Leenane to Westport and Beyond

hardCopy

The first half of November was a bit messy and I struggled to get back into any kind of routine.

The second half was better as I decided to run my first parkrun on the 24th. I only managed to get two decent runs in beforehand so wasn't expecting much.

I got around in 00:22:43. It's a nice course with a deceptively tough drag that you have to climb three times. Over a minute slower than my PB from September but I was happy just to get round after taking it easy post-marathon.

Next up was the RNLI Reindeer Run 10K in Marlay Park. I was looking forward to this as my girlfriend was also running and my sister was running her first 5K with her boyfriend. I wasn't really sure what pace I'd manage after the previous week. My garmin battery was dead on the morning of the race so I had to run with a regular watch. It was a small enough field so I started near the front of the pack and tried to pace off a group of lads who started at a similar pace to me. I stuck with two guys all the way around and from checking my watch at the KM markers and figured I'd be on for a new PB of around 45 minutes. I ended up finishing in 16th place with 43:08. A new PB and my highest ever finish.

I'd love to try and work towards a 40 minute 10K but I can't find any between now and my holidays in March (apart from one in Kerry which is too far away).

I think I'll work towards the Carlingford Half Marathon, just before my holidays and try to pick up a new 5K PB at Malahide parkrun along the way.

Edit: There is a 10K option in Carlingford, not sure which one I'll do as herself is looking at the Half Marathon, she might mock me if I only ran the 10K.

catweazle

A 22.43 5k to a 43.08 10k :eek:

Thats some improvement in the space of a week. You must be like a horse who was in need of a blow out before the derby

hardCopy

catweazle wrote: »

A 22.43 5k to a 43.08 10k :eek:

Thats some improvement in the space of a week. You must be like a horse who was in need of a blow out before the derby

I think I was just so rusty going into the parkrun that I was never going to do myself justice.

I'd like to see a Garmin route of the 10K course all the same, I thought I was on for 45 minutes based on the markers and mental arithmetic, then suddenly I was at the finish line when I was expecting another 200-300 metres.

hardCopy

So I had my last race of 2012 on the 29th, welcome detox after Christmas and Pre-NYE.

Run 1 - 5.5K - 25:09
Bike - 17K - 37:57
Run 2 - 2K - 9:28

Pretty pleased overall, I could tell pretty quickly that Christmas and the couple of bottles of Heineken the night before were taking their toll.

I haven't been on the bike in a while and this made me realise that spinning just isn't the same so I'll be aiming to get out on the road more often as the weather starts to improve.

2013
Training restarted after New Year's yesterday. Managed to squeeze in 8KM between apartment viewing appointments. The next few weeks could be messy until we get moved. I have to squeeze in a few apartments between work and swimming tomorrow but it shouldn't be a problem.

My excess weight is now fully under assault, I want to get down to 12 Stone by the beginning of May.

I'm using MyFitnessPal to monitor what I eat and keep the calories under control.

So far, so good. I managed to shift a few pounds in early December despite a lads weekend away with heavy drinking and junk food. I decided it wasn't worth even trying to track calories over Christmas. Overall I'm lighter than I was at the beginning of December, even if Christmas was a backward step.

Current Weight: 13 Stone, 3 Pounds.

I still haven't nailed down my goals for the year but racing will revolve around at least 2 HIM races, GaelForceWest and Dublin City Marathon. I have a 3 week holiday in Australia from Mid-March to the first week of April. That may impact on the diet but should allow for lots of Open Water swimming (if I can avoid the sharks).

hardCopy

I just had a quick look at Garmin Connect and MapMyRun.

My total distances for 2012 were:
Swim: 19.4 KM (Very low, considering that included HIM training)
Bike: 1,825.01 KM (Including a cycling holiday across Italy)
Run: 974KM (If I had stuck to my marathon plan I would have been over the 1,000 KM mark)

hardCopy

I tried training by HR today for the first time. I'm thinking I'll work of Don Fink's IM Intermediate plan which includes a HIM at week 22.

I started at week1 today to allow for a three week holiday in march.

Today was 1 hour on the bike in Z1 and Z2. This felt very slow and I'm wondering if the target zones are little low for a HIM goal as opposed to IM. More research to be done!

Tomorrow morning is my first run session with the tri club, trails with some hills I believe, should be fun.

My weight loss is going well, down about 7lbs since early December.

elvis jones

hardCopy wrote: »

I tried training by HR today for the first time. I'm thinking I'll work of Don Fink's IM Intermediate plan which includes a HIM at week 22.

I started at week1 today to allow for a three week holiday in march.

Today was 1 hour on the bike in Z1 and Z2. This felt very slow and I'm wondering if the target zones are little low for a HIM goal as opposed to IM. More research to be done!

Tomorrow morning is my first run session with the tri club, trails with some hills I believe, should be fun.

My weight loss is going well, down about 7lbs since early December.

I started running to HR this week as well, i've been told to do it by my sports science guy ! He has told me at this time of year its all about base training and this is the way to do it.

If you haven't done the VO2 and body compisition i'd advice you to do so, really good and helps you see where you are and where you need to go.

Oh whats your fat burning zone for running and cycling ?

hardCopy

elvis jones wrote: »

I started running to HR this week as well, i've been told to do it by my sports science guy ! He has told me at this time of year its all about base training and this is the way to do it.

If you haven't done the VO2 and body compisition i'd advice you to do so, really good and helps you see where you are and where you need to go.

Oh whats your fat burning zone for running and cycling ?

Based on Garmin Connect my bike Zone 1 is 114 - 128, Z2 is 128 - 142. That's based on a max HR from last week on an uphill sprint on Howth.

The run is based on a max HR of 195, I haven't done an all out test to see if that's accurate.

I was just playing around with Garmin Connect and realised I had no Resting HR inputted. Based on a test I did yesterday where I wore the chest strap lying down for 4 minutes I had an average HR of 43.

Inputting this brought the zones up a little higher, yesterday it was telling me that 128 was the upper limit of Z2. Maybe it won't feel as slow to work in these zones now that they're updated.

Having gone through Fink's plan again, he does include lots of Z4 work as intervals during Z2 workouts, these come in late in the Build Phase and throughout the Peak Phase.

I think the best thing to do might be to modify the plan to a 7 Week Base, 7 Week Build, 7 Week Peak. Rather than 10 Week Base, 10 Week Build and 2 Week Peak that I would get by following the Iron plan as far as the HIM practice race.

Still not sure how I'm going to manage things while I'm in Aus, I'll be bringing my runners along and I won't need a wetsuit for swimming so I should find plenty of opportunities to throw in some kind of training.

Totals for the week:

2 Runs, 21.6KM
3 Cycles, 68.39KM
2 Swims, 3.4KM
1 Strength Session, Upper Body

hardCopy

Last week's figures:

4 Runs, 1 of those was off a 30 minute cycle, 21.9KM
2 Cycles, 19.92KM
2 Swims, 4.25KM
1 Strength Session, Legs.

Bit of a messy weekend training wise but I did manage to get myself fairly well organised for this week. I have all my lunches prepared and most of my dinners ready for the week so it should be easier to get to bed at reasonable hours this week.

I've found an 18 week HIM plan that I like which would technically start in two weeks time. In the meantime I'm working through the first few weeks of low HR stuff in the Fink plan. I'm beginning to realise that the hardest part of starting a plan like this is making time every evening for training and all the other day to day stuff, I think a couple of weeks of structured training without too much intensity is a good way to get into a manageable routine.

On Sunday I managed to do all my washing and ironing for the week, cook a pile of chicken breasts for lunches and make a stew and a soup for dinners. With a bit of luck I should be able to leave work each evening knowing I just have to train and eat, leaving some actual social time.

We get the keys to our new apartment on Friday so things will probably be extremely hectic next week between packing, moving and training.

hardCopy

Well that weekend was a disaster!

I had to work in Galway on Saturday. My car broke down on the M4 coming home, which meant spending most of my Saturday night waiting for a tow.

I got a lift to Clontarf so I could walk to the start of the Raheny 5, when I checked my emails I found that I had never actually entered the race. I remember registering online but have no record of it in my emails or bank statements so something must have gone wrong when I submitted.

At least I managed to borrow a car to move stuff to the new place, and now I have to cycle to work again. I decided to skip my club swim tonight, I have too much packing to do at home and I couldn't squeeze all my swim gear into my panniers along with my work clothes, laptop, books, lunch, various other crap.

Dory Dory

Wow. That was a crap weekend. But, things can only get better!!

hardCopy

Last week's totals:

3 Runs, 17.55KM
3 Cycles, 24.36KM
2 Swims, 3.3KM

That includes a 30+15 Bike to Run brick session.

No swimming so far this week but a bit of extra cycling in and out of work.

hardCopy

Training is going fairly well after all the apartment moving stress.

Picked up a couple of PB's recently.

New 5K PB at Malahide parkun on the 23/Feb: 20:26 (Down from 21:55 at Rathfarnham in October)
New 1/2 Marathon PB at the Carlingford Half on the 2/March: 1:33:05 (Down from 1:41:55 in Connemara last year)

Carlingford Half was also the first time I've managed a negative split.

I might get out to the Marlay parkrun on Saturday, then I'm officially on a break from racing as I head off to Australia for three weeks on the 16th.

Weight is dropping steadily, down to 77KG now from 85.3KG in December.

BTH

hardCopy wrote: »

Training is going fairly well after all the apartment moving stress.

Picked up a couple of PB's recently.

New 5K PB at Malahide parkun on the 23/Feb: 20:26 (Down from 21:55 at Rathfarnham in October)
New 1/2 Marathon PB at the Carlingford Half on the 2/March: 1:33:05 (Down from 1:41:55 in Connemara last year)

Carlingford Half was also the first time I've managed a negative split.

I might get out to the Marlay parkrun on Saturday, then I'm officially on a break from racing as I head off to Australia for three weeks on the 16th.

Weight is dropping steadily, down to 77KG now from 85.3KG in December.

Two big fat PBs and a shed load of weight gone in two months. Some nice work going on here. Enjoy the break, but don't go un-doing all of it

hardCopy

Quick update.

I'm back training after the holiday, although it did take a while to get back in the rhythm. I didn't get a huge amount done while I was away but I did get to run in some spectacular places: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295523132, http://connect.garmin.com/activity/295523149 - Literally running through crowds of wallaby and deer!

We left a lot of the house moving jobs until after the holiday and then had to get all sorts of furniture bought and built, housewarming to organise and various other bits.

I gave our club TT a go off pretty much zero prep and got suitably spanked: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/310354104

I had a nice Sunday run, did 12 sets of 1 minute @ ~4:00 min/km with 1 minute rests as part of a 14km run: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/311902710

It's so much easier to get out these days with the long and relatively dry evenings.

First tri of the year coming up on Sunday and of course I'm sick with a cold. Ran home last night and cycled in this morning, will take it easy for the rest of the week and hope it goes away.

Weight is currently just over 77kg and on the way back down after some holiday bloat. I'd like to see how I feel at 70kg but I haven't been that light since I was 12 years old, not sure how I'd look at that size.

hardCopy

Fingal Sprint Tri never happened for me but I did Athy Olympic on Saturday.

Swim: 00:30:14
T1: 00:03:13
Bike: 01:19:12
T2: 00:01:57
Run: 00:45:11
Total: 02:39:49

I was disappointed with the swim. I did no Open Water training and didn't get into the river early enough to acclimatise. I spent the first 10 minutes doing breast-stroke and trying to get my breathing under control. Poor preparation and silly mistake, I knew well enough to avoid it and won't make that mistake again.

I was very happy with my bike split, it was my fastest ride of the year, with a higher average speed than I managed in a 20K TT only 3 weeks ago.

I went off a little too quick (trying to make up for a poor swim) at the start of the run and the pace did drop over the last 5K. Need to pace myself a little more realistically and get more brick work done.

My right foot is a little tender after Saturday but if it feels good tomorrow I may head along to a sprint Duathlon.

My weight is still hovering around 76KG, I want to drop a few more KG but just haven't had the discipline in recent times, need to sort that out ASAP.

hardCopy

40K club spin on Saturday, this was to be a "beginner friendly" spin so I brought my girlfriend along for her first club spin. I'm currently helping her improve her swimming so that she can start racing tri. Lovely day for it and had a nice stop in Ratoath. I was to do another 40K in Phoenix Park afterwards but just after we separated I realised she had no key. The next two hours were spent tipping up and down between home and the park and eventually waiting in the apartment for her to wander home, apparently she was waiting at the other end of the park for me to complete my first lap!

Had a great LSR on Sunday. I got up early, had a decent breakfast and got out before 12. I felt strong on the run and kept the pace inside my recommended zone according to McMillan.

Distance: 24.21 km
Time: 2:09:15
Avg Pace: 5:20 min/km

My right foot felt a bit tender after Athy, I think my laces were too loose on the run. This has been ever so slightly annoying ever since. After the LSR yesterday I woke up this morning with a full-on limp :mad:

I was going to do the Howth Aquathon tonight but I think I'll just do the swim leg and skip the run. Will be my first ever DNF!

hardCopy

Right foot is still at me. I skipped the Howth Aquathon altogether and went for an easy swim in Finglas, I spent most of it helping my girlfriend with her swim technique so didn't tax myself too much.

I did no running last week until Mullaghmore Sprint Triathlon on Saturday. The swim was almost parallel to the beach, sea was fairly calm. This was my first sea race but it went much better than Athy. I learnt my lesson and got plenty of time in the water to warm up and swim a few strokes before the off.

The bike felt tough for some reason and was actually a slower pace than Athy which was a longer race. I'm not sure what went wrong here, maybe I just didn't push hard enough. I blamed the wind initially but after looking at the Garmin, my average HR was lower on the bike in Mullaghmore than it was in Athy, so maybe I just didn't work hard enough?

The run went really well, it was a tough hilly course and the first couple of KMs were very exposed and windy. I'm pretty sure nobody passed me on the run while I passed about 20 others, so I was happy here.

I ran with greepers laces and they felt good, they're not as easy the pull on as the elastic ones I had before but more comfortable on the run. I wore a bad choice of socks on the day, too long and tight so this slowed me down in T2.

Swim: 0:18:20
T1: 0:01:51
Bike: 0:40:20
T2: 0:02:44
Run: 0:21:23
Total: 1:24:37

Despite feeling good and running well, my ankle was at me again after the race. I went to the physio on Tuesday and she reckons it's a ligament problem which should resolve itself over the weekend with lots of stretching and that I should be OK for Swinford.

I swam with the club on Monday, physio on Tuesday, swam 1,000M on Wednesday morning and will cycle tonight. Hope to do 90-100KM on the bike on Sunday morning and return to running in some form next Tuesday.

hardCopy

So I haven't had a long run in two weeks, the race is two weeks out, my ankle seems to be improving and I'm looking forward to returning to running. Club swim on Monday night and club cycle on Tuesday means I should get a nice run on Wednesday. Swimming in particular is a nice low-impact way to keep the fitness up while resting my foot.

I managed to kick a club-mate in the pool last night, this was my toe this morning:


As the kids say: #fml

hardCopy

So the toe was cracked.

I had my first run last night since Mullaghmore Tri on the 22nd of June.

Took it handy, jogged 2KM and walked for a bit, then jogged 2KM home.

Toe was OK but my legs were fairly sore in general, I can't remember the last time I took such a long break from running. It's definitely going to take me a while to get my running form back.

Have kept ticking over in the meantime with swimming and cycling, and even a couple of sessions of aqua-jogging.

My next event will be the Meath Heritage Tour on Sunday, I'm doing this with a couple of mates and we're going to do the 50K and stick together.

My big races for the rest of the season will be GaelForceWest and Dublin Marathon.

Solobally8

Wow that looks like it was some kick. How was the other guy?

hardCopy

Solobally8 wrote: »

Wow that looks like it was some kick. How was the other guy?

It was actually a very innocuous thing. It happened treading water after our warm up, I did the rest of the session and never really noticed it until I got out of the water.

I forgot to mention in my last post, I did the Swim and Bike legs of the Humbert HIM in Swinford.

Swim - 0:37:05
Bike - 2:53:21

Both improved on last year and felt great getting off the bike. It was very strange racking my bike and then heading to the race official to hand in my chip. I hung around transition for a while and got some sun and then got my bike out and left once mst people had left for the run.

Got some good running done last week, 4K on Wednesday, 6K on Friday and 11K on Saturday.

Did the Meath Heritage Cycling Tour 50KM on Sunday in about 1:53. Nice day out and brought one of my mates out on his first sportive. Will hopefully do the Sean Kelly Tour 100KM at the end of August.