Toiler's Constant

Slogger Jogger

Nice job. So later you can tell me how your 'work' day went

Kurt Godel

Cat's out of the bag already Mick, it can form part (all) of tonight's dinner conversation. Ye'll be bored to tears;)

Results are out, I came 8th in 40-44 cat, (2nd in the swim ). I need to find a couple of minutes off the run, to be more competitive in my AG. But for the moment, its all good:)

griffin100

Nice result KG.

Solobally8

Well done today Kurt, sorry not to have met you. I thought I saw you just as I was entering the water. Were you wearing a tinahely tri suit?

Dory Dory

Well done, Kurt! 8th in your age is fab....but 2nd in the swim is super fab!! In fact, I still have some wine I haven't gotten around to....so let's just say this bottoms up is in your honor!

Kurt Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Well done, Kurt! 8th in your age is fab....but 2nd in the swim is super fab!! In fact, I still have some wine I haven't gotten around to....so let's just say this bottoms up is in your honor!

Why thank you Dory, glad I drove you to booze. I just discovered a last Bordeaux so am upping my bottom too for the billionth time before yet again swearing off For The Rest of The Season;)

Sun 25 mins tether

The last two weekend swim races have been brilliant. I've felt in control, I've swam well, and (importantly for tri) I've exited well within my comfort zone, fresh for the bike. One of the last lessons I had with da coach, he had me swimming fast, off limited recovery, I was panting and beat by the end of the set. Then he had me do the same +5sec/100m pace, I completed feeling great. Lesson learned: there's no point in gaining a minute on the swim if you exit knackered and lose 5 mins on the bike/run.

Today was an exercise in sustained swimming, I wanted to do 10 mins at a decent effort, but without gasping. There was a good bit of pull on the tether, I was staying at a point just back from my sprint pace (tether is very useful for appreciating effort by where you are in relation to the "wall"). I got to 10 mins and decided to make it to 15. The effort was just beneath yesterdays race (which I mostly drafted). It was tough, but felt sustainable, so I made it to 20 mins, and had a 5 min warm down. If I can hold this "tri threshold" pace for 24 mins for BOTE next Sunday, I'll be very happy.

Kurt Godel

Mon 90 min turbo

Sufferfest "Local Hero"
5:00 warm-up
3:00 of criterium racing
3 x 6:00 pyramids- with 2:00 rest between each pyramid
5 x 3:00 road race laps with 2:00 rest between each lap.
5 x 2:00 SPRINT! Building up over 2:00
5:00 warm down

Lots of hard interval work, my new aero position feels comfortable enough (might try and raise the saddle another couple of cm). My legs felt a little stiff this morning, but this flushed out any residue from the weekend.

Kurt Godel

Mon pm 7km easy run; 20 mins tether

Into the forest for a trot along the railway walk. My calf feels better than it has in ages, think that problem is behind me now (but I'll have to start stretching a lot more). I've been looking at runners who pass me in races lately, they seem to have a different cadence than "regular" runners- arms higher and almost swinging sideways, and a loping stride. I practiced doing this, and I can see where it might help a triathlete- there's more use of the upper body (which typically is more developed than straight runners).

The tether works its magic again straight after, I closed my eyes for a Doryesque aqua-meditation and could keep up a good stroke.

RayCun

Kurt Godel wrote: »

I've been looking at runners who pass me in races lately, they seem to have a different cadence than "regular" runners- arms higher and almost swinging sideways, and a loping stride. I practiced doing this, and I can see where it might help a triathlete- there's more use of the upper body (which typically is more developed than straight runners).

Why do you think that form is something to be imitated? Surely you try to swim like a swimmer and run like a runner, not vice versa.

BTH

I think I agree with Ray, but I'm not 100% sure what you mean Kurt. A loping stride as you mention would suggest to me a lower cadence. Have I got that right? Certainly flys in the face of everything I'm been told since I started working with my coach. And he should know something considering his role in TI.

Kurt Godel

BTH wrote: »

I think I agree with Ray, but I'm not 100% sure what you mean Kurt. A loping stride as you mention would suggest to me a lower cadence. Have I got that right? Certainly flys in the face of everything I'm been told since I started working with my coach. And he should know something considering his role in TI.

Ok, this is what (I think) I'm seeing:

Exit T2
High cadence for the first 500m (or more)- you need to do this to get the muscles working. Then as the race develops, the stride gets longer. Arms are carried higher than usual, and are swinging at 45˚to body (instead of arms swinging in the direction of the run).

Of course, could just be what I was seeing was tired athletes gasping for air so their shoulders were carried higher. I know I try to run with short cadence from T2, but anyone passing me after a while generally has a longer stride. Running form seems different when its off the bike, than when its in a straight running race, is what I'm getting at.

Kurt Godel

RayCun wrote: »

Why do you think that form is something to be imitated? Surely you try to swim like a swimmer and run like a runner, not vice versa.

If I'm in a swim race I swim like a swimmer, if I'm in a Tri I swim like a triathlete (you don't want the legs wrecked for the bike, or come out gasping).

Ditto with the run, form is different when running a straight running race than when you run off the bike.

RayCun

Both of those things are inefficient - loping strides and low cadence means less ground contact, upper body rotation is just wasted movement. I wouldn't blame gasping for air, just form deteriorating as they tire. Perhaps the fact that they're just off the bike (or cycle a lot in general) explains why it deteriorates in that way?

Dory Dory

Kurt Godel wrote: »

I closed my eyes for a Doryesque aqua-meditation and could keep up a good stroke.

Mainline some of the good stuff, baby!! :D

Kurt Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Mainline some of the good stuff, baby!! :D

Have to say, I was zoning out big time for 5 mins, eyes closed, just feeling the motion of the stroke, and I hit the wall, so meditation deffo makes you quicker.

"Tether your ass and your mind will follow";)

Dory Dory

Kurt Godel wrote: »

"Tether your ass and your mind will follow";)

Luvin' how you think.

Kurt Godel

Tue 30 mins tether, 17k run

The tether felt good today, I got the finis centre snorkle (my collection of toys keeps growing; anyone know whats the largest size pool mesh bags come in?;)) and tried it for 30 mins. It is better for balance, but seems to let in a little more water than my other snorkle. I'll mess around with it for a while, can't be drinking water while pondering on Krishna.

The run was a bit of a blast, a little longer than I've gone in a while, and it'll have to be the start of more distance in general. Very humid out and lots of bugs about. The first 6k was steady up to the car park where I met Fish. Next 5k was a good fast run, building from steady to a tempo. I felt strong during this, much stronger than I've felt running in a while. The final 6k was an easy pace home.

Kurt Godel

Wed 1,500m OW swim

Working in hot and sticky Dublin (that's just the pavements), I decided against the Aquathon tonight- big race on Sunday, races the past two weeks. But I had packed for it just in case, so drove back via a crowded Wicklow Harbour for two laps in the new Speedo wetsuit. There's no doubt about it, its holding me back. It's too constricting across the chest, and my arms hurt while struggling against the tight shoulders. I physically stretched it across my chest to see if made any difference, and it did, but I don't think that's feasible for races.

Why did no-one- not the internet, not swim buddies, not SwimSmooth- tell me it's a bad idea to buy wetsuits without fitting ?!?;)

Abhainn

KG promising race results there lately. See you at BOTE

Kurt Godel

Abhainn wrote: »

KG promising race results there lately. See you at BOTE

Cheers dude, see you out there, it should be a good day. I'm having nightmares about that last hill from Laragh though!

Thurs 15 min tether, 37k bike

Some of the club lads were out on a spin, so I tagged along, not usual that I have bike company. The hill up to Hillbrook was a bit of a drag, but we got over and I let loose on the downhill. It's a long, winding section where you can pick up some speed. However, half way down Stephen flew by me, I tried to keep up but couldn't. He's faster than me in general, but this wasn't right, he opened up a gap all too easily. We stopped in Carnew for the others to catch up, and I decided to raise my saddle, to see if that would make any difference to power. Stephen showed me how to lower my bars (thought they were as low as they went, but I had shims in the way), a very valuable lesson. I put the foot down for the flat 10k into Shillelagh, and by god what a difference! I can feel much more power from the legs. I'll keep it in this position for BOTE, even going up hills I felt much more power.

Nice'n'easy for the next couple of days.

Kurt Godel

Sun Beast of the Easy Oly 2:31:13 123rd place

I'm not too happy with this result, didn't have a great race. However there's plenty to build on.

Swim 26:22
Truth be told, I'm getting lazy in the swims, and laziness came back to bite me in the ass today. It was a scrum to the first bouy, and a churn around it. I got dunked, hit, kicked, slapped, swam over- but if I've any complaints about that, I need to swim faster where there is clearer water, so no complaints. The laziness is jumping on feet, which is a very efficient way of conserving energy, but you are limited by the speed of those around you. So I think for the remainder of the swim I allowed myself to be hampered on slowish feet. Need to practice faster starts, and that means being explosive for 200m or more, and then jumping on feet.

Bike 1:21:57
Hilly course, not great roads, I spent the whole race being passed by TT bikes, which is a bit disheartening. Loads and loads and loads of bikes passing me, that was my bike. Couldn't have gone any faster, the hills don't suit me as it was obvious that people would open a big gap here.

Run 41:01
Course was short for some unknown reason (turnaround at a cone at halfway, could have easily moved the cone another 600m down the road?). Heavy legs setting off up the first hill, being passed by loads. Abhainn passed me at a nice clip at the 3k mark, and I saw interested as I ran to the turnaround. I figured I'd reel him in over the next 5k downhill, but it wasn't to be, I never saw sight of him on the course after, so he's running a lot better than he was back in Valentia. My legs started to seize after the last downhill, 2k run in to the finish where I had nothing to give. Forget my gels when leaving the house this morning, they were missed, but overall I'm just not good running hills anymore. Had no fight over the last k to fend off a guy passing me.

Overall
Good race, but hills don't suit lardarses like myself. I'm a bit disappointed in how I (under)performed today, but there were a lot of lessons learned. Even if I was 5 minutes quicker I'd have been happy, but sometimes a bad result can spur you into action. Next race in the A goal of the year, Dublin Tri in a month, lots to fix in the meantime, I want a decent result there.

Great to meet so many people there today. Tri is a pretty nice community in that I was talking to people I raced in Lanesboro last weekend, nice crowd there today. Very well put together from Wicklow Tri.

joey100

Well done today Kurt, a tough course! The missed gels would definitely have had an effect, I'd say coming to the end you were running on empty.

Re: being passed by tri bikes, this is definitely one area that you can spend money on in exchange for speed. For similar effort I'm around 5/6 kmph faster on TT bike than road bike, a good difference, becomes even more noticeable, effort wise, when you get start hitting higher speeds. So does the sale of the garmin swim watch mean a TT bike is coming in the future??

Kurt Godel

joey100 wrote: »

Well done today Kurt, a tough course! The missed gels would definitely have had an effect, I'd say coming to the end you were running on empty.

Re: being passed by tri bikes, this is definitely one area that you can spend money on in exchange for speed. For similar effort I'm around 5/6 kmph faster on TT bike than road bike, a good difference, becomes even more noticeable, effort wise, when you get start hitting higher speeds. So does the sale of the garmin swim watch mean a TT bike is coming in the future??

I didn't have gels, but had lucozade on the bike. No gels cost me I'd say only a couple of places as I faded over the last couple of km. Still need to be better in this regard.

Ways to get closer to kick Joey's ass at Dublin Tri:

1) TT bike. Frame purchased, components coming soon. Will be ready next week.
2) Lose 5kg. Alcohol stash being depleted today (for the millionth time;)) Food diary starts tomorrow.
3) Swim. Be more aggressive at the start, so there are fast feet to jump on. This is the one part I'm 100% confident about, I've been exiting the swims feeling too good for a few races now. If you're going to draft, the feet need to be fast.
4) Training. More run training, with 1km intervals.
5) Bribe timing company .

Hey, if there's one thing Boards is good for, its talking garbage about your hobby:). We've had a little side bet on Dublin Tri for a while, and today's race shows you are way more prepared than I am. But its all about the bit of competition, so I intend to close the current gap. A flatter course, a bit of training, and better bike, bring it on!:D Should be a bit of craic no matter what happens.

catweazle

Good man - the pockets are loosening now. No doubt you have justified to your missus that the existing bike is necessary for winter training. Don't forget to buy the pointy hat, there was a few going over in the cycling forum recently.

Start putting out the hints for the Power meter for xmas - you know you deserve it!

Kurt Godel

@ catweazle: pointy hat is included in the sale. Don't know about a power meter though, can't justify that sort of spend (although I never thought I'd justify a wetsuit, or turbo trainer, or swim watch, or...). It can be a costly hobby, although the flip side is I can count on one hand the times I've been in a pub since getting in to tri. So in fact I've saved money;)

Mon 80 mins easy turbo
The legs feel like they got a battering yesterday, so just an easy loosener on the turbo. I'm annoyed about yesterdays race, when I think about it I approached the swim all wrong, bike was just ok, and the run was dire. I'll channel all that frustration into training for the Dublin Tri. Might do the Pink'n'Gold tri in Virginia if I'm down that way in 2 weeks, but Dublin is the focus.

Weekly weigh-in- I'm restarting a food diary as keeping track of what goes in your gob helps limit the amount of crisps, beer, pizza, and other garbage. Goal is to be under 85kg for Dublin in a month.
Weekly weigh-in|Weight (kg)
22nd July 2013|88.5

Dory Dory

Food diary? Oh, I'd love to read what Kurt Godel shovels in his mouth...I somehow suspect it'd make for some interesting culinary entertainment.

Oryx

I think a diet swap between you two would be even better entertainment.

pgibbo

Well done at the weekend. Be sure to get a fit when you get the TT bike.

FYI - DCT is far from flat. I think it's one of the hardest run courses I've done. I found it much tougher than Kilkee. There's only one hill on the bike and you go up that 4 times IIRC

Oryx

pgibbo wrote: »

Well done at the weekend. Be sure to get a fit when you get the TT bike.

FYI - DCT is far from flat. I think it's one of the hardest run courses I've done. I found it much tougher than Kilkee. There's only one hill on the bike and you go up that 4 times IIRC

5, isn't it? Last year sections of the run route were a bog and it has a few very short steep climbs but I think its running on uneven ground and grass that makes it tougher than plain old road routes.

Dory Dory

Oryx wrote: »

I think a diet swap between you two would be even better entertainment.

I'd challenge him to some kind of food contest, but it'd be like taking candy from a baby.