Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Abhainn wrote: »

Our lad was super untill he reached 13 months.
We then had hell at night from there untill he was well over 2. There was rarely a night both of us were not up with him once or even twice at night.

Nicely coming along. Enjoy the sun (and hills:)) next week

It is a bit crazy alright although she just woke once last night at 3am:rolleyes:. It does not help the rest were out of their routine also with the school holidays.

pgibbo wrote: »

Nice training Fran. :cool:

Enjoy Lanza. Be sure to bring a wetsuit. I was there in March and the water was damn cold. I was getting the chills and headaches after 20 minutes without it.

Yep have the wetsuit packed. We may even need it for the outdoor pool by the sounds of it:)

pgibbo

Are there a few of ye going? Looks like a class spot. I believe LCD has been there. Tamsin Lewis is a big fan too.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

pgibbo wrote: »

Are there a few of ye going? Looks like a class spot. I believe LCD has been there. Tamsin Lewis is a big fan too.

Heading over with LCD (he was there last year) and there will likely be others from different countries as the place holds a good few.
Should be a tough but enjoyable weeks training.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Monday
Swim
A mix of balance drills and some catch up with 50s,100s & 200s. 50s measuring SWOLF which showed a slight improvement from last time it was recorded, marginal gains!! Swim form coming back gradually. Hopefully by the end of the week away in Lanza swim will be back to normal (as in my normal)
50mins,2100mtrs

Recovery Run
Found it very hard to run this slow but as the speed was set to 12kmph on the treddie it forced me to stick with it. Legs badly needed this type of run and they felt better for it.
40mins,7.95kms,5.02m/km pace

Tuesday
Easy Run
Another good run, outdoors at lunchtime for a change. I don't know what i have done to deserve an improved easy pace of late and this early in the season but i aint complaining. Perhaps the introduction of treadmill running has helped, not sure? I think another factor is mileage. I find anything below 40km a week and i am really only maintaining, 40km+ and 5 runs a week i find i run much better. It just needs to be carefully balanced with the rest of the training so as not to impact.
41mins,9.33km,4.24m/km pace

75min Easy Bike
Something does not feel right, for the 2nd time in a row on the bike power numbers are not matching effort. This should be an easy ride at 180w but it felt tougher. I realised i did not re calibrate when moving the cranks from road to tt which could be part of the problem. It will not allow me to now calibrate now for some reason I know what 180w feel likes and last night it did not feel like it.
I was even getting paronoid my position was off so double checked everything mid way through the ride. Will see what coach says.
76mins,39.7kms,AP180w/NP181w

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Wednesday
30min easy treadmill run
I was due to do an hour on the turbo before work but hit the snooze button one too many times so trotted off a half hour easy on the treddie whilst watching the morning news. A good way to start the day.
30mins,6.7kms,4.29m/km pace

Swim
Why can't every swim be like this. Set consisted off 200wu, 6x50k and some drills before moving into 200s,100s a 400 and more 200s & 100s all to be done at threshold pace with 30sec recoveries. I felt fantastic in the water tonight with my main focus to get some sort of kick going, not for propulsion but to maintain a high body position in the water. I have sort of a half flutter kick going on with my little hobbit feet which i can feel is helping me keep me up and moving forward.
Another area i concentrated on was pushing back water (high elbow/vertical arm in the water) as much as possible rather than down. The result of both areas of focus resulted in a streamlined position and an unplanned 400tt pb by 15secs in the middle of my set.
Pleased with the even pacing
1:44.1
1:48.9
1:50.5 (I probably lost 2/3 secs as i came up to a slow swimmer at the wall who got in the way)
1:48.8
http://tpks.ws/YnGa
I was due to get 3100mtrs in but got stuck chatting at the wall after the 400tt. My swim mojo & enjoyment for the pool has returned.
69mins,2500mtrs

I also got to the bottom of my bike issue, garmin would still not re calibrate the PM after moving the cranks over so took the battery out and re paired the device to PM which reset itself. Hey presto power matches effort (albeit a very short spin to check), i bloody knew something was up. No wonder the weekend long bike felt so tough, i must have been riding 4hrs tempo rather than easy:o

Still have not packed a single item and i fly out tomorrow!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Thursday
Swim
Another session this time heavily focussed on kicking,drills,technique work and some speedwork. The legs were hanging off me after WU and 4x100 hard kick:rolleyes: Spent a good while going through the balance drills and then onto some c/up,fist,doggie and touch drills
After the efforts from Wednesday night i was glad to still feel good in the water. My body position is much better so much so it feels like i am gliding along on top of the water. I had some fast 50s which came in 45,46,48,48 and then 6x100s best effort with additional recovery, these came in 1.42,1.43,1.43,1.45,1.45,1.43. Conisistent enough but the arms were feeling it towards the end but i did not allow form to get sloppy.
Am i finally starting to crack this swimming lark? Going to build on the recent improvements and really focus on my swimming in Lanza.
1:06,2400mtrs

Turbo
As usual i left packing to the last minute but wanted to get a decent turbo in the legs before breaking & packing the bike up for heading away. Felt much better on the bike tonight and session was 10min easy wu into 20min sweet spot, 5mins easy and then 2x8mins @ FTP with 2min recovery and warm down.
Good session - bike stats - http://www.trainingpeaks.com/av/2TDIIK2XEFSFPHUM7AMF57BQA4

Friday
Up early to finish packing and get a run in before i head off. No need to run bare top this morning on the treddie as it was bloody cold. It's mornings like this with ice on the roads i am happy i made the investment in the treddie.
Session was,
20mins easy at 13.2kmph (4.33 m/km pace)
20mins steady at 15kmph (4.00 m/km pace)
5mins mod hard at 16.2kmph (3.42 m/km pace)
5mins easy warm down
All done at 1% gradient, the steady felt fine and the 5mins mod hard was not too bad either.
50mins,11.8kms,4.14m/km pace

So thats me, next post will be from a warmer climate:)

BennyMul

Enjoy the holiday sorry training week;)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Laptop not working so I will save a full update for when I get back. Training for me only really properly kicked off today with a 2hr run with a 6k uphill finish as in i done a session i was happy with. Had been under the weather the first 2 days which was a bummer, I still managed to clock up a good bit of training but it was a bit of a sufferfest and not so enjoyable when you cannot train properly.
Learning a lot from the week and it certainly helps training with people who have either gone sub 9 or close enough to it.
Here is hoping I can nail a few more sessions in the next 3 days. BTW there is no such thing as an easy bike or run out here, windy & hilly!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Friday 11th
Treadmill run before flying out. Arrived in the evening so just unpacked and settled into dinner for the night.

Saturday 12th
Swim
Rolled out of bed early and straight into swimming. Myself & Liam conjured up a set and got stuck in. The first sign of not feeling 100% kicked in but got through the session huffing and puffing. Pool was probably 10secs per 100 slower than back home.

Bike
Again headed out with Liam. Time to see if he was as strong as people say on the bike.....he is:) We done an hour easy out to Timanfaya and done 4 interval reps up it. Its about 170mtrs gain over 5km and it was roughly taking us 12minutes per rep. I stuck to my own tempo and choo choo Dolan took off and done his. We cycled back the rest easy although i was really struggling at the back end of the session and fell off Liams wheel, another signal all was not well.

Run
When we got back we had a new training buddy, Lucy Gossage. She joined us for the run and i thought i got the knock after 30mins of running and was reduced to walking. I think it was just me feeling unwell.

Sunday 13th
5.5hr Long Bike
5 of us from the house headed out to do the IM loop but we soon dropped two of them an hour in. The rest of the day was me suffering off the back of Liam & Lucy, i was amazed at how strong Lucy was on the bike, hardly surpising she won Challenge Barca and went sub 9.
I was able to keep pace on flats/descents/slight drags but anytime the road went up they would open a huge gap and have to wait on me. I felt like **** throughout the ride and i hate to be the one hanging off the back, not taking my turn on the front and holding people up so i told them to head on after 4hrs. That last hour and a half was pure hell but i got home, got some tablets into me and rested up. I was highly annoyed and thought the whole week was going to fall apart.

Monday 14th
I dialed back the effort today and took it easy for the day with the hope of clearing whatever was in my system.
Run
Recovery paced run, breathing still a little heavy.

2hr Bike
We headed out again as a group for an easy ride, i soon realised that a) there is no such thing as an easy ride in Lanza and b) Liam & Lucy's easy aint so easy. Not to be silly i sloped off after 40mins and done my own thing easy for another hour. Felt better once i got back to the villa and was hopeful i was on the mend.

Tuesday 15th
Swim
Felt better in the water and done a 3.2k set following what Liam was doing. Some drills and some 100s.

2hr Long Run
I was nervous as hell about this as i had not felt i hit any session well since arriving over. I know i am a decent runner but i was also concerned running with the likes of Liam and Lucy as both are very good runners. This turned out to be a great run, i felt strong throughout the 2hrs. We had a 6km uphill finish with about 400mtr of gain. I took great confidence in taking Gossy on the hill:) and closing down Liam the machine near the top. I could not take the smile off my face for the rest of the evening....i was back. Nice being told you are a good runner with good form, confidence booster.
26kms, 4.40pace

30min leg loosener & 45min core
Put the bike on the turbo and the 3 of us spun out the legs for half an hour before 45mins of core. The core session was a good tough. Learnt a few extra core exercises which i will try integrate in my own routine from now on.

A good days training and set up for the rest of the week.
TBC...

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Wednesday
4.5hr Bike - The Tabayesco challenge
I was bolstered by Tuesdays work and for once i was able to take my turn on the front with Liam and drive on the pace for most of the ride. Felt good and strong throughout. We headed out to the Tabayesco climb http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/4443581 and the plan was to go up it twice, steady the first time and overgear what i thought was to be hard the second time. First time i went up i was around mid 36 minutes. I had fun descending back down it to go back up again, this youtube video gives you an idea what the descent is like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw9HzRvu3Rg
The second time i went up i kept it in the 53/18 and my cadence averaged out at 54:) I smashed myself going up it the 2nd time in 32mins but there was nearly a massive explosion a few minutes from the top of the climb. I really felt the burn in the quads after the overgear work but again finished it strong.

Run
Ran off the bike with Liam, took me 5mins to find my feet but soon got into my running.

Sea Swim
A sea swim later in the evening was the perfect way to recover. I found it very choppy, i was a little put off for the first 10mins but just got stuck in and covered about 1.7km.

Thursday
This was supposed to be a slightly easier day with a big day to finish off the week on Friday:rolleyes:

Run
Straight out of bed and had a coffee. The three amigos headed for some mile reps, 5 in total. The mile loop starts off downhill so the first half of the run is steady with the back end of it uphill and then levelling off so pretty tough. Liam & Lucy were hitting them around 5.45s whilst i started off at 6mins, i started to drift to 6.18 on the fourth rep and called it quits into the 5th as i was flagging. We slowly jogged back up the hill to the villa. Good to get this one done early in the day.

Bike
Some brekkie before we headed out for an easy spin. Slightly longer than planned at 2.5hrs. Tiredness starting to set in!!

Swim
I could tell the three of us were not in the form for doing the planned 4.5k set. This is what was great, we were all pretty much done at 1k and we each pushed each other on doing 400s. Lucy doing 500, Liam 450 to my 400 so our off times kept the same. Somehow we talked ourselves into doing 4k and over 1.5hr in the pool:p

We headed out for dinner that night to celebrate Mr Dolans birthday. I allowed myself enjoy 3 beers with some fine food knowing i had one more session to nail before heading for home.

Friday
5.5hr solo ride and run off
Once again out onto the IM loop this time solo. I took on some advice and ignored gadgets and numbers for both the spin and run. All i can say is i simply smashed this ride, rode about 35w stronger than last week averaging 213np for the 5.5hrs covering just under 160kms. Probably good for a 6hr split on the full course, not bad for a training ride. I kept it in the big ring for all the ride bar one section for a minute or so.
Strong ride considering 2.5k of elevation gain.

Run
A very quick transition and straight into 25mins hard running before 15mins easy. Again smashed this knowing it was my last session. Averaged 4.10km pace so must have been running sub 4 on the 25mins. I was toast mind you when i finished. Barely had the energy to pack up my bike box and headed back to the airport.

Saturday
Back home and just 30min recovery run on the treadmill, rest of the day spent playing and cuddling the kids....and Michelle:D

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Some numbers to start off with. There is probably around 10,000mtrs of elevation gain between cycling/running for the week:eek:. Lanza is the perfect location to train on as the terrain and conditions really test you. The spot we stayed in was also great as they take care of everything allowing you to focus soley on the training.
Training Camp - Lanza|# sessions|Time hh:mm|Distance kms
Total|22|36:42|722.6kms
Swimming|4|4:46|11.9kms
Cycling|7|23:32|623kms
Running|7|6:39|87.7kms
S&C|4|1:45|N/A


I have to say Liam and Lucy made the week for me. For starters, Liam is a machine and some athlete. Very focused, disciplined and i learnt a lot from him in the week. As for Lucy she is one strong lady and someone who comes across upbeat and very positive right the way through her training. You can tell she enjoys it and i am expecting some massive results from her in the future. It was great to be training with people like Liam and Lucy as they really push you on and they were the best training buddies you could want on a training camp as we all gelled and worked well together.
I took the opportunity to ask for some advice & comments at the end of the week and i have taken what they said on board, both good and bad.
The good
Very strong, focused, determined, driven, will get to Kona, have the ability, the drive and the engine to get me there.
The bad
Spend too much time with gadgets, looking at numbers, should train more on feel, need to keep a balance, over training and burn out will lead to me leaving the sport early as i will end up resenting it.

All very valid points and some which had been raised by my coach already. The big risk is the burn out and shortening my shelf life in tri. I will be certainly watching out for that. I feel tired but not broken by the week, i do feel very strong and i may look at targeting a race next week during a recovery week to take advantage of my current fitness.
Happy little hobbit with the week put down, onwards & upwards from here with Abu Dhabi around the corner.

RayCun

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

dgets, looking at numbers, should train more on feel,... may look at targeting a race next week during a recovery week to take advantage of my current fitness.

One thing that strikes me from your log is that you record training paces, FTP, god knows what swimming stats - but you don't seem to race very often. A race will tell you much more about where you are than a training session.

El Director

Sounded pretty damn awesome to me dude! Well done on getting through despite the uncertain start. Being as privileged as you were in the company of LD and LG has to be the highlight though and surely you will benefit from that. Great to have such good company and great that ye were able to keep each other going through out.

That seems like sound advice too. Enjoy the recovery week.

Kurt Godel

Sounds like a very useful trip, and priceless advice too. Have to say, your focus in getting the training done is very impressive, with juggling work/family/life.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RayCun wrote: »

One thing that strikes me from your log is that you record training paces, FTP, god knows what swimming stats - but you don't seem to race very often. A race will tell you much more about where you are than a training session.

Yep mentioned it in my year end review, more racing planned for this year. Hopefully I can find a race to suit next weekend, sure thats why we train, to race!

HalfTri

Great week put down. Huge hours. Never done anything like them myself. I think training with LIam dolan would make anyone think they were half sick. He's an animal (especially on that bike)

I agree with what others have said - you need to race. Whether run races or duathlons but you need to get serious pb's to get to where you want to. A season of top results would make kona possible for 2014. But you do need the results.

All the training in the world is great but if you can't perform on race days - you won't get target.

Keep it up

LCD

Hats off to Fran he trained seriously hard & sensibly, backing off when the body needed it. He has the focus, determination & good coaching so he will be living the Kona dream before long.
However he is just so dam ugly!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Ha ha someone left themselves logged in on my computer! Like the blog. Loved training with you. Keep smiling and pushing and see you in Kona! LG

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

LCD wrote: »

However he is just so dam ugly!

That's rich coming from you ugly sweets safe trip home!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Ha ha someone left themselves logged in on my computer! Like the blog. Loved training with you. Keep smiling and pushing and see you in Kona! LG

Oi Gossy get off my profile hope the 2nd week is going well.

banner_phoenix

Some great training there JB and a really interesting read for someone like me just new to the sport.
Hopefully it pays off soon and you blast the next race.

BennyMul

Savage weeks training there JB, fair play a great way to start the year.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Saturday & Sunday
Just a slow recovery run for 30mins on the treadmill on Saturday. I had planned on doing a longish run on Sunday but i thought my time would be better spent playing with the kids, we had a good chill out day.

Looks like i will be giving the Raheny 5 a lash this weekend. Ignoring the garmin and running hard will be the approach i am taking.

pgibbo

Sounds like a cracking week Fran with some very good takeaways! :cool:

Best of luck this weekend

tunney

pgibbo wrote: »

Sounds like a cracking week Fran with some very good takeaways! :cool:

Best of luck this weekend

Emmmmmm takeaway

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

tunney wrote: »

Emmmmmm takeaway

I thought the same when i read that:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Some race plans for the year. They might change around a bit. Main focus is obviously IM FF.

27th Jan - Raheny 5 mile RR
02nd Feb - Fingal Duathlon
02nd Mar - Abu Dhabi L/Course (A race)
20th Apr - North Tipp Sprint tri
05th May - Boyne 10k RR
22nd/29th May - TT League - Cuchulainn
01st June - Tri Athy OLY tri
05th/12th June - TT League - Cuchulainn
07th July - IM Frankfurt (A race)
18th Aug - Groomsport HIM
25th Aug - Dublin City OLY tri

sconhome

Nothing west of the Shannon!! You need to get out more

tunney

An extract email "someone" got when he emailed Power2max about a snapped crank bolt

"Hello Fran,

thanks for your picture and your message.

Sounds not good, you are a strong little man "

Maybe something got confused as English not their first language but I'm choosing to believe otherwise.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

amphkingwest wrote: »

Nothing west of the Shannon!! You need to get out more

And if i was to venture west of the Shannon what would the recommendation be?