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Out of the frying pan, into the .... fish pond
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TriHarder team training #4
Section 1: Night MTBo with some hike a bike: ~ 75k in 6hrs
Last big training session before the Beast. I met up with our new teamie Shane on Saturday evening and we drove down to Limerick. Mike had been slaving over a hot stove all afternoon to ensure we were all suitably fueled before we set off which was very much appreciated. We set off to ULAC shortly after 10pm and we had the bikes organised and were good to go by 11:15. We headed into Ballina on our way up Tountinna towards the Graves of Leinstermen. There were some fairly sharp inclines on the way up and it was pretty warm.
CP1 – “Graves of Leinstermen” - Signpost
From the signpost we turned up the Ballina way. A steep narrow path which had lots of rocks, gulleys and ledges. I hiked my bike most of the way up. It was hard work! This path brought us up to the mast. There was a biting wind up here and we had a quick practice of using the bothy before we began the descent.
CP2 – Tountinna – Mast
I'm not too mad about descending on the trails when it's dark especially when the trails have gulleys in them. I use the breaks too much and the bike doesn't travel very well. The front wheel slipped off a grassy ledge at one stage and I fell over. After that I got a bit braver and let go of the breaks a little and the bike was moving better but all the same I was glad when that section was done. The nav was a bit tricky around here but we were working really well as a team and there were very few mistakes made as we travelled into Killoscully. I think this was were we cycled through the town in the early hours of the morning and a couple of lads who'd been out socialising did a double take as we went past. It was funny
CP3 – Killoscully – Stone Sign “Cill Ó Scolaí”
From Killoscully we made our way to the Clare Glens. In the Beast last year there was a transition area here and we had to change into our wetsuits and walk a couple of kilometres up to the Clare Falls where there was a canyoning stage. Unfortunately when we got up to the CP last year we were told the canyoning had been cancelled because the water level had risen too high. That was a low point in the race for us as we could have used a fun section to lift the team spirits. It was much quicker and easier on the bikes last night and in no time at all we had reached our CP.
CP4 – Clare Glens – Clare Falls
The dawn was breaking as we headed out of Clare Glens into Newport. We practised drafting on the bikes and this section seemed to fly by. There was a guard in the tower at the railway station who seemed intrigued when four cyclists rocked up to the platform and abandoned there bikes briefly. They loitered on the platform eating jelly snakes before gathering up their bikes and disappearing!
CP5 – Newport – On Bridge
CP6 – Birdhill – Railway Station sign “Cnocán an Éin Fhinn”
We made our way back by the main road to ULAC, packed away the bikes and got ready for the kayaking.
Section 2: Kayak ~ 10k in 1hr 40
The plan was to do 5k out to this little island, change around the pairs and then 5k back. I started off with Sean but I had this notion that I would be better in the back of the boat. This was definitely not the case because we ended up going aroung in circles for about 5min. We had to take a little detour back to the slip and change around
Once we got going then we flew along. The lake was a little rough on the way out but we kept a good enough line. I was much more comfortable in the kayak today. My paddling was better and we were keeping in unison and the first 5k seemed to pass quite quickly. Once we got to the island, I swopped with Mike. The way back was a lot more difficult. The swell had increased and the waves were crashing into the boat and into me and I was properly soaked. Mike and Sean were by far the stronger paddlers and although they waited for us a couple of times we were still about 5 or 10 minutes behind them getting back to the slip.
Section 3: Swim ~ 250m
The guys were pretty cold by the time Shane and I had finished the kayak. It's scary how quickly your body temperature drops when you're soaked and you stop moving. There was talk of abandoning the swim but I really wanted to do it because I've never done an OW swim in a lake at 7:30 in the morning when I'm cold and sleep deprived and I wanted to make sure I could handle it. In fairness Mike didn't need much persuasion and once I had him on side it was a done deal
I was first in and OH MY FRICKEN GOD did I get a wake up call. It was bloody cold and I started hyperventilating pretty much straight away. Luckily this happens to me a lot and I'm kind of used to it so I didn't panic but I know it sounds kind of alarming. I tried to make it stop by swimming like I do in the pool and exhaling underwater but I was only making it worse so I I had my head out of the water all the time. We swam a little square around 4 buoys and that was plenty!!!
It took ages for me to stop shivering uncontrollably but by the time we had reached the service station for our full Irish breakfast and the team debrief I was pretty much recovered. Very happy to have another good session in the bag and we had a lot of fun
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Monday:
Rest. Had to work a double shift but it was grand because I got a great sleep on Sunday night and energy levels were good today.
Tuesday:
Bike: 64k
I cycled to Moyne and met up with Susan and Angela. From there we went into Thurles, TwomileBorris, Urlingford, Johnstown and Templetouhy. It's a lot more fun cycling with company and I probably would have gone a lot slower on my own0 -
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I didn't realise it made such a difference as to who goes in front or at the back. I always go in front .... my logic is that I can see when we're about to hit something and it gives me time to prepare to capize and hold onto the kayak for dear life. Does the person at the back do more of the steering? 0
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Was thinking about this afterwards. Makes a big difference with weight distribution too.
I'm heavier so placing me in the front of the boat will tend to unbalance the boat. Think of how stable you would be on your bike when leaning over the handlebars. Same with the kayak. The nose would tend to dig in more and create a point around which the rest of the boat rotates. Also the strokes at the back vary so much with depth, power and length to make minor adjustments to the effect of waves pushing and pulling on the boat.
Sitting at the back, the amount of work you do tends not to be noticed as much
To be fair when we swapped positions we settled very quickly into our old stroke pattern and kept a good line. The other boat with Mike up front started well, but got pushed around by the waves.0 -
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Sitting at the back, the amount of work you do tends not to be noticed as much.
You were working on that return leg? :P Sure you had plenty of room to work since I broke all the waves crashing over the bow.
The KM splits for us coming back were 11-12min kms into those waves and when it calmed after the squal 9-10min for last 2kms
Shane and I had a similarly meandering route out to the Island but once we hit calmer water.. 6kmh+
So, its the 2 "heavies" in the back then..0 -
shotgunmcos wrote: »You were working on that return leg? :P Sure you had plenty of room to work since I broke all the waves crashing over the bow.
You were moving so fast I was expecting a call up to the rowing squad!!
I did laugh a lot at Moses trying to part the seas in front 0 -
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I hope this isn't us on the kayaks after 40+ hours without sleep. AWK and MCOS, do ye like Ba-na-nas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQFwjB30wnQ0 -
I hope this isn't us on the kayaks after 40+ hours without sleep. AWK and MCOS, do ye like Ba-na-nas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQFwjB30wnQ
Went to see it yesterday (I brought my son) I was really laughing at that scene 0 -
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shotgunmcos wrote: »I love the fact you felt a need to qualify that!
+1
I didn't bring any kids to see it, just a big bag of pick n' mix0 -
Wednesday:
Swim: 2.4k
Lots of drills, some stuff with the pull bouy and 2 x 100m TT (2:01, 2:02)
Distance|Nov '14|Dec|Jan'15|Feb|March|April|May|Jun|Jul
100m|2:49|2:38|2:32|2:19|2:14|2:01|2:01|2:01|2:01
I thought I was swimming quite well but I'm sick of 2:01 now
Run: 6k recovery
Work was hellish. It was so hot and I wasn't going to bother running but it looked nice and cloudy a while ago so I said I'd risk it. Legs were tired but no aches or pains 0 -
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Thursday
Nothing. Very lazy this week!
Friday
Run: 11k
6k easy, 3k steady, 1k hard, 1k easy
Made this up as I went along. The hard bit was uphill so it was harder on my lungs than my legs. No idea of paces because when I press the reset button on my garmin 910 it deletes the activity instead of saving it I meant to swim before work but I had to help my dad instead and I couldn't be bothered going afterwards!
Saturday
Run: 6k recovery
Hips felt a tiny bit tight. Ideally I need a day between runs at the moment.
We were told we needed our own climbing gear for the Beast a few weeks ago (harness, prusik, 2 carabiners, sling, belay device and a helmet. AKW was good enough to get all the teams gear from Great Outdoors in Galway. My brother needs to be collected from the airport tonight so I decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and head to amazing-walls in Finglas for an hours coaching. So, so happy I did this. I didn't meet them but the lads were saying the session before me was also taken by people doing the Beast I climbed up a couple of times and spent the rest of the time abseiling down. Climbing up is easy but it's a little bit nerve racking the first time you lean back off the ledge to go down! I got the hang of it pretty quickly though and I a have a good idea now of what all the gear is for. One less thing for me to worry about in 9 days time 0 -
Sunday:
Bike: 51.3k
I woke at half 5 and I couldn't get back to sleep. Was feeling a bit peckish so I grabbed a bowl of cereal and I was going to head back to bed but I decided I'd go for a spin on the bike instead. It was a fabulous morning. A bit cold to be standing around but great for exercising and the sun was trying to break it's way through the clouds all the time I was out. I met 9 cars, 3 dogs, 3 cats, a stoat, a dead hedgehog, 2 dead crows and a little wabbit
Swim: 2.6k
4 x 400 + 800 all with the pb
200 alt fc and backstroke
I've not done too badly this week ~ 11hrs: 2 bikes (115k), 2 swims (5k) 3 runs (23k), I climbing session and 2 rest days0 -
Monday
Run: 7.3k w 4 x 15secs on/ 15secs off
Added in the 15 sec bits at the end as a gentle intro to faster stuff. Finding it hard to totally relax this week. I feel like a hyperactive kid on a sugar high! Last night I was dreaming about what I was going to eat in transition. So excited I just wish it was next week already 0 -
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shotgunmcos wrote: »You and me both! Had a radio interview about it this morning so been on my mind all day!
I know you did!!!! I was waiting all day for the revered email telling me how much info you got out of Ivan .... where we were starting, where the easy controls are, where the best sleeping places are etc etc. And what did I get? Nothing, Nada, Zilch. No information forthcoming
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career move wrote: »Monday
Run: 7.3k w 4 x 15secs on/ 15secs off
Added in the 15 sec bits at the end as a gentle intro to faster stuff. Finding it hard to totally relax this week. I feel like a hyperactive kid on a sugar high! Last night I was dreaming about what I was going to eat in transition. So excited I just wish it was next week alreadyshotgunmcos wrote: »You and me both! Had a radio interview about it this morning so been on my mind all day!
I'm waking up knackered in the morning as I'm dreaming the (imaginged) stages of the race for the past week or so 0
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