Following Mr. Fink to Copenhagen

metal dog

WEEK 21 (w/ending 6/06)

Bit of a strange week, after much dithering i decided to go ahead and do Athy Olympic so scaled back on the work during the week.

Monday - rest and stretching

Tuesday - swim pm 2400 total, 400 wup, 10x25 off 30 sec, 5x100 off 1:45, 6X75 off 1:20, 7x50 off .55, 8x25 off 30 sec. 50 easy in b/w each set, 6x50 b stroke.

Wed - two hours bike around Howth, up and down three times, followed by one hour run, pretty steady pace about 12k

Thursday - open water swimming at Bull Island, good hour done, maybe 2500m, a bit happier with my sighting, 30 mins run easy afterwards

Friday - quick swim at lunch 4x500 m, 30 secs rest

Saturday - Raced Athy, the plan was to improve on last years time of 2:31, and in particular to make some inroad on a 1:18 :eek:bike last year, since the run and swim course was a little different. To be honest i was worried about this, having not raced since last year, and done so much training at stready pace i wasnt sure what would happen in a race. As it turned out it went really well. Got my bike down to 1:09 and overall time to 2:23. Swim was a little harder than last year with more upstream but i enjoyed it. The run course was a bit raggedy as quite a few people have already noted. Because i was in the first wave (age before speed and beauty) we probably had a better time of it in terms of crowding but it did not stop me sliding into the river bank at the turn around point. Overall i was thrilled with how i got on, especially on the bike, big confidence booster. On the tri bars for 95% or more (they ended up slipping downwards, will need to fix that). Probably the best i have ever raced. 88th overall. Training really works, who knew ?

Sunday - raining and rest and stretching brought forward by a day - bike again tomorrow.

Totals (cough) Run 2:46, Bike 3:09, Swim 3:00

Thoughts Definite buzz from the race but back to the grindstone from tomorrow. 11 weeks to go...

griffin100

Well done on a great result MD. Now its my turn to be jealous of your bike time. I really wanted to break 70 minutes (ended up with a 72). You are living proof that if you stick to the Fink plan properly then you'll reap the benefits. I on the other hand am living proof of what happens if you dont:D

metal dog

Thanks a lot Griffin, bit of a reprieve for mr. fink , I was starting to doubt him (although the real verdict is still out until the big day....)

shotgunmcos

Well done in Athy MD and thats cracking bike improvement on last year!

griffin100

Thanks a lot Griffin, bit of a reprieve for mr. fink , I was starting to doubt him (although the real verdict is still out until the big day....)

I think the big plus for you is that you've done the required Z4 intervals on the bike where as I haven't.

Izoard

Nice work in Athy...just wondering, there was a guy in a red tri-suit + cap just ahead of me at the dog-leg turn around on the run, who gracefully slipped towards the river...your good self by any chance?

metal dog

Izoard wrote: »

Nice work in Athy...just wondering, there was a guy in a red tri-suit + cap just ahead of me at the dog-leg turn around on the run, who gracefully slipped towards the river...your good self by any chance?

No cap on the day for me, so must have been some other bloke. My slip was at least in part due to my joshing with the woman at the turn around cone - i had just said to her that it was a good thing i didnt cut the 300m short seeing as it was marshalled - so distracted was i with my own witty banter that I nearly fell into the Barrow By the time i came back for the second turn she was pointedly warning people about it.

Izoard

metal dog wrote: »

No cap on the day for me, so must have been some other bloke. My slip was at least in part due to my joshing with the woman at the turn around cone - i had just said to her that it was a good thing i didnt cut the 300m short seeing as it was marshalled - so distracted was i with my own witty banter that I nearly fell into the Barrow By the time i came back for the second turn she was pointedly warning people about it.

That was the scene alright, including the chat with the marshall.
I guess I got the red tri suit right...not sure where I was going with the cap...the boot to the head during the swim was obviously still affecting me:)

Anyways, great time, particularly with the extra metre or so in the Barrow:D

metal dog

WEEK 22 (w/ending 13/06)

Monday - 1 hour 45 bike around Howth and then 30 mins run nice and easy.

Tuesday 1 hour run z2 with 3x( 5 mins z4, 2 mins easy) after 10 minutes - this felt hard, Swim with masters group 2500m 400 wup, 10x50m off 1:00, 6x150 off 2:30, 4x100 off 2 :00 sprinting with 50m easy between each 100, 4x25m off 45 sec no breaths.

Wednesday
Turbo, One hour 30 mins, after 15 mins 5x (5 mins z4, 2 mins easy). Very sweaty stuff, even though i was outdoors on the turbo.

Thursday
Swim at lunchtime, straight 3k. Didn't catch the time when i started, stroke was all over the place towards the end, I could really feel my legs dropping as well.

Friday - run One hour, z2, after 40 mins 9 minutes z4

Saturday - went to Saturday master sessions which I hadn't been at in a while, lots of rest but fast pace 2100m total - 400m wup, 16x25 IM order off 30 sec, 1x150 off 3:00, 2x100 off 2:00, 4x50 off 1:00, 6x25 off 30, 100 easy, 1x100 off 2:00, 2x75 off 1:30, 3x50 off 1:00, 4x25 off 30 sec.

Later on went for long steady run - 2 hours, probably ran this a bit too fast, only a little over 5m per k but forgot heart rate strap so hard to say exactly

Sunday - had a bit of a lie in so did not get out on the bike until 11ish. Did 4.5 hours, 120k - dunboyne, trim, kilcock and back out to dunboyne via carton house. I had wanted to do 5 hours but i misjudged the distances. Then I ruled out an extra loop to make it up because of the rain, which was starting to affect my visibility (i wear glasses) and felt a bit dodgy on the road surface. At the heart of the session (maybe 3 hours or so) I was definitely keeping a good pace in or around 30kph, bits at the start and the end brought overall pace down to 26.5 with traffic lights and usual messing about. The road from Trim to Kilcock is great. I had left on the faster tyres i got for Athy (conti GP 4000) and they definitely make a difference. Will switch back to the old specialised armadillos now though for rest of training.

Went for a 45 min run afterwards - more rain. Did not envy everyone out on the Wicklow 200.

Totals swim 3:00, Run 5:15, Bike 7:45

Thoughts
Basically going ok. The long bike felt fairly manageable this week. Bike badly needs a service - all kinds of odd sounds going on.

Strictly speaking the 'peak' phase is supposed to be 10 weeks but I count 10 weeks left including week beginning 14 June. I am away on hols for one of the those which will limit what I can do that week (i am not bringing the bike - spousal tolerance would rightly not stretch that far) but still leaves me with plenty of time I reckon.

griffin100

Bike I badly needs a service - all kinds of odd sounds going on

Nice numbers again. Its starting to get close now!!

johanandbex

Your putting in some serious hours! making me nervous..please stop or at least lie on your blog!

metal dog

WEEKS 23 AND 24 (w/ending 27/06)

I went fairly off the Fink plan over the past two weeks due to a combination of work and other commitments and then a weeks hols in the countryside near Girona.

week 23 just managed 2 hours swimming, 4 hours bike (good 4hr session avg 28kph) and 3.5 running. 1.5 of the running were on tough enough undulating dirt roads near in a forest near where we were staying.

week 24 couldn't get any real swimming in while away on holidays but did manage 2 more hour long runs in the woods and in fairly warm weather. Training highlight of the week though was that i was able to rent a road bike off a bike shop in Girona and do one of the popular local training rides - about 95k, including 26 k of a climb to the town of Sant Hilari de Saclam. Lots of the pros train on it by all accounts. I followed the guy in the shops advice not to go out too hard on the climb and found it fairly manageable. The incline never got crazy but it did go on and on. Great roads surface helped. I was really chuffed with how this went.

By Saturday I was back in Dublin and back on the plan - usual fast masters swim session followed by 2 hour easy run in the evening. On Sunday I went for a long bike - 4 hours 45, 130k followed by a 45 minute run. Was completely wrecked and ended up on the couch drinking disturbing quantities of soft drinks. The fact that i was up late the night before and had been away from hard training for a bit probably did not help. I did a lot of moaning which got a bit tedious for my wife ( what did i think was going to happed after 5 and half hours continuous exercise ?:rolleyes:).

totals week 24
swim 1:00, run 4:45, bike 8:30

Thoughts
Now that i am back there are only 4 more weeks of peak training and then the three weeks of taper. Really need to focus for the four weeks and get all of the key sessons in, especially the long bikes and bricks.

metal dog

WEEK 24 (W/E 4/07) 3 WEEKS OF PEAK TO GO


Back to the grindstone this week after holidays.

Monday - more bike tweaking - front brake callipers replaced, basiclly my front brakes had not been working properly for a few weeks :eek:

Tuesday - run one hour steady z2, just under 12k - swim 2250m - 400m
wup, 10x25 off 30 wup, 50 easy, 5x150 off 2:45, 50 easy, 10x25 kick, 10x50m
off 55 sec

Wednesday - Brick - One hour turbo, 45 mins run

Thursday - went out with a friend for a cycle around wicklow - about 3.5 hours, 86k, out through firhouse to the sally gap and back by djouce and enniskerry. lots of little climbs. Great cycle. I still cannot descend but i am getting a bit better at ascending.

Friday - swim at lunchtime, nothing fancy - 6x400m with 30 or so secs rest
b/w each.

Long run that evenining - 2 hours 15, very windy on the way back, this was hard work but i knew i had to get it done because i was going to be down in Galway on saturday night and sunday.

Saturday - 5 hours cycle, total about 135-40k, managed to switch off the garmin for a bit by accident. followed by 45 mins run. drank a whole bottle of gatordae in pretty much one go at a petrol station in dunboyne:o

Sunday Was supposed to do 1.5 hour in the evening one i got back from galway but had far too large a lunch and felt pretty sick on the run, just manged 50 minutes

Totals swim 2:00 , bike 9:30, run 5:35

Thoughts - longest week so far i think, the swimming has suffered a bit timewise so will try to refocus on that bit but not too bothered because the bike is where i need the work. still not getting enough time down on the tri bars but otherwise the bike is going ok. Need to do some proper z4 bits as well.

Iron Enthusiast

Great work Metal Dog!

Out of curiosity, are you planning on using any electolyte/sodium replcaement products in Copenhagen?

I know that gels contain a certain amount of the substances in question, but I'm thinking of trialing 'Salstick' over the next couple of weeks so that I'll have it available as a backup in case I need it. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the above?
Hard to believe we're almost there now!

metal dog

Iron Enthusiast wrote: »

Great work Metal Dog!

Out of curiosity, are you planning on using any electolyte/sodium replcaement products in Copenhagen?

I know that gels contain a certain amount of the substances in question, but I'm thinking of trialing 'Salstick' over the next couple of weeks so that I'll have it available as a backup in case I need it. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on the above?
Hard to believe we're almost there now!

The only product along these lines that i have used before is dioralyte (is that how it is spelt ?) sachets dissolved in water, which were recommended to me by an experienced runner. They are a bit gross to taste even though they are flavoured. I have not fully thought through the whole nutrition thing yet but am probably going to bring these along.

Let me know how you get on with the salstick thing.

johanandbex

metal dog wrote: »

The only product along these lines that i have used before is dioralyte (is that how it is spelt ?) sachets dissolved in water, which were recommended to me by an experienced runner. They are a bit gross to taste even though they are flavoured. I have not fully thought through the whole nutrition thing yet but am probably going to bring these along.

Let me know how you get on with the salstick thing.

Hi guys, Challenge Copenhagen will provide you with high 5 stuff on the race so if I was you I would be using high 5 stuff asap so that you can get used to it and make sure your guts can take it. They have a ZERO tables that does the salt replacement etc and tastes kind of ok, you would have to buy that and bring them with you. I use high 5 now and quite like it. hope that helps
Johan

metal dog

WEEK 26 (W/E 11/07)

Getting my weeks a bit mixed up - definite sign of distraction.

This was the third last week of peak training and due to lots of other commitments i missed a good bit of running but swim and bike went well.

Monday - rest

Tuesday - run - one hour, after 10 mins - 3x(5 minus z4, 2mins jog). Masters swim - 400m wup, 12x50m off 1:00 wup, 5x200 off 3:30 (came in nice and steady on 3mins for most of these), 2x100m kick, 8x25m sprint off 45sec.

Wednesday - run - one hour z2, after 40 mins 10mins z4

Thursday - bike for three hours up and over Howth and then back again a few times, including a couple on that really steep bit to the right of the church. There is a turn onto a very nasty elevation which leaves me almost stationary but felt pretty good throughout.

Friday swam at luncthime. 5x400m steady, 30 or so second rest

Saturday - went to the Bull Wall with two of the other Copenhagers and got a good long continuous OW swim in, roughly 3.5k I would say. Not too tired afterwards, only a small cramp in my right hand from holding the same position for so long. No sign of lions mane jellyfish but lots of sea weed and bits of junk.

Then we drove straight down to Enniskerry to do loops of the remaining non-motorway bit of the N11. The weather was not promising and the cycle was pretty brutal in parts, although more so because of the wind coming against us than the occasional downpour . We left the more animal member of the trio belt off and we just put our heads down. Covered the guts of 160k in 5 hours 20m. Some bloke drafted off us for 15k into the wind at one stage, he must have been glad to see us. Longest cycle so far and very happy with it. Should have gone for a run later but did not get it together.

Sunday - spent the day helping at the clubs aquathlon, didnt really eat anything and ended up putting off my long run which was lazy but i can make it up.

Totals swim 3:00, bike 8:20, run 2:00 (!!!)

Thoughts

Ok I missed my long run which was annoying and lazy but the swimming and bike is going very well. Even though i am not doing a lot of serious swimming, i think the aerobic fitness is carrying over. I definitely suspect my wetsuit has gotten looser though;).

Very happy with the bike - I managed to drink and eat pretty steadily on the long bike which is a big improvement for me. Also I was trying out my new road wheels which I am going to use in Copenhagen, After lots of deliberation I have got a set of Mavic Ksyrium Elites and I am very happy with them. They seem a good mid price and dependable wheel (and they make a cool noise). I was in two minds about getting something more aero but it is going to be a bit windy and i think I will get more long term general use from these. The difference b/w them and my old training wheels is really noticeable.

Will need to make sure i pick up on the run front now for the last two hard weeks. Probably because I have missed a lot of the running last week I feel better than I thought i would at this stage.

kennyb3

metal dog wrote: »

. The difference b/w them and my old training wheels is really noticeable. [/FONT]

In what way do you mind me asking? and what had you on the bike previously. flirting with getting a new wheelset

metal dog

kennyb3 wrote: »

In what way do you mind me asking? and what had you on the bike previously. flirting with getting a new wheelset

Not that I know anything really about wheels and there has got to be a bit of a placebo effect with this sort of thing but I guess they just seemed to roll a lot smoother and faster. Especially once I got going in excess of 30kph. I dont think it was the difference in weight that made the impact, more likely the quality of the hubs and maybe a small aero benefit from bladed spokes. I had been using the wheels that came with my bike which were alex rims da 22 or somethign like that and I think the interior of the hubs get pretty worn (2.5 years old). So it wasnt really a fair comparison - brand new wheels vs half banjaxed old wheels.

(and they look & sound cool)

catweazle

kennyb3 wrote: »

In what way do you mind me asking? and what had you on the bike previously. flirting with getting a new wheelset

Me too, the bike fitter who is a good cyclist told me my bike was A1 except for the training wheels. I am shocked at the prices though most of them are more than I paid for my bike.

These guys are always emailing me after I bought tribars off them, no clue but they look nice 260 euro

nomadic

metal dog wrote: »

No sign of lions mane jellyfish but lots of sea weed and bits of junk.

I haven't seen any jellyfish there thankfully.
This was spotted in dalkey at the weekend though
http://www.todayfm.com/Shows/Weekdays/Ray-DArcy-Show/Blog/10-07-12/Jellyfish.aspx?ReturnURL=%2fShows%2fWeekdays%2fRay-DArcy-Show%2fBlog.aspx :eek:

metal dog

WEEK 27

Only one more week of peak training to go - although the plan doesn't exactly drop off straight away.

This has been my longest week of training ever i reckon

Monday - because i missed my long run on the Sunday, went for it this pm in the Phoenix Park. 2.5 hours, nice and steady. Did have some niggles in my right shin but other than that felt fine, felt I could have kept running no problem.

Tuesday - avoided running because of the shin, just in case. Swam in the evening 400 wup, 16x25m off 30sec wup, 5x100m sprints off 2:00, 100 easy, 8x50m sprints off 1:00, 100 easy, 8x25 sprint off 45sec, 100easy

Wednesday - brick - 1 hour 15 turbo high rev, 45 min run

Thursday 1 hour run z2 - went for a massage afterwards, maybe too soon afterwards, my legs were in bits and it really hurt

Friday - Swam at lunchtime, 6x400m 40 sec rest, turbo in the evening 1 hour, with 5x(5 mins big gears, 2 mins easy)

Saturday - usual masters swim, fast set 2100m, long run in the evening - 2 hours and 45 minutes, 31k, as long a run as I have ever done in training I think. Felt ok towards the end, could have kept running.

Sunday - fortunately i did not keep running on Saturday night because on Sunday morning I went out on the bike - 5.5 hours, I had the old wheels and the winter tyres back on and was back on slow roads so it was all a bit of a slog - only covered 145k. I am getting the drinking and eating sorted out which is good, even if it means i have to stop to water the hedges in Meath somewhere.

Ran for 45 mins after the bike.

Totals swim 3:00, run 7:45 (!!) bike 7:45

Thoughts lots of training this week, especially on the run- almost 90k - but a bit artificial since one of the 2 long runs was really the long run I missed from the previous week. Nevertheless I am glad I am getting these long runs done and am finishing them feeling a lot more comfortable ( well relatively speaking) than whenever I have done long runs as part of marathon training before. The bike is a bit less satisfactory but I still feel fairly confident about that since getting a good 160k spin in the week before last.

One more week of real peak, 26 days to go....

shotgunmcos

Nice work MD. Some good sessions going on there. Is this your first IM?

Abhainn

Great week there metal dog, impressive. Your on the home front now
What bike / wheels are you planning to go with for the race? (Sorry you may have mentioned this before)

johanandbex

Nice work mate. Sounds to me like you have this IM thing covered. Some serious ks are being run! dont over do it now for the last few weeks and pick up an injury!
I have been around the bike loop a few more times now and the roads are much better. Remember to bring spare tyres if you are on tubs or lots of spare tubes and a spare tyre if your on clinchers! Had to help out a guy the other day who flatted, had used his spare and flatted again! the flint stones are a mare! get a kevlar strip into your tyres before you come. Make sure your cleats on your shoes are still in good shape, one of mine broke yesterday! nice. check your chain and just make sure the bike is in great running order. Thats the only thing that is going to stand in your way so nail that and you will be laughing.
Are you using a tri suit?
Keep up the good work - I thought I was mad but your madness levels seem to have peaked well above mine as far as kilomteres travelled! well done.
Johan

metal dog

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Nice work MD. Some good sessions going on there. Is this your first IM?

thanks mcos - very much my first time...ignorance is probably keeping me going !

metal dog

Abhainn wrote: »

Great week there metal dog, impressive. Your on the home front now
What bike / wheels are you planning to go with for the race? (Sorry you may have mentioned this before)

thanks a lot -

wheels - ksyrium elites - not the fastest available by any means but i like them and the quality of my 'engine' wouldnt justify splashing out on zipps etc. Goin to use either conti gps tyres or michelin pro three - i have tried both and both seems fast but i think the conti tyres are more puncture resistant.

metal dog

johanandbex wrote: »

get a kevlar strip into your tyres before you come.
Are you using a tri suit?

thanks johan - what tyres have you been using ?

i am thinking of wearing cycle shorts over 2 piece tri suit for the bike

just got the 'athlete' info pack from challenge - makes it all seem very real indeed...

johanandbex

I have tried sooo many tyres. When I got my bike it had PlanetX wheel with tubs on it. They were Tufo tubulars and they lasted about 200 km before being ripped to shreds, so I binned them and got gator skins, they did better but I still went through 3 tyres in less than 1000km and at over £40 a go I gave up with that and changed my wheels to clinchers. I am now on Specialised pro 2 tyres with an extra kevlar strip on the inside between the inner tube and the tyre. This seems to be doing the trick - I keep the tyres pumped up hard as hell too as this seems to help. If you are on clinchers then I wouldnt worry too much, get a kevlar strip in there and just carry 3 spare tubes (could do 2 but I like the idea of having spare spares!), 1 spare tyre. Practice changing your tyre though as this needs to be quick. the first time I changed my tyre it took me ages and I killed a tube in the process - now I know I can do it in minutes so I dont care so much if I flat.

Its all coming up pretty damn quick isnt it! I am mixed now in my feelings as I want to crack on and do it but at the same time I am scared of even stepping into the water! doh...what have I gotten my self into.
Its going to be a great race - there is a lot of whining going on about the lateness of info and things like that but I think the guys have done a great job and I know the swim will be a great location, the bike is a great scenic route and the run will be spectacular too. There will be loads of aid stations and damn it I will have so many spares on me that if anyone has anything wrong with their bike I can help them anyway
Have you been using the high 5 products? gels etc?
Have you got a time in mind for your finish? (Not trying to be competative here just interested as I have read how much training you have done!).

metal dog

johanandbex wrote: »

Have you been using the high 5 products? gels etc?
Have you got a time in mind for your finish? (Not trying to be competative here just interested as I have read how much training you have done!).

yup i am using the high 5 4:1 drink and have also tried some of the other ones and they are all fine by me - i plan on drinking lots of it on the day

i also like the high five sports bars and can stomach the gels but might bring a few of my own isotonic ones because they are a bit easier

as for time targets ? ask me after the bike