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Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge
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KielyUnusual wrote: »Great! You're training for the minuscule marathon too. What's your longest run going to be?
I have a feeling Krusty might be breaking the rule of NEVER running the full race distance in training!
Ideal prep for Half. Run 10 miles once or twice. Sure won't the adrenaline get ya home.0 -
I've heard that you shouldn't go beyond 80% of the total race distance, so I'm not going to stretch my longest run any longer than 2.5 miles.KielyUnusual wrote: »Great! You're training for the minuscule marathon too. What's your longest run going to be?0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »I've heard that you shouldn't go beyond 80% of the total race distance, so I'm not going to stretch my longest run any longer than 2.5 miles.
How are going to run 100 miles a week of a long run of 2.5 miles? You'll have to run at least 6 times per day
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I found that if I don't turn off my Garmin after I finish running, it continues to track my miles covered during the day. Walking around the office, is after all, just a very slow form of running. You didn't actually think I ran all of those 785 miles I've done so far this year, did you? Right.. Time to clock up another 6 miles on my motorcycle.How are going to run 100 miles a week of a long run of 2.5 miles? You'll have to run at least 6 times per day0 -
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Cheers Stazza, but that kind of pace is really only aspirational. They were more like standalone 400m reps, rather than an achievable concerted 5k effort/session. Certainly nothing sustainable for any great distance. But it is early days yet and there are many more months in my plan.After those 400's @ 15:20-15:35 pace @ this time of the year, all bets are off (only joking) - you're flying! That's a great session on cinders in the wind after a 100 mile week; you sure you're not 20? If you stay healthy you'll do some serious damage. Great work - better get my finger out.
Got out for another 5 miles at a more moderate tempered 9:05/mile this evening. My creaking joints were very thankful for the yielding grass which was like the most tender of gentle massages. Oh running... Is there nothing you can't fix?0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Friday: 9 miles + 5.3 miles easy
Beginning to like these 9+5 double days as they fit in really well with the work run-mute. True, the 9 mile morning uphill run with the back-pack can be a bit of a struggle until you hit the top of the climb, but once you do, it's all downhill to work so you can rattle off a few quick miles before arriving into the office. The run home on a Friday evening continues to delight as it signifies the end of the working week and with the promise of a nice meal and pints with 'she who must be obeyed or she won't pay for dinner', it was all that I could do not to skip home at marathon pace.
Summary: 9 miles @7:31/mile + 5.3 miles @7:03/mile
I read this last night, half watching the Oscars and it took me a while to figure out why your way to work was 4 miles longer than your way home
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It was only this morning on my way to work that I came to the realization that I didn't have to follow the same hilly route to work, when there's nine miles in the plan. I can actually take a circuitous route in any direction. Also, another realization - bananas and pots of yoghurt are really not good snack choices for the backpack. They don't mix well with the working clothes. Still, it was nice to run in sunny pleasant conditions for a change and having to ditch jackets and gloves mid-run is a rarity. Legs a little tired and creaky, but I have an entire week of respite coming up, to let everyone else catch up in the 1,000 mile challenge. An entire week of no running. Not sure how I'll cope.I read this last night, half watching the Oscars and it took me a while to figure out why your way to work was 4 miles longer than your way home
Summary: 9 miles in 69 mins, @7:39/mile0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Also, another realization - bananas and pots of yoghurt are really not good snack choices for the backpack. They don't mix well with the working clothes.
I use plastic durable Dunnes/SuperValu bags in my backpack. Thick enough to protect from the rain or yogurts
What size backpack do you use? Do you think it would alter your gait if you ran with it every day? 0 -
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I have a 10L Deuter rucksack (an older version of this one, just with more squished banana). I could be wrong, but at times, it almost feels like it pulls me backwards (straighter) a little. I keep it light though, so don't generally think about it too much, after I start running. No doubt though, it would affect the gait if I used it every day (I currently use it for around 4 runs a week). Still, its probably worth a few extra calories!Micilin Muc wrote: »I use plastic durable Dunnes/SuperValu bags in my backpack. Thick enough to protect from the rain or yogurts What size backpack do you use? Do you think it would alter your gait if you ran with it every day?
269. I haven't added this morning's run yet.belcarra wrote:So does that mean I have a 260 mile week coming up? Oh bugger! 0 -
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Saturday 8th - Friday 14th: Week off
On Friday evening (7th), I packed my bags (after an easy 5 mile recovery run, just to prove ecoli wrong), and got ready to abandon running for a whole 7 days. Instead, I was heading off for a week of high altitude beer drinking with family and friends. There are many things I am average at, by by god, when it comes to high-altitude beer-drinking, I compete with the best. Every day started at around 8am with porridge, followed by a couple of hours of skiing, a beer to kill the thirst at around 11am, more skiing, some lunch with beer, more skiing, more beer, aprés ski beer, dinner (with beer), and finally some beer before bed. Low-point of the week was when I was following my kids down a series of progressively higher jumps in the boarder-park in Avoriaz (ok, the smaller jumps on the left!) and as I got some air on the penultimate jump, there was a kid lying across the landing area after having fallen. So instead of landing on my skis, I had a 10 foot drop on my face (and the kids ski),wrenching my shoulder and knee and earning a few head abrasions for my troubles (the kid was grand). My confidence took a bit of a beating after that (something even the beer couldn't fix). Highlight of the week came came on the last day of skiing. We had found a border-cross park in Les Gets. As my two kids launched themselves down the twisty jumpy border-cross route, I joined all of the other old fogies down the blue run that ran alongside the course. I don't think I have ever felt so old. We went up the lift one more time and once again, the kids disappeared down the border-cross route. As I got ready to head down the run of shame again, I said fnck it, and launched myself after them. Mojo returned. It's the little things that make us feel young again.
Saturday 15th: Though I had managed to sneak a pair of runners into my bag, they didn't see the light of day, until the week of skiing was done. The morning we were due to fly home, I threw the runners on before sunrise, and headed out on a cool frosty morning. I headed out on the mountain climb on the road that joined Morzine to Avoriaz and managed to run 4.5 miles before I had to turn back, clocking in at 8 miles above 900m elevation. A nice recovery run, rather than a nod in the direction of altitude training!
Summary: 206 miles of skiing/lifts + 8 miles of running0 -
I'd be lying if I told you that I didn't think I was in PB shape. Despite the week off running, the beer, all of the fricking cheese that comes with every meal in France, the extra 5 pounds, I still reckoned I was in a position to challenge my previous PB; largely because of the decent 10k I'd run at the end of a 100 mile week (34:11), but also because of the training plan I had been following. It's early days and I've only gotten through the base training and a couple of additional weeks of the pre-race phase, but the training/sessions are so different to anything that I've done before that I reckon I'm realizing improvements that I just wouldn't have seen by returning to the tried and tested marathon programs. My existing PB was 16:23 (16:18 officially), from last April (before London marathon), but I reckoned the timing was a bit off and the course a little short, so I thought 16:30 better reflected my race time. For today's race, I hoped to get close as close as possible to 16 minutes, to set me up for an assault on a 15:xx over the coming weeks.
Snuck into the elite warm-up area, and bumped into Dr Quirky and a couple of club-mates. Lined up before the start and was immediately surrounded by the head-phoned runners that you just knew were aiming to break 30 minutes for 10k. Nothing wrong with a goal like that (I'd have been happy with that achievement a few years back), but don't line up 10 feet from the start line in a race of 1,500 runners. I'm not the kind of person to barge my way through, so I just settled into my spot and became determined to avoid getting tripped or running into slower runners ahead.
Mile 1: Jaysus, I was expecting a slow start, but this was positively pedestrian, as the head-phone warriors did their very best to ruin a good race. Eventually I got clear and pushed through the throngs. I could see Dr Quirky up ahead (immediately recognizable singlet is like a beacon!). I figured DrQ was in low 16:xx shape, so I figured if I could close the gap and hang on to him, it would serve me well. It wasn't that easy as the pace was pretty hot, so I ended up lengthening my stride and pushing myself a little outside of comfort level (probably no harm). The U-turn on Baggot Street was a bit of a surprise, but not as much of a surprise as getting a big cheer of encouragement from Mrs and Mr Stew. Really didn't expect to see Mr Stew out and about, so getting a big cheer was just fantastic. As the course wound its way around Fitzwilliam Square, I made up some positions, and closed the gap a little to DrQ's group, who were still some 50m ahead. My GPS tracklog is sh1te (because of the tall buildings), but I reckon I hit the first mile in around 5:13.
Mile 2: Uncharacteristically, I hadn't researched the route beforehand, but I had gone for a warm-up and spotted a few of the kilometer markers, around the course and made a few mental notes. I knew that heading up the canal we'd be running into a head-wind, so figured I had to close the gap or my race would be fecked. I worked a little harder and gradually closed on the group of runners ahead. Half way up the canal stretch I'd caught them and was surprised to see a few familiar faces. Alongside DrQ was Catherina Mckiernan (and another female), a really solid Rathfarnham M40 and another very solid Raheny master (both of whom I've lost to, many times in the past). As we hit the top of the canal, the group had broken up a little, with just DrQ, CMc, Raheny and Rathfarnham left in the group. Mile 2: ~5:20.
Mile 3: DrQ's breathing sounded a little ragged and I think he fell off the pace a little as we ran past the E&E Hospital on Adelaide Road. I kind of hoped he'd stay with the group as we'd have had a great battle over the final 250m and push each other on for a great time, but didn't know how much sleep/training he'd had the opportunity to do of late. So the group seemed to be down to four, a pretty spritely group of M40/F40 runners! Earlsfort Terrace was very fast, with the most minor of downhills. Turning onto Leeson Street the group stretched out a little, with Rathfarnham and then CmK dropping off the pace. From my earlier warm-up recce, I knew to watch out for the 4km mark, which was the start of a very fast stretch with the wind behind us and another minor downhill. I was working hard at this stage, but knew that the fast stretch would help and that the finish line was rapidly approaching. I chased Raheny's shadow as we flew down Pembroke Street. I wasn't so much racing him, as just trying to hold on to him, as I knew that if I fell off his pace, I'd begin to fade and fall backwards. Mile 3: ~5:03
Finish: We rounded the corner onto Baggot Street and immediately I could see the finish line, which had been moved from its historic position on Kildare Street, due to roadworks. This is definitely a faster course, as being able to see the finish line some 600m away has got to be worth at least 10 seconds. Raheny picked up the pace and opened a gap on me. I was happy enough, as I knew that if I just held on I was on for a good time. I dug a little deeper though, and closed the gap on him. I felt it would be unfair to stay behind him on the final stretch so I drew level and we ran side by side into a painful head-wind. Once we got a little past Merrion Street, I could make out the clock on the finishing gantry, which read 15:30. I nearly shat myself with excitement. I had a chance at breaking 16 minutes, If I could just pick up the pace. I shouted to Raheny that we had 30 seconds and started to really pick up the pace. Accelerating faster and faster (faster than I thought I could possibly run and harder than I've ever pushed), Raheny eventually fell off the pace. Could not believe it, as I ran under the gantry with 15:50 showing on the clock. I haven't been as happy about a result as this since London 2013. To make things better, son, daughter and boss-lady all ran PBs and were all suitably happy with their results (if not their actual races, which for some were just endured!). Really nice chatting to all the boards runners afterwards (particularly Mr Stew, who seems younger and healthier than any time I have ever met him). Some cracking results all around and nice put faces to names of some more of the boards clan.
So where from here? A 15:xx time is something I could only ever have dreamed of before. It was never in the realms of possibility (I ran 19:04 in this race back in 2009). So this one has meant a lot to me. A real milestone for me. It means that there are equivalent times that I can legitimately start thinking of taking on. But I'm still less than 1/2 way through my 5k plan. I suspect that further PBs will not come as easy as this one did, but I'll keep working on it, trying to chip a few more seconds, until the plan is done. On a positive note, I'm no longer feeling as old as I was.
Summary: 5k in 15:48 for 19th place (1st M40).1 -
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