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Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge
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You could've given me some when I finished. Would've been better than the finishers medal.RacoonQueen wrote: »You missed my cake again. Well done today, great running.
Hope the 10k went well. 0 -
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Found the result and was delighted to see your time. You ran a great time when you probaly Had to run it on your own.Krusty_Clown wrote: »
You could've given me some when I finished. Would've been better than the finishers medal.RacoonQueen wrote: »You missed my cake again. Well done today, great running. Hope the 10k went well.0 -
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Runners have a short memory. I ran Chicago last October in 2:48:10 (1 second PB) falling foul of the heat, slowing badly over the last 6 miles. I ran Boston marathon four weeks ago today and once again the heat put paid to any ideas of chasing a PB, or running a dignified race. That's just bad luck. But, when I think back, I don't remember the heat or the blistering sun. What I remember is the slowing down and the mental defeat. I started to doubt that I could run a solid marathon and thoughts were turning to focussing on my perceived strengths, at shorter distances. There was only one thing to do, and that was to run another marathon; preferrably while I still have some level of my marathon fitness remaining and without the pressure and build-up of an A-goal race.
So the choices were Kildare or Cork. Recovery from Boston was pretty quick (I ran four solid races with a number of PBs in the ensuing weeks) so Kildare seemed right from a timing perspective. I knew a bunch of people going in both a pacing and racing capacity, the race had water in bottles and the chances of hot weather were pretty remote, so it seemed to stack up nicely. I signed up just before the cut-off date, with the weather forecast looking clear, but windy.
Target:
Aiming for anything close to my original Boston target was off the cards. My training had peaked for that specific race, and the four weeks of beer catch-up, long work hours, and multiple intense races were far from an ideal environment for an all-out assault. I'd run a 5k and 10k PB the previous weekend, so knew I was still in good form, but those same races were probably detrimental to a marathon target. I figured I'd go out at 2:45 pace, and see how it felt. The actual numbers were largely irrelevant. A PB would be great, but I just wanted to run a solid marathon.
Lots of familiar faces at the start, and for the first time ever, I started a marathon with one foot on the starting line. Peter and Rory Mooney, Vasilly, Noel Kelly, Pauline Curley and lo and behold, a Kenyan just back from a 2:20 win in Belfast marathon. Abhainn and Mick Rice also in attendance, but this time tied to some balloons and a sub-3 target, with Beepbeep for company.
The gun went off, and the leading pack was soon headed into the first of many head-winds. I started in about 10th place, but while speeding up to target pace, passed a number of runners and was running in 5th place, just 5 metres behind the Kenyan. I had to laugh. I was in 5th place in a marathon, chasing the heels of a 2:20 marathon running Kenyan. The world has clearly gone nuts. By the end of the first mile the Kenyan was stretching out his lead. I was bang on pace (6:17 on the watch),when Vasiliy caught up with me. A small pack had formed behind the Kenyan but they were moving too fast, so I asked Vasiliy if he wanted to work together with the wind. Unfortunately his English isn't great, so I'm not sure that he got what I was saying, but he was also breathing heavy and soon disappeared backwards. I was on my own.
The first few miles were all about settling into the race, and getting into a comfortable stride. We turned right and had some shelter from the wind. Soon the only noise was the distant patter of feet some way ahead and behind, broken occasionally by a patrolling Garda motorcyclist, who seemed to be chaperoning the top 10 runners. Peter Mooney was recognizable ahead in his bright singlet, but mile by mile he was getting further and further away. After 5 miles, in the shelter of the wind, with the sun breaking from the clouds and the wind behind us, the temperatures were rising. I made the decision to ditch the t-shirt and just hold onto the Sli Cualann singlet. I immediately cooled-down and was running very comfortably. The watch was showing an average pace of 6:13, which was a little too fast this early in the race, however, with more head-wind sections ahead, I wasn't too bothered.
Around mile 7, I noticed I was gaining steadily on a runner in a white singlet. I caught him at around mile 8 and it was the only time during the race where I got to run alongside another competitor. We had a brief chat, where I asked him what his goal was (2:55). He asked me mine (2:45) and I think at that point he realized he had made an error in judgement. He soon dropped off my pace, and was unfortunately a DNF. Again back on my own, I could see Peter Mooney any time we hit a long straight road, but for the most part, I couldn't see any runners ahead or behind. The only signs that I was in a race were the marshalls and Gardai offering encouragement and water at the various junctions on the route.
Hit half-way feeling good (1:22:59), but the next few miles were tough, with some short sharp hills, and strong head-winds. I felt fine, the hills just sapped the pace and forced the effort levels up. I was running narrow country roads with just the sheep for company. It felt like a training run, and I was having a blast. It dawned on me that I was in fourth place in a marathon, and I got a real kick out of it. A couple of photographers out on the course offered a brief distraction, and I was alone again. Hitting the 20 mile mark, I figure life was going to get a lot tougher, but I think I got my nutrition strategy spot-on for a change, so despite the rising effort levels, I was feeling good.
Hitting Kildare town, I started to recognize the route from last year's paced half marathon. A short sharp hill briefly knocked the stuffing out of me, before heading back out to the Curragh. There was a slight incline, but with the wind behind me, it felt like it was downhill. I could see the race course ahead, so I lengthened the stride and picked up the pace (mile 25 in 6:09). I realized that there was very little that could stop me from finishing in 4th place and running a small PB. I was over the moon. I had no idea what time I was running, but everything had gone to plan, and I could see the average pace on my watch picking up. Mile 26: 6:14. I turned into the grandstand (a turn that unfortunately the two leaders failed to make when they encountered it) and crossed the finish line in 2:46:39. 5 Seconds later, still completely out of breath, I was being interviewed by some ageing TV actor, and I'm sure I came across as a confused idiot (hopefully that one will be left on the cutting room floor!).
Hardly worth celebrating a 91 second PB (in a time I would have been pissed off with on a cooler day in Boston) but this race wasn't about hours and minutes and seconds, it was about running a marathon on my terms according to my plan and it worked out perfectly. No short term plans to run any other marathons, but a renewed hunger to take on this 2:42 challenge once more. Dublin? London? Not sure yet, but when it comes around, I'll give it everything.
Summary: 26.2 miles in 2:46:39, HR=156
Thanks to Peter Mooney and family for the wonderful captured photos from the day. It's almost worth slowing down to give Peter a chance to grab his camera, so you get some nice mementos from the day. 1 -
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Nice to be mentioned in the same sentence as Bazman, if only for our mutual levels of sneakiness.Great run....very Bazman-esque, slipping in under the radar like that. Also one of the worst marathon tapers I've ever seen, food for thought! To be honest, it was in the back of my mind to run another marathon since I came back from Boston, but it all depended on how the recovery went. I only decided a week before Kildare that I'd be in a position to do it, but didn't want to bother with a taper, as it wasn't going to be a full-blown marathon effort. I think those shorter races (5:23/mile and 5:41/mile) made the 6:21/mile of the marathon feel a lot easier on the day, but I also felt the heaviness in the legs at around mile 20. If I am ever to hit that 2:42, everything will have to line up perfectly: weight, core, speed, endurance, taper and the weather!
Believe me, any pace will feel ridiculously easy after what we went through in Boston. I'm almost glad that I've done all of the US marathon majors, as the temperature swings are like flipping a coin. Just London to worry about now! I'm very optimistic about your goal. I'd back you heavily on PaddyPower.Wideball wrote:I'm hoping to do the Forest Marathon as my redemptive Boston marathon!
Well, it sure did. That's why I couldn't tackle the same kind of target. Perhaps if I had stayed off the beer, focused on more beneficial recovery (instead of trying to run every race in the Irish calendarRaycun wrote:Wow, I thought Boston would have taken too much out of you for another marathon before the autumn) and kept myself in the right frame of mind I could have targeted a faster time in Cork inn a few weeks time, but I was all about the self-gratification! No regrets. I've run a solid marathon, and my love for the distance has returned.
I should've checked your Rotterdam finish time before the race. I might have run a small bit quicker.Asimonov wrote:well done on the run. 2:46 is a nice PB But I bet you won't be hanging around the 2:4x's for long.
Fair play to you for doing it without a watch. Not sure if I could make that leap of faith. Why don't you sign up for London GFA, and we can both have a crack at a solid low 2:4x time, or better? 0 -
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You talk about the 2:42 as a bit of a holy grail. Wondering what do you see as your ultimate potential in the distance? I think you can get under 2:40 at some point.
Interesting comment. I'm reading through Hartmann's book lazily and enjoying it in a sort of Marvel Comicbook movie sort of way. Anyway, only last night he was waffling on about how we set time goals but these only represent barriers to our true potential....
Great run in Kildare KC, nicely done and way to put a horrid marathon experience behind you! Class run and report as always
The lifeguards wear bikinis at your pool?!0 -
shotgunmcos wrote: »Interesting comment. I'm reading through Hartmann's book lazily and enjoying it in a sort of Marvel Comicbook movie sort of way. Anyway, only last night he was waffling on about how we set time goals but these only represent barriers to our true potential....
Great run in Kildare KC, nicely done and way to put a horrid marathon experience behind you! Class run and report as always
The lifeguards wear bikinis at your pool?!
I agree. I'm actually slowly starting to come towards that line of thinking myself. I have my goals, but who really knows how fast (or slow being the more appropriate word) I can ultimately go until I have pushed my body to the absolute limit, and tried absolutely everything there is to try in training. I'm sure there's a lot more in the tank than Krusty might realise.0 -
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Krusty_Clown wrote: »Not at all. I just talk about 2:42 as it was a goal I tried to achieve last October and it's still hanging there. It's just a step on the road to 2:03. :rolleyes: I don't know what I can achieve, but I am getting older (not an excuse, but a reality) so there is a limit to the punishment that the body can be put through. All of my gains have sadly come from training significantly harder than I have previously (increased mileage, intensity, core and weights) and as a consequence, increased risk. Unfortunately, you just don't get any speed gains for free, so I don't imagine my next go at the marathon will be any different (possibly peaking at 90+mpw and 14-15 hours of training every week). It's not something I can currently envisage doing repeatedly, so my way of thinking is that I have one maybe two decent bites at the cherry left.
But.... in 2009 I remember crossing the finish line in Berlin in 3:00, and thinking 'that's it. That's as fast as I can go'. I was wrong then, I could be wrong now.
Yeh all true. Keep going until your body gives up and says no more. That way you can look back and know that you achieved your maximum potential (well the maximum potential for somebody who has to work a full time job at the same time that is). Of course, you don't need to be told that. You do strike me as the gluten for punishment type.
Krusty_Clown wrote: »By the way, I don't think the 3k, mile or 10 mile were a significant challenge, when one is in 2:46 (or better) marathon shape. I reckon I could have run the mile faster. It was my first ever track run, so I ran it like an idiot. The 3k wasn't too bad, but again I ran it like an idiot (there's a theme emerging!), 10 days after Boston marathon. The 10 mile is handy enough when you're in good marathon shape, but realistically I should be aiming for 10 mile times in the 57:xx region.
Please do not run the 400 like an idiot :eek:0 -
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Kurt Godel wrote: »Pb after pb after pb. Disgraceful behaviour, time was when a lad could rock up on this forum, cheerily do a few runs between weekend drinking, and get praise for a 42 minute 10k race. The likes of you with your hard work ethic have changed all that...
Great to slay that Boston demon, well done!
Your posts are A1 Kurt. Keep up the good work 0 -
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