The difficult second album

joey100

Sat 29th April

Morning spin with A1CC. Good spin, headwind the whole way out, pushed it up two hills but other than that kept it easy. Body is starting to come around a bit and feel back to normal. Around 112km done.

Sun 30th April

Morning long run. 95 mins and around 18km done. Pace a bit slower than it has been recently, legs were feeling the cycle on Sat. Lumpy run route and a nice head wind the whole way out. Not too bothered by the pace, it felt easy, never felt under an pressure and HR was pretty settled.

Mon 1st May

Morning bike spin. Out with Laura for her first spin off the turbo this year. 2hrs done, all kept easy enough, few hills included. Windy out there and managed to avoid a headwind for most of the route.

Afternoon swim. An open water swim. Normally I swim open water when I race and not many other times. Decided I'd try and get in a bit more this year. Skerries was pretty sheltered from the wind and the water wasn't too bad. Hands and feet got a bit of a sharp shock but otherwise it wasn't too bad really. I'd guess at around 20 mins done and around 700-800m. Nothing mad hard, just some time in open water.

I've been consciously skipping the harder stuff the last week. I haven't been sick but have felt like I was right on the edge of being sick. Didn't feel 100%, feeling a lot better since Monday so I'll do some 85-90% work on the turbo tonight to see how it goes. Also picked up a second hand Wahoo elemnt bike computer from one of the lads in the club. Means I can control the kickr from that and it has some other handy features too. Needed a new bike computer after the dog chewed my old one. I'll probably still use that for racing, don't need the features of the elemnt for that, the garmin 500 will keep it a bit simpler.

paulmurphyvec

REPLYED

joey100

Right so seems I wasn't as well as I thought. Gave the 85% intervals a go and had to abandon mid way through the second one. HR and effort were way out. I think at this stage I just need to get sick rather than stay on the edge. Week and a half out from my first race of the season, great timing. 3rd race of the season and 3rd time I've been sick. Training load isn't huge, not doing huge miles but just can't seem to get to a race in decent shape. Was pretty down and annoyed after the turbo last night, has me questioning the rest of my season really. I'll see how it goes but in my mind I've nearly made the decision that next year I'll be stepping back from Tri for a bit and just concentrating on the bike. Can't keep training and being sick, seems to happen for every race, at least on the bike I can decide the week of a race an plenty to choose from. I don't drink or smoke, get 8hours sleep a night and don't eat crap but doesn't make a difference. Sure I'll try enjoy the rest of the season anyway and see how it goes.

peter kern

i guess just put on 1.5- 2 kg and you will have a bit more resiliance.

and i guess the sickness pattern also could mean you are putting too much pressure on yourself and get too stressed about racing and then get sick.

Neady83

Really sorry to hear that your struggling so much with sickness this year Joey, especially when you have a lovely set up in the log cabin and have been really looking after yourself.

Is it when you start to taper that you start to feel run down? The doctor has done your bloods yea? It's nothing to do with iron levels in the blood or thyroid?

joey100

Hi Neady, yep had the bloods done back in Feb and all came back grand. Still taking bit of an Iron supplement and a Vitamin D supplement too just based on advice from the doctor. Doesn't seem to be on my taper week, apart from being just before races there doesn't seem to be much consistency in it. Probably something in what Peter says about putting pressure on myself but I've tried my best to not even think about the next race. Last few years I would have but this year I've made an effort to take my mind off racing and just try to enjoy myself. Sure we see what happens, maybe last night was just a once off. Last week or so hasn't felt too bad when I'm training, just not feeling right.

rodneyr1981

Chin up dude only 03rd May plenty of racing to be done.
While we're all competitive and want to push ourselves it's a hobby which does not pay the bills.
We seem to focus on the 1 or 2 poor sessions we had instead of all the good sessions prior.

joey100

Ah I know your right Rodney, probably just having a bit of a whinge. Still plenty of time to my races to get in good shape. I overthink these things as well.

zico10

When did you start monitoring your heart rate? It honestly doesn't seem to be doing you much good. All you ever seem to do is worry about it.

joey100

Your probably right Zico, I've turned it off during racing now, don't look at it. I don't use it for my intervals anymore either. I'm using the power meter less on the bike too. Only for my intervals, long spins are done without it. Last night wasn't so much about the HR, it was were it should be, it was the effort for the power that was well off. But I take your point and it's not the first time you have made it either! Since the last time (around one of the howth aquathons last year) I've thought a fair bit about the training and have made changes, like moving away from it for intervals on the run and only really using the power meter for intervals. Probably need to go to a simpler approach and not be relying on it for everything.

Pmaldini

Hi Joey,

hope this doesn't sound silly, but do you use a nose clip while swimming? i used to suffer from a lot of colds and chest infections and someone recommended i use a nose clip while swimming, i haven't had a bad cold/chest infection for a few years until this week when i couldn't find the nose clip on Monday and now i'm all blocked up again, maybe its just me but it might help..

pgibbo

On other thing to consider perhaps - try doing sweet spot and the likes to push up rather than the focus on pulling up. it should be less of a stressor on the nervous system whilst still being very beneficial.

Are you basing the potential for illness off HR or off how you are feeling?

P.

joey100

A bit of both P. Definitely something up, coughing a bit the last while and feeling tight in the chest. On the easy stuff it doesn't seem to make any difference, but once the effort goes up I feel it very quickly. Recovery taking longer too.

zico10

joey100 wrote: »

Your probably right Zico, I've turned it off during racing now, don't look at it. I don't use it for my intervals anymore either. I'm using the power meter less on the bike too. Only for my intervals, long spins are done without it. Last night wasn't so much about the HR, it was were it should be, it was the effort for the power that was well off. But I take your point and it's not the first time you have made it either! Since the last time (around one of the howth aquathons last year) I've thought a fair bit about the training and have made changes, like moving away from it for intervals on the run and only really using the power meter for intervals. Probably need to go to a simpler approach and not be relying on it for everything.

I could well be wrong as well. I asked when you started monitoring your heart rate because I don't recall you talking about it it in the early days of this log. To check if I was right, I had a read over your report from Tri an Mhi half on page 12. Indeed it is the case that HR (or any other metric for that matter) isn't mentioned. There's a report from Tri-Athy on the same page and it's the same story. You finish both reports saying you were happy with each race. You might have gotten faster in the meantime, but I don't recall a recent report that ended with such a note of satisfaction. Both races were within a week of each other as well and for a triathlete, who I think was still in their second year, you acquitted yourself pretty well in the two races.

I'm sure if you understand it and your HRM isn't misreading, then HR can be a very effective way of training. But from following you log, heart rate just seems to be an extra stress you have added to your training and racing.

In light of Peter's comments about how you put too much pressure on yourself in advance of a race, it's noteworthy that you won the entry to that Tri an Mhi race in a lottery and went into it with no expectations. Also, bar myself (and it was just once mind), I've never heard Peter telling anyone to put on weight. So that point might be worth listening to too. He said the same thing to me in 2014 when I was training for the Connemarathon. Despite my near anorexic obsessions at the time, I listened to him and I think it helped. Now, it's only for a few weeks each year I'm at my ideal racing weight.

I don't train with power, so I won't speculate as to why "it was the effort for the power that was well off". But not everything always goes to plan in anybody's training. There'll be good days and bad days over the course of a year. It seems a bit of an overreaction to write off your season based on one single session.

joey100

Your 100% right Zico, it was definitely an over reaction, sort of wish I hadn't put it up now but I've got some good feedback from it. I take on board what you say about stressing over the HR and getting worried about it, I agree, it seems to be something for me to obsess over rather than use it well. The weight thing has got me thinking too, I don't think I under-eat or aim to stay at this weight but maybe I should be making an effort to eat a bit more and try put on a little bit.

The other thing I've decided to do is to pull back on the log a bit, I don't mind putting my goals out there but I''m starting to wonder is this creating a bit of extra pressure for myself. Feeling the need to always be improving and having something good to put in here. Because of this I'm not going to be updating as much. I'll still use it and will put up bits and pieces of my training but will move away from recording stats daily and reading into differences between different days. I'll still use it for race reports and will probably update it every 2/3 weeks with a more general over view.

Thanks for all the feedback after yesterdays over dramatic post! Got some good info and it's good to get the view of people who are a step back from myself and not as over dramatic as me! I'll log again after Carlow prob!

Neady83

You've gotten some great advice Joey and just to add to it. Over on the A/R forum, people regularly have difficulties like you are having now now. The first piece of advice they are given is to get rid of the HR strap and the watch and to go back to basics - start to enjoy running and training again without the pressure of targets. Go out for a run or a cycle without any targets in mind, take in the scenery and enjoy the feeling of freedom.

You could even give an adventure race a go for the craic, you have all the tools in your kit

mossym

pgibbo wrote: »

On other thing to consider perhaps - try doing sweet spot and the likes to push up rather than the focus on pulling up. it should be less of a stressor on the nervous system whilst still being very beneficial.

Are you basing the potential for illness off HR or off how you are feeling?

P.

i'm with gibbo on this. switching to pushing up from below has other benefits too, and it's going to put less stress on the body

mossym

joey100 wrote: »

The other thing I've decided to do is to pull back on the log a bit, I don't mind putting my goals out there but I''m starting to wonder is this creating a bit of extra pressure for myself. Feeling the need to always be improving and having something good to put in here. Because of this I'm not going to be updating as much. I'll still use it and will put up bits and pieces of my training but will move away from recording stats daily and reading into differences between different days. I'll still use it for race reports and will probably update it every 2/3 weeks with a more general over view.

!

can relate to that pretty well. the logs are great to a point where the encouragement/interaction helps you keep going. there are points in your life though where they do more harm than good. when the log on here starts to impact what you do or influence choices you make i think it's time to rest it for a while.

peter kern

lets face it what you really need is a new disc break bike
( not a p5 which is the boards graveyard bike )

and this
the king looked very happy this morning lol said something like a competitor cracked lol

joey100

That would work alright Peter! Did the King mention the panicked Monday swim? Keith was very worried about him, kept stopping to keep an eye on him......

peter kern

joey100 wrote: »

That would work alright Peter! Did the King mention the panicked Monday swim? Keith was very worried about him, kept stopping to keep an eye on him......

he surely must have forgotten his floating waterproof note pad to write the session down ...

rooneyjm

Enough of this mollycoddling, put the electronics in the drawer and get back out there. Let's never speak of cycle racing again, we'll call it a moment of weakness. Drive on

rodneyr1981

Since everybody is being so nice.

Maybe a small bottle of this might help...:P

joey100

Might get more interest here than in the cycling forum. Price isn't as firm as I might have made out.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057739097

El Director

Hey Joey. Loads of good advice already dished out. I hope you begin to enjoy the training and racing again soon. It can be frustrating when there is a plateau but it's inevitable but if you stick with it, take it day by day, one day you will notice you are improving again.

Currently I'm finding more frequent easy days/weeks and complete days off working for me. It used to really play on my mind and I'd feel real guilty but not anymore. It's just a different mindset I guess.

Good luck in Carlow. Enjoy it.

Kurt.Godel

Just saw the results- looks like you had a good day!

joey100

So a quick report on how Carlow went, actually started feeling better coming up to it and was able to do some intensity in my training for the first time in about 3 weeks.

Swim, went ok. The usual story, I haven't swam half enough. Conscious of this so didn't set off too fast and blow up. Comfortably in the second group in my wave, not as fast as I would have liked but not too slow either. 12.15, got out feeling grand.

T1, ok. managed to get the arm of the wetsuit stuck in the leg when I was getting it off so slowed me down a bit. Run to t1 was long too. 1.37

Bike, 34.29. Wasn't passed on the bike and was constantly passing until the turn around point. Feeling ok, legs a little heavy but was working well. Wasn't really too bothered with power but looking at it after it was around 240NP so a good number. Turned around and tried to put the power down to get back nice and quick, I was missing the biggest 2/3 gears on the bike, they were just spinning with no grip on them. Some bad crosswinds meant I had to go a gear where I had a bit of grip and this cost me a bit of time coming down. Putting the bike on the car after and the whole cassette fell apart when I took the wheel off the bike. shop I had left it in to get the 11 speed hub fitted hadn't tightened the cassette properly and that's why the gears were spinning and jumping. Overall NP was around 228, so not too far off where I would like it to have been, definitely lost time and power coming down but overall not bad.

T2, 50 seconds, nice and quick.

Run 19.39. Started well, Few corners but was comfortable, no real speed in the legs but settled well and was moving ok. Passed by one early on, should have tried to hang on a bit longer but he ended up running around 1 min faster than me so wouldn't have lasted long with him, might have helped coming back into the wind though. First 2.8km ish were decent, turned and it was very exposed for the rest of the run. Horrible head wind and no one really to hide behind. Last 2km were not fast at all, time slipped out. It's not the fastest run route anyway but I wasn't near where I wanted to be, but I was never going to be either way!

Overall 1.08.50 and 15th place. 15th isn't a bad result in a national series race. Was hoping for sub 1.08 but wasn't too be. Times were slower this year than last with the wind across the board so will take that into account. Happy enough with how it went for how the training went in the lead up. couldn't expect anymore really. Had a good day though and after the swim was only passed by 1 person so not too bad. The main downside is that I was 6th in my age group, Even a top 10 would have only put me 5th! The season goal of an age group medal looks like it will be tough, sprints aren't my best events anyway so we will see how the Olympics go.

Howth aquathon (short) next Monday is next, I'll train as normal and just do the race using it as an extra swim and a good hard run. After that is Derry Sprint, as much for a weekend away as the race. Hopefully I can get in a decent block between now and then.

joey100

Cheers Kurt, didn't see you down there! Not a great day but not the worst day either! Sort of stuck in second gear all day but can't complain really, not a good run in and the main reason I was doing the race was cos we were going to be down visiting Laura's parents anyway. Good atmosphere and well organised as usual by racing 795.

Neady83

Nice one Joey, great to see things turning around for you

El Director

Nice one Joey, glad to see this went well, it's early in the season too so loads of time to get that AG podium.

What was the water temp like? The Howth Aqua isn't on the TI calender, do you know why? Who runs it?