Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

Hey Beepbeep, yeah, sticking pretty closely to the plan, except I am struggling to keep my recovery runs at recovery pace, but I'm certainly keeping the mileage under restraint. I do have DCM in a couple of weeks though, so am building up to 18 miles LSRs before dropping it back down again. I've planned a couple of fast sessions though, as I hope to run a good 10k at the start of November, if the recovery from DCM goes well.

They say you shouldn't start planning your next marathon until the last one is almost forgotten, but unfortunately, I can't wait to jump back onto the bandwagon, and start targeting that sub-3, so the plan is to kick off another 12 week marathon program in November, after taking a break.

Krusty_Clown

Today: How not to do a long steady run:
1) Don't go out on Friday at 6pm, and arrive home on Saturday at 6am.
2) Don't set off without a pace strategy, and end up running some kind of sub-3 hour predator run.
3) Don't forget your sunglasses. Even if the sun's not shining, it's the difference between getting flies in both your eyes, and just looking ridiculous.
4) If you haven't been up any hills in over 4 weeks, starting with your LSR is big ouch.
5) Ripping open a gel so it explodes all over your face and hands is neither pretty, nor energizing. But it is quite sticky.
6) Finally, to the youth in the classy celtic jersey: No, despite my appearance, I'm not a fluffer. I just had a gel failure.

Long way of saying I had a solid 15 mile lsr, that took me over the side of Carrigologan, down to bray, before finishing in Shanganagh park, at a far too ambitious 7:21/mile average. I think I'm ready for my assault on sub-3 sub-4 in Dublin.

Summary: 15 sticky miles in 1:50, @7:21/mile. HR=148.

Woddle

Good to see you've recovered quite nicely. I plan on attacking 15-18 on Tuesday and that I think will be me for lsrs and no I don't have a race tonight

Krusty_Clown

Last night: 1 Hour swimming. Much harder (and more enjoyable) than last week.

Tonight: 6 miles easy running. Another investigative romp around the boroughs of Shankill. My watch must have stopped as I climbed over the nettle strewn fence in the dark (I have owies), and I didn't realize it for 1.5 miles.

Summary: 6 miles in some amount of minutes, at some pace, with some kind of heart rate.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: 6 mile tempo run. I'm feeling a little like Haruki Murakami with the 6 mile runs every day. I had planned to do some 400m intervals, but only got home from work at 8:30pm, it was too dark to see the watch, and I was too tired. Eventually forced myself out the door at 9pm for a 6 mile run that turned into a bit of a tempo run, with a couple of miles at 6:38 and 6:08, before slowing down, for an easy finish.

Top tip: If you have to run after work but before your dinner, bring a bagle with nutella into work with you, and much on it an hour before heading home. Gives you the carbs, the energy kick, and staves off the hunger until after your run. Works for me!

Summary: 6 Miles in 42 minutes, @7:02/mile, HR=156.

Woddle

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Top tip: If you have to run after work but before your dinner, bring a bagle with nutella into work with you, and much on it an hour before heading home. Gives you the carbs, the energy kick, and staves off the hunger until after your run. Works for me!

.

Your starting to sound like Bob from the biggest loser now:D

Krusty_Clown

Woddle wrote: »

Your starting to sound like Bob from the biggest loser now:D

Oh no! I've never heard of him, but that can't be good!
Sounding like any American can't be good..

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Sounding like any American can't be good..

Says the man with that moniker! I'll kick yer ass next time I see ya, buddy (50% American )

Krusty_Clown

donothoponpop wrote: »

Says the man with that moniker! I'll kick yer ass next time I see ya, buddy (50% American )

Why I oughta...
I'm like....so totally..... you know......Sorry dude...

Having worked for an American company (Utah) for 10 years, I have to say it's totally refreshing to work for an Irish company for a change, if only for the conference calls (Irish/European accents...With the odd sprinkle of Bangalore!)

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

... totally refreshing...

to be sure!

Sorry, I'll get back on topic now! You're going great guns at the moment, and I've a question from way back when you were injured. How many weeks did you give yourself from when you first started tentatively to run again, until you started a training program? I'm coming back from injury, and although I feel like upping the milage exponentially, I'm ultra wary of getting injured again. So when did your injury pains leave in favour of hard training pains, if that makes any sense?

Woddle

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Oh no! I've never heard of him, but that can't be good!
Sounding like any American can't be good..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rt47HjDltQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViZoWuYCK6A&feature=related

Krusty_Clown

That's the good thing about wearing a Garmin during training, I can just flip back to Garmin Connect and take a look at my traninig diary.

April: Everything got messed up in early April (after the Connemarathon), then got fubar'ed (like the Americanism?!) around 11th-19th April (IMRA Trail race and Wexford Half marathon). I was doing no running at this stage apart from the two events. After that, I switched to cycling, as I was still hoping to make Edinburgh in May. I tried lots of tentative runs, that all failed within the first 3 or 4 mins. If I could feel anything, I stopped and went home and got the bike. Very disheartening.

May:The month of May had very little running. towards the end of the month I was going out once a week for around 5 miles (sometimes with the OH, which forced me to run at a more suitable pace).

June: Did my first real run on the 7th June, and a couple of easy IMRA races (that my physio told me not to do!), then some longer slow runs with buddies, who would generally run at a less-fast pace (forced the discipline!). Still getting almost weekly physio on the calf.

Started into week two of the P&D 12 week schedule on the 23rd June, still with lots of cycling, and calf stretching. Happy sunshiney days are here again. I'm still nervous about the calf mscle, but I think that's a good thing. I watch to make sure I'm not doing too much hill-work, or too many races. Sorry for the long reply! If I could just share my Garmin Calendar, a picture paints a thousand words!

donothoponpop

Very useful reply, thanks. So a six week zero-to-training program refresher, sounds about right.

Ironically, I'm targeting the WW trail race as my "goal", although I'll be doing the ultra.

Krusty_Clown

Sounds like a great target, and what a great race (in one direction anyway!).

I think the key during recovery was that I ran with lots of other people, which prevented me from upping the pace, which I invariably do - when I'm on my own. Well, that and the bike and the swimming.. But of course, your injury is different, so the bike/swim might do nothing for you..

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: 8 Spooky miles, as the mist rolled in from the sea, oh mull of kintyre. Nice and easy chilled miles, while every sane person was in the pub, drinking frosty pints.

Summary:8 mile Easy run, @7:46/mile. HR=143.

misty floyd

Just read over your build up to Berlin and your race report. Savage stuff Krusty, well done.

Can I ask a quick question? There that was it

You mentioned you were doing 55mpw. Was that over the few weeks up to taper? You managed to cover quality runs in the build up, thats for sure.

Krusty_Clown

Jeez, all this praise. Imagine if I'd actually managed to break three hours?!

I followed a Pfiztinger and Douglas Advanced Marathoning (henceforth known as 'the bible') 'up to 55 mpw 12 week program'.
You can actually see some of the program on Google Books here. The google books chapter is missing one of the weeks (but reproduces the full 18 week 55mpw program).

I actually followed the program in the older version of the book, which has a couple of subtle differences:

• They've swapped some of dates around for the Tempo and general aerobic sessions
• They've added a recovery week (think it's week 7).

You really only hit 55mpw once or twice, both times (I think) co-incide with the 20 mile long run (of which there are two). It's a great program, and I'd heartily endorse buying the book for any improving marathoners. I just bought the new revision from play, and for the extra sections, it's definitely worth it, for the price of two pints.

Krusty_Clown

Today: Slowest run ever! Headed out with a friend of mine, and did 10 hilly miles around one of my favourite routes at the moment. Said goodbye to him at the 10 mile mark, and dropped the pace to 9:11 min/mile to practice for my pacing duties in Dublin City Marathon. I was trying to hit every mile at 9:10/9:11, which was quite tricky, and involved some brisk walking and fast running, to try and hit each mile on the nail. It'll be easier on the day, as I'll just set the watch for average pace for the entire distance, and also carry a pace band with me.

Still, the 18 miles were nice and easy, the only issues with running at that pace are trying to keep warm (may need to wear extra clothes) and the additional fuel requirements of being on the road for an hour longer (but I managed with just a glass of water today).

Summary: 18 miles in 2:40 :eek:, @8:42 mile (with 8 miles @9:10). HR=135 (71%).

RacoonQueen

It's not easy to pace yourself to run that much slower than you're used to at the best of times, never mind when there are hundreds of people relying on you to help them get their time. Pressure much?

Krusty_Clown

RacoonQueen wrote: »

It's not easy to pace yourself to run that much slower than you're used to at the best of times, never mind when there are hundreds of people relying on you to help them get their time. Pressure much?

Nah, not much. If I screw things up, I reckon I can out-kick most of the four hour runners. <joke>

Krusty_Clown

Last night: 1 Hour swim lessons. Front crawl definitely improving, but the legs weren't too interested after the previous days 2:40 running slog.

Tonight: Ended up working quite late, so once again, all plans for a recovery run got thrown out the window, in favour of a couple of fast therapeutic miles. Decided to head towards the esplanade in Bray for a change, and found out that the start of the hill at Bray head is exactly three miles away from my house. It's always handy to add to your repertoire of 'known distance' runs. The esplanade is all unforgiving concrete, but the sea views and good lighting make it almost worth it.

Summary: 6 miles in 40 mins, @6:46/mile. HR=153.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: 6 mile recovery (recovery from work!) run, in the dark after another long day in the office. Recovery from work pace is slightly faster than recovery from hangover pace, but not nearly as fast as recovery from family pace. It's amazing how therapeutic these evening runs have become. I thought that when I returned to the workforce, I would struggle with motivating myself to get out on a dark night, but it's quite the opposite, as the runs provide a respite from the day's stresses (well, that and the beer with dinner afterwards).

Summary: 6 miles in 44 mins, @7:27/Mile, HR=141.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Assembled the trainer for the bike, and then went for a cycle in my living room for 30 minutes. Two things you should know about a trainer:
1) You lose almost half your body-weight in sweat
2) Time stands still
Still, seems to have been a great workout, as the legs were like jelly afterwards, and it's a good solution to the working late/too dark to get out on the bike problem.

BeepBeep67

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

It's amazing how therapeutic these evening runs have become. I thought that when I returned to the workforce, I would struggle with motivating myself to get out on a dark night, but it's quite the opposite, as the runs provide a respite from the day's stresses

+1 that window between leaving work and getting home is when I do the majority of my running, great for working through the daily crap and then coming home a happy bunny.

kennyb3

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Tonight: Assembled the trainer for the bike, and then went for a cycle in my living room for 30 minutes. Two things you should know about a trainer:
1) You lose almost half your body-weight in sweat
2) Time stands still
Still, seems to have been a great workout, as the legs were like jelly afterwards, and it's a good solution to the working late/too dark to get out on the bike problem.

mine arrives today, cant wait! have had nothing to do for 2 weeks so looking forward to sweating! what one did you get and how do you find it noise wise?

its hard to believe tunney once did a 5 hour turbo in his shed, what a looper!

Krusty_Clown

I got the Tacx Sirius Blue Soft Gel Folding Magnetic Trainer, from Wiggle. After ordering, I found it cheaper by 21 euro on another website, but Wiggle promptly refunded the difference (fantastic service).

Took about 30 minutes to assemble, as the instructions aren't crystal, but it seems incredibly stable. Noise levels are pretty low (but I've no source for comparison, as I have never seen one before). I do get the feeling that the OH wont allow me to bring it into the TV room, so I must work out if I can play XBox
while cycling. It did move forward by about 2 feet over the 30 minutes, so I need to put it on a mat (which will also help with the pool of sweat on the ground afterwards).

The novelty will wear off, after the first 3 minutes, and then you'll realize it's a grind. Best not to have a clock facing you!

kennyb3

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I got the Tacx Sirius Blue Soft Gel Folding Magnetic Trainer, from Wiggle. After ordering, I found it cheaper by 21 euro on another website, but Wiggle promptly refunded the difference (fantastic service).

Took about 30 minutes to assemble, as the instructions aren't crystal, but it seems incredibly stable. Noise levels are pretty low (but I've no source for comparison, as I have never seen one before). I do get the feeling that the OH wont allow me to bring it into the TV room, so I must work out if I can play XBox
while cycling. It did move forward by about 2 feet over the 30 minutes, so I need to put it on a mat (which will also help with the pool of sweat on the ground afterwards).

The novelty will wear off, after the first 3 minutes, and then you'll realize it's a grind. Best not to have a clock facing you!

Fair play to wiggle, i ve always found them good. what site was in cheaper on just out of interest?

not looking forward to setting it up myself, hopefully wont be too difficult.

Playing xbox while cycling... if you manage that let it never be said men cant multitask!

Krusty_Clown

I actually did a google search for the description to find reviews, and the first link it provided was ChainReaction cycles. So I mailed Wiggle to say i wanted to cancel the order, and gave them a link to the cheaper site. They replied and told me the order had been processed, and sent me the refund of 21 euro. Which was nice... Sterling's at a very favourable rate at the moment, so it's the right time to be buying from the UK.

There's not much multi-tasking required on a trainer! Turn pedals. Repeat.
I don't even think you need to be hunched over the handlebars, as it doesn't serve any purpose. The different geometry might change the muscle groups slightly, but I'm not using the trainer to become a better cyclist. It's more for cross training and cardio.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Superb 10 mile run in the dark, up over the hills. It's such a fantastic route, made even better by the night-time views over South county Dublin and Bray, with just the star-lit sky for company. As you descend through some of the tree-strewn avenues, so dark you can't see your feet or the verges of the road, you can't help but feel a little like an adventurer, and be greatful to live in an area where an escape into the hills and rural country-side is such a short journey away.

Krusty (full of warm-running-glow).

Summary: 10 miles in 71 mins, @7:05/mile. HR=153.

Rusty Cogs 08

Sounds good KC, more fun than the turbo trainer. I raise my 27.5cl bottle of Grolsch and salute you.