Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

RJM85

Was that yourself on the ardee bypass this morning?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RJM85 wrote: »

Was that yourself on the ardee bypass this morning?

Yeah was out on the TT bike heading for home. Out for a long one yourself? Recovery week for me so just the 3hrs

RJM85

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Yeah was out on the TT bike heading for home. Out for a long one yourself? Recovery week for me so just the 3hrs

Just 3hrs too, but with a 15 Mike run after!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Race No 13 - Round the Head OW Swim

The short version.
Choppy, very choppy for the first 1.5k and it was difficult to get into a groove with sighting (no buoys to go off) so difficult. The swim was to be a 2.5k but i ended up doing 2.9k and i don't think i swam off line, one guy did 4k:rolleyes:. Only with 1k to go did i really feel like i was starting to swim well but there was a little too much stop/starting at the start trying to get used to the conditions.
Still the positives are i am swimming faster in OW than i have previously and more importantly felt fresh getting out considering i had 4.5hrs training done that morning. No idea on finishing position but i would say mid pack.
2.9k, 55mins (51 moving time). Glad i headed down and it was good to be experiencing those type of choppy conditions.

Training going very well last week and enjoying it.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Race No 14 - Leinster & Louth TT Champs
A fine soft evening for a tt with wind and rain:rolleyes: The course was the usual out and back to Castlebellingham and back to Dundalk. The last time i raced this course was 2013 when i posted a 24.30, i was hoping to better that tonight as training is going well and the bike is coming along nicely.

Head down and whilst i had the PM i chose to ignore the numbers and just concentrate on going hard and pushing as big of a gear as i could. We had a headwind/crosswind heading out which is normally the faster part of the course, not tonight. I was moving well up to the turnaround and started to push for home. Legs were complaining, in particular my quads felt like they were going to explode.

I do think i will need to look at gearing on the P5 as the 52/11 leaves me looking the odd time for another gear or two as i like to maintain a low cadence of 70-73 where with the P5 i am closer to averaging 80 or higher. Anyhow back to the result, i gave it all i had and crossed the line in 23.12 for 18th overall and 3rd Louth male.

Big pb by 1min 18secs on that course and overall i am happy. Power was slightly lower than i hoped but not by much. I think you need these type of events to back up and give reassurance that the training is working and good shape is starting to come. Also nice to know that 3 years on and i am still improving even though there are more grey hairs!
23.12, 16kms, 41.4kmph avg.

Aim for the rest of this week is to shake off the rest of this fatigue i am feeling in the body after what has been a heavy 3 weeks of training. Swim, bike and run all going in the right direction and weight is starting to fall off. Need to constantly keep an eye on sleep and recovery as they are 2 areas i have neglected in the past.
50 days to go to IMMT so lots still to be done in the next few weeks.

RJM85

Good time on what looked like a tough night. I passed the sign on on my way home and was actually glad to have a 2.5 hr turbo on the cards instead!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Training
Last week seen the end of another big block of training. A far from perfect week (is there such a thing) with sickness throughout the house and a friends funeral. Last weekend was spent pushing through a long 6hr+ bike and a 2.5hr run, mental if not physical training as it took a lot of focus to keep pushing through the physical and mental tiredness from a rough week!
This week was a badly needed recovery week before another lift and taper. 8 weeks done and 4 weeks to go. With IM training the days and weeks all tend to blend in to each other. I think i am very close to being in really good shape if i can just keep it together and not overcook it as i feel like i am right on the edge.
Already at race weight of 64kg and don't want to lose anymore as it will impact on the bike. Swim in good shape with long OW swims of 4.5k, bike has been good in particular 1 or 2 long bikes with decent power and pace and the run has been going in the right direction. Just need to keep focusing on those positives.

Race No 15 - Glenarm Sprint Tri
An interesting concept having a NS race on midweek. With the recovery week i really wanted to do a race to break the routine up of training and to see how i was going. Long drive up with it being a 4hr round trip to Glenarm which is past Larne. Easy set up, nice race venue and it looked like a tough course.

Swim - 15.15, 1020mtrs
Sea swim and a beach run start. No time for a warm up as they were late getting started but water looked ok from where i was standing. 3,2,1 and i am in the lead for a very short period as we run in. Into the water to waist high and i start swimming, holy fvck is my initial thoughts. HR sky high and water is bloody freezing, much colder than local. This led to me hyperventilating and panicking:mad:. I lost 2.5mins at the start until I settled into a proper stroke, i went from front ten to back of pack. I was pissed with myself, the only positive, I got on feet and start swimming feet to feet drafting and regaining places. I swam the last 800mtrs at 1.35 pace but i was really pushing it. The swim was actually long at a 1000mtrs with the fastest swim around the 11min mark so a good 4mins given away, too much to give away in a HIM let alone a SPR. Came out of the water in around 50th place and the usual game of chase started.

T1 - 1.05
Pretty good and no issues with dizziness or getting the wetsuit off. About 15secs off the fastest T1.

Bike - 39.10, 23.2kms, 35.5kmph
This was a brute of a course and long. 16.5kms of it is climbing with a sharp descent for the last few kms. I was picking off a lot on the climb out of Glenarm and was holding around FTP. Heart rate was too high but chose to ignore it, kept the effort high and tried to catch as many as i could before the run. Coming down the descent i was unsure on one or two bends and here a local was the only one to pass me on the bike, i certainly gave up some time on the downhill but not much.
I think i was 6th or 7th fastest bike split overall, whilst not stellar it was solid. I came in to T2 with 2 targets close by.

T2 - 50secs
Not great, trouble getting the right foot into my shoe, about 15secs slower and the 2 close by coming into T2 were out and gone. A quick glance at bikes as i ran out and i was up into around 15th place.

Run - 19.19, 3.48km pace
The goal, run as hard as i possibly could and fight for every place. Run was undulating through the castle grounds but nothing steep. After 800mtrs i was closing on 15th and 14th, went by 15th easy enough but 14th was not letting it go easy. Lifted it again and thankfully burnt him off.
First turn point and i seen another 2 ahead not running fluidly, after 2k i gained another 2 spots to bring me to 12th. Last turn point around the 3k mark and i was hurting but so were the few in front. Came up on 11th and he was fading badly, passed 10th and he was not giving it up easy. 800mtrs to go and tried to get 9th but ran out of road. 4th or 5th fastest run split and again slightly long run course.

Overall
Swim once again costing me a top 5 but positives its another top 10 in a NS race. Happy with biking 95% of FTP on bike and the run is a good 20secs quicker than earlier sprint races and almost back to my best. Above all i was racing hard and fighting for every place. It was a good distraction from IM training and i left happy having made the trip up. Great race and i would do it again, a good hit out is exactly what i needed.

joey100

What's your ftp when at race weight jb? Just curious, I'm around 60kg and most people are bit heavier and have much higher ftp's, curious to see what someone similar build and heights ftp is.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

joey100 wrote: »

What's your ftp when at race weight jb? Just curious, I'm around 60kg and most people are bit heavier and have much higher ftp's, curious to see what someone similar build and heights ftp is.

Hey Joey, at this moment 280w. Not as high as i have been when purely bike focus. Holding around 72-75% of that number on the 5 and 6hr bikes even though sometimes i do not have power showing on screen.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Taper time has come with race day in 2 weeks. I think the fact I have been willing taper to come for the last 3 weeks is a sure sign I have worked hard enough. I would be more concerned if I did not feel like this as it would be a sign I have not pushed hard enough in training.
Going into this IM with a different mindset than any before with the key focus on enjoyment, execution and making good decisions rather than chasing xyz. If you make the right decisions, execute and pace well the result will be one I will be happy with.
The last time I had the family fully supporting me at an IM was my first one so extra pumped to have them over with me as part of our vacation which is going to be Arwsome (getting my lingo on already).
It's amazing what the kids see and pick up from their parents from what they do. All of our kids are involved in varying sports and it's great to see, I like to think they look up to me as a role model, I like to say look up to me but my eldest is now taller than me at 5.9
>end of fluffy feel good post<

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Going into this IM with a different mindset than any before with the key focus on enjoyment, execution and making good decisions rather than chasing xyz. If you make the right decisions, execute and pace well the result will be one I will be happy with.<

I will stick up a report when i get back from holidays but needless to say, i enjoyed it, i executed it, and 100% made the right decisions during the race. My best IM experience to date and it will be hard to beat. Mont Tremblant just gets it!

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

It's amazing what the kids see and pick up from their parents from what they do. All of our kids are involved in varying sports and it's great to see, I like to think they look up to me as a role model, I like to say look up to me but my eldest is now taller than me at 5.9 <

And as if to solidify this all the kids where involved in the 1k and 5k IMkids event, for me one of the highlights seeing them cross the IM finish line.

RJM85

Looking forward to reading the report. After some bad luck previously and with a serious work ethic, you deserved a successful race

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Ironman Mont Tremblant Race Report – August 21st 2016 “We came, we raced and we had fun”

I always try keep these race reports short but inevitably several coffees will be required to get through this one [snipped]

Build up
This race was targeted back as far as last year and was planned as part of our vacation and road trip around East USA and Canada. Training had gone reasonably well and I was having one of my strongest seasons to date with some top 10 triathlon finishes in what is my 7th year of being “active” and “fit”. About 12-14 weeks out I felt my training required a little more guidance. I felt I needed to do the training and not think about the planning or scheduling of the training. Who better to lead my training into an IM build than my good friend Liam, [snipped].

We arrived over 10 days prior to race day and it was a new experience for me as I am normally cramming a lot in with work and training before race day which can add its own stresses. I was able to chill out and not think about the race, which for me is exactly what I need.

There was a big difference in how this race was approached. There was no chasing xyz times even though some people thought I was chasing a sub 10hr . The big difference is how I approach races these days, the enjoyment has to come first and foremost without pressure being applied by myself in trying to chase targets. The big focus of this race was pacing, good decision making and execution. I knew if got those right and stuck to my nutrition plan that I would get the race result I deserve, after all this was my 6th time toeing the line of an IM and not all have them have gone to plan.

It was time to take on the advice of Liam and listen to some of my own advice that I dish out to my athletes. We went off into battle again, this time with the full clan in toe out supporting me.

Race Day
Alarm was set for 3:30am but I was awake at 3.15am after a good night’s sleep. I have to say the mood was good, I was feeling positive and in the zone. Had a big brekkie consisting of a large bowl of porridge, banana, toast with peanut butter, a cliff energy bar, 750ml of energy drink. I continued to snack and pop a gel about 10mins prior to race start.

We managed to get parked 200mtrs from the swim start which worked out very well and I headed off to get the bike/nutrition set up and body marked. I had plenty of time before race start and I was that calm I was able to catch another 40 winks sleep in the car.

Swim
Wave starts for this race and we were off 10mins after the male pros. I have never experienced a swim or race start like it. A fighter jet as official starter and a load of fireworks got the pros away and started. I have to say that pilots timing was spot on to the second! Said my final goodbyes and gave big hugs to the family. Its normally at this stage the emotions go, this time I remained calm. In fairness [snipped] was doing enough crying for half of the supporters there 

Called up and off we went, Mont Tremblant is a lake swim in crystal clear water and it’s a sight to behold. I had no time to take in the scenery and before I knew it I was in the washing machine fighting for a set of feet to draft off.
I was swimming reasonably well and for once the start of the swim went off without issue. The swim course is 1.8k out, 200mtrs across and 1.8k back in, supposedly. I knew about 40mins into the swim that the course was long or “swimming long”. I did not let this bother me and just kept plugging away at it.

We hit a serious bit of chop coming across the turn buoys with the chop hitting us side on, I overheard plenty of war stories later on (they always get embellished) but I have to say I enjoyed this part and embraced it head on.

My IM swim has been constantly a relatively slow 78-80mins for my last 5 IM swims. My swim training had really focused on longer swims in OW with plenty of 90min swims. I came out of the water and seen 80mins, I did not let me put me off as it’s a long day. Its only later after looking at the GPS but more accurately the pros times when my swim became evident that there was progress made this year. I normally finish about 30-32mins off the top pros and today I was only 25mins back. They swam about 10mins slower than they normally would so conditions did not go hand in hand with fast swim times.
Time - 1:20:20

Transition 1
Run up to T1 was about 500mtrs, spotted [snipped] on the run up and got a shout off them. I had decided to swim with the tri top down so as not to restrict shoulder movement. Wetsuit peelers is a new experience for me, talk about a quick turnaround. Bar dropping gels on the way out and an extra minute in T1 settling myself this went without issue.

Bike
No flying mount today and onto the bike into the lashing rain that was forecasted for most of the day. The bike course is 2x90k loops on a very rolling course with 1800mtrs of elevation gain so certainly not a fast course.

No power meter so the ride was done by feel and hr. Plan was to take a gel or half energy bar every 20mins and keep sipping all day on energy mix and water, thankfully that worked well.

First few kms out onto Montee Ryan was very congested with the roads narrow for overtaking. I had to hold my line and be patient until we reached highway 117 and I was able to pass easier on the wider roads. The rain was really coming down heavy at this stage. We hit one of the fastest descents of the day coming down La Conception. It’s a very fast descent and I managed to clock over 80kmph whilst staying in the bars without seeing 5mtrs in front of me. A lot were backing off on the descent but I had ridden a loop of the course earlier in the week and did not hold back. Turning around on the highway I first took a glance at the garmin and seen I was on 36.5kmph pace but I knew the climbing was coming.

Sure enough it was tough going back into a headwind and we now had to climb up Conception that we had earlier descended. I have to say I felt I was under biking and felt so good but stuck with it. Heading back into town there is a 17k out and back along Duplesis and here is where a good chunk of the climbing takes place on the out section.

I hit the first lap of 90kms in 2hr 36 and in control. No sign of my support crew but I had guessed they needed some shelter from the conditions and I cannot blame them. Rinse and repeat for lap 2 although I noticed the wind had picked up again. Again I hit the same average pace out at the turnaround on highway 117 and knew I was having a great day and there were no dark moments, heck I was even smiling thinking this IM lark isn’t so bad! Coming back in the highway I spotted a group of 20 guys working together (illegally) about 1k up the road. Over the next 10k I pulled them back and overtook them all, most of which were in my age group. Normally this would annoy me but I just laughed when passing them.

Back onto Montee Ryan and 155k of the bike done and I was thankful of all those 6hr bikes Liam had me doing. I never felt as strong at this point in an IM. Back into town and I caught a glimpse of an Irish flag [snipped]] . The only point I started to tire was the hills back out to Duplesis, at this point people were all over the roads with some falling off going up the hills, seriously how silly are people crossing paint on the road and weaving their bike about in the process.

I had a real “oh **** moment” about 8km from the end of the bike. Passing someone on a descent I was probably doing about 60kmph and a slower athlete only finishing loop 1 veered as I was about to overtake. I just about avoided them but was put on the opposite side of the road, anyone else coming the other way and I cannot imagine what would have happened. Unfortunately, on the same stretch another athlete was not as lucky and is still currently in a critical condition and in a comma, hope he makes a full recovery. That was enough to have me back off ever so slightly on the way back in. The 2nd 90km loop had me at 2hr 40mins so only for backing off it would have been fairly steady and constant with the first loop.

This is the first IM were I have had no fade on the bike, no “oh ****” I have to run a marathon after and more importantly not one person passed me on the bike whilst I probably overtook at least a third of the field. Most of all I came off the bike ready to run a solid marathon.

Total time was – 5:16:37 for the bike. My fastest IM bike split prior to that was Barcelona in 2012 which was 5:19. Having biked both courses I would put this course 20mins slower than Barcelona. I was only 5mins behind the eventual AG winner time so bike is getting there.

Transition 2
Flying dismount from the bike without issue. Running back in and Mike Reilly spotted the only Irish lad doing the race and I got a shout. Grabbed my bag and found a seat, runners on and off out we go for a 42km run.

Run
Out into a steady effort running 4.45km pace. The plan which was devised was a 9min run and 1min walk to let the hr settle. I have always had the issue of going out too hard and blowing up. No point having a solid swim and strong bike and then to fall apart on the run.

Passed the support crew heading out on loop 1 of 2. Like the bike course there was plenty of rollers at the start and at the end of each loop which took it out of the legs, in total I had 600mtrs of gain on the marathon. The kms were clicking off and the walk breaks were working a treat. I would pass a few, they would pass me back on walk breaks and I would pass them back again for them not to be seen again.

I got close to half way when I started to get some “stomach issues” and was feeling very bloated. Passing [snipped] again and she commented on how I was truly starting to look awful (after the race). They cruelly take you up close to the finish line at the end of loop 1. The support up around here is breath-taking.
I was starting to hurt a little but had not moved from the strategy and ran the first half marathon in 1hr 47mins and on for a 3hr 34min marathon. Heading back out onto lap 2 and passing [snipped] again was a huge lift as I knew the next time I would see her is at the finish line.

I purposely held off taking pepsi at the aid stations until 25k of the run. Call it a treat or a mental boost but it’s like magic hitting your tongue at that point of an IM. The toughest part of an IM for me is undoubtedly 25km through to 37km. This is where you break or take the easy road out and do the zombie shuffle. I was passing hordes of people at this stage doing that exact same zombie shuffle which I was trying to avoid.

The one bit of advice Liam gave me was to switch the brain off and I done that for 95% of the race. If you listen to that voice on your shoulder it is so easy for your race to fall apart. For that 5% of time I had a number of things going through my head. Family and how awesome it was to have them there supporting me. Friends and family back home willing me on, you really don’t know how much it means and the part it plays on race day. There was something else though, through those tough kms on the road I was thinking how lucky I was to be doing this. Having lost a good friend and fellow athlete only a few weeks prior I just imagined he was racing beside me and moving me forward.

Before I knew it I had arrived on the edge of town at 40k and baring disaster I was going to have a pretty good race. I could hear Mike Reilly announcing finishers and I wanted to get there quickly to be one of them….and to stop the pain!

Hitting the last big hill at 41km I was taken aback when I heard my voice being called. There was [snipped] unexpectedly running along the path shouting encouragement and willing me on. He thought it best to position himself at that hill when I needed it most. Boy did it give me a lift to the spirits.

Back in town and nearing the finish line I catch a glimpse of [snipped]. Seeing the joy and pride on their faces was enough to send me into a jibbering mess. I rounded for the finish straight and I finally get to hear the voice of Ironman, Mike Reilly call me in….[snipped] YOU ARE AN IRONMAN.
Marathon time of 3:39:24 and 10:28:51 overall.

This was my 6th time on the start line of an Ironman and the 4th time crossing the line. You know what it’s the first time I feel like I have nailed an IM race. I thought I would never beat the feeling from my 1st Ironman but Mont Tremblant you far exceeded that. I ended up taking 5mins off my fastest Ironman from 4 years ago which was a much faster course at the time. I made right decisions, stuck to the plan and executed a near perfect race. I finished 22nd in my Age Group and I am starting to get a little closer to those coveted Kona World Championship slots, I will get there eventually. I finished 135th overall out of 2500 athletes so top 5% of the field

Some thanks. Liam a big thank you for how you guided the lead into this Ironman and for the company on some of those long bikes. You fall into the category of Mickey the trainer from the earlier Rocky series, “Your gonna eat thunder and crap lightning” He is not one for sugar coating or bull**** and his brash and brutally honest to god hard work approach got the job done.

Friends and family, you guys just rock. To many to mention individually. The comments pre and post-race have been fantastic and mean a lot.

The organisers and volunteers of Mont Tremblant. Folks you really need to get this on your bucket list for either racing or just going to visit, its amazing!

Finally my crew, [snipped] who without them I would not be doing these races. Your unwavering support has been tremendous and allows me compete in what is a selfish and sometimes lonely sport, you make it a little less lonely. I do this sport to be a role model [snipped] in what can be achieved when you put your mind to it. Heck sure they even got a slice of the Ironman experience with them all doing the 1k and 5k Ironkids event.

So that’s it, another attempt at a short race report and another book to be read. If you have made it this far, congrats you deserve a medal. [snipped]


RIP Enda, this race was in your memory buddy.

pgibbo

Cracking race & report Fran. Very well executed. Congrats!!!

mossym

Great report Fran, sounds like a great race.

No PM, was that by plan or not working?

griffin100

Delighted to see a positive IM race report, well done Fran.

Shell to Run

Congrats and well deserved. Great attitude

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

mossym wrote: »

Great report Fran, sounds like a great race.

No PM, was that by plan or not working?

No the P1 pedals are going back for a warranty placement. BBS had me at 210/5w for a 5:15 split and it felt around that ballpark. Given it was my best IM bike it would make me reconsider having numbers or power visible during an IM race!

mossym

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

No the P1 pedals are going back for a warranty placement. BBS had me at 210/5w for a 5:15 split and it felt around that ballpark. Given it was my best IM bike it would make me reconsider having numbers or power visible during an IM race!

Ah I thought you got them working again before you left.

Pmaldini

Great report Fran and nice touch from the clan with the video, as I said after the race, you're a beast! Roll on barca, big pb on the cards:D

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Over a week after the race and just back yesterday from holidays. Amazing how the body can still have some residual fatigue a week after the race, well that and jet lag. Walking the dogs last night and i was out of puff going up a hill.

Decided late last week that Barca is back on the cards. I had provisionally ruled it out prior to IMMT and a 100% ruled it out straight after IMMT. Funny how the brain and body forgets what you have just put it through.

This week is about commuting to get moving again and then 4 weeks of ticking over with shorter sessions but maintaining intensity and there will be little or no real taper.

Unsure how this quick IM turnaround will go but there are two likely outcomes, fantastic or disastrous:)

mossym

will be very interested to see how you go. i'm feeling the same, feel fine when walking around but try and do anything and the body quickly lets me know it doesn't like it

RJM85

mossym wrote: »

i'm feeling the same, feel fine when walking around but try and do anything and the body quickly lets me know it doesn't like it

Post IM fatigue is a funny beast.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Race No 17 - 5k road race
Initial plans was to run this and pace the eldest lad Ben to a PB. He ended up with flu on Friday and I ended up racing it which was interesting given a tough 5x5 turbo earlier that morning and lingering IM fatigue.

Set off with the watch but not looking at it at all and just went as hard as I could. Ended up finishing 6th overall out of 200+ with a time of 18:30 so not so bad, about 20secs off 4th and 5th and try as I might I could not close the gap. One of the guys I coach was a good min ahead so he got the bragging rights

12hrs this week with a bit of intensity. My body does not know what I am doing to it at this stage but even though I feel pretty tired at times i am hitting ok numbers in training. I did sleep 20hrs over the weekend which is big for me so just need to make sure I dont ask too much from the body. Motivation at times has been low and it's hard to get yourself up for it again but it's not called endurance sports for the craic, with the focus being "endure".

mossym

fair play JB, i'm hitting sleep numbers way above what i'd normally need for the last two weeks and that's on no training, can't imagine what a workload on top of that must be like

pgibbo

I notice a lot of people say the P5 is a nightmare to travel with - you'd need an engineering degree to assemble. How did you find travelling with the P5 Fran?

mossym

pgibbo wrote: »

I notice a lot of people say the P5 is a nightmare to travel with - you'd need an engineering degree to assemble. How did you find travelling with the P5 Fran?

is someone looking at a local bike to them?

pgibbo

mossym wrote: »

is someone looking at a local bike to them?

Nope, very happy with my steed. It's the engine that's the problem, not the chariot. CPH proved that

mossym

pgibbo wrote: »

Nope, very happy with my steed. It's the engine that's the problem, not the chariot. CPH proved that

i hear that!!!

i'm hoping jb is going to say no assembly required due to the excellent bike bag he had, as i expect to be getting a lot more use with it next year!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

pgibbo wrote: »

I notice a lot of people say the P5 is a nightmare to travel with - you'd need an engineering degree to assemble. How did you find traveling with the P5 Fran?

TBH i would agree it would be a nightmare to travel with a standard bike box alan or equivalent but still doable. I think once you do it once and take your time its probably a 20min job (going one way).

Thanks to Mossyms loan of the Scion tri bag it was a 5min job. So good that i will probably invest in one next year. My original concern was hard case vs soft case but the way its packed and safe guarded inside you would need an idiot baggage handler to be dancing on it to cause damage.

I have to start packing in 2 weeks again:o