Standard Deviation

Kurt Godel

shotgunmcos wrote: »

So when do we joust this summer?!

I'm thinking of the Lough Dan 5k? Our paths will cross again for sure, I might be closer than before but you're still the man to beat when it comes to swimming!

Sat 12.5k run; 10k run; 2.1k swim

Up early to mark Mick's Annacurra race, for 12.5k of hilly stop/start stuff. I got to watch the leaders go by as they ran uphill to the crest- the leader had absolutely fantastic running form. Upright, high knees, front-loaded cadence... and thats as he ran up a hill.

Since I was close(r) to Arklow, I figured I'd warm back up in the pool. However, an unannounced kids birthday party had booked the pool, so I had an hour to kill. Back on with the shoes, for a 10k easy run around Arklow (5:10 pace). I got back to the pool as they were deflating the bouncy castle and slide (it would have been fun to try it!), and in for 2.1k of pull bouy, ripple, and fist, drills.

Kurt Godel

Sun pm 98 mins easy turbo



Weekly Summary|Session|Comment

Monday| 60 mins turbo; 3,200m swim |SF "Fight Club" hard; 3.2k various with tumbles
Tuesday|45min easy turbo; 8k run|Night run, with pace pick-ups
Wednesday|2,600m swim|Lots of sprints, including some 25m under 14sec
Thursday|1:25mins easy turbo; 4,300m swim|Swim 800,7,6,5,4,3,2 pace was 1:42-1:46. One of the toughest swims I've done
Friday|3,150m swim|Including 5*100 off 1:50 (in 1:27, 1:30, 1:31, 1:31, 1:30)
Saturday|12.5k run; 10k run; 2.1k swim|Marking hillrun; easy 10k 5:10pace; drills
Sunday|98min turbo|Easy, pressed for time today.
Weekly km|Swim 15.35k Bike 134.82k Run 30.5k| Decent week, felt good. Swim times coming down, catch is better. Run starting to feel better as weight is less of an issue.
2014 km|Swim 97.65 Bike 1,115k Run 243.93k

Kurt Godel

Mon 62 min turbo; 2,350m swim

SF "Downward Spiral" intervals, really pushed this session. My turbo yardsticks are how soon I'm counting down the seconds, and the drip-o-meter. By the second set, I had invented new ways to count down from 1:30 in decreasing nonsensical blocks, and sweat was dripping simultaneously from my nose, chin, ears, and headphone cord.

Later I took junior for his lesson, and hopped in for some paddle work after. I got the FINIS PT paddles, and Agility paddles. Both were an instant lesson in what I've been doing wrong with my catch. The agility paddles in particular are very good for emphasising the "S" shape of your catch and pull through. They won't really work if you do it wrong. (Both paddles available in B2R along with, as ever, good advice). I tried a fast 100m swim at the end, to see what might be gained from a better catch- came in 1:23, which is certainly faster than I've swam in a while.
400TT on Wed, I'll be looking for under 6:15 or won't be happy.

That's a round 100k swim for the year so far

PT Paddle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYatzdnq3RQ

Agility Paddle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0DsGRyPzMo

shotgunmcos

I think it would be closer than you think. 100k already and you seem to have the gra for swimming. I've fallen off the wagon and barely hanging on :cool: When is the lough Dan on this year? With a 1:23 100 and your current swim volume I'd say 6:15 is soft

Kurt Godel

Lough Dan (5k and 10k) is on Aug 23rd. Dublin City Tri is on the 24th, but I might be swayed by the better Lough Dan swim (love the bike and run for DCT, but the swim is a pain). Neither entered yet. But I'm leaning towards the 5k swim.

Honestly Mike you took on too much. Sub 3 run,row,swim, over the same few months... any one of them would be hard. Your rowing seems to be going great, get your arse in gear again for the swim, and run Dublin in Oct. Unasked for advice, sure I'm great for giving that out;) Get back in with those faster swimmers and you'll get your 10k goal. No better man.

Yes 6:15 is soft. I think its realistic though- I have become good at sprints, or endurance plods, but seem to fade after 200m. Happy enough with where I am at the moment though- the short-term focus is 750m swim exiting high, without being wrecked for the bike. I'd expect bigger 400mTT gains in a month or two.

Kurt Godel

Tue 2k swim

Lots of drills, lots of flip turns, which are getting better.

Kurt Godel

Wed 1,600m swim

Big, big changes in work meant I was up at 4:30am to deal with client accounts. Having just last night polished off every last drop of booze in the house in preparation for 40 days in the dry. So I had all my excuses lined up for tonights 400m TT, and my approach was fairly relaxed, tired and woosy hungover as I was. After an easy 400m warm, I led out a lane of three for the TT. The first 100m went well, I was on top of the water without giving it too much welly. 1:26 on the clock, and I knew I'd do something fast. The second 100 was just about controlling the stroke (mainly the catch) as the familiar pain took hold. I dialled the effort back to a nice threshold place, which hurt just enough to be still in control. The third 100 was something similar, and to be honest I could have pushed harder here- I've done 400's before where 250-350 the arms are screaming, but that wasn't the case today. I picked up the pace a bit for the fourth 100, but ran into traffic and had to overtake twice, which may have slowed me a little (or indeed may have helped as I raced past mid-lane). Coach gave me the splits after: 1:26, 1:32, 1:34, 1:32 for a new PB of 6:04 (beat last years best time by a second).

So where does that marker leave me? Well, it means I'm swimming better than last year's best, and its only the beginning of March. The masters sessions are really pulling me along, and I should be going under 6 mins for the 400 soon.

I have a nice chilled glass of PB wine in front of me to get Lent off to a good start. Chin-chin!:)

Kurt Godel

Thurs am 10k run; pm 1,600m swim

Steady run in the forest, I felt better than I had in years. I've a lot on my mind at the moment so getting out for this run was a great way to sort out stress.

Masters group in the evening, an allsorts sorta night. Hypoxic, diving, fly, planks, jumps, squats, kick; and 3*100 in 1:24, 1:24, 1:25. Sub 1:30 is getting easier now. One of the guys sort of swam beside me in the next lane lane and I tried keeping up, before I realised he was just pacing me to get a bit faster- he took off on the final 25 at an astounding speed. Think his 100 pb is around 52 seconds, which gives you an idea of how out of my depth I am!

Dory Dory

Nah, you're not out of your depth. You're doing the absolute best thing to improve your swimming - swimming with faster people.

Kurt Godel

Fri 105 mins turbo; 2,250m swim

Easy turbo, then later 4*(100swim, 100 paddle, 100 swim, 100 pt paddle)

I can't recommend those agility paddles enough.

Kurt Godel

A very stressful time at the moment owing to life issues, I won't go into it; suffice to say training is not a priority, so I've missed a few days. I'm going to try and get back to it, as it can be a great way to deal with stress.

Mon 2,250m paddles

Wed 7.5k run; 3,100m swim
A great day to disappear for 40 mins along the forest and clear my head.

Later it was the coached session:

8*(25 swim, 25 kick, 25 easy, 10 sec)
30 mins swimming hold 1:35 pace
8*(25 drill, 25 swim, 10 sec)
10*25(breath on 1,2,3,...,9,10 strokes)

I nearly died when I saw the board- I didn't think I was anywhere near holding 1:35 pace for any distance over 500m. As it was, I just resigned myself to it, started well, and thought of Sun Yang and holding my catch. Form kept together pretty well, a little drift as it went on, but not by much. I started to cramp towards the end so had to quickly stretch it out, but I got over 1,850m for the 30 mins, which is about 1:36 pace average overall. Pretty happy with that- my swimming has had a quantum leap as of late. I think the improved catch has been the main reason.

griffin100

Sub 1hr IM swim pace for 30mins.........you're pulling away from me!!

shotgunmcos

griffin100 wrote: »

Sub 1hr IM swim pace for 30mins.........you're pulling away from me!!

... and right on my feet!

Good swimming KG. My best wishes for your other stuff.

Kurt Godel

Thurs 3,600m swim

Masters session, but a sequence of unfortunate incidents meant that only myself and Fish were present- it was her first night too, and she had been looking forward to something tougher than usual...

Anyway, set was:
10*50(25kick, 25swim)10sec rest
10*50(25drill, 25 choice)10sec rest
Main set was 4 of:
{200m under 3:30 (decreasing by 10 secs each iteration, so ending on 3:00)
4*50(25 drill, 25 swim easy)
2*100PB}
200 swim down

My arms felt heavy after yesterdays efforts. The first couple of 200's were no problem, but I struggled to just beat 3:10 for the third. I gave it what I had for the fourth, but was cramping at this stage, and came in 3:05. Not to worry- quantum leaps need bread and butter swims like tonights, and lots of 'em.

Dory Dory

Happy pie day, Kurt!!!!

Kurt Godel

(Mental note- Dory is smart, must remember to wish her a happy Tausday come June 28th)

In the meantime, the awesome Feynman Point of 6 9's...

Dory Dory

Hmmm.....half tau day, or double pie day!!! We have so many geeky options. :)

Kurt Godel

Fri65 min turbo

Sun 87k bike in 3:20
Dublin, N11, Ashford, Rathdrum, Avoca, Aughrim, home. Flat route, decent roads, no aero bars, backpack. I've had some success in the past "kick starting" a training period by doing long runs without water or food. I had two coffees in the morning, but nothing else. I started the spin just before 3pm, and was going well until 60k in, from where things started to feel a little harder. By the time I was home I was pretty thirsty, and ate a large amount too. But in general, this was a good successful spin.

BeepBeep67

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Fri65 min turbo

Sun 87k bike in 3:20
Dublin, N11, Ashford, Rathdrum, Avoca, Aughrim, home. Flat route, decent roads, no aero bars, backpack. I've had some success in the past "kick starting" a training period by doing long runs without water or food. I had two coffees in the morning, but nothing else. I started the spin just before 3pm, and was going well until 60k in, from where things started to feel a little harder. By the time I was home I was pretty thirsty, and ate a large amount too. But in general, this was a good successful spin.

Is the road down to Aughrim still a wrist rattler (assuming you went Avoca -> Ballinaclash)?

Kurt Godel

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

Is the road down to Aughrim still a wrist rattler (assuming you went Avoca -> Ballinaclash)?

Hi Dom, I actually went Rathdrum, Avoca, woodenbridge, Aughrim. That road after Clash is a nightmare, as you said. My local roads are in crap condition, so I wanted to stave off vibro-fingers as long as I could. I'm not used to biking on surfaces as good as the n11, ye wicklow lads are spoiled!

BeepBeep67

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Hi Dom, I actually went Rathdrum, Avoca, woodenbridge, Aughrim. That road after Clash is a nightmare, as you said. My local roads are in crap condition, so I wanted to stave off vibro-fingers as long as I could. I'm not used to biking on surfaces as good as the n11, ye wicklow lads are spoiled!

That's a nice spin, have done the Arklow - Woodenbridge - Aughrim - Rathdrum as a loop
Must organise a spin after London

Kurt Godel

Mon 21.1k hilly run in 1:52, 1k warm down

I wanted to get a longish run in today, and had in mind something hilly. The first section out to Tinahely was falt roads, and I was coasting at 5:00/k pace. Hit the trails and soon had stones in my new shoes. Sacony Grid A5, great minimal runners, but they have small holes in the sole which can pick up stones. After a quick stop to fix this, I started the plod up towards the Wicklow Way. Slow going- some 7:30 km's here- but theres a fair bit of steep climbing involved (see elevation and guess where the hill is;)).

Brilliant views running along the grassy trails at the top, and from here I had a number of options which might extend the run. However, I decided to be cautious, and so dropped back down to Tinahely, figuring that a half marathon would suffice, the day after my longest bike yet. I picked up the pace to about 4:20/km for the last few km's to finish strongly, probably feeling the best I've felt running in half a year.

Dory Dory

Because I know nothing, absolutely nothing, about minimal runners - do the holes come standard in those type shoes....or is that due to your wear and tear?

Dory Dory

Oh, and Happy St. Paddy's day, Kurt!!!!

Kurt Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Because I know nothing, absolutely nothing, about minimal runners - do the holes come standard in those type shoes....or is that due to your wear and tear?

The holes are drainage holes- better to let water out if it gets in. It seems to be a common flaw that trail runners complain of stones/debris getting in through the holes. Painful to run on!

Dory Dory wrote: »

Oh, and Happy St. Paddy's day, Kurt!!!!

And a Happy Green Day to you Dory, and may all your lucky charms be found at the top o' the mornin', begorrah!:D

Mon PM 22k bike

Including Tinahely duathlon route (19.7k) in 40:37. I assembled the TT bike this afternoon, I still need to get a bike fit as its set up all wrong. This evenings spin was just a loop to find out how the bike feels. Strange to be cornering at speed, there's a whole level of handling skills I'll need to re-aquire. My best for this loop is 38:xx, so tonights is a marker for progress over the next few months.

Dory Dory

^^^ If there are only two things I know about triathlon, they are this:

1) Swim under the watchful eye of a coach, and...
2) Get a proper bike fit from someone who is well versed in that type of bike, and who understands the purpose/sport you are riding it for.

Kurt Godel

Tue 3,500m swim

1,000m steady @ 1:46 pace
1,100m easy with tumble turns @ 1:55 pace
3*(100 ripple, 100 kick, 100 swim, 100 backkick)
200 swim down

It's amazing how quickly you lose the feel for the water. I've only been out of the pool since Thursday, but my stroke felt a lot more laboured today. Still, the first km wasn't too hard, and I'm content to have 1:46 as my cruising pace at this stage of the year. The next 1.1km featured tumble turns to varying degrees of success- tucking chin tight to knees to ensure a smaller ball when turning seemed to help. Drills to finish.

joey100

How's it going Kurt? Since you are moving closer and closer to being a swimmer I seen this and thought it might interest you

https://www.facebook.com/TheBoyneSwim

Decent distance swim and good time of year.

Kurt Godel

^I'm on the lookout for some good OW races this summer all right. If you're in them, so much the better, it's the only chance I'll have to be close to you in a race this year;)

Wed 25k bike

Including Tinahely loop in 39:51. Just goes to show how useless a TT bike is without a decent set up; todays spin was done on the road bike without aerobars, in blustery winds; yet was still faster than a couple of days ago.

Kurt Godel

Wed pm 3,100m swim

10*50 off 60sec (all in 41-45)
100m easy
3*(4*200 in 3:34, 3:21, 3:12, 3:06; 30 secs rest between each, 2 mins rest between sets)
100m swim down

The first set of 50's were just cruising pace, felt great in the water. Coach had everyone doing descending sets of 200's based on their 200 pbs (2:57 for me). I was going too fast for the first couple, and sure enough tired and missed the last fast one (3:08). I paced the everything else perfectly, and hit 3:04 and 3:02 for the last ones (arms hanging off). Tonight just felt great, I was happy with my stroke and form. Thinking of that Sun Yang 1,500 vid does wonders for the old catch.