Eddie Rockets!

And so getting back on the wagon

Saturday 18th August
Short Bike
Went out with no real intention other than to enjoy myself. Pushed up some climbs and put in some short digs here and there. It went far better than i thought it would. I was surprised i had any power. I had to stay on a tight loop as there were car races going on elsewhere. Passed BTH at one point. Beautiful day out!
Time: 00:50:50, Normalized Power 288W, Ave HR 139BPM, Ave Cadance 83, Distance 27.47km, Ave speed 32.4km/hr

Sunday 19th August
Run
Easy Run
Easy still feeling slightly labored! Running legs will take a while to come back i feel. Pace is miles down on 3-4 weeks ago but im hoping another week to 10days and the pace should start coming back down. I kept this one a lot easier than Thursdays run but HR was climbing quite easy at times. I was glad to see average was still low but it did drift more and more as the session went on. Did this from bed so i was happy it didnt completly degrade to a slog.
Time: 00:45:40, Ave Pace: 04:32/km, Ave HR 142BPM, Distance: 10.06km

Monday 20th August
Swim
I was fairly tired getting up as id a long day on my feet at work after the run yesterday. It meant i almost drifted off after hitting the alarm but fortunately i woke just in time to be able to get something in. This was the first swim in a while and i did feel a little foreign in the water as a result. Times werent too far back but it will also take a week to 10 days to feel semi-right in the water again id say. Did lots of drill work and then just managed 3 100s to try put the skills into practice.
Time: 00:40:00, Distance: 1600m, Ave Pace 1:57 min/100m

Run
An easy one at lunch with some short bursts to waken up the body. It was warm out and i was sweating pretty heavily quick enough. I buried myself in the opening 3 fast bursts and flagged slightly in the last two. I was running a lot faster than i thought id be able for on the first 3 but then hit a headwind in the last 2 and didnt quite have the power to really push into them. HR wasnt coming down either and it was as high as ive ever seen it (177). Tried to keep to the easy zone at all times bar those fast bits and had to really slow down in the final stretch back after the short pacey bits.
Time: 00:47:20, Ave Pace: 4:41/km, Ave HR 144BPM, Distance: 10.11km

Tuesday 21st August
Run
I was a little anxious abiout how this one would go. It had 30mins at around the planned marathon pace of about 04:10. It'll take about 2 to 3 weeks id say to see if this is going to be sustainable so for now i need to trudge on and hope the run legs come back. I think they will, they have before but it makes the time in between a little difficult. It went well enough. Bit windy out and it really picked up in the last 5 mins of the 30. I started a little hard but let the pace slowly come back to 4:10 average. Held it there until i hit a slight headwind and let it drift slightly thinking the second half f the 30 with the tailwind would bring it back inline. It started getting harder to hold the pace though and the wind turned around and started blowing a bloody gale in the last 5 mins. Last 1 min was straight into it and lashing rain. Thr weather turned from a bright and sunny day to gale force wind and torrential rain. Enjoyed the run and felt fairly comfortable. Certainly not as comfortable as the pace would have felt a month ago and i did seem to flag a little despite the wind but happy enough with it as i thought it was going to go worse. HR was in 160's though into that wind! Seemed to be comfortably in the steady zone for the first 2/3's.
Time: 00:45:36, Ave Pace: 04:17/km, Ave HR 150BPM, Distance: 10.65km

Cheers ElD

Wednesday 22nd August
Run
Just an easy 30mins to loosen out and help back the running legs. I made sure to keep the pace well off here and seemed to do so well enough. Tried to stay away from 140's. Felt fine, legs werent heavy or anything.
Time: 00:32:09, Ave Pace: 04:35/km, Ave HR 136BPM, Distance: 7.02km

Swim
After work for this one. Was almost going to opyut it back to the morning as i was feeling fairly wrecked after work but i figured the pool would wake me up. Did a bunch of balancing drills and then 10x100 sw/p coming in as close to 01:30 as possible on 01:50, I didnt know how this was going to go but fortunately it went better than expected. I wasnt judging pace too well though and stormed out a bit hard in the opening 100 sw! The sw's were - 01:23, 01:29, 01:25, 01:30, 01:29 and pulls - 01:32, 01:32, 01:36, 01:35, 01:34. Fast 50s at the end were 37, 38, 40 (slightly held up) and 38. Felt decent right to the end and was happy i didnt seem to tire too much
Time: 00:50:15, Distance: 2400m, Ave Pace 1:32 min/100m

Thursday 23rd August
Run
Another long day at work! Plenty on right now as i was on leave two weeks back and out 2 days last week too. Slowly getting back on top of things now though and fortunately i could leave on time today! I was wrecked though and had to MTFU to get out and do thuis. So after putting on the dinner out i went for 5 x 1.5k reps at marathon pace with some recovery between. RPE to HR seemed a little out. Legs must have been a little tired. Went off RPE for easy parts rather than forcing HR up. The 5 reps went fine, tired a little towards the end but im pretty sure GPS signal also wasnt great as it kicked way out and i was under trees and had some u turns etc near the end. The 5 reps were 04:10, 04:11, 04:11, 04:09, 04:13. Kept it real easy between. Its amazing what a few weeks off does! Just 3 weeks or so ago that pace would all have been easy but i was in the steady for this. Seems to slowly be coming around though.
Time: 00:52:56, Ave Pace: 04:23/km, Ave HR 145BPM, Distance: 12.08km

Oh i dont know about that. Hopefully still finish top 25 or so but we'll see.
Ive done two marathons before. They were in the days were id just go for occasional runs here and there. I wasnt doing anymore than 4 or 5 hours a week total then if even) but managed a 03:32 in DCM 2008 (i think) and 03:17 in Barcelona 2009 (i think). Should easily go quicker than those barring disaster. Aim is sub 3 and possibly slightly more but i wont confirm for another few weeks as the run legs arent back yet

Monday 27th August
Swim
A TT session! I had a 400TT, 100TT and 50TT. Times from December last were 05:52, 01:20 and 00:36. I really didnt know how this was going to go as i felt i was swimming well then. With the recent break i wasn't confident of breaking those times. In the 400 i went out at a fairly hot pace. By 150/200 the pain was really building. I got slightly panicky at 300m but was delighted to not let it build and kept pushing. At 380m i was gutted to have to stop momentarily to let a guy coming towards me pass the bloody granny who should have let me through but didn't. I stopped the watch dead for about 3/4 seconds and started from the standstill and blasted as hard as i could. I was fully expecting to see over 6ins but was very surprised to post a 05:48 and so a 4s improvement! Delighted! After that i went on to post a 01:19 100m and a 34s 50m. I felt i didn't get the 100m quite right and know there's another 2 or 3s there but overall the session went great.
Time: 00:34:59, Distance: 1750m, Ave Pace: 1:36 min/100m

Run
I thought i was going to miss this one after meeting a friend i havent seen in years in town. Shes now in NZ so it was great to see her. It was pretty klate and i had to just not think about it and get on with it. Fortunately i did as it was the first run where i really felt like the ld self is returning!! Had some short sprints and felt very strong in them. I also felt i was recovering fairly well and was delighted to feel good right to the end. It was only an easy session but it felt better than any easy last week.
Time: 00:41:48, Ave Pace: 04:15/km, Ave HR 144BPM, Distance: 9.83km

Tuesday 28th August
Run
40 at 04:10 today! It went ok. Felt a bit tired and was a little anxious how the 40 would go. Had a tailwind out and headwind back along the coast so i had to lift it slightly to keep it to the 04:10 average. Found it a bit tough from about 20/25mins on but was happy to push it out. Running legs definitely seem to be returning now. Legs and body pretty tired after!!
Time: 00:56:10, Ave Pace: 04:13/km, Ave HR 150BPM, Distance: 13.3km

Well its been a topsy turvey few weeks. Lost Sheep went well far better than i expected. I ended up with a cold though the week after so just got 1 short run in that week.

This week has been better but ive stayed out of the pool to give the cold every chance of clearing. For the first time in my life i lost my voice completely one day so i wasn't taking any chances. Fortunately the cold didnt get bad and im back to 100% health now.

So Lost Sheep!

Heres my report for it:

Pre Race
Getting to the race location early really helps and getting the driving done Wednesday made the lead in very relaxed. Id a good few days beforehand and took in part of the bike route and swam in the bay. As i hadnt done any real bike work in about a month i was a little curious to check what power might be feasible. It was a bit of guessing work but i settled on 265 on flats and 300 on climbs but some climbs would require more just to keep cadence in tune and stay seated as much as possible.

Race morning
8am is a great start time! I was up and had porridge at 5:45. Set out all nutrition again and filled bottles. I put some ice into the water bottles too in case the sun came out. It was a nice morning, a little cloudy but no real wind and thankfully no rain. I checked the bag again and set off to check over the gears on the bike etc and arranged to meet Leisha at the harbour at about 7:20. I got to transition nice and early (approx 06:45) and beat all the queues which formed later. Found my spot, eventually (numbers were a bit mixed up), plugged in the ear phones and set up my spot. I cleared out of there once done and headed for the harbour/swim start which was about 1km away hoping to find a quiet toilet as there was a big queue in transition. To my horror there wasn't any toilet down there and now i started trying to think of where id get one! I met Leisha at about 07:25 and decided to use a run back into the village as a warmup while finding a toilet. I knew the hotel would have to be open. Fortunately the race sponsor, Jam, were open and i got sorted there. I didnt let it panic me though and stayed calm and excited to be starting soon. Another run back with some bits of effort and i was feeling good.

I put on the wetsuit when i got back while listening to the swim briefing. I then left the spare runners at the swim spot to wear for the run back to transition (used an old pair with lock laces).

Swim 00:28:18 20th/270 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221935131
I made my way to the 1st row which was about 50m out putting in some efforts and sprints and checking goggles etc were ok. Off we went and immediately i looked for some feet. I got some for a while but they were weaving a bit so ended up solo by about 200m. I then wished i had gone with them as despite their zig zagging they were still slightly quicker. I put in a little more effort but not quite red-lining it to try remake contact but it didnt happen and i went back to normal. At the first buoy a few were around and i grabbed some feet for about 50m before he also started zigzagging to the second buoy. After the second buoy i found it hard to sight, we were a good 850m or so out from the finish and there were no intermediate buoys so i just sighted to swimmers ahead. I was also swimming solo now as the guy who was zigzaggin continued to and was now a good bit to my right. I went slightly off route a few times here myself but corrected quickly each time, it seemed there was a slight current pushing me across. I didnt think i swam all that well but did try to focus on technique here and there and was pleasantly surprised to see 28mins on the watch when i got out!

T1 00:06:11 10th/268 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221935132
So off with the wetsuit and on with the runners at the swim finish and off i went to the bike. It was a good 1k run in and was a little difficult holding the wetsuit which was now quite heavy from the water. I still think it was better to run out of the suit and i passed a few along this stretch.

Bike 02:29:02 24th/254 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221935134
I started ok and made sure to hold back knowing the adrenaline could have me puishing over 300Ws feeling rosy! I passed two or three in the opening 1km and then came across two who were just going slightly too slow. I also had one guy on my tail and in shaking him passed these guys. I was adament that if i got into a to and froing id just hold power and stay out of trouble. I passed them but then they;d overtake afyter a little while despite me holding power. This happened a few times and eventually we got to the first decent climb and i let them off holding power back. They disappeared from sight after the descent and i was alone for a while. Into the second climb i had a bunch come from behind and they all went past, again i raced my own race and didn't think much of it. I was a little concerned i was slipping from top 20/25 though and still had a lot of the cycle to go. Towards the top of this climb Liam Dolan and a Cork tri guy came past with Liam's bike making an awful racket! I was about an hour into the race now. I tried to get to the final part of this climb and keep contact over the top so that i could use their line in the corners on the descent. The last kick here was really tough but we were helped on by people dressed as a devil and a banana ringing cowbells! they were a welcome surprise. I had lost contact by about 100/150m though with the lads ahead though. The descent off this climb is quite technical and the surface isn't great and with sheep along the edges i was a little nervous. I had lost some ground on the two ahead but came up behind them pretty quickly, they seemed to be taking no chances. I didn't feel comfortable passing though as we were constantly breaking hard into the corners. Two guys came around and did bully their way past the two ahead but i didn't mind. I stayed with Liam and the other guy for about 10mins on the flat section after the descent but they finally started rolling off and i didn't want to go into the red. At about 50k i began to feel it a little. I was a little anxious about how the last climb was going to go and began thinking of the run! I just made sure to keep the nutrition going and finally got to the base of the last climb, i took this very steady and didn't red-line at all. One guy came passed but again i let him off. Finally i got to the top but to my surprise i felt like i was going slower on the flat top. I dont know if there was a headwind or what but i was really struggling to get over 20km/hr here and was getting very concerned then that i had blown up! Another guy came up behind as we entered the tunnel just before the descent. I couldn't see a thing in here and was worried he'd crash into me from behind but fortunately he didn't. Th descent went ok. This guy came around a few times once we hit the flat but he would then slow up and id take him again and i just tried to keep the effort steady here again back to Kenmare. With about 300m to go a bunch suddenly came from behind and i lost some time as i had to really break to keep out of their draft zone as I took my feet from the shoes. In all on the bike i took in 600mls High5 2:1, 650mls water and gels at 00:15:00, 00:45:00, 01:15:00, 01:45:00 and 02:15:00. Drinks were as before, 5mins water, 10mins 2:1 and repeating all the way.

T2 00:00:59 49th/254 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221935146
My feet were pretty numb now and a bit sore as i ran barefoot into T2. I almost forgot to put on the socks but grabbed my gels. I realised i had lost the two in the back pockets somewhere along the swim/bike so fortunately remembered to grab 1 spare from the bike bag. I was 1 short of what i wanted but still had 3 for the run.

Run 01:29:16 11th/248 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/221935148
I kept it very very comfortable now knowing there was a long way to go yet. I was hoping to run about 04:15/20 pace but with so many short sharp and gradual climbs/descent it was hard to track pace. The route never seemed to level out. Id a few around for company and reeled in the few id rolled into T2 with quickly enough. 1 guy came with me and guessed who i was. Turned out he was a neighbour of JB's and we stayed together, or close, for a while. He was slightly smaller and lighter so he'd gain ground on the climbs but id reel him back on the descents and flat bits. I was running well within myself here and noticed the difference in our efforts. I could hear him breathing hard enough whereas i was running pretty easy and was well able to keep the chat going. I think this helped a bit to keep me in check. I hadnt been using my HRM to monitor any part of the race as it wasn't working for the most part so went strictly to RPE. By 7 or 8k my companion was beginning to struggle as i decided to lift it slightly. I was anxious to see where i was position wise. I really had a clue. Lifting it slightly made it hurt a bit more but i figured i was still ok. Towards the turnaround i came across Shane Scully with a commanding lead, followed by Liam Dolan. I then thought oh to be in such shape! I counted back and saw i was about mid teens as people came past but saw some ahead were struggling. I on the other hand seemed to be holding up well. I was in pain alright but not in any trouble, yet. As i made my way back i passed a few more. I could see now though that i had a pursuer who seemed to be going well. He wasn't making ground up quickly though and as the race wore on i began to "hide" to try and dampen his spirits. I reckoned id a good 300-400m on him s any corner i went around id go for the cover asap and not let him see me. It seemed to work well as the further i went the safer my position seemed. This had me pushing a lot more though in the last 6-7k. In doing this though i suddenly realised i was catching the guy ahead with about 2-3k to go. Unfortunately though he was a good 400-500m up the road. I was really hurting in the now and the short sharp climbs were stinging like mad! I was not gong to give up though and seeing him walking up a sharp killer short climb with just 500m to go had me really pushing but as soon as i hit this climb i then knew why! It hurt like made and there was no way i could sprint up it! Unfortunately i didn't quite catch him but i was pleased with my pacing. Nutrition wise i took gels at 20mins, 40mins and 60mins and just sips of water at the aid stations. It seemed about right, i never felt like i bonked and was very surprised i ran so well considering how **** i felt on the bike!

Overall Thoughts
Im happy with how this went. I always knew i was going to suffer on the bike considering i hadn't done any bike work for about a month leading in. Considering the shape i was in i think i raced it very well and gt as much out of myself as i could. Holding back a bit on the bike and start of the run really was crucial and the swim was my best yet! I twas about 100m short though id say but id still have just been sub 30mins which is great considering i haven't been great at getting the swim sessions in either the past few weeks!

I may consider a proper stab at this event for 2013. Its a magnificent course, one of the best ive seen. The road surface might not be great but the course is deadly.

And so now im all about the marathon. Im slowly getting back on track. Sub 3 for DCM is the goal. Itll be difficult enough considering i havent run long in a long time but if i can take anything from Kenamre its that i do have some endurance. I was happy to be running close to the pace ill need after 3hrs of racing and particularly seeing how crap and dead i was feeling on the bike!

One final word, if anyone happens to be heading out in town tonight im playing at "X Marks the Spot - 10 years of Shoddytonic" @ Twisted Pepper. In a former life i use to play around a lot and was a resident for the guys in Pod and Twisted Pepper as well as for the Electric City guys. The Bodytonic lads (i actually got into triathlon in the first place cos of the Tayor who runs the show there) have been so kind as to ask me back to play for their anniversary and it should be a great night! More details on it are here - http://www.facebook.com/events/261479703970678/

Hey P. thanks. yeah iver the cold now thank god. It never really took grip and i went on the cautious side to make sure it wouldnt. yeah back running, just in from my fav run in a long time. Gotta love that horrible weather for running. I generally enjoy those soaked to the bone runs more than sunny ones!

Yeah it went well. Always good to see old faces and id a good night of catching up. Oh how things change. I use to be out every week, i find it hard to get the energy for once every 4 to 5 months now

Ive been told i need to get back into it though ;-)

Hey DD. Yeah am in for DCM alright. Kinda gave up on the logging here. All fingers will be crossed for the sub 3. Havent had much time to prepare but cant do anymore about it now. 1 week into taper now and just hoping the work i have done is enough. In summary the last two long runs or 2 hours each went well enough. Was supposed to have a bit easy then some PMP and then 15 easy at the end but both ended up being 01:45:00 PMP as the opening easy sections came out at PMP pace. Ran sub it the other day too so good to see easy pace back in the sub 04:10/km region!

Well this is pretty late but sure better late than never. Ive been thinking about logging over the last few days and have come to the conculsion that i will keep a log here again for 2013. I dont think i'll go to the same level of detail as 2012 though and there could be more weekly updates than daily. Anyway before i kick that off heres a report for Dublin City Marathon to end this log:

File - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/238271555

I was up early enough after about 6hrs sleep. Slept well, wasnt nervous. Was more just looking forward to getting on with it. Had porridge and some coffee two hours out, went to the loo, packed the pickup bag and left the house on the bike by 8:20. Id already set out the gels in the order id take them on the belt the night before so didnt have to do much that morning. Also packed 2 berry gels, one to be taken 10mins from the start and the other as a spare. Gel wise it was to be berry isogel at 30 & 60mins, citrus at 01:20 with berry, citrus, berry, citrus every 20mins from there all placed along the belt as id grab them. Used the bike to spin out the legs a bit. Dropped the bag off and made my way to the starting pen jogging up to loosen out. Grabbed a posh laneway pee and in I went. I didnt plan the start all that well and found myself just in front of the 03:15 pacers at the very back of the 3hr group! I only copped I could have gone up much further after getting penned in. Realistically i should have gone ahead on the 3 hour pacers as i lost a fair bit of time in the crowd during the opening 1-2km.

Start
Very slow to start, very congested. Started the watch as I went over the start line. We all came to a hault at the first corner. I made sure I didn't panic and with the first 500 - 600m very slow at low 04:40 - 5min pace and made sure not to panic into a sprint to regain ground. I had factored in that this would happen so had already been focusing on it before the start. There was plenty of road ahead afterall!! It opened up a little after first km and I used pavements here and there to gradually get past slow groups. I did pick it up ever so slightly while getting around people but never into the red. I was about 150m back from the 3hr pacers now and sat there through the first few km's. Hr was a fair bit higher than id have liked but I was feeling ok. The gel belt, despite having it as tight as possible, was wrecking my head a bit so I took the first two gels out and held them. Grabbed water at the first few aid stations but only sipped about 150 to 200mls and used the rest to wash hands of gels etc. As we made our way out of the park I slowly made my way into the 3hr group to get out of the light breeze.

Middle part.
I was still seeing a higher than id have liked hr but ignored it. I was slightly anxious about it but didnt dwell on it. Gels went in exactly as planned. Legs felt ok, left hamstring was a concern. It always seems to have a tight feeling deep within it at the top and it was my only concern. Aerobically I was fine, kms were ticking by with no real rise in effort and no digging in required as i made sure i didnt surge on hills. I let people go past me on the opening climbs as i was keen to keep to effort and not pace on them. I went through the halfway around 01:29, bang on target for sub 3. I knew id be fine to halfway and 2hrs. The tight glutes id been experienced in the previous weeks weren't kicking up at all and despite the hamstring I was 100%.

3/4 way
The time was flying by. I didnt really know how i should feel but figured I was ok enough. I was starting to think it was time to stop being so conservative. I knew fitness wise I was 100% as I wasnt in any trouble but just worried a little about the glutes and hamstring. I knew if I shocked them at all I could start cramping. I got talking Abhainn just in front of the 3hr pacers at about 01:45/50 and I think he saw I was in good shape. He went to drop back to the pacers who were just behind us and I went to go with him but he ushered me on. From that I started edging away.

Last hour
I slowly moved away from the pacers and soon couldn't see them. Effort went up a fair bit but I was still in control. Now it was just like the training runs and I was comparing the distance left to training runs knowing I could suffer for 60mins no problem. I knew from the past i've run much further in a world of pain and discomfort so I was confident I could take some pain. I started flying now. I was passing dozens of runners from the back of UCD. The Roebuck hill felt like nothing. I remember suffering there when I did the race in 2008 but it was no difficulty now. I ran from group to group right up to and just past Vincent's hospital, taking slight breaks from the cold breeze in behind what was now just groups of 3 and 4 people here and there. I didn't sit in for any longer than 30 - 40s with any of them though and kept making my way up behind what were now mostly single runners as we came towards Ballsbridge. Nobody was coming with me either. Despite not exactly being competitive in the race I still didn't want anyone matching me and when anyone did come they'd soon fall back. I was hurting a lot now with just 6 to 7k left. I figured I could potentially break 02:55 (I hadn't remembered though that my Garmin wouldn't be exactly 42.2k so hadn't factored on the extra time). With 5k to go I broke down the final bit into 5 x 1k's with the objective being holding as close to 4min km's with the 2nd last being 03:50 and then giving everything to make sure that last 5k was sub 20mins. I thought it was a good way of managing the pain and helped a lot. I slowly kept the first 2 of these close to target but forgot about that damn ramp up over the bridge at grand canal dock. It hurt! While I kept to effort not worrying about pace at earlier ramps I dug into this one. Once I came over the other side it was time to really hurt.

So now it was real pain time. I felt i was at times losing focus and slowing up slightly here and there but I would quickly refocus and surge a bit to get back into it. I had already been hurting but now it was goosebump, numb legs, keep throwing one leg in front of the other pain. I was flying at parts but it was difficult to maintain at times. I took the bends around to Pearse st station like I was on a track and kept pushing. I was still flying past single runners. Onto Pearse st itself and I was dying. Kept pushing though. Around college green I was in a world of pain and it was only now I remembered about the extra distance from the GPS and stopped pushing momentarily. I then thought of the 02:57 barrier and dug in again. I was sprinting (relatively speaking!) and passing more. I ran through a group of 5 or so as we entered the last 100m but I just had no more sprint as id been surging for ages now and they unfortunately all came past me again. I just couldnt go anymore and crossed the line fairly wobbly! Im almost certain they were the only runners to pass me in the last 16km or so! Legs were in bits. I couldnt walk straight and I was immediately walking like john Wayne!

After
I was immediately happy I finished well. Naturally I was a little disappointed at not making the decisive move before the 01:45/50 mark but I was happy to break 3hrs considering I did not give this race a fair going. Im delighted with the time considering how little time I gave this. Id initially been a little apprehensive after the 2 recent long runs as I felt like **** at the end of them but I knew with a short taper id be ok. I definitely think there was a sub 02:55 there had I not been as cautious. Had I gambled too much it could have been a 03:15 which to be honest id have been devastated with. Ive always wanted to tick the sub 3 box and to do it with such a tight schedule lifts confidence for the future.

An so that ended 2012 and ends this log!

Thursday 28th Feb
Core/Rolling
I wanted to wait to do the bike until after work so that i could really focus on it so with a free hour at lunch i went for the gym. Did a very short bit of core (<10mins) but was more interested in trying to sort this left calf. Its fine running and walking but kills me to roll. NO niggles of aches in it but just a bit apprehensive that it starts flaring up the left side again and then migrates to issues in right hip as happens now and then after a block of work. Going to nurse it as much as possible and get some sports massages in (1 booked for 22/03 and another to book - Groupon vouchers). If these voucher massages don't do the trick ill head for THWTT!
20mins

Bike with 30 @ 90%
I was half dreading this after Tuesday's poor show and set an alarm at 265 thinking that even if i was going bad id still manage that and i wouldn't have the alarm wrecking my head too much. Aim was for 287W ave for the 30. As it turned out it went great! 301W ave is nearer 95% but felt good. It was controlled well and i felt like i could have gone 60mins at it. It was a bit of effort alright but i was never in danger. Looking back i possibly overcooked it slightly but i felt and still feel good. I'll know more on Saturday's cycle!
55mins, 28.68km, 275W NP

I knew i had let this slip a bit but a month since an update!! Wow. Didnt see that month go by.

In summary March went as follows:

Swim Bike Run
Week 1 7750 90.07 40.51
Week 2 5600 46.66 16.17 Grandfather passed away and I started to feel sick on Wednesday
Week 3 5500 147.76 54.56 Funeral was only on the Monday and was still ill til Tuesday/Wednesday
Week 4 5400 169.98 50.41

24,250 454.47 161.65

Good points - Running legs are coming back, swimming doesn't feel so alien but is good one day, not so the next but its getting there and biking is improving a fair bit. Ive been holding around 285-300W mark now for long enough periods and it feels more comfortable every week. Just need to get that figure to my HIM intensity. Bit off that yet but i have until October!

Bad points - Grandad passed away slightly unexpectedly! That also coincided with a small cold. It didn't effect me too much thankfully and i only missed 3 or 4 days, never took a hold. The weight was going down but then i piled it back on. Just over a long weekend of eating too well and drinking a lot more than normal but i had a blast and spent time with loads of friends i don't see enough.

Slight concern at the moment is a tight plantar fascia in both legs! Id noticed tight calves for a little while which were almost unbearable to roll and over the past few days ive noticed my feet being achy when i get up first in the morning or when i stand after sitting for prolonged periods. Ive been rolling both feet out the past day and a half with a sliotar whilst sitting at the desk, big improvement in right foot but left needs more today.

Races
Im thinking of a duathlon this month, possibly at the end of a rest week (next week) but we'll see. Im smashed after a good weekend away in Fundoran so not sure i can afford it (credit card living until payday two weeks away!) Got plenty of enjoyable training and surfing in whilst there but again i ate/drank loads! A few clean weeks now and i'l be back on track to hit about 76kg by end May/Early June.