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10 days since I updated- this is going to be a long one!
Tuesday 21st May
Had a terrible day so wasn't in any kind of mood to be talking to people. Was late leaving Shannon so was very stressed when I met up with the club for our Tuesday evening cycle. The pace was way to fast for me from the outset and while I would usually grit my teeth and push through it, tonight I couldn't do it. I was dropped going over a bump after about 3km and just decided to turn around and go home. Shouldn't have gone out. I don't seem to be able to suffer like last year, mentally I'm gone soft I think. Don't know what that's about.
Wednesday 22nd May - Club Aquathon 1
Our club runs 4 duathlons, 4 triathlons and 2 aquathons a year. We are so lucky to get to do these for free and in really challenging conditions. Last year I had a few races under my belt at this stage of the year but tonight was my first race of any kind in 2013. The lake was like a washing machine. I've never seen it so choppy. Crazy stuff. It wasn't a bit cold though. I am the slowest swimmer in the club so I was in the first bunch to head off. I was so bad tonight that everyone had passed me before I got to the first buoy
My goggles were leaking all the time so I had to keep stopping to let the water out. I also swallowed half the lake and retched it back out. I eventually got out of the water after 24 mins for 670m Fastest time from last year was 17mins! The run course is an out and back, a really challenging hilly route. I had the pleasure of seeing everyone come against me on their way to the finish while I was heading out :rolleyes: Finally finished the 5k in 30:24 including transition. Paddy last, totally morto but actually delighted I did it. I wasn't scared in the water, I know that after that swim I can do any race and it was great to get some transition practise in.
Thursday 23rd - Brick session
Second week of this club session. Again it started with an easy warm up to Monegall and then a roll over session back into Nenagh. Felt much stronger tonight and managed to keep up with the bunch way longer. 38k total
Quickly hopped off the bike at the CBS track then on with the runners for a 2 mile run. Good session, I enjoyed it.
Saturday 25th - Club cycle
Had planned to take it easy today as the tour of lough derg was coming up on Sunday. We started off with a lovely easy warm up from Nenagh to Birdhill and up the ramp. On the way back to the Five Alley we did a fast roll over and some sprints. Back at the Five Alley a TT was set up from there to Birdhill and back. I realised it wasn't a good idea to do it so instead I did a short 10mile TT. Then cycled back to Nenagh with the gang. 66.59km total
Sunday 26th - Tour of Lough Derg
Lovely day for this tour which is organised by my cycling club, the North Tipp Wheelers. Last year this was total torture. I nearly died after being dropped so early. 2 of the girls were a bit nervous of going with the fast bunch and getting dropped so we decided to head off 15 mins before the main bunch in order to get over Ogonnello. Such a lovely sunny day. We headed off and were delighted to reach Tumgraney without being caught. Then Whitegate, then Mountshannon. We kept thinking we would be caught any minute now but there was never any sign of them. Arrived in Portumna with a 30km per hour average speed. The bunch arrived about 5 mins later. We then headed off with the leisure bunch and I can tell you there was nothing leisuely about the pace! I got dropped in Borrisokane but it didn't bother me as I was close to home at that stage. 112k in 4 hours and a lovely farmers tan to show for my efforts
Monday 27th - Nice sports massage
Tuesday 28th - Club cycle
Was very happy to see that most people didn't show tonight! I'm so tired of being dropped and struggling through cycles so it was great to have a nice easier cycle this evening. 51.18km in 1:45. We even stopped for a photo.
Wednesday 29th May - Aquathon 2
The water was a bit calmer this evening so I expected an improvement in my swim time from last week. Lots of boats in the water so I had to stop a few times to check for them. New goggles so leaking wasn't a problem although I did have to stop to retch again after swallowing water. Swim time 21:27. 3 mins faster than last week.
I found the run pretty tough. I had to walk up the hill for the first time ever. Again I was last although I wasn't as far behind as last week. 30:32 for the run including transition. Last again. Wasn't as funny this week. I'm getting a bit fed up of it all to be honest.0 -
Don't you dare get fed up! You're out there doing it....you give it your all.....I love reading your posts....and you're such a breath of fresh air. First or last, it really, really, really doesn't matter. I give you huge props for SO many things, especially your spirit. 0
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Thanks ladies I know ye are right. I just have to stick at it and the good times will come again. I know I'm very lucky to train with the people I do. Hanging round with these faster guys has to stand to me in the long run.
Today I had planned an easy cycle and run but the day has gotten away on me so instead I've just finished cleaning my bike. I'm about to get my gear together for tomorrow and try not to freak out. Can't believe I'm doing my first eve Olympic triathlon tomorrow, eek!!! I just need to make it through the swim then I'll be fine.
Will have to be an early night tonight I'm leaving home at 5:25am tomorrow :eek:0 -
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Saturday 1st June - TriAthy Olympic
So it's been obvious for a while that I havent been enjoying my training so thank god for this race. Itwas just what I needed - really enjoyed myself and seem to have found that motivation I was missing
On the road to Athy at 5.30am with some of the girls from the club. Of course we arrived very very early but that didnt matter. We got to watch the double olympic swim, register and set up in transition all in a very relaxed manner. It's been 9 months since I've raced so I was all excited soaking up the pre-race atmosphere. Elvis- you are the best MC I've ever came across at any race, really added to the day!
Anyways I set my stuff up in transition, queued for the loo, got the race briefing and before I had time to think we were off behind those awful bagpipers walking to the swim entry. First wave was off and next we were in. I was very nervous going down the gantry but relaxed a lot once in the water. It wasnt one bit cold. I stayed to the back and we were off. I did my best not to panic and to keep my breathing regulated, there were a few hits and kicks but a few minutes in I could see that the whole wave were miles ahead of me with only a few stragglers behind me. One girl was swimming diagonally all over the place and kept crashing in to me, i had to keep stopping to avoid her. Once I saw a gap though I went off as fast as I could to leave her behind and then settled into a very comfortable rhythm. Too comfortable really It took me 19 mins to reach the turnaround buoy which was only 600m in!!! Lots of kicking and punching and shoving here as the boys from the third wave came bashing past. I was starting to worry at this point. My aim was to do the swim in 40 min max. I still had 900m to go but once I turned around I tried out this new thing where I would take a breath every 4th stroke instead of every 2nd (sure a race is as good a place as any to try something new ) Somehow I picked up the pace and managed to exit the swim with seconds to spare. Swim time 38:59
T1 - 3:06
Hilarious is all I can say to describe what happened next. As I exited the water I was overcome with dizziness. I was trying to run along the blue mat but kept veering towards the left, slipping and sliding everywhere. I was also kind of mentally all over the shop, laughing and giggling like a mad woman. My wetsuit was stuck on my right elbow. My elbow! Of all places. I pulled and yanked it but it seemed glued on! I had 2 marshalls laughing along wit me, making sure i didnt fall over as I waddled along. Next thing I dropped my hats and goggles, turned to go back for them but the marshall got them for me. Finally got to my bike, yanked the wetsuit off and bent over to put my socks and bike shoes on. Kept falling forwards so had to sit on my arse to get them on. Helmet on, ready to go when I realised I forgot to put my bike top on. It had my gels in the pockets so I wanted to wear it, tried to put in on, realised I couldnt get it on over my helmet so had to take the helmet off to put the top on. Of course because I was so wet, the top got stuck and I spent ages trying to pull it down my back. The marshall beside me as in knots laughing at me. Finally sorted I ran off towards the mount line, where I promptly slipped and skidded across the road. Eventually I was clipped in and peddled off
Bike - 1:26:14
Took as gel after a few mins and quickly settled in to a nice rhythm. Loved the 5k markers, it was cool to be able to judge how fast I was going. My speedometer is broken and I dont have a garmin for racing so I was using a stopwatch. By 10k I knew I was doing a decent speed. 18mins for 10k I knew my goal of a sub 1:20 bike leg was definitely on. I was passing a few people, while of course being swallowed up by all the men on fancy bikes from the later waves. Turned a corner, over a little bridge, changed out of my big ring and next thing I knew the peddles were stuck. Luckily I clipped out before hitting the deck. I had to wheel my bike around the corner as I was on a blind bend and when I stopped to look I nearly cried. My chain was off and wedged between the rings. I had 3 thoughts. Firstly to throw my bike in the ditch and give up. Secondly to cry and give up. Thirdly to suck it up, fix the bike and carry on. Luckily I went with the third option
Definitely wasted 5 minutes and when I got going again I was not really pushing. I knew any chance of making up places after my brutal swim and T1 was gone. My aim of sub 1:20 was gone. But I like the course, it was easy and I soon was motoring again- albeit stuck in my big ring for the next 28k. Lots of drafting going on around, lots of hairy overtaking moves on the narrow roads but overall I enjoyed the course. I've been having back pain for the last few days though and by 30k i was in a whole world of pain. Couldnt wait to get back and off the bike for some relief.
T2 - 2mins
No drama here except I didnt know which way to run so had to ask 2 different marshalls.
Run - 1:01:18
Luckily I've done a few brick sessions recently so I didnt have that weird running off the bike sensation I had been dreading. But by this time I was spent and knew that this run was going to be slow. I didnt like the river bank run. I had to concentrate on my footing all the time and was worried about my achilles and the possibility of going over on my ankle. The guys from the later waves were continuously passing me out and boy where a lot of them rude. One guy actually elbowed me out of the way. No need for that. I know I'm slow but I had every right to be out there too. I spent the whole run moving out of the way of others. I'd say I added a couple hundred metres to my total distance
Kept plodding on, my back killing me but also really enjoying it. The sun, the supporters, the support from other competitors on the course. It was brill. Finally got to the 500m to go mark and sprinted to the end.
Total time: 3:11:37
Obviously that's a very slow time, obviously Im a snail but I am actually very happy with myself. I think I prefer the longer distance,I was way less panicked today. But maybe that was because I had no pressure- all I had to do was finish and not be last. If my chain hadnt came off I would have gone under 3:10. I now have a time to beat and I know I can definitely improve my swim, bike and run time too. I have till the end of August to be ready for the next one in Dublin and Athy has given me to motivation I needed to really work hard and keep this triathlon stuff going.
Woohoo!0 -
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Well done! I've been waiting impatiently for your report! Bad luck on the bike, you were flying up to then. I had heard a tip for a dropped chain, if you can click the derailleur up to the big ring quick enough sometimes it will put the chain back on. Worked like magic for me the other day. I kept looking down at it going 'fook! It actually worked'
I thought I'd had the worst transition of the day but yours beat me hands down. Terrible to go through but dead funny to read. And a learning experience 0 -
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RacoonQueen wrote: »
I'm surprised you two didn't find each other. Bally 8 was EVERYWHERE in Athlone last year, seriously, how many hundreds racing and we bumped into each other about 5 times. *think she was following me*
Ha ha I spent all Saturday looking for u. Was very disappointed to discover u weren't there 0 -
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Oh Sb8, you have such a way of making lemonade out of lemons. Well done on this race, well done on beating your swim goal time, well done on keeping everyone (including yourself) in stitches in t1, well done on not letting your bike chain beat you, and well done on not going postal on all those rude runners who were being disrespectful and unsportsmanlike to you. What grace, class and style you have! I suspect this race just jump started your summer training with an eye on August. Dublin won't know what hit it when Sb8 is in the house!! Whoop whoop!! 0
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Ok I've been neglecting my log again. I come on boards every day, read everyone else's logs and then say I'll update mine tomorrow. Then the days all add up and it becomes a mammoth task. I haven't updated in over 2 weeks so I'll go with a very short summary of what I've been doing. Otherwise I'm sure anyone who reads my log would fall asleep at their computer
So.....
Wed 5th June - Club Aquathon 3. I've competed in all three of these aquathons and finally things came together tonight. Short version of the story- Race 1 I finished in 54:50, Race 2 51:59 and tonight's race 46:37. Delighted with that improvement
Thursday 6th June - Club Brick session 37k cycle with quick roll over back in from Moneygall, hung on with the bunch for the whole way in for the first time ever- woohoo! 1.5 mile run around the track after.
Sat 8th June - Club long cycle Gloriously hot sunny morning. Great company. 87k
Sun 9th June - Run and OW swim Lovely morning for a run. I'm really working on getting back into consistent running. Not worried about pace or distance at the moment, just fitting in at least 3 runs per week. 4.34 miles in 40 mins. Club swim later on in Youghal 900m easy swimming.
Mon 10th June - Club track running session My third one of these this year. Really tough session. I would never ever run this fast on my own. Pyramid of 400m x 2, then 800m, then 1200m, back down to 800m and 400 x 2. I was wrecked after the 1.5 mile warm up 4.8 miles total. Really enjoyed it in a I'm so glad I didn't die kind of way!
Tues 11th June - Wheelers cycle Total monsoon weather- I've never been so wet on the bike in my life. Short but fast and furious cycle. Great fun really. 38 miles
Thursday 13th June - Club swim in the am followed by brick session in the evening. Couldn't tell you what we did for the swim set- at 6.30 am my brain is totally not functioning at all. 2k done I'm sure it was good, I cant remember. Brick session at 6.30 pm. Nice bunch out, lovely sunny evening. It was too slow though for the most part but I managed to organise a bit of a sprint finish for the last 3k to get something out of the cycle. 37k again. Followed by a 1k run.
Fri 14th June - Swim and run Training on my own today. Will have to change my name back to just Bally8 the amount of group training I've been doing lately Anyways I want to get a long easy swim in weekly from now on. So I started today with 82 lengths. Had planned on doing more but got chatting and then had to get out for a school. Treadmill run in the afternoon 3.71 miles in 34 mins. Intervals getting to 8.5mph at times. Yippie!
Sat 15th June - Run Easy treadmill run today 3.26 miles in 30 mins
Sun 16th June - Club Cycle Was dreading this as the route was a very hilly one and I've been avoiding hills lately. Knew I had to just HTFU and start back into them. Climbed Army hill in Moneygall followed by Seanin's Hill. My first time up Seanins- wow its tough. In the end we were all wrecked and decided to skip the other 2 planned hills and took a flatter route time. 87k in hours and hours and hours!!
Tues 18th June - Wheelers cycle Another fast furious but hilly cycle tonight. Delighted with how my cycling is coming along. Only dropped on the hills, managed to keep in the bunch on the flats, yeah! 59.2 k
Wed 19th June - Club Triathlon I was tired tonight so although I tried hard I didn't push myself to the max. The fact I enjoyed it tells me I really didn't suffer so my slow time is a fair reflection of the effort I put in. 1:26:30 for the 630m swim, 19k bike and 5.1k run. 20th out of 24. Hey at least I wasn't last again
Thurs 20th June Surfing with work in Lahinch all day. Great craic. Wow it's some workout. Skipped this evenings brick session as I'm wrecked.
Phew so there you have it. I promise to never have such a large update in one go again 0 -
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red face dave wrote: »Well done on the Aquathon great progress. Any races coming up??
Thanks dave. Triathlone is the next so I have a few more weeks to try get a little faster 0 -
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Solobally8 wrote: »Thanks dave. Triathlone is the next so I have a few more weeks to try get a little faster
I was thinking about that one also but heading home instead kill two birds with the one stone.0
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