Following Mr. Fink to Copenhagen

metal dog

griffin100 wrote: »

Good luck with the next phase.............

thanks a lot - looking back at my post from yesterday I realise i was a bit wrecked writing it and lacking proper perspective. Things are basically on track and going well. And i am enjoying it (mainly).

interested

metal dog wrote: »

My main concerns are that I have not being doing enough even though I have basically done what is in the plan and even a bit more here and there.

These concerns are likely to stay with you all along the road so to speak. You've done a really good 10 weeks base period imho.

metal dog

WEEK 11 (w/e 28/3)

This the first week in the second 10 week phase in the Don Fink 'competitive' 30 week plan - The objective of this phase is to build power and speed as distances also gradually increase. In contrast to the first phase, which was all supposed to be done at lowish z1-z2 heart rate zones, this phase starts to introduce segments of higher pace training, mainly by injecting it as 'pick ups' into the middle of otherwise z2 sessions, so that you are into or approaching z4.

I am not exactly sure what the rationale for this approach is but I suppose it is an alternative to a single heavy interval session - which in my experience leaves me pretty wrecked for at least the next day and inclined not to do anything & certainly nothing else on the same day.

Monday - rest day, stretching and core exercises

Tuesday AM - run before work for one hour, with insertion after 12 minutes running of 5x(1 minute fast, 1 minute jog). After which back to steady z2 for the rest of the hour. Covered about 11k in total. Found the fast segment hard at first but got into the swing of it. Took a while to cool down but overall ahr still 143. Peaked at 163hr.

Swim in the PM - 2250m total, 250 wup, 12x25m off 30sec, 5x100 off 1:35 (yikes!), 50 easy, 10x50m sprints, off 1:15, 50 easy, 2x(6x25 off 40sec 2 breaths, 50m easy), 8x25m IM order easy. Lots of pace emphasis in this set again this week. Probably not what I am supposed to be doing in the pool at this stage but good nevertheless.

Wednesday One hour 15 on the turbo mainly at z2 but after 15 minutes 5x( 1minute fast, 1 minute spinning easy). Same idea as the run on Tuesday. Heart rate went up to 166bpm

Thursday

Left work a bit early and went for one hour run at z2 pace but with 5x(1 minute fast, 1 minute jog) - like earlier in the week at 30 minutes. Felt pretty good. Avg hr 145 - but got it up to 171.

Later that pm went for swim with club, long set - 2800m, 400 wup, 3x100 off 1:50, 3x200 off 3:40, 3x200 off 5:30, 3x200 off 3:40. Not great pace bu slogged it out, possibly a bit tired after the run.

Friday

Brick - 45min turbo, 30 minutes run, all pretty easy z2 pace. Felt good after this.

Saturday

Out on the bike for 9 laps of the phoenix park. Left it late getting out and this just seemed more appealing than the main roads on a saturday afternoon. Did 4 hours and about 106k there and back. I was glad to get the time done but speed was not great and the park is probably not ideal for this kind of thing, too many speed bumps, and I really felt the wind going up past the magazine fort.

Sunday

am - 2k Rush open water swim - FREEZING FOR FIRST FIVE MINUTES - almost thought i was going to have to get out my breathing was so all over the place.But once i settled down it was a nice swim, lovely set up out in Rush and all for a good cause - RNLI - which probably makes it the safest swim going, they are not gonna leave someone drown at their own charity event after all ! . Dont know how long it took , maybe 20-25 minutes ? Couple of people from the club there - including mr interested - who sped off into the distance from the start needless to say:eek:

Pm- run 1 hour 15 minutes, tired and ate too much after the swim - ahr 148bpm

Totals - Run 3:45, Bike 6:00, Swim 2:25

Thoughts - the small bits of pace made things a bit more interesting - as did swimming in the sea - i skipped a small second brick on the saturday and another 30 minutes high rev on the bike but dont feel too bad about it really. Looking forward to the longer evenings now and getting out for more time on the real bike....

metal dog

WEEK 12 (W/E 4/04)

Not a good week on the getting up early front, need to refocus on that.
Supposed to be a stepback week, but no need to get carried away.

Monday - rest - no stetching, nothing

Tuesday - swim pm - 2350m in total -400 wup, 10x25 off 30sec, 10x75 off 1:20, 50 easy, 16x25 IM order off 40sec, 8x50 off 55, 100 easy

Wednesday - stuck at home waiting for a gas guy to show up so ran at lunchtime - 45 min z2 with 5 minutes z4 after 12 minutes. PM - One hour bike turbo, z2, 5 minutes z4 at 15 minutes

Thursday -run One hour at z2 with 5 minutes z4 after 35 minutes. This went well. It averaged out at 5minute kms and ahr of 145.

PM - swim with tri club, good hard set, 400 wup, 3x200 off 3:30, 3x50m sprint off 1:15, 3x150 off 2:30, same sprints, 3x100 off 1:45, same sprints again. Kept the sprints in at 36 secs or so and good solid times on the other sets as well.

Friday - finally faced up to a straight 3000m swim, these feature in the fink plan but I have not really being doing them for logistical reasons, mainly because i prefer swimming witih a group. Was down in Galway for the weekend so went into the NUIG pool and did 3000 straight - came in on 46/47minutes which I was very happy with.

Saturday - cycled out to Maam Cross from Oranmore and back, about 105k, roughly 4 hours, windy and wet but felt pretty ok throughout.

Sunday - Run 1hour 15 minutes, nice quiet roads near Oranmore, ahr 145,bit over 14k

Totals Swim - 3:00, Run 3:00, Bike 5:00

Thoughts - step back week so a bit less overall and I have skipped a few brick sessions that are in the plan which i will remedy over the next few weeks. Other than that I am pretty happy that I am making steady progress.

griffin100

Friday - finally faced up to a straight 3000m swim, these feature in the fink plan but I have not really being doing them for logistical reasons, mainly because i prefer swimming witih a group. Was down in Galway for the weekend so went into the NUIG pool and did 3000 straight - came in on 46/47minutes which I was very happy with.

Well done, I got a huge confidence boost out of being able to swim 3,000m the first time, although it takes me around the same time to do 2,000m as it takes you to do 3,000m:D Do you have an IM swim time in mind?

metal dog

griffin100 wrote: »

Well done, I got a huge confidence boost out of being able to swim 3,000m the first time, although it takes me around the same time to do 2,000m as it takes you to do 3,000m:D Do you have an IM swim time in mind?

thanks - i suppose that somewhere between one hour and one hour and 5 should be doable, depending on the conditions but no point in killing myself on the swim just for the sake of 2 or 3 minutes.

whole weather situation is a bit of a drag at the moment

metal dog

WEEK 13 (w/ending 11/4)

The weeks are ticking off relentlessly now, starting to think about logisitics. Going to get a proper bike fitting at Irishfit during the week. The aim is to see if I can get a comfortable set up with tri bars. I have never really used them. I think the bike stem might be too long as well.


Monday - rest day, stretching

Tuesday - 45 minutes run at luncthime, z2 , with 4 x( 3 minutes z4, 3 minutes jog). Tuesday pm swim 2650m total - 400 wup, 10x25 off 30sec, 2x (6x50 off .55, 4x75m off 1:20, 2x100 off 1:45, 100 easy), 8x25 'B' stroke off 45 sec

Wed - Turbo brick in the pm - 45 minutes bike, 15 minutes run

Thursday - Had to miss my regular swim so went for a swim at lunchtime in Markiewicz pool. 2100m total, no real shape, just did 5x400m fairly steady with about 30 second rest bw each. 100 easy. Slightly aimless but better than missing a set in total.

PM - One hour run z2 but with 5 minutes z4 at 40 minutes. These little pick ups in pace compensate slightly for the fact that i am not doing any
proper run internval training - the only problem is that I end up sweating a bucket at the end of the 5 minutes or whatever and then have to finish
the run looking like i am not fit enought to be able to jog along at an
easy pace. Vanity thy name is middle age man.

Friday

PM - One hour turbo at z2 , after 15 minutes 2 x (5 minutes z4, 3 mins spin). Really enjoyed this.

Saturday - woke up with (a) a hangover and (b) a headcold. Pretty sure the headcold came from not wearing a coat to work on Friday ( i do this every year as soon as there is even a hint of summer). And certain the hangover came from heineken during and after watching leinster. Struggled to get to the pool to do usual master pace session. Fortunately a few of the others were in the same boat hangover wise and I felt ok afterwards.

PM - 1 hour 15 easy run, only felt tired towards the end, timed to get back for Munster game. Postponed alcohol until later in the evening though.

Sunday - 4 hours bike out to Trim and back 107k. Lovely weather but head cold not helping. Although average pace was only 27kph, for lots of this I was in or around 30kph. And I felt it, borderline bonking the whole time. In the Fink plan this should have been a 3hr cycle with a half hour run but I wanted to get the time in on the bike. I promise to do a proper brick next week, honest !

Totals Swim 2:50, Run 3:15, Bike 5:45

Thoughts

Once i had recoved from the bike on sunday, i was pretty happy that I seem to be picking up the pace a bit. I have postponed time targetting until I have enough training done to be realistic about what I can do on the bike. But pretty soon I am going to have to nail my colours to the mast bike wise.:eek:

And yes, i need to do some more bricks.

metal dog

WEEK 14 !! (w/e 18/04)


Logistics pushing ahead, flights and hotel booked. So we are going to Copenhagen on a 'holiday' one way or the other now !

Monday - rest day, still had a headcold from the weekend. Since it was only a head cold and not in my chest I just pressed on and packed up on berocca and neurofen cold and flu

Tuesday - run after work - one hour, just over 12k ahr too high at 148 but might also have been the cold. This was supposed have some z4 bits in it but i did not feel I would be up to it with the cold but ended up running an overall steady pace faster than I have done in a while without really feeling any pressure.

later that pm - masters swim - arrived late because of some messing with parking so didnt really get in a proper warm up 2100 total- 100 wup, 3x (2x200 off 3:30, 4x50 off 1:00 fast, 50 easy), 50 cool down. Did the 200s much too fast - some were on 2:50/2:55 so didn't really swim the 50s fast.

Wednesday - still had the cold, yawn. Brick 45 mins turbo, 30 mins run. pretty solid.

Thursday - went for a bike fitting - as i think i have always suspected, the stem on my bike is too short which is why i am so stretched, even when i am just on the hoods. Saddle height needed to go up as well. Also some
useful feedback on pedal stroke and some more stretches to do of course.

pm -swim - 2250 total. 450m wup, 3x(4x100) off 1:55, 1:45 and then 1:40 followed by 50 easy and then 4x100 off 1:35 and then 50 easy. Very please with this. Kept the 100s steady at 1:30 and under 1:30 for the last set. 4x25m sprints.

Missed a run today but not going to get stressed about it.

Friday

one hour bike turbo at z2 but after 15 minutes 3x(5 mins z4, 3min easy). I find it hard to really get up to z4 on the bike but still went flat out. I think i am wearing out the turbo tyre because there are bits of tyre falling all over the floor whenever i pick up the pace. This may have more to do with the turbo not being set up properly than a sign of extreme cycling strength

Saturday
Some of the other guys from the club doing copenhagen were meeting up to do a long brick so i headed out early to the NAC and we did a straight 3k swim (48/49mins - bit slower than last one of these but i was taking it pretty easy and 50m pool always takes longer anyway). Then we cycled out to Slane - road was in rag order all the way out, bit better on the return. Very solid pace - 86k, 27.6kph. Finally we did a 30 min run 'off the bike' - by which i mean, after stretching, rehydrating and nattering for a bit.

All in all a really great morning's training. Very good for confidence. Helped that the weather was good of course. Felt wonderfully self righteous for the rest of the day. So much endorphins i even found the Xfactor amusing ! Or maybe it was the Erdinger.

Sunday

30 mins turbo high rev. - these sessions are in the build phase of the Fink plan but i had not bothered so far. Not sure what the point is. They get longer over the weeks. Might be a quasi brick since the long run is on the same day.

In the pm - long steady run for 1 hour 30 - 17.6k

Totals Swim 2:50, Run 3:30, Bike 5:15

Thoughts

Writing this on Sunday evenining i feel pretty wrecked but think i have done an ok week, even though the hours are low. Headcold hung around for most of the week which was more annoying than anything else but still managed to get most of my sesssions done, and Saturday was definitely a success. Next priority is to get the bike sorted out with a new stem and down on the tri bars hopefully.

RedB

Well done metal dog - great to see it all coming together. Get your rest / sleep in and keep up the good work.

metal dog

WEEK 15 (w/ending 25/4)

Half way through the Fink programme, half way through the build phase and just under 4 months to the event. I have been reading ahead and it is starting to look pretty scary (maybe I should have done the reading first but i have generally just been reading one week at a time )

Monday - rest as usual, some stretching. Cold from last week total cleared up

Tuesday - Run in the am - One hour at z2, at 12 minutes 2x (4.5 mins z4, 1.5 mins jog).

In the PM swim 2350m - 400m wup, 10x25m off 30sec, 2x (5x100 off 2mins sprinting, 8x25 15bmins fast 10 easy, 100 easy). Hard set, probably totally inappropriate in terms of heart rate for what I am training for. Got some fast 100s in there - 1:20 and just under.

Wednesday - Brick, 45 minutes turbo, 30 minutes run. Even on the turbo I much prefer the new bike set up.

Thursday Ran after work - one hour, z2 , at 40 minutes 7.5 z4, then easy for rest of 60 minutes. Later that pm swim - 400 wup then a whole bunch of 50m drills, followed by 10 x 50 m off 50 sec and 6 x50 off 45 sec, i could
only make 4 of the last 50s.

Friday - swam at lunch 2800m - straight 7x400m with 30-40sec b/w each, fairly relaxed pace

Saturday - Out in the am for another long brick - 3:20 on the bike average 28.7kph, first two hours covered 60k fastest i have gone on the bike over a long distance. Could not have kept going at this pace though. Then 30 minutes run off the bike.

Sunday 45 minutes high (100 ish) rev on the turbo. Long run in the evening 1 hour 30.

Totals Swim 3:00, Run 4:30, Bike 5:50

Thoughts This is building up alright. This is the most running i have done in a long while. Starting to exhibit unusual food cravings - like those strawberry milk drink things. I am finding it hard to make time to sort out some basic bike stuff (including cleaning the chain properly and practicing tyre repair) but will have to fit it in somehow.:)

Izoard

I guess this is what proper adhering to the Fink plan looks like:)

Nice building going on here...!

metal dog

WEEK 16 (w/e 2/5)

Now that the race season has well and truly arrived it is a bit strange not to be traipsing around from event to event. But there is also something appealing about just focusing on the one event. I will do 2 Olympics I think - Athy & Galway probably just to shake out the cobwebs. Ideally I should also do a half but the best option (Sperrin) doesn't suit date wise from the point of view of travelling and overnighting & cost. The other half (Humbert) is too close to Copenhagen. I will probably do a 'simulation' half with some of the other guys at some point.

Monday - rest, stretching

Tuesday One hour run at z2 with 5x3 mins z4, this was a bit of a joke because all of the z4 bits were going into a headwind. It might have been
z4 but it didn't look like it ! Swim in the pm 2000m, 300m wup, 12x50m off
1:00, 5x150 of 2:30, 4x50m IM order, 3x50m sprints

Wednesday - One hour on the turbo, z2 - supposed to be a mini brick session but my legs had felt a bit strained the day before so i left it out

Thursday - One hour run at z2 with 8 mins z4 after 10 minutes - this went
well. Swim set with the club was 350 wup, 4 x100 kick (yuck) and then
sprints - 5 x50m which i was able to hold on 35 secs and under and then a 100 on 1:18. Completely wrecked - combination of the set and the run earlier.

Friday - went for a swim at lunchtime - did 3x400m with 30 or so seconds
rest, then the lane emptied out and myself and this other guy did some 200s - 8x200 off 3:30 so 2800m total

pm - supposed to do one hour on the turbo with some z4 bits thrown in but my turbo set up is the back yard and is started to lash rain which was annoying but then it got the turbo wheel so wet it was no longer engaging properly and i called it a night after 30 minutes

Saturday - cycled out to Slane again, this time straight from home. Did 4 hours about 108k. I like heading straight from home because it makes good use of time the only problem if that there is a lot of faffing about at traffic lights on the first and last 10-15 minutes of the ride, which brings down average speed. Also got completely saturated. Did a quick change and then 30 minutes run. Didnt feel wrecked at all, but that might have been because of the relatively slower pace on the bike. Also i have gotten some of the high 5 4:1 drink that they will have a copenhagen and concentrating on actually drinking more frequently on the bike, still not drinking enough but getting better at it.

Sunday - 45 minutes turbo high revs, long run in the pm - 1 hour 30

Totals - swim 3:00, bike 6:15, run 4:00

Thoughts This actually felt a bit easier this week, which might be a good sign but also suggests i need to push it on a bit on the bike especailly.

metal dog

WEEK 17 (w/e 9/5)


Monday - 'rest' day - took an opportunity to tackle some remedial garden maintenance issues, bloody stuff keeps growing;)

Tuesday - run in the pm - 1 hour z2, with 4x (6 mins z4, 3mins jog). Missed my usual swim cos i had a meeting.

Wed - swam at lunchtime -2400m total - 200 wup, 5x400m with 30 secs rest, 200 easy. Usual brick in the evening 45 mins turbo, 30 mins easy run.

Thursday - run -one hour was supposed to have some z4 in there but my legs were a bit niggly so held back. Swim with the club, 1950 total .400 wup, 6x75 kick, 5x200 pull off 3:40, 100 easy, 25m sprint. This was a bit short.

Friday - supposed to swim at lunchtime but pool closed. Turbo in the pm, 1 hour 15 with 4x5 mins z4ish.

Saturday am. Did a long brick from the NAC, 4 hours bike. Knew straight away that it was not gonna be my morning, maybe i had stayed up too late or it was the turbo the night before but i suffered all the way out the road to Slane. Very blustery. Almost chucked my bike in the ditch on the road to Ardee. The plan had been to try to work on the tri bars now that i have the stem and position sorted but it was so blustery i didnt feel confident enough. Better on the way back but still didnt have the confidence on the bars. Scumbags in souped up cars overtaking each other at accident blackspots didnt help. Then 30 mins off the bike which actually felt fine, i am feeling quite good about running off the bike at this stage.

Sunday - Cycled out to Howth in the am (1hour 15) - I took advantage of the bike path to try to build up confidence on the bars and felt a lot better for it after. Also managed to go up and down howth without getting out of the saddle which i know is not the fastest way to to do it and a bit sad but pretty sure i could not have done that 4 monhts ago:) I guess you have to take the small wins along the way.

Later on Mr. Fink took pity and only required a 1:15 run which was just as well as i left to too close to lunch and was pretty uncomfortable for the whole thing.

Totals - swim 2:00 Bike 7:15 Run 4:15

Thougths Need to watch the swim, no point in getting complacent about it. Also thinking about swopping some of the runs for more bike, partly to build up the bike but also as I am getting quite a few leg twinges. And i need to smooth out the setbacks with the positives and try to stay upbeat overall. Writing it all down at the end of the week helps.

metal dog

WEEK 18 (w/e 16/5)

This week was a bit restricted because I was helping out at the club tri (Fingal sprint)

Monday - rest

Tuesday - run one hour z2, masters swim 2350m total - 350wup, 16x25m off 30secs wup, 5x100 off 1:40 coming in under 1:30, 50 easy, 5x100 off 2:00 coming in under 1:25, 50 easy, 5x100 off 2:00 breathing every 2,4,6 strokes (this was quite hard)

Wed - if it is wed the it must be the usual turbo brick - 45 mins turbo, 30 mins run. tried to stay on the bars for most of this just to get used to the position (although my real problem is balance to be honest)

Thursday - run one hour at z2 - no z4, just a bit nervous about twinges in my legs.

Swim with the club later - 2500m 300wup,, 4x75 kick, then a pyramid of 2x100 off 1:45, 2x200 of 3:30, 2x300 off 5:15, and back down, 100 easy

Friday - swim at lunchtime - straight 3k - not so sure on the time, a bit under 50 mins anyway.

In the pm same problem as a forthnight ago with rain on the turbo outside - only got 30 mins and 5 mins z4 done instead of 1:15 and 5x5mins z4.

Saturday - little over 4 hours bike, 30 mins run. Went out over Howth and then did laps of Bayside, Malahide, Clare Hall - plenty of gusts of wind along the coast so maybe like Copenhagen, then rushed off to help set up for the club tri.

Sunday - up early at the tri until after lunchtime, I was dreading having to do a run after being on my feet all morning but in the end it wasnt too bad - 1.5 hour easy run

Totals swim 3:00, run 4:30, bike 5:15

Thoughts missed a second bike session at the weekend because of the tri but at least I got the main swim, bike and run session in and actually was quite pleased that i was able for the run after all the standing around, which probably suggests i am building up some endurance after all. Lots of comments on the weight loss now - my suits are getting pretty baggy. No point in buying any clothers this year, they probably wont fit in 12 months

griffin100

Lots of comments on the weight loss now - my suits are getting pretty baggy. No point in buying any clothers this year, they probably wont fit in 12 months

Ha tell me about it. I have a wardrobe full of suits that no longer fit me but I'm too scared to throw out because they costs too much and what will I do if I get fat again......:D

I actually have one suit that I bought at the start of IM training and a when I went to wear it for the first time a few weeks into IM training it no longer fit me:o

metal dog

WEEK 19 (w/e 23/5)

Starting to plan ahead now for the peak phase, and trying to figure out what combination of long rides, 100 mile rides, long bricks, 'big days/race simulations' etc; to do. To be honest I do not trust Fink entirely on this - he only has one 6hr bike, after a few 5hrs - so he works it up very gradually . That might be ok if you were confident of 30kph + but i am unlikely to hold anything like that over that length of time, so a 5 hour ride for me might at best only be 130/140 k, whereas I think i need to have done 160k or more in training. I have been looking at some other plans, blogs etc and think I need to get at least 3x100 mile bikes in. I do like that Fink follows all of the long bikes with a run. This has been working out for me and seems to be widely recommended. I also definitely want to get 2 big day/race simulations in i.e. long swim, long bike and long run, with each broken up by a decent rest and some food.

I would be interested in other people's experience of this.....

Monday - rest and went for a massage, my legs were really tired after the weekend

Tuesday - Run One hour , 4x4mins z4, easing back in some z4 after not doing any the week before. Master swim later on 2650m total - 350m wup, 12x50 off 1:00, 2x( 2x200 off 3:30, 4x50 fast off 1:15, 50 easy), 1x200 off 3:30, 4x1:15 fast off 1:15. I felt very tired at the start of this and backed off leading the lane but actually picked up toward the end and led a few of the 200s quite fast.

Wed - One hour high revs turbo, followed by 30 mins run, actually felt great on the run, really coasting along.

Thursday
Since it looked like it was going to be a nice day, I took a half day's leave and did two hours on the bike up and down Howth a few times. Later on went for an open water swim at the Bull Wall with the club, really nice evening for it, water pretty balmy. We did some sighting and drafting drills and a good bit of straight swimming - about an hour in total. Very happy with this.

Friday - bit of a write off training wise - drove down to Cork to go to a friend's 40th birthday party.

Saturday - couldn't find a pool with open lanes to swim in down in Cork so headed back up to Dublin and did 1:30 easy run.

Sunday - Long cycle, met up with one of the guys from the club in the park and did a long cycle out Dunboyne, Trim, Summerhill, Maynooth and then a little bit out to Dunboyne again. Including the bike to and from the park, i clocked 124k and 4:40, which is my longest cycle so far. I went too hard for about an hour before and after Trim and between that and not eating early enough and maybe the weather, i completely blew up for the last hour and limped home. Then I had to do a 30 minute run off the bike which was pretty hard going. Totally wrecked. - had to lie down for an hour or so and drank about a litre of cidona.:o

Totals Swim 2:00 Run 3:30 Bike 7:40

Thoughts Long bike and run on Sunday was pretty sobering and learned a few hard lessons, There is going to more of this for the next 8 or 9 weeks, and I just hope that it all comes together.

Iron Enthusiast

Great work MD, sounds like your getting into your stride now. I'm following the DF plan as well and did a 4 hour bike on Saturday followed by a run. Like you I was really feeling the heat by the end of the cycle, reckon it may have been down to just not replacing the electrolytes and water I was loosing fast enough. Also don;t forget that you have a full weeks training on your legs by the time you did your weekend LSR and Long bike. Keep up the goods work!:pac:

griffin100

Seems like you're pretty much spot on with Finks competitive plan - I on the other hand seem to be closer to the intermediate programme at the minute :rolleyes:

I think I've said it before but I agree that the single 6hr bike ride in the plan seems a bit light, but there are 4 or 5 5hr plus rides. I think the main thing is to get as many rides of 5hrs plus in that you can. From what I've read around 130kms seems to be the point when a lot of riders start to suffer so I want to get to this point a few times. I seem to be able to hold 30kph in training up to 4hrs at least so hopefully the 5hr rides will bring me close to 150kms. I am hoping to get the full distance done 2-3 times by race day. I am planning to do the W200 and hopefully 2 x 6hr rides in training.

On the brick thing I've never really done many of the short midweek ones and I've dropped them completely now. I think the runs off the long bike that Fink requires seem a bit light, no one is longer than 1hr. My plan is to try and get a few 'HIM bricks' done before IM day. I've done one HIM race, and earlier this week did a 100kms bike / 15kms run brick. Personally its important that I understand what my legs are going to feel like after 6+hrs on the bike and 2+hrs on the road. I am doing the runs in these sessions at a slow steady pace (9 min / mile) to minimise impact on my body and hopefull minimise the risk of injury. Another reason for the long runs is that Fink is short on the long (2+hrs) runs so I want to try and get a couple of extra runs in here too.

The good think about bonking on the bike is that you now know what it feels like and you wont let it happen again:D On my long bricks and bike sessions now I am trying to eat close to what I expect I will be eating on race day. I'm heavy so I go for a gel every 30-35 mins and 500 mls of energy drink every hr approx - makes long rides expensive at €2 per gel.

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

I go for a gel every 30-35 mins and 500 mls of energy drink every hr approx - makes long rides expensive at €2 per gel.

Good thread going here lads - I've been respectfully lurking for a good while. Keep up the good work.

griffin100, do you find it any bother taking on the gels / energy drink that often or is it something you've trained yourself to do? I find it unpleasant to take on more than 1 gel or energy drink. I bought a box of gels on Wiggle so they work out cheaper that way but I can't get them down me that often

metal dog

griffin100 wrote: »

S
The good think about bonking on the bike is that you now know what it feels like and you wont let it happen again:D On my long bricks and bike sessions now I am trying to eat close to what I expect I will be eating on race day. I'm heavy so I go for a gel every 30-35 mins and 500 mls of energy drink every hr approx - makes long rides expensive at €2 per gel.

hope so - i have 5 hours scheduled for tomorrow on the bike, and still have to go out this evening and do a long run:(

shotgunmcos

good stuff MetalDog and Griffin100, you are both in good shape. Those 5-6 hour brick need a fair bit of planning alright. Keep up the good work!

griffin100

I dont use the traditional type gels at all as I cant stomach them. I use Cliff Shot Blocks mostly. These are little blocks a bit like raw jelly. 3 blocks equates to a typical gel and there are 6 blocks per pack. They are easy to take on the bike or running and you can take your time by eating one block at a time. You just need to take a drink after every one and find a flavour you like. They are also easy to carry with a pack of 6 about the size of a mars bar. I also use rideshots for a different taste every 3 or 4 gels. I also like to get a bananna in on every long ride. Sometimes I'll replace a gel with an energy bar but these can be very difficult to eat when on the move. Its all about what works for you.

metal dog

WEEK 20 (W/E 30/05)

End of 10 week build phase. Now the fun starts....

Monday - rest, stretching

Tuesday - didn't go to the pool because I had picked up an ear infection over the previous few days. Antibiotics were sorting it out but no need to risk it. Ran 1:15 , with 8 mins z4 after 50 mins.

Wed. Brick - One hour turbo, 30 mins run

Thursday - One hour run, with 4x(4 mins z4, 1.5 mins easy) - Swim with the club, 2275m - 400 wup, 5x75m kick, 200m sighting drills, 6x200m with 20sec rest 100easy

Friday - 2 hours run in the evening, fairly easy pace 23k, longest run so far this year, legs a little sore but not too bad.

Saturday - horrible day, almost packed it in after first 45 mins but stuck with it and just got it done. Did 5 hrs on the bike, but very slow (128k) as it was quite windy and drizzly for the first two hours which was crap in traffic. Mainly just went out and back from clontarf to sutton and then malahide. Boring as hell, but felt okish. Heart rate was also low at 128bpm (which is borderline z1/z2 for me), probably too low. Longest I have been out on the bike and was getting really sore in my upper arms. Then ran 45 mins off the bike, at quite a brisk pace for me anyway (less than 5min per k). Was quite happy with this overall.

Sunday - Club had organised swimfortri to hold an open water workshop out in Malahide - mix of land and three open water sessions. Lots of sighting, drafting and starting drills. The last water session was a continuous swim 4 times around a roughly 600m course marked out by 4 buoys. My sighting left me down quite badly on this but great to get all that time in the open water. Roughly 5k total swimming. Good fun, lots of nice food too.

Totals - Swim 3 hours, Bike 6 hours, Run 5:30 hours

Totals for Build Phase

Swim 66,000k
Run 480k
Bike 1540k

Thoughts

Compared to the Fink plan I am a little down on the swimming and more or less on track with the run and bike but not with all of the z4 bike or run inserts and have missed a few of the shorter bike session. But basically close enough to the plan. My cycling remains ludicrously slow, and does not appear to be getting any faster. In retrospect I should maybe have done more cycling oriented strength training or something but no point worrying about that now.

There are 12 weeks to Copenhagen, (one of which I will be away on holiday for). I am telling myself that after all you can buy Gale Bernhard's '13 hour ironman in 13 weeks' programmes off the internet so surely with the sort of base I have down done, if I just throw it all in now I have a good shot.:)

kennyb3

Hi Metal dog, love the log. Re the cycling, perhaps a few group rides would bring you on. not sure if your club do them (which club is it by the way your with?) so maybe consider swords or some other club.

Did 3 and half hours in the rain on sat morning myself, so i know what that was like. great dedication to do 5 hours alone.

metal dog

kennyb3 wrote: »

Hi Metal dog, love the log. Re the cycling, perhaps a few group rides would bring you on. not sure if your club do them (which club is it by the way your with?) so maybe consider swords or some other club.

thanks kennyb3 - i am in 3d and our club cycling switches in the summer from long group rides to interval type training to tune people up for the sprint/olympic season. Meanwhile most of those going longer distances disppear into the mist and reappear looking skinny and scared at the end of the summer:) I might do some of the interval training over the next few weeks just to sharpen up a bit though.

Iron Enthusiast

Hi MD,

Just wondering,

What kind of speeds are you averaging when doing long cycles solo v's with a group? (i.e: how big is the drafting / pacing effect on speed?)

IE

metal dog

Iron Enthusiast wrote: »

Hi MD,

Just wondering,

What kind of speeds are you averaging when doing long cycles solo v's with a group? (i.e: how big is the drafting / pacing effect on speed?)

IE

I am guessing it must be worth 3 or 4 kph anyway, probaly more into a proper headwind. I have not really measured it - the main difference i find is that it is just much less demanding if you are stuck in the middle of a big group, you even find yourself freewheeling - of course you have to take your turn at the front. I even find a difference when there are just two riders out together.

Someone said to me recently, that if large crowded events, even if no-one is actually breaking the drafting distance rules, there are just so many people out on the course that it breaks up the wind anyway, but i dont know about that - it sure did not help in eireman last year:(

johanandbex

Hi, IE sent me a link to you blog a few days ago. Good work on the training. I am also doing challengecopenhagen in August and its my first iron distance event (in fact its my first event!). I have a blog too http://longwaytogo-ironman.blogspot.com/

Its great to see others doing the same kind of stuff and it makes me feel slightly less insane for doing it all!

As far as the group rides go I would say that they are much easier than solo rides except that in a group ride you have to really switch on so that you dont crash into eachother and its not your pace that your riding too its who ever is leading.
Appart from that I would say it must be 80% of the work that a solo ride is (not any kind of science behind that just a hunch). In a group ride with strong riders we can avg around 38kph but solo I would say 34 (im talking about a nice weather day here) over longish distances of 75k +
Group riding is good though as it get you out and is much more fun than just holding on for dear life and pushing!

I am amazed by how many Ks you have done swimming! good stuff. This is where I am not doing enough work!

Good luck.

PS I live in Copenhagen so if you want any local info let me know.

Johan

metal dog

johanandbex wrote: »

PS I live in Copenhagen so if you want any local info let me know.

Johan

Hello in Copenhagen Johan - I have been a few times and really enjoyed the city so that was definitely a factor in picking challengecopehagen.

have you done the bike course yet ? any insider tips ?

johanandbex

Hi, Yep I try to do 1 loop of the course at least once a week, this week it was twice. Its a great ride out of the city and uo the coast with an amazing view out over the sea to Sweden. That road surface is verey decent most of the way and as we wont have to use cycle paths it will be even better. You then turn left and slightly up. This is where the road surface is variable, in some places it quite bad but its only in small areas. This is now undulating hills with amazing views again. It can also be windy here but tuck down in your bars and its fast going. There are a couple of surprising turns which can catch you out but I guess on race days this will all be well marked out.
So to recap, its around 40k up the coast, left and you do 20k and then left again down the main road (good surface again now, rolling hills) and I guess that must be around 20k, you then loop back around 80k or so and then after the 2nd loop you head back into town.
I dont think its that easy but it is a great ride and as long as its not too windy times should be fast. Beware though, if its wet you want to be carrying extra tubes and tyres. I have nearly always punctured when I have ridden this in the wet! I use gator skins now (not fast) just because they seem to take the punishment!