Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Chivito550

Great result Krusty, though not hugely surprising. Do you feel the hill sprints and other sprint work helped with this result?

No reason why there isn't more to come.

zico10

Super race, well done.

Stazza

Great run KC. Nice start to the 5k's. It'll be exciting to see how fast the (old)young body can go...

RayCun

Stunning run, well done!

FBOT01

Excellent race and great report....it is clear to me now that if I want to get faster over 5k distant I need to go skiing next year. I will be using you as my example as I try to explain this to my OH:)

Krusty_Clown

Chivito550 wrote: »

Great result Krusty, though not hugely surprising. Do you feel the hill sprints and other sprint work helped with this result?

Hi Chivito, the sprint work (in this context) seems to be more of a training tool, rather than something that will specifically improve 5k performance. In other words, it's about building leg strength, rather that improving speed and that's where I think I've benefited from the sprint work (though I still haven't done too many sprint sessions (maybe 4 hill sessions and 3 flat sessions and 2 hill endurance sessions). However, again, it definitely helped with my finishing kick and I finished the race at just slower than my 400m pace. I'm not sure it will give me those two seconds I need to break 60 seconds for the 400m, but I'll certainly give it a try. I don't think I'll get to do many (any?) 400m specific sessions as that would be going in the wrong direction for my season plan, but I finish this plan in June, so might have a few weeks to try and take it on, before the next stage kicks off. Fingers crossed.

RacoonQueen

Savage time KC - well done!

Krusty_Clown

Stazza wrote: »

Great run KC. Nice start to the 5k's. It'll be exciting to see how fast the (old)young body can go...

Cheers Stazza. I do think it was a damn near perfect race in perfect conditions, as I started slow, had people to chase, wind behind me at the 4km mark, long straight to the finish, and someone to battle with along that straight. If you look at the elevation profile, the course never moves up or down by more than a metre per mile. Also possible benefits of high altitude, though after touching down 14 hours previously, I doubt it (legs feel great today though!). It'll be hard to replicate those kinds of conditions again, so if there are to be further improvements, it'll be along the lines of seconds.

So much of this is a confidence game for me though. It took someone to tell me that I should be breaking 34 minutes for 10k, before I would give it a pop and to my surprise, I almost pulled it off. Same thing with the 5k. Yourself, T-Runner and UltraPercy positioned 15:30 as a realistic goal rather than a vague possibility, and suddenly breaking 16 is more achievable.

I'm stuck on a hedonic treadmill though. For the longest time, I've wanted to hit a 15:xx 5k time. I literally get a couple of hours of satisfaction, before my brain switches over to the fact that the time was achievable and I should be aiming for better. Still, it could be worse.

FBOT01 wrote:

Excellent race and great report....it is clear to me now that if I want to get faster over 5k distant I need to go skiing next year. I will be using you as my example as I try to explain this to my OH

See, you're interpreting it entirely wrong! It was the beer. The BEER!!!

pa4

Fantastic running Krusty! That's some PB. Plenty more to come I'm sure

Dory Dory

You never cease to amaze me. And based on yesterday's results, I do believe you must be getting younger. Happy St. Patrick's Day Krusty!!!!

KielyUnusual

REsult!

Amazing time KC. You smashed through the 16 minute barrier :eek:. I hear you about the long finishing straight. Definitely worth a few seconds.

Can't wait to see how the 5k training progresses from here. Definitely a lot more time there.

jebuz

Superb running KC and great report I really enjoyed the read. It's very inspirational to see how you've progressed since that 5k in 2009 when I'm sure running a 15:xx someday seemed ludicrous. Just shows that indeed nothing is impossible and hard work and dedication can bring you a long way. I have now revised my dreams

ecoli

Great run at the weekend man. Looking at the results from the weekend I am kinda glad I was off hiding on the other side of the country

Plenty more to come from you to

Krusty_Clown

ecoli wrote: »

Great run at the weekend man. Looking at the results from the weekend I am kinda glad I was off hiding on the other side of the country

I dunno Luke. Everybody who ran yesterday had a cracking run. The gods just seemed to line-up correctly for us. May make PBs in the future that much harder. But it's great to be finishing just behind (or ahead of) runners I never figured I'd be in the same league as. A real boost. Just like your run yesterday. Stick with it man. You'll crack the three eventually.

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I dunno Luke. Everybody who ran yesterday had a cracking run. The gods just seemed to line-up correctly for us. May make PBs in the future that much harder. But it's great to be finishing just behind (or ahead of) runners I never figured I'd be in the same league as. A real boost. Just like your run yesterday. Stick with it man. You'll crack the three eventually.

Like a golfer nursing his handicap. Means that Limerick could be my third consecutive Marathon PB and second of the year :P

theboyblunder

Outstanding. Simply outstanding. Possibly one of your greatest races id bet. Congrats!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

That is very impressive running G. It just shows 5 years of consistent, hard and smart training pays off....i forgot the beer, that plays a large part of it as well:)
That Daniels fella suggests a low 2:3x mara, i would sort of agree with him!!

T runner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cheers Stazza. I do think it was a damn near perfect race in perfect conditions, as I started slow, had people to chase, wind behind me at the 4km mark, long straight to the finish, and someone to battle with along that straight. If you look at the elevation profile, the course never moves up or down by more than a metre per mile. Also possible benefits of high altitude, though after touching down 14 hours previously, I doubt it (legs feel great today though!). It'll be hard to replicate those kinds of conditions again, so if there are to be further improvements, it'll be along the lines of seconds.

So much of this is a confidence game for me though. It took someone to tell me that I should be breaking 34 minutes for 10k, before I would give it a pop and to my surprise, I almost pulled it off. Same thing with the 5k. Yourself, T-Runner and UltraPercy positioned 15:30 as a realistic goal rather than a vague possibility, and suddenly breaking 16 is more achievable.

I'm stuck on a hedonic treadmill though. For the longest time, I've wanted to hit a 15:xx 5k time. I literally get a couple of hours of satisfaction, before my brain switches over to the fact that the time was achievable and I should be aiming for better. Still, it could be worse.

See, you're interpreting it entirely wrong! It was the beer. The BEER!!!

Congrats Krusty, that's a super race there. Definitely enjoy that one and let it sink in. You're only a few weeks into the pre-comp phase.
You said youd never pushed that hard at the end of a race so that's a breakthrough performance not just in time but in effort also. The central guv'nor will get adjusting there. Theres more to come for sure. You've cracked open a whole range of potential times with that breakthrough and not just @ 5k. Forget about improving a few seconds. I think because of the breakthrough from that race alone, youd run 15:3x next week in exactly the same conditions. As Stazza says, excited to see how low youll have gone come june.

Great stuff. Keep up the great work!

wrstan

Great to see you keep smashing through targets Gary. Fantastic run!

Do you think the week off was a factor (aside from the beer)? Do you think it helped your legs feel fresher?

I'm reminded of a story told by Roger Bannister in his book The First Four Minutes where he talks about himself and Chris Chataway trying to do a session of 10x400's which they did several times a week, trying to build to completing the 10 in under 60s. After failing on repeated attempts they gave up and despondently headed off for a week of mountain climbing in Scotland, believing the elusive 4 minute mile would remain beyond them. Coming back after "a complete mental and physical change" they nailed the session comfortably with each lap in 59s, knowing now that the 4 minute mile was within their grasp!

dna_leri

Finally a result over the shorter distances that your training deserves. Well done.

Marthastew

Congrats to you and indeed the entire Klown Family:D I hope you brought them all out for dinner with your winnings!
Mr Stew and I really enjoyed the day

RayCun wrote: »

a log to point people at when people say they don't have time to run 4 times a week

Vaughn Easy Stepchildren wrote: »

That is very impressive running G. It just shows 5 years of consistent, hard and smart training pays off....i forgot the beer, that plays a large part of it as well:)
That Daniels fella suggests a low 2:3x mara, i would sort of agree with him!!

All your hard, hard work and dedication is paying off and you should be hugely proud of yourself:D

nerraw1111

Savage stuff. When I clicked on the log to see how the race went, I was brought to page one where you're talking about "Higdon for president." Great to see hard work paying in spades.

Krusty_Clown

wrstan wrote: »

Do you think the week off was a factor (aside from the beer)? Do you think it helped your legs feel fresher?

Hi Bill, it's hard to say, as I've nothing really to compare it to. I don't think I've ever taken a week off, and then followed it up with a 5k race. But... it was a pretty solid 10 weeks of training that preceded the race. I've also never completed a 5k training plan before. Also skiing is not a passive holiday. I dunno if you have ski'ed, but it's very active, very hard on the legs (particularly the quads and glutes) and at times, is a good cardio workout. My last 5k PB was on the back of marathon training, so a dedicated period of 5k training was likely to have a good initial pay-off. However, I've now mentally down-graded my 15:48 PB to a more reasonable 15:59, based on speculation of a short course. If anyone wants to take a further second from me, they'll have to wrestle it from my cold dead hands.

Monday: 14 mile easy run
Plan called for 9 + 5 miles, but as soon as I set off, I kind of knew I was going to do it all in one go (rather foolishly). Anyway, I set off on a beautiful sunny day, and decided to spin by Stepaside, where my daughter was rather reluctantly participating in a Paddy's day parade, so I thought I'd get some amusement out of seeing her parading, like a giant among the Lilliputians, but sadly I got there too early and missed the celebrations (which she enjoyed anyway). By the end of the run, I was feeling a few niggles, highlighting the foolishness of doing a medium long run the day after a hard race. A couple of hours of rock climbing stretched things out a little, but I was a little too knackered to do any decent climbing.
Summary: 14 miles in 1:42, @7:20/mile

Tuesday: Strength Endurance Hill circuit
Having inspected the training plan, I noticed that the day after a race was typically reserved for a rest/recovery day and the following day was a Strength Endurance Hill circuit, so I swapped out the 10k/3k interval session (which I felt was a little too similar to the 5k race to be of benefit) and did the Hill circuit session instead. It went well, with the only embarrassing moment coming when I had to skip passed a tractor up a narrow lane. How I haven't been speared by a pitchfork at this stage, I do not know. Big improvement in my bounding though, which know more closely resembles what the activity should look like (when completed by a drunken cripple having been given a local anaesthetic).
Summary: 13 miles in 1:39, @7:35/mile

Wednesday: 2000/400/1200/400/1000 @10k/3.2k with 2/4 mins
There was some reluctance to do this session, partially because it's damn hard to get my head around what it is I actually should be doing, what paces it should be run at, and why I am doing it at all. But eventually I sorted it out, using a variety of MacMillan and VDOT to calculate my equivalent paces across 10k and 3,200m. The session went a little like this:

3 Mile warm-up: 23 minutes, @7:43
2k (5 laps) in 6:38, @5:20/mile (planned: 6:38)
2 mins rest
400m in 1:13, @4:53/mile (planned: 1:12).
4 mins rest
1.2k (3 laps) in 3:56, @5:20/mile (planned: 3:59)
2 mins rest
400m in 1:13, @4:53/mile (planned: 1:12).
4 mins rest
1k (2.5 laps) in 3:17, @5:20/mile (planned: 3:19)
3 mile cool-down in 24 mins

So it all went to plan, except for the 400m @3.2k, which were a second out (which I won't whinge about). It was damn hot down on the cinder (funny how 15'C qualifies as damn hot after a winter of sh1te), but the only real hard part was switching between the various paces. It annoyed me a little that there wasn't a final 400m at the end (my OCD loves symmetry!), but the sum of the various intervals adds up to a nice round 5km, so that's symmetry enough for me. Still feeling a little niggly, but have an easy recovery day tomorrow. Will try and check off a few more easy recovery miles this evening on the grass, just to easy the healing process.
Summary: 10.34 miles, in 1:17

donnacha

Career_Move pointed out on the DCM graduates thread that it may have been yourself that I ran past :pac:

whilst you were recovering mid session

on the cinder track in Kilboggin earlier today.

I was the chap in the DCM top and headphones(:eek:) struggling with his 4 x 1200m sessions ... will be sure to stop and say hi if I bump into you up there again.

Krusty_Clown

donnacha wrote: »

Career_Move pointed out on the DCM graduates thread that it may have been yourself that I ran past :pac:

whilst you were recovering mid session

on the cinder track in Kilboggin earlier today.

I was the chap in the DCM top and headphones(:eek:) struggling with his 4 x 1200m sessions ... will be sure to stop and say hi if I bump into you up there again.

Haha! Apologies for the eye-gouging nudity! Too hot for 10k and 3,2k paced reps in the black t-shirt I'd brought to work today. Your own reps seemed to be at a decent clip. 4x1200 is a tough session on a warm day like today. Thanks for giving way on the track by the way. Not many think to do it (in fact, so few people actually appreciate that it's a track!). Definitely say hi next time. Bring coffee.

Evening: 5 mile recovery plod around Shanganagh Park, @8:54/mile

BeepBeep67

I paid a visit to the Clown's pain cave this evening for 5 x 1k, fierce windy on the southerly straight

Krusty_Clown

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

I paid a visit to the Clown's pain cave this evening for 5 x 1k, fierce windy on the southerly straight

None of your mondo springy track goodness here, just true grit. Builds character!

digger2d2

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

just true grit

And the contents of Meno and ecoli's respective stomachs :D

jfh

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Sorry jfh, was out of action for a week. Yep, it's a pretty substantial change from the previous edition. I haven't read through it all, but this guy summarizes the major changes between the two editions. Haven't taken a good luck at the half marathon plan yet, but there's a decent range of marathon plans (rather than the old Plan A or elite Plan), so from a marathon perspective, I reckon there's better options than the old setup (something I reckon will suit me later on this summer). Will have a read through the 1/2 plan when I get a chance. Drop me a pm and I'll send you a synopsis.

HI Krusty, a belated well done, i thought you were taking a little break from the running, but then you go off & add another dimension to this already fascinating chronicle of mania:D
i actually bought that book myself, it seems there's a lot of changes between the editions so looking forward to kick starting a plan. thanks all the same.

blockic

Just catching up there now Krusty, epic run at the weekend, a big breakthrough race for you. Well done.