Standard Deviation

Kurt Godel

Wed PM 1.2km OW swim

I managed to finnagle myself into a 3D training session in the shadow of the Omphalos. I'd never actually swam from the 40 foot before, and a joy it was to swim in those dark waters. Sighting practice and drafting sparring mainly, between the bouys. I felt good and lithe, flattered by the wetsuit. Things of note: a sleek brown head, a seal's, far out on the water, round. Observing and observed in return.

Is that enough, Dory, do you know where we were? Three quarks for Muster Mark!

Dory Dory

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Wed PM 1.2km OW swim

I managed to finnagle myself into a 3D training session in the shadow of the Omphalos. I'd never actually swam from the 40 foot before, and a joy it was to swim in those dark waters. Sighting practice and drafting sparring mainly, between the bouys. I felt good and lithe, flattered by the wetsuit. Things of note: a sleek brown head, a seal's, far out on the water, round. Observing and observed in return.

Is that enough, Dory, do you know where we were? Three quarks for Muster Mark!

Damn you, Godel, for being so lyrical and tempting me with that imagery.
Yes, I do indeed know where you were - been there myself just last year.

Kurt Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Damn you, Godel, for being so lyrical and tempting me with that imagery.
Yes, I do indeed know where you were - been there myself just last year.

Hey, I just copied and pasted from my dear great-grand-uncle;)

Magic place to swim- before we got in I was talking to two girls who had just finished their swim, and they were full of life and beaming. I was my usual sulky self beforehand; afterwards I was grinning just like the girls. As Canute said, ya can't bate the auld sea.

Dory Dory

Krusty_Clown

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Tue 11.6k run in 59:56, with 10*100m strides in between

I'm going to have to up my game when it comes to running, that much is evident from recent Tri's. I'm exiting quite high from the swim, holding my own in the bike, but just get passed by too many on the run. This route was along the Railway walk, Tomnafinnogue woods, up to the green gate, and back. It used to be a "staple" lunchtime run a few years back when I used train for running. 60 minutes for the route was "base" fitness, 56 and under meant I was ready to race. So in that respect I'm happy enough with where I stand. There's a fair bit of work to go yet, but hopefully this will stand as a test standard of sorts.

Either that elevation graph is screwed up or you've moved to a very flat part of Colorado.
One of the lads in work has a 910 and his elevation has gone the same way. Will check and see if he got it sorted.

Kurt Godel

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Either that elevation graph is screwed up or you've moved to a very flat part of Colorado.
One of the lads in work has a 910 and his elevation has gone the same way. Will check and see if he got it sorted.

Yes, I wondered about that elevation when I saw it. FWIW the overall distance is about half of one of your mile units shorter than I'd have expected. Would this be a trig issue from that 6k+ elevation? (no need to sugarcoat if I'm just slower than expected and the distance is correct;))

BeepBeep67

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Yes, I wondered about that elevation when I saw it. FWIW the overall distance is about half of one of your mile units shorter than I'd have expected. Would this be a trig issue from that 6k+ elevation? (no need to sugarcoat if I'm just slower than expected and the distance is correct;))

You're a couple of firmware upgrades behind the curve so that would be a start 3.0.0.0

Kurt Godel

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

You're a couple of firmware upgrades behind the curve so that would be a start 3.0.0.0

"Firmware"- I guess thats halfway between software (a program) and hardware (machinery that runs the program). So I need to connect my garmin to the computer and update. I'll get around to it by 2020. My techno-age stopped a few years ago, and I've little interest in constantly relearning new skills and terms. Maybe I'll just wait for Apple to release a gps watch with one intelligent button...:)

Kurt Godel

Thurs 2,250m swim

500m warm up
6*50 as 25 swim, 25 drill, 10 sec rest
4*100 off 1:45
min rest
4*100 off 1:40
90 sec rest
4*100 off 1:35
90 sec rest
250m hypoxic (3,2,1,0,0,0,0,1,2,3)

In the absence of our coach we reverted to the rule of democracy, and a show of hands decided on a shorter, easier session. I've said it before, I'll say it again- a benign dictatorship is the only way to govern any society. Anyway, it was my call on our session, and since I hadn't done 100's in a while, the suggestion was four sets of 4*100 off 1:45, 1:40, 1:35, 1:30. I led the first, K led the second, L the third. By the fourth I remembered that my straight 400 pb is 6:00, so it was ambitious to say the least to suggest 4*100 off 1:30... and with that we all agreed they should be skipped. Not the sort of thing we'd get away with had coach been there, but then a democratic society is a weak and pampered society. The three sets went well, however, in 1:35-ish for the first, and <1:30 for sets 2 and 3.

Followed up by that lovely hypoxic set, where you float on the water and swim with perfect form and catch. A breath-hole at the back of the neck, there's a good direction for evolution to take.

BeepBeep67

Kurt Godel wrote: »

"Firmware"- I guess thats halfway between software (a program) and hardware (machinery that runs the program). So I need to connect my garmin to the computer and update. I'll get around to it by 2020. My techno-age stopped a few years ago, and I've little interest in constantly relearning new skills and terms. Maybe I'll just wait for Apple to release a gps watch with one intelligent button...:)

There's probably a little notification on Garmin Connect saying 'please press me and I will update your watch'

Oryx

Kurt Godel wrote: »

A breath-hole at the back of the neck, there's a good direction for evolution to take.

Or gills. Gills would be good.

Kurt Godel

Oryx wrote: »

Or gills. Gills would be good.

Gills to breath in; a blowhole to breath out. Why can't those lazy boffins invent something helpful like that, instead of wasting all their time on useless firmware.

BeepBeep67

Few swimming related improvements:

Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.00:
Added support for Vector power sensor.
Added prompt to calibrate when an ANT+ power sensor connects.
Significant improvements made to stroke type identification accuracy in pool swim.
Significant improvements made to length count accuracy in pool swim.
Fixed smart recording.

Kurt Godel

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Few swimming related improvements:

Changes made from version 2.80 to 3.00:
Added support for Vector power sensor.
Added prompt to calibrate when an ANT+ power sensor connects.
Significant improvements made to stroke type identification accuracy in pool swim.
Significant improvements made to length count accuracy in pool swim.
Fixed smart recording.

The red bits spurred me into action, and I had to work out what an ANT agent was, and then had to download a communicator plugin. Pain in the ass, why can't these things sync automatically from the start from the box. Anyway, its just informed me the firmware update failed. Life's too short, I'm off to bed, I think god is saying I should aim for the 4*100's off 1:30 next time.

Dory Dory

So, what you're saying is we're supposed to update our Garmins???

Aw crap...I'm with Kurt on this one!

Oryx

Ive never even loaded any data from the watch to the computer. Technology is wasted on me.

RacoonQueen

You guys are wasted on garmins. Just go get an oul casio.

This thread would make Krusty cry.

Kurt Godel

Rounding out almost three glorious weeks in France, with a 3km afternoon swim in the unbelievable setting of Colliuore harbour. As my wife suggested, my motto this holiday has been "deny yourself nothing", so when we returned to Colliuore later for a meal, the itch was there to get in again. It is Bastille day after all. After a decent meal of moules frites, and the lions share of two bottles of Rose, I stripped down to kacks and swam in pitch black water towards a rising moon. The most incredible swim ever, the kids joined me and we headed to the diving platform for loads of midnight bombing and diving fun. I love France, will hate to leave, but will bring back this memory which is one of the best. Vive la Bastille, Vive le France, Vive la vie.

Kurt Godel

Swimmers shoulder

A constant sore from your holiday-stubble beard chaffing against your salt-encrusted shoulder. Sore, but totally worth it.

Bilateral breathing
Swimming around a creek and encountering a sandy beach with loads of lovely topless bunnies, and switching to breathing every four, in the direction of the beach. And in the interested of balancing neck stress, choosing to swim back along in reverse. Repeat several times for best training effect.

Swimming with the fishes
Literally, swimming with thousands of fish, shoals, rocks, creeks. Amazing. I leave for home tomorrow, after weeks of the best swimming ever, so many aqueous memories. How the hell will the navy pool line compare to this? Nothing for it but to head back to Colliuore tonight in the expectation of a third cork popped, and bring the swimsuit just in case. Drunken swimming in the med, either highly recommended or else famous last words...

Dory Dory

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Drunken swimming in the med, either highly recommended or else famous last words...

Maybe don't update your SBR Challenge numbers until tomorrow....just in case.

Kurt Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Maybe don't update your SBR Challenge numbers until tomorrow....just in case.

Sorry toots, but I live to breath another day;) a second glorious midnight swim in Colliuore bay, this time after three (almost shared) bottles of local AOC. Kids, the dangers of drunken swimming are grossly overblown; go for it where possible. Back tomorrow, sob sob sob. Dory I have the SBR swim volume bottle bought- should I open it now or do you intend doing decent numbers?

Dory Dory

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Sorry toots, but I live to breath another day;) a second glorious midnight swim in Colliuore bay, this time after three (almost shared) bottles of local AOC. Kids, the dangers of drunken swimming are grossly overblown; go for it where possible. Back tomorrow, sob sob sob. Dory I have the SBR swim volume bottle bought- should I open it now or do you intend doing decent numbers?

You save that bottle, doll. There's a little forrest run in February I apparently have entry to....so if the stars and moon align just right, I may want to claim France's finest then. Cheers!

Kurt Godel

The past few weeks have been spent enjoying the many delights of France in a caravan. While its an ideal spot for long bikes, and spectacular for mountain running, we were a family, so I limited any selfish time, in favour of swimming with them at the pool or sea. Since some of the swims (especially in the Med) were the best ever swims I've done, there are zero complaints from me on how I spent any training time:)

Run 2 runs of 12k and 5k. I another lifetime I will return to the Pyrenees to sample some spectacular mountain running; but these runs were just average flat plods.

Bike Roughly 140k done, including just one "long" spin of 50k. Roads, weather, scenery, were all perfect for bikes, but as alluded to above I chose to concentrate on swimming.

Swim 10k pool, 25k sea. I gave up on the Garmin tracking, so the OW in particular is probably only about half what I actually swam, but for SBR purposes it'll do. Some real swim highlights this trip. The Med is perfect for swimming, particularly around the rocky coves of Colliuore. So much sea life underneath, and a perfect temperature for observing it all. We stayed at a campsite which overlooked and gave access to private coves, so swimming was a morning, noon, and nighttime activity. A few long swims, lots of shorter ones, lots of snorkelling, lots of proudly swimming with my two strong, confident kids. The moonlight swims above were real highlights- any triathlete with growing kids will understand the inner warmth when your kids are finally old enough to join you in training/splashing/hobby.

So the holiday was a real blast, and a great chance to unwind after a particularly stressful 6 months personally. Fitness wise I'm not sure where I stand as regards the Tri season. I'm pretty sure doing no running doesn't help improve a mediocre runner, and ditto with the bike. My swimming should have improved through volume, but tomorrows Wicklow Harbour 1.5k race should offer a good opportunity to bring me back to earth and contemplate if I really needed to eat out quite so many times recently, or pop so many corks. Feck it, I already know the answer to that, you only live once and life has been good the past few weeks. Plenty of time to tackle run/bike/diet issues now that I'm not in the gastromique Capital of the world;)

Kurt Godel

Sat Healy O’Kane Race Wicklow Harbour (1.5k)

A good turnout, good atmosphere, nice water temperature for this race. I was given a handicap of 5 mins (down from 6.5mins last time), but that didn't make much difference, I had a similar type of race as regards being passed by loads. I set off at what I thought was a decent clip, but was pushing hard from an early stage. I tried to jump on a few passing feet, but even then I found it tough to hang on for long. The standard in these SI races is a lot higher than the (pack) standard in Tri swims.

FWIW the positives from the race were my sighting, which was decent, and my finish, which was strong. I managed to catch a few swimming up and back the final section of the pier, and finished beat. I gave it what I got during the race, but what I got isn't even mid-pack in these races (I came 100th out of about 120 or so). Still, an honest assessment can't be complained about, so more training needed, onwards and upwards.:)

Kurt Godel

Sun Aer Lingus Swim Race Portmarnock (1.5k)

I was working in Dublin for a few hours anyway, so managed to make it to a second race of the weekend. It was early when I arrived, no traffic, most of Dublin were watching some footyballing event. So into the lovely flat sea for about 1km, nice temperature, check out sighting points should they be needed... nice to arrive early at a race for once.

Registration was nice and quick as ever, and I was given the same 5 min handicap as yesterday (results not having been analysed, I guess I'll be going off a slower handicap next time). Chatted to a few at the start, there's a nice relaxed and friendly vibe at these races (apart from one anonymous chap going off 7.5 minutes who bragged loudly he would destroy me anyway).

Race start, and I head off with a lad in green cap. He's going off faster than I'd like, but I stay on his toes for a while. Round the first bouy, green cap stops to adjust goggles, I get a kick to the nose. Off again on the long swim out to the first bouy, and green cap has put a couple of meters into me. I'm digging the water harder than I'd have liked at this stage, breathing mostly on two. Try out a few different stroke cadences and styles to see what happens. "Relax and glide" doesn't seem to work; green cap puts in distance. I try to focus on strong catch and exit; that seems to work better. Meanwhile swimmers from behind start to pass, at a rate that makes hanging on toes difficult. Round the second bouy, and begin the long journey parallel to shore. In general sighting is easy in the flat water, and there is a stream of experienced swimmers ahead to aim for in any case. I get on someones feet and take a tow for a while, perhaps only 200m but its a decent pace. This reminds me of when I used run 1500m as a kid- fast first lap, steady second, hurting for the third, and leave nothing behind on the last. The third bouy represents half way, so I try and pass my generous tow-er. He's having none of it, and we battle for a while side by side. Meanwhile, we've reached a part of the race where there are still faster sharks passing us, but we're now passing others; there's a lot of traffic. I notice G who I sometimes swim with in Arklow, he's got a very distinct stroke. He comes up behind three of us, instantly see's that he's blocked in, and does this impressive sideways turn, bend, and pass, in three strokes. A lesson to observe.

We reach the fourth bouy, and I'm still battling with one guy in particular, and a few others moving at a similar pace. Now is the time to up the game, so I start working harder with my stroke and gaining an edge on those around with each push. It's a long, long, distance to the last bouy, which represents the short bend for home, and I want to leave this race knowing I'd given everything. The chap I got a tow from is still there, and I'm determined my race will be defined by which of us comes in ahead of the other. I start to push harder than at any time in the race, and my arms scream back to stop. This reminds me exactly of leading off a set of 4*100 off 1:35 in the pool, knowing that sharks are right behind and expect you to make the pace. Swimming this section of the race I visualised my masters buddies in Arklow right behind, and it helped me push on harder. I made up quite a few places here, and was caught by no-one. Round the final bouy, and the beach finish was in sight. I started sprinting, and caught a couple more places. There was a large group a distance ahead, and I tried as hard as I could to get them, but ran out of water. Looking back at the end I had put a fair gap into those I passed over the last sections. I'm happy with that, as I was spent at the end and swam faster than I might have expected overall.

As results arent up, I've no idea of time; my position was 91st out of over a hundred, so back of the pack again. That's absolutely fine though, as I raced as hard as I could today, and that's what its always all about, at every level. Onwards and upwards for the next one.

PS Mr. Cocky-off-7.5mins did in fact pass me at some stage, well done him. I was watching out for the white cap throughout but didn't spot it, so he probably cut a corner somewhere;) Or else he's the sort of person who knows how to drop a competitive word to make me swim a tiny bit faster...

Kurt Godel

Mon 1:35 turbo spinning

Easy stuff, mainly to stretch the calfs which are a little tight. I'd prefer to be outdoors, but I can have two phones beside me, have email alerts, and still be at work during this turbo. Started re-watching Breaking Bad for the 3rd time.

Backyard pool has been emptied and cleaned of all the green gunk accumulated since my vacation, filling slowly now. There's a heatwave coming, but I want pool tethers to complement rather than replace pool/OW swims, a mistake I made last year.

King of the hill next weekend. Swim will be super-duper-fantastic and I will try my best to exit the water in a high position; bike will be adequate as I try not to focus on cheating drafting ba*tards; run will be miserable due to lack of any run training. If I finish with a smile on my face knowing I left nothing on the course... that's what its all about.

griffin100

I've just started watching Breaking Bad on the turbo for the first time - I'd never seen a single second of it until earlier this week. Series one almost done.

Kurt Godel

griffin100 wrote: »

I've just started watching Breaking Bad on the turbo for the first time - I'd never seen a single second of it until earlier this week. Series one almost done.

Lucky you. I've started to rewatch it again for the third time; its good repeat viewing.

Tue 2 hrs turbo
Working from home, I can extend my lunch if I keep phone and email beside the turbo. Very handy. Almost three episodes before I punctured. New tyre needed.

Kurt Godel

Wed 10k steady run

Up in the forest, its so warm its like running in France at the moment. I haven't been running in a while, but the legs felt good and strong. My upper body and core have strengthed from all the swimming, and this transfers into good upper running form. I bought some new shoes in Decathlon while abroad, the Kalenji Eliofoot, and they felt very comfortable. They have an unusual strap system, which would be super fast in Transition.

I won't be able to attend King of the Hill after all- its Batman Day today, and I forgot I had promised to take my son up to his favourite comic store in Dublin on Saturday (they will be celebrating the day then). Can't argue with the Dark Knight.

joey100

Have you been doing the sea swims without a wetsuit kurt?? Any plans for the Dun laoghaire or Liffey Swim?