Any excuse to get into a pair of Budgie Smugglers

Steroo

took last week off training pretty much. Had two easy swims, one nice cycle & a short run. I think I have Post Ironman Blues ;( No big goal banging around in my head all day! Which is good in a way but I miss it. So need to decide what to do next. I thought I'd just focus on next year & stick to the gym but really it's still Summer so maybe I'll do Pulse Port Beach Tri.

The idea of Marathon training bores me now, I love the variety of Tri training. Ate like a monster last week too.

I think another 70.3 next year will defo happen, I can see where I need to improve the training (bike to run especially).

Dory Dory

Well done on the 70.3! Whoop whoop!!! But two pee breaks?? :)

Steroo

Dory Dory wrote: »

Well done on the 70.3! Whoop whoop!!! But two pee breaks?? :)

too many??

Dory Dory

Steroo wrote: »

too many??

Let's just say, if you do enough of these events, you'll learn how to "multi-task".

Steroo

Dory Dory wrote: »

Let's just say, if you do enough of these events, you'll learn how to "multi-task".

Your bike must be getting rusty?

Steroo

Been tipping away at running & swimming & the gym... not much cycling. Race Dublin City Marathon PB 3:57. I'm now starting to plan next year & am getting notions of entering Challenge Galway. Can anyone advise if it's realistic to complete the full distance at my level/stage? I would have the same time availability as least year (approx max 12-13 hours a week) but this time I wouldn't have to learn to swim and I have a bit more experience overall.

Would this be classed a difficult course?

Are there any other full distances I could consider for next year (except for Hardman) that happen early in the season?

Steroo

Time to get the log back in business for 2016. Started the season off yesterday with the Raheny 5 Mile in 36:59, went out too fast & paid for it.

2015 Overview:

Swim for a Mile
2 Sprint Triathlons
Wicklow 100 Cycle
Ring of Kerry 180km
1 Half Ironman (5:56)
5 Aquathons
2 10K (PB 44:32)
Dublin City Marathon (PB 3:57)

So a good year overall, no injuries & really enjoyed it all. However I took my eye off my business growth due to being so distracted so this year I'll be less obsessive hopefully.

Plan for 2016 so far:

Feb 28th - Clondalkin Leisure Centre Indoor Triathlon
May 29th - The Gauntlet, Lough Cutra HIM
June 25th - Gael Force North
Escape from Ireland Swim (10 July I think)
DCM again maybe

This year I'm going to get the goal race out of the way in May so I can relax a bit more over the summer, go camping more with the family, keep my focus on the business & enjoy it all. The big plus is I now know a bit about open water swimming & don't have that worry hanging over me.

Today I'm going to get a new weekly routine in place & start getting back out on the bike as this is the area I can probably make up the most time.

Steroo

Week ending Sunday 7th Feb:

As ever there will be nothing technical happening here. I found it hard to get back into things initially, but it's a start.

Mon: 600m easy Swim, recovery from the 5 mile race the previous day, legs were a lot more sore than anticipated. Working on bilateral breathing.
Tue: alarm went off for an early morning run but I didn't stir, rain wind & cold ;(
Wed: morning jog 4miles slow
Thu: Club swim 1350m
Fri: Lunchtime gym - Core & Legs
Sat: morning Cycle with the club, 80km out to North Co Dublin, happy with this as it's the longest cycle since August & the legs felt good.

Steroo

Week ending 14th Feb...

Monday: went down for a lunch swim 1150m
Tuesday: head just wasn't in it... lunch gym session got put aside for business
Wednesday: got up early for a 4 Mile run, felt stiff & slow as Fu9k, got back out in the evening for a Cycle around Howth 11m at good pace & felt a lot better after it.
Thursday: morning Club Swim 1350m
Friday - night out for my wife's Bday, went on til the early hours so Saturday training didn't happen
Sunday - had to drop my daughter to the Cinema for a Bday party, so I went for a Run & it felt great. 10 Miles at avg 8:50 pace ish

Getting back into things slowly but surely, need to lose about 5lbs
Eating a bar of chocolate every day since Christmas.... need to sort out some discipline on the diet

Steroo

Week ending 21st FEb:

Monday: NAC swim 2050m (4x500m)
Tue: morning run - 4 miles
Wed: evening run 5.8miles (I sped up for two of them 7;30, 7:.08) felt pretty good
Thu: Lunchtime Gym Session Core & Legs + 400m quick swim to loosen out after.
Friday: 1125m lunch swim, including timed 750m in 15:31 in prep for the indoor tri next Sunday in Clondalkin = happy with this time

Core workout for me goes something like this:
Sit ups x 20 to warm up
Spider Plank x 20
Side Plank LIfts x 20
Side Plank with Dumbell twist x 20 (10 kg)
Russian Twist with 10kg Medicine Ball x 30
Lying Leg Raise with Hip Thrust x 10
Bicycle Kick x 20

(Repeat All twice)

Leg Workout usually goes like this:
Squats with bar 40kg x 10, 50kg x 8, 60kg x 6
inbetween squat sets I do 20 x front lunge with 2x10kg dumbells, and calf raises x 15
then a few step ups with 10kg medicine ball
Some days I change to single leg squats

I didn't get out Saturday or Sunday - my wife did her first Parkrun on Sat in 33mins so that was the focus! she was over the moon

MojoMaker

Are you going to take on Dublin 70.3 now it's confirmed Steroo?

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Are you going to take on Dublin 70.3 now it's confirmed Steroo?

Too late for me Mojo! I'm signed up to The Gauntlet so that's my HIM for the year... plus it's too expensive. I've done it now so I suppose I'm more excited about other races & feel they are better value.

How about you?

MojoMaker

Gauntlet will be a nice race. Heading offshore for a few races this summer - Lisbon and Lanza - so Dublin doesn't fit the schedule so cleanly and as you say, 280 beans is a consideration.

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

Gauntlet will be a nice race. Heading offshore for a few races this summer - Lisbon and Lanza - so Dublin doesn't fit the schedule so cleanly and as you say, 280 beans is a consideration.

Nice , both half distance? I saw the full in Lanza one year and I couldn't get over how they did it in the heat!

I'd love to head overseas next year

GoHardOrGoHome

Steroo wrote: »

Too late for me Mojo! I'm signed up to The Gauntlet so that's my HIM for the year... plus it's too expensive. I've done it now so I suppose I'm more excited about other races & feel they are better value.

How about you?

MojoMaker wrote: »

Gauntlet will be a nice race. Heading offshore for a few races this summer - Lisbon and Lanza - so Dublin doesn't fit the schedule so cleanly and as you say, 280 beans is a consideration.

Ah no! I came on here to see if you were doing it this year. 280 is horrendously expensive but it's local (for me) and I won't have to pay for accommodation so I'm still thinking about it.

Steroo

GoHardOrGoHome wrote: »

Ah no! I came on here to see if you were doing it this year. 280 is horrendously expensive but it's local (for me) and I won't have to pay for accommodation so I'm still thinking about it.

Local for me too, but a change of scenery is good - cost of camping in loughcutra is small.

Saying that I cycled out to Scotsman bay this morning and thought about it! Wifey would not be happy I suspect.

You should do it if nothing else lined up, and I'll see you out in Howth in May maybe

Steroo

Week Ending 28.02

Monday: early morning run 4m, followed by lunch swim 2050m (4x500m)
Tue: lunchtime Core & legs session 45 mins
Wed: morning run 4m avg 8:40
Thursday - didn't get anything done
Friday: lunch swim 1000m, felt sluggish
Sat: up at the crack of dawn for a 50km Cycle from Baldoyle to DunLaoghaire & back... really enjoyed this & felt strong on the bike, avg speed was 28kph, had to be back by 9.30 for kids swimming classes, otherwise I would have gone a lot longer

Sunday: Clondalkin Leisure Centre Indoor Sprint Triathlon
This is nice little charity event that we also did last year. There were 23 Sprint participants, 3 waves. I was in Wave 1 & was running late so had to warm up, hit the pool & GO. The pool was in 17m format so plenty of turns, felt comfortable overall & got in out in just over 15 mins 2nd last from my wave of 8 ;(

The cycle was on Spin bikes set up with Speedometers & very little resistance, so the legs were flying, I found this quite tedious & boring but I was noticeably slower than most of the others who were like men possessed. Again I was 2nd last off the bike (37:38) & the person before me was about 3-4 mins ahead so I had to put in a good run to catch him.

The run was in the park 5 x 1km laps, I felt good immediately (no jelly legs) and hit a steady 6:40 pace & held on. On lap 4 I saw my man & kept making up ground, with 400m to go I passed him & motored home. I had the 2nd fastest run of the day in 16:28 but the course was only 4km so it was very short. First I thought maybe I missed 1 lap but everyone's times were around 17-18 minutes... last year the fastest was 19:10.

Overall I was 9th/23 & had a good afternoon with my daughter on the sidelines.
Time: 1:11:15... an improvement on last year 1:24 (but one lap of the part shorter).

Steroo

Last week was not a good week for training at all ;(

Head wasn't in it, motivation & discipline were low & work was busy... I'll get back at it today.

MOnday: 45 mins stretch in the gym - needed it
Tue: evening run 7.8m at avg 8:13
Thursday: 1000m lunchtime swim half hearted
Weekend was ruined by a heavy session friday night... no more of them.

Steroo

Week ending 13 March

Back on track this week thank Fcuk!
Monday was a down day, reflection on why I went a bit mad over the weekend & licking my wounds & decided I have to get my head down as The Gauntlet is only 11 weeks away.. no drink this week, train hard.
Tuesday I got out for a swim at lunch 2000m (4x500m at about 11 mins each), the last 500 is usually tough but not this time, I could have swam al day.
Wednesday morning up early for a 4 mile run easy pace
Thursday up early for a cycle before the day started, a lap of howth at Dusk with no traffic - flat out 18km in 41:42 avg 25.8kph. I'm going to make this a habit & work on bringing down the time.
Friday I hit the gym at lunch for a Core/Legs session. 10 mins warm up/stretch, 10 mins core, 25 mins LEGS supersets & a few mins on the punch bag, legs were like Jelly after - love this feeling. Friday evening I learned that I wouldn't get out Sat morning for a planned run, so I put the runners on & headed out at about 9pm - I ran out to Howth on tired legs, really enjoyed it, music pumping ended up with 9.3 miles at avg 8:23 & felt I was pushing it at that.
Saturday was a family full on day - legs were like iron rods
Up at Dusk Sunday morning for a long cycle solo, headed south from Baldoyle towards Bray & felt great (legs still quite sore in places). I made a few rookie mistakes, no breakfast, one bottle of water instead of two & I forgot my bank card/cash... when I hit Bray I was at 40km & decided to push the boat out to unknown territory & head on to Greystones... the hill in between the two came as a shock. by 9pm I was on Greystones beach loving life eating my Banana. As soon as I saddled up to head back I knew it was going to be a struggle!
On the way back the hills were so tough, I had to stop going up Killiney for a brief walk.. desperate for a coffee & a mars bar. When I got back to the northside I was glad to know it was flat all the way but the wind had picked up & the last 10km were hell... I could barely change gears & a very large lady on a mountain bike passed me out ;( finished up at 90km avg only 24kph
Luckily when I got home there was a huge FRY ready & waiting - what a wife!

So no more Rookie mistakes form me, and get the legs workout done earlier in the week. Overall a decent week training covering distances and not a drop of drink was had which is rare for me. Feeling fresh as a pony this morning.

MojoMaker

That hill between Bray and Greystones is nice - just watch the exposed descent on the Greystones side if it's windy at all - had a nasty shock once

Steroo

Weekending 20th March... 10 Weeks to The Gauntlet

Tuesday: morning jog 4.4 miles easy pace, lunch swim in NAC 1100m
Wednesday: Cycled to Work 11 Miles schools were off & traffic was light so I flew in, put on the runners at 5pm & ran home avg pace 8:23 felt easier than I expected seeing how I hadn't done this run in a few months
Thursday: St.Patrick said I could have the day off & drink Guinness , he never said how much
Friday: couldn't get up for work, jumped into the pool at lunch to sort myself out - 800m
Sat: 7am Brick Session (first of the year) Cycled around Malahide, Portmarnock, Sutton & Howth 23.5 Miles followed by 4.5 miles on my feet at Avg 8:10 pace - felt good throughout, pushed it hard enough on the bike & the Transition was a 2 minute job at the front door... the run was good enough (not so bad on the jelly legs). I could feel it later on in the day
Sunday: Rest - my youngest daughters 2nd Birthday party - cake & sausages

Overall I feel I should be doing more, but this year work is a bit more demanding, and I'm more relaxed about the whole thing. I missed my gym sessions (core & legs) so will get that in this week. I'm finding my form on the Bike is better & I'm getting more of a drive into the pedals. The running has been consistent so I should improve on last year's times. I'm not going to the coached swim sessions & I really should be so I'll try get to the club session on Thursday morning this week

Steroo

MojoMaker wrote: »

That hill between Bray and Greystones is nice - just watch the exposed descent on the Greystones side if it's windy at all - had a nasty shock once

I'll watch out for that next time - I got up to 65kph going down so that was a first for me! a cross wind would not have been welcomed

Steroo

Mon: half day to go to the zoo - Simone wasn't well sleep was short!
Tue: bad sleep - night run 4m avg 9 min miles
Wed: am bike 18km lap of Howth 40;46 a little improvement on the last time, half day from work = no gym
Thu: am Tri club swim 1650m , good to be back with the club, missed the gym at lunch for business
Fri: 'The good run' st Anne's park 5km 20:30 PB (previous 5k's were part of Tri) but blew up half way. 6:20, 6:55, 7:15, was targeting a sub 20. But I did get a 1 mile PB
Sat: wedding to attend

Next week we are going away in the caravan, I'll bring the runners

Steroo

Away camping all week , brought the runners but didn't use them, all hands on with the family - great weather all week.

Back last night and went out with the club for 80km cycle This morning, I was lagging behind , dehydrated and stiff. Over dressed and under prepared

RedRunner

Great time in the 5k despite blowing up.

Steroo

Training this week was as follows:

Mon: run 5.5m @ 9 min miles taking it handy felt stiff and outta shape after a week off

Tue: swim 1200 m lunchtime

Wed: run 4.4m 8:05 avg, stretched for about 30 mins before this run and body felt back to normal

Thu: morning Tri club swim 1450m, then lunchtime gym core and legs - few weeks since I'd been in the gym for this

Fri: back felt very tender , lunchtime 800m swim I hadn't much time due to work, 50m NAC and swim for a mile was on in half the lanes :.. That was me this time last year

Sat: 7am brick session in the freezing cold (must get overshoes) 60km cycle to balbriggan (watch and speedo both died), then a slow 5km run on wobbly legs (still a bit tender from gym Thursday)

Babs was on a detox this week so I rowed in, good grub, no junk, no drink, no tea or coffee / plenty of hot lemon water - did me the world of good as I drink way too much caffeine and eat too much sugar / gonna keep it going next week. Had a break out day yesterday. 7 weeks to the gauntlet (I think)

Steroo

Training this week:

Mon: lunchtime gym session, mixed core /weights / boxing - just wanted to do something different today

Tue: 4.5 mile morning run avg 8:20, evening bike 20km Howth

Wed: no training
Thu: 3 disciplines today, cycle to work 11.6m , lunch swim 1250 (incl 100tt in a disappointing 1:52) and a run home from work 12.2 miles at avg 7:59, this run felt surprisingly good and easy

Fri: no training

Sat: 6::30 am 60km cycle to killiney, had to be back at 9 to take the kids swimming and organise a birthday party. It was 1 degree my feet went numb and the wind was fairly strong. Love when the roads are so quiet, but the surface south side is poor for a good stretch.

Sun: n/a

Steroo

Training this week:

Mon: lunchtime swim 2500m (5x500 ) longest swim I've ever done, got a 2nd wind toward the end. Hands were a bit sore after from trying to keep my paddle together

Tue: 4.2 mile morning run, lunch gym legs and core, eve cycle lap of Howth 18km

Wed: no training , aching core and legs!

Thu: evening jog 4.2miles avg 8:40

Fri: morning cycle around Howth 18km, windy and slow, lunchtime swim 1000m

Sat: away in the caravan with the gang, won't get anything done except beering

Steroo

Sunday 24th - got out that night for a lap of Howth on the bike, taking a different route to usual up the middle, 18km & legs felt great.

Monday 25th - LUnchtime swim, 1050m with a 750tt (first in ages) in a disappointing 16:29. I felt like I was really working hard ;(

Tuesday 26th: early morning 4.2m Run 8:43 avg. Then went swimming with my colleague Paddy & he wanted to do a 750tt so I joined him. 100,200,300 750tt in 16:25 (felt like I was crawling) then another 200 100 - 1650m total

Wednesday 27th: Brick session after work with my Pal Tony who's coming down to do the Gauntlet with me, but he hasn't been training much! We went out on the bikes & did 50km around Malahide, up Howth & down the other side, then back up & down from the opposite side, followed by a sprint down the coast to the Bull wall & back home. Put the runners on & did 10km at 9:46 avg so we were crawling, my legs felt surprisingly good... the easiest brick session I've ever done must be a good sign.

Steroo

Thu; no training

Fri: Tri club swim 1650m

Sat: arrived in clarinbridge last night in the caravan, got up at 7 and sneaked out if a run. I found the beautiful kilcolgan woods beside us, I came across a dear , and was buzzing not knowing where I was going.. Got a bit lost on the way back. 9.6 miles at moderate pace

Sunday - swim with the family