Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

shotgunmcos wrote: »

What is the PB?

10.02 so really a perfect day with no issues and a good tailwind would be a 9:xx

RJM85

Wishing you good luck now in case I forget closer to race day!

10:01?

Pmaldini

Hey Fran,
the very best of luck this weekend, you have some serious work done despite all that is going on in your life, i'm looking forward to tracking you to a PB on Sunday while i am nursing a hangover and sunburn after the HOW:D

shotgunmcos

Best of Luck Fran! The 19/1 will probably bring it in for you, fingers crossed it goes your way!

MalDoc

Best of luck!

mossym

understanding better than most the workload you'r balancing between college and work i'm hugely impressed with where you have gotten to training wise.

best of luck the weekend F, go slay the demons of roth past and come across that finish line grinning from ear to ear..

BennyMul

Best of luck Fran,

joey100

Really hoping you get that sub10, all the best over there.

zico10

Best of luck on Sunday, Fran.

Abhainn

Have a great race Fran

Kurt.Godel

Best of luck Fran! A sub 50 swim for a decent ROI

numorouno

Very best of luck.i thoroughly enjoy reading this thread

shotgunmcos

Unreal stuff by McCrystal but what about Fran?
Been all over the web and can't find his tracker. #414

mossym

11:07 for Fran, you can find him if you click on my favorites beside the leaderboard list


fair play fran, the demon is slayed, finish line in roth crossed. significant step up on last time

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Cheers folks, not the race I wanted but hey **** happens. Back flared up on the bike and had to walk most of the marathon. Will stick up a short report soon.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Challenge Roth - Race Report

I will try keep this shorter than usual.

Swim
In the 6.50am wave which had 200 of us in it. Got going at the start without issue apart from the usual knocks and bumps. Planned to swim the centre of the canal on the way up and stay close to the banks on the way back, the advice taken from Torstens pre-race report. Felt a bit flat/tired in the water from the start but just concentrated on my stroke and keeping relaxed through the swim. I had hoped for a 67-68 swim (which would be a 10min pb) a little disappointed to come out of the water in 75mins but still a 3min pb.

T1
4.24, lost some time trying to get the wet skin suit over the shoulders but this was a good transition for me.

Bike
Into the bike and again the energy just felt a little flat and the legs were dead from the start. I kept patient in the hope the body would come good as the race progressed and kept up with my race nutrition/hydration plan.

First time up Solar was an experience which I got to enjoy unlike last time in 2012. Seen the support crew at the top which was good. About 80k into the bike I started to feel a little more like myself and started to reel in a good few. I had just passed Darren at 120k and a bike marshall came right across my front wheel to get out of the way for an ambulance and nearly took me out of it in the process, not sure how I stayed up.

I went through halfway in 2.45 which was a few minutes off my best case scenario of a 5.15 but I knew I was starting to move well. I had hit lap halfway through and the odd look at the speedo was suggesting I might do the 2nd loop in 2.35. I hit Solar hill again at the 155k mark and this is where my race changed. Felt something tighten up in my back and the last 25k for home became quite painful. Ended up even splitting the bike as a result due to the time I lost back whilst stretching out my back. 5.30 bike split.

T2
Time of 2.48 - I would have been quicker only for me trying to stretch out my back.

Run
1km into the run and I knew I was in trouble. I was trying to hold race pace and everywhere was locking up. Had started with a plan to run/walk 19 & 1, plan B resorted to 9 & 1 and plan C to 4 & 1 which got me to about 15k. From there I was walking more than running and in extreme pain. There was no way I was coming back to Roth a third time so it was starting sink in that I might have to walk the 2nd half which was just a horrible thought at the time as it would potentially mean another 3hrs out on the course.

Darren repassed me at 21k and luckily he gave me a Nurofen which I popped to see if it would help. Managed to get into a shuffle around 25k which I am sure looked ridiculous. Passed the support crew at 30k and they tried to release a knot in my piriformis which I thought might be causing the issue at the time. I also popped another Nurofen which is probably not advisable.

Last 12k was just trying to tick off the kms and get it finished. It was not fun and not the normal type of pain I like at the end of an IM when you are running hard and battling. Crossed the finish line which was a little underwhelming, picked up my medal and found a massage table before catching up with the support crew. Run/walk time was 4.14 and I believe my slowest ever IM run.

Race reflections, this was start line number 8 and finish line number 6 in IM distance racing. If it was any other course I would have been better stepping off the course, for me it's about performance and Sunday was far from what I would consider a good performance even with my limited training going into it, past the stage of seeing the completion of an IM race as an accomplishment. But hey stuff happens when something does not go to plan on race day, hence why I have started to double up recently.

Got a physio appointment when I got back yesterday (which was extremely painful) and both my QLs had locked up. Along with that hip flexors, and glutes seized up for compensating. An easy week this week with no biking or running and refocus now on CPH where hopefully it will be a better experience.

The one positive if you can call it that is that apart from the injury its the freshest the legs have felt after an IM as they were not trashed on the run. Its also a valuable lesson in having a plan a,b,c,d in IM racing as things can often go wrong on race day and you need to know what the backup plan is.

Pmaldini

You have no luck on that course Fran, hopefully you get what you deserve in CPH

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

6hrs in total for last week and most of that was walking and hill climbing with the kids in Donegal, they talked me into climbing Mount Errigal which felt like climbing Everest. Got out for a short spin with Dolan on Saturday but it was slow and uncomfortable but the 2 coffees and solving the world's problems were great.

Due to be getting back to the plan this week for CPH but the back is still not right, in with the physio again today and I will hopefully see some improvements so I can get going again.

joey100

Sorry to read about the race JB, any ideas were the back issue is coming from? Seen it mentioned in your 70.3 race too, bike position maybe?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

joey100 wrote: »

Sorry to read about the race JB, any ideas were the back issue is coming from? Seen it mentioned in your 70.3 race too, bike position maybe?

Good spot on the issues at 70.3, I had forgotten it had caused me trouble at that race also. Pretty certain I can rule out bike position as an issue as I have had the same bike position for the last number of years and have often done long spins in tt position without issue. I must actually recheck all my measurements to make sure nothing has moved or changed just to be sure.

I think the real issue is I have been neglecting some S&C conditioning and flexibility/mobility work. I am not getting any younger and more time should be given to these areas rather than just hammering out SBR sessions.

BennyMul

would it be worth getting a bike fit done just to "double check", as you said we are not younger and our bodies are slightly different from a few years back?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

BennyMul wrote: »

would it be worth getting a bike fit done just to "double check", as you said we are not younger and our bodies are slightly different from a few years back?

Might be worth considering although I only did one 2 years ago and 4 years prior to that with very little changes between both fits, the position is very comfortable and not overly aggressive.

peter kern

how many hours total training for this one vs other ones ?

and i guess you will find the issue lol

edit how many more hours sitting in a chair for this one than the other ones is of curse part of the eqauation too

RacoonQueen

I think the worst part of this for JB was being beaten by Darren really :pac:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

4 weeks on from Roth and I have only managed a handful of sessions. This injury is proving to be very stubborn to sort after a load of physio sessions. Every bike, run, and even swim session is with some pain so uncertain at this stage if I will make it to the start line in CPH, although the last few days I have seen an improvement.

Going to keep positive and do what I can to get to the start line injury/pain-free. This is not what I intended when signing up for both races last year but its not the end of the world!

Pmaldini

Best of luck at the weekend Fran, hope the injury has cleared enough for you to give it your all on the day.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Pmaldini wrote: »

Best of luck at the weekend Fran, hope the injury has cleared enough for you to give it your all on the day.

Cheers P, unfortuneatly injury has not cleared but going to the start line and see what happens tomorrow.

Pmaldini

Superb Fran, very well done, enjoy the break, looking forward to the report,
P.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Well that’s one race I will not forget for a long time. Given the poor lead in with injuries etc I am delighted with that effort. Rolled the dice chasing a time as had nothing to lose.

Now time to recover and get fixed.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Ironman Copenhagen 2018 Race Report

Pre race

Body was in a bad way since Roth 7 weeks ago with both QL muscles constantly in spasm, multiple visits to the physio did not fully solve it but I tried to remain positive that I would make it to the start line. In hindsight my back problems started a long time before Roth and probably back to the lead in to Marbella 70.3 with increased work stress over the last 8 months not helping.

Headed over with Darren and Garry from the club on the Thursday morning with no issues. Checked into AirBnB which was a great spot centrally located to finish and start area at. My first impressions of Copenhagen were good and Ireland has a lot to learn with with its transport infracstructure.

Friday morning up early and wanted to get out on the TT bike and get the first 25k of the course in and back to see how the back was. Kept it easy bar 20mins when Darren went off at planned race pace and dropped me, I was not feeling good. Woke up early Saturday morning and my back was in a bad way. Laying on the floor stretching and rolling my QLS out I was in pure agony, Darren walked in and I was doing my best to keep my emotions in check with the thought of a DNS being very real. Decided to throw a heat pack on and take some deep heat and back to bed for a while. When I woke up again I was feeling a little more positive especially after a chat with Michelle.

The Girls aka the super support crew arrived over and I had decided to check in and at least start and see what happened. Warm up swim done nothing for the confidence but it was good to sight some of the course. Going to bed on Saturday night was without doubt the most nervous I have been before an IM as it was the first time I knew I was not fully fit heading to an IM start line.

Race morning

Not a great sleep as some party revellers kept me awake. I decided I did not want to be speaking to anyone on race morning and stuck the earphones in and focus on what was ahead. Forgot my race bottles which resulted in it being my earlier than planned warm up run and keeping everyone late. Arrived and got set up with no time for a swim warm up.

Swim

Positioned myself at the front purely to try and get into faster legal pace lines with stronger bikers. Started off very comfortable and eased myself into it. Had decided the fastest line out was not following the buoys but staying right of them as the turnaround was a dog leg right. Had nobody for company and at one stage I thought I had swam too far right especially with Marshall’s trying to push me in closer to the buoys. Turnaround I got a few knocks and had to adjust the goggles with fogging which hampered sighting. Back at the turnaround I started to lift the effort, felt I was swimming faster than Roth with very little swim training over the last few weeks. Swam close to the buoys on the way back and a guy with an AWA hat swimming the opposite way on my side swam straight into me, no damage done but knocked my flow a bit. Last turnaround was a mess as everyone swimming on top of each other and unclear where to follow, normally I would panic but was actually laughing. Swim was a min slower than Roth but 76mins was acceptable given circumstances.

T1

Just ok, my back was real tight running into the change area and out of transition and probably a minute slower than I would have liked.

Bike

Same nutrition and hydration plan as my last 3 IMs as I seem to have it pretty much dialled in. First 1k and I near made an end to my race,heading out past the bridge and sipping out of my aero bottle up front I just look up and avoid someone stopped in the middle of the road dealing with a mechanical, stupid on him and stupid on me so early in the race. First 20k is slow and technical out of town before we hit the coast road. Hitting 50k was really in a dark place as back was in bits and I was thinking this is not going to end well, popped a 2nd painkiller (I do not recommend this btw) kept focused for the next 40k and was through 90k in 2:35 and on the 2nd loop when I decided I was going to go for it and had nothing to lose as my pb is 10:02 and I would rather try and fail than have not tried at all.

Kids had each written a message on my stem which helped me snap out of any low points. I was starting to motor from 100k onwards and passing a good few, I knew the body was pushing hard and I was biking above my current fitness. I passed Darren around 110k which was a shock so early, he was not going well and rather than plough on I tried to snap him out of it after helping me out in Roth. For the next 40k we rode hard, me mostly on front but Darren taking a few turns and all legal. Although Darren afterwards told me people were jumping right on my wheel as I passed them often leaving him 3rd or 4th wheel. I did not see much drafting ahead of me but obviously there was some behind me.

With 30k to go I was looking behind for Darren and he was a 100mtrs behind, it was time to push as I knew a low 5hr and negative split was on. Last 10k was pure hurt and was wondering what would happen off the bike. 5:08 time and a negative 2nd half split with a 2:33, I think with a solid lead in and no injury issues this is a sub 5hr bike course for me if not sub 4:55 if really on form.

Run

Memories of the misery of Roth was still in the head but with 6:34:30 on the clock heading out I had made a deal with myself to go out hard for sub 10 and whatever happened I would be happy with it. Whilst the back was sore it was much better than Roth and I could at least run with a little looser with a faster cadence. First few Kms I had to keep slowing down as I was in the zone chasing. Passed the support crew at 2k and they knew I was going for it, such a huge lift having support out on the course. I went through 20k and was working hard but still on for a sub 3:20 marathon and a sub 9:55 finish. Things were becoming extremely difficult from 25k on and I was fighting to hold pace even though I was still running sub 5min km pace.

Through 30k and it was still on and from my uncoordinated maths a 9:58 was on if I held it together. I passed Michelle at this point one last time and she described me as looking like death but still chasing and in the zone. Hit 34k and the body was in all sorts of bother, I was struggling but still trying to keep it going, I sort of knew at 36k the sub 10 was gone but I was trying not to walk the last 6k. I often talk about pushing the body to the edge and seeing what it has, the last 6k was that and more as I never hurt so much. With the last km I steadied myself, got a little too emotional given I did not think I could start let alone pull out this sort of performance. Crossing the finish line was relief and pride, I never pushed as hard and even knowing it was 2mins slower than my IM Barca pb it was my best ever IM performance with a 2min run Pb in 3:31.

It goes to show that 8 years in the sport stands for something along with trying to keep positive when the chips are down. I would have been hugely disappointed with the season with just ending with an 11:07 in Roth but a 10:05 is closer to what I deem a great performance for myself and one which I am extremely proud of. Huge thanks as always goes to Michelle and kids, they have been great and even kept me company on some runs and swims. Liam and Darren for constant positive vibes and keeping my chin up. I had visualized sitting in France on holidays (as I am now) and sitting with a nice red, watching my kids sleep peacefully and how it would feel typing out a DNS/DNF report to one where I know I gave a 100% of what the body had.....it’s mad the mind games and bargaining that goes on in the last few kms of an IM race but one thing is for sure, I now know that the body can push harder than what I thought was possible. Whilst I am getting older there is still some life in this old dog yet.

Time to recover now and get the body fixed as my back is in a lot of pain since and will need an MRI when I get back to make sure there is nothing else going on, don’t think IM racing is realistic next year but will wait and see.