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Raising the bar a little...
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Week ending 4th July 10
Detail:
Mon:
Was out watching that mess of an English team last night, had too many Keo beers. Result? Fell out of bed cut my ear and walloped my jaw. Penance for this? A 9 mile run to Curium beach at 11am.
First 1.2 miles are tough up hill then the next 4 are fast downhill testing the quads with last 3 or so more gentle. Conditions about 28C but got through this even though I was somewhat dehydrated; head was woozy and jaw was sore.
Summary: 9 miles at 06:37 pace. HR – N/A. (On the blink)
Afternoon:
OW swim of 1500m or so in very choppy waters in around 41 mins. I was just happy to get this done.
Tues:
Evening run of 6.2 miles about 1 hour before sunset
Tough 5k up to the village of Kivides and I wasn’t expecting this to be easy Time up was 24:20. The return 5k was testing on the quads as they ached from yesterdays downhill trot. Back time was 19:08.
Summary: 6,2 miles at 07:00 pace. HR 149.Temp 25C
Checked my log from this same run from last September. This run was done at exact same effort as then but approx 2 mins quicker this time. Not bad.
Wed:
An evening run around Souni village and surrounding area, taking in a new link road.
There are no flat routes up here. The routes have either long tough drags or steep assents and descents.
Short run of 4.5 miles in before mentioned profile at 07:06 pace. HR145
Temperature 27C
Thurs:
Early AM run of 6 miles at 07:21 pace. HR 136. Route: Curium beach and out towards Akrotiri and return. Temp 24C.
This was an intended easy run. Legs (calves) are really aching during the first mile of this one. I was trying to pick up a new pair of Vomero 5’s before I left on holidays as my current Vomero 4 are well past it but it didn’t happen. The profiles of past few days’ runs and poor footwear are testing my legs. Just need to keep them to last another week.
Straight after the run it an OW swim of 1500m in 39 mins. The water was not as choppy as Monday’s efforts.
Didn’t feel great towards the end and head hurt and in general didn’t feel well. The goose bumps even made an appearance, a first sign of oncoming heat exhaustion. Luckily it was over quickly. Must always wear a hat on these early runs in future.
It was off to the water park then and what a busy day it was.
Fri:
Rest. As day progressed I became a bit unwell. Stomach felt a bit doge, Sarah has been feeling unwell since Tues so I guessed it was a bug I picked up from her. We went out for the night and took it easy and were home early.
Sat:
Very Unwell.
I was very unwell from the middle of Sat night. Stomach cramps, expulsions from both ends, and a feeling of weakness and fatigue and zero appetite (very unlike me). I suppose all the classic signs of heat exhaustion. But was this delayed heat exhaustion from Thursday? Maybe so.
As day progressed I slowly improved. I haven’t been ill in seven years. Last thing I wanted was a virus now.
Sun:
Old self again.:)
By afternoon I was 100% again. We were at Curium beach where the weekend brings out all the best scenery!;) Chanced an OW swim again of 1500m in very challenging conditions (great fun if you like big waves) in just under 38mins.
Its getting increasingly hot here. It was 35C yesterday and only dropped to 25C last night. The runs this week are going to be tough.
Well done Sligo on accounting for Galway on Sat, what a win.
And what about Marino Vanhoenacker’s in IM Austria! His 7:52 time was the 4th fastest time even in an IM distance and this bike was long (185km). His 2:42 marathon to finish wasn’t bad either.
And also a certain boardsie who finished under 10hrs in Austria. Congrats
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Week ending 11th July 10
Mon:
Decided on an evening run as ate and drank too much last night. Wasn’t really up for an early rise so I was hoping it wouldn’t be too hot in the evening.
Wrong: It was a bloody hot as temperature hovered around 33C all day.
By 6pm I had to get out if I was to get a run in. It was 32C but humidity wasn’t too bad. Soon the breeze had my mouth like Gandies flip flop and I was gasping for H2O.
Choose the same route as last Tues –with the testing 5k up to the village of Kivides and back. Just took it steady aiming not to break any records and felt ok apart from the dry mouth.
Time up was 24:53. Return time was 19:20.
Summary: 6,2 miles at 07:07 pace. HR 150 (Est) .Temp 32C
A southing dip in the pool was ideal on completion.:)
Tues:
Kind of a late one last night, just overdid it on the food, not too too much alcohol. Glad to see it was just 24C when I left at 7am for Curium.
A 6-mile run ended up been 7 miles from Curium beach and out towards Akrotiri and return back.
Dam shoes are starting to annoy me now. Must always keep 2 pairs rotated again.
Summary: 7 miles at 7:01 pace. HR n/a. Giving inconsistent readings probably die to battery been low and I haven’t seen any for replacement around here. Temp 25C
Re-hydration of 15 mins and I was in the clear flat sea for another OW swim between the lower and upper buoys. Distance was around 1500m again and time a bit more promising of 36:30 mins
Wed:
Rest
Thurs:
Evening progressive 5 x 2k.
Found a challenging 2k loop of the area. The first 800m is fast, the next 800m or so is uphill with varying sections with degrees of difficulty. The last section is flat.
I intended just to do 5 loops at a reasonable pace but changed my mind at the last minute and decided on a progressive run with each lap 5 – 7 secs quicker than previous. As I don’t have a watch pace settings for guidance (Garmin 405) I had to be wise to the pace I set myself on lap one and had chosen 2 intermediary points along the route to check my time. .
First lap was ok and done in 8:30. Next loops 8:23 and 08:16 and beginning to feel tougher while successfully avoiding a ****ty ankle snapper dog.
Loop 4 was interesting and I encountered a big mother fxxxker black snake on the toughest incline, I didn’t see it till the very last second as I was focusing straight down. What a shock though.:eek:
Luckily it wasn’t the venomous type but I didn’t know this at the time. Loop 4 in 08:06. Final loop was hard. HR touched 180, which is rare and shows how hard I was working. Final loop 07:46.
Happy with this session as all loop and intermediary splits along the route were quicker than previous splits.
6.2 miles at 06:36 pace. HR 155. Temp: 26C
Fri:
7.2 miles at 06:49 pace. HR 145. Temp 29C
It was late one last night. Too much red and white wine, beer, brandy, and great food at the Village Bostro in Episkopi.
For my sins I decided on a run to the beach at 11am! I decided on the shorter route though, missing out on the alternative longer way with first 2k uphill – woose.
This one wasn’t easy at all but managed it in the end.
The after noon OW swim didn’t happen. I was kind of relieved that the Sea was very rough but had great fun in the big waves.
Sat:
Rest: Not really rest. It was homebound again with 15 hrs travelling door to door with delays.
Sun:
It was just after midnight when we arrived back. As you can imagine Sunday was very busy re-organising ourselves. Among the two weeks mail included my London 2011 marathon GFA acceptance letter. The only way I could get a place was though a UK address. Even got my race no. 31667!
A 3 hr bike was my plan for somewhere today as Humbert Challenge is 14 days away. Did manage to get out but just for over 2hrs, not great but at least back on the bike after the two week break. It was very breezy out there and return section was on my face. The route took in Ashford, Bray, Greystones, Kilpedder, Ashford and new port road.
Summary: 62k at 30.3kph. HR 133.
Weight check:
I put on just under a kilo since the start of the holiday so I am happy with that
Thank You:
Thanks to all of you that voted for me in the recent awards.
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Week ending 18th July 10 - Catching up with 2 weeks to go
Realistically I should be reducing the overall session times as it been the second last week before my A race on the 25th.
But as I haven’t been able to put in as many hours as I would have liked and the training preparation has been interrupted I wanted to get in a good solid week to get my confidence up.
Anyway I don’t believe in too much taper these days and next week will be easier. I will be in UK next week to further add to the disruptions.
Mon:
Lunch: 7.1 mile run around Tymon Park at 06:56 pace. HR 134
This felt good. It was maybe due to it been overcast and only 19C.
Evening:
Swim OW 40 min. Route :Wicklow Harbour and outside the north pier. Overall this felt fairly good. Trying to work on keeping shoulders high and good pull action.
OH (who is a good swimmer) says my shoulders need to be higher and my feet style is not great.
Tues:
Lunch: Progressive 1 mile run
7.1 miles around Tymon Park at 06:27 pace. HR 144
I had intended on an evening bike but as forecast was bad (and it turned out brutal) I decided on run around the park for the days.
After the first mile (07:01) I decided to up the pace a little from yesterday. Mile 2 in 06:40. The light rain was favourable and felt good so I proceeded on to a progressive session. Apart from mile 4 (big hill) this was a good outing and I felt strong throughout.
Summary of miles: 07:01.06:40,06:30, 06:12, 06:18 (big hill), 06:08, 05:52
Wed:
AM pool session.
After yesterday’s good run session this swim session was the total and utter opposite.
Session comprised of warm up of 250. Then 15x 100 with 40sec rest. Cool down of 250m.
This time last year I managed to get these the intervals in 1:50. Today it was 2:02!!! Alright I have not done this session often lately but …
I can’t understand this. I felt ok in the pool and I tried to focus on technique. Ok I never have taken any swimming lessons and I know I would improve if I had some but 5 years ago I managed 2500m in 50 mins (I was 14 kg heavier then) which is 2:00 every 100m. I couldn’t even manage this with rests today.!!
I was even my own in the lane. Overall I am very disappointed with this.
Evening: Bike 55km. HR 134. Speed 31.6kph
Route – Wicklow to Bray exit via Ashford and return.
Postponed bike from yesterday so went out after dinner. Bit of a tail wind outbound. Good ride , pushed it a bit more than recently..
Thurs:
Rest
Fri:
Lunch: 8.1 mile run around Tymon Park at 06:58 pace. HR 141
The stiff breeze made this more difficult than it should be
Sat:
Brick: 98k bike, 4k run. (My first crash)
There was a delay in my bike as it was been serviced so I didn’t get out until lunch time. Put in 2 solid hours though before hand in the garden.
Ok breeze was nasty. It was from the s/w and never really seemed to be an advantage. When it was supposed to be on my back it was swirling and seemed to be coming from the side. And if was strong went I was facing into it. Route was Ashford, Kilmac left up to Roundwood, Laragh, Rathdrum, Glenealy Ashford, near Newtown and home.
At 79k something that I was avoided for 2 years, eventually happened. At a junction I took a right turn too quickly, went too wide, clipped the pedal on the large kerbing and collided heavily with the metal protective barrier. My first crash. Blast!!
I took a fair hit. I picked myself up, pressed pause on my Polar and sat on the side trying to work what went wrong. I surveyed the damage, a few cuts, scrapes, the bike seemed ok apart from the chain and then I noticed my little right finger in an unusual position. Frig it to hell, it was dislocated. Did the DIY and pulled it back into position. The pain would just last a moment, but surprisingly I felt no pain.
Fixed the chain and instead of turning around for home I set off again to my pre planned turnaround point 5k further on. The rest of the journey was ok but my finger was painful.
Been thick as I am I completed the brick with a 4k run which felt comfortable.
Summary:
Bike 98k at 28.6kph (HR134)
Run: 4k at 4:12k pace.
Interestingly I weighed myself before and after the session. I weighed 1.3kg lighter on return even though I took on 1.8 litres of water and 100g of a traditional Cyprus sweet. Noted for next week
Sunday:
13.7 mile at 7:10 pace. HR 141
Ohh this was hard. My chest was sore. I didn’t feel it until the morning but 2 ribs were sore after yesterday's incident. Later I see that the HR has a nice mark on it where it hit the barrier.
I couldn’t take deep breaths so I decided to take it easy. Then after halfway point I was gasping for water. It was very humid and warm and my legs weren’t as fresh and were feeling the effects of yesterday. Met Beepbeep 67 at about 10 miles he looked hot too.
I was just glad to see home on this one.
Week summary:
Did 11.3hrs this week which was my most ever. That would be an easy week in an IM plan.:rolleyes:0 -
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shotgunmcos wrote: »Good brick nonetheless. Your reference to IM hours in your summary is a giveaway to your intentions you know
Cheers boss. One has to be realistic I suppose. At peak phase for IM a 15-17hr week is what I will need to be aiming for.
When I line up on that waters edge one day facing into a 3.8km swim, 180k bike and 42.2km run it will not be just to finish but to come home in the quickest time possible.0 -
Week ending 25th July 10 - Story so far.
Bruised ribs really suck.
There has been little improvement in my ribs since Sunday. Sleeping is painful, deep breathing is painful, running is painful.
Realistically I should be seriously thinking about scrapping my plans for the Humbert half distance on Sunday. But I can’t accept not lining up there on race morning, as this will be probably my only attempt at a half distance for the year. I am half thinking of Ireman in August but the date conflicts with family stuff.
I’ve just been taking anti-flammatories (1 x75mg) per day to now, and they help but I will move onto Ibuprophen today.
Mon:
Rest
Tues:
Lunch: Easy 6 mile run at 7:24 pace. HR 133
No more than easy pace was manageable. The first mile was very uncomfortable and I couldn’t breath properly.
I had planned a short OW swim in the evening but cancelled this just before I was to set out for it. I saw no point.
Wed:
Work in UK and had planned on an evening run and short pool swim. Late at work and these intentions just didn’t happen.
Thurs:
Early am run in Hampshire: 4 miles at 07:11 pace. HR 133.
The first 10 mins I felt very uncomfortable. I think I was actually running offset to one side because of the discomfort. Not good.
A visit to the spa afterwards was postponed as a burglary last night decided to rob the keys.
Its not really my week is it?
Hopeful race predictions
(Assuming I feel 90% race morning and conditions are favourable)
Swim: My goal is to be on the bike in 45minutes.
Bike: A hilly route but I hope to average 31kph. Distance is just under 88k. Goal = 2:50.
T2: 2 mins
Run: Run is 13.4 miles. With enough in the tank I’ll be chasing 1:30
Total:5hr 07min.
Will take a sub 5hr 10min finish!0 -
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