Going to tri this

joey100

Thanks Solo, it's only a short one. All body weight stuff, squats, push ups, lateral lunges, plank, boxing crunches. Mainly focus on no recoveries and just got thru set of 5 reps.

Solobally8

Sounds good. I'm hoping to incorporate more resistance work into my own training, so fishing around for ideas :-)

joey100

Thursday 25th July

Up early for a club swim. Was determined to make it to this one, even htough time at weekend was decent I know I can go faster than that. Have missed too many swim sessions over the last few weeks.

Swim set was 100m easy then 4 X 50m breathing 3,4,7,9. Then 100m kick, 100m pull. After this was main set of 2 X 800m first 800m fin on left foot and only kicking when right arm entered water, 2nd 800m opposite. Found this tough to get the timing right but when it was right could really feel the difference. Something I will keep an eye on and try to work on it. Then was into 8 X 50m alternating between a building 50m and a descending 50m. Bit of cool down after this, tough enough session in the pool and could feel that I am bit out of practice.

Evening session was onto the turbo. Nearly a month to a day since I have been on it, only short 45 min session working on tempo and endurance. Legs felt ok, bit tired to start off but once they got moving it wasn't too bad.

joey100

Friday 26th July

Awful rain meant heading to the gym to do my session on the lovely treadmill. All new equipment in the gym so took a minute or two to figure out the touchscreen. Session was 20 min warm up then 8 X 400m intervals (ran at 3.44 pace) with 400m recovery and then 3km at 4.15min pace. Felt ok during it but after the achilles were very tight. Some foam rolling and stretching sorted them out a bit.

Saturday 27th July

New session today. Out on the bike and a 15km warm up then into main session. 12 times up a nearby hill. Each even time was spin up the hill, each odd time was a higher gear and try to power up. Not sure if I done it right but I ended up out of the saddle for the steepest bit of the powering up. The roll down the hill was my recovery. Good session, legs were really feeling it towards the end. Quads were burning, and breathing was short. After was a 8km cool down cycle home. Not a huge cycle distance wise but was really feeling it. Good session.

Sunday 28th July

Morning swim session. Warm up then into main set of 15 X 120m off on 2.15. Was hitting these well when the pool became really busy and had to stop. Became too hard to swim around the people in the lane. Ended up having to push it for a few lengths and then easing off for a few. Not a bad session, felt really good in the water, was really moving for very little effort.

Evening session was a run that was cut short to 45 mins. Just an easy run, no fast pace just easy. Achilles felt ok, bit tight after but didn't last long.

joey100

Monday 29th July

Nothing too bad today, easy paced run for around 50 mins, covering just under 11km. Legs felt good, not fast but good. After this was home circuit, bit of change to weekly plan but needed to swap it with today's planned session (swim), pool is too busy in the evenings.

This weekend is Lough Rea sprint. Will be training right up to it but last proper session is early on Friday so should be well recovered at it. One of the goals for my season was to complete a sprint in under 1.10 (only goal I haven't hit yet). Athlone didn't go well and I was outside the time, this race will be last chance to get this time, only one sprint left after this and that's hook or by crook that has a 7km run so won't be setting fast times during that. Feeling good about this weekend, swim felt good the weekend and if I can get on the bike feeling good it should set me up well. But like I've learnt at other races it's all about what happens on the day!

joey100

Tuesday 30th July

Up early to head to the pool to do the Monday session I swapped to today. Bit of a warm up then into 10 X 200m off 4.00. Some of these were more comfortable than others, struggled a bit to find the right pace but got all of them in on time.

Evening session was club cycle in the park. Managed to stick with the two fastest lads in the club for around 2 and a half laps and then couldn't hang on anymore. Tried to stay ahead of the rest of the group after this and managed it for a lap and a half until I turned around to catch my brother. Overall about 45km done and legs were feeling it at the end, enjoying these sessions, push myself a lot harder than by myself.

Wednesday 31st July

Home circuit and a 45 min easy run. Handy enough day today, nothing to hard and needed it after the tough bike session.

Over the last month or so I've been getting together pieces of a bike to try and build a light bike and try to keep it cheap enough. Started out with a Scott CR1 pro frame from westbrook cycles, frame and fork weighing in around 1.2kg, next was Ritchey handlebars, Prologgo saddle, deda stem and seat post and a lovely set of Mavic Kysrium elite s wheels. Next month will be the arrival of the groupset for the bike; Ultegra. Had been thinking of Ultegra Di2 but can't justify the price, around twice the price of mechanical Ultegra and I'm trying to keep the bike as light as possible so makes more sense.

couerdelion

I tell my wife how often you buy new bikes just so she thinks I have some kind of restraint

Looks really nice!

joey100

Ah but we pretty much have the same amount of bike Couerdelion, I have one more thats a permanent turbo bike but you have two storck's so evens out a bit!

Thursday 1st August

Up early for club swim. No coach this morning so came up with the session between ourselves, warm up was 200m Breathing every 3,5,7,9. Then 100m kick, 100m pull. After this was 4 X 200m building with 15 seconds between each 200m. Then was 4 X 50 on evens going from slow to fast and on odds going from fast to slow. Then was 10 X 50m pull building. Finishing off with 100m easy to cool down. Not as hard as usual Thursday morning session and kept a little back on the harder ones.

Evening was an hour on the turbo concentrating on endurance and tempo work. Legs felt bit tired but was able to get thru the whole session ok. Last bike session apart from easy spin to check bike on Saturday, legs feeling good and hope they are fresh on Sunday.

joey100

So I trained on Friday, run session with some interval work, and then a light spin on the bike to check the handlebars and that the rest of the bike was working ok.

Sunday 4th August

Race wasn't too early so meant I didn't have to get up really early to get there on time. Got to lough rea nice and early and registered quickly. Lovely towel in the goody bag, nice when clubs try to think of something different to give. Headed off on the long walk to transition and got down to watch some of the youth races taking place. Weather was great and was a great atmosphere for the youth races. After bit of a wait, that flew by, in to rack the bike. Got the transition ready and into wetsuit.

Swim 11.23 (28th)

Pushed it a bit at the start of the swim and got into a good bunch. Felt we were moving well so got behind some feet and stayed there for a while, gradually moved up the group as we reached the first buoy. Found myself right at the inside of the turn, was expecting a few bumps but got through no problem. Most of the others seemed to swim it wide, stayed in the group until the next buoy when I got a great turned and jumped about 4/5 metres up the group. From there to the end I pushed it a bit and was one of the first in the bunch out of the water.

T1 1.26

A good T1 for me. Ran fast from the water instead of usual jog. Wetsuit got a bit stuck at ankles but got it off ok. Took a second to hop onto the bike but got going ok.

Bike 34.40 (58th)

First off this bike was not flat! I was expecting a fairly flat course so I got a bit of a surprise. First 5km were pretty much all climbing, when I got to 2.5km I seen the run turnaround and knew it would be a tough run. 2nd 5km was downhill and got some good speed, with a bit of better knowledge of the bike course I could have gone faster, braked for a few corners that I didn't really need to. Next 5km were very tough, another climb. Suffered a bit on this, last 5km then was bit of a downhill and then a flat back to T2. Got my feet out at a bit of a corner when we had to drop the speed a bit and this gained me a bit of time when others took their feet out after and slowed. Not a great bike and definitely some time I could have made on it. Felt good getting off though which was good for the run.

T2 0.50

Nice and quick T2, no messing around. Got in and out nice and quick.

Run 20.15 (58th)

Felt good off the bike and knew it was a bit of a climb to the turnaround so pushed it a bit. Managed to keep the pace around the 4min mark and was feeling good. For the first race in my life I probably passed as much on the run as passed me. At the turnaround I pushed it and was moving well, got a stitch with about 700m to go and had to slow a bit. Was suffering for the run and this was the result, knew I was close to the 20 min mark so pushed it for last 200m and came in at 1.08.34. (36th out of 430).


Was really pleased with the race. Swim went well, transitions went very well. Suffered a bit on the bike but knew I wasn't going to be at peak coming into the race. Very pleased with the run, got really close to the 20 min mark on a tough enough course. Felt like I was going to as well until the last 700m. The only goal for the season that I hadn't hit was to do a sprint under 1.10 and I got it at the race so even though the season isn't over yet it's been a good one. Just inside top 10% at a NS race as well which was a nice surprise.

One of the best races I have done. Great organisation, great atmosphere, lovely location and good marshalls. Really enjoyed the race and would highly recommend it, it's one of the few courses I've done too that is pretty much bang on for the distances too. Well done to predator for running a great race, the gf was so impressed she's going to sign up next year too.

This week is going to be a big week of training. I'll be swimming at least 4 times, and trying to cycle and swim every day. Will be last big week before Dublin and after this week it's all about sharpening up for it. Looking forward to it now.

Kurt Godel

That's a great result for you Joey. You've been Mr. Improvement on this forum this year- and you're building up to a peak nicely. The best is yet to come (notice how I'm frantically backpeddling from any Dublin Tri trashtalk;))

joey100

Cheers Kurt, fingers crossed it all works out for Dublin, been building for it all season and from the start it's been my A race so hopeful of a good result.

Tuesday 6th August

So first day of the big week. Had to head over to the parents to wait on a delivery, decided I'd cycle over and use it as bit of a training spin. Got over nice and early, distance was about 27km. Used traffic lights and ramps as a type of interval where I pick up the pace inbetween them. Legs felt ok, waited around for most of the morning and afternoon and then cycled back. Cycled back a different way and was around 29km. Again used ramps and lights as intervals. Headed out this evening then with the club for the usual training session in the park, knew from the start it was going to be tough. Usually I'd be towards the front of the group but I got dropped fairly early on and just couldn't keep the pace up. Ended up doing most of it on my own and could really feel it in the legs. Covered around 33km so around 90km done in total today, next few days will be swim, cycle and run days and looking forward to them.

joey100

Quick catch up on how the big week went.

Wednesday 7th August

Legs were feeling it after the long day on the bike, only about 50km done on the bike but legs were tired for it all. After this was a swim session, covering around 2.8km, main bit being 12 X 120m pull buoy. Felt a bit all over the place in the water, like I was fighting it too much. Wednesday evening was a run, 5km warm up then 5km at 4.15 pace and then 1km cool down. Took legs a good while to wake up during this but once they did it felt ok.

Thursday 8th August

Early morning club swim, only two there so nearly 1 to 1 instruction. Main set was 8 X 50m with every 4th being fast, then 8 X 50m every 3rd fast, then 8 X 50m every second fast. Then it was 8 X50m first 25m fast, second half slow. On the slow lengths concentrating on the timing of the kick, can really feel it when you time it right, sort of like a push across the water. Afternoon was back onto the bike, 80km cycle, plan was for a 40km TT but legs weren't up to it so broke it down to 4 X 10km TT, the times for these were bit all over the place because of wind and hills, times ranging from between 17 mins to 22 mins. Good day on the bike, tired but not sore like I was by end of Tuesday. Evening session then was a run, around 8km at an easy pace.

Friday 9th August

Took the day off the bike. Swim session with main part being a pyramid building in distance and then back down again. Felt much better than lst few days, seemed to be moving a lot more comfortably. Evening then was a run 5km warm up, 5km at 4.15 and 1km cool down. Tired by the end of the day, body not used to so much training in one week. Weekend will be less volume.

Saturday 10th August

Long cycle down in Wexford with the gf's dad. Covered around 80km in 3 hours, not bad considering the first 15km or so were up and over Mount Leinster, after this was a lot of drags and rolling hills, not much flat at all. Legs felt great today, taking the day off the bike worked well and paid off today. Lovely cycle, quiet roads, lots of climbing. Very enjoyable session.

Sunday 11th August

Another short day, only a 7km run down in Wexford. Not very far but full of hills. Took at a steady pace and legs felt much better by the end than at the start. 2 weeks to DCT and body is feeling good for it, looking forward to it now.

joey100

Monday 12th August

Turbo session. Hour on the turbo with lots of fast and hard efforts. Feeling it on the bike today. Was a bit too hot for the turbo too, big big pool of sweat when I was done.

Tuesday 13th August

Was meant to be an early morning swim but woke up feeling crap. Head ache, sore throat and bit of a cough. Took the day off training to try shift it, last thing I need is to be in the pool feeling like this. Will take a few strepsils, multi vitamins and vitamin c and hopefully will pass quickly. Not really ideal the week before my A race, but all the training is done now so will just concentrate on getting to it as healthy as possible.

joey100

Wednesday 14th August

Woke up this morning feeling much better, throat still a bit raw but no headaches and body was feeling ok. Club TT tonight and really wanted to do it, mainly to make sure that I wasn't getting another chest infection and to try and improve on my best time up to now (31.06). This time was set in near perfect conditions with plenty of people on the course to aim for. Not as many showed up tonight and was a good wind against us on the back half of the course. Was going to try a different tactic than last time when I went out hard and tried to hold on, wanted to keep it steadier this time round. First two laps went well and was on target for a below 31 min time. Last lap was tough though, not sure if wind picked up a bit but found it a lot tougher on the back bit of the course. About 2km from the end I passed another lad from the club and tried to pull away a bit, probably pushed it a bit too much and he ended up catching me with about 900m to go. He pulled in front and I tried my best to stay with him, stayed tight with until about 500m to go and then pulled in front and pushed it for the line. Managed to stay in front and passed just in front of him. Time was a 31.07 so 1 second slower than my best but good taking the conditions into account. Happier though that the sickness seems to have had no real affect on me, felt good on the bike.

Now it's all about tapering for Dublin. That was last real hard session, from now on I'll be just ticking over.

joey100

So since Wednesday last week training has been ticking along nicely, nothing too mad distance or speed wise but getting out everyday to keep the legs turning over. No point going into detail on every day, not much to write really. Plan for this week is similar enough, doing few easy laps of the Dublin city bike course tomorrow, just to try and keep it fresh in the head for Sunday. Rest of the week then is about getting to Dublin is the best shape I can.

Swim waves are out and there is a good bunch of us from my club going in wave 3, most of us have been finishing in and around the same time all year, so will be a bit of a race within a race too. Brother is coming over from England to do his first Olympic distance race too, was a lot of talk going back and forward about how he was going to beat me until we went for a cycle together last time he was back. Has slowly retreated from that position now but will be good to race against him.

This is my 'A' race for the year and up to now training has been going well, was going great over the winter but eased up a bit since the races started. This was my first olympic distance last year and I went 2.39, all olympics this year have been under 2.20 and if I could get close to 2.20 I'd be delighted. Was looking forward to taking it easy for a week or two after but with the rescheduling of races means there is a race both weekends after so my rest will have to wait.

joey100

So race day, slept well, starting to get used to the feeling of racing so not as nervous anymore. Got down in plenty of time and got nice car parking spot. Into transition and set up nice and quickly.

Swim 26.00

Swim start was a bit tight and with no countdown I ended up about 2 people back from where I wanted to be. To echo what Kurt said this was the roughest swim start I've ever done, few people put themselves up front but as usual should have been no where near it. Few bumps and knocks but nothing too bad until all of a sudden a punch in the face, didn't feel like a swim stroke, felt like a proper punch. Burst open the inside of my mouth and had to lift head out of water to spit out the blood. Took a bit of time for it to ease off and get my bearings back again, meant I had missed the faster lads in the wave and ended up pretty much on my own between the two front groups. They didn't pull away at all but I didn't really gain either. Happy enough with swim time but now with a better start could have gone quicker.

T1 1.38

Nice and quick through T1, getting better at these.

Bike 1.08.22

Felt good on the bike and only the top lads overtook me and made it stick. Had a good idea of the course so knew when to push it and when to pull back a bit. First time up the Kyber isn't too bad, legs didn't feel the same the fifth time. Overall pleased with the bike, passed an awful lot more than I was passed by and never felt like I pushed it too hard.

T2 1.26

Missed the rack so bit of time to be made here.

Run 44.15

Started off feeling ok on the run but struggled when it went off road, pace dropped off and couldn't get it back up. Still though wasn't passed by a lot which is a bit improvement for me on the run. Pace picked up a good bit once I hit chesterfield avenue and legs felt great, until it went off road again. At one stage I was too busy looking for a club mate behind me and ended up on my arse, nothing to slow me down too much though. Pushed it a bit for the finish but nothing really left in the legs for it.

Overall 2.21.40

While there's bits of the race I'm not 100% happy about (the swim being one of them, and my now customary slow run) I am pretty pleased with the whole race. Last year this was my first full Olympic distance and I came in at 2.39.22 so nearly a full 18 minutes faster. Good improvement over the winter and with another winter of training behind me the run times will improve and I should get faster overall. This was meant to be my last race of the season but with a bit of rescheduling I have two more races over the next two weekends. Focus now is on recovery for these.

Kurt Godel

Wow, your swim sounds even more lethal than mine! Lesson for next year I think, arms wide at the start and sprint the first 250m or so to get clearer water. Nice bike from you, and a decent overall time.

What's up next?

joey100

Cheers Kurt, yeah have a nice swollen lip now, but sure all part of it. Next up is hook or by crook and then a charity triathlon in Brittas after that. Looking at our times we wouldn't have been too far apart in the swim. Apart from the start it was a lovely swim.

Kurt Godel

joey100 wrote: »

Cheers Kurt, yeah have a nice swollen lip now, but sure all part of it. Next up is hook or by crook and then a charity triathlon in Brittas after that. Looking at our times we wouldn't have been too far apart in the swim. Apart from the start it was a lovely swim.

I saw some guy obviously sit up about half way upstream- might have been you? Then again, you might have been the one digging me in the ribs, or I might have punched you, very hard to tell in the scrum! Agree with your sentiment about it being a lovely swim otherwise.

I'm actually entered the Debra Tri in Brittas too, but it clashes with a Glendalough Swim. See you in Waterford.

Chartsengrafs

Great improvement, strong bike again, well done.

joey100

Cheers Basster, yeah pleased with how the bike went, probably my strongest part of my races all year. Going to say it's all down to the bike though!

Tuesday 27th August

Took the Monday off training to rest the legs after the weekend. Back to it today, 45 mins easy on the turbo with two very short bursts thrown in to see how the legs would handle them. Felt ok, bit heavy but not sore. This evening then was a slow 6km run, again nothing fast, just getting out to try have the legs ready for hook or by crook on Saturday.

joey100

So another easy training week, even though I didn't feel sore the body was tired and it should during any sessions where I pushed it. Kept it ticking over and tried to get to Hook or by Crook feeling as good as I could.

Saturday 31st August

Hook or by Crook

Woke up and the first time I haven't really been feeling up for the race. Didn't fancy the long drive down and just wasn't feeling as good as I had for other races. Got down nice and early anyway and got a decent spot in transition. Another good goody bag and again for me really showed up how bad the one in Athy was. Anyway back to the race,

Swim 15.40

Swim was a beach start and my first time doing this. Simple enough course, not too much turns but the buoys weren't the biggest either so sighting wasn't as simple as I had hoped. Felt like I went well in the water, first 250m went well, second 250m I could feel the pace drop and third 250m went a bit off course. The last buoy wouldn't have been much bigger than a lobster pot marker and made sighting over people very hard. Was happy enough when I got up with how the swim had went, from talking to people after seems the general thinking was it was a bit long so not too bothered by the slow time, could have been that the timing mat was at the top of the climb to T1 too.

T1 1.21

Getting better at these, no messing around, in and out.

Bike 36.27

What is usually one of my strongest parts of the race wasn't too good today. Struggled getting feet into shoes and from first drag on the legs weren't feeling great. Still passed a few and tried to push the pace when I could, wind seemed to be always against us even though it was an out and back course. Seen one of the Go tri lads walking on the side of the road with what looked like nasty road rash down his side, hope he is ok. Paced picked up on the turn around and even had to overtake three cars to get past the two or three bikes in front of me. Final climb up to T2 wasn't half as bad as I was expecting.

T2 1.12

Off the bike a few metres early but other than that no real problems. Was there to see a guy on another rack on the ground shouting, First aid were on there way to him. Looked like a cramp but heard later he had been taken off in ambulance, again hope he is ok.

Run 31.05

The first 3km of this were tough. Very tough. The uphill to the church brought back the bad memories of beast of the east climb. Struggled with this and first 3km took around 15 mins. After this the legs seemed to wake and I started to move, never made back the places I lost on the climb but pleased with the last 4km, done in around 16 mins which is fast for me.

Overall 1.25.47 (69th)

Not too sure how to feel after the race. Felt swim went well, pushed it more than I would for the first bit but struggled a bit after this. Bike wasn't very good, would have been expecting closer to 34 mins. Run was for me probably the best bit of my race, even though I lost a lot of places here. Was pleased with how once the tougher bit was done my legs started working and the last 4km are some of the fastest km's I've ran in any race. Another top 20% in a NS race though. That's my last National series race of the year. One race next weekend and after that will be around 2 weeks easy training. Then it's back to winter training and trying to improve my run.

BTH

joey100 wrote: »

Seen one of the Go tri lads walking on the side of the road with what looked like nasty road rash down his side, hope he is ok.

That was DaveR1 from these parts. Heard he took a nasty enough spill alright. Not sure how he is.

joey100 wrote: »

Was there to see a guy on another rack on the ground shouting, First aid were on there way to him. Looked like a cramp but heard later he had been taken off in ambulance, again hope he is ok.

I presume this was NeedsTraining who posts around here every so often as well. He slipped on a wetsuit on the ground and did a little damage to his leg. First aiders obviously just been watching Greys Anatomy or some such told him he had a head injury and sent him off in an ambulance. I think embarrassment is the biggest outcome.



While Kurt notes on his log that its a short Tri season, because of that we try to squeeze in as many races as we can. Its not always possible to be chomping at the bit each time for 8-10 races in a 4 month window, especially as you need to do more than rock up at the start line with a pair of runners. Take a couple of weeks and I guarantee you'll be raring to go by the end of the month.

joey100

So training for the last week has all been easy, just about getting to today the last race of the season. Only a small charity triathlon in Brittas bay but one I that if I raced the way I could I could do well. Weather was awful on the drive down, lashing rain and windy, but as we got closer and closer to the race venue it got nicer and nicer. Ended up being a lovely day for a race, completely different that the conditions in Tri an Mhi and lost sheep. Got racked in Transition nice and early and for the first time done a bit of a run warm up.

Swim 22.54

Swim was simple enough, 1.5km walk down the beach then a straight swim back with a turn about 50m from the end, keeping buoy on right. Another beach start, hooter went off and off I went. This is probably only part of day that I could have been faster in. I went out straight when most others went at an angle. Lost bit of time here but nothing major. After this was overtaking people for the full swim. Around 13th fastest on the swim but some of the relay teams were flying. Pleased with the time in the swim and it measured pretty much bang on, around 60m long but that's more about my swim than the course.

T1 1.10

Bit of a run to transition, think I overtook two on the run in. Wetsuit off nice and quick and out on the bike with no hassle.

Cycle 1.15.53

Straight into the toughest part of the bike course from t1 and it was tough. Speed was right down and legs were feeling it. This got better once we turned left and had the wind across us. It was here I started to feel good and began pushing it. Some rolling hills and tried to keep around the same cadence, down in the aerobars and just keeping a nice rhythm up the hills. Was told by a marshall at around 10km that I was 6th and in the next 2km overtook another to move me up. Got stuck behind a car and a truck on the back roads back to finsih lap one and cost me a few seconds but again nothing major. Lap 2 was more of the same, over took 2 of the relays that had the fish swimming for them so put myself into 2nd place coming into T2. Bike course was long at around 43.5km so pleased with the time, some rough surfaces and don't think I could have pushed it any faster without ruining my run. Overall 3rd on the bike.

T2 0.28

Straight in and into runners, no messing around.

Run 43.37

The bike course was out for 5km and then back. There was a water station at 2.5km, the turnaround for the sprint, and then another at 5km. This was how I was going to break it down in my head. It was out the last part of the bike course so had an idea of what I would be running so knew the first 5km were climbing all the way. Kept the pace in and around 4.12 pace and was keeping up with 1st place who I could see just down the road. Got to the turnaround and my legs were really feeling it with the constant climbing, right calf, outside of left calf and just above right knee where getting tight and were sore. Seen the leader just before the turnaround and he had 250m on me and looked comfortable. Once I turned (22.00) I started to wait to see how long it would be until I seen someone. Third place was around 1.50 behind me so knew I had a bit of a lead but could see some of the runners behind him where really moving. Picked up the pace, decided that I wasn't going to make it easy for anyone to catch me and tried to keep the pace below 4.10. Run back wasn't too bad but any little climbs I could really feel it in legs. Got to last 1km and had quick look behind me and couldn't see anyone so really pushed it for 400m. Crossed the line and was told I had finished second. Think I had around 4th fastest run.

Overall 2.24.00

I have never been so wrecked after a race in my life. Could barely stand. Legs were shaking and starting to get really tight. 2nd place is a nice way to end the season even if it is only a small race. Finished around 1.30 behind first place but around 3 mins ahead of 3rd. Really pleased with how I paced the race, pushed it more than usual on the swim and couldn't have pushed any harder on the bike without it ruining my run. Run was best bit, really suffered during it but kept the pace up. Was tough but showed myself how far I can push myself. Run and bike were bit long so pretty pleased with the time too. So know my season is over and I've a week or two off any hard training before I start into my winter training. Looking forward to it!

joey100

So since the weekend I haven't been doing too much. Still training but nothing fast or hard, and more when I feel like it than planned. Another week of this before I start back into winter training.

Overall very pleased with my first full season, bike and swim have come on a lot, run has come on too but just not as much as these two. Highlight of the season was probably the run in Lough Rea, 20 min 5km had been a marker for me for most of the season and this was the race I got very close to it on a tough enough run course (20.15). Low point was probably Athlone, I just didn't do anything on the day at all. Was hard to take after all the training after I put in over the winter and spring but overall helped focus me a bit coming towards the end of the season. All my goals were hit for the season and most of the time based ones where hit in my first 2 or 3 races.

Have been thinking about next season and even though I still have to sit down with the coach and plan out the goals for next season but I have a few in mind.

1)This season was top 20% in every National Series race and I'd like to move that to top 15% for next season with at least one top 10%.

2)I'd like to be running consistent sub 20 min 5km's off the bike. Was starting to get the run times down around this towards the end of the season so with another winter behind me I should be able for this.

3)Build on bike and swim times. My 800m TT in the pool was 12.58, I'd like to get this down to around 12.30 or so by the start of next season. I've been using trainer road on the turbo and my power at the moment is around 175 Watts, (not sure if it's accurate or not but it is consistent so I can measure improvement off it). This is up from 110 watts last October and I'd be hoping to get it up to around 200 Watts for next season. Would like to go as close to 30.30 as I can in the club 20km TT next season, fastest time this season was a 31.16.

4) The main improvement for me has to be on the running. Last season was a big improvement in my run times (went from 20.38 5km time to a 19.12) but is still my weak point when compared to others in races. With another winter of training and maybe a few small changes to the type of running training I do I think I can bring this down even more. Not sure how much I can knock off but I would hope to be around 18.30 for the start of next season.

These all have to be discussed with the coach in a week or two to see if they are achievable but I would like to think that they are. Next season the goal for me is to get a place on the Irish age group team for the 2015 season. I know that not everyone is a fan of age group racing but it is something I would like to try. Had half an eye on going next season but saving for a house has put an end to that. Will hopefully still do 5 national series races and see how I place overall but won't be doing as many NS series races as this season.

catweazle

joey100 wrote: »

Next season the goal for me is to get a place on the Irish age group team for the 2015 season. I know that not everyone is a fan of age group racing but it is something I would like to try.

Is it not just more or less a case of TI being happy to take your money (you can count me as not being a fan)

Well done on the year and your 2nd place

joey100

Could be Catweazle, I haven't looked into it at all and don't really know much about it. It's more about trying to combine some sort of holiday with it too. I suppose the more I look into it will put me in better place to decide if I want to go or not.

Trig1

Just catching up on blog now Joey, Well done on 2nd place- fantastic way to finish a fantastic season!!