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Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge
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Great run today Gary. Your in petty good shape there is no doubt, its early in the marathon cycle so positives all round. All 3 of us were working hard by the end (I especially like your slightly uphill reference - its a real climb back from Ashford to Newtown
). Great company, great morning and a very enjoyable run.:D
Donadea will be that little bit easier after today.......I have to keep telling myself that:eek:0 -
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BeepBeep67 wrote: »In all honesty I don't really care who wins, once I'm on the tasting panel
I would suggest a tasting panel after Donadea but nobody will be in a fit state to judge anything after 50K.
I do promise to bring some sort of culinary delight; all these high mileage weeks are having an adverse affect on my Domestic Goddess status and its high time I sorted that out:)
Best of luck with the 100 mile weeks Gary, whenever I start to feel tired I just pop on over here to your log and that puts things in perspective;)0 -
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I think RayCun was just being a bit flippant. He must not have enough authority in real life, so feels the need to represent the authoritarian voice at every opportunity.I disagree with that: IMO you have to be able to recover running relatively long for marathon training. One run which Daniels doesnt have (i may have missed it though) is a continous fast run.
The 8 mile run did in fact have purpose. The first was recovery and at 8 minute mile, even running for longer than 40 minutes is not going to have any meaningful detrimental impact on the following day's training (I ran 18 miles the next day). Plus in terms of the week's total, it represents just 8% of the weekly mileage, so is pretty insignificant (and was by a long shot, the lowest mileage run that week). I could have split it into two runs (that would comply with junk mileage police code of ethics (Chapter 23, ordinance 114.b)), but I chose instead to take the evening off. Everyone gets a rest sometimes.RayCun wrote:Too long for a recovery run ,
Secondly, it was necessary to bring me up to my weekly mileage goal. I'm as stubborn as a stubborn mule, which means I will always do the pre-ordained mileage. Hangovers, weather, laziness... These things never get in the way (though all presented themselves on Sunday!).
That's exactly the type of run that is planned for this weekend. 22 miles at somewhere between 6:40 and 6:50, then there's also Donadea the following week, which will be 50kms at ~6:50-7:00. So I'm using JD Plan A is more of a loose template. I'll pick and choose some sessions from the elite plan (where I think these are achievable) and swap some out for build-up races or other suggested sessions.One run which Daniels doesnt have (i may have missed it though) is a continous fast run.0 -
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- stay hungry stay foolishKrusty_Clown wrote: »There is plenty of wisdom to be garnered from keeping an eye on this training log. Just take a mental note of everything the idiot does, and don't do it. To be honest, my mother was surprised when I made it to my teenage years and had bet against me making it to adulthood. I was always the kid who climbed the electrical pylon, threw the match into the barrel to see what was in it, put my foot in the spokes to see if I got transported to a magical place and drank the murky cocktail of tequila and custard. A Darwin award, waiting to happen.
I have carried that same stupid gene into my autumn years, preferring to do things first and think about the consequences afterwards. Sometimes (very rarely) I get lucky and it pays off, but largely I get what I deserve in the end. Oh and I did get transported to a magical place; called the dentist - with a chipped tooth.
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The dream-sequence
I woke up last Thursday morning, with a great sense of relief. I had slept through the race in Donadea the previous Saturday, and out of a sense of guilt, I coaxed Emer to come out to Donadea with me and just before dusk, set off for 10 laps of the forest on my own. I finished in a satisfying 2:40, smug that despite having missed the official race, I had still reaped the benefits of the training and done it in a pretty good time too (I didn't know it at the time, but I had just nipped 3 minutes off of the world record). Once the hazy fog of sleep lifted, I was at once both disappointed and relieved to realize that I hadn't actually missed the race. Disappointed, because I still had a grueling 31 mile run to complete and relieved, because I really enjoy this race. If it were a movie, it would be 'It's a Wonderful Life'. It starts nice enough, there are tough times in the middle, but at the end, everyone's all smiles, handshakes, pats on the back, and there's cake.... Lots of cake.
The race wasn't really on my calendar until I met Anto, just after the Christmas holiday, when he reminded me that just 6 people had started and finished every race. I couldn't really let that one go. Having completed a pretty good PMP run the previous Wednesday, I knew I was in decent enough shape, but the legs were tired after weeks and weeks of high mileage. The plan was to run a pretty conservative race, in order to nab a small PB, and provide a good endurance boost for my London marathon goal. Two clubbies (Pronator and Beepbeep) were also participating in the race and Pronator's goals were similar enough to my own, so at least I'd have company for much of the race.
The starty-bit
Arrived out to Donadea with Emer_911, who had kindly opted once again to furnish me with my beverages during the race (I only had to bribe her with a new coat for the privilege) and met up with all of the lovely folk who make this the superb race that it is. Dropped off a box of drinks and gels and lined up with the rest of the runners at the start. I'd say I knew one out of every two runners that were assembled that chilly morning. Being a long race though, the usual competitive glares, grunts and shuffling for position were replaced with smiles, jokes, and an almost reluctant readying of watches before the starting bullhorn. But start it did and ultimately a 10-strong group of runners broke away from the rest of the group, chasing finishing positions and lofty targets. This was Pronator's first time dipping his toe in the murky waters of ultramarathons, so he was happy enough to stick to sub 7 minute miles, which would see us finishing just shy of 3:38. That plan lasted all of 400m, as we struck out at a pace of approximately 6:40/mile. We were joined during the first lap by Jeffontour, Woundedknee and Colm from Mullingar, who eventually settled into their own respective paces. I had kept an eye out for Asimonov who planned to run at a similar pace, but he must have turned up in disguise, as he was nowhere to be seen.
Over the course of the first lap, I was a little apprehensive, as every time I checked out the watch, we were running at a stable 6:40/mile, instead of the pre-planned sub 7 min/mile pace. The problem with these very long runs, is that you really only find out if you screwed up your pacing when you are 25 miles into the race, and beyond the point when you can do anything to resurrect your race. However, the pace felt comfortable and I was chatting away to Pronator, so eventually said ‘to hell with it’ and just got into the groove.
The gastronomics
My nutrition plan: I had brought along 10x250ml bottles of water. Half of them I topped up with my turtle blood solution (a pinch of salt and some pomegranate juice). The other 5 bottles were ‘clean’. The plan was to alternate water and Isotonic gels and a bottle of my turtle blood every 5k lap. Largely I stuck with the plan, but only had 3.5 gels, and around 1.5L of my planned drinks. By contrast, Pronator’s nutrition plan: a couple of gels and a few swigs of water to help wash them down!
We completed the first lap in 21:37 (20:15, if you discount the run-in) and settled into a steady 6:40-6:42/mile pace. We were largely on our own for the next few laps, which passed in: 20:23, 20:42, 20:52 and 20:43, so great consistency. Our chatter was only broken occasionally, by the support and cheering of the various marshalls and supporters around the course. I think it was around lap 3 or 4 when we first spied some other runners ahead, firstly the unmistakable Aimman holding the rear-guard in his instantly recognisable floppy hat. From that point onwards we were passing other runners constantly and words of encouragement were always exchanged as the other runners generously side-stepped to give us clear passage. The forest surface had been churned up in parts by forest machinery, which left some spots muddy and slippy, but largely the going was pretty good.
The middly-bit
Reaching the half-way point, I was much relieved that we could now start counting down the laps as we continued holding the same pace, with laps passing in 20:40 and 20:37. I was beginning to feel a little tired and the conversation had started waning (a tell tale sign) which coincided with the need for a pee, so I let Pronator know that I’d be dropping off for a pit-stop. I was glad of the excuse, as I didn’t want to have that awkward ‘you go ahead’, ‘are you sure?’, ‘Yeah, I’ll be fine’, ‘Would you not..’ type of conversation. Pronator was still flying, and I didn’t want to start flagging and dragging him back, so the pee was a perfect opportunity for him to push on. As we pushed through lap 7 (and were lapped by eventual winner Bazman), I started to feel a little more energetic and starting lap 8, I figured I’d hold out to the marathon mark and register a semi-decent marathon time. After that point, I could ease back if needed. I still needed to pee, but hitting the marathon mark seemed like a more pressing goal.
At the end of lap 8 (20:36), I pulled up for a bottle of water and had to rifle through the box under the Beepbeep family table, and was glad to see that Pronator had opened up a lead of around 100 feet, as I searched for my drink. This took the pressure off, as I could continue my steady trek to the marathon point, and suffer afterwards in isolation! I hit the marathon mark in 2:55:31, which closely matched my Barcelona marathon PB from three years ago. Despite having met my marathon milestone, I stayed the course. I could see Pronator a couple of hundred metres ahead of me, and that gave me strength, as I wasn’t flagging badly, or losing too much ground. I completed the penultimate lap in an ever-consistent 20:42.
I had been waiting with great expectation for the final lap to come. As I made my way around the forest for the last time, I picked out the various landmarks around the course and thought to myself ‘that’s the last time I have to see that lake’, ‘final time I have to climb this hill’, ‘last trudge through this mud’, ‘last time that guy will tell me I’m nearly finished’. Only this time, the guy didn’t tell me I was nearly finished. He had been doing it since lap 1, and with just one kilometer to go he shuts-up?! Fecker! With a kilometer to go, I checked my watch to see if there were any specific time barriers I should be trying to accelerate for, to see perhaps if there was a chance at nudging under the 3:30 mark. My mile-addled brain failed miserably with the maths, as it looked like I would comfortably get under the mark. My final lap was a slightly slower 21:05 (but I’ll take that after 28 miles of steady running!). I crossed the finish line to big cheers, in an official time of 3:27:55 and 8th place (*cough* 14th place in the 2013 world rankings *cough*).
The end
It’s not too often that I get surprised by a race performance, but this was one of those moments. It's wasn't the kind of result I would have hoped for; it was the kind of result I would have wished for. I owe it to Pronator, who started out at a steady pace, and distracted me for 25 miles, until it was too late to start worrying about the consequences. All I had to do, was keep enjoying the drinks generously handed to me by the nice lady in the lovely coat, and enjoy the chat as we wound our way around the forest paths. I’ve only ever had the best of experiences in Donadea. It doesn’t matter what the environment throws at you; be it muddy paths, cold or rain, there’s something special about the race that keeps me coming back, even when I have firmly decided not to. Some day I’ll tire of those hills and stony trails, but not this year... and maybe not next year.
Summary: 31.07 miles in 3:27:55, @6:42/mile, HR=1481 -
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