Raising the bar a little...

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 30th June

Mon – Lunch. Recovery 8.3km run (04:19/km pace). HR130
Tues - Nada. Long day in Barcelona with work
Wed – Lunch. 12k run with 5 x 1km @ 03:34/km avg, 500m recovery. HR152
Evening. 2.3k swim. Pace 1:50/100m
Thur – Eve: 62km TT bike @ 32.0kph with last 30k @ 34kph. HR 123
Fri – Rest
Sat – Early am. Brick – 180k bike (27.7kph, HR 126) Run 6.15k (04:14/km,
HR149
Sun – AM. Run 23.15km @ 4:17/ km pace. HR140
Eve: 2.5 OW swim. @ 01:57 /100m.


Reasonable week overall, 11 weeks and counting.

Even taking the unplanned rest day on Fri, the week turned out ok. I decided to drop that evening swim, I was a bit late leaving work and just wanted to do Daddy stuff when I got home
The Tues work trip turned into a 22hr day and even though I was well down on sleep hrs I performed well in the Wed sessions. The 1km run reps were planned at 3:45/km pace but when I got out there turned to be more progressive. No 4 was really tough up hill into a big incline and this set me up for no 5, this one into a drag where I managed to top the hr out over 181. A new record for 2014
The evening swim was again supposed to be steady and I was feeling good in the water.
The outbound 30k Thur eve TT bike was a bit miserable, into the rain and headwind but the return was solid with the tail wind was decreasing big time. I managed to keep min pace well over 30kph on all the 7 long drags home. I just achieved that once during 2012 IM season
I wasn’t looking forward to the Sat long solo bike, the longest of this campaign. Early out conditions were reasonable but when I reached summit of the the 4k climb at Bohernabreena, the weather became worse very quickly. The 40k long road to Baltinglass was fecking miserable into the heavy drizzle that turned into rain. The headwind was there but thankfully not too bad. Then my legs failed to co-operate as I got cold. After the brief stop at Tinahely (123k) form improved as the temperature rose and the last 2hrs I was feeling much stronger and legs responsive.
It was 22c when I started the run off the bike with the Charlie the retriever dog for company. I was surprised by the amount of sweat I was loosing at the end. The poor dog was fooked and I thought I was going to need to administer the last rites to him.
I felt strong in Sunday’s run especially the last 12k. The week was rounded off with the OW outing that evening. Pace was well down but conditions were not the best.
So in summary mostly positives all round. A 3rd swim would have been nice though.

Looking ahead:
It’s becoming increasingly difficult in juggling everything in these last few weeks. The race start on Sept 14th can’t come quick enough now.
Also July is going to be crazy. In looking at upcoming races I should probably drop the BoTE in favor of a long bike / run weekend but it been so close to home is going to be hard to do so.
This week a one long day work trip to Heidleberg on Mon meant I have no time to get over tiredness from the weekend. As the OH has Wed and Thurs evenings with work means I’ll be lucky just to squeeze in a turbo those days. On Fri we’re off to Cote dAzur for 12 days. OW swims and trial runs will be the daily norm. I fecked up the scheduling of this as TDF is in the area for 2 stages mid week. But I’m really looking forward to the time off, time with the family and discovering the region there.

catweazle

Abhainn wrote: »

It was 22c when I started the run off the bike with the Charlie the retriever dog for company. I was surprised by the amount of sweat I was loosing at the end. The poor dog was fooked and I thought I was going to need to administer the last rites to him.

I wonder is it time Joe to get you to take on a horse over a 30k distance race

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 07/07

Mon – Nothing. Work trip Germany
Tue – Lunch. 12.9km run (04:15/km). HR136
Eve: Swim session 3100m
400m WU
400 x 2 (07:01, 07:00) off 8min,
300 x 3(5:12, 5:12, 5:12) off 6 min,
2 min break
200 x 3 (3:32, 3:31, 3:33) off 4 min
100 x3 (1:42, 1:46, 1:47) .
WD 100.
Wed – Eve Turbo. 75min 41.5km. Avg watts 217. HR 121
2 x efforts of 20min and 1 x 18min
Thur – Lunch. 10.3km run (04:14/km). HR138. Cancelled 5 x 1km run – groin tender
Fri – Rest. Travel hols
Sat – Eve: Run 11.2km (4:07/ km pace) HR147. Groin improved.
Sun – AM. Run 14.2km (4:12/ km pace) HR144
PM. 2.52km OW swim. Pace 02:04/100m


Week 7/7/13 Totals:
Swim x 2 – 5.6 km. Time – 1hr 57min
Bike x 1 – 41.5km. Time - 1h 15min
Run x 4 – 38.6km. Time - 2hr 24 min
Total Time – 6hr 36 min.


Weekly Summary 14/07
Mon – AM. Run 16.7km (4:17/ km pace). HR146.
Tues - AM. 3.05km OW swim. Pace 02:05/100m
Wed - AM. Hill run 13.0km (4:17/ km pace). HR146.
Col Du Canadel
Thurs - AM. Run 13.05km (4:19/ km pace). HR135.
PM. 2.2km OW swim. Pace 02:06/100m
Fri - AM. 3.84km OW swim. Pace 02:07/100m
OW Canadel
Sat - AM. Run 11.2km (4:15/ km pace). HR139.
PM. 1.67km OW swim. Pace 02:14/100m
Sun - AM. Hill run 12.0km (4:21/ km pace). HR146.


Week 14/7/13 Totals:
Swim x 4 – 10.76 km. Time – 3hr 48min
Bike x 0
Run x 5 – 43.0km. Time - 4hr 39 min
Total Time – 8hr 27 min.


Volume hrs low but 6 weeks to tune things up

The most recent recovery week was 1st week July. I think it was too big of a load drop from the 14hrs week previous but that was all that could be managed. Work trip on the Monday meant recovery wasn’t ideal either.

Hols -
How I would have loved a bike in the area where we were in the Corte d’Azure. Biking heaven, throngs of bikers out early every morning. The road surfaces were very good and in general, ideal for those that love some hills in picturesque scenery. But traffic was scary enough.
My favorite running session of the hols was Wed (I repeated it again on Sun) run up the 5km climb to Col Du Candel and back down again. I am not a fan of uphill running but I just loved this run maybe because of the hairpins and surrounding hills. I stretched the legs out then on the way down. Poor quads were in bits for 2 days. As mentioned I repeated it again on Sun and while the down wasn’t as quick as before the legs were fine after.
No swim session stood out. In general waters were good, with the only positive taken been the IM distance session on the Tues. this done in 80 mins, but disappointed with the pace. I am surprised at the gap in pace difference compared to if I was wearing a wet suite. I felt I was moving ok in all swims though. .
The best water moment was after the St Tropez run adventure. I miscalculated and ended up at the far end of the peninsula circ 17km instead of 12. In 28c conditions with no water this wasn’t wise. That dip in the crystal cool waters of ST will never be forgotten.

Week ahead:
Arrived back home on Tues and the plan for rest of week before BOTE was long TT bike on Wed and some sharpening up swim and run sessions. Happy to say all 3 completed. I’m planning an easy recce of the bike course this evening (55-60km) especially to take in the route from Laragh to T2. I’m looking forward to the race now.
With mid 20’s temp predicted at least I won’t have same problem as back in Rosses Point where the cold really affected me and I never got going

pgibbo

Best of luck this weekend Joe.

ST is a beautiful spot. My OH loved the moules frites around there.

Dory Dory

Best to you Joe!!! Looking forward to seeing how you get on and reading your report.

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 21st July

Mon – AM Run 13.25km run (04:15/km). HR139.
Noon- 2.05km OW swim. (2:11/100m)
Tue – Rest. Travel home
Wed – AM 127km TT bike @ 32.4kph. HR 127
Thur – Lunch run 11.68km with 6 x 400’s @ avg 79secs. HR 145 – Hot!
Late eve – 2k pool swim. 500WU then 10 x 100m avg 1:37 off 2min. WD 500m
Fri – PM. BOTE Recce TT Bike 56km @ 27.3kph. HR 123
Sat – AM Run 10.36km with 6 x 100m pick up’s. (04:15/km)
Sun – Beast of the East Triathlon 2:26:55. Position 97th (out of 317)


Summary:
Totals (incl race) :
Swim x 3 – 5.55km. Time – 1hr 51min
Bike x 3 – 221km. Time - 7h 16min
Run x 4 – 44km. Time - 3hr 04 min

Total Time – 12hr 14 min.

The BOTE was not a key race. I did not taper for it though I expected to perform a bit better. Looking back at the HR data it would appear I was somewhat lazy in this. More below:

Even if I underperformed in the race I was relatively satisfied with the week.
It was 2 weeks since I was last on the bike and been still hols from work on the Wed I went straight into the long TT. I had a slight tailwind on the outbound 60km where I avg’s 33kph at the turn in Ferns. Headwind was noticeable in sections on the return but held the sub 4hr bike well.
I got in 2 sharpening up sessions on Thurs. I knew Fri evening wasn’t ideal for bike race recce, but I was committed to it. It was 4 years since I rode that last 7km section into T2. I still didn’t enjoy it.

BOTE report
There was some fatigue in the legs Sun morning. It shouldn’t really have affected my swimming though. I was expecting more. Kurt and Iwere looking forward to this bit

Swim:
Lake conditions were really good. No excuse there.
Immediately though I had goggle problems. They began to leak and fog up. Also they were tinted dark and in dim conditions I always seem to perform worse. I’ve seen it before those during sessions. Stupid, stupid. Because of this it seemed any enthusium went out of me then.
As I exited the water it said 27:5x on the watch. I had expected to go 2 mins quicker. A lazy effort. My time 28:10. 1:53/100m
(On Monday I got into the pool and covered 3250m in 59 mins. I took 2 quick water breaks. Pace 1:50/100m. Enough said)
Like Kurt the jury is out on my 2013 wetsuit. My arms feel constricted like the effort to pull through the water is greater than my 5 year old suit.

T1 –
Not the quickest. The long run to the mount bike line must have been 500m

Bike:
I passed a few but more passed me to the turnaround section than I liked. Many sections of the road surface were really rough. One could feel it soaking up the momentum
The legs finally began to fire up a bit and I had a reasonable last 15 km on the toughest sections. But as HR suggests not much of an effort
My time 1:17:12. HR 140.

T2 -
Long run back from dismount.

Run:
I focused on controlling the run for the first clicks. Well they are the toughest. The 2nd km is really steep with 12% gradients in places. Still my time for that was really slow (05:04km). To keep my occupied I set a target of overtaking 20 on the run. I soon seen Kurt ahead and then Interested and opened up the cylinders a bit. I was disappointed at it been short at 8.65km this year. I overtook 26. It could have been 30+ if it was previous years distances.
Time 34:12. HR158.

The usual busy week and now half way through it.
In Sligeach this weekend and I will take part in the inaugural Castleconnor 5k road race on Sun. It will be good meeting up with many old mates and faces in this. I won’t be running too mad though but hopefully will run the ass off a few young lads. With the long bike on Sat and then literally racing off to see The Boss after the 5k its all go.

Dory Dory

The Wrecking Ball Tour?? Saw it here in the states...you'll love it. Bruce is old school....he gives you everything he's got. And well done on BOTE. Are you pacing or racing DCM??

Abhainn

Dory Dory wrote: »

The Wrecking Ball Tour?? Saw it here in the states...you'll love it. Bruce is old school....he gives you everything he's got. And well done on BOTE. Are you pacing or racing DCM??

Yes DD. We just love him over here. Even though I'm a huge fan this will my first time seeing him. His music is always in my ears on long bikes

Plan is to DCM as sub 3 pacer.

pgibbo

Well done at the weekend.

The Boss will be great. The Limerick gig was top class! :cool:

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 28th July

Mon – Eve. 3.25k Pool swim Pace 1:50/100m.
Tue – Lunch. Run 11.62km (04:14/km) HR 140
Wed – Lunch. Run 11.25km (04:12/km) HR 139
Eve. 3K OW swim. Pace 1:52 / 100m
Thur – Eve Turbo. 76min 41.4km. Avg watts 211. HR 119
3 x increasing efforts of 20min
Fri – Rest
Sat – Early am. Brick – 150k bike (30.3kph, HR 128)
Run 7km (03:55/km, HR149)
Sun – AM Run 23km (04:12/km) HR 139

Summary:
Totals:
Swim x 2 – 6.25km. Time – 1hr 56min
Bike x 2 – 192km. Time - 6h 15min
Run x 4 – 53km. Time - 3hr 41 min

Total Time – 11hr 51 min.

It was another challenging week with OH working late 2 nights and then travelling length of the country at the weekend. I squeezed a lot in but I can see definite improvements.
Only 2 x swims but Mondays long steady pool swim was reassuring over the pathetic race swim day before. Wed OW was a bit on the slow side trying with old wet suit but I am not too concerned.
Only 2 x bikes also though they again were solid. Sat long bike was very enjoyable. I stuck to the main roads. Around 50k in the effort didn’t seem right so lowered saddle by a few mm (bro’s bike) and thereafter all was fine. To bring total clicks up I decided on coast rd around Easkey. No wonder it’s a king place for surfers, as the headwind was my penance for taking that route, resulting in avg pace was lowered I the end.
Route Bike

I felt really good on the run off the bike on Sat. The legs felt really light running the sub 4min/km pace.
Wasn’t looking forward to Sun run. I decided against the local 5k race. The timing of it wouldn’t have worked anyway as the Boss in Kilkenny was 3.5hrs from there.
So the correct decision was a medium run. But tired legs, a few Guinness with Dad night before together with 22c were all ingredients for a horrible run. I took the first 6k easy on the way up towards the OX mts. I felt really good from there and had to pull back on the pace a few occasions.

Run Sunday

Speaking of the Boss and not forgetting the E Street legends, well simply it was unforgettable. What a performance. .

Looking ahead: There is the small matter of the HIM in Athlone this weekend. The course seems flat and weather seems ok with light winds though it will be warm on the run. I have set a nice target time. With 5 weeks to go till the big one I need to perform well.

pgibbo

Best of luck this weekend Joe.

The Boss puts on some show! :cool:

Dory Dory

pgibbo wrote: »

Best of luck this weekend Joe.

The Boss puts on some show! :cool:

I second these sentiments!

griffin100

Best of luck the weekend. If this race works out I might consider it next year.

Kurt Godel

Good luck at the weekend Joe. Kill that swim demon from Lough Dan.

shotgunmcos

+1 good luck at the weekend. Solid training as usual Obe One:)

Abhainn

griffin100 wrote: »

Best of luck the weekend. If this race works out I might consider it next year.

There's always an uncertainty regarding new races. The communication from race organisers to now may have been light but going by race briefing doc published I am feeling more confident of the event.

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Good luck at the weekend Joe. Kill that swim demon from Lough Dan.

Kurt I still can't believe I swam so slow. Yes will do better on Sun:)

shotgunmcos wrote: »

+1 good luck at the weekend. Solid training as usual Obe One:)

Hrs are still a bit though though at least I have consistancy. Hopefully will up by a notch for the next 4 weeks
Not sure if I love or hate Obe One:rolleyes:

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 4th August

Mon – Rest
Tue – Eve. 4k Pool swim. Pace 1:47/100m per all sets.
IM test set
4x400 rest 30. Avg: 07:15
4x300 rest 20. Avg: 05:20
4x200 rest 10. Avg: 03:32
4x50 rest 5. Avg. 0.51
Total time = 72:12 – rest (4.15) => IM predicted swim (67:57).
Wed – Lunch. Run 8.33km (04:13/km) HR 132
Eve Turbo. 75min 41.7km. Avg watts 217. HR 119
3 x increasing efforts of 20min, 210W, 220W, 230W+
Thurs - Lunch. Run 13.27km (04:14/km) HR 144
Eve. 2.52k OW swim. Pace 1:49 / 100m
Fri – Lunch. Run 10.1km (04:27/km) HR 130
Sat – PM TT Bike 41km, 31.3kph, HR 127
Sun – Shadowman HIM. Time 4:40:26. Position 14th / 210

Summary:
Totals: (incl Race)
Swim x 3 – 8.47km. Time – 2hr 32min
Bike x 3 – 175km. Time - 5h 17min
Run x 4 - 51km. Time - 3hr 33 min

Total Time – 11hr 27 min.

I was feeling relatively good in the days leading up to the Shadowman half ironman.
As one can see from weekly summary there was no rest days prior to the race. Though I took it easy on Fri but in retrospect I should have eased back more on the 40k on the TT on the Sat. The legs felt fresh then, silly me I should have kept more of this freshness for the following day’s race

The Tues IM swim test set stood out this week. It wasn’t a bad result. All sets were at a good effort and right now I would probably be pleased with a 67 min split on race day.
The turbo on Wed was ok also but runs in the week were all on the easy side.


Shadow Man Half Iron
I travelled down morning of the race. Up at 4:45am but felt fine as I managed a great sleep the night before.
Registered with ease and biked the 4km to the lovely settling of Cossan Lake.
A bit surprised but happy as I heard 250 had signed up for the race.
Perfect conditions promised a fast race

Swim:
I had found a solution to my recent goggle issues. Thanks to El D the Finis, Lightning were the choice.
The swim start was surprisingly calm and I settled in well. Because of the low sun it was very difficult to see the 1 yellow buoy in the far distance. This was placed before the right turn on the outward stretch. 870m is a fair distance but I followed a pack who I hoped were swimming straight. I got a few drafts in to the turn and figured I swam straight.
The next buoy (orange) was about 200m away and then the turn for home. I was feeling good and pulled ahead of the group I was with at this point but there was no one even close to draft off. I maintained effort and swam toward the last yellow buoy. Instead of keeping this last one on my right I swam between this and orange bout towards the exit. I got a shock when I heard a yell “get back and swim around the yellow buoy”. Blast, blast I turned back and did what I was told. This cost me about 50m and I exited the water in 33:33. It should have been 32:4x.
Placing 28th / 210. Pace 1:43 / 100 (1950m;))

T1
I didn’t dwell on my error - my first route error ever in triathlon. At least I swam well Transition went fine

Bike:
It takes me a while to warm up on the bike these days. I wasn’t going to push things early. Target was 2:40 for the 91km bike.
With the sun out I eased into the first 20k (35mins) and wasn’t worried I was been overtaken by a few.
By 25k I was ok but felt the legs weren’t responding the way they should. I reflected on the 40km bike the day before but in reality it shouldn’t have been the reason at this stage. Through 40km in 1:09 and feeling somewhat better though I wished it had been a degree or two warmer. It was still 20c though. The winds still light though seemed to be a headwind in places. By 60km I was closing in on a few ahead and this is the best I felt in the race at we left Roscommon behind. Bikers were few and far between as the headwind increased and drags seemed frequent. Through 80km in about 2:21 and I knew my target wasn’t really going to be.
And then my 2nd error at 87km. I should have taken a right at the next round about but went straight on here. I did glimpse a small sign right at the roundabout point but decided to bike ahead to the next junction. Blast, feck again. I turned around again annoyed at my self.
I eventually got into T2 hoping I could run strong
Bike
2:44:26. 39th / 210. (33.7kph, 92.4km)

T2
I easily found my bike rack location and my gear which had been transported from T1.
Only needed to change 1 sock removed all my gels from shoes (or so I thought)

Run:
I got into my running form quickly. The first 1km was into a long drag but I took it handy. It was warming up and 21k in this wasn’t going to be easy. I ran steadily and very controlled focusing on the next runner ahead. The 2 lap route took us down lovely back roads where we had to tackle a few hills.
Mid way through the first lap my left calf became sore and I thought first my Kinvara shoe was split open. It was only when I removed my shoe at the finish did I find a High 5 wrapper
I was doing sub 4:00/km and felt strong but at no point did it feel uncomfortable and I actually found the warm temperatures appealing. I also just wanted to make up as many places as possible. First lap completed and then confusion agin, **** not another error, I had only done over 9.5km and thought I had to enter the finish area to make up the 900m I was down. But a steward quickly reassured me to go straight on.
I had mixed feeling then. This was going to be short, I could perhaps catch a few more if it was the full distance.
Lap 2 went quickly also. More now on the course and I got regular comments on how fast I was running. Coming into last 2kn onset of cramp in my left hamstring meant I had to shorten my stride. With less than a click to go I spotted 3 runners about 200m ahead who all seemed to be on their 2nd lap. I got the last with 20m to go.
Run
1:16:36. 3rd / 210. (4:00/km,19.15km)

Finish 4:40:26. 14th.

Overall I’m happy with my performance. I needed this after 2 poor resulots in Sligo and BoTE. If the 2 errors were not committed and run was 21km I believe I would have come 8th in 4:43-4:44.
I am a bit concerned at the bike performance though. The legs didn’t feel fresh but without that Sat bike it may have been different

Krusty_Clown

Cracking result Joe. Good to see you back on top of the leaderboards. Any running races over the next few months? Seems to be a good crowd headed to Athlone for the 1/2, on the 14th September.

shotgunmcos

Great going. Looking good for a crack at a 10 main or so pb in a few weeks :pac:

Kurt Godel

That's a nice pace for your swim. Good to get that BOTE fecker off your back, there's nothing worse than exiting the water with a sh!t time, it feeds misery into the rest of your race. A couple of errors and a nagging bike doubt: no bad thing to have them now, helps to focus on the A race.

Abhainn

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Cracking result Joe. Good to see you back on top of the leaderboards. Any running races over the next few months? Seems to be a good crowd headed to Athlone for the 1/2, on the 14th September.

Heh KC probably no more races till the small matter of cracking a sub 10hr IM that same day in Sept

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Great going. Looking good for a crack at a 10 main or so pb in a few weeks :pac:

Cheers MCOS. Yes that is the plan

griffin100

Great result. Peaking at exactly the right time.

Dory Dory

Total class as usual. Well done!!

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 11th August
Mon – Eve: Easy 30k bike. 29.0kph, HR 107
Tue – Lunch Easy Run. 10.05km (04:31/km)
PM. 2km Easy Pool swim. Pace 1:59/100m
Wed - Early am. 52km TT bike commute to work @ 29.1kph. HR 118
PM. 53km TT bike home @ 30.7kph. HR 120
Thurs - Lunch. Run 13.3km (04:18/km) HR 138
Eve: Swim session 3500m
400m WU
400 x 3 off 8min avg 07:00,
300 x 3 off 6 min, avg 05:12
200 x 3 off 4 min, avg 03:27
100 x3 off 2 min, avg 1:41
50 x 2 off 1 min, avg 0:49
Pool time up. No breaks
Fri – Rest
Sat – Early am. Brick – 151k bike (32.0kph, HR 125)
Run 6.50k (04:07/km, HR152)
Sun – Long run home from Lough Tay 31km @ 04:03/km. HR 143

Summary:
Totals:
Swim x 2 – 5.5km. Time – 1hr 51min
Bike x 4 – 285km. Time - 9h 14min
Run x 4 - 59.7km. Time - 4hr 10 min

Total Time – 15hr 15 min.

Last week was my biggest week so far. Even after the HIM on the Sun the body seemed ok though my back was sore and legs seemed better than expeted.
I used Mon and Tue as recovery days. I had planned to use the road bike on Wed but the night before I spotted the rear wheel had barring issues and had to resort to the TT. I need a 3rd bike!
My back was still sore on the early bike ride so I took it easy but was improved on the return home.
I felt very flat on the lunch run on Thur and decided then on the Fri rest day. It’s funny but sometimes when you feel fecked, then you pull out a good workout. That’s what happened on the Thurs night swim session and I held all the sets well. I ran out of time in the end. So couldn’t complete the last 50’s or WD
I wasn’t feeling the love for the first 50k of the long solo TT on Sat. Into a bit of a headwind with legs flat I finally began to enjoy things with 20k to go into Enniscorthy. I only managed 29kph at the turn. However the return flew by.
The Sun run was officially my first long run since Boston at 30k or so. Instead of my usual out and back long run route during my dreams of the night I recalled a local guy saying he once ran home to Wicklow from the Sally Gap on one occasion. As we had planned a family outing there the next morning, why not run home?
From the railway sleepers that bring you into end of the WW 2 leg I could see Wicklow head in the far horizon. That got my attention. I set off and took the first few km with caution, didn’t want to wreck my quads too much. There was a big drop in elevation in the first 4 km. Run went well, turnover was good and happy enough and holding the pace in the last 10k
Long Run from the Mts

Where am I now with 4 weeks to go?
I set myself the following target way back in Jan

Swim 1:05.
Bike 5:15
Run 3:10

Total: Sub 9:45

However the last 6 weeks loads are:
Week 1. 15:15hrs (this week)
Week 2. 11:27hrs
Week 3. 11:51hrs
Week 4. 12:14hrs
Week 5. 8:27hrs
Week 6. 6:36hrs


Same phase in 2012:
Week 1. 16:10hrs
Week 2. 14:25hrs
Week 3. 12:55hrs
Week 4. 15:36hrs
Week 5. 16:23hrs
Week 6. 9:26hrs

While the weekly loads are down in 2012 training has been consistent and I feel strong. I am also hoping what I learned from Barcelona will transpire into race day.

Like 2012 I am most concerned about my bike, but that was the only target I hit that day. I would have like to have had picked up set of fast wheels on the bike but couldn’t justify the cost. I still have the same set the bike came with. So a 5:25 finish with a similar effort would be great
With each week I am feeling stronger on the swim so the initial target of 65 mins might not be too far off
On Sep 14th I will have fuelled up better for the run. 3:10 is achievable.

griffin100

Abhainn wrote: »

With each week I am feeling stronger on the swim so the initial target of 65 mins might not be too far off

You could try the Triathlete Europe IM swim predictor set, I got it from Tango's blog.

The set is:
4x400 rest 30
4x300 rest 20
4x200 rest 10
4x50 rest 5.
Take your total time from start to finish and deduct the rest period (4.15) which equals your IM predicted swim. I've done it a couple of times and its a nice session.

Abhainn

griffin100 wrote: »

You could try the Triathlete Europe IM swim predictor set, I got it from Tango's blog.

The set is:
4x400 rest 30
4x300 rest 20
4x200 rest 10
4x50 rest 5.
Take your total time from start to finish and deduct the rest period (4.15) which equals your IM predicted swim. I've done it a couple of times and its a nice session.

Yes P did it week before last.
See above.
I agree a good session and it keeps you focused

griffin100

Abhainn wrote: »

Yes P did it week before last.
See above.
I agree a good session and it keeps you focused

Ah, I missed it in amongst all your other training

Abhainn

Weekly Summary 18th August

Mon – Lunch Run. 6.6km (04:37/km). HR 126
Eve: OW 2.25k swim. Pace 1:53 /100m
Tue – Lunch Run. 11.6km (04:18/km). HR 136
Eve 3.05k. Swim session.
1k steady
5 x 100m off 1:50, avg 1:43, 50 easy
5 x 100m off 1:50 avg 1:44
1k steady.
Wed - Lunch. Run 10.1km (04:19/km) HR 138
Thurs – Pissed off - Rest
Fri – Early AM Turbo 75min 40km. Avg watts 200. HR 117
3 x increasing efforts of 20min. ,
Eve: Swim session 3450m
400m WU
200 x 5 off 4min avg 03:22, 50 easy
150 x 5 off 3 min, avg 02:29, 50 easy
100 x 5 off 2 min, avg 01:37, 50 easy
50 x 5 off 1 min, avg 0:47
400 WD
Sat – AM Very wet and windy TT Bike – 100k. 30.4kph, HR 130
Sun – AM. Long run 34km @ 04:13/km. HR 145
Lunch. 1.5km Easy Pool swim. Pace 1:54/100m

Summary:
Totals:
Swim x 4 – 10.25km. Time – 3hr 24min
Bike x 2 – 140km. Time - 4h 34min
Run x 4 - 62.3km. Time - 4hr 08 min

Total Time – 12hr 06 min.

The last run in - 24 days to go

All in all this was a crap, hard and forgettable week. This training can be a depressing venture at times. Last week was partially my own doing but also some elements were out of my control.
The positives were decent swimming and the longest run to date on Sunday
The previous week was my longest this campaign. Good recovery requires sufficient sleep, I didn’t get enough and I felt wrecked all week.
I planned some bikes for mid week, then they got pushed to Thur and Fri but poor weather meant Thurs didn’t happen nor the fall back turbo session that evening. I just had enough of it by then.

My legs were in bits after the downhill long run last Sun. I was hoping that easy active recovery would alleviate the soreness but alas the muscle damage was even still evident on Fri morning. Wed’s run was also made worse by the humid, heavy conditions – this was one of my 5 worst felt runs ever I think.

Because of the crap weather Sat I pushed out the bike by a few hrs. Thinking a clearance was imminent BB67 and moi set off. He planned 2 hrs I planned up to 5. I was out late enough night the previous with the OH but didn’t do the dog on it. (Still some fine craft beers in a new upstairs bar in Wicklow:)
Still I felt ok but the wind and rain became worse. Dom left me at 1:30hrs, I wanted to can the session. Then I started to get cold but thankfully conditions improved. A 3:15hrs bike wasn’t terrible but I wanted 3hrs more from this week. No run off the bike, one of those days.
The engine felt fine on Sun long run but my lower legs were much tighter than ever. Still a decent 2hrs 23min run.

With a little luck this week should be my biggest one yet.
I might do the running club’s 5k race on Thur, that is if everything is falling into place.
So far no work trips planned in next 3 weeks (fingers crossed).
I already declined a couple for the week of the race.

Krusty_Clown

Abhainn wrote: »

Still some fine craft beers in a new upstairs bar in Wicklow:)

May need to come out for a visit after DCM. What time is the last bus back to Dublin?

BeepBeep67

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

May need to come out for a visit after DCM. What time is the last bus back to Dublin?

9am