Send in the Clowns - BAC 10K Challenge

Krusty_Clown

theboyblunder wrote: »

Its more than a little depressing that you can take a half year off faster stuff and train for ultras at paces that (for you) are plodding only to lash back into 6 x sub 5:45 mile intervals like no time has passed . I took 3 weeks off intervals and I feel like im almost starting again!

I never stopped running, and have been doing 50+ mile weeks for most of the last 6 months, with lots of hills, which I reckon has really helped (never underestimate the value of the hills!). But the Ballycotton 10 mile (in a comfortable 61:51 mins) was a real confidence booster that I had maintained some speed, despite not following a structured program.

Last year before Berlin marathon I did 3 x 1 Mile at around 5:25/mile, so hopefully I can get back to that level and surpass it this time around. But they do really hurt! A lot! Like TheRoadRunner says, I'm getting old (but unlike her says, I'm hitting m40 this year ), so I don't know how much more punishment the body will take. Can't wait to have a poke at my next sub-60 10 mile though. I'd like to think I'd have a good craic at it, if I were heading to Ballycotton tomorrow.

Patrick_K

Hey Krusty,

Good to meet you (briefly) on Saturday. I was the 3rd lad with jb-ski and Brendan from Le Cheile when you finished your WWR leg 7 recce.
Just having a read through your log now, highly impressive stuff, keep up the good work.
Must tell jb you did leg 7 again last night. He was slacking with us on an easy trot around leg 1 at the same time

Cheers
PK

Krusty_Clown

Patrick_K wrote: »

Hey Krusty,

Good to meet you (briefly) on Saturday. I was the 3rd lad with jb-ski and Brendan from Le Cheile when you finished your WWR leg 7 recce.

Hi Patrick, good to put a name to the face! Make sure you guilt JB out of it.
It was a hot one last night. I lost about 7 lbs during the run. :eek: Will have to think about stashing water, if the conditions are similar.

I'm sure well bump into you next Saturday at the finish line, if not beforehand. Best of luck in the race. Don't get lost.

Patrick_K

Jesus 7lbs! Thats a lot of fluid, unless of course you had a little break in behind a bush or something too
I didn't check that myself, we were out for 01:18 so not as bad I guess.
As for getting lost on leg 6, I think I'll be taking my other half for a romantic stroll around it this weekend at some stage ;-)
It's a little tricky and I've only seen it once so another look would be good, last thing I want is JB waiting for me for about 3 hours on Saturday week!
See you at the finish and best of luck - hope the pressure of being on the elite squad doesn't sit too heavily on your shoulders ...
PK

Krusty_Clown

Patrick_K wrote: »

hope the pressure of being on the elite squad doesn't sit too heavily on your shoulders ...

It does. It sits very heavily! Being the slowest runner on the team is a bit daunting.

brownian

That's scorching form you're in, KC. I'd suspect you mightn't be the slowest in your team, on the day. And the thorough recces are sure to pay off.

Inspiring stuff - makes me regret my own current running hiatus

Krusty_Clown

Yesterday: First rest day in a month, but I figured I had earned it after passing the 1,000 mile mark. Instead I went out for a rake of pints (kind of the opposite of training. Anti-training. 6 Hours of anti-training, that brought me closer to the 1,000 beer mark.

Today: Slightly hungover, so a brisk 10k was in order, to shake out the cobwebs, and force the alcohol out of the pores. Hit the grass in Shanganagh and started easy, before picking up the pace to cruising speed, before easing back at the finish. Hot but nice out there. Weather for shorts and not much else. More beer tonight, and then clean living for the next week, in the build-up to the race.

Summary: 10k in 42 mins, @6:59, HR around 146

RacoonQueen

Congrats on the 1000 miles. Super running again this year.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 16 mile slow/quick run around Moate Park and Portrunny
Once the showers had passed, I headed off with Emer911, for some easy miles, but by the time we hit the three mile marker I was feeling awful; totally devoid of energy, despite the 9 min/mile pace, completely in contrast to Emer who looked fresh, and would have beaten me over a 5k race distance. I popped my emergency gel, and we parted ways at the four mile marker, as she headed back the way we came, and I pushed on towards Moate Park, which seemed to have a lot in common with an Amazonian Rain Forest. Lush, damp, vibrant and cool, I'm constantly amazed that this most beautiful of areas is so under-utilized by the people living in the area. Heading over the Crofton trail and back down the Bluebell walk, my pace had naturally picked up to 7 min/mile and I felt immediately better (maybe I'm just not designed to run 9 min/miles).

I headed down towards Portrunny to do a bit of exploring, but after a few miles down towards the village, I had to turn back, as I didn't know how much further the village was, and I didn't want to do a mammoth long distance run. Looking at the map afterwards, I stopped about 1/4 mile before the village, but I'll visit it some other time. The next 6.5 miles were into a head-wind, on a wide national road which was quite unpleasant, but it's always good to feel that each step takes you one step closer to the end of your run, even in a fllthy wind. Nice run in the end. Glad to get over the initial hump, to finish off another pretty good week of mileage.

Summary: 16 miles, in 2:03, @7:37/mile, HR=125 :eek:

Krusty_Clown

Today: Handy 10k recovery run
Nice easy recovery run, got a little soaked, but that's to be expected in Roscommon (got a suntan yesterday; go figure!). Looped around the racecourse, and finally found the elusive Galway Hooker brewery (identifiable only by a couple of empty kegs outside). Finished off in the park, with a small loop around the inside of Roscommon Castle, which is always a special feeling, running nice and easy inside a structure built in 1269 and having the pace to yourself. Nobody in the park (do these folks ever get any exercise?) except for me, some stalker swallows, a few ducks and pigeons. Bliss!

Summary: 6.2 miles in 45 mins, @7:27/mile, HR=130

ManFromAtlantis

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Summary: 31 Furlongs in 45 mins, @7:27/mile, HR=130

.

Krusty_Clown

Tonight: 20 x 209m @5k pace
Don't think I have ever run 200m intervals before, so this was a bit of a novelty. The novelty wore off as I left the house into a freezing shower of rain, but once you get wet there's no point in fretting any longer, so I got on with it. After an easy 2.5 mile warm-up and a stretch (and a sneaky pee) I launched into the intervals, taking Emer911's sage advice of starting the repetitions with the rest period rather than the jog (so that you can at least read the interval number on the watch before hitting the speedy interval). I really enjoyed these. Good fast running, 200m recovery, no real pain. A bit of a blast really. I didn't notice the intervals flying by, and to top it off, the weather improved and the sun came out to reveal a gorgeous evening. A couple less dogs and their respective owners and it could have been a perfect game.

Average interval pace: 5:18/mile
Average interval HR: 149
Average time: 40s (209m intervals)
Recovery: 200m easy jog

Summary: 10 miles altogether in 72 mins.

Sosa

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Tonight: 20 x 209m @5k pace
Don't think I have ever run 200m intervals before, so this was a bit of a novelty. The novelty wore off as I left the house into a freezing shower of rain, but once you get wet there's no point in fretting any longer, so I got on with it. After an easy 2.5 mile warm-up and a stretch (and a sneaky pee) I launched into the intervals, taking Emer911's sage advice of starting the repetitions with the rest period rather than the jog (so that you can at least read the interval number on the watch before hitting the speedy interval). I really enjoyed these. Good fast running, 200m recovery, no real pain. A bit of a blast really. I didn't notice the intervals flying by, and to top it off, the weather improved and the sun came out to reveal a gorgeous evening. A couple less dogs and their respective owners and it could have been a perfect game.

Average interval pace: 5:18/mile
Average interval HR: 149
Average time: 40s (209m intervals)
Recovery: 200m easy jog

Summary: 10 miles altogether in 72 mins.

Very good Krustopher...i am skipping McMillan this week...he has me down for the 5k race/4m Tempo but i did 5*1k today and hope to race a 5 miler on Friday night,that will do me for this week.
I have the 200's next week...the weeks are slipping by

SucCes09

some going passing the 1000 mile mark (at your age)... Gives hope to the rest of us 39 year old's....
Fair play KC

lfp

Hi Krusty, been following your log for a good while. Very enjoyable and inspiring reading. I found the 20x200m session fascinating. Normally my 5k pace intervals stuff would be the usual 6x800m or 5x1k type torture. What's the benefit/difference with the 20x200m? The recovery of 200m jog in just over 60 secs is quick, but the 200's at about 40 sec seems manageable enough. I'm not saying I'd find 40 sec 200's easy, but converting to my 3.36 ish 5k pace (43 sec 200's) it seems okay.

Is it a case this session gets the 5k speed into the legs while still covering a good few miles in the session and not as taxing as your bog standard 5k interval session?

Patrick_K

taking Emer911's sage advice of starting the repetitions with the rest period rather than the jog (so that you can at least read the interval number on the watch before hitting the speedy interval).

Whats the thinking here Krusty, that you know the number of the interval you are about to do before you do it?
I guess it only works if the interval and the recovery are the same as in your case here?

PK

Krusty_Clown

SucCes09 wrote: »

some going passing the 1000 mile mark (at your age)... Gives hope to the rest of us 39 year old's....

Cheeky bugger!
You still at that whole swimming/cycling malarky? Running is where it's at.

SucCes09

getting back into it after a knee op in Feb - half IM the end of July if i can stay injury free...
still slow as ever thou!!!
you any plans to do pacing at DCM this year?

Krusty_Clown

SucCes09 wrote: »

you any plans to do pacing at DCM this year?

Yes, hopefully, if they'll have me back. 3:00 or 3:15. I'm running Chicago at the start of October, so hoping to run a good time there.
Knee op sounds nasty. Are you fully recovered?

Krusty_Clown

lfp wrote: »

Hi Krusty, been following your log for a good while. Very enjoyable and inspiring reading. I found the 20x200m session fascinating. Normally my 5k pace intervals stuff would be the usual 6x800m or 5x1k type torture. What's the benefit/difference with the 20x200m? The recovery of 200m jog in just over 60 secs is quick, but the 200's at about 40 sec seems manageable enough. I'm not saying I'd find 40 sec 200's easy, but converting to my 3.36 ish 5k pace (43 sec 200's) it seems okay.

Is it a case this session gets the 5k speed into the legs while still covering a good few miles in the session and not as taxing as your bog standard 5k interval session?

Hi lfp, this is a McMillan program I'm following (more on the program here), so the 20x200m is actually a supplementary work-out to the key sessions (which are all based on increasing the interval distance you cover at 10k race pace). So this is kind of like a step-back week, from the significantly harder 2 mile and 1 mile intervals at 10k pace. According to McMillan, the 5k pace sessions make the 10k workouts feel easier. It works out well for me timing-wise as well, with a race this Saturday. If I did the 3x2mile @10k pace this week, I'd imagine it would impact my race performance on Saturday, but the 20x200m didn't take that much out of me. I ran a good bit faster than I could manage in a 5k race (which I know I shouldn't have), but I rarely get to run really fast, so it was fun!

A bit of a disappointment that I don't yet have a 10k race to put the training to the test, but hopefully I'll find one before it's too late, and I start into the marathon program.

Krusty_Clown

Patrick_K wrote: »

taking Emer911's sage advice of starting the repetitions with the rest period rather than the jog (so that you can at least read the interval number on the watch before hitting the speedy interval).

Whats the thinking here Krusty, that you know the number of the interval you are about to do before you do it?
I guess it only works if the interval and the recovery are the same as in your case here?
PK

I always create my intervals workout as an advanced program (in Garmin Training Centre) and upload them to the watch afterwards. On the repetitions, I would usually have the fast bit (the interval) first and the recovery second. The problem is that the first activity in the repeats section shows you how many repetitions you've done. When you're accelerating to 5:30 or 5:45/mile, it's quite difficult to read this information on the screen (small font/running fast). So if you set up the rest/easy jog as the first activity in the repetitions, you can look at the screen while you're running easy, instead of accelerating to 10k pace.

It really doesn't matter what the interval/recovery size or time is. They don't have to be the same. The reason I need to know? I can't count to 6! Every time I do intervals I lose count after about three, and often end up doing extra involuntary intervals, or else convincing myself that I'm already finished, with more intervals to go. I spent too much time reading comics under my desk when I was a kid, and not enough time looking at the blackboard.

Patrick_K

Ah the advanced programs, must take a look ...
I've only been using the rudimentary programs so far myself, as setup on the watch.

Cheers
PK

lfp

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Hi lfp, this is a McMillan program I'm following (more on the program here), so the 20x200m is actually a supplementary work-out to the key sessions (which are all based on increasing the interval distance you cover at 10k race pace). So this is kind of like a step-back week, from the significantly harder 2 mile and 1 mile intervals at 10k pace. According to McMillan, the 5k pace sessions make the 10k workouts feel easier. It works out well for me timing-wise as well, with a race this Saturday. If I did the 3x2mile @10k pace this week, I'd imagine it would impact my race performance on Saturday, but the 20x200m didn't take that much out of me. I ran a good bit faster than I could manage in a 5k race (which I know I shouldn't have), but I rarely get to run really fast, so it was fun!

A bit of a disappointment that I don't yet have a 10k race to put the training to the test, but hopefully I'll find one before it's too late, and I start into the marathon program.

Great explanation - thanks a million. I can see this session filling a nice gap for me in easier weeks and weeks coming up to a goal race.

Krusty_Clown

Today: Handy 5 mile lunch-time run in Corkagh Park with work-mate. Caught in one shower, which seems par for the course these days, but a nice easy run. And that's the plan for the next few days, just to tick over until race day on Saturday.

Summary: 5 miles in 41 mins, @8:16/mile, HR=around 120.

menoscemo

Hey Krusty. What race are you doing this Saturday? Myself and woddle are looking at a 5k in meath is that the same one?

Slogger Jogger

menoscemo wrote: »

Hey Krusty. What race are you doing this Saturday? Myself and woddle are looking at a 5k in meath is that the same one?

What race Meno? Theres only one race on Saturday. The Wicklow way relay. Boards have 2 teams in the line up. A win from last year to try and defend

menoscemo

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

What race Meno? Theres only one race on Saturday. The Wicklow way relay. Boards have 2 teams in the line up. A win from last year to try and defend

Oops Didn't realise that was on so soon.

Krusty_Clown

menoscemo wrote: »

Hey Krusty. What race are you doing this Saturday? Myself and woddle are looking at a 5k in meath is that the same one?

Yes, I'm heading to the biggest game in town (albeit, far from any town), running 13.1 miles from Ironbridge in Aughavannagh to Crossbridge in Tinahealy, across two hill climbs, along with 29 other intrepid explorers, hoping beyond hope not to get lost, but more importantly, not to let the team down. Every step for the last 10 years has brought me one step closer to this point. Every laboured breath, every bead of sweat, every heartbeat has drawn me to this very moment, when my fellow runner will, with the lightest of taps pass on the heavy burden of trying to defend the title of the Wicklow Way relay.

...Or else I might do the 5k.

Krusty_Clown

Today: 5.5 mile easy lunch-time run
Ran up as far as the N7, into Corkagh Park, a quick loop around the park and back to work again. The watch ran out of juice at 3.6 miles, but I know the route well enough to know that it's a 5.5 mile loop. Was running nice and comfortably with a low HR (I guess!) at around 7:30/mile (I guess!).

Summary: 5.5 miles in around 40 mins, with a heart rate.

Krusty_Clown

This evening: Handy 4 miles with strides
Nice easy run in the park, just to get set up for tomorrow's run. Can't remember the last time I went out for a 30 minute run. It felt quite lazy. Now, sitting down sipping a non-alcoholic beer. Dear God, the sacrifices I make. Will make up for it tomorrow!
Summary: 4 miles in 30 mins, @7:23/mile, HR=138