Budapest, Hungary Sept 8-12

Macanri

Well done on another great race. Savage training also, as usual. Mind the niggles.

Gringo78

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Did up a specific plan for the last 4 weeks to Budapest and after the amount of brain space it took up yesterday and the beauty of the final document (I'm a nerd), its pinned on the fridge door and I'm hell bent on sticking to it 95% at least!.

What's your run plans for the next few weeks? You said before that you were you going to increase the intensity with 2 speed sessions per week. I'd recommend keeping the mileage down to 30-40 km max as the increase in mileage during the base period seemed to cause a few niggles.

shotgunmcos

Gringo78 wrote: »

What's your run plans for the next few weeks? You said before that you were you going to increase the intensity with 2 speed sessions per week. I'd recommend keeping the mileage down to 30-40 km max as the increase in mileage during the base period seemed to cause a few niggles.

Yeah The 2nd base week was 70+ km and I felt it as it was quite a jump from 50 the previous week which was a jump from my 30-35km average.

The volume is dropping by 10km a week and intensity builds for next 3 tempo runs

Last week volume was about 45k inc a race, 15k Z3, track 3*2k and 4k tempo

week 1 (this week) build
recovery run, track 6*800, short run off bike, tempo 6k (12k run), 15k Z2-Z3
total about 46km

week 2 build
track 5*1k, 10k Z2 with strides, tempo 8k (12k run) and an easy brick run
total about 36km

week 3 start taper
track 4*800, 30min Z1, race 10k off bike
total about 26km

week 4 taper
track 6*400, 20min Z1 off bike, 20 min build off bike
total about 16km

Gringo78

Good plan. Keep the non- interval/tempo days easy. Keep the tempo pace controlled for first few k so you hit the target at a nice even pace rather than going out too fast and slowing. The only thing I'd recommend is cutting the 10k race off the bike back to 7 or 8k max...no need to unneccessarily fatigue yourself before Budapest and you'll get no training effect from it in time for worlds. Do 7k off the bike at sub 40 pace and trust that the fact that you're running in the worlds will ensure you can keep the pace up for another 3 on the day.

shotgunmcos

@ Gringo78 The 10k race off the bike is the Dublin City Triathlon. I will be pushing the bike and judging how the legs feel on the run. I'll race it but won't completely empty the tank and hurt like I plan to in Budapest! 2 weeks to recover is plenty.

BTW, Nomadic, Bambaata, ElDirector have ye checked out the Budapest course?

http://budapest.triathlon.org/en/athlete_info/age_group/courses/

The swim is a funny zig zag so its about 160% turns around the bouys, however enclosed and calm I would imagine.
The bike is a time triallers course as its pan flat, should be quick
The run is along the bank and apart from 2 little bumps, pretty flat.

Could be a course to get a pb to round off the year

Gringo78

shotgunmcos wrote: »

@ Gringo78 The 10k race off the bike is the Dublin City Triathlon. I will be pushing the bike and judging how the legs feel on the run. I'll race it but won't completely empty the tank and hurt like I plan to in Budapest! 2 weeks to recover is plenty.

In that case, no probs as its a race situation. i would have said not to attempt it in training as you wouldn't be able to hit race pace for 10k in training and it would only dishearten you. However, no reason not to try to get sub 40 off the bike in Dublin....would be a good boost 2 weeks before budapest.

The flat bike course and flat run looks like it suits you....strong runners would have been looking for more hills on the run

Bambaata

shotgunmcos wrote: »

BTW, Nomadic, Bambaata, ElDirector have ye checked out the Budapest course?

http://budapest.triathlon.org/en/athlete_info/age_group/courses/

The swim is a funny zig zag so its about 160% turns around the bouys, however enclosed and calm I would imagine.
The bike is a time triallers course as its pan flat, should be quick
The run is along the bank and apart from 2 little bumps, pretty flat.

Could be a course to get a pb to round off the year

That bay is nice and calm so the swim should be fast enough. The bike is very flat, if there's any wind at all you'll feel it though as its quite exposed, particularly the further south it goes. There are a fair few 180 degree turns though which will slow things up and there were some open cracks in the road last year, hoping they've been repaired. Aside from that its a nice surface. The run will be deceptive. Its largely a different course than last years duathlons but if it goes down by the river again you'll have to climb a bit to come back up and over the bridge.

El Director

I have been checking out the course and it will suit me big time! To be honest I am a bit reluctant to study it too much as I don't even know if I will be able to compete, I am sure I will and I am confident that if I do it will be a PB for me seeing as 2hr30 is my PB (off the back of pneumonia, 3 weeks later I got the same in the much tougher HOTW).

Did you see that there will be two swim practice sessions for Age Groupers, on the Friday and Saturday, delighted to hear that.

Bambaata I know you are going to Budapest early in the week, you know that there is an Aquathon on the Weds? May be a useful brick session.

nomadic

El Director wrote: »

Did you see that there will be two swim practice sessions for Age Groupers, on the Friday and Saturday, delighted to hear that.

There's one on the thursday aswell I think.
The sprint swim is a little more straight forward than the oly zig zag. Do you reckon there's any chance we won't be allowed wear wetsuits because of the heat? :eek: I bloody hope not.

The bike look fast alright. Will have to practice the left hand 180's though. The DCT bike course has a left handed 180 so that'll be good practice.

Is anyone going to book the official transport from the airport? I think I will, should save with hassle with taxi's and bike bags.

Abhainn

Well done in Boru sprint, it sounded a toughie. The big one is acoming fast !

shotgunmcos

Tuesday 10/08/10 pm: Track session 6*800m
3.2km warm up where I noticed something going on with my left thigh from the hip to my knee. More so at the hip and top of the thigh. It eased a bit after some jogging and stretching.
6*800m with 2 min rest.
2:44
2:48
2:50
2:49
2:50
2:47
I wasn't exactly full of beans for these and as such it was a slog of a session. The track was quiet enough for the first 2 but then the masses came (it was sunny) and it was harder to focus. I had to work very hard and noticed also that my breathing was wheezy. I got through the session just about and did 2km cool down on grass and some more stretching. The aim was to get all the reps in about 2:50 but I really though I'd be more comfortable.

This morning I was supposed to get up for core but was still rooted to the pillow at 0830. Slept through the alarm too. Sure sign I'm beat. The niggle is along the IT Band so I have to book into the Physio soon to get it checked. Feeling a bit of a crock today :rolleyes:

El Director

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Feeling a bit of a crock today :rolleyes:

Well the NS points should cheer you up buddy! Looking good

however...."There are still a number of races to be calculated so the rankings are not currently inclusive of all National Series races"

Bambaata

"There are still a number of races to be calculated so the rankings are not currently inclusive of all National Series races"

More like pretty much the whole bloody season of races!! Its pathetic they havent got this up.

El Director

It's a joke of an organisation from my dealings with them. Useless.

shotgunmcos

LOL I'll enjoy that position until they update the rest Yeah its a disgrace that they haven't update all of the races. Its just an admin task, albeit a complicated one and I guess its a pain getting the official results from clubs etc.. still a farce whatever way you look at it. I have had no interest in the NS this year. I have 5 races done and 4 were NS by chance. I think you have to have 6 to count and also have done national champs at all 3 distances to do well in the NS. In fairness I've had a few chats with Amanda Mannix and she is due credit but otherwise my dealings with TI has been a joke.

shotgunmcos

Despite a good start to the week I knew I wasn't myself on Tuesday...

Woke up feeling wretched on Wednesday morning, slept through the alarm too. I was due to head out for a group cycle after work. Even though I wasn't feeling the love for it I was in dilemma when the heavens opened and made my decision for me. Instead I headed out to the Ul Activity Center in Killaloe for the Aquathon eliminator. 500m swim and 1.2km run. 2 races, as long as you qualify from the first race!

I waltzed down expecting to see a couple of the fast lads (swimmer/runners) and thinking getting top 10 males in the first race would be grand. Until I saw the collection of Irish Development Juniors with their TI coach, the entire fast lane from the morning swims and Chris Bryan who came 5th at the European OW swim championships last weeks :eek: The task suddenly looked ominous.

So 50 lined up for the start. Novices got a 60 sec headstart and ladies got a 30 sec headstart, even though a few of them were top class swimmers! It was as frantic a start as I've been in. Some dived off the pier while the rest of started beside it. The Novices mustn't have know what hit them at the second bouy. My goggles filled with murky water so A short run to transition and then the run through 2 fields and a bit of forrest trail with a sneaky wall of a hill in the middle.

10 mins later we put the wetsuits back on, well most of us did. All the Irish Junior development lads went without and were nudging each other at the edge of the pier ready to dive in. By the time I got to the second bouy they were hopping up on the slip... and I was having a great swim! I managed to reel in a couple on the run to finish 16th. It was crazy but fun all the same and good to see such young people lifting it in the sport

Anyway I noticed the same niggle in the left quad as Tuesday. I had forgotton about in due to the adrenalin. Last night, I was about to head off for a run and didn't get 2 steps before the pain shot down the ITB on my left quad. I tried a couple of times on grass but instant pain when I attempted to run. Completely dejected I headed to the gym and did 45mins easy on the bike and an hour of Yoga. Thankfully no affect on the bike. Probably the best yoga class so far as I just blocked the world out. I met MarieC afterwards to pick up the bike and although her promise of carrot cake drew a smile I was feeling low inside.

Hence the training plan is out the window for this week. Cycling, Foam Roller, stretching and maybe swimming is the order for a few days and I aint running until I'm good to run. Shame, it was progressing and all

El Director

Damn it dude. Let's pray it isn't too serious and a couple of days resting it will do the trick. I think I'd even leave the swimming too, you could have done without this but fingers crossed.

shotgunmcos

Cheers ElD, hopefully we will both be ready for action on race day.

Friday 13/08/10 pm: Lunchtime swim 25m pool
Its fast becoming one of my favourite sessions, maybe due to the fact that its a break from the office, perhaps that its a good set of work. Mostly though because it brings me out of my comfort zone as I hang on to the coat tails of the fast lane.
The set
250m*2
100m*2
200m
100m*2
250m*2

Then an extra
50m easy
100m*4
50m easy breast stroke
Total 2,100m

I have a max window of 40 mins to get something out of the session and did. Arrived after the warm up so straight into the 250. No idea of the RTs I just waited 5 secs and swam. I was working hard from the off to keep up. Hardly had a break between them but both were comfortably under 4 mins. Hit the 100s in 1:22-1:24 and the 200 in 2:56! A pb for me in the middle of the set I had to work my socks off on the last 250 and stuck in as best I could despite falling off the pace a bit. I literally had just enough time to get a sip of water between reps. The extra 4 100s were sub 1:25 each. I barely had the energy for a breast stroke length afterwards. This is a good speed work session for me.

shotgunmcos

Saturday 14/08/10 pm: Turbo 2 hours Z2-Z3 with 10*1min Z4
The plan originally was for a long run with strides so I had to make do with turbo as the ITB was still at me. An ok session in terms of keeping concentration for 2 hours. The 10 1 min reps at the end were harder work than I anticipated. Average 237 watts.

Sunday 15/08/10 pm: Turbo 80 mins including 50mins at Z4
Tough tough session and a real grinder too. I needed something to get the frustration of not being able to run, out of me. The plan was to do 2 reps of 20mins at 90% FTP with rest reduced to 2 mins and then do another rep of 10 mins if I was up to it. In the end the session was

20 mins warm up inc 6*30secs at rep pace
50 mins at 280 watts
10 mins easy
25 mins stretching and rolling the ITB with Caz's help

Half way through the first 20 mins I thought I'd just bin the rests and do it straight through if I could. I did. It was hard. There wasn't a whole lot left to give either but I felt I could have pushed another 5-10 mins out if I really had to. About as solid a turbo as I've done all year

So I started a few weeks ago with this session at 2*20 mins at 280 watts with 5 mins rest and progressed it to 50 mins straight which I'm pleased with. I really should have started these sessions months ago and built steadily but hey thats that.

Weekly Summary build week 2 of 3
3 runs: 5.5km rec, 10km track, 3km race
3 bikes: 25km gym, 69km turbo, 51km turbo
3 swims: 3km OW, 1km race, 2.1km pool
2 core: 1 yoga session and the other focused on stretching and rolling
Total 9hrs30mins

Best session of the week: The lunchtime masters swim, quality session
Worst session of the week: Doing a dejected junk gym bike instead of the planned tempo run. I didn't want to but had to pass the time until the Yoga class started. Stupid ITB :mad:

Overall thoughts: A few hours less than planned as I had to omit the tempo run, long run and run off the bike from the week. I wasn't going filling the spaces either so I just stuck to the plan without them. Although I didn't get out on the bike I got a couple of decent turbo sessions done at the weekend and swimming is going well.

Last week of build training!
Budapest is the A Goal and end of season for me as I'll take a break and wind down afterwards. Just one week of hard training left before taper begins. I have to approach running with great care and can't infortunately belt ahead with a couple of hard speed sessions. If it means another week of no running is required so be it, it hasn't gone my way this year anyway and will be taken back to the drawing board this winter. I hope to get a decent brick done at the weekend and do 3 good swim sessions.


A note on FTP (functional threshold power)
I only came across it a month ago and have done 1 focused FTP turbo sessions a week since. I should really have been doing this back in winter based on my 20 min all out turbo test in January. I wasn't, hence part of the reason for the Coach and I parting ways in the spring. The 20 min test was an all out effort, hitting max heart rates and came out at 306 watts average. That would equate to approx 291 watts FTP. I'm not so sure how I would have held 291 for an hour back then though. So the interval workouts for the last couple of weeks have been at about 280 watts or about 95% of FTP (I wrongly thought it was 90%). I guess 95% is too high for the intensity of the sessions but as its coming to the close of season the intensity was appropriate for a 3 week build. Earlier in the year I'd probably limit the intesity to 85-90%. I guess its all learning. For the last build turbo session of the year I'm going to have a go at an hour at full pelt this week and see how I do. 291 watts to beat!

Interesting article on FTP
http://www.flammerouge.je/content/3_factsheets/constant/functhresh.htm

shotgunmcos

Monday 16/08/10 pm: OW swim 3,500m approx
It was cool and drizzling out but the water was flat calm and still warm, despite dropping temperature notably in the last couple of weeks. Did 1km very easy with 2 lads and then was joined by another clubmate who is a faster swimmer. Usually I am way off but was feeling great and stuck to his feet for over a km. Swam side by side for the last km. He was swimming aerobically and I'd normally have to swim hard to be anywhere close but I was comfortable this evening, strong even. I focused on catching sharper and relaxing as much as possible. In doing so I felt I was accelerating the stroke more and my legs felt so light that it was like I was swimming on top of the water rather than through it. Really enjoyed the swim. Good long one too.

Tuesday 17/08/10: Active rest day.
20 sessions in a row, including a race.. the body needed a day off and just eat what I wanted. I took advantage. I did do 45 mins core before work though. 50 shoulder presses, 50 push ups, 25 bicep curls, 25 dips, 100 abs, 5 yoga rotations and foam roller on the ITB. It feels less sore today but there would have been no way I could have done the track session on the plan. It will be 7 full days of no running so a light jog tomorrow will determine whethr I do the Aquathon or a cycle.

Weight this morning was down to 77.4kg which in the right direction but I need to exercise a lot of discipline to hit 75.5kg in 3 weeks.

shotgunmcos

Wednesday 18/08/10 am@ Swim in 50m pool.
Its been a few weeks since I have done the club morning swim.
The session
100m*10 off 1:45
800m
600m
400m
200m
100m*2 cool down
3,200m total.

The middle lane was packed so I hopped into the fast lane with the 3 others for the 10 100s at the start. I felt ok but had to work hard to keep up. By the 10th one I was more tahn warmed up. When the Coach revealed the set I got back into the other lane as I would have been left behind for 800 in the fast lane. Going off 3rd in in the middle lane by comparison was very comfortable. Stroke count was 35/36 per length so I was quite relaxed. Lead out the 600 at 1:40 pace and followed for an increase in pace for the 400 and 200. Overall a good session and I felt fine. I'm looking forward to the winter technique session starting again.

ITB update. I wanted to do a light jog to feel how it is at lunch time, however after getting togged off the heavens opened and I couldn't come back to the office after a downpour like that! Hence, I'm not doing the Aquathon tonight. Running hard over forrest trail is not the ideal way to test the ITB. Instead I'll head out for an easy jog after work. It feels much better but no idea if I can run yet. Fingers crossed.

shotgunmcos

Didn't get 50m down the road. ITB better but still hurts. More rest and rolling required.

Macanri

Very sorry to hear that. But you are being wise with your caution, no point in forcing it too soon and missing the main reason for all this hard training. Hope it gets better soon.

shotgunmcos

Thursday 19/08/10 pm: Turbo 90 mins including 60 min TT
By far the hardest session I have done on the turbo, Caz thought I was going to fall off the bike and despite me saying I was fine, stood beside me until breathing returned to normal. The 20 min TT version is hard but 60 is just pain incorporated.
20 mins warm up inc 6*30secs at TT pace
60 mins all out effort Z4-Z5
10 mins cool down easy
15 mins stretching

Result: 312 watts average
The first 20 mins were ok, hit a low point at 25 and stopped at 30 just long enough to check ITB was holding up. Seemed fine so I drove on. 35-45 was torture. Legs were on fire and I wanted to give up. At 45 mins though I just gritted my teeth and pushed harder, pushed again at 50 and again at 55 giving it everything. The last 5 mins were the strongest but boy did they hurt! Never doing this again, I couldn't see straight after it. Caz handed me a bottle with a zym disolved in it after 40 mins which may have helped as the sweat was raining. Quads won't be up for any more work anytime soon.

Jan 20 mins TT: avg 306 watts = FTP 291 watts approx
Aug 60 mins TT: avg 312 watts = FTP 312 watts

I wanted to hit 300 for the hour so delighted with the progress Thats a major training objective of the year sorted. Really I should have been doing FTP workouts all year but only learned about it last month.

Macanri

Savage stuff, I don't know a whole lot about wattage and FTPs etc, but even reading that sounded v tough. Top form.

pgibbo

Wow MCOS. Sounds like a killer session on the turbo. Fair play to you.

Sorry to hear the ITB is still playing up.

shotgunmcos

Friday 20/08/10 pm: Lunchtime swim session 25m pool
I know SC pools are about 2secs per 100 quicker than the LC pool but is there such a thing as a 'fast pool'. Just wondering as I always 'feel' faster in the 25m version Once again really enjoyed this set, 40 mins, quick shower and back to work. In a lane of faster swimmers than I.
The set
100m warm up (actually got there in time for once!)
100m*16 (4 off 1:40, 4 off 1:45, 4 off 1:40, 4 off 1:45)
100m hard in 1:20 pb
50m easy
100m hard in 1:17 pb
50 breast stroke swim down
2,000m total.

The 16 100s were good. Came in on 85/86 for the lot and despite the legs not having the usual power to kick off the wall, I felt really good. 3 secs between swimmers, I went off 4th of 5 and left 5 secs to keep the work honest! Some heavy breathing afterwards but nowhere near the red zone. Set 2 pbs on the 2 fast 100s, all good

El Director

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Friday 20/08/10 pm: Lunchtime swim session 25m pool
I know SC pools are about 2secs per 100 quicker than the LC pool but is there such a thing as a 'fast pool'. Just wondering as I always 'feel' faster in the 25m version Once again really enjoyed this set, 40 mins, quick shower and back to work. In a lane of faster swimmers than I.
The set
100m warm up (actually got there in time for once!)
100m*16 (4 off 1:40, 4 off 1:45, 4 off 1:40, 4 off 1:45)
100m hard in 1:20 pb
50m easy
100m hard in 1:17 pb
50 breast stroke swim down
2,000m total.

The 16 100s were good. Came in on 85/86 for the lot and despite the legs not having the usual power to kick off the wall, I felt really good. 3 secs between swimmers, I went off 4th of 5 and left 5 secs to keep the work honest! Some heavy breathing afterwards but nowhere near the red zone. Set 2 pbs on the 2 fast 100s, all good

F'ing hell dude! :eek: That is some session, 40 mins only! I only had 30min today for a swim and you've just made me look silly!

El Director

shotgunmcos wrote: »

............Really I should have been doing FTP workouts all year but only learned about it last month.

Jesus man I can't get over that session. Thats what it is all about. The willingness to go through the wall, that determination. Obviously these 'breakthrough' sessions can only happen now and again because of their nature. You will undoubtedly feel the benifits of this session on Sept 12th

Now....what have you been basing these FTP workouts on? Where did you get the FTP workouts?? I am currently educating myself on the benefits of training with power

shotgunmcos

El Director wrote: »

Jesus man I can't get over that session. Thats what it is all about. The willingness to go through the wall, that determination. Obviously these 'breakthrough' sessions can only happen now and again because of their nature. You will undoubtedly feel the benifits of this session on Sept 12th

Now....what have you been basing these FTP workouts on? Where did you get the FTP workouts?? I am currently educating myself on the benefits of training with power

Cheers, it hurt like no other session I've done and its given me confidence I can go sub60 for a 40kmTT on the road at some stage. Hit 40km on the turbo in less than 55mins so add a few mins for wind, drags and the usual and I shouldn't be far off. There wouldn't be a chance in hell I could run off the bike though after that effort. It was 'all out' meaning giving everything I had for that hour.

I'm new to FTP, Functional Threshold Power, so still learning. I posted an article further up the log and I'm sure there is a lot of literature and science about it online. From my own perspective it means the maximum power you can sustain for an hour. To get the best measure, do as I did and do an hour all out. Your average watts will be your FTP. The idea is to train at a percentage of this value incrementally for a period and then retest. For example during the winter you could do reps at about 85% FTP and over a build period up to 90-95% FTP. Sessions like 2*20mins with 5 mins rest at 85% FTP to start. Drop the rest by a minute each time you do it, then up to 2*20mins 90% FTP with 5 mins rest dropping the rest by a minute for a couple of weeks. Then retest. Ideally your FTP will increase or you will sustain your current FTP at less effort (lower heart rate). The purpose of the reps at 85-90% is to train at the 'sweet spot'. The point where you are getting most value for the effort without crossing over into the red zone and destroying yourself for a few days. You can also use it to gusage shorter reps like 3mins at 105% FTP or 1min reps at 110% FTP etc...

I wouldn't recommend doing an hour all out everytime you test as your spirit may just hold you to ransom! A less stressful and more time efficient way to test is do 20mins all out and multiply your avg watts by 0.95. This will give you your approx FTP and a benchmark to work with.

I had a coach for a few months last winter and in Jan he had me do 20mins all out on the turbo. I got my avg watts and avg hr. Unfortunately we did F all with that data. He had me doing 15min reps at 80% the avg test heart rate but that was it.

It was only browsing the cycling forum and researching what the likes of Lumen and Beasty were on about did I find FTP training. The problem was it late in the season so I just launched into a weekly session with reps at 95% the January tested FTP value. I set myself a goal of sustaining 300w which relected approx 103% of the FTP I was training at. The session generally begain with 20mins easy and a few bursts at intended pace.
week 1 2*20mins 95%FTP 5 mins rest
week 2 2*20mins 95%FTP 3 mins rest
week 3 2*20mins, 1*10mins 95% FTP 2 mins rest planned, but just did THE 50 mins straight.
week 4 60mins Test

Ok it was a rather dramatic progression. I should have been doing the reps at 90% and progressing slowly over a longer period. However it was too close to Budapest and I mistook my January value and trained at 95% instead. I told myself that the 60min test was my last hard session before Budapest so I psyched up to give it welly.

During the winter of course we return to base training and I'll do a 20 min turbo test again in January. Naturally I won't expect my FTP to be anywhere near what it was at peak fitness!! It will however give me a base value to take into the build phase of training to structure progressive workouts. Hope that made sense No doubt as I learn more and from others with more experience I derive more benefit from this type of training but in the short time I have incorporated it into training it has given me a good confidence boost ahead of my A goal.