Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

donothoponpop

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Today:

Intervals: 77/79/79/81/77/78/78/77/78/78 (average:78)
Average HR=166

Ten of those feckers! Nice pace, hats off to you KC.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 7 miles at a brisk pace

How many miles does it take to forget about a sh1t day in work? Seven miles...It takes seven fast miles. Not a good idea to run fast today after yesterday's intervals, but I'm going to miss out on tomorrow's session in favour of a more traditional session, so figured it'd be better to get a run in before the weekend. So I set off with no plan, and no goal (never a good idea). Headed to the start of the climb to Bray head, and turned around and headed for home, with an extra 'warm-down mile'. Way too fast. I suck at discipline.

Summary: 7 miles in 47 mins, @6:47/mile, HR=151 ('ish).

Krusty_Clown

Today: After a day off yesterday and a fistful of pints, decided to run and pick up my car from where I'd left it (so much better than public transport, and really helps with the Irish guilt too!) so enjoyed a pretty brisk 10k, and was glad to see the heart rate remained pretty low. I'm hoping that 7 minute mile is the new pace for easy runs, and judging by the HR, it might be there or thereabouts.

Hoping to run the IMRA half marathon plod route tomorrow, so hopefully the weather's good, but not too good.

Summary: 6.2 miles in 44 mins, @7:04/mile, HR=145

Speedy44

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Today: After a day off yesterday and a fistful of pints, decided to run and pick up my car from where I'd left it (so much better than public transport, and really helps with the Irish guilt too!) so enjoyed a pretty brisk 10k, and was glad to see the heart rate remained pretty low. I'm hoping that 7 minute mile is the new pace for easy runs, and judging by the HR, it might be there or thereabouts.

Hoping to run the IMRA half marathon plod route tomorrow, so hopefully the weather's good, but not too good.

Summary: 6.2 miles in 44 mins, @7:04/mile, HR=145

Thats about where I want to get to as well Krusty. When I was a kid I think all my runs were at or below the 7min/ml (at least I think they were, or I could just be having some selective memories!). When I started back 3 years ago I was shocked that I was huffin & puffin just to try and get to 8min/mls :eek:. I am now regulary peeling them off at about the 7:15's or so, I think the best thing I ever did was getting the HRM because I used to do most of my easy runs waaayyy too slow.

Krusty_Clown

Today: IMRA Half Marathon Plod 'recce
It looked like a pretty awful day to set off for a hill/mountain run, with the rain teeming down and the fog/low cloud on the nearby hills, but Sunday's not Sunday without some kind of a decent run, so I packed up the car and headed off to Marlay Park.

It's my second time covering this route, having hiked it with friends a few weeks ago (in just over four hours) but we took a wrong turn in Massey Wood, so the plan was to run it this time, and make sure I took the correct path through the forest. A quick short loop around Marlay and then I headed for the hills. The first 2.5 miles are on the road, but it's not a bad climb. Once you hit Massey Wood the scenery changes rapidly to fantastic trees and winding forest paths; too many forest paths. I managed to avoid making the same mistaken turn I made the last time, but soon regretted not taking a look at the map before I left the house as once again I found myself arriving at the road about 1.5 miles before I should have. My route brought me closer to the correct path, but still not exactly right, adding an extra bit of uphill climb for good measure.

I really enjoyed the path up to Cruagh, though there were no stunning views available today due to the low cloud levels. Instead I had herds of deer running alongside me, occasionally startling me and sometimes getting startled (Krusty dances with deer). After a brief descent, I started the climb to Tibradden and am delighted to say I made it to the top without the need for a walking break before picking up the pace on the downhill, leaping across the great rocky chasms (some poetic license) before starting the final climb in the direction of Fairy Castle. This section is tough, as it's relatively fast, and you need to concentrate on your footing, before you hit the highest point and start the long 2.5 mile descent back to Marlay Park, with some further chasm jumping.

The downhill is really fast, with some 10k pace downhill miles that really get the legs pumping. It was during the downhill that I bumped into none other than Magnet, heading up the hill on mountain bikes with her b/f. Stopped for a quick chat before they restarted their long uphill climb. In that rain, with heavy backpacks and a massive climb. I don't envy them one bit. A nice quick return to Marlay Park, and a loop or so of the top field to bring the mileage up to half-marathon distance and done. Looking at the watch afterwards, I was surprised to see a time that I would be very happy to achieve on race day, and I was very happy with my hill climbing too, resisting the urge to take any breaks. So despite the drowning rain, and being covered head to toe in muck and grit, a very enjoyable outing.

Summary: 13.1 miles in 1:40, @7:41/mile, HR=146

Slogger Jogger

A great time for a hilly half. Nice one.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 3.5 Mile recovery run
Was heading for a cycle, but bike is still shagged, so opted for a short recovery run instead. Not the most pleasant of days but the run wasn't too bad. Nearly at the 1,000 mile mark. It'll either be during the race on Saturday (in which case I feel duty bound to stop, and respect the moment for a few minutes ), or before then. Going to have a slightly easier week and cut back the intervals to around 6, to rest up a little for the big race.

Summary: 3.5 miles in 26 mins, @ 7:30/mile, HR=133

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Just a five mile tempo run, which I decided to do over my water-slide route (steep climb to start, short flat bit, and a big winding downhill which takes you back to the start. I really felt I was flying at times, and looking at the numbers afterwards, I had some nice fast downhill miles.

The good thing about running a familiar route and recording your data on Garmin Connect, you can easily compare your times, and this one compared very well to previous outings, being two minutes faster than the same run in February, and significantly faster than older outings, so the last couple of months of training seem to have gone pretty well (for the uphills anyway).

Tomorrow, I plan to cut back the number of intervals, for a mini-taper for Saturday.

Summary: 5 miles in 34 mins, @6:44/mile, HR=151

aero2k

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Lol. There's no coy! 2:48:xx or die trying (not literally!).

Hi Krusty,

I reckon you're well on the way to that goal. If 7 min/mile is your easy pace, then 6.26 is realistic on race day.

I tend to fall in to a pace around 7.45 (once I've got the legs going after a 5 mile warm-up!) though that would be on grass or trail. One thing I have noticed is that compared to Dublin, and without too much effort, in recent weeks everything - races, intervals, long runs, PMP pace - seemed to average about 15 sec/mile faster. By the time I realised this was happening, I was too close to Edinburgh to make the most of it.

I'll keep lurking around here for inspiration.

Krusty_Clown

aero2k wrote: »

I reckon you're well on the way to that goal. If 7 min/mile is your easy pace, then 6.26 is realistic on race day.

I said I'm hoping that 7min/mile will be my new easy pace. A small distinction but an important one.

Oisin11178

Only started using heart rate during training lately. Some savage low heart rates your sporting there bud. What precentage heart rate is substainable over a marathon. My max is ~196 .

Krusty_Clown

It's very different for everyone. For my first marathon my average was 160, but if you look at the graph, you can see it shooting up over the course of the race! That was my one an only positive split, and it didn't go as well as later efforts. Berlin was 161 (again the same rise, but the day was also getting a lot hotter). Barcelona was 152 and the HR is quite strange, but I started picking up the pace from 20 miles right up to a sprint finish.

My max HR is a strange one. Used to be around 190. Now, even in a tough uphill, I'd be lucky to hit 173. So my HR seems to have gotten lower across the entire range: resting, average, and max.

So for me, sustainable HR for marathons seems to average out at 150-160. My pacing marathons are in the 135-145 range. Strangely, my average HR for pacing Limerick (3:15) is higher than my average HR for Barcelona (2:55). So I don't think I was fully recovered from the ultra in Connemara. I was also living a healthy lifestyle leading up to Barcelona, which I gave up immediately after the race.

Oisin11178

Yeah my average heart rate for cork was 155 but i reckon it would have been lower if i didnt pace edinburgh.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Took it a little handier tonight, with the upcoming race on Saturday, so 7 miles with 6x400m @1Mile pace. Seemed like I had a head-wind whichever direction I turned in, so the times are a fraction of a second slower than usual (or else I was just tired and lazy!).
Intervals: 78/78/79/77/79/75

Summary: 7 miles in 48 mins, HR=149

Slogger Jogger

Well done on the 1000 miles. You picked a nice day, and race, to do it

Krusty_Clown

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Well done on the 1000 miles. You picked a nice day, and race, to do it

Impeccable timing!

Krusty_Clown

Today: Wicklow Way Race - Leg 1
I did something last night that I haven't done in over 25 years - I went to bed at 10 o'clock. That's how seriously I was taking this race. When I woke up at 3am, I greatly regretted my decision, and by 5am when my alarm went off, I was positively knackered. Strange to see bright daylight at an hour that is normally reserved for wiping off the drool, before turning over in the bed. Porridge, coffee and a shower later, I was in the car headed towards the start line. I arrived in Kilmashogue at 6:30am, and tottered about until Woddle, RQ and EarlyEvening turned up. Nice to finally meet the road legend TheRoadRunner, before the race kicked off sharply at 7am.

I positioned myself just behind the first row of runners, and awaited the count-down to 7am. The legs felt tired and uneager, but I felt the same in Barcelona, so I didn't let it worry me too much. As the shout went to start the day's proceedings I kicked off with an easy pace, in around 15th position. Over the course of the first few miles I picked up around 6 or 7 positions as the early rushers settled into a more sustainable pace. I had planned to keep my eye on the HRM and keep the HR below 160, but that all flew out the window as soon as the race started. The first uphill mile passed in 8:15, and the next steeper mile passed in 9:15. At this stage I could still see most of the front-runners and I was motoring relatively comfortably. TheRoadRunner passed me at a good clip and I figured it would be the last I would see of him until the finish line. The right turn came all too soon, and as we headed for the turn off for Fairy Castle there were three runners ahead of me. I managed to pass two, but RoadRunner was always just out of reach.

As we hit the descent which is a challenging fast rocky downhill (6:29/6:25) I couldn't close the distance on RR, until a runner I had previously passed on the climb went steaming past me, and disappeared past both me and RR like we were standing still. Hmm... Perhaps I'm being too cautious. I decided to follow in his trail, trusting in the brain (and fate) to find the right footing, and soon I was past RR, and on my own. I hit the road and ran the mile in around 6:25, fully expecting RR to catch me at some point, which he dif towards the end of the cul de sac, before the next climb began. We had a good chat about marathon experiences and planned marathons before he deservedly pushed on up the hill to battle with some of his other foes.

Mile 6 was a tough uphill climb of 450 feet, which I negotiated with only the briefest of walking breaks, before hitting the shoulder of Prince William's Seat. I picked up the pace knowing that the hill had been crested, and caught up with RR, who in a previous year had a very bad experience on the downhill, that made him a little less reckless than me. I shamelessly took advantage of the fact and tried to widen as much of a gap as possible, as I figured it wouldn't be long before he'd be breathing down my neck.

A quick check of the watch told me that we had around half a mile to go, and I figured the challenge would come soon. I was feeling tired, but had the 'recces in my favour, so knew what lay ahead. With a couple of hundred metres to go, I heard the inevitable crunch of pounding footsteps. Nothing for it but to push to max, and see if I could hold on. Covered the last half mile at sub 5 minute mile pace, with a max heart rate of 198 (eek!) and was so happy to see the barrier and Abhainn's raised hand. Done. Finished in 7th place, in 63 minutes, a couple of minutes faster than I thought I could do.

Summary: 8.53 miles, in 1:03:24, @7:26/mile, HR=167 (eek again!).

Emer911

Always inspiring, always impressive! Great race report too

Krusty_Clown

Emer911 wrote: »

Always inspiring, always impressive! Great race report too

Flattery will get you nowhere. Now get out and do your miles, or there'll be trouble.

tisnotover

Great stuff Krusty, enjoyed reading that, well done !

village runner

I see training is going well. What is the aim for Berlin ??? What program ave you decided on. I am doing Daniels maxing at 70.
Training aint going great myself. Off the ciggies again so i will be grand in a month. That will leave me 12 weeks for marathon specific training. At the moment i wouldnt break 30 min for 5 miles. But it will all fall into place.

Krusty_Clown

Today: Ended up driving the kids around all morning to various sporting events, in order to make up for yesterday's 12 hour absence. Emer911 got out for the best of today's weather, while I got landed with the windy drizzle. Having spent the last few weekend runs in the Dublin and Wicklow hills it was nice to head towards the sea for a change, but still, the hills beckoned.

The legs were tired, but I reckon not heading out for 10 miles on tired legs is almost a missed opportunity, so I stuck on some wet weather gear, and headed towards the sea. I ran comfortably up the hill towards Vico, and then spied a near-hidden track up to Killiney Hill. I've never run in this area, always favouring the nearby Dalkey Hill for walks with the family, so it was with some surprise that I realized I've been missing out on one of the best running spots in my neighbourhood. Nice hill climbs, tarmac paths, trails and fantastic views that nearly rival my hill. There will be more of this.

Summary: 10 miles on tired legs in 1:18, @7:40/mile, HR=137

Krusty_Clown

village runner wrote: »

I see training is going well. What is the aim for Berlin ??? What program ave you decided on. I am doing Daniels maxing at 70.
Training aint going great myself. Off the ciggies again so i will be grand in a month. That will leave me 12 weeks for marathon specific training. At the moment i wouldnt break 30 min for 5 miles. But it will all fall into place.

Hi VR, I wouldn't say that training is going well, cos what I'm doing at the moment is hardly training. I'm just ticking over, enjoying a bit of running, while doing some 10k speed-work to build up for the marathon program. Averaging around 38-42 mpw with lots of hills, but feeling pretty strong. Still haven't fully made up my mind about a training program, but I reckon it'll be a P&D program, probably something between the 55 and 70mpw, with additional long runs (up to 22m) and finishing the long runs at sub marathon pace, which seemed to work for me the last time. The target's still the same, but it's only approximate (might move up or down based on how the training is going). Current thinking is 2:48, which would be a 7 minute PB. But the truth is in the training.

The ciggies are a life-long struggle, one which I am mostly winning, but ever so seldomly losing. Sure we'll struggle on.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 5 Mile chilled recovery run, on grass as soft as pillows. 7:53/mile, HR=129.
YTD: 1,019 (new goal is to make 2K for the year).

Oisin11178

I must borrow your heart for my next race. How long has your heart rate been so low running 7 min milesish?
I notice your comment that you Couldnt get your heartrate high a few posts back was blown out of the water in the ww relay. 196 is nice:-)

Krusty_Clown

Mad isn't it?! I thought my max had pulled back to around 170, so hitting 198 was freakish. May be just a blip on the monitor, though looking at the graph it's pretty linear. I've just realized that I've been extremely lazy for the last two years of my running career.

Krusty_Clown

Today: Made the best of a late evening, by heading for the hills instead of a 60 minute tempo run. A 220m climb over the first two miles up to the top of my hill (no walking!), followed by a run to the old chimney catching the last of the sun before it dipped below the hills, before taking the back slope down to Ballychorus, for a few quick miles back home. By the end, my legs felt pretty tired, so I reckon tomorrow's interval session could be a bit of a disaster. Will wait and see.

Summary: 6.4 miles in 50 mins, @7:51/mile, HR=148

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: Disastrous interval session: 12x400m @ mile pace (kind of!).
12 Hour day in work, lots of stress, no dinner, tired legs, kicking off an interval session at 9:52pm was never going to be great idea. Two mile warm-up, one interval done and I knew it wasn't going to go to plan. Decided I'd make the most of it (as I wont get another chance this week) and decided to walk between intervals to focus on speed / leg turnover, instead of cardio.

Intervals: 76/82/76/89/77/78/80/75/77/74/77/xx?

89? 89?! I arrived into a copse of trees, and was watching the Garmin, and it just froze on me. After 11 intervals, I had lost count, so while looking at the history I accidentally reset the workout. Then the bezel went haywire, and it took me 5 minutes to get it started to do my last interval, which I had to guess at. But I persevered, and got some semblance of a session done. Will just have to chalk this one down to a bad day, and hope tomorrow will be better.

Summary: Stuff @nonsense, with lots of whingeing and whining.

Speedy44

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Tonight: Disastrous interval session: 12x400m @ mile pace (kind of!).
12 Hour day in work, lots of stress, no dinner, tired legs, kicking off an interval session at 9:52pm was never going to be great idea. Two mile warm-up, one interval done and I knew it wasn't going to go to plan. Decided I'd make the most of it (as I wont get another chance this week) and decided to walk between intervals to focus on speed / leg turnover, instead of cardio.

Intervals: 76/82/76/89/77/78/80/75/77/74/77/xx?

89? 89?! I arrived into a copse of trees, and was watching the Garmin, and it just froze on me. After 11 intervals, I had lost count, so while looking at the history I accidentally reset the workout. Then the bezel went haywire, and it took me 5 minutes to get it started to do my last interval, which I had to guess at. But I persevered, and got some semblance of a session done. Will just have to chalk this one down to a bad day, and hope tomorrow will be better.

Summary: Stuff @nonsense, with lots of whingeing and whining.

Good man Krusty, thats one tough session coming off a day like that. Its these type of sessions that'll stand to you and make the other one's appear so easy !

Krusty_Clown

Thanks Speedy. It was one of those tough days where all you want to do is sit down in front of the TV with a beer and fall asleep (most days?!). Normally, after completing a session like this I would get some sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. But because of gadget/human failure, it was just an exercise in frustration.

No more whining! Today's another day. :cool: