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Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail
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check out that Felt B2, beautiful bike, did you mention you were a wee lad, a 50 might be the right size for you
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sale/ex-demo-bikes/
Felt B2!!! are they not mad money, nothing showing up on the link. Yes a wee lad currently on a 52" road bike although would not want to go smaller as it is jsut about the right size for me when i take the stabilizers off:rolleyes:
Planet X have a stealth pro carbon sram rival for €1,235 online but seem to be out of stock until March by the looks of it. (I will check with that shop in Athlone tomorrow)0 -
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With all the talk of bikes in here today it's about time i got back to posting some actual training updates.:)
Tuesday
Lunchtime Run
Plan: 10km with strides Actual: 5km easy
Ended up changing my plans as ballsed up packing my bag and left the garmin, hrm and my running jacket at home so decided on a short easy one around the 4.9km work route. Just as well as it was pissing down and i was out in just a t-shirt and shorts freezing me XXXXX off.
Distance: 4.9km
Time: 25 mins
Pace: 5.00 min kms
PM - Brick Session - 45 min high Z2 bike/30 min Z2 run
Really wanted to up the effort on the bike part of the session and i did exactly that. Kept it in the big gear for the 45 mins whilst trying to maintain a decent cadence.
Distance: 30.34km
Time: 45 mins
Power: 256avg/567max
Cadence: 97/127 max
Avg speed: 40.4kmph
Power to weight ratio: 3.76watt/kg
AVG hr: 149
Legs felt wobbly starting on the run but soon start maintaining a running cadence of 86/88 throughout.
Distance: 5.6km
Time: 27:17
Pace: 4.52km/7.50mile
Avg HR: 154
Got the green light on tt bike purchase from the boss so time to make my mind up. I can get that giant back from that german site for 1440 inc shipping which saves me about 200 against local stores. I will wait and see if that Athlone have any of the Planet x tt bikes in stock before i make my mind up.0 -
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Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »Thanks Interested, i believe your the man to speak to on all things swimming related. Do you have any session tips/suggestions for improving techniue and speed (i know the two somewhat go hand in hand) Now that the endurance is there i really want to improve on my IM swim target time.
Thats the thing about these parts, everyones advice is as good as the next guys - but my own opinions on things are as follows ...apologies, they're long winded.
a) technique - next to impossible for me to comment on this without seeing where you're coming from and how things stand now. One generic rule of thumb is that you're on top of the water swimming - that your hips arent dropping. Sure, you're wetsuit will give you a lift in the water when swimming in open water - but a steady regular flutter kick that isnt going to tax the big muscles too much but keeps your hips high will ensure you're not dragging your lower body through the water too much or ... more than necessary if you catch my drift. If you're body is in the right position, then if enables you to stretch more on the recovery of each arm pull so that you're physically gripping more water in every pull (this and body rotation and kicking will reduce your stroke count / increase the distance-per-stroke) and should see you swim quicker for similar / less exerted energy. That'd be the theory at least
If its possible for to have a coach look over your stroke on a regular (once every 2 weeks or more and not always when you're swimming fresh) look at your stroke then it might help you alter one or two small things that will help you.
b) Speed over 3.8k as part of an IM ... hmm
unless you're doing a relay Ive always heard that the speed you swim and bike at should ensure you can maintain a steady pace in the last 10 miles of the run - even though its literally the other side of the day of the swim. For anyone from a swimming background or those whose swimming is their best discipline this is more difficult than it sounds given the fact its common to have spent an age preparing to participate in an long distance race. When the gun goes, and the water goes white and you're looking for clear water, its only natural for the arms to fly about and technique to go temporarily a little out of sorts in search of speed.
for me ... with my own background my approach to swimming 1.9k or 3.8k as part of a triathlon (after alot of mistakes) is now to try to swim no faster than my ability to maintain good swimming form. If I maintain good form then Im swimming comfortably and in a controlled manner - counting out my strokes, trying to be as efficient as possible. If I feel things going a bit out of sorts or 'off' Ill slow down slightly since even if I back off on the swim and maybe finish even 2 or 3 minute slower time than a p.b or something ... the energy Ill have saved will ensure I can maintain a good pace towards the end of the race.
Although the 10*400 set is a nice one to do every now and again - it wouldnt be something Id personally do alot. Theres absolutely no harm in having it under the belt in terms of a training goal - to have swam a 4k set every now and again.
The objective of a distance sort of set is to train your body to become comfortable swimming (whilst maintaining good form) that distance at a desired speed.
For example to swim just under the hour for 3.8km I know I need to swim 100 metres 38 times in just under 93 seconds. This doesnt mean I need to swim 38*100's every week - but I know if I can comfortably do a set of 10*100's on 1.30 then I know what it feels like to swim at that speed - and can determine if its just a case of swim fitness that is limiting me to those times. Similarly - say I have a goal of swimming 52 minutes for the 3.8k swim as part of a long distance event ... then I need to be 'comfortably' doing 100's on 1.25 (holding around a 1.22 pace)) if this slips to 1.30 for the last 800 metres of the 3.8k ... Ill end up swimming 64 seconds slower than Id hoped ... if I have to walk in the last 10 miles of the run Ill loose alot more than 64 seconds.
Im in no way criticizing your or anyone elses sets of 400's here btw, but if you're looking to improve ... you might consider alternative sets like
5 * 400 off a particular time that gives you just 15 seconds rest
and/or
5 * 200 ... same as above 15 or less rest between each
and/or
10 * 100 ... same as above but again, less rest - probably just 5 seconds
still a 4k set - but you're more focused and if you have a ball park idea of what you're swim time you'd like to have - divide it by 38 - and then the next time you're in the pool - do a warm up - and then do a comfortable 100 f/s - take the time and compare it to what you have to do 38 times .... before you bike and run.
if there's anything confusing or Ive glossed over something feel free pass it along or via pm. As above, this is all just my opinion. Im not a coach - and nor do I really want to be but Im more than happy to help - but again, bear in mind - you should be thinking about a swim time you should do to facilitate the bike and run on the big day and not the swim time you can do.0 -
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Thanks for taking the time Interested, solid advice and will start doing a few of them sessions.
Off down to view a Felt S22 tri bike later which i should be able to pick up for €1,200 new reduced from €1,500. It seems to rate well on the review sites. Planet X bike not an option as they will not have stock until late March if they are lucky and i think the Giant bike is slightly out of my price range.
Toss up between these two now, i think the Felt looks better and will probably seal the deal if i can get it for the right price.
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Thursday
Lunchtime Gym - Session missed
Very busy in work and did not get to this but should get around to it today.
PM - Long Bike 3hr 40 mins
It was a late start getting onto the turbo as we had someone in assembling new furniture in the house and they did not leave until after 9 or so. By the time i got the kids to bed it was shortly after 9.30 by the time i sat my ass on the turbo which meant a 1.10am finish:(
For nutrition/hydration i had two bananas, energy bar, pear, 1x500ml sports drink, 2x500ml water and one mixed with an energy gel. I am thinking of mixing some of my energy gels with water on race day to help them go down easier, does anyone know if this will give you the same hit?
I trundled along and the first 2 hours went in slowly with the last 1hr 40 mins whizzing by, i also threw in about 10 mins of 270/280watt towards the end to test the legs a little.
Fairly tired getting off the bike so had a quick shower and straight to bed in my new Super King Size with memory foam mattress:P for the guts of a 4 hour sleep:(
Distance: 123.82km
Time: 3hr 40mins
Speed: 33.7kmph
Power: 194/307
Cadence: 96/108
Avg HR: 134
Friday
AM - Swim Session
In the pool for 6.30am and strangely felt alert for this session, i think my recovery on the bke is very fast these days. Took interesteds advice on board and changed the session about a bit
WU - 200
10x100 coming in on 1.49/1.55 and off in 2.00, the last few came in close to 1.55 which meant very little breathers in between.
5x200 coming in on 3.44/3.57 and off in 4.10. These felt ok
2x400 in on 7.40ish with 30 secs rest between sets
200 cd
I think i can push myself harder on the 100's/200's and would love to get them under 1.40 & 3.30 in the next few weeks.
Distance: 3200mtrs
Time: 1.11
Going to look at changing the long bike to a Wednesday from next week as the bike with the AM swim is tough going.0 -
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griffin100 wrote: »Anyone tried these gels? Got some yesterday but haven;t tried one yet. Looking for some thing that I dont have to take water with.
I had them last year Griffin, with my history of blow-ups thread carefully with them
They were fine though, you wouldn't be loving them but they are easier to swallow than the thicker heavier ones. I am just trying the SIS gels this year as I used them on one of the 20 mile lsrs for the marathon and it was probably the best shape I had finished one of them in. 0 -
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I agree with Aero2k on it being personal preference. I took a Powerbar gel on mile 23 of DCM 09, and vomited my way up Nassau Street! I had difficulty keeping the SiS gels down during Gaelforce, but I find the High5 Isotonic caffeine gels great. Used them for DCM 2010 with no problem (except for the onset of diabetes perhaps
), would definitely recommend them. 0 -
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JB things are going so well for you, you seem to be very strong mentally to be doing those long turbo's and following them up with tough swim sessions hours later-a brick some might say! I personally use the high5 iso gels for running as they go down easy and Zipvit gels for the bike (28.1 carb content) This is what works for me anyway and I prefer to err on the side of more is better than not enough. Some may recall my HOTW report last year, excessive? I didn't think so as I finished v strong.
Keep up the good training man, keep healthy and fit (and rest some too!!) 0 -
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Hi JB,
Abhainn sent me over here to try to scare me!:)
Like yourself I have used Powerbar gels - the ones with caffeine. Based on the suggestion printed on a little leaflet that came with my Powerbar hydration belt, for my last two marathons I've taken 4 gels each poured into the little 125ml bottles that go on the belt and filled up with water. They've worked fine and I think they go down a bit easier.
A lot of this is personal preference - my own perspective is that my legs seem to like the gels, either High-5 or Powerbar, especially in the latter stages of a long run, but the stomach isn't quite such a big fan.
Thanks Aero, yeah i am using the apple flavoured caffeineited ones. I can generally keep down about six at most but after that i get pretty bad stomach cramps so taking some with water should help me later on in IM race day. BTW hope i did not scare you too much:pac:I agree with Aero2k on it being personal preference. I took a Powerbar gel on mile 23 of DCM 09, and vomited my way up Nassau Street! I had difficulty keeping the SiS gels down during Gaelforce, but I find the High5 Isotonic caffeine gels great. Used them for DCM 2010 with no problem (except for the onset of diabetes perhaps), would definitely recommend them.
I think i will try a batch of each and see what tastes/works well. I do find the powerbar ones do a good job it's just the cramping problems it causes me if i take a couple of them.shotgunmcos wrote: »Hey JB, well done on that long turbo , early swim combo. I did it last week and cramped up badly on the early swim. Although to hold 33kmh I have to put out about 230w so that may have been a factor. I didn't do it this week for various reasons so have to fit it in this weekend thus loading up the key sessions:rolleyes: I've been reading other uk and us forums discussing the DF plans and some who have used them for previous IMs found that loading the weekends up with a long brick one day and long run the next day took its toll, significantly in the third 10 weeks block when the hours were greater. Other schools of though per say seem to space the key sessions out over the week. So something like long swim tuesday, long run thursday and long brick sunday. Last week I did that but the bike was on thursday and run on sunday. I can't guage how effective it was as it was a big week anyway and I was generally wrecked after it. Interesting though if you had a free weekend to do your bike, would you thne do your LSR midweek. Sorry for waffling on your log but you really seem to be balancing things well albeit how you are doing it with so little sleep is beyond me! Just wanted to get your thoughts on the long run + long bike at the weekend system of DF?
Anyway, on the gels thing. I use Powerbar all the time. I tried lots of other types of gels but found the PB ones best. They need lots of washing down though I'll say that. 41g of which 27g is carbs and only 10g sugars, so the rest (assuming you squeeze it all out) is released rather slowly. In my experience on marathons they work really well especially beyond 2-2.5 hours when your glycogen store is shot. I have made mistakes with them too. Kilkee 2009 I didn't drink enough water and stitched up badly. Thw Worlds in Budapest last year I gambled on taking 2 on the bike and one before the swim and paid the price with another stitch on the run. When the work though I have noticed the effect.
I'm interested too in the mixing a few in the bottle trick. It could be an efficient way to get them on board on the day.
Right enough of you log space used up. Great training, and well done spinning all the plates man!
For me i have noticed the quality of my long bike and in particular my long run has improved since spacing them out two weeks ago. I know DF plans have them scheduled back to back over a weekend but this does not work for me as i need to keep a day over the weekend relatively free for family time.
For me it is about fitting my plan around other things going on. I know Tunney got onto me about training plans back before i started my IM training, at the time i disagreed but he is spot on. I have a rough weekly plan and i tinker with it slightly to suit outside influences but it is helpful to have an idea of what sessions you have scheduled in for the week.
It will be interesting to see how you perform on the long bike/run this weekend compared to when you had them spaced out last week. I will probably switch in 3/4 weeks to a midweek LSR and a long bike when the weather starts improving and i start hitting 5/6 hour rides in. Hard to find a 5/6 hour window midweek!!
If you get a chance Mike link us to your Kilkee and Worlds race reports as i would find them helpful. One last thing on the sleep thing i need to start getting at least 7 hours in as i reckon i will hit a wall and improvements will slow down if i continue the way i am going. All the training books state that sufficient rest and recovery is key to good training.El Director wrote: »JB things are going so well for you, you seem to be very strong mentally to be doing those long turbo's and following them up with tough swim sessions hours later-a brick some might say! I personally use the high5 iso gels for running as they go down easy and Zipvit gels for the bike (28.1 carb content) This is what works for me anyway and I prefer to err on the side of more is better than not enough. Some may recall my HOTW report last year, excessive? I didn't think so as I finished v strong.
Keep up the good training man, keep healthy and fit (and rest some too!!)
Re the bolded bit i am just a stubborn mule and my train of thought is you get out what you put in. I don't like doing things half arsed in life and in particular when i set myself challenging goals.
I did try zipvit gels before but i found the taste terrible however i can highly recommend the bars...they are bloody tasty. If you have a link of your HOTW race report it would be cool to read.
Jaysus what a waffler i am at times.0
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