Raising the bar a little...

Abhainn

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

There should be a fine selection of craft beers at the Bloom festival in Phoenix Park this weekend, so you just have to convince your other halfs to drive you in, to admire the flower and shrub selection.

She was actually going to drag me into it on Sun and I wasn't keen, haven't second thoughts now ....

Kurt Godel

Driving near Rathnew today, I point out a blue singlet running towards us;

-See this lad coming, I say to the kids, He is a really fast runner, he did a marathon in 2:36.
-Is he even faster than you, Dad?
-Even faster than me.

Suitably impressed, we all waved, smiled, and beeped as you went past. You'd think you might return a smile for the kids, ya sour-faced stuck up snob.

BeepBeep67

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Driving near Rathnew today, I point out a blue singlet running towards us;

-See this lad coming, I say to the kids, He is a really fast runner, he did a marathon in 2:36.
-Is he even faster than you, Dad?
-Even faster than me.

Suitably impressed, we all waved, smiled, and beeped as you went past. You'd think you might return a smile for the kids, ya sour-faced stuck up snob.

He was deep in thought planning his BBQ in the Sunny South East.

Abhainn

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Driving near Rathnew today, I point out a blue singlet running towards us;

-See this lad coming, I say to the kids, He is a really fast runner, he did a marathon in 2:36.
-Is he even faster than you, Dad?
-Even faster than me.

Suitably impressed, we all waved, smiled, and beeped as you went past. You'd think you might return a smile for the kids, ya sour-faced stuck up snob.

I recall a "beep" alright. Didn't think it was for me.;)
BB67 was probably right, I was also hoping I had enough beer in for the guzzlers that were invited

catweazle

What with that Union Jack Abhainn, was the above picture a god save the queen sing along or was the logs about to be lit for a flag burning session?

Abhainn

catweazle wrote: »

What with that Union Jack Abhainn, was the above picture a god save the queen sing along or was the logs about to be lit for a flag burning session?

No singing J and I daren't burn it. My kids would have killed me them been half English. Thankfully they have Irish passports though

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 3/06/12

Mon – Rest
Tue – Early am 7.00 mile steady run (06:48m/m). HR 141
Evening - 2.3km swim. Pace 2:03/100m
Wed – Evening. 10.7 mile steady run (06:39m/m). HR 143
Thur – Lunch. 6.35 mile steady run (06:48m/m) HR 133
– Evening 2.75km steady swim in 55:08. Pace 02:00/100m
Fri – Early am. 53.5km bike commute to work @ 29.2kph. HR 125
PM . 55km bike home 29.5kph. HR 123
Sat – AM. 14.0 mile steady run (06:44 m/m). HR143
Sun – Rest

Totals:
Run x 4 – 38.1 miles. Time 4hr 16min
Bike x 2– 108.5km. Time - 3h 43min
Swim x 2 – 5.05km. Time - 1hr 42min
Total Time – 9hr 42 min.

Solid enough and HR avg’s better
It ended up been a recovery week of sorts. Well that’s my view as I failed to get in nought on Sunday, no bike or swim. 2 rest days in a week, a first for a while.
I had watched the Met rainfall radar for most of the Sunday expecting it to clear up by late afternoon and get in a couple hours. I could have opted for the turbo but my head wasn’t in it, probably partially due to a couple of Proper Jobs at our wet BBQ day before (Ta BB67)
Never mind I told myself sure it had been a good week overall. Though my little girl said to me on Sat morning “Daddy your arms are getting muscily” Off I sprinted to the scales and sure she was right, Feck I was gaining weight. Mummy seemed happier though.
Only 2 swims this week. The first was a bit of a disaster, no not down to in ability but due to the fact that I packed an old elastic less pair of trunks heading out the door. Even two safely pins I got from the life guards couldn’t prevent the bloody thing slipping down my arse. The 2nd swim was much better. My longest to date and even this week has already seen further significient gains. A 1:15 3.8km swim may be well achievable on the day I dare to say.
As I mentioned I missed my long weekend bike. That will be sorted this weekend when I think the Wicklow hills shall get a nice tour. I must remember to avoid the Wicklow 200 in Sunday though.
Thankfully the running is coming back into form. Saturdays’14 miler felt very controlled and solid. The legs felt no tiredness from the previous days 2 bikes. I will start to involve more pick ups in these runs now.
A few weeks now to Tri Athlone, my first tri race of the season. I may run the Dunshaughlin 10k also the week before.

Kurt Godel

Give me a shout if you fancy an OW swim some evening- need to start getting some of these in myself, and the company would motivate.

Abhainn

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Give me a shout if you fancy an OW swim some evening- need to start getting some of these in myself, and the company would motivate.

Great. Where would you swim and what days would suite?
I would normally swim in Wicklow harbour, around the north pier and then down close to the Murrough. This week looks crap weather wise. Hoping to get out Sat afternoon when waters have calmed down again

tunguska

Abhainn wrote: »

I may run the Dunshaughlin 10k also the week before.

Good stuff. What with all the cycling and swimming I thought you'd lost the plot and gone native.
I'll be there in dunshaughlin so hopefully run into you at some point. You doing berlin or dublin marathon?

Kurt Godel

Abhainn wrote: »

Great. Where would you swim and what days would suite?
I would normally swim in Wicklow harbour, around the north pier and then down close to the Murrough. This week looks crap weather wise. Hoping to get out Sat afternoon when waters have calmed down again

Have done little OW swimming this year, Courtown would be usual, although it was very tough conditions when I was in last Sunday, the lifeguards aged 20 years when I was in. Arklow is handier, but the sewage issue puts me off. Wicklow harbour sounds good, I'd imagine its a bit sheltered? I'll pencil in Saturday afternoon.

Some of the Glacial lakes in the hills are good too, Lough Firrib is awesome for the views. Bit of a run to get there, but worth it!

Abhainn

tunguska wrote: »

Good stuff. What with all the cycling and swimming I thought you'd lost the plot and gone native.
I'll be there in dunshaughlin so hopefully run into you at some point. You doing berlin or dublin marathon?

Just Dublin sub 3 probably. Won't be marathon racing again until Boston 2013
Sept 30th is main focus now

Abhainn

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Have done little OW swimming this year, Courtown would be usual, although it was very tough conditions when I was in last Sunday, the lifeguards aged 20 years when I was in. Arklow is handier, but the sewage issue puts me off. Wicklow harbour sounds good, I'd imagine its a bit sheltered? I'll pencil in Saturday afternoon.

Some of the Glacial lakes in the hills are good too, Lough Firrib is awesome for the views. Bit of a run to get there, but worth it!

Yes it is sheltered. Good will arrange time in a bit
I'll come to you next time

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 10/06/12
Mon – Nothing. Mini marathon helper all day.
Tue – Early am 7.25 mile steady run (06:41m/m). HR 134
- PM. Evening – 3.05km swim in 59:26. Pace 1:56/100m
Wed – Evening. TT bike 61.6KM @ 33.0KPH. HR128
Thur – Lunch. 7.05 mile steady run (06:42m/m) HR 145
– Evening - 2.25km steady swim in 44:35. Pace 01:58/100m
Fri – Early am. 6.4 mile easy run. (06:59m/m) HR 136
Evening Turbo. 75min with 1 x 15min, 2x 20 min efforts of 225 and 235 (x2) watts
Distance 41km. Watts 220. Cad 85.
Sat – AM. 14.0 mile steady run (06:39 m/m). HR144
2pm. 2km OW in 38:50. 1:56/100M
Sun – Brick session. Bike 115km @ 28.0kph. (4:08hrs) HR124.
Lumpy Long bike
3.55 mile run (06:38m/m). HR 144

Totals:
Run x 5 – 38.25 miles. Time 4hr 17min
Bike x 3– 218km. Time - 7h 15min
Swim x 3 – 7.30km. Time - 2hr 23min
Total Time – 13hr 55 min.

Best week yet with 11 sessions. Must get more sleep though…

Monday was my 2nd rest day I in a row where I had been hanging out with BB67 at the WMM.
I managed 3 decent swims this week. Tues effort was very satisfying and the pace solid throughout even at the end. I think I could have gone another 250m without the pace dropping. Hooked up with Kurt Godel for my first OW in Wicklow harbour on Sat. The company was great I normally swim on my own. He is a strong swimmer and Id say he would have lapped me if we had done a further 2 laps.
My runs were fine also. I’m happy at the mileage for the week. I was tired Fri am and took that session easy. Again the Sat 14 miler felt good and strong.
No bike commute to work this week due to weather and the fact that it was print week for the OH and she couldn’t work from home one afternoon. The Wed TT bike was ok at about IM effort though the return home should have felt easier.
The turbo was set up outside in the gales of the day and I found that fine.
I didn’t look forward to Sundays brick. Bit of a late night and felt tried setting out. Plan was to get in 4hrs bike, pace not important. My planned route would take in the Kilmac to Roundwood climb and then go south to Arklow via Rathdrum. However I met up with some of the Wicklow 200 and instead of going straight at past Avoca I went with a lad I was pacing and returned back towards home via the very lumpy Redcross route. I was fecking sick of it as pace dropped, but after a quick stop for a sandwich I felt fine again. The run off the bike was fine, surprised at the pace which was good.
This week well up to Thursday will be more interrupted. Work trip to Germany will affect the early part but hopefully will get in 8- 9 sessions.

Ok two new beers (well to me) to tell ye about. Its nice when you get free beer tastings:)

Jaiper Indian Pale Ale 5.9% by Thornbridge
This is a rather excellent beer even better than Proper Job of last week which was fantastic
Initially this tastes nice and smooth but then the hoppiness just bursts out of your mouth. If you see it buy it

IPA Indian Pale Ale 7% by O Dell Brewery
The 2nd beer again has a great hop taste. It is a lot sweeter that Jaiper so no more than 2 bottles would be enough. Again well worth a try

pgibbo

Cracking week considering Monday was a rest day.

Have you booked accomodation, etc for Callela?

Abhainn

pgibbo wrote: »

Cracking week considering Monday was a rest day.

Have you booked accomodation, etc for Callela?

Cheers pgibbo.

No haven't gotton around to accomodation yet. can you recommend?
Family is coming so they will want to be close to the beach

pgibbo

Abhainn wrote: »

Cheers pgibbo.

No haven't gotton around to accomodation yet. can you recommend?
Family is coming so they will want to be close to the beach

The spot I stayed was grand but I believe MCOS got a spot even closer that was self catering too. I stayed in Apart Hotel Safari. Basic, but clean and less than 5 minutes from the start and finish area.

Dory Dory

Nice work you've been doing!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Good weeks work put down there Joe. Are you doing straight swims or mixed sets in those sessions?

Abhainn

Celeste Rotten Tile wrote: »

Good weeks work put down there Joe. Are you doing straight swims or mixed sets in those sessions?

Straight swims still. Putting off mixed sets, need to sort it out.

Krusty_Clown

Great beers. I haven't tried Jaipur, but I've heard that it's magic. Just after sticking on a batch of IPA (should be like the O'Dells). Only another 5 weeks and it'll be cooked.

How are you getting on with the Garmin Edge? I like that temperature chart. Looks pretty accurate.

Abhainn

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Great beers. I haven't tried Jaipur, but I've heard that it's magic. Just after sticking on a batch of IPA (should be like the O'Dells). Only another 5 weeks and it'll be cooked.

How are you getting on with the Garmin Edge? I like that temperature chart. Looks pretty accurate.

I was lucky to get the 1 Jaipur.
Are you brewing your own too? If so I hope you arrange a tasting session;)

The Edge temp seems to be accurate enough to cloudy conditions, though it seems to be elevated a bit when sunny (2-3C)
In DC rainmakers review he didn't fine is so accurate

Krusty_Clown

Abhainn wrote: »

I was lucky to get the 1 Jaipur.
Are you brewing your own too? If so I hope you arrange a tasting session;)

Haha. I will indeed. A just reward after some tough session/race over the summer. I'm aiming for around 6.5% though (not driver friendly!). The last IPA I made was quite bitter (real English IPA style), but this time I'm hoping for something a bit closer to an American IPA, so the plan is to dry-hop it in a few days time with loads of Cascade hops. Pity it takes a good two months before it's ready!

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 17/06/12

Mon – Evening. Easy 7 mile run along The Murrough (07:05m/m). HR134.
Tue – Rest day, (ya) . Well red eye flight out (GER), back last flight.
Wed - Evening. TT bike 61.6KM @ 32.3KPH. HR125
Thur –Lunch 12.1km run with
5 x 1 Km
intervals, recovery 500 easy. Avg 3:19/km. HR 156.
– Evening - 2.25km steady swim. Pace 02:00/100m
Fri – PM. 8.15 mile steady run. (06:45m/m) HR 141
Sat – AM. 15.2 mile steady run (06:48 m/m). HR146
PM. 2.5km swim 50:15. 2:00/100M
Sun – Early am. TT Bike 121km @ 31.2kph. HR125.
Early TT Bike
PM. Recovery 1.25km swim

Totals:
Run x 4 – 37.85 miles. Time 4hr 16 min
Bike x 2– 183km. Time - 5h 48min
Swim x 3 – 6km. Time - 2hr 02min

Total Time – 12hr 06 min.
These weeks’ sessions weren’t spaced out ideally. It was a week where I had to squeeze them in around all the other stuff. The OH was working away also Tues (no the dog didn’t collect kids, make dinner, do home work, bath and put them to bed, read stories, say prayers before I arrived home close to midnight) thanks little sis,:) but I did manage to fit in sessions on Fri night and Sun when she had to work
I was advised by Kurt so sort my swim bi lateral breathing and improvement should come. Thurs pool wasn’t nice. I struggled, I was tired, probably from earlier run interval session. I drank much water when breathing from my left. Saturdays swim was better though.
I’ve said this before, I hate intervals with a passion. I do these on my own so that doesn’t help. I felt I needed a VO2 max session and it was ages since my last similar one. On this Thurs I was hoping I could avg close to 03:25 for the 5 x 1km torture Happily the avg coming out at 03:19. The first 3 were fine but I found the last very tough and was nearly at my end with 250 meters to go against the wind and slightly up hill. I was still very happy with the outcome. Legs were still shot on Fri’s run though which I got in before I collected the kids.
Sat mornings run (ideally should have been a bike outing but weather was cat) wasn’t pleasant in the early miles. HR was way up and I was sweating like a horse before a big race. I even thought of binning the run but thankfully the head told the body to cop on as it was only 15 miles.
Long TT bike Sun at silly 7:30am. I had to be back by 11:30 before OH headed Taste of D for rest of day. Legs were totally empty so I just let them spin over on way towards the turnaround near Ferns. Glad to say return was much better and the slight tail wind was welcome. My neck didn’t ache as badly as previous long TT and really only was noticeable around 100km compared to 70km on my last ride. So on that front things are looking up.
First tri is Sat week in Athlone Olympic and looking forward to that. Still not 100% decided on Dunshaughlin 10k this Sat. My PB is soft at 35:04, I want to lower that. But it been staged in the evening and well over an hrs drive away is putting me off the idea. We’ll see.

pgibbo

Abhainn wrote: »

My PB is soft at 35:04, I want to lower that

All I could do was laugh when I read that! Terrible having a soft PB like that :rolleyes:

Another solid week. Stick with the bilateral. I found it made a huge difference for me.

Krusty_Clown

I find that new road alongside the LUAS (right turn off of Cheeverstown Road) is excellent for intervals (particularly 1km repeats). Flat as a pancake and good soft tarmac. Stick to the left hand side of the road, and you don't have to cross any roads either. You'd hammer that PB in Dunshaughlin, particularly with a good quality field to drag you along.

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 24/06/12

Mon – Evening. 7 mile run (07:01m/m). HR135.
Tue – Lunch. 4.2 mile run (06:32m/m). HR137
Evening 2.75km swim 50:08. Pace 2:00/100M
Wed – Early am. 53.6km bike commute to work @ 30.0kph. HR 125
PM 54km bike home @ 30.4kph. HR 119!
Thur – Lunch 7 mile steady run. (06:36m/m) HR 136
Fri – PM. 2.8km swim 54:40. 1:57/100M
Sat – AM. 4.1 mile easy run with pickups (06:58 m/m). HR132
Evening 11.2 mile run with Dunshaughlin 10k Race in 34:20. HR 169
Sun – AM. Long Bike 121km @ 29.1kph. HR120.
Long Bike

Totals:
Run x 5 – 33.5 miles. Time 3hr 44 min
Bike x 3– 229km. Time - 7h 43min
Swim x 2 – 5.55km. Time - 1hr 45min
Total Time – 13hr 13 min.

The week gone by was a good one overall. The only negative was an OW omission that I had originally planned for the Sunday. This got dropped as I didn’t want to fear for my life from herself.
The two swims during the week show some improvement. I’m starting to get the hang of breathing on both sides which is better.
I am happy with the way the bike fitness is progressing also. Although my bikes don’t contain hard interval workouts the hilly routes are probably substituting for this
I wasn’t feeling up to much on the Wed commute home from work. As I started out the fresh east headwind wind I wasn’t looking forward to that bit of a climb up to Kilternan with rucksack on my back. But I soon found my legs and cruised home after that. HR 119 (64%) paints an efficient picture at a decent 30kph + average.
This was similar to Sundays long bike also. My legs ached after Sat nights 10k race and the first hour into the wind was all about spinning the legs. The ride itself was fine, again wasn’t worried about pace just getting time on the bike. I finished the ride on good legs in good form to hit the fun fair rides shortly after.

Dunshaughlin 10k Race
I just decided on doing this less than 24hrs previously. “No taper or rest days just get out and get a PB” I said to myself. Earlier in the morning I did a few mile with pickup’s with the dog. It was a delayed breakfast at 11am, some lunch at 1:30pm and then a load of pasta and chicken at 4:30pm. Yes I should have got a stitch during the race but thankfully it wasn’t until the WD with KC and club mates when this arose!
McMillian had me at 33:19 based on my London time. Even at peak fitness I wouldn’t get near that. 34:30-40 would be a good effort as I have done no real work at the speed end of things.
The race began and I took the pace steady. It been 12 months since my last 10k in this event and then it was painful. I looked around for a group, but nothing suited. Passed by a few runners and by 4k I was on my own and that continued to the finish.
I went through 5k in about 17:02 which has my about 10 secs up on my loose target I had set. I knew the 2nd half could be 15-20sec slower (I ran the last 5k 50secs slower in 2011).
As I hit the hill after 6k I think I was lacking some focus. Still on my own I was too far behind a small group ahead and my HR effort showed I should have had more in the tank. I pushed on fairly well up the drag to 8k and I expected then I could drive on home from there. Whatever it was I didn’t / couldn’t accelerate on from there. A clock finish time of 34:20 was there to greet me though it was a few seconds inside my own recorded time. HR max was only 174
I can do better.

14 weeks to go - Where am I at now?

The last 6 weeks loads are:
Week 1. 13:13hrs (this week)
Week 2. 12:06hrs
Week 3. 13:55hrs
Week 4. 9:42hrs
Week 5. 12:55hrs
Week 6. 11:25hrs

So far so good. Build phase will soon be completed and as the family is away from next week for 11 days I will have the opportunity to get extra work in during their time away.

Barcelona - Race Target:
Swim 1:15 – Still alot to do
Bike 5:30 - Achievable
Run 3:10 - Achievable

Next up is Tri Athlone Oly this Sat. Lets hope the organisers can get the bike and run distances correct this time around.

shotgunmcos

Love the matter-of-fact post.... oozing quality though and I haven't missed the targets at the bottom either... Have a good feeling you will tick the boxes :cool:

pgibbo

Nice PB Joe and I still reckon you'll swim faster than that on the day.

Good luck in Athlone this weekend.

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 1/07/12
Mon: Evening. Crap 2K OW swim. Pace: 2:04 HR112.
Tue: Early am 7.35 mile run (06:46m/m). HR137
Wed: Evening. 63km TT bike @ 31.6kph. HR 120
Thur: Lunch 7.1 mile steady run. (06:34m/m) HR 142
Evening: 2k pool swim. Pace 02:00 /100m
Fri: Rest
Sat: Race: Tri Athlone Olympic in 1:59:32. Position 61st Overall Bike
Sun - AM. Bike 73km @ 29.2kph. HR123. Steady Bike


Totals including Race:
Run x 3 – 21 miles. Time 2hr 14 min
Bike x 3– 173km. Time - 5h 33min
Swim x 3 – 5.2km. Time - 1hr 31min
Total Time – 9hr 25 min.

Sort of Recovery
Up to Sat’s race all of my bike and swim sessions to then felt poor and laboured. My runs on the other hand felt fine. In all honesty I didn’t know what to expect from the race.
My IM training to date is at a steady pace, with little time spent in zone 4 or higher. Any races whether it be road running races or triathlons prior to Barcelona facilitate the “training” at that higher intensity.

Triathlone Race Report
This was my second successive year at this event. I figured I should go some mins quicker and better than the 49th place from 2011. Feck sake all my displicines had improved and I had the Blue Triad SP motor. I forgot it was the national Championship until I studied the results 2 days later

Swim:
Initially I was happy that the swim was all downstream, then not too joyful it been short. Overall the outing was going to do little in terms of effort for the longer 3.8km planned in 3 months.
I swam ok, sighted well as the current flew us down the Shannon.
2011 9:42. Position 158th / 588. 11-1200m down
2011 27:35. Position 207 / 386. 1100m down, 400up.

T1
My grandmother of age 97 would have been quicker. Though, I did run well from the swim exit to bike (about 300m). Shouldn’t have bother with the socks as that is where I lost most time. Silly error.
2012 3:34
2011 2:38

Bike
The conditions didn’t provide for a super quick bike. The headwind outbound was varying in strength and there were some showers. I passed up to 15 from my wave in the first half but and was also passed by a couple. At 16km there was a drag of about 2k and together with a strong headwind the pace was definitely affected. However I seemed to be going quicker than most and actually wanted it to continue for a few more k’s so as to gain on those ahead. The turnaround point was short again at 19k. Why couldn’t the organizers have pushed it back a further 1000m to the preferred distance?
The homeward half was over quickly. Had a ding dong battle with a couple of TT Looks and P3’s on the route back. I had aimed for high 35kph / low 36kph pace but just felt ok with the result. The Blue felt really good

2012 1:04:30. 35.2kph (38k) Position 117th / 588. HR 150
2011 1:05:45 33. 33.9kph (36.6km). Position 142nd / 386. HR 150

T2
Transition error no. 2.
I ran back the long distance to in my bike shoes on the wet surface. I didn’t wanted to run the 10k with wet socks. Stupid. Should have binned the socks and ran with none on the run.

2012 2:21
2011 1:40

Run:
I got into my stride well. The garmin did pick up signal but then lost it. I couldn’t change the screen to view HR either so forgot about the bloody thing and ran on feel. The route changed slightly from 2011 which meant less congestion. I wasn’t 100% sure of how many laps there were this year (never assume route, always check – another error) so I estimated laps count on basis I was doing 36min / 10pace. The yoke picked up a signal during the 2nd lap. I began to get kms splits then to the end – avg 3:38-3:45. I enjoyed the last 1.5 laps and found myself sprinting up the carpet when I overtook a tall runner who thought he could out beat me. Going by data I would say I could have pushed more.

2012 0:38:12 (10.4km). Pace 3:40/km Position 12th / 588. HR 163
2011 0:39:15 (10.53km).Pace 3:43/km. Position 6th / 386. HR168

Summary: I think this was my best performance in a triathlon – pace wise. And initially I was happy with my performance but then more than disappointed at 61st overall position and getting chicked 3 times. Yes perhaps I should have improved on my transition times. A minute off the combined T1 + T2 may have seen me improve to top 50.

Week ahead:
Big week is in the making - half way through already! First 180km bike planned for the weekend (55km longer than I ever rode before), weather not looking too favourable though.