How hard can it be, eh?

MCOS

yep 2 weight sessions def 2 different workouts

1. chest/shoulders/arms + the harder version of your core workout
2. legs/back + the easier version of your core workout

Izoard

I go AWOL for a while and end up on page 5:)

Great to see a couple more IM logs in the meantime though!

Was away in the US for two weeks, so aside from a couple of days snowboarding and a bit of core work, not much to report.

Since I've been back, I've been looking at the training program with less and less enthusiasm (1 legged turbo session, anyone...) and getting more and more freaked out by the whole thing.

At the end of the day, the Ironman is a journey and if you don't enjoy how you get there, you won't arrive.

Real life is such that there are weeks at a stretch where I can do very little, so having a daily plan just doesn't work.

In that regard, I'm bining the current plan and going to concentrate on the simple logic of 1 long session in each discipline per week, with small increments per week. These are sacrosanct, but anything else (and I will get other stuff done) will be a bonus.

Will probably mean an hour longer on the course, but hey, better value for money!

Anyways, enough navel gazing....

Tuesday: 11km run @ 54mins
Wed; 2km swim continuous @ 45 48(10m 59/11m 40/11m 55/11m 12, for each 500m)

Slow, but reasonably happy given I have not been doing anything in the last 3 weeks.

RedB

Good to see you're back Izoard.

Nice run/swim numbers for a guy just off a big trip. Don't sweat the training, just get your long sessions in as you say. You have the base endurance so enjoy the IM journey.

RedB

More of the 'less is more' stuff attached. I see you're down for the Connemarathon .

Izoard

Cheers Red,

The "Golden Rules of your First IM" that you posted previously, is well thumbed at this stage.

Yes, down for Connemara and W200...without intermediate goals, I just wouldn't get around to the training.

Not many of us doing the full from around here...appears that the Ultra is the way to go this year:)

First double session today in quite a while:

12km run @ 57min
40min Turbo @ Z2
Nasty foot cramp on the turbo had me yelping in pain, so binned the last 20 mins....

Izoard

A quick 1/2 hour tidy up in the garden, turned into an epic, prepare-a-site-for-a-shed afternoon, so my planned 90 min run was sidelined.

I'm always amazed at the negotiating skills of my OH:)

So, that left a chilly night run or a crack at the turbo - Turbo for an hour @ Z2 won out with "Best stages of the Tour" for company.

Whatever your views on the main protaganists, it makes great viewing.

I'll have a crack at the run in the morning....

Izoard

16.25km run this morning in 1hr 20ish...

Week summary in Fink-speak:

Gym 0 min
Swim 71 min
Bike 305 min (I'm including the bike commute here as well...)
Run 198 min

Week on the road this week, so options will be very limited.

Izoard

A trip to Johannesburg blew a big hole in the week, but got back in the saddle today with 2km in the pool in 45 flat (pretty even splits, despite the breast strokers...).

Also did an hour on the turbo (Z2/Z3), but forcing myself onto the bars for the vast majority of it.

However, I have this odd situation where the saddle pressure on the bike while on the turbo ensures a numb eh, groin area. This gets pretty uncomfortable, but bizarrely, this doesn't happen when on the road.

Maybe the boredom on the turbo has the mind focusing on the negative...

shotgunmcos

Izoard wrote: »

However, I have this odd situation where the saddle pressure on the bike while on the turbo ensures a numb eh, groin area. This gets pretty uncomfortable, but bizarrely, this doesn't happen when on the road.
...

Me too. Its because you are more or less in the one position on the saddle for the whole session, whereas on the road you are shifting your weight about the saddle, sitting up, taking your butt off, looking around etc... all helping the blood flow. If you sit on your thumb for an hour that will go numb too

Izoard

shotgunmcos wrote: »

If you sit on your thumb for an hour that will go numb too

Will try this later..purely in the interest of research:)

England v Wales or a 20.5km yesterday evening?

Surprisingly, the run won out, albeit in a tardy 1hr 50....

The HRM on the 310xt has gone all quiet on me. I guess it has to be the battery on the monitor as the watch just isn't picking it up.

Izoard

Kinda struggling with the available time slots at the moment:( Between work travel and family stuff, I'm only getting out during very unsocial hours!

I've averaged 6 hours pw over the past few weeks, but it has been a real struggle.

On the upside, managed a 2.3km swim in 52.5min today, which is still under my IM target pace of 12min per 500m or ~90mins for the full 3.8km.

RedB

Izoard wrote: »

A trip to Johannesburg blew a big hole in the week

6 hours p.w. with this kinda stuff going on :eek:. Are you kidding me! That'd wipe me out for 2 weeks at least. Fair play to you for clocking up those hours.

I have a 300m time trial tonight that'll take me over 7mins at a push and you're practically knocking out 2/3 of an IM swim in a pool in Feb. That's mighty stuff.

Get your long cycles in at the weekend and you'll be flying.

Izoard

All set for a run at lunch time and found I'd left my running shorts at home...grrr!

Now, I had my lycra undershorts, but running the gauntlet in Ringsend in that attire wasn't an option:)

Anyways, got 1,500m in at the pool in 33 15 - solid.

Good leg strength & core session in the gym early am - with the bike commute, probably hasn't been a bad day after all.

Izoard

Been a tough few weeks trying to carve out training time.

Have averaged 6 hours per week over the past 4, but I fear I'll need to start the 5am runs again, to keep up.

First milestone remains Connemara, but of more concern is the bike. Aside from the sporadic commute, I'm only managing hour-long sessions on the turbo.
With any luck, we are towards the end of the winter, so I can finally kick myself out the door early on a Sunday!

RedB

20+ weeks to go. Loadsa time .

Izoard

Hoping to break the 10 hour barrier this week...

Have logged 7+ already (despite a trip to Tel Aviv, where I'm sure my passport was cloned a couple of times...) and have planned a couple of 90 min turbo sessions watching the rugby.

The "train by time" approach seems pretty remedial when looking at the other logs, but I'm finding it works pretty well for my set up!

Izoard

Lunch in the pool today...

2,500m straight in 54'52.

Have been struggling to get under 11min for 500m blocks for shorter distances, so well pleased with that.

The longer I go, the faster I seem to get:)

If I can hold that sort of pace, sub 1hr 30 should be doable on the day!

catweazle

Thats good solid swimming there, you are a great man for just banging out the distances, I need to start pushing out my straight swimming distances myself

interested

Izoard wrote: »

2,500m straight

:eek:

Nice long swim and it appears you had a time in mind which you got by a bit so congrats ... but 2500 straight champ !! suppose .. Im guessing .. it had to be done.

Izoard

Cheers guys...

Honestly, I can't motivate myself to be doing sets and drills etc...

I have an average stroke which generally keeps it's shape irrespective of distance, so with the limited time available, I tend to go for the endurance sessions.

Given you need to bang out 3.8k on the day with no breaks or hydration, I tend to avoid them in swim training as well.

Having said all that, I look on with envy at the other logs where people are following Fink and other plans to the letter and I know that ultimately there is a right way (most of the other guys) and a wrong way (mine) to do this, but at the end of the day you have to enjoy the journey, so....

Izoard

3hrs 30 on the turbo, split between 2 matches...God bless the 6 nations!

Izoard

2hr 15min run early am (25km - legs felt heavy all the way...long way from the 1.37 half marathons:(), brings me to 14.25 hours for the week.

I'm at about 88% of the total time for the DF Intermediate Plan to date, so given I've had a couple of weeks with 2-3 hours - not bad.

Last "base" week coming up, so aiming for >10 hours again.

Izoard

Went to a masters class in the local pool last night.

A little disappointing...8 in the lane, so "14 100s @ 2' 10" ended up a straight swim of 1,400m with a fair bit of breaststroke so as not to clatter the guy in front.

Izoard

Took myself off to Dun Laoghaire for a bike fit with Irish Fit.

Took the tri (Equinox 7) and road (Trek 1500) with me....lucky in the end, as the hex head for the seat post on the E7 had worn, so the allen key was useless:( Will have to go back again to finish that fit off.

Was impressed with the thoroughness of the fit process.

Alos pointed out that my flexibility and core strength were terrible...:)

Izoard

Base phase of Fink's intermediate plan complete!

I started at week 5, but was very slow out of the blocks - a couple of heavy weeks (31 hours over the past 2 weeks:eek:) got me back on track for 57 hours over 6 weeks.
Not quite the linear build that Fink requests, but hey...

Longest distances so far:

Swim: 2.5km
Bike: 82km
Run: 30km

Abhainn

Great going Izoard. Its hard to imagine that's the easy bit out of the way. Hopefully this time 12 months I'll be at the same point.

Izoard

Abhainn wrote: »

Great going Izoard. Its hard to imagine that's the easy bit out of the way. Hopefully this time 12 months I'll be at the same point.

At the rate you are chewing up the miles at the moment, I'd say you could give it a good bash this year...

Best of luck in Cyprus!

RedB

Izoard wrote: »

31 hours over the past 2 weeks:eek:

:eek: A monster fortnight no doubt. Where did you find the time? W'ends, mornings, lunchtimes, evenings, all?

3hrs Sat, 3 hrs Sun, 3 hrs MidwkEve, 2 x 1hr lunch, 2 x 2hr am?
What sort of time split was it between the swim/cycle/run?

I'm mad curious to see how people squeeze it all in on the time and energy fronts. Fair play to ya, that's mighty training.

Izoard

When I'm in Dublin, it is not too difficult.
In theory:
6:30-7:45 Gym (can be run, swim, weights, core)
Lunchtime Swim or run
1 hour bike commute, round trip
Evening: Turbo, run or masters swim

Weekends are getting trickier with all the kiddie activities - my key windows are saturday evening (if not doign something more social) and 6am-11am on Sundays....

The travel is the killer, where an entire week can be wiped out...:(

Izoard

2.75km swim in 63m 10.
Entering the realm of longest swims, but happy to be under 11m 30s for 500m on average.

Next up, the magic 3km barrier!