Toiler's Constant

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Sat 90 mins turbo

Easy spinning. 5 mins core exercises, including some from those vids. I need a lot of work on my core.

What core work are you doing in that 5 mins?

Kurt Godel

Oryx wrote: »

What core work are you doing in that 5 mins?

Planks, side planks, then kicking the legs while arms raised to heaven. And face contorted like a bulldogs arse. 30 secs each- and I'm wrecked after 5 minutes. I really need to work on my core;)

*Edit- as a jogger I was always soft around the middle, which was no problem for plodding distances. However, I'm only now considering core work a necessity, mainly because I want to get propulsion from my legs in the water. My upper body is well developed from the volume of swimming I've been doing, but I've been doing that while dragging two slightly twitching legs behind. If I want to get more from the legs (and I do), I'll need to firm up my mid-section. Today's pathetic 5 minutes is hopefully the start of treating that aspect with a bit more respect.

Kurt Godel

Oh yeah, I watched my 10-year old son kick 25m today with a board this morning, on his second swim lesson- took him 45 seconds. After over a year of swim progress, it still takes me 45 seconds to kick a length...

Kurt Godel

Sun 17km hill run

One of the lads from the Tri club was helping organize a charity run/walk of the Kyle loop. Lots of numbers turned up, good for him. I was talking to Stephen of the club at registration, he wasn't running though, having suffered the WWUltra yesterday. He said it was the hardest thing he's ever done, and while his body was moving ok, his face was testament to a very tough 6+ hours of arctic conditions. Any tiny ember of a notion I had to do this someday, was fully quenched after hearing about it!

Anyway, today was to be the first LSR in ages, so I was intending mild effort throughout. I left off with a couple of the girls and we headed up Mangon's Lane chatting , before I bid farewell and pushed on a little. The ground was fairly mucky and wet, oftentimes running through a river. A couple of the lads caught up to me, and we ran together for a while, before we came to any hill where they took off, and I kept the breathing under control on ticked over steadily. I caught up on any flat section, before they would open a gap on a hill again. My recent lack of hillwork is showing, I find it hard lugging my heavy body uphills. The big climb up Ballycumber was just a matter of plodding away, as the lads opened a gap and took off. All along the top was more runnable than I expected, as the usual boggy sh!te was partially frozen solid. I enjoyed this section, and the last downhill. My runners were Speedcross, a much more cushioned shoe than I usually wear, but with all the gravel and stones on these trails, support was needed. We'll see tomorrow how badly my knees will suffer. Caught up with the girls on the final lane (they had taken a wrong turning and short-cutted;)), and back down to the finish, pleased enough with this run.

Kurt Godel

Weekly Summary|Session|Comment

Monday|1:40 min turbo|easy pace
Tuesday|1,500m swim; 6.74k club run|Swim 3x400m (6:31, 6:44, 6:29); Tinahely loop 29:30 pb
Wednesday|3,000m swim; 65min turbo|Swim drills; Sufferfest Angels
Thursday|2,700m club swim|Focus on technique
Friday|1,000m swim|400TT 6:05 pb
Saturday|90min turbo|easy pace
Sunday|17k hill run|Kyle loop 1:46
Weekly km|Swim 9.2 Bike 120 Run 23.82|Tester week
2013 km|Swim 115.15 Bike 966 Run 273.64


Swim: I probably got more out of Thurs nights coached session than any others (except the first night of shaking the low-hanging fruit). I'm a lot more controlled in my stroke, and the 6:05 pb is a solid indicator of progress. A big limiter now is my kick (or lack thereof), so I'll be looking to bring a much stronger kick into the quest to get under 5:30 by summer.

Bike: One Sufferfest session, and two easy turbos; just ticking over. Recent bad weather has our local roads in bits, so I'm happy enough indoors for the moment.

Run: The hilly Tinahely loop ran with PN was solid, I was happy to go under 30 mins. It's a great little course for a tempo run. Sundays LSR was longer than I've gone in a while.

Overall: This week was a "state of play" week. My running has come on over the past couple of months- running with faster guys has certainly helped this along. As the training will get more specific coming up to Valentia, I'll bring in one session of hill repeats- the island run is a tough hilly 2.5k climb. Biking is ok, no more and no less. Swimming has progressed solidly, I'm exactly where I want to be with this discipline, now its a matter of taking things to the next level. If I can incorporate a good kick, I should see progress. Doing 400m under 5:30 by the summertime is a goal of sorts, but I'll not lose sight of the fact the A swim goals are longer OW events.
Next week I'm away, any training will be a mixed bag. Could be loads, could be little- in any case its a step-back week, so its all good.

Oryx

Slacking off KG?

Slogger Jogger

Warm weather training. Looking forward to finding out about it. Assuming training is being done

Kurt Godel

Oryx wrote: »

Slacking off KG?

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Warm weather training.

A week slacking off in warmish weather in Portugal. A couple of hours swimming in the sea ("swimming"=mainly splashing with the kids), 10km pool total swimming in a 17m overheated bath for geriatric golfers, one turbo session for 40 minutes, and a 4km reminder that I really, really, hate dreadmills Enough to drive a teetotaler to a few well-spaced bottles of Pinot Noir.

"Family holiday" meant training time was time taken from the family, so limited to a few early morning swims. Constantly hitting the wall and turning every 17m- and too much potential for heart attacks in the vicinity to even contemplate shocking tumble turns. The kids worked on developing their stroke, breathing, and kick, I got to play coach to them. That's friendly coaching with a smile, not the all-shouting all-throwing variety that hopefully won't notice my stroke collapse after 17m next Thursday.

Too tired now to join the club run this evening, in any case I have to finish my last bottle before climbing aboard the wagon again. The past week was a real rest, and I'm refreshed and looking forward to training again. Five and a half weeks to Valentia. Four tough weeks in there, and I might just remember how to run uphills in time.

Oryx

Portugal? Portugal?! While we sat here freezing our arses off? And not even so much as a postcard?


Definitely not sending you a postcard from Mallorca in three weeks, so.:p

Slogger Jogger

I see the Glendalough swim event this year is over 2 days, inc a c. 4k swim on the 2nd day. Not on until September though.
Details on http://www.openwaterswimmer.ie/
Gougane Barra would be spectacular too.

Oryx

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

I see the Glendalough swim event this year is over 2 days, inc a c. 4k swim on the 2nd day. Not on until September though.
Details on http://www.openwaterswimmer.ie/

In already. :cool:

Kurt Godel

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

I see the Glendalough swim event this year is over 2 days, inc a c. 4k swim on the 2nd day. Not on until September though.
Details on http://www.openwaterswimmer.ie/
Gougane Barra would be spectacular too.

Thanks for the reminder, I just entered it now. The 1500m was a great race last year, and the setting is magical. You don't really get to appreciate the setting amidst the gobfuls of water and shoal of swimmers, though:D

Should be a great day out, and Miss Happy Clappy these glacial lakes are nothing new to you, I know you'll love this one!

Slogger Jogger

Parts of Wicklow have taken on a Siberian look at the moment. I saw a photo the other day from Mr Perry of Kellys Lough completely frozen. If you were desparate you could saw a hole in the ice for a dip

griffin100

I was in Glendalough with the kids yesterday. It was baltic - there were still icicles hanging off the rocks!!!!

Might give the 4km a go on this one.

shotgunmcos

griffin100 wrote: »

Might give the 4km a go on this one.

Me too.. could be a prelude to the bigger n better boards Wicklow Xmas shindig 2013!

Kurt Godel

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Me too.. could be a prelude to the bigger n better boards Wicklow Xmas shindig 2013!

Now there's a good idea... maybe race the 1,500m on the Sat, party likes its 1999 the night away, and take in the 3,800m on Sun at a leisurely pace to enjoy the surroundings...

Kurt Godel

Wed 11k fartlek run

Wow, first fartlek training in ages, and what an eye opener! (and lung-opener). Lots of 100m dashes, 200m strides, 400m pick-ups, and a long 800m uphill. It's all about giving yourself a tough 30-60-100seconds, and then adding a bit more to that tree or that bend or whatever. It felt really tough, I always get way more out of these sessions though than I feel I put in. By the time I hit the bridge at the end I was retching. One of these a week from here on in, me likey.

Kurt Godel

Thurs 3,000m coached swim

200 warm up
8x100 off 2:00, in on 1:30
50 easy
2*(4x100 off 1:50, in on 1:30
50 easy)
4*(4x50 off 60, in on 45
50 easy)

This was to be all about pacing, and swimming at a constant 1:30 pace. The first few 100's I was hitting halfway about 40/41, too fast. It took a while to get into it, holding that pace is as hard to hold when you feel good at the start, as when you feel tired at the finish of the set. I felt good for the first set of 8x100, seemed to be hitting the water with a better stroke than usual. I think the amount of practice I did in a short pool in Portugal has helped in this respect.
The next two sets of 4x100 were harder. The shorter rest didn't really matter too much, but my foot began cramping during them. Also I was having a major brain malfunction, thought the clock was wrong each time I came in, but forgot I was going off modular 1:50. I blame two solid days of intense study of Multipliative Functions and Quadratic Reciprocity- my brain gives up on mathematics when in the pool:)
The last sets of 50's weren't too hard per se, but I was cramping in my foot a lot, so was dragging a dead right angle for some of them (meant these came in closer to 50). Still, happy enough with the overall session, and with my stroke.

Abhainn was swimming behind me, faster than I've seen him go before too, good man.

Kurt Godel

Sat 11k hill run

14 hours straight cramming maths yesterday means brain mush no run me do able tired sleep.

Wake early more maths cram hard brain hurt...

A nice break for a couple of hours when I too the eager beavers to their swim lesson. I was proud as punch to see little Missy in particular, high elbow, good hand entry, good catch and follow through... all the things we worked on in Portugal, see was showing off today. She's a very competitive kid, and is always frustrated when she comes up on someone slower, mad to get around them in the lane. The two of them love swimming, long may it last.

Back after cram more hard logic assumption prove brain throb prove more Godel numbers string...

Finally, with 95% of my assessment done (the rest can wait till review tomorrow), I closed the books and drove to Cushbawn. It was such a beautiful evening, and I fancied a look around from the top of this hill, where I did my first ever hill race, and where I used to train a lot a few years back. It was magical to revisit the old haunts- every turn and path and incline have a special place in memory, and its a treat to revisit old routes. The steep clmb to the top was actually shorter than I remembered, or perhaps I'm just running easier these days (no Garmin tonight, no need for the damn thing). Fantastic views from the summit, across to snow-covered tops, out over to Arklow and the Irish Sea, the setting sun flooding the Croghan valley. Over the top, its very steep going down in a few places, so I saved the knees and jogged down them, before picking up the pace a tad all the way back to Aughrim. A tonic of a run!:)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2KP1vWkQ6Y

shotgunmcos

Made it to 'solving for y' and nodded off...

Good tonic

Kurt Godel

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Made it to 'solving for y' and nodded off...

Good tonic

Changed it to the above video. Taking about Logic and Sets, he mentions Jimi Hendrix and choking on vomit in the first minute. This guy knows how to reel the kids in...

(bet only El Director will click for Part 2, everyone else will be asleep...;))

BTH

Some of us knew better than to click on that. My hangover couldn't handle that.

Oryx

BTH wrote: »

Some of us knew better than to click on that. My hangover couldn't handle that.

My blonde couldn't handle it.

Kurt Godel

Sun 2 hours turbo

Boredom. It's all relative:)

Kurt Godel

Mon 3,000m swim

1,150m steady (1:51 pace)
2X100m off 1:45 (1:37, 1:40)
4*(100m ripple, 100 catchup, 100 point, 100 swim) (swim 1:30, 1:31, 1:29, 1:28)

For some reason I found it tougher today. I was going to do 3km steady, hoping to hold 1:45-ish pace, but after 1000m I was well down. Decided I'd get more value out of sets of 1:30 pace 100's off descending times, but I was way off after just two of them. Right, back to basics; 1,600m of drills.

Each swim test was on the money, kept the pace steady without going eyeballs out, and was hitting 1:30 for each. It's never ideal bailing on a plan halfway through, but in this case I'm content with what I got out of the overall session.

pgibbo

What's the point drill?

When's your first race?

Kurt Godel

pgibbo wrote: »

What's the point drill?

When's your first race?

Point is "pointing" shoulders (or hips), exaggerating the rotation. High elbow entry, is the purpose of it.

First race is 5 weeks time, Valentia Sprint, can't wait!:D

Kurt Godel

Mon pm 11km run easy

My brain is still mush from recent cramming, and the swim didn't help it any. So after popping my exam into the post, I hit the Railway Walk on autopilot. It was a great way to catch the end of the evening, and any run through the forest surroundings cleanses the spirit. It must be something to do with the negative ions by the river, but I felt great afterwards. And Maggie has left this world for the warmer climes of Hell; all round a very good day:)

Kurt Godel

Weight has always been an issue for me- always on the tubby side. I lived in New York from 26-34 and ballooned to over 100kg- good days;) Now I'm down to 90kg (I'm 187cm tall), but have plenty more to go, if the visible spare tyre is anything to judge by. I eat well (all home cooked food), don't really drink alcohol anymore, but graze like it's May and the rains have come on the prairie. Fruit mainly, but chocolate and crisps late at night is a habit.

I don't really care too much about this (eating is a very enjoyable part of life), and in fact we don't have scales in the house (I weighed myself recently while holding Ryanair luggage on the Wii fit board:)), but I'm all too aware that if I'm running or on the bike, there's a load of excess that is being needlessly carried around, and that's slowing me down. So, as I want to treat this season with a bit of discipline and respect, I've started a food diary, to try and get under 85kg soon. That should feed (no pun!) into faster race times.

Some of the skinny malinkies on the Running forum mentioned this weight/food tracker http://www.myfitnesspal.com , and it seems pretty good. There's a database of foods, you just enter what you ate for the day, and what you exercised, and it crunches the numbers for you. I'm not going to cut out chocs or snacks altogether, but I hope keeping a log of what goes in will help me cut down on the crap. Keeping it private, as there's no point in obsessing and boring everyone with total minutiae, but I'll update weekly and what it reports.

Oryx

I just ate two chocolate muffins and half an easter egg. I do admire your willpower.