Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

pgibbo

You're dogged Fran. Fair play for even getting on the treadmill! Best of luck for the next couple of weeks. Stay healthy and rest well

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Abhainn wrote: »

35-39 isn't that bad. Neither is the next category up
Sunday sounded painful. 10/10 though birthday boy.

It was very painful.

pgibbo wrote: »

You're dogged Fran. Fair play for even getting on the treadmill! Best of luck for the next couple of weeks. Stay healthy and rest well

No i am stupid P, no way i should have been running off that bike yesterday in the condition i got off it. I am still feeling the effects of yesterdays cold conditions today and just hopeful i can avoid any colds etc.
Two enforced rest days for me as i am ticking a lot of the "over reaching" boxes at the moment. Should start to come around mid to back end of the week all being well.

HalfTri

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

It was very painful.



No i am stupid P, no way i should have been running off that bike yesterday in the condition i got off it. I am still feeling the effects of yesterdays cold conditions today and just hopeful i can avoid any colds etc.
Two enforced rest days for me as i am ticking a lot of the "over reaching" boxes at the moment. Should start to come around mid to back end of the week all being well.

Your training hard Aliya Wailing Bench. One thing I don't agree with is rest days. Cut intensity out - do short half hour sessions but don't do nothing. Your pushing your body - of course its going to feel it. But today you should be swimming to help recovery. You need to train the body to accept pain.

Keep up the good work.

shotgunmcos

To be honest it sounds like over reaching. Too much intensity too soon after the camp. 3 weeks to go, not a whole lot to be gained now endurance wise that won't be costly. Shorter sessions with sweet spot shorter insets. Health is number one Fran, remember how your early races panned out last year after a hard winter and plenty of obstacles. Admire your dedication but it still doesn't seem like you know when to back off and recover. Just my 2c, observing more than logging lately :cool:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

HalfTri wrote: »

Your training hard jackyback. One thing I don't agree with is rest days. Cut intensity out - do short half hour sessions but don't do nothing. Your pushing your body - of course its going to feel it. But today you should be swimming to help recovery. You need to train the body to accept pain.

Keep up the good work.

Normally i don't like rest days but there is a time and place for them. Pushing through in this case would not be a good idea and besides sometimes its ok to back off and do other stuff. Besides this week was always going to be a planned easy week and the bulk of the work has been done.

shotgunmcos wrote: »

To be honest it sounds like over reaching. Too much intensity too soon after the camp. 3 weeks to go, not a whole lot to be gained now endurance wise that won't be costly. Shorter sessions with sweet spot shorter insets. Health is number one Fran, remember how your early races panned out last year after a hard winter and plenty of obstacles. Admire your dedication but it still doesn't seem like you know when to back off and recover. Just my 2c, observing more than logging lately :cool:

Yeah its over reaching but caught at the early stage as really the signs only started showing up the back end of last week. To be honest i will take that as we are almost at the end of 22 weeks hard graft with a lot of hard sessions and intensity raised from last year and the year before. The fact that things only started to pinch the last 3 or 4 days in my mind tells me things are just about right. Yep health is the main priority and trying to avoid picking up something especially from that cold and damp spin from Sunday. I have a 100% trust in my coach that he will see me right. I have worked with him now for 1.5yr and its scary how he knows how my personality works and how i adapt to the workload so i have no concerns about not being ready in 3 weeks. I know i have said it a thousand times on here already but i am learning along the way and the end goal of Kona is not something that happens overnight. Years of work, building year on year.
For AD we are trialing a different taper approach this time round to see how it works as normally i would be tapering by now (3 week taper) and from last years experience i seemed to pick up sickness the week leading up to the race as the body reacts to a drop in volume and intensity. Re last point on backing off, I should not have done the run or even the bike on Sunday (no other option to get home) but as i said above i am happy where i am at.
I am a "type A" sort of person so for me to do a self check along with coach and back off and flag things when needed i think speaks volumes in how i am changing from previous years (coach would tell you i need to improve more though:))

Monday
Rest day, spent the evening building a spaceship online and orbiting the earth with the eldest lad, pretty cool way to spend a few hrs.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Tuesday 12th
Another rest day, made a shedload of pancakes.

Wednesday 13th
Back to some easy training

Run
I was due to swim in the morning but snoozed one too many times so just got my half hour easy run done on the treddie watching the rain beat down outside. Once again running not feeling fluid, more on this shortly.
30mins,6.4kms,4.41m/km pace

Swim
In for a short enough easy swim, made this up as i went along. There was a lot of fvking about in the lane as the rest of the pool was unusually busy but we finally stopped getting in each others way. WU of 300, some kick and some 4x50 fists. Main set was a 400 easy in 7:35 and a bunch of 100s off in 2mins to tie in with others in the lane.
Times came in on 1.45,41,48,43,41,39,42,46,45,43,44. Bit of a spread on those times as i was trying a few things on my stroke.
54mins,2400mtrs,swolf 76, moving pace 1:49

Physio
In with the Man with the Tan who inflicted some a lot of pain. Turns out i was suffering with hypertonicity in my leg muscles especially around quads and glutes. He got in and released them but boy was it sore and i was glad when he finished working on me.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Thursday 14th
1hr easy lunchtime bike
Just a very easy hour and it was lovely out for it.
1:01,27.4kms,AP165w/NP174w,27kmph,82rpm

Swim
I had my own set down on paper but had to make do and try fit around others in the lane as the pool was busy and a few lanes on the go. Ended up in a lane of 5 from the local tri club, good honest hard working lads and all much faster than me which is sometimes a good thing.
After some wu,drills and kicks the lads were doing a main set of 3x(2x250,5x50s) so i joined in but missed the first 100 on the 1st set.
1) 150 in 2:30 & 250 in 4:04 (2sec 200tt pb in the 250)
50s in 45,45,47,46,45
2) 250s in 4:09 & 4:14 (1.39 & 1.41 pace)
50s in 44,45,44,46,45
3) 250s in 4:16 & 3:23(200) (1.42 & 1.41 pace)
50s in 44 & 47 skipped last 3 and done some light kicking & warm down before being kicked out. A very strong session and felt good in the water and the form was holding well on the fast 50s.
57mins,2800mtrs

Friday 15th
45min easy lunchtime run
Finally a run where the legs felt good, it seems like an age since i have ran well. Kept the effort reigned back into easy even though the legs wanted to take off. Great weather out there today as well, enjoyed this one.
45:11,10.11kms,4.28m/km pace

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Saturday 16th
1hr long easy run
Just an ok run but it was lovely out so it more than made up for it. Have been feeling a slight knot in my right hamstring and it progressively got tighter as the run went on (enough to have me concerned), something to keep a close eye on.
1:10,15.23km,4.37m/km

Sunday 17th
2hr easy bike
Out for a nice easy spin and once again conditions were good if a little windy. First time out with the wired DA SRMs which i am trialing with a view to buying so i can have a fixed setup indoors and 2 bikes ready to go with power. Too early to do a comparison between these and the P2M but first impressions is i like although the PCV takes a bit of getting used to.
They do seem to read slightly higher than my P2M, or re phrase that as P2M reads low given that SRM is seen as the gold standard in terms of power measurement. Thankfully no issues with the hamstring whilst cycling.
2:03,62.4kms,30.3kmph,AP208w/NP215w,80rpm

30min stretch/roll/golf balls
From walking around i still felt tightness in the hamstring so paid attention to that area. I did get some relief from rolling a golf ball in around the area and it seems to have improved it this morning. An easy 30min run at lunch will tell a lot.

Weekly Totals
11th Feb-17th Feb-Wk7|# sessions|Time hh:mm|Distance kms|YTD totals|last yr comparison|Weekly avg
Total|8|8:21|142.7kms|2106.74kms|1435.1kms|300.96kms
Swimming|2|1:51|5.2kms|61.7kms|49.9kms|8.8kms
Cycling|2|3:35|105.77kms|1681.91kms|1159.24|240.27kms
Running|3|2:25|31.73kms|363.13kms|427.46kms|51.87kms
Strenth/Core|1|0:30|N/A|5.50|2.55|50mins
TSS|N/A|487.4|N/A|6827||975


So a week which contained 2 complete rest days. I will be honest i found it hard to sit on my hands for those two days and do nothing but i know they were badly needed and rest/recovery is just as important as the training itself. A very easy week with just the 8hrs and whilst the body does feel rested and recovered i am not so happy with the hamstring and how my leg muscles in general seem to be not "switching off" and tense all the time. I figure i will need to allow at least 15mins a day just to ensure i try and keep things loosened up. I will lift things this week a little and then ease back next week for race week, well thats the plan but plans can change!! I need to get a few housekeeping items sorted this week, wetsuit repaired, new cassette, new chain on the tt and the bike needs a really good clean as the rear derailer is clogged with gunk.
13 days to Abu Dhabi and its rolling around so fast that i am starting to brick it a little:rolleyes:

catweazle

So to make sure I am reading this right - you are looking at having 3 powermeters on the go :eek:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

catweazle wrote: »

So to make sure I am reading this right - you are looking at having 3 powermeters on the go :eek:

No sorry, two bikes with power one of which will be a fixed setup on the turbo...i am not that loaded/mental to need or want 3 of them

BennyMul

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

No sorry, two bikes with power one of which will be a fixed setup on the turbo...i am not that loaded/mental to need or want 3 of them

Are you sure you dont need a spare just incase.

Izoard

Hey JB, seems you are chomping-at-the-bit for AD.

Have you figured out the wheel options for the race? A slip of a fella like yourself, might struggle with a disc if you were thinking that way?

I know I nearly came a cropper on a couple of the bridges with the 80mm, and I'm at least twice your weight:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Izoard wrote: »

Hey JB, seems you are chomping-at-the-bit for AD.

Have you figured out the wheel options for the race? A slip of a fella like yourself, might struggle with a disc if you were thinking that way?

I know I nearly came a cropper on a couple of the bridges with the 80mm, and I'm at least twice your weight:)

Well looking at race photos last year there is a mix of disc and non disc. I plan to race with a disc unless the wind really goes nuts whilst over there. At the moment it is giving it 21 degree, 26kmph winds and some gusts up to 48kmph for race day. Disc cover is easy enough to take off over there should i need to.

Chomping at the bit alright, looking forward to getting over there and making vrooom vroooom noises on the F1 track:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

With a stretch in hours its time to leave the car at home for a few months and get some bike/runmutes in.

Monday
Swim
2.5k of work with main set of 5x300 as sw steady and pull easy, sw in 5:30/28/33 and pull 5:35/31.
49mins,2500mtrs,avg move pace 1:51,swolf78

Easy lunchtime run
Still feeling this bloody tightness in the hamstring and it was starting to cause me some concern. As a result i was running very easy and moving very poorly.
28:33,5.7kms,5min km pace

Bike commute in/out - 11mins/167w in, 22mins/203w long way home - 14kms

Worked on the hamstring and legs for about 20mins in the evening.

Tuesday
Double bike day
AM - 1hr easy with 5x20sec surges
Out early before work and whilst icy it was great weather for cycling. Took me a while to get going and wake up. The 20sec surges were treated as a tester to see how the hamstring responded before attempting a turbo session later. Thankfully no issues from hamstring today, seemed to release it from last night.
1:04,30.1kms,28.1kmph,AP196w/NP211w,83rpm, surges all up to 400/500w
PM - 65mins with some efforts
Well i hope to hold around 220-225w in AD all going well. Plan for session after warm up and some builds was 2 x 10mins race pace/5mins +20w/5min +40min and 5 mins easy, so essentially 2 blocks of 20min work.
Efforts all came in around - 224w/245w/265w.
Solid session and first session indoors with the srms, me likey.
1:06,40.1kms,36.2kmph,AP222w/NP228w,84rpm

Lunchtime easy run
Never been as relieved not to feel any niggle from the hamstring on this one. Forgot garmin but i was moving well.
est - 33mins,7.3kms,4:31m/km pace

Commute out - 25mins/179w

shotgunmcos

You going to keep a log & the new blog going ?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

shotgunmcos wrote: »

You going to keep a log & the new blog going ?

The blog is more for weekly summary and somehwere to keep race reports/photos/pbs in one place. Hopefully something to read back on in years to come.
As for the log on here? I have sort of grown accustomed to logging my daily sessions and the interaction with other posters so will probably keep this going for a while yet....well at least until the title of the log is fulfilled. Could be a while yet:pac:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Wednesday 20th
Run day
4k commute into work - 4k/20:43/5.11km pace
4k commute home - 4.1k/19:59/4.50km pace
Lunchtime Run
Another ok bordering on crap run. Running is really frustrating me right now especially as i was running well a number of weeks back. Hopefully it turns around. Run had 20mins easy building into 10mins steady/3mins mod/2mins hard. This was on rolling terrain and wind was blowing about.
10mins steady - 4:21km pace
3mins mod - 3:56km pace
2mins hard - 3:44km pace, had to stop and get my breath back for 30secs after the 15mins :rolleyes:
47mins,10.35kms,4.32km pace

Swim
After hitting snooze it was a late swim last night and i had to work myself up for it a little. 1k including wu, some kick, balance drills and descending 50s before doing 10X50 alt pt paddles and easy sw. PT work coming in around 60secs and easy 50s around 53secs.
Soon into the main set of 12x100 alt easy/mod on 2:10
Easy - 1:49/50/51/53/50/51
Mod - 1:38/40/42/40/42/37
fast 50s in 46/48/48/47 before warming down.
My left shoulder is a bit sore this morning thanks to some chunky bird who was drowning/ninja kicking doing breaststroke in the next lane early on in the 100s. Swim ropes are not there for you to swim over and on top of you Big Mac eating XXXX......end rant.
1:14,3200mtrs,swolf78,1.49 avg pace

sconhome

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Happy birthday hobbit! How about as birthday set of 35*200m in the pool or as RQ would suggest, head out and run your age in kms:). I'm only a few weeks behind you

Marathon year for me so :rolleyes:

Fran, the amount of work you squeeze into a week is astonishing. I've no idea where you fit the day job in to your regime but it reads to me that you're doing as much work as a full time triathlete with a family.

Hats off to you, don't let taper get to you, and can't wait to hear the foreign exploits, live twitter feed please!

BTH

amphkingwest wrote: »

Marathon year for me so :rolleyes:

Theres no way you're 26..... :rolleyes:

Izoard

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Well looking at race photos last year there is a mix of disc and non disc. I plan to race with a disc unless the wind really goes nuts whilst over there. At the moment it is giving it 21 degree, 26kmph winds and some gusts up to 48kmph for race day. Disc cover is easy enough to take off over there should i need to.

Chomping at the bit alright, looking forward to getting over there and making vrooom vroooom noises on the F1 track:)

Ahh yes, disc cover - good option.

I see the usual Irish heavy hitters are in attendance - you'll be in good company.

pgibbo

BTH wrote: »

Theres no way you're 26..... :rolleyes:

I shouldn't but sure it's Friday - 26 stone maybe!!!! :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

sconhome

pgibbo wrote: »

I shouldn't but sure it's Friday - 26 stone maybe!!!! :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Jesus, the two stick insects having a laugh at my robust figure.

As for measuring in miles, no self respecting triathlete would ever do that!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

It's all good in the hood....I am race ready.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Thursday
Bike day
commute in 4k/ap175w/np200w
commute home 10.3k/ap172w/np185w
70min lunchtime bike
Windy & cold for this one.Had a colleague out for this although he could not stay on my wheel for too long as on a road bike and wind was strong (very little drafting off me:)). Session was 10 easy and some builds before 5x10mins rising from 200 to 240w. Being honest i found it easy until the last one and that was steady effort.
1:11,36.2kms,30.2kmph,AP218w/NP228w,85rpm

Friday
Run day
commute in 4k/18:32/4.38m/km
commute home 4k/19:16/4.49m/km
45min run
I was due to do this at lunch but could not get out so it was a treddie session in the evening. Some easy running with 2x8min @ 10kpace. Dialed in the pace at 3.45m/km pace, it was tough enough but moving well. A good one.
45min,10.4kms,4.20m/km pace

I was due to swim but rescheduled session for weekend,bad nights sleep with kids on Thursday had me pretty tired all day.

Saturday
2.5hr bike
So was down with Tunney early to change a chain and drop stuff off (thanks). I had full race setup on the bike to ensure all was ok. Cycle was due to have 3x20min efforts at race pace but as soon as i started into the 2nd one the rear tub completely deflated. I was cursing my luck as had not brought a spare tub but got some co2 into it and limped home keeping weight off the back. No sign of puncture upon checking when i got home and extender valve was tight. Strange one & not happy with it so double checking on a shorter spin tomorrow. Annoyed as i was enjoying this.
The one 20 effort i did do felt good, first time with hrm on in over 6 months and the effort came out at low steady effort - 154bpm for AP229w/NP234w so 225w should be doable over in AD.
I was due to run off but i was frozen as could not really push the last 40mins back to the car so was very cold.
2:15,66.53kms,29.5kmph,AP183w/NP196w,79rpm,139bpm

1hr run
This was planned for tomorrow but again slight change to plan as i need/want to make sure that rear tub is ok on a spin tomorrow. This was an excellent run. Again with hr on treadmill and had the quad guards on, they feel great btw. Plan was 30 easy and into 20 at race effort finished with 10easy. 30 easy at 147ahr for a 4:3x avg, into 161ahr starting off at 4:08 down to 4min ks for most of it. As i said i was running really well and felt like everything coming together, really zoned in on this run.
1hr,13.9kms,4.19m/km pace,153ahr

So its all coming together nicely.Just need to keep the powder dry,excitement levels down low, reserve energy and let the racing do the talking next Saturday. Feeling extremely strong right now,i will touch on this more in my weekly review.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

amphkingwest wrote: »

Marathon year for me so :rolleyes:

Fran, the amount of work you squeeze into a week is astonishing. I've no idea where you fit the day job in to your regime but it reads to me that you're doing as much work as a full time triathlete with a family.

Hats off to you, don't let taper get to you, and can't wait to hear the foreign exploits, live twitter feed please!

Its all about time management and careful planning to fit everything in,it helps to be organised with training gear packed in advance etc. Its one of my pet hates when i hear people complain about not having enough time to train and some i know have handy jobs and no kids. No disrespect meant to full time triathletes but a large majority of them have it very easy. Add in 4 kids and a busy job along with training and that adds a lot more stress on the body than a 35hr training week,all imo of course.

Trig1

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Its all about time management and careful planning to fit everything in,it helps to be organised with training gear packed in advance etc. Its one of my pet hates when i hear people complain about not having enough time to train and some i know have handy jobs and no kids. No disrespect meant to full time triathletes but a large majority of them have it very easy. Add in 4 kids and a busy job along with training and that adds a lot more stress on the body than a 35hr training week,all imo of course.

Well said....for years I used the excuse ...I have no time..I work 12hr shifts and have 4 kids ..how am i meant to train!!!...I got off my ass and decided to give it a go...2 years later I'm doing 6-8 sessions a week... cycling to and from work (when its not dark), running at lunch time in work and swimming in mornings early...its all acheivable if you are determined enough!!:D

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Sunday 24th
2hr bike & 15min run off
Out again to ensure all was well with rear disc. Hooked up with Bambatta and whilst it was cold out the weather was decent enough for cycling. We took it handy but i did throw in 2 smallish efforts at race pace. Nearing the end of the spin and i hit a pothole, bang rear deflates again. Could really do without these last minute issues. Annoying!!
Did not even bother taking winter gear off and straight onto treddie when i got in, short one only 15mins with 5mins race effort at 4min ks...if only i could hold that:rolleyes:
Bike: 1:52,54.77kms,29.3kmph,AP186w/NP204w,83rpm,143ahr
Run:15mins,3.4kms,4.25m/km pace

Swim
Nearly did not get my third swim in for the week but i was determined to get it done. A 3.3k set with the main set of 10x200 at race pace. I hope to hold 1:50 pace for the 3k AD swim so aim was to bring these in around 3:40Whilst i was not swimming well the times came in close enough at 3:38-3:43bar one which i got caught in traffic. Tried out the new big buoy on a few of them, cut the legs off me so i would advise those who got one to go with long speedos to protect the inside of the thighs. First impression that it really improves buoyancy and body position but the drag given the size neutralizes any time gains. Swim and pull buoy were closely matched.
1:11,3.3k,1:44 moving pace,swolf 78

Dory Dory

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Swim and pull buoy were closely matched.

:eek:

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Weekly Totals
Avg weekly hours 2013 - 132.2hrs/16.5hrs
18th Feb-24th Feb-Wk8|# sessions|Time hh:mm|Distance kms|YTD totals|last yr comparison|Weekly avg
Total|15|17:44|342.6kms|2449.31kms|1791.98kms|306.16kms
Swimming|3|3:15|9kms|70.7kms|57.4kms|8.83kms
Cycling|5|9:02|266.4kms|1948.29kms|1282.81|243.53kms
Running|6|5:07|67.2kms|430.32kms|451.77kms|53.79kms
Strenth/Core|1|0:20|N/A|6.10|3.25|46mins
TSS|N/A|1112|N/A|7940||992.5

So a better week as the volume lifted again after an easy week last week. It was a sense of relief at the back end of this week as everything started to click for me especially on the running front which has been poor the last number of weeks. Coach rightfully put this down to fatigue over the last few weeks as lets face it running is probably the one area which shows this up. I honestly thought i had overcooked things on the training front with having a busy life to juggle as well but thankfully not by the looks of it.
So Abu Dhabi in 6 days and how do i feel well i have to say i am starting to feel very confident, sure why would i not. I have put in a lot of solid training over the last 22 weeks not to mention the year previous and i am feeling as strong as ever. All that matters come next Saturday afternoon is that i leave it all out there on the course and get the race i have worked my a$$ off. There are a lot of sessions that stand out and in comparison to last year my swim and bike have progressed and my run is probably around the same level.
I plan to really push the bike next week, it may blow up in my face but i need to find my limit and it will be good to see what power i can hold for IM Frankfurt. I fly out with Liam Dolan next Wednesday and it will be good to have company for the trip as i found him good company in Lanza, it also helps he knows the lay of the land.
A lot of big hitters from Ireland heading over and whilst i am not one of them i want to give a good account of myself and have a performance i can be proud of. Work is done now, time for talking is done...its time to back it all up on race day!!

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Dory Dory wrote: »

:eek:

I hope that is a good :eek: