Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

3rd race of the season - DTC Duathlon

This was touch & go even getting to the start line on Sunday. A load of pints at the Rugby (free bar) left the head a bit tender yesterday morning.
This is a local race and one where i thought a podium might be on the cards. I rolled out of bed about 40mins before the start and spun down, could not even face breakfast beforehand. A quick look about transition and there was a large contingent of Dublin teams had traveled up for this, so much for a soft race.

Before i knew what i was doing we were off, I led out for the first part of the race but was blowing hard 200mtrs in :rolleyes:, finally settled into about 9th place. The run is 3.5k and its an out and back, out is uphill and back downhill. First run was completed in 13.08 and holding 3.48k pace, i think i passed a few towards the end and came into t1 in 7th place.

Out onto the bike and it took about 5mins to get my feet into shoes. Felt i was not going great on the bike and was struggling to stay on top of my gears. I was also dreadful cornering around the cones, anytime i closed on the bike ahead they would put distance into me at the turnarounds. Effort and hangover was starting to pinch at the back end of the bike and was feeling pretty dehydrated. Passed 6th place on the road and finally moved up to 5th but i was not closing on the 4 ahead of me. Finally off the 17k bike in 29mins (times are wrong as manually recorded). Had a very sloppy dismount and also my t2 was dreadful trying to get bike racked and runners on.

The gap i had put onto 6th on the bike had suddenly closed and any chance i had of catching podium places was gone. Onto the last run and i was just wishing the race would finish, at the turnaround to the finish i noticed 6th had closed to within 10secs (really don't want a sprint finish here). Foaming at the mouth and thinking this was a stupid idea i just pushed on home to get it finished, 2nd run 13.38 and 3.55km pace. Crossed the line and held onto 5th and a time of 57:xx.
Only realised as i was cycling home that the rear brake on the P5 was seriously rubbing the back wheel. Its a great bike but the brakes are a bloody pain to get right and get in at them to adjust. If i was even half prepared i could have caught this before the race.

Anyhow it was a good hit out and the hangover was gone.

RJM85 wrote: »

That duathlon is a nice race - they could make it a much bigger event with a bit more promotion and some cash prizes.

Yeah i like the course, mix of fast and hills. That road towards Dunleer is fast but not so much on the way back though! I think their primary focus for that race is purely charity.

Agree though, it could be a bigger race if they promoted it.

mossym wrote: »

had seen reports on the p5 and the brakes before, so nice to get that issue out of the way in an early race.

nice test for the legs, especially after a free bar. some optimism even considering a podium after a free bar

Its only the 3rd time the bike was out on the road, need to youtube to see how to adjust them. There does not seem to be much clearance with a set of 25s on.

I should have been clear, thoughts of a podium was before i decided to partake in the free bar:)

Dory Dory wrote: »

Make sure the brake is not from sticky drink splatter sticking the brake thingys (or is it "thingies"?). That's exactly what happened to my Speed Concept just prior to Louisville - apparently it is a common thing that happens with tt bikes.

Not the case this time around but i have had that happen previously on the P2. Its what wet wipes were made for! Have the brakes sorted now, i did not actually realise the brake adjuster screw is in fact where the brake levers are positioned up front:o
Funnily enough i was watching footage of IMMT 2014 last night whilst doing an easy turbo and Sarah Gross (eventual winner) was on a P5 and having similar issues with brakes rubbing and needed technical to sort it so it must be a common enough problem. At least the issue raised its head in a small race rather than the main event.

Race No 5 - League Bike race
The first of the season. I have a bet with Dolan that the person with the lowest scoring points at the end of the league pays for a fry up one one of our Sat spins...i have the early advantage:)! I was nervous all day and butterflies in the stomach, fair to say i am still a nervous nelly and nowhere near as confident on the bike as i used to be.
Short race tonight at 26kms but its normally a fast out and back. Group was very disorganised heading out the road and i was finding myself doing long pulls on the front to keep myself warm. Coming to the turnaround roundabout i put in small effort to open a gap (to make up for my woeful handling skills) i was quickly swallowed up as i cornered like a bus with a flat tyre.
Gallop for home was messy, i had the legs and was going to go for a long one but the gap never opened up. 500mtrs to go blocked in, 400mtrs, **** looks like a gap on the hard shoulder, 300mtrs need to make some ground up, 200mtrs to go can finally open up but too far back and cross the line in around 10th.
Good hit out, felt comfortable throughout. 40mins, 164hr, 39.8kmph avg and 274w.

Race no 7 - First tri of the season, Joey Hannon Sprint
Was dubious about starting this but made the decision on Sat night to at least get wet in the pool and play the rest of the race by ear. Up at 4am on Sunday and collected Tango on the way.

Swim - 14.17
Long wait around, 4hrs to be precise. Finally in the water and it was clear our lane was going to be disjointed. 2 lads saying they are aiming for 11 and 3 others saying 14 with just one other guy targeting a similar time as me, 12.30. Got going and within a 100mtrs i had no draft. It takes a while getting used to a 50mtr pool, it felt like i was swimming just ok. At 400 i was held at the wall whilst getting lapped and a quick glance showed 7mins so was not far off pace. Not sure what happened over the last 300 but i lost a bucket of time, i know my kicks off the wall were brutal and i dont think i will wear the castelli suit again as it restricts the shoulders.
Finished in 13.20 (nearly a min off my target time) it was 14.17 by the time i got out and hit the mat.

T1 - 1.48
Not sure what i was doing but whatever it was it was far too long. Really need to practice transitions more as i gave up 40secs to a club mate who finished 1 place ahead of me.

Bike - 33.08
Onto the bike and head down. Straight away the knee was acting up so spun a higher cadence than normal, which was alien to me. Picked off about 30-40 from some of my wave and the earlier sprint wave. Coming to the turnaround i seen my club mate had about 3mins or so on me. The last 10k back after the turnaround was a lonely one, nobody in sight and figured the race was way up the road and i was well down in 30th odd place. Coming to the last roundabout the marshalls were holding a car which they started to release as i was taking the right hander, locked up the brakes and just about avoided the car, close one! Feet out and done a safe dismount rather than a flying one.

T2 - 1.58
Its a big run in and a long transition, out quick enough but still giving away 20-30secs tho those around me.

Run - 20.40
Normally what i consider my strong discipline but not today. Started out at 4.30 pace and it was sore. Considered walking after 1k but eventually formed some sort of ungainly run style to compensate for the knee. Effort felt easy but i was hurting for different reasons. Crossed the line and that was that.

Overall 9th place and 1.11. Happy i went down as i just love racing and i know there is a few mins there for the taking in later SPR races. Focus now switches to getting this bloody knee sorted. In with the physio on Wed morning to see what the problem is.

griffin100 wrote: »

What do you put the recent swim improvement down to? That's a major improvement over what you were swimming when we were doing the Monday night sessions 3 (:eek:) years ago.

I would not say that particular race swim split (what really matters) highlights the improvements but for me its 3 things.

Attitude - Mine has changed, always seen swimming as a have to do rather than a want to do. For me if i want to fulfill my ambitions i know swim is by far my biggest limiter which often spills over into the longer races to the bike. I am not saying i absolutely love swimming but i certainly like it more than i used to.

Stroke/breathing - I was thinking and training like a pool swimmer rather than an OW one, there are big differences. I have moved away from bi lat breathing and trying to get a nice glide to a breath every 2 when working hard and a choppier faster stroke. Yet to be tested in OW but i am hoping those 2 changes back up what i am seeing in my pool times, time will tell. Actually i was watching 2 very different swim strokes at the weekend OLY race down in Limerick, Tango and Kerns. Both similar paces but very different strokes, you can tell who has the swimming pool background and who has a style suited to OW swimming.

Sessions - For the bulk of the swims i do i am following Tangos swim sets. In the sessions i do myself i am throwing some paddle work in there and lots of faster swimming, as in puke at the side of the wall fast swimming. I am hurting more than i ever have in the pool, not at the same level i can do in bike and run sessions but getting there. Volume, frequency and consistency also playing a part.

In summary trying not to be as sh1te as i used to be

Race No 9 - Boyne 10k.
This was not a feature race in my plans and was running it to use up a free entry. The plan was to use it as a good tempo effort in the middle of a planned 25k long run.
Short report but after 8k of running before the race i knew the race itself was going to be a struggle and my head was not really in it nor was i willing to really suffer. That it was, normally i would expect to run a 38 on this lumpy course but had to make do with a poor 41 to finish in 76th out of 1600.
The good news is i trundled on to get the 25k into the legs which was more important. I think the lack of running in the last few weeks really hit home during the 10k though. I need to get some speed back into these legs for the few sprints and olys coming up and before the IM phase starts after the Cutra half.

The suit is only a small part of it i would imagine, being relaxed when the punches start flying is a bigger part of it. Its good that i am disappointed with holding 1.50 pace in OW and have higher expectations. It was not so long ago i was swimming 2.10s in OW. The fact i am still swimming faster than i did previously even with all the stop starting and messing about yesterday can only lead to further improvements.

On the wetsuit front the TYR suit had already been retired back in 2013/14 and i went back to my first Blueseventy entry level suit for my last year in Tri, that suit is torn to bits now hence the need to go back to the TYR.
Tried on the BIL's Zerod Vanguard suit and the difference in feel/fit is unreal, far more movement across chest and shoulders and easy to get on/off....unlike the TYR suit (which i shall be selling)

Anyhow race is done and i start to look forward to this Sundays Cutra HIM and i am super motivated about launching into my 12 weeks of IM training. (that may change in 8-9 weeks time:))

Dory Dory wrote: »

Was your very fast and clean bike dismount of the Bambaataa-esque flying variety??

The dismount is on my FB page...i will let you be the judge of it;)

Race 12 - Lough Cutra - The Gauntlet Half Ironman Duathlon 4:18:20 29th place & 6th in Age Group 35-39

3rd tri of the season. Made the trip down to Gort with Tango on the Saturday. Dinner was an interesting choice of a Tuna sandwich, fruit bowl and caramel slices thanks to a 2hr wait on Hotel food and it never arriving, Tango is my bad luck travel charm.

Morning of the race and up early. Swim was eventually cancelled due to mist on the lake. It looked TI and Cutra organisers wanted it to go ahead but the Irish Water Safety marshal called it a no swim. Annoyed as i was looking forward to it, the lake looked like a fantastic place to swim.

So a duathlon it was, a long one at that, 7k run/96k bike/14k run

Run 1 27:29 (79th)
Really unsure on how i was going to pace this. 4th wave off after 150 athletes had been released in front of us. Started out to fast and dialled the effort back to just under 4min ks. I really dislike the run course, mostly X Country and not great under foot. It was hard to get into any rhythm at all, although i am sure it was the same for most.

T1 0:01:03 (107th)

Gave away about 20secs to most but decided on socks and shoes for the bike, no point in getting the socks muddy running up to the mount line:)

Bike 2:42:27 - (15th)
I enjoyed the bike course although the surface was pretty poor in places. I ended up going straight ahead on an unmarshalled y in the road. I only realised as i passed it at speed, lost about 2 minutes but it felt much longer at the time. Speaking to Peter Kern after the race it looked as if he done the same but did not realise his error until much further on down the same road.
Power was reasonable without setting the world on fire however i seemed to be passing lots and lots of people and nobody made a pass on me.
Really love the P5 setup with the FFWD 60 and rear disc, it feels and rides quick. My Mind wandered a little between 65k and 70k and a few i had passed were coming back at me, put the head down and focused on finishing the bike leg strong and took another half dozen places before T2.

T2 1:20 (69th)
No flying dismount today and played it safe. In/out and no messing about.

Run 1:06:01 (66th)
Off the bike and was feeling a little tight for the first k or 2, started moving ok and then by 6k i was wishing the race was over. Did i say how much i hated the run course? Pace was well off what i would have liked but just concentrated on getting some calories in and tipping away at the water. This felt more like an IM pace run rather than a HIM run. Just could not get going at all. Bryangiggsy came up to me mid way into the 2nd loop and we ran the last few k together, it seemed to keep my mind away from how sucky the run was unfolding. Crossed the line 29th overall and 6th in AG.

Overall
A C+ performance if i was grading this. Some positives in there, first run was solid enough and the bike was strong enough. The 2nd run however was a struggle. I think a combination of being light on calories, we had fueled light the night before and at 5.30am that morning yet our start was 2hrs later than planned at 10am so should have factored that into my nutrition plan before the race and during the bike. The other two areas is the lack of decent volume running over the last 5/6 weeks and maybe my pacing was a little off for the last 15k of the bike. Hard to work out the best way to pace one of these with a 7k run beforehand.
Happy out with the performance and with 83 days to IMMT i need to do less racing and start to put down 12 weeks of consistent and decent training!