Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Today: Just 3 miles with strides. Legs still a little quirky (but running fine), so I think a trip to the physio is in order for next week.
Summary: 3 miles in 20:27, @6:44/mile

Krusty_Clown

Major Krusty preparation fail tonight! Having run a 36:4x 10k in training before my Barcelona marathon (when I was a good 8-10 pounds lighter, off the beer and living clean) I wanted to solidify my recent 10k training with a 10k race in 36:xx (to make it official), even though the ultimate aim of the training was to prepare myself for marathon training. Dunshaughlin just hit all the right notes. €12 entry, a race with heaps of tradition, and two days before marathon training kicks off, you couldn't ask for a better fit.

After spending way too long trying to get my printer working so I could bring the registration slip, I hurriedly packed the car and set off (can you guess where this is going?!). Drove the 52kms to Dunshaughlin on a beautiful but hot day, and realized that I had arrived with an hour to spare. Great stuff. Headed into the raceHQ (really well organized) and picked up my race pack. Headed back to the car to fit my race number and timing chip, and realized that there was a hole in the bottom of my bag, and my timing chip had gone missing. Not a great start, but decided I'd retrace my steps and try and find it. 10 minutes later I gave up, and a very helpful race official hurried away and got me a new race number and timing chip. Back to the car for attempt #2.

Fixed my race number to my singlet then reached for my shoes to attach the timing chip. Shock horror, no running shoes. :eek: I had left them back at my house in the usual place. Nnnnoooooo!! A quick glance at the clock confirmed that there was no way I could make it home and back. So I was prepared to call it quits, at that stage, as running the 10k in my Inov-8 flyroc 310's (which are falling apart, so I use them as casual shoes) posed some injury risk, with tomorrow's 1/2 marathon pacing job weighing heavily on my shoulders. In the end, I decided to see how the first few miles went, prepared to pull-out if anything felt wrong.

The race: There were so many club singlets (I've never seen anything like it before) that I just didn't know where to position myself in the starting line-up. Found a spot that turned out to be way too far back and waited for the gun. First mile was really about seeing how the shoes felt at 6 minute mile pace, and as we passed the car-park where I had left my car, I felt a little twinge of regret! 6:02. Not bad, but not fast enough. I picked up the pace a little, and started moving from group to group, occasionally taking a break by dropping in behind a couple of slower runners. The wind was quite noticeable so I took shelter when I could before pushing on again. Nobody seemed to want to take shelter behind me, so I just kept plugging away on my own. Lots of heavy breathing from some of the other runners who were already falling backwards from mile 2. Completed mile 2 in 5:52, which was a little better. Mile 3 went by in 5:55 and I was glad to see the half way mark soon afterwards. I was beginning to wonder if I had gone too fast, as the pace was beginning to show.

Mile 4 in 5:53, and the shoes were beginning to feel really heavy. I was kicking myself (literally and figuratively) at this stage for my sheer stupidity. I am normally packed for a race the day beforehand, visualizing everything I need to wear during the race, but one simple slip was going to end my race with a slow walk home. During mile 4 I hooked up with a man and woman from the same club, and he seemed to be helping her along (mentally), so she was one of the female front runners. I ran with them for a while occasionally exchanging the lead, before I pushed on slightly taking some comfort from running in a group at the same pace, completing the mile in 5:53. Mile 5 was my killer mile. Lots of thoughts of giving up. I saw a significant hill in front of us, and my will to keep going in the heat just drained completely. Then - fantastic we swung around a corner away from the hill. Yahoo! My joy was short-lived, as we rounded the corner, and faced a hill of equal proportions. Looking at the elevation profile, it's a zit on the route. a squashed bug. But at the time, it felt like Lugnaquilla itself. The two previous runners caught up with me, and we struggled on (mile 5 in 6:08).

At this point I made the mistake of grabbing a cup of water as the heat was brutal at this pace, having skipped the last few water points, and immediately poured it into my lungs and nostrils. One more nail in the coffin! when we hit 5.5 miles, I took some comfort in the fact that I could struggle on, and still finish with a sub 38 which would still be a pretty good PB. I don't know where it came from, but I picked up the pace a little, with the thought of just finishing and stopping! With 200 metres to go, I just wanted the pain to end (mile 6 in 5:56). A glance behind me showed that there wouldn't be any last minute race-offs, but I picked up the pace a little, just to make sure.

The announcer mentioned that the last few runners were coming in, just under the 37 minute barrier, so I had made it. I was wrecked, but very happy under the circumstances to hit a 36:xx 10k race, on a tough day, in tough shoes. Had a good chat with T-runner, who I recognised from being pointed out to me at the WW relay, and Chinguetti who ran a great race and Jeffontour dropped by, having run a very strong race for someone who'd been out most of last night. A quick wave to Stupid_Private who I recognised on the way out of the car-park and back on the road for home.

I'm happy with the result, but a little disappointed in myself. I'll hopefully get another shot during my marathon training program, however next time, I'll be sleeping in my running shoes.

Fab race, steeped in history, with a great T-shirt, and lovely grub afterwards, all for €12?!

Summary: 10k in 36:56 (by my watch), average HR=171 (I wasn't messing around!).

donothoponpop

Great report Krusty. Missing printer cables, lost timing chip, forgot the shoes- can't wait to find out what comical escapade you have planned for tomorrows main feature, "Krusty and the Balloons":)

ecoli

Great running Krusty super time keep it up given the circumstances it was a great time and proves there is plenty more there

chinguetti

Krusty, twas good to meet you and despite this evening, remember that when you have the right gear and a bit of luck, the knowledge that you did a 36 on a bad day will spur you on to greater heights and times.

Enjoy Enniscorthy

BeepBeep67

Well done KC - lessons learnt I suppose. I still think you should plug in a sneaky 5k while you have those intervals in the legs - you ain't getting any younger

aero2k

Great report Krusty, looks like I finished about 3 sec ahead of you.:) Sorry I missed you at the finish - as usual I was in my own post race world.
If I'm correct you do a bit of VO2max training, so on a good day with the right shoes you should be good for sub 36.

Funnily enough early yesterday I had a premonition of me forgetting my shoes, so I put them into my bag there and then. I'm spoiled having the race series almost on my doorstep - I can head out for my warm-up jog to the start in my gear with my number on ready to race. Having to pack a bag is major stress!

Woddle

Great stuff krusty and your now closer time wise to the elites than mine

Krusty_Clown

aero2k wrote: »

Great report Krusty, looks like I finished about 3 sec ahead of you.:) Sorry I missed you at the finish - as usual I was in my own post race world.

Sorry I missed you. I don't believe we've met, so have no idea what you look like! The Boards singlet was reserved for today's race, so there's no way you would've known me either. I'll beat meet you the next time. Great running (Sean?).

The results are posted. I finished 49th/520, which given the calibre of the field, I'm very happy with. I'd hope to take another 20 seconds off of my time with a light pair of running shoes, but will have to wait a few weeks to put that to the test.

Splits were: 18:26 / 18:29, which is surprisingly even, given the heat and the drags (there was 1 negative split in the top 100 finishers!).

Slogger Jogger

Brilliant result and great report (as always) KC. That must be one of the fastest 10ks ever run on a road with a pair of inov8s. If fellow runners looked down at your feet they must have thought you were mental

aero2k

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I finished 49th/520, which given the calibre of the field, I'm very happy with. I'd hope to take another 20 seconds off of my time with a light pair of running shoes, but will have to wait a few weeks to put that to the test.

Yep, I was one place ahead of you - I'd have speeded up if I'd known it was you! I had light shoes and they didn't help in the end...

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Splits were: 18:26 / 18:29, which is surprisingly even, given the heat and the drags (there was 1 negative split in the top 100 finishers!).

I was 30 sec slower over the second half. I think the winner lost 40.
I do need to work on my concentration at these high levels of intensity, I find it much easier to stick to the task in a marathon. (Or maybe I just need a 20 mile warm-up)

Krusty_Clown

aero2k wrote: »

I was 30 sec slower over the second half. I think the winner lost 40.
I do need to work on my concentration at these high levels of intensity, I find it much easier to stick to the task in a marathon. (Or maybe I just need a 20 mile warm-up)

S'funny, I genuinely find a marathon easier than a 10k (at race pace). Maybe I'm just not pushing hard enough in the marathons. But one negative split out of the first 100 is a telling tale. The second half of the race is definitely tougher. As T-Runner was saying afterwards, the top of the field went out very quick, and many of them paid for it, losing out quite a few spots from the mid-way split (you gained two aero2k).

Krusty_Clown

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Brilliant result and great report (as always) KC. That must be one of the fastest 10ks ever run on a road with a pair of inov8s. If fellow runners looked down at your feet they must have thought you were mental

I was a little embarrassed to be honest! I was very lucky they were very worn out, as the rubber grips were mostly worn down. Otherwise I'd be crippled today (instead of just feeling like a 90 year old!).

tisnotover

Great running Krusty and report is top-notch as always, good stuff !

smmoore79

Great runnin and great time Krusty. Would agree that 10km pace is a real killer and the last couple of k are never ending. great personal satisfaction though when its all over

Krusty_Clown

Another crap night of sleep (maybe the responsibility of these pacer races affect me subconsciously? I put it down to having dinner at 10:30pm after last night's race) so I reckon I got about 3 hours sleep in total, which is less than ideal preparation, but at least this time, I wasn't going to forget my shoes, having left them by the front door, blocking any potential attempt to get out of the house without them. Lesson learned (yes, you can teach an old clown new tricks).

After a nice chilled drive down to Enniscorthy with the boss, we hooked up with the Boards guys (always a pleasure) and friends, and I got the well-deserved ribbing about forgetting shoes and losing balloons (will ye still remember when I'm M60? ).

Headed out to the start line on a nice cool day, and met up with a couple of pacees, before making my way back to the start line with D'pop. We headed off around the town on the first mile which was surprisingly hilly for a very flat route. Got chatting to a girl from somewhere North of London, who stuck with us for 13.1 miles, and I have to admit, for the entire race never understood a word she said, despite her best efforts to chat. The first mile marker was definitely mis-placed, coming about a minute later than it should have. giving me the heebie-jeebies. Having the course marked up in kms and miles was dead handy though, as D'pop was soon able to assure us that we were on track and hadn't lost a minute or two over the first mile.

First couple of miles went by swiftly, as we joked and built a bit of rapport with the guys we ran with, tracking each mile as it came by. After a while D'pop and I drifted apart, with him taking the rearward position while I stayed with the front runners. We ran down some nice cool country lanes as we checked off the early miles in comfort, the group largely sticking together. I enjoyed a few chats with some of the local runners, who are always a fount of knowledge, with D'pop encouraging the throng over the uphill drags, before we could get them to relax over the corresponding descents. Eventually we caught up with the walkers, who presented the usual dodging problems, before we crossed the very scenic Edermine bridge over the Slaney, and climbed the hill to the N11. Over this stretch we lost quite a few runners (it's the equivalent of the 20 mile mark in the marathon), but I was delighted that some runners pushed on between 10-11 miles to the finish, leaving us behind. I fell in with a couple of runners including one young girld who was playing a blinder but was struggling a little. I ran the next mile or two with her, while the group strung out a bit.

D'pop joined us at an even pace, so I fell back to see if I could muster any last minute runners for a final push, but despite much shouting and cajoling there were few to be gained, so I rejoined D'pop on the final descent to the other side of the river from the finish line. The compére spotted our balloons from his vantage point near the finish line (great idea having a finish line the other side of a river, as you can watch for your friends appearing well before they turn up near the end). As we approached the final bend, we both slowed to look out for stragglers and managed to urge a few into a quicker pace, before Amadeus told us we had 20 seconds to cross the finish line. I launched into a sprint (3:43/mile!) and caught up with some of the pacees we'd urged on just beforehand, and jogged across the finish line with them in a watch time of 1:44:45.

A very enjoyable experience, with a really nice bunch of pacees, a very well organized race (with some very minor niggles) and some good company in the form of drill seargent Donothoponpop.

Summary: 13.1 miles in 1:44:45 @7:57/mile, HR=138

aero2k

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

S'funny, I genuinely find a marathon easier than a 10k (at race pace). Maybe I'm just not pushing hard enough in the marathons. But one negative split out of the first 100 is a telling tale. The second half of the race is definitely tougher. As T-Runner was saying afterwards, the top of the field went out very quick, and many of them paid for it, losing out quite a few spots from the mid-way split (you gained two aero2k).

I think I'm more mentally and physically suited to maintaining a relatively comfortable pace over a long time, than a fairly intense pace for a shorter time.
I think everyone went out very quick. One lad I know who ran just under 43 was well ahead of me for around 0.5 mile, and at that stage I was easing back because I'd seen 5:35/mile on the Garmin. I passed quite a few people around 1-1.5 mile.
A timing mat at 1 mile would be very interesting for us geeks analytical types!

Great Enniscorthy report, fair play to you for doing it after last night.

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

A very enjoyable experience, with a really nice bunch of pacees, a very well organized race (with some very minor niggles) and some good company in the form of drill seargent Donothoponpop.

It was great fun today, you were in very good form. A fella in the "round-up" bunch noticed you were laughing and joking at the front, and commented on how easy you made it look. I replied (based on an old facebook photo I'd seen), Yeah, he's great, but ya shudda seen him a couple of years ago, belly out to here, swallyin' pints all round, eatin' what everything in front of him." The story got bigger, in that you had been morbidly unfit and obese, until your great training and your marathon pb dropped to around 2:30, until that chap had slowly crested the hill...:pac:

Krusty_Clown

Lies, all lies! (except the bit about the 2:30 marathon). That was definitely me. :rolleyes:

Krusty_Clown

Finally decided on a marathon plan, and have decided to do a hodge-podge of the P&D 55 and 70 mpw plans. I know I'm going to have to increase my mileage if I want to continue to make good gains, but I don't think I have the time available to launch into the 70mpw plan (the will is there, just not the time). So I'll straddle the two, and follow the same long run strategy as for the Barcelona marathon.

Started with a rest day yesterday, which was needed, but today I was raring to go. I think following the 10k base building plan has worked pretty well, as I have stayed pretty close to my race weight, and my 10k time from Saturday suggests I'm pretty close to where I was two weeks before Barcelona marathon, so a pretty solid starting point. My feet are a bit mangled from wearing the Inov-8's during Saturday's race though.

Tonight: 9 hilly miles. Program suggested that strides were in order, but preferred the option of hitting the local hills and trails on such a nice evening. Gave my current Mizuno's a good send-off. They've served me well with a couple of marathons, an ultra, and nearly 500 miles, but have lost any flexibility and are beginning to cut into me, so this was to be our final shared moment (sniff). I was headed up around one of my former training runs, but when I got to Barnaslingan, I did a loop around the forest (stopping my watch and forgetting to restart it when a snarky dog jumped out of the bushes at me), then ran up to the smelting tower, and home by the river bed trail, finishing with a nice quick mile. A decent start to the marathon program.

Summary: 9 miles in around 1:08, @7:30'ish a mile, HR=a mystery (still screwed up).

Sosa

Best of luck with it Krusty...i look forward to following your program.
I wish i was doing an autumn marathon.....the monkey is off my back now and would love to actually race a marathon and see where it would get me,ah well i'll have to wait a while for that.....

Krusty_Clown

Thanks Sosa. I have no doubt you would play a blinder. But it can wait. Plenty of time for that. I was glad to get out for a longer mid-week run. It's all been 3-6 miles mid-week for the last while. Barely time to work up a bit of perspiration!

Peckham

That's two of us who started our Berlin training with a rest day Monday and an evening session yesterday. Although, you would seem to be in much better shape...I'm a few pounds over race weight!

Look forward to seeing how you progress...and hopefully enjoying a beer with you at the finish line in September.

tisnotover

All the best with the marathon programme kicking off Krusty.
Your in a great position as you say after doing the 10k training there.

I wouldn't be too worried about being at race-weight now but it does help. you'll need your reserves for all those long runs that are pencilled in

Looking forward to following this one.

Krusty_Clown

Peckham wrote: »

That's two of us who started our Berlin training with a rest day Monday and an evening session yesterday. Although, you would seem to be in much better shape...I'm a few pounds over race weight!

Look forward to seeing how you progress...and hopefully enjoying a beer with you at the finish line in September.

Ah yeah, I'm a few pounds over race weight too, but not too far away. I'd hope to be a little lighter this year, by giving up the beer for longer (can Krusty go 6 weeks without beer? The real Krusty challenge. :eek:). There will be lots of beers afterwards.

tisnotover wrote:

I wouldn't be too worried about being at race-weight now but it does help. you'll need your reserves for all those long runs that are pencilled in

Looking forward to going long again. I really enjoy going visiting new areas/stretches, but can only really do it when there's no PMP miles on the schedule. If this fab weather keeps up it'll be a lot tougher than last year, when I did all my training in the late morning (the hidden blessings of unemployment), but at least it will be good acclimatisation for Berlin.

TheRoadRunner

tisnotover wrote: »

I wouldn't be too worried about being at race-weight now but it does help. you'll need your reserves for all those long runs that are pencilled in

It's a great starting point to start from though. I like you am close to what I weighed last time I raced a marathon and I reckon additional weight loss from this training cycle will shave a couple of minutes off my PB. It aslo means you can hit the higher tempo runs quicker/easier (IMO).

I normally get a little carried away and pile the pounds on after a marathon, thankfully I managed to control my mad eating urges so far.

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

It's a great starting point to start from though. I like you am close to what I weighed last time I raced a marathon and I reckon additional weight loss from this training cycle will shave a couple of minutes off my PB. It aslo means you can hit the higher tempo runs quicker/easier (IMO).

I normally get a little carried away and pile the pounds on after a marathon, thankfully I managed to control my mad eating urges so far.

+1. I usually try to catch up on my beer intake over the week immediately following the marathon. I'm actually more happy about being close to my 10k time-trial performance, as hopefully that means I'm in a position to start making gains from where I left off. My legs are feeling a little tired though, which isn't a good sign after completing the very first day of training!

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Just a 5 mile recovery run on the grass (which felt like soft velvet after the last fews days of road running).
Summary: 5 miles in 37 mins, @7:32/mile, HR=139

Slogger Jogger

Best of luck with the new program. Half expected to see you in Trooperstown which was the site for a great run by you last year. You'd have done well if you ran this evening.

donothoponpop

Best of luck this time around Mr.Emer. Are you nailing any times to the church doors?

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Half expected to see you in Trooperstown which was the site for a great run by you last year. You'd have done well if you ran this evening.

+1: Epic, heroic, valient, superhuman, otherworldly, run by you last time in Trooperstown last time you'll ever finish behind me in a race;)