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140.6 deep breaths...
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Im well used to the sweet spot effort on the turbo. What power to hold. What part of the target heart rate zone to stay in. Sweet spot effort is that strong aerobic sustained output just below threshold. It takes concentration to hold and and can be a rewarding workout. Today was my first time applying the approach to running.
Running Sweet Spot Intervals
I ran 4km to the car park where the club do their interval sessions. It was a beautiful sunny evening and ideal for running. It was not as cold as I expected and the wind had calmed from the gusts yesterday. The main work was 6 sets of 5 minutes with 2 minutes easy recovery.
5 mins at 3:58 pace, 1.26km
5 mins at 3:52 pace, 1.29km
5 mins at 3:48 pace, 1.32km
5 mins at 3:47 pace, 1.32km
5 mins at 3:45 pace, 1.33km
5 mins at 3:45 pace, 1.33km
I had the workout set up on the garmin but no metrics on display other than the interval time counting down and # of reps done. I also still don't have a HRM since I lost mine a few weeks ago. I'm half thinking about selling the 310xt and upgrading to the 910xt but the jury is still out on it. I felt really good for this session and it was the one of the better runs I've done in a while.
I started steady to find the rhythm than corresponded to approx RPE8. There are lamp posts and signs all around the park so I just glanced at the watch as I completed a lap. It was right on 2 laps per 5 minutes so I just focused on maintaining the strong pace for the 2 laps. I pushed a tiny bit on rep 3 and I knew I was right at the top of the tempo range. Bang on. I sustained the pace for the last 3 reps. The last one was a bit of work but overall consistent. My right hamstring threatened to tighten but thankfully held off to alllow me finish the work and trot the 4km home again. I'm enjoying my weekly interval session at this stage and I'm learning the 'feel' of easy vs tempo
Overall 18.94km at 4:13 pace
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/165036766
Caz has a dry chesty cough at the moment so I just rolled over when the alarm went off :rolleyes:I hope that you are more successful than my pathetic attempt to get up early this morning... 4 days of easter penance is due for a lacklustre week of training...0 -
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Thanks Fazz. My first win so pretty happy about that. Real tactics involved. It didn't all go perfectly smoothly but got it done in the end. Took risks..
I'll certainly post a report when I get a chance. I had some muppet moments! Busy eating chocolate and drinking wine now
Only logged on to do a friendly Mod job.0 -
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Headless Horseman Adventure Race Report
Firstly I must pass huge thank you and well done to all of the organisers and volunteers at this event. They put on a really great race and job well done. The marshals were FAN.TAS.TIC and I have to compliment the motorbike marshals in particular who were as professional as they come. I'd recommend this race and am sure it will go from strength to strength. It’s a cool race for the triathlete to sample something a bit gnarly and different.
My expectations were to enjoy this race but to give it a lash all the same. The 3 bike legs suited me and I had a plan of action for once. Basically take it handy on the first bike and arrive to T1 with the leaders. I'd cover any breaks but not exhaust myself early. From there just do as well as I could on the mountain run. I figured I'd lose time to strong hill runners but if I could limit the damage I'd reel them back in on the 2nd longer bike leg. I thought that if I could get through the Kayak section unscathed and within a minute of the lead I’d be in with a shot if I had legs for a strong last bike leg. As it turned out this race employed more ad hoc tactics than any I've done to date and it only added to the adrenalin and exhilaration.
Bike 1 - Cycle to the Moutain Trail in the Ballyhouras
The atmosphere at the start line was relaxed and jovial. I had last year's winner, Paul Mahon to my left and a teardrop helmet to my right, game on! The plan was to follow the motorbike marshals around the town before all hell broke loose. We pedalled easy en masse behind them chatting eagerly. Once the official start was called bikes surged around me. One lad in a cycling top bolted off as if his life depended on it. Cover the Breaks. I didn't waste a second and chased him down and moved in front of him to control the pace. I dropped to the bars and pushed a steady pace for 4-5km. I had a stream of bikes on my tail but we had also shaken off the pack. I purposely slowed down to tempt someone else to do some work. It took a minute but Noel O'Leary, and AR head pushed on. Nobody else came through. I even dropped 10m behind Noel to see if anyone would fill the gap. No interest. I closed the gap again and drove on ahead of Noel taking a have dozen with me.
It was a short first bike of approx 12km that took us up to the Ballyhouras Mountain trail car park via Ardpatrick. The route dragged up through Ardpatrick and continued to a short climb once we turned off the main road. I was surprised that I dropped my entourage with a squeeze here and entered T1 with perhaps 20 seconds of a lead. I had borrowed caged pedals from a mate so I literally racked the bike, took off my helmet and was gone.
Run 1 - Trail Run
I legged it for what I thought was the transition exit but was actually the run finish. I was slow to hear the marshals yelling at me that I was running the wrong way. I turned around after a 100m to see Noel tearing out of transition ahead of me. My push on the climb was eliminated just like that. Muppet! I chased him as others approached transition. This was the part where I really had to focus. I caught up with Noel but we seemed to be running really hard uphill. A 3:53 opening km confirmed this and my heart rate was through the roof! I took a short walk break to suck some oxygen in. There was a long way to go and I wasn't going to blow a gasket this early. I literally took 10 seconds and resumed running again closing the gap on Noel. I caught him again and he encouraged me to keep up but I had decided to recruit a 2 minute run, 10 second walk strategy as I simply don't know how to pace myself running up hills like this yet.
The next km was a 5:35, slower but more manageable. Noel pushed on up the trail that wound its way relentlessly up the hill. You could see the whole incline ahead of you cresting in a mist. It was beautiful and exciting, yet scary and ominous. By the time I put down 3km in a slower again 6:52 I was passed by Paul Mahon knocking me down to 3rd. I tried to copy his cadence but my quads were simply screaming at me to calm down. The elevation gets gradually more challenging until you hit the last 100m which is almost crawling stuff. The whole climb is 350m at an average of approx 9-10%. I saw Noel in the distance but close to the top. He had his hands on his knees. Was he suffering? Paul looked to be steady and closing the gap. I found out about the hands on the knees for myself when I hit that last 100m. I was so very tempted to just put my hands on the ground in front of my face and crawl. Instead I kept my hands on my knees and took larger steps to save my calves for the descent. The last km was a 7:02 just above walking pace!
By the time I hit the misty top I had the 4th place guy hot on my heels and had lost sight of Noel. Limit the Damage. The terrain levelled out just long enough to catch a breath until it decsended initially with the dame gradient as the last 100m climb. It was more controlled falling that running. My arm acted as wings and I focused 100% on every step I took. I figured I need to hit transition no more than 2 minutes down to still be in with a shot so I went for it. Paul was a good 150m in front at this stage and looked like he was dancing over the trail. The trail was narrow wet and rocky with boggy margins. The adrenalin shot through my veins as I hurdled over small boulders and leaped across small gaps for some air time! It was risky running. I posted a 3:47 followed by a 3:30 and amazingly for me reeled Paul back in until I was right behind him. It took a couple of minutes until an opportunity arose to pass him and move into 2nd. I thought about staying on his shoulder but Noel was out of sight so I moved. The next km was a 3:36 and I caught sight of Noel's yellow Dingle Adventure Race a minute or so ahead. I thought we were done as we approached transition but cruelly had to turn back onto the trail for another short little hill before we could think about the end of the run. I had closed the gap on Noel but he had left transition by the time I arrived
Bike 2 - Cycle to Lough Gur
I put my bike on my shoulder and ran with it for 50m rather that rolling it over the mud. However after jumping on I managed to spin the pedal around a half dozen times trying to get my runners in. I had built a 30 second or so lead on Paul and while messing with the pedal caught sight of him out of the corner of my eye rolling his bike down to the road. I snapped out of it and got pedalling. I immediately dropped to the bars, clicked into a big gear and put the boot down. I was not going to allow him get on my wheel if I could help it. My mind was firmly on chasing the lead. I’m usually good at attacking descents but when I glanced back over my right shoulder to ensure I dropped Paul the ache in my neck reminded me of the fall a few weeks ago on Keeper Hill. I thus took the bends with a degree of caution and significantly less aggression than usual. As soon as I turned right from Ardpatrick onto the Kilfinan road I had Noel in my sights. Within a km I was beside him offering to work together to build a lead. Having met him earlier I discovered that he hires Kayaks out as a business and Kayaks most days. I figured it would be in my interest to hold onto him for the Kayak stage.
We agreed to work together and I drove the first minute. He took over for his turn and I got a breather but too much so. We hit a drag and the pace was too slow. I pushed on again and gestured for him to jump on my wheel. It was a minute or so later that I noticed he had fallen off. Hmmm, hold up or push on? I chose to push on and didn’t look back again. I was in the lead in a race for the first time ever! It was odd not to have a target to chase so I just focused on putting distance between me and the rest. The route for this leg was flat enough but there was had a slight headwind to contend with and the surface was what you would expect of Irish secondary roads. I pushed the biggest gear I could without sacrificing cadence which meant switching gears frequently. The motorbike marshal was blazing up and down the road doing his thing. There were marshals at every junction and crossroad and they were all fantastic support on the lonely road. It was drizzling from the heavens and I had to remind myself to focus from time to time.
I had one scare on the bike. At a crossroad the Motorbike was holding up traffic and clearing the way. I’m not quite sure if he didn’t see me or I went to his right rather than his left but he turned his wheel to set off as I passed and my left hip touched the right handle of his bike. It was enough to knock my balance and frighten the hell out of me but I stayed on and made nothing of it. He was beside me within seconds to ensure I was ok. However despite not falling off the bike this time I still ended up bruised! Thankfully that was the only drama for this race.
With 8km to go I started to think about the Kayak section. I had never been in one but as a former rower I wasn’t worried about this. I had to make the choice to either wait in the timeout zone for one of the lads to arrive and jump in a double, or take my chances with a single. I made my mind up when I imagined standing there waiting, Noel and Paul arriving together and hopping in a Kayak together leaving me the gooseberry to watch the race slip away. I was going to take a single. I took a gel and washed it down with plenty of water before I hit transition. Transition was a no nonsense affair this time. I was generally happy with my decision not to waer bike shoes. Yes I lacked a little power but the easy transitions made up for it. Bike on rack, helmet off and go.
Run 2 - Run to the Lake
This was simply a run down to Lough Gur on road but was and felt longer that I had anticipated. My quads were feeling the effort so far. We were 2 hours in at this stage. It was a 2.25km run which descended a hill to the lake. Great, I thought another blooming hill after this off road stage! I was glad to see the water and even more glad to see Caz and her Brother cheering me on. The support gave me a fresh lift.
Kayak
When I ran over the mat the marshals were advising me to take it easy as the clock was off. I was handed a life jacket and asked if I wanted to wait for a partner or go now. I looked back up the road to see if anyone was there and asked for a single. I grabbed a paddle and hopped in. The first stroke on the left side felt really heavy and something dropped onto my head when I turned the paddle to take a stroke on my right. Again it felt really and something dropped onto my legs. It was algae. Thick algae and I had 30m of it left to negotiate. There was clear water 10m to my right but it meant wandering offline to get to it. I ploughed on straight half filling my boat with algae. It covered my legs and shoes and draped my shoulders. It was only 30-40 seconds but I felt longer and slower. When I hit clear water I found a groove and paddled around the three buoys with long steady strokes. The 3rd buoy was a 90 degree turn back to the bank so I planted the blade to my right and pushed it forward to rotate the kayak quickly. When I hit the bank Noel arrived. I figured I had built 4-5 minutes of a lead which was good to know. I thought he would take at least a minute or more of that back off me on the water so I wasted no time getting on with it once I jumped out. I thanked the marshals again. I thanked every marshal I could during the race. I know what a long day it is for them and they really did a super job
Run 3 - Run from the Lake
This was the reverse of the 2.25km from Transition and also meant running up hill again. Paul ran by at the bottom looking strong and shouted some encouragement. Cheers Chief. I grew confident that I just had to get back on my bike and barring a disaster I’d win this thing. Queue potential disaster. My quads started to lock up. The bottom of both quads at the insertion points started to bulge and cramp halfway up the hill and I cursed them with a roar. I reined the pace back immediately to settle them. It was just the smaller quad muscles and I knew I’d be fine on the bike. I just had to get there first. It hurt until the road levelled out and thankfully the lock released itself. Each runner that passed must not have anticipated the run to the Kayak either as they asked how far it was to go. Back at transition I stopped for a few seconds to eat a fig roll and drink some water. I cannot drink water form a cup on the move. I fumbled away some more time with my helmet strap. Muppet.
Bike 3 - Cycle back to Kilmallock
The initial 2km had a crosswind and a slight drag so I struggled to get some momentum up. Once we turned onto the main road to Kilmallock though it was a slight tail and happy days for weary legs. I settled and washed another gel down. I had the Motorbike escort me on this busier road which was a novelty and cool. I biked hard but did so in a lower gear and higher cadence to make sure I didn’t cramp. I basically got up a head of steam and cycled scared that I had one of my fast mates chasing me down. Someone that I knew would catch me if I backed off. Easter mass had begun in Bruff so the town was busy. The marshal did a great job paving the way so I didn’t have to brake once. I started to feel excited when I saw a sign for Kilmallock 5km. There was a short run left to do so I spun the legs to get them ready. When we entered Kilmallock we were diverted around the back of the town as the main street was setting up a stage for a festival. It involved one last drag which, in my excitement, I didn’t even feel. It was a first for me to rack my bike onto an empty set of racks. Sweet!
Run 4 - Run through the town to the finish
A simple lonely 600m jog to the finish line. There were very few people around. I heard the RD announcing my name as I approached though and saw Caz beyond the arch. I crossed the line in 2:54:13 total for my first win of any kind since I started this endurance lark. I was chuffed
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griffin100 wrote: »Wow MCOS a great result and a great read. I now stand even more firm by an earlier prediction of a first tri win in Port Laois
I'll certainly give it a shot and there is a scalp in the entry list that I've never come close to beating too so I'll have to PB in the pool, hammer the bike and run a 5k pb off it... tall order :cool:Branson Limited Greengrocer wrote: »See what happens when you don't crash and stay on the bike you win races:) Nice one on the win.
Haha thanks JB, in fairness you can only beat who shows up and I'd imagine on a different day I'd might have done well to go top 10. The course suited me. I was pretty pleased to pass Mahon on the descent0 -
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Turbo aerobic tempo
If it wasn't as chilly I would have been willing to risk a heavy shower or two on the decking to cool me down. Instead I set up indoors once again for an hour steady at 85% FTP. My legs felt terrible for the first 10 minutes. I have a tendency to get straight to the target output rather than gradually warm up to it. As a result my quads tend to rebel until my stubborness overrules. They warmed up and dished out the steady power I asked for. I could feel the effects of the race due to zero stretching and rolling since. I really need to pay more attention to recovery. I could feel the residue of the cramps but hey they were worth it
I was working and sweating nicely until 30 minutes in and the central heating switched itself on. It may be a tad' sadistic but I do most of my turbos in a small room with a radiator rather than a fan. I only open the door for some cool air if I am doing a pain cave session. The sweat poured off me and I had to focus after 40 minutes. For the last 10 minutes I created a scenario to keep me motivated to work to the end.
At 52 minutes I was at 279w average. I imagined I was in a race and it required a 281w average to win. I was being chased by a guy averaging 280w and he planned to hit 300w with 5 minutes to go to get the 281w average. I was only allowed to hit 300w with 3 minutes to go and capped at a ceiling of FTP. Basically the longer I spent at 279w the faster he was catching me. With 5 minutes to go he had me in sight and was catching quickly. With 3 minutes to go I hit 280w average and pushed on to 300w to match his pace, increasing gradually to FTP. I finished the session at 282w average , job done! Ok that was extremely geeky and sad but hey whatever gets us through eh :pac:
I couldn't find some bike shorts before the session and I don't wear a top (warm enough with the radiator) so Caz arrived in the door with me sweating profusely on the turbo in my jocks. You must wonder sometimes what our OHs think about our 'normal' behaviour? I reckon Caz just saw sweat pouring off me and resisted the urge to throw a sheet over me. Partly to dry me off, and partly to save the shiny new floor tiles...0 -
Well done Shotgun from the little I know about AR racing sorry Multisports racing, Mahon seems up near the top of all the results list. Are you going to be flexing your muscles having a crack at Marrey and Peter X at Gaelforce this year
No chance. The aim this year is to go sub10 a Challenge Barcelona (and beat JB) and enjoy Kilkee along the way. I'm just flirting with off road stuff this year so I can set some new tasty fun goals next year. Maybe I'll spend the winter running up hills with a headtorch and give GF a go next year if I can just tick the sub10 box 0 -
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