Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

It was tough, but it was no 3:01.

MCOS

Nice to meet you KC and fair play changing to the 3:30 group and doing a sterling job of it. Well done. I hear you on the Balloons there, fun to carry in a head/cross wind hey!

Krusty_Clown

MCOS wrote: »

Nice to meet you KC and fair play changing to the 3:30 group and doing a sterling job of it. Well done. I hear you on the Balloons there, fun to carry in a head/cross wind hey!

Yeah, you too. Fair play to you for taking on the pacing job at the last minute. Did you go back to the Conrad? Didn't see you there, but I headed off after an hour to go get some much needed food with two friends of mine who would have soon collapsed without the essential post-marathon burger and chips!

Speaking of... I had rashers and sausages last night, and it was great..

metamorphosis

You did a bang on job KC. For the miles i was with ye you were great at keeping the morale up by the getting the crowds cheering and bantering. Made it easier for a while. Would have loved to finish with ye.

xebec

Great report Krusty! Really interesting to read the pacers POV of the whole thing... Glad it was a very positive experience for you and I'm sure there were plenty of people who were delighted with your hard work at the end

lecheile

Well done Krusty - I have no doubt your race report will be used in the recruitment of pacers for next year's event - sounds like you had a blast :cool:

Krusty_Clown

Tonight:5 Miles at post-marathon recovery pace (who am I kidding).
Nice run along a new route, down by the Shanganagh Cliffs to Bayview. Soon this area will be replaced with a sewage treatment plant, so I might as well get the pleasant runs in, while I can.

Summary: 5 miles @7:06, in 35 minutes, HR=145.

Abhainn

KC very enjoyable report. A job well executed by yourself a VR. At 12:30 on Monday Id say you made a few people happy.

Krusty_Clown

Thanks Abhainn. At 12:29 I think we made a few people cry, but by 12:30 they were all smiling again.

Abhainn wrote: »

Great result KC. Good man.
You've got 10 secs over me now so I must sort that out in 5 weeks.;)

So how many minutes do I have to take off of my PB, to re-take the Abhainn V Krusty challenge cup?
Just 13 minutes, is it? Just 13 minutes? you've gone too far this time. Way over the top..

Izoard

Great work Krusty...I was lined up beside you at the start, but my dreams of hanging onto you evaporated after about 800m:)
I now know why the fancy-dressers are usually down the back!

I was amazed at the ability of you guys to keep it on track at such a steady rate.

Krusty_Clown

Izoard wrote: »

...hanging onto you for about 800m...
I was amazed at the ability of you guys to keep it on track at such a steady rate.

You were amazed that we could keep it on track, for the first 800 metres?
Ye of little faith.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 5 mile family run, with the OH and the youngster following behind on her bicycle. No chance of getting the Kevin and Perry teenager out the door, unless there's a football involved. A nice chilled 5 miles in the sunshine at 10 min/mile pace, which was what the doc ordered, after a few beers the night before. I hope to pick up the pace and distance tomorrow, but feel a cold taking it's grip on me. Hope its not the unmentionable!

Summary: 5 Miles in 50 mins, HR=122

Krusty_Clown

Today (and every other day recently): No miles.
The 'man-cold' that I speculated about in my last post took a firm grip, so no running since the easy 5 miles last Saturday. This has kind of scuppered my plans for the Crookstown Motorway 10k, as in my current state of health, I'd be lucky to get near my PB, not to mind beating it.

But enough venting. The good news:
I just booked my flights and my entry into Marató Barcelona, on the 7th March, 2010, where I entered my targeted time as: Less than 3h

Why Barcelona? Well AerLingus just launched a seat sale, so I got return flights for myself and the OH for just over 200 euro. Unlike Sevilla, the flights are direct, with no transfers. Barcelona is a fantastic city, and the timing is good. It means I can work on improving my 10k time for the Aware 10k race, before re-launching into a 12 week P&D program for Barcelona. Roll on the 13th of December.

Sosa

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Marató Barcelona, on the 7th March, 2010.

I will be 35

Krusty_Clown

Sosa wrote: »

I will be 35

I will be waaaaay older. You should do this race, on your birthday. I'll race ya.

Sosa

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I will be waaaaay older. You should do this race, on your birthday. I'll race ya.

Thats 4 extra a's...you must be 39 !

Krusty_Clown

Sosa wrote: »

Thats 4 extra a's...you must be 39 !

No, but I will be, by the time this race comes around.

Rusty Cogs 08

Good man Krusty, Barca' is a grand spot alright. You gonna go for the 2'55" are ya are ya ?

Krusty_Clown

Rusty Cogs 08 wrote: »

Good man Krusty, Barca' is a grand spot alright. You gonna go for the 2'55" are ya are ya ?

Well, I'll head in that direction, and see where it takes me.
5 Minutes. Doesn't sound like much, does it?!

Clum

Good work, Krusty.

Bet you didn't think you'd be pacing a sub 3 group this soon but going by your recent results I'll be using you as a sub 3 pacer for Barca! Balloon or no balloon.

Krusty_Clown

Good stuff. I would estimate that my range of error puts me anywhere between 2:55 and 3:45. Is that acceptable? Best not to follow me at race pace!

Any hotel /apartment recommendations in Barca?

Clum

I booked the Amery Diagonal on Avenida Diagonal a few weeks back and got a great deal (not sure if those deals still exist, try ebookers, expedia, etc).

It's on the marathon course, something like kms 27 and 29 (the bit where we go up and down the avenue). Handy for Mrs Clum and Baby Clum. Also near a metro stop which goes direct to start/finish so getting to/from race is sorted and the family can get to finish before I do after I pass the hotel.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Yay! First run in a week. My cold/chest infection is finally showing signs of dissipating, so went out for three miles to at least get some prep in for tomorrow's 10k. Legs felt great, but my lungs were having none of it. I expect tomorrow's race to be a bit of a disaster based on this evening's run, but I'll give it a go anyway, and walk back to the finish if I have to, with my lungs slung over my shoulder.

Summary: 3 miles @ 7:03/mile, HR=151.

RacoonQueen

Need to have a look at hotels in Barca myself, and Galway and Edinbugh. What was I thinking when I booked all these marathons. :eek: Good to see the Ultra training has begun now KC

Krusty_Clown

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Good to see the Ultra training has begun now KC

Hey, don't be scoffing! That's 7.6% of the ultra distance in Connemara. And if I do it all at that pace, I'll be finished in 4.5 hours.

Krusty_Clown

Crookstown 10k Race Report
Previous PB: 40:30
new PB: 38:42

Cold and flu for the last week meant no running at all this week, but thankfully, it started to clear on Friday afternoon, so as soon as I got home from work, I decided to head out for three miles, to see if I would be ok for today's race. HR was a little high, but otherwise, the signs were good. Up at 7am for some porridge and bananas and stuck a toe outside and it was quite chilly, so brought a selection of running tops with me. Arrived in Crookstown with plenty of time, and it was freezing with strong winds. Went out for a little warm-up, but it didn't last long, with the pelting rain, strong wind and the cold.

Thankfully, the rain lifted, and we headed en-masse up to the start. Met Mithril and RobinPh, and found myself a spot, around 30-40 people back from the start (always a good strategy on a very windy day!). The race started promptly, which was great, given the cold conditions. I settled into a 6:15 pace, which I found a little tough going from the start, so after finding my initial pace, I decided to ignore the watch completely for the rest of the race, which was a good strategy in these conditions. For the first half we had the wind behind us, not that you'd notice too much. Within the first kilometer the leading pack had already made a huge amount of progress, and you could tell there were some very strong runners contesting the top spots. Seeing the distance these guys put between you in the first km really brings you back to earth with a bump!

I ran with a few small packs in the first half, before pushing on each time to find the next pack. Then we hit the half way point which was a gravel climb up to a flyover, uphill and into the wind. This was the first time I had doubts about being able to keep the pressure on. Coming down off the other side of the flyover, I saw both Mithril and RobinPh running close together, which suprised me, as I thought they would've opened up a big distance over the first half of the race.

After a kilometer of slogging in the wind (eyes closed, head down most of the way!) I eventually caught up with them, and ran with them for the next mile or two, shamelessly using them as wind barriers (drafting is legal in road races, right?). I offered to do my bit at the head of the peloton, but the guys were far too honest! Over the last two kms we gradually caught up with another runner. With a kilometer to go, I pushed on to catch him, and drafted behind him for a while (I'm completely unscrupulous!). Over the last 200 metres we drew level, but I reckoned he deserved to finish before me having run alone for most of the last 5k by himself into the wind, so I dropped in behind him, and crossed the finish line.

Not one of the most enjoyable races I ever done (because of the wind), but I was delighted to beat my pb, delighted to break 40 mins on my first attempt, delighted to break 39 minutes, and when I got the text that told me I finished in 14th place, I was over the moon. Never thought I could finish that far up, in a field of 700+ runners. Most of the them were fun-runners, but I don't give a damn. It's my finish position, and I'm keeping it!

Overall, it rounds off a great year of running for me, having hit the 3 hour mark for the marathon, a solid 10k, a couple of very enjoyable pacer marathons, and a couple of good performances in IMRA races (along with a few bad ones!).

Summary: 10k in 38:42, Pace: 6:12, HR=180 :eek:, finishing 14th

Krusty_Clown

Took Sunday off for recovery after Saturday's race, and a gut-full of beer.

Tonight: Swimming started back, and I got bumped up another class to the top group. Not sure how long I'm going to last in these lofty heights though. Obviously still having breathing issues, as at one stage I was shattered, with HR racing, and had to skip a couple of widths. Still, if I can avoid drowing, I should make good progress in this class.

I'm looking for a 4 week advanced 10k program, to try and improve on Saturday's 10k time. Anyone got any suggestions?

ecoli

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Took Sunday off for recovery after Saturday's race, and a gut-full of beer.

Tonight: Swimming started back, and I got bumped up another class to the top group. Not sure how long I'm going to last in these lofty heights though. Obviously still having breathing issues, as at one stage I was shattered, with HR racing, and had to skip a couple of widths. Still, if I can avoid drowing, I should make good progress in this class.

I'm looking for a 4 week advanced 10k program, to try and improve on Saturday's 10k time. Anyone got any suggestions?

My advice on this would be to maintain development of current training plan and modify it slightly. It takes roughly 2 weeks to see the change from sessions and couple of months to see significant changes when adapting to a new training plan. If it managed to get you such a PB as long as you maintain training you will see futher development. If you want i could help devise a modification of your current plan if you would be interested. Keep up the good work

Krusty_Clown

ecoli wrote: »

My advice on this would be to maintain development of current training plan and modify it slightly. It takes roughly 2 weeks to see the change from sessions and couple of months to see significant changes when adapting to a new training plan. If it managed to get you such a PB as long as you maintain training you will see futher development. If you want i could help devise a modification of your current plan if you would be interested. Keep up the good work

I didn't do any specific 10k training. The run/pb was on the tail-end of marathon training. The plan is to start marathon training again in the middle of December, so I want to concentrate on some shorter quick stuff for a few weeks. Not a lot of time, but I reckon the variety and shorter distances will do me some good. It was a good launch platform before the start of this year's marathon program. I think I'll either follow the last 4 weeks of Higdon's advanced program, or go back and do 4 weeks of the BAC 10k program. Thanks for the advice.

bourne99

Well done on the new pb - I'm a big fan of the slipstreaming myself - but aerodynamics don't seem to come into play when running at 10 mph - which is a shame. I'm all for bringing new 'dynamics' to racing - checkered flag - champagne - pretty ladieees handing out prizes? I'd race every week...

Well done on the time it's a good one!