[Bambaata]

Well, I've finally taken the plunge and decided to start a Boards Training Log. First off I’ll I give you a bit of background before going into the 2012 plan. I would advise two normal gels, 1 caffeinated with regular hydration and coke if really required to get you through the following life story ;-)

Some background:
I took part in the usual team sports while at school - usually to get as much time out of the classroom as was possible - basketball, soccer, football, tennis and whatever else was going. I was a goalkeeper in both soccer and football so I never really did much running. I once did a XC race in secondary school but I don’t know where it was, nor what the distance. I finished second in our team of six, but we all finished in the bottom 15% and were lapped by the leaders! I did some swimming lessons while at primary school but the local pool (Navan) was closed when I was about 12yrs old.

College was my downfall. I did a BSc in Sports Management but yet became a bit of a lazy ass. I piled on weight, drank and thought eating was only to get full - pretty much blended into the average student lifestyle. It got to the point where I was eating in Eddie Rockets (hence the title!) and Zaytoon a few nights each week and but I realised that had to stop when I entered my first triathlon.

In 2007 a few of us did the Focus Ireland Tri for charity and I somehow got through it. The most I had done in a pool before it was 200m and that almost killed me. I tried every imaginable stroke to finish that swim and came out nearly last in my wave. I remember cramping like mad with 100m still to go (it was only 750m!). I did that race again in 2008 and I realised that there were actually more races out there and so I tried a few duathlons and triathlons but with limited training (maybe 1 or 2 runs a week, 1 cycle and an occasional swim). I did Dublin half (01:39) and full marathon (03:31), again with limited training, but managed to get through them unscathed.

So in 2009 I began to put in some effort. I trained much more consistently and tried to do three sessions a week of each discipline. I had a good year and managed to win my home county's triathlon (Quarryman tri organised by Tri an Mhi). This spurred me on as I put even more effort into training for 2010. Again 2010 saw huge improvements and I bagged a win at TriAthy Sprint with some top 10's in NS races. I ended the year 2nd 25-29 in the National Series behind Conor Murphy. (I wouldn’t read too much into that, NS is as much about tactics and choosing races as it is about performing well).

2011 was the step-up to middle distance. I decided a coach was needed as I had no flow to my training and questioned what I was doing. This lead to a choppy training regime with no structured phases etc. Race wise I did Austria (04:37) and Galway (04:36 - shortened swim) as my main races. Ive really come on and am looking forward to the season ahead.

So 2012.

A goal - Sub 04:20 in Mallorca 70.3 12th May 2012
That'll require something like a 28min swim, 02:25 bike and a 01:21 run leaving 6mins for transitions. Easy peasy :/
Its optimistic but I know it can be done. It will require 100% dedication though and it's the little things that will matter most. Staying injury and illness free will be of utmost importance and I've learned from mistakes on that front in 2011.

Other key races are yet to be decided but I’m looking at Kenmare Middle Distance or something similar distance-wise around then. I will also be doing a few sprints (looking at either North Tipp Sprint or Joey Hannan Sprint as a tune up to Mallorca & TriAthy) and olympics (Rosslare Pikeman Oly Distance, Lough Neagh Oly Distance or TriGrandPrix Kilkenny (Sprint or Oly)).

Other things I want to achieve:

Swim - Improve my 400TT pb from its current 05:52 (short course)
I recently had a swim analysis done at B2R and i found it seriously helpful. I swim solo and have learned my stroke through the Swim Smooth 3D model coupled with youtube videos and from working on technique using drills prescribed by the coach. I’m already seeing improvements since getting the 1-2-1 session and i know once i crack it i will get faster

Bike - Bring FTP over 300Watts - The bike was traditionally the strongest discipline for me, I'm not sure why. I have recently acquired the P2M unit and I'm sure this will help. I find that I tend to switch off on the bike at times which crucifies my splits so this will help keep me honest.

Run - Bring easy pace in and around 04:00/km. Since taking on a coach for the 2011 season my running became my favourite discipline. I believe consistency is the main reason why it got to where it is/was. I generally run 4 times a week and this has helped with the improvements. There is a lot more work to be done here but im sure i can run sub 01:20 flat for a HM, doing close to it at the end of the HIM will be the test. Ive a 17:30 5k as my current pb recently set and i may at some stage look to better that. I know with some speed work a sub 17 is a possibility.

Limitors/Weaknesses
Weak core - I did f all core work in 2011 and I'll be addressing that
Staying in good health - I ended up with cellulitis at Austria 70.3 and had an issue with that same toe which had me on antibiotics up to Galway 70.3. So both A races in 2011 were compromised
Pain - I didnt do pain well in 2011. I found it hard at times to really bury myself in the hard intervals. This will have to change for 2012 otherwise I'll be putting the goal time at Mallorca in jeopardy.
Weight - I am 78.8kg as of this morning. Ideally, that will need to be about 74/75kg for Mallorca. The fat loss has commenced and I'm logging what I am eating every night so as to maintain decent habits. One big issue with me is that I find I need to finish everything on a plate, so smaller plates from now on. I also had a tendency to eat large meals too late so that is changing too.

I've been back training for 2012 since 10th October (Prep). Base period started in November and it won’t be long coming around to Build and Peak!

[jackyback]

Oh yes, about bloody time. This one is certainly getting bookmarked, love the title

[RacoonQueen]

Cool. This'll be a great log. Good luck.

[El Director]

At last! I m sure I echo others here as I welcome this tri log to boards.ie! Great intro Eddie and great title (hope it didn't take you long coming up with it )

Really looking forward to following this, best of health and best of luck for 2012!

[Bambaata]

Well i might as well start with the work done this week/year to date

Monday
Bike - Easy 2hrs
I missed a fair chunk of very exciting sessions last week due to a cold so i was delighted to get a solid two hours in to kick start the week. Rode on the turbo as bike is permanently setup on it. Just focused on maintaining a decent easy effort.
Time: 02:00:00, Ave Power 194W, Distance 62.75km

Tuesday
Lunchtime Run
Man it was windy out! I left my HRM strap in my better half's grandmothers so ive been running to RPE the past few days. I possibly went a little hard out but there was a gale pushing me out along Clontarf strand! Got to the halfway point, turned around and met the wall of wind! KM's went from 04:0x's to the opposite end! There are usually about 5 or 6 i recognise but there were about 10 of the New Year Resolution brigade out! GAA shorts, socks, hoodies and all. Hopefully they keep at it, twud be good to see more out.
Time: 00:46:30, Ave Pace: 04:24min/km, Distance: 10.59km

Evening Swim
Off to Northwood after work (forgetting about the likelyhood of a lot of "new swimmers" and hence a busy 25m lane!). Some r'n'r, front sculling and 3-point rolls to start and then into some 200's alternating between sw and p steady and 100's alternating between sw and p mod hard. I was a bit over excited to be back in the water after 9-10 days out with the cold and went off a bit hard! 200sw "warmup" came in on 02:57 and the 200's steady were a little more towards mod. Really enjoyed the session though and was over the moon to get back on track. I dont do training absences well! The longer they go, the worse i feel about it all.
Time:00:59:00, Distance: 2800m

Rolling/Core
Just did a very tiny amount of core work to get the ball rolling for the year - plank, side planks, situps, bicycle, pressups etc. Ive taken a leaf from shotgun's log on the stretching and vow to roll at least every two days! The outside of my right calf is traditionally the area that is sorest and tonight was no different!
Time: 00:15:00

Wednesday
Bike
2 x 20mins at FTP tonight. Felt good. Power was a little choppy by about 5W's either side of FTP at times and after rep 1 i decided cadence should replicate race cadence more. Rep 1 power ave was 276W, cadence 95 and rep 2 was 278W, cadence 90.
Time: 01:05:00, Ave Power 244W, Distance 37.14km

Rolling
Some areas were still a bit tight so i rolled them again and got the sliotar to the worst parts.
Time: 00:10:00

[Abhainn]

Good man. Looking forward to this

[griffin100]

About bloody time you put up a log. Now I get to see how the other half train.

[catweazle]

Perhaps some music sets as well in this log! Looking forward to the race reports as you have always been well able to go into detail on them

[Dory Dory]

Gosh, you throw out a video of yourself laying down some tunes one week, then start a long-overdue log the next. It just doesn't get much better than this. Best of luck....and this will definitely be a highlight log.

[shotgunmcos]

Originally Posted by jackyback

Oh yes, about bloody time. This one is certainly getting bookmarked, love the title

+1... very apt title. Have you considered red sauce for races? Such a high sugar content that it may even work!

Best of luck with the goals E, you are the very man to push the boundries of the talent you have... It helps that your OH is even more of a nut about all of this than you

[pgibbo]

I had to double take when I spotted this!

Looking forward to this log. Best of luck with the goals, especially the Mallorca one!

[Bambaata]

Originally Posted by shotgunmcos

+1... very apt title. Have you considered red sauce for races? Such a high sugar content that it may even work!

Best of luck with the goals E, you are the very man to push the boundries of the talent you have... It helps that your OH is even more of a nut about all of this than you

Cheers dude and thanks for the best wishes all.

As much as i love the stuff i don't think it would taste great on its own! I might need to take something along to have with it!

Spoted the following pic the other day when looking at entering the Sportsman duathlon on runireland. Now his secret is out about how im helping Alistair Brownlee to the olys by pacing him in training im sure the phone will be hopping

[Bambaata]

And to get the ball rolling on catweazle's request here's what saw me through the 2 x 20s. Its a really nice mix Forward Strategy Group @ Techno Therapy 005 (20.12.2011)

[jackyback]

Originally Posted by Bambaata

Who is overtaking who

[Bambaata]

Nobody We do 90min pacing sessions whereby i cycle out front and he tries to stick to my wheel

Yeah he got me soon enough on the bike, not sure i even got through lap 1. Jonathan took a good while longer. Id love to know what power he was churning out there. He's light as a feather so his w/kg must be serious!