Budapest, Hungary Sept 8-12

shotgunmcos

I had to take a time out from logging for a while for various reasons, personal attacks on the log, life stuff, losing my username, work being mental etc etc.. so I'll attempt to log again, only with more careful consideration of my input this time.

No point in listing the events of the year(although I'll report on them), the A goal is the Triathlon World Championships in Sept in Budapest. I'll peak for the Europeans in Athlone, but I plan to give the Worlds everything I've got because its my first time getting to this kind of level in sport. There is another boardsie on here with the exact same goal so thats motivating. I'm 30-34 and he is 25-29 so not a precise head to head .

Out of respect to my Coach, I shall not be logging every detail but I do hope I can cover the journey with interest and I invite anyone's viewpoint or comments. I particularly appreciate the support from some of you when the nutters ruined the vibe of the last log and hopefully this one will stay clean

So without further ado, 32 weeks to D-day. Yes its a long way off but as the evenings grow longer and race season approaches, those 32 weeks will fly by and I want to be on my toes for the ride...

Why log?
Well its the community thing again. I just like the people that hang around here Something to do on work breaks. I tend to put up how I feel about the journey here while the sweaty notebook is just numbers, hence its a nice diary to look back on for a read.

So how is the form?
Swimming - Generally I'm really enjoying swimming. I feel good about it which is a long long way from where I started less than 2 years ago. I'm much more aware of my stroke and what I'm doing now than just flaking up and down the lane. TTs have had good results and I'm finding that I'm still quite comfortable at the end of 3k sets. Speed has improved also. For example very little sleep last night, up until 2am and training late yesterday evening. The swim this morning was generally pants in terms of the stroke but 5*100m in 1:34-1:36 after 2k was decent speed for how I felt. There was plenty of rest between them and I was working to the point of the stroke breaking down and gasping for breath but the point is the speed held. The target is 25mins for 1500m this year so I'm making dents into that pace.

Cycling - Is a mystery to be honest. I've only been out on the bike twice since Kenmare last September so I don't know how the form is. If the turbo is an indicator then its going ok. I can sustain 300watts for longer and I think I have a feeling for 95-100 cadence which was something inportant I had to train my legs for over the base period. The cub are running a TT league during the summer so that will be a good measure of how its going. The new bike is a PX Stealth pro carbon with nice bars and the DA50mm carbon wheels. Its currently just a pretty ornament in the house though. I waiting on a few bits and need to be set up on it but I'm excited to give it a try. I might have it ready for one of the Duathlons in a few weeks. The target for cycling speed this year is to crack an hour for 40k straight and get as close to it as possible in September

Running - Has felt crap lately. I had to work on changing stride and posture and other bits which have been fine but I just made a very poor transition from base to build running sessions and I was really struggling on the few track sessions I've been at. I even failed a run test recently as a bunch of things came to a head (beena crazy couple of weeks). Mileage has been average at best and most significantly I've missed my last 3 long runs. That said I did recently cover 5k in 18:26 for a TT so that restored confidence somewhat. The target pace is 37mins for 10k off the bike in September. This one fills me with dread...

So long winded, thanks for bearing with me and here goes....

Abhainn

Swim = 25min
Bike = 60 mins
Run = 37 min
T1 & T2 = 3 min

Total approx 2:06? Fast

You'd beat Jensen Button there.

PX Stealth pro carbon - nice bike

Good man. Will be viewing with interest.

RedB

Good to see you back posting. Keep up the good work .

griffin100

I look forward both to reading the log and being impressed by it!!

Izoard

Ahh, so that's where you went...great numbers!

shotgunmcos

Cheers Guys, I'm keeping an eye on all of your logs too!

@Abhainn, thats the Oasis in the Desert kind of time. Realistically I think if I put the work in and train and race smart over the summer, I can hit the swim split. The bike is a whopping target even for a flat 40k but even if I have that kind of pace available to me, it depends on the course and conditions. I won't be pushing the envelope on it to make sure I have run legs left, especially if its warm. Lets put a stamp on 2:10 for now if all goes well on the day...

catweazle

Good luck with it MCOS its nice to get some type of time estimate off you, I knew it was going to be quick from your previous logs and your training but now I know how quick. I laughed when you mentioned you have missed a few long runs, I am training for a marathon and but for those missed sessions you would be ahead of me on that list too. I dont know how you manage to fit all those sessions in

shotgunmcos

Quite late this evening by the time I got on the turbo. The original plan was to do it early this morning but sleep dictated and I obeyed because it was needed. Most of the afternoon was spent at the park, kicking ball and by the time dinner was done and a kiddie movie on I just wasn't feeling the turbo. Hopped on despite, however knew within 10 mins of spinning that the legs were not interested in any kind of intensity. Some tough sessions coupled with poor sleep during the week just knocked the motivation somewhat also. Instead I just spun at base level for 2 hours holding about 205 watts and 125 average heart rate. After 50 mins I really wanted to get off so overall the session was a drag and finished with the spirit giving out to me....

RacoonQueen

Welcome back. Good luck with the log and the goals, always enjoyed your last log.

Krusty_Clown

Delighted to see the return of the log. Keep on truckin'.

shotgunmcos

Beautiful sunny day, although coooold. Opportunity to get out for a cycle. Today was a recovery day so opted to take my better half Caz out for a cycle since she is training for her first Tri in April. Long easy but hilly spin. Low gear and spinning the lactic residue out of the legs for the first half but sheltered her from a headwind for the last hour which brought it to steady state for me. 2hrs50mins on the saddle for a very enjoyable spin. Caz didn't exactly appreciate the many many short but sharp hills enroute but fair play to her putting down 66km for a first cycle since last summer. While she got the kettle on I decided to run off the bike. 5km with 3 at tempo progressively quicker 4:20/4:05/3:55 and then back down to a gentle level 2 for the last 2km. Very productive days work. Chicken in the oven now for a lovely roast dinner later. Currently munching jellies and dipping digestives into tea.

Tried a new porridge recipe which may be of interest to the marathon runners out there. Left the porridge to steep overnight with just enough water to soak the oats and a generous handful of sultanas thrown in. Added the milk this morning along with half a finely sliced apple and a sprinkle of cinnimon..... delicious!!!

Lastly, today was the debut of my first session with the new Garmin. Cool that it gives soooo much data to entertain the geekiest of geeks. Not so cool though that I have no heart rate data for the whole day. I have to figure out how to 'pair' the device to the hrm or something. Also, while checking the session in Garmin Connect the connection for my BB dropped every time I clicked 'splits' in the activities page? Tips anyone? I'm hoping to have it figured out and set up to run/bike/run multisport mode for the duathlon next week. Nice piece of kit though, although I have barely touched the surface of the functionality. My 'test' on it was skiiing in my kitchen...:D

A good chill out and Lord of the Rings later... 'til later peeps.

shotgunmcos

As mentioned in the opening post the swimming has definitely improved. The run and bike are a bit of a mystery though, the bike more so. 2 races planned for this week ULRC 10k on Thursday night and the first Limerick Duathlon on Sunday. One thing is for sure I'll know what form the legs are in this day next week!

Easy workout tonight which was required off a considerable 14 hours last week(more than planned). 50 mins on the bike steady level 1, average heart rate 115. Bit of a stretch and then hit the pool for a short swim. 1,000m in 600 with pull bouy, 200 kicking and 200 f/s. Legs tired very quickly on the kicking and shoulders tired very quickly on the f/s so I capped the session at that and headed home. Apart from the 2 races its an easy week with 2 whole rest days.

As penance for the weekend indulgenges I am off chocolate, crisps, biscuits and TV for 5 days :cool:

aero2k

Good to see you back. I'll be dropping in to see how you get on with that new bike - I'm jealous!
Budapest is a nice city, you'll enjoy celebrating your achievements there.

shotgunmcos

I said to myself last October that If I'm to make any headway this year I had to lose some weight. Original target of 75kg has now been revised to 73kg for the start of September which would represent a 10kg drop over 12 months.

Progress so far...

Oct 01: 83.0kg or 13st1lb
Nov 04: 82.1kg or 12st13lb
Dec 02: 80.2kg or 12st9lb
Jan 04: 78.9kg or 12st6lb
Feb 02: 77.5kg or 12st3lb

Its been consistant but I still have the bad habits. I was chuffed to see 77kg on the scale this morning though. Celebrated with 8 weetabix and a banana for breakfast, needed about a litre of milk to wash it down...

I think the main contributing factor to the weight loss so far has been portion sizes. I've just stopped automatically going for 'extra large' everything just because I do a bit of training!

MrCreosote

Nice to see you back! Great reading this log.

Which Garmin did you go for? Been thinking about getting one myself.

interested

was wondering why the taper and then read
' 2 races planned for this week ULRC 10k on Thursday night and the first Limerick Duathlon on Sunday'

Dont go peaking too early now champ September's a few cycles away and all

Best of luck

mloc123

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Celebrated with 8 weetabix and a banana for breakfast, needed about a litre of milk to wash it down...

:eek:

I pity your toilet

shotgunmcos

MrCreosote wrote: »

Which Garmin did you go for? Been thinking about getting one myself.

Hi, got the 310xt. Nice piece of kit that I am still figuring out. Cool how it just automaticall has all the data ready and organised on the lap top so no time prepping data and loads of time over analysing sessions! The multi sport mode is the one that stands this out I reckon although I haven't used it yet but you can set up your screens to show wahtever data you need for each discipline and just hitting the 'lap' button switches it from run to bike mode. I'll give it a go at the duathlon if I remember to push the button that is... I have a tendancy to race without looking at the watch.

interested wrote: »

was wondering why the taper and then read
' 2 races planned for this week ULRC 10k on Thursday night and the first Limerick Duathlon on Sunday'
Dont go peaking too early now champ September's a few cycles away and all
Best of luck

Cheers. The 10k is a benchmarking run so I really need to do it for various reasons, heart rate zones, vdot paces etc.... The duathlon is less important but I'd like to give it a decent go anyway. I won't be used to handling a tri bike so corners and shifting will be a bit slower than usual

mloc123 wrote: »

:eek:I pity your toilet

I usually wouldn't have that many but I couldn't leave just 2 in the box!

shotgunmcos

An hour on the wet, cold track last night
warm up + usual excercises, stretches, strides etc..
14*35sec on 35sec off - avg 185-220mts according to the Garmin which was a tad more than planned. Found these tough going as I haven't been doing track regularly. 1st 4 were all over 200m but I was going too hard and so reigned it back a bit for the next 6. A bit more effort for the last 4 to get about 200m for those.
cool down was a very slow jog and stretching.

Got on the TT bike last night just to tweak the setup a bit on the turbo but boy is dura-ace shifting sharp! It feels a lot different to the road bike.

Today is a REST day.... slept in this morning, going home after work to cook and chill out. I'm taking REST days seriously this year.

shotgunmcos

ULRC 10K. First race of the year and an important one for benchmarking, if only to back up last week's 5k. Disaster! The plan was to build it for the first few km and hit my stride by halfway, giving the second lap a belt. All day I had the DOMS in my calves and soles of my feet. Couldn't even shake them off with the pre race warm up. Stretching was no good either. I hoped they would recede once I got motoring. The Garmin died on the warm up but the alternate watch picked up the Garmin's chest strap so no worries. Started ok and built into the first 4km which I hit on target pace (about 3:50 per km). The 4th place guy was just in front of me and he even encouraged me to push on. Nice of him. The problem though was that the calves were flaring up and the balls of the feet were just sore. Through halway in about 19:20 but the second lap was looking like a chore. By the 6th km I was dusted and heel striking. I knew the target time wasn't on so I cruised for a bit and then decided to just work hard enough to hold onto 5th. Finished a very very disappointing 40:22. The calves were sore, especially the left one and my feet hurt too much to do a cool down. The track session clearly did the damage. The price paid for inconsistency and over exuberence. I wasn't mad about the course, lots of sharp turns, curbs, steps and people to dodge on campus. I also took a wrong turn in the last 2km, losing a bit - not that it mattered. Anyway I'll put that one behind me. My slowest ever 10k and a poor start to the season. However its early days...

Tech swim session afterwards. No fins and no kicking off the wall for me. It was a case of surviving the session with a pullbouy and the usual variety of drills. 1,400m very laboured and since I opted to hang back last in the lane rather than leading as usual, I ended up treading water for 2-3 mins every time the Coach explained the next drill so it didn't feel like a recovery!

Crap Run. Crap swim. A day to forget.

Reaganomical

Keep the head up MCOS, I did that 10k last week and it can definitely be a bit of an obstacle course at times. Still a solid run out of you and as you said yourself, it's early doors.

pgibbo

Just spotted your return now shotgun. Welcome back.

As for the 10k, disappointing I know but better to suffer disappointments in January rather than A goal time! You probably have done so already, but have a look at the lead up to the event, etc and see what you could have done differently to achieve the goal. I guess it's going to be difficult balancing races with your training as there will be plenty of lower priority events with no taper during heavyish training weeks. Review it, learn from it and move on. No point dwelling on it.

Have you completed the build of the new bike yet? What you think of the 310xt?

shotgunmcos

pgibbo wrote: »

Have you completed the build of the new bike yet? What you think of the 310xt?

Just got the last bits yesterday so I'll finish it this evening. I like it lots! I'll try to post a pic when I get a chance and figure out how to do so. The Garmin is cool but I've only used it a couple of times. The battery died on me before the race on Thursday night so no data from that but hopfully I'll have it set up for the duathlon in the morning. I'll set it up in multi sport mode so that I just hit the 'lap' button and it changes from run-transition-bike mode-transition-run and should capture all of the pace data, hrm, split, speed, averages etc... and automatically transfers it to my lap top via the ANT+ stick. I just need to log on then and view it in the Garmin Connect center (same as Krusty uses to log hi data). I'm interested myself to see how the multi sport function loads the data up.... now just have to remember to hit the lap button!

I haven't used it swimming yet.

shotgunmcos

12th out of 134, I was expecting better. What happened?

Well the running legs let me down for the second time this week. I knew they weren't fresh but the run legs of this duathlons were slower than last year which is giving me cause for concern. Conditions were lovely and it was the first spin on the new bike. Yes I should have tested it beforehand but time constraints during the week and all that. I also couldn't get one of the SPD 105 pedals off it which I had taken off the road bike, and so I couldn't put on the lovely new Look keo pedals. Just cosmetics! Despite doing virtually nothing for 2 days the legs were not feeling entirely fresh and the arches still hurt which is somthing I will need to address. I did a short warm up on the bike, thankfully as some adjustments were needed. It was going to be a case of getting used to it in the race. The warm up run was not good I'd have to admit as I had no 'spring' in my step. I had the Garmin set up to record everything also.

I lined up close to the front intending to give it a lash. Everyone flew off down the first hill like their lives depended on it me included. However less than 60 seconds into it by the first bend I had a distinct twinge in the hamstring and the legs were clearly not open for business. I seriously thought about calling it a day already. I decided to plug away but by the first km the first 15 guys had opened up distance which continued to grow all the way into T1. I was trying to find a stride and working hard but it just wasn't there. I was passed a couple of more times on the way into transition. Usually I'd be bouncing down the road in the first km and needing to reign it in! Transitions were ok, not too quick but not slow either. Run 1 was over 30 seconds slower than last year!

I lost no time getting the feet into the shoes and got stuck into the bike. You could say I was a bit fumbly with the gears and wasn't exactly cycling in a straight line for the first 5km or so but got the hang of it eventually. I was cycling ok and the set up felt good but the legs lacked a bit of juice on the uphill outbound section. There was a little headwind but conditions were quite good. At the turnaround I realised I had picked up a 'passenger', one of the guys I passed hitched a ride for the entire bike leg :rolleyes: With 5km to go I spotted the pointy helmet of someone ahead that I knew was in the top 10 and thinking I might be bridging the gap, I put the boot down and caught him just before T2. Being in such a low position was interesting, twice going over bumps my elbows came off the pads and once you get the bike up to speed the wheels really respond nicely. Overall the bike leg went ok, 2 mins faster than last year and might have had me in the mix if I could only flippin run!

Out onto the 2nd run and it was the usual hurtsville of running off the bike, coupled with the hamstring and sore arches made it a woeful split of 2 mins slower that Run1 which ws slow anyway!!! Both the pointy helmet guy and the 'passenger' left me for dust too. I wasn't catching anyone on my feet this day and I reckon there was thankfully a decent enough gap behind me not to get swallowed up by more. The event was smoothly organised as usual and it was good to meet RedB and all the usual heads out for it.

3.6km/14.3km/3.6km
12th total 53:53 Run1 13:40 (17) T1 00:30 Bike 23:50 (7) T2 00:30 Run2 15:32 (32)
Spot which discipline needs work! I also forgot to push the lap button on the Garmin

pgibbo

Do you thinks it's the new running technique that is taking longer to get used to or is there an underlying issue or injury there?

Have you spoken to any other members of the club that have changed running styles like this? How long does it take to become the norm so to speak?

Sounds like the bike is the business. Nice one. Good to see the bike improving also.

shotgunmcos

pgibbo wrote: »

Do you thinks it's the new running technique that is taking longer to get used to or is there an underlying issue or injury there?

Have you spoken to any other members of the club that have changed running styles like this? How long does it take to become the norm so to speak?

Sounds like the bike is the business. Nice one. Good to see the bike improving also.

Not sure to be honest. Shoes definitely need replacing though. I have a newer pair of Kayanos but I find them a bit heavy for racing. Flexibility is another thing I have noticed has taken a back seat so I am again going to be doing a lot more of it. It takes different people differnt length of time to get accustomed to the run style. One of our best runners took it in his stride literally and has gone from strength to strength. I seem to be adapting slowly on the other hand. Yeah the first 10 mins of the bike was nothing to write home about it but the second half was quick, shame I forgot to press the watch. I don't have a bike computer on it, just using the watch for now. How is the training going yourself dude, what are the plans for the year?

shotgunmcos

Last night: 40 mins stretching, holding each stretch for 60secs. I haven't been paying much attention to flexibility lately and so no suprise I was pure stiff!
This morning: Recovery cycle just spinning the legs for about 65mins or so. Opted for the fresh air and mountain bike rather than gym or turbo. It was very cold and breezy. 26km with avg hr 129, avg speed 23.6kmh. I must remember to put some pressure into the tyres using the mtb on road.
Lunchtime: Run 8.3km in about 40mins. 7.45/mile pace avg hr 147. This should have been a tad slower as it was an easy run to loosen the legs. The heart rate was above target zone but it was my first lunchtime run and I wanted to be sure I got back to the office on time. Very enjoyable jaunt around the peoples park, quays and Island for a flavour of lunchtime Limerick. It was chilly and breezy but fresh and bright. I was trying to find the right stride length. Hamstring twinge from the race still evident but I think the run did it good. Legs not fresh yet but a few steady days will hopefully sort them out.

pgibbo

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Not sure to be honest. Shoes definitely need replacing though. I have a newer pair of Kayanos but I find them a bit heavy for racing. Flexibility is another thing I have noticed has taken a back seat so I am again going to be doing a lot more of it. It takes different people differnt length of time to get accustomed to the run style. One of our best runners took it in his stride literally and has gone from strength to strength. I seem to be adapting slowly on the other hand. Yeah the first 10 mins of the bike was nothing to write home about it but the second half was quick, shame I forgot to press the watch. I don't have a bike computer on it, just using the watch for now. How is the training going yourself dude, what are the plans for the year?

Stick with it. No doubt the extra stretching plus some patience and you'll get there.

Training is ok at the moment. Enjoying it but need to start picking it up a bit now. I was looking at events yesterday and June and July are heavily loaded so will have to have a think about that. Could race every weekend for 2 months but will pick and chose AND hopefully get entry to the events I want. Main ones will be Kilkee, Ballina, Galway, Lough Key and Kenmare I'd say. I might try the Wicklow 200 also. Can only do my cycling some good.

RedB

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Last night: 40 mins stretching, holding each stretch for 60secs. I haven't been paying much attention to flexibility lately and so no suprise I was pure stiff!
This morning: Recovery cycle just spinning the legs for about 65mins or so. Opted for the fresh air and mountain bike rather than gym or turbo. It was very cold and breezy. 26km with avg hr 129, avg speed 23.6kmh. I must remember to put some pressure into the tyres using the mtb on road.
Lunchtime: Run 8.3km in about 40mins. 7.45/mile pace avg hr 147. This should have been a tad slower as it was an easy run to loosen the legs. The heart rate was above target zone but it was my first lunchtime run and I wanted to be sure I got back to the office on time. Very enjoyable jaunt around the peoples park, quays and Island for a flavour of lunchtime Limerick. It was chilly and breezy but fresh and bright. I was trying to find the right stride length. Hamstring twinge from the race still evident but I think the run did it good. Legs not fresh yet but a few steady days will hopefully sort them out.

Were you out before bright on the cycle? Did you need lights / hi vis? I hope to start doing an odd cycle like that when its bright enough.

A city run on a nice day is the biz but try the Condell road on the run sometime. Its flat and has an empty bus lane for a good stretch. A bit boring but handy for tempo, etc.

shotgunmcos

RedB wrote: »

Were you out before bright on the cycle? Did you need lights / hi vis? I hope to start doing an odd cycle like that when its bright enough.

A city run on a nice day is the biz but try the Condell road on the run sometime. Its flat and has an empty bus lane for a good stretch. A bit boring but handy for tempo, etc.

Yep. Hi vis cycling jacket and lights on front and back. Out at 7am, home for 8.10 and it was bright by then. Cold though. Recovery shake, shower and out the door by 8.30. Gear and lunch ready from night before. Yeah the Condell road is flat alright but also a bit boring and cars whizzing by. You could do the bank by the quays for a better run. Watch the rowers if they are out. I like running around the town and taking in a couple of hilly bits, but mostly like running by the river...

shotgunmcos

2,000m swim last night. Intended just a straight steady swim and left fins and pullbouy in the bag. Felt quite strong initially, although calves were a little dodgy kicking off the wall. No idea what pace I was at but caught my eye on the clock at around 750m and I was around 13:40 ish and feeling good, maybe zone 3 or thereabouts. I next saw the clock around 1100m and thought I was close to pb pace, hence I built the pace up over the next 200m to see how close I was. As I came up to zone 4 though the left shoulder hurt a bit. perhaps I was over extending but it made me realise that I had abandoned technique since 1100m and was now swimming quite poorly. Hit 1500m in 27:03, just 1 second outside my pb but actually attempting to bring the pace up I ended up shortening the stroke and getting messy (opening fingers, lifting head, pulling too hard at catch and washing the water etc..) and so I was probably better off maintaining the cruising long stroke I had at the start. The lane was busy and I reckon I had to overtake 1-2 times per length so that didn't help. Swam the last 500m easy. Plenty in the tank though to lower that pb in the near future.

2,000m swim again this morning with the group. I was all over the shop to begin with. Woke up late after hitting snooze about 4 times and so I missed the wram up. Straight into the set of 400m/2*200m/4*100m by 2. I didn't even have a chance to check the RTs I just swam. We had a visitor in from the fast lane who was easing back in after a couple of weeks off hence the pace was quick and also relentless. She dished it out and broke the group up. I was in the middle of the group essentially warming up for the first set. For the 2nd 400 and next 200 I moved up and kept up with the 2 quick girls. I was working though and as the toes began to cramp I backed off completely easing off on the next 200. Discovered that the 400 came in about 6:40 and the 200 in 3:15 so that was pretty much on target race pace for me. Pleased just to hold on for that long but whereas I was red faced at the wall, the 2 girls were chatting away like it was no bother!

Also, note to self: Put togs on radiator when I get home! Left the gearbag in the back seat of the car last night and the togs were frozen solid when I took them out of the mesh part of the gearbag at the pool this morning.... twas unpleasant putting them on I can tell you...

stevie_b

i've noticed that some of my best swims have been when i've made a point of not trying to push it from the start. In the past i've often left the pool feeling disappointed as a result of trying too hard - you know when you say to yourself ''right, i'm going to go and hammer this 2000m'', and then you end up gasping for air after about 300m with a technique similar to that of a labrador!

shotgunmcos

Cheers stevie_b yeah getting a rhythm first and getting a feel for what the body is of form for helps. Have a swim tt tonight so I'll take this approach.

Last night: Run, 15.5km at 7:49/mile pace. Running around teh city which is hillier than it looks actually. Easy for 8 mins and then a surge for a bit, repeat patterm Average hr for the session was 149. The stamina was noticeably absent after 50 mins. Cooold but dry out. Calves tight so spent lots of time stretching them.
This morning: Run, 15.8km at 7:17/mile pace. I like distance in metric but still rather pace in miles, maybe I'll convert totally to metric one of teh days. Early morning run this on the riverbank with a couple of the quick lads. Their 'easy' run had me gasping after an hour so I eased off for the last 10 mins or so. Average hr 160. Nice run on a cold morning on the bank, tried to focus on cadence from time to time. Noticed my cadence was much slower than the other lads, when I matched theirs I moved faster but heart rate also soared. Calves really tightened in the last 2km to the point where they hurt now walking around. I'm going to order a foam roller today. A case of need one now. Good to get some running done but calves have taken the brunt. Swim tt tonight, I forsee cramps kicking off the wall. I'll take a good long stretch again after work.

pgibbo

I got a foam roller as a Christmas present. I find it very good, but find the ITB pain unreal when rolling them out.

I've also found that AIS stretching first thing in the morning has helped my flexibility also. Only takes 10mins but personally I have foud it good. I've gotten lazy for the last couple of weeks and have noticed a regression. Must haul ass out of bed earlier and get back in to the habit of doing it each morning.

Good luck with the TT tonight.

DustyBin

Nice going on the back to back runs MCOS - but pulling ahead of me by 0.1km on the S/C/R challenge? - that's just not fair
I'm hoping you've a weekend of swimming & cycling planned;)

Must be frustrating as hell the last couple of weeks for you with the running, but that is savage training you're laying down

griffin100

As I came up to zone 4 though the left shoulder hurt a bit. perhaps I was over extending but it made me realise that I had abandoned technique since 1100m and was now swimming quite poorly. Hit 1500m in 27:03, just 1 second outside my pb but actually attempting to bring the pace up I ended up shortening the stroke and getting messy (opening fingers, lifting head, pulling too hard at catch and washing the water etc..) and so I was probably better off maintaining the cruising long stroke I had at the start. The lane was busy and I reckon I had to overtake 1-2 times per length so that didn't help. Swam the last 500m easy. Plenty in the tank though to lower that pb in the near future.

Its reassuring for people like me to see that we're not the only ones who can loose technique when pushing hard or when tired - it also happens to the fast guys - although mine tends to go a lot sooner than 1,110m:)

shotgunmcos

Tri Club swim TT: 750m in 12:05 avg pace 1:36/100m personal best. Pretty chuffed with this.
I had established my target swim pace for 1500m by sept at the start of the log to be 25mins or 1:40/100m, so I was aiming for 13mins at least and secretely hoping for 12:30 which would be on that pace. I was also apprehensive about cramping as the calves were sore from back to back runs. I had rubbed some stuff on them that Caz gave me, she's a pharmacist so it had to be good! Normally I'd go off like a bat out of hell but I was more cautious this time as it was longer than the last 400m TT before christmas. I was working hard but kept focusing on form so the lengths passed quickly. 2 others in the lane which I lead out. I thought there may be a collision at one point when all 3 of us reached the wall together but it was all very polite indeed and we all had good swims. I know when I'm hurting because I start breathing every two strokes but I managed to reign it back to bilateral each time which kept me relaxed. Finally, a good session! Did 150m to warm up and 100m to cool down. I passed on the swim session this morning and opted for extra sleep and a full irish breakfast instead

interested

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Tri Club swim TT: 750m in 12:05 avg pace 1:36/100m personal best.

chapeau !

Izoard

1.36 per 100m over 750m? Insane!

Could be leisurely 50m for me:)

showry

nice one MCOS, must be something in the water

pgibbo

Great stuff MCOS. That's savage swimming. Nice to see the lengths paying off. No doubt it was pretty tasty fry up this morning too! Nice choice of reward! :cool:

shotgunmcos

Last night: 1 hour turbo steady in zone 2, avg hr 125 avg watts 212
This morning: 2 hours turbo steady zone 2-3, avg hr 132 avg watts 225

Session plans were much more eventful but calves still sore so kept away from any sort of intensity and just spun at about 100 cadence doing some single leg focus herer and there. Watchee ice age with my son on it this morning and it felt weird to be sweating buckets and laughing out loud at times. The movie was short though so to stay focused I surged for 20 revs at the start of each of the last 30 mins.

catweazle

Nice swimming I vaguely remember you mentioning on your old blog that you dont do tumble turns either, very impressive to keep that sort of 100m pace over 750m

stevie_b

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Last night: 1 hour turbo steady in zone 2, avg hr 125 avg watts 212
This morning: 2 hours turbo steady zone 2-3, avg hr 132 avg watts 225

what weight (kg) are you as a matter of interest? (just to get an idea of effort)

shotgunmcos

I knew it was going to be a busy day today so opted for an early morning lsr. A romantic valentines night meant not getting shut eye until 2am, out then at 5.30am for the run. Starting the 'no-snooze button for lent' pledge early while I was at it. 1hr20 run building in stages up to an hour and then bringing the heart rate back down. After 10 mins easy warm up it was 20 mins at 150hr and avg pace 7:10/mile, feeling pretty sprightly for some reason I thought. Next up to 160hr for 20 mins and avg pace 6:49/mile. Final build to 170hr for 10mins and pace dropped to 6:25/mile before gradually bringing the heart rate back to zone 2 and gentle 9+ mins for the last mile. Altogether 17.2km at 7:24/mile average pace, keeping it neck in neck with Dusty on the challenge (just coincidentally I might add). The garmin really does give incredible breakdown of every aspect of every km in every little detail so I'm looking forward to actually using it for a race. Ran through an industrial estate and around suburbia and didn't pass another soul until about 6:30am (another jogger out early). There was a mild fog and it was otherwise a chilly but fresh morning.

There was a good feeling about this run. My calf niggles held off for an hour and after the post run stretch were not as sore as the last 2 weeks. I had compression socks on and wore them for the day too and also applied deep heat. I was also happy that I kept a decent stride and ran on the mid-fore foot region for the entire duration. Progress. The pace was good for the target zones. Not a fully fresh run but much better than I've been running recently

@stevie_b hovering around 78kg at the moment mate, well prior to this weekend anyway (eating crap like its the end of the world as lent approaches!)

shotgunmcos

Swim session.
16*50m warm up
100m*8 neg split off 1:50
150*4 0ff 2:50
200m*2 off 3:50
100m*4 neg split off 1:50.
Lead out pace was quick and I was tired so this was a 'get through it' session. Stroke felt short no matter what I focused on so session was more work than usual. 3,000m Didn't hit the snooze button this morning so I was early for once...

shotgunmcos

14.2km at avg 7:38/mile pace.
Mostly easy but 3 tough tempo reps in there with 3 min rests. 10 min warm up easy then into it. 7min reps at 6:12/6:15/6:19 pace respectively. The last one did have a drag that slowed the pace a little. I didn't achieve target heart rates on the reps but was below target pace so not too bad. About 30 mins easy recovery jog at 8:37 pace but right calf really started to hurt so it didn't feel like much of a recovery. The niggle did show at the start of the run but really hindered me in the last 20 mins. Hmmm. Feels better after a stretch and rolling it out at the moment. No more intensity this week so hopefully easy sessions will allow it rest up a bit. Cool how the Garmin buzzes and lights up when the rep is up and rest on. Every km is broken down to pace/distance/hr/averages/time and distance in each zone etc... Getting to know the gadget now and its starting to feel like a good investement.

shotgunmcos

Ahh lunchtime run again... second time doing this and it actually a really enjoyable way to break up the day. Same route as last week in and around the parks and quays of inner Limerick City. Cold but sunny day. 8.4km total at about 7:45/mile so a tad quicker than last weeks run. All lower right leg not feeling great, shin, achilles, calf all giving out. The Garmin is slow to pick up the satellite for the first km out of work and tried to convince me I did it in about a minute and a half. I also noticed it doesn't like one little section of the park where I seem to be running on top of the trees that overhang the old wall. There are also more hills in Limerick than you would think, short snappy ones. Average heart rate was 142 which is also better than last week. Not too bad getting changed, run, changed, wash basin, head under dryer, make cup of tea and back to desk in just under an hour. Swallowed back 2 wraps with chicken, rocket, spinach, red pesto, cheese and salad cream and spilled almost none on my keyboard. All good

shotgunmcos

.. and I'm off chocolate, biscuits, snooze-button and wrinkly shirts!

I don't know how I slept last night with the amount of crap I ate but got a few hours anyway. Maybe the short turbo helped

Last night: 30mins turbo spinning at 100 in zone 3 but pushing the cadence to 120 for 10 seconds every minute... turned into a bit of a workout in that I would have had to work hard to do another 30mins of it. Average watts 246. Stretched the calves out afterwards

This morning: Swim session
16*50m with fins warm up with some superman kicking
4*300m off 5:40
2*200m off 3:40
3*100m off 1:50
3*(100m easy/2*50m hard)
100m breast stroke cool down
3,400m

Held the RTs comfortably until we got to the 200s and then I was working hard to make them. Felt like I was swimming well at times, conscious of body roll and doing so from the hips rather than the shoulders.

pgibbo

Great swimming. How long were you in the pool for that session? I was in for an hour this morning and only managed 1700m.

Sounds like you've turned a corner with the running. Good stuff. :cool:

shotgunmcos

pgibbo wrote: »

Great swimming. How long were you in the pool for that session? I was in for an hour this morning and only managed 1700m.

Sounds like you've turned a corner with the running. Good stuff. :cool:

Thanks. Depends on what you are doing really pgibbo. On a technique only session I might only do 1500m max in an hour. This morning session was pretty much all work with little rest and took a bit over 70mins.

I don't know about turning the corner on the running yet but getting there hopefully. Duathlon on Sunday and better run splits will surely be a good sign.