Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

ManFromAtlantis

ya thats a pity. no doubt it'll be a top quality race. was hoping to put a face on the clown and introduce myself.
lucky its west of the shannon this year, back home in time to see mayo beat dublin by 7 points. no smiley face, cos this is serious.

belcarra

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

lucky its west of the shannon this year, back home in time to see mayo beat dublin by 7 points. no smiley face, cos this is serious.

I'll settle for a single point victory seeing as Andy is injured!
[/hijack]:)

Krusty_Clown

ManFromAtlantis wrote: »

ya thats a pity. no doubt it'll be a top quality race. was hoping to put a face on the clown and introduce myself.
lucky its west of the shannon this year, back home in time to see mayo beat dublin by 7 points. no smiley face, cos this is serious.

Well, as of this morning I'm signed up. Just need to make sure I can make it over. At least we'll be driving against the flow of saddened disheartened Mayo fans on the way home. (Note to self: must remember to attach flag to car after the race and to salute the cars travelling in the other direction).

theboyblunder

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

8 x 1 Mile with 30 seconds rest

Oh yeah - I remember that session. The 30 secs gets faster and faster until eventually you dont really feel like youve stopped running. Great times KC

Krusty_Clown

theboyblunder wrote: »

Oh yeah - I remember that session. The 30 secs gets faster and faster until eventually you dont really feel like youve stopped running. Great times KC

It was a bit of a shock alright. I had deposited a bottle of water at the start of the mile, so I'd return to it at the end of each mile. By the time I had slowed to a standstill, I found I only had about 14 seconds to try and grab the drink before turning around to start the next one. Mad (but somewhat enjoyable!).

Krusty_Clown

Today: 6 mile easy recovery run
Having done yesterday's session in racing flats, I'm now wondering could I wear the flats for the half marathon on Sunday. Legs aren't any more sore than they would be after any session, so worth thinking about. A handy 6 mile recovery run, for which I wore the HRM for the first time in a while. Good to see that it's low, for a slightly faster recovery pace.

Summary: 6.27 miles in 47:50, @7:38/mile, HR=~122

Abhainn

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Today:
Summary: 6.27 miles in 47:50, @7:38/mile, HR=~122

2 questions sir KC regarding data

1. Why HR so high in first 7 -8 mins? Tech error?
2. If tech error from no. 1 how did you calculate HR as avg 122

(Sorry about not charging your 405 for you today);)

Best of luck Sunday

Krusty_Clown

Abhainn wrote: »

2 questions sir KC regarding data

1. Why HR so high in first 7 -8 mins? Tech error?
2. If tech error from no. 1 how did you calculate HR as avg 122

(Sorry about not charging your 405 for you today);)

Best of luck Sunday

I have the old HR strap, which for me, always reports extremely high HR data for the first 5-6 minutes or so. What I do is delete the first lap in Garmin Training Centre, and look at the average for the remaining laps (which is auto-calculated for you in Training Centre). Then I just undo the deletion of the first lap.

That's 2c you owe me. Buy me a pint and we'll call it quits.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 5.5 Mile easy run. Just a handy recovery run around the local park, in 44 mins, @7:55/mile

ManFromAtlantis

saw your time on another thread . well done.
ok i wont mention the match :)if you dont ask about my race.:(

Krusty_Clown

A tale of rags to riches, as a week that started out a little bit miserable ended up being one of the best weeks of training and racing that I've had for a long time. Thursday's session (8 x 1 Mile @5:48/mile with 30 seconds rest), reaffirmed that I was still in good shape, which alleviated previous doubts and the following morning I signed up for the National Half. The plan at the time (still some self-doubt) was to try and hit an average pace of 6 minute/mile and try and hold on for dear life. That'd see me finishing in 1:18:30, and around a minute off of my PB from the National Half last year (1:19:48). A half marathon at 6 minute mile seemed like a lofty goal, so I figured I was setting myself a reasonable target.

Dragged the family down to Roscommon on saturday, so I only had a 1 hour journey onwards to Athenry before the race. The AAI registration process was a little shambolic, but I met up with Dev123 and we chatted for a few minutes while the AAI desk-jockies sorted things out. A one mile warm-up and then I threw on the racinng flats and headed for the start line. I had never raced anything longer than 10k in the racing flats before so I was a little apprehensive about wearing them for a half marathon, but it seemed like a good opportunity to try something new out. There were only three other runners from the club and all in different classifications, so no team effort today. I had a quick chat with ecoli before heading for the start line, lining-up around 50 places back from the start, which seemed an appropriate location. Despite cracking 80 minutes in last years race, I finished in 80th place, which highlights just how competitive these national races are (a similar time net'ed me 5th place in the Connemara Half marathon, despite having three times the number of participants), however the field was smaller this year, with just over 400 runners. Greg Byrne was in close proximity and we'd finished within 20 seconds of each other last year and he's had a cracking year so far, so one to keep an eye on during the race.

Miles 1 - 3:
I started a little slow, so by the time I got a bit of space, I had dropped back into the top 100 and had some ground to make up. Checking my pace, I was running at 5:40, but I needed to catch-up with some faster groups, so I stuck with it. Caught up with a group and checked the watch at the first mile marker: 5:45. There were around five of us, including one of the top three ladies, but up ahead, moving away from us was a larger stronger looking group, including Greg and Barbara Sanchez (why do we always find it easier to recognize the women?!). So it came down to that choice again: try to pace this race at 6 min/mile, or catch-up with faster groups and take a chance that I can stay the course? After 1.5 miles we took a right turn and our group was getting fragmented. The third place lady (Barbara Cleary - winner in Dunshaughlin) made a break to close the gap with the forward group and so my mind was made up for me, and I went with her, leaving the other runners behind. She closed within 30m, but seemed to run out of steam in the headwind (mile 2: 5:45), so I pushed on for the remaining 20m and was soon recovering at the back of the pack (mile 3: 5:35). The sun was beating down at this stage, and I joked with Greg (who I'd caught up with in the meantime) about the similarities to Chicago where we'd both suffered a similar heat-related fate). A number of runners in the group were suffering in the heat, but having recently come from my patch of warm weather training (see Emer911, I knew there was a reason I went out running every day at mid-day!) I found the temperature pretty manageable, and despite running a good chunk faster than my goal pace, I was feeling pretty comfortable.

Miles 4-6:
The group started to fragment as the uphill drag and heat took its toll and soon afterwards it was just runners in a line and the group was dissolved. I ran with Greg for a bit, with the plan on working with him on the windy/uphill sections, but around mile four (6:00) I was running comfortably, so the gap between us widened. On the open uphill I caught and passed a Raheny runner. He jumped in behind me, so I was happy to take a spell at the front. After half a mile though, despite dropping obvious hints, he didn't seem to want to take a turn into the wind. I tried slowing down, he slowed down. I kept glancing over my shoulder, no bite, so I slowed right down, so he had no choice but to overtake me or run into me and he soon passed on the outside. I jumped in behind him, ready to take my turn (mile 5: 5:52, 5 mile split: 29:00), but soon afterwards he slowed to take water from a club-mate on the side of the road, so once again, I went shooting past, this time I kept up the pace to open up a gap (if he wasn't going to be any use to me, I wasn't going to act as a wind-blocker for him). I ran mile 6 in 6:00, and passed Mrak guarding the 10k clock in 36:15 who gave me a friendly shout of encouragement. I was happy with the split, as I was still feeling comfortable, and 36:15 would have been a 10k PB this time last year.

Miles 6-9:
I hit the twisty tricky uphill section for the first time, catching a runner who I later recognized as having started on the front line of the race (some people have such great ambitions!) and looked to be struggling, so I gave him the last of my water, knowing the next water station was only a mile further down the road. He dropped off. I caught another runner after we ran through Athenry together (finishing off the first loop) and with a strong head-wind, asked him if he wanted to work together in the wind, but sadly my thick Dublin accent must have got the better off him, as he just looked at me in a confused fashion and shook his head. He dropped off my pace. Miles 6 and 7 passed in 5:58 and 6:01 respectively. Unfortunately it was around this point that I passed a Tallaght runner bent over in some obvious stomach distress, which I sadly figured out must have been ecoli (better luck next time fella). He wasn't alone, as I soon saw a Rathfarnham runner limping in my direction, heading back to the race HQ. A little further on (mile 9: 6:01) I glanced down a country lane, and saw another Rathfarnham runner slowly walking away from the field of battle, head down, beaten).

Miles 9-11:
The second loop was more familiar territory, so I stuck with the plan of continuing to work hard, while dropping the pace back occasionally to take a break to recover (a strategy that seems to work for me and allows me to sustain a stronger pace for the duration of the race). With 9 miles in the bag, I was still feeling really good and knew (barring an absolute feck-up) I was in for a solid finish time. I passed the 10 mile mark and checked the split on my watch, 59:00. That gave me a real boost, as it was a good 25 seconds faster than my Frank Duffy race last year. Mile 10 was up the same drag again with a bit of head-wind, so my slowest split of the day: 6:04. I passed another runner who seemed to be struggling, so I gave him a few words of encouragement and offered him my remaining water, which he declined. I got around 5 metres past him, and he growled 'fnck you' at my back. So I made a point of digging in a little, so he'd realize just how much he was struggling (mile 11: 5:52).

Mile 12-Finish:
I could see Niall Coppinger up ahead, who I'd joined for a stretch of the disappointing Kilomarathon, so I drew level, before pushing on with a few more targets in sight (Mile 12: 5:54). I caught Barbara Sanchez (who at this stage was in 3rd place) and could see Barbara Cleary 40m ahead. I caught her on the hill climb, and was enjoying watching the battle for second place between the two women proceed, but Barbara Cleary was running very strong (mile 13: 5:43), so it didn't look like Sanchez was going to catch her. She couldn't take that chance though and put the boot in, pushing ahead and crossing the finish line three seconds ahead of me (yes, RQ, chicked, by both her and Mc Cambridge!).

The self-congratulatory end-bit:
I crossed the finish line in 1:17:16, delighted with how the race had gone. I felt pretty comfortable throughout and had opted to run the race properly, instead of taking the more conservative 6 minute/mile approach, and earned my 2.5 minute improvement from last year's National Half. The racing flats definitely helped, as my legs just didn't feel as heavy later in the race, though at mile 4 with a worsening pain in my left calf, I figured the game might be up, but thankfully it stayed at a steady throb and didn't get any worse. I don't think I could wear the Mushas for a full marathon, so will have to see if I can find a compromise shoe over the next 6 weeks. Last Thursday's session definitely helped also, making the 5:53/mile average pace feel pretty comfortable throughout and then there's the Jack Daniels Tallaght sessions (sounds like a good night out!), which undoubtedly leave you with strength in the legs (and the head!) later on, in a long distance race. This experience has given me romantic ideas of running a 6 minute/mile marathon at some point in the future (that'd be a dream result). Not this year, and maybe not next year, but some time...Possibly..

Summary: 13.1 miles in 1:17:16, @5:53/mile

Peckham

Congrats Gary. Great result, with even better to come.

TFBubendorfer

Astounding time for a old fella! You keep getting better and better, this is getting scary.

dev123

Great result and report krusty. I particularly enjoyed your description of putting the extra few metres on the guy who was displeased with your progress. Based on yesterdays result have you a (new) target for DCM?

Krusty_Clown

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

Astounding time for a old fella! You keep getting better and better, this is getting scary.

Cheers Thomas. I was only 6th M40, so plenty of faster old fellas there! In fact the guy I passed at mile 12 (who finished within 30 seconds of me) was an M50, so we have years of progress ahead of us!

dev123 wrote:

Great result and report krusty. I particularly enjoyed your description of putting the extra few metres on the guy who was displeased with your progress. Based on yesterdays result have you a (new) target for DCM?

Thanks Dev123. Nice meeting you on the day. No plans to change my target so far, the goal is still around 2:42. It's just nice to get a time that roughly corresponds with my goal, on Macmillan etc. But I'll play it by ear on the day and see what happens.

dev123

Nice meeting you too KC. Best of luck with the remainder of your training. Out of curiosity do you see yourself using more daniels sessions for london?

TRR

Great stuff KC. If you can run one 6 minute mile with relative ease no reason one shouldn't be able to string 26 together. You've managed 13 up to now so are well on track. Only a matter of time and good luck (I.e decent temperatures for example)

Krusty_Clown

dev123 wrote: »

Nice meeting you too KC. Best of luck with the remainder of your training. Out of curiosity do you see yourself using more daniels sessions for london?

Well, I'll have to wait and see how the current progress goes, but the signs have been good. It's a tough program though, and it seems you'd need every advantage to get through it (e.g. stay injury free, access to a track, a group of like-minded individuals etc). Sure, you could grind it out by yourself in the local park, on a dark and wet Wednesday evening in January, but it would be extremely tough.

Today: 13 miles of recovery split between an 8.5 mile run around Corkagh Park in the afternoon sunshine, and a 4.5 mile run this evening, this time in Shanganagh Park. Calf muscles and achilles were extremely sore, but I suppose that's the cost of wearing racing flats for a longer race. As I headed out this evening, I was enjoying the cool breeze running through the front flap of my shorts. It was only moments later that I realized that I shouldn't actually have a flap on the front of my shorts. Forgetting to dress yourself properly. Clearly an age thing.
Summary: 8.5 miles + 4.5 miles

Krusty_Clown

TRR wrote: »

Great stuff KC. If you can run one 6 minute mile with relative ease no reason one shouldn't be able to string 26 together. You've managed 13 up to now so are well on track. Only a matter of time and good luck (I.e decent temperatures for example)

Cheers Dave. Still a pipe-dream at this stage, but running relatively comfortably at 5:53, impure thoughts started to enter my head.

Dory Dory

Congrats KC!!! Super smart racing, and I predict you will reach that romantic 6 min/mile marathon pace sooner than you think. One question for you regarding offering your water to strangers - am I correct in thinking that this water was in a bottle that you had partially consumed, which then had your backwash in it as a natural result of drinking? If so, I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand...ewwww. On the other hand.....super fast Krusty......bonus!

pgibbo

Cracking race and result KC. Very enjoyable read too! Congrats :cool:

Krusty_Clown

Dory Dory wrote: »

Congrats KC!!! Super smart racing, and I predict you will reach that romantic 6 min/mile marathon pace sooner than you think. One question for you regarding offering your water to strangers - am I correct in thinking that this water was in a bottle that you had partially consumed, which then had your backwash in it as a natural result of drinking? If so, I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand...ewwww. On the other hand.....super fast Krusty......bonus!

Yep, partially consumed bottles, complete with clown backwash! It was a very warm day (by Irish standards, nothing like a Luray day!), so I couldn't understand why all of the runners just grabbed their bottles from the water-stations, took a slurp, and then like totally threw them to the side-walk. They were small little 250ml 8.45oz bottles, so very convenient for carrying around the course.

I've got another trip to the US ahead of me soon, so just trying to practice my American English on you.

Pisco Sour

Savage run. Didn't I say awhile back that I think you can go 75 for the half. Your not very far off. It will happen.

Krusty_Clown

Pisco Sour wrote: »

Savage run. Didn't I say awhile back that I think you can go 75 for the half. Your not very far off. It will happen.

That's Abhainn territory. I'm about two years behind him. So maybe in 2014, if I still have full use of my hips and two functional knees.

ManFromAtlantis

great run krusty. must be a good feeling to run a race where you pace it hard and pretty well thru'out without falling away at the end. i take it the mojo is back.
ya know every single day had been nice and cool all summer, that is until himself krusty decides to head west. i should've known.

Chartsengrafs

Super running, though if these times keep improving people are going to start asking questions
Best of luck with the DCM prep, hope the form keeps up.

theboyblunder

Really great run.

You have really stepped up a level. Great to be doing this past 40, hope for us all.

Dory Dory

If you are ever near the DC area, let me know!! I'm not that far away.

ManFromAtlantis

Basster wrote: »

Super running, though if these times keep improving people are going to start asking questions
.

agreed. need to remeasure his blades legs to see if they comply with regs.

RayCun

All these 'craft beers' are very suspicious, if you ask me. What's wrong with Heineken?