[shotgunmcos]

Goals should be a challenge, a stretch of your ability, a journey of self discovery rooted in your values. They must also be realistic and achievable with focus, discipline and hard work. For the most part and importantly, fun too! My 2011 goals encapsulate, for me, all of the above.

#1 Complete an Ironman Distance Triathlon – A Goal
Quelle Challenge Roth, Bavaria, Germany, July 10 2011 (entered)

This is the biggie. It is the horizon that my mind’s eye has gazed at since I started triathlon in 2009 I had learned to swim the previous winter and although the Iron Distance fascinated me, I really believed it was beyond me. Just finishing a 3.8km swim was a mountain to me let alone a 180km cycle and a Marathon afterwards! I’ve learned a lot in a short space of time, most importantly that you get out of this sport what you put in. This log will mainly concentrate on how I cope with the focus, discipline and hard work that is required to become an Ironman in a busy life.


#2 Run a Marathon in under 3 hours – B Goal
Berlin Marathon, Germany, September 25 2011 (not entered yet)

This one is a stretch. It would require knocking about half an hour off my 3:27 personal best. I’ll have a 10 week block of Marathon specific training and speed work to get me in shape to have a go at least Ambitious perhaps, but if I complete Goal #1, I won’t be too hard on myself if my best effort doesn’t cut it. First things first… the Ironman!


Going Long…
Going long a couple of years earlier than originally planned worried me enough to put it all under the scope in the last few weeks. Creating the plan was like swatting for an exam and it’s almost complete. I’ve based the pattern loosely on Don Fink’s competitive programme with my own tweaks. 20 weeks base training employing a progressive pattern and addressing my limiters early. 12 weeks of progressive IM specific training starting March 22nd and a 4 week taper block. It probably a long base period but my key limiters in both the bike and run is base fitness, extensive aerobic... whatever you want to call it.

Swimming
I’ve worked hard at it this year and feel generally happy with the progress. Building the distance won’t be the problem but staying efficient and maintaining stroke length for the distance is paramount. My training focus is on technique/drills and long sets with stroke focus.

Cycling
I’m confident with general strength. Good roads and long straights suit me but I need to work on power/weight ratio and maintaining a good cadence for hills. My main focus is on extensive endurance. I have rarely cycled for longer than 2 hours so like most training for an IM, the long bike is the key session of the whole programme. I’ll incorporate some progressive lower end FTP work too but building to a 5-6 hour bike without cardiac drift is fundamental.

Running
My biggest limiters are base endurance and cadence. Basically after 60-70 mins running I have significant cardiac drift or if I maintain a capped heart rate my pace can drop dramatically (up to 30sec per km). This is largely due to how I ran the 3 Marathons I did before I found Triathlon. Like many novices I had no experience of road races so all training consisted of predominantly chasing times in the dead zone between base and threshold. As a result I rely on my glycogen store all of the time and feed it with far too much sugar in my diet. The plan is to convert the sugar burning furnace into a fat burning efficient engine! In terms of cadence has been a case of plod, plod, at 150spm L Over striding and I expect my legs to hit a pace off the bike?! Speed work will not be a focus but developing my cadence will undoubtedly increase the speed I can hold for certain zones. Cadence checks will be a key feature of the 2 key run sessions each week. The LSR and the transition run.

The 36 week IM programme kicks off on Nov 01. I have the fun job of pacing the 4 hour group at the Dublin Marathon before then. I also promised myself after the horrid recent return to the pool that I’d never go more than 2 weeks without swimming again!

I started my first boards’ log the same day I started my Thursday night group swims. It was the start of my Tri journey then. As the Swim groups starts back this evening I figured it to be apt time for a new log. Last time the session kicked off with a TT to sort us into lanes. I presume more of the same tonight…

Deep Breath ... Roll on 2011

PS (just in case) 140.6 = 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run..

[RayCun]

Cool, should be an interesting thread... and I'll see you in the Dublin pace group.

[catweazle]

Jaysus you dont take much of a break Shotgun

Good luck with this, I will enjoy this log....no time goals written down I see but I would guess the mental time will be ambitious

[mloc123]

Originally Posted by shotgunmcos

In terms of cadence has been a case of plod, plod, at 150spm. Over striding and I expect my legs to hit a pace off the bike?!

This is something I worked on last winter, to track cadence I would cout steps for 20seconds every 5 minutes in my runs... problem I found was that I could easily 'cheat' for those 20 seconds and slack off in between. A footpod for your garmin might help keep this honest, but at €80 it seems like bad value to me.

Will be keeping an eye on this log, you have done a couple of HIMs already?

[RedB]

The sub3 will be a big target. Best of luck with the training and the log. No doubt it'll continue to be inspirational!

[metamorphosis]

THis is going to be a fun log. Best of luck.

[MrCreosote]

Dude, that wasn't much of a break!!

Great stuff though. I had an inkling you might be going long next year. I've heard Roth is fantastic too-sounds like a nice choice.

[ronanmac]

Some seriously impressive goals. Best of luck with them, and I look forward to keeping up to date with your progress.

PS Thanks for explaining the 140.6

[asimonov]

good stuff mcos...no better man to write down the goals. You have plenty of time to get to sub3 and after the intensity of the IM training it might come easier than you think. best of luck.

[griffin100]

#1 Complete an Ironman Distance Triathlon – A Goal

Quelle Challenge Roth, Bavaria, Germany, July 10 2011 (entered)

This is the biggie. It is the horizon that my mind’s eye has gazed at since I started triathlon in 2009 I had learned to swim the previous winter and although the Iron Distance fascinated me, I really believed it was beyond me. Just finishing a 3.8km swim was a mountain to me let alone a 180km cycle and a Marathon afterwards! I’ve learned a lot in a short space of time, most importantly that you get out of this sport what you put in. This log will mainly concentrate on how I cope with the focus, discipline and hard work that is required to become an Ironman in a busy life.

It's not enough to say you're gonna do it, you could probably get around now on your current fitness levels.........give us a predicted time

Looking forward to this log already.

[Izoard]

Quelle surprise!

Great stuff...as griffin says, you could complete an IM with your eyes closed at this stage..very interested to hear your "real" goal as you progress.

All the best with it.

[shotgunmcos]

Manu thanks all

Originally Posted by mloc123

This is something I worked on last winter, to track cadence I would cout steps for 20seconds every 5 minutes in my runs... problem I found was that I could easily 'cheat' for those 20 seconds and slack off in between. A footpod for your garmin might help keep this honest, but at €80 it seems like bad value to me.

Will be keeping an eye on this log, you have done a couple of HIMs already?

I did Kenmare at the end of my rookie season and ended up in the back of the ambulance. Otherwise had fun! Nope, no other HIMs which was a worry. Life situations juct meant bringing the IM goal forward. I'm not done with OD distance by any means. The long one just had a greater appeal than targetting faster times next year.

I get what you mean about the cadence checks. Because you are suddenly counting you tend to speed it up a notch. I take a check for 30 secs 4 times on a long run. The best I've managed so far is holding 170 up to 75 mins but then along with my pace it dropps to 162-164 by 90 mins. I'll build it like everything else.

Originally Posted by griffin100

It's not enough to say you're gonna do it, you could probably get around now on your current fitness levels.........give us a predicted time

Looking forward to this log already.

@Izoard too
Cheers, yeah I know you and others would expect me to have a time in mind but I really don't. I'm not letting myself get sucked into that for a while. Of course I'll have some target splits eventually but this is a venture into the unknown for me so I'll hold off a while to see how my body adapts to the longer stuff. I have a lot to learn about nutrition in particular. Right now I just want to finish!

[shotgunmcos]

Training

I took a couple of weeks off after the Budapest experience and except for a long jog it was nada... Catching up on social life! I've recently got the wheels in motion with running at least as I am one of the Pacers again at this year's Dublin Marathon. Myself and --amadeus-- had a blast doing this last year so I'm really looking forward to it now. I hit the pool on Monday morning and the Coach lobbed me into the fast lane. In short, I struggled and was lapped by the lot.

Tuesday PM: PMP run
I met a group of sub4 hopefuls at the Arena for a PMP (pacer pace) run. It was a lovely cool evening with no wind, super conditions for running. Leading 5 women around the city drew lots of attention also
The Plan
1:20 at 5:40/km (4 hour pace)
Actual
1:31 at 5:39/km (spot on 3:59 pace)

It was a little longer than anticipated as the girls elected unanimously for a more scenic route than the out and back I had planned. We covered 16.14 km and the chat made it fly by. 1 girl developed a blister early on and another needed a loo but in true pacer fashion I didn't slow down or stop for them. Yes I felt a bit bad for it but they knew the score from the off. Overall a very good medium length PMP run and a confidence boost for the girls. Average heart rate was 134 which I was happy about. Last year for the Marathon pacing my average heart rate was 150 for the first 90 mins. It must mean I'm fitter!


Wednesday PM: Easy Bike
The plan
1:00 easy on the turbo after work to spin the legs out
Actual
1:09 on the road. Average heart rate 141, pace 31.5kmh, distance 36.26km

I managed to get out of work early enough for once to enjoy the last hour of daylight on a lovely cool evening once again. It actually felt a little chilly so I put on a base layer, cycling top and jacket. The sweat was dripping off my helmet onto the tip of my nose! I like this course as it’s where I do my TT efforts during race season. No real hills but there are a few testing drags. I just wanted to pedal at 90spm but this even felt laboured on these drags. The legs felt a little heavy and lazy. It was well into dusk by the time I got home so this may have been my last evening spin on this course. It’s just too dangerous in the dark.

Eating

I’m starting to sport a little tyre around the mid section so it is indeed time to ease back into it. I have a serious sweet tooth and am a chocoholic. I’m not kidding. Last Monday I had 2 dark chocolate bounty bars at 4pm in work. When I got home around 6 I was peckish so had 2 bowls of cornflakes and later that night 16 digestives with nutella smeared on each! Multiply that kind of behaviour by 3 weeks and you get the idea of the tyre I mentioned Aha but by next summer I’ll be sporting toned abs instead. I just need to HTFU about diet discipline. I have made so many fruitless (excuse the pun) attempts. I’m giving myself until Nov 1 to wean myself of the excesses. Its not that I don’t eat well in general, in fact I eat enough protein, vegetables and fruit so that I don’t have to supplement the diet. It’s just dealing with the sugar cravings… The base training should help as the intense stuff demands the quick fixes much more.

[Izoard]

Man, I now have to go back and worry about the A/R/T challenge for 2010 again...

[christeb]

Nice intro - I'll see you under the balloon in 3+ weeks