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PDCAT

JohnDozer wrote: »

Can I ask what gym work you do for your hip flexors and glutes? is it stretching or weights or both?

Hi

The physio in the gym in SSC has been given me four exercises to complete, three times per week, taking about 25 minutes on each occasion. I normally complete them in the gym prior to going to my swim session. Using combination of bands & weights.

1. Using a band wrapped around my feet and lying on my back, push one leg out straight whilst keeping the other leg at >90 degrees. This one is to 'switch on'your hip flexors. 3 x 8 on each leg.

2. Deadbug with bands - again lying on my back with a different type of band wrapped around a fixed object. Hold this band in my hands with my arms straight up in the air. Bend my legs again about 90 degrees and hold for a couple of seconds. This is used to work your abdominal area. Do 3 x 8 of these.

3. Hip Thrusters 3 x 8 - Lying against a fixed object, thrusting my pelvic area forward. Aim here is to feel it in the glute area.

4. Step up with weights 3 x 6 - Standing with one leg on a bench and stepping up with the other leg and raising it as if your running. Hold weights in each hand. I'm currently working with 12.5kg in each hand.

PDCAT

Monday 14/08/17 - Gym Work - 30 minutes in the gym working on glutes & hip flexors.

Swim (CSS Pace) (12 x 100m @ 2.05/100 meters pace)

Plan was:
200m Warm Up
12 x 100m (CSS Pace)
200m (boards & fins)
200m (sighting)
200m Cool Down

Went ok, managed to hit times for all reps, kept recoveries to 10 seconds. Find the last few pretty tough though.
Total Swim (2K).

Run - 4.00 35.42 (8.56). No issues.

Tuesday 15/08/17 - Travelled up to the Santry Sports Surgery clinic to meet with the physio to assess how it's going. He changed one or two exericses. Done about 20 minutes work in the gym up there.

Bike - Road - 1.19 hours 'Sweetspot'. Out on the new bike. This involved 15 minutes warm up, then 40 minutes in upper zone 3/ lower zone 4, then 15 minutes cool down. Managed to complete 20k in about 36 minutes 30 seconds, nice bit faster than i'm doing currently in the triathlons.

Wednesday 16/08/17 - Run - 4.00 36.13 (9.03) Up early before work for a quick jog on the road.

Thursday 17/08/17 - Bike - Turbo 1 hour - 'Cadence' - Again up early before work on the turbo to do this session. Another Triathlon planned for the weekend, so taking it easy.

Friday 18/08/17 - Gym Work - 30 minutes

Swim - Took this real handy as Worlds End Triathlon in Limerick the next day.
Plan was:
200m Warm up
200m (boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
100m (Breaststroke)
100m (F/S)
200m Cool Down

10 minutes treading

Total Swim (1K).

Saturday 19/08/17

Worlds End Triathlon

Have decided against completing an Olympic Triathlon this season. As this is my first year doing triathlons, decided that i'll stick to the sprints. I entered into this triathlon late on as need a bit of confidence after the loughrea disaster.

Swim
This was in the river shannon 375 meters upstream, turn around the buoy and back again. Enjoyed this swim, went ok for me given the fact that it's my weakest event by far. Was in wave 1, and the biggest issue i had was on a number of ocassions i bumped into other swimmers. Nobodies fault, just one of those things.
Time = 16.16
Place = 68/148

T1
My transitions have been very poor since i started. Was doing too many tasks at each transition and managed to lean them out somewhat.
This one went better than the previous few tri's and was happy enough with it.
Time = 1.53
Place = 54/148

Bike
Was looking forward to the bike, as it was my first triathlon to complete with the new bike. Had a couple of good training rides on it and was hoping to see some improvement. Slightly disappointed with the performance, even though it was much improved from loughrea. Found my legs very tired for the first 10 minutes after getting out of the river. It was only when three riders came past me close together that i seemed to give myself a kick up the backside and pushed hard. Managed to stay with these three guys over the course and we interchanged positions a number of times during the ride.
Course was quite hilly in parts and definitely was a tougher course than i expected.
Time = 38.13
Place = 49/148

T2
Again have managed to remove some tasks on this transition as well. Still could do better here. Need to get lock laces, wasting too much time putting on runners and tying laces.
Time = 0.58
Place = 95/148

Run
This is generally my strongest part. Found it tough, normally i pass quite a few on the run. No so today, only passed 2 runners and 2 guys passed me near the finish. Due to injury, i haven't done any speed work in nearly 2 years now. As long as i can't train properly, this is not going to get any better. Nevertheless, it went ok for me.
Time = 21.36
Place = 33/148

Overall Time = 1.18.59
Overall Place = 49/148

Happy enough with this. My quickest sprint triathlon out of the four i've completed so far. 10 minutes quicker than loughrea two weeks ago. Definitely areas to work on. Might look at completing one last sprint triathlon in the next couple of weeks and call it quits for the season then.

PDCAT

Tuesday 22/08/17 - Run - 4.00 38.15 (9.33). Down in Lahinch for a couple of days with the family. Lovely spot and always like visiting West Clare. Hungover on Monday so no exercise. Up early here and ran along Lahinch Promenade. A couple of other runners and couple of surfers on the beach at 7am.

Swim - Open Water - Not sure i can call this a swim as i didn't do much. Spent about 2 hours in the water in Lahinch in the afternoon. Fairly big waves and wasn't great for swimming. Spent much of my time diving into and over the waves having a bit of fun. Great craic....

Wednesday 23/08/17 - Bike - Road - 1 Hour 'VO2 Max'. Included 4 x 4 minute intervals up a steep hill near home with 6 minutes recovery. Might change this session around next time and see if i can hit Zone 5 on the flat.

Gym Work = 30 Minutes

Swim - Pool - 1 Hour (CSS Pace)

Plan was:

200m Warm Up
3 x 400m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Total Swim (2K) - Went ok, first time to try this session over 400 meters. Manged to hold reps, just about with 45 seconds recovery.

Thursday 24/08/17 - Bike - Road - 2.19.39 60.58KM 26.0KPH AVHR = 140
Changed the long cycle this morning as was really lacking in motivation for doing the same route every week. Decided to alter slightly. Didn't go well at all. Very windy and was being blown around a little. Due to this, never used the aero bars much due to safety and was fairly slow as a result. Not a great ride.

Gym Work = 30 minutes

Swim = Pool - 1 Hour - Tri club cancelled the local river swim, so i headed to the pool. Decided to get a longer swim in than normal.

Plan was:
1.5K F/S
50m (Breastroke)
50m (One Arm_
200m Cool Down

Total Swim (2K)

Friday 25/08/17 - Run - 4.00 34.35 (8.39) - After work, legs a little tired but felt ok.

Sunday 26/08/17 - Run - 6.00 53.04 (8.51)

Gym Work = 30 Minutes - Had to do these at home in the evening.

Missed a bike ride at the weekend as my plans fell through. May try and get an extra one in next week.

PDCAT

Monday 28/08/17 - Bike - Road - 1.28 Hours 'Threshold'. Included 2 x 20 minutes in upper Zone 4.

Gym Work - 30 Minutes

Swim - Pool - Total Swim (1.5K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
400m (Pull Buoy)
300m (Boards & Fins)
100m (One arm)
100m (on side)
200m (Sighting)
200m (Cool Down)

Tuesday 29/08/17 - Run - 4.00 35.33 (8.53). No issues.

Gym Work = 30 Minutes

Swim - Pool - Total Swim (1.2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm Up
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m (One Arm)
100m (on side)
4 x 25m sprints
100m (recovery)
200m Cool Down

Wednesday 30/08/17 - Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Strength'. After work, included 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3. Changed this slightly as was struggling to reach Zone 3 recently doing this session. Altered RPM's downwards to 55rpm, 50rpm & 45rpm, meant pushing tougher gears which raised heart rate to where i wanted it.

Thursday 31/08/17 - Run - 4.00 35.08 (8.47). Again, after work, with no problems.

Friday 01/09/17 - Bike - Road - 2.11.00 60.17KM 27.6KPH AVHR = 145
Changed long cycle route again this week. Decided to keep on the main road which is fairly wide and safe. This allowed me to stay on the aero bars for much of this cycle, its a boring route, but i feel i need the practice on them so will continue to use this route where possible.

Saturday 02/09/17 - Gym Work - 30 minutes.

Swim - Pool - Total Swim (1.5K)
Plan today was to retest my CSS Pace so 400m & 200m TT was called for.
Completed 400m in 7.58 (6 seconds quicker than last time). Completed 200m in 3.53 (2 seconds quicker than last time). Not much of an improvement in fairness. However, not going to get too worked up on it. New CSS pace is 2.03 per 100 meters.

Sunday 03/09/17 - Run - 6.00 53.31 (8.55).

PDCAT

Wednesday 06/09/17 - Swim - Pool - Total Swim (1.8K)
Few drinks too many on Sunday night, took my time recovering so no exercise Monday/Tuesday. Back with this easy enough swim session.
Plan was:
200m Warm up
500m (Pull Buoy)
300m (Boards & Fins)
100m (One Arm)
100m Recovery
4 x 25m Sprints
200m F/S
100m (On Side)
200m Cool Down

Gym Work = 30 Minutes

Bike - Road - 1.25 Hours 'Sweetspot'. Included 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/ Lower Zone 4. Felt good, however was pretty slow over the 40 minutes compared to two weeks previously. Think weather conditions played a big part in this.

Thursday 07/09/17 - Swim - Pool - Total Swim (2K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace) (25 second recovery)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

CSS pace went ok. Always find this very tough, barely making the times required.

Gym Work = 30 Minutes

Run - 4.00 34.20 (8.35)

Saturday 09/09/17

Athlone Sprint Triathlon

Travelled up to this on Saturday morning. My last Triathlon planned for this year. Had zero motivation all week for this. Wasn't really interested at all and slightly regretted signing up. Miserable weather all morning and swim was in a lake which brought up memories of my struggles in Loughrea last month in the lake. Looking for any reason,not to do this.

Swim

Once i got into the water, my motivation came back somewhat and was determined to have a better experience in the lake than my previous one. Started off okay and the first 300 meters went ok. Then we turned slightly and the water started to get a bit more choppy. I didn't panic and just worked my way back, even though i felt i was fairly slow.
So it proved, and was a relatively slow time, but was comfortable through out which was the main goal.
Time = 17.37
Place = 62/117

T1
Was aware of the slowish swim time, so wasn't exactly killing myself going through transition. However, it went relatively fine for me.

Time = 1.34
Place = 50/117

Bike
Again, started off the bike with little real motivation due to feeling that my swim didn't actually set the world alight. Struggled a little, feeling a bit leggy for the first 5/10 minutes. The course contained three loops and after the leaders passed me, i managed to pick up my performance somewhat. I was feeling really good, passing lots of cyclists, both from the try a tri race and also lapping some slower participants myself. Passed about 50 people on the bike. Conditions were very blustery and i was unable to use the aero bars. Due to my inexperience with the bars and also poorer bike handling i stayed upright in the normal bike position. I pushed fairly hard though and was very happy with how the bike went. The course measured short (18.43Km's). Nevertheless my time was pretty good for me even taking into account the short distance.
Time = 33.49
Place = 33/117

T2
Again, this transition is probably the worst part of my triathlons over the past number of events. Have a couple of changes to make which will improve this.
Time = 1.07
Place = 83/117

Run
Found the first 5 minutes very tough, legs struggled a lot. Managed just to work as hard as i could maintaining 21.30 pace throughout. Run route was also short, approx 4.40km's, hence the faster time. Passed 2 runners and 2 people passed me.

Time = 18.54
Place = 29/117

Overall Time = 1.13.02
Overall Place = 37/117

Overall, happy with the performance, probably in line with my two previous best performances (Athlone - July, Castleconnel - August). Course was short, hence the faster time, but nevertheless a nice triathlon to finish the season with and gives me a little confidence heading into the winter break.

PDCAT

Monday 11/09/17 - Gym = 30 minutes

Swim ( CSS Pace - Total Swim = 2K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 X 100m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

CSS Pace went ok. Tough going especially with 10 seconds recovery time between reps.

Run - 4.00 36.24 (9.06)

Tuesday 12/09/17 - Gym = 30 minutes
Back up to the Santry Sports Surgery Clinic today to see strength and conditioning coach. He increased the difficulty and reps of the work that i've been doing. After i left, he consulted with one of the doctors there and plan is for me to have an MRI in four weeks time so they can assess current status of the injured area.

Bike - Road - 1.15 hours 'VO2 Max'
Decided to change the VO2 max session around. Normally i would complete this on a steep hill near home. However, have been struggling recently to hit Zone 5, so decided to pick a very flat road nearby and just hammer into as best i could to see if i could hit the required zone. Completed 4 x 4 minutes at this and managed to hit Zone 5 each time so was delighted with that. Allowed 6 minutes recovery between reps.

Wednesday 13/09/17 - Run - 4.00 35.39 (8.55) Early morning run, before work. Went ok.

Friday 15/09/17 - Bike - Road 2.07.27 60.14km 28.3kph AVHR = 138
Long cycle, again on the straight road near home. This is a wide road which allows me to stay on the aero bars for long periods of time and get used to them. Started off really easy and HR was averaging about 125. After about 15 minutes, decided to increase the effort. Went well. Fastest average speed i've ever done for a solo ride.

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim = (Drills - 1.3K)
Just spent the time doing some drills and focusing on technique. After the cycle and gym, together with 2/3 hours work around the house that day, i didn't have much energy left for this so kept the session short.

Saturday 16/09/17 - Run - 6.00 53.31 (8.55)

Sunday 17/09/17 - Bike - Road 1.21 Hours 'Threshold'. Included 2 x 20 minutes in upper Zone 4, approx 156bpm.

PDCAT

Tuesday 19/09/17 - Bike - Turbo - (1 Hour 'Strength') - Up at 5am before work to fit this in. Included 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50, 55 rpm.

Wednesday 20/09/17 - Gym - 35 Mins

Swim (Total Swim - 2K) (CSS Pace)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m CSS
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Recoveries 20 seconds.
Went fine, dislike doing these CSS pace sessions as i find them tough.

Run - 6.00 53.40 (8.56)

Thursday 21/09/17 - Gym = 35 mins

Swim - (Total Swim - 1.5K)
This was just a series of drills working on technique.

Bike - 2.04.57 60.14km 28.9kph AVHR = 145
Again, chose the long straight road near home, allowing me some training time on the aero bars. Pushed a little harder than last week and went well.

Sunday 24/09/17 - Run - 6.00 55.34 (9.16). Late Sunday evening in the dark after work, managed to head into town and run this on the ring road. Little motivation for this after a hard weekend of work.

Overall, poor enough weeks training. Missed a bike, run and swim session. However working 5 x 12 hour shifts this week, together with dark mornings/evening and other stuff on impacted training. Sessions that i did complete, i was very happy with.

Kennyg71

Less motivation as Autumn dark mornings, and when life takes over. But seems like it's been a decent year so far, great training.

PDCAT

Kennyg71 wrote: »

Less motivation as Autumn dark mornings, and when life takes over. But seems like it's been a decent year so far, great training.

Yeah, kennyg71, overall happy enough with how the year went. At the moment, struggling for motivation as nothing in the pipeline until April next year. Trying to decide whether a couple of weeks off might help, or try to freshen up the training a bit.

PDCAT

Monday 25/09/17 - Bike - Road - 1.22 Hours 'Sweetspot'. Included 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4.

Gym = 35 Minutes

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
3 x 400m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m Cool Down

Overall went well, managed to keep CSS pace for longer reps with 45 seconds recovery. Just about.....

Tuesday 26/09/17 - Run - 6.00 53.23 (8.54)

Gym = 35 Minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.9K)
Plan was:
1.5K F/S
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Plan was to do a longer swim, more endurance based. No real issues here.

Thursday 28/09/17 - Run - 4.00 37.24 (9.20). Drove into town after work and ran on ring road for this.

Friday 29/09/17 - Bike - Road - 2.13.56 60.16km 27.0kph AVHR 137
Poor bike ride today, found it tougher than normal. Slower than normal as well, but wind for really tough out there at times.

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1K)
Nothing really planned for this and body was struggling after earlier bike ride, so just concentrated on some drills/technique based stuff.

Saturday 30/09/17 - Run - 8.00 1.10.03 (8.45). Longest run for a while but S&C guy in Santry Sports Surgery Clinic has asked me to gradually increase the volume to see if any reaction.

Sunday 01/10/17 - Bike - Road - Had planned to do a VO2 max session today, but after two reps, i realised that i was struggling. Heart Rate just wouldnt get into Zone 5. Put this down to body being tired and slightly overtrained. So backed off and just tipped around in Zone 2 for 50 minutes.

Next week is a tough week, with long working hours. Will see how it goes.

PDCAT

Wednesday 04/10/17 - Run - 6.00 53.32 (8.55) Couple of days off rest, thrown in with a few pints on Sunday evening.

Gym = 40 Minutes

Swim - (Total Swim = 2K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 x 100m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m Cool Down

Bought a set of Paddles to add in some extra drills that might help. CSS pace went fine.

Thursday 05/10/17 - Bike - Road 2.09.42 60.13km 27.8kph AVHR 138 = Went better than last week, still a bit of a struggle at times though.

Gym = 30 minutes

Swim - Club Lesson - Signed up for 10 weeks of Triathlon club lessons similiar to last year. Have entered myself into the Intermediate 1 group, whilst last year i was in beginners. Bit apprehensive that i might be out of depth in this group. However, needn't have worried as i was probably one of the stronger swimmers. We got into groups and done 400m TT, follwed by recovery and then 200m TT. These are similiar to what i've been doing myself these last few months, so i had a big advantage on the rest of the group. Based on these results, our groups will probably change and our rep times will be based on these. (Total Swim = 1.1K).

Friday 06/10/17 - Run - 6.00 53.49 (8.58). Had to drive into ring road after 12 hour shift to complete this. Lacking in motivation as pretty tired. However, felt better having done it.

Saturday 07/10/17 - Bike - Turbo - 1 hour 'Cadence' - Handy enough session after work as i was pretty tired.

Sunday 08/10/17 - Run - 8.00 1.13.05 (9.08). Early morning run. Went well, felt great.
[/QUOTE]

PDCAT

Monday 09/10/17 - Gym = 40 minutes

Swim - (Total Swim - 1.5K)
Mainly drills/technique based stuff, using some of the drills the coach got us to do last Thursday in the club session.

Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Strength'
Went well. Included 3 x 10 minutes at 45, 50 & 55 rpm in Upper Zone 3.

Tuesday 10/10/17
Santry Sports Surgery Clinic - Back up to SSC to get another MRI on the injured area. Eanna Falvey compared my results to last MRI, 18 months ago and much better results. Injured area looked like it is a lot better. However, one area of the pubic bone is still showing some damage. He told me to continue doing what im doing, making sure i complete the rehab.
Progress has been very slow for my liking (2 years now). However, at least MRI is showing pubic bone to be in lot better shape.

Run - 4.00 35.45 (8.56) - No issues.

Wednesday 11/10/17 - Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Sweetspot'. This included 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. Last year on the turbo i was completing this session with 2 x 20 minutes, so was delighted to be able to do whole 40 minutes in these Zones.

Thursday 12/10/17 - Swim - Club Lesson - Total Swim (1.2k). Not really happy with this session. Coach late arriving, only got about 35 minutes swimming. Was put in the fast lane. Drills were ok, but when we went to do paced swims based on last weeks TT's, other guys in my lane were swimming way too fast which meant i was swimming too fast. Not hitting the required paces meaning probably not getting what were supposed to get from the session. Also total pace swim was about 200 meters. I'm doing 1200m at this pace on my own.

Gym = 35 minutes

Friday 13/10/17 - Run - 4.00 35.16 (8.49). Step back week for me with regards to running.

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim = Total Swim (1K). Bit of a mess, couldnt use my normal swimming pool, had to go to a hotel and share a lane with a few recreational swimmers. Managed to get some drills in. Not great.

Saturday 14/10/17 - Bike - Turbo - 2 hours - Didn't bother going on the road today. Decided to do 2 hours on the turbo. Used Finks Zone 1 (116 - 132bpm) My average heart rate was 125. Happy with this as find the turbo alot more difficult to hold heart rate zones than the road.

Sunday 15/10/17 - Run - 6.00 53.59 (9.00). Feeling the groin area a little the last couple of days. Disappointed with this as has been going well of late and positive news in the SSC last Monday had been feeling good. Might take a day off to rest it.

PDCAT

Tuesday 17/10/17 - Gym = 40 Minutes

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)
Plan was:
200m Warm Up
6 X 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Pull Buoy & Paddles)
200m Cool Down

CSS pace went well. Tough session with 20 seconds recovery between reps.

Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Cadence'
This is a handier session which suited me due to the tougher swim session in the morning.

Wednesday 18/10/17 - Gym = 40 Minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.5k)
Mainly based on Drills, technique & some speed work, which i havent been doing in a long while. Used Fins, Boards & Paddles).

Run = 4.00 34.41 (8.40)

Thursday 18/10/17 - Bike - Turbo - 2 Hours - Again long time on the turbo in Fink's Zone 1 HR pace. Average Heart rate = 124. Happy with this.

Gym = 35 minutes

Swim - Club Lesson - Total Swim (1.2k). Tougher lesson than previous weeks. In the fastest lane and couple of the guys are a fair bit faster than me. Hopefully will make me better though swimming with them.

Overall an ok week. Good for swimming and gym work. Missed one bike ride and two planned run's due to long week at work and groin acting up a little.
Taking the next week off mainly due to two reasons:
Firstly, body feeling tired of late. Triathlon season over and i'm havent altered the volume, duration or intensity of my sessions. Feel it may take too much out of me over the winter and leave me a little flat next season if i don't take a little more recovery time.
Secondly, my hurling club won an intermediate county final on Sunday and we celebrated pretty hard for a couple of days (as you may have seen on the papers). Fortunately i was finished my celebrations before the fireworks kicked off on Tuesday evening. But my body is wrecked, as i'm not used to that carry on any more. So i'm taking this week off to recuperate somewhat.

PDCAT

Monday 30/10/17 - Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Cadence'. After taking 10 days off from exercise, glad to get back into it this evening. This is probably the easiest of the turbo workouts that i do, so a good one to start back on.

Wednesday 01/11/17 - Gym - 40 minutes.

Swim - Total Swim = 1.8K
After almost two weeks out of the pool, my longest stint of absence in the 18 months i've been swimming, found this difficult. Of course, plan was to do the CSS workout. Didnt happen, had to stop after 9 of these as was really struggling. Not too downhearted, however, as abused the body too much in the previous two weeks and was unlikely to hit this target.
Plan was:
200m Warm up
9 x 100m (CSS)
200m (Boards & Fins)
400m (Pull Buoys & Paddles)
100m Cool Down

Stopped at 1.8k as was shattered.

Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Strength'. Went well, legs felt good.

Thursday 02/11/17 = Run 6.00 53.45 (8.57)

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim (Total Swim = 1.35k) Club Lesson
Tough session with the club. In the fastest lane of Intermediate 1 group, but three other swimmers way faster than i am. Difficult to keep close. Focused to technique, speed & Drills. Enjoyed this, but was fairly tough.

Saturday 04/11/17 - Bike - Turbo - 2 Hours (Finks Zone 1) AVHR = 124
This went well, late in the evening when i managed to get on the bike. Happy with this.

Have decided to cut the training slightly over the coming weeks. Busy with work, dark nights, all having an impact. No real plans till next year, so just want to tip away focusing on quality sessions with bike & swim than just quantity.

PDCAT

Monday 06/11/17

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.3K)
Basically, just repeated last weeks Club Session.

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Sweetspot') - Always a tough one. Keeping the heart rate in Upper Z3/ Lower Z4 for 40 minutes. Happy out when this was done.

Tuesday 07/11/17

Run = 6.00 54.56 (9.09)

Gym = 40 minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was to focus on some speed:
200m Warm up
400m (Pull Buoy & Paddles)
4 X 50m Sprints (Fins)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m Easy
8 x 25m Sprints
100m Easy
200m Cool Down

Wednesday 08/11/17

Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Threshold'. Havent completed this session on the turbo since last march. Was dreading it, but delighted to get through it ok. Included 2 x 15 minutes in Upper Zone 4.

Thursday 09/11/17

Run = On the treadmill for the first time in a few years. 35 minutes at 1.0 incline at 10kph.

In Bruges for a few days with the wife, so no more training this week. A lot of walking planned in bruges and back next tuesday to commence training again.

PDCAT

Tuesday 14/11/17

Gym = 35 minutes

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was to focus on some speed:
200m Warm up
500m (Pull Buoy & Paddles)
4 X 50m Sprints (Fins)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m Easy
8 x 25m Sprints
200m Cool Down

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour) 'Strength' - Included 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45,50 & 55 rpm's.

Wednesday 15/11/17

Run = 6.00 54.16 (9.02)

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Cadence'. Includes 2 x 12 minutes alternating between 90 rpm's & 120 rpm's.

Thursday 16/11/17

Gym = 30 Mins

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.85K) - Club Lesson
Enjoyable session, more focused on Technique.

Saturday 18/11/17

Bike - Turbo (2 Hours) Heart rate in Finks Z1 (AVHR = 124).

Sunday 19/11/17

Run = 35 Mins - On treadmill with incline at 1.0 and speed 10kph.

PDCAT

Monday 20/11/17

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Sweetspot'. Included 40 minutes at Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. Found this tough but managed to keep HR in the correct zone.

Tuesday 21/11/17

Run - Treadmill - 35 minutes Incline 1.0 10kph speed.

Swim - Total Swim (1.6K) Just completed the same sets that we done in the club lesson the previous Thursday.


Poor weeks training last week. To be fair, i had a bad head cold and slight chest infection from Wednesday to Saturday. In no shape to do any training and wisest course of action was to rest the body. Also my Dad is not well at the moment and i'm doing regular drives down and back to the hospital with him. Also long hours in work at the moment, coupled with trying to get study completed at home on my days off. Up the walls at the minute and training is suffering. Will keep plugging away though.

PDCAT

Monday 27/11/17

Bike - Turbo 'Cadence' - 1 Hour
Took 5 days off training so started back with an easier session on the turbo.

Tuesday 28/11/17

Run - Treadmill - Ran for 35 minutes at incline of 1.0 and speed 10.0kph.

Wednesday 29/11/17

Bike - Turbo 'Strength' - 1 Hour
Included 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpm's.

Thursday 30/11/17

Run - Treadmill - Ran for 35 minutes at incline of 1.0 and speed 10.0kph.

Swim - Late for the club session, so decided to do my own session.
Plan was:
200m Warm up
500m (Pull Buoy & Paddles)
4 x 50m sprints (Fins)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m easy
8 x 25m sprints
200m Cool Down

Total Swim (1.6K).

Friday 01/12/17

Swim - Total Swim (1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
400m (Boards & Fins / front & back)
200m (Fins - on side)
200m (Fins - on side & Front crawl)
2 x 200m (25m, slow, 50m build, 25m fast, 50m decline, 50m recovery)
200m Cool Down

Saturday 02/12/17

Bike - Turbo (2 Hours) Finks Z1.
Spent couple of hours on the turbo keeping in Finks Z1 HR. AVHR = 126.

Sunday 03/12/17

Run - 6.00 51.52 (8.38)

PDCAT

Tuesday 05/12/17

Run - (Treadmill = 35 minutes) Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph

Wednesday 06/12/17

Swim - Total Swim (2K) 'Endurance'
Goal at the start of the year was to complete a 2K swim in the pool. Had already completed one this year in June, just wanted to see if i was still in shape to do this again at the end of the year.

Bike - (Turbo - 1 Hour 'Sweetspot'). This is always a tough one on the turbo compared to the road. Includes 40 minutes in upper Z3/ Lower Z4.

Thursday 07/12/17

Swim - Total Swim (1.6K)
Plan was:

200m Warm up
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
4 x 50m (Fins)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m Easy
8 x 25m sprints
200m Cool Down

Run - (Treadmill = 35 minutes). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Friday 08/12/17

Bike - (Turbo - 1 Hour, ' Cadence') A little handier session as had another 2 hours on the bike the next morning.

Saturday 09/12/17

Bike - (Turbo - 2 Hours, ' Finks Z1. AVHR = 124). Went ok, legs a little tired.

Sunday 10/12/17

Run (Treadmill = 55 minutes) Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph. Had hoped to do this on the road, however, due to the slippy conditions, decided to stay indoors.

PDCAT

Monday 11/12/17

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Strength'. Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpm's.

Tuesday 12/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.4K)
Plan was:

200m Warm up
400m TT (Time trial = 8.15)
100m easy
50m Breaststroke
200m TT (Time Trial = 3.59)
200m (Boards & Fins)
50m (One arm)
200m Cool Down)

Decided to do a time trial of 400/200m in order to get my updated CSS Pace. Disappointed with the times. Their a fair bit slower than they were 2 months ago, back to times i was doing in May. Having said that, ive slacked off a little lately on the swimming and need to get back into doing the css pace swims. CSS pace calculated at 2.08/per 100m.

Gym = S&C = 40 minutes.

Run = Treadmill = 35 minutes. Incline 1.0, Speed 10kph.

Wednesday 13/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K) (Techniques/Drills)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm with Front Crawl)
100m (Breathing 3/5/3/7)
100m (Sighting)
100m Easy
200m Cool Down

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) ' Threshold'. Always a tough one, particularly on the turbo. Includes 2 x 15 minutes in Upper Zone 4.

Thursday 14/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 X 200m (CSS pace 2.08/100m with 20 seconds recovery)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

First CSS Pace session in a couple of months. Anxious to get my times back down a little. Need to be consistent with these sessions.

Gym = S&C = 40 minutes

Run = Treadmill = 35 minutes. Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Saturday 16/12/17

Run = Treadmill = 55 minutes. Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Sunday 17/12/17

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'VO2 Max. Decided against doing 2 hours in Finks zone 1 as was tight for time. Instead completed this VO2 Max session, which i hate doing as it can get tough. Includes 4x4 minutes in Zone 5 with 6 minutes recovery.

PDCAT

Monday 18/12/17

Gym = S&C = 40 Mins

Run = Treadmill = 35 minutes. Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - 'Cadence')

Wednesday 20/12/17

Run = Treadmill = 35 minutes. Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph

Thursday 21/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

CSS pace was fine. Managed to keep all 6 intervals close to target with 20 seconds recovery.

Gym = S&C = 30 Minutes

Friday 22/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)

200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm with Front crawl)
100m (TT) = 1.49
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
5 X 100m (Focused on increasing Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Decided to focus on Stroke rate during some of these drills. Would like to increase the stroke rate slightly as it's slightly on the low side. Also done a 100m Time Trial and time was roughly the same as a few months ago, which i was happy enough with.

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - 'Sweetspot) Includes 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4.

Sunday 24/12/17

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - 'Strength') Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpm's.

Missed a couple of sessions this week, due to spending a lot of time down in the hospital with my very sick dad. Will be dropping back on the training over the coming weeks due to this. Not too bothered with the training at the moment as bigger priorities. However, i find it takes my mind off stuff and will do whatever i can.

PDCAT

Tuesday 26/12/17

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Threshold'. Included 2 x 15 minutes in upper Z3/Lower Z4.

Wednesday 27/12/17

Run - Treadmill (35 minutes) Incline 1.0, Speed 10KPH.

Thursday 28/12/17

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Cadence'.

Friday 29/12/17

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 x 100m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Went ok. Finding it ok to hit this CSS pace as its a bit slower than my previous pace. 10 seconds recovery between reps.

Saturday 30/12/17

Run - Treadmill (35 minutes) Incline 1.0, Speed 10KPH.

Probably one of the lowest weeks training ive put in all year. Spent about 30/40 hours this week in hospital with my dad, so this is having a big impact on all activities. Didn't have a drink of alcohol all xmas. Only two bottles of bud since November. Definitely a record.

PDCAT

Monday 01/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - 'VO2 Max') Nice start to the new year. Session i'm not particularly fond of. Included 4 x 4 minutes in Zone 5 with 6 mins recovery in between.

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Wednesday 03/01/18

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Thursday 04/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
3 X 400m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Started back doing CSS Pace sessions for the past four weeks. Have noticed an improvement since then. Will test it next week for sure. The 400's went ok.

Gym = S&C = 40 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour) 'Strength'. Included 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55rpm's.

Friday 05/01/18

Swim (Total Swim - 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm with Front Crawl)
100m (Long Stroke)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
5 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Gym - S&C = 35 Mins.

Saturday 06/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour) 'Sweetspot'. Included 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. One of my tougher sessions at the moment.

Sunday 07/01/18

Run = Treadmill (55 Minutes) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.
Went well, legs felt good.

PDCAT

Monday 08/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
400m Time Trial = 8.00
100m Easy
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Time Trial = 3.50
100m Easy
100m (Long Stroke)
200m Cool Down

Went well. After four weeks of refocusing on CSS pace, my Time Trials for 200m & 400m have reduced back to where they were in November. Happy with that. New CSS pace is 2.05/100m

Gym
S&C = 30 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence').

Tuesday 09/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm & Front crawl)
200m (Long stroke)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
4 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Run - Treadmill - 35 mins Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph.
Decided to do some speed work of sorts. Havent done this in a long long time.
Completed 2 x 5 mins @ 13.2kph.

Wednesday 10/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Threshold')

Thursday 11/01/18

Run = Treadmill - 35 mins. Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph

Friday 12/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm & Front crawl)
100m Time Trial = 1.44
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
3 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Again, went well. My 100m Time trial was 5 seconds faster than i've ever completed before. Hopefully its a sign of improvement.

Gym

S&C = 40 Mins.

Saturday 13/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'VO2 Max)

Sunday 14/01/18

Run = 6.00 54.55 (9.09)

Good week, managed to get 9 sessions in along with 2 S&C workouts.

PDCAT

Monday 15/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence').

Tuesday 16/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
4 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph.
Included some speedwork = 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph (4 mins recovery)

Wednesday 17/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Sweetspot') Includes 40 mins in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. This is tough session for me on the turbo.

Thursday 18/01/18

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Friday 19/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was same as Tuesday.

Gym = S&C = 20 Mins

Saturday 20/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength'). Includes 3 x 10 mins in Zone 3 at 55, 50 & 45 rpms'.

Sunday 21/01/18

Run - 6.00 52.42 (8.47). Back on the road again. Lots of water on the road, so a lot of zigzagging along different routes to make up the miles.

PDCAT

Monday 22/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace) (20 secs recovery)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Went ok, found it tough enough to keep CSS pace.

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - 'Cadence')

Tuesday 23/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One Arm)
100m (One Arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
8 x 25m Sprints
100m Easy
2 X 50m Sprints
200m Cool Down

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Included 3 x 4 mins = 13.6kph (4 mins recovery)

Wednesday 24/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - Z2). Plan was to do a Threshold session, but after a couple of minutes i realised i was unable to get my heart rate to upper Zone 4. This has been coming the last couple of weeks. Ive noticed lately, ive only barely been hitting the zones during some of my harder sessions. This tends to happen when i'm slightly pushing it too far. Legs fairly tired so decided to take it easier on the turbo tonight.

Thursday 25/01/18

Run = Treadmill (35 mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Friday 26/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5K)

Endurance swim in the pool this morning so swam the 1.5K constant. Took 31.32 minutes.

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Saturday 27/01/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour - Zone 1) - Decided again tonight to take it real handy on the bike. Kept the HR very low. Having said that,my legs were tired.

Sunday 28/01/18

Run = 6.00 53.36 (8.56) - Legs very tired, but still enjoyed the run outside.

PDCAT

Monday 29/01/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 x 100m (CSS)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Gym - S&C = 40 Mins

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength')

Tuesday 30/01/18

Swim - Total Swim = (1.6K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One Arm)
100m (One Arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
4 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed 10kph. Included 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph with 4 mins recovery.

Wednesday 31/01/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence')

Thursday 01/02/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Friday 02/02/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)

Same as Tuesday's session.

Gym - S&C = 40 Mins

Saturday 03/02/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'VO2 Max)

Sunday 04/02/18

Run - 6.00 52.56 (8.49)

PDCAT

Wednesday 07/02/18

Run = (Treadmill - 35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Thursday 08/02/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
2 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
100m Easy
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Gym = S&C = 40 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Sweetspot'). This was tough. Included 40 mins in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4.

Friday 09/02/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
200m Warm up
3 x 400m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Run = (Treadmill = 55 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Tough week with a number of sessions not completed. This was due to two heavy stag weekends at either end of the week. My first alcoholic drinks in over two months. Glad, their are out of the way to be honest and can refocus again.

PDCAT

Tuesday 13/02/18

Swim (1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One Arm)
100m (One Arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
2 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
100m Easy
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline 1.0, Speed 10kph. Included 3 x 4mins @13.6kph (4 min recovery)

Wednesday 14/02/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence')

Thursday 15/02/18

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline 1.0, Speed 10kph.

Friday 16/02/18

Swim (1.5K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
400m Time Trial = 7.47
100m Easy
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Time Trial = 3.43
100m Easy
100m (Long Stroke)
200m Cool Down

Went very well. New PB's in both 400m & 200m Time Trials. 13 second improvement in 400m and 7 seconds improvement in the 200m. Happy with this and new CSS pace is 2.02/100m.

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength'). Includes 3 x 10mins in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpm's.

Saturday 17/02/18

Run = 6.00 50.39 (8.26). Back on the road, legs felt great and found cruising at this pace easy. However, groin a little sore afterwards.

Sunday 18/02/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'VO2 Max). Includes 4 x 4 mins in Zone 5 with 6 mins recovery.

Good Week with some really good sessions.

PDCAT

Monday 19/02/18

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins). Groin ok. Done about 15 minutes stretching
before hand focusing on the hip flexor's. Hope this helped.

Tuesday 20/02/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Threshold'). Always a very tough one on the turbo to get into and maintain upper Zone 4 heart rate for 2 x 15 minutes.

Wednesday 21/02/18

Run = Treadmill (35 Mins). No speed work this week. Giving the groin a little rest.

Thursday 22/02/18

Swim (1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins.

Swim went very well. Managed to keep at new CSS pace fairly OK.

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence').

Saturday 24/02/18

Run = Treadmill (55 Mins). Long run completed on treadmill this week. Again stretching of the hip flexors before the run.

Sunday 25/02/18

Bike = Turbo (1 Hour 'Sweetspot'). Included 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. This is a tough one, but managed to keep average HR at 139bpm.

Overall, decent week. Happy with the bike and running. Only one swim due to working 60+ hours this week and studying for an interview. Next week should be better.

PDCAT

Monday 26/02/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 X 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

CSS pace went well, hit all the required paces.

Gym - S&C = 35 Mins

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins - Speedwork). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Included 3 x 4mins @13.6kph with 4 mins recovery.

Tuesday 27/02/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One Arm)
100m (One arm & Front crawl)
100m TT (1.44 Minutes. No improvement on 4 weeks previous).
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
3 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength'). Includes 3 x 10 mins in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpm's.

Wednesday 28/02/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Thursday 01/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence').

Friday 02/03/18

Run - Treadmill (55 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Saturday 03/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'VO2' Max) Includes 4 x 4 mins in Zone 5 with 6 mins recovery.

Overall, happy enough, missed one planned swim and s&c session due to pool/gym being closed due to the bad weather.

PDCAT

Monday 05/03/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Included 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph with 4 min recovery.

Tuesday 06/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Pyramid'). This is a new session, trying for the first time. Took it from British Cycling TT Training plan. Basically 1 min on/off, 2 min, 3, 4 & 5 minute on/off in Zone 4 switching to Zone 1 for recoveries. Went well, even if it was more difficult than i expected.

Wednesday 07/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8k)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 x 100m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool down

CSS pace went well, found last few tough though.

Gym - S&C = 30 Mins

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Thursday 08/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5k).
Decided i needed an endurance type swim, so just swam 60 lengths. Went ok. Time 31.28.

Gym - S&C = 30 Mins

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Threshold') Included 2 x 15 minutes in Upper Zone 4. Really tough session reaching and keeping this Heart Rate but managed it.

Saturday 10/03/18

Run - Treadmill (55 Mins). Decided to do this longer run on the treadmill. Very foggy and spilling rain outside so took the easy option. Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

PDCAT

Tuesday 13/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm)
100m (One arm & Front crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
8 x 25m (Sprints)
100m Easy
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Gym - S&C = 30 Mins

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Wednesday 14/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour ' Sweetspot). Includes 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/ Lower Zone 4. Always a very tough session on the turbo.

Thursday 15/03/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins - Speed). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Includes 3 x 4 minutes @ 13.6kph with 4 mins recovery.

Friday 16/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
3 x 400m (CSS pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Went ok, managed to achieve CSS pace. Will be completing Time Trials again next week to access CSS pace to see if any progress. Dont feel there has been any progress in the past few weeks. Will be interesting to see.

Gym - S&C = 40 Mins

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour - 'Cadence'). Easy enough session on the bike.

Saturday 17/03/18

Run - 6.00 52.05 (8.41). Lovely run on the road. First road run for about 4 weeks and this felt great.

Overall, ok week, nothing special. Missed a swim and a cycle due to couple of drinking sessions at either end of the week due to weddings.

PDCAT

Monday 19/03/18

Run = Treadmill - 35 mins. Incline =1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Tuesday 20/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength') Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 55, 50 & 45 rpm's. Found it ok, but my heart rate a lately a little lower than previous doing this session.

Wednesday 21/03/18

Run = Treadmill - 35 mins. Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Included 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph (4 mins recovery).

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins.

Swim = Total Swim = 1.6K
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One Arm)
100m (One arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Paddles & Pull Buoys)
4 x 50m (Sprints)
100m Easy
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Thursday 22/03/18

Bike = Turbo - (1 Hour 'Pyramid') Includes 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5 minutes in Zone 4 with same time recovery in between.

Gym = S&C = 30 Mins

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.5K)
Plan was:
200m Warm up
400m Time Trial (7.54)
100m Easy
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Time Trial (3.50)
100m Easy
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Slightly Disappointing Time Trials. Both 400m & 200m were 7 seconds slower than last month. Having said all that, i had a tough couple of days training previous to performing these TT's. Also performed TT's just after spending half an hour in the gym doing S&C. Probably not the best prep for this test. Will retest again next month.

Saturday 24/03/18

Run = Treadmill - 55 Mins. Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Completed this after work in the night time. Felt great and was happy with it.

Sunday 25/03/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Finks Zone 1). Was supposed to do a threshold session here. But couldn't get my heart rate up to upper Zone 4 to do this session. Felt very tired, after three 12 hour shifts in a row, an hour of a run the night before. Obviously the body wasn't able for it, so just decided to complete an aerobic session. Still found this tough.

PDCAT

Monday 26/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm Up
6 X 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Gym - S&C = 35 Mins

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

Tuesday 27/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (One arm & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
3 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence').

Thursday 29/03/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins - Speed). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Included 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph with 4 mins recovery.

Friday 30/03/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:

200m Warm up
100m (One arm & Front Crawl)
100m (Time Trial = 1.43)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
2 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Time trial for 100m was 1.43, one second PB, not by much but wasn't expecting anything to be honest.

Gym - S&C = 30 Mins

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Threshold') Includes 2 x 15 Minutes in Upper Zone 4. Tough session, so delighted that I managed to complete it.

Saturday 31/03/18

Run - 6.00 50.27 (8.25). On the road, in the afternoon, went really well and felt great.

Sunday 01/04/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Sweetspot'). Includes 40 minutes in Upper Zone 3/Lower Zone 4. Another tough one and happy with this.

PDCAT

Monday 02/04/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline =1.0, Speed =10kph

Tuesday 03/04/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength'). Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 55, 50 & 45 rpms.

Wednesday 04/04/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins - Speed). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph. Includes 3 x 4 mins @13.6kph (4 mins recovery)

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)
Plan was:

200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Gym = S&C = 35 Mins

Thursday 05/04/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Pyramid'). Went well. Includes 1,2,3,4,5 minutes in Zone 4 alterating recoveries in between in Zone 1.

Swim - (Total Swim = 1.6K)
Plan was:

200m Warm up
100m (On Side with Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
3 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Saturday 07/04/18

Run - Treadmill (55 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph.

PDCAT

Monday 09/04/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.6K)

200m Warm up
100m (On Side & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
4 x 50m (Sprints/Fins)
100m Easy
200m Cool Down

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Tuesday 10/04/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5K)

200m Warm up
750m (15.14)
100m Easy
50m (Boards)
2 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Decided to do a 750 meter swim to give me some idea what to expect at the weekend in my first triathlon this year.

Bike - Turbo - 1 Hour 'Cadence'.

Thursday 12/04/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Friday 13/04/18

Bike - Road - 20 Minutes - Gave the bike a quick run up and down the run to check it our before tomorrows triathlon. Bit late to me using the tri bars now.

PDCAT

North Tipp Sprint Triathlon (14/04/18)

This was my first ever Triathlon last year. I completed it in 1.22.50 last year. Wanted to give it a go again this year and see how i'd go. Quick update below on how it went.

Swim
Swim was indoor pool. There were 4 waves and I started in wave 3. Only three of us in the lane which was good, so nobody getting in each others way. Last year I completed this in 16.20, was hoping for something better this year.
Well, it went well enough, managed to complete it in 15.34 (46 seconds improvement)

Time = 15.34
Place = 39/92

T1
Went ok, quicker again than last year by 19 seconds, don't feel their was much I could have done to improve this.

Time = 1.30
Place = 30/92

Bike
Last year on my old bike, I had completed this course in 39.10. I was hoping for a couple of minutes quicker today. However, conditions were very tough. First 10km into a strong headwind and that was me done for. Found it very tough. Back was a lot better with the tail wind. However, I was unable to make up the time that I lost on the way out. Wasnt the only person to suffer on the bike. Passed four other riders and only one person passed me. Averaged 30kph on the ride.

Time = 40.05
Place = 31/92

T2
Again, this transition went better than last year, bout 25 seconds better. Still i'm one of the slowest in T2. Think its because a lot of people are using runners for the bike and run and are not changing in the transition.

Time = 2.03
Place = 76/92

Run
This was a bit of a disaster. Normally the strongest part of my triathlon. Today it was the weakest. Really struggled off the bike, legs were dead. Tough route, first 3 kms uphill. Last 2km's are fast downhill. However, I suffered a really bad stitch up my right side, which prevented me from speeding up so I basically just shuffled the last 2 km's when I really should have been able to put the hammer down. Lost a fair bit of time and disappointed with this. Course was long, overall distance 5.24Km.

Time = 24.48
Place = 47/92

Overall Time = 1.24.00
Overall Place = 31/92

So, overall, disappointed with this. Was hoping for about sub 1.20. Happy with the swim and transitions, got what I was looking for. Bike was affected by the conditions as much as anything. Less said about the run the better. Have to look at making a few training changes to improve this. Next Tri, is the Olympic in Athy in the June bank holiday, so have a number of weeks to get working on this.

PDCAT

Monday 16/04/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins) Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Tuesday 17/04/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour) 'Strength. Went well. Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 pushing heavy gear at 45, 50, & 55 rpm's.

Wednesday 18/04/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
4 x 200m (CSS Pace)
100m (Boards)
200m (Long Stroke)
6 x 25m sprints
100m Cool Down

Went fairly poorly. Could not hit CSS Pace and had to cut these short. Think this is due to the couple of faster swim sessions ive completed last week. Think it might have taken something out of me and ideally i needed an easier session than this.

Gym - S&C = 35 Minutes

Run - 6.00 52.17 (8.42). Back on the road for a lovely run. Enjoyed this.

Friday 20/04/18

Brick - Decided based on my struggles at last weeks North Tipp Triathlon to incorporate more of these sessions into my training. Really enjoyed this session and thought it went well.

Bike - Approx 35Km's, (1.18 Hours) 'Sweetspot'. Back on the road on the good bike. Back down getting practice on the TT bars. This included 40 minutes in upper Zone 3/ Lower Zone 4. Average Heart rate for this was 146bpm and average speed was 31.1kph.

Run - Followed this by a quick transition and then out for the run. Distance was 6.44km in 35 minutes. Included 2 x 1km faster running in this at (4.09 & 4.04) pace. 4 minutes recovery between reps.

Swim (Total Swim = 1.5k)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On side & Front Crawl)
100m (Fist)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
100m (Boards)
8 x 25m sprints
200m Cool Down

Sunday 22/04/18

Bike - Road - Completed a short ride. Attempted to do a VO2 Max session, but couldn't get my heart rate into Zone 5. Probably still suffering the effects of Friday's Brick Session. Just decided to do some sprinting. Included 10 sprints (20 seconds in length) with 20 seconds recovery. Total Bike ride was about 1 hour.

Hill Walking - In the afternoon had to do a charity walk up Slievenamon in memory of a member of our walking group that passed away recently.

PDCAT

Monday 23/04/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
6 x 200m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Went ok. Managed to hit the CSS pace for all six reps which i was unable to do last week. Think the reason i failed miserably last week was due to tiredness and having done a couple of hard swim sessions the previous few days.

Gym - S&C = 30 Mins

Tuesday 24/04/18

Brick:

Bike - Road - 1.20 Hours. Approx 35 Kms. Included 2 x 20 minutes in Upper Zone 4 'Threshold'.

Run - Bit of a slow transition as i was soaked from the bike and was frozen. Took longer than i would have liked to change. Enjoyed this session.
6.44 km 35.07 (5.26)


Swim - (Total Swim = 1.6K)

Body was tired from earlier brick session earlier that day, so took it relatively handy.
Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On side & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
3 x 100m (Stroke Rate)
200m Cool Down

Thursday 26/04/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence'). Rest day on wednesday and a handier one on the turbo this evening.

Friday 27/04/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.75K)
Endurance swim this morning. Just came in and done a long swim to try and work on distance.
1.75K = 37.31.

Run - 6.44KM. Included 3 x 1k Reps at 4 minute per K, with 4 mins jog recovery. Went well. Managed to complete each rep on time (3.56, 4.00 & 3.55).

Saturday 28/04/18

Bike - Road - 42.84KM 1.34.44 27.1KPH AVHR = 141
Longer cycle on the road, went ok. Managed to keep HR in correct zone

PDCAT

Monday 30/04/18

Run - Treadmill (35 Mins). Incline = 1.0, Speed = 10kph

Wednesday 02/05/18

Bike - Road - 1.44.31, 45.5km, 25.9kph, AVHR = 146
Longer bike ride went ok. Heart rate was a bit higher than normal. Average speed nothing to ride home about, but lot of headwind and some steep hills included.

Swim - (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On side & Front Crawl)
200m (Long Stroke)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
6 x 50m (Sprints)
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Thursday 03/05/18

Run - 11.26KM 1.01.42 (5.28) AVHR = 135
Long run, went well, decided to wear Heart rate monitor whilst running for the first time.

Swim - (Total Swim = 1.8k)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
12 x 100m (CSS pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Friday 04/05/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Pyramid'). 6.30am on the turbo before 12 hour shift.

Saturday 05/05/18

Run - 6.44km, Included 3 x 1km @ sub 4 minute per km pace. (3.45, 3.50, 3.53) 4 mins recovery. Again 6.30am before 12 hour shift, but ran these reps too fast.

Sunday 06/05/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Strength'). Includes 3 x 10 minutes in Zone 3 at 45, 50 & 55 rpms. Another 6.30am start prior to work. Went well, even though have found last three days tough on the body.

PDCAT

Tuesday 08/05/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
2 x 400m (CSS Pace)
200m (Boards & Fins)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m Cool Down

Took Monday off as a rest day and went to Dublin Zoo with the kids. Found this swim tough. Couldn't hit the CSS pace that iv'e hit the last couple of weeks. Stopped and changed around the session. Think i overdone the training towards the end of last week and body was struggling to keep pace.

Run - 6.44km 37.19 (5.47). Later in the evening done a short recovery run at a slow pace.

Wednesday 09/05/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence'). Again, after work, found it tougher than normal. Heart rate not operating at normal levels. Again a sign that i overdone the training the previous week. Taking Thursday off.

Friday 11/05/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8k)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (Kick on Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddle with Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 with Pull Buoy)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Decided to change around the swimming sessions as over the past couple of months, i feel i've stagnated a little. Reading the swim smooth book, i feel that i may be overgliding and i'm completing some of the drills in their appendices directed and helping overcome this. Really enjoyed this session.

Bike - Road - 1.43.15, 47.95km, 27.9kph, AVHR = 138

Took this long cycle a little handier than last week. Found it enjoyable, even though i meant to complete a 2 hour spin, so a little short.

Saturday 12/05/18

Run - 12.87km 1.10.52 (5.30) AVHR =135

Sunday 13/05/18

Bike - Road - 1.27, Approx 34km, 'Threshold'. Included 2 x 20 minutes in Upper Zone 4.

PDCAT

Monday 14/05/18

Run - 6.44km 37.13 (5.46) AVHR = 135

Tuesday 15/05/18

Bike - Turbo (1 Hour 'Cadence')

Wednesday 16/05/18

Swim (Total Swim = 1.8K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (Kick on Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddles & Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 & Pull Buoy)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Friday 18/05/18

Brick - Bike - Road - Approx 1.10, 'VO2 Max'. Included 4 x 4 mins in Zone 5 with 4/5 mins recovery between reps.

Run - 6.44km, Included 2 x 1km with 4 mins recovery. Reps were (4.01, 3.57)

Swim = (Total Swim = 1.8k)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (Kick on Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddles & Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 & Pull Buoy)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m Cool Down

Saturday 19/05/18

Bike - Road - 2.01.14, 53.98km, 26.7kph AVHR = 132
Found this tough, unable to get the Heart rate where i wanted it, probably due to not having recovered after the brick session yesterday.

Sunday 20/05/18

Run - 12.87KM, 1.09.58, (5.26) AVHR = 144

PDCAT

Monday 21/05/18

Swim (Total Swim = 2k)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (Kick on Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy paddles with Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 with Pull Buoy)
400m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Just continuing with drills to improve my hand entry and also my catch and pull.

Bike - Road - (1 Hour 25 Mins) 34.54KM, 24.1kph, AVHR = 128
Took my time here as legs very tired from last few days. Threw in 8 x 30 second sprints with 30 seconds recovery.

Tuesday 22/05/18

Run - 6.44km 35.41 (5.32) AVHR = 132
Nice and handy recovery run.

Wednesday 23/05/18

Bike - Road (1 Hour). Included 20 minutes at Threshold pace. Approx 25km.

Thursday 24/05/18

Run - 6.44KM. Included 3 x 1km with 4 min jog recovery. Paces were (3.53, 3.50, 3.50)

Friday 25/05/18

Bike - Road (1 Hour 57 Minutes). 53.35km, 27.2kph, AVHR = 133

Again, heart rate low for this. A sign that the body is not fully recovered from sessions over the last couple of days.
Later that evening felt very sick, like i had caught a bug. Spent the next two days getting sick and had cramps in my stomach, so took a few days off training to recover. Had a good weekend of training planned so disappointed i missed this but think the body could do with a little break.

PDCAT

Wednesday 30/05/18

Swim - (Total Swim = 1.5K)

Took a couple of hours off work, to join the Tri club for this river swim. With the Athy Triathlon on Saturday, needed to get a dip into the river before then. Bit longer than i had planned but went very well as had not been in the river since last September.

Thursday 31/05/18

Run - 6.44KM 36.21 (5.38) AVHR = 131

Very slow run, just to loosen up the legs for Saturday.

Friday 01/06/18

Bike - Turbo (30 Minutes - Very easy)
Again, just to loosen up the legs.

Saturday 02/06/18

Athy Olympic Triathlon

---

My first ever Olympic Triathlon event and was a little nervous. Concerned about the swim in particular and also how i'd handle the length of the event.

Swim

It was a rolling start so i started well back in the field. Was very anxious with regard to this. Normally i get a few minutes in the water to get used to the temperatures before race start, but this time it was straight in and swim. Wasn't sure how id handle this. First 600 meters against the current and last 900 meters with the current. I was aiming for a time of 35 minutes.
Entered the water with a few of the Tri club lads whom are similar standard to myself. Immediately struggled with the cold, but got to grips pretty quick. First 100 meters were a little battle. Getting caught with arms & legs from other swimmers was new to me. Settled in a little after that. At about 500 meters, i got a kick in the face which caused me to swallow water and unsettle me a little. Also a couple of guys swam across me which stopped me. At the buoy at 600 meters, i was a little slow getting around. However, the downstream section was uneventful and i was happy enough with this section. Overall, was happy enough with the swim. It's always my worst event, so i'm never anything special. Nevertheless, a couple of minutes quicker than targeted.

Time = 32.53
Place = 239/495

T1

Went well, no real issues and was happy with this transition.

Time = 2.34
Place = 85/495

Bike

Wasn't sure how i'd tackle this. My main plan was to ride by Heart Rate Zone. However, from the time i exited the water my Heart Rate was in Zone 5 which was way too high. I felt good though, legs were not too tired after the swim. I decided just to start off very conservatively, not pushing and just trying to find a nice pace. I could see loads of people strung out in front of me, but i just didn't worry about trying to pass anybody. My main concern was just to continue feeling comfortable at least for the first 20 minutes of the cycle. I had targeted a time of 1 hour 20 minutes (30kph).

After about 2 kilometers, two guys came past me. I felt that i should be pushing harder so i increased my pace similar to theirs. I ignored my heart rate because at this stage it was still in high Zone 5 which i wasn't sure was correct. From there on, i just continued to pace myself working a little harder but keeping plenty in reserve. Was passing loads of cyclists and only about 2 guys came past me. Absolutely loved the bike ride and the course. Felt really strong out on the course. Definitely my best bike ride i've done at a triathlon so far.

Started feeling it a little towards the end, but not too bad. Finished about 7.30 minutes quicker than target time.

Time = 1.12.39
Place = 111/495

T2

Felt this was a little slow. Put on a pair of socks to prevent blisters during the run and this probably slowed me. Results show i was slow.

Time = 3.05
Place = 307/495

Run

Came out of T2 and immediately felt the legs. Was absolutely knackered. I had a target time of 45 minutes, but knew straight away i was getting no where near this. At the same time, i was passing lots of runners with very few coming past me. But knew from my watch i was way of my target pace. The run course was rubbish to be fair. Running on path ways, through farm yard, across a field along a river bank, not really suited to fast times. However, no excuses here, reason i struggled was the legs. Passed through 5k in 23.03 which surprises me because i was really struggling and felt like it was a lot slower. Second 5k didn't feel much worse but in reality it was. Looks like i slowed up considerably here. Stopped at 8k for 10 seconds as i thought i was going to get sick. Managed to keep going but in bits. Second 5k was 26.03. Not great.

Time = 49.06
Place = 154/495

Overall, very happy with the performance. Delighted with the bike, happy enough with the swim and transitions. Disappointed with the run, need to work a bit on this. Think i need to increase my mileage and do more brick sessions.

Overall Time = 2.40.16
Overall Place = 130/495

PDCAT

Monday 04/06/18

Bike - Road 34.56km, 1.28.41 23.4kph AVHR = 119

Very easy bike ride, basically just recovering the legs after Saturday's Triathlon.
Early morning ride, beautiful weather, loved this ride.

Run - 6.44km 35.10 (5.27) AVHR = 139

Another easy run in the evening, again just recovering the legs. Went a little too fast, should have slowed it down some more.

Wednesday 06/06/18

Swim - (River - 1.5K)
Down to the river with the club tonight for a swim. Lovely evening and really enjoyed the swim.

Thursday 07/06/18

Bike - Road - Approx 35km, 1.20 Hours, 'Threshold'.
This included 2 x 20 minutes at threshold heart rate. Went really well, happy with this.

Swim - (Pool - 2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddle & Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 & Pull Buoy)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Sunday 10/06/18

Run - 14.48km, 1.21.30 (5.37) AVHR = 137

Took a few days off. My Dad has been very sick these last six months and he passed away on Saturday. Haven't been sleeping well lately. Got up early and went out for a longer run on Sunday morning to clear my head. Really loved this run, alone with my own thoughts, nobody around, roads were very quiet.
Will be taking a couple of days of early next week and back into it on Wednesday. Need the exercise more than ever at the moment.

PDCAT

Wednesday 13/06/18

Run - 6.44km 34.59 (5.25) AVHR = 141
Funeral for my Dad on Monday, had a few drinks afterwards and took Tuesday off as lots of jobs to do.

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddles & Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 & Pull Buoy)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Thursday 14/06/18

Bike - Road (32 Mins) - Just a warm up for two longish rides i have over the weekend. Tried to max my heart rate coming up a steep hill near my warm. Managed to get Max Heart rate to 170bpm, but think it may be higher than this. Might have to attempt this again at a later date.

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddle & Pull Buoy)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
8 x 25m (Sprints)
200m Cool Down

Friday 15/06/18

Bike - Charity Cycle - 104KM 23.6kph, AVHR = 117

Annual charity cycle with work. Decided to do the short 104km route. About 11 people in our group, varying levels of experience & speed. Had to stop and slow down quite a number of times for slower members of the group. My brother and myself were the strongest in the group with a bit more experience than most of the others. Really enjoyable.

Run - 6.44km 33.21 (5.14). After we finished the bike, i decided to go for a short run with my brother. Ran much too fast, had planned to keep to 5.35 pace. Afterwards had a massage, then off to the pool/sauna/steam room.

Saturday 16/06/18

Bike - Charity Cycle - 104KM 25.3kph AVHR = 121

Made the return journey back today. About 10 people in our group and again enjoyable ride. Again had multiple stops on the way back for some mechanical issues (3 Punctures). Happy i decided to complete this charity ride this year as it gives me a few extra miles in the legs. Felt really strong over the two days.

Sunday 17/06/18

Run - 16.09KM, 1.28.38 (5.30) AVHR (145)
Longest run in nearly three years since i got the groin injury. Slowly feel like im inching myself forward and gradually increasing speed and length of runs.

PDCAT

Monday 18/06/18

Bike - Road - 34KM, 1.28.39 23.6kph AVHR = 116
After the charity cycle the weekend before, ensured this was an nice and easy bike ride.

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddle & Pull Buoy)
100m (Scull 1 & Pull Buoy)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
100m (Sighting)
200m Cool Down

Tuesday 19/06/18

Run - 53.25 9.66km (5.31) AVHR = 137
Another nice and easy session trying to recover the legs a little after the weekend.

Thursday 21/06/18

Run - 6.44km Included 3 x 1KM at faster pace. Paces were 3.53, 3.52 & 3.50 with 4 mins recovery between reps.

Friday 22/06/18

Bike - Road - 1 Hour. Testing my max heart rate. Involved three attempts to ride up a steep hill near my home. On the third attempt managed to get the heart rate up to 174bpms which is about right.

Swim (Total Swim = 2K)

Plan was:
200m Warm up
100m (On Side)
100m (616)
100m (636)
200m (Doggy Paddles & Pull Buoy)
500m (Paddles & Pull Buoy)
200m (Pull Buoy)
200m (Boards & Fins)
200m (Front Crawl)
200m Cool Down

Saturday 23/06/18

Run - 1.27.30 16.09km (5.26) AVHR = 145
Another long run, went well, legs not as tired as the previous week.

Sunday 24/06/18

Bike - Road - 53.38KM 1.51.21 28.8kph AVHR = 136
Felt very good on this ride, went very well. Used new Heart Rate zones and was surprised with the average speed. Probably as quick as ive ever done on my own.

PDCAT

Wednesday 27/06/18

Run - 6.44KM 35.58 (5.34) AVHR = 137

Nice handy run after work in the evening. Beautiful evening for it.

Thursday 28/06/18

Swim - Short River swim with the club. About 750 meters tonight. Got out early as Athlone Triathlon at the weekend.

Friday 29/06/18

Bike - Turbo - 30 minutes easy early in the morning, just to loosen up the legs for the next day.

Saturday 30/06/18

Athlone Olympic Triathlon

My second ever Olympic Triathlon, after Athy four weeks earlier. No real targets. Was very happy with my first attempt at the distance in Athy and just wanted something similar today. I knew the courses were slightly different.
Over 350/400 people turned up on a beautiful day, majority of these doing the sprint or super sprint distance. Only about 85 participants for the longer one. Was apprehensive due to the heat expected during the day, particularly on the run and to a lesser extent the bike. Had been drinking a lot of water over the previous few days in a effort to ensure i had good hydration for dealing in the conditions.

Swim - The swim here is very fair, probably the easiest/shortest swim ive completed in a Triathlon. Completed the sprint here last year and the swim was the easiest i'd completed all year. No real issues today, much less numbers in the river, so i didnt get any arms/legs hitting off me. Went pretty ok for me i thought. Its always my weakest event and today was no exception, but i felt good throughout. Was about three minutes quicker than Athy but on a much easier course. All in all happy with it.

Time = 29.42
Place = 47/85

T1

Had a poor transition here, fumbled putting my cycling shoes on and also strapping my helmet. Lost a few seconds here.

Time = 2.08
Place = 47/85

Bike

Had a really good bike ride in Athy and i knew the course here was pretty good as i'd rode a good TT last year in the sprint. Found it hard to get into my stride. Not as many people on the road so nobody really to push me to catch like in Athy. Felt the heat a little today and took more water than i normally do on the bike. Bike course was short so i knew my time would be quicker than Athy, however overall the bike wasnt as strong, but nevertheless i was happy with it.
Between 20 - 35 kilometers, i felt really strong and felt like i was going well.

Time = 1.09.50
Place = 32/85

T2

Always struggle with this Transition. Not really sure why, always lose a few seconds to everybody else. Couple of things i could do to speed this up. Firstly keep cycling shoes clipped onto the pedals. Secondly, use shorter socks, easier to put on before the runners.

Time = 2.13
Place = 73/85

Run

Wasn't looking forward to this. Had a tough time in Athy and with 28 degrees heat, i certainly knew id be feeling it. Four tough laps of Athlone Town, passing the finishing line on three occasions before completing each lap. Lots of little hills in the route and on couple of occasions having to run around cones. Lots of water available and every couple of kilometers took on some water and also poured some over my head to keep me cool. Ok with the run, a little slower than Athy but given the conditions and course was happy enough with it.

Time = 50.02
Place = 30/85

Overall, i was happy with the performance. Seven minutes quicker than Athy, but a shorter bike ride and easier swim accounts for this. Still another Olympic Triathlon completed in a manner than i'm ok with. Finished a little further down the field, than i'd have liked, but it was a stronger field taking part than i've seen before.

Overall Time = 2.33.54
Overall Place = 34/85

PDCAT

Monday 02/07/18

Bike - Road - 34.56km 1.32.44 22.4kph AVHR = 135
Just a very easy cycle this morning to help the legs recover from the Athlone Olympic the previous Saturday.

Swim - Sea - First time to properly attempt a sea swim. Travelled down to Dunmore East to swim with the Waterford Tri Club. Wasn't sure how far to swim as very new to it. Decided to do one run of the long loop which was approx (1k-1.2k). Really happy with this and enjoyed it.

Tuesday 03/07/18

Run - 55.05 9.06km (5.42) AVHR = 138
Again, an very easy slow run to get legs recovered from the previous weekend.

Thursday 05/07/18

Swim - River - Into the river with the local Tri Club. Most of the guys/girls there tonight were newbies so they were only covering a short distance. Decided to chance a little extra on my own. Overall, covered about 1.4K.

Friday 06/07/18

Brick

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Bike - Road - 34.56km 1 hour 18 minutes. Included 2 x 20 minutes in Upper Zone 4 'Threshold' session.

Run - 8.05km. Included 2 x 1km reps a little faster. (4.16, 4.09).
Hot temps made this brick session a little tough, but really enjoyed it.

Saturday 07/07/18

Run - 17.70km 1.38.58 (5.35) AVHR = 137

Longest run in nearly three years. Was a bit apprehensive as id already ran 5 miles the previous day and havent been running two days in a row since the injury three years ago. Run went ok, but wrecked afterwards due to the heat.

Sunday 08/07/18

Bike - Road - 63.50km 2.21.32 26.9kph AVHR = 131 'Fink Z2'

Legs fairly tired after the previous two days training. However, enjoyed this. Found it a struggle to keep my Heart Rate in the correct zone.

Overall, a good week, completing all the main training sessions that i wanted. Next week's a very quiet week training wise as i have a sprint triathlon on Sunday, so will take it handy to keep the legs fresh.