140.6 deep breaths...

interested

griffin100 wrote: »

The mental torture of doing 3,000m plus in the pool without a break is harder than the physical effort

+1
A life time ago, I arrived in for training one tues morning. Glanced and the whiteboard ... 10,000 f/s. Designed to slowly mind f*ck everyone in the pool that day. The afternoon session was sprints.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Some good times on the swimming mcos, how are you finding the z1/z2 training on the run/cycle? I am struggling with it in the sense it seems too slow:(

I see we are both doing the Cookstown HIM next year, are you planning on doing an Olympic distance beforehand if so which ones are you considering.

shotgunmcos

griffin100 wrote: »

Starting to looking good for a sub one hour IM swim

The mental torture of doing 3,000m plus in the pool without a break is harder than the physical effort:) You'll get used to it after a while. Before a full IM swim I always had a drink and a bananna / gel just to make sure I was topped up.

Hows the sinus washing going?:D

Sinus not too bad. Yeah hopefully I'll get used to it. I'll try one long straight swim a month anyway and see how it goes. A drink at least should make a difference. As for an hour IM swim. I dunno about that. Even if I could hit that standard I'd be wasted after it. Aim is a for strong comfortable swim.

interested wrote: »

+1
A life time ago, I arrived in for training one tues morning. Glanced and the whiteboard ... 10,000 f/s. Designed to slowly mind f*ck everyone in the pool that day. The afternoon session was sprints.

Christ :eek:

Branson Limited Greengrocer wrote: »

Some good times on the swimming mcos, how are you finding the z1/z2 training on the run/cycle? I am struggling with it in the sense it seems too slow:(

I see we are both doing the Cookstown HIM next year, are you planning on doing an Olympic distance beforehand if so which ones are you considering.

I'm actually enjoying the base training. I'm hitting decent paces for me at the lower heart rates. I've no races pencilled in yet. I'll most likely do a sprint or two. Maybe the Joey Hannon.

shotgunmcos

Wednesday PM: Brick session
The plan
0:50 turbo Z2 including test, 0:20 run
Actual
0:50 turbo Z2 with 10km test, 0:19 run
The turbo was good. I wanted to get my heart rate into Z2 by the time I hit 5km on the clock and then sustain as hard an output I could with a capped heart rate. Tough enough piece but good fresh cadence. A benchmark established for next month.

Put on a dry top and headed out straight away. It was cold and crisp. I felt lively and the pace was brisk for a transition run in Z2. My right ankle felt sore again and it hurt on right turns. I have a feeling the physio is going to tell me to lay off running for a while in the morning. Stems from slipping on that bottle when I was pacing the DCM and has flared up lately. Crap.
Time bike 0:50 run 0:19
Dist 29.8km/4.29km

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Sinus not too bad. Yeah hopefully I'll get used to it. I'll try one long straight swim a month anyway and see how it goes. A drink at least should make a difference. As for an hour IM swim. I dunno about that. Even if I could hit that standard I'd be wasted after it. Aim is a for strong comfortable swim.

Christ :eek:

I'm actually enjoying the base training. I'm hitting decent paces for me at the lower heart rates. I've no races pencilled in yet. I'll most likely do a sprint or two. Maybe the Joey Hannon.

I would say the issue with me is I probably was doing most of my previous marathon training in zone 3 otherwise known as no mans land.:o

shotgunmcos

Physio this morning hit some spots.. ouch! Thankfully the sore right ankle is just a little tendonitis so some care needed is all.

Thursday PM: Easy Brick
Z1 turbo for 0:40 avg 231w, hr 124. Recalibrated turbo about 10 times as it was at +8 again. Eventually set it to 0/+1 and got on with it. Felt very comfortable just spinning the legs out. Z1 run with Caz afterwards keeping her company on her tempo run and getting a short one in to get a 3 day streak avg hr 131
Time 1:02
Dist 22.5km/4.33km

pgibbo

Glad to hear the ankle pain is nothing too serious. You're hitting some nice paces on your Z2 runs. Fair play.

Does it take long to calibrate the Flow? I haven't calibrated mine and you have done yours twice in a week now. How often is it recommended that you calibrate them? Cheers.

How was Harry Potter?

tunney

pgibbo wrote: »

Glad to hear the ankle pain is nothing too serious. You're hitting some nice paces on your Z2 runs. Fair play.

Does it take long to calibrate the Flow? I haven't calibrated mine and you have done yours twice in a week now. How often is it recommended that you calibrate them? Cheers.

How was Harry Potter?

Tut tut.

Turbos should be calibrate before every use and the tyre pressures set to be the same every time.

"you're a wizard harry" - wouldn't mind seeing that myself.

mloc123

What calibartion is there to be done on the flow? I always made sure my tyre preasure was the same.

I had my first power test on Tuesday, whatever combination of typre preasure and resistance I had on the turbo meant the results from the PT and Turbo were within 2%-3% of each other.

Edit: I see now, I plug out my turbo every time afaik this resets everything on it?

El Director

Glad the ankle problem isn't too serious dude, at least it's a rest week so it should be given time to recover.

shotgunmcos

Hi Lads, yes when you plug out the flow it resets everything. However if the tyre pressure is the same next time it shouldn't shift too much. That said small things like flicking the hold lever up with your foot when done can shift the dial a tiny amount or temperature. There are loads of variables so best to calibrate regularly. I generally know by feel by now if the turbo feels heavy and lo behold when I check its at +8! I don't calibrate every time. A couple of times a month. Its quite sensitive though. I finally had a replacement cadence sensor delivered so looking foward to seeing if 90 feels 'natural' now this week...

shotgunmcos

Friday PM: Run Z2 test
The plan
Hit Z2 hr ceiling (154) by 2km and time next 4km
Actual
4:20, 4:21, 4:17, 4:19 hr 156
It was pitch dark on the route so I could see my hr all the time. When I did check it was 154-158, too high. I reined it back a little but 156 overall is the bottom of Z3 so the tests not as controlled as I wanted. It’s still a benchmark and the plan next is simply to maintain that pace at a lower heart rate. My bowels went nuts shortly afterwards. Something from the Galway markets earlier in the day didn’t agree with me.
Time 0:41
Dist 9.1km

Saturday AM: Rowing 4x
I had missed a couple of swims during the week to spend time with Caz so took up an offer for a spin on the water with the masters. I haven’t rowed in about 5 years so I was hoping for an 8+ so I could sit in the middle and have a nice handy cross training session. The cold weather and 0830 start put many off and it I ended up stroking a quad for an hour steady state instead! It wasn’t exactly recovery week stuff. Crosswind chopped the water up in places but it was a decent spin. It was also a stark reminder how tough rowing is. 12 blisters and some raw flesh on my fingers from the composite sculls and rubber handles show what a soft touch I have become as a triathlete
Time 1:00
Dist 15km approx

Saturday PM: LSR
The plan
1:40 Z1-Z2
Actual
1:38 Z2
It was very cold so I kept the pace a little sharper than intended. I felt the effects of the morning row and this session was generally laboured. The garmin was acting the maggot too, spiking constantly. My ankle niggle, which actually stems from my foot arch, showed up after an hour. My cadence and heart rate were fighting. I was holding 86 spm but my hr was high Z2. I kept telling myself smaller steps but a cold frost was descending and it was getting pretty cold, hence they sort of went on autopilot mode.
Time 1:53 including stretch
Dist 21.19km

Sunday AM: Freezing Z2 bike spin
I was late for the group spin so there was no one there. I just headed out the old Dublin road towards Nenagh. It was into a bitterly cold headwind and lots of gradual drags. Thankfully a quiet road though. The wind was cutting through me and my motivation died after less than a half hour. I stopped for a minute to take a drink and a HTFU pill before plugging on for another half hour. As I entered Tipperary a few ice patches appeared. Heading up a hill I saw a group of about a half dozen gingerly freewheeling down the hill. I was so tempted to turn immediately and join them but promised myself I’d turn back at the top of the hill. The higher I got the more frequent the ice patches got so the crest of the hill became an easy decision to turnaround. I freewheeled as gingerly as the group until the road got better. My water bottle had frozen too by this stage! I caught the group after 20 mins or so but they had just stopped as 2 of them had hit the deck on tracks. My own front wheel slid on the track as I passed and I was lucky to stay on. Even as I approached home my gremlin was telling me to stay out for more punishment but I reminded myself that it was a recovery week and I had done enough. It may not have been the intended long bike but it was character building 2 hours. I did a short transition run off the bike after a rapid change of shoes. I was very cold so opted to build the run rather than run steady. I hit a cadence of 88 after a few mins which I was happy about. It was lovely out but I pushed on to get home and defrost Avg hr bike 137, run 147, avg pace bike 29.7kmh, run 4:23/km.
Time 2:40 including stretch
Dist 60.6km/4.07km

week 4 numbers
22-28 November|# sessions|Time hh:mm|Distance kms
Total|13*|11:22|188.8km
Swimming|1|1:00|3.4
Cycling|3|3:32|112.9
Running|7*|4:15|55.5
Conditioning|2|2:32|17 Rowing/Yoga/Stretching
*included 3 short brick runs

Push ups: 191 (best 3 sets 3*37)

I pretty much gave the push ups and swimming a miss last week however the shoulder and back DOMS this morning is an imprint of the row at the weekend. I think training in the cold too has left an effect. Time is flying already with the first of 5 base blocks complete. The right ankle/foot is still an issue which I'll monitor carefully. Week 4 down, 32 to go

Iron Enthusiast

Hey Shotgun!

Fair play on sticking it out in the cold yesterday. Careful on the ice though, it only takes one slip and you could be out for weeks! Looks like Tuuuuurbo weather!!:)

Really enjoying the blog!

IE

El Director

Yo MCOS, you are hitting a seriously good pace for your Z2 runs. I am not hitting any where near those paces, I must do a test too actually and run on the upper limit just to see whats what.

I agree with IE there re icey spins. I went out last year one Saturday and it was just one of the worst days ever! Fell twice, got dropped by the group, got lost! Anymore I don't even consider it, it was a 2hr turbo spin for me this weekend for instance.

shotgunmcos

Time is flying by at an alarming rate... onto block 2 of 9 for this journey.

Monday AM: Group swim session (LC)
I wasn't feeling the love for this at all. My shoulders were like lead and the right one felt like someone took a hammer to it. I'm pretty sure the physio only used fingers, hands and elbows :rolleyes: Anyway a rubbish session. I got through the warm up drills with fins but the RPE to hang onto the group for the 12*100s off 1:45 was way too high. It reminded me of the first time I got into the fast lane. Early shower.
Time 0:50
Dist 2,500m

Monday PM: Short Z2/3 run.
Simply to maintain a streak. Bloody freezing out. The oil went in the house at the weekend and I'm expecting delivery today. As the house was baltic when I got in from work, I figured I'd stick on the heater and do a gallop around the block. Cadence 88 which is much better but I have to press it to get it and the heart rate struggles to stay in Z2. I just allow it a few beats over for hills. Pace 4:24 , hr 153 on slippy paths
Time 0:20 run 0:15 stretch
Dist 4.62km

Tuesday PM: Z2 lunchtime run.
This is usually a morning run preceded by skipping, however the house was baltic so I just turned over again and slept it out. I was adamant to get it done at lunch time. In order to get a 50 min run in an hour break I had to be rather efficient, so I wore the leggings, compression socks and long sleeve base layer under the suit all morning. Toasty I was Less to do in the transition. Leave desk at 1pm, change, run 11.08km at 4:30 pace and 151 heart rate, a nice loop of the city, take off all the sweaty layers, gulp half a bottle of water, swallow a pear and back to my desk for 2pm on the dot! Lunch was swallowed whole at 4pm as work kind of enveloped me. It was a good run on dry paths but boy that wind is cold brrrrrrr... 88 cadence still not an unconscious competence

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

^^^^The above sounds like my daily lunchtime workout:). What are you using to measure your running cadence?

shotgunmcos

Branson Limited Greengrocer wrote: »

What are you using to measure your running cadence?

Count right steps for 30 secs and multiply by 2

Tuesday PM: Swim set (LC)
The plan
8*400m off 7:30
Actual
8*400m off 7:30 in on 6:41, 6:43, 6:40, 6:37, 6:37, 6:43, 6:45, 6:43
I knew heading over to the pool it was going to be a tough set. I wasn't feeling great. Thankfully a clear enough lane to work in. Sure enough after the first 2 timid reps I struggled with the motivation to face 6 more. I managed some focus for about 3 reps and then it turned into slog city. Happy just to get it done in the end.
Time 1:00
Dist 3,200m

Wednesday AM: Sleepy Yoga
Odd class with no girls showing up. Just 4 lads struggling with flexibility
A few minutes in the gym afterwards.
Abs 40*2
Push ups 42*3
Lat pulldown 60kg 15*2

El Director

"...slog city" seriously dude! That was one tough session and you were coming in on great times-times that just seem to be out of my reach, even for one rep!

Thinking of adding in yoga to my regime next year, rest weeks, easy day etc.... Do you rate it? How about bikram? I would love to bolster my flexibility.

shotgunmcos

El Director wrote: »

Thinking of adding in yoga to my regime next year, rest weeks, easy day etc.... Do you rate it? How about bikram? I would love to bolster my flexibility.

I'd highly rate it as long as the instructor is good. The yoga I do is freestyle, taken from Bikram, Asthanga and others... I definitely feel looser after a session and I'm noticing small but painfully gradual improvements in flexibility. I'd recommend Pilates Flow too. Its more about core strength and stability though.

El Director

Any opinion/experience of kettlebell workouts?

shotgunmcos

Hey El Director I have never used kettlebells but Oryx mentions them frequently in her log. Considering she is ahead of most of the men in the push up challenge, I’d say there is merit in their use!

MCOS November summary

Overall 53:48 hours this is my biggest month ever. Putting down block 1 of the programme, I have developed some consistency through the frequency of short sessions.

15 swims in 12:50, dist 39.1km. I’m pleased with the pbs in the T20 and the race pace I targeted at the start of the year is now my cruising pace. I’m adapting to the pace of the fast lanes and the weekly set I do alone is the toughie. It’s the one most geared towards the IM swim though. The main focus is stroke efficiency.

12 cycles in 16:38, dist 550.2km. This includes just 2 weekend spins and the rest was turbo. That’s likely to be the pattern for the winter too. I just got a new cadence sensor for the Flow too so the plan for the next block is to average 90spm for the long Z2 rides. I also want to crack the 3-3.5 hour mark for long rides. I need to do more lower Z1 spinning on the recovery week.

21 runs in 17:00, dist 222.03km. 6 of those runs were short ones off the bike. This was a lot of running for me and I’m adapting to the frequency of it. Running has been my weakest split all year so I’m keen to build my base. The pace for Z2 effort is improving slightly and I’ve progressed the cadence from 82-84 to 86-88. I’m targeting 88-90 for the end of block 2. I also need to reduce the intensity more for the recovery week. I’m going to try for sub 1:30 at the Waterford half marathon if it goes ahead.

Conditioning: 4 yoga, 1 rowing, a little gym, drills, skipping and more stretching than usual. The physio said I was in good shape from the conditioning I do but I have to incorporate some back exercises to balance all the f/s swimming. This will be achieved with the rowing machine, pull ups and the occasional lat pull downs, seated rows etc… I’ll continue to do Yoga for flexibility but I am going to focus on hamstring flexibility as its shocking.
Time 7:20, rowing 19.6km, push ups 1,707. Single set best 64, 3 set best 3*42.

shotgunmcos

I almost felt guilty doing my short run off the bike last night since everywhere else in the country is treacherous!

Wednesday PM: Brick session
The plan
1:00 Z2 bike, 0:20 Z2 run
Actual
1:00 Z1 bike, 0:19 Z2/3 run, 0:15 stretch

I felt really good. With the new cadence sensor attached I could finally get some data on that. This session showed some progress. I maintained an average cadence of 91 and output of 238w but at a reduced hr of 129. The cardiac drift for the hour stayed in Z1 which surprised me. I change straight away into 2 dry tops, hat and gloves for a short run. The freezing cold immediately took hold of my bare thighs so I pushed the first km to get warm again and hit 88spm. The paths were slippy in patches but largely dry. It was very cold though. I maintained Z2-Z3 for hills for a brisk run. Pace 4:13/km, hr 153. Worked on hamstrings afterwards. It was bizarre to watch the news while stretching and see the chaos everywhere else in the country! Its beautiful blue sunny skies down here during the day
Time 1:34
Dist 35km/4.59km

interested

shotgunmcos wrote: »

I almost felt guilty doing my short run off the bike last night since everywhere else in the country is treacherous!

Ahh but you cant compare the amount of fun to be had biking in snow/ice versus the turbo ...

shotgunmcos

interested wrote: »

Ahh but you cant compare the amount of fun to be had biking in snow/ice versus the turbo ...

Indeed, it could all change this weekend down here, so I'll have to get the mtb ready

interested

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Indeed, it could all change this weekend down here, so I'll have to get the mtb ready

MTB ? Im pretty sure Tunney was riding his fixie through the drifts the other day

shotgunmcos

Thursday PM – Friday AM: Busy Busy Busy
Out of work late yesterday evening as I was late eating my frog! Anyway, straight onto the turbo when I got home…
The plan
1:00 Z2 with 3*7mins at 80% FTP
Actual
1:00 Z1-Z2 with 3*7min at 80%
I felt good. I spun at 90prm between reps and for 2 of them just increased it to 96ish rpm. For the middle one I opted for maintaining the 90rpm but with a +1 slope. Overall I enjoyed the session and preferred the slightly harder grind of the middle rep. I think it’s because I’m very comfortable around 90rpm but not as smooth closer to 100. Avg hr 131, output 243w, cadence 93
Time 1:00
Dist 35.4km

Short Z2 run: Next I changed into my running gear and headed up to view a house with Caz. It was really just to get an idea of a more modernised version of one we had viewed as a project down the road. This project will hopefully kick off in the spring and is going to add another level of complexity to be negotiated for the IM journey! As a result of 20 mins of walking around an empty unheated house I was cold jogging back home. It was only 10 mins over and back though, 4.5km, just about enough to keep me on the streak. 11 days in a row, my longest ever

Tech Swim: Once home we discussed for a few moments before I headed off again to the pool for the group technique session with the Coach. He had us doing all kind of kicking drills, fists, catch up, counting, fins on, fins off, fins on again etc… I didn’t really enjoy this. My head wasn’t in it and I was hungry. I also seem to have lost my swimming mojo lately. My DPS is terrible
40 mins and 1.3 laboured km later I drove home and gorged on a half dozen fresh BLTs mmm mmm mmm. Bed late and slept like a log.

Z2 run in the snow: This morning I got up at 0630 to find a blanket of snow outside. Woohoo, I like running in snow. There was hardly anyone around so I had the road to myself initially and skipped along nicely. I needed a pit stop after 15 mins thanks to the late night feed. The snow came down heavier after half an hour though and I was getting less traction. It wasn’t as pleasant into the wind too as the sleet stung your eyes. Even less pleasant into the wind and uphill. Still, I enjoyed this run and kept a good pace for Z2 considering, avg 4:30/km, hr 148. I’m also happy with the Mizunos Wave Inspire 6s and have a decent feel for them now. The GT 2160s are due to arrive next week. I took care over the last couple of kms as I couldn't see where the paths dipped and rose. My ankle is still not right and I was being careful not to go over on it again.
I haven’t been to the Café next to work yet this week, so this morning I’m treating myself and eating what I like. On the scale at 76.9kg this morning, a drop from 80kg 5 weeks ago despite the amount of food I’m going through :eek:
Time 0:53
Dist 11.87km

shotgunmcos

Saturday AM: Long Turbo
Took on a bottle of water, bottle of carb mix and a gel at 2hrs but in hindsight I'm going back to fig rolls. 3 hours on the thing, 1:48 in Z1 and 1:12 in Z2 and a slightly higher output. I had Alicia Keys top 20 to keep me entertained for 2 hours, then had to get of for a few mins to get some lunch for shotgun junior. The first hour was easy but for some reason 2-2.5hrs felt tough. Happy to maintain 90spm avg for the session but it was harder to do so than the midweek short sessions. Hear rate stayed in Z2 towards the end without an issue and the output overall was goo at 238 watts. I didn't have bike shorts washed so shifted about a lot and had to get out of the saddle a couple of times. I calibrated the turbo again before the session as a quick check showed +6. Even at base heart rate average of 130, it was a tough session. The legs had it but the mind needs practice to endure it.
Time 3:00 benchmark 1
Dist 103.5km

Saturday PM: Short Z1/2 run
A little lap of the estate in the fog and on slippy surfaces. A ginger 4.16km run just to maintain the streak. Tried to run on road if I could but when forced onto paths it was baby steps. Good practice for cadence I suppose. Hr 139, pace 4:54/km. 20 mins core afterwards including 100 push ups in one go, benchmark 2

El Director

Savage MCOS...savage. Well done on the two benchmarks, ending the year very very strong indeed.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Sicko:D

GoHardOrGoHome

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Saturday PM: Short Z1/2 run
A little lap of the estate in the fog and on slippy surfaces. A ginger 4.16km run just to maintain the streak.

I did the same today. The shortest lap that I do is 4k and that's all I wanted to do today! Calves are feeling the strain a little bit with all this slushy snow.

Fair play on the turbo session, that's great to be covering that sort of "distance" without leaving Z2. Impressive.