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I Am the Master of My Fate
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Monday 23rd May
a.m.
Rest
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session21*50m off 60’, (desc. 1-3) x 7, (Approx: 50’, 47’, 43’),Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,400m
9*100m off 1:35, done as 3 separate sets of 3*100m, (Y, N, N), (Y, Y, N), (Y, N, N) I never made the times for an entire set of three 100s. I was only 1 or 2 seconds off for all bar the very last 100m, which I missed by nearly 10 seconds. The coach had more sets of these planned for us, but I wasn’t the only failing to hit the targets, so he changed it up.
16*25m practising drafting, I seemed to get my mojo back for this shorter stuff and I thought I managed to swim well amongst the faster swimmers in my lane.
Tuesday 24th May
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo12:00 steady,This was the same session as last week, only it felt a little bit easier today.
10 x {1:00 40km TT effort & 1:00 steady},
28:00 steady
Totals: 1.0hrs – 33.25km
p.m.
SwimOW, Bull WallI did this on my own and the aim today was to get in excess of 1km done. I managed this and a little bit more. I spent over 20 minutes in the water and hadn’t started to feel cold, but got out in an effort to beat rush hour traffic.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 1,250m
Run8.02km in 36:45, 4:35/kmTotals: 1.0hrs – 8.02km
Wednesday 25th May
a.m.
Swim
50m pool100m warm up,I did a 1.9k wetsuit TT at this same time of year, 12 months ago, in 32:43 (1:43/100m). I’ve no note made of which wetsuit it was, but I suspect it wasn’t my Vanguard. Whichever suit it was though, I don’t think the 6 second improvement per 100m, is all down the different suit. I’ve a long way to go before I’ll consider myself a ‘fast’ swimmer, but this is evidence of improvement.
4*50m building w. 10’ rest,
50m easy
1.9km TT (Vanguard wetsuit) in 30:59, 1:37/100m,
50m cool down without suit
I slowed as the TT went on, but as with all wetsuit TTs, I was overheating and the drop off in pace follows the same pattern of all other wetsuit TTs I’ve done.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 2,300m
p.m.
Cycle
2 hours w. 20”, 15” & 10” IM efforts, 5” recovery between each effort58.96km in 1:54:29, 30.9km/hrThe wind was with me for the first IM effort, after that I turned around and was facing into the wind. Most of the second effort, as well as cycling into this headwind, was uphill. I held an average speed of 35.81km/hr over the combined distance covered during the three IM efforts. It’s not quite the magic number of 36km/hr, but on my road bike, on Irish roads, it’s a number I’m happy with.
IM efforts;
1) 12.7km in 20:01, 38.1kph,
2) 8.11km in 15:00, 32.4km/hr,
3) 6.04km in 10:03, 36.0km/hr
Totals: 2.0hrs – 58.96km
Thursday 26th May
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session,OW drills, drafting practiceI hadn’t set my alarm and missed the start of the session. We didn’t have any lane ropes in the pool this morning and for most of the session were swimming in groups, around four buoys placed in the four corners of the pool. I wore buoyancy shorts and I felt like I was swimming smartly during the drills. This was true for all bar one of them, where we closed our eyes and were asked to swim straight. For this I stated in the middle of the pool and had hit the sidewall not long after swimming 12.5m. Something to work on.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 2,500m
p.m.
Run60 minutes easy w. 5*200m stridesThe strides were done up an incline and were the only time I worked in anyway hard during the run.
11.69km in 1:00:00, 5:08/km
Totals: 1.5hrs – 10.58km
Friday 27th May
a.m.
Rest
p.m.
Swim
50m pool, (Wetsuit)4*100m moderate w. 10’ rest,A new Roka wetsuit arrived today, all the way from America. It was a gift from Dory, who I sometimes think wants to see me achieve the so far elusive sub 60 IM swim, as much as I do myself. It’s a great suit and for the moment, it’s going to serve as my racing suit. I’ve expressed my gratitude again and again in PMs, but just acknowledging it publically, now that the suit has arrived. Huge thanks to you Dory, I’ll never forget this.
4*100m as 75m easy/25m fast w. 10’ rest,
400m @ HIM effort in 6:20, 1:35/100m,
100m cool down without wetsuit
The suit is a good fit, it’s an awful b@stard to get off though and I think I’m going to have to commit the barbarous act of cutting the lower legs off a brand new suit. There’s little point in having a faster suit, only to lose the time in T1. The average speed per 100m was 2 seconds faster than I held for 1,900m on Wednesday. Had I continued swimming for another 1,500m, considering how wetsuit TTs go for me, it’s hard to imagine I would have held 1:35/100m, but it’s an improvement and I was hoping it pointed to a sub 30 minute swim on Sunday.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 1,300m
Cycle
90 minutes w. 5”, 3 x 3” & 5 x 1” HIM efforts49.31km in 1:29:48, 32.9km/hr + 3km not recordedMy speed was visible, but I rode the efforts at a particular intensity, rather than trying to hit any specific speed. The efforts averaged out a lot faster than what I’ll expect to ride on Sunday, but by happy coincidence, the gradient was by and large in my favour at precisely the right moments this evening.
HIM efforts; 1) 5:01 @ 39.8km/hr, 2) 2:58 @ 43.2km/hr, 3) 3:00 @ 38.1km/hr, 4) 2:55 @ 34.5km/hr, 5) 0:58 @ 47.4km/hr, 6) 1:01 @ 42.1km/hr, 7) 1:00 @ 40.9km/hr, 8) 0:57 @ 46.4km/hr, 9) 0:59 @ 42.2km/hr
I got a broken tri-bar replaced on my TT bike yesterday and today was the first day I rode my TT bike in a few weeks. There’s a lot a free speed there in comparison to my road bike, and tonight’s ride gave me a lot of confidence ahead of The Gauntlet on Sunday.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 52.31km
Saturday 28th May
Run
30 minutes w. 80’, 60’, 40’ & 20’ HIM efforts (<3:48/km)7.95km in 38:54, 4:54/kmTotals: 0.5hrs – 7.24km
HIM efforts 1) 1:20 @ 3:46/km, 2) 1:00 @ 3:49/km, 3) 0:42 @ 3:30/km, 4) 0:20 @ 3:39/km
Sunday 29th May
The Gauntlet, Lough Cutra –Half Iron Distance
Warm up
Run6.16km in 30:39, 4:58/km, w. 3*45’ fast & 2*3:00 @ race intensityI’m not sure what happened with the final 3 minute effort. I was on target after 90 seconds, when I did a U-turn and my speed started to fall. I could blame satellites, but I also lost concentration and forgot what I was meant to be doing.
Fast parts; 1) 45 seconds @ 3:43/km, 2) 45 seconds @ 3:27/km, 3) 45 seconds @ 3:16/km, 4) 2:52 @ 3:50/km, 5) 3:01/km @ 4:00/km
Totals: 0.5hrs – 6.16km
Race
I’ll hopefully get around to writing a race report, but it took a long time last year and led to an extended period of inactivity on my log. If it causes a simliar delay this year, my next update will be my usual weekly training.
For the moment, it’s enough to say I’m mostly happy with how the race went. Granted it wasn’t a triathlon, but I still finished ahead of some quality athletes and only finished 2 minutes and 22 seconds behind an ITU triathlete. I held an average speed of 37.1km/hr on the bike, bettering last year’s time by nearly 4 minutes. After the ITU athlete, I had the fastest bike split, which bodes well for any race on smooth Continental roads.
I slowed over the second lap of the final run, but so early in the season, it’s not a huge concern. Also, despite the slow down, I still finished the race with the fastest second run split out of all the starters. With the opportunity to train full time, just around the corner, this shouldn’t be an issue in my next half distance race.
Another reason to be happy; I’m promised €150 prize money as well, so it’s been one of the more profitable races I’ve done.
Totals;
Run: 1.5hrs – 20.19km
Cycle: 2.5hrs – 93.13km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 3.5hrs – 9,650m
Bike: 7.0hrs – 237.65km
Run: 3.5hrs – 54.01km
Other: 0.0hrs – not good
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:eek: Cut the legs off??? :eek: But, but, but......if you have to, then you have to....but have you tried baby oil on the calves??? Or some other trick?? I am certainly no wetsuit expert, far from it, but maybe Peter would have a suggestion for you...?? But, in the end it's all about making you fast, so you do whatever you have to do to make you as fast as possible. And yes, I want you to get that sub 60 swim...and yes, I want you to race yourself into a slot to Kona. No better man, in my opinion. Props, zico.0
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Run 1 - 6.68km in 00:24:12, 3:37/km (6th)
After the cancellation of the swim, I'd no trouble convincing myself that I was never going to be in such a good position after stripping out of a wetsuit ever again. Hell, it didn't even matter how long I would have spent in transition taking my wetsuit off. I had the opportunity today of getting on the bike before, much better swimmers and I adopted the mindset of making hay while the sun shone.
I took a good position at the front of my wave, picking the spot that would give me the straightest line to the first hill we had to run up. As soon as the gun went, I took off at speed and never turned to check had anybody gone with me.
Two waves began before mine and I started to pick off the tail end of Wave 2 after about 5 minutes. I was passing people pretty consistently from here and I'm not sure when I started passing athletes from Wave 1.
From looking at my Garmin, I could see I was running a good bit faster than I had ever intended to in this race. But then, I never planned to be running on fresh legs and going back to the adage of making hay while the sun shone, I didn't see any point in easing off. Had there been a swim, I would have pushed hard at the start as well. I think such a strategy, would have left me needing a couple of minutes to find my rhythm on the bike. I would have to go very far into the red, for this to happen after a run and as fast as I might have been running, I was nowhere near my limits.
I got back to T1 well ahead of anybody else from my wave. Extrapolating from this, I figured even in comparison to everybody else in the race, I couldn't have ran too badly.
T1 - 00:00:26 (1st)
The transitions today involved more running than normal, which I think played into my hands. After crossing the timing mat, I kept the pace up until I reached my spot in transition, which luckily was close enough to both the bike exit and entry. I was very quick doing the needful and was quickly up the hill that took us over the mount line and out onto the cycle route. I managed to do it quicker than anybody else in the whole race.
Bike - 93.13km in 02:31:26, 36.9km/hr (2nd)
In both 2014 and 2015, I wore cycling, not triathlon shoes, for the bike leg in Mallorca. I'm convinced over 180km, this is the way to go. However both years, given how congested the start of an IM bike leg is and how awkward it is to get my feet into cycling shoes, I didn't have them clipped into my pedals. This definitely cost me some time in transition and over the summer, I need to start practising getting my feet into cycling shoes on the fly. I've two pairs of Sidi shoes I want to trial. Today was the turn of the older pair I've used twice in Mallorca. I could break boards if I go into detail, but suffice to say today's trial didn't go so well. I was still trying to properly fasten the straps on shoes, 3km into the cycle. There were some obvious oversights on my part and the shoes still deserve another trial.
Once I was happy, I shifted into a hard gear and began concentrating on the the only data that truly matters in a race, my speed. In a HIM, the magic number is 38km/hr. It wasn't always easy hold this on these roads though. I wasn't too upset that I wasn't hitting the target with the regularity I would like.
I'd left all of my own wave behind on the run and I'd passed a good few people in the early stages of the bike. The field had started to thin out and at this stage, I was cycling well and was certain that only the stronger triathletes from Wave 1 and 2 could have been ahead of me. Respectively they had a 6 minute and 3 minute head-start on me and in overall terms, I thought I must have been close enough to the top spots. There could of course have been people from Wave 4 who had made just as good progress, and this kept me focussed on keeping the effort up.
I got to a sharp turn, that I should have remembered from last year, signalled the first categoriesed climb of the race. Before the race, I'd warned others how easy it could be to get caught in the wrong gear going up this hill. Such 'in depth' knowledge of the course, had me confident that this wouldn't happen me, but it did and I was grinding my way up the start of the hill. I don't think I ever got my momentum back until I cressed the brow. At this stage, I was approaching the first aid station and wanting a bottle of water, I didn't yet resume the aero position. I failed to grab the proffered bottle out of the volunteer's hand, instead knocking it to the ground. I didn't particularly need the bottle, but the only liquids I had on the bike was 750ml of High-5 Zero and some watered down Red Bull. I just fancied a sip of neutral tasting h2o. There was certainly no way I was stopping and I just thought 'feck it', I'll have better luck at the next aid station in 20km.
After this, it was back down to business. I'd made such a poor job of ascending the first hill, the approaching Corkscrew Hill had me worried. Whatever it is about climbing, I don't think I manage it very well. I never know what gear to use or when to sit up, and these worries were weighing on my mind in advance of the day's second climb. I thought there was more of a lead up to Corkscrew Hill, and I happily discovered I'd already several hundred metres of the climb completed, before I'd even realised where I was. I was still in the big ring and coping admirably. From here, I never thought dropping down to the inside ring would be advantageous and I continued climbing much better than I think I managed 12 months previous. I was expecting attacks to come from others behind me at some point, but they never materialised and I made it to the top of the hill without losing a place.
The next aid station was coming up and this time I really did want water. I shouted my request at the few volunteers who were manning the stations. They were stood behind the tables, with several bottles safely tucked into their chests. They were lined out no more than a distance of 10m from start to end, and if I didn't know any better, I would have sworn they didn't want to give me a bottle. Not one of them reached out to offer me a bottle and the last guy in the line up, with sports drinks securely held between forearm and chest, merely told me I had gone by the volunteer rationing the water. Even if my preference had been for water, you think it would have occurred to him that offering a cyclist, over 2 hours into a race, in bright sunshine, fluids of any sort would be better than nothing. But 'No', water is what I asked for and lest I be disappointed, he had no intentions of risking giving me sports drink.
For the briefest of moments, I thought about stopping and telling the whole lot of them how to do their jobs. Hopefully for the sake of the other people racing, they figured it out, before too many more thirsty cyclists passed by without getting any fluids off them.
I was annoyed about what had happened, but I knew from previous incidents in races, that allowing such things headspace, isn't conducive to racing well. I tried to put it out of my mind and not dwell on the fact I had just passed a second aid station and failed to collect any liquids. I've survived more trying conditions before and come what may, I was sure I'd get through the rest of the cycle, without dying. Should it happen that I'd fail to grab a bottle at the third and final aid station, I knew I wouldn't have long to wait before I passed an aid station on the run.
Like I said, I didn't dwell on what had happened. The next part of the course was fast and along narrow twisty roads. Stonewalls lined either side of the road, and there were sections when it wasn't possible to see very far ahead. I was on edge cycling this section last year, and I needed full concentration to avoid this happening again. Spending any length of time thinking on what had happened at the aid station, wasn't going to help me, so I forgot about it and just got on with the the cycle.
I got through this next technical section relatively quickly and got onto the safety of wider roads without incident. It had been a while since I had passed anybody and I didn't know whether to think of this as a good or a bad sign. Eventually one more cyclist came into view, which gave me some encouragement to keep pushing. I passed him without having to overly exert myself. I'd no idea where I was overall, but I figured I couldn't have been doing too badly.
I was coming near the end of the bike and unlike last year, when I lost power over the last 20km or so, I felt I was cycling just as well now, as I was at the start. I passed one more before getting back to The Castle. Almost as soon as I was in the gates, I undid the straps on my shoes. It still felt like there was a long way to go to the dismount line and I regretted the decision to undo the straps so early. I was waiting for so long for the line to appear, I had zoned out and just about managed to get my feet out of my shoes in time. I wouldn't say I nailed the flying dismount, but I did a passable job and had my foot on the ground before the line.
T2 - 00:00:45 (1st)
I got in and got out of T2 with a minimum of fuss. Once more, I transitioned faster than everybody else in the race. After many years of embarrassingly slow transitions, I hope this means I've finally got my sh!t together and nailed the fourth discipline of triathlon.
Run 2 - 13.51km in 00:52:35, 3:54/km (1st)
I started off the run feeling good and moving nicely. I came out of transition and into the middle of runners from the Olympic race and I wasn't sure had I passed anybody from The Gauntlet up until the routes splitting after 2km.
I couldn't see anybody ahead of me and figured I must have passed the vast majority of people from Waves 1 & 2 on the bike. I passed an aid station and asked how many people were ahead of me. 'Two' was the response and I was also given a breakdown of the gaps they both had on me. I was told I was 30 seconds from 2nd and 3 minutes down on 1st. I knew neither of them had started in the same wave as me, so with only a 30 second advantage over me, I knew out of three of us, I must in fact have been second overall.
Presuming the information I got from the marshal was reliable, and depending on what wave the first guy started in, there was also a good a chance that I was winning the race. Of course the possibility that somebody from Wave 4 was closing in on me was also there. I told myself not to worry about this, and that if I could catch everybody from the first two waves, I would have had a good race. However fast anybody in the later waves went, wouldn't change this.
The guy in second, Aidan Callaghan, came into view. I was moving faster than him, and with so much of the race left, I was fairly sure it was only a matter of time before I passed him. I overtook him in due course, and from here was on the lookout for the guy in first. We had begun our second lap at this stage though and joined runners who were starting their first. I passed a good few people, but there was no way of telling which lap they were on. I hadn't passed anybody I thought was moving fast enough, to be leading the race though. I was slowing down and I was starting to cramp. I was running out of road and the terrain was taking it out of me and. The chances of catching the race leader before the finish line, were getting more and more remote.
Reflection
When I eventually did cross the line, based on the information I had been given from the marshal earlier on, I thought there was a very good chance I had completed the course quicker than the ultimate winner, Elliot Smales. I never talked to him afterwards, and wasn't able to confirm with anybody what time he did. Due to the the swim being cancelled, it took a few hours before the finishing positions were confirmed, the confirmation had me in second, which certainly wasn't the end of the world.
For a while, I did genuinely think I was the winner, but 2nd wasn't a bad day's work either. From what I've found out since, the winner was a British ITU level triathlete. Being only 2 minutes 22 seconds off this calibre of athlete, is not a bad thing and I'm happy with my race in light of this. I slowed somewhat on the second lap of the run, but up until this I felt I had a good race. Averaging 37.1km/hr for the cycle, I think I managed to hold good form over the 93 odd kilometres. The surface was fairly poor for long stretches, and provided lots of rolling resistance. Being able to hold the speed I did, bodes well for an Ironman on smooth Continental Roads. I don't think my run is quite where it needs to be, but the next few months are going to see an increase in volume. I've no doubt I'll be a few kilos lighter and a sub 3 IM marathon is still part of my race day plan.
There are plenty of positives to take from this race and it's those I'm choosing to focus on, rather than the few seconds I might have lost here or there.0 -
Monday 30th May
a.m.
S & C30 minutesTotals: 0.5hrs – n/a
p.m.
Run32 minutes easy, no GPSTotals: 0.5hrs – 6.0km
Swim
25m pool, coached session8*100m off 2:00, desc. 1-4 & 5-8 (1:45 down to 1:31)Some of the above were done with a pull buoy, others just swimming.
10*50m pull as easy/fast
8*50m as 12.5m max effort/37.5m cruising
10*50m part sprinting/part easy
8*50m part sprinting/part easy
50m easy
Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,650m
Tuesday 31st May
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo1 hour 20 minutes steady w. 10 sets of {6 seconds max efforts & 24 seconds recovery}It’s hard to tell with efforts so short, but I felt like I was losing power towards the end of the 6 second efforts. The rest of the session was fairly consistent.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 43.0km
p.m.
Swim
OW, Bull Wall1.39km in 30 minutesI spent 34 minutes in the water. It was a club session and not all of this time was spent swimming. I was starting to feel cold towards the end of the swim, and was shivering getting out of the water.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 1,390m
Wednesday 1st June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool3 sets of 3*200m pull w. 10’ rest (untimed)With tonight’s race in mind, I wanted to make this as easy as possible and wore buoyancy shorts for the whole lot.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 1,800m
p.m.
Belpark Duathlon
Warm up16km cycle as 10” steady, 5 x 200m fast & 200m recovery, 4” hard, 4” steady, 2” hard, 5” stready
1km run
RaceRun 1: 08:00 (3:12/km, 16 seconds quicker than last time)I was leading the run until we got to the first left turn. I don’t like looking over my shoulder in a race, but I knew there were much faster runners than me in the race, so I was a bit perplexed until eventually things took their natural order. Cian O’Reilly and Gavin Corey took over and pulled away from the rest of us. I crossed the timing mat in joint 3rd position, with plenty of people not too far behind.
T1: 00:27 (3 seconds slower)
Cycle: 20:45 (1:22 quicker, but I was riding a different bike)
T2: 00:27 (1 second slower)
Run 2: 08:35 (3:26/km, 1 second quicker)
Cool down: 1km run
I wasn’t as snappy in T1 as I was the last time. Between that and fidgetting around with my shoes at the start of the cycle, several people had passed me out. Just like the run, things took a natural order and I’d Peter Kern in front of me for most of the cycle. I made efforts to close the gap, with the intention of passing him, but I wasn’t cycling any faster than him. So I just stayed back, knowing that if I kept the gap respectable, I’d have a good chance of running him down when we got off our bikes. Besides, he was a good person to follow around the technical route we were cycling, so there was one advantage in staying where I was. Kevin Keane in front of us, pulled away over laps 2 and 3 and had a sizable lead on us into T2. He was third off the bike, Peter fourth and me fifth.
I was right behind Peter coming off the bike and once I saw him dismount and start running with his bike, I knew that unless his slow hobble was some sort of bluff, I had the beating of him.
I transitioned a little bit better this time and passed Peter soon enough into the second run. Kevin Keane was in my sights next. I was closing the gap, but unfortunately I never got within striking distance. I’d be working too hard to get near him and couldn’t keep up the pace. He could hear me coming and seemed to find a second wind when we got to halfway. I gave up on any slim chance I had of catching him here. A glance over my shoulder, told me I didn’t need to worry about anybody catching me and I just cruised home from there.
I finished in 4th, one place off the podium. I didn’t want nor need another lactate test, so there’s no sour grapes. I was a good bit off Cian O’ Reilly’s winning time, but after a hard race on Sunday, it’s probably no huge surprise. He’s no slouch either, so there’s no shame in the time difference.
Totals;
Run: 0.5hrs – 7.0km
Bike: 1.0hrs – 28.0km
Thursday 2nd June
a.m.
Swim25m pool, coached sessionThere was a lot of fatigue in my legs this morning and I wore buoyancy shorts for this morning’s session. It made things easier, but it was still a struggle at times.
4*50m build,
5*200m pull, fast w. 10’ rest (3:15 approx.)
200m easy
5*200m as 100m fast/25m easy/75m fast,
200m easy,
16*50m as 50 sprint off 90’ & 50 steady off 60’,
100m easy
Totals: 1.0hrs – 3,500m
p.m.
Cycle
Turbo90 minutes easyI was suffering from sinus trouble and instead of going out into pollen infested air, I opted for the turbo.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 37.5km
Friday 3rd June
a.m.
Rest
p.m.
Run23.99km in 1:50:08, 4:35/kmThe aim for this run was 1 hour 50 minutes steady, with the last 20 minutes at 4:20/km. on paper, this shouldn’t be too challenging, but it was pleasing all the same to be so consistent with my pacing.
Lap 1) (target pace 4:40/km) 12.26km in 57:00, 4:39/km,
Lap 2) (target pace 4:40/km) 7.07km in 32:00, 4:40/km,
Lap 3) (target pace 4:20/km) 4.66km in 20:08, 4:19/km
Totals: 2.0hrs – 23.99km
S & C30 minutesTotals: 0.5hrs – n/a
Saturday 4th June
Cycle
TT bike
Long bike w. 3 x 20 minute IM efforts193.9km in 5:57:45, 32.5km/hr, 516m elevation gainThis was a long , hot, sunny day. I started out with insufficient fuel and took two stops during the cycle. The first one came after 2 hours 45 minutes, then the second one with about an hour to go. The rests allowed me to recuperate, but it felt like a good day’s work all the same. The TT position became uncomfortable to hold, the longer the cycle went on and my average speed started to drop. Still, it’s a long way until September 24th, I’ve plenty of hours cycling in the TT position ahead of me and I’ve no intentions of being on the bike for anything like 6 hours in Mallorca.
IM efforts:
1) 11.63km in 20:01, 34.9km/hr
2) 12.20km in 19:59, 36.6km/hr
3) 12.35km in 20:04, 36.9km/hr
Totals: 36.18km in 1:00:04, 36.13km/hr
Totals: 6.0hrs - 193.9km
Run
30 minutes run off bike @ IM pace, <4:15/km7.25km in 30:01, 4:08/km
Kilometre splits; 1) 4:07, 2) 4:07, 3) 4:06, 4) 4:03, 5) 4:11, 6) 4:08, 7) 4:07, 8) 250m @ 4:04/km
30 minutes had elapsed between the end of the cycle and when I started running. It’s too long for what was meant to be a run off the bike and I need to start developing a greater sense of urgency for these types of runs. Despite that though, I’m happy with how this went. Despite running a faster pace than my recent long runs, even after a 6 hour bike, <4:15/km felt very easy today. Hopefully it will be as easy for almost 6 times the duration in September.
Totals: 0.5hrs – 7.25km
Sunday 5th June
Cycle
Road bike
60 minute w. 20 minute IM effort30.70km in 1:00:06, 30.7km/hr, 67m elevation gainI hadn’t yet received news that Kilkee was going to be a non-drafting race, so I did this on my road bike. Now that the only draft legal race, I had planned to do has been declared draft illegal, my road bike probably won’t see too much of the outdoors over the next few months.
IM effort; 11.67km in 20:02, 34.9km/hr
Totals: 1.0hrs – 30.70km
Run
2 hours with pace dropping from 4:40/km to 4:20/km26.79km in2:00:03, 4:29/kmI stopped looking at my watch for the last 25 minute effort and judged the pace off feel. Like Friday’s run, I was happy with how consistent I was with my pacing throughout the run, but it felt like much harder work today. I took two gels during the run.
25 minute splits
Lap 1) (target pace 4:40/km) 5.17km @ 4:39/km,
Lap 2) (target pace 4:35/km) 5.27km @ 4:33/km,
Lap 3) (target pace 4:30/km) 5.34km @ 4:30/km,
Lap 4) (target pace 4:25/km) 5.41km @ 4:26/km,
Lap 5) (target pace 4:20/km) 5.60km @ 4:18/km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.0hrs – 10,840m
Bike: 11.0hrs – 333.10km
Run: 5.5hrs – 71.03km
Other: 1.0hrs
I probably need to get these weekly udpates posted earlier, to give any insightful reflection on my training. But I’m happy how it’s going, I’ve finally made a decision on my IM race this year; Once again IM Mallorca on September 24th. I’m only going there with Kona qualification on my mind and anything less will be failure.0 -
Does it look like any of the super series will be draft legal this year Zico, or do you just find out before the race?
Good to see you have picked your race and have something definite in mind now. Will there be another trip over to practice the descending before hand?0 -
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This was from an email I got from TI Yesterday.RE: Hell of the West - No Longer Draft Legal
I am just touching base as I have had confirmation from Limerick TC that they can no longer run a draft legal event due to an inability to meet Clare county council fees in order to close roads.
To be honest I'm not sure why they needed road closures for the draft legal race to go ahead. There were only 50 people in the Category 1 race last year and cycle races with larger numbers, take place on open roads all the time.
As for will the other races go ahead as planned, I assume they will. None of the others are in County Clare and I know TI are very keen to get a series of draft legal races up and running. From what I heard, Dublin and Clogherhead were both successfully ran as draft legal races last year, so I assume there's no reason that won't happen once more this year. They were the only two planned draft legal races in the series last year, there's more planned for this year and thanks to Pulse and Pirhana, the clubs involved have a successful blueprint to work from.
I've no plans to go back to Mallorca before the race. If I can pick up cheap flights, in flash sale, during July or August, I might. Otherwise though, it's unlikely. It'd be great to get few more days cycling over there, but after my trip in March, I don't feel it's essential either.0 -
:eek: Cut the legs off??? :eek: But, but, but......if you have to, then you have to....but have you tried baby oil on the calves??? Or some other trick?? I am certainly no wetsuit expert, far from it, but maybe Peter would have a suggestion for you...??
Sorry, I meant to reply to this the day I saw it, but it slipped my mind.
Cutting the legs was actually Peter's suggestion. I'm not sure what you are picturing, but I'll make the cut a few inches below the knee, it won't look that horrendous. I did it with the first suit I ever bought and it makes a huge difference getting the suit off. The Roka is the most frustratingly difficult suit to get on and off I have ever worn. I haven't yet been able to get it off, without having to reach down and use my fingers to free my feet from the legs of the suit. There are precious seconds lost there and the frustration of doing this will be wasted energy in a race. The legs simply have to go, I'm afraid.0 -
Monday 6th June
a.m.
Rest
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session1,000m SKPS,As it was a bank holiday, our weekly Monday club swim was cancelled. Not really knowing what to do in its stead, I just did a lucky dip from all the sets of swim homework I’ve written down, over the last number of months, and the above set came.
6*200m pull off 3:40 (3:26 approximately),
6*200m fs off 3:45 (3:33 approximately),
200m easy
Totals: 1,0hrs – 3,600m
Run16.76km in 1:15:01, 4:29/kmAfter swimming in the NAC, I drove to The Phoenix Park for this run. 90% of this session was done on grass, with 45 minutes spent running laps of The Polo Grounds. My target pace was 4:30/km and it proved a lot harder than it should have done. This could have been due to residual fatigue from the weekend, but I hadn’t taken any fuel since before the swim either, so I don’t know what attribute the diificulty to.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 16.76km
Tuesday 7th June
a.m.
I’d an additional day off work today, which you might think would have easily enabled me to get something done in the morning. Procrastination and lack of motivation put paid to that though.
p.m.
Cycle
Turbo – Sprint/Power Set15:00 warm up,Max effort bits were fine, but I found it hard to keep the steady stuff steady, after finishing the efforts.
4 x {0:15 max effort & 2:45 steady},
2 x {0:30 max effort & 3:30 steady},
1:00 max effort & 5:00 steady,
10 x {0:06 max effort & 0:24 steady},
5:00 cool down
Totals: 1.0hrs – 26.13km
Swim
OW - High Rock, Portmarnock
This was a club session, but we split into two groups, with the more capable swimmers going off on their own. This suited me fine and 95% of my time in the water was spent actually swimming. Whenever I stopped, I stopped my watch and provided GPS is accurate, I’ll assume I did swim at the pace my Garmin recorded.Lap 1) 652m in 11:39, 1:47/100m,Totals: 0.5hrs – 2,210m
Lap 2) 538m in 7:37, 1:25/100m,
Lap 3) 447m in 9:22, 2:06/100m,
Lap 4) 572m in 7:29, 1:25/100m
Totals: 2,209m in 34:40, 1:39/100m
Run12.6km in 1:00:02, 4:44/kmMy target pace for this was 4:40-5:00/km. My overall pace came in towards the lower end of the scale, I was running with another guy from my tri club, who when on form is much faster than me. He was happy to run at my desired pace, but he seemed to get faster as the run progressed. My slowest kilometre split was 4:55 and quickest 4:29. There wouldn’t have been such a range had I been running on my own, but no harm done.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 12.6km
Wednesday 8th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool5 sets of {5*50m max effort off 60’ & 300m off 5:30}I swam the five sets straight through without taking any rest. I was glad to get through, making all the times along the way. It took it out of me though and my arms and lats were sore a while before I finished. My times for the fast 50s went from 44 out to 48 seconds. I brought the first four 300s in under 3:18, but could only swim 3:28 for the final one.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 2,750m
p.m.
Cycle
Road bike65.41km in 2:06:48, 31.0km/hr, 213m elevation gain, + 3km not recordedThe front wheel on my TT bike was flat and I just couldn’t have been bothered replacing the tube, so I went out on my road bike instead.
Totals: 2.0hrs – 68.41km
Thursday 9th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session4*50m build,Peter gave me this feedback after the session;
300m drills,
4 sets of {75m max effort, 25’m rest, 50m max effort, 25’ rest, 25m max effort, 60’ rest},
600m pull,
4 sets of {75m max effort, 25’m rest, 50m max effort, 25’ rest, 25m max effort, 60’ rest},
600m pull,
10*25m sprints,
100m cool down
which I’d say is the biggest compliment he has ever given me.the sprints at the end were great to ( clear winner was alan who made ray work really hard in the lastone and alan was almost crusing beside him (thats what i call a mega draft you can really see how ray pulled along alan ;-) thats at least 5-6 sec over 100 m of freespeed . Which reminds me this really is somthing we need to work on a bit more as everybody in this class can improve on this apart from alans last 15 meter which was 9,9 out of 10 i think .
In truth, I was only swimming so fast, as I was hoping to grab Ray’s shoulder, get some leverage and slingshot myself forward. When we reached the wall, I was going to pass it off as an accident and as it was our last sprint, he wouldn’t be able to get me back. He was just swimming too fast though and I was always a few inches short of being able to grab his shoulder. Still, like Peter suggests I was being dragged along and it turned out to be a great draft. I was working bloody hard and however it might have looked, it certainly didn’t feel like I was cruising.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 3,500m
p.m.
Cycle
Road bike
Club Session, Corkagh Park
This involved some easy paced stuff, some steady stuff, some fast stuff and some very fast stuff. As we were on a technical fast loop, I decided to use my road bike.
Totals: 1.5hrs – 45.0km
Friday 10th June
a.m.
Rest
p.m.
Run60 minutes easyI’d no stopwatch or GPS recording this and was only looking at the time of day on my watch, to check how long I was running for.
Totals: 1.0hrs – 12.0km
Swim
50m pool100m easy,I didn’t write any notes on this session, until a few hours afterwards. I wasn’t wearing a watch and I’m not 100% sure of the times I’ve logged above, although I am certain I managed to descend each time it was required. It never felt like an easy swim though and I’d prefer if I was in more control of my pace.
300m pb & snorkel,
8*50m as 25 very fast/25 easy (<50 seconds)
3 sets of 4*200m off 3:50, (desc. 1-4) x 3,
(1:38, 1:35, 1:30, 1:27),
(1:42, 1:35, 1:31, 1:28),
(1:40, 1:35, 1:30, 1:27),
100m pull easy
Totals: 1.0hrs – 3,300m
Saturday 11th June
Cycle
TT bike
Long bike w. 3 x 20 minute IM efforts, first minute of these efforts very hard112.34km in 3:20:00, 33.7km/hr, 369m elevation gainI was caught out in the middle of thunderous downpour after exactly 1 hour 19 minutes. I was approaching a roundabout and just coming up to the start of my second IM effort. I was on course to make it through the roundabout, before the effort began. I’ve ridden this road countless times and I knew the roundabout was approaching, so I felt a sense of relief that I wouldn’t have to pass through it at speed. There was no traffic on or approaching the roundabout, so with no need to brake, I went into it without slowing down. There was a lot of surface water on the road and as I leant to go round the roundabout, my back wheel went from under me. I didn’t even have time to think ‘Oh f*ck!’, before bike and I were sliding across the road.
IM efforts:
1) 0.76km in 0:59, 46.1km/hr (+-m, -2m)& 12.71km in 19:01, 40.1km/hr (+33m, -74m) ,
2) 0.69km in 1:04, 38.7km/hr (+4m, -5m)& 12.15km in 18:57, 38.5km/hr (+38m, -25m),
3) 0.65km in 1:01, 38.1km/hr (+13m, ---m)& 13.00km in 19:01, 41.0km/hr (+15m, -79m)
Totals: 39.96km in 1:00:03, 39.94km/hr
An approaching car and a fire engine, (not on the way to put out a blaze, thankfully) saw what had happened and stopped to make sure I was okay. I had landed on my right hand side and my helmet walloped the ground. There was no head injury fortunately, but the impact has left me with a muscle spasm in my neck. My right hip bore the brunt of the fall, but I think the injuries are mostly superficial. Although there is some bruising and tightness, I don’t think this fall was as bad as the one I had last July in Thailand and I certainly don’t expect the consequences to be as long lasting. Still, I think I made a mistake last year, when I tried to carry on with my training disregarding the fall. I’d planned to cycle for 5/6 hours today, followed by a 60 minute run. I scrapped those plans and I’ll take it easy for the next few days and hopefully it will be better in the long term.
Getting back to this cycle though, I’d only 1 of 3 IM efforts done, which didn’t feel good enough. I didn’t want to bail so easily on the session. I was still 20-30 minutes from home and I didn’t feel all that sore, so my plans changed to taking an extra 10 minutes recovery on top of the 20 I’d already cycled. After these 10 minutes were up, I’d make a call on whether to complete the two remaining IM efforts.
The 10 minutes went okay, so I started pushing as hard as I could for the opening ‘very hard’ minute of my IM effort. I was happy to finish the 20 minute section above target. This second effort felt comparatively easy, so finishing off the third effort made sense.
Once I got home, I started to feel sore. Anytime I had to get out of the saddle during the cycle, my right hip would start to get sore, especially on the downward pedal stroke. I’m still sore as I type this on Sunday, but I’m hoping one day off today and perhaps some very easy training on Monday should see me right again. I’d only signed up for Pulse’s Bull Wall Aquathlon on Wednesday, before going out for my cycle, so it’d p!ss me off to have to miss it.
Total: 3.5hrs 115.30km
Sunday 12th June
Day off - Recuperating
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs – 15,110m
Bike: 11.0hrs – 254.84km
Run: 5.5hrs – 41.36km
Other: 0.0hrs – another bad week on the strength & conditioning front0 -
Hope you're not too sore, and you heal up quick.0
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Rest up Alan, hope you're loosening up today. Bloody hell, thank god for helmets.0
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I’m a bit behind with these updates. The fall off my bike has led to complications beyond a bruised hip. Basically I haven’t been able to run for the last fortnight. This culminated in me having to abandon the race in Kilkee once I finished bike. I didn’t even make it out of T2. This was disappointing, as I felt my recent training had gone well and I was hoping to improve on my 7th placed finish last year. It’s been a frustrating fortnight and both weeks followed a very similar pattern. Still, I’m trying to look on the bright side. I expect to be recovered soon, I can afford to take it easy for a while and it could have happened at a much worse time of the year. There are far bigger fish to fry in September, and if I get what I want from my Ironman, I won’t even remember my DNF in Kilkee.
Monday 13th June
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo – 46 minutes, Sprint/Power Set10:00 warm up,Totals: 1.0hrs – 22.5km
5 x {0:15 max effort & 2:45 steady},
2 x {0:30 max effort & 3:30 steady},
1:00 max effort & 5:00 steady,
10 x {0:06 max effort & 0:24 steady},
2:00 cool down
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session300m warm up,Totals: 1,0hrs – 2,500m
21*100m off 2:00, I was alternating between fs and pb for the first 15 and coming in on about 1:47 and 1:43 respectively, with several of them quite a bit faster. The last six I descended 1-3 twice; first with the pull buoy (1:40, 1:35, 1:28) and then fs (1:45, 1:40, 1:35).
4*25m off 60’ max efforts, (not sure of times)
Tuesday 14th June
a.m.
S & C
I met a strength & conditioning coach in the NAC for an assessment and to get a new program. He spent well over an hour with me and seemed to be happy with the progress I’ve made since our last appointment.
Totals: 1.0hrs – n/a
p.m.
Race
Pulse Bull Wall Aquathlon
A muscle in my groin on the same side I fell has seized up, and I hadn’t ran since before my fall off the bike on Saturday. I tried a few strides before the race, which caused severe pain and knew the chances of me getting through this race were very slim. With this going through my mind, I decided to really go for it in the swim. If I wasn’t able to run, then it wouldn’t matter how hard I had gone in the swim. If I had somehow swam through a spot of holy water and made a miraculous recovery in the sea, then I’d have a made a good start to the race and would be in a good position starting the run.
I think I swam well, but the hoped for recovery never transpired. As soon as I stood, I could feel the strain in my groin. I hobbled into T1, cautiously took off my wetsuit and started the run. All these things were accompanied by pain. Several people had passed me within 100m and I knew I wasn’t up to much. I carried on for another 100m, before bailing. I turned around, walked back to transition and handed in my timing chip. It was disappointing not to be able to finish the race, but there was no point in doing further damage to myself. I’d swam 12:35 in what felt like a long swim. I wasn’t wearing my Garmin, so I can’t be sure, but my time compared favourably with other faster swimmers in the race.
Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs – 900m (including warm up)
Run: 0.0hrs – 0.2km
Wednesday 15th June
a.m.
I woke in severe pain, but went to the NAC with the intention of doing a short swim. When I got into the changing rooms, I realised I’d no swimming cap. I’d plenty in my car, but with how I was feeling, I just couldn’t be bothered going back to get one. I took the morning off and went to the Jacuzzi instead.
p.m.
Cycle
Turbo
I rang a physio in the morning and luckily he was able to give me appointment in the evening. I felt better for it and feeling guilty about not getting any training done at any point in the day, I chanced an easy turbo.
1.5 hrs easy
Totals: 1.5hrs – 37.5km
Thursday 16th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session4*50m build,I wore buoyancy shorts today and did a lot of the session with a pull buoy. I wasn’t killing myself either.
15*{25m fast w. 5’ rest & 50m easy w. 20’ rest},
25m easy,
12*{25m pull fast w. 5’ rest & 50m easy w. 20’ rest},
50m back stroke,
300m pull,
6*25m sprints off 45’
Totals: 1.5hrs – 3,150m
p.m.
Cycle
Road bike56.08km in 1:56:51, 28.81km/hr, 192m elevation gain, (+4km not recorded)I felt okay and went out for an easy 2 hours on my bike.
Totals: 2.0hrs – 60.08km
Friday 17th June
a.m.
S & C40 minutesThe S & C coach I’m working with, added a bit to the usual S & C stuff I do. Some of the exercises were a bit sore, but nothing like the pain running inflicts on me.
Totals: 0.5hrs – n/a
p.m.
Swim400m warm up, as {100m pull/100m fs} x 2,My targets for the descending 200s in the main set were 3:20, 3:15, 3:10 & 3:05. I comfortably hit these targets, with the fastest 200m of the 12 I swam being 3:04.
8*50m as 25m very fast/25m easy,
3 sets of {4*200m pull off 3:30, desc. 1-4},
100m cool down
Totals: 1.0hrs 3,300m
Another session with a physio. I was given some exercises to do. They are as boring as fnck, but this attitude to S & C doesn’t help me and I plan to make an effort to do them.
Saturday 18th June
Swim
50m pool400m warm up,I’d a lot of aids for the 400s, but I was happy to hit the times I did. I doubt I could have managed these 6 months ago, so things seem to be going in the right direction.
8*50m off 60’, desc. 1-4 twice, (55-42 seconds),
2*400m pull off 7:00 (6:40 approx.),
2*400m pull off 6:45 (6:35 approx.),
2*400m pull off 6:30 (6:25 & 6:26.),
8*50m alternating easy/fast off 65’ (55’/46’ approx..) The first 4 were done as pull and the second 4 as fs.
100m easy
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,800m
S & C
45 minutes doing the rehabilitation exercises I was given by the physio yesterday. It was a long and boring session.
Totals: 1.0hrs – n/a
Sunday 19th June
Swim
25m pool3,800m w. buoyancy shorts & pull buoyThis wasn’t a TT effort, but I looked at the clock every 100m. This was as much to keep track of the distance as anything else. I got 1,900m done in 1:31:29 and finished in a time of 1:03:06. This gave me an average pace of 1:39/100m, which doesn’t seem too bad on the surface. The pb and shorts obviously provided huge assistance, but I was never working hard at any point. Despite the trouble with my groin, I’m glad how my swims have gone this week and I’m confident I’ll swim my first 3.8km LC pool TT, in a wetsuit, later this year. I’ve done this for the last 2 years and both TTs gave an accurate indication of how I ended up swimming in Mallorca.
S & C
1 hour, more of the rehabilitation work the physio has given me.
Totals: 1.0hrs – n/a
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.5hrs – 17,500m
Bike: 4.5hrs – 120.08km
Run: 0.0hrs – 0.20km
Other: 3.5hrs0 -
i guess right now you you are on the verge of entering a new level in your swimming . in a way its already starting to show but i guess there will be more as you are starting to look more fluid and finally you seem to establish a "friendship" with the medium you spend quite some time in ( ie you looking more like a swimmer than the alien in the water you used to be...)
ps fast is sub 1.25 for you ;-00 -
peter kern wrote: »i guess right now you you are on the verge of entering a new level in your swimming . in a way its already starting to show but i guess there will be more as you are starting to look more fluid and finally you seem to establish a "friendship" with the medium you spend quite some time in ( ie you looking more like a swimmer than the alien in the water you used to be...)
ps fast is sub 1.25 for you ;-0
That's good to hear, your next challenge will be to get me to swim straight.
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Monday 20th June
a.m.
S & C1 hour rehab work
Totals: 1.0hrs - n/a
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session
I wasn't fit for any other training and did two sessions with my tri club tonight. I wore buoyancy shorts for the 2 hours and the majority of the sets were done with a pull buoy.
Session 1:200m warm up,I was making the times for the above, then after a couple of reps, I messed up my push off time and though I swam all the following 25s in under 45 seconds, it was hard work to get back in sync with the pool clock and make the scheduled push offs.
5*100m off 1:50 (1:40 approx.),
5*100m off 1:45 (1:38 approx.),
100m easy,
2*100m fast (1:34 & 1:36),
10*50m off 50", w. target of 45",100m easy,Session 2
4*25m sprints
50m easy16*25m off 30", every 4th one fast,I'm not sure if what times I did, but I cramped on the last one and struggled to the wall, so that one at least couldn't have been too impressive.
6 sets of {2*50m off 50" & 100m off 2:00},
I finished in under 45 seconds for the 50s and used the 100s as recoveries.
12*50m mix of fast/easy,
100m easy,
2*50m very fast,
Totals: 2.0hrs - 4,600m
Tuesday 21st June
a.m.
S & C1 hour, some strength work, some rehab workTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
p.m.
Swim
OW, High Rock, Portmarnock15 minutesIt's almost embarrassing even logging this. The water wasn't all that rough, but I was being bounced about and I was feeling what were probably phantom pains in my groin. The tide was on its way out and my hands were scraping off the sand. I was on my own and I was pissed off with everything about this swim and how my recent training has been going. I packed it in and got out way sooner than I had planned. Not much mental strength shown today and a total waste of the drive, but with the mood I was in, I didn't care about either of those.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 750m
Wednesday 22nd June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool400m warm up,I was quite happily hitting 1:29-1:30 for the first 10 one hundreds (amazing the difference 12 hours can make), then I went out to 1:34. I got my times back down to 1:30-1:31 until around the 16th effort, then finished the last few swimming 1:32/1:33. It would have been great had I managed to swim all 20 at the pace I swam the first 10, but aids or no aids, I wouldn't have swam these times 12 months ago. Not running and minimal cycling gave me plenty of rest and had me fresher in the pool, but as Peter alluded to, I do think my swimming is on the verge of moving up a level. Hopefully the improvements will still be apparent in a couple of months, when I'm in the middle of big training volumes.
8*50m off 60" as 25 fast/25 easy
20*100m off 2:10,
100m cool down
p.m.
S & C30 minutes recuperation workTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Cross training46 minutes on cross trainerThis wasn't all that exciting, but I was at least able to watch the second half of Portugal v Hungary on one of the televisions in the gym.
Totals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Thursday 23rd June
a.m.
Swim
Coached session1.5hrs open water practiceWe had four buoys placed in the corners of the pool and the group swam around them. I was always told to start at the back, and given the challenge of making it to the front of the pack within a certain number of laps. I always managed this. I wore buoyancy shorts, so I wouldn't have to kick too hard, but near the end of the 90 minutes, my groin was starting to hurt and I sat out the last effort. Even though it was an enjoyable session and very practical with Saturday's race in mind, I don't think it was the ideal for recovery, which is what I should have been doing. I was in pain and limping afterwards. The chances of me completing the run in Kilkee seemed very slim.
p.m.
S & C45 minutes strength work & small bit of recuperation stuffTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Friday 24th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool, w. buoyancy shorts & pull buoy6*50m max off 60" (first one in on 38", 41" avg.),Totals: 0.5hrs - 1,000m
4*100m on 2:00,
4*50m off 65", desc. 1-4 (48", 46", 43", 42"),
100m easy
Cross training20 minutes aqua joggingNot being able to run in so long has led me to take desperate measures. I bought a belt for aqua jogging in WheelWorx the previous night and tried out aqua jogging for the very first time this morning. It's an infuriatingly slow way of keeping fit and hopefully I won't be stuck doing it for too long.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
p.m.
Nothing
I drove to Kilkee and was in no humour to do anything when I got there. It might have been different had I been more optimistic about my chances of doing well in the race tomorrow, but as it was, I just registered for the race and sat in my house for the night.
Saturday 25th June
Race
Hell of the West, Kilkee
Swim
Conditions today were the toughest I ever remember racing in. Still, apart from not swimming straight, I don't think I managed too badly and came out ahead of people who would be faster than me in the pool. Up until we turned around the final buoy to return to the beach, I thought I had been swimming pretty well. It was choppy as fnck, but allowing for that, up until this buoy, I thought I had been holding a straight enough line. Once we began the swim back to the beach, everybody seemed to be tossed this way and that. It was impossible to see the buoys and for long stretches, I couldn't even see any other swimmers to follow. I had no idea where I was going for a few minutes. I could hear kayakers shouting. I didn't think they could have been talking to me, until I was pushed onto the rocks on the eastern side of the bay. After scraping my hand off the rocks, I just did my best to get the hell away from them. At least this had given me some idea of where I was, but it was still in a rather zigzag fashion that I got back to the beach.
As soon as I stood up, my groin started hurting and at that point I had accepted the fact that I wouldn't be running today.
T1
I couldn't move all that fast and lost some time on account of this. I got through transition as best I could and was across the timing mat in 1 minute 2 seconds, which was exactly twice as long as the quickest transition of 31 seconds.
Cycle
I crossed the mount line and slowly mounted my bike, as to do so quickly would have been painful. Not having cycled since Monday, I wasn't honestly sure if I'd even get through the bike today. I'd left my bike in an easy gear and I waited a few minutes before shifting up to the big ring. Once I was satisfied that pedaling wasn't causing me any pain, I changed gear and got on with the race.
Without going into the hardest gears, I pushed the bike as much as I could. I arrived back in Kilkee having caught a good few people. I think I'd worked my way up to the top 10 and I like to think I'd have made up another place or two on the run, but as soon as I dismounted and my right foot touched the ground, I knew pulling out was the wisest thing to do.
Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs - 1,780m (according to my Garmin)
Cycle: 1.0hrs - 44.01km
I'm trying to pick the positives from the race in Kilkee. The main one being the swim, my Garmin records me as having swam an average pace of 1:34/km. Holding this pace for 3.8km would give me a much covetted sub-60 IM swim. Granted some of today's swim included the short run up the beach to cross the timing mat, but given the conditions we had to swim in today, I'm assuming in less trying circumstances, I'm telling myself I'd have been more than capable of it.
Sunday 26th June
Cycle52.27km in 1:58:34, 36.6km/hr, 305m elevation gain
I cycled out to Loop Head and back to Kilkee with a club mate who was staying in the same house as me. We took it easy on the way out, but threw in a few efforts on the way back. This had as much to do with wanting to get back in time for kick off in the Irish match, than any great desire to do some hard work.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 52.27km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.0hrs - 14,430m
Cycle: 3.0hrs - 96.28km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.0km
Other: 5.0hrs0 -
Hopefully you're not as down about the injury / lck of running as I'm taking away from reading your log. Sounds like you've made good progress in the pool and open water - you've worked seriously hard for it - don't discount it now that it's finally coming!
There's still ages to Mallorca - as you know, a lot can be done in 3 months (my youngest turned 12 weeks yesterday!)0 -
Catching up on your log this morning. I hate that you are still being nagged by that injury (UGH!!), and I must admit I had a chuckle at the thought of you aqua jogging. Been there - bought the belt when I was injured a few years back and before I had the treadmill in the pool, so I can sympathize with you about how anticlimactic jogging like that can be. Are there any facilities that have real treadmills in a pool nearby?? I know there are endless pools in Dublin (what's the name of that one place I went to....???), maybe they do?? Or perhaps the university conventional pool has such an apparatus via their sports department?? Another idea that may be total bunk, but is there any value to working out on an elliptical?? I've never been on one myself, but I believe they are non-concussive. Fingers crossed you are fit as a fiddle and ready to smash it on the run soon!!!0
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how's the injury holding up Zico? I see your down on the 3d super team for the relays, will you be able to race?0
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how's the injury holding up Zico? I see your down on the 3d super team for the relays, will you be able to race?
Injury is slowly improving. I did 4km easy on a treadmill yesterday and although I was never in pain, I was afraid to push hard. Even though I'm registered for the duathlon tonight, I'm going to give it a miss, but I hope to race on Saturday. I'm pretty certain I'll be able to run by then, plus it's only 1.5km, so thankfully it'll be over pretty quickly.
I don't know if you could call us the 3d 'super' team. We're the only team from our club registered, and compared to some of the teams on the list, we look decidedly ordinary. I think our starting female will be able to mix it with the best of them in the swim, but after that, I think we'll struggle to stick with some of the other triathletes racing.
It'll be interesting though. It's my first time doing a relay and I'm not going to be too upset wherever we place.0 -
Same as myself so, more a bit of fun than anything else. We have 4 teams racing so will more be a race within the club than racing the others. Looking forward to it though, some big names racing too.0
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Monday 27th June
a.m.
Nothing
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session8*50m off 60" alt. easy/fast (fast ones coming in around 42 seconds),Bar the TT at the end, I used a pull buoy for all of the above sets. I was hoping for an easy session after the race at the weekend. We're usually just told what the sets are as the hour progresses and this just seemed to get tougher and tougher. Having not done the run down in Kilkee, I guess I didn't really need an easy session, but I wasn't expecting one quite so tough.
8*25m off 30" alt. easy/fast (fast ones coming in around 17 seconds),
4*100m off 2:00 (1:25 approximately),
50m easy,
2*200m best average (2:58 & 2:57),
8*25m off 40", 4th & 8th ones fast,
400m fs TT in 6:17
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,450m
Tuesday 28th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session5*200m pull w. 15" rest, (3:14, 3:13, 3:13, 3:12, 3:13, 3:14)My notes for this session are a bit sketchy. The above is all I've written down. As I was still suffering from the injury that prevented me running in Kilkee, I wore buoyancy shorts for the session.
5*150m fs, first & last 50 fast, middle 50 easy
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,800m
p.m.
Cycle
Turbo2 hours easy/steadyTotals: 2.0hrs - 56.0km
Wednesday 29th June
a.m.
S & C40 minutes strength workThis wasn't my plan going to the NAC this morning, but the 50m pool was leaking and as a result we weren't allowed use it. There were only three lanes open to members in the 25m diving pool and all three of them were over crowded. There was no way I would have been able to do the swim session I had planned, so after about 5 minutes of head scratching, I went back out to my car, rummaged through my boot and found enough gear to allow me get dressed for an S & C session in the gym.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
p.m.
Swim
50m pool8*50m off 60" as 25 fast/25 easyI wore buoyancy shorts for this and did the whole session with a pull buoy. I still don't want to kick hard, so I felt they were vital to me completing the session in the manner I wanted. Both swim aids were of huge benefit in allowing me swim the times I did, but I was happy with how consistently 'fast' I was. The IM paced efforts were just slightly outside the pace I hope to swim in September. I think the pull buoy and buoyancy shorts combo would be an accurate indicator of how I'd swim in a wetsuit. And provided I swim straight in my IM, I don't think I'm too far off where I want to be.
5 sets of {100m fast off 2:00 (1:27-1:28 avg.) & 300m @IM Pace (4:45-4:48 avg.)}
100m easy
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,500m
Cycle
TT bike54.26km in 1:32:00, 35.4km/hr, 193m elev. gain, (+ 3km not recorded) w. 20', 15' & 10' IM efforts,I was cycling into the wind during the first effort and the second two efforts were wind assisted. I only used the big ring for the IM efforts and even then, I stayed out of the harder gears (especially going uphill). As a result, I was cycling at a higher cadence than I'd usually do, but I was still happy with my overall speed. My recent low volume of cycling, had no doubt left my legs fresh, but still today's cycle gives me something to think about.
Efforts; 1) 13.06km in 19:58, 39.2km/hr, 44m ascent, 63m descent, 2) 9.62km in 14:58, 38.4km/hr, 62m ascent, 33m descent, 3) 6.54km in 9:59, 39.2km/hr, 26m ascent, 22m descent
Totals: 1.5hrs - 57.26km
Thursday 30th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session200m warm up,I wore buoyancy shorts and I wasn't feeling super fast this morning.
400m drills,
20*100m off 2:00 (first 10 alt. pull/fs, last 10 all pull, bar one), (pull; 1:27-1:28, fs; 1:29-1:30, some went out beyond 1:30)
450m easy
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,050m
p.m.
S & C30 minutes rehab work & 20 minutes aqua joggingTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Cycle
Road bike
2 hours easy51.98km in 1:56:24, 26.8km/hr, 188m elev. gain, (+2km not recorded)Totals: 2.0hrs - 53.98km
Friday 1st July
a.m.
Swim
50m pool300m warm up,The first three sets of 3*100m were done as pull and the second three as freestyle. To the best of my recollection my times for each of the 6 sets were 1- (1:31, 1:31, 1:29), 2 - (1:34, 1:32, 1:32), 3 - (1:33, 1:33, 1:32), 4 - (1:38, 1:36, 1:34), 5 - (1:36, 1:34, 1:33), 6 - (1:37, 1:37, 1:35). Although not sure about the times, I'm certain I managed to descend during each set of 3*100m. The times might not reflect this, but the efforts were consistent with how I would swim in the respective races.
6 sets of {3*100m off 1:50, done at IM/Olympic/Sprint intensity}, extra 30" rest between sets.
300m cool down
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,400m
p.m.
S & C50 minutes strength workTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Cycle
Road bike
90 minutes w. 2 sets of 4*1 minute accelerations44.01km in 1:29:08, 29.6km/hr, 92m elevation gain, (+3km not recorded)The wind was against me for the first 4 efforts and also the sun was in my eyes. It was impossible to see my cycle computer during the first effort and I just made a random guess as to when to press the lap button. The roads were wet and windy in parts. Halfway through, my back wheel slid going around one of these bends. This made me nervous for the rest of the cycle and I was very cautious going around any other bends.
Efforts: 1) 56 seconds @ 37.4km/ hr, 2) 60 seconds @ 37.6km/ hr, 3) 62 seconds @ 37.5km/ hr, 4) 60 seconds @ 34.1km/ hr, 5) 60 seconds @ 42.8km/ hr, 6) 61 seconds @ 43.3km/ hr, 7) 61 seconds @ 41.4km/ hr, 8) 56 seconds @ 43.9km/ hr
Totals: 1.5hrs - 47.01km
Saturday 2nd July
Cycle
Road bike95.34km in 3:21:17, 28.4km/hr, 408m elevation gain, (+3km not recorded)For a bit of variety I took a detour off the roads I usually cycle and unfortunately ended up in Navan. Unfortunate in the amount of traffic lights I had to pass through. I seemed to get held up at every single set I met and it made for a frustrating evening. There were intermittent heavy showers, which inevitably led to wet roads. I myself while wet, avoided getting soaked.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 98.34km
Sunday 3rd July
a.m.
Swim
Open Water
Escape to Ireland Swim2,250m in 34:38, 1:32/100m
I didn't treat this as a race and just swam it at a controlled effort. I wasn't wearing a Garmin, but somebody who finished just in front of me, told me her Garmin recorded the distance as 2.24km and a friend who finished not too long after me, told me his recorded it as 2.26km. I'll just split and log it as that.
Before the race, we were warned to be wary of the currents that could drag us off course. I can't say I ever noticed them, so perhaps conditions were conducive to fast swimming today. But then Mallorca isn't a tough swim either, and I was wearing my old and slower training wetsuit today. Hopefully it bodes well.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 2,250m
p.m.
Cycle
Road bike4.56km in 10:03, 27.2km/hr, 24m elev. gain & 11m elev. loss,I approached this in three distinct phases. The first 10 minutes were a warm up, then I was into 15 minutes at slightly above IM pace, then steady until the end. The wind was against me for the first two sections and predominantly with me for the third section.
8.69km in 14:59, 34.8km/hr, 19m elev. gain & 26m elev. loss,
38.16km in 1:06:26, 34.5km/hr, 91m elev. gain & 100m elev. loss,
Totals: 51.41km in 1:31:30, 34.5km/hr, 134m elev. gain
Totals: 1.5hrs - 51.41km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.5hrs - 16,050m
Cycle: 12.0hrs - 364.00km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.0km
Other: 2.5hrs0 -
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Lots of 100's in your swim sets, and the times are well under 1:30. Is this a deliberate choice (changing from your longer 400's or so)?0
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Are there any facilities that have real treadmills in a pool nearby?? I know there are endless pools in Dublin (what's the name of that one place I went to....???), maybe they do?? Or perhaps the university conventional pool has such an apparatus via their sports department?? Another idea that may be total bunk, but is there any value to working out on an elliptical??
There's nowhere I know of with a facility like that. I think it was Base2Race you visited and I'm pretty sure their endless pool is solely for swim analysis and wetsuit testing. Then UCD (I presume you're talking about), whether they have such an apparatus or not, is a bit of a journey for me.
I often used/use the elliptical trailer and I certainly don't think it's total bunk. As you say, it's non impact and I feel it's a great substitute when injured. Unfortunately it doesn't prepare you for the pounding you're legs take out on the road, but there's nothing I can do to mimic that.
Being unable to run is frustrating, but as long as I can get back to it soon enough, missing a couple of weeks isn't going to have a huge impact on my performance in Mallorca. Even with the running I've missed, I don't think there'll be too many people on the startline that have ran more than me over the last couple of years.0 -
Swimming seems to be clicking Zico, some really impressive times there. Fair reward for all the work, hopefully it will carry over to the race now.0
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Kurt_Godel wrote: »Lots of 100's in your swim sets, and the times are well under 1:30. Is this a deliberate choice (changing from your longer 400's or so)?
I wasn't really aware of it to be honest. Three of my sessions per week are coached, and the 20*100m on Thursday was Peter's session for the group, not just me in particular. As a test set, I do however think it's a great indication of where I am at.
For the most recent weekly update, I'm not sure if you read the fine print, but you need to consider that I never did one swim without buoyancy shorts, and quite a bit of the swimming was done with a pull buoy.
Getting back to your question, the sets of 100s outside of my coached sessions are not a deliberate choice either. I have sought someone's advice on what sort of training I should do and it's him that comes up with the sets. I'm happy to be doing them though. As 1:34.5/100m is what I need to hold for a sub 60 IM swim, and it is good to see that I am going under 1:30 far more regularly than I used to.0 -
I wasn't really aware of it to be honest. Three of my sessions per week are coached, and the 20*100m on Thursday was Peter's session for the group, not just me in particular. As a test set, I do however think it's a great indication of where I am at.
For the most recent weekly update, I'm not sure if you read the fine print, but you need to consider that I never did one swim without buoyancy shorts, and quite a bit of the swimming was done with a pull buoy.
Getting back to your question, the sets of 100s outside of my coached sessions are not a deliberate choice either. I have sought someone's advice on what sort of training I should do and it's him that comes up with the sets. I'm happy to be doing them though. As 1:34.5/100m is what I need to hold for a sub 60 IM swim, and it is good to see that I am going under 1:30 far more regularly than I used to.
Buoyancy shorts or not, swimming 100's so consistently under 1:30 is a good step forward for you. Nothing beats swimming fast to train you to swim fast. You put in more work than most people here so its good to see that swim effort showing rewards.0 -
Monday 4th July
a.m.
S & C40 minutes strength workTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Run4km on treadmill; 10:00 at 11.5km/hr, 8:00 at 12.0km/hr, 2:00 at 14.2km/hr, remainder at 11.5km/hrNo ill effects, which hopefully means I'm back in the game.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 4.0km
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session400m warm up as 50 fs/50 other stroke,Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,500m
10*50m as 25 fast/25 easy w. 10 rest,
11*100m off 1:45, these were all sub 1:35. Feeling whimsical, I did the prime numbers as pull and the others as fs. I was drafting someone else and was always close enough to them that it was of huge benefit to me.
10*25m sprints & drafting practice,
10*50m OW drills
50m easy
Tuesday 5th July
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session100m warm up,I was happy with this. Another swimmer was ahead of me today. He's fast enough, that I was never tipping his toes, but there was a drafting benefit.
4*50m building,
10*100m off 2:00, (1:33 approx.),
200m pull,
10*100m off 2:00, (1:33 approx.),
200m pull,
10*100m off 2:05, (1:33 approx.),
200m pull,
8*50m off 1:05, (0:4?),
100m pull,
3*100m pull off 3:00, (1:26, 1:27, 1:27),
100m easy
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,300m
p.m.
Cycle
2 hours, w. 3 x 25' @ just below IM pace & 5' recovery58.74km in 1:48:56, 32.9km/hr, 288m elevation gain, (+3km not recorded)Heavy traffic heading into Trim for a Taisce event, meant I had to take an unplanned turn onto an unfamiliar road. It was up, down and twisty. My second effort started on this road and holding a sustained output here was impossible. I was happy with the averages over the three efforts though.
15 minutes warm up,
Efforts; 1) 14.73km in 25:00, 35.4km/hr, 59m elev. gain & 50m elev. loss,
2) 13.62km in 25:02, 32.7km/hr, 106m elev. gain & 90m elev. loss, 3) 14.77km in 25:00, 34.4km/hr, 15m elev. gain & 25m elev. loss
Totals: 2.0hrs - 61.74km
Wednesday 6th July
a.m.
S & C40 minutesMy back was bothering me, so I thought it would be wise to take the day off swimming, in the hope that things would settle.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
p.m.
Cycle
2 hours w. last 15 minutes at IM Pace59.66km in 2:00:02, 29.8km/hr, 298m elev. gain, (+2km not recorded)It was cloudy and the roads were wet. The wind felt stronger than usual and it was a cross/tail wind during the IM effort.
IM Effort: 8.99km in 15:01, 35.9km/hr, 14m elev. gain & 10m elev. loss
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,500m
Run5.30km in 25:02, 4:43/kmI did this off the bike and it was my first run on the road, in nearly a month. It was a tester to see if I was over my injury. There was no pain during the first half of the run, so I decided I'd push slightly harder on the way back. I finished with no issues. Whoop, whoop! In many ways, it felt like my best session in a long time.
Lap 1) 2.63km in 13:01, 4:56/km,
Lap 2) 2.66km in 12:01, 4:30/km
Totals: 0.5hrs - 5.30km
Thursday 7th July
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session200m warm up,Peter had us climbing out of the pool after sprinting 25m, to quickly get back to the deep end, and dive back in for another 25m sprint. On the very last one, I slipped and stubbed my toe getting out of the pool. I tried running later this evening and the pain meant I had to abandon. Having just recovered from a groin strain, the timing is as annoying as hell.
14*25m sprints alternating diving/water start,
400m pull,
4*100m as 25 fast/25 easy,
200m pull,
6*75m as 25 fast/25 easy/25 fast,
200m pull,
100m cool down
Total volume seems very low for a 90 minute session, but the guy who told me this is what we swam, is always reliable.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 2,350m
p.m.
Cycle
Road bike
1 hour steady w. 5', 3 x 3', & 5 x 1' fast35.16km in 1:07:40, 31.2km/hr, 109m elev. gain, (+4.5km not recorded)
Efforts; 1) 3.01km in 5:00, 36.1km/hr, 23m elev. gain & 5m elev. loss,
2) 1.87km in 3:01, 37.0km/hr, 9m elev. gain & 3m elev. loss, 3) 1.76km in 3:01, 34.8km/hr, 14m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 4) 1.85km in 2:59, 37.0km/hr, 7m elev. gain & 16m elev. loss, (I had to slow down to go through a roundabout during this effort. My recent fall has left me very nervous when I have to do this at speed, so it was probably even slower than necessary.)
5) 0.70km in 1:01, 41.2km/hr, no elev. gain & 7m elev. loss, 6) 0.61km in 1:00, 36.1km/hr, no elev. gain & no elev. loss, 7) 0.69km in 1:00, 41.3km/hr, no elev. gain & 10m elev. loss, 8) 0.64km in 1:01, 37.3km/hr, 5m elev. gain & 6m elev. loss, 9) 0.63km in 1:00, 38.0km/hr, no elev. gain & no elev. loss
In preparation for the draft legal race on Saturday, I stayed off my aero bars.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 39.66km
Friday 8th July
a.m.
S & C40 minutes strength workAny exercises involving balance were affected by my sore toe.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
p.m.
Swim
25m pool200m fs,Totals: 0.5hrs - 950m
200m pull,
4*25m fast off 40", (17", 18", 18", 18"),
50m easy pull,
4*25m fast off 40", (17", 18", 18", 18"),
50m easy pull,
50m fast, (38")
200m easy
Cycle
Road bike
90 minutes steady47.52km in 1:30:20, 31.6km/hr, 112m elev. gain, (+1.5km not recorded)With tomorrow's race in mind, where they won't be allowed, I didn't use my aero bars at any point.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 49.02km
Saturday 9th July
Race
Sprint Relay Championships
3D had entered in this and I was drafted into the team of four. Had I stubbed my toe earlier in the week, I would have asked someone else to replace me. The unfortunate timing of my accident, meant it was too late for any name changes though.
As it was, I drove to Mullingar, happy that it was only a 1.5km run I'd have to do. I met my teammates down there and told them of my predicament, and warned them not to expect too much from me today.
I was fourth off for our team and once I was tagged, I began the run to the water. My toe hurt straight away and the swim start couldn't come soon enough. I got to the pontoon that led the way into the water and somehow slipped on my ass, before standing back up, to "dive" in and begin. The field was well strung out at this stage and there was nobody near me for the majority of the swim. I thought I was swimming a straight line, but then two other swimmers appeared to my right. Both were making much better progress than me. I tried to move over to get a draft, but they were moving too quickly and nothing came of it.
I was out of the water soon after this and with it began another long painful run. I transitioned slowly and once everything was in order, I began pushing my bike to the mount line.
Once on my bike, the weight was off my feet and it was a relief to be able to move without hurting. It wasn't until I was out the gate that I felt I could really push. I worked as hard as I could until the turnaround and was wrecked by the time I got there. Another cyclist had latched onto my wheel and had been given a tow from the gate to the halfway point. At this stage, I wanted him to do some work and I let him go ahead of me. We had to go up a hill, when he pushed and I lost his wheel. I was left on my own for most of the way back to the estate. I'd closed the gap on him by the time we got back to the gate, but I had nothing like the advantage he got from drafting off me on the outward leg; the joys of draft legal racing. The cycle felt like it was over in no time and given the nature of the race, I got back to T2 glad I hadn't been involved in a crash.
Off the bike and back on my feet, the pain returned, a reminder me that I shouldn't really have been running. After another slow transition, I began the final leg of the race. I'd chosen to wear ON Cloudsurfers, which are definitely not a racing shoe. The extra large lugs afford a lot of cushioning though, and I thought they would protect my injured toe much better than my usual lightweight racing shoes.
This sort of worked, but I was also very conscious of how I was landing and pushing off. I wasn't running with a natural gait in the early portion of the run. I'm not sure that I ever was in fact, but the pain in my toe prevented me from just letting rip, and the run wasn't as fast and furious as it needed to be. They were two others ahead of me and I wasn't able to give chase. Not wanting to do myself further damage, I was more interested in avoiding injury than running fast. I was only able to run at about 60% and had it not been a relay, I would have pulled out. As it was, I soldiered on and was delighted to cross the finish line, because it meant an end to the pain, rather than anything else.
Overall our team was well off the pace. There were some very strong teams competing and we could never have hoped to match them, but still it was annoying not to be able to give 100% and I don't feel like I contributed much to our performance. It was a good experience competing as part of a team and it is a race I'd hope to do again next year. I think all who took part feel the same and kudos to Midland Tri and TI for ensuring the race happened.
Totals;
Swim: 0.0hrs - 250m
Cycle: 0.0hrs - 4.5km
Run: 0.0hrs - 1.5km
Sunday 10th July
Cycle
TT bikeForerunner; 171.21km in 5:16:51, 32.4km/hr, Edge; 19.92km in 0:36:23, 32.9km/hr, (+3km not recorded)Heading out the door, I feared the battery on my Garmin Forerunner, nor my Garmin Edge, had enough remaining power to last the full length of today's long cycle. That's why I used the two devices to record the ride. It was wet and miserable, which made it feel like a much longer day than it actually was. The wind was against me on the way out and with me on the way home, so at least that much was in my favour.
Totals: 6.0hrs - 194.13km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.5hrs - 9,350m
Cycle: 13.0hrs - 410.71km
Run: 1.0hrs - 10.80km
Other: 2.0hrs
As I said already, the injury to my toe is bloody annoying. I was worried it might have been fractured. I was at a physio on Monday just gone, for a separate issue, and he reckons it's just ligament damage though. I don't know if this makes much difference to recovery time, but it was somehow reassuring to hear. I don't know for how much longer I'll be off my feet. Anybody I talk to, tells me not to worry, that there's still lots of time until my A-race in Mallorca and that the fitness will transfer from the cycling and swimming I can still do. I know this is true, but to my mind nothing prepares the body for running like actual running. Cycling and swimming just can't prepare the body for the hammering it has to take over 42km. Fingers crossed I'm back out there soon.0 -
Monday 11th July
a.m.
Cycle2 hours steadyTotals: 2.0hrs - 57.17km
p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session400m warm up,I was happy with how tonight went. I had my pull buoy in case of cramp, but I only ended up using it towards the very end of the session, and even at that it was only for the easy 25's. I was catching up to a faster swimmer in front of me. I was getting a big drafting benefit from his presence. Being very aware and appreciative of this, I was doing my best not to tip his toes, but had he being moving a few seconds per 100m quicker, I think I'd have been able for it too.
16*100m off 1:45, every 4th one fast, extra 30" rest halfway through. Times; easy = 1:34-1:36, fast = 1:26-1:27,
50m easy,
12*25m off 40", every 3rd one fast, (17"-18"),
100m fast, on my own in lane, (1:22)
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,450m
Tuesday 12th July
a.m.
Swim
OW - High Rock, Portmarnock, coached session
Instead of our usual pool session with Peter, the swim was switched to the sea. My Garmin recorded the total distance as 1.05km, in 21:53 for an average pace 2:04/km. I'm not 100% sure of the reading though, as my watch would sometimes lose signal anytime I'd stop to tread water. I felt like I swam more than 1,050m, so this might have been happening during the swim as well.
Anyway, the swim was a bit of a disaster for me. There was a lot of stopping and starting and I was in the water for a lot longer than 21:53. I was cold from the get go and when my teeth started to chatter, I knew it was time to get out.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 1,050m
p.m.
Cycle
TT Bike
2½ hours w. 3 sets of 3 x {2:30 IM Effort & 2:30 steady}, 5:00 steady between sets81.71km in 2:30:01, 32.7km/hr, 377m elev. gain, (+4km not recorded)Overall, I didn't quite hit my desired goal pace of >36km/hr, but I was pretty close. For the majority of the efforts, the conditions weren't in my favour, so I'm not beating myself up about missing the target.
IM Efforts;
Set 1; 1) 1.55km in 2:33, 36.2km/hr, 7m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 2) 1.51km in 2:29, 36.2km/hr, 3m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 3) 1.55km in 2:33, 36.2km/hr, 7m elev. gain & no elev. loss, (very twisty stretch of road)
Set 2; 4) 1.46km in 2:29, 34.8km/hr, 8m elev. gain & 9m elev. loss, (unfinished surface, lots of rolling resistance), 5) 1.57km in 2:28, 37.5km/hr, 5m elev. gain & 13m elev. loss, (uphill start), 6) 1.67km in 2:31, 39.8km/hr, 9m elev. gain & 18m elev. loss,
Set 3; 7) 1:42km in 2:32, 33.6km/hr, 15m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 8) 1.49km in 2:30, 35.5km/hr, 12m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 9) 1.75km in 2:31, 41.3km/hr, 9m elev. gain & 21m elev. loss, (very fast finish, nearly scarily so)
Totals for IM Efforts; 13.76km in 22:31, 35.96km/hr, 85m elev. gain & 65m elev. loss
Totals: 2.5hrs - 85.71km
S & C20 minutes stretching & foam rollingTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Cross training2 x 20 minutes on cross trainer w. 5 minute breakTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Wednesday 13th July
a.m.
Swim
50m pool200m warm up,I wasn't timing the 400s. I'm fairly certain I came in under 7 minutes for all of them though. I was under pressure to get them done before the 50m pool closed for reconfiguration, so the rests which should have been 1:30, were all a bit shorter than that.
4*50m off 60", desc. 1-4, (50", 49", 48", 46")
5*400m tempo pace, w. 1:00-1:15 rest, no. 4 done as pull
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,400m
S & C55 minutes strength workTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
p.m.
Cycle
Turbo1½ hours easyTotals: 1.5hrs -42.0km
Thursday 14th July
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session100m warm up,Totals: 1.5hrs - 2,850m
400m drills,
12*50m; as {1 & 2 easy w. 15" rest + 3 fast w. 20" rest} x 4,
12*50m; as {1 easy w. 15" rest + 2 & 3 fast w. 20" rest} x 4,
100m easy,
10*50m; as {1 & 2 fast w. 20" rest & 3 as 25 fast/25 easy w. 20" rest} x 4,
100m easy
400m as {100 easy/100 fast} x 2, (6:56)
p.m.
Cycle
TT bike
2 hours w. 8 x 3 minute hill reps44.34km in 1:45:11, 25.3km/hr, 892m elev. gainI went out to Howth to do these hill reps. I don't know if it's just me, but these reps seem to show that I still haven't figured out gearing when going uphill. I'm never sure when to come off my aero bars, when to stand, when to sit back down, everything got to do with climbing well basically. I'm not sure if they'd be considered fast, but times were consistent at least, so I guess that's something.
Reps; 1) 1.17km in 2:53, 24.4km/hr, 39m elev. gain, 2) 1.18km in 2:58, 23.8km/hr, 46m elev. gain, 3) 1.17km in 2:56, 23.8km/hr, 53m elev. gain & bizarrely 6m elev. loss, 4) 1.18km in 2:59, 23.8km/hr, 48m elev. gain, 5) 1.19km in 2:53, 24.7km/hr, 47m elev. gain, 6) 1.17km in 2:58, 23.6km/hr, 48m elev. gain, 7) 1.13km in 2:51, 23.9km/hr, 48m elev. gain, (a truck reversing, on a road he never should have gone up, brought a premature halt to this rep), 8) 1.17km in 2:57, 23.9km/hr, 48m elev. gain
Totals: 2.0hrs - 44.34km
S & C2 x 20 minutes, w. 5 minutes breakI worked a little bit harder than the last day on the cross trainer. The metrics on the machine aren't much to judge effort off, but I lost 0.4kg over the 40 minutes. I'm going to set that as the minimum acceptable standard from now on, and if I don't lose 100g per 10 minutes on the cross trainer from now on, I'll know I haven't worked hard enough.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Friday 15th July
a.m.
Nothing
p.m.
S & C50 minutes strength workTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Swim
50m pool8*50m off 60", desc. 1-4 & 5-8, (50"-42" approximately),The times for the 100's were; 1:32, 1:32, 1:32, 1:33, 1:34(pull), 1:33 and I was doing the 300's in 3:00-3:05, with the last couple being slightly slower than the first few. I did set 4 as pull for both the 100m and 300m and could afford to dial the effort back a bit.
6 sets of {100m fast off 1:50 & 300m IM Effort w. 15m acceleration in each 100},
200m cool down
Totals: 0.5hrs - 950m
Saturday 16th July
Cycle
TT Bike
5 hours w. 3 x {50 min IM Effort & 10 recovery}172.69km in 5:07:41, 33.7km/hr, 692m elevation gain, (+5km nit recorded)I was only fueling during the 10 minute recovery periods between the Ironman efforts. I was tiring during final effort. This could be due to my fueling strategy, or the fact that I haven't done such extended periods of IM paced stuff in quite a while. It was probably a bit of both.
IM efforts; 1) 30.32km in 50:00, 36.4km/hr, 165m elev. gain & 186m elev. loss (half of the time into headwind, half crosswind), 2) 30.32km in 50:01, 36.4km/hr, 110m elev. gain & 122m elev. loss (predominantly tailwind), 3) 28.96km in 50:00, 34.8km/hr, 125m elev. gain & 121m elev. loss (half headwind, half tailwind)
Totals: 89.50km in 2:49:01, 35.78km/hr avg.
I'd gone out with a 1.5L Camelbak and 750ml of sports drink, which proved to be insufficient fluids given the weather today. I had to stop to restock after 4 hours. The TT position was becoming uncomfortable and my speed was dropping before this. The stop made the final hour a bit more tolerable, but I know I won't get such a luxury in a race. I plan to go out better prepared the next time. Looks like I'll have to use my 3L Camelbak then.
Totals: 5.5hrs - 177.69km
Sunday 17th July
Cycle
TT bike
2 hours steady62.80km in 1:59:13, 31.6km/hr, 265m elev. gain, (+5km not recorded)This was a pretty non eventful spin. I kept the effort very controlled and was honestly surprised at how easy I found it after a tough day in the saddle yesterday.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 67.80km
Cross Training2 x 30 minutes w. 5 minute breakTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.0hrs - 11,750m
Cycle: 15.5hrs - 474.71km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.0km
Other: 4.5hrs0 -
How's your big toe? Any sign of you getting back running?0
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How's your big toe? Any sign of you getting back running?
The pain is lessening, but it's still too sore to run. I expect to be out for another week or two, but on the positive side, I've been able to swim and cycle unaffected and I'm seeing progress with them. And while the cross trainer isn't ideal, at least it's something. There's still a good few weeks to IM Mallorca and all going well, I've plenty of time to get my run back up to speed.0 -
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Monday 18th July
a.m.
Cycle
2½ hours easy75.13km in 2:43:40, 27.5km/hr, 261m elev. gain, (+2km not recorded)Totals: 3.0hrs - 77.13km
p.m.
Cross Training50 minutes on cross trainer w. 3*10 minute IM effortsTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Swim
25m pool, coached session16*50m, every 4th 50 fast, (38, x, 40, 39)I came in under 45 seconds for all the 50s. I slowed slightly towards the end of the set, but was never in danger of going over 45".
4 sets of {2*100m off 2:00 & 4*50m off 50"},
200m easy
Totals: 0.5hrs - 2,600m
Tuesday 19th July
a.m.
Swim
OW - 25m pool, coached session
I've no notes for this, but most of it was easy stuff. I'm pretty sure we did some fast 100s though and we definitely did some fast 50s, which were under 43 seconds. There was somebody ahead of me in the lane, which helped me hit these times. I've no idea of the distance we did and 3,000m is a guess.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,000m
S & C50 minutes strength workTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Cross training20 minutes aqua joggingTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
p.m.
Cycle
TT Bike
90 minutes w. 3 sets of {2:30 IM Effort & 2:30 recovery}78.12km in 2:20:50, 33.3km/hr, 322m elev. gain, (+5km not recorded)I was happy with the pace I held for the efforts and it felt like I was holding good speed. I thought things were generally in my favour during the efforts, so I'm a bit surprised to see the overall elevation gain is greater than the elevation loss.
IM efforts; 1st set - 1) 1.62km in 2:30, 38.8km/hr, 12m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 2) 1.73km in 2:28, 41.4km/hr, 4m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 3) 1.76km in 2:28, 42.1km/hr, 19m elev. gain & 26m elev. loss, 4) 1.80km in 2:29, 38.8km/hr, 4m elev. gain & 12, elev. loss, 5) 1.41km in 2:29, 33.8km/hr, 20m elev. gain & 8m elev. loss,
2nd set - 6) 1.80km in 2:28, 43.3km/hr, no elev. gain & 15m elev. loss, 7) 1.68km in 2:30, 40.0km/hr, no elev. gain & 17m elev. loss, 8) 1.58km in 2:30, 37.5km/hr, 16m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 9) 1.53km in 2:27, 36.9km/hr, 15m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 10) 1.79km in 2:29, 43.0km/hr, 9m elev. gain & 25m elev. loss
3rd set - 11) 1.47km in 2:22, 37.0km/hr, 7m elev. gain & 4m elev. loss (I had to end this early because I got stuck behind a tractor and trailer), 12) 1.23km in 2:29, 29.7km/hr, 21m elev. gain & no elev. loss, 13) 1.60km in 2:29, 38.4km/hr, 4m elev. gain & 4m elev. loss, 14) 1.67km in 2:31, 39.3km/hr, no elev. gain & 6m elev. loss, 15) 1.68km in 2:28, 40.3km/hr, no elev. gain & 7m elev. loss
Totals; 24.35km in 37:19, 131m elev. gain & 120 elev. loss, 38.98km/hr avg.
Totals: 2.5hrs - 83.12km/hr
Wednesday 20th July
a.m.
Cycle
TT Bike
90 minutes easy39.01km in 1:26:50, 27.0km/hr, 111m elev. gainTotals: 1.5hrs - 39.01km
p.m.
Cross Training30 minutes easy on cross trainerTotals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Thursday 21st July
a.m.
Swim
25m pool250m warm up,The coach wasn't here, so we did the same session as last week. I was sharing lead out duties with the other guy in my lane. Nothing overly challenging happened.
12*50m, 1 & 2 easy w. 15" rest, 3 fast w. 20" rest,
100m pull,
12*50m, 1 easy w. 15" rest, 2 & 3 fast w. 20" rest,
100m pull,
10*50m, 1 & 2 fast, 3 as 25 fast/25 easy all w. 20" rest,
400m pull easy
Totals: 1.5hrs - 2,550m
p.m.
Cycle
TT bike
4 hours steady effort93.05km in 3:46:48, 24.6km/hr, 1,587m elev. gainI drove to Enniskerry for this, parked up there and did the cycle in the Wicklow Mountains. I was obviously expecting a drop off in my usual pace and the whole cycle was only intended as one steady effort, but I'd liked to have seen a higher overall average speed than what I finished with. The speed I was hitting going down some of the hills scared me and I definitely wasn't taking full advantage of the descents. Hopefully next time, I'll be a bit braver and I'll be able to push things more.
On a happier note, rain which had been threatening to come all day, held off for the entire cycle.
Totals: 4.0hrs - 93.05km
Cross Training50 minutes on cross trainer, steady effortTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Friday 22nd July
a.m.
Nothing
p.m.
Cycle
90 mins w. 2 sets of {5 x 2:30 IM Effort & 2:30 steady recovery}50.30km in 1:27:00, 34.7km/hr, 176m elev. gain, (+4km not recorded)I was dealing with a crosswind for most of these, but it was never hugely disadvantageous, still I thought I was moving well and I was happy with the results.
Efforts:
Set 1 - 1) 1.65km in 2:30, 39.4km/hr, 2) 1.59km in 2:30, 38.1km/hr, 3) 1.45km in 2:30, 34.7km/hr, 4) 1.84km in 2:30, 44.0km/hr, 5) 1.66km in 2:29, 40.0km/hr
Set 2 - 6) 1.59km in 2:30, 38.1km/hr, 7) 1.54km in 2:30, 36.8km/hr, 8) 1.49km in 2:31, 35.5km/hr, 9) 1.68km in 2:30, 40.4km/hr, 10) 1.73km in 2:30, 41.3km/hr
Totals: 16.22km in 25:00, 38.83km/hr avg.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 54.30km
S & C40 minutes strength workI was in a bit of a rush to get to the pool, so I cut back on the amount of foam rolling I usually do as a warm up.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a
Swim
25m pool400m warm upOwing to a competition in the NAC, pool availability for members was very limited this week. There was a 2 hour window this evening, but we had to use the diving pool instead of the regular competition pool, which, for some reason I don't know of, has a cross current. It made swimming straight challenging and the problems became more and more pronounced as the session went. I was bunched by the end of the session and got out of the water disappointed with how things had gone. On balance though, a good cycle only a few hours earlier, followed by a disappointing swim is I suppose typical of Ironman training; strikes and gutters, ups and downs.
7 sets of {100m fast off 1:40 & 400m IM effort}, w. 45" rest between sets
Times; 1) 1:28 & 6:38(1:39/100m), 2) 1:32 & 6:38(1:39/100m), 3) 1:31, then I hit the stop button instead of the lap button on my Garmin, so this 400m effort wasn't recorded. 4) 1:36 & 6:56(1:43/100m), 5) 1:36 & 7:04(1:46/100m), (I could really feel myself fading and I used a pull buoy for the remaining two efforts) 6) 1:33 & 6:50(1:42/100m), 7) 1:34 & 7:04(1:46/100m),
100m easy
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,000m
Saturday 23rd July
Cycle
TT Bike
5 hours w. 3 x 50min IM Efforts171.65km in 4:58:00, 34.6km/hr, 594m elev. gain, (+5km not recorded)Unlike last week's long ride, I started fueling from the start. I had two bottles of High 5 sports drink and a 1.5L Camelbak filled with water. I'd a bag and a half of jelly beans and got through most of them. I wore my race helmet for this, something I donn't ever remember doing before in training, but after a disappointing swim last night and missing my target IM pace on last week's ride, I wanted to give myself every chance possible of finishing with an average speed, for my efforts, above 36km/hr. Thankfully I managed that and I finished the 5 hour spin in much better spirits than when I started.
Efforts; 1) 31.24km in 50:00, 37.5km/hr, 129m elev. gain & 114m elev. loss, 2) 30.71km in 50:00, 36.8km/hr, 125m elev. gain & 120m elev. loss, 3) 31.17km in 50:00, 37.4km/hr, 124m elev. gain & 120m elev. loss,
Totals: 93.12km in 2:30:00, 378m elev. gain & 354m elev. loss, 37.25km/hr
Bar puncturing in the middle of the third effort, I didn't have to stop. The rest I got when replacing the tube, probably made the final hour easier, but I think it had a negative impact on my overall speed for the IM effort. So like everything, I'll take the smooth with the rough.
Totals: 5.0hrs - 176.65km
Sunday 24th July
Swim
OW, Lough Lene, Collinstown, Westmeath3,880m in 1:10:21, 1:49/100mThere was no availability for members in the NAC today, so I opted instead for an open water swim. I wanted to swim for over and hour, but I just didn't fancy such a long stay in the sea. To Collinstown and back was a long drive, but I enjoyed the dip, so it was worth the trip. Worried about cold lake water, I wore a neoprene hat and gloves. I never once felt cold and I'm sure I'd have managed without them, but still I was never too warm either and I was glad to have the extra insulation they provided.
My overall pace wasn't anything hectic, but I wasn't pushing hard and I'm sure had I been in a race situation, I'd have found an extra gear. Whether I'd have managed my target IM pace of 1:34.5/100m, I'm not so sure, but then it was fresh water and it was surprisingly choppy to boot.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,880m
Cross Training2 x 30 minutes, steadyTotals: 1.0hrs - n/a
Cycle
Turbo1 hour steadyTotals: 1.0hrs - 30.0km
Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.5hrs - 16,030m
Cycle: 18.5hrs - 553.26km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.0km
Other: 5.5hrs0
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