Lyric Revues

MojoMaker

Hardman will be some test Kurt. Not to be sniffed at indeed.

Kurt.Godel

MojoMaker wrote: »

Hardman will be some test Kurt. Not to be sniffed at indeed.

Yeah, its a box to tick rather than a true goal. My aim is to get a good swim and bike. The run is four laps on trail and if I feel any problems just bail. Shorter races are still the focus for the summer, but I always enjoyed the "elemental" nature of Griffins reports for Hardman. Think I'd enjoy it more than a bells and whistles IM event.

Kurt.Godel

Tue 10k steady run, 45 mins easy turbo.

Decent enough run in the forest (no watch), followed by an easy turbo while watching Countdown (a show I've enjoyed since the days of twice-nightly Whiteley).

MojoMaker

Somehow Susie Dent and turbo pain are a good match.

Kurt.Godel

Wed 45 min steady turbo

An easy day today, I want lungs, legs, and limbs in tiptop shape for a big swim test tomorrow, 7*200 descending off 5mins, which doesn't seem like much, but if done correctly (pace!) it will be a good indicator for how I swim in summer races.

Kurt.Godel

Thurs Masters swim

400m warmup
7*200m on 5:00

I had been looking forward to this 200m Step Test. The idea is you do each within 5 mins, getting faster by 7sec each one, and ending with your 200PB. I was feeling good so aimed to break 2:40 for the last, meaning they were scheduled in 3:21, 3:14, 3:07, 3:00, 2:53, 2:46, 2:39. The first few were bang on, had to concentrate on pacing. 3:00 felt fine, like I was cruising. My stroke was good and I was moving through the water very well. 2:53 came in on the nose, again it was pinching a little but it was very controlled. Alas breathing issues stopped the last two- I was on target at 100m but just couldn't take in any air. Tried the last one but I only managed 40m before I stopped, gasping.

Positives are that I am swimming well, and can knock out 1:30 pace with ease. My body felt good and strong for the 2:53. That must be the limit of exertive pace for me in this pool though; anything faster and I'm over the threshold for breathing. So long as I know what the limiter is, I'll move to another pool fo fast work.

Kurt.Godel

91+kg at the beginning of Feb. There's no point continuing to post here unless I do something about that, so I'm going dark for a while. See you when I get under 87.

Peace & f*cking. Believe.

RJM85

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

91+kg at the beginning of Feb. There's no point continuing to post here unless I do something about that, so I'm going dark for a while. See you when I get under 87.

Peace & f*cking. Believe.

Being fat in February isn't necessarily a problem

Track daily and keep the focus on. 4kg is nothing.

MojoMaker

You've put on some muscle clearly, don't be taking it the wrong way.

Are you feeling good? Free of any niggles? Looking forward to training?

If yes to all 3 then rock on, fellow Countdown fan.

Dilbert75

Better to concentrate on body composition than total weight. Monitors aren't that expensive and could help you to only beat yourself up about important stuff.

Kurt.Godel

87.1kg... close enough, lets start logging again.

Sun Feb 5th 3 hr turbo
Alternated every 30 mins with higher cadence... this generally led to lower power, especially towards the end (dark room and I couldn't see the watch figures so spinning on feel).

Mon 6th 10k steady run 4:52
Railway walk and forest
1 hour swim
Tonight we did lots of drills
Pull buoy
Board for kicking
Fins
Etc
Etc
The pool air was terrible tonight, I bailed early

Tue?

Wed?

Thurs 9th
Swim... I forget the session but it included a 200m TT, for which I got 2:40 (new PB). If the pool air is ok, I can swim well. If it's not, I seize up after 75m or so. Tonight it was fantastic (they backfilled a third fresh water a few days back).

Fri 10th ?

Sat 11th 2 hr hill run: up around Annagh's trails, offroad through trees and frozen mud for some of it, snow flurries and cold winds along the ridge, and week-old footprints from Slogger Jogger going uphill. Decent stride length, that lad

Sun 12th 2 hours turbo, 2 hours forest walk. Guess which one was more enjoyable?

Mon 13th: 8k run (5k build, 3k fartlek). I'm managing a better stride and form these days, and being able to breath again is proving very useful.

Pm: Warm up
400 free (B.E.3)
Main set
1x200 free pull buoy (hard) 20s
2x100 free (no pull buoy) easy 20s
Repeat 6 times
Swim down
200 choice
I'm swimming a lot better these days, my stroke has come on in every department. Still a lot of work to do on my kick though, as these fast 200pb were close to my all-out pb (each in between 2:42-2:55).

Tue 14th Feb
45 min turbo
10 EZ
8@240W
4 EZ
6@260W
3EZ
4@280W
2EZ
2@300W
1EZ
6 Spin Down

10k run easy

Wed 15th
200m warm up
4*250snorkle
10*100pb off 1:45 in <1:35
500m snorkle
5*100 snorkle & pb
50 back

thurs 16th: 40 min gym
Swim:
200wu
8*50 (25k, 25sw, 10s rest)
5*100 max off 5 mins

Only got one 100 done before bailing, couldn't breathe after 50m. Started very well, died a bit towards the end. 1:14

Fri 17th ?

Sat 18th
8.4 k, including some done on track as:
4*(100m fast, 100m easy)
4*(200 fast, 200 easy)
1*(400 fast, 400 easy)
2*(200 fast, 200 easy)
4*(100m fast, 100m easy)

Sun 19th ?

Mon 20th
Masters
Warm up
1x100 free 15s
2x50 free kick 10s
4x25 free build 10s
Repeat 3 times
Main set
10x200 free pace on 3:20
(Should rest more than 20s, not 5,10 or 15s).
Swim down
200 choice

Felt good for the 200's, I alternated lead with Alex, all in around 3:00. Had to bail halfway through the 5th with breathing but continued the rest with pb.

Tue 21st
14k run up around the Rock at twilight. It was dark by the time I exited, just made it back to streetlamps in time. Mod pace 5/km

Wed 22nd
Swim
200m warmup
4*250 snorkle
10*100 mixed snorkle, pb, paddles, swim
500m snorkle & pb
5*100 snorkle & pb
250 hypoxic

1:30 easy turbo

Thurs 23th
11.4k easy run (Arklow Rock)
Hour swim, kick drills, diving practice

Fri 24th
3hrs turbo

Sat 25th nada NAC with kid A

Sun 26th NAC with kid B... 20 mins easy turbo that evening but I was wrecked.

Mon 27th
40 mins fartlek; 60 mins masters (400wu, 8*(25k, 25fist,25swim), 5*(50pb,50k,50pb,50swim 90%fast) 200sd. Struggled to breathe (ditto fartlek earlier)

Tue 28th
50 min turbo; 13k run 1:10
10 EZ
5*(30s build, 30s EZ)
10*(1min 360W+, 1min EZ)
5 EZ
5*(30s 360W+, 30s EZ)
5 EZ

The ten hard minutes were 383,371,374,371,360,363,367,360,354,360.

This felt very tough- during the third I resolved to stop halfway; during the 5th I said I'd get one more, then make it to 8, then another lie to 9, and by that stage sure I may as well get the last one done. There is an obvious drop-off in effort as the numbers show, but mentally they got harder to do as they went on, so that's a benefit. Probably the hardest I've worked in a good while!

Nice evening run up around the Rock on a very windy fresh twilight.

And thats me up to date!

Neady83

Nice to have you back Kurt

Kurt.Godel

Neady83 wrote: »

Nice to have you back Kurt

Thanks Neady! I'm like a bad penny

Wed 4,500m swim

400 Wu
4*250 snorkel
10*100 pb
2*500 snorkel
10*100 pb, sailboat
100 swim down

Missy got moved up a lane so we have entered the world of 5am alarm calls for 6am swims. The club have 3 lanes and the rest of the pool is free for club parents... This might just be the start of something beautiful!
The focus today was on rotation, specifically engaging the core to help with same. I've the Irish Open masters championship to look forward to this weekend, I'm entered in the 1,500 and 50,100,200free. Should be good fun.

griffin100

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Thanks Neady! I'm like a bad penny

Wed 4,500m swim

400 Wu
4*250 snorkel
10*100 pb
2*500 snorkel
10*100 pb, sailboat
100 swim down

Missy got moved up a lane so we have entered the world of 5am alarm calls for 6am swims. The club have 3 lanes and the rest of the pool is free for club parents... This might just be the start of something beautiful!
The focus today was on rotation, specifically engaging the core to help with same. I've the Irish Open masters championship to look forward to this weekend, I'm entered in the 1,500 and 50,100,200free. Should be good fun.

I'm in the 4.30am alarm call twice a week zone at the minute to be on deck at 5.20am. Sometimes I wish the kids had picked a different hobby :rolleyes: That said it'd be a hell of a lot easier if I could swim when they're training. This should be a nice way of multi tasking, training and spending time with kids (you'll also swim / try swim a lot harder when the 12 year olds doing kick drills in the next lane start overtaking you :pac:)

Kurt.Godel

Thurs 60 mins swim

400 wu
8*(25k, 25dr, 25sw) 10s
Remainder diving practice.

Lots to learn about a good dive. I managed to introduce some improvements tonight- bot hard when the base was so low! We did two timed 25's, I got 14.7 for both. Pretty disappointed with that, I would have wanted 13.x. But the coach pointed out some mistakes I was making, which hopefully I can eliminate before this weekend.

Fri AM 50 min swim
Very easy, drills and sculls, with more dive practice. Everything was a lot better today, just have to remember what to do for the actual races now.

shotgunmcos

griffin100 wrote: »

.... (you'll also swim / try swim a lot harder when the 12 year olds doing kick drills in the next lane start overtaking you :pac:)

LOL oh the memories

Kurt.Godel

Fri PM 1,500 (24:09)

I drove down to Limerick, had a nap at the hotel, and registered for that evenings race. After watching my teammates in couple of heats, it was time to step onto the blocks. My goal was around 23mins, although with it being LC I was wary of being able to hold 1:32 pace for the whole race. The most important thing was to hold it steady in the first half, as all too often I blast off and then die. I had a decent start, and settled into a rhythm. There were no wall clocks, and pace devices weren't allowed, so my usual crutch of being able to watch the numbers wasn't available. This was a bigger handicap than I anticipated. The "lengths to go" were counted for us at the end of the far wall, so we knew when we had 21,19,17,etc. lengths remaining. There was also an electronic scoreboard which flashed up our time as we hit the wall, and through sheer luck it was above my lane so I could sneak a glance- this took a bit of effort so I only managed to spy my time at halfway- think it was about 11:35, which was bang on target. However, I was feeling the effort, mentally fighting a DNF... no harm in this as it shows you are working hard. I had to drop the pace a bit, concentrating on getting as much as I could from my stroke. It was during the second half that I stopped tumbling, and opted for the slight breather a touch turn provides. The last few hundred metres seemed to take forever, and I was very happy to finish exhausted in 24:09. This is above my target, and is a 1:36/100 pace, but given that its LC thats not too far off my goal so I was happy enough with the time.

Results were posted the following morning, and I came an annoying fourth in my AG- missed out on bronze medal by 11 seconds. I'm pretty philosophical about that, and will use that anger to remind me that continuing to tumble turn would have meant a medal. That's my takeaway from this race, which hopefully will be more productive than the bronze. (Silver linings and all that! )

Kurt.Godel

Sat 200free, 100free, 50free

200 free (2:46)
No idea of splits right now. I had a good dive, kept things going well for the first 50. It hurt- a lot!- from 50-150, and the thing to do is fight against the growing mental thoughts to slow down. The last 50 is hard, as it should be... but the 50m length just goes on for ever! I'm happy enough with the time, while not being over the moon with it. Think I came 5th in my AG.

100 free (1:13)
A similar story for the 100- decent dive, hit the wall in 34.4, but died a little coming home... it felt like an eternity to hit the halfway point on the return, and a world of pain for the final 25. Gave it what I had on the day, so I'm happy enough about that.

50 free (33)
I was aiming for 31, so I'm a little disappointed with the finish time. This race was the one time my dive was off- I went too low and so lost vital momentum. First breath came around 20m, and it was just a matter of burning up the muscles from there until the end. I finished spent, and as there was nothing more to wring out I'm happy enough. My son does this LC in 29.6 though, so I'm going back to him for advice from here on. He reckons I need to bench press more... he has a point!

Overall:
This was a hugely enjoyable weekend, and great to travel as a team and follow each others progress. I'm hooked, and its probably fair to say I'll continue towards swimming as my bias in triathlon. My times were a little slower than expected- the extra push-off in a 25 metre pool was certainly missed. The effort from the 1,500 probably showed a little the next day, as my arms/shoulders were tired all day and just didn't have that extra "ooomph". Overall I felt I was fighting the water rather than flowing with it, and from watching the faster heats, its obvious I have a lot to learn regarding technique. Nevertheless, I come away from these Champs happy, and eager to learn more and get faster for the next ones. Short course champs are in the NAC next November, and thats a date I'll etch into the calendar.

Steroo

That's some impressive swimming!!

Kurt.Godel

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

so I only managed to spy my time at halfway- think it was about 11:35, which was bang on target.

Just saw the results, in fact I reached halfway in 11:55... and was swimming a steady 1:36-1:38 pace per 100m throughout. Food for thought... while I was going "easy" in the first half, and pushed in the second, perhaps going off more aggressively r would have yielded a better finish. Or of course it may have yielded a total blow up!

Sun 1:34 easy turbo
Body feels good, shoulders and arms don't seem too bad, and I would have loved to get back in the pool again today, but a turbo sufficed to get the blood flowing again.

Kurt.Godel

Mon 2,850 Masters swim

400 as (25k,25sw,25fist,25sw)
5*400 descending (PB+45s; +35; +25; +15s; +5s)
450 swim down

The body was beat tonight, no doubt about it but the weekends efforts have caught up. The first few 400's were fine, but I blew up over the last two (times were 6:14, 6:16, 6:09, 6:05, 6:18). I was dragging a tired body round the pool, at least I had my familiar 25m push-offs.

joey100

Well done in the masters champs Kurt, some great times there!

On your idea of going out hard in the 1500m, maybe in the 50/100/200m that might work but I think you know what would happen in the 1500m, could turn into a long hard swim! Sounds like you paced it well to me.

Kurt.Godel

joey100 wrote: »

On your idea of going out hard in the 1500m, maybe in the 50/100/200m that might work but I think you know what would happen in the 1500m, could turn into a long hard swim! Sounds like you paced it well to me.

I'm always blowing up halfway in swim races so i didn't want that to happen... it was well-paced in that I was thinking about quitting from half-way! So I guess thats the real yardstick to judge by.

Wed 12k easy run 5:18/km
Thurs 1:30 easy turbo (164W)

I've had a very sore ear infection since the weekend, so forced to take it easy for a few days and will skip the pool for a bit.

Kurt.Godel

Fri 3 hour easy turbo 165W

Spinning for volume, the ear is still very sore and I don't want any intensity until its better. Ear plugs from here on.

Kurt.Godel

Sat & Sun Gala parent/taxi duty; 8k run 4:51 pace
I'm a great father, hence limited training. This is the only reason I don't win triathlons

Mon 60 mins Masters swim
Main was 4*(25Max,75 easy, 10s; 25easy,25Max,50 EZ, 10s; 50EZ,25Max,25EZ,10s;75EZ,25Max,30s)

First time back swimming in a week and my form had gone to pot, all over the gaff. I was swimming second-from-last and soon got a polite tap asking if I could let a brother through... deserved it really.

Tue 13k run 5:21
The Rock loop in Arklow, form/effort was wavering throughout. Quite a strange feeling.

Wed 3,200m swim; 11.4k run at 5:11 pace
The alarm went at 4:30am and we somnombulated (Oryx would have liked that word) into Arklow for our morning swim. Snorkle, drills, pb, for me; proper killer free/back/fly/breast sets for the proper swimmer. Then school & work, hopefully with a pep in the step for both.
Lunchtime I met Mick for an easy ("Mick can you dial it back a bit there...") trot along the Spring infested forest. Glorious day, and good to run with company. Part of our conversation had to do with injury... we both know far too many injured mates who are stuck on the sidelines. At this stage just being able to run/bike/swim is a blessing; everything competitive after that is the bonus. Thankfully I heard last night my mate Kirk is coming back from a very long and painful back injury (there but for the grace of god...). Injury prevention is very important.

and still ricky villa

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Thankfully I heard last night my mate Kirk is coming back from a very long and painful back injury

Yes, saw him Friday. Just taking it easy (as he lapped me over and over again:o)

Kurt.Godel

and still ricky villa wrote: »

(as he lapped me over and over again:o)

FFS- he's his own worst enemy!

"Walking round the block" = 5k steady pace, sure I'll keep going for 10k
"Easing back with a slow 10k bike" = 10k to a hill, feel good so do the hill (Croghan); meaning a 30k round trip
"Cooling the legs in the sea" = doing fly in wetsuit through crashing waves

Madman! I totally understand where he's coming from though, nothing worse than being sidelined with injury, and when you start to come back the urge is to make up for lost time.

Kurt.Godel

Thurs 13k run 4:40 pace

My ear infection is back after yesterdays swim... I'm pretty annoyed about that. 5 different types of ear plugs have now been purchased and I'll leave the pool a few days. So I missed tonights session, and instead took my anger out on The Rock in Arklow, on a great fresh evening to be running. I pushed the pace faster than usual, and got in a decent effort running up and around the hill. Afterwards I was much happier, a good solid run can work wonders. My running is going better than it has in quite some time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq7JSic1DtM

Kurt.Godel

Fri Nothing

Sat 25k easy run 5:40 pace
The kids Saturday swim has moved an hour earlier, which means an earlier start... and now a three hour window for me, so I can extend my runs a little. It was wet and windy this morning, I started off very slow up towards Barniskey hill and trudged along its backroads. No real view as the mist and drizzle obscured all but the immediate topography, but thats fine too. "Time on your feet" was the order of the day, and it wasn't until I hit Redcross and begun the descent back to sea level that the pace showed any semblance of respectability.

Thats the longest I've ran in a while, and it didn't seem too bad at all. If you stay at a comfortable pace you can run forever.

Kurt.Godel

Sun 3 hour turbo 159W

Another Sunday, another turbo. I'll get outside from here on, the long bikes are easier endured in the countryside.

Kurt.Godel

Tue 10k run

No idea of time, the pace was kept steady. A nice flat Arklow run to the end of the quarry harbour, and back. It was one of those wild dusky romantic evenings, that could have been late November, or a deep sultry June... full clouds cottonpatterned across the sea to Wales, with a salmon pink sun forcing through to the north. The wind whipping around, trying to keep the last of the evening light fresh...

As I was trying to keep my legs fresh. A taper of sorts, I've the Maurice Mullins Ultra on this weekend. A sub 6-hour plod is the minor goal; fat from the belly feeding the soul is the major goal.

Neady83

Sounds like a suitably awesome 10km this evening Kurt. Just looked up the Maurice Mullins Ultra, nice looking route and the weather is looking good too - I'll be interested to hear about it when you're done. I'm always jealous that I live so far away from the fun in the Wicklow mountains.

Kurt.Godel

Neady83 wrote: »

Sounds like a suitably 10km this evening Kurt. Just looked up the Maurice Mullins Ultra, nice looking route and the weather is looking good too - I'll be interested to hear about it when you're done. I'm always jealous that I live so far away from the fun in the Wicklow mountains.

My goal is to live (and swim) by the sea, but for the moment I'm happy living at the foot of this Mountain range- so many different trails, its a runners paradise, and I'd say you'd love it Neady! When I'm on my deathbed, I'll remember the first time I kissed my wife, all of my kids happy moments, and every time I summited a hill

I've ran the ultra course a couple of years back (and a bit further), while less fit than I am now. Slow and keep fueling, thats the secret! It's a nice route, plenty of up-and-down to keep you interested. The fact that it ends at a pub was a major draw

pgibbo

Best of luck with it. Sounds great

Slogger Jogger

"I've ran the ultra course a couple of years back (and a bit further)"
Still waiting to see the garmin proof for that something about a broken watch :P

Best of luck. Weather is favourable at least.

Kurt.Godel

Cheers Paul & Mick.

Weather is looking perfect for a few hours in the Wicklow hills alright. The aim is 3hrs there, 3+hrs back. Anything quicker and I will be overstepping current training and into injury territory, and injury prevention is half the battle at my (st)age.

Now for the science: five bottles of nice IPA tonight will provide the precise level of carb loading needed. I have purchased some haribo for my pocket, and a snickers bar for 40k mark. The snickers bar will be lucky to survive the drive to race start

Neady83

Sounds like perfect pre race prep can't wait for the blow by blow account. Enjoy every minute

Kurt.Godel

Sat WWUltra 53.4k in 6:32

Neady83 wrote: »

Enjoy every minute

Eh... I don't think I can say I enjoyed every minute!

This was a no pressure box-ticking exercise. The goal was to run the 50k no faster than 6 hours, and more importantly to remain uninjured. I started with a faster clubmate, and ran the first few km with him- too fast a pace, I let him off and dropped down a bit. It was a glorious sunny day- but a lot hotter than I'd like really. For the first part, things were going well, I was feeling good, and ran well within myself until I missed a turn to the Glencree river... ah crap, I ended up looking for little yellow men all over the place before retracing my steps, added about 3 k and a lot of waster time- not really what you want to do in a 50k race!

Anyway, back on track, ran well up past Glendalough waterfall (an improbable perfect viewpoint), and down to the Dargle river. This was where things got a little slippy... I read the imra forum and road shoes were mentioned as being fine. I opted for my Nike Free's, which have absolutely no lugs, just a sole flatter than a pancake at a Creationist science meeting... I slipped and spilled all over the place! In the end I had to hike through heather just to get some traction up the hill and cross the mudbath along a snowy Djouce shoulder. By now I was feeling the heat, and stuffed some snow dowm my socks- heaven! I fell hard in a few places here, but ran well once on the boardwalk, and down to the turn point.

My halfway time was about 3 hours, and I was feeling good. This included my "detour", so I was confident of getting home around 6 hours. However, an Ultra is something you need to train for, and I was all too aware I was winging it from this stage. I walked for several of the steeper parts on the return to Djouce, and was all too aware of overheating- water wasn't really sitting well. I didn't like the return Djouce section at all, slipping all over the place and starting to feel that on tired legs. Crossing the Dargle bridge again, and trudged up the steep bank. Running back past Glendalough didn't feel great, my feet were hurting and I felt very hot. Once at the feed station at Crone I glugged several cool glasses of water- and immediately proceeded to spew them back up. Not being able to digest water is a sign of overheating (I think), so I resolved to err on the side of caution for the remainder.

Crossed the marathon point just under 5 hours, but this is where I broke. The remaining 11k took over one and a half hours- this included the nightmare climb to Prince Williams Seat, a never-ending trudge up the hot crushed stone trail. Eventually I hit the granite steps, and cursed every leg lift. Finally, finally, the summit and long descent, which I jogged as best I could. I hit the road for the last couple of km and was glad to finish (to put it mildly)!

So I ticked that WWUltra box, glad that I did, but not an exercise I'll be repeating soon. I'm too heavy for Ultras (PeterX offered me a hand to stand back up at the finish, and he had to call on all of his superpowers to lift me- good upper body strength Peter, you really should try Triathlon ), and I don't think I have the type of mind to enjoy them. Negatives for the day were rookie mistakes from someone who has paid little attention to running for the past few years- poor footwear choice; no nipple guards (ouch!); I didn't know what a bag drop was so carried my own fuel (500m of sports drink, two jellies and a small mars bar); and I guess most importantly of all I didn't train for the race

Overall though, I'm sure I'll be happy about the event once the pain wears off. IMRA are a great bunch of people, and this was a superb course with some great views. Best of all, snow down your socks feels absolutely fantastic- who knew?

Slogger Jogger

Great day for it. Too great and warm in fact. Fair play to your tenacity for hanging on in there. Next time (:)) a recce in one direction at least should be the pre-requisite. As you say, the last thing you need is extra distance in a race like this. Enjoy the post-race wine, beer and other guilt-free calory laden goodies.

Worth noting that the winner took an extra 15 mins on the homeward 25k so the heat of the day was definitely a factor through the field.

griffin100

Bang goes the theory that wisdom comes with age Sounds like a nice day out, hope the body recovers quickly.

Neady83

Snow down your socks I love it.

Have you recovered enough to look back with fond memories on it yet?

Tough run by the sounds of it but many lessons learned Fair play for taking it on without any specific training for it. Sounds quite beautiful.

Kurt.Godel

Neady83 wrote: »

Have you recovered enough to look back with fond memories on it yet?

No! It was horrific, I doubt there will be any fond memories... alright then, apart from the snow down socks, the views to Wales, the waterfall, chatting to Hilary briefly at halfway (52:xx 3k TT in the pool, good going!), the view of Lough Tay, the helpful volunteers, the laid-back vibe, the €20 entry, the camaraderie, the delight in actually finishing... besides all that, what have the Romans ever done for us?!?

I still have DOMS, did a short easy bike yesterday, skipped the swim today (I'd have gone too hard!), but hopefully back on track tomorrow. No intention to do another ultra again- give me the short sharp shock of a Sprint or Oly any day! I think you need a certain type of mindset to "enjoy" the longer events, and while I like long training runs, and like short races, I don't think I have that particular character to that marries the two! There was a lot of banter between entrants on Saturday, and while thats a great thing, its not something I'm used to... raceface and leave the chat till afterwards suits me better. I don't mean that to sound as po-faced as it reads- certainly the ultra guys were working hard and many passed me in the second half while moving faster and in more cheery a mood. Overall, glad I ticked the box, unhappy with the time (but no more than my prep deserved!), and eager to settle into the shorter training now. It was a useful experience, but not something I'll ever be fond of!

Slogger Jogger

I hope you got your mug after all that. A nice addition to the household, I've a few myself from helping at the trail races over the years.

Considering your preparation (ahem) you didn't do too bad all the same

Kurt.Godel

Tue 60 mins easy bike

Wed 50 mins easy swim

The body has been pretty sore the past few days, to be expected really. Last nights spin on the bike helped a lot, as did this mornings swim, and I now feel a lot better. Need to be smart about the running however, muscles will still be damaged for a few days yet and so I'll be cautious for the rest of the week.

Kurt.Godel

Thurs 5k easy run; 60 mins Masters swim

The run was very easy pace with my mate who is coming back from injury. Great to have company again. My DOMS has gone, legs and joints still a bit sore but easy runs like this will help.

Swim:
400m warmup
8*50 Band&PB (15s)
8*50 Band&PB&paddle (15s)
8*50 Band single arm (25 left, 25 right) 15s
4*50 Band 15s
8*25 max 15s
warm down 10*50 (25scull, 25choice)

Lots of technique tonight, I'm good with Band&PB put terrible once you take away the PB! The upshot of the evening is I have good upper body technique but need to work on kick.

Kurt.Godel

Mon Masters swim

200wu
4*50 as 25max 25 easy
6*(200max, 2mins rest, 200 easy, 1 min rest)

Time to start the sharpening block now endurance is done and dusted. Tonight was my first time swimming hard in quite a while and boy did it show... the first 200 was 2:50 and it got slower from there. Thankfully not a complete collapse (everything in under 3:00) but enough to remind me you get out what you put in. I will up the swims to 4/5 hrs per week.

Neady83

Things are gone very quiet here Kurt, all going ok?

Kurt.Godel

I had another ear infection Neady, which developed into a nasty chest infection... reckon I was run-down after the ultra run, you can't wing them without some blowback! No training at all for the past couple of weeks. At this stage I know my body; training when feeling weak just means longer term issues. Thankfully the chest has cleared up so I'll get back into things now.

Mon 2,800m Masters swim

300 warm-up
6*50 (25 fist, 25 choice)
2*200 on 3:00
2*200 on 3:30
2*200 on 2:50
2*200 on 3:30
2*200 on 2:45
200m warm down

First time back in the pool in a while, and as usual I had forgotten how to swim. I felt good for the first 200, and came in around 2:50... the second drifted to 3:00. From then on I was struggling and didn't manage anything better than 3:10 or so. That's to be expected, and swimming form should return soon enough.

Kurt.Godel

Tue 13 k run, 4..47/km

Nothing wrong with my running anyhow. A great fresh evening, swirling winds with a storm having passed (and still hanging over Annagh in the distance), i set off for a loop of Arklow Rock. The plan was to keep it very easy, i figured 6min km pace... Ran the first couple of km feeling good, checked the pace, wow, it was 5min km pace i was running. Compared to the struggle in the pool yesterday, this was a breeze. I guess I've kept the weight in check the last couple of weeks, maybe that accounts for running this freely. Picked up the pace a tad towards the end, and was pretty content when all was said and done.

Kurt.Godel

Ticking away the past while, just getting back to fitness.

Fri 28th April I took the TT bike out for its first spin since August 2016... my handling has gone to pieces (not that it was ever up to scratch in the first place mind...). The Tinahely duathlon was on this weekend so I scouted the bike course. I was surprised how much effort was required for limited speed, but more on that later...

Sat 18k easy run 5:43/km pace
A great morning for a jog out along the coast road and back to Arklow.

Sun Tinahely Duathlon bike (part of relay)
I opted for the relay as a speedy runner was looking for a biker, and I didn't fancy a full race so soon after sickness. Cycled up to the registration, all seemed good with the bike, set up and waited. This would be handy, we could start with shoes and helmets on, all that was needed was to grab the bike and go. My lad came in 3rd, having run the initial 5k in 18 mins, and off I went. I was feeling good, aiming for around 36mins or so. However, right from the start I knew something was up, I was going nowhere. Hopped off to check if the wheels were rubbing the breaks, but both seemed to spin ok, so off I went again. Going up the hill in Tinahely it was obvious something was up, lads were just flying by me, and my power was high 300's... off I get again. This time I adjusted the rear wheel, took a couple of minutes to do so, all the while bikers flying by me. It took a time to get going again, still not feeling quite right for some time. By about 7km in, I managed to pick up speed on a downhill, and things seemed to get better from here. Everyone in front was a target, and I was fueled by anger at the moment. I upped the effort and reeled in quite a few to finish the route strongly... handed over to my guy, alas despite a great final 3k run from him we came second in the relay by about 10 seconds. Mea culpa.

Mon Easy 4k run

Tue Steady 12k run, 2 mins OW swim brrr!

Thurs 38k bike; 1,900m swim
The bike had issues again... it wasn't until I was an hour in (and scratching my head as to why 23kph speed required so much effort) that I figured out what the problem was- my rear skewer wasn't set correctly, and so the rear wheel had some lateral "play" in it, and was periodically hitting the frame. This only happened under effort, so if I stopped and spun the wheel it wasn't apparent. I fixed it and things immediately improved, I was now hitting over 30kph with ease, and was rewarded with a 7:14 next 5k. I'm useless with bike maintenance.

Swim:
4*100 (25sw, 25k, 25drill, 25sw)
1,500 TT (25:24)
I was rusty for this, not having swam much recently. The first few 100's were around 1:30-ish pace (I used PB for first 750m) but soon started creeping upwards. Checked the watch after 500m to see it had never started, so just plugged away. My arms were pretty tired, there was no "flow", and form was an effort. I was surprised at how slow it was overall- that's over 1:40/100m pace- and think I may have done an extra 50m. But its also likely my form has gone that bad.