Rocky Road to Rot(h)...

catweazle

Abhainn wrote: »

Not an easy one there Izoard but good on ya. Bike seemed challenging, going by splits on the results sheet. And the winner just had a 2:50 bike

Marrey was 2.20 winning in Swinford last year - puts the difficulty in the bike in perspective. Great run off the bike too, you are in good form

handangeo

Good Stuff - see the training is going well then! I've fallen off the wagon the last month - domestic issues! not sure whether i will make it to Roth at this stage. Its all still in the balance

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

Good Stuff - see the training is going well then! I've fallen off the wagon the last month - domestic issues! not sure whether i will make it to Roth at this stage. Its all still in the balance

Hey handangeo - like yourself, training is hit & miss - certainly, the long bike has been absent this year.
Hope you make it to the start line in Roth!

Izoard

Abhainn wrote: »

Not an easy one there Izoard but good on ya. Bike seemed challenging, going by splits on the results sheet. And the winner just had a 2:50 bike

Aside from the cat conditions, I was comfortable on the bike, so still with an outside chance of hitting 6 15 or so on the bike for Roth.

Any tris for you this season?

Abhainn

Izoard wrote: »

Aside from the cat conditions, I was comfortable on the bike, so still with an outside chance of hitting 6 15 or so on the bike for Roth.

Any tris for you this season?

Good signs that you were comfortable on the bike and that you enjoyed the 2and part of the run.
Tri's me? Ya plan is main one is the half in Swinford and up to 2 standard before that.
First OW last night so thankfully over that

Izoard

Getting really tired of this weather...I'm a total fair-weather trainer - no amount of HTFU-type pep-talks will get me out on the bike in the wind and the rain.

Having missed the festivities in Cardiff, I'll make the pilgrimage to Thomond this weekend, so another opportunity for a long-ish bike is lost.

Need to re-discover the mojo...:o

pgibbo

Izoard wrote: »

Having missed the festivities in Cardiff, I'll make the pilgrimage to Thomond this weekend, so another opportunity for a long-ish bike is lost.

2 birds 1 stone.....cycle to Thomond

Izoard

pgibbo wrote: »

2 birds 1 stone.....cycle to Thomond

If only I could trust the locals to mind a Leinster chap's steed....:D

handangeo

You doing Athy this weekend?

George

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

You doing Athy this weekend?

George

Yep, down for the Double OLY.
You still going to Roth?

Izoard

Not the healthiest weekend I've ever had, but good craic in Limerick all the same.

Mrs.I is predicting that our summer starts tomorrow, so I'll probably take a day off on Wed to hit the hills for some W200 prep.

handangeo

Good - Might see you sometime Saturday then!

Roth is still on, but I need a massive few weeks to get back on track. Going to cycle back to Kilkenny after Athy to start with.

Hows progress your end?

George

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

Good - Might see you sometime Saturday then!

Roth is still on, but I need a massive few weeks to get back on track. Going to cycle back to Kilkenny after Athy to start with.

Hows progress your end?

George

You down for Athy? I didn't see you on the list for the double...sneaky late entry?:)

Great to hear you are still in the game - I'm really struggling with the long stuff this year...most weekends have been a write off, so I'm left doing lots of 90 min sessions...

handangeo

No - Just Olympic for me, you wont catch me in THAT river for a 3k swim!

Same here on the long stuff, lots of 90 - 120 mins, but thats all going to have to change!

Good Luck Saturday,

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

No - Just Olympic for me, you wont catch me in THAT river for a 3k swim!

When you put it like that...:eek:

Hopefully see you out on the course...and good luck with the Oly.

Oryx

Is the river that bad? Oh dear... Good luck lads and maybe see yiz there.

handangeo

Oryx wrote: »

Is the river that bad? Oh dear... Good luck lads and maybe see yiz there.

Well I was sick after the last time! Best not to try and drink any!!

Izoard

Well, summer didn't arrive this morning, at least in the Wicklow mountains.

Took today off, to hit the hills in prep for the W200.

Plan was;
Sally Gap x2
Shay Elliott x 2
Slieve Maan x2
+ assorted climbs around Enniskerry etc...

Once I got onto the Military Road, I knew it was going to be a long day and was so close to turning back after about 30km.
The SW winds were gale-force once you got beyond the trees...one of my km splits for the trip up past Lough Tay was 7.45m...on a bike!!:eek:

Anyways, got through the plan; 145km in a ridiculously slow time.

The road surfaces are pretty poor on the SM descent - hopefully everyone will be OK for that one @ W200.

interested

Izoard wrote: »

Well, summer didn't arrive this morning, at least in the Wicklow mountains.

Took today off, to hit the hills in prep for the W200.

Plan was;
Sally Gap x2
Shay Elliott x 2
Slieve Maan x2
+ assorted climbs around Enniskerry etc...

Once I got onto the Military Road, I knew it was going to be a long day and was so close to turning back after about 30km.
The SW winds were gale-force once you got beyond the trees...one of my km splits for the trip up past Lough Tay was 7.45m...on a bike!!:eek:

Anyways, got through the plan; 145km in a ridiculously slow time.

The road surfaces are pretty poor on the SM descent - hopefully everyone will be OK for that one @ W200.

A nice way to spend the day
I did something similar back in early March - parked in roundwood - did devils glen, SE and SM out and back. Theres a loop from roundwood, down towards ashford, up devils glen and back around (about 15k) thats a relatively sheltered option from the wind and isnt a million miles away from civilisation should a wobble come.

shotgunmcos

Nice session Izoard. I remember those climbs from the W200 last year. Yeah SM descent was a bit hairy alright. Some pretty slow parts and some quick decents too. Hey at least the roads will be nice and smooth in Germany. Jackyback is doing it too, you could hook up wth him. Thats at least one person from the masses who won't laugh at your socks, shopping basket, polka dot combo

Izoard

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Nice session Izoard. I remember those climbs from the W200 last year. Yeah SM descent was a bit hairy alright. Some pretty slow parts and some quick decents too. Hey at least the roads will be nice and smooth in Germany. Jackyback is doing it too, you could hook up wth him. Thats at least one person from the masses who won't laugh at your socks, shopping basket, polka dot combo

I might add in the aero helmet while doing 8min kms up the Sally Gap:)

Izoard

After yesterday's escapade, the plan called for 1 swim and a couple of bike commutes before Athy.
Then the sun came out...:)

Beautiful 17km run (well, the weather was beautiful, whatever about the aesthetics of the run...) @ 4min 55 per km pace.

No dout I'll pay for it on Sat, but the first run I've actually enjoyed since, well, the last time the sun was out...

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Hey Izo good training ride around Wicklow no doubt it will set you up well for the W200. As MCOS mentioned give me a shout if you want some company on the day and i promise not to laugh at the basket and socks:). I am heading out on the TT rig with full IM race day fueling practice etc. I think i read somewhere you were thinking of doing it on the roadie? I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to do it on the TT rig and practice everything for Roth. Roth is probably not as tough as the W200 but it will leave you well prepared for it, just my 2 cents!!

On the SM descent it is really dangerous i think it was in WAR last year that i near came off on loose gravel doing 65kms, scared the crap out of me.

Izoard

Bodie Bumpy Stew wrote: »

Hey Izo good training ride around Wicklow no doubt it will set you up well for the W200. As MCOS mentioned give me a shout if you want some company on the day and i promise not to laugh at the basket and socks:). I am heading out on the TT rig with full IM race day fueling practice etc. I think i read somewhere you were thinking of doing it on the roadie? I think this is a perfect opportunity for you to do it on the TT rig and practice everything for Roth. Roth is probably not as tough as the W200 but it will leave you well prepared for it, just my 2 cents!!

On the SM descent it is really dangerous i think it was in WAR last year that i near came off on loose gravel doing 65kms, scared the crap out of me.

Hey JB, for sure it would be great to start around the same time - although as soon as the road kicks up, I'm sure that will be the last I see of your skinny a$$...
If I was in better shape, I'd chance the TT bike, but I know what I need gearing-wise when we hit the the SM/SE double after 130km and it ain't on the TT rig...!

I think there are a couple of other tri boardsies also signed up...RedB, are you out there?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Sent you a pm.

Izoard

One of my buddies has signed up for IM CH this year, so he was in and probably looking to get in ahead of me.
He was looking lean and in good shape - oh dear:)

Real bonus to be off in the first wave - water nice and warm - let's go!

Nice swim, little current, although made the school-boy error of hugging the rope both up & downstream.

Exit the swim - 1:09 - What??? no excuses there...
No sign of my mate's bike - bad sign.

Sun came out as we were finishing the swim, they've changed the course, so a little more cross country this year, to add to the straight up and down on the main road.
Wind was surprisingly strong on the last 10km of each lap, which slowed everyone down a bit.
Was almost solo on Lap 1, until the Olympic racers started to appear.
A lot of people were passing me on the bike - flat and fast is not a good course for me:rolleyes:
Paniced when I saw my mate coming the other way when @ 14km (I'd assumed the turnaround was at 20km..turns out it was at 15.5km)..believing he was 12km ahead already!
Uneventful remainder and complete the bike in 2hr 44.

At this stage my mate was about 12 mins ahead - time to get my skates on.

Not a big fan of the grassy run at Athy, but a lot of people were flagging in the heat and off road conditions - I was ticking along at 5min per km pace and pass a lot of those who had passed me on the bike.
Caught my mate at 10km and put another 15mins into him thereafter.
1:41 for the run - really enjoyed it.

5.40 overall -
enjoyed the day out and plan to be back for more of that next year (as long as they get us out in the first wave).

Wicklow200 next week and then Roth time!

Izoard

Ballymoney-Courtown-Wicklow Town - Courtown - Ballymoney, with a few detours.

125km in 4hr 20 - perfect day for the TT bike.

Had to put an MTB stem on the new Tri bike, to allow me get on the extensions...the Focus designers must be weeping back in Germany...:)

Oryx

Ah that kind of mileage is very intimidating how do you cope with boredom, which for me is worse than saddle ache?

Izoard

Oryx wrote: »

Ah that kind of mileage is very intimidating how do you cope with boredom, which for me is worse than saddle ache?

Ideally, you'd do it in a group.
It is a pain doing it solo, but my anti-social training hours tend to be club-unfriendly.
TBH, the long bike is my main limiter for future IMs. I don't have the time at weekends any more and in any event I've little motiviation to go out for 4-6 hour solo bike rides.

I did enjoy yesterday though...:)

Oryx

Izoard wrote: »

Ideally, you'd do it in a group.
It is a pain doing it solo, but my anti-social training hours tend to be club-unfriendly.
TBH, the long bike is my main limiter for future IMs. I don't have the time at weekends any more and in any event I've little motiviation to go out for 4-6 hour solo bike rides.

I did enjoy yesterday though...:)

I'm just anti-social, full stop. (The real reason is I dont think Im up for club riding, not fast enough)

My HIM distance training takes the same hours as your IM, (depressing, lol) and Ive tried radio, chatting on the phone, singing out loud, and I still go off my rocker. Id hoped there was a trick to it. Ive even considered getting audio books on an ipod or lingaphone to learn a foreign language while Im out.:D

handangeo

Izoard wrote: »

One of my buddies has signed up for IM CH this year, so he was in and probably looking to get in ahead of me.
He was looking lean and in good shape - oh dear:)

Real bonus to be off in the first wave - water nice and warm - let's go!

Nice swim, little current, although made the school-boy error of hugging the rope both up & downstream.

Exit the swim - 1:09 - What??? no excuses there...
No sign of my mate's bike - bad sign.

Sun came out as we were finishing the swim, they've changed the course, so a little more cross country this year, to add to the straight up and down on the main road.
Wind was surprisingly strong on the last 10km of each lap, which slowed everyone down a bit.
Was almost solo on Lap 1, until the Olympic racers started to appear.
A lot of people were passing me on the bike - flat and fast is not a good course for me:rolleyes:
Paniced when I saw my mate coming the other way when @ 14km (I'd assumed the turnaround was at 20km..turns out it was at 15.5km)..believing he was 12km ahead already!
Uneventful remainder and complete the bike in 2hr 44.

At this stage my mate was about 12 mins ahead - time to get my skates on.

Not a big fan of the grassy run at Athy, but a lot of people were flagging in the heat and off road conditions - I was ticking along at 5min per km pace and pass a lot of those who had passed me on the bike.
Caught my mate at 10km and put another 15mins into him thereafter.
1:41 for the run - really enjoyed it.

5.40 overall -
enjoyed the day out and plan to be back for more of that next year (as long as they get us out in the first wave).

Wicklow200 next week and then Roth time!

Well done man, you were looking strong when I passed. Bet your glad tp have that under your belt for Roth. Sorry I missed you at the end was on the bike home for my sins.

Got warm on the run did'nt it, and that grassy surface didnt help the speed!

George

kennyb3

Oryx wrote: »

I'm just anti-social, full stop. (The real reason is I dont think Im up for club riding, not fast enough)

My HIM distance training takes the same hours as your IM, (depressing, lol) and Ive tried radio, chatting on the phone, singing out loud, and I still go off my rocker. Id hoped there was a trick to it. Ive even considered getting audio books on an ipod or lingaphone to learn a foreign language while Im out.:D

I'd say try suffering a bit more. I know its a long endurance cycle but at same time if you you can sing or chat on the phone i dont think your doing it right.

If i go out on my bike in 'touring mode' i get fairly bored of looking around within half an hour, but when im hammering myself for 3 hours the time flies by.

Maybe break it up into 20mins easy, 20 mins hard and so on

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

Well done man, you were looking strong when I passed. Bet your glad tp have that under your belt for Roth. Sorry I missed you at the end was on the bike home for my sins.

Got warm on the run did'nt it, and that grassy surface didnt help the speed!

George

You'd a great outing at the OLY...very nice bike & run splits!

Enjoy the rest of the build up and hopefully I'll see you ready to roll at the airport...

shotgunmcos

Good Day out in Athy and thanks for the report. Wished I was racing last weekend but I let my HIM go, assuming it would be too much before Roth...

Also, you 5min/km pace will probably not e far off the Roth pace so sub4 marathon or Bust eh

Take it handy on the W200.

Izoard

kennyb3 wrote: »

I'd say try suffering a bit more. I know its a long endurance cycle but at same time if you you can sing or chat on the phone i dont think your doing it right.

If i go out on my bike in 'touring mode' i get fairly bored of looking around within half an hour, but when im hammering myself for 3 hours the time flies by.

Maybe break it up into 20mins easy, 20 mins hard and so on

Another reason to avoid going solo.

I find when cycling in a group, you are definitely pushing harder, whereas when on my own, I tend to ease off.

I need the discipline of others around me to push myself...which doesn't fit very well with completely solo training:)

Izoard

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Good Day out in Athy and thanks for the report. Wished I was racing last weekend but I let my HIM go, assuming it would be too much before Roth...

Also, you 5min/km pace will probably not e far off the Roth pace so sub4 marathon or Bust eh

Take it handy on the W200.

You are delivering in spades against your plan, so it looks all-good for you.

It appears the sh1te weather is back for the week...here's hoping we'll get something benign on the day for the W200..

As for sub-4?
Well, if I keep cycling as slowly as I am, it might just be on:)

handangeo

Izoard wrote: »

You'd a great outing at the OLY...very nice bike & run splits!

Enjoy the rest of the build up and hopefully I'll see you ready to roll at the airport...

Thanks was hoping for sub 2:30:00 but ended up 2:30:05 - those damn 5 secs are killing me! Didnt kill myself enough on the run it seems, like all those school reports - Could do better.

Not long to go now Roth awaits..............

George

shotgunmcos

Lads the race numbers and waves are up on the Challenge Roth website. I'm number 940, wave 4 off at 0700hrs in case either of you are in there with me Its starting to feel real now :eek:

handangeo

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Lads the race numbers and waves are up on the Challenge Roth website. I'm number 940, wave 4 off at 0700hrs in case either of you are in there with me Its starting to feel real now :eek:

Your with the elite Mike, you can have the beers ready at the finish line. I'm off at 7.25am in Wave 9, himself is 7.30am so he'll pass me on the swim (isnt that right Fergal!).

George

RedB

Izoard wrote: »

I think there are a couple of other tri boardsies also signed up...RedB, are you out there?

Just back from an intensive carbo-loading week in Italy :rolleyes:. Had great intentions of training. Brought the swim and run gear, planned on at least hiring a bike, had a training plan, etc but did absolutely nothing . Eat plenty of pizza and ice cream and drank plenty of beer and wine. Read 2 books and had quality family time. In the afterglow I mentioned to MrsB on the flight home that I was considering a 2012 IM and while I didn't get a green light it wasn't a straight red either . The club are looking at Austria and there's plenty of interest so I'm drip feeding that scenario at home. Picking my battles!
I did a flat 155km cycle on the May Bank Hol Monday and I've been on the bike for 3 x 30-40km cycles since . I've a call put out for an electric bike or a rickshaw service but I'll be at the W200 start line at 7am. I'll be the one with the great tan at the back :cool:.

Izoard

RedB wrote: »

I'll be the one with the great tan at the back :cool:.

I'll just look out for one of those skinny Italian-types with an all-white ensemble (including the obligatory sleeveless top) and mahogany tan.

Izoard

handangeo wrote: »

Your with the elite Mike, you can have the beers ready at the finish line. I'm off at 7.25am in Wave 9, himself is 7.30am so he'll pass me on the swim (isnt that right Fergal!).

George

Sh1te! I'm the one that needs the headstart - mcos will probably be back in Dublin by the time I show up!

Izoard

Planned 20km run replaced by a volunteer day at a Beaver camp in Larch Hill.
Managed to fall over at one stage and now looking at a rapidly swelling right knee.
Perfect taper for the Wicklow200.

Throw in the predicted inclement weather and tomorrow promises to be a bundle of fun....

RedB

Izoard wrote: »

I'll just look out for one of those skinny Italian-types with an all-white ensemble (including the obligatory sleeveless top) and mahogany tan.

Ehhhh no.

By great tan I meant a beetroot red face like this :mad: Will have my shiney new blue Limerick Tri top though but the weather forcast might limit its exposure! I will have an all-white bike and as for the skinny Italian-type, well I'm more of a Mick Galway impersonator

Well done on the beaver camp but watch out. I offered to help out at one of those one time and I'm now a fully fledged cub leader for my sins! I missed the Munster v Leinster game the other week as I had to take them all off on a camping weekend. Still recovering!

Best of luck tomorrow and enjoy the spin

Izoard

RedB wrote: »

Well done on the beaver camp but watch out. I offered to help out at one of those one time and I'm now a fully fledged cub leader for my sins! I missed the Munster v Leinster game the other week as I had to take them all off on a camping weekend. Still recovering!

Best of luck tomorrow and enjoy the spin

Ahh, you didn't miss much there...

Planning to head out early - will keep an eye out for the Limerick Tri gear!

Good luck with it...

Izoard

What's to report?

Lashing rain, high winds and cold conditions all the way around - this is becoming a theme of 2011.

It was a suffer-fest and zero visibility descents were an added "bonus".

On the plus side, I felt good all the way around (aside from the chattering teeth for most of it...) and could have actually considered going for a run at the finish, if only to warm myself up:)

Don't want to look at a bike for a while, so will look to get a few longer runs in.

asimonov

Nice report Izoard, I really like the sound of doing that some day - where do i sign up?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

You left your snorkle behind on slieve Mann

Izoard

asimonov wrote: »

Nice report Izoard, I really like the sound of doing that some day - where do i sign up?

Your feeble 10-min tempo sessions are no match for the epic 14-hour bike rides required to shine at the eh, Wicklow200...

Izoard

Bodie Bumpy Stew wrote: »

You left your snorkle behind on slieve Mann

Bet you are sorry now you didn't go with the full Tri set up (including a solo tri-suit and pointy helmet...):)