Is there anything to be said for another mass?

RJM85

Woke Monday with a cold. No training done all week trying to rid myself of it. By yesterday I was feeling a lot better apart from a cough I'm finding it hard to shift. Already signed up and paid for the Sportsman Duathlon Race 2, so decided I'd try a run last night and if I didn't die, I'd do today's race. I didn't die, so I raced today.

20th overall in 55:52. Slower than last time (by about 40 seconds), but to be expected. I'm disappointed with the result as I was hoping to build on last time, but at the same time there's not a whole lot can be done. Think I'm ok to back to training tomorrow. Best to put this behind me and keep ploughing on!

Positives to be taken from it; I was caught on the second run, and had very little in my legs - managed to hold off my pursuer with a little tactical blocking! Not sure he was overly happy from talking to him afterwards, but I wanted the front position and he was going to have to work to take it off me!

RJM85

Meh week of training this week. Got back to it with gusto for the first part of.the week, but not sure I was fully recovered. Wrecked come Friday evening and rested yesterday (apart from a 1k swim.

Raced today in Newbridge. 70k rolling course. Did ok. Break got away on the first lap. Didn't even see them. Was involved a lot of the racing and felt good (ish). Couldn't get up for the Sprint, but I'm sh*te at those anyway. Couple of beers and a few things I shouldn't be eating tonight. Good night's sleep and hopefully I can get a quality week behind me next week. Need to make sure the bumps in the.road.are just that and that I don't get derailled entirely.

RJM85

4 months since last update. Disgraceful! Might be a good idea to start this up again.

mossym

training but no updates is one thing...

no updates cause of no training is completely different..:)

RJM85

May start updating this again I think!

Main developments since my last post:
- baby boy, Connor, born in May. An excellent little man altogether.
- I decided to get myself a coach to ensure I make the most of the limited time I have available to train (should have done it years ago)

I've done 2 tri's so far this year: blackrock (finished 6th) and Lisburn (finished 7th). Races coming up are DCT, Newry Sprint, Carlingford Oly and Pulse Sprint. I'm not looking to do any longer events this year - there's always next year to step up in distance or have another crack at the marathon.

Consistently getting 12-14 hrs per week for the past 8 weeks or so; 3/4 bikes (2 commutes to work and 1/2 turbos), 3 swims, 5 runs (4 lunch time runs and one lsr at the weekend).

My swimming has come on - I've gone from a 06:28 PB for 400m to 12 mins for 750m paced conservatively at Lisburn Tri.

I feel like I'm making good improvements in my running and hope to be able to prove that soon enough.

RJM85

Decent week this week.
3 x 1hr swims. Roughly 2k each.
4 x lunch time runs and a long run 90mins today. Tough interval set on Wednesday; felt I did a decent job of it though. Hill repeats as part of today's run. Expecting a sore bum tomorrow!
2 x commutes to work on the bike 80k each, and a 1hr turbo steady effort. Tuesday was ridiculously rainy - which I perversely enjoyed.

13ish hours for the week. Bit tired today - early night and recovery day tomorrow with just an easy run planned.

RJM85

1,500m TT today. 25:09 - exactly 1 minute faster than this time last month. Happy with that.

RJM85

Last 'full' week before the taper. I have 4 races over the next 5 weeks, so I guess training is going to be more about recovery and keeping things ticking over than anything else.

13ish hrs this week.

3 Swims (incl. 1,500m TT)
4 Runs (3 x lunch runs, 1 long run)
3 Bikes (2 x commutes, 1 x 1hr turbo)

long run today included c. 40 mins at 4:10 / km pace which felt very comfortable - much moreso than expected. I'm running well (for me). All in, I think I'm in good shape for the races coming up, which brings a whole new set of nerves - wanting to make sure I get out what I feel I've put in!

RJM85

Sunday 24th August - Dublin City Triathlon

My first Olympic distance triathlon.

Didn't have a great lead in to this. My poor son was sick Friday night and much of Saturday. Between looking after him and worrying, we didn't get much sleep over the weekend. By Sunday morning he had improved so DCT was on. My dad came down with me, and did the driving - it's always good to have a calming influence on race morning. Heading down to register on the morning wasn't ideal - especially since we had to turn around when we were already on the road when I realised the skewer on my front wheel had fallen out when packing the car!

Made it to registration with 5 minutes to spare while dad looked for a parking space. By the time I got to the car and had all my gear ready I was cutting it fine to get to transition and set up. Running my bike in I was told it was closed, and had to do some pleading to be let in at all. Rush job meant I didn't get to set things up as I'd like, and didn't have time to really familiarise myself with my surroundings. Not ideal, but I was here and I was going to make the best of it!

Swim
I was off in wave 3 at 9:30 - the first of the waves heading off at 15 minute intervals from 9:00. The water was cold, but not freezing and very calm. I was most nervous about the swim - I don't get enough time in the pool let alone in open water. I positioned myself near the front and braced myself for the usual scrum. It wasn't as bad as I expected; pretty soon I was swimming in clear water on my own. The swim passed without incident - I got into a decent rhythm and even passed a few from the earlier waves. Trying to catch my balance once back on dry land I could see 25 minutes on the clock - very much a success for me.

Bike
It was a great circuit, and really well marshalled. By the time I got onto the course though there were two waves of traffic already there, and that only got worse as the day went on. Getting the right lines on the majority of corners was next to impossible, and I had to come out of tuck more often than I would have liked. Even at that there's a great feeling passing people and not being passed.

Run
Due, I think, to the cold water on the swim and my decision not to wear socks on the bike, I couldn't feel my feet for the first couple of k's of the run. Which was a bit bizarre. I felt I had a great run - hit a hard pace from the outset and held it. Finished completely wrecked in 2:15:42 good enough for 19th overall. Decent, with room for improvement!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Good racing lad.

RJM85

Caught the child's vomiting bug. Passed it to the wife. Our house hasn't been much fun so far this week, but everyone is properly on the mend at this stage. Today's the first day I've been feeling more or less myself. Got out for a short easy run at lunch - felt alright. The plan is to still do Newry sprint on Sunday.

RJM85

Newry City Triathlon (Sprint) Race Report

I spent a portion of my Sunday afternoon yesterday standing on a pontoon in Albert Basin, Newry both figuratively and literally (shhhh!) peeing myself. 750 metres looks like a long way when it’s a straight line in front of you and you have to travel it using basically, your scrawny arms. I was also seriously doubting myself. After just over 3 months of very consistent, good quality training building to a couple of end of season races (including this one) I had had a bad week. Before DCT last week, my son was sick – we had a couple of sleepless nights but he got over it quickly and was back to his usual smiling self before we knew it. I had a good race. After DCT though I felt very ill – that’s what you get for swimming in the Liffey, right? Actually, I had caught the same bug my son had. My wife and most of my extended family followed suit - it wasn’t pretty. It was Friday before I was able to manage any kind of training – and at that, a 40 minute breathless jog didn’t really inspire confidence. The rational, thinking side of my brain knew that you don’t lose fitness that quickly. The other side was fairly certain I was going to drown; and if I didn’t I’d probably keel over in T1. Jesus, I hate the last couple of minutes before a race.

Once the race was underway, all those thoughts subsided: one arm in front of the other; remember to breath; check and see if you’re still heading in the right direction. It helps to focus on the simple stuff. Control what you can. Now I remember why I like racing. I never really got into a rhythm on the swim – the fact that I only got a very short swim on Saturday probably helps explain that. My goggles also fogged up pretty badly – I ended up removing them so that I could see where I was going. That didn’t really help – I just panicked a bit and gulped a lot of air. Despite this, the swim seems to have gone well. Under 12 minutes for me is great going.
Swim 11:33

Some people are very good at transitions. I guess they practice them. I should do that.
T1 01:16

Boa laces on your cycling shoes are great. Just a quick twist and you’re away. Except when you forget to wash the Vaseline off your hands after getting into your wetsuit. Took me ages to get my shoes tight. Once I did though (and once I had a good burp), I was in my comfort zone. I like cycling; I’m decent at it. The flat out and back course wasn’t going to suit me entirely – but I feel comfortable on the bike and I almost always enjoy this part of a race. There was a stiff headwind on the way out to Warrenpoint – I decided to try hold back slightly on the way out in the hope that I’d be able to drill it the whole way home. Shortly before I made it to the turnaround, Gerry McCabe came past me on his lovely Shiv - as he does. Then someone else came past me in Gerry’s slipstream, and seemed to stay there. There are very few things that annoy me more than drafting. Gerry appeared to get rid of his companion on the corners of the turnaround, and he soon started to go backwards – I caught and passed him a short while later, but that wasn’t the last time I saw him. On the way back, I focussed on trying to keep Gerry in sight, and with the tail wind I was hitting 50km/hr in places – great fun. Gerry’s companion from earlier drew up alongside me a couple of times on the way back to Newry. He’d pull out as if to overtake and then slow down (once he was in the wind). I’m fairly sure I cursed at him more than I should have.
Bike 32:34

My mammy says I was never very good at tying my laces. I am also, apparently not great with elastic laces that require no tying either. Can you get running shoes with Velcro straps?
T2 00:51

I’ve been really enjoying my run training lately. With very limited time to train, it’s where I can get most bang for my buck, and I’ve definitely seen improvements over the summer. I got into a rhythm fairly quickly – soon getting that familiar feeling that ‘my chest is going to explode any second now’. On the finishing straight I could see Oliver Harkin maybe 50m ahead of me and I was slowly getting closer – I tried to up the pace as much as I could, ending in an all out sprint. Oliver hung on though, and I finished a second behind. Good enough for 9th overall and an age group win.
Run 16:10

Finish: 01:02:22; 9th Overall

The club had 11 athletes in the race, with 4 AG wins (‘MON THE TOWN). It was great to get chatting to clubmates afterwards – I don’t think there is a better social sport than Triathlon.

RJM85

Recovered well from Newry. Couple of good sessions Tues, Wed, Thurs. Easy today and tomorrow and then Carlingford on Sunday. Feeling quite tired today so hopefully the easy days combined with (fingers crossed) some sleep will have me raring to go come Sunday.

Kurt Godel

RJM85 wrote: »

Can you get running shoes with Velcro straps?

I've worn these Decathlon runners in Tri's, very quick to get into and fasten.

Also have a couple of pairs of K-SWISS Blade Light Race Men's Running Shoes, ditto they are very fast for getting into.

RJM85

Kurt Godel wrote: »

I've worn these Decathlon runners in Tri's, very quick to get into and fasten.

Also have a couple of pairs of K-SWISS Blade Light Race Men's Running Shoes, ditto they are very fast for getting into.

I was half joking. Thanks. I'll look into this.

Kurt Godel

RJM85 wrote: »

I was half joking. Thanks. I'll look into this.

I bought the KSwiss first not expecting much (they were discounted), but have since found them faster to get on than lock laces (I sometimes have calf cramps after the swim so cant get bend down easily). Worth a punt, if you can get 'em at a good price.

RJM85

I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be the first person to use the analogy that you start each race with a box of matches. Each effort you make burns a match and the trick is to use as many matches as needed without running out. In triathlon, the constant effort required means that we're effectively lighting one match off the last and conserving the flame as best we can. With a couple of respectable results under my belt so far this year and my confidence buoyed by a decent swim along with the 2nd fastest overall run split at Newry City Triathlon last week, I was eager to get a good result here in probably the closest thing I have to a 'home race'. Pre-race strategy was to light matches two at a time and find out exactly how many were in the box - consequences be damned!

I recovered well from Newry - an easy day Monday followed by some quality sessions Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and a bit of a taper Friday and Saturday. By Sunday morning I was raring to go.

Race day routine is well practised at this stage - wake early, feed the baby, feed myself - at this stage it's time to panic and repack everything before hitting the road (invariably realising we've forgotten something and having to turn around). Nonetheless, I arrived in plenty of time to get set up and stand around fretting about the wind and my choice of 90mm front wheel and disc.

Swim - 16:08
The planned route was two loops of 750m. This, however was cut short due to conditions - it wasn't particularly pleasant out there (my time for the 750 was over 4 minutes slower than I'd normally expect for that distance). This was my first triathlon where the water wasn't co-operative and it was a real eye opener. With the waves, it was very difficult to get into a rhythm - every couple of breaths would be interrupted by a lungful of sea water, and I found sighting a bit difficult to say the least - swimming towards big yellow buoys was one thing (thankfully Gerry McCabe had advised me to swim left to allow for the current), but when we had to turn for shore I was completely disorientated. I reached the slipway for the second loop with no concept of where I was in the field. At this stage we were informed that the swim had been cut - go straight to T1 - no arguing from me!

T1 - 00:58
As usual, the less said about this the better. Probably not as bad as some I've done, but it's really something I'm going to have to get better at.

Bike - 58:17
A great bike course over some of my favourite training roads (though I usually get a stop in Dan's for a coffee on the way). Still not sure where I was in the field - I got my first indication that I wasn't doing too badly when I passed the first lady coming out of Carlingford. I passed a couple on the way out to the bottom of the climb, but they were few and far between. On my way up the Long Woman's Grave climb I was passed by the familiar 'Mint by Baldwins' van - a sure sign that Bryan McCrystal would be motoring past me shortly - he did, and my God was he motoring. Seeing that Bryan was on his road bike, and knowing that his focus for the past while has been solely the bike I thought that if I could at least keep him in sight at the top of the climb, me and TT bike might have the advantage on the descent, and I /might/ have a chance on the run.

T2 - 00:40
I tried to dismount too early, realised my mistake, lost a shoe, dismounted anyway, and ran more than I needed to with the bike into T2. As I was leaving I was informed that I was in 5th - lets see if we can improve on that.

Run - 37:00
All of a sudden it was very hot. I was running at 3:28 per km - unsustainable for 5km never mind 10. But I had a target in front of me, and if I was going to blow up I was going to do so spectacularly. I caught Bryan at about the 4km marker and spent the next 6km terrified that he'd catch me. I held on though, and actually ran a 10km PB by over a minute. 4th place! I lay on grass just after the finish trying to catch my breath and deciding whether I was going vomit or not. Rian McCrystal asked me "Are you bucked?" I told him I was.

RJM85

Struggling a little with the sessions this week - they're getting done, just not /done/ - legs haven't really recovered from Sunday; haven't had a full nights sleep yet; and to a certain extent my mind has checked out a little after Carlingford. I'll keep it ticking over and hopefully a good nights sleep tonight (fingers crossed) will have me feeling more on top of things. Either way I've only one more tri left for this year - pulse sprint on Saturday week. After that the plan is a couple of days rest followed by the cross country season - after which I'll plan to take a 2-3 week break.

Provisional plans of Connemarathon in April '15 and a HIM in August.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RJM85 wrote: »

Provisional plans of Connemarathon in April '15 and a HIM in August.

No bike racing planned next year?

RJM85

Makayla Abundant Scoutmaster wrote: »

No bike racing planned next year?

None planned at the minute. Depending on work, I'll try to do the club league if I can. I'm enjoying the tri training and racing more if I'm honest - and I seem to be better at it too.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RJM85 wrote: »

None planned at the minute. Depending on work, I'll try to do the club league if I can. I'm enjoying the tri training and racing more if I'm honest - and I seem to be better at it too.

The reverse of me so, well apart from the being better/good bit:pac:

RJM85

Makayla Abundant Scoutmaster wrote: »

The reverse of me so, well apart from the being better/good bit:pac:

Im better at one, good at neither! It's all relative!

RJM85

Last night's swim - planned 100's off 1:40. They were coming in at 1:41 :-/

Slog of a commute this morning too.

RJM85

Felt I was digging myself into a bit of a hole last week. Scrapped the 2 turbo sessions planned for Saturday - just did the swim. Back to the plan yesterday with a 2hr hard ride (apparently I've set a new threshold hr?) and 30 minute hard run off the bike. Tough, but felt good.

Relatively light week this week before Pulse Sprint on Saturday. Looking forward to easing back a little on the training tbh.

RJM85

Race Report - Port Beach Triathlon (Sprint)
I don't think I was the only one second guessing the decision to show up at Port Beach yesterday for what was for the majority the last race of the season. Of the Setanta contingent, only Fra Murphy seemed eager to race having sorted his entry on Friday evening! Mentally, my season had kind of built towards Carlingford, and in retrospect it would have made sense to end the season there. I got back to training quickly, but while the sessions were getting done, they weren't getting /done/. My mind was on finishing the season and having a bit of a break and change of focus for a while.
Being stubborn is often an asset in sports. Not giving up when it gets tough is what it's all about. Sometimes though, it's probably important to be able to recognise that you're wrong. About half way through the swim leg, I noticed that all of the swimmers seemed to be to my left. Rather than think 'maybe I've got my line wrong here' I thought to myself 'ha! look at all them eejits swimming the wrong line!' I ploughed on - towards the Isle of Man. By the time I rounded the second bouy for home I realised my mistake (too late). I hadn't swam badly, but there we too many people out of the water before me. Running into transition, the clock showed 17 minutes - at least 5 minutes slower than I should have been. Not a great start to the last race of the season.
Swim - 17:16
My head definitely dropped, and it took a while to get myself together. That said, I got through T1 relatively quickly for me. Maybe I'm getting better at these transitions after all?
T1 - 1:21
I guess you could argue that there's a silver lining to swimming badly - there's more people to chase down on the bike. 20k of rolling roads around Togher is exactly my kind of course and it wasn't long before I was picking people off. Roads were closed for the morning, and the marshalling was excellent. By about 5k in, I was starting to enjoy this.The pre-race strategy of 'bury yourself and then you can enjoy a bit of a break' became a bit more of a reality.
Bike - 32:14
For the second race in a row, I managed to lose a shoe on the way into T2. Clever chap.
T2 - 1:10
The run was a straight out and back course - slightly uphill on the way out. It's always good to get a picture of where you are in the field at this stage and counting those passing me on the way back I could see I was 17th. With three waves (and my bad swim) I knew I was touch and go for achieving a top 20 overall - what I had beforehand thought I should be able for in a National Series Race.
Run -17:01
In the end, I missed out a top 20 by one place, coming 21st in 1:09:00. That's what you get for being stubborn. Other Setanta's appear to have had good races (especiialy Caoilte Curran O Rourke in his first triathlon) and the majority I got talking to afterwards seemed to enjoy the race overall.
Last night I drank some beer. Today I am not doing any training. For the moment, this is brilliant. The plan for the next while is to have some fun - I'm going to do some cross country running. I might ride my bike to a coffee shop and eat some cake. After that it'll be time to start the hard work. I've had some half decent results in my first year doing triathlon and I've surprised myself. Next year will have to be better!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Enjoy the coffee & cake spins and some unstructured downtime, good first season!

RJM85

Scones for breakfast, intervals for lunch.

Bad idea.

Run focus at the minute till te xc is over then I'll take a proper break. Enjoying the running but I've been eating nothing but ****e all week. Feeling fat already.

RJM85

Louth Novice on Sunday. I'm feeling pretty good about it and looking forward to racing with 'no pressure'. I'm enjoying training being lunch time runs and not constantly looking for the time to get a swim or turbo in for the moment.

RJM85

Joint 3rd this morning at the Louth Novice XC not sure of the time as I didn't stop my Garmin until a bit after the finish but if was somewhere in the region of 3:28 per km for 8 laps of a totally flat course which would be 5k PB territory. Led the 2nd group for the full course and held on for a sprint in the end - I have no idea whether he pipped me on the line and with no camera it was awarded as a joint 3rd. We got gold in the team prize too

Happy with how the weeks training went and I'm enjoying the single focus for the minute.

I have a cut on my heel from my spikes; not sure if it will have any impact on training next week - I was able to do a bit of a warm down, so hopefully not.

RJM85

A bit before the finish. He looks like he's ahead there (I'm on the right). Close.