The Road Less Traveled: IM 2012

Oryx

Dory Dory wrote: »

And I've done nothing today but eat Oreo cookies and feel this let down from being so focused for 16 weeks. Oh, and I spent about 3 hours working on my race report only to try and copy and paste it to my log and have it look like crap. Will retype the entire thing later this evening directly to my thread. Good god today sucks. I think I would have preferred to be out biking with you ladies - wind and all.

Post race come down is as normal as taper madness. Don Fink dedicates a whole chapter to dealing with it. The main advice is to take the well earned rest time, enjoy your success, take time to decide what is next and slowly get back into your training with new goals. Stop bein so bleedin hard on yourself superwoman

Dory Dory

I think the definition of superwoman is "a woman who completes 103.7k in 4 hours and 19 minutes while slightly hungover and battling wind 70% of the time, and then exclaims she feels fine and enjoyed the ride". Well done, you!

Now off to type that blasted report. Who knew that these logs would not only require of the participant some sort of athletic ability, BUT also a minor in creative writing!!??

Oryx

We do have a creative writing forum if you want to brush up on your skills

Oryx

Today was our club's 10k run, so I spent the morning helping out with that. Apart from the rain it seemed to go well and runners still managed to smile. Some of the guys planned to go for a sea swim once it was all over but after hanging around in the rain for hours I couldn't face it and wussed out. I was already frozen and soaked anyway. Ow will wait another week or two.

Because that took so much time the rest of today was to be a rest/Family day but when dad and kids went out for a while I went for a half hour run. God my legs are stiff and tired. I'm glad I didn't plan anything harder!

pointer28

Hi Oryx,

Long time listener, first time caller etc.

I ran my first ever race this morning in the Rosslare 10K and absolutely loved it so I thought I'd better just say thanks to you and all your clubmates for putting on a great day.

Congrats on all your training, I'm an avid follower of your log and find it really inspiring reading about your journey to IM.

Thanks again and good luck with the IM.

Oryx

pointer28 wrote: »

Hi Oryx,

Long time listener, first time caller etc.

I ran my first ever race this morning in the Rosslare 10K and absolutely loved it so I thought I'd better just say thanks to you and all your clubmates for putting on a great day.

Congrats on all your training, I'm an avid follower of your log and find it really inspiring reading about your journey to IM.

Thanks again and good luck with the IM.

Thanks

Kudos to you for today. Pretty poor conditions for your first race. Glad you liked it. I was one of the marshals yelling at ya on that first bridge just up from the start.

pointer28

Cheers Oryx,

I didn't mind the conditions at all as I made a point since I started of never missing a session unless it's absolutely lashing so I don't mind a bit of light rain at all.

I know that hill well as I was born and raised at the bottom of it. I quite liked the course and thought the hills and lanes made it interesting. I heard some other guys saying it was a tough course but I didn't know enough to say otherwise.

My parents still live in Rosslare and I'd love to do the Pikeman Tri but unfortunately can't swim yet so maybe next year unless you can convince them to run a Duathlon sometime.

Oryx

Maybe next year pointer? Gives you a year to get you swim technique down.

Turbo this morning. After over indulging all weekend I struggled with motivation today. Took my time getting on the bike then kept stopping to fix irritations like a loose seat and a slipping wheel. Once I did get going I got through 60 minutes steady work. Heart held at 135 - 145. One of those 'just get it done' sessions. I think I'm a bit pooped from a very naughty weekend of eating drinking and being merry, coupled with one of my longest training weeks to date (13+ hours). Burning the candle at both ends as me mammy would say.

Oryx

Today was a double day so this evening I headed to the pool for a swim. No club session this week but I already missed yesterdays swim, I wasn't missing one today as well.

No real structure tonight but it was all about arms. Did 500 w/u then 12 x 50 p&p. Then just got stuck in and swam. I was trying to adjust my technique slightly so that the last part of the stroke had more power and was more of a fast 'snap'. I realise I've been losing so much speed from not utilising this part of the stroke properly, its been almost like a rest phase. No wonder I'm slow. I didn't time my lengths but overall the time was much better than usual so it must have made some difference. 2800m in 73 mins.

Dory Dory

Definitely finish that stroke!

Oryx

Dory Dory wrote: »

Definitely finish that stroke!

Two years of training and I only 'get' this now..

And its Wednesday! Its 7am! Its time to Turbo!! Yay! (I'm still managing to find some enthusiasm for these sessions). This was my patented out of the saddle set. Increasing the time out of the saddle, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8 minutes with recovery in between. I've increased the resistance on the turbo this week so a little harder. But good. I always prefer this kind of set to the high cad spinning set.

Oryx

Sunshine outside is great for getting you up these mornings. I got up full of the joys of spring today (which is unusual, trust me). And went out for a wee jog.

It was frosty and cold, which I love. Legs felt good today, not as tired as of late. Must be because I only did one session yesterday, and I'm so used to doubling up or doing long sessions that it was like a rest day.

That said, I didn't run very fast. This bulk training has sucked the speed out of me. 13.1k in just under 70 minutes, and the last 6 minutes of that was a sprint. Ah well, its all grist to the mill.

Oryx

Double day today. Turbo tonight. High cad session. Boy I hate these ones, I have to make myself do them. 5 mins warm up, 50 mins holding above 95 rpm, 5 mins cool down. I did slip for a minute now and then but got it straight back to pace again. Horrible. So I must need it.

couerdelion

Oryx wrote: »

Double day today. Turbo tonight. High cad session. Boy I hate these ones, I have to make myself do them. 5 mins warm up, 50 mins holding above 95 rpm, 5 mins cool down. I did slip for a minute now and then but got it straight back to pace again. Horrible. So I must need it.

I'm starting to love the double days, although I wouldn't be a fan of a high cadence session.

Oryx

Yeah double days are fine once you get used to them. Makes single days seem like a day off.

My best laid plans to do a good swim today went awry when I arrived for the seven oclock swim to find the pool closed. Oh dear. We all hung around, knowing that the guy who was meant to open up would turn up eventually. At half seven he did, looking a bit sheepish.

This meant I didnt get quite as much time in the water as I hoped. Still I ploughed through a swim trying to remember to finish the stroke! I know I was doing it right cos my arms were aching. Fast at first but the last 500m I know I was slowing down, this new technique will take a bit of adapting to.

2200m in 55 mins. Or thereabouts. Then had to race home with my breath in my fist. Better late than never!

Oryx

Today my plan dictated a 90 min run. I had planned to do this in two parts, a 45 min solo run then join with my usual training group for a 45 min hill run session. But as I was getting ready to go I changed my mind and went for a single long run. I just couldn't face a broken up session with mixed up intensity, I wanted to just run. A half mara next weekend and a tight calf muscle were the other two deciding factors.

It turned out to be a good decision. I had one of the nicest runs I've done all year. Kept it at my aerobic pace, and both the body and the legs felt fresh and strong. It was a hilly route but I didn't feel them. Really cold, and bare arms and legs meant I felt it but in a good way, warped as that sounds. 17.7k in 95 minutes. Some days you just need to do a Forrest Gump and run just because you like it.

Dory Dory

Have you any goals for the half marathon next weekend? Which one is it?

Oryx

Dory Dory wrote: »

Have you any goals for the half marathon next weekend? Which one is it?

I want to just use it to see how it feels, really. Like a guage of how I'm doing. I won't pb (1.41). But a 1.45 would be nice, because thats the kind of times Ive been hitting in the last year, if Im holding that, I'm happy. We will see. I have an oly tri the week afterwards which is more important to me really.

Oryx

What a difference a day makes. When I got up this morning I REALLY didn't want to do a long bike. That feeling continued when I got out into the frost and by the time I'd done a few cold miles all I wanted to do was head home. After an hour my teeth were chattering and I didn't feel good so I stopped at a shop and got some tea. 20 mins later I could feel my hands and think straight again so I set off for more.

Did an out and back rather than a loop so I could decide when to turn and head back. The out was into the wind and with that and the cold it was slow and uncomfortable. At 46k I headed for home. The back had the advantage of a tailwind for most of it so I made up a little time. Finished just a little warmer at 4hrs 4 mins and 96.2k. In spite of the shorter distance it was one of the toughest days yet and one I'm glad to see the back of.

insinkerator

It was crazy cold this morning wasn't it? I was fooled into awful things by the sun.. Went out in just a shorts, jersey and arm warmers. Felt cold in places I never knew could feel the cold! :P

Oryx

Yeah. I don't tolerate cold on the bike at the best of times and today I was out before half seven when it was still frosty. I wore warm kit but it wasn't enough! My toes and fingers still feel a bit funny from it!

Dory Dory

And it's quite warm here today. Just finished a very EASY and RELAXING jaunt around my field and I'm sweating like a pig! Poor Krusty. Bad luck with the timing of Boston and our weather. It's a 10am start. It would certainly help if they could start it at 6am.

Oryx

Lol on the EASY and RELAXING

Dory Dory

But it was.....

Oryx

I like my bed tonight. Its been a long day. Four hour walk in the morning (fun, but long story), 2.1k swim in the afternoon, and an hour of kettlebells this evening. The swim was in a warm 20m pool (Yuk) so nothing fancy just got it done. Kettlebells were all about arms. Tough.

The strange thing about today is that while I don't feel tired, the underlying fatigue is showing in other ways. My concentration and focus is low. The effort I put in is less than normal. I'm cramping randomly just about everywhere. But that said, I feel upbeat and happy with the training and I'm still enjoying getting stuck into it. (frosty bike rides excepted) How it will all pan out is anyone's guess. I don't think I'm working specifically enough to have a target, let alone the one I set at the beginning. But all I want anyway is to hit the startline happy and healthy and ready to give it a good shot.

Dory Dory

Half marathon on Saturday or Sunday? Any tapering for this, or nah?

Oryx

Its on Sunday. I'm only doing it because its there its not a targeted race so one rest day Saturday will be it. No taper for me for another 8 weeks. Just entering peak phase next week! This is not irresponsible of me, this is how the plan is meant to work right now.

Swim set tonight. Not high on distance but strangely it was hard. 200wu and 9 sets of 100m drills. We had to do them exaggerated so it was exhausting. (ssts we had to sweep around far enough behind to touch the lane rope). Then we did some other bits and pieces like a butterfly kick underwater glide to halfway up the pool finishing with a sprint. And other oddities. 1400m or so. Short, but sharp.

Oryx

Mad. Its Wednesday again. The weeks are flowing into each other in a long, sweaty chain of training sessions. Turbo today, 80% for 50 mins + warm up. It dipped now and again if I stopped thinking about it, but a pretty good set.

And I chatted to my mum about all this last night, and she is officially worried about me. Thinks I look too slight to do this, that I have no 'reserve'. God love our mammies, they never stop seeing us as kids. I bet Ill be the same. Anyway, I spent AGES explaining the theory of the plan and how the body copes with training and how sensible I am, but ah, it breaks my heart to worry her!

couerdelion

Oryx wrote: »

Mad. Its Wednesday again. The weeks are flowing into each other in a long, sweaty chain of training sessions. Turbo today, 80% for 50 mins + warm up. It dipped now and again if I stopped thinking about it, but a pretty good set.

And I chatted to my mum about all this last night, and she is officially worried about me. Thinks I look too slight to do this, that I have no 'reserve'. God love our mammies, they never stop seeing us as kids. I bet Ill be the same. Anyway, I spent AGES explaining the theory of the plan and how the body copes with training and how sensible I am, but ah, it breaks my heart to worry her!

It's strange how the once tough weeks are quickly becoming normality and how quick the easy weeks cycle round again. Although the easy weeks would once have been tough weeks too.

My mother in law is always on at the wife about me "Is he ok? He's looking awful thin. Are you feeding him properly? Is he over doing it?"... (That whilst I'm still well over 100kg) When I decide to get the clippers out and have a 'buzz cut' again she'll be apoplectic with worry

Oryx

I'm currently 56kg. Jaysis. Almost half your weight. Maybe my ma has a point

And I agree, 12 hours isnt tough anymore. Its just normal. Doing less would seem weird.