1 to 3

Normally for me, in exams and stuff, I've played to my strengths and tried to limp along with my weaknesses. This won't work here. My weakest sport of the SBR is swimming and if I don't do something about it, I'll drown. Within my weak swimming skills are particularly weak FC skills. Also, a couple of years of studying followed by a couple of years of just running has left me with enough muscle in my shoulders to eat, wash my hair and reach up to the top shelf for Pringles, but little more.

So just after Christmas I started going to the pool and, so far, have done so three times a week. Aim for each visit is to do 30 lengths, or 750m. It's not yet done without stopping but I'm working to a 5x6 lengths routine. I'm at the point now where the first of each 6 lengths is FC and the rest are BRS and I'm working towards stringing two consecutive lengths of FC together (from little acorns...). Really going to have to find me some swim coaching though - I'm pretty sure my technique is rubbish.

So swimming so far has been:
750m - 27/12, 31/12, 3/1, 6/1, 8/1 & 10/1. It feels like I'm improving a little - my shoulders certainly know each time I get out that they've been busy.

Aside from swimming, I've had two runs in the new year. First was a handy 8.3k in around 50 mins on 6/1. Unspectacular by design - average pace was 6.01/km, average HR was 132bpm. Second one was today - Ferrycarrig 5m. Mrs. D bought me this as part of my Christmas present (along with The Grid, which was wholly welcomed despite the pain it's unleashed). Had low expectations for this, given my low mileage for the last couple of months. Spoke to a friend beforehand and he asked me what time I'd do and I truthfully told him I didn't know but that I knew it wouldn't be under 35 mins (which is a fair bit slower pace than my 10k PB from last April of just under 40 mins). Lots of water (and injuries) under the bridge since then though.

Closer we got to the start time, the windier and wetter it got till it was properly raining and blowing a gale just as 1pm came. Myself and Mrs. D ploughed on anyway and stuck together from shortly after the start. First bit wasn't too bad, mostly down hill though into the wind and rain. Mile 1 was completed pretty quickly. We were out on the N11 soon enough and the wind & rain were at our backs. This was grand as long as it lasted but we were soon enough turning off again and with the rain coming across us, then into our faces for the last section. After mile 4 Mrs. D was starting to lag behind so I started trying to goad her into pushing on a bit more but she ended up telling me to feck off and run ahead as hard as I could. With about a half mile to go I did that and came in with a chip time of 34:56 (though my watch said 34:50), avg HR of 170, max HR of 183. Mrs D came in with a chip time of 35:10, 9 seconds outside her PB for the distance. She said I looked comfortable but the data shows I was under pressure throughout. Km paces were 4.16, 4.19, 4.21, 4.14, 4.18, 4.24, 4.23, 4.17 & 3.49 for the last few metres. Corresponding avg HRs were: 164, 170, 171, 168, 171, 172, 172, 176, 183.

Nice fair course though and the souvenir towel was very useful at the end. There were hot showers available too, for those who were well enough prepared that they brought a change of clothes with them. Apparently there was a good spread of food there too but I had to fly and bring the kids off somewhere so I didn't get to partake.

No cycling so far this year - the wind has put me off and I still haven't gotten round to getting my turbo wheel fixed. Not only is the cassette not lining up with the derailleur, but the brakes are not lining up either. I'm suspecting that well-meaning man who changed the bearings before selling me the wheel may have made a balls of something.:mad:

Thanks K - I was quite pleased. And I can still walk, which was a bonus when I went to the pool for 7 this morning.

As far as Santa is concerned, there was no stand-out bling like a new gps watch or anything but I think I did very well. I got two running gifts (this race and the grid), two cycling gifts and two music gifts. Get anything nice yourself.

career_move wrote: »

Slacker :P

Patience woman!

Almost certainly not Enniscorthy (Rosslare Duathlon and confirmation mass both on same morning myself and Mrs D will be competing to get our event on the calendar). Possibly Duncannon but not sure yet.

OK - bit of a dip from plan this week. Yeah I know - only three weeks in and dipping already...:o

Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings: 750m swim. Instead of 5x 150m with 1x 25m FC per set, I went for 3x 200m + 1x 150m with 2x1x25m FC (non-consecutive) in each set - in plain English: 30 lengths with 8 FC and 22 BRS where previously I was doing 30 with 5 FC and 25 BRS. Progress, however small.

Tuesday morning: 35 mins on TT. Didn't think I could sweat so much in my kitchen. Going to have to figure out how to graph my TT time when I'm just using 1st gear and am not counting distance. Maybe I'll just do all my cycling in terms of time, not distance. Or maybe not. Answers on a postcard.

Wednesday evening: Session with running club. Total of 12.2km incl. 8x100m strides (100m recovery jog in between) and 10x 400m <5k pace (60-90s standing recovery in between). Nicely tiring.

Thursday: Working late & Dad's taxi duty. Planned a run or more TT fun but ended up not.

Saturday: 7.8km run out to my friend's house to collect Mrs. D's car. Strong westerly wind (behind me most of the way), which was grand but for the fact that it had heavy rain with it. Ended up doing it much faster than expected - running up long steep hills at <4:45/km. Got SOAKED though. Would have been better in the wetsuit.

Sunday: Nothing today. Went to Dublin and back last night for a concert and ended up sitting in a chipper half way home eating curry chips & drinking 7 up at half past midnight. Was therefore late up this morning and, as Mrs. D was heading off to the Dungarvan 10 (she chicked my last year's time by 14s:() so I got to do the supermarket shopping :mad:. Other stuff on this afternoon so I called it quits for the week. Tomorrow's another day.

Monday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Tuesday
AM: Turbo session. Hadn't the foresight to get it set up beforehand. Or to go to bed early. Or to buy a computer that would play the Tacx DVD within 10 minutes of being asked. Ended up getting just over 22 mins at avg cadence 83rpm and avg HR 112bpm.

Wednesday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Thursday
AM: Turbo session. Bit more organised this time. Ended up getting in 36 mins at avg cadence 92 rpm, avg HR 121bpm.

PM: Run - 10.38km in 57min, avg HR 150bpm

Friday
AM: Swim - 30 lengths continuous with 1xFC & 3xBRS, so total of 8xFC & 22xBRS. First time swimming 750m without resting.

Sunday
AM: Long Run - 17.55km in 1:27, avg. HR 164bpm (max was 183bpm:eek:) Was planning to run 16km at about 5:30/km pace but was feeling good so went further and faster, just to see what'd happen. Ended up averaging faster than PPMP (previous planned marathon pace), so was happy. Didn't feel too dead afterwards either and thought I could have gone further if I hadn't been on Dad-duty soon after.

PM: 4km walk with dog. Then swim: 750m (30 lengths) FC. Not continuous but the furthest I've gone FC so far, so happy with that (and I'm going to conveniently ignore the fact that it looked more like the death throes of a harpooned whale than the graceful stroke of a wild dolphin). I'm tired now.

Overall
Another 8-session week, which can't be bad. Have decided some goals for the coming year - including having booked my first tri (or it'll be my first if I don't do another one before then!:p). And I'm teetering on the edge of deciding to do Hell & Back with a gang from work in June.

Bit of a mixed-up week this week. Started well, fizzled out a bit.

Monday AM 30 lengths of the pool continuous in sets of 1xFC & 3xBRS. Working late so no run in the evening - not too fussed though.

Tuesday AM 43 mins on the turbo, watching a Tacx video, hence the strange duration. Sweated like a pig - the video I chose started off on level 9.

Wednesday AM 30 lengths of the pool, again continuous in sets of 1xFC & 3xBRS. Wasn't tempted to brave the storms in the evening for the club run session - and I was passing the track twice within about 20 mins and the lights had failed the second time I went by. (Though they were back again the following day).

Thursday AM Repeated the 43 mins on the turbo, using Tacx video again. Some twit in a dark blue Renault Clio Williams is taking the pi$$ - he passed me at the same place on both Tuesday and Thursday mornings. :mad:

Friday AM No morning swim due to this. Safe to say this is a big hiccup in my tri training plans. There's one other pool locally, in a hotel, and apparently it was jammers even before this and very difficult to get a good swim in. Now there's a bunch of extra short-term members, plus the local swimming club, trying to get in there. Need a Plan C.

So instead I asked Mrs. D to create a workout using our 5kg kettlebells. I didn't get far into it before the glutes and hamstrings started giving out. Cycled to work with soft tyres on my old heavy mountain bike too. But it's not far so it doesn't count for much.

Planned to go running in the evening and it had cleared up in time for the club session but I was out of work late and ate too close to the time. So I relaxed with a glass of red wine instead.

Saturday PM Did the 5k Valentines Muckfest in Tullow, Co. Carlow. Great craic, 5km with 35 obstacles including into and out of the river a few times. Not that awful challenging but good fun. And my glutes and hamstrings took another hammering.

Sunday PM Had planned a brick session of turbo and run for this morning. Then my *lovely* next door neighbours decided that it was great craic to make loads of noise at 3am and I was awake then till 5am.:mad: So it was too late when I got up and ate to get the session in before I brought my son to win a county silver medal for underage cross-country relay just outside Wexford town!:D

So I went with Plan C and visited the pool in Wexford, bought a 10-swim ticket and will try get to it twice a week for the time being. 50 lengths done (25m) with sets of 2xFC and 2xBRS. If I'm going to be limited in swims I need to start getting the most from them.

Overall Bit of a step up in biking, feel the swimming is still coming on, need to do more running. If it ever becomes possible to run outside without needing a bloody wetsuit.

Monday
AM - Kettlebell circuit

Tuesday
AM - 10.1km run in 52:57, avg pace 5:15/km, avg HR 139bpm
PM - 60 lengths of 25m pool in sets of 2xFC & 2xBRS

Wednesday
PM 12.9km incl. 8x100m strides & 5x900m (3:44, 3:38, 3:34, 3:39, 3:44), avg HR 147bpm

Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Nada.

Sunday
AM: 13.5km in 1:11. No HR data as I brought the wrong HRM strap with me. Found it hard - very windy and wet and I was tired. Followed straight away by 40 lengths of 25m pool. Pool was a bit packed though so kids were even straying into the swimming lane. :mad: Was tired, hungry & thirsty after the run so I wasn't in the most patient form.

Overall
No cycling bar to & from work one day. Need to fix that this week. Swimming was ok and running was pretty ok too.

Thanks guys - I'm under no illusions that it makes me the next Blockic or anything but it'll be something nice to stick in a drawer. Onwards and upwards - or maybe onwards and onwards - time will tell.