A passion for running and cycling

kennyb3

14th July

60k including race as above

16th July

50k @ 25km/ph

Met Raam from the cycling forum and did more hills than i ever imagined there was in howth. 620m of climbing in an hour. He is an unbelievable climber.

rolled up the howth TT course hill in 9.30, 10secs off my best with very little effort so racing is helping. sub 9 should be easy enough.

Then once up from the village to the left, twice up to the right of the church. i made it up the full way the 2nd time with his tutorage re standing on the pedals, we took the right after the bend too to make it even harder - delighted i made it all the way up.

we then descended and took a left opposite the girls school and went up that way. again more pain.

after one or two more little efforts my legs were screaming so it was off home. great learning experience, will be trying to do the same thing once a week now.

Cycling YTD: 1810.5 km

kennyb3

17th July

25k @ 28km/ph

Gentle recovery spin, with one effort over howth thrown in. down to 9.08, 42 seconds off my previous best on my own, and 1.32 off my first effort a month or so ago

Cycling YTD: 1835.5 km

kennyb3

First run in a month, and proper one in 3 months.

5 miles in 35.40 (7.08 m/pm)

Way too fast but cycling has left me feeling light and nimble. unfortunately my thighs disagree today-legs are f'ucked. achilles is fine as i ve known it has been for quite a while. just havent wanted to risk injury which could get in the way of cycling.

Side wall of tyre is blown so waiting on new one so had to do something and wanted to run saturday nights alcohol and chipper out of the system. that i did!! very warm and sweaty.

YTD: 368.7 miles / 63 runs (2 races)

ManFromAtlantis

jeeze, great report.

cant believe you did a 35 min off 5 miler too.

you're taking to this cycling mullarkey thing. fair play on top ten finish.

next road running race no doubt you'll stick with the peleton and break away all the time doing your bit of wind breaking :pac:

kennyb3

19th July

15k @ 29.2km/ph

Tried to ease the legs out! looks like i ll miss my race tomorrow, bloody tyre i need hasnt arrived and doubt it will tomorrow. CRC are useless slow c'unts. so much for paying extra for next day delivery

Cycling YTD: 1850.5 km

kennyb3

21st July

18.5k @ 29km/ph

Just another flat spin, couldnt venture too far from home with small hole in tyre sidewall (new tyre still not arrived). just spun down to baldoyke and back. stuck 5 miles in the middle in at about 34km/ph average and spun the legs either side.

missed club race though


22nd July

40k @ 27km/ph

Good spin - down to howth at average of about 34km/ph, nice wind assitance then 3 climbs, did all comfortably as amazingly my legs are still full of lactic acid from mondays fast run (wont do that again) and wanted to make sure i got all 3 done and easily:

- village to the summit keeping left at the church – 7.33 (spun easy, no out of the saddle)

- Then down Sutton side and back up – 10.10 (my best is 9.06 and my first TT up it was 10.40 so to just spin up easy in this time on tired legs is very pleasing)

- Down into the village, this time right at the church and up that horifically steep part to summit - 7.40 - had only done it once before first time on my own. felt alot easier, HR still through the roof but it was grand.

Good 25mins of climbing, then home against a headwind and tired when i got there.

Cycling YTD: 1909 km

shotgunmcos

Hey kennyb3 your cycling is really progressing. To be doing hills with RAAM and top 10 in the race fair play! You must have given it some crack to ne in the world of hurt at the end kudos.

Very nimble run to running after a month too!

kennyb3

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Hey kennyb3 your cycling is really progressing. To be doing hills with RAAM and top 10 in the race fair play! You must have given it some crack to ne in the world of hurt at the end kudos.!

Thanks shotgun, ah RAAM was just showing me around, I was mainly looking at him zooming off in the distance, never realised someone could actually climb hills so fast, but he has shown me what i need to aspire to hence the 25 mins climbing work last night.

Re the 7th, id love to claim i was decent but we get a more than fair handicap, although with every race im sure i ll progress, and with some winter training (did none last year) I ll hopefully move up at least one group.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Very nimble run to running after a month too!

Thanks, feel good breathing wise but i dont have the legs, still trying to get the lactic acid out of teh legs since. wont be doing that again in a hurry. I ll prob get a few more runs in at the end of august when cycling winds down.

I might even have to try this swimming lark over the winter. Id love to do a tri, the swimming and finding time for it is the only thing holding me back.

kennyb3

23rd July

15k @ 28km/ph

A nice relaxing spin, just enjoying the scenery - something i dont do enough of on the bike. spun the legs out. club spin in the morning, meant to be quite wet tho. hopefully not!!

Cycling YTD: 1924 km

kennyb3

23rd July

83k @ 30km/ph

Club spin, half an hour in and it lashed. got drowned for 2 hours solid. still good to get it in - if i was on my own no doubt i would of cut it short.

went green for cycling on the ART challenge in the process

Cycling YTD: 2007 km

Macanri

Congrats on going green. Keep up the good work.

kennyb3

Macanri wrote: »

Congrats on going green. Keep up the good work.

Thanks dude, i dont know where you find the time for swimming and running too. fair play.

kennyb3

25th July

41k @ 28.9km/ph

Took a spin down to sutton and along the cycling track at clontarf. strong headwind going down the cycling track, very hard work. unusually i did a nice patch of work on the drops and back wasnt sore at all. man id love a pair of aero bars, my av speed was about 2-3k higher down on the drops into the wind and effort less. turned around then and whizzed back with the tailwind. then headed up over howth from the sutton side, which i love.

Did 9mins on the dot this afternoon, was tired after 83k with the club yesterday but still disappointed i couldnt break 9mins. gave it socks and sweat was flowing off me. bit of a wind against tho which might be the only consolation. seem to have found my level now, going to be hard to get down to 8.20-30 which is the aim. still 8 secs off the previous best

would love to try it on a lighter bike, mine is circa 11kg and has rubbish wheels on it. lot of flex in the wheels.

overall grand spin and good average speed given the wind and climb.im tired now after 6 days in row

Cycling YTD: 2048 km

El Director

Great training and racing Kenny! Really enjoyed reading your race reports, it has me really looking forward to the race this Weds (i hope). God you seemed to be in genuine pain in that first race so well done on finishing and then tuning it all around the following week. Not only did you learn the lessons but I am taking note too on what to do

kennyb3

Just looking back through the log and i ve been up the sutton side of howth 11 times in last couple of months, the village side 4 times - twice to the left and twice to the right. my climbing is improving steadily and i really enjoy it.

Was up it again tonight (no. 12) and was taking it easy as i ve a race tomorrow and was really surprised to see i did it in 9.22 (as opposed to 9.00 flat out the other day). I did one bit fast as someone went past me and i had to latch on to them and pass them again:D but i wasnt going hard on the flats at all.

Anyway tonight this tells me two things - firstly although i dropped alot of time initially but it will be hard to drop every 10seconds from here on in. secondly the wind was defo behind me today and against me the last day, so sub 9 should come soon. id like to get down to 8.20ish though by the end of the year, although this will require serious work.

Looking forward to tomorrows race. Our group is unlikely to stay away as its a hard course but i might have a small go off the front on one of the hills to test my legs and race climbing ability.

27th July

27k @ 29.3km/ph

Cycling YTD: 2075 km

kennyb3

Well i ll cut straight to the point - was guaranteed 1st or 2nd after a break with another lad (Velo Bro from cycling forum - he proceeded to win) and punctured with 750m to go. absolutely gutted to be honest, can defo see myself spending some time thinking about this one over the winter. Wanted it so bad i tried cycling on for about 200m on the rim but i was going nowhere fast and i could see scratch a 500m down the road so i had to pack it in. promptly f'ucked the helmet in the ditch in disgust.

We broke away on the big hill the first time around after 16k and stayed away for the other 29k (well he did anyway). I think both our days are numbered in that group to say the least based on what was being said after. The course is dreaded by most but its very hilly nature was always going to suit me.

unfortunately i wont get a chance to make up for it as marshalling next week, then off on holidays.

Really enjoyed the race, great to make a break and get away like that in only my 3rd race. hill intervals in howth are really helping and racing is the best workout you can get . I thought we rode very strong though and worked well all the way until i punctured. We kept the pace at around 33.5km/ph for each lap.

I would of happily taken second, i was mainly concerned about staying away as drilling myself to stay away and getting second was way better than messing around in last km and getting caught and coming 8th or so.

Still plenty of positives, feel im improving and enjoyed being in a break. Learned loads too again, such as that im hammering constantly like it's a TT and what gears suit me etc. Confidence is another thing, in my first two race breaks went and i didnt have the confidence to go with them. I probably caused the split going up the hill but once i seen Velo Bro go with me i just kept going. momentarily i thought about keeping the group together but thought sod it i ll go for it.

44.25km @ 33.5km/ph

route : http://ridewithgps.com/routes/80504

kennyb3

Tidy up the stats

28th July

55k, 11k warm up and 44k race.

Hope to do 160k Tour de Kilkenny on Saturday so will take it easy until then.

Cycling YTD: 2130 km

El Director

kennyb3 wrote: »

Well i ll cut straight to the point - was guaranteed 1st or 2nd after a break with another lad (Velo Bro from cycling forum - he proceeded to win) and punctured with 750m to go. absolutely gutted to be honest, can defo see myself spending some time thinking about this one over the winter. Wanted it so bad i tried cycling on for about 200m on the rim but i was going nowhere fast and i could see scratch a 500m down the road so i had to pack it in. promptly f'ucked the helmet in the ditch in disgust.

We broke away on the big hill the first time around after 16k and stayed away for the other 29k (well he did anyway). I think both our days are numbered in that group to say the least based on what was being said after. The course is dreaded by most but its very hilly nature was always going to suit me.

unfortunately i wont get a chance to make up for it as marshalling next week, then off on holidays.

Really enjoyed the race, great to make a break and get away like that in only my 3rd race. hill intervals in howth are really helping and racing is the best workout you can get . I thought we rode very strong though and worked well all the way until i punctured. We kept the pace at around 33.5km/ph for each lap.

I would of happily taken second, i was mainly concerned about staying away as drilling myself to stay away and getting second was way better than messing around in last km and getting caught and coming 8th or so.

Still plenty of positives, feel im improving and enjoyed being in a break. Learned loads too again, such as that im hammering constantly like it's a TT and what gears suit me etc. Confidence is another thing, in my first two race breaks went and i didnt have the confidence to go with them. I probably caused the split going up the hill but once i seen Velo Bro go with me i just kept going. momentarily i thought about keeping the group together but thought sod it i ll go for it.

44.25km @ 33.5km/ph

route : http://ridewithgps.com/routes/80504

Ah man, so close! Although a lot of positives to be taken, still a kick in the teeth :mad: All the hard work done and that happens! You've really taken to the bike racing, I have been mad to do these races all summer, it just never seems to work out for whatever reason. Love reading the reports though although it makes me jealous!

You showed serious bravery going for it so early dude, if I'd been there I wouldn't have gone as I probably would have thought you went too early. Do you find these races of great benefit? Do you find them exciting?

shotgunmcos

kennyb3 I feel for ya man, thats hard luck. But hey you have the confidence in that breakaway that you have the legs so an assault another day is certain. You seem to be really enjoying the bike lately, a passion indeed! Also noticed a (HIM) beside your name on the challenge?!

Well done on the race despite the end, its a great advantage to know you are strong on hills. It means you can bias your race event choices to your strength

kennyb3

El Director wrote: »

Ah man, so close! Although a lot of positives to be taken, still a kick in the teeth :mad: All the hard work done and that happens! You've really taken to the bike racing, I have been mad to do these races all summer, it just never seems to work out for whatever reason. Love reading the reports though although it makes me jealous!

You showed serious bravery going for it so early dude, if I'd been there I wouldn't have gone as I probably would have thought you went too early. Do you find these races of great benefit? Do you find them exciting?

Ah the races are of huge benefit, nothing brings you on more than racing itself. When i started a month ago i was doing my turns but dying from doing them, now they are comfortable and i can even make breaks. I only went so early as group 1 wasnt working too well so myself and the other guy who i knew was strong figured we d be quicker on our own. The idea was to put as much time into the scratch group early and try hold them off which we did. It will be up to group 2 next year though so things will get harder but i ve come into it with a limited base (no winter training) so there is loads of scope for improvement.

Exciting? Yeah, i bloody love them. There are loads of scrubbers who just sit in and do nothing but i like taking turns and having a go.

You should give them a shot next year for definite.

nomadic

Really unlucky but you were so close you can take heart from the fact that you definately would've been 1st/2nd. Great going though.

Have you any plans to race A4 this year or will you be waiting until next year?

kennyb3

shotgunmcos wrote: »

kennyb3 I feel for ya man, thats hard luck. But hey you have the confidence in that breakaway that you have the legs so an assault another day is certain. You seem to be really enjoying the bike lately, a passion indeed!

Thanks, loving it alright. Still cant stop thinking about last night, it will be a while yet before i feel better about that one.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Also noticed a (HIM) beside your name on the challenge?!

Defo a mistake, prob when i was copying over the green.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Well done on the race despite the end, its a great advantage to know you are strong on hills. It means you can bias your race event choices to your strength

Think i like hills because others dont. I think its a total mental thing, i tell myself i like them and therefore i dont fear them. practising loads on them helps too.

kennyb3

nomadic wrote: »

Really unlucky but you were so close you can take heart from the fact that you definately would've been 1st/2nd. Great going though.

Have you any plans to race A4 this year or will you be waiting until next year?

Defo be next year, that would be a level or two above me. most of those races would average 37/38km/ph, although a good bunch would help but id still stuggle (we did less than 34km/ph last night although on hilly course). Id rather wait and make them a good experience rather than just try hang on out the back for first half then get dropped.

Other thing is i ve only done 3 months cycling, 2000 odd km, i wouldnt have the endurance for them.

A good winter base, with club spins all winter, some regular and hill intervals and i shoudl be in alot better position.

shotgunmcos

Bryan Keane gave us a talk one evening a while back on his training. He highly recommended rocking up to some races in the spring as he said its brilliant training and worth more than heading out and doing X kms with no purpose. I have never done one as I felt I'd be out of my depth and my entry level road bike would look silly, however a few of the lads did the A4 races in the spring and loved them. Great prep for Tri season. I'll be marking a couple into my calender next year for sure!

kennyb3

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Bryan Keane gave us a talk one evening a while back on his training. He highly recommended rocking up to some races in the spring as he said its brilliant training and worth more than heading out and doing X kms with no purpose. I have never done one as I felt I'd be out of my depth and my entry level road bike would look silly, however a few of the lads did the A4 races in the spring and loved them. Great prep for Tri season. I'll be marking a couple into my calender next year for sure!

Yep, racing is the only way to get race fit! Ah i wouldnt worry i thought lads in our club league would be looking at me on my noisy squeaky defy 4 but once you can ride noone gives a damn. In saying that i still plan on buying a nice shiny carbon bike next spring.

El Director

kennyb3 wrote: »

Yep, racing is the only way to get race fit! Ah i wouldnt worry i thought lads in our club league would be looking at me on my noisy squeaky defy 4 but once you can ride noone gives a damn. In saying that i still plan on buying a nice shiny carbon bike next spring.

Same as that, have a Defy 4 but will be looking for an upgrade. Must look into these A4 races also, where can one find info on them?

nomadic

El Director wrote: »

Same as that, have a Defy 4 but will be looking for an upgrade. Must look into these A4 races also, where can one find info on them?

The irish cycling website is good for all things cycling.
http://www.irishcycling.com/events/calendar/

Road races in general seem to have little to no info about them online. A place and phone number is pretty much all the info you get.
I think i'm going to give an A4 race a bash on saturday. I have the licence so I may as well.

kennyb3

El Director wrote: »

Same as that, have a Defy 4 but will be looking for an upgrade. Must look into these A4 races also, where can one find info on them?

Cycling Ireland Website has a calendar on it.

Come to think of it i lied above, there is a good chance i ll try the swords hill TT A4 race and maybe some other open hill TT's.

There is also plans for a boards TT up howth (see the cycling forum)

Macanri

+ 1 to the above kennyb, You can take heart from the fact that if not for the puncture you would have finished 1 or 2. Great stuff - you're getting some mileage in too. I think we have a new showry on our hands!!

kennyb3

31st July

Up at 5.30 sat morning, drove down. very wet driving down but thankfully rain cleared for the start. had checked the bike night before and that morning but amazingly 5 mins before we were due to start i noticed i had a puncture - how i do not know - anyway quick scramble and it was sorted.

109km in 3:54 (27.8km/ph). pacing left a lot to be desired. 1st hour was done near race pace. it was lovely flat roads and a nice big peloton. i like hills but my god that was punishing - non stop up and down. Giving it full gas up inishtoge didnt help either (a savage steep climb - someone said it was a Cat 1 climb) . passing lots up it was great fun at the time but not so great after. There was a constant 4km climb before the food stop into a headwind that nearly broke me. It was horrible. Made it to the food stop and stuffed myself - about 5 sandwiches, 2 pieces of brack, 2 pieces of madeira cake, a cup of tea.

The remaining 30k or so werent too bad but by the end my legs were screaming. some nasty little climbs just as you keep thinking you are nearly back to start. was so glad to get off the bike by the end.

I was completely fooled by the first hour of flat roads, after that hour it was 3 hours of climbs and descents, very little flat - very very tough. Id heard it was tough and hilly but was quite surprised just how much so.Spent most of the day with two lads from the cycling forum which helped as its nice to have company. Could of finished faster but a few times i waited for them at the top of hills by just rolling. In a way i was glad of the recovery anyway.

Enjoyable day but i was bloody shattered after, took a 2 hour nap, got up and went for few pints and then slept for 10 hours.

Off on holidays on sat for 2 weeks so wont be much to report for 3 weeks now.

Cycling YTD: 2239 km