I Am the Master of My Fate

zico10

gerfmurphy wrote: »

Friday swim went ok for me. Looking at 32x50 I would try to be conservative on pacing as Im still learning.
You seemed to swim more fluid and faster than usual. Your times were consistently on target without stress. I did think at the time ,it was as well as I have seen you swim.

Hey, I didn't realise you posted here. I only thought you weren't having the best of nights, based on the fact that I actually felt the benefit of swimming behind you. Usually you pull so far ahead of me, the draft is gone. I was happy with the consistency I showed on Friday night. It became easier as the 50s progressed, and I seemed to be just hitting the times automatically. One thing doing it over a broken set of 50s though, how well I will be able to dial into that pace for a race, will be the ultimate test.

RacoonQueen

Good racing tonight A. Well done!

gerfmurphy

no much of a poster here but it s interesting to see how much training you can, 1 withstand and 2, fit in!

to clarify my comment above, I noticed you "less splashy" if that makes any sense and you seemed relaxed hitting the wall at the end.
45 for mutiple 50mts is good going and off 50s is a fair effort. you seemed to be well within a comfortable pace.
good luck for the season ahead, you deserve anything and everything you achieve, your commitment is epic

zico10

I’d the week off work, so I got more rest and ramped up the cycling.

Monday 2nd May
a.m.
Run

10km easy in 53:27, 5:21/km

Totals: 1.0hrs – 10.0km

p.m.
Cycle
Return trip to and from NAC
Totals: 1.0hrs – 28.0km

Swim
50m pool

200m warm up
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:44, 1:42, 1:42, 1:42, 1:42)
1 minute rest,
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:40, 1:40, 1:40, 1:40, 1:41)
1 minute rest,
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:42, 1:42, 1:42, 1:41, 1:40)
1 minute rest,
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:42, 1:45 (cramping), 1:43, 1:44, 1:41)
200m easy

This was a test set Peter emailed me, to compare two wetsuits this week. He recommended I do it the day before in my trunks. As it was a bank holiday, my regular Monday night club swim was cancelled, so it was ideal to have something definite to do in its place. Overall the 2,000m at IM pace was done in 34:12, which works out at 1:42/100m. I’m happy enough with this in a LC pool. Holding this for 3.8km would have me 4 minutes outside my target of sub 60 minutes, but I’d be hopeful a wetsuit would compensate for the difference.
Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,400m

S & C

30 minutes

Totals: 0.5hrs – n/a


Tuesday 3rd May
a.m.
Swim
Wetsuit testing, 50m pool

100m warm up
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:28, 1:30, 1:33 (didn’t press button on time), 1:31, 1:30)
1 minute rest,
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:27, 1:28, 1:29, 1:29, 1:29)
Change of wetsuit (took nearly 20 minutes)
5*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:28, 1:29, 1:31, 1:31, 1:31)
1 minute rest,
4*100m IM effort, w. 15’ rest, (1:30, 1:31, 1:31, 1:30)

I swam the first two sets of 100s in my Zerod Vanguard wetsuit and the second two in a Roka suit (forget the exact model) I borrowed from Peter. My times followed the same pattern I swam yesterday in my togs, which seems to suggest that both suits are just as fast as each other. After struggling to put the Roka on for 20 minutes, I didn’t have it on properly . It also felt very tight and after getting Peter to look at it on me a few days later, I strongly suspect a proper fitting Roka might be faster than my Zerod. One thing about it, is I didn’t notice any water entering the suit when I pushed off the wall. This was not the case with my Zerod.
Apart from those observations, I was happy with the times I swam; 1.9km in 28:39. Multiply it by 2 and I’d have my sub 60 IM swim. Granted, it wasn’t continuous, but I don’t think I would have managed it last year. I’ve still time to improve, so despite what I preceive to have been a recent dip in form, I’m looking forward with optimism to how my swimming will progress over the next few months.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 2,000m

p.m.
Cycle

87.42km in 3:06:12, 28.1km/hr, 301m ascent

My TT bike is out of comission at the moment and I did this on my road bike. It’s an aluminium frame and pretty bog standard, but If I do any draft legal races in the summer, this is all I’ll have to race on. I was only cycling at a steady effort throughout, but an average pace of 28kph is some way off what I’d expect to hold on my TT bike. I’m going to be stuck racing the duathlon tomorrow on the same bike, so I think it is essential I put on tri bars before I do. I plan to buy draft legal ones and this change should make riding my road bike fast a bit easier.
Totals: 3.0hrs – 87.41km


Wednesday 4th May
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

500m w. pull buoy & snorkel,
6*50m fs off 60’ (44’ – 46’),
500m w. pull buoy & snorkel,
6*50m pull off 60’ (?),
500m w. pull buoy & snorkel,
6*50m fs off 60’ (44’ – 46’)

Looking at my times, I suspect I wore buoyancy shorts for this. I haven’t noted it in my diary though, but with a race later this evening, I suspect it’s more likely than not.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 2,400m

Run

1 hour steady w. 4 x 30’ strides

Totals: 1.0hrs – 12.23km

p.m.
Race
Belpark Duathlon

Warm up: 1km run with some strides
Run 1: 08:16 (3:18/km)
T1: 00:24 (joint quickest time)
Cycle: 22:07 (32.5km/hr)
T2: 00:26 (8 seconds slower than the quickest time)
Run 2: 08:33 (3:25/km)
Cool down: 2.5km run

I did this on my road my bike, with short draft legal tri bars I only put on just before the race. The race wheel I was using had a 10 speed cassette, which wasn’t compatible with the 9 speed chain I had on my bike. This meant there were some gears I wasn’t able to use in the race and it undoubtedly had an impact on my performance. It didn’t feel like the best race I’ve ever done, but still, I finished in 3rd and managed to make the podium. This didn’t have me leaping for joy, but it was somewhat pleasing.
Totals;
Run: 0.5hrs – 8.5km
Bike: 0.5hrs – 12.0km


Thursday 5th April
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session
I’ve no notes for this, but I remember feeling unusually tired and I used the pull bouy quite a bit.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,800m

p.m.
Cycle

2½ hours steady w. 3 sets of {5 x (30’ max effort & 30 recovery)}

I absolutely busted my balls for the max efforts, something I seldom do on the bike. I was probably going too hard in truth, as it was an effort I wasn’t able to sustain for the full 30 seconds and my powere was trailing off from 24/25 seconds onwards., It’s a different approach to cycling I’m trying out and it felt like a quality work.
Totals: 2.5hrs – 78.64km


Friday 6th May
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
I drove down to Kenmare for a change of scenery and to get some practise descending, on what I’m told are the best hairpin bends in the country. I’d non training sh!t to do in the morning and travelling down to Kenmare took up most of my afternoon. There were only 4 hours of daylight remaining when I arrived. With so little time to play with, I had to cancel a long cycle I had planned and did the below instead.

Cycle

45 minutes w. 10 minute IM effort

Totals: 1.0hrs – 27.19km

Run

19.35km in 1:30:02, 4:39/km

I started off slowly, got a bit faster, then slowed down again. I’d none of this planned and on reflection, I think it had as much to do with the terrain down in Kenmare as my energy levels.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 19.35km


Saturday 7th May
Cycle
The plan today was to get in some practice descending on the hairpin bends on the Healy Pass. Hopefully this would turn out to be multiple times, but whatever this number turned out to be, was very much dependent on how quickly I made it to the top of The Healy Pass from Kenmare. I descended it 5 times in total, but decided after the second descent, that it was a waste of time continuing too far beyond some random bridge. So only the final 3 are worth reflecting on. The roads were wet, so I was that bit more nervous. I got faster as they went on, but when I see my time compared to others on Strava, there is still huge room for improvement. Also there’s the small matter, that I’ll be on my TT bike for the race proper in September.

a) 3.26km in 5:48, 33.7km/hr avg.
b) 3.26km in 5:38, 34.6km/hr avg.
c) 3.26km in 5:39, 34.6km/hr avg.

Totals: 4.5hrs – 97.36km


Sunday 8th May
Cycle

84.08km in 2:59:17, 28.1km/hr, 833m ascent

I planned to cycle the route used in The Lost Sheep. I took a wrong turn and ended up on a lumpy coastal road, before rejoining the route proper. I ended up with a Strava record on this segement though, so it wasn’t all bad. I was holding good speed up until the bottom of the Healy Pass, then I gradually slowed down until reaching the descent off the Caha Pass. I increased my effort to IM intensity from here. I held between 37-38km/hr for the last 20 minutes, but it has to be agknowledged that both the wind and gradient were in my favour for this part.
Totals: 3.0hrs – 84.08km

Run

1 hour 16 minutes, broken down as 1) 19 minutes at IM pace, 2) 38 minutes steady & 3) final 19 minutes at IM pace,
1) 4.63km in 19:01, 4:06/km, 2) 8.26km in 37:59, 3) 4.57km in 19:00, 4:09/km

This was ran on a hilly route and because I was determined to run the IM paced segments at <4:15/km throughout, some parts of the IM efforts were harder than others. The wind was with me on the way back, and I expected the final 19 minutes would have been quicker than the opening 19 minutes, which wasn’t the case unfortunately. It was at the end of a hard week’s training though and I was still comfortably under my desired IM pace. Nothing to worry about I hope.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 17.46/km


Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.5hrs – 10,600m
Bike: 15.5hrs – 414.67km
Run: 5.5hrs – 67.54km
Other: 0.5hrs

I found this a tough week and I was tired at the end of it. A scheduled recovery week, which I am currently in the middle of, has been most welcome.

Kurt_Godel

That's a bloody huge difference between skins/suit times! Suggests you have big gains to make in your pool times with better position (if you wanted, but not much point for Tri I guess). You must be very happy with that comparison test.

zico10

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

That's a bloody huge difference between skins/suit times!

Is it? What would you have expected? Or what would it be for you?

Suggests you have big gains to make in your pool times with better position (if you wanted, but not much point for Tri I guess).

I've had to race 3.8k before without a wetsuit, and if I ever get to Kona, there certainly would be some point to it.

You must be very happy with that comparison than test.

'Very happy'? I thought you knew me better that?

Kurt_Godel

No idea what I'd do, but I'd not expect much more than a 5sec difference per 100m pace. 12/13sec consistent difference is massive at 1:30 pace level, and would suggest huge pool gains waiting from improved streamline position. What would you do a similar set with just pb?

Seeing those wetsuit times vindicates all the effort you put into the pool this past year.

joey100

Well done on the wetsuit swim Zico, they are some nice times to be hitting.

How did you find the duathlon? My first time watching it, never raced it and from where I was watching it looked very busy on the bike. I said it on the other thread but it should probably go draft legal or look at the course, how was it for the rest of the route?

Any decision made on your Ironman race yet? I'd take it from your descending practice that Majorca is probably the main one?

zico10

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

No idea what I'd do, but I'd not expect much more than a 5sec difference per 100m pace. 12/13sec consistent difference is massive at 1:30 pace level, and would suggest huge pool gains waiting from improved streamline position. What would you do a similar set with just pb?

Seeing those wetsuit times vindicates all the effort you put into the pool this past year.

I'd expect to be 2/3 seconds quicker per 100m with a pull buoy. Compare this to when I swim in my wetsuit; I've even greater buoyancy, I can kick once more, and there's far less drag with the suit on, then the 12 second difference becomes more explicable. Don't get me wrong it was pleasing to see it, but I don't think the improvement is all that huge, or should it be all that surprising.

I certainly could, perhaps should, have been faster at some races I did last year. Given my pool times though, I never thought I had a totally disastrous swim in any of the races. My pool times frustrate me, not because they mean I'm a much poorer pool swimmer than I am in my wetsuit, but because they signify I'm a poor swimmer full stop. I know if I improve in the pool, I'll improve in the open water as well. I might not improve by as much, but any improvement in the pool, is hardly going to slow me down in a wetsuit.

Now at the risk of sounding conceited, the ultimate vindication of the swim volume I did/do, is how I followed up any triathlon swim I did last year, with a fast bike, followed by a fast run. There weren't too many people, in any of the races I did in Ireland, who did it better than me. That more than my pool times, is tremendous motivation to just stick to my guns when it comes to my swim training.

zico10

joey100 wrote: »

Well done on the wetsuit swim Zico, they are some nice times to be hitting.

How did you find the duathlon? My first time watching it, never raced it and from where I was watching it looked very busy on the bike. I said it on the other thread but it should probably go draft legal or look at the course, how was it for the rest of the route?

Any decision made on your Ironman race yet? I'd take it from your descending practice that Majorca is probably the main one?

If the time equate to a sub 60 IM swim, whenever or wherever it happens, this year, then they'll mean something. As it is, they are just an indicator that I'm moving in the right direction.

I never felt like I was in the zone for the duathlon, and on another day I might have placed higher. It was obvious from the start that Cian O' Reilly was going to run away with it. 2nd place was far more realistic, but once Wiiliam Byrne went by me, it was his to lose. I was confident I'd run faster than him off the bike, but I couldn't keep the gap he had opened up on me, in anyway manageable. It was only a Mickey Mouse race, and when I discovered what the prizes were, I was even less upset about missing out on 2nd.

On turning it into a draft legal race, I'm not so sure. A lot of the participants are beginners and turning it into a draft legal race, would probably put a lot of those people off. Being honest, on a technical course, like the Phoenix Park,a draft legal would put me off as well. There's a world of difference between drafting in what is 'technically' a draft illegal race, and the bunch riding that can take place in a draft legal race.
Where you were standing, was just after the cyclists had come up the Khyber. There was inevitably going to be bunching coming up the hill, to expect the bunches to have broken up within 30 metres, isn't being realistic. Admittedly there were other places on the course, where people weren't staying the proper distance back from the bike in front, but quite honestly, they weren't looking to win the race. Referees only need to be heavy handed with the front of the field. Much like testing the 2,000th finisher in an IM for doping, what would be the point in targetting these cyclists for violating the drafting rules? Just let them off, I say. I wasn't drafting, William Byrne wasn't drafting, I never saw Cian O'Reilly on the bike, but who the hell could he have been drafting? After that, I couldn't care less what anybody else was doing.

It is a good race, and if you were considering it yourself, I wouldn't be put off by the bunches you saw. If you start in wave 1, which you will, the first two laps of the cycle will be clear. There were more bikes on the 3rd lap, but most of the cyclists have the manners to move over if you give them a shout that you're passing.

Nothing committed to on the IM front, but it's looking more and more likely it is going to be Mallorca. I'm only really thinking of reasons not to enter at this point, and they are proving harder and harder to find.

rodneyr1981

I see your name is down for the cutra HIM next week.
Have you this penciled as a focus race or a tester to see where you are at?

zico10

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

I see your name is down for the cutra HIM next week.
Have you this penciled as a focus race or a tester to see where you are at?

Similar to last year, I'd like to do well in the race. I'll alter my training somewhat in the few days before the race, but there'll be no long build up to it.
I'm doing it primarily because it's one of the few half distance races on the calendar, rather than as a tester. Having said that, I've seen enough names on the start list, to know I'll be able to use the race as a gauge of where I'm at. Whatever happens though, it's not going to define my season and normal training will resume the week after.

BTH

zico10 wrote: »

Similar to last year, I'd like to do well in the race. I'll alter my training somewhat in the few days before the race, but there'll be no long build up to it.
I'm doing it primarily because it's one of the few half distance races on the calendar, rather than as a tester. Having said that, I've seen enough names on the start list, to know I'll be able to use the race as a gauge of where I'm at. Whatever happens though, it's not going to define my season and normal training will resume the week after.

How much do you expect to beat me by?

I'll have maybe two minutes out of the water, so you'll pass me in the first 20k of the bike.....

zico10

BTH wrote: »

so you'll pass me in the first 20k of the bike.....cycling at 40 rpm.

:pac:

Hopefully, I'll better last year's time of 4:31:28. If you can tell me what time you'll do, I might be able to answer your question.

BTH

zico10 wrote: »

:pac:

Hopefully, I'll better last year's time of 4:31:28. If you can tell me what time you'll do, I might be able to answer your question.

At least 15minutes. A hell of a lot more if I cycle at 40rpm!!

zico10

Monday 9th May
a.m.
Rest

p.m.
Swim
50m pool

50m easy
4*200m desc. 1-4 w. 10’ rest,
12*50m off 70’, target 44-45 seconds, I missed my target for a few of the early 50s, but I started hitting 43-44 seconds as the set progressed.
50m easy,
4*100m off 2:00, target 1:35 (1:35, 1:37, 1:40, 1:37), I was starting to struggle and began to worry about what else was coming up.
2 sets of {2*100m off 1:35 & 4*50m off 60’}

I hit both target times of 1:35 for the first 2*100m, but only for the first 100m of the second set. I was working like a mother*cker and it would have been nice to hit all four targets, but after missing softer times on the earlier set of 4*100s, I was relieved to have finished the session with some bit of pride restored.
Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,825m


Tuesday 10th May
a.m.
Run

45 minutes easy

Totals: 1.0hrs – 8.6m

p.m.
S & C

30 minutes

Totals: 0.5hrs – n/a

Swim
25m pool

200m pull,
4*50m building over each 25, w. 5’ rest,
6*100m fast w. 5 rest (1:39-1:40),
50m easy,
6*75m fast w. 5 rest,
50m easy,
6*50m fast w. 5 rest,
50m easy,
5*100m pull fast w. 5 rest (1:39-1:40),
50m easy,
5*75m pull fast w. 5 rest, (?)
50m easy,
5*50m pull fast w. 5 rest, (46’49’),
25m easy

This wasn’t a great session and using a pull buoy for the second half, wasn’t my original plan. I ate way too much crap today and felt sick and bloated in the water.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 3,200m


Wednesday 11th May
a.m.
Cycle

Commute to work

Totals: 0.5hrs – 17.0km

p.m.
Cycle

Commute home

Totals: 0.5hrs – 17.0km

Swim
OW, High Rock, Portmarnock

I spent about 25 minutes in the water. The first few were just spent bobbing about and hyperventilating. After I got used to the cold, I started to swim. It took a while longer, for face freeze to pass. There were three others with me, which made getting into the sea, in the first place, that bit easier. The only objective to this swim, was to get in, get cold and get out again. The water wasn’t as cold as I remember it being on my maiden dip last year and I’m glad to have this annual shock to the system out of the way. The plan from now until the end of September is to get into the open water once a week. I’m considering entering some of the Leinster OW swims over the summer and doing some of these as my weekly swim. Kurt, I’ve no plans to do any of them in my skins, in case you’re wondering.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 800m


Thursday 12th April
a.m.
Swim
25m pool,

250m warm up,
{400m with parachute, 200m fs moderate effort, 100m fast} x 4

We had no coach on deck, so I just treated this as a recovery session.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,050m

p.m.
Run

21.11km in 1:44:47, 4:58/km

Most of this was ran along The Royal Canal Way. I wasn’t sure what to do when I started, other than to keep the pace nice and relaxed. I ended up running 2.11km, just to get the half marathon distance done.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 21.11km


Friday 13th May
a.m.
Rest

p.m.
S & C

30 minutes

Totals: 0.5hrs – n/a

Swim
50m pool

400m pull w. snorkel,
4*100m fast w. 3 seconds rest (1:39-1:42),
400m pull w. snorkel,
4*100m fast off 2:20 (1:38-1:40) I breathed solely to my left for the 100, in which I swam 1:38. When breathing every two strokes, I invariably chose to breathe to my right. This feels far more comfortable and I find things start to get frantic when I switch sides. I worked harder to hit the 1:38, but it makes me wonder should I try get more comfortable breathing to my left, and maybe I’ll automatically swim 1 or 2 seconds quicker per 100m.
200m easy

Totals: 0.5hrs – 1,800m


Saturday 14th May
Cycle
I went from Ratoath to the Phoenix Park, stopped awhile, went to the NAC, swam there, and finally returned to Ratoath.
Totals: 2.0hrs – 42.7km

Swim
25m pool

6*50m off 30’, (18’ for first, approx. 20’ for the rest)
4*100m off 2:00, desc. 1- 4 (1:42, 1:37, 1:32, 1:27)
3*50m off 60’, target 45’ (43’-44’)
100m easy,
20*100m off 2:05, alternating 200m pull/200m fs w. every second 100 fast, The fast 100s were coming in between 1:31-1:33, both for the fs and pull. The similar times were due to the fact that I was working harder for the fs, not because I’ve suddenly improved my kick.
200m easy,
4*50m fs off 60’ (45-46),
4*50m pull (44’ approximately), I started to get sloppy during the previous set, and used a pull buoy to finish out the session.
100m easy

Totals: 1.5hrs – 4,050m

Cycle

2½ hours easy

Totals: 2.5hrs – 57.0km


Sunday 15th May
Cycle

198.96km in 7:06:45, 28.0km/hr, 706m ascent

I took it nice and easy throughout this cycle. I never strayed too far from the Trim-Ratoath Road and propbbably stayed within the borders of County Meath for the 7 hours. I took one long coffee break, during which I gorged myself on cake and ice cream.
Totals: 7.0hrs – 198.96km

Run

6km easy, 5:03/km

Totals: 0.5hrs – 6.01km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.0hrs – 15,725m
Bike: 12.5hrs – 330.66km
Run: 3.0hrs – 35.72km
Other: 1.0hrs

I found it hard to work up the motivation for quite a few sessions this week, which I’m putting down to the more unstructured nature of a recovery week, than anything else.

RJM85

zico10 wrote: »

I found it hard to work up the motivation for quite a few sessions this week, which I’m putting down to the more unstructured nature of a recovery week, than anything else.

During rec weeks I like to refer to this as "listening to my body". Whether it is or not is a different thing altogether.

Kurt_Godel

zico10 wrote: »

Swim
I’m considering entering some of the Leinster OW swims over the summer and doing some of these as my weekly swim. Kurt, I’ve no plans to do any of them in my skins, in case you’re wondering.
[

Zico you are one of the most determined, unswerving, resolute individuals I know.
All qualities you can draw upon when the togged OW swimmers are mocking the lone jessie triathlete

(But seriously this is the best idea, the Leinster OW races will improve your Tri races no end)

zico10

RJM85 wrote: »

During rec weeks I like to refer to this as "listening to my body". Whether it is or not is a different thing altogether.

I think the problem started on Sunday evening, as soon I finished my final session. Usually, the whole grind starts again at 6 a.m. on Monday. This time though, I bought myself one of those big f*ck off Cornettos and told myself, I had an easy week coming up. This set the tone for the next seven days. It's hard to get out of that mindset, once it's taken root.

RJM85

zico10 wrote: »

I think the problem started on Sunday evening, as soon I finished my final session. Usually, the whole grind starts again at 6 a.m. on Monday. This time though, I bought myself one of those big f*ck off Cornettos and told myself, I had an easy week coming up. This set the tone for the next seven days. It's hard to get out of that mindset, once it's taken root.

Replace cornetto with peanut butter magnum, and yeah...

zico10

Monday 16th May
a.m.
S & C

30 minutes

Totals: 1.0hrs – n/a

p.m.
Run

12.0km in 56:25, 4:42/km

I ran around the NAC campus, a place I’ve never explored before. It’s a lot bigger than I realized. It was mostly on grass and it was a lovely day, but the pollen count was bugging me.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 12.0km

Cycle
This was a return trip from the NAC to Belvedere Pool, for a club swim session in the latter.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 25.25km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

15*100m off 2:00, descending 1-3 five times; I was late for the session and missed the first five of these. Each set of 3*100m was typically swam in (1:37, 1:32, 1:28), with the fastest time I managed being 1:27.
100m easy
4 sets of {4*50m off 50’}, extra 30 seconds rest between each set;

The objective for the above 4 sets of 4*50m, was just to make the times. I only made the time for the first 50m in the first set, and then I used a pull buoy for the two middle sets. This enabled me to bring all four 50s in each set, in on time. This gave me the confidence to ditch the pull buoy and swim the last set as fs and thankfully, I managed to hit my targets for these final four 50s as well.

6*25m as 25 easy/25 sprint

There were only three of them, but I felt like I was moving well for the sprints. The lead swimmer in our lane switched lanes and was swimming beside me for these. Being out front for 50 minutes, obviously had him tired, but I was matching pace with him and it was confidence boosting touching the wall right at the same time as a faster swimmer.

50m cool down

Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,150m


Tuesday 17th May
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo

12:00 steady,
10 x {1:00 40km TT effort & 1:00 steady},
28:00 steady

I hadn’t been on my turbo in a while and I found this much tougher than being out on the road.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 33.25km

p.m.
Swim
OW, Bull Wall

This was a club meet up and I spent about 20 minutes in the water. Things were fine when I got in and I was hoping I’d manage half an hour in the water today, but I was starting to feel cold and got out early as a precaution.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 750m

Run

8.0km @ average pace of 4:33/km

I ran along the sea front in Clontarf after the earlier club swim. The goal was to keep the pace between 4:30-4:40/km. My fastest kilometre split was 4:29, with the slowest being 4:36.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 8.0km


Wednesday 18th May
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

2*250m max effort,
100m easy,
500m max effort

I’d planned a much different warm up, but I knew the guy I got into the lane with and copied what he was doing instead. He’s a much faster swimmer than me and I was only able to stick with him for 50m. After his first turn, I lost his feet and any drafting benefit was completely gone after 100m. I was already gone into the red at this stage and from here it was just a case of hanging on until each effort was over. It was a real eye opener of how far off fast swimmers I am, but it served as good race preparation.

400m pull steady effort,
9*200m off 3:45, desc. 1-3, 5-6 & 7-9 (3:37, 3:32, 3:28)

Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,300m

p.m.
Cycle
Turbo

1 hour 55 minutes steady w. 2 sets of {5 x 30 second sprints}

I was tiring towards the end of this and seemed to be losing power with each pedal stroke.
Totals: 2.0hrs – 64.0km


Thursday 19th May
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

150m warm up,
4*100m as 12.5 fast/12.5 easy,
500m drills,
1,500m HIM effort in 26:10, 1:45/100m
200m easy,
6*25m spints,
6*25m mass start sprints,
100m cool down

Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,150m

p.m.
Cycle
Return trip from Ratoath to club run session in Dunboyne. The cycle out was done at more of an effort, and was supposed to serve as a warm up to the run session.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 29.0km

Run
Club Session, 15 x {1 minute hard & 1 minute recovery}

1.6km warm up,
8.98km in 39:51;
Average pace for each effort; 1) 3:27/km, 2) 3:37/km, 3) 3:18/km, 4) 3:35/km, 5) 3:32/km, 6) 3:25/km, 7) 3:32/km, 8) 3:28/km, 9) 3:27/km, 10) 3:25/km, 11) 3:35/km, 12) 3:36/km, 13) 3:30/km, 14) 3:33/km, 15) 3:27/km
2.2km cool down

We were running this in a field, in Dunboyne, which is used for cross country races. It was impossible to expect us to keep a similar pace over each of the efforts, so instead we were told to concentrate on keeping the intensity the same. It’s hard to tell with any certainty, but I feel I managed this.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 10.58km


Friday 20th May
a.m.
Rest

p.m.
Run

24.78km in 1:50:01, 4:26/km
1) Target pace: 4:35-4:40/km; 4.78km in 22:01, 4:36/km,
2) Target pace: 4:30-4:35/km; 4.84km in 21:59, 4:33/km,
3) Target pace: 4:25-4:30/km; 4.95km in 22:00, 4:27/km,
4) Target pace: 4:20-4:25/km; 5.05km in 21:59, 4:21/km,
5) Target pace: <4:20/km; 5.15km in 21:59, 4:16/km

My plan today was to do a 1 hour 50 minute run broken into five 22 minute segments, with the pace increasing from an initial 4:45/km down to 4:20/km by the end. I was running along by the Royal Canal, so it was all flat and this helped me manage the pacing. Overall, I was happy with how the run went and I always felt like I was in control of the pace.
Totals: 2.0hrs – 24.78km

S & C

30 minutes

Totals: 0.5hrs – n/a


Saturday 21st May
Cycle
Long cycle w. three 20 minute IM efforts;

143.56km in 5:16:41, 27.2km/hr, 1,071m climbing,
Average speed for IM efforts; 1) 34.2km/hr, (passed through two villages and caught out in a very heavy downpour), 2) 31.6km/hr (into headwind), 3) 36.2km/hr (gradient and wind both in my favour until final 4 minutes)

For a bit of variety, I drove up to Clogherhead and cycled around the Cooley Peninsula. There were heavy showers early on, but I dried off and for the most part, it was a pleasant enough day’s cycling. It went on a bit longer than I had planned though, and I was cutting it fine to leave myself with enough time to fit in a run off the bike.
Totals: 5.5hrs – 143.56km

Run
30 minutes at IM pace; <4:15/km

7.24km in 30:04, 4:09/km, 114m elevation gain
Kilometer splits: 1) 4:14, 2) 4:08, 3) 4:05, 4) 4:09, 5) 4:16, 6) 4:09, 7) 4:11, 8) 240m @ 3:38km

I had parked down at the pier in Clogherhead, which meant I had a right b@stard of an uphill start to this run. I just about managed to complete the initial kilometre in less than 4:15, but it things became easier after this.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 7.24km


Sunday 22nd May
a.m.
Swim
25m pool

3,800m pull in 1:08:22, 1:48/100m

This wasn’t a race paced effort as such, but at the same time I looked at the clock every 100m, just to make sure I was consistent with my pacing.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,800m

p.m.
Cycle
1 hour w. 20 minutes @ IM pace

35.18km in 1:11:01, 27.7km/hr avg., 94m ascent,
IM effort; 12.32km in 20:02, 36.96km/hr (with a tail wind)

Totals: 1.0hrs – 35.18km

Run
Long Run w. 10 x {1:00 10k effort & 1:00 steady

19.6km in 1:24:58, 4:20/km, 55m ascent
40 minutes @ 4:29/km
Average paces for efforts & recoveries; 1) 3:34 & 4:24, 2) 3:36 & 4:17, 3) 3:38 & 4:25, 4) 3:33 & 4:22, 5) 3:27 & 4:28, 6) 3:45 & 4:13, 7) 3:43 & 4:23, 8) 3:35 & 4:21 9) 3:37 & 4:24, 10) 3:33 & 4:11,
24:56 @ 4:26/km

I was running around the ambulance track in Fairyhouse for the efforts, which isn’t the easiest place to run fast. I never looked at my Garmin during any of the efforts and was just running off feel. I was carrying a lot of speed into the ‘steady’ paced recoveries and this no doubt helped me hold respectable speeds for them. Still, I never felt like I had to dig too deep during these or during the subsequent efforts. I was happy with how the run went, but after my highest weekly volume for quite some time, my body was feeling the strain. I’ll just take a sensible approach to running next week and I expect things will be fine.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 19.64km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs – 13,150m
Bike: 11.5hrs – 330.24km
Run: 6.5hrs – 82.24km
Other: 1.0hrs

rodneyr1981

Well done today

Kurt_Godel

Great result zico well done!

Dory Dory

Ooooooo......????

Kurt_Godel

Dory Dory wrote: »

Ooooooo......????

You'll be waiting forever for him to put up the results Dory so here you go

Dory Dory

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

You'll be waiting forever for him to put up the results Dory so here you go

Thanks Kurt!! And well done zico. Hate that there was no swim for you, but fantastic result!! Whoop whoop!

zico10

Thanks guys.

DD, had the swim gone ahead, it's very unlikely I'd have finished 2nd. There's some prize money for this, so I can't say I'm disappointed. There'll be other days to race in the new Roka suit.

RJM85

Great result

Neady83

Wow, seriously well done Zico. That must be a confidence booster.

pgibbo

Nice going yesterday Alan :cool: