtown Mount Kennedy on a slightly frosty morning and we were soon ready to go. The plan was:
5 miles easy + 5 miles at ~MP + 5 miles easy + 5 miles at ~MP + 2 miles warm-down.

Pronator had warned us that the first MP section was downhill with a slight tail-wind, while the reverse leg would be uphill into a slight head-wind, so the plan was to run the second MP section based on an even effort. Two things concerned me: the first was that I am in the midst of my first of three 100 mile weeks in the plan. The second issue was that the two guys are a good chunk faster than me (complete with a faster marathon pace), so I was prepared to tough it out until the second MP section, and then leave them off if need be. Thankfully the guys are not in peak long run shape yet, or I'd have been left for dust. Instead I managed to hold on for most of the run, only losing touch with the guys over the last 1/2 mile of the second MP section. Sections were as follows:

5 miles easy: 33:40 @6:46 HR=~135
5 Miles MP: ~30:15 @6:01 HR=147 (slightly downhill, light tailwind)
5 miles easy: 34:51 @6:59 HR=139 (Slightly uphill, light headwind)
5 miles MP: 32:12 @6:26 HR=156 (Slightly uphill, light headwind)
2 Miles warm-down: 14:35, @7:21

The first MP section was manageable, with just a few tough moments. The pace was quicker than my planned marathon pace, but was compensated for, by the slight downhill and wind assistance. The second MP section was pretty damn tough, but I don't think any of us found it particularly easy going. With around 1 kilometer to go, the two guys took it home and I struggled a little, particularly on the final sneaky climb. Finally Pronator led us a merry dance over the tops of some snow-topped alpine mountains for a warm-down, clearly trying to break us, so he won't have to get up at 7:30am for long runs in future. Well, his plan didn't work. It was a cracking training run, with some good banter, tough work and a great payoff. We were just missing Abhainn, Pre, Finn and Beepbeep to complete the Bray geriatric marathon mission team. Now it's time for my afternoon snooze.

Summary: 22 miles in 2:25, @6:37, HR=~143

Gringo78

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

3) Good use of time (40 minute run instead of 15 minute commmute), with minimal impact on family/work/social life

I have a 50min runmute which would take me 50minutes in a car (into the city centre - bad traffic) so its a no brainer - also saves me money as I'd either have to pay for parking or bus. Run 6.5 miles in, 6.5 miles out 5 days a week. Am lucky that work have a great changing room with showers, lockers, hanging space.

90% of my running now is done with a 6lb backpack on my back but I find its doesn't hamper or change my running style and I really notice it when I don't have the bag - its motivation for losing the extra kilos that I'm carrying elsewhere.

RunningKing

U guys carry a laptop in the bag - contemplating running the 7m to and from work.

Gringo78

RunningKing wrote: »

U guys carry a laptop in the bag - contemplating running the 7m to and from work.

Rarely - wouldn't like to lug a laptop in and out everyday! I only have running gear, small towel. I carry extra stuff in some days so I can run extra light other days.

average_runner

RunningKing wrote: »

U guys carry a laptop in the bag - contemplating running the 7m to and from work.

Could u not leave lap top in work?

What I do is leave clean clothes in the office the day before and then run in, shower and change.