Rocky Road to Rot(h)...

Izoard

Nice 17km run in the sunshine - almost has me thinking yesterday was just a bad dream...

My mate from Athy rocked up in the full tri-set up yesterday...fair play to him for making it through, but there were a couple of "funny" moments where we'd pass a gate to a field and the cross-winds would catch his deep-rimmed Cosmics and send him to the far side of the road - the novelty wore off for him after the first 20km or so...:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Izoard wrote: »

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

Glad i did not head out on the tt rig as i would be lying in a ditch somewhere:). It was hard enough keeping the road bike straight in some parts. Fair play to your mate for doing it though.

Izoard

Now that the weather anger has subsided...

Reasonable sunshine when I got up (4.50) and made it down to Greystones by 5.45.
Clouds were beginning to gather as I waited for the wingmen to show up, but I was confident that it would just be another W200 day – rain and sun all the way.
Bit of wobbling over the kit, but went with bib shorts, calf guards (!), overshoes, under vest, cycling top, “arm warmers”, fingerless gloves, with running glovers underneath.
The final amigo showed up and we hit the road at 6.30.
Nice to start and no waivering when we hit the 100/200 split - the usual smile crossed my face when we hit the wall just after Powerscourt – everyone desperately scrabbling to try to get in the lowest gear – and failing:)

Meet a few familiar faces on the climb up to Glencree, but the rain is starting to come down.

We make the turn onto the climb for Lough Tay and suddenly there is a strong wind to deal with as well as the rain.

Met a lad from the Half Ireman in ’09 – very scantily dressed and was to be seen dealing with a blown tyre wall at various stages thereafter – he’s down for IM Nice – perfect terrain for what is ahead of him in a couple of weeks.

Miserable on top of the Sally Gap but people are flying on the descent – I hope they know about the bridge abut 2km down.
Already two guys are down, with a bunch of other cyclists around him.
Where were the marshalls for this one?

After Kilbride an ambulance screams past – not a good sign.

At this point, I said to the boys, it is all flat to Donard, somehow forgetting that we were not going to be on the N81, but on the lump-fest around the lake.
Entertainment was provided when tri-boy was been blown all over the road with his deep rimsJ

Sandwich and 4 coffees in Donard – I'm no rush to get back out, but with no heating in the building, the temperature is dropping rapidly.
It was like a scene from the living dead – vacant stares all around.

We all depart together, but soon amigo 1 has disappeared, not to be seen again.

We hit Aughavannagh and the usual conversation;
This Slieve Mann is a bi$ch, eh?
Ehhh, this isn’t Slieve Mann…

Hit Slieve Mann, and this is the stuff of classic tour stages – no visibility high wind and each rider contained in their own personal hell.

Granny ring all the way and straight over the other side.
Descents were a nightmare – glasses on = no visibility, glasses off = even worse.

Straight onto the Shay Elliott.

More solo suffering, but there is a vague noise coming from somewhere up the road – turns out to be car horns.
A hardy crew of supporters in cars are giving every rider an ovation as they hit the top – great bonus and made the final 2km a bit easier as you could hear it getting louder.

Relatively flat to Rathdrum, but the road surface is pretty poor.

Heating is on in Rathdrum – we’ll be here for a while.

More coffee and a vain effort to heat up the saturated gloves.
Tri-boy is well insulated, so is keen to get moving – eventually I relent, but immediately I’m shivering and chattering uncontrollably.
5km on and it hasn’t improved – I’m wondering do I need to flag this issue to the wingman?

I think better of it, as ultimately it is a HTFU issue…!

Eventually get the core temp up, as the problem relents and it’s a lovely run to Avoca.

A couple of newbies are around me at this point…

Newbies: “What’s the climb like out of Avoca?”
Me: “Can’t remember much of a climb last year – no worries”:)
The newbies were not happy when we were still heading upwards after 3km…

Because the last big climb is SE, you kind of forget that it is still pretty lumpy all the way home.

From Redcross, you kind of zig-zag home – can be deflating when you know you are heading in the “wrong” direction at times.

Made it back just before 4 – about 8hrs 40 rolling time.

We purposely avoided jumping onto big groups, to give a better replication of an IM scenario – I just hope any IM bike is not like that.

Turns out amigo 1 had some tyre issues and made it back 5.10 – baptism of fire for him.

Character building.

catweazle

Izoard wrote: »

It was like a scene from the living dead – vacant stares all around.

Ha very good, sounds like an awful day, no sign of Redb yet is he still powering up the Shay Elliot

Was hoping to the Tour de Burren this saturday but weather looks terrible for that as well and this report makes for grim reading for enthusiam.

Why would anyone risk doing an Ironman in Ireland when we can have weather like that in June

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Izoard wrote: »

Hit Slieve Mann, and this is the stuff of classic tour stages – no visibility high wind and each rider contained in their own personal hell.

Descents were a nightmare – glasses on = no visibility, glasses off = even worse.

This would sum up the day for most people:)

The cars blasting out at the top of SE was cool alright, i gave the Queens wave as i passed by the cars to much laughter:D

RedB

catweazle wrote: »

Ha very good, sounds like an awful day, no sign of Redb yet is he still powering up the Shay Elliot

Now now, don't knock it till you've tried it
I did attempt to give a decent account here yesterday but managed to delete it all when interupted and didn't get a chance or have the heart to start again.
I was a bit behind schedule that morning and only got to register at 7.25am and then decided a bit of bike TLC was required. I got my brakes fixed at the Trek tent as the front were non-existent and the back needed the beejaysus squeezed out of them. I had 'cleaned' the bike for the first time in two years the day before and have previously been known to put diesel engine oil on it so that says enough about my bike care regime. I had splashed out on a brand new set of cleats during the week as I was slipping out using the original ones so I figured I was all set. Just a small matter about gear. I had overshoes but just fingerless gloves, shorts, tri top and a light jacket. Upon mature reflection I decided to opt for the premuim level of comfort given the conditions and also threw on my Boards AC tech top and a pair of arm warmers I'd got for the Spiddle Tri. All set now.
I hit the road at 7:40am and arrived back at 6:20pm with 8:45 of rolling time on my Garmin plus nearly 2 hours of stops. I was on my own for 99% of it as I just couldn't match pace with anyone around me. I was grand up the Sally Gap and glad of my brakes on the way down as I was unwinding when a marshall appeared on what looked like a good straight stretch. The aftermath of a big spill was evident at the 'hidden' bridge and I had stories in the front of my head of a buddy (Kevin7) who had a bad fall around here a few months back and who's only getting over it now. Needless to say I made good use of the brakes for the rest of the day after seeing that one. Vague memories of cycling around the Pollaphuca Reservoir. Trying to fish out a gel from a back pocket was a joke as my fingers were numb. I was fairly wet and cold at that stage and by the time I got to Donard after about 3.5hrs I had a decent set of the shivers. Queuing in the rain to get a sambo and cuppa wasn't nice but at least we were all in the same boat and I didn't feel as bad knowing that others were feeling it as tough going with the weather. I wasn't dressed appropriately and it was a long day .
I don't know the area so can't describe it fully as a lot of it is a blur. My granny ring started to act up with the chain coming off and locking the back wheel. I had to stop and sort it about 8-10 times over the day before eventually coping I just couldn't use the lowest gear. Naturally that occured going up decent hills so remounting and clipping in was a challange especially with new cleats and overshoes! Plus getting covered in diesel oil from the chain :P Ho humm. At least it was managable and I had no punctures or game-stopping events.
It pains me to say it but I had to walk for about 400m on each of SM and SE. Not enough training, not enough hills. Great plans but.......:(.
I stopped at the Oasis at the summit of SE that was a coffee van and boy was that €3 Americano value for money and got a snap taken for posterity

http://www.facebook.com/Wicklow200#!/photo.php?fbid=215790345110575&set=a.215784058444537.54931.100000388330434&type=1&theater
That's me on the right.
Onwards to Rathdrum by 3:25pm and at least they had the rads on. Still cold and wet but starting to thaw out a bit. Heard a guy laughing about how he'd told a group that is was all downhill from here. Needless to say he was trying to motivate them and being economical with the truth. There were more hills :eek: and more hills :eek: and even for a change....more hills :eek:. W200 just doesn't do it justice. As ever, there's a big difference between X km amd X km up and down mountains (did I not learn that lesson in Kenmare previously ). Anyways, I'm rambling. Slogged it back to Greystones eventually where the hot shower revealed stinging in places which had been numb for quite a while :rolleyes:. I found it hard going but was pleasantly satisfied to hear afterwards that it has harder than usual due to the weather. I'm sure I'd have averaged 30kph instead of 22kph if it hadn't been for that wind and rain . The afterglow is good and while tired I don't actually feel very stiff or sore compared to long runs / marathons. A small bit of back ache but nothing bad. I even got out for a 5M run this am so feeling good now. Now, if I could only swim too then I'd be set for that HOTW thingie I'm doing in 11 days time :eek:. Time to hit the pool :cool:.

catweazle

RedB wrote: »

That's me on the right.
Now, if I could only swim too then I'd be set for that HOTW thingie I'm doing in 11 days time :eek:. Time to hit the pool :cool:.

Great tan red, no doubt I will bump into you down at HOTW at some stage we will be around similar times I am guessing

RedB

catweazle wrote: »

Great tan red, no doubt I will bump into you down at HOTW at some stage we will be around similar times I am guessing

My times for HOTW are out the window at this stage and I think you're going to have to rewrite the introduction to your log after the Cope Tri Report :eek:. Top 30 performance due to consistant training as the SBR shows. That's how to do it :cool:. Respect.
Might see you around Transition - I'll be the one spraying on the tan sunscream with the Boards AC top .

Great log you've got going here Izoard but you'd want to cut back on all this OT stuff

griffin100

Reasonable sunshine when I got up (4.50) and made it down to Greystones by 5.45.

I got up at 5.30am to do a 4hr spin at home, seen the weather and went back to my warm bed with the thoughts of all of the poor feckers getting ready to do 200km in the wind and rain. I almost feel guilty reading these race reports, but only almost.

catweazle

RedB wrote: »

My times for HOTW are out the window at this stage and I think you're going to have to rewrite the introduction to your log after the Cope Tri Report :eek:. Top 30 performance due to consistant training as the SBR shows.

I am not naive enough anymore to mistake the ranking achieved at a newbie friendly Sprint will not be the same as a national series event especially one so well regarded as HOTW. I will be back aiming for mid pack respectability at this one

Izoard

catweazle wrote: »

Great tan red, no doubt I will bump into you down at HOTW at some stage we will be around similar times I am guessing

+1 on the tan - impressive!

Good man Red - a solo W200 in those conditions is a serious day out...

Izoard

To add to the misery of the W200, the only bare skin (around the knees) is now covered in bites....

What Godless flying creatures were out in those conditions, adding more torture to hapless cyclists?

Izoard

RedB wrote: »

... and got a snap taken for posterity

http://www.facebook.com/Wicklow200#!/photo.php?fbid=215790345110575&set=a.215784058444537.54931.100000388330434&type=1&theater

I see your friendly photographer got myself (on the right) and tri-boy on the top of SE in a rare moment of levity...

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=215790345110575&set=a.215784058444537.54931.100000388330434&type=1&theater#!/photo.php?fbid=215786935110916&set=a.215784058444537.54931.100000388330434&type=1&theater

Izoard

Had planned to get 2 long runs in last weekend and this one coming...however, both have fallen by the wayside as I'm on the road all this week and got tied up in lots of family stuff last weekend.

Officially, the taper starts today, but I've never been a big fan of tapering (given that all of my training is Z1/Z2 anyways....), so I'll hopefully squeeze in 2 x 2.5 hour runs before July 10.

Stuck in 44 degrees in Dubai at the moment, but I still can't do more than 70 mins on the treadmill, before boredom gets the better of me...

asimonov

What? Z2? when did that happen? :-)

Izoard

asimonov wrote: »

What? Z2? when did that happen? :-)

Bah, you know me too well...exposed as a fraud on my own log!:)

asimonov

In fairness, haven't been above z1 myself in a while. Where do you think any time improvements you get will come from in Roth?

Izoard

asimonov wrote: »

In fairness, haven't been above z1 myself in a while. Where do you think any time improvements you get will come from in Roth?

Not getting off the bike to take a slash...

asimonov

I suppose when you are absolutely on the rivet, you need to squeeze out every last second.

Izoard

asimonov wrote: »

I suppose when you are absolutely on the rivet, you need to squeeze out every last second.

"The inches we need, are everywhere around us..."

Izoard

Swapping Dubai for Glastonbury tomorrow...not looking forward to the mud-fest.
Straight out of there for the first flight on Sat, to get me home in time for a beaver camp for the rest of the weekend.
I think I've forgotten about Roth at this stage...will be some kick in the ar$e, when it does come around:)

handangeo

Sounds familar - Can you tell me how you taper from doing sweet damn all???. Looks like we are in the same boat!

Did Hook or by Crook last weekend in Dunmore East while you were swanning about in Dubai . Much tougher that Athy albeit a longish sprint, a good workout none the less. Cycled home afterwards and got drenched 3 times, nearly turned back after 20mins to get the car but stuck with it.

Not long to go mate!

RedB

Izoard wrote: »

Swapping Dubai for Glastonbury tomorrow...not looking forward to the mud-fest.
Straight out of there for the first flight on Sat, to get me home in time for a beaver camp for the rest of the weekend.
I think I've forgotten about Roth at this stage...will be some kick in the ar$e, when it does come around:)

Holy Moley! Whatever about Roth, Glastonbury sounds like excellent training for the beaver camp albeit a little quieter! Get some sleep tonight .

shotgunmcos

Izoard wrote: »

"The inches we need, are everywhere around us..."

I think I might play this over a couple of times on Race morning, one of my favourites

Izoard

Well, 14 hours in the mud @ Glastonbury was probably the most strenuous thing I've done in a while...
Had to abandon the clothes as I'm sure Ryanair would have charged me a couple of hundred €€€ in "soiling charges":)

Foolishly, I did a 15km treadmill run while one of the posse was indulging in a power-kip on Friday morning, which I was regretting as we battled through the killing fields around 2am on Sat.

Assembling the tents for the Beaver camp on Sat wasn't much fun in the heat and with a screaming hangover.
Luckily, it was decided that non-leaders couldn't stay, so I escaped at nightfall.

Anyways, T-12.
I plan to get a steady 4km swim in at some stage over the next 8 days and keep the running ticking over.

Taper, me ar$e...

Izoard

Been a busy couple of weeks, so any IM thoughts have been fleeting.

However, now that the brood are firmly embedded in Wexford, it is time to get on with the real job in hand and start panicing about Roth!:)

On the plus side, both time and mileage are up on last year, however on the negative, I haven't run further than 25km and somehow, I'm 4kg up on this time last year.

I'm not that concerned with the running (with 14 marathons under the belt, I'll survive...), but the extra timber is symptomatic of not giving this gig the same focus as last year.

My original targets (sub-12 and sub-4 marathon) are probably still in range, but I'll need a perfect day out.

At this point, I'm just looking forward to getting there and immersing myself in the build up.

Bring it on!

shotgunmcos

Then get the plan together and execute it on the day! You have plenty of work done for this one, it will never feel like enough. Can't bloody wait for it now

griffin100

I'm 4kg up on this time last year

not giving this gig the same focus as last year

That could be me writing that. I'm sure you'll fly around on the day, what with it being pancake flat and short:pac:

Best of luck.

Izoard

griffin100 wrote: »

That could be me writing that. I'm sure you'll fly around on the day, what with it being pancake flat downhill and short:pac:

Best of luck.

Fixed that for ya!

Izoard

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Then get the plan together and execute it on the day! You have plenty of work done for this one, it will never feel like enough. Can't bloody wait for it now

Just laying out some gear now, so it is definitely becoming real.

Will be playing with the CO2 later - if you don't hear from me again, you'll know it wasn't a success...