Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

adrian522 wrote: »

Are you headed for Ballycotton? Best of luck if so, I may see you around afterwards,

Yes indeed. Good luck yourself! Might see you for a pint afterwards!

yaboya1

Good luck KC.

dna_leri

Good running

seanynova

Well done today, saw your name on page 1 of the results also....great stuff, well done!

Krusty_Clown

Saturday: 5.5 miles easy with strides
Long drive down to Ballycotton (by way you a stop off in Youghal for lunch) and got checked into the hotel by mid-afternoon. Running buddy arrived soon after so we headed out for a leg stretcher in the direction of Ballycotton (from Garryvoe). Wind was whipping up a storm and as a consequence, I backed off my target for the race from sub 55, to sub 56. Finished up with some strides along the shore, and for those strides heading west it was impossible to get any speed into the legs into that wind, but the next few eastwards were a blast.

Sunday morning: 2.4 miles easy
Has become habitual, to get a couple of leg looseners done in the morning, particularly when the race is not on until the afternoon, followed by a bit of stretching to get the muscles out of their semi-permanent rigidity. Delighted to see that the wind had died down and had been replaced by bright sunshine. Still a few gusts, but nothing like it had been the previous evening, so the goal was re-established as 'whatever I can get'. Massive breakfast and met up with the club and headed on one of the many buses to Ballycotton. Great, as always to meet up with so many friendly faces in the lead-up to the race. Managed 3 easy miles and then headed up to the starting area.

Ballycotton 10 mile:
As usual got mobbed at the start and ended up around 100 runners back from the gantry. Thankfully all of the nearby runners seemed to be wearing singlets, so I wouldn't have the seem dodgy start as previous years. With a head-wind over the first 4-5 miles of the course, the plan was to start pretty conservatively, so I could get as much shelter as possible and work from group to group until I found one at my target pace. The first mile is downhill, and after 800m, the watch was showing around 5:30 pace, which was a little too conservative, given the favourable elevation drop. By the time we hit the first bend, a gap had opened to the next group, so I had to work hard to close the distance or face the prospect of giving myself too much work to do. I caught the group at around the 1 mile mark, and a race official shouting the splits declared that we passed the first mile around 5:22, which was grand. Up ahead in the distance, I could see running-buddy up ahead (who had planned to stick with me for the race (an idea which lasted all of 2 seconds until the race started)). He seemed to be running alongside another runner ahead of a large group, and wasn't taking advantage of any shelter. I was nicely tucked into the back of a group, but I could see Maria MacCambridge in the midst of a larger group slightly ahead. Made the decision to strike out for the stronger group and had caught them by mile 2: (5:27).

For the next few miles, I just bedded in at the back of the group and tried to stay as comfortable and as sheltered as possible, knowing that the hard work would begin around mile 7. After a while, we reeled in running-buddy and I was glad to see him finally drop in behind some of the larger runners (mile 3: 5:29). We lost a couple of runners from the group, as the pace was just too hectic for them, so we were now down to 6 of us. Interesting to have Maria in the group, as she got a big cheer every time we passed any crowds, followed by shouts of 'you're the first lady!', which I'd imagine wasn't news to her. Hitting the fourth mile marker (Mile 4: 5:29), and knowing that the wind would be behind us for the second half, I figured I'd better take a turn in the wind, so pushed forward to the front of the group, until we hit the half way point (mile 5: 5:32). I was well happy to see the 5 mile clock ticking off 27:20 as we passed it, so despite having the head-wind over the first half, I was still marginally ahead of plan and hoped I'd reap the benefits of the tail-wind in the second half. Average pace on the watch was showing 5:26/mile, but the watch was beeping a good 50m before each mile marker, so I registered that the pace was probably reading a little fast.

Mile 6 was slightly downhill and with the wind behind us, we ran a slightly quicker split of 5:24. I wasn't aware of this, as I was avoiding looking at the watch and was just focusing on staying as comfortable as possible. With the wind behind us, you could really feel the sunshine though and temperatures felt like they were rising steadily. We hit the 10k mark in 34:04, just 6 seconds outside of my 10k time in Enniscorthy a few weeks back. This gave a momentary cause for alarm, as twinned with the heat and the rising physical discomfort, I worried that I was over-cooking it (Mile 7: 5:22). Soon afterwards, I considered easing back off the pace and letting the group go, but the pack seemed to take the foot off the juice a little, and the gap didn't widen (mile 8: 5:19).

Finally we hit the long straight, and I could see the Ballycotton lighthouse in the distance, and the church up on the hill. Maria started to pick up the pace and opened a gap on the rest of the pack. Celbridge was a metre or two back, followed closely by Leevale, then me, then running buddy, and Waterford AC seemed to have fallen off the pace a little. We hit the first of the climbs, a short but sharp hill. I took a slightly steeper angle and as I drew level with Leevale, I noticed that his breathing was a little rasping. I thought he might be an M40, and with just a mile to go and a decent PB pretty much in the bag, my thoughts turned to the M40 title, so I took the opportunity to push on a little on the hill climb and try to open a gap. I knew the hill was short and I could recover as soon as it evened out. I heard him make chase but gradually the steps died away.

I hit the 9 mile marker (mile 9: 5:30) with just under 49 minutes showing on the clock. I knew at that point that barring disaster, I'd get under the 55 minute target. The final mile contains a series of climbs followed by flat sections, but despite the sequence of uphill sections, I've always run my fastest mile of the race on this final section. At this point, Maria was around 80m ahead, with Celbridge just behind. The road markings over the final mile are simply amazing (marked out every 200m) and with 800m to go I started winding up the pace, knowing the finish was just 2 minutes away (I like to like to myself a little!). With 600m to go, I was closing on Celbridge, (minute and a half left!). 400m to (or a minute) he was just slightly ahead. I passed him with 300m to go, still accelerating. He was breathing heavy, but passing him gave him the necessary motivation to give chase. With 200m to go he went blasting past me (which was fine by me as I was still accelerating for the finish). 100m to go, I could see the finishing gantry and the clock which was ticking off 54:25. Picked up the pace as much as I could, to nip in under the 54:30 mark, and ran in, with 54:29 showing (54:27). Finished in 23rd place overall, and had some momentary disappointment to finish 2nd M40, but 1st M40 was 52:44, so I was a hell of a long way off! I was as happy for my running-buddy as I was with my own performance, as he finished two places down, coming in under 55 minutes. He ran 53 here last year for a top 10 place, but has been plagued with injuries for the last 6 months, so this marks a real return to form.

It's a pretty rare occasion when you smash the time you thought you were capable of, so really delighted with how this race turned out. My previous PB was 56:48 in the Roscommon Harriers race last year, but I ran that race pretty conservatively (part training session/part race), so it wasn't a true reflection of what I could have run at the time. Still, I ran Ballycotton 30 seconds faster than I thought I could have and that's largely down to having such a strong group to run with. It's a good sign (when I needed one) that training is going well and I'm still making progress.
Summary: 10 miles in 54:27

Monday: 10 mile recovery run
Enjoyed a few pints with the club crew and hit the hay at around 12:30, only to be woken at 6:30am by the wind howling through a gap in the hotel balcony door. Try as I might, I couldn't get back to sleep, so after browsing t'internet for a while, I reluctantly threw on the running gear and headed out into the gale. Plan was just to run some really slow miles and get some recovery done before the long stiff car journey home. I thought I'd head NW, following the coast, but then I realized I'd be running with the wind and have to face into that gale on the return leg of my run, so instead I turned south, in the direction of Ballycotton. I was soaked and freezing within 5 minutes, but that helped clear the fog from last night's Smithwicks and Rebel Red, so the beating wind and rain was a welcome relief. 5k turned to 10k, and soon I found myself once more, climbing up that final mile towards the Ballycotton finish line, at which point, I just couldn't turn back. The streets were deserted at 8:30 in the morning, with all of the previous day's crusaders lazily tucked away in their beds. I relived the pain and joy of those final moments of the race, as I passed those same road markings, until I hit the finish line. I have never seen the town of Ballycotton devoid of the thousands of runners that make this place magical for a day every year, and instead noticed for the first time that there was a quay with trawlers and lifeboats. I touched off the pier wall with 5 miles done, and headed back the way I had come, this time thankfully, with the wind behind me. Legs loosened up over the final miles, and I was surprised to see a couple of sub 7 minute miles - before arriving back at the hotel, for my much needed full Irish!
Summary: 10 miles in 76 minutes

paddybarry

Savage running, well done.

Killerz

Yet again delivering the goods - fair play KC, super running.

KielyUnusual

That's a phenomenal race KC. When you said you were aiming for 55, I figured you'd be well under with the training you've been doing recently. Glad I didn't try to stick with you for more than 2 miles because it could have have ended very badly indeed. Really looking forward to see what you do over 5k this time round. What time of the year will you be hitting the goal races? Will you be running many of the graded meets? Maybe, I might have a chance of matching you over some of the shorter distance when I switch focus. Maybe....:)

FBOT01

Not that it has to be said but you are some man for one man..... I rolled over this morning at 6 when I heard the wind and rain howling outside the window and decided to leave the recovery miles until after the full Irish and the return to the big smoke.

Great running and excellent report as usual!

Abhainn

Brilliant Gary. Simply fantastic running.

Toblerone1978

Another great report, brilliant detail. Good to read one of your race reports about a race that I actually featured in, albeit a good 8 min behind you!

Well done on a great result + PB too!

Krusty_Clown

KielyUnusual wrote: »

That's a phenomenal race KC. When you said you were aiming for 55, I figured you'd be well under with the training you've been doing recently. Glad I didn't try to stick with you for more than 2 miles because it could have have ended very badly indeed. Really looking forward to see what you do over 5k this time round. What time of the year will you be hitting the goal races? Will you be running many of the graded meets? Maybe, I might have a chance of matching you over some of the shorter distance when I switch focus. Maybe....:)

Cheers man. Just 90 seconds between us and I reckon if you'd stuck with the group, you may have surprised yourself. We might have been re-enacting the great finish of April '13!

Have another 10 weeks of training before the goal race, but may end up moving things out a couple of weeks, with work/work travel. Kind of hoping to peak for the Bob Heffernan 5K in May, but will run a few 5ks over the next few months. Yeah, hoping to hit the usual suspects in the graded meets (400, 800, mile (probably fit4life)). Really not sure if I could hack another 3,000 (or anything longer) on the track. The mile would be an interesting race. There are some sessions at mile pace in the next few weeks, but not sure if it's quite enough to hope for any kind of improvement. Would just be happy to nip under the 60 seconds for the 400m. It's been on my back for too long now. Must be one of your targets too?

Krusty_Clown

FBOT01 wrote: »

Not that it has to be said but you are some man for one man..... I rolled over this morning at 6 when I heard the wind and rain howling outside the window and decided to leave the recovery miles until after the full Irish and the return to the big smoke.

Great running and excellent report as usual!

Believe me, if I had a choice, I'd have rolled over and gone back to sleep, but I really suck at sleeping. On a positive note, it also meant I got the rest of the day off. Didn't realize it was a 60 mile week, so I've already blown my mileage budget!

KielyUnusual

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cheers man. Just 90 seconds between us and I reckon if you'd stuck with the group, you may have surprised yourself. We might have been re-enacting the great finish of April '13!

Have another 10 weeks of training before the goal race, but may end up moving things out a couple of weeks, with work/work travel. Kind of hoping to peak for the Bob Heffernan 5K in May, but will run a few 5ks over the next few months. Yeah, hoping to hit the usual suspects in the graded meets (400, 800, mile (probably fit4life)). Really not sure if I could hack another 3,000 (or anything longer) on the track. The mile would be an interesting race. There are some sessions at mile pace in the next few weeks, but not sure if it's quite enough to hope for any kind of improvement. Would just be happy to nip under the 60 seconds for the 400m. It's been on my back for too long now. Must be one of your targets too?

I might see you out at the 3k in Shanganagh actually. In the opposite manner to you, I don't think running 3k off the track would suit me so I wouldn't be to hung up on the time that I'd run.

Would love to tick off the sub 60 for sure and definitely think I should do it off the back of the 1500 training but if it clashes with any of the middle distance races then I'll just give it a miss. You'll be a shoe in for it this year I'm sure off the back of the 5k training. You weren't too far off it the last time and you've come on a long way since.

opus

Fantastic run & nice to catch up with you beforehand! Did you notice you made it onto the Running in Cork Ballycotton article

Krusty_Clown

opus wrote: »

Fantastic run & nice to catch up with you beforehand! Did you notice you made it onto the Running in Cork Ballycotton article

Yep, it was pointed out to me (dna_leri linked to the photo a couple of posts up).. Not my finest work. Ordinarily I'd anticipate the camera, and make sure I didn't look like I was about to die.
Congrats on the t-shirt. They're like Pringles - once you start, you can't stop. You'll have to make sure you get one every year from now on!

Chivito550

Great performance. It would have to rank up there with your very best across all distances do you reckon?

TRR_the_turd

Chivito550 wrote: »

Great performance. It would have to rank up there with your very best across all distances do you reckon?

surely you have a set of tables to tell him that

Krusty_Clown

Chivito550 wrote: »

Great performance. It would have to rank up there with your very best across all distances do you reckon?

Cheers man. Yeah, I think so. From a vdot perspective, it's a tie with my 5k PB (15:52), so it certainly ranks up there as one of my best performances. It's hard to think of it as such, as while it wasn't easy, I definitely didn't have to work as hard as I did for the 5k or the 2:35 for the marathon, but I hope that's a sign of progress.

aero2k

Wonderful running Gary,

I recall the first time you introduced yourself (we had almost met at Dunshaughlin but I promised not to mention hobnail bootgate...) during the 2010 Frank Duffy around the 5 mile mark - you just missed the sub60 due to a stitch and I struggled in just under 62. It's taken me since then to knock 2 min off, and you've knocked almost 6 off in the same time. Others have said it before, but this is a real testiment to the benefits of clear goals and consistent training over a long period.

I empathise with your comments about the M40 prize - I don't mind growing older, or trying to go faster, but I'd prefer not to be doing them concurrently!

There are guys in my age group running under 26 min for 5 miles and 53:xx for 10, so if you keep this up you should be top of the pile by the time you're as old as me.:D

Dubgal72

Well done! Sounds like a fantastic race. But what's this I hear about the absence of table dancing this year?! Can't be having this running and PBing if it means the club don't dance on tables

Krusty_Clown

aero2k wrote: »

Wonderful running Gary,

I recall the first time you introduced yourself (we had almost met at Dunshaughlin but I promised not to mention hobnail bootgate...) during the 2010 Frank Duffy around the 5 mile mark - you just missed the sub60 due to a stitch and I struggled in just under 62. It's taken me since then to knock 2 min off, and you've knocked almost 6 off in the same time. Others have said it before, but this is a real testiment to the benefits of clear goals and consistent training over a long period.

I empathise with your comments about the M40 prize - I don't mind growing older, or trying to go faster, but I'd prefer not to be doing them concurrently!

There are guys in my age group running under 26 min for 5 miles and 53:xx for 10, so if you keep this up you should be top of the pile by the time you're as old as me.:D

Thanks for the generous words Sean. Much appreciated. I remember that Frank Duffy race well. I believe we also met and ran with another runner, a certain smmoore79, who did pretty ok at the weekend too (I heard his name called out, while I still had another 300-400m to go!). You can only be referring to Mick Traynor. What a legend.

DubGal72 wrote:

Well done! Sounds like a fantastic race. But what's this I hear about the absence of table dancing this year?! Can't be having this running and PBing if it means the club don't dance on tables

Thanks DubGal! There may have been table-dancing, but after a couple of scoops and feck all sleep over the previous few nights, I was zonked by midnight and headed for bed. Greatest regret is that I've never seen the inside of a pub in Ballycotton. Not like me. Not like me at all!

adrian522

Well done on the run on Sunday. I certainly had a great day down on Ballycotton but if I was doing it again (and I will) I'd definitely look to stay down on Sunday night as the drive back up wasn't much fun!

aero2k

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

... You can only be referring to Mick Traynor. What a legend.

Mick was the first one that came to mind, yes, a legend and he seems like a really humble guy too. You'd have to include Paul Moran who ran 1:14 in Bohermeen, and of course Cathal O'Connell who regularly knocks out 2:35-2:36 marathons. (He was a bit off his usual high standard in Ballycotton). I don't know Paul Cowhie, but I've seen him regularly high up in the results over the shorter distances. And what about Tommy Hughes who ran 2:36 in a very tough DCM after a 1:15.xx first half??

Krusty_Clown

Tuesday: 6 miles + 5.5 miles easy

Wednesday: Workout: Fartlek: 6,3,5,2,4,1 @10k w/surges to 5k
To be fair, on the way down to the cinder track, I realized that this kind of workout wasn't a good idea. It was just too soon since Sunday's race, which must have taken more out of me than I realized. I was still pretty tired (mind and body), so had decided to see what I could do, rather than over-working myself to hit the numbers. I was willing to compromise on the pace, if it was too difficult and cut the session short if needs be (some chance). A fartlek, by it's very nature is supposed to be an un-structured session, but this one is about as structured as you can get. 6 minutes, then 3, then 5, then 2, 4 and finally one minute, at 10k pace, surging to 5k pace in the middle of each rep for 40 seconds, with 2 minutes easy between reps. Doesn't sound very unstructured to me!

The first rep went pretty ok. I was a few seconds off the target pace (around 5:20/mile), but wasn't going to beat myself up about it. What I hadn't really planned for, was the uncustomary sunshine. It had been sunny in Ballycotton, but didn't seem to affect me too greatly, but here on the track I found it pretty stifling, despite only wearing a singlet (and shorts, socks and runners...). Next rep went ok too, but I was pretty beat up at the end of it. The next one was a 5 minute rep at 10k, and I was dying on my feet, so eased back to a slightly less drastic. After this, I walked to recover between reps, instead of the easy run. Got through the rest of it, but it wasn't comfortable.

Was pretty wiped for the rest of the day, so I may have been bordering on over-training. Something to keep an eye on, but it's a low mileage week this week (60 miles planned).

Thursday: 4 miles + 7 miles easy

Friday: Easy run with 2 x 60m, 2 x 80m, 1 x 120m @90-95%
Had plans for lunch and a busy work-day, so the only time available to do this was on the way to work. Run-muted as far as Cabinteely Park, and then hid the backpack in the bushes, and started into the sprints, on the level tarmac path. Didn't bother measuring, just over-approximated the distances by counting more than enough strides for each rep. Went grand, but the body's not too accustomed to sprinting in the early morning (my old frame prefers a more leisurely morning pace), so the body was a little creaky for the remaining three mile run to work. Still, nice to have the run over with before work on a Friday.
Summary: 6.5 miles

kit3

this is probably a thick question and apologies in advance but the likes of your workout on Wednesday, do you programme this in advance or keep an eye on the time as you go along ? (if that makes any sense)

Krusty_Clown

kit3 wrote: »

this is probably a thick question and apologies in advance but the likes of your workout on Wednesday, do you programme this in advance or keep an eye on the time as you go along ? (if that makes any sense)

Hi kit3, I went super-high-tech on this one. The Garmin is as good as useless on the measured oval shaped gritty surface track , so I have my 200m/400m splits printed out. I also had another piece of paper with '6, 3, 5, 2, 4, 1' scribbled on it, as I'm notoriously bad for doing simple maths or remembering simple things while running hard. I used the Garmin as a stop-watch (turning off auto-lap).

I actually keep a spreadsheet with 200/400 splits for various paces (mile, 3k, 3.2k, 5k and 10k) and I print it out and fold it according to the the pace for that session. I keep it in a tiny little sealed bag, like so:

adrian522

That's class, and there was me thinking these sessions just happened!

Krusty_Clown

I should point out that beyond the first 200m I didn't hit any of those splits and typically don't bother checking splits after the first 400m. Others have no problems with adding 'xx' seconds per lap (base 60), but my brain freezes when running reps. I tend to lose count after 4 laps on the track. So it's sometimes: 1, 2, 3, 3... , but more typically 1, 2, 3, 5... <stops. checks watch>... Ahhh... sh1te..

adrian522

I don't really have access to a track but if I was running 400m at 5K pace or whatever I'd tend to just run at what feels like 5K pace rather than trying to hit a particular time for 400m. Partially because I'm never sure exactly how far 400m is as the Garmin isn't that accurate.