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Bliain Faoi Thrí
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I don't know Lorcán well, but I do know him. A strong swimmer, it seems, as well as being a very good footballer! I didn't realise you were a footballer yourself, catweazle?
That Tommy is good cyclist, watching him climb past me at a steady consistent pace was both impressive and annoying!
You still doing Cope on Sunday?
Lol thinking of backing out of Cope now that you are thinking of doing it, my fragile ego cant handle any more beatings from you
But yeah I am in for it - the cycle can be a bit of a lottery with traffic but with the reduction from Seb I thought it was a fair price
I wasn't a bad footballer up till minor level, but as with many a city player, the bright lights of Rumours, Baywatch, Oasis, The Castle and the Warwick overcame me0 -
Lol thinking of backing out of Cope now that you are thinking of doing it, my fragile ego cant handle any more beatings from you
But yeah I am in for it - the cycle can be a bit of a lottery with traffic but with the reduction from Seb I thought it was a fair price
I wasn't a bad footballer up till minor level, but as with many a city player, the bright lights of Rumours, Baywatch, Oasis, The Castle and the Warwick overcame me
I suspect your training so far this year might just protect that ego! I suspect your swim time will see some improvement on 2010's times.
The price is putting me off a bit (no reduction!), but I might just bite the bullet.
Finally, a decent explanation as to why city football clubs aren't stronger. The lure of Salthill nightclubs!0 -
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As much as I had been looking forward to last week's race in Louisburgh, I was in no mood for this one by the time Friday came around. I had a sharp pain coming up my left heel and the outside of my foot, and just walking was leaving me drained and irritable.
Sunday morning, I got up, applied some ibuprofen gel, some Deep Freeze spray and took two Neurofens. One large coffee topped up by two espressos and I was on my way into Galway, in a slightly more chipper mood! Coming into transition, I met Catweazle, my despicable arch-nemesis... I noticed El D's bike in prime position on the racks and he came over later, looking leaner and fitter every time I see him.
By the time the race was ready to start, the weather was just nasty. Windy, cold and wet, it was little surprise that the water seemed warm after hanging around in what passes for an Irish summer. Following last week, my plan for this race was to give an honest account of myself in the swim and see what happened after that. The first 100 metres or so went okay, after that, it just felt like a nightmare. I couldn’t get my breathing going at all, my chest was feeling constricted, I felt weak.... basically, my body and my brain were giving me every excuse to pull out and I was giving it serious consideration. I stuck my head up to get my bearings and after a brief breast-stroke break, I headed off again. It took me a while to figure out that abandoning the bilateral breathing would help, as I seemed to need more breaths than usual. Once I started breathing on every second stroke, things settled down and I concentrated on getting through the waves and onto the beach. Remarkably, five of us from the club were getting out of the water at the exact same time!
Swim Time: 15:43 (55/183, 30%)
I’m under no illusions about my swim, and disappointed with my feeble lack of manliness:o;)! I’ve the small matter of the 1.9k swim coming up as part of the half-ironman in September and feeling tired after 100 metres doesn’t bode well. This being my first year, I’m abandoning any pretension of speed, it’s a case now of distance and comfort in the water, and heading away for holidays in a fortnight should give me plenty of opportunity to get into the water and start getting ready.
T1: 1:03
A bit of a struggle getting the right leg out of the suit, and the cold made closing the helmet buckle awkward.
I had decided that I’d give the “leap of faith” a try for the first time at this race, and it worked well, getting away on the bike quicker than normal (and sticking my feet into a pair of shoes that had about five millimeters of water in them!
By the time I was coming to Knocknacarra Cross, I could see a Predator trisuit ahead on a red bike. Could it be? Sure enough, Catweazle. “Well, f*ck you”, he said rather unsportingly as I passed. I can’t remember what I said back but I believe that it was a cordial and encouraging remark.
About two kilometres up the road, I had the pleasure of returning the “f*ck you” as he passed me, but I was buoyed up by his jolly words of encouragement and kindness in return
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We came to the half-way turnaround at the same time, and using a time-honoured currach racing technique, I cut him off on the inside and following a mutually appreciative conversation, put the head down and headed into the wind against the drag.
I had the cycle figured out in my head before the race: put in the work against the wind heading out, and power home with the wind at your back. Mother Nature decided to break with her Conamara south-westerly tradition, however, and the strong north-easterly made it heavy weather all the way home.
Bike Time: 37:29 (26/183, 14.2%)
Overall, I was pleased with the bike, it’s the one place where I can definitely see some good improvement so far this year. I always seem to lose a place or two on the drags against the wind, but I think that the solution to that lies in some long winter cycling.
T2: 1:11
I jumped off the bike in my bare feet to the oddest sensation. It felt like the cleats were attached to my feet. I didn't know for a second or two if I was imagining it or not, but I could feel the shape of them on the ground under me. It seemed to take an age to pull the wet runners on, and as I headed out of T2, I wasn’t even sure I had pulled them on correctly. My feet felt so weird!
I started off steady in the run, passing a few, but looking at my watch, the pace was slow against the wind, hovering between high 6 and low 7 minute miles. I was closing on a guy from Ennis Tri Club, and although we were going pretty much the same pace, I said “f*ck it, it’s a race” and went by him. His reaction was to up his pace straight away and stay right on my shoulder. Goddam it, I couldn’t let him pass and the both of us started putting work into the run. At the turnaround on Nimmo’s Pier, we had the wind at our backs, and I picked up the pace. So did he. We were running strongly and passing people, with the watch reading sub 6 every time I looked down. It felt great, no stitch, no cramp, just good running. After we came off a gravel loop and back onto the prom, I upped the pace a little bit more and saw that he didn’t react. Homeward bound for the last kilometre, the first run I had enjoyed in a while!
Run Time: 20:08 (12/183, 6.6%)
A wee bit surprised and annoyed I hadn’t come under the 20 minutes, but I suppose it was the taking it handy against the wind that let me have a strong second half of the run.
Overall Time: 1:15:34 (13/183, 7.1%)
Overall, I was delighted with the race and my result. A truer reflection than the fourth place last week, and I am very pleased that I’m finishing in the top 10 per cent despite the swim.
Nice to meet Catweazle, Amphkingwest and El D, who put in a fantastic race for a hard-earned third among a pretty competitive field.
The race was well-organised and well-marshalled, strangely enjoyable and horrendous at the same time!0 -
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I was very disappointed with myself, I had a good 5 minutes of slowly catching you on the bike to come up with a more deflating and cutting line than "getting tired Ronan"
Nothing wrong with that swim time - I dont know what Louisburgh was like but I found that tough. I reckon with Salthill being a coastal spot the standard of swimmers there is usually quite decent. Theres a time and a place for bilateral breathing and that race wasn't it
I found last year at Swinford that the more relaxed approach I took to the swim as it was such a long distance helped me, I ended up caning the last 200-300 metres of that race as I had plenty left in me. It ended up being my best swim of the year0 -
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I'm no longer signing up for Swinford as a relay team. Instead, I'm heading up to Mayo, parking the car and I'm going to wait for you to pass by so that I can heckle you...I was very disappointed with myself, I had a good 5 minutes of slowly catching you on the bike to come up with a more deflating and cutting line than "getting tired Ronan"El Director wrote: »Well done yesterday dude. Your biking is coming on for sure. I use bi-lat breathing in the pool on handy sets but other than that racing == every second stroke and hard training sets too.
What's your next race dude?
Cheers El D. I've a lot to figure out on the swim front yet. Not sure what my next race is, heading off for some warm weather training soon (aka holidays). I have to step up to Olympic distance at some stage before the HIM, so that could be Brian Boru, who are putting on an Olympic this year as well as the sprint. Might do the Annaghdown Summer Solstice 10k next week before heading off on holidays, I have a 47 minute 10k PB that needs correcting 0 -
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Nice one ! Your thinking on the swim does not seem to gel with the results - you still well up there. Sounds like a good recovery from a rocky start.
Your RR are starting to stand out for their inclusion of ...eh... human drama. I'm starting to see a tri based soap opera.
Was talking to a guy who is considering FURST for his first marathon. He thinks it might help him avoid injury. Not sure about this as the runs involved seemed pretty brutal to me. I know you used it.0 -
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Nice one ! Your thinking on the swim does not seem to gel with the results - you still well up there. Sounds like a good recovery from a rocky start.
Your RR are starting to stand out for their inclusion of ...eh... human drama. I'm starting to see a tri based soap opera.
Was talking to a guy who is considering FURST for his first marathon. He thinks it might help him avoid injury. Not sure about this as the runs involved seemed pretty brutal to me. I know you used it.
I have to use the human drama to spice up my race reports, seeing as I don't have the Lincoln Tunnel and Central Park as a backdrop!
As for Furman FIRST, some of the workouts are definitely pacey, but it's only three days a week, perfect for the time-strapped/lazy/easily injured (I ticked all three boxes...). I think the highest mileage week I had for DCM last year was 32 or 34 miles. If he's prone to injury, this is definitely easier on the body.I'll say hello if I see you there. Are you still wearing the infamous shoes?
I actually relegated those subtle shoes to lawnmower-wear this week, as I was beginning to get a few niggles from them. Replaced them today with a pair of day-glo green Sauconys. If you don't see me at Annaghdown, it's because your retinas have been burnt out by my new runners!0 -
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Thursday PM
Short club run, nice turnout, was to do intervals the following morning so took it handy.
Route: Indreabhán loop
Distance: 4.63km
Time: 22:43
Average Pace: 4:54 (min/km)
Ave/Max Heart: 150/170
Weather: Warm and dry, pretty strong south-westerly breeze
Friday
Nothing
. Set the alarm for 5:45. A mixture of lethargy and an ill-tempered two year old who had climbed into the bed in the middle of the night left me tired and cranky. Kept postponing sessions as the day went on, knowing in my heart of hearts that it wasn't going to happen.
Saturday
Hadn't done a decent run in ages, barely going over six miles in any run. Went out for 10, finished up with 11. No problem with the distance but tired afterwards.
Route: Home to Tismeáin to Gleann Mór to Poinnte and home
Distance: 17.86km
Time: 1:22:26
Average Pace: 4:36 (min/km)
Ave/Max Heart: 157/201?
Weather: Breezy but dry (seems to be a lot of breezy days this summer)
Sunday
Met up with my cousin down at Trá an Dóilín for a mixed session. Nice day. Started well with a Father's Day present of prescription transition Oakley sunglasses!
Swim:
Trá an Dóilín, lovely beach but the water is always a tad colder than the beaches on the other side of the penninsula due to the amount of water flushing through Greatman's Bay. Nice swim, though, the coral sand makes for great visibility. The cousin is much stronger than me on the swim, he tore away quite easily on the return leg.
Done: 940 metres
Bike:
Through on some shoes and a tshirt inside the trisuit, and headed off on the bikes. Back ceantar na nOileán, moderate breeze, nothing too hectic. It was great to be cycling with someone, no slacking allowed!
Route: Fuirnis, Cladhnach and back
Distance: 51.7km
Time: 1:45:33
Ave Speed: 29.4 kph
Ave/Max Heart: 148/169
Weather: Dry, warm, light breeze
Run:
Got back to Trá an Dóilín and threw the bikes in the cousin's van. His "weakness" is his run, apparently (his swimming seems good and he has a strong biking background). We did a short run, more as a brick session than a run, and on a b*tch of a hilly course. No sign of run weakness on his part, though!
Route: Trá an Dóilín loop, via Caladh Thadhg
Distance: 4.64km
Time: 20:01
Average Pace: 4:01 (min/km)
Ave/Max Heart: 161/173
All in all, a really nice day!0 -
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Enjoy the holiday. Man, you get some amount of holidays in!
Ah, now! Twice in a year and the first was an in-law's birthday trip! It means I have to stay local for my A race, instead of disguising jaunts to Barcelona as races
A good holiday, delighted to be back to our fine temperate climate of low winds and a steady 24 degrees centigrade :rolleyes:0 -
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