Any excuse to get into a pair of Budgie Smugglers

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Breathing every 2 is fine as long you have your sighting nailed. Unilateral breathing can tend to pull you off course slightly and you may need to compensate - just be aware.

Thanks MOjo - that makes sense & I've even noticed it in the 50m. So I'll keep in in mind & work on sighting over the coming months too.

Steroo

Week ending: 5 April
Mon: lunch swim - all over the shop
Tue: tri club swim am, lunchtime legs and core gym
Wed: am run 9.25m 9:04avg,
Thu: am tri club swim
Fri: off in the caravan for the weekend
Sat: 1 hour run in Kilkenny
Sun: -

Steroo

Week ending: 12 April
Mon:
Tue: lacking motivation after being away for the weekend. Lunch swim 45 mins, 15km cycle in the eve
Wed: -
Thu: am tri club swim, lunch gym core and legs workout
Fri: lunch swim in 50m went v well
Sat: 90km cycle with the club. Just wanted this monkey off my back. Everything was groovy up to 70km and then I faded fast. The wind was crucifying coming back, I was starving and at 80km felt dizzy and actually had to stop (nearly fell over) but trucked on home and was never so glad for a warm coffee and grub!
Sun: rest

MojoMaker

Ahh...the dreaded bonk! Now you know what it's like, you're better for it....

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Ahh...the dreaded bonk! Now you know what it's like, you're better for it....

Actually that's exactly what it was.. How do I avoid it next time!? More fuel? Or just train more?

Steroo

Did my monthly timed 750m with the club this morning in 16:38 = am v happy with that. 2 minute improvement since March. But I felt form really suffered in parts. Breathing was every 2 which I'm going to work hard on changing in the coming weeks.

joey100

I use the 3-2-3-2 pattern you tried a while back. Find it good, get a bit of a pain in my neck breathing every 2 and find that the 3-2-3-2 pattern is much more balanced. I prefer it for open water too because it lets you see more around you, lets you see more people and landmarks. Can make it easier to move through a group of swimmers and keeps you aware of what's going on around you.

Steroo

Week ending: 19 April
Mon: am 4m run , lunch swim 45mins drills and 2 beat kick
Tue: am swim tri club including timed 750 in 16:38,
Wed:- nothing due to a heavy school night session
Thu: swim 45 mins work on bi lateral
Fri: am tri club swim, pm 18km cycle around Howth head
Sat: am 7m run avg 8:13 with 1m at 6;40
Sun: 25kcycle followed by 5k run.

Got my first puncture today
Tuesday night went way overboard and upset my head for a few days!
My old pal 'back pain' came to visit yesterday but a good long stretch session eased it out

16 week Dublin 70.3 plan starts tomorrow I think

Steroo

Week ending: 26 April 1/16 70.3 training
Mon: lunch swim 45 mins working on breathing & kick
Tue: am tri club swim 10*100, 8*50 all done breathing 3 2 3 2 , cycle to and from work 38km Into winds that only existed when on the bike! Lunch gym core session 45 mins
Wed:-
Thu: am Tri club swim - coach Said I need to bring arms closer to my head when stretching out and keep head up more. PM 4 mile run avg 8:52
Fri: am swim 1600m in the 50m pool before work - really enjoyed this
Sat: am 53km spin solo from Baldoyle to dunlaoighre to check out Scotsman bay, I just missed the rain had another puncture when I got home, this time the back wheel.
Sun: Samsung night run 10k - 44:31 pb by 24 seconds.. First race in about 2 years. Triathlon training paying off! V happy with this considering I haven't been doing much mileage and ate a chipper at 6 o clock!

Steroo

joey100 wrote: »

I use the 3-2-3-2 pattern you tried a while back. Find it good, get a bit of a pain in my neck breathing every 2 and find that the 3-2-3-2 pattern is much more balanced. I prefer it for open water too because it lets you see more around you, lets you see more people and landmarks. Can make it easier to move through a group of swimmers and keeps you aware of what's going on around you.

Makes sense JOey & thanks for your input. it doesn't feel that much different to breathing every 2 but has huge advantages. keeps the breathing under more control too for me.

Steroo

Week ending: may 2/16 70.3 training

Mon: lunch swim 30 mins just to loosen the legs
Tue: am tri club swim, Lunch gym core session 45 mins
Wed: am cycle to work 20km, lunch swim 45 mins, PM run home from work 20km - longest run in about 2 years.
Thu: lunch swim 45mins easy session tired legs today
Fri: am club swim 4 * 300 I struggled with this, felt uncoordinated and a bit tense. Probably tired. Was hard to get outta bed! bUT I'm off work now for 4 days camping trip to Cavan
Sat: -
Sun: - I had my gear with me for a run but weather too bad and I was enjoying the rest.

MojoMaker

Good long run! How did you feel after it?

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Good long run! How did you feel after it?

Yea was fairly good after it... fatigued a good bit towards the end. felt grand after a stretch & foam roll session. surprising as I haven't been running that much. The wind was behind me

Steroo

Week 3/16 70.3 training

Mon: bank holiday, PM easy run 4 miles

Tue: am tri club swim (felt good), Lunch gym core/stretch & leg (squats lunges and step ups) session 55 mins , PM 18km cycle lap of Howth and back.

Wed: minding the kids today.

Thu: am Tri club swim pyramid set , PM physio appointment for a once over

Fri: am swim 50m drills

Sat: am club spin 70km followed by 4km jog. Got Tri bars fitted!

Sun: 8am sea swim - weather was shyte! Sea was rough. We went in from portmarnock beach and stayed in our depth swimming across and back. Initially the cold was numbing my head but wetsuit kept body surprisingly warm. Found it hard to relax and breath and submerge my head but after 20 mins it began to feel good! Loved the buoyancy and thrill of finally swimming in the sea. Didn't cover any fantastic distance but just breaking in the wetsuit and getting used to the feeling.

Next week is the first real triathlon : Carlow sprint 795

MojoMaker

Looks like it's coming together for you Steroo, getting a bit of consistency now in your training - can't fail to deliver some results you can start building on, touch wood no injuries.

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Looks like it's coming together for you Steroo, getting a bit of consistency now in your training - can't fail to deliver some results you can start building on, touch wood no injuries.

Thanks MOjo! we'll find out on Sunday! the mixed training seems to suit me more then the repetitive running used to for injuries etc... saying that I'm always very cautious these days. plenty of stretch/foam roll/the stick. hopefully can avoid anything major cropping up.

Steroo

What would be the training advice this week with a Sprint on Sunday for a Novice like myself?

joey100

What wave are you in steroo?

I'd still train but maybe pull back the volume a bit. But honestly it's different for everyone, try a few different things coming up to different races. Some people train as normal and take a day off a day or two before the race, some pull back on volume and train up to the day with the day before being very easy, maybe a 20 min bike and 10 min run. Some pull back volume and put a bit of intensity into it, so short sessions with a bit of work above race pace. Bit of a guessing game at the start but the only thing I would recommend is not to take too much time off during the week, leaves you sluggish for the race. For me taking the day off before it doesn't work either.

Kurt Godel

Practice your transitions. Lay out all your gear, go through exactly what is required, how you will operate in Transition.

Steroo

joey100 wrote: »

What wave are you in steroo?

I'd still train but maybe pull back the volume a bit. But honestly it's different for everyone, try a few different things coming up to different races. Some people train as normal and take a day off a day or two before the race, some pull back on volume and train up to the day with the day before being very easy, maybe a 20 min bike and 10 min run. Some pull back volume and put a bit of intensity into it, so short sessions with a bit of work above race pace. Bit of a guessing game at the start but the only thing I would recommend is not to take too much time off during the week, leaves you sluggish for the race. For me taking the day off before it doesn't work either.

OK Thanks for that Joey. I'll just keep going as normal without any longer sessions maybe. I'm in WAVE 5 so I will be late starting.

Steroo

Kurt Godel wrote: »

Practice your transitions. Lay out all your gear, go through exactly what is required, how you will operate in Transition.

Okay thanks Kurt. so you'd do this at home before the day yea?

Kurt Godel

Steroo wrote: »

Okay thanks Kurt. so you'd do this at home before the day yea?

If its your first Tri, yeah. Practice getting out of the wetsuit, onto the bike, then back in to T2 and shoes on. You get anything that can go wrong clear in your head beforehand, and might save yourself 3-4 mins on race day.

(You've already got into the OW, big plus there).

Steroo

Week 4/16 70.3 training

Mon: am 4 mile run. Lunch 45 min core session in gym. Tight soleus this eve needed a lot of rubbing rolling stretching and icing. No runs for few days

Tue: am tri club swim 750tt in 15:44 a new PB. Cycle to and from work 40km total. Another puncture on way home ;(

Wed: OW swim with a group from the club from portmarnock low rock to high rock. Sea was rough. I struggled against the waves and turned back at about half way. Goggles fogged up, sun in my eyes, disoriented and ended up on the rocks. Got my bearings and finally swam back to low rock. Bit of a panic. The others were Back a few minutes later. Another step forwards with lessons learned.

Thu: am Tri club swim - felt easy after the sea!
Lunchtime gym: stretch and roll, cross trainer, ex bike, punch bag and treadmill to mix it up.

Fri: lunch swim 40 mins. Sighting and experimenting. Starting to think less as I swim and just swim!

Tomorrow I've base2race sw analysis booked

Sunday is Carlow 795 first taste of triathlon !

Chartsengrafs

Best of luck tomorrow. Most of all enjoy it!

Steroo

Loved today in Carlow. Super atmosphere and event.

The swim for me was a mess for first few mins then I found my rhythm and settled. My sighting was poor.

Bike was tough drag up half way and flew back down. Hit 60kph at one stage and that was a first!

Run was disappointing as i was slow to start and breathing heavy throughout.

But as a first outing I'm very happy. Onwards and upwards.


TriCarlow. Finish=1:24:01 Swim=15:10(301)3:06 Cycle=0:41:32 T2=1:12 Run=23:01

Steroo

Week 5/16 70.3 training

Mon: rest

Tue: couldn't get up for the am swim. Went alone at lunch instead and worked on a few drills: catch up and 6-1-6 as advised at swim analysis last sat. Went for a 4m run in the eve. Felt very stiff since Sunday so hit a good stretch in after.

Wed: lunch gym session: 20 mins stretch and core. 20 mins legs.

Thu: am tri club swim 100tt's among other sets. Best time 1:39.

Fri: swim for a mile challenge in NAC done in 40:06 no breaks I was chuffed with this. The lessons learned in the swim analysis came into play and the swim got stronger the longer it went on. Good confidence boost.

Sat: caravan trip with the gang. Brought the runners but the beer took over and the good weather.

Sun: feeling guilty at lack of training this weekend. Howth aquathon tomorrow 1km swim and 7km run

Steroo

Week 6/16 70.3 training

Mon: gym at lunch cross trainer, core and plenty of stretching. Eve - Howth aquathon 1km swim and 7.5km run in 1:05. Sea was choppy and I struggled! Nearly gave up. But got there in the end. Another experience to build on.

Tue: lunch swim 40 mins few drills. Eve - birthday drinks

Wed: bit ropey today. Got out on the bike for 19km up around Howth.

Thu: am tri club swim- struggled a bit then my goggles snapped! Good sighting exercise
Lunchtime run 5miles

Fri: off to a wedding in cork
Sat: few lengths of the pool in the hotel!
Sun: sore hip from very bad dancing technique

That's the last mad session until 70.3 is over. Time to knuckle down. Wicklow 200 next week- I was gonna do the 100 but might go for the 200.

Steroo

Week 7/16 70.3 training

Mon: bank holiday - am cycle 63km handy pace with a girl from the club. Out to Balbriggan & back nice straight road.

Tue: AM club swim, wasn't at my best for this & felt like I was working harded than usual to keep up. Lunch gym session core and leg strength 50 mins

Wed: Day off work to mind the kids but got out late in the evening: run 6 miles avg 8 min miles & could have kept going all day, really enjoyed & everything felt really good. put my headphones on & hadn't done this in so long... makes me run better

Thu: AM tri club swim 4x100 then 200-150-100-75-50-25, then dives and sprints. Then Cycle to and from work 38km total at avg 26kph. Lunchtime my pal was going to the gym so I went for an easy swim & did a few drills for 30 mins and steam room!

Fri: Lunch time NAC - I wanted to go over the 1900m so I did 2km swim. Split into 4x500m. At 1600m my goggles snapped again (superglued last week - new pair still hadn't arrived). So the last 400 was with no goggles & this was a good exercise for the OW as I used it as an opportunity to practice sighting while tired. I threw in a few backstroke & breaststroke in the last 200 also. Really happy with how this went. Had to breath on every 2 for most of this session though to last the distance. swapping form left to right... left is definitely less comfortable.

Sat: rest and stretch session/foam roll

Sun: 7am start for the Wicklow 100 great day out. The club lads were doing the 200 & I was tempted to try it but decided I didn't need it & didn't want to get put off by a bad experience... also need fresh legs for busy week ahead. So I headed out with my father in law for the 100. Few a food few others on the way & enjoyed all the company. Stuffed my face in Rathdrum. Overall I found this easy enough, climbs didn't bother me or burn me out at any point & I was going slower than usual so as not to upset the big man. So I can see a good improvement in my cycling from this one. The descents were really good too. WEather was perfect & no mechanical issues! few beers to celebrate

Next week I've Bull Wall Aquathon & Fingal Sprint Tri.
I might start doing early morning OW swims instead of the Tri Club pool sessions too.
Still waiting for my new goggles so it's more superglue needed for a few more days

Steroo

Week 8/16 70.3 training

Mon: easy lunchtime swim 45 mins - few drills

Tue: AM Tri club swim 750tt in 15:12 PB by another 30 seconds, I was mixed in with a few faster lads & did my best to keep up so it pushed me on a bit - delighted to still see improvements.
Cycled to work & went to the Gym at lunch for some core and legs 1 hour. Cycled home 38km round trip at good pace

Wed: Didn't do anything today as I had Pulse bull wall aquathlon in the evening. I arrived early & got ready, the sea was calm & inviting. The wind was strong. During the day I had awful anxiety about this but it eased when I saw the smooth sea. When they put the buoys out I thought it looked like a long course. So we headed out to the starting point & I did all I could to relax. There was no cold shock, no anxiety, I was floating without any effort.... I learned more in this few minutes than any other open water experience. I didn't go to the back of the group I was going to give this all I had. We hit the first buoy in a pack & it was very rough going around it but I held my own, few elbows few kicks but nothing too serious. Nice long straight easy swim to 2nd buoy & we're heading for shore... goggles fogged up a bit & I went off course headed for a crowd of spectators but it wasn't the exit so I had to correct myself & lost a minute or so. I was dizzy in transition & the run was a real struggle... breathing was heavy & wind was against up up the beach for 2.5km - then I stopped at the turning point for a few seconds to compose myself & off I went again & welcomed the wind behind me going back. Result: Swim time 16:54, run 23:13. Happy with this. Overall position 95/205. Big improvement from the Howth aquathlon 2 weeks ago.

Thu: rested up - neck & shoulders were mad sore & tight so just stretched them out. Saving myself for Sat Triathlon.

Fri: Am Tri club swim. Handy session done at relative ease. I decided to do this as it would have me tired & in bed early ready for an early start Sat. Lunch gym - stretch and foam roll 45 mins (this seems to put me right before an event & prevent injury to date)

Sat: Up at 5:30am fresh as a daisy - hard to get the porridge down this early. Headed to Skerries to register & I was ahead of the pack so I took a walk to the coast to see the swim course, the Sea was Rough & wind was strong & I was freezing! Worried thoughts
The rest of the club arrived shortly after & we set up the bikes & had some banter. Teh start was delayed & the sun started to peep out
We finally headed over to the beach & the course now changed from anti clockwise to clockwise due to the current & I could see it was not going to be easy. The Aqua bike gang headed out & seemed to take forever to reach the fist buoy against the current. We got into the water & unlike Wed night the cold was shocking but I quickly adjusted.
Boom we are off & had to walk a bit to get out of depth. The first Buoy was hard to reach, must have taken me 10 minutes ;( I underestimated the current & kept getting pushed away, I nearly had to swim backwards to get back in line & eventually I got there & it was mayhem, bodies all over me & I got a leg caught in a rope but got past it easy enough - I could see others struggling here & flipping onto their backs & letting out noises of distress! get me outta here
So I put the boot down to hit the second boy with relative ease - I judged the current better this time & the swim to the shore was an easy one - delighted to see dry land & off I went. No trouble with dizziness or shortness of breath this time.
The Bike was really good, I'm still learning but I decided to give it everything on the bike regardless of how it might affect the run. The course was hilly & wind was still up. I passed at least 10-20 cyclists on the 2 laps & hit some nice speeds on the decents.
The run was lovely along the coastal path but wind was against me again heading out so it was a tough 2.5km - I could see the 2 fastest lads in our club running against me so I felt I wasn't too far behind them. I passed a club mate on the run & at the turning point I had the wind & I opened up a good stride, when we got back we had a lap of the rugby pitch & I passed a good few here to empty the tank. collapsed in a heap when I crossed the line! Overall a very well run event & burgers at the end was the cherry on top

Result: skerries fingal sprint triathlon 81/207 1:29:49 - overall the view was that this was a tough course. times reflected this.
The timing for the transition area was not working so we only got splits as below. The distance from the swim to the transition was far so I think this added to the swim times.
Swim 23:20, Bike 40:29, Run 22:49 - happy to finish in the top half of the field. 3rd in my club out of 13.

Overall a good week for me. Confidence is up, open water feels more comfortable. I just need to get the head down for the endurance required for the 70.3 & avoid injury.

Sun: -

Steroo

Few photos borrowed from the Fingal crew