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Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge
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Today: 7 Easy Miles including the Jingle Bells 5k
Couple of miles of warm-up in Phoenix Park, where I checked out the final mile of the Jingle Bells 5k, before I was recruited to do the most important pacing job of my life; accompanying my 11yo daughter around the Jingle Bells 5k route in under 30 minutes, without taking any walking breaks. Well, she did a wonderful job, with only the very minimum of encouragement (getting her to slow down in the early stages of the race), finishing in 29:20 (watch time). I had prepared her mentally for a sprint down the finishing chute, but when she kicked, I couldn't catch her, without looking like I was going all out to beat my daughter, so I had to let her go.
She really enjoyed it, so hopefully we can get her out running with the Bray Runners juniors at some stage. She certainly seems to have a hell of a kick. Finished up with a warm-down mile.
Summary:
5.2k in 23 mins
5.0k in 29 mins
1.6k warm-down.1 -
Sounds deadly and at a good pace aswell, well done her. Try bribe her and get her down to Bray, perfect age for it, as the teen years are only round the corner...and the dreaded distraction...smelly boys
You have me looking forward to doing the same some time in the future.0 -
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Every race report I write seems to follow a standard recipe. First, you throw in all the excuses you can think of, add in a pinch of optimism, two tablespoons of reality, and then you either end up with a delightful treat, or a dog's dinner. This one is no different.
All the excuses I can think of: Last race of the year, I'd been looking forward to this one for a few weeks, as it was keeping the motivation levels up. However, my preparation could not have been worse. I felt I was generally in good shape, until I picked up the chest infection last week, and then the antibiotics stole almost every sleeping moment from me, leaving me awake for vast stretches of every night. Throw in a Christmas party in Wexford on the proceeding night (I was on pretty good behaviour, and was in bed by 1am after just a couple of beers), and a number of drunken corridor revelers whose method of communication had devolved to high-pitched screams and finally include token drunk hotel guy, who insists on knocking on your hotel room door at 3:30am for 35 minutes until you tell him to go away, and I think I managed around 90 minutes sleep for the night.
A pinch of optimism: This would be my second ever XC experience, and up until recently, I had never worn spikes before, but I've been getting out in them a couple of times a week for the last 4/5 weeks and have found them great; even helping to rehabilitate minor niggles and muscle pains, albeit at recovery pace. I had even done some tempo runs in the spikes and they felt great, so I was looking forward to a proper race. Recent long rolling hill runs should also help with some of the recurring short sharp hills of the XC course.
Two tablespoons of reality: I went for a warm-up run with Beebeep and Fin, and got to survey the course first hand. It was a tough 2k loop (5 laps) with three hills, but a decent amount of recovery after each hill, the kind of layout that suits me, however even on an easy warm-up loop I felt like I was working hard. I didn't know too many of the other runners, but lining up at the start of the race, they all seemed confident and cocky, which was completely at odds with my own sense of doubt and impending doom. My ambition was to run a steady race, and try to finish fourth in the club rankings (a scoring member of the team). Abhainn, Pronator and Pre had all opted for the Eastenders omnibus, so it was up to myself, Beepbeep and Martin Francis to supplement the Bray front-runners and try and regain the club honours.
Just dessert or dog's dinner?: As the race kicked off, I was in around 18th place, but took the opportunity of the first hill to push past around 6/7 runners. With a half a lap done, I was on my own, with Martin Francis and another runner 100m ahead. The XC race dynamic is great, as with so many twists and turns, you can see almost every other part of the race in progress. I could see the leading pack, then Fin and a couple of runners, then Martin then myself. 10th or 11th place. The support around the course was fantastic for such a niche event, and I was feeling good on the climbs, so I gradually closed the gap between myself and Martin, who was running well, but breathing heavy on the uphill. Nobody else within range to chase down, but I did get some motivation from lapping a couple of runners, by lying to myself that they were vying for the same finishing spots.
The next few laps were a case of digging in and trying to push where I felt strong (on the climbs), to avoid any later challenges. Beepbeep and I passed in opposite directions and he reliably informed be that I had a 10 yard gap. It was at this point I realized that I have no fecking idea how long a yard is, but I assumed it meat that I would soon have someone breathing down my neck.
The going was getting really sloppy at this stage in some areas of the course, and trying to find purchase underfoot was becoming increasingly tiring, so I was delighted (horrified) to start climbing the final hill, that would take me towards the finishing chute. I listened out for the spectators cheering on pursuing runners and sure enough, it sounded like there was someone 5-10 seconds behind me. I kept pushing up the hill, before picking up the pace on the flat, expecting a sprint-off at any stage. I was almost disappointed that it never came, as it would have made all of the choking and retching nearly worthwhile after crossing the finish line. My next pursuer followed approximately 8-10 seconds later.
The result: I crossed the finish line in 9th place overall in 38 minutes, as the fourth (scoring) runner for the club. Thanks to some super runs from the Bray Runners, the club took 1st place and held on to the county title and I got a shiny new gold medal. So not by any means a masterpiece, but a result I'm pretty happy with. Not a sherry trifle (yuck) or a Tiramisu (yum), but more of a Banoffi (tasty).
Summary: 6 miles in 38:34, @6:23/mile, HR=1651 -
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Lol. Cheers Seres! Not going to happen, unless the race is taking place 6,000 miles away in Wisconsin! Also I think I'm precluded from running the novices, after winning a medal in a Leinster road race (even though there was only a handful of us in the race!). But mostly the Wisconsin thing!Love the report KC ! You should give it another stab on Sunday in the National Novice, only out the road in the Curragh ! Im just encouraging ya cause i know it will result in another enjoyable report0 -
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You didnt have to go all the way to The States for an excuse !Krusty_Clown wrote: »Lol. Cheers Seres! Not going to happen, unless the race is taking place 6,000 miles away in Wisconsin! Also I think I'm precluded from running the novices, after winning a medal in a Leinster road race (even though there was only a handful of us in the race!). But mostly the Wisconsin thing!
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Hmm... Ok.. How about this one...No such luck KC, road races and xc are separate. See you out there next year.
Surely this... C'mon.. Dig deep... There's got to be something..- County, provincial and national senior individual events
The cross-country season consists of county, provincial and national championships. The cross-country races are subdivided into the following categories:-
- Novice
- Intermediate
- Senior
You can run in any or all of the above categories subject to the following rules:-
- If you finish in the first 3 individual or on the winning team in the novice, intermediate or senior at County, Provincial or
All-Ireland, you are not eligible to run at either that level or a lower level the following year.
- Only exception to above is the senior category - you are always eligible to run senior once you are 16 years of age.
- The rule also applies on the track from 1500m upwards. 0 -
Krusty_Clown wrote: »Hmm... Ok.. How about this one...
Surely this... C'mon.. Dig deep... There's got to be something..
No, the key phrase is 'at this level or lower'. But there are 2 layers of level i.e. Senior/Inter/Novice and National/Provincial/County. If you won county gold at Senior level, you can't run Inter or Novice at County level but you can at provincial and National Level, etc. So if you won provinicial gold, you can still run all novice and inter levels at National level, but you can only run Senior level at provincial or county. If you won National Novice, you could still run County Inter...does that clear it up?0 -
No...and you're not helping the cause.Larry Brent wrote: »No, the key phrase is 'at this level or lower'. But there are 2 layers of level i.e. Senior/Inter/Novice and National/Provincial/County. If you won county gold at Senior level, you can't run Inter or Novice at County level but you can at provincial and National Level, etc. So if you won provinicial gold, you can still run all novice and inter levels at National level, but you can only run Senior level at provincial or county. If you won National Novice, you could still run County Inter...does that clear it up? 0 -
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Saturday -> Saturday: Work, work, xmas shopping, dinner, beer, work, work, work, beer, more beer, more work, lots more work, and lots more beer. Running? Nope. No running shoes adorned my feet, no Forerunners graced my wrists, no shorts, no running tops, and throughout; very little sleep. I reckon I averaged around 4 hours per night.
The only form of exercise I managed beyond drinking beer was a 90 minute indoor rock climbing session (after work, and before beer). It was one of the best core workout sessions I've ever done (pity they don't have these kind of facilities readily available in Ireland
) and over the subsequent days I dfound it difficult to raise my arms high enough to use my keyboard.
Fast forward, past an assortment of Juicy Lucys, and cheese curds and I was happy to arrive back home. Only managed 2/3 hours of sleep on the long hauls back home, so this run was as much to clear the head as to clear the conscience. A nice run around local roads, streams and bridges, so when the mp3 player ran out of juice, I was glad. It's great fun being away, but it's good to be home.
Summary: 6.3 miles in 44 mins, @6:58/mile, HR=146
Followed by 5 minutes core plank exercises.0 -
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