Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Murph_D

As a fellow non-stretcher, this is very. Where's that 'older guy' class again? :pac:

Krusty_Clown

Murph_D wrote: »

As a fellow non-stretcher, this is very. Where's that 'older guy' class again? :pac:

Cabinteely. PM me for contact info, if you want it.

Krusty_Clown

Monday:10 easy + 8 easy

Tuesday: 6 Miles @MP / 1 @10k / 4 Miles @MP / 1 @10K = 15 Miles
Had to squeeze this in during the working day, so it was back to the treadmill and the gym was positively tropical. First 6 miles @MP were a struggle but was fully recovered after 4 mins rest, so the 10k mile wasn't too bad. 4 more miles at MP and then the final mile at 10k pace, which I just about hung in for. Lost a lot of weight during that session, but it'll make the last few sessions a little easier by contrast. Felt like a lot of hard work, but HR was in typical range for marathons, so I suspect just dehydration from the heat of the gym.

Wednesday: 10 + 8 easy + Pilates

Thursday: 1 + 12 steady = 13 miles
1 mile warm-up to bring the legs up to pace, then 5 miles @6:15 and the next 7 miles at 6 minute/mile. Gym was nice and cool in the morning, so found this pretty comfortable. Getting used to the pre-brekkie-seshie. 5k jog after work to grab a few bits for dinner and stretch the legs.

Friday: 7 + 7 easy
7 Mile run into work and another 7 miles home to wrap up a long, long working week. Run home in the rain was a bit of a struggle as was completely knackered.

Saturday: 5 x 2 miles @MP with 800 steady = 15 miles
Family commitments meant another trip to the gym, but to be honest, I could have done this one outside if I had really wanted to. There's a certain comfort in dialing up the pace and just holding on. No thinking, you just zone out until the numbers are ticked off, varying between marathon pace and steady pace. Yep, know that it's not really simulation when you're doing it on a treadmill and there's an opportunity cost, but, if Rotterdam marathon is forced indoors due to inclement weather, I'm laughing. Also this was a bonus session, due to next week's race, so a little compromise was ok. Felt really good and comfortable and felt like I could have ticked off a rep or two more. Sadly was missing my HR strap, as would've liked to have seen the stats.

Sunday: 10 miles easy + home pilates + 3 hour hike

squiredanaher

Haha rotterdam indoors! Sorry if i've missed it but What's your next race and what would keep the Doubts wolf from the door in terms of performance/time/?

Krusty_Clown

squiredanaher wrote: »

Haha rotterdam indoors! Sorry if i've missed it but What's your next race and what would keep the Doubts wolf from the door in terms of performance/time/?

Hi squiredanaher, just curious - you've urged me to keep my log going a number of times, both here and in private messages, but don't generally contribute - do we know each other in real life?

Tune-up races are just tune-up races. Training stimulus, a bit of race environment experience, and a change from the humdrum of hard training. It's too late to go looking for positive indicators. I'd love to run a PB next week, but if I don't, I'm not changing my plan. I've been guilty of being a little discourteous in terms of my goals for Rotterdam (something that hit home when listening to Magness & Marcus latest podcast on the subject of marathoning). I have trained for two cycles to run the marathon, but the bottom line is that the goal has to be to run the race as fast as I can on the day, not to hit a particular target. It doesn't matter how hard you train or how much you commit - there is no entitlement in marathon running. As Marcus put it - on the day 14 things can go wrong and all that you need is for one of them to go wrong and your race is toast. Unlike a 5k, you don't get a do-over a few weeks later, you only get one shot. So my goals for the next few weeks are to run good solid races, maintain consistency in my training (and with a couple of exceptions (e.g. tomorrow's session), get the quality back on the road, arrive at the start line healthy and run as fast as I can on the 8th April. Whether I finish in 2:50 or hit my A goal, I just want to be there running to my potential.

Krusty_Clown

Eh... *cough*... 9th April..
Clearly I'm well prepared...

Itziger

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Eh... *cough*... 9th April..
Clearly I'm well prepared...

I thought for a minute you were going to do a MP reccie the day before.

RayCun

Itziger wrote: »

I thought for a minute you were going to do a MP reccie the day before.

on a treadmill

Itziger

RayCun wrote: »

on a treadmill

Well yeah!!!

squiredanaher

hi. ha! no dont know you other than following your training log. altho i introduced myself briefly to you after athlone half a few years back. i ll pm you!

El Caballo

Some running today! All looking good for Rotterdam.

annapr

El Caballo wrote: »

Some running today! All looking good for Rotterdam.

+1 Great performance, gave you a shout with about 900m to go, you looked in the zone!

EauRouge79

Krusty thats exceptional well done. Hope the next few weeks go well.

Krusty_Clown

Monday: 9 + 9 + 3.5
9 Mile run to work, 9 mile run at lunch-time, then after work had no way to get home, so ran to the LUAS, hopped on for a few stops and ran home from the terminus. Saved myself a whopping two miles on the way home. A little much the day before a session, but all down to my own bad planning. I don't mind the first 9 mile run, but hitting lunch-time, I just want to get the second run over and done with. Then I still have to get home.

Tuesday: Session: 2 miles @LT, 1.5 miles @10k, 1 mile @5K, 4 x 400m @5K @2%
Busy in work so had an early morning start. Really getting used to the early morning running and the lack of brekkie hasn't been quite the barrier I was expecting it to be. The one endearing feature about doing sessions on the treadmill is the highly-structured warm-ups. I start around 8 min/mile, and by the time I hit the 2 mile mark, I'm at target pace. I'm crap at warm-ups on the road, and everything just normalises to around 7:/15/mile.
2 Miles @5:27
1.5 Miles @5:15
1 Mile @5 min/mile
4 x 400m @5 min/mile (2%)
All with 4 mins complete rest. The 5 min/mile stuff was understandably tough, but thw whole session was pretty manageable. Clearly on a treadmill all paces have to be taken with a pinch of salt, but I've been running sessions on this same treadmill for around 7-8 months, so have a good sense of how it relates to sessions on the road, and near as I can tell, it's pretty spot-on.

Wednesday: 9 + 7.5 + Pilates
I won't miss these morning 9 milers. It's borderline uncivil. But I'm definitely getting used to it... Was going to do a 3 mile loop and them grab the backpack from the house and run to work, but was enjoying the hills too much so stuck to the hills and scabbed a lift to work. 7.5 mile run home.

Thursday: 7.5 + 7.5

Friday: 8 miles with strides
Tapering off a bit with Ballycotton in mind

Saturday: 2 + Home Pilates + 4
2 in morning, just to warm-up the legs for a bit of much-needed stretching. Arrived down in Cloyne around 5pm, and took the opportunity to run down to Ballycroneen beach and back. What a beautiful part of the country.

Sunday: 2 miles leg stretcher + 3 warm-up + Ballycotton 10 + 5 miles cool-down
My PB over 10 miles was from Ballycotton two years ago (54:27). I ran the race last year amidst 10K training, but failed to latch on to any groups and ended up running the last 6 miles on my own, which turned into a bit of a suffer-fest and a decent but uninspiring 54:48. Fast forward to February and Trim AC 10 mile, and I was pretty confident that I was in shape to break 54. I set out at target pace (around 5:24/mile), and was on plan until mile 4, when my breathing became irregular (despite a completely flat HR), and gradually it turned into a stitch, that forced me to ease back. Still, the resulting 54:43 was my second fastest 10 mile time, so not without some room for muted optimism.

And so I find myself on the start-line surrounded by a number of runners who I knew would be targeting similar times. My goal was to target a sub 54 time, but more importantly,having learned my lesson from last year, latch on to a good group as early as possible, and work hard if necessary to close in on a group that will maximise my chances of success - particularly relevant as there was a strong headwind that we would have to run into for the first half of the course. The race started without the customary sense of fanfare or occasion, and despite starting 3-4 rows back from the start, it took me a good 5-6 seconds to get across the start line, but soon we were hurtling down the hill through Ballycotton town. No great urgency to identify positions at this stage - the focus is just on avoiding getting tripped and making your way down the hill as fast and as comfortably as possible. Mile 1: 5:20 - a little fast but downhill (and technically a gun time, so perhaps a little quicker).

We hit the bottom of the hill, where the course swings right, and in the wide open expanse were hit with the full force of the wind. Already there were a few runners around me who I knew to be strong runners targeting the same kind of time, but with a large group forming up ahead, I figured latching on to the back of the larger group would make a huge difference. The next few miles ticked off with a couple of us sheltering as much as possible at the back of the group, and just trying to minimize the effort at this stage of the race (5:22, 5:22, 5:22). The dynamic of the group started changing as a few runners fell off the pace and gradually we were becoming a splinter faction, gradually drifting off the pace. I was still feeling really good and this wasn't where I wanted my my race goal to end, so I left the group to chase down the group ahead. It took a lot of effort to close the 25 metres, but I settled in the back, determined to relax and recover, before making any more significant race changes.

The 5th mile was tough as it was directly into the path of the head-wind. The most forward runner was a guy I had run Tullamore Half with last August, where he had taken 1st place to my 3rd place finish. Drawing level with him, he was working really hard - understandable, as he was tall (a disadvantage in this headwind) and had done way more than his fair share of leading into the wind. I pushed slightly ahead, fully aware that taking my turn into the wind is what had cost me in a previous 10 mile race in Dungarvan, but you can't be a complete d1ck, so I did my stint (perhaps not my fair share), and soon we were headed for the half-way mark. We crossed the chip-mat, with the clock showing 26:59, and that gave me a huge lift. I didn't think that we would hit the mid-point on target pace, and turning one more bend, we had the wind behind us. Immediately the remainder of our merry band (around 5 runners) spread out, taking advantage of the tail-wind and for my own part, I resolved to reduce the effort levels (from the head-wind running), while trying to marginally increase the pace (Mile 6: 5:22).

It was a fantastic group of runners, and words of encouragement were shared frequently. Without wanting to sound heroic or sentimental, there was a greater sense of camaraderie than competitiveness, and this kept the running more relaxed and the heart rates perhaps lower than they would be in a tense death-race to the finish line. Mile 7 was another slightly downhill mile (5:17), and you start to wonder how a point to point race manages to have so many downhills. We all knew the final 1.5 miles of up-hill were looming, so without any real overt communication, the pace eased back slightly as we readied ourselves for what lay ahead (mile 8: 5:20).

This is usually the point where I start to hurt in Ballycotton, and today was not going to be any different. Just two in our bunch now (Shane from RAC) and Tullamore winner, though I could sense another couple of runners just a few strides behind. We could see the climb just ahead, and the village of Ballycotton towered above us. We hit that first bend with the steepest part of the climb, and you take a brief moment to wonder if the entire climb is going to be like this, but gradually it eases up - not flat - just less severe. At this stage, with the wind behind us, all bonds are forgotten. The work is done and there is no use for camaraderie any longer. The wind is behind us and all that lies between each of us and the finish line is the sustained energy we can muster to get us there. We hit the mile 9 marker (5:24), and while I haven't looked at the watch in quite a while, I'm pretty confident that the sub 54 is in the bag. Typically the final mile is my strongest in Ballycotton, but at this stage, I don't want to risk what should be a pretty solid PB (I came a cropper in my first ever sub 60-minute attempt, when a stitch forced me to pull up just 100m from the finish line on a day where I finished in 60:01). So the effort is winding up, but I'm still trying pick it up gradually - the PB is really important to me and I don't want to jeopardize it. The other runners are gradually opening a gap but we're also catching other runners that were ahead and haven't fared quite as well. Eventually the road indicates 800m (two laps of the track), then 400m (90 seconds left I tell myself - how many times have I counted down those last 90 seconds in a hard rep), and eventually, I think I can see the finish line. Still accelerating, I can make out the numbers. The clock is showing 53:30, and I'm trying to savour the moment while still trying to squeeze out every second from the PB. Eventually I cross the line with 53:41 showing, and stop the watch and indeed again the final mile has proved to be my fastest, despite the climb (5:14). I pause momentarily for a bit of timely dry-hurling, before regaining my composure. The chip-time will eventually surrender a few more seconds to me, for a new PB of 53:36 and 15th place overall.

Absolutely delighted with the result. The race just couldn't have gone any better. Ballycotton suits me from a profile perspective, as I'm good at squeezing the last few drops out as I near the finish line so I prefer the easy start, rather than a race full of suffering. The wind also suited me today, as while there were tough sections over the first half of the course, I sheltered a lot more than I provided shelter. And the group of runners who shared the road with me? I wish I could bring them everywhere. We'd have a great old time in Rotterdam. I know not all races are going to be this good in future - and truth be told, right now, I find it hard to believe I'll ever be able to train as hard as I have over the last 18 months - so without wanting to sound sentimental, this feels a lot like my 10 mile PB - but at least it's a 10 mile PB I'm just a little bit proud of. The fact that I walked away without a prize, finishing as the 3rd M45, makes the run a little sweeter. It strikes me that the less rewarding the race, the more rewarding the experience.

I finished up the day with a satisfying 5 mile cool-down back out the race route, exchanging words of support with those still running, but was glad when I finally turned off the course and got some alone time in the country roads. This PB has been a while coming and it was good to savour a brief moment of satisfaction and optimism, before settling back into the murky waters of the final build up to the marathon.

Rolex_

Brilliant result in pretty tough conditions which offered up very few PBs. Best of luck in Rotterdam

Murph_D

You seem to be rehabilitating treadmill training, which is interesting! Great run, fascinating insight and reflection. Many congrats.

laura_ac3

Well done krusty, some time and such an improvement to go with it for the pb. Good luck with the last of the training block.

aero2k

Gary, that's a fantastic performance and (yet another) wonderful race report. Congratulations!

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

... I don't want to risk what should be a pretty solid PB (I came a cropper in my first ever sub 60-minute attempt, when a stitch forced me to pull up just 100m from the finish line on a day where I finished in 60:01).

IIRC (I'm much older than you, so the memory is unreliable) that was the 2010 Frank Duffy - I was also making a sub 60 attempt, you passed me just after 5 miles, we exchanged greetings, and you disappeared off into the distance - which is pretty much how our running careers panned out. I managed to knock 6 minutes off my marathon time since that race, but you managed to knock over 6 min off your 10 mile time - that really speaks to your dedication.

You'll love Rotterdam. You don't need any advice from me, but it's worth checking out the pen arrangement and making sure you get there early enough (I'd suggest 45 min) to wriggle your way up to the front of the pen. Assuming no course changes since 2015 there are no turns in the first few k, and it's a well surfaced dual carriageway, so don't panic if your starting position is not ideal - you'll fly down the far side of the bridge. I only drank water during the race but I did try the AA sports drink in advance just in case I needed it and it seems pretty ok.

yaboya1

Fantastic run and report to match Gary. Really hope you get what you deserve in Rotterdam, especially after your bad luck last Autumn.

Krusty_Clown

Rolex_ wrote: »

Brilliant result in pretty tough conditions which offered up very few PBs. Best of luck in Rotterdam

Interestingly enough, all of the lads I ran in to the finish with, had pretty substantial PBs. Game theory at its best!

Murph_D wrote:

You seem to be rehabilitating treadmill training, which is interesting! Great run, fascinating insight and reflection. Many congrats.

Do you mean rehabilitating on a treadmill, or bringing it back into fashion?! I don't think I do or have done either! The treadmill for me has a very singular purpose - get through the sustained sessions with a minimum amount of physical wear and tear. This morning, I did 7 miles alternating 400m @ LT / 1200m @MP. The treadmill is just built for that kind of session (unless you happen to have a nice soft yielding track on your college campus and a nice accommodating coach with a stop-watch willing to call the splits out to you). In the past I'd have done this kind of session on the grit track in Kilbogget (as Dublin Runner does), but I don't think my body could sustain that kind of continuous physical hardship. This marathon means an awful lot to me, but general well-being is absolutely critical too. It is this same stage of training last time round where everything stared to unravel.

laura_ac3 wrote:

Well done krusty, some time and such an improvement to go with it for the pb. Good luck with the last of the training block.

Thanks Laura!

aero2k wrote:

but you managed to knock over 6 min off your 10 mile time - that really speaks to your dedication.

I think you may be rather generously rounding down Sean! I just looked back to see if I did in fact record a slower 10 mile time than that and one (my first Ballycotton was 61 minutes)and one interesting thing that I noticed is that I run my long easy runs at approximately the same pace as I did back in 2009. In fact, the only things that's changed substantially is that my HR would probably be 15-20 bpm lower for the same effort/route. So that's what 7.5 years and 25,019 miles gets you. A slightly lower heart rate!

yaboya1 wrote:

Fantastic run and report to match Gary. Really hope you get what you deserve in Rotterdam, especially after your bad luck last Autumn.

Cheers Peter. But I can't blame bad luck. The bottom line was stupidity. I'm determined to avoid the stupidity this time, but I'm awful blinkered at times. The benefits of having a coach to call out when you're being a bit thick! Didn't bump into you in BallyC, but sounds like you had a very solid run yourself. Get yourself into 57-58 minute shape and approach from the front next year. Makes a world of difference.

Duanington

Great stuff G - enjoyed reading that. You've put yourself back into a very strong position heading into the next few weeks, best of luck with everything - the beer will hopefully taste just a little sweeter after Rotterdam than it did after Berlin in September

Rolex_

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Interestingly enough, all of the lads I ran in to the finish with, had pretty substantial PBs. Game theory at its best!



Cheers Peter. But I can't blame bad luck. The bottom line was stupidity. I'm determined to avoid the stupidity this time, but I'm awful blinkered at times. The benefits of having a coach to call out when you're being a bit thick! Didn't bump into you in BallyC, but sounds like you had a very solid run yourself. Get yourself into 57-58 minute shape and approach from the front next year. Makes a world of difference.

I'd say no more than 2 or 3 of the fastest dozen at our club managed a PB. Interestingly the fastest 2 that did PB are (like you)in the final stages of preparing for a Spring Marathon. More than a coincidence I suspect!

dublin runner

Are you knocking my 28 and a bit laps yesterday morning at 8am in the Field of Dreams (aka Kilbogget!)? Lol. I love have a love/hate relationship with that dusty old cinder track.

-I do think if you can get close to target pace on the *cough* track it does translate very well onto the road. Now, it does come at a price (tough on legs) so doing the session (especially in warm indoor conditions) in the gym has obviously paid large dividends. Where there is a will, there is a way!

Roll on the beautifully scenic city of Rotterdam!

davedanon

dublin runner wrote: »

that dusty old cinder track.

Which is why we drink beer when we run on it.

Murph_D

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Do you mean rehabilitating on a treadmill, or bringing it back into fashion?! I don't think I do or have done either! The treadmill for me has a very singular purpose - get through the sustained sessions with a minimum amount of physical wear and tear. This morning, I did 7 miles alternating 400m @ LT / 1200m @MP. The treadmill is just built for that kind of session (unless you happen to have a nice soft yielding track on your college campus and a nice accommodating coach with a stop-watch willing to call the splits out to you). In the past I'd have done this kind of session on the grit track in Kilbogget (as Dublin Runner does), but I don't think my body could sustain that kind of continuous physical hardship. This marathon means an awful lot to me, but general well-being is absolutely critical too. It is this same stage of training last time round where everything stared to unravel.

I meant the latter, and I completely agree with your line of reasoning, having used the treadmill for similar purposes in the past (on a much more modest scale of course). Don't think I've ever attempted more than steady pace, though, I'd be afraid of falling off!

annapr

Another insightful race report. Your race craft is really impressive. Congrats on the PB.

Krusty_Clown

Monday: 6 + 6 recovery

Tuesday: 7 recovery + 7 progression
One of those foolish runs, where you try to establish how recovered you are, by seeing if you can break yourself. I survived and took it as a sign that I had the all clear to do a session the following day.

Wednesday:10 miles with 7 Miles alternating 400 @LT / 1200 @MP + 4 miles recovery + pilates
Really should have taken another day, but I'm more of a do first, regret later kind of runner. I figured that after 10 miles @5:22/mile a few days previous, 7 miles averaging 5:36 would be relatively comfortable by comparison. Ehh... No.. I've come to the conclusion that I can get away with shorter sharper sessions without a breakfast, but for these longer sustained sessions, being suitably fed and watered likely makes more sense. Still, go it done.. Another 4 miles easy at lunch and a pilates class afterwards (crampy).

Thursday: 7 recovery + 7 miles easy

Friday: Mullingar Half Marathon (10 miles @MP)
Really had no place doing this race, even if the focus was to do it as a training session. Warming up, I was pretty tired, but I no longer infer anything from being tired as it usually has no relationship with how a run goes. But through the warm-up, I just kept thinking that it was a mistake. I had done 18 miles at marathon pace or faster over the previous 5 days, so there really was little value to doing another 13. Met up with one of the lads we did some training with in Phoenix Park and he was similarly planning to treat the race as a marathon pace training session, with the first 10 miles @MP then jogging in the remaining distance. That sounded like a really good plan to me, so I jumped on the idea and we set off with the wind behind us.

Early miles were comfortable enough as we chatted our way around with the wind providing a gentle push. We made up a few spots and found ourselves moving up the placings as runners fell off their over-zealous starting pace. Things got a bit tougher at around mile 6, when we finally turned into the wind. Was still manageable, but when we hit that ridiculous pedestrian bridge the tiredness in my legs hit me hard. We hit the canal and the wind made it a real struggle for one of the miles, but saw the 10 mile mark in the distance and we worked hard until we passed the mark, before easing back and jogging in the last 3 miles. I was glad to get through it, but there was no sense of satisfaction as I knew the whole thing had been a mistake. I would have been much better off waiting a day or two and doing 4 x 3 miles @MP. Still we traveled on to Athlone and watched the indoor 4x1 mile relay attempt, which was really impressive. Another 4 miles at recovery pace later around a cold wet 'n' windy Roscommon.

Saturday: 6 miles recovery + 4 miles recovery + home pilates

Sunday: 24 miles easy
Body feeling a lot better after the home stretching, so headed into town to catch the MSB 5K. Unpleasant 10 miles into the wind (at least I wasn't racing 5k), before looping around Stephen's Green and finding the wind behind me for a near-glorious stretch back to the house.

So, I managed to survive a week of rather dumb training. Time to start easing back a little, so I'm going to drop the mileage back by 10% next week, and try to hit a good MP session at the end of the week. Gotta make the start line... Gotta make the start line...

Krusty_Clown

Monday: 7 + 7 + home pilates
Really getting into the pre-work runs. It really helps when you're off the hooch, as it's no bother getting to bed early and easy enough getting up for that first cup of joe. Ticking off the second run at lunch-time and it feels like a rest day. You know you need a break from marathon training when getting an evening off feels like a mini holiday. Did take delivery of my marathon shoes and that lifted the spirits a bit. A pair of Adidas Adios 3 that fit like a glove. They're a little heavier than the Takumi Sen I had planned on wearing, but while I've run 10-13 mile races in the Takumis, I think they're just a little too light for a 154 pound clydesdale to run in for a couple of hours. As an added bonus, they're white and look like 1970s tennis shoes. There's got to be some kind of Guinness marathon record for someone dressed up as a tennis player (*cough* 3:44:52). Shoes fit like a glove and don't result in that same slapping noise I get with the Takumis, so all systems go.

Tuesday: 16 mile hilly progression tun to just faster than MP
Nice clear day but warm, as I took to the hills around Carrigologan. Some tough stretches as the pace picked up on the climbs into the wind, but thankfully the final two miles were downhill back to work, as the pace picked up. A decent steady clip on an undulating route.

Wednesday: 6 recovery + 6 picking it up + Pilates
Three weeks out from the race, but no real opportunity to sit back with a big session at the weekend, so the focus was firstly on recovery in the morning and then an easy progression run on the treddie (recovery to steady pace), to get the ;egs back in shape again for the upcoming workout.

Thursday: 5 + 8 with strides
5+ mile run to work, then ran 8 miles at lunch-time with strides to get another 24 hour break.

Friday: 6 miles easy
It was this exact day/stage in my Berlin training plan last year when my back packed in and ended my marathon ambitions and put me off the road for two months. It must have been spinning around in my subconscious last night as I fretted through the night, getting very little sleep. So it was a tired slow run as I headed off on Friday morning, with 18 months of training weighing heavily on my shoulders. I am extremely nervous at this stage. I'm over-cautious and protective with every twist and turn and it's going to continue to be s tressful few weeks until I hit that starting corral in two weeks.

Saturday: 3 x 5 miles @marathon pace
I've run the same session, same route for the last few years, with only the most minor of adjustments. If there are minor hills on the course, I can route to Baker's corner to take in the extra hill, or just run through the parks if it's a flat course like Rotterdam. It's a 5.5 mile loop, which means I can run 5 miles and ease back for 1/2 mile before starting anew. I had a choice of Saturday or Sunday, but couldn't have the session weighing on my mind for another day, so headed out on a sunny but cool Saturday morning, with the lightest of breezes.

Lap 1 was comfortable enough, though the slight headwind and gentle climb increased the effort over the first half of the loop. As I turned back with the wind behind me, I expected the effort to get easier and pace to pick-up, but as I glanced at the watch, it was showing 5:39/mile, with effort levels increasing, which meant I was losing touch on my first lap. I picked up the pace despite the extra effort, but next time I glanced at the watch it read 5:35/mile. Gah! Spent the next mile trying to slow the average pace, but sometimes it's harder to slow down than it is to speed up. Finished comfortably enough in 27:58. A brief half mile easy, grabbed a drink and a gel (my second of this campaign) and it was off again. Wind seemed to have picked up, but it was likely just the rising effort. I was glad to turn away from the breeze, but again, slightly over-compensated, and this one came in a little quick in 28:03.

I was really heating up at this stage (not in a good way), and a mile into the final lap, it was really becoming a struggle. This session is never easy, but I was really finding it hard. I promised myself I'd get to the turn-about and then cruise to the end of the lap, but I had to lie to myself quite a bit. Got through it - but it wasn't pretty, around 15 seconds outside of my target pace. Not disheartened - some good lessons learned about suffering and battles with the central governor (not such a big issue on the treadmill) and
another reminder that I suck when the sun comes out (silent prayer to the weather gods). Had to take a few minutes break afterwards, before starting the slow trudge home.

Sunday: 8 mile recovery run + home pilates
Another night of disturbed sleep, but no major back malfunctions. Two weeks left. Gotta make the start line.

davedanon

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Monday: and
another reminder that I suck when the sun comes out (silent prayer to the weather gods)

Amen, brother.

RayCun

There's got to be some kind of Guinness marathon record for someone dressed up as a tennis player (*cough* 3:44:52)

:eek:
... brb, got to make a quick tip to Elverys
...
:pac: