Eddie Rockets!

I don't think there'll be much of a backlash on Sunday! I doubt the top guys would be too worried anyways. While today's run was closer to normal i'm just not there yet. Sunday will be a fun one, whatever will be will be!

And by the looks of your swim times you wont be needing any draft from me unless you want a challenging bike to take back the time you've lost sitting behind me!

Rightr im not going to get to make up every session since Mallorca but in a snap shot:

Ive slowly got back to things. Started feeling the love a bit more too last week and things also seemed to be coming back in line. I've gotten some great feedback on my swim and im excited about how it could help. Basically when im pushing or tired i seem to dip my head down slightly which is causing drag. I had 5 x 100's 10s faster than intended sprint race pace (so fairly pushing) with 30s rests on Saturday gone and i was hoping for mid to low 01:20's and i was delighted to clock 01:20 (as quick as ive ever done in a fuill out TT), 01:21, 01:23, 01:21 so im hoping i may have cracked something. Time will tell.

Bike wise ive done some longish bikes but nothing major. I got out with ElD and JB a few weeks back and to tell the truth i was really feeling it there! I had to go through some bad patches just to keep in touch but fortunately it went ok in the end.

Running was possibly the slowest to come back. Only in the last week or so am i feeling ok again. Ive had some ups and downs there but slowly i seem to be coming around.

So since Mallorca ive done:
Week 1: 3hrs 15mins spread across 2 bikes, 2 runs and a splash in the pool
Week 2: 8hrs 30mins with 3 bikes, 3 runs, 3 swims
Week 3 (last week): 9hrs with TriAthy Sprint.

So ill start back with my Triathy Sprint Report

Triathy Sprint Sunday 3rd June

I really wasnt sure how i was going to go and was fully expecting a few boardsies to beat me. Ive put on a fair amount of weight since Mallorca, fell out of love with training only to slowly get back the fun early last week.

Pre Race
Up at 05:35, showered and had the usual brekkie (porridge, walnuts, cranberries and manuka honey) with 500mls water. I got down nice and early bumping into ElD on parking up. He was looking well set and gunning to go. I made some excuses expecting to be beat and off we went to register
I had completely taken the cassette apart on Saturday to clean every link while putting on the wheelcover so i was anxious to double check everything was still 100% (had also checked after doing it). It was fine but i also had to duct tape the drive side of the wheelcover to the spokes as they were rubbing. ElD went off to transition while i sorted this out. I then took the bike out for a short spin to check gears and i threw a small few pickups. I got racked up and ran back to the car to see how the legs were and to scoff brekkie round 2 (porridge, muesli, cranberries, manuka honey, walnuts) at 09:20. I was a little concerned on the HR/Pace there but thought it might just be down to excitement and caffeine (i was fairly dosed up! More so than ever before).

After brekkie i walked back and walked through swim entry, bike out, bike in and run out while listening to the briefing. Then off down to the swim start to watch the first few waves to see if i could spot good lines to take, particularly upriver. Decided on seeing guys along the edge to head that route and to be fairly central coming back down. It seemed like there was quite a current as some weaker swimmers were really struggling! I was getting very cold just about 60mins before off (i was last wave!) so i headed to a coffee shop to top up on more caffeine. I was feeling good now as i started my warmup. I threw in about 6 x 15s sprints to get the blood out of the stomach and into the legs. Back to get into the wetsuit and then copped they were running 10mins behind so i ran easy for another 5mins with just 1 more pickup.

So with 12/15mins to go i got into the wetsuit and put on the babyoil on neck and outside of suit (actually just realised i forgot to apply to the calves!) Took citrus gel about 10mins before the off

Swim 00:10:04 23/738
I did a few sprints and some front and mid sculling to get warmed up. Felt good and so i decided to start from the front. If i panicked with the melee then so be it but i was going for it. I got a perfect starting point right where i wanted, along the edge right at the front. And so we were off. The first 150m were pretty aggressive with guys both left and right. We were so tight together that my arms were coming back down on their backs at times and visa versa. I didn't get any bad blows to the head thankfully and i kept the head down as long as i could to keep it that way. Finally we freed up and i got a nice draft for a while. I hugged the edge for a little too long i think as i was pretty much all alone with about 50m to the turn so i made my way across and latched onto 2 guys feet. They were zig-zagging a fair bit though. We turned and i lost a little ground on them as my arm got caught in the rope. I sprinted a little to get back and was feeling really good. Id company along side for a while but lost him as we rounded some of the previous wave, he'd nowhere to go as we came right up behind one guy and i wasnt going to give room so he had to drop back to go around him. I drafted off the two guys for a good while back down rotating between the two of them as both zigzagged! As we approached the bridge a few came from the right and i decided i wanted first out of the water from the pack of 4 or 5 so i pushed a bit and managed to get past them all to help with a clean exit onto the ramp.

T1 00:01:09 40/738
I was a little dizzy but felt ok. I had marked out exactly where to run (first rack past the second tree after the building) and fortunately so as my vision was pretty short. Got to bike ok. For some reason i lost about 5s trying to get my left ankle out of the suit! Wasted needless time here. A guy i came into T1 with was gone before me.

Bike 00:31:09 3/737
I clambered onto the shoes and got up to speed before trying to put my feet in. What i hadn't taken heed of earlier though was that the surface is pretty bad for the first 1.5k and uphill and so i was really struggling to get my feet. I was worried about the front wheel going from under me with the wet conditions! Id one near miss when hooking the left foot in and was starting to lose speed! My right foot then bloody went between the strap and shoe and i had to be very careful not to pull the strap out! Paddy Quinn came around me at about 2k as i finally got this messing sorted and i could finally start motoring. I passed him as soon as i dropped back the 10m and was gone. Nobody was passing me today i said! I pushed it out with a tailwind and i knew it was going to be very hard coming back into it which i knew would suit me being stronger than most. I caught up with and passed the 2nd place guy (I wasn't aware i was so high up at this stage) just before the turnaround. He was wearing an amphibian king suit so i reckoned he was a runner so it was time to burn him a little. My turn was dreadful and so he passed me at the corner but i passed him immediately again. I pushed a little and noticed he was staying within touch but i knew it had to be taking its toll on him as id caught up to him in the first place. I figured if i kept a constant effort i knew it might just be too far for him. Thus i wasn't worried about him tagging along (Legally mind, he wasn't drafting). We started encountering a lot more now from earlier waves and i had to give a fair few shouts to get around (sorry if there is anyone reading that i shouted at :P ). I noticed then that id dropped the guy behind and I then set about getting past as many as i could before we hit that final 1.5k section of awful road before the finish. They mentioned in the briefing that this was a no pass zone! I wasnt prepared to sit in behind here and passed 1 or 2 safely. I slowed right up in the last 500m or so as i encountered another group and the surface is really poor there so i wasn't taking any chances and hence lost some time.

T2 00:01:03 12/737
Ok T2. I lost a few seconds trying to hook my saddle onto the rack as the rack was far too low and i had to twist the bike sideways to get it under. I then found it hard getting the helmet off as my fingers were numb! I was boosted by the sight of just 1 bike and hence realised i could potentially be running for 1st. This was way beyond expectations as only in the last few days have i felt somewhat normal since Mallorca!! I wasn't fully sure there was only 1 as again my sight was fairly tunnel visioned so i knew there might have been others there too. Shoes went on but not that well as the tongue on both went right down. My hands and fingers were too cold to sort it though and on i went.

Run 00:17:38 5/734 (not counting the 3 who must have skipped part of the run!)
I always seem to run fast out so i tried to keep it under control a little more. I passed a guy from the earlier wave who held me up a tiny bit and then it was onto the cross country route!! Being in the last wave meant the surface was very very poor for a lot of the run. A lot of the grass areas were now either very slippy or ankle deep muck in some small sections! I felt really good though and felt very very strong. I was anxious about potential stitching as I've a fine belly on me now from the past 3 weeks post A race! (im a few kg heavier than i was!!) I ran steady for the first 2k but somehow still managed to clock 03:31 and 03:29 for the opening 2k. When i saw 03:29 for what was a slightly uphill part with some proper ankle deep mud i knew i was rolling well. So i decided then to start embracing a bit of pain and brought HR up to mod hard. I was running to PE though as opposed to HR and was enjoying it. I wasn't in any trouble and was feeling great. As I approached the turning point i could see the guy i thought was the 1st. I noted what seemed to me to be pain in his face when he saw me. He was a good 300m ahead though and with just 2.5k to go i knew there was no guarantee that id get him. It was hammer time now though so i increased PE ever so slightly. Half the battle was weaving in and out of people from earlier waves on the very narrow and slippy grass section along the river. I was also mindful of guys behind but knew if i was clocking 03:30's they'd have to be serious runners to take back another 15-20s per km! So long as i saw 03:30 pace i knew i wasnt going to be caught and then switched solely to catching no.1. I caught my target much earlier than i expected as we approached the tarmac section (within 1/1.3k of turnaround) and instead of easing off and running with him i surged ever so slightly. I knew if i managed to open enough of a gap id break his fight and hoped he wouldn't try come back. I was still feeling good though. Previous races here ive been on my limit by now, getting cold shivers and goosebumps with 1.5k to go but i wasnt getting this so i knew while i was pushing there was more if required. It was only now i thought of overall placing so i kept the push on and finally got through to the line for a very satisfying 17:38 5k! Thats just 8seconds from my one and only 5k flat race a few months back and i certainly didn't push as hard in this run as i did there.

Overall
Delighted with how it went. I never thought 2nd overall was possible so it was quite a surprise! I knew i had set myself up well as i felt the swim went very well. The bike was just ok. I lost needless time getting feet in shoes and also i should have really pushed in that last 6k. I didnt give her everything there as with the road being wet i was mindful of crashing! I also lost some time in the last 1k or so gingerly trying to get around and then waiting behind a group as we entered T2. The run was good. I got into a nice steady pace for the first while and knew if i managed 1500m stitch free then i could open her up more. I think that went exactly to plan. I was wrecked by the end of the 5k but i know i only pushed the last 3k or so. 5k is so bloody short!

One thing i did this race to see how it would go was i dosed up on caffeine! I tired the High5 Xtreme for the first time sipping it all morning up to about 90mins before the off. Theres 65mg caffeine there. Id also had two cups of strong coffee on the drive down about 3 to 4 hours before off (prob another 180mg caffeine) and i had another large cup (70mg - not so strong) literally 50mins before off. I think i could feel the difference. Pain didnt seem so bad overall and i felt a little buzzy rather than in pain on the run. I think it also made me more aggressive in the swim which is a good thing for me as i feel i've a tendency to slightly switch off and stop pushing. I could feel slight stomach issues with 2k to go though but they eased and never caused any issue. Might not be a good idea for longer events though. I also took on just two small sips of High 5 2:1 on the bike to keep sugars in the blood stream.

In all id give my race an 8/10. Bike was a little disappointing and i didnt completely open up on the run. Delighted though overall. I felt i raced it pretty well.

Monday 11th June
Coached Swim
Good old dose of drill work again. I find some quite easy and others not so. Balancing drills are the better ones while the doggie paddle, finger trail and sculling ones are my worst! Ive learned a bit though in the 3 sessions to date. Key are 1) i catch too wide with my right arm and 2) i dip my head when tired. We'd 3 x 100 on 01:45 fastish 100's to finish and i was delighted to hit 01:20 and then something like 01L24 and 01:23. It was commented though that almost everyone went back to old habits when pushing so while drills will be important its more important to actually bring the learnings from them to the overall swim stroke! I'm enjoying some company for the swims, pushes me a lot harder than i can push myself. While i haven't done f all in the water the past few days i found i still went ok.
Time: 00:45:00, Distance: ?? about 1500m? Not sure

Tuesday 12th June
Run
Some easy, not so easy and then mod effort to liven the old legs up. I was a little surprised t actually run well enough. First easy segment came in on 04:04 pace, the next level up was 03:50 and then mod came in on 03:45 pace. I was breathing pretty heavy for the first while and getting into easy at all felt like a bit of effort. I was a bit concerned how the later bits of effort would feel! Eased into it though and body seemed to come around. I put the early fatigue down to Sunday's expedition. Quads were pretty tight after Sunday and i could certainly still feel that cycle a little. Once warmed up though i seemed to roll well.
Time: 00:45:52, Ave Pace: 03:59/km, Ave HR 142BPM, Distance: 11.51km

Yo Fazz, yeah sorry ive had a turbulent few weeks. I did the same last year where after first A race i badly lost focus. I was in a really bad way a few weeks back, even considering packing it in but i came around. Slowly but surely getting back but not to the extent id have liked. While ive had decent races since Mallorca for some reason i keep going through periods of in and out of interest in it all. I suppose ive had a very hectic few weeks at work and other stresses have taken their toll.

Im in for Lough Neagh. Ive raced it once before and loved the course so looking forward to it. Thats it then to Kenmare. Possibly an aquathon or two. Was supposed to do the Bull Wall one last Wednesday but i opened up a nasty big blister last week in Rosslare. Still not back running or swimming cos of it but not far off now thankfully.

I suppose t get me back on track here i'll start with the Rosslare Pikeman Oly Race Report. Ive one done for coach so ill dig it out now and tailor it for here

Ive gone gels only for all the 70.3's to date and will keep at that. I'll send you over my excel nutrition plans for some reflection. Not saying they're perfect now but they'll give you some food for thought

Monday 16th July
Easy Run
This was a tester to see how the blister i picked up about 9 days ago was going to react. Its virtually healed so i was confident it wold be ok but put a plaster on just in case. Kept things very very easy. Its a hilly route back home and running downhill had some hot spots forming on both feet, right calf also felt tight but fortunately asll was ok by the end and nmothing developed into anything worrying. Felt fairly fat and sluggish and expected an average pace more towards 5min/km as i made sure to keep it controlled and easy but i was a little surprised to see iot finished at 04:27/km pace. It was short but good to get done and back to it.
Time: 00:27:36, Ave Pace: 04:27/km, Ave HR 129BPM, Distance: 6.19km

Tuesday 17th July
Bike
Bit of work here with two 15reps around FTP. Been working up to this the past few weeks. Went ok. I felt great in the first rep, it was hard enough but manageable and i was surprised how good i felt but for some reason rep 2 was total opposite! I was back into the wind for parts and it was wrecking my head as the gusts kept throwing me off gears. I had to constantly change gears and was weaving sideways at some points, so much so that i came out of the aerobars at times to steady it better to try work through it. Finished that rep ok but was a little disappointed that rep 2 didnt go as well. I also had to stop for 1 minute in each rep at the railway crossing at Sutton!
Time: 01:15:07, Normalized Power 277W, Ave HR 134BPM, Ave Cadance 83, Distance 41.14km, Ave speed 32.9km/hr

Swim
This was supposed to be done Monday but a visit to the folks and late back to Dublin pushed it out. I don't want to miss any swimming sessions so moved it to Tuesday. Seeing as it had a few drills etc and no kick set i figured it would be fine after the earlier bike. Felt good actually, far better than i should have seeing as i haven't swam on over a week (i tend to feel sloppy first session back after any absence)! Felt like id plenty of energy to the end. Tried to hurt a little in some mod 300's without going too hard and felt i did well enough (04:25/04:27). I had to sprint once in each for about 15m to pass someone so it was good to learn to recover while still pushing a bit. Enjoyed the swim. Id also some 50des on 60 after the drills early on which were surprisingly fast at 43, 42, 40, 38 and some fast 50s at the end on 37, 39, 39, 39.
Time: 00:43:30, Distance: 2200m, Avg Pace: 1:36 min/100m

Thursday 19th July
Bike
Easy bike to flush out the legs a bit. As usual i was too egear at the start and in negioating traffic i had troo many pushes for that this session was about, really need to get a handle on that. Settled down though as i went on and found that the session flew by. Came across ElD in his pink gear and tried to catch back up to him once id gotten to the bottom of a hill but i went the wrong way and didnt come across him again. Not much to report from the spin, felt decent, nice evening, time flew by.
Time: 01:15:19, Normalized Power 235W, Ave HR 121BPM, Ave Cadance 86, Distance 38.91km, Ave speed 31km/hr

Friday 20th July
Swim
Again i overslept but with manager away i was ok being a little late for work - will make up the time anyway. Had drills to start as before and then some 100's sw and pull. Didnt go the best this morning, not woeful but not great. Need to sort the late nights out! Kills me the next morning so i'll just have to get on top of it. Drills went ok, made sure to be as rested as was possible for the balancing ones as i dont want to breathe too much through them. I also tried to really focus on using the bits from those drills right through the rest of the session. The 100's were a bit slower than id have liked and i felt a bit sloppy at times, had to have a word with myself to get motivated for the last few. Was able to post similar times after the first 2 (sw's generally 01:32, p's generally 01:39/40)
Time: 00:48:00, Distance 2300m: Average Pace: 01:39 min/100m

Lunchtime Run
First run in two weeks that had a bit of work and i really enjoyed that. It was only 20mins at steady but i was feeling good. Easy 20 to start came in on 04:07/km pace but this had a slight tailwind and then id 20 steady which came out at 04:05/km pace. Solid enough session considering i was tired this morning. Nice out too, was getting fairly warm until i turned into the breeze.
Time: 00:45:45, Ave Pace: 04:09/km, Ave HR 143BPM, Distance: 11.03km

3.5 hours in the Hills tomorrow morning and there's some room for pain but needs to be seated and even so looking forward to that. Feel like the legs could do with just that type of session

Monday 23rd July
Swim
I was not at yhe races this morning, woke at 7, next thing 7.20 again and when i got up i was really disorientated! Didnt know what i was at.In doing so i took the session down wrong, was supposed to have 15 x 100 alt sw/p on 02:00 coming in sub 01:35 but instead had taken it down as all sw! After some drills i was straight into it and fortunately i had woken uyp for these. All came in un der 01:35 and last one was 01:28. Actually did 16 too by mistake. Decent swim and felt good
Time: 01:05:00, Distance 3000m, Ave Pace 01:36/100m

Bike
I made sure today that i ate loads and that i was as ready as i could be for this one. Had FTP and 105% of FTP and knew it was going to hurt. To make sure i got the most out of the session i setup on the turbo out in the yard with the front wheel touching the wall - no distractions and total focus on this. I also didnt want to miss any bit of work as if i headed to the park there'd be bits of freewheeling here an there going around corners/roundabouts/avoiding idiots crossing the road around the zoo/passing cars who are going too slow! It was the hardest one of these type sessions in recent memory! Great session, was in pain in the last 7 to 8 mins of the FTP rep and grinded it out finishing it strongly and in pain for pretty much all the rep @ 105% but kept it going right through and pushed it out a little again in the last 2 mins or so of it. Happy with the session, took 2 High5 Xtreme zero tabs in 750mls water to get myself well up for the session.
Time: 01:02:22, Normalized Power 304W, Ave HR 137BPM, Ave Cadance 89, Distance 37.75km, Ave speed 36.3km/hr

Wednesday 25th July
Bike
Just an easy bike to sort out the legs after the work done in the previous few days. Headed out at lunch along Clontarf Strand to Sutton and back. Really made sure to keep the gas off. Spun out the legs. I could tell they have done a bit of work alright! Slight burn in them but the spin seemed to help.
Time: 00:52:19, Normalized Power 184W, Ave HR (Spiking!)BPM, Ave Cadance 87, Distance 25.07km, Ave speed 28.8km/hr

Thursday 26th July
Swim
Moved Wednesday's swim to Thursday to try let a nasty blister i have heal a little more before Saturday's race! Its the same spot where i got one last year which turned into me catching cellulitis so im keeping a close eye on it! Swim went really really well. Ive not had good consistency the past while and really dont deserve to be swimming well! The drills im doing must be helping. I always focus on bringiong the elements from the drills to the full stroke and it seems to be working. SOme things ive changed/modified/focus on are:

I use to look straight down and when i began to tire it was pointed out that i had a tendency to dip my head too far in. Im now focisuing on having the water line on the forehead, looking about 2 to 3m infront.

Im gliding out my stroke at the top more and brining my head closer in to the armpit, it seems to also help me roll better and strengthens/lengthens the stroke.

Im trying to generally roll more as i found i seemed to be fairly flat at times

Im pushing the shoulders more while maintaining the head slightly futrthr up than i had done which helps me keep on top of the water

So with all this in mind (and some other minor things) i set off to hiot <03:10 on 03:45 for some 200's sw and pull. The sw's came in on 02:58, 02:56, 03:01 and the pulls were 03:02 and 03:04 and best of all i wasnt gassed out at the end of any which id normally be. It put the effort around steady to mod or so. I was particularly happy with the pulls as i was a little anxious about hitting < 03:10 for them! Some fast 50s on 650 at the end all came in on 38s and my recovery between them seemed to be slightly better than usual. I put this down to focusing on a stronger pull rather than just increasing stroke rate.
Time: 00:33:00, Distance: 1700m, Ave Pace: 01:30/100m

Run
Ran much later than i usually would so i was a little anxious how the tummy would feel, particularly since id have a few sweet things not long beforehand! I just had some short reps at OLY pace with decent recovery. Still nice and warm out around 9pm. I was aiming for about 03:40/km for the OLY reps. I was really tring to play this one by feel rather than looking at the watch and didnt really guage too well what the pace was like. I hit 03:30, 03:48, 03:35, 03:34, 03:25 and HR was only moving towards mid to high steady. I felt i was recovering pretty well between them too. Normally id really slow up but all recoveries were done bwteen 04:12 and 04:23 pace. Good run
Time: 00:43:37, Ave Pace: 04:06/km, Ave HR 138BPM, Distance: 10.66km


So almost Lough Neagh time. Ive been nursing blister of late which have been a bit annoying. I opened the first one on the side of my left foot the day before the Rosslare race and gave it a good doing at the race with blood out the side of the runner. That ones 100% now but it meant i missed a full week of running and swimming. I then got a small one on the inside of the toe next to the big toe on my right foot. Not sure what the cause of that one was! I had plastered that up and got on with it but on Tuesdays long run the plaster gave me a nasty blister on the inside of the big toe! Fortunately its nothing like the size of the original and ive been able to manage it. Ive also been trialling different plaster combos as i know it wont be 100% for tomorrow. Ive settled on some padding from a plaster cut to the exact size of the blister and then a compeed over it. The compeed survived last nights run and its last test will be lunchtime swim.

Looking forward to tomorrow now up at Lough Neagh. I hadn't realised it isnt a NS race this year on entering so the field might not be as strong as i expected. I see no Brian Campbell anyway which is a relief. there's a few names i know i wont touch and i don't see any of them. Not being from the area though im sure to miss a few fast guys but id hope im at least in the reckoning for a top 5 tomorrow. Which reminds me i must write up my pre-race plan! Ive noticed the bike course is different to the time i did it which is unfortunate and the swim goes ion the opposite direction so i wont be able to track progress.

Friday 27th July
Swim
Short and snappy swim as its the day before Lough Neagh race. Some sculling, fist work and then a series of fast and easy 50s on 60. Fast ones came in on 38, 37, 38, 37.
Time: 00:31:20, Distance 1400m, Ave Pace 01:39/100m