Ultra marathon down ...just Half Ironman and Sub 3 Marathon to go

Abhainn

Week ending 12th July

With the family in Sligo until I joined them on Friday again it was an opportunity to get some quality sleep and good sessions in for first half of the week anyway.
Well I could have rested more but didn’t, sessions went ok but as we have a bloody big garden so I spent a good bit of time there into the late evenings killing myself.

Mon – AM pool 2k swim total.
Stuck to the bed when alarm went off. Hate Monday’s. Always wrecked.
Warm up of 250 really tired didn't think I could do any more Then 15x 100 with 40sec rest. Cool down of 250m. Average 1:54's. Crap really.

Evening: 60k bike ride in 1:53.HR 135. Glutes ok. Good ride and major hills felt ok. Feel a lot fresher this evening.

Tues – Lunch.
Run 7.1 miles in 47:11.
Was intending 4 mile tempo at 06:15 pace but decided to opt for a MP session instead. Ended up been quicker than that so 6.1 miles at MP of 6:40-6:45. Actual was 06:34 and HR 152. Good session

Wed - Evening
Brick session. 54.9k bike followed by 5k run. Bike 1:39, Run 19:40
Legs ached a bit at start of bike so decided to do easy brick. That changed as I went through 20k. Speeded up a bit and really got going on way home. Last 25k in 40:30. Had the benefit of a light to moderate tail wind though.
Run felt controlled and easy. Glutes fine. A bit worried that I still might have overdone it for Sat though.

Thurs Evening–
OW swim of approx. 1800m in 40:30.

Fri- Rest

Sat – Salmon Run Sprint Tri in Ballina. Completed in 1:09:36. 25th position overall and 5th place in the run which was way slower than I predicted.
Happy with placing but not with overall time. Definitely should have taken it easier on Wed session. Silly me.
Race report to follow

Sun – am
Easy 4 mile beach and sea run in around 29min. Lovely and best way to work off those pints from late night before.

Seres

serious training there , well done in ballina sprint , glad to c you got a place , was at it myself , really enjoyed it and weather held out well , sure it was just a bit of training for you though !
look forward to the race report

MCOS

Good week there capped off with a great result in Ballina. Well done! There is look of a serious age grouper about you if you wanted

Abhainn

Salmon Run Sprint Tri Race Report.

Completed in 1:09:36. Position 25th.

In 2008 this was my first ever triathlon
After finishing 54th last year in 1:11:40 I wanted to improve on both position and time. I thought that if conditions were favourable a 1:07 should be within my reach.
It seems to be extremely popular and in its 4th year sold out on line in less than 20mins!

Thankfully weather held out well apart from a moderate south breeze which we would face on the outward bike section.
Transition was busy at 7:45 and got set up half way down. As I am originally from close to Ballina I know a few around and so atmosphere was good and relaxed.
Sun came out for a while on way to swim start. There are 2 waves this year so I’m off in no. 1. at 9:10
Swim was non-eventful and found it ok in good open water. Surprised when I exited my watch said 11:20, one minute slower than year. It seems the current was bit slower than 2008, as times appear more than 2 mins off.
T1 in 1:13 went fine and off on the bike I go. As I mentioned the outward 10k was against the breeze and it while no real hills there is a gradual rise to the turnaround point in Bonnyconlon. I overtake more than been overtaken but legs tell me early on that I should have definitely taken it easier on Tues and the Wed sessions. I finish bike in 36:43, a couple of mins slower than I had hoped.
T2 in 00:56, which was acceptable I suppose and I storm off on the run.
Plan was to overtake 10 (no real reasoning behind that) on the run and complete it in the inside 18:30 or so. The run course can’t be considered fast and it takes in some woodland land and trails. The first km is done in 3:45 as I overtook 6 runners but then the next 2 are slower through the woodland and I just overtake 2 more. I can’t seem to up the pace and legs ache which surprises me. The last 2 km are on road and I see 2 runners perhaps 100m ahead. They remain ahead as I finally find another gear and last km is done in around 03:35. Run time 19:23

So all in all I’m fairly satisfied. I would have taken that 25th position and run placing before the start. I suppose I’m just hard to please.
Well done to the Liquid Motion club. A very well organised event and food afterwards was top notch.

Roll on Beast of the East Tri on Sunday week. Some lessons learnt on Sat and I will ensure I am more rested before that torture that will come upon me then.

MCOS

Well done Abhainn, nice report. I guess that you are at that level of fitness where improvement don't come in chunks but a minute and a few seconds here and there. Yet in what seems like worse conditions you improved significantly on last year. Considering you only switched to Tri focus late March IIRC it shows how much you have moved on from 12 months ago.

Seres

great race , over 100% better position wise on last year , think it was going to be hard to estimate target finishing time for this race with the effects of the tide/current on swims times and the fact that the race was run at a much early time this year , great run , i think the run is the hardest part of that course ?

ladytri

well done on the Salmon Run Abhainn, that's a fantastic time! Great base for Beast of the East...although that sounds like a terrifying course,eek!
Is the half IM your next race after that?

Abhainn

Is the half IM your next race after that?

Thanks ladytri yes Eireman half is next after BOTE. No races in between those.
I need to get in more long distance bike work in the 4 weeks leading up to that.
I also need to start getting in a long run or two in (17 miles + ) in prep for Dublin marathon in that period also.

Abhainn

Seres wrote: »

great race , over 100% better position wise on last year , think it was going to be hard to estimate target finishing time for this race with the effects of the tide/current on swims times and the fact that the race was run at a much early time this year , great run , i think the run is the hardest part of that course ?

It's a fast sprint race alright, not as fast as Tri Athy though. Yes agree run would be the toughest section.

Abhainn

Week ending 19th July

Mon -
Lunch. Run 6 miles at 07:11 pace in the rain and felt real good.
HR avg 131. Max HR was low also.

Tues-
Lunch – 8.1 miles in 53:52.
Comprised of 4 x 1 mile interval with 1 mile a bit easier between. Happy enough with 06:00, 05:46, 05:53: 05:49
HR avg 151.

Wed
Early am. Bike ride of 55k in 1:44:30. HR 128. 31.5kph
Legs felt tired after yesterday run intervals so no Fat Joe records (previous nickname) would be broken. Just went out to cover distance in 30kph average. Lovely morning for a bike ride
Evening - OW swim of approx. 1800m in 41:30. Conditions ok but seemed to slow up a bit on 3rd circuit

Thurs
Rest.

Fri-
AM. Had to cancel swim pool interval session. We were up with kids all night. Wrecked.
Lunch. Run 6 miles at 07:09 pace. HR avg 132.
Second very efficient run of the week in fairly wet and breezy conditions.

Sat -
Bike ride 82.5k in 3:01. HR 133. 27.4kph
Needed to get in a long bike ride soon in preparation for HIM. So decided to incorporate the Beast of the East bike course in this. I wasn’t really looking forward to it. Just getting around it would be satisfactory.
Loads of hills and the drag from Ashford to Roundwood at the start is a slog. Some of the roads surfaces were “cat melodion ” (Sligo saying). But managed it ok and felt fine at finish. Looking forward to next long bike ride as it will be much flatter.

Sun –
Long run of 17 miles in 2:02. (07:10 pace). HR avg 139.
Long runs for DM could be a bit hit and miss in September, so this is first official long run for that.
Legs ok after yesterday's long bike though were starting to ache 2 miles from finish. Pace a bit on the fast side but HR was fine.

Overall happy with weeks efforts but disappointed that I didn’t get that swim interval session in which I needed.
This week will be easier as the Beast looms on Sun.

MCOS

Best of luck in the BotE Abhainn. It will be a tough one! I chose Carna over the Beast thinking it would be much easier... how wrong was I!

Abhainn

Week ending 26th July

Monday: Rest.

Tuesday:
Lunch - 6 miles at 07:13 pace. HR 135. Easy enough run. Right foot, left side aching since long run on Sunday. But it was not terribly bad.
Evening - OW swim of approx. 1800m in 36.20. Felt strong in this session, strokes felt good.

Wednesday:
AM pool intervals. 2k swim total.
15 x 100 with 40sec rest. First 10 felt good in 1:49 average then last 5 tiring probably from last night.
250m warm up and cool down.
Lunch – 7.1 miles at 07:13 pace. HR 138 Felt tired after pool this morning and OW swim last night. Was just happy to finish it.

Thursday:
AM bike of 55k in 1:46. HR 125. Average 31kph.
It is noticeable now that mornings are coming in and sunrise is not till 5:27am. Nice morning though.
Legs tired so did not push too hard.


Friday – Rest

Saturday –
AM.
4.4 miles to 07:23 pace just to get them ready for Beast of the East on Sunday. Was going to go for short spin but this had to do as spent next 10hrs building decking in garden. My back did not feel fantastic when finished!

Abhainn

Beast of the East race report.


I remember the first staging of BOTE in 2008 been very tough. I had a hard time in the swim then.
It was combination of difficult swimming conditions and wearing a diving shortie suit (which has no buoyancy) all of which I wish to forget.
I set myself a target of sub 2:45 for Sundays race.

The morning of the 2009 event was terrible. The clearance of the rain according to the met eireann rainfall radar seemed to linger longer than expected over the Wicklow area.
Suddenly at 8:10 am rain stopped and 15 mins later it was clear sky. Headed to transition and was greeted by many annoying midges. Conditions in Lough Dan looked favourable.
Got set up. Decided to attach bike shoes to pedals as there was a long wet and muddy run from transition to bike mount point some 300m away, though I wasn’t sure of this.
Swim:
Into water, Jesus it was cold. Off I go in wave one. Swallowed a huge mouthful of the bog water early in and nearly got sick. It was the usual elbow, kicks and stuff but settled in. Swimming in the lake was not as easy as the sea. It seemed dead and heavy. I did not push swim hard as I knew what was ahead on the bike and run. I had set myself a target of sub 35mins.
A couple of 100 m from finish some muppet from wave 2 caught up and nearly swiped the goggles from my head. Had to stop twice before there were fixed correctly. Lost time there.
Exited water 37:25 on my watch and the clock (though results have me a minute later for some reason).
If it were an exam I would have given myself a D, me been from the old school. Loads of scope for improvement, though as I said I didn’t push hard. I was a bit worried I was way back in the pack.
T1:
Not great. Even though I did check before hand I ran down one lane over from my bike. But that sorted I see loads heading off on their bike running with shoes on. So me thinking they have made right decision I decide to unclip mine from pedals and put them on also. More time lost. T1 time 2:37.
Bike: Parts of the 300m to bike mount were muddy and a lot of surface water on the grass. Got on bike ok. The first assent went fine and over took quite a few. Took a gel at 5k as we raced into the wind. It was same sanario to bike finish. My back was aching though due to Saturdays decking efforts and I had to stretch regularly.
Overtook many on hills & climbs to be overtaken by a few on more level parts. Took an energy bar at 22k as the real tough stuff ahead. I really enjoyed climb from Laragh; as quite a few that were ahead of me were now struggling.
Was aiming to finish bike section in sub 1:20. I came in 1:18:30 so happy enough.
T2: Again ran down one lane over from mine. But lost little time there. I decided to put on socks for run and I got some bad blisters and cuts from previous tri in Ballina. I think I ran long way round to the run timing mat, which wasn’t too clever. T2 time 2:33.
Run: Settled in well. The first 3 k are all up hill, the worst section from 1k to beyond 2k, but I built up pace gradually and I didn’t struggle.
I set myself target to overtake between 10-20. It went better than this. There were some big gaps between the runners but in the end I overtook 38. Now not all these were all places gained however as some of these were from wave 2 so I sort of un-lapped myself.
My target of 43mins was easily beaten and run time was 40:11 (11th in run overall, and 5mins quicker than last year) for this tough 10k. Really pleased with that as it shows run form is good.
Finish time: 2:41:46 (my watch) and satisfied.
Looking back on my HR average (150) it would seem I could have put more effort in. Me thinks that could be directed at the swim.

Finally the standard was high, and I think BOTE could be as popular as HOTW in a few years.
Well done to Wicklow Tri club. They were professional and organisation was excellent.

Next event is the big one. The Eireman half distance on the 23rd Aug. Looking forward to it.

Slogger Jogger

Great performance Abhainn. Nice report too. You made steady progress throughout and you seem to have some room for improvement judging by your own rating of the stages and transition. How you kept that energy in the bag for that run I don't know. Hats off to you.

kruger73

I had a similar swim to you, didnt back myself to push harder which I need to start doing. That was my 3rd Olympic and the "sure I'm not a swimmer" excuse to myself is starting to sound a little hollow.
I had a solid bike (14th) and was delighted with my 47 min run!
You had a great run, fair play.
Well done. Im Also doing Eireman half IM distance and very much looking forward to it.
Might see you there (passing me on the run)

Abhainn

Slogger Jogger wrote: »

Great performance Abhainn. Nice report too. You made steady progress throughout and you seem to have some room for improvement judging by your own rating of the stages and transition. How you kept that energy in the bag for that run I don't know. Hats off to you.

Cheers SJ. Regarding the solid run I think can partially put that down to good fueling on the bike. Maybe also a longish bike followed by long run on back to back days are benefiting me also.

Abhainn

kruger73 wrote: »

I had a similar swim to you, didnt back myself to push harder which I need to start doing. That was my 3rd Olympic and the "sure I'm not a swimmer" excuse to myself is starting to sound a little hollow.

I agree Kruger and in my case I think that one of the draw backs of self coaching.

kruger73 wrote: »

I had a solid bike (14th) and was delighted with my 47 min run!
You had a great run, fair play.
Well done. Im Also doing Eireman half IM distance and very much looking forward to it.
Might see you there (passing me on the run)

1:10 for the bike -wow. That would have gotten you 4 or 5th on that same course in 2008. Well done.

MCOS

Well done Abhainn, well inside target and a consistent performance. As usual you sliced through the field on the run leg. I reckon your endurance base will hold you steady for the half IM, a couple of long bikes and major focus on your swim and I'll put money on a great result at Eirman. Also, work on the swimming over the winter to get you ahead of the main pack and a clean swim to T1 will yield more energy for the bike next season and ultimately when you up the ante to IM distance.

Solid result, and you have shown a remarkable transition from Ultra focus to Tri focus.

Well done again, nice report there too!

asimonov

super stuff abhainn, great result. You're in great shape for eireman. I expect to see a slightly higher average heart rate for that!

Abhainn

Week ending 2nd August

An easier first half of week to recover from BOTE effort.

Mon -
Rest

Tues-
Lunch. Run 6 miles at 07:23 pace. Easy run to get legs moving again after Sunday. No real noticeable aches which is good.
HR avg 133.

Wed
Evening -Sea swim of 40 mins. Unsure of distance. Water choppy. Feeling tired all day.

Thurs
AM – I postponed early bike ride it would not have been any benefit as weekend ride will be long. Anyway 10 mile run planned this evening. More rest needed
PM:
Hooked up with bro for easy 10 mile run in 77mins. Beautiful evening.
Then headed out for going away party. Too many drinks and very late getting home.

Fri:
Rest.

Sat:
Long bike ride delayed until afternoon but body still wrecked after Thursday nights’ sins.
102k in 3:16. HR 138. 31.3kph
Route was from Wicklow to Courtown and back. Route took in most of the Eireman bike ride course. The road surface really good on the motorway. The wind was fresh and mostly on face on way down and had backed westerly on way back so didn’t benefit from it as much as liked. My back ached really badly from 75-90k. Happy with efforts.

Sun:
11miles at 07:12 pace. HR 143
The legs didn’t feel too bad. It was a beautiful morning for a run.
Completed the 1000 mile challenge – only afterwards did I realise it when I did up the sums

MCOS

Well done on the 1000 miles and good bike ride there Saturday. Lower back ache.. how is your position? If you lower back is aching after 80-90 km then running 21km off the bike will be uncomfortable. Were you in drops or on bars for musch of the ride?

Abhainn

Were you in drops or on bars for musch of the ride?

Not really on the drops for much of the ride. Don't have tri bars fitted yet and won't be doing so either this side of the 23rd

Woddle

Abhainn wrote: »

Completed the 1000 mile challenge – only afterwards did I realise it when I did up the sums

Congrats Abhainn, I'm sure if you were'nt messing around with tris you'd be finished long ago

ultraman1

well done abhainn .....

asimonov

good on ya abhainn..pretty good for a part timer

BeepBeep67

Well done - nice to have it out of the way?

Abhainn

Week ending 9th August

Good solid week. Best yet.

Mon -
Evening: OW swim 1800m approx in 38:20. HR 130.

Tues-
Lunch. Run 6 miles at 07:14 pace. Felt a bit tired during this.
HR avg 136.

Wed:
Two intervals planned in one day was going to be challenge
AM.
7am. 2k pool swim total. Warm up of 250. Then 15x 100 with 40sec rest. Avg rep was 1:49.
Cool down of 250m.
Happy with this. Seems to be a bit of progress.
Evening:
Track intervals of 8 x 800 with goal under 2:50 each and easy 400m between. 800 warm up and cool down.
Been 7 weeks since I previously did this session and didn’t know how it would tun out. Averaged 2:44 then.
If I had got 6 good reps done I wouldn’t have been too down.
Ran first one in 2:41 … oh that would seem too fast but I felt ok.
Second one 2:42 and feeling ok. Third 2:41. It continued like that. Very satisfying and best interval session ever. Great to get a VO2 max session like this done.
Rep detail:
1. 2:41
2. 2:42
3. 2:41
4. 2:41
5: 2:41
6: 2:42
7. 2:42
8: 2.41

Thurs:
Ok, OH has what appears to be a bad virus/ flu. Luckily the rest of us are ok. So I worked from home.
Managed to get in a bike ride of 55k in 1:45 in breezy conditions at lunch time. HR128. Back ached around 45k.

Fri:
Rest

Sat:
AM. Long brick of 102k bike and 5k run in 3:43. Did the same route as last week from Wicklow along N11 through to Courtown and back. Unlike last week when wind was from s/w, today it was directly coming from south so it made the dual carriage way section very testing indeed. Here hoping if there is a breeze on the 23rd it will be from the east or west.
Route back was quick and bike done in 3:20 but the time was not important here just getting the time on the bike.
Back still aching badly though so I am a bit concerned. HR 140.
5k run was fine. Legs felt good and back also though think I was too much dehydrated at the end. Only had 1.25 litres of water for the whole session. Run section 21:15 HR156.

Sun:
14miles at 07:09 pace. HR 140.
At the start of the week I had pencilled this in as a 20 miler long run for the marathon thinking it would be ok. By mid week though I copped on that it would be a silly.
After 4 miles felt good and legs turned over without much effort especially after yesterday's session.

Weight now down to under 74kg. Just 1kg off my latest and think my final goal. This time last year I was just over 78kg.

13 days to go to HIM and this week will see a reduction in training. We have the occasion of Young Sun’s christening on Sat. With a BBQ planned we’re hoping for dry weather. UK guests are arriving from Thu morning and with many others quests deciding to camp on the Sat night on our lawns, it will make for an interesting week.

I also have the added distraction of Monday morning after the HIM as we head off to Cyprus for holidays.

MCOS

Abhainn wrote: »

Week ending 9th August

Good solid week. Best yet.

Mon -
Evening: OW swim 1800m approx in 38:20. HR 130.

Tues-
Lunch. Run 6 miles at 07:14 pace. Felt a bit tired during this.
HR avg 136.

Wed:
Two intervals planned in one day was going to be challenge
AM.
7am. 2k pool swim total. Warm up of 250. Then 15x 100 with 40sec rest. Avg rep was 1:49.
Cool down of 250m.
Happy with this. Seems to be a bit of progress.
Evening:
Track intervals of 8 x 800 with goal under 2:50 each and easy 400m between. 800 warm up and cool down.
Been 7 weeks since I previously did this session and didn’t know how it would tun out. Averaged 2:44 then.
If I had got 6 good reps done I wouldn’t have been too down.
Ran first one in 2:41 … oh that would seem too fast but I felt ok.
Second one 2:42 and feeling ok. Third 2:41. It continued like that. Very satisfying and best interval session ever. Great to get a VO2 max session like this done.
Rep detail:
1. 2:41
2. 2:42
3. 2:41
4. 2:41
5: 2:41
6: 2:42
7. 2:42
8: 2.41

Thurs:
Ok, OH has what appears to be a bad virus/ flu. Luckily the rest of us are ok. So I worked from home.
Managed to get in a bike ride of 55k in 1:45 in breezy conditions at lunch time. HR128. Back ached around 45k.

Fri:
Rest

Sat:
AM. Long brick of 102k bike and 5k run in 3:43. Did the same route as last week from Wicklow along N11 through to Courtown and back. Unlike last week when wind was from s/w, today it was directly coming from south so it made the dual carriage way section very testing indeed. Here hoping if there is a breeze on the 23rd it will be from the east or west.
Route back was quick and bike done in 3:20 but the time was not important here just getting the time on the bike.
Back still aching badly though so I am a bit concerned. HR 140.
5k run was fine. Legs felt good and back also though think I was too much dehydrated at the end. Only had 1.25 litres of water for the whole session. Run section 21:15 HR156.

Sun:
14miles at 07:09 pace. HR 140.
At the start of the week I had pencilled this in as a 20 miler long run for the marathon thinking it would be ok. By mid week though I copped on that it would be a silly.
After 4 miles felt good and legs turned over without much effort especially after yesterday's session.


13 days to go to HIM and this week will see a reduction in training. We have the occasion of Young Sun’s christening on Sat. With a BBQ planned we’re hoping for dry weather. UK guests are arriving from Thu morning and with many others quests deciding to camp on the Sat night on our lawns, it will make for an interesting week.

I also have the added distraction of Monday morning after the HIM as we head off to Cyprus for holidays.

Man, that is one quality week of training. You must have been buzzing after your 2 sessions on wednesday 2 indicators that swim and run are going very well and then a nice brick sat to ensure bike is going well. You are in great shape Abhainn.. I bet it feels good with Eireman in sight now!!

ladytri

Great week Abhainn!
Good luck with the christening at the weekend, good chance to carb up for Eireman on baked potatoes and...hmmm, burger...buns (?)

Abhainn

ladytri wrote: »

Great week Abhainn!
Good luck with the christening at the weekend, good chance to carb up for Eireman on baked potatoes and...hmmm, burger...buns (?)

Thanks ladytri. Will definately be carbing up and hopefully not too much booze