Bliain Faoi Thrí

ronanmac

Nipped out from work at lunch time for a quick spin on the bike. Thought I was going great guns for the first half of the spin until I turned into the wind and into a standstill almost! Noticed that cross-winds catch the side of the B16 more than the road bike, not sure if it's the flat side of the aero frame or the slightly deeper wheels.
Anyway, enjoyable and the injury is definitely getting better. It might even be time to return to the pool shortly!

Route: Muiceanach loop
Distance: 14.33 miles (23.06km)
Time: 49:27
Average Speed: 17.4 mph (28kph)
Average/Max HR: 157/176
Average Cadence: 90
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 7.5
Personal Satisfaction: 8 (satisfaction is all injury-related!)
Weather: Cold enough and a bit of a breeze

Izoard

ronanmac wrote: »

Went for the Felt B16 (because the green trim goes nicely with the club gear

Nice bit of kit there...best of luck with it!

El Director

Yo Ronan, like I said last week only noticed that you have a log here. Read as much as I could and just like to wish you all the best for the year. Lovely bike btw hope she brings you luck.

Don't know if you know but there is a duathlon in Boyle on May 1st if interested.

ronanmac

Izoard wrote: »

Nice bit of kit there...best of luck with it!

El Director wrote: »

Yo Ronan, like I said last week only noticed that you have a log here. Read as much as I could and just like to wish you all the best for the year. Lovely bike btw hope she brings you luck.

Don't know if you know but there is a duathlon in Boyle on May 1st if interested.

Cheers for the good luck on the bike, lads. A puncture-free season and no frame-scratching incidents would be just dandy . After yesterday's spin, I notice that it's much easier to stay in an aero position than it was on the road bike. I guess, even with clip on bars and a back-to-front seatpost that some bikes are just designed to do the job they were supposed to do.

Thanks El Director, I saw that duathlon in Boyle. A bit of a journey but I wouldn't mind one more duathlon before the summer (I feel shortchanged by injury for the last month!). The "family day out bouncy castle" bit of the race description might be the bit to turn it into a possibility! Are you heading to Boyle?

El Director

ronanmac wrote: »

Cheers for the good luck on the bike, lads. A puncture-free season and no frame-scratching incidents would be just dandy . After yesterday's spin, I notice that it's much easier to stay in an aero position than it was on the road bike. I guess, even with clip on bars and a back-to-front seatpost that some bikes are just designed to do the job they were supposed to do.

Thanks El Director, I saw that duathlon in Boyle. A bit of a journey but I wouldn't mind one more duathlon before the summer (I feel shortchanged by injury for the last month!). The "family day out bouncy castle" bit of the race description might be the bit to turn it into a possibility! Are you heading to Boyle?

I'm in alright, not far from home and the settings of Forest Park is the most beautiful setting in Ireland for tri's/duathlons.

Macanri

I'll add in my good luck wishes for the bike too. A lovely machine. All these new bikes is making my hand very twitchy in my pocket. I think herself would hit the roof though if I got a nice new TT bike. I may get away with a new set of wheels and tyres for what I have. "Them wheels, ah they only cost a few quid":)

I agree on the setting of Lough Key Forrest Park, we used to go there many moons ago, with the Gasogi Caitlici na hEireann - great days.

ronanmac

Macanri wrote: »

I'll add in my good luck wishes for the bike too. A lovely machine. All these new bikes is making my hand very twitchy in my pocket. I think herself would hit the roof though if I got a nice new TT bike. I may get away with a new set of wheels and tyres for what I have. "Them wheels, ah they only cost a few quid":)

I agree on the setting of Lough Key Forrest Park, we used to go there many moons ago, with the Gasogi Caitlici na hEireann - great days.

Ah, the Gasogi, I remember them well. Hiking across the hills of Kerry, to return to a soaking wet tent and little food.... fun times!
Thanks for the good wishes. As for the new tyres, you can justify anything by telling her that it could have been Tom Boonen's tubs. €500 each according to Eurosport during the Paris Roubaix commentary :eek:

catweazle

ronanmac wrote: »

Thanks for the good wishes. As for the new tyres, you can justify anything by telling her that it could have been Tom Boonen's tubs. €500 each according to Eurosport during the Paris Roubaix commentary :eek:

The prices for wheels are crazy, I think its nearly as cheap to buy a TT bike than a good set of wheels on its own. I think the only new thing I will get this year are actual tri cycling shoes and not the road bike shoes I have. Probably would be the biggest time saving for me anyways considering how pathetic my transitions are (maybe the wet suit too.....I have until the 15th, or the 30th if I sneak in on Tri Lakes offer)

kennyb3

Id defo suggest looking at €/improvement ratio lads when looking where to improve the bike. I ve said it before but id look at things in this order:

1. Decent tyres (€50 for 2)
2. TT Helmet (can be got for €70 to €100)
3. Wheels - second hand set of something like kysriums which have bladed spokes and are fairly aero shoudl set you back €250-€300. Fairly stiff and fairly robust.

I'd defo be looking at 1, 2 before i went down the road of spending 400 - 1000 on new deep section wheels

@ ronanmac, love the new bike, best of luck with it.

ronanmac

catweazle wrote: »

The prices for wheels are crazy, I think its nearly as cheap to buy a TT bike than a good set of wheels on its own. I think the only new thing I will get this year are actual tri cycling shoes and not the road bike shoes I have. Probably would be the biggest time saving for me anyways considering how pathetic my transitions are (maybe the wet suit too.....I have until the 15th, or the 30th if I sneak in on Tri Lakes offer)

Agreed, I don't know where the cost is going, is it R&D/production or is it that a relatively closed market ensures high prices (like power meters). These guys seem to be trying to shake things up a bit with a toroidal 60/90 wheelset for under 800 dollars.

As for the tri shoes, they should definitely help you in your attempts to get out of transition in under ten minutes.

kennyb3 wrote: »

Id defo suggest looking at €/improvement ratio lads when looking where to improve the bike. I ve said it before but id look at things in this order:

1. Decent tyres (€50 for 2)
2. TT Helmet (can be got for €70 to €100)
3. Wheels - second hand set of something like kysriums which have bladed spokes and are fairly aero shoudl set you back €250-€300. Fairly stiff and fairly robust.

I'd defo be looking at 1, 2 before i went down the road of spending 400 - 1000 on new deep section wheels

@ ronanmac, love the new bike, best of luck with it.

Thanks kennyb3, that's some good practical advice. At the moment, I have neither 1, 2 nor 3, but I'll aim to get 1 and 2 sorted to justify the new bike (plus some bike training should help!). What would recomment tyre-wise? Cheers for the input.

catweazle

kennyb3 wrote: »

Id defo suggest looking at €/improvement ratio lads when looking where to improve the bike. I ve said it before but id look at things in this order:

2. TT Helmet (can be got for €70 to €100)

Hmmmm i am not so sure about the TT helmet, there seems to be an unwritten rule in Triathlons that you are allowed openly sneer and giggle at the bad cyclist with the teardrop helmet. I better wait till my TT times improve before I arrive down with one of them on my head.

Although if I could actually get the helmet clasped on the first go rather than the 10th or 11th attempt on my present helmet it would be a major improvement

ronanmac

This is a bit of a rambling post, and has very little training content, but it might be of interest to the cyclist in you! I went to Brittany for the weekend as a sideline to my usual work had me working on the Tro Bro Leon, a one day classic described as Brittany’s Paris Roubaix.
I did the 60km cyclo sportif on the Saturday, cycling in a pack was a totally new experience for me and the speed and dynamic of it was fantastic. Padraic Quinn, a clubmate who used to be based in Brittany as a cyclist about 15 years ago, was with me and I could see it was all bringing back memories for him, leading out groups and closing gaps! I’m sure it’s all very familiar to those of you who are used to sportives , but the whole “it’s a race but it’s not a race” thing was an experience. Following people trying to close up breakaways, working a train, headbutting people on the finish line (ok, so maybe not that last bit…). Some of the company was interesting as well. We set off with Mikel Hinault, Bernard’s son, who gave me the loan of a Hinault bike for the day. In our group was Europcar team manager and former TdeF yellow jersey holder, Jean Rene Bernaudeau, resplendent in Europcar gear and Colnago bike. We sidled up to him for a chat at some stage but his gruff reputation turned out to be well-merited.
Another interesting part of the sportif was the number of people wearing retro gear (not really retro gear but the actual real stuff from bygone eras). Woollen Gitane Dunlop jerseys, leather strap helmets, huge tubes carried over the shoulder and some fantastic steel-frame bikes. The cycling itself was stunning, a mixture of coast and countryside, hills and flat and the most savage ribinou (the Breton version of the pavé). I think we passed ten puncture victims on one small stretch. Some of the paths were real bone-shaking stuff and, not having done all that much cycling this year, I was glad by the time we finished up that we hadn’t taken on the 120km version!
Afterwards, we headed down to Quimper, where local team Bretagne Schuller, were recovering after a 2nd place finish in the final stage of the Tour de Finistere that day, and were preparing for the Tro Bro Leon the following day. Part of our work was to follow Bretagne Schuller for race day and the buildup, and the scale of operation for a relatively small team (€4 mill budget) was an eye-opener. Their bikes are great-looking yokes, Austrian KTMs, with Dura Ace groupset, Ritchey componentry and Corima Wheels (although the front rims for the Tro Bro seemed to be Corima-branded Ambrosio Nemesis), with Michelin Pro Race 2 tyres.
We arrived in Lanallis at 10am the following day for the start of the race, the place mad busy. Emmanuel Hubert’s (directeur sportif) team talk to the Bretagne Schuller guys was straightforward: This is your race in your home region, we’re not looking for placings, we’re looking for a win. Outside, we grabbed a few words from Sebastian Hinault and Roman Feillu, as well as some guys from the Kelly Benefit team who had come over from the States. Everyone was chilled, everyone friendly and willing to give some time.
For the race itself, I was in the directeur sportif’s car, which was an experience. Hubert driving, me with camera in the front passenger seat, three mechanics and a rake of wheels in the back. Hubert set off before the race started, so as to intercept the race about 10km down the road. On the way, about five km from the start, we passed a rider from the BigMat team, going hard. Confusion in the Bretagne Schuller car. “Who’s he, is he racing today?” Team roster checked. “Yup, he’s racing.” “What the hell is he doing out here?”
Hubert pulled in and pulled down the window but yer man just flew past. We kept going and pulled in again. This time, he stopped and a classic conversation ensued:
BigMat guy: “When is the race starting?”
Hubert: “11:40”
BigMat guy: “What time is it now?”
Hubert: “11:40”
BigMat: “Where does it start?”
Hubert: “Lanallis”
BigMat: “Is that far away”
Hubert: “About 8km”
Big Mat: “Oh… oh merde”

The skillset needed to be a directeur sportif seems interesting. You must be able to drive very quickly across backroads so as to be ahead of the race at all times, until the point where you pull in and stand with the mechanics with spare wheels at the end of the rough sections. While driving quickly on narrow, windy roads, you must be able to (a) read team sheets and race maps, (b) have full conversations with the guys in the back of the car, and have those conversations while looking back at them as opposed to the road!

Getting ahead of the racing, pulling in and watching the intensity of the race as they passed was fantastic. Real blood and guts stuff. About halfway through the race, Padraic and I swapped cars, and I got into the assistant directeur sportif’s car, which was travelling in the peleton as opposed to ahead of it. After the relative calm of being ahead of the race, this second car was a complete change and a total eye-opener. My impression of the race to that point had been calm, fast racing on rough surface. All of a sudden, I was in the peleton, with guys coming off bikes, punctures everywhere, cars overtaking four abreast, a communication system of blowing the horn that I couldn’t decipher, debris on the road, cyclists flying past and around the cars, lads hanging on the rear of the car trying to get back into contention, some VERY sticky bottle assists and all on the craziest roads you’ve ever seen. Inside the car, however, was total calm. Roger, the directeur, was the most zen-like person I’d ever come across. No joking, chatting, laughing, this was serious stuff! The only time I heard him raise his voice was when one of team was tailing off near the end and complaining about how tough it was. He was promptly reminded of who he was, where he was and what his job was.
In the end, it was a bad day out for Bretagne Schuller. Despite having two guys in the break for much of the day, an FdeJ/Europcar combination managed to get away near the end, and Vincent Jerome of Europcar took the day, followed closely in second by Canadian champion, Will Routley, of Spider-Tech, who put in a huge solo effort to bridge the gap on the breakaway group just near the end. Speaking to him afterwards, he said he’d probably have nightmares for a week, as he reckoned he went for the sprint a fraction too early.

All in all, an amazing experience, will be on TG4 in a few weeks, not too sure yet when.

Done:
Route: Tro Bro Leon sportive
Distance: 37.32 miles (60.06km)
Time: 2:08:23
Average Speed: 17.4 mph (28kph)
Average/Max HR: 156/182
Personal Satisfaction: 10! (a great day out)
Weather: Warm enough for a farmer's tan...

ronanmac

Salthill 5k

Last year, I ran this race in 18:36 on what was a hilly course. This year, the course was changed, now flat as a pancake, but I knew before setting off that I was going to struggle… and so I did!

With no interval training done in a long time, the aim was to kick-start things again now that the hip flexor injury was manageable, plus there were a good few club members participating. This proved a distraction, as I was chatting away a bit down the field when we realised the race was about to start. I ran up to the front and tried to settle in at a manageable pace. Things were going reasonably well until the 2k mark, where I was beginning to find things a bit tough and asking myself what the f*ck I was doing in the race in the first place (I seem to have this conversation with myself at every 5k I do, at around the same point!)
At 3k, I began to stitch up and, almost immediately, I was passed by two guys I had taken at the 1km mark. At this stage, I was one of those runners with a big target mark on his back, slowing down, trying to keep going without being passed by a few dozen more. With about 1k left, another guy came up beside me and it was a tussle to try and stay ahead. I put in a bit of a spurt, hoping that I would look stronger than I was and that he’d back off! Didn’t work! He passed me with about 400 metres to go.

In the end, I finished in 19:23 and was happy to have it over with. It’s an eye-opener, but no surprise, how quickly things tail off once you stop doing speed work. Marie from the club took third place in the women’s race, rounding off a great few weeks for TríSpórt (five wins in five weeks, including a European duathlon gold!). It’s a new club, so it was nice to meet fellow members and have a chat. All in all, a lung-busting run on a beautiful evening in Salthill.

Route: Salthill 5k
Distance: 3.15 miles (+ .55 miles warmup)
Time: 19:29 / Chip Time: 19:23
Average Pace: 6:10
Splits (mile): 5:53, 6:12, 6:28, 6:00 (last .15 mile)
Average / Max HR: 182/189
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 10!
Personal Satisfaction: 6
Weather: Beautiful warm evening
Placing: 15th of 182: 8.24%


Earlier in the day, I decided to brave the sea for the first time this year, as the new wetsuit needed trying out! I headed down to Trá an Dóilín, a coral strand and the nearest beach to the house. Local lore suggests that the water at Dóilín is a bit colder than on the beaches on the other side of the peninsula, as two or three other bays flush through that particular bay and there is always a high water turnover. Whatever about temperature, there was a reasonably strong current in the bay, with the tide just after turning and coming in, when I headed into the water.
Despite the neoprene cap, it still felt like someone punched me in the forehead when I stuck my head in the water! Cold, but my god, what a difference a wetsuit makes! It felt great to be streamlined out in the water. After being used to following the black line at the bottom of the pool for the past few months, following kelp and wrasse made a bit of a change. I headed against the current up to the far side of the beach, before turning around and heading back. Even keeping relatively close to the shore, I could feel the work against the current (and things were much easier on the way back).
A short enough swim, it was more of an exploratory session than a training session. The water shouldn’t be long warming up from now on. The only other observation is that the goggles I have are grand for the pool, but necessitated a lot of stops and readjusts in the open water...

Done:
660 metres in 17:57

backspacer

Am maith déanta agat, bhí mé fhéin píosa maith taobh thiar dhaoibh(27:54) ach cheap mé go raibh an chuid lár den chúrsa sách deacar freisin. Go n-eireoidh leat le chuid eile den Bhliain Dhá Leath.

catweazle

Kudos on the man up swim. I am out in Ballnahinch Castle myself this weekend and Mrs C is adamant she is going to use the wetsuit i bought her two years ago for a swim in the lake there. Me being more experienced am a bit nervous in committing, you usually will not see me in the water till May.

I have the green light for that wetsuit too after much negotiation so hopefully I will get around to buying it this week

ronanmac

backspacer wrote: »

Am maith déanta agat, bhí mé fhéin píosa maith taobh thiar dhaoibh(27:54) ach cheap mé go raibh an chuid lár den chúrsa sách deacar freisin. Go n-eireoidh leat le chuid eile den Bhliain Dhá Leath.

Go raibh míle maith agat, ní bhuaileadh rud ar bith 5k chun na scamhóga a oscailt!

catweazle wrote: »

Kudos on the man up swim. I am out in Ballnahinch Castle myself this weekend and Mrs C is adamant she is going to use the wetsuit i bought her two years ago for a swim in the lake there. Me being more experienced am a bit nervous in committing, you usually will not see me in the water till May.

I have the green light for that wetsuit too after much negotiation so hopefully I will get around to buying it this week

Ballynahinch is fantastic, but I'm not sure I'd go for a dip... It doesn't seem like it's that long ago since I was there and the lake was frozen solid! There's a lake down by my house and it'd be a much handier swim venue than the sea, but those extra degrees all count when it's cold, cold cold!

ronanmac

Cycle yesterday, legs heavy after the 5k.

Route: Leitir Mealláin and back, via Casla
Distance: 48.77km
Time: 1:42:52
Average Speed: (28.4kph)
Average/Max HR: 152/171
Average Cadence: 86 rpm
Personal Exertion: 7
Personal Satisfaction: 6
Weather: Not too warm, a bit of a drizzle to finish

ronanmac

Thursday
AM
A run from hell! Perfectly straight-forward on the face of things, but felt so tired and lethargic, it was a real effort.

Route: House to trá & céibh an Dóilín, an Rinn and back
Distance: 8.37km (5.2 miles)
Time: 40:06 (including 6 x 30 sec fartlek)
Average Pace: 4:47 (7.43)
Average / Max HR: 165/183
Perceived Exertion (out of 10): 7
Personal Satisfaction: 3 (felt really, really sluggish)
Weather: Dry, cool

My wife and I headed back to Clifden afterwards, me being particularily poor "zombie" company. When we got home, I decided to head down to the lake near the house, Loch Chaladh Thadhg, to swim in it for the first time ever! It was cold and dark, with little but my arm to be seen in front of me, but almost the water was almost swimming-pool flat. My swim seemed to have been tracked the whole distance by two swans... they nest at the other side of the lake, they were probably keeping a watchful eye on the new species in the water!

The swim was more exploratory than workout but at least I have a rough idea of the length of the lake now.

Done:
710 metres in 14:50
(Looking at Garmin Connect Player, I'm noticing that it's rounding down considerably my swims. For example, the player showed Tuesday's swim as 850 metres but then rounded it down to 660 metres. I suspect because the 310xt is on the "Other" swim setting, and it reckons the watch is on my wrist instead of where it actually is (in my swim cap), and is compensating for when the watch is supposed to be underwater? )

YESTERDAY
Went for an acupuncture session yesterday morning, and felt much better afterwards, regarding energy levels.
Headed out on the bike for a short evening spin, bit of a strong breeze but felt like a good workout.

Route: Loop around Ros a'Mhíl
Distance: 27.22km (with 7 x 20sec intervals)
Time: 55:10
Average/Max Speed: 29.6/58.8kph
Average/Max HR: 158/202(!)
Average Cadence: 88 rpm
Personal Exertion: 7.5
Personal Satisfaction: 7
Weather: Strong breeze, a bit cool

Macanri

ronanmac wrote: »

Done:
710 metres in 14:50
(Looking at Garmin Connect Player, I'm noticing that it's rounding down considerably my swims. For example, the player showed Tuesday's swim as 850 metres but then rounded it down to 660 metres. I suspect because the 310xt is on the "Other" swim setting, and it reckons the watch is on my wrist instead of where it actually is (in my swim cap), and is compensating for when the watch is supposed to be underwater? )

Fair play on getting out onthose OW swims- how was the temp (after the big freeze I'ld imagine the lake temp is below other water masses). Nice time there too.

Re the GArmin - I don't have one but I would think that if the Garmin lost signal in the water it would pick it up again and 'draw' a line from where it last detected it. So I wouldn't think it would be compensating - but I don't know really - pure specualtion. Odd though the the watch is telling you it's one distance and Garmin Connect telling you it's a shorter distance. You would imagine Garmin connect is just relaying what the data coming from the watch? May be a question for the main forum - or Krusty megathread.

catweazle

710 in 14.50 is good going - its beginning to look like I wont beat you in the aquathons now either . I gave up on the Garmin in the OW - I swim out to a rock and back in Annaghdown pier, I dont think it ever returned the same distance in about ten tries

Izoard

Macanri wrote: »

Re the GArmin - I don't have one but I would think that if the Garmin lost signal in the water it would pick it up again and 'draw' a line from where it last detected it. So I wouldn't think it would be compensating - but I don't know really - pure specualtion. Odd though the the watch is telling you it's one distance and Garmin Connect telling you it's a shorter distance. You would imagine Garmin connect is just relaying what the data coming from the watch? May be a question for the main forum - or Krusty megathread.

Umm..Garmin goes loco when immersed in water..although I was pleasantly surprised to have recorded a "4.8km" swim at the Sperrin HIM in <30mins...a definite PB:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Are you just wearing the watch on your wrist? I have a 305 garmin and i am a chicken to head out with it in the water as it is not fully water resistant.

BrokenMan

Just catching up on your log ronan, good to see you seem to have the injuries in hand and are back at it again. Can't add anythng on your swimming I'm afraid. i swim like a hammer with a lead weight attached. Actually can;t add much on your running either cause you are so much faster than I can even dream of

ronanmac

Macanri wrote: »

Fair play on getting out onthose OW swims- how was the temp (after the big freeze I'ld imagine the lake temp is below other water masses).

Cold! Don't know what the temperature is, but I'm wearing a neoprene swimcap and my head is still freezing for the first 200 metres or so. I reckon it just goes numb after that...

Macanri wrote: »

Re the GArmin - I don't have one but I would think that if the Garmin lost signal in the water it would pick it up again and 'draw' a line from where it last detected it. So I wouldn't think it would be compensating - but I don't know really - pure specualtion. Odd though the the watch is telling you it's one distance and Garmin Connect telling you it's a shorter distance.

Part of the problem is that I had the Garmin on the Other setting, which is open water setting, but which presumes that you are wearing your watch on your wrist, and therefore reads the lost signal into the overall time and works out an approximate distance.
I was wearing the watch under my swim cap, however, but in Other mode. In order to put it right, and to find out a straightforward distance travelled without any weird post-event computations (!), I put it in Bike mode for my next swim. I forgot, however, to take it off Autopause, and my swim speed of something approaching 0mph meant the watch stayed on autopause for most of the swim, giving me a total distance swum of .14 metres (I estimate 1200metres but who am I to question Garmin:rolleyes:)

catweazle wrote: »

710 in 14.50 is good going - its beginning to look like I wont beat you in the aquathons now either . I gave up on the Garmin in the OW - I swim out to a rock and back in Annaghdown pier, I dont think it ever returned the same distance in about ten tries

Your aquathon victories are safe. Looking back at it, there's no way I have the swimming in me to do 710 metres in 14.50. I'll just have to figure out the lake distances beforehand and put down some buoys instead of depending on the Garmin.

Izoard wrote: »

Umm..Garmin goes loco when immersed in water..although I was pleasantly surprised to have recorded a "4.8km" swim at the Sperrin HIM in <30mins...a definite PB:)

Selah Early Seller wrote: »

Are you just wearing the watch on your wrist? I have a 305 garmin and i am a chicken to head out with it in the water as it is not fully water resistant.

The watch isn't being immersed in water, as it's in my swim cap (at least it shouldn't be...). I should have a more accurate reading in Bike mode (minus autopause) next time out.

BrokenMan wrote: »

Just catching up on your log ronan, good to see you seem to have the injuries in hand and are back at it again. Can't add anythng on your swimming I'm afraid. i swim like a hammer with a lead weight attached. Actually can;t add much on your running either cause you are so much faster than I can even dream of

I don't think there's that much between our running BrokenMan, and you look like you're catching up fast! Injuries have pretty much cleared up, some minor strain on the bike but nothing that can't be trained through. I thought for a while I'd never see the end of it! Feels good to be able to do what I had intended to do...

ronanmac

Saturday:
AM
A gentle run, with some shore running thrown in to strengthen those ankles!

Route: House to trá & céibh an Dóilín, Tismeáin to Rinn and back
Distance: 12.11km (7.52 miles)
Time: 1:00:00
Average Pace: 4:57
Average / Max HR: 157/171
Personal Satisfaction: 7 (a few light-headed moments but a nice run)
Weather: Warm

PM
Swimming in the lake, bloody cold on the head, had the watch set on bike to give a more accurate distance but forgot to take it off autopause so no distance logged instead!
Done:
1200 metres approx

Sunday
Went for a cycle back to Loch Conaortha, the objective being to stay in zone 3 or under. Nice bike ride, met some people I knew while heading back so there was no fear of hitting high HR zones with them! We jumped in with a crowd from Galway Bay cycling club before they turned left for town and we turned right for home. Brought out the road bike, it feeling neglected since the shiny new aero yoke arrived in town!

Route: Loch Conaortha and back
Distance: 52.63km
Time: 1:56:31
Average/Max Speed: 27.1/50.8kph
Average/Max HR: 139/73
Personal Exertion: 5
Personal Satisfaction: 7
Weather: Cool to start out with but warmed up nicely after a while

That was the first time I've done nine sessions in a week, and the first week of my HIM training plan. That said, the swims were token, rather than training sessions. The runs seem a bit soft so will probably switch to the Furman half plan next week. Cycling, I'm not sure, but I've plenty of work to do and it's pretty much at my level at the moment.

TUESDAY
Working in Donegal yesterday, stopped off in Donegal town on the way up, and a friendly gym manager allowed me to use the shower post-run. Beautiful run up the back-roads of the Bluestack Mountains. Nothing beats running new routes!

Route: Back roads around Donegal town
Distance: 9.15km (with 8 x 30 sec fartlek)
Time: 42:31
Average Pace: 4:38
Personal Exertion: 8
Weather: Very warm

Was down from Donegal relatively early, so I could stop off at the pool for a session before heading home. First time in a long time in the pool, and it felt really tough!
Done:
300 wu
8 x 25 drills
3 x 100
8 x 25 kicking
300 cd
Total: 1300m

Micilin Muc

I wouldn't mind having the opportunity to do a midweek run in the Bluestacks!

pgibbo

You're tipping away nicely Ronan. And on here damn early too!

Did I see your name on the Salthill 5k results in the top 15? Well done

ronanmac

pgibbo wrote: »

You're tipping away nicely Ronan. And on here damn early too!

Did I see your name on the Salthill 5k results in the top 15? Well done

Yeah, ok result but a bit of a sufferfest race as the absence of intervals and speedwork made itself known!

ronanmac

Short cycle shoehorned into work day, as I wasn't able to go out this morning due to work commitments, and this evening is out also...


Route: Ros a Mhíl loop
Distance: 26.9km
Time: 51:10
Average/Max Speed: 31.5/55kph
Average/Max HR: 153/168
Personal Exertion: 7
Personal Satisfaction: 7
Weather: Warm and a very slight breeze. Perfect day, but time to bring out the factor 20...

pgibbo

Your Tour event is very well advertised. Nice posters too. Hope it goes well