The difficult second album

joey100

Cheers Rodney, It's about 550m further than I went for the same test last year. The route I done this year was tougher though so definitely feeling stronger this year. The 10km in December will be a good test, my 10km pb is from CK in 2014, haven't raced an open 10km since and only 2 Olympics last year so will be hoping for at least a PB, I think right now I'm in good enough shape to run a high 37.xx so with another few weeks training, and going into the race a bit fresher a 37.xx is the definite goal.

joey100

Mon 9th Nov

Windy run at lunch time. Still tired and the pace was down and effort up for this run. one of them days when the road always seems to be going up and the wind always in your face. Session done though. 9.5km run. Had planned a short easy evening run but no point when I'm as tired as I am.

Tues 10th Nov

Good nights sleep and starting to feel somewhat normal again. Evening turbo session working off new FTP of 255. Bit of warm up then into main set of 4 X (3mins@110%,2 easy) and then 5 x (1min at 120%,1min easy) The 3 min sections were tough enough, power was a bit jumpy and would jump from well over the target to just below it. Held it across all four though. Next bit wasn't as bad, it was more the short recoveries rather than the 120% bits that hurt. Again hit all targets so pleased with this session, normally after a new FTP I struggle with the first few turbo sessions.

Wed 11th Nov

Early morning swim. Main set being 2 X 300m swim, 2 X 200m pull, 3 X 100m swim. Felt alright in the water today, at times was moving really well. Normally this is the start towards getting fitter and higher in the water so happy with the way it's going. Steady 50's at the end were aruond 47/48 seconds, not bad considering my fast 50's are normally around 45-47 seconds. Bit like my running, I seem to go faster when I go strong rather than fast. Something to remember and look at.

MD1983

Judging by your main sets your swim sets seem short enough - circa 2k or so? will you increase this going forward or are you happy as you are? will you improve on that weekly volume?

good work on the FTP!

joey100

Yep they are usually a little bit over 2km MD. Fridays set looks a bit longer though! I'm not 100% sure if they will increase much, that's up to the coach to decide. The goal this year is half Ironman distance, not a huge amount longer swim than an Olympic so don't think I will be doing 3 or 4k sets in the pool. But you might have put the idea in his head now! I done around this distance last year and wouldn't have been as regular in the pool with the broken wrist, wedding and honeymoon, went 22.10 in Caroline Kearney on the training so would like to think that would be my regular Olympic distance time next year. Goal for the half is around 28/29 mins so a bit of work but no reason why I can't get there.

How's your training going on? Did you go over to Lanzarote?

MD1983

Yeh 22 mins OD should more or less get you to 28/29 HIM, i swam 28/29 at athlone and lost sheep and got out pretty high up so its a good start to the race no doubt

lanzarote - went over, it pissed rain for the week, triathlon changed to a duathlon, bike cut in half as there was run off from the rain over the roads, somehow i fcuked up my quad muscle during the race and all in all it was a wasted effort! on a training break just working on my quad the last few weeks, started doing something again this week easy enough. happy to take it east for a bit anyhow, there is plenty of time to train for next year...!

joey100

Wed 12th Nov

Lunch time run in work, 45 mins easy. Nice and warm but that wind is still hanging around. Legs feeling better and pace was decent. Around 9.5km covered in the time.

Evening run with the club. Ran this nice and easy, session was 8 X 400m intervals with 1 min rest. Ran this with Laura and kept it easy. Decent session and legs felt good. About 7.5km done. Wednesdays are starting to turn into a good day for my runs. Hoping to do something similar on Mondays but not as long in the evening. probably around 5km easy on top of the lunch time run.

joey100

Thurs 12th Nov

Easy turbo in the evening. Got this done a bit later than I had planned, had to go try and book our holiday for next year. Las vegas and Mexico looks good! Be a nice way to spend my end of season break, even nicer if I manage to qualify for Chattanooga. Popped into a shop having a big running sale then, not 1 pair of size 8's left in anything so bit of a waste of time. All this meant getting on the turbo a bit later than planned. Plan was 1 hr easy and kept it nice and easy watching the 6 day racing in London. Looks like good fun, if it's on again I might try and get over for it. Average power around 188 so the top end of easy but felt comfortable.

Fri 13th Nov

Early morning swim. Longer set today. 400sw, 2 X 200m pull, 4 X 100m sw, 8 X 50m sw, 4 X 100m pull, 2 X 200m sw and 400m swim. All went pretty well, started to feel better at the second set of 4 X 100's. Pool got a bit busy towards the end and the second 200m was split into 2 X 100m because I got stuck behind people. Not too bad other than that and one of them mornings that was tough to get up and to the pool but glad I did at the end. Good consistency in my swimming the last while.

joey100

Fri 13th Nov

Evening run. Started with 20 mins easy, legs felt ok, heart rate was good but this was the very easy part. Then 15 mins tempo, surprised at how comfortable this felt, average pace was good for the perceived effort and was consistent and strong. Then to finish off 10 mins hard, very hard. This was tough, heart rate was really high (meant to be) and legs were getting tighter and heavier. Lasted the 10 mins but it was tough. 12.5km done in around 50 mins so a decent run.

Sat 14th Nov

Had seen the weather forecast and had been onto the coach to get a turbo session to take the place of the planned long outdoor spin. 3hours on the turbo, including aruond 50 mins of Big gear work and 15 X 1min hard. This was done in 3 cycles of 1 hour, first wasn;t bad, second started to get harder and by the last one I couldn't finish out the last 1 min hard so only done 14 of the planned 15. Good 3 hours on the turbo though and wasn't too bad, having something to do made it a lot easier.

Sun 15th Nov

Long run. 1hr 20 mins easy. Legs felt decent from the start of this and was moving well. Heart rate nice and settled and no spikes or big jumps, stayed nice and level. Average pace around 4.45min kilometres and around 17.5km run. Surprised with how the legs felt after the long turbo the day before.

Mon 16th Nov

Early morning swim. Bit of a warm up then main set of 10 X 100m, alt swim and pull. Swims were easy and pull was mod. Swims coming in pretty much bang on 1.40 and pull around 1.42. Then 4 X fast 50's coming in around 45 seconds. Times aren't great, but pleased with this swim. Starting to feel more comfortable in the longer pool and for the effort the times were decent.

joey100

Mon 16th Nov

Lunch time run in work. Took a little bit to get into this, the cold and legs still feeling a bit stiff didn't really help. It's an out and back run, 5km out, turn and back. BIt of an uphill on the way out so is always faster on the way back. Heart rate right in the middle of easy and through 10km in around 45.40 so was moving well. Never felt under any pressure either, not the most fluid run but a good pace.

Evening run with Laura. Kept this nice and easy, pace was in and around 6min kilometres and was one of those sessions where you feel better at the end than the start. Nice and easy the whole way through and helped freshen the legs. Around 5.25km ran. Mondays and Wednesdays are starting to turn into great running days. In the last 24 hours I've ran around 33km and the legs are feeling ok.

joey100

Tues 17th Nov

Evening turbo. Warm up then into 5 X 2 mins @120%, 3 recovery. I struggle usually with the stuff above FTP. Find it hard to hold it, think it's more of a mental thing but it's something I'm working on and tonight it went well. All 5 above target and tried to keep the power consistent rather than jumping around the place like I have a habit of doing. Seemed to work well. Recoveries were plenty long though so still lots left to work on.

Wed 18th Nov

Early morning swim. Different set than I have done in a while today. 400m sw, 4 X 100m b+b, 300m sw, 3 X 100m b+b, 200m sw, 2 X 100m b+b, 100m sw, 100m b+b. Tough enough session, arms were feeling it by the end, notice that a lot more in the bigger pool, seem to be getting out feeling like I have worked harder than in the smaller one. Anyway times still not great but like Monday I felt I was moving well and felt a lot more comfortable. Hopefully the times start to come down soon!

joey100

Wed 18th Nov

Lunch time run. 45 mins easy with a few 20 second sprints thrown in. Struggled to get the legs moving for the sprints, maybe it was the wind, maybe it was because they were uphill, maybe it's because they were a bit tired, maybe they are all excuses! Anyway, only 1 maybe 2 of the sprints were actually fast the others were a bit more of a slog. Decent run overall though and the easy pace is coming down and still feeling very comfortable. Just under 10km ran.

Evening club run. Not many showed up tonight, I'd say the traffic was a big part of it. Usually a 20 min drive, took around 1hr to get there tonight. Never was sure what the session was so just took it nice and easy for the whole thing. Around 7km ran and kept nice and easy. Bit more of a social run than a proper training run but more time on the feet and more km's ran.

rodneyr1981

How many times a week u running this season joey? Increase on last season?

joey100

Yep definitely an increase on last season, trying to run twice on Monday, twice on Wednesday, Hard session on friday and then my long run on Sunday. The two double days are both easy runs with the evening run being at the slow end of my easy pace. Hasn't been too bad so far. Last season once the races got close I was running off the bike on Saturday too, only short but I'd say that will come in as well this year. Mileage has been gradually increasing the last 2 years so hasn't been a big huge jump really. Last season built on the season before and this season building on last. Normal weeks coming in around 60km per week.

joey100

Thurs 19th Nov

Evening turbo. One hour easy. Not much to say, easy session, legs were a bit tired but grand overall really.

Fri 20th Nov

Morning swim. Some people are strange, from the lady in the 'fast' lane doing breast stroke and back stroke who can't swim in a straight line to the fella in my lane who seemed to wait for me to touch the wall to set off in front of me, bust a gut to stay in front and then stop 4 metres out from the wall and stand. A strange day in the pool. Anyway session had 4 X 50 fast, holding 45 for these, then 3 X 300m off 6, (was meant to be 4 but I mis read it as three), actually got faster for these and was around 10-12 seconds quicker than the last time I done a timed 300. Then another 4 X 50 fast, coming in at 41,43,43,44. So the last 50's were the quickest I have ever swam in the 50 metre pool. The first one had me questioning if something was wrong with the watch, didn't feel like I was pushing a whole lot harder but obviously something clicked during it. Just need to figure out what now!

joey100

Fri 20th Nov

Interval run session at lunch time. Prefer doing these in the evening but working late tonight so wasn't going to happen. Bit of a warm up then into main set of 10 X 1 min hard, 1 min easy. These were done by the side of rte, so some were uphill with the wind and some where downhill into the wind. The wind was worse than the hill. For the downhills held sub 3.30 pace and for the uphills was closer to 3.20 pace. Struggled a bit to get the turn over up in the legs but all in wasn't a bad run. Legs are starting to feel tired though. Around 11km ran.

Sat 21st Nov

Long cycle. Held off heading out on this until a little bit later in the morning to see if it would get any warmer. Did get a bit warmer but I was still very cautious going around corners. Got better as the spin went on though. For the first 45km of this cycle I was into the wind, legs were a bit dead too, ok when it was easy but if I tried to push at all there was nothing really there. I had around 5km with the wind then before I turned and went a different way home that meant the next 30km or so where pretty much uphill. A tough enough cycle, around 80km done in about 3hrs, stop for a coffee and then another 8/9km home after this. Legs were feeling it by the end.

Sun 22nd Nov

Long run. Legs were like two blocks starting off on this, took about 2km for them to feel normal-ish. This was a good run, legs started moving well, heart rate was under control and everything was feeling very easy. Altogether 18.4km done in 1.25, average pace was 4.38 and heart rate right in the middle of easy zone. Big run week, about 60km ran and legs feel pretty good.

Mon 23rd Nov

A rest day and I'm glad of it! Legs are feeling tired this morning and was glad of the extra time in bed too. Will be taking it easy all day and then it's into a recovery week.

joey100

Rest week last week, work christmas party and Tri club christmas party meant I didn't do as much as I would have liked but enjoyed the down time and the easy stuff. Best session of the week was a 2.5hr turbo on Sat with, in total, 7 X 8 mins @ 220 watts. New 90 min, 2hr and 2.5hr power records too so a good session in an otherwise crappy week.

Mon 30th Nov

Early morning swim. Something a bit different this morning, a pyramid session. 100,200,300,400,300,200,100 all swim. First 100 was too fast, 1.31, but the fastest I have gone in the 50m over 100m so happy with it even though it wasn;t really the plan for the session. for the rest I held around 1.38-1.40 pace. Wasn't too bad but did feel it towards the end of the 400. Finished with 4 X 50 fast off 60. 41,42,43,43 for these. Another fast one to start but held it much better and less of a drop off after than last time I done this set. The body feels nice and rested and was good to be back.

joey100

Mon 30th Nov

Easy lunch time run. Legs felt good for this, nice and fresh. Heart rate nice and low and pace was decent. 9km done.

Evening run. Done this with Laura. Easy again and short. 4.5km.

Tues 1st Dec

Evening turbo. I still struggle with intervals above FTP, don't know if it's a mental thing at this stage or what but I don't like seeing them on the plan. 110% is ok, 120% not so ok. Tonight had 5 X 4 mins @ 120% with 3 rec. A decent recovery but didn't know how I would get on with the higher intervals. Target was around 303 watts, first two made it and next 3 dropped to aroudn 296 so below target but only around 3% so not huge in the grand scheme of things. What I was more pleased about was how I managed it mentally, wanted to stop a few times through it and give up but kept going as best I could and was really pleased to finish all 5 intervals. Good hard turbo session done.

Wed 2nd Dec

Early morning swim. Long session to remember this morning that involved a lot of 50's, some fast some steady, some half fast and half steady. A lot of sculling too. I'm not the best at sculling and find it very slow but getting better. Decent session.

Lunch time run. 45 mins easy with 6 X 20 second sprints in it. Between the sprints being badly timed with crossing roads and people walking out in front of me I didn't get many clean runs at it but they were ok. Not as fast as I would have hoped for but felt stronger at the speed. Legs still feeling the turbo a bit and were a bit heavy but even though the legs felt heavy and pace didn't feel great it was actually alright and heart rate spent most of the time in the middle of easy zone. 10.2km done.

pgibbo

120% efforts suck. Similar to yourself with them.

How are you fixed for the 10k? Sub 37?

joey100

Not a chance for a sub 37, be happy with a 37.xx, closer to 37.30 the better. Conditions on the day could play a part but I should at least PB, PB is from Caroline Kearney 2014, 39.25.

joey100

Wed 2nd Dec

Evening run with the club. Again kept this nice and easy and ran most of it with Laura trying to get her ready for her park run 5km that's coming up. Was meant to be this Saturday but not going to happen with the weather so we will have to look for another one. Bit of a warm up then, 200m,400m,600m,800m,800m,600m,400m,200m. All with 200m rec. Ran just above the pace she is targeting for her 5km so wasn't too bad. Altogether around 9km ran.

Thurs 3rd Dec

Thursdays feel like a day off nearly with only 1 session in the evening and easy. 1hr easy on the turbo watching dodgy netflix movies. Hot tub time machine 2, if you thought the first was bad you haven't seen the second. Bit of distraction from the easy spinning though and legs were feeling pretty good. Average power around 188w.

Fri 4th Dec

Early morning swim, again a mix of stuff to do. Starting to feel better in the water and getting used to the longer lengths. Hopefully soon start putting together some stronger 50's, rather than the few I have throughout the session.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Both of you should run Jingle Bells tomorrow, fast course!

joey100

Probably not in tomorrow's weather though!

joey100

Friday 4th Dec

Evening run. PLan was for 5 X 3 mins@ 10km race pace with 2 rec. For some reason I kept getting mixed up and couldn't remember if it was 5 X 5 mins or 5 X 3 mins, meant the warm up was a bit stop start as I adjusted the watch once or twice. Finally got it sorted and got it right too. Working hard at times to hold the pace but at the same time it was never flat out pace. First one was toughest after that the legs seemed to open out a fair bit and at times had to pull back a bit. Held around 3.45 for these. Altogether around 11km ran.

Sat 5th Dec

No outside cycle, again, so back to the turbo. 3 hrs was the plan so broke it down a bit to 2x(20ez,4X4BG,2EZ, 16 EZ, 3x7@200w,3ez). Everything was capped at around 210w so nothing too hard. Legs died a bit towards the end but definitely feeling stronger on the bike. BG was a bit lower than usual and felt comfortable. Decent enough session.

Sun 6th Dec

Long easy run. Not a great night sleep and showed during the run. Pace and heart rate where a little bit out but the effort felt easy. 17.5km ran in aroudn 1hr 24. All grand really except for a bit of tightening towards the end of the run when I was running uphill.

Mon 7th Dec

Early morning swim. Woke up with the top of my legs feeling very tight, especially going up and down stairs. Was grand for the swim. Main set being 10 x 100m alt sw/pull off 2 mins, bit slower in the pool today but was consistent and no problems with the time. Plenty of rest. Fast 50's to finish and again these were slower but consistent. Leg is feeling pretty tight so I'll see how it is as the day goes on and see how I'm set for my afternoon run.

joey100

Monday afternoon run binned, no point running on a sore leg.

Tues 8th Dec

Evening turbo. 1hr easy. More to test out the leg than anything, felt good all day, no pain or tightness and felt grand on the turbo. Nothing special, 1hr 186w.

Wed 9th Dec

Morning swim. Main set being 8 x 200m with 15 sec rec. The first two of these I was trying to push it a bit and came in aroudn low 3.20's. For the rest I pulled it back a bit and just tried to be strong and smooth. Seemed to work and the next 6 were all in around 3.17-3.20. Pleased with this, fastest 200's in this pool and felt strong.

Lunch time run. Testing out the leg, 30 mins easy. Kept nice and easy. Bit of tightness around 20 mins in but didn't seem to last that long. Legs felt good other than that and was moving well.

joey100

Thurs 10th Dec

Evening turbo. Legs felt great for this, was only a short one at 45 mins but really had to pull it back to keep it in easy zone. No soreness or pain at all, seems to be completely gone, fingers crossed.

Fri 11th Dec

Early morning swim. WIth the 10km being tomorrow this session wasn't too tough. Main set being 10 x 50m as 25 fast, 25 easy. Felt good for these and the pulling back a bit on the fast seems to be working. These were all between 46/47 so not too far off my flat out pace and seemed to be holding it well. Next bit was 4 X 100m, came in around 1.33 for these except for the last one when I had to try and over take the breast stroker in the fast lane. Came in around 1.37 for this. Fastest back to back 100's in this pool and felt in control. A swim session where it seems to be going the right way.

Kurt_Godel

Nice swimming joey. Good to see the instant results from pulling back a little- form is worth more than power.

pgibbo

Good news on the soreness. Best of luck tomorrow. Give it socks!!!

joey100

Cheers Kurt, yep things seem to be clicking a bit in the pool, strangely I find if I switch off a bit and stop over thinking everything I'm doing I seem to swim faster. Find when I speed it up to go fast my timing goes off, I lose my body rotation, and I kick too much and tire myself out. Starting to get used to the 50m pool too, best thing about it is counting the lengths. 100m is 2 lengths, seems a lot shorter in your head than 4 lengths. Especially the longer intervals. Really is a great facility and am lucky I can fit it around work to go.

@Pgibbo, short run at lunch time today will show how the leg really feels but I'm confident enough it will be alright. Forecast for tomorrow isn't great, looks like it's to be very wet but not a whole lot of wind so should be good to go.

joey100

Fri 11th Dec

Afternoon run. Just a short run to freshen the legs for Saturday's race. included 5 X 2 mins @ race pace 1 rec. These felt good, no real problems keeping it at race pace and even tough I wouldn't call it comfortable it wasn't uncomfortable either.

Sat 12th Dec

Woke up to lashing rain and lots of wind. I was prepared to go back to sleep but Laura had already missed a 5km race last weekend with the weather so wasn't going to miss this. Wasn't too bad when we got to the park, lot of standing water but wasn't too cold. Warm up done and the outside of my right thigh that has been at me the last week was a bit stiff, nothing that would stop me running but enough to know it was there. So the race, plan was to try and go for a 37.xx, aim was for 3.48 pace for the first 5km and try and build from there. But like all good plans this went out the window fairly quick. Started well and was moving through the main group, first 3 km's were a bit quicker than planned but pull it back for the next 2 that were uphill and into the wind. With about 1km to go on the first lap I pushed on to try and catch a small group in front of me, they seemed to be working well together and I though I would be better off with them than out by myself. Worked well and from around 5km to 9km we took short turns in the front each and the pace was kept good. Suffered a bit though form aroudn 8..5km to the end, the few fast km's at the start and the push to catch the group caught up on me. Kept the pace going but it was dropping off target pace the whole time, nothing huge but enough to be noticeable. Towards the end of the second lap the course started to get busy too with people from the 5km and walkers in the 10km. Crossed the line with nothing left, nothing for even a bit of a sprint. A new 10km pb of 37.45 and when I was looking at my splits at the end too the first 5km was a new pb too of 18.35. Not the most consistently paced race but putting some of that down to the course and the push to catch the small group. Pleased with how the race went, think I raced it the right way and know I had nothing left in the legs by the end so there was nothing more I could have done. A pb 5km in the first 5km probably isn't the smartest way to pace a 10km race but probably says more about my old pb than anything. Laura was aiming for around 58 mins and came in in 56.02 so she was delighted too, good result and all her training starting to pay off. Furthest she has ever ran too so two happy people after the race. Like a boardsie said to me after the race, consistency is king.

Sun 12th Dec

Evening turbo. Legs weren't too bad after the race, apart from my calves but they are always tight after I race. 2 hours easy on the turbo and was surprised at how comfortable I was. First hour was no problem, suffered a bit form aroudn 1hr 10 to 1hr 40 but after that it all felt nice and easy again. All done watching Javier Gomez win in Stockholm last year, can't beat a bit of ITU racing to watch on the turbo.

Mon 13th Dec

Rest day. Glad of it, legs feeling the effort from the weekend and whole body feeling a little bit tired. Think the timing works well too, body was starting to feel a little tired and think I was moving towards the edge of being sick so an easy week will be good.

Kurt_Godel

Nice one joey, good time for the 10k and it reads like a good race too. The bad conditions must have cost you a fair bit of time though?