Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

woody1

i really like drogheda acs tops.. wouldnt go down well with either duleek heads or ballina if i joined drogheda though !!

http://www.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/president-sparks-star-and-crescent-debate-27144260.html

urban myth about it.. was some story about a film about it a while ago

Dory Dory

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Ah here not you on the legs as well, what is it with the legs, is it the white schoolgril socks:P

Cue the Brittany Spears schoolgirl socks video. :eek:

I'm thinking a Aliya Wailing Bench led all male boards tri forum remake.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Last week was a quite week for training so just treated it as a recovery week as i was away for 3 days with work. Managed 8.5hrs for the week with the majority of that out a long 4hr cycle with ugly sweets.

This week is shaping up to be a decent week, mostly on the bike. I am currently doing that 8 stage thingy on Trainer Road. 8 tough days on the turbo you would expect would take its toll on the legs but i am finding i am feeling stronger as the week goes on (my quads are getting bigger Oryx/Dory;)) Through 5 stages so just the 3 to go, love a good turbo session, particularly so on the new wahoo kcker (will post a review soon)

I decided to have a pop at a local 5k in Stamullen on Tuesday. I had done a tough turbo that morning but decided what the hell as Michelle was racing as well. Started out far too fast in the 1st k, settled in the 2nd k, hit some hills on the 3rd k, 4th k was hanging and 5th k i was breathing through my ar$e. Crossed the line in 18:5x. A good minute slower than several weeks ago but it was enjoyable and a lovely evening for it.

Next race up is Lough Cutra if i can dodge a trip to China. Looking at a few other races to add to the mix, also checking the cycling calendar to see what sort of A4 racing is left for the season to see if its worthwhile renewing the CI card as it would be nice to have a stab at being upgraded to A3.

8 weeks to FF and i am looking forward to the weekend away.

pointer28

Just FYI, Stage 6 is f'ing horrible, especially the last half hour.

Out of 1700 signed up for the 8 days, only about 600 still going.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

pointer28 wrote: »

Just FYI, Stage 6 is f'ing horrible, especially the last half hour.

Out of 1700 signed up for the 8 days, only about 600 still going.

I had heard its a bit of a beast alright, they classed it as the toughest from all 8. It seems to be a lot of sustained efforts around & above threshold. Running out of cycling gear as its nearly all in the wash:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Finally entered some races and have a rough plan for having some fun races for the rest of the year, feck doing no racing and putting all the eggs into an IM basket!!

Tris (all entered)
Lough Cutra - OLY - 25th May
James McManus Cavan - SPR - 31st May
IM Frankfurt - 06th July
DCT - Oly - 24th August
Newry City Tri - SPR - 31st August
Belfast City Tri - OLY - 07th September

Bike racing (provisional)
Sean Nolan GP Navan - 08th June
Christy McManus - 14th June or the Noel & Kieran Mem on the 15th June
Louth 10 mile TT - 18th June
Collins Christie Mem - 10th August
Louth Hill Champs (need to put bikies down for this) - 28th August
Some of the club races on a Thurs night as and when i can.

1 or 2 road races running as and when i feel like it....should keep me occupied.:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

A solid 19hrs/1400tss of training last week, mostly on the bike.
2hr 50 swim/7100mtrs
13hr 50 bike/436.6kms
2hr 25 run/32.5kms

Bike mileage was high due to the 8 day trainer road tour they had on. A$$ is in ribbons from all the turbos:o. Managed to get out for over 5hrs with 2 of the lads from the club on Sunday, was happy enough with how that went and felt good during and after....apart from the poxy rain we had for about 3hrs of it.

Plan this week is to just tip along and i am hoping to get a 3hr ride out whest on the Saturday for a change of scenery prior to racing Lough Cutra on the Sunday.

On a seperate note i have to say i am totally hooked following the RAS coverage at the moment, in particular following Liams progress on http://thebikestation.ie/. One day i would love to attempt it but reckon i would need a new pair of legs and a motor engine on the bike to keep up:pac:

BennyMul

here is the Nenagh Teams log, http://www.nenaghtriathlonclub.com/
as written by Shane Scully a good ready.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

11hrs training for last week, 9.1k of swim, 132k on the bike and 41.8k on the run. A good start to the week but ended up sick by the end of it.

I was due to race Lough Cutra on Sunday but came down with that stomach bug doing the rounds. I had started to feel a little off on Friday evening and went out with LCD on the bike for an easy spin on Saturday morning but was still feeling a little rough. Made the decision to head west with the clan but progressively got worse by the time i hit Galway in the afternoon and later in the evening.

At least i made the wise decision not to race but what a waste of a weekend to drive all that way to sit on the toilet:o, at least the kids & Michelle had fun! The one favourable thing about doing more of these lower key races is that you don't feel as bad when you miss out on them as there is always another round the corner.

I dont have long to wait to race again, due for the James Memorial SPR on Saturday over in Cavan. Might also be a possibility of doing my first bike race for the season on Sunday in the Deenside Cup, depending on how the legs feel and if i can get a pass from the boss

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

15hrs training last week and one race, broken down as 3hrs/8.3k swim, 9.5hrs/278.4k on the bike and 2.5hrs/30.4k on the run. Training was a bit hit and miss for the week and i moved things around a fair bit.

2nd tri race of the season seen me up in Cavan on Saturday for the James McManus sprint. Having missed Cutra the week previous i was looking forward to getting back out there and having some fun.

James McManus Memorial - SPR tri
Cracking day for a race, arrived about an hour before the start which left me with plenty of time to get registered, racked up and a decent warm up. Headed out on the bike and joined Ed for a run warm up. Some gobsh1te was trying to run us off the road in his car...turns out it was just Tunney playing a game of chicken:)

Swim
Lined up 2nd or 3rd row to the left and off we went. Water temp was grand, not cold at all. Struggled to get into my swimming, turned the first buoy heading right and i found the chop in the lake was making me feel dizzy. I had the skull cap and ear plugs in but no tablets taken (thought a SPR would be ok). I knew i was swimming badly and felt pretty fvked coming out of the water in a dreadful 15:50, it felt like i had swam an IM swim!.
15:50 and 59th out of 117, giving away 5mins in the swim to the front of the race.
T1
I was all over the shop in T1 and was doing stupid things like stumbling over myself trying to get the wetsuit off.
1.02 and 59th out of 117
Bike
I was feeling a little off from the swim for about 10mins into the bike until i started to settle. I overtook a good few and lost count. Power was down from what it should have been (putting this down to the swim) but managed to hold 36kmph and 10th fastest bike split, given low power i obviously have a decent setup on the bike but still about 2mins back to fastest split of the day.
33:36 and 10th out of 117
Run
Run was pretty poor, ran the first 2k hard and reeling a few more bodies in. Spotted Ed heading on the back section to what looked like an easy win and looking comfortable. Tried to surge past a few bodies with 1/2k to go, managed to get by a few but left 2 or 3 out front as the legs were toast. Effort had felt like a low 18min run so was surprised to see it as slow.
19:49 and 17th out of 117
1:10:54 and 23rd out of 117
Overall a well run race and one that i would recommend. The swim has left me a little concerned about Frankfurt as i thought i had swim issues sorted, need to get into the OW a lot more in the next 4 or 5 weeks.

This week i think i will take it handy enough then give it a lash for two weeks and then taper, training for an IM is over rated any way:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Looks like i will be heading to Foshan City, Guangdong on the 28th June with work. Just as well i am not treating IM FF too serious as this is hardly ideal prep but may need to work out a direct flight back to Frankfurt to be back in time for the race. Now to figure out what to do with my bike!

pgibbo

Pick up one of those Chinese builds over there and bring it with you to FF :pac:

pointer28

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Now to figure out what to do with my bike!

www.shipmytribike.ie

These guys are going to Frankfurt but other than that I know nothing about them.

EC1000

pointer28 wrote: »

www.shipmytribike.ie

These guys are going to Frankfurt but other than that I know nothing about them.

Can definitely recommend them. Makes even more sense when you consider that they also bring a bag for you so you end up not having to check in luggage at all - used them for Mallorca this year and sent over helmet, wetsuit etc. in advance - very satisfied.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

This week i think i will take it handy enough then give it a lash for two weeks and then taper, training for an IM is over rated any way:)

Slight change of plan this week:rolleyes:, firstly i did not need an easy week, its not as if i need a recovery week when the training load has been low. Secondly a few gaps have appeared this week with work which allowed me get a solid days training in yesterday in decent enough weather.

Legs feeling a good tired from yesterday

Swim : 3.8k straight swim / 1:12:55 (I should add this was with pb stuck between the legs)
(Gap of about 2hrs between swim and bike)
Bike : 162.1k / 5:03 / 32.1kmph avg – a good crosswind/tailwind from Newry back and power was good.
Run: 7.5k/ 4.40 easy paced run off the bike with Ryan on his bike, his bike training is paying off, he can now keep up with me or perhaps i am getting slower.
A good 7hrs training and nearly a 500tss day:eek:

Happy now in my own mind that Frankfurt will not be a complete struggle and will be enjoyable to get around. I am looking forward to some bratwurst and german beer!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Looks like i made it into the elite starting wave of 300 for Frankfurt, not that i will have an elite finish time to warrant such a starting point:o. After what happened in the mass start last year (2500 all at once) it goes without saying that i am somewhat relieved.
This should have me swimming in clear water for most of it, i feel more comfortable out of the draft and madness that can go with it.
Hopefully it should have me around faster bikers so i can draft off them and suck their wheels, do a 4:30 bike split and have fresh legs to run a low 3hr marathon :pac: (joking obv)

mossym

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Hopefully it should have me around faster bikers so i can draft pace off them and suck study their wheels from just outside the legal distance, do a 4:30 bike split and have fresh legs to run a lowsub 3hr marathon

ahemmmmm.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Like every pimple faced teenager facing their exams it feels like i am cramming in some training at the last minute to gain some half decent fitness.
Another solid week at 18.5hrs, as 10.9k/3.5hrs swim, 341.5k/10.75hrs bike and 53.3k/4.25hrs for the run. Hours not so bad considering Monday was a rest day.
Some decent sessions in there
Wednesdays long 3.8k swim/160k bike and short run combo
I had a decent 30k run on the Saturday with Ryan out on his bike for half of it
4.5hrs on the bike yesterday with an A4 race thrown in for good measure (race report below).

With 4 weeks to go to FF i am unsure to go with an easy week this week and then lift it for the week after with 2 weeks easy or to go big again this week and then reduce training over the remaining 3 weeks. Suck it and see approach i guess.

Sunday: Sean Nolan GP - A4 race
My first bit of bike racing for the year. I had decided to get some bike miles in the legs today so planned on cycling over & back to the race start along with the 80k race.
With the cycle over and a missed turn i had 45k clocked up before race start. Quickly registered, paid my €10 and headed for the start. There is an awful lot to be said about bike racing, there is no fuss, pay your dough and away you go.

Just before the start it bucketed down which left the roads greasy and wet, i would be lying if i said i was not a tad bit nervous as i was trying to think about not crashing. In fairness barring a crash in the final sprint the bunch was well behaved without any messing going on. It was a 2 loop rolling & tough enough little course. I had planned to just sit in for the first lap and watch how things unfolded.

The pace for the first 30-40k was very stop start, balls out, breather, balls out, rinse & repeat. I felt good though as i passed through 30k of the race and 75k into my spin. There was a few popping off the front but nothing of note really sticking. I decided to make my way to the front and noticed two strong looking lads up the road and they were increasing the gap into the bunch. Decided to see how the legs responded. Came out wide on the right and started to bridge across, turned briefly and noticed i had put a decent gap in. Kept drilling it, passed one of the lads who broke and looked as if his lights went out. Kept going but was starting to struggle as had been holding 400w for about 2 or 3 mins at this stage, had put maybe 10-15secs into the pack but with a headwind i sat up as i really could of done with someone coming with me. I had another pop off the front around 50k with 2 or 3 others but we were swallowed up quickly.

About 60k into the race (105k into cycle) the energy levels started to drop and i was starting to feel my earlier efforts and the long run in the legs along with the heavy weeks training. I stupidly only brought one gel and a bar with me, both had been long consumed and there was nothing else on the menu. Dropped to the middle of the bunch and then to the back for the final few kms. Just rolled in as i was in no shape to contest a sprint finish.
Quick coffee and some sambos and i was fine making my 30k trip back home on the bike to round off 150k for the day in 4.5hrs. Power was ok but it showed me that 6 weeks ad hoc cycling training does not a cyclist make:rolleyes:

Really considering a fully bike focussed year for 2015. I am going to have less hours available for training with work next year and you can get in pretty good bike shape in 8-10hrs a week. That and i enjoy the bike the most, its the one thing i could actually do ok in:o, i have decent power (when trained) and am light enough (when race fit).

There is a 3day a4 race in Omagh at the end of the month, seriously considering it even though its a week before FF.

mossym

perfect, give me a long of your running legs for 2015 then if you're not using them, could do with the help:).

nice week of training there. not just in terms of numbers, but getting out with the young fella, getting to blend the race in. nice reminder that it can't all be about the numbers all the time

pgibbo

Nice week Fran. I think you'd be cracked doing a 3 day so close to FF. I know FF isn't a focus race, but the risk of a crash or the likes on a 3 day with a4s has to be quite large. Especially as fatigue kicks in on day 3.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

mossym wrote: »

perfect, give me a long of your running legs for 2015 then if you're not using them, could do with the help:).

As long as you don't mind having short legs.

pgibbo wrote: »

Nice week Fran. I think you'd be cracked doing a 3 day so close to FF. I know FF isn't a focus race, but the risk of a crash or the likes on a 3 day with a4s has to be quite large. Especially as fatigue kicks in on day 3.

You know me P, i am cracked. It's a pity the timing is so close, a week earlier would have been perfect. I will just have to get upgraded and do the Newry 3 day in August instead:)

sconhome

mossym wrote: »

perfect, give me a long of your running legs for 2015 then if you're not using them, could do with the help:).

Sorry Fran....

Mossy are you sure about that?

mossym

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

As long as you don't mind having short legs.

AKW wrote: »

Sorry Fran....

Mossy are you sure about that?

hmmm. i may need to rethink this plan. cost versus reward...

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

My hap hazard, zero to hero IM training programme is near completion after 6 weeks.:) Big week put down and everywhere is tired and sore this morning.
Going to log some detail for the week so i can reflect on it a later date.

Mon - Easy day with a 30min recovery turbo and a 30 easy treadmill run. Also in the pool for a 2k set with a mix of 100s/200s/400s.

Tue - Again another light enough day, in the pool for a 200 wu and 20x100s off 1.55 with pb, coming in 1:38-43.

Wed - Swim again, just maintaining a feel for the water, another 2k set. In the evening a long, warm and sweaty run. Hayfever was going nuts on this, kept effort at what felt like IM pace without looking at the watch. So bored with long runs, they are a pain in the a$$. 35k done and dusted in 2:45 and 4.4x pace. I was pretty fecked after this one

Thurs - 1.5hr turbo with some work as 3x20mins at threshold with 5mins recoveries. 265w/264w/266w. I recall a time when i was hitting 290-300w on a similar session. Another swim, another 2k, 5x400s. 45min treadmill run to finish off the day.

Fri - 3hr bike, just rode easy but threw in a few mins around threshold. Another swim, feel like a fish, pity i cannot swim like one.

Sat - OW swim - 4k as 2k in wetsuit and 2k in skins. The upshot is i swim around 2min pace in a westuit and i drift out to 2.20s in OW. Guess it will be a long a$$ swim in Frankfurt. Shoulders tiring towards the end. 1hr bike at IM intensity after it. Took me 10mins to settle into it, as usual the switch from horizontal in the water to vertical on the bike had me feeling off. MLR run off the bike, just a 90min easy run, surprised pace came in at 4.29 for this although i suspect the garmin was acting the goat.

Sun - Last long training day. Plan was a 6hr/200k bike with a 12k run off it. I was glad to have company for most of it, headed out with Dolan for 4hrs of it. Weather was great, the chat was good but the legs did not want to know. We had a headwind for the first 3hrs so pace was below 30kmph. I blew my lights trying to close Liam on Newry hill but surprisingly the legs felt better for it and the remaining 3hrs i started to feel stronger as the ride went on. With a tailwind home the 2nd half of the spin was much quicker, 34.9kmph. Total 200.3kms in 6:10 (cycled around the block twice:)) Went through 180k IM bike distance in 5hr 37, so with cleanly shaven legs and faster roads i think a 5hr 30 should be within range in FF. Power was not bad either but jesus that ISM saddle will be the death of me.

My back and glutes were tight starting out on the run and it was really warm by this stage. I did not start feeling good until about 3k into the run. Finished off the last 3 or 4k very strong all the while visualising the finish in the square at FF, by hook or by crook i will get there this year. Pace was 4.30km by the end of it...that is no way sustainable btw for the IM.

Glad of any easy week to recover and absord the training load, 1600tss weeks knock the crap out of you especially with 4 young kids and a busy job.
Swim:4hr52/14.5kms
Bike:12hrs/385.7kms
Run:6.5hrs/83.1kms
Total:23hrs15mins

I will be glad to take a break from IM racing and training for a few years as it really takes a lot of effort and time. The Kona goal is still there for the future but will be parked until i am in my 40s:). I have another few things on my bucket list i want to cross off the list first.

mossym

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

I will be glad to take a break from IM racing and training for a few years as it really takes a lot of effort and time. The Kona goal is still there for the future but will be parked until i am in my 40s:). I have another few things on my bucket list i want to cross off the list first.

i don't see a problem, if you continue the trend from the previous training you did for the IM, down to this one, for next year you'll only need to do a week before the IM. should be no problem!!

nice week there Fran

Abhainn

Some week Fran. Impressive

Abhainn

Some week Fran. Impressive

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Surprised myself in the pool lunchtime yesterday. Managed to take another 11secs off the 400tt. 6:43 is the fastest I have ever swam a 400, perhaps it was just a freak one off. Paced much better and really pushed it from 250 onwards, spent after it. 1:39/43/41/40.

Got out to Lough Bracken on Tuesday evening, lovely place to swim with an out and back measuring 700mtrs. Water was nice and warm.

Kurt Godel

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

400tt. 6:43 ... 1:39/43/41/40.

Thats great pacing Fran, well deserved pb.

RacoonQueen

F*ck ye anyway...I'm not going to try an beat that anytime soon.