140.6 deep breaths...

interested wrote: »

deep sea free diver eh ? quality
.

Something like that. I asked him the other day what he would get if he had all the money in the world. The answer: A house made out of chocolate and a pet maco shark

RE: Barcelona swim. I checked out results from past years vs swim times of people I know. If I get back to Roth swim fitness I'd hope to be close to the hour anyway. But hey whatever I get on the day is what I'll get. Part of the Roth plan was 1:10 for swim+transitions. I'll keep that for Barcelona.

How are you going yourself Chief? You doing that Eton swim?

@interested - If you can get a wetsuit to match those it would be savage!

Easy Bike recce of GLR route
I had an hour steady bike planned for yesterday evening and it was a perfect evening for it too. Unfortunately I got out of work late and ended up doing dinner and heading for a stroll with Caz instead. I haven't missed a session yet this week and wasn't letting this go. I left for work early this morning and cycled a detour over the GLR half route on the mountain bike noting the mile markers. I guess I'll have to go back to working in miles on Sunday :rolleyes: The bones of 25km done including some hopping over curbs and ramping over speed bumps Infinately more enjoyable than turbo...

Short run with 4*3min reps
Had a few things to do today so got this done straight after getting out of bed. Simple 30 minutes with 4*3minute reps at sweet spot effort to prepare the legs for a long sweet spot stint tomorrow. 2 mins steady between reps.
3 mins at 3:54 pace, 0.77km
3 mins at 3:50 pace, 0.78km
3 mins at 3:44 pace, 0.80km
3 mins at 3:40 pace, 0.82km
The reps got progressively quicker as I warmed up and I finished with loads left in the tank which was good. Minimum expectation is a PB :cool:
Total 7.25km

Great Limerick Run Half Marathon Report

Aha revenge on the DNF, it feels good The DNF from last year was a sore point, particularly as it sat literally on my doorstep. I had no intention of silly marathons again this year so I picked the half marathon for some revenge and claimed it.

I awoke to a text from Hunnymonster who was outside my place curb crawling in search of her race number. I pedalled beside her down to the start of the marathon shooting the breeze as RedB would say. I found it rather comforting that even Hunnymonster finds the balance of training and parenting a challenge in itself :cool: There were some familiar faces gearing up for the 26.2 so I offered some motivation before pedalling back home to psyche myself up for the half marathon. 2 hours later I was loitering about bouncing my nervous energy off a rather relaxed RedB and Co. As a large crowd meandered over to the start line I joined the slowest portaloo queue in the world and danced about behind a line of walkers in frustration. I ended up scrambling up the footpath beside the park, flanking the mob to get to the front of the line just in time. I ended up in a great position, second row back and beside the corner we were starting on as the final seconds counted down.

The front row tore off up the initial hill and I followed suit. Way too fast. Everyone in front of me was whippet like and we were at 3:30/km so I backed off a bit. The 2 lead ladies came past with some lads on their shoulders for company. It felt more like the start of a 10k than a half marathon. My support was at the top of the hill yelling too which didn't help to rein the pace back. By the time we hit the first mile marker (which was late) I sort of settled to run with a guy in a red tee. The pace was still 3:45/km though and too hot for me. I thought about the fact that I had another 12 miles to go. I glanced behind however to see that there was a gap back to the next group. I didn’t fancy running alone so I stuck with the red tee for company. As the markers were in miles I had established a 6:20 target pace with a worst case scenario of 6:30 pace (that would sneak a pb).

Most of the first few miles are dragging and my heart rate was spending too much time in the low to mid 170s. I couldn’t sustain this. We hit mile 5 in a shade under 31 minutes and I decided to let the red tee go. I only had to back off a fraction to get my heart rate back under 170. We were running downhill after Raheen Church when I was first passed. I was still with the guy running up the short steep hill by the crescent but again I let him go as he was dragging me into the red zone. I had taken a gel at the water station at mile 5 but maybe didn’t drink enough water with it. I felt a bit gooey and was glad for the water at the school at mile 7. I was grateful for the water being provided in bottles too.

The first doubt crept in at mile 8. I was still holding 6:20/mile pace but working pretty hard for it at this stage. I passed some friends with Caz and my Mum with her dog which gave me a lift. I had to shout at walkers at times as they blocked the narrow route and I got rather annoyed with people with earphones, oblivious to what was going on. The noise level increased when we hit town and It was great to have your name on your bib as your name gets called out at every corner. I was passed by another runner on Sarsfield Bridge and he offered some encouragement. I ran with him down to the treaty stone but let him go up the hill alone. I had to focus on my own thing. Miles 9-10 were a bit of a struggled with motivation. I hit 10 miles (marker again late) in 63 and change and asked myself whether I was going to succumb to the pain or embrace it. I figured I just had to run a 20 minute 5k, how hard could it be? I chose to embrace it and chased the runners who had passed me.

I was moving nicely again until I hit the long drag passed the Gaelic Grounds. I had run this route several times in training and this helped a lot here. I felt as though I was struggling badly but I wasn’t losing ground to the 2 guys who passed me. They must have been hurting as much! The watch beeped with my slowest split so far and I had illusions of me battling to get home in with my 1:25:58 pb ebbing away. I even mistook the green stability treaty posters for the 11 mile marker. Another runner from Eagle AC passed me here. It was hard to tell if I was making up any places though as there were marathoners’ zig zagging about the road. By the time we rounded Nessans School and claimed the 12 mile mark I had my breath back and knew I would get home with a pb. I just had to hold it together for another 8 minutes. I worked hard. My old Rowing Coach passed me on a bike and gave me a high five that nearly knocked me to the ground but I had some determination going now. With a half mile to go I knew I was on for a decent pb. My left quad and right calf were starting to cramp but I didn’t care. When I hit the bridge again I mentally discarded my DNF into the river and opened my legs to the finish. It wasn’t the best run as I had gone out too hard and was cramping up for a finish but I crossed the line in 1:23:40 with a 2 minute PB and I was chuffed with that. Last year I walked away sulking with my head down. This time I treated myself to a rub down, a foil blanket, some grub and savoured the atmosphere rather proudly Turned out I bagged top 20 too whch was a bonus. Job Done!

Summary
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/176026889

Recovery for the legs that is...

Recovery Bike
It was a lovely evening and I was tempted to take the TT bike out for a spin but orders are orders and the only way to ensure that I kept this easy was to roll out on the fat mountain bike tyres. I simply pedalled a high cadence for an hour taking in last weekends run route and anchoring the feeling of suffering. I can suffer in the pool or on the bike but suffering on my feet is something I need to embrace to go faster. I passed a guy on a road bike and I don't think he was pleased. He bombed off ahead after taking a break on my wheel for a while :rolleyes: It was an enjoyable enough spin but I could feel the race in my legs still.
Total 25km.

Squad Swim
Back to suffering
I've lost my fins so I just did an easy warm up while the rest of the lane played with swim toys. We bolted into the work with me sandwiched between the technician and my nemesis, not the worst place to be
400 easy
8*200 off 3:30 in on 3:02/3:01/3:01/2:58/2:56/2:57/3:03/3:03
8*100 off 1:40 in on 1:29/1:30/1:32/1:33/1:33/1:34/1:34/1:32
1000 easy
Total 3,800m

I hung onto the tehnician for the first 3 200s and actually felt like I might be able to hang on for the 8 of them. But the screw was turned for the next 3 and it toasted me. Amazing, I was comfortable enough at just under my CSS (threshold) pace but a couple of seconds faster and I was in the redzone and suffering. I was wrecked after the 200s and it felt like we had zero rest before we got into the 100s. I swam these in no mans land as I had dropped my nemesis on the 200s and I couldn't hold onto the fish. After the second rep I copped that the group behind me were going off 1:45 and the group in front were going off 1:40. I went with the 1:40 RT for the rest of the set and continued suffering on my own. The reps were dog rough as I fought with the water and gasped for air but I got them done. I was spent after the main set so to rub that feeling in I swam 1k straight easy

Flights and accomodation booked for Barcelona. I suddenly have focus!

El Director wrote: »

Your 200 and 100 times are so impressive dude You are going to kill it on the tri scene this year imo. I mean with times like those you will be right at the front of proceedings after the swim and there ain't many that will catch you on a bike and your recent half mara time really stacks up too! Savage stuff Mike.

Won't be on the scene much El D. Have Athy next, then Kilkee, then on the low down to get into IM shape. Maybe a race in August. Have had to scrap a lot of the summer races for a variety of reasons.

Abhainn wrote: »

Catching up Mike. 2 mins improvement on your half time is a great PB. Thats 10 sec /mile .

Did you choose Calella or Barca for the accomodation?

Hey Abhainn, cheers I'm getting there slowly but surely. Im staying in Calella in self catering hotel Miami Park. I fancy cooking my own breakfast etc..

Barcelona is 50km from the start so it would be a bit of a trek on race morning! Easy to get trains to and from Barca/Calella though

Easy Runs
Friday and Saturday sessions consisted of simple short very easy runs to just get the legs turning over again. I felt a bit stiff to begin with but better and looser at the end of each. Yesterday especially was a stunning day to be running. I'd much rather have been racing in Valentia Island though. I wasn't sure about getting out on the bike this weekend so I plotted a long turbo. Thankfully a window opened for Sunday morning so I could scrp the turbo idea and trot around suburbia happily instead. The instep swelling has receded but there was still the trace of a niggle.
Total 19.5km over 2 runs

Bike Endurance
I hooked up with the tri group for 1hr40 of this. It was a large group with some beginners on board so the pace was slow for the first hour. It was a fresh sunny and windy morning. After the hour a quicker group broke off and I joined them. The pace rose and build to a 15k wind up to race effort. I could feel my heart rate climbing as I pushed the pace every time and covered any moves. It was just a bit of fun but I still burst a lung to keep my wheel in front to the line I felt what was left of the group after 2 hours and turned back into the headwind for some more work to bring me to my target 3 hour spin. My lower back was very stiff getting off the bike at the end and I felt as though I had burned quite a few matches. I did do the spin in full winter gear and on just 750ml water though so I was bound to feel it! I have a LOT of work to do to get to a point where this is an easy 'short' bike session...
Total 101.17km in 3:10, avg speed 31.8kmh
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177939481

Right thats the recovery week done and dusted. I'm ready to get stuck in

OW Swim
I was looking forward to this. My first dip into the open water is a bit late this year, but then I've just been busy with LIFE too. I left work on time for a change and pedalled home. Cycling a mountain bike into the wind is good for the heart I transitioned from bike to car and headed out to Worlds End to meet a dozen other anxious faces. The banter was good.

I'm not one to dip a toe and ease in to prolong the dread, so I dove in to embrace the forehead freeze. It was a bit chilly to be hanging around so we set off swimming straight away. There were no fish about so I lost the group after a few minutes to swim alone. The river was a little cloudy due to the heavy rain that day. I hugged the bank in case there were any rowing crews on the water and sighted every 5 or so strokes. My pace was slow for the effort but I copped that was due to a headwnd and a slight flow. The group stopped after 500m to turn back but I pushed on for a km.

I stopped after 20 minutes, tempted to do more but it was cold and I had to swim back. I turned and flew back in 17 minutes swimming down the middle of the river. I was lacking length in the stroke and my navigation was all over the place. I simply focused on swimming to stay warm. I wouldn't call it enjoyable but it was good to get the first dip done. My hands and feet were blue afterwards...
Total 2,100m avg pace 1:44/100, avg efficiency 38.11

Sweetspot Turbo
66 minutes at 83% FTP broken down as
20 at 80%
3*12mins building from 85%-100%
10 mins at 70%
I did it all on the one gear so the 36 minutes work in the middle had me spinning at 115 rpm to hit 100%. I found it tough. Tougher than I should at this point. I mentally signed up for the work and got it done but I had to plead with the legs to hang on. Whats worse is that this is the easier of the 2 turbos I have this week :rolleyes:
Total 40.2km, avg 273w

Transition run with strides
I changed quickly into runners while the sweat dripped off me. I was dreading a run. It was a short one but involved 20 hard 80m strides. I got stuck straight into them and gave them all what I could. I had no watch on so it was a good exercise to 'feel' the difference between easy and hard. I finished up wrecked. It was just a 90 minute brick but it wiped me.
Total 5km

Swim Squad
Large group down this morning and it was a case of jumping in and getting on with it. The group would soon break up...
500 warm up at 1:38 pace
10*50 stroke count in on 45,46,45,46,46,45,44,45,45,43 kept stroke count between 17-19
20*100 off 1:45 in on 1:22/1:26/1:25/1:25/1:27/1:26/1:25/1:27/1:26/1:27/1:25/1:28/1:27/1:27/1:27/1:28/1:28/1:28/1:28/1:27
1000 easy at 1:48 pace
Total 4,000m avg pace 1:34, avg efficency 33.52, avg swolf 70

The 20*100 split the group up and there were bodies all over the place. I started 5th in the line but 2 dropped back after just 2 reps. The pace was hot. I was now chasing the fish and working my butt off just to hold the 3m gap to the feet in front of me. The splits were telling me I was swimming way below my CSS pace so I knew it was going to hurt. I felt the pinch on the 8th rep but set myself a target of getting as many as I could under 90 secs. Another fish dropped back after 12 and I now just had 2 in front of me, one of which was the technician. As expected I noticed that my nemesis seemed to get stronger as the set went on and casualties got lapped. I was hanging over the ropes by the 15th rep and barely catching my breath. I gave the last 5 socks and was pretty damn chuffed to get the whole lot under 90 secs :eek: I was spent though. I did a long warm down again and finished the sesison with a decent stroke, albeit with zero power....

Turbo VO2 session
VO2 reps are never pleasant but I was psyched up for it. I had a kind of a "just get it done" kind of attitude. It was a short 45 minute turbo with 4*4 minutes at 115% FTP. I put the HRM for this one.
Rep 1, avg HR 158, max HR 167
Rep 2, avg HR 162, max HR 171
Rep 3, avg HR 165, max HR 173
Rep 4, abg HR 167, max HR 177
I held a steady 370-375w for each of them but the effort to do so rose incrementally. I was grimacing by the end of the 3rd rep and half way through the last rep I was snarling at my legs if they dared to give up. I had 4 minutes easy between reps and needed it. I spun easily for a few minutes after the last rep and hopped off feeling good
Total 28.4km, avg 280w

Easy Hilly Run
I took a very relaxed 10 minutes to transition to running gear and to allow myself to cool down. The first 2km feel really heavy. I felt fresh enough but my quads were reeling from the turbo and resisted. I was determined to keep the easy pace easy and I focused on running as steady as I could. I had 2 thoughts floating through my head to stay focused. The pace was 4:55 and I imagined carrying the 3:30 balloon at Dublin and explaining to the gang that this steady pace would get them home. I also visualised running an IM marathon and convincing myself to keep it steady or I'll blow up. The result was I put myself into a sort of trance. The pace was rock steady and I barely noticed the hills. My running legs came around too and I finished the run feeling better than I started
Total 9.72km, avg 4:55 pace,avg 140 HR

Swim Squad
Surprise surprise its Friday and the Coach had one thing on is mind... speed! We seemed to spend forever warming up but then it was needed.
800 easy
5*100 easy
4*(100/50/25 all max effort) off 3:00 and 1:30 respectively
8*50 choice
1000 easy
Total 3,500m

I went for it on the first 100 and bagged a PB of 1:12 From then I barely survived in lactic acid. I tried to do the same for a couple of the 50s but the best I could do was a 33. The other 100s were all pants, I had burnt the whole box of matches for the PB....

El Director wrote: »

Mike when will you realise that you ARE a fish!:cool:

No chance, one of the key differences is that while they are chatting between reps (they have the time to do that), I arrive at the wall and pant like a dog hiding in the shade on the hottest day of summer...

Easy Run
The last session of the week was a laboured easy run after a weekend of socialising. The food discipline was non existant too so I felt like I was carrying a few extra KGs around this uban jaunt. 2 laps of suburbia and a box ticked. Finally I put down a week where all boxes were ticked but my legs were feeling it.
Total 16.5km, avg pace 4:51

Weekly numbers
14th May-20th May|# sessions|Time hh:mm|Distance kms
Total|12|14:00|250.97
Swimming|3|3:07|10.1
Cycling|3|5:23|185.14
Running|5|4:17|55.73 inc 1 T run
Conditioning|2|1:13|N/A


Definitely the most consistent week put down in a while although life stacked a few heavy sessions next to each other and left me tired. I decided to skip ths morning's pool session in favour of some sleep and a colder dip after work. Now, if I can just apply some discipline and consistency I might get my groove on for the sub10 :rolleyes:

Branson Limited Greengrocer wrote: »

So its confirmed then you will have a good 10/15mins out of the water on me in Athy:o
Need to get a long dip in cold OW in the next week. Like you don't want the "oh fck this is cold" feeling on race morning.

Doubtful JB, you are going better than you give yourself credit for. The interesting thing will be to see if I can hold you off on the bike and if so last the run without you chasing me down :cool:

Threshold run
I should have had this run out of the way already but felt very tired after work yesterday and slept in this morning. I was still dopey cycling into work too. When I arrived, happy to be early, I realised I had forgotten the key for the lock. Cue an impromptu VO2 sprint home and back again :rolleyes: I slalomed the distractions en route to the door at lunch to embrace the glorious sunshine we have waited for. The session called for 3*3km at threshold pace with a km jog between. I knew it entailed suffering but some schoolboy errors transformed it to a struggle. The first rep was into a breeze and mostly uphill so a tough one to begin with. I finished it heaving. I felt parched. My mouth was dry and my legs ached.

I got through the next 2 reps with my tongue hanging out but at a significantly slower pace than planned. The easy bits even hurt. I had to stop a couple of times during the reps as I felt I was going to explode. My hammers ached. It was generally rough and pants in terms of quality. Does it count? Yes it does. Simply as a reminder on what silly errors can do to me on a warm sunny day. I was under hydrated, dehydrated even. I knew I was going out running at lunchtime. I knew it was warm out. The empty bottle on my desk remained empty all morning. Stupid. Secondly I finished a solid session the other night with tight hamstrings. I didn’t stretch or roll them out and lo behold they ached today. Stupid. I got the session done but it was a good reminder that in 18 weeks or so I will have a full marathon to run off the bike and in 10 degrees warmer weather too! 143 to go...

Dory Dory wrote: »

I knew I was going to have to work on that return lap being hypoxic!!

Next goal for me is a second turn.. aim for 60m