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I'm too young for a midlife crisis
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always the way isn't it, I hope that knee is ok by tomorrow
Thankfully was able to walk on Thursday, which I was barely able to do after it happened, I lay in the middle of my living room floor where I landed for about 5 minutes in too much pain to move; fearing I'd die there and no one would miss me
Still swollen and bruised but nothing stopping the training. 
(though I did miss my Thursday morning swim)If going long CPH would be a good choice. Its the one I would go back to if I could suitably prepare for and didn't have to work.
The only real negative is the run. Its very twisty and incorporates the pretty sights of the city (and tourists) too much.
The swim is excellent. bike pretty good - while not flat and road surface not 100% its definitely not boring.
CPH has enticed me since I was doing Austria in 2015, hoped to enter for 2016 but it sold out within a couple of weeks that year and my credit card hadn't recovered from Austria at that stage so I missed out. Definitely one on my bucketlist - when I'll hit it dunno yet.No better way to make you like cycling outdoors more than spending time on the turbo!
Bizarrely...enjoying the turbo now. Zwift certainly makes it a lot easier...could do the same session without zwift and I'd struggle...amazing how having a little computer generated person to chase will make you work harder on your efforts just so you can beat them for that 2 minute split. 0 -
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Kurt.Godel wrote: »Great going from you today RQ. It’s funny reading your report of a “slow” run and bike; one would think you just got 2nd AG place in a national championship handed on a plate, rather than overtaking two to earn it in the last km! Enjoy the feeling, these days are rare enough. Kudos to you!
Can only beat who turns up and all that but 23 minute run, IMO, shouldn't be getting you on an AG podium in a national champs. I can and should have run better than that ~21 minutes would have been something I could walk away with and think 'I deserved that'. But, I said before the race that my run isn't good at the moment, and it's not. 4 weeks ago I was flying but things have just got a little stale over the last few weeks. That's fine, it'll click back in.
Looking at times of faster swimmers, yourself included, I probably couldn't have expected much more from my swim, but still. Need to focus more, especially in clear water when I have time and space to do it.
You'd hardly expect me to come away from a race happy Kurt. :pac: Always something that you could have done better, if there isn't something you could have done better, then what would be the point of the next race?
Still learning and only my second aquathlon (did one of these last year) - these are nice races..not sure I'm built for short and fast though
I'll go for first in AG next year
edit: looking at the times of some of the top girls...3rd was 22:43. Difference between a swimming background and running background there! My swim came out at 21:xx on the mat.0 -
May 14th - 20th
After the aquathlon I was going into an easy week. Was having a few issues with foot then that week...plantary...achilles...tight calves. So there was little running and there was little of anything else. Was super tired and not feeling great all week so did occur to me that perhaps I wasn't 100% of my already less than 100% on race day. A mere 4.5 hours training that week and my first rest day since January 8th that week. So it must have been bad! Lot of college work to do also with assignments due in so training wasn't exactly the main priority anyway.
May 21st - 27th
I'd already spent a lot of time thinking over whether middle distance at end of June was a good idea. Training hadn't been where I wanted it to be for a few weeks and now an injury. So emailed them and asked for a start list, if I still felt I could push the podium I'd get the head down and just get on with it. If not, I didn't feel like it was worth the journey and expense. Anyway...the following week with foot and ankle still at me I got up to 10 hours. Better and cycling and swimming were fine, still missing a bit of speed and freshness but they were better than running which was feeling stale and foot/calve still a bit tight. Though I'd been working on it.
May 28th - June 3rd
Had a half day Wednesday and day off on Thursday to finish off the college work due on Thursday. So goal was to finish it up for Wednesday and get out on the bike on Thursday. And through hell or high water that is what I did. Alas...just as running was starting to come together again and injury healed up I fell over a loose manhole cover on a water meter in the estate, literally 30 seconds after leaving my apartment and took a nasty bang. Still finished my run that night as it was only 5 miles easy anyway and I knew the adrenaline from the fall would get me through :P Last day to drop out of Sheephaven and get a refund was May 30th. So that was that decision made for me anyway.
Since then, I've struggled to run and swim
Driving now entirely comfortable and just the motion of turning at the wall was agony. Got into open water twice and the pressure of the wetsuit left me struggling to walk in wetsuit. So yeah, hasn't been great. Lots of bike time though, got out and did much of the 70.3 course, slowly, the next day with a friend who is racing it. Did ow with him that evening and getting back out of the sea was not easy. Tried running and swimming on the Friday, wasn't fun. Easy, hobbly run on Saturday and bike Saturday evening followed by another hillyish 90k bike Sunday.
June 4th - June 10th
Knees still bothering me. One grazed and infected the other soft tissue damage. So tried running a few times and while I don't think there is any injury there as such the pain moreso from the grazed knee is making me change my gait and I'm worried about giving myself an injury. Nothing to gain from hobbling slowly through runs. Only been in the pool once this week and OW once. 4 crappy runs and 4 bikes. About 9/10 hours of cycling this week finished off with 120k out to Baltinglass today and good to feel the power coming back to the bike.
Hopefully get the run and swim back on track now this week as knees heal up a bit more.
And hopefully Irish water get out and fix their cover
Not gonna lie, participation in Tyrone middle distance is on the line because I don't feel my run will be up to scratch to race. One week of good run training will turn around my confidence so hopefully this is the week.0 -
I started to write up a training log a couple of weeks ago but didn't have the heart to post it. I think because I have no big goal this year and because I'm not doing good run training, my view on where I am and how my training is going is a bit blinkered. It's no secret I love to run and my confidence in my fitness and ability lies in how well I'm running in training and how run fit I feel I am.
Since my last post, my run training has not picked up...for various reasons.
June 11th - 17th
Straight back at it..with long run Monday, sea swim and then my first run session in weeks on Tuesday. It was only 10 x 500m but thats a solid session when done right and it showed that my run is actually fine Tempoish run on Thursday (work got in the way a bit) and wasn't feeling great for long run on Friday but got that done. Had been doing a long pool swim on Saturdays back in March/April and needed to kick off regular s&c again. So to the gym with me on Saturday. Had planned to meet the Phoenix guys for a cycle on Sunday so didn't want to overdo the S&C
Did a warm up, grand. Squatting and dead lifting main thing on the menu. So did a squat warm up by squatting the bar...hmmm..thats not feeling too great. Wasn't going to do my normal weight as I wasn't doing anything regular so put on 5kg plates and did a couple of sets. Felt harder than squatting 30kg should feel. Moved to deadlift...uhhh f*ck. Back was not happy.
No deadlifting...ok sure I'll do some hip trusts they'll be grand, right. Lol yeah...couldn't lift the weight onto my hips then I couldn't get back off the floor.
But sure I got into the pool and did a 4k swim anyway :pac:
Barely slept that night as every move I made was total agony. I had already pinpointed the problem. My adductors.
Got up Sunday feeling slightly better, but not able to do much. Only had paracetemol to take in the apartment so went and got some ibuprofen (probably a bit late for the anti inflamms, but whatever).
I knew I had to do something, so lay out the yoga mat, take out the foam roller and the sliotar and onto the floor I get. Geez I really hope I can get back up...
Started on the hamstrings...can feel them loosen out...move to the adductors and almost instanly it is like someone has released their tight grip on my back. Instant. Relief.
Finished off rolling the left leg, quads, tfl, calves...and hip streches. Managed to get back off floor (woohoo) and did another couple of sets of same throughout the day.
I may have also gone for a quick cycle...but didn't get very far. God I'm such an idiot sometimes....
On reflection since, pretty sure it was created from the fall i had at the end of May. So I was not a happy bunny.
Crappy week training as the weekend was to be the biggy...some running but nothing decent...just easy running.
June 18th - 24th
Day one post "oh my god I'm in so much pain...I don't think I'll ever move again"
2 x swim, 1 x run. Foam rollers are great.
Mostly normal week of training then, could run but didn't push it and could swim fine. I moved my mid week bike to Thursday but I normally do hills and as soon as I started climbing I was in pain. So I continued to climb just to make sure I was really in pain, decided it wasn't worth continuing to go up Sally Gap as I got to viewing point and turned around and went home for more foam rolling and stretching.
I did manage to do Sally Gap on Saturday evening and 120km on Sunday...so either I'm an idiot or I was being dramatic on Thursday.
Decent week of training but only easy running and swimming for the week as I was trying to be 'sensible'
June 25th - July 1st
Again, another decent week of training. I was off work on the Friday as I'd taken it off to go to Donegal for the middle distance and had taken following Monday off when I realised weather was going to be good so had a good 4 day weekend ahead.
Normal training for the week of running too easy, swimming too easy, couple of OW swims and mid week hilly bike. The heat was making my poor running even poorer but cycling significantly more enjoyable. Got stuck doing some work over the weekend so didn't get bike done on Sunday but had been out Friday and Saturday and would be out again Monday anyway.
Had been a bit iffy with my stomach over the week too...usually get that way when it's bloody hot.
July 2nd - 8th
Longish spin up Sally Gap and down into Laragh. Had planned a longer flatter spin but time was tight and needed to get over to the folks but 85k on the hills is as good as more on the flat so.
I entered Harbourman at the last minute so plan was to take the week a little easier. Running ridiculously hard in the heat and no sessions...I'm being too soft...and just an easy bike to make sure my TT still works and quick brick run off it on Saturday.
All in all I'm still a moany feck, doing plenty of hours but doesn't feel like quality is really there in running anyway.0 -
Harbourman
Entered this literally at the last minute with an hour to go before entries closed on June 25th. When I was pulling out of Sheephaven middle, I used this race and getting my run on track for it as justification to train. I think there was 6 weeks or so to do it so all going well that should have been plenty of time to get my run in gear. Alas, as above...just not to be.
I've been getting into the sea about 2-3 times a week, I mean why wouldn't you once the water warms up and swimming has been mostly slow 30 min lunch swims with a couple of long weekend swims. So, swim confidence not overly high as I've been swimming alone in the pool and ow with a newbie so mostly just been keeping my eye on him rather than swimming fast ow.
Wasn't feeling overly motivated to race and that is mostly down to not being 'over' what happened in Italy. I don't know how to get over it, my heart just isn't in racing. Having done one race now, I realise the only way to get over it, is to get out and race. I'm getting hours done in training and my reward is to see myself improve on race day.
So, anyway...went to register on Saturday and literally otherwise spent most of the day on the couch feeling tired. With the late race start I didn't need to get fully prepped myself on Saturday evening..right? RIGHT????
So, nice lie in on Sunday morning compared to most Sundays but stomach had still been feeling a little iffy in the last few days so getting breakfast into me was not easy. I'd left everything I needed, helmet, bike, bike shoes, wetsuit in the living room on Saturday. Had no idea what time I needed to leave at and couldn't remember how early I normally arrived at triathlons (for run races I always arrive an hour before the start)...the briefing said that transition opened at 10:45 so I figured getting there for 11ish was probably about right. So I hit the road at 10:30....and what a lovely drive into Wicklow it was...till I got off the M11 and "SHYTE I didn't pack my bike shoes" :rolleyes: So, cue...driving up towards Wicklow town deciding what to do. Do I race in my runners (ugh my cycling is bad enough as it is without doing that)...try to see if anyone has a spare set (unlikely). So, there was also option C, turn back and try make it back on time (I'd be cutting it very fine...didn't know off hand what time transition closed but I figured it would be 12:30, reckoned i could just about make it).
I really wasn't feeling bothered about racing and nearly didn't set off at all, but when I realised I didn't have bike shoes, I knew I wouldn't race without them and I felt bitterly disappointed at the thoughts of not racing. That's more like it...there's something still bubbling away in there.
Got to a very mini roundabout and the car kinda turned itself around it and all of a sudden I was heading for home to get my bike shoes. Home and back on the road again for 11:40.
As I got back on the M50 traffic was much heavier than it was an hour later...crap, crap, crap. I didn't know where any of the car parks for the race where in Wicklow and I also didn't know where Wicklow Harbour and transition where. Got off the M11 again at about 12:10 or so. Found a car park. It was full, drove up by the harbour and bingo...there was two spots. Out of car, throw everything in bag, take out bike...hop on and head in the general direction of...where I had seen people walking on my way in. Going over the bridge seemed to be the correct direction to go and my sense of direction just kinda took me to the left, which was thankfully the correct direction. I saw the mount line sign up ahead and relief washed over me. 12:28 or so at this stage and I turned in towards transition...spot Kurt striding out...no time for proper greeting, transition already empty of people and full of bikes. Helmet and race number, of course at the bottom of my bag...but into transition I go and complete the quickest transition setup in the history of time (what exactly are we normally doing in there). A very nice marshall did come over to assist and double checked I had everything I needed.
Out of transition to gather for race briefing I go....annnnnnd breathe....well that was a fun start to the day.
Found some Pulse people and one of them starts telling a story about how he forgot his bike shoes and had to get his wife to meet him half way with them. Ha...I great, I'm not the only total idiot.
Swim
As I've been swimming alone and slowly, I've been a little meh about my swimming. Mostly swimming easy but concentrating quite a lot more on technique and like last summer, using paddles and pull buoy a lot.
I positioned myself just into the 25-30 pen. I mean 30 mins is 2 min 100m...so even I can do that, right?
I was so unprepared for the race and was busy settling myself during race briefing that I had no idea what the swim course actually was, but lookit I'd just follow everyone else. Be grand.
Into the water and the rolling start meant you got pretty decent clear water. Typically people over estimated their ability so there was still a bit of overtaking at the start. Around the harbour and up to buoy one. I always swim right to/under the buoy. Head up, next buoy in sight...straight ahead. Grand. Overtaking the whole way..not many people directly around me, loads off to the right. Buoy two. Swim under it as I turn...making good progress, still overtaking, can feel someone at my feet (are people really drafting off me?
) Not a lot of people around me...again loads off a good bit to the right. I look up and the next buoy right ahead of me, look up again to make sure people have turned left at it and it's not me that's going off course. Get to the next buoy, take it tight...and straight ahead.
Now I really am in clear water. Literally no one directly ahead of me, loads off to my right...someone still at my feet. Look up buoy directly ahead...look up again, yep they're turning left at that one two. Stay where I am. Breathing to my right can see I'm passing people over to the right. Just keep doing what you're doing.
Out of the water in 30 mins on watch. Swim felt a bit long so I was happy with that. It actually appears to have possibly been a couple of hundred metres 'long' so if swimming an extra 200+ metres...I'm calling that a 26:xx 1500m swim which is a pb. :pac:
Swim: 30:11 6th in AG
Out of the water before people i'd have been either behind or out of the water with last year. So I'll take that as progress (feck knows how though!)
Bike
Nothing too eventful...onto the bike and out on the course. Head down and just go.
Goal on the bike is to overtake as many women as possible. Hard to know who is in your age group or not, particularly on the bike. Overtaking straight away and trying to get in a groove. Every time I hear a bike coming "please be a guy, please be a guy, please be a guy...phew it's a guy...hey hang on come back here"
Shortly before halfway one of the guys I'd been playing cat and mouse with, passes me again, this time as part of a peloton. Off y'go now. Funny, we'd been overtaking each other here and there pretty much since the start...the last I saw of him was as I approached the turn and he was going other way. That peloton disappeared well into the distance. Pity I didn't take note of his number, would be interested to know what his bike time was.
Few more battles with some boys...letting the ones with noisy rear wheels overtake me...competing with those on road bikes
Bike 1:18:02 6th in AG
42k bike so that is an improvement...and gauging against others closing the gap on and beating people who'd have been faster than me on the bike last year.
Run
Run is normally my favourite and normally the one where I feel confident and start overtaking people in hordes...and in races last year where I ran myself into better AG placings. Not to be today. I don't deal well in heat, no Irish person does but I think I'm worse :P Apart from that, my run has been terrible lately but I still figured I could run a good 47 minutes or so (was 44 mins off the bike in CK last year)
This was dreadful, from start to finish. Between poor running lately and the heat, this was always going to be absolutely awful. A real, slog. I'm not sure now if it was physical or psychological as there is still plenty of speed and speed endurance there and legs weren't particularly tired after bike.
I think I let the heat get to my head a lot and had given in on the run long before the race even started.
Run - 52:11 10th in AG
Embarrassingly poor run, I would have expected to move up a couple of places on the run but it just didn't come together. First tri of the season too so tried not to be too hard on myself but always going to be disappointing for me to run poorly when I know I can do so much better off the bike...that and I'm not used to losing places on the run. Finished 8th overall in AG which is poor, I knew I wasn't in the right place to get AG podium but I still thought 5th or 6th at worst which as it turns out, was a fairly accurate estimation had I not run like total crap. 4 minutes faster in the run would have had me 5th...and Carolyn Hayes is back in my AG this year, the fecker.
Swim has improved, bike has improved and my run will sort itself out with a couple of weeks good run training.
Great race and in RQ style, not without its pre-race drama.
Definitely have the buzz to race back after that as swim and bike were a confidence boost and I know my run will be grand. So, while Tyrone was off the table on Saturday, it is now back in sight. Will see how the run goes between now and then. May enter Belfast or Carlingford...and maybe CK but I'd wanna be super lucky to make it to CK two years in a row!0 -
RacoonQueen wrote: »So, while Tyrone was off the table on Saturday, it is now back in sight.
So yeah, I should have just not gone. :rolleyes:
Was feeling ok about the race going up, weather was grand when we arrived. Drizzling a bit here and there. Water was nice and warm in the lake though a lot of people seemed to have a slowish swim.
Out on to the bike and it was raining a bit...to the first 180 degree turn and straight in to a headwind, knowing you've to go up here three times, crap it's going to be a long day. Only at 9k at this stage, wasn't long before the weather started to turn really, really nasty. Wind, torrential rain, hailstones. By 20k I was frozen and starting to think they were going to have to pull this bike course.
I was cold enough and miserable enough that I was going to pull up and head for home at the end of lap one. I felt like I had nothing in the tank and was going nowhere fast, really I just thought I was being a pussy and told myself to toughen up, just go out on lap 2 and at least get a training day out of it. In hindsight, I was already in trouble by 30k and should have turned home. But the stubborn, toughen up attitude we all have kept me going. And on to lap 2 I went.
Most of the lap is an out and back with a turn off for getting to/from transition back at the lake. So had another chance to take it after embarking on lap 2 and I did think about it but my legs kept carrying me forward.
On lap two I deteriorated quickly. I was too cold to get fuel into me and my pace was dropping. I was seeing people who would normally be nowhere near me get closer and then passing me. I was starting to notice the roads were quiet, you couldn't see anyone up ahead there wasn't anyone on the other side..where was everyone? (back at camp evidently).
I was coming up behind a cyclist I wasn't sure was in the race till I got close to him as we approached the bridge we were cycling under...I wasn't sure whether to move out and overtake as he was a bit far out on the road...but I did...and speed picked up to A) overtake and
it was on a downhill. Seconds after I overtook. Bam. Down I went. No idea what happened all I remember is rolling over about 6 times and thinking ''jaysus when am I going to stop"
I did stop eventually, got onto my knees and sat there for a few seconds contemplating the bad choices I make in life :pac:
Got myself up and realised I and my bike where covered in blood. Got the bike to the side of the road (and nearly took out another cyclist in the process..though they really should have shouted earlier they could see me picking myself up from the road, of course I'd be disorientated)
Went back out to pick up the bottle in the middle of the road. And stood at the side of the road trying to figure out how the **** I was going to get back to base. Chain was off the bike, bars were knocked to the side, my hands were numb and I was pouring blood. So I couldn't even get the bike back into a condition that I could roll myself to a marshall. Walked up a bit with the bike and realised I couldn't go anymore I'd have to wait at the side and hope a race car came soon. Had seen a lot of cyclists been tended to and had passed a motorcycle marshall going in opposite direction shortly before so all I could do was wait. It wasn't long before a car going the other way stuck on their hazards and stopped, looked over at me to ask what was wrong and I just lifted my bloody arm in the air.
Two police offers got out, patched me up, threw a foil blanket around me and hailed another police car to wait with my bike till it was picked up while they brought me back. They told me on the way back that it was bad back there...but I had no idea how bad.
Jesus Christ it was like a warzone. There were loads of people already back, some now warm and in dry clothes, with probably over two dozen wrapped in foil blankets and towels being tended to by an army of volunteers. I had one paramedic cleaning my wounds while clubmates and volunteers wrapped me with towels, tried to get body heat into me, tried getting wet clothes off me and dry clothes on me, and tried getting warm water into me. Jesus it was some sight :pac:
Took some time to stop shivering and get myself able to get up and get out of the rest of my wet clothes and clean myself up a bit more. There was a constant flow of people coming in covered in foil blankets to join the warzone.
Honestly, never seen anything like it. Absolutely insane.
A lot of people bailed on lap one of the bike. Some chose to bail on lap two, but eventually they cut the bike course and wouldn't let people out on lap 3. Some people had to be physically removed from their bike and be told they were not allowed continue on because they were not capable of making that decision for themselves.
Those who finished the bike and got onto the run were ok as they warmed up while running, some who did two laps of bike were allowed out on the run, some who did 3 laps of bike weren't allowed out on run. Probably seems like a lack of consistency but TI / marshalls probably made decisions on an individual basis depending on the condition of each person coming in.
The PSNI, marshalls, medical team, supporters etc all did an incredible job to deal with what was thrown at them. With recovered athletes going on to help out the next batch of casualties. Mad scenes altogether. 87 finishers out of 211 starters tells its own story...and top of the mournes which was starting in the afternoon was called off completely. Just a mad weather day that you can't prepare for.
My arms took the brunt of the damage for me. I was probably doing about 45kph when I went down as it was downhill. My left arm was bleeding badly but they can't stitch where I was cut apparently so it's just patched up until it heals. Some grazes and swelling on my left arm, few grazes on my hands...small fracture in my left hand...swollen left hand and thighs covered in bruises. Shoulders and chest a bit achy probably from the jolting as I tumbled but otherwise I'm ok. Just a few scratches like. :pac: The surface water saved me from road rash.
More importantly, bike frame seems to be ok. The bars took the brunt of the damage, they can be replaced anyway if needs be but will get an expert eye thrown over the bike anyway. Broken bones can heal themselves but broken carbon can't, so I'm happy Mike the bike seems to be doing ok. 0 -
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No damage to that pretty face, sounds like a good result
There’s good luck, bad luck, and that special crazy kind of RQ luck. You lived to tell the tale (and it’s a helluva tale!), being selfish it makes for a good read heal well little raccoon. 0 -
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Horrendous luck once again, but at least you've another good story to tell.:pac:Kurt.Godel wrote: »No damage to that pretty face, sounds like a good result
There’s good luck, bad luck, and that special crazy kind of RQ luck. You lived to tell the tale (and it’s a helluva tale!), being selfish it makes for a good read heal well little raccoon.Wow that sounds seriously crazy :eek::eek: makes for a good story but not so much fun for you!! heal quickly and hope the bike is a quick fix
Exactly. I mean, I feel like I owe it to people at this stage to at least make things entertaining.
And it was over 5 years since I last fell off my bike, so this was well overdue.0 -
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RacoonQueen wrote: »Ah it's grand thanks. Swelling on hand has gone down significantly and fingers looking all pretty as different colours. Legs are going yellow too so all healing up nicely. Be back on the bike by Friday I hope
LOL your flying then:D 0 -
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