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140.6 deep breaths...
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Swim
2 OW endurance, 1 good pool set, 1 junk pool
Bike :cool:
1 fun MTB, 1 decent 2hrs, 1 junk 2hrs
Run
:mad:
1 easy junk
S&C :mad:
30 mins half hearted stretching
If that were the picture of how Kilkee is going to go, it would follow the pattern in Athy. Good swim, average bike and shelled out the back door on the run...
I had great intentions of a run yesterday but after 9 hours of painting, gardening and football with shotgunjunior I was beat. I expelled the last of my energy roaring and dancing at the Irish equaliser. Its 11 days to Kilkee. I have the bones of a week to find some form.. yeah right. My expectations are dropping fast. Surely I can improve on my 110th place as a rookie even if it goes belly up :cool:0 -
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Gah late finish in work again and pounding headache = no training. 1 junk run in 10 days and I can't remember the last decent run. Dunlicky is going to beat me at this rate and El D will have it easy. Another day of pain looms menacingly...
If I put in a better split than my nemesis I may be worthy of the company. It will fall downhill from there. Complete reverse of my rookie year where I feared the swim and the run didn't bother me...0 -
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@ the lads...Man from Atlantis? Way before my time
I should know it though as it was an early Marvel comic mini series. I did see a healthy stack of early 1970's marvel comics at a recent auction fair whichI was tempte to pick up..
Interval Run & Yoga
I really needed a good session to snap me out of this funk, ideally a good run. Gear on and out the door for 6 this morning with 5*1km intervals set up on the Garmin. It was a cracking morning. Bright, still, sunny and mild. I hadn't a clue how my legs would react to some speedwork so I figured I'd do it on RPE and just go when the watch buzzed. After an easy 15 minute warm up I got stuck in. I chose an industrial estate which was as flat as a track would be. I had 2 minute jogging recoveries. The output target was approx 10k pace so I had 3:45-3:50 in mind.
Actual Reps
1km in 3:33, avg HR 157
1km in 3:26, avg HR 162
1km in 3:19, avg HR 165
1km in 3:22, avg HR 164
1km in 3:26, avg HR 167
No idea where that session came out of. I've never posted reps like that and with a max HR of 174 too
Ok, I was working pretty hard and knew it was probably faster than 10k effort since I had my hands on my knees after the last two. Strangely though the HR corresponded to the target output. I'll have to set a target pace on the Garmin next time to keep me in line. My hamstring tightened up as usual but was ok once I had run easy back home.
Total 13.08km, avg pace 4:06
I spent an hour after the run doing yoga sun salutation sequences very slowly, ab work and stretching. I creakd like a barn door on some of the poses. I focused the stretching on the likely cramping candidates. I felt really good afterwards and pleased with my decision to drop the wednesday swim group for this I even think I'll retain the pattern and move the swim somewhere else. I had time to relax and enjoy breakfast too which also felt good. 0 -
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@pgibbo.. hopefully mate. Not too bothered though, what happens happens
Turbo sweet spot session
Pretty simple 80 minutes on the saddle with the sweat dripping off me
20 minutes 80% FTP
20 minutes 85-90%
10 minutes 90-95%
5 minutes 95-100%
5 minutes 100-105%
20 minutes 60%
It felt grand after I recalibrated the flow. I did it all on the one gear except for the cool down so the SS section began at a low 80rpm and increased with each level to 110rpm. I had no time to run off it as I had to shower and get something to eat before fasting for this mornings bloods.
Total 1:20 at 269w avg, 48.3km
So I had an interesting chat with a guy about the Athy experience amongst other things all while dunking chocolate hobnobs into tea, quality A whole bunch of blood tests are en route for a check now to hopefully rule everything out. I didn't go to my own doc as I wanted to talk to someone who had an idea about endurance sports. Interestingly he suggested that the cramps could be a result of me 'crunching' some nerve in my spine both when I run and stay in an aggressive TT position for prolonged periods lifting my head often. After all the medical spiel to his theory we boiled it down to posture and the lower back needing attention. Sway back he said. Also no harm in taking a magnesium supplement pending the blood result for that specifically since I have a race next week.
I guess me and the exercise mat will get more familiar with each other :rolleyes: One part of it made sense as I can't deny that everytime I do yoga I feel great, like I'm taller or smething. I guess that will help to line me up.
The other part of the discusion was more around my M.O and what I already know about myself. I read an interesting article about Coach Darren Smith in Last month's TE Mag. How he is a process orientated coach. He gets his athletes (a lot of whom are top ITU and London bound) to focus on their checklist for a given race and as long as they tick the boxes the outcome should take care of itself. I guess its a mantra I know I have to adopt and use the Coach to support for myself.
Once the bloods come back its on to the nutritionist.0 -
Thursday: Easy hilly run
It was pretty late when I got out and the wind was fairly wild. It was hard to run in a straight line at times. Not metrics for this, it was a simple 50 minutes over a local hilly route. I thought about doubling back over some of the shorter hills but the wind was enough to contend with. I wasn't the only one out at dusk as plenty of other kindred spirits meandered around suburbia. I felt rather heavy and fat if I were honest.
Total 10.5km ish
Friday: Turbo VO2 training
Pain cave: 2 mins hard, 2 easy, 3 hard, 3 easy, 4,4,3,3,2,2.....
The hard bits were at 110-115% FTP and hurt appropriately. I had to grit the teeth for e 4 minutes but got it done with some growling and focus. VO2 sesssions are not for the feint hearted. You either nail them and feel brilliant or they smash you and leave you broken. There is no in between. I won this round
Total 37.7km, avg 280w
Steady Aerobic Run
Being in the office on a Saturday sucks sweaty ass and no better way to break it up than a trot around the city at lunch. Its mild and humid out there and the wind is still fresh. I felt good for most of this running along the river bank for serenity. The pace was so steady it almost became trance like. Weird I almost felt myself drifting off to sleep even though my heart rate was in the mid 150s If it wasn't for the occasional sidestep or hurdle of a toy dog on one of those elastic leashes, I may have strayed into a tree or a car, who knows... very odd run! The last 3km was mostly uphill and a bit more effort, leaving me breathing quite eavily for a finish.
Total 14.1km, avg 4:18 pace
I'll take 2 out of 3 of those as quality. I think I'm down to 126 quality sessions to go...
Meeting the Beast Team after work for a few hours of a recce. MTB ready, bag packed with supplies ready... 0 -
Great read catching up on the last week or so of your training Mike. The 5k swim :eek: Wow man, the 1k reps
Look you won't have to be glancing over your shoulder in Kilkee believe me, after the week I've just had dude I won't be up to too much. Anyway even on my best form you would have a 2-3 min out of the water and at best I'd match your bike...at best, then the tough run well your this is where your mountain running will kick in Actually Mike I expect you to be right up there seriously, I just hope you don't have cramping issues. Hope today went well. 0 -
Training for the Beast
I met up with one of my team mates, currently injured, after work to be transported to the middle of nowhere. I met my other 2 team mates here, Peter and Jacqo. They had been trekking for a few hours already and got lost a couple of times. They didn't look happy but put up brave faces for first introductions. We set off at 5:30 to do what’s called a hike to bike back to the Ballyhoura Mountains. They loomed a few miles in the distance. We had to follow the river to a rendez vous. It wasn't as straight forward as that though.
Hike to Bike
We found the narrow river and were immediately shin deep in muddy water and dragging our bikes with us over very soggy fields. It was very slow going. I suggested leaving the wet bank to slightly higher but firmer ground and we began to make progress. After 15-20 minutes a trail of sorts, basically flattened long grass showed up on the bank and we could cycle. I believe it was part of last years route. We cycled for the next hour slowly but it involved stopping to lift our bikes over turnstyles and walls about 15 times. We found a road and followed it on the map to a Church. We found a field around the church and the river on the other side of it.
We opted for a short break to eat and to plot our next move. We had found the river but once we left the trail a while back had lost our orientation and now had to decide whether to go left or right. I ate a half a humus, turkey and cheese roll and a nutri grain 11s washed down with electrolyte water. We studied the map and agreed a direction only for it to become very obvious. I remembered we were cycling against the flow of the river and all we had to do was continue against the flow... duh! The ditches between fields made it impossible to stay on the bank so we took a rough farmers track to find our way back onto a dry road. This section was only 10km or so but took over an hour.
Bike climb
We pedalled a few kms on road double checking the map to ensure we took the right turns. The final turn off the road onto a fire road gave us a climb to contend with. It was slow going again. I felt good and lost the others initially before doubling back down to join Peter. Jacqo was walking so we granny ring'd it to the rendez vous approx 3km up the hill. Jacko was feeling it by now but she was proving to be a tough girl. It was just after 6:30. We dropped our bikes and drank fluids and set off for a mountain trail run.
Trail run
Basically 9.5km straight up to the top and zig zagging back down to the Mountain Bike centre car park. We had set off at a steady pace but were down to a walk for the last km of the climb. It was cold and misty at the top and we got soaked. I was fast learning the progress of the team was dictated by the slowest member of that section. I suggested picking up to a run to get out of the mist quicker which we did. I lead down the mountain on a wet and rocky trail. I loved this. It was a steady effort to stay together and I had to resist the urge to let loose. The mood picked up too as Jacko found some energy and trotted along chatting about the Tarahumara Tribe and generally getting to know each other. Peter was pointing out trail markers for the mountain bike routes as we passed them. We put the run down in just under an hour and found our bikes back at the car park.
Mountain Bike trails & hill run
We got a bite to eat and transition to bikes, wet gear and head torches. I took on a half a mars bar, a powerbar and a half bottle of carb drink. We were eyed up by another team who had just finished a day on the trails and plenty of banter followed. Apparently the girl on their team was a beast on the trails and had left the lads standing. Anyway, I was really excited about the next part. One of my new year’s resolutions was to bike the Ballyhoura Trails and if possible to also do them at night. It was 8pm and all going well I'd knock both of these off the list
Peter knew the trails so he led off and I followed. It was my first time on proper trails and I was well impressed. I was also reassured by Peter that I'd seen nothing yet and he described a series of 'boards' we would have to negotiate that would present a challenge. Em, ok. As much as I wanted to let loose again it was slow going. We had to stop after every checkpoint to wait for Jacko to catch up. At one point she almost quit but bravely plugged away. In fairness she would normally be right up with the boys but wasn't feeling great. Both she and Peter had done an Adventure Race in Dingle the previous weekend.
We had intended to do the white loop which was 35km but since we were making slow progress opted for the 25km brown loop instead. The first hour involved lots of climbing. We took a break where the brown and white loop split and got some food on board. The other half of the marsbar, other half of the humus and turkey roll and more liquid carbs for me. We dumped the bikes to do a 5km hill run, Jacqo needed to get more food on board so hung back while Peter and I trotted out a steady climb. It was very loose rocks and Peter said we had to bike over this after the run. I remember looking at him incredulously. On the way back down to our delight we saw Jacqo jogging up to meet us, happy days
We got our electrolytes on board and took a moment to take in the fantastic view. It was almost 10:30pm and darkness was falling. I lead back into the trails with bike lights and head torch searching out the trail in front of me. I got a little carried away, mainly because I was a little scared to begin with and soon lost the guys. I stopped for a few minutes and got worried when they didn't appear. I had descended for 10 minutes and didn't fancy retracing. It was pitch dark. Eventually the lights from the others shone through the trees and I breathed a sigh of relief. I let Peter take over the lead to keep the pace steady. My bike fitness was probably a bit higher than the guys but I was the rookie too and just had to rein it in. Also I was a bit worried about these boards as Peter was also concerned about them.
We threaded through the woods steadily and sure enough I heard a Call to watch out for the Boards. Peter had dismounted to walk across them but I realised too late and was on them before I could get off. They were basically planks of wood about a foot to a foot and a half turned sideways and 2-3 feet above what could only be described as a marsh. Peter advised that we do not want to fall in there and was taking no risks. I couldn't help giving them a go though. The first one was grand. It was the adrenalin of keeping my balance in the dark that heightened by awareness. I just didn't look over the side and focused on the board in front of my wheel. The board was maybe 100-200m long. The second was a bit more challenging as it had some rises in it and some raised tracks to knock your momentum. All in all there were 5, the final one including a slanted bend. I was happy to get through them and thought they were a cool feature of the trail.
The rest of the trail was grand although we had a tricky section of boulders to negotiate and some tight weaving through trees. There was a section which descended in a series of sweeps from left to right in a sort of slalom which I really enjoyed. It was tough and scary at times but fun all the same. We got back to the car park after 11:30 and were glad to finish up. The guys were tired and I just wanted to take off my wet socks. We had a final 4km or so on road to cycle back to Ardpatrick to finish up just shy of midnight
It was a good session, although we had to omit a couple of sections that were planned due to slow progress. 36 hours of this is going to be interesting!! :eek:
Today I had a simple 2.5 hour bike with some 4*15 Olympic Distance Reps but the legs were pretty heavy as expected I guess. I tested a gel with an electrolyte drink and no ill effects so I'll experiment in Kilkee with it. I had a short run off it planned but I was A) wrecked due to not fuelling the bike and
had visitors due over, lawn to cut and dinner to put on. It wasn't worth the risk of going into severe brownie points debt for it.... :cool: 0 -
ballyhoura is class.. i've done the brown trail and white trail a couple of times and they are a great buzz, fell twice on the boards last year and I think I actually nearly started crying!!! great crack though, did you not fall at all during mountain bike section??? downhill sections are great fun..makes me wanna get out there again sometime soon!! 0
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Easy Run
I probably hit the road too soon after getting up as I barely half awake to begin with. It was just 30 minutes easy but I was almost stumbling over myself for the first few minutes. Then it transpired that my legs were dead and had zero interest in work. I dragged them up a hill reluctantly. 15 minutes done, grand, turn around and trot back home. Suddenly the bowel moved and was in trouble. Usually I'd have no shame and would duck into a field or a ditch, however I was stuck in suburbia. The run home with clenched butt cheeks and sweat dripping down my face was just not pleasant but I made it thankfully...
I only had time for a short stretch before gtting ready for work. The body feels pretty stiff from the weekend and I could do with a good sleep also.
Total 6km.
No I didn't fall. I had some moments where the handlebar would clip a tree or the back wheel would spin in deeper mud. I even missed a turn on the trail at one point and had to make my way through trees to get back on it. In fairness we were not going at any risky pace so I could more or less size up what was in fornt of me, plus it was dark. I did let go of the brakes on some downhills for a bit of a thrillballyhoura is class.. i've done the brown trail and white trail a couple of times and they are a great buzz, fell twice on the boards last year and I think I actually nearly started crying!!! great crack though, did you not fall at all during mountain bike section??? downhill sections are great fun..makes me wanna get out there again sometime soon!!
Definitely class and I'm mad to go back for more. I had cages on the pedals though which annoyed the hell out of me... 0 -
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Early morning brick session
Not ideal doing this first thing in the morning 2 days out from race day but I'd have been in a bad place motivation wise if I skipped it again. I could have done it last night but it would have entailed eating late and going to bed late. I'm currently keeping a diet and training log for the nutritionist, who's sport science students will also dissect I can see the glaring areas for improvement and the temptation is there to "be good" as I log but to give a true reflection I am almost reluctantly eating the crap that I'd usually graze upon. The guilt is ten fold Anyway, I took the early night option and got out of the scratcher first thing. I was expecting rain and rain is what I got for my penance...
The Bike: Just under an hour out to Croom and back mostly in TT position. It was positively dreary conditions and cold too.
10 mins warm up
10 mins @ 148 HR avg, 36.4kmh
5 mins easy
10 mins @ 147 HR avg, 38.6kmh
5 mins easy
10 mins @147 HR avg, 37.5kmh
8 mins easy
The first half of the first rep was uphill to and through Patrickswell which which I imagined was the drag after the steep hill out of Kilkee. My shins felt cold and it took a while to get the power down as I didn't feel fully warmed up. There was no real wind and the 2nd rep was fine. The 3rd rep had a couple of short hills which took more out of me. It wasn't a bad run but I'm not happy about the output. While the reps were better than the weekend I'd still expect a 155ish average HR. Again I felt I was just lacking the juice to hit that effort. Between the reps my HR was dropping back below 120.
Total 34.12km, avg 35.4kmh
The Run: After a quick tansition I skirted off for 15 minutes at race intensity. The legs felt wooden to indicate I put in a decent enough effort on the bike for a transition feel and also had a good quick transition. I had short sharp hill straight away but hit my desired effort and pace soon afterwards. The watch beeped with 3:53, 3:52, 3:50 and 3:52 pace for the last bit. I was happy with that but the HR had climbed to 174 and it was starting to hurt. Part of that was perhaps me roasting in the waterproof hi viz cycling jacket. Still if, and its a very big IF, I can hold anything close to that for the first 15-20 minutes of Kilkee which is highly unlikely, I'll throw whatever I have left to hold on for as long as I can. There was no sign of cramp too which was good. My only concern ths morning was how tight my stride felt and mainly due to very tight hamstrings and lower back. The mat and roller call for me this evening.
Total 3.9km, avg 3:52 pace, HR 161
Overall a decent enough session. I had 2 close calls also. One on the bike. I was 7 minutes into my last 10 minute rep and a blue transit was paked on a roundabout!! He indicated as I approached but surely he had seen me. Nope, he pulled out right across me and had to brake suddenly. Muppet #1 :mad: Next on the run I was 5 minutes from home and breathing heavily. I approached an exit of an estate only to have a car speeding out of the estate and not looking to her left. Another sudden braking situation and a window rolled down to give out to me?!! Hang on a second lady, you missed the 'Stop' sign, you were speeding, you have a child in the back, I was wearing a high viz jacket with reflectors on it, you had no lights on in low visibility! Needless to say I told her exactly where to go with her attitude, Muppet #2 :mad:0 -
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Ah yes good point forgot that. No its still the same, ladies are with the ould fellas. I've only done HOTW once and have been out on the course marshalling the last 2 years. A feic it lets just see if I can get close to any of your cubsinterested wrote: »"If I get out of the water ahead of her I'm off to an ideal start"
from memory this shouldn't really be a problem - unless you're over 40 now since the lassies go in the second wave with the more seasoned males.
Has this changed for this years race ? 0 -
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