Swimming, cycling and plodding my way to Las Vegas

griffin100

I think it time to get a new log started. My last one died a death after IMUK so rather that resurrect that one I'll start a new one.

So what have I done since last August 2010? Post IMUK I did DCM in a dissapointing 3.52 which included a spectacular blow up at 20 miles which left me with a 65 minute last 10km. Turns out it wasn't a lack of fitness (I never actually 'hit the wall') but was actually a foot injury that I've been trying to shake off since.

Post DCM my plan was to go sub 1.40 in the Waterford Half Marathon (I had done a 1.44 half in training for the DCM) but the foot injury killed off that plan. I did very little over November and December (except for growing my waistline).

Mid December I entered Conn Ultra and until a couple of weeks ago was training for that. I got up to 20 miles LSR but found it difficult to recover from that enough to allow me go 20 miles plus the following week so have deferred that until 2012 - I was certain to get injured again with the mileage I was trying to put in, especially given the lack of running since DCM.

So where are we now?

Swim
Last year my swimming improved dramatically - from mediocre to average. I did IM in 1.15.xx which I was delighted with. I got my 750m OW time down to below 15mins which for me was a huge achivement. Since IM I haven't done big mileage but I have been concentrating on technique and I *think* its starting to pay off. My stroke rate has dropped from about 95-100 per 100m to 80-85 (until I get tired that is). My swim aim for this year is to get my pool 750m down to below 14 minutes, and as close to 13mins as possible - oh and to try and get bilateral breathing mastered. I've even signed up for my first swim classess / masters sessions which start next week so looking forward to that.

Bike
My IM bike was a big big dissapointment - 7.26. That length of time in the sadlle is cruel and unusual punishment. Even if IMUK is a tough bike course I should have been much better that that - I had done close to the full 180kms in training over a flat course with an average speed of just below 30kph. The two main reasons for my lack of speed where lack of training and lack of time doing hill or speed work of any sort. The plan for this year is to rectify that by training smarter and not just aiming to hit time in the saddle milestones (as per Fink). I'd like to try and be able to keep an average speed of 33kph over a 100km course i.e. do 100km is less than 3 hrs. I haven't been outside on the TT bike since last September, but I have done a few couple of hours on the turbo and have started back on the torture machine in earnest.

Run
Again my run improved dramatically last year. Other than the foot injury I was happy enough apart from DCM where I had hoped to go sub 3.45. I had a long lay off over November and December but have put in a reasonable few miles since New Year, up to 20 miles LSR. I've eased back on the distances since I pulled put of Conn Ultra but at least its given me a decent base to start off the year on.

So what's the plan?
I had been looking around for an IM for 2011 but nothing was grabbing my interest and tbh I was loosing motivation for training, but I've now settelled on an event that has me chomping at the bit to get back at it, the ITU Long Course Triathlon World Championship in Las Vegas in November. Yes, believe it or not a fat bald old git like me is going to get to wear a green tri suit!! Ok, being realistic I only got a place as (a) I reckon no one else applied to TI and (b) there are no qualification standards to represent Ireland at age group level. If I was looking to represent the UK at this event I'd need to be close to being a 10hr IM finisher. Despite all that I'm excited about this. Its a bit different from an IM and it's in Las Vegas (I have to say that didn't take much selling to the wife!!). The distances are somewhat less that an IM - 4k swim / 120km bike / 30km run.

I reckon if I put in the hours in training I should hope to finish midtable in my AG and that's gonna be my aim. To get to that standard I need to train along the lines of being comfortably able to go sub 11hr IM / close to 5hr HIM. The plan is to train somewhat smarter than last year and not just keep aiming for distance milestones as I did last year. I have a loose plan put together but I think I'll keep it under wraps for now. Taking on some of the advice from ART the current plan does not go past mid May when I'll be doing the Tri An Mhi HIM, which will be a good indication of fitness progression. I've got a time in mind for this but again I'll keep it close to my chest for now.

I've got 2 definite races planned at this stage which will help me gague my progress:

April - Port Laois Sprint - I did this last year so doing it again this year will give me a good indication of fitness levels and whether or not speed has improved.
May - Tri An Mhi HIM - this will be a key indicator of how the training is going. I have a time in mind that I'd like to be hitting at this stage of my training.

After these races I'll review the training regieme to assess if its working and take it from there. I have a vague plan to do either the Triathy 3 X OD or preferably the Swinford HIM as my next race but I'll try and hold off making definite plans as yet. If things are really going well I might give the ETU European Championships in Finland a go in August but cost as well as fitness is a big factor here.

Be warned, I dont have a power metre on my bike; I have a busy job, I commute 3 hrs per day, and I have 3 small kids (with another one due in late May if God is good) - my log is going to seem somewhat low tech compared to some others, but I am determined to give this my best shot. I'd like to think I leaned a lot about my body last year so hopefully this will help. I know November is a long way away but I'm not going to plan that far in advance, I'll take it one step at a time. I am quite open to criticism and comment and welcome it, especially from the more expert athletes (mentors?) here.

Here we go again.

interested

You lost me at Vegas !!! an inspired bit of work convincing the missus

Swim in Lake Mead ?

catweazle

Sounds fantastic, I have always wanted to do a North American race if I was going to go for the big one, build some type of half asses holiday around it. I like those distances as well, much longer than a 1/2 ironman but not as bad as the full

Hopefully will see you in Swinford, the timing is great in one way, long enough to enjoy all the tri races in the summer but far enough away to get demotivated very easily

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

I will be following the log with interest. If you have not been to Vegas you will really enjoy it, i have been there a good few times albeit not doing a tri event:p

El Director

O this sounds great! The event caught my eye too and maybe one for the future indeed (not ready for those distances yet). The very best of luck man, I'll be following with interest.

ronanmac

Great stuff, I look forward to keeping an eye on this log!

griffin100

Wow, the training logs forum has certainly got a lot busier since the last time I kept a log, give it a day or two and your log gets lost down to page 4 or 5.

Thanks to all for the good wishes.

Swim in Lake Mead ?

The swim is in lake Las Vegas.

Sounds fantastic, I have always wanted to do a North American race if I was going to go for the big one, build some type of half asses holiday around it. I like those distances as well, much longer than a 1/2 ironman but not as bad as the full

Yeah the distance appeals to me as its short enough not to be as taxing as an IM especially the bike and run end of it.

Hopefully will see you in Swinford

If I do Swinford can I have a Catweazle nom de guerre?

catweazle

griffin100 wrote: »

If I do Swinford can I have a Catweazle nom de guerre?

You may now be too good for me, the levels of intimidation alone as you stride through Transition in your Ireland Tri suit would be too much for me

Macanri

Good stuff G100, happy training, and all the best for the year ahead.

Abhainn

griffin100 wrote: »

Wow, the training logs forum has certainly got a lot busier since the last time I kept a log, give it a day or two and your log gets lost down to page 4 or 5.

Try leaving it a week
But nice one griffin100. Enjoyed your log last time. Best of luck in your new adventure.

Izoard

For a minute there, I thought you'd signed up for the mini-IM out there in Sept:)

Best of luck with it and well done on the free pass in a baby year!

shotgunmcos

Hey G100 pretty cool goal you have there and it will feel brill to wear the green. Best of luck with the training and I'll follow this log with interest

pgibbo

Class location for a race. Where do you find the time? 3 kids and another on the way - congrats on that. All that coupled with a 3 hour commute. Impressive dude!

griffin100

You may now be too good for me, the levels of intimidation alone as you stride through Transition in your Ireland Tri suit would be too much for me

The green tri suit is strictly for international races and friday nights;)

Where do you find the time? 3 kids and another on the way - congrats on that. All that coupled with a 3 hour commute. Impressive dude!

I have a very understanding wife. As I dont play golf or spend my saturday afternoons in the pub shouting at english football teams she's prepared to allow some lattitude, I also think she still thinks this is a phase I'm going through and will wear off soon:)

My first phase of training is designed to get to the HIM in May in reasonable shape. I want to try and get my HIM time down by around 20mins on my last HIM last year so that's going to take some work. I wont have the time to do mega long weekend sessions this year but I think quality over quantity will be this years mantra.

On the run I'm working off a 4-5 times a week plan. The aim would be to get a set of hill repeats, some track intervals, a tempo run and a brick session in each week - or as close to this as possible. I'm not too pushed on LSR's at this stage as phase 1 training is about HM distance. Late last year I reckon a 1.40 HM was in my sights and I'd like to get back to that stage for May.

On the bike I have been looking at the sub 10 thread and other discussions and it's obvious that I need to start doing some inetrvals or high intensity work - I did none of this last year. I'm still in planning for this at the minute but the rough scheduele is 3 bikes a week with a long one at the weekend (with a run) and a shorter one during the week with some high intensity stuff thrown in, and a third short session during the week in the big ring with a low cadence to mimic hill work - I will replace this with real hill work when the evenings get longer. I've yet to get outside on the bike this year, it's all been turbo to date so I have to get that sorted.

Swimming will be three sessions a week - for the next 8 weeks one session will be a coached / lesson session; with two longer sessions - one of shorter fast stuff and one of longer slower sets.

I'm concious of the other tri logs on here and the level of training others are doing and there's no comparison with me.

Numbers To Date
Up until this week my numbers to date for this year were:
Run 153 miles
Bike 8hrs turbo
Swim 18,100m

Apart from the running mileage all very low but I'm not too worried yet as I've only just started back in earnest. Compared to this time last year I had 33,000m swum; 24hrs on the bike; run 98 miles.

This Week
Monday
Run 7 miles - with 4 x quater miles hill repeats

Tuesday
Bike - 1hr15mins turbo - @ 50 mins inserted 5 min hard / 3 min spin x 3 repeats
Swim - 1,500m - 500wu / 200 drills / 100 x 4 off 2.15 / 200 drills / 400cd

Wednesday
Swim approx. 500m. This was the first of my coached / lesson sessions. There were three lanes of swimmers - beginners (as in can barely out their face in the water) / masters group doing mixed strokes / intermediate group with a range of abilities. At the start I was put into the intermediate group. For the first few minutes I was a bit off about the whole thing as the range of abilities in my lane was very broad and at first the stuff we we were doing was very very basic even for me. Then things started to improve as we got into more of the stroke mechanics - this is what I really need as I know I can swim long distances but need to get my stroke more efficient. Making some minor adjustments to my stroke, slowing everything down and kicking hard (I have an extremely poor kick) I was doing 20m lengths in 10 strokes:eek: Thats about 6-7 less than my previous best. Obviously this wasn't at raece pace but I was delighted. The instructor also reckons I have a nice stroke (but then again this is an intermediate group:rolleyes:). So came away from this session happy.
Thursday
Day off - first in over a week.

griffin100

Friday
Second day in a row of nothing:( I suffer from vertigo on occasion and I was hit with an attack on Thursday night. Now when I say vertigo, I dont mean I feel a bit dizzy, I get completely floored and if its a bad attack I end up puking and not being able to move at all. Recovery takes a day or two and its like coming out of a really bad hangover. After Thursday night Friday was a washout - I got home from work at 5.30 and fell asleep on the couch until 10.30 - I was in a bad way.

Saturday
Swim 2,200m - 1,000wu / 200 drills / 100 x 4 off 2.15 / 200 drills / 100 x 4 off 2.20

Did the first 750m in exactly 15mins so starting to get some of my swim fitness back I think.

Run 10 miles @ 9 min / mile pace. After saying I wasn't pushed about LSR's I go and do one:rolleyes: Still was a bit ropey so was just glad to get a run in.

Sunday
Bike - 2hrs turbo - kept a steady pace with a HR around 135-140 bpm. Thats a lot higher than I'd keep on the turbo last year, either I'm getting better at concentrating on holding a set pace or I've lost so much bike fitness even an easy pace raises my HR. I hope its the former.

Run - 5 miles - straight of the turbo for a run. Had planned on doing 3 miles but felt good so pushed out to 5 miles. First 3 miles @ 8.40 pace - last 2 miles on my knees:D Spectacular bonk. Oh well, its my first brick in months.

Still haven't gone outside on the bike yet, I need to HTFU and get out.

Week Totals
Swim 4,200
Bike 3.15hrs turbp
Run 22 miles

This week...

Monday
Run 5.5 miles / 45 mins with 6 x quarter mile hill repeats. Was pushed for time do went with a set of hill repeats - quality over quantity - was fecked at the end.

griffin100

Tuesday
Swim 2,500m - 200 wu / 100 drills / 100 x 20 off 2.25 / 200 cd.
This was my longest swim session in quite a while. Each of the 20 x 100m's came in at between 1.58 - 2.00 so very pleased with that. The interval between sets was long but I'll try this session again nexct week with a shorter interval.

Wednesday
Swim - approx. 750m. My second swim class. This turned out to be a big dissapointment. The instructors put me into the 'masters' group this week. Problem here is that we were being asked to do butterfly, backstroke and breaststroke. Now I cant do any of these strokes and have no real desire to learn at this stage. This upset the instructor somewhat. We also had problems in that my frontcrawl was much faster than anyone else in the group so I kept getting held up. The session didn't really do much for me and the instructor wants me to go back to the intermediate group for a couple of weeks to learn how to backstroke :mad: I'm pissed off at this as before I booked the sessions I specifically said I couldn't swim anything other than front crawl and wanted to improve on that only and was told that that was no problem. I'm not sure if there's much point in going back next week. I need to find a session somewhere that pushes you hard through front crawl drills and sets. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be happy to hear them. The only consolation is that the girls in the intermediate group are much better looking than the masters group and its not that unpleasant to be held up behind them:D

Notwitch

I would have had a somewhat similar opinion to youself on 'other strokes'.

I've begun to change my mind though. I find the b/s stroke good for flexibility - a big problem of mine - and I focus on flexibilty during it - well that and not waterboarding myself. I also think b/fly can be a great strength exercise. May be give it a go for a while - open you mind as they say!

shotgunmcos

griffin100 wrote: »

The only consolation is that the girls in the intermediate group are much better looking than the masters group and its not that unpleasant to be held up behind them:D

That makes it a proper dilemma alright IMO that coach is being completely inflexible. Especially if you paid him. I hate the 'stick to my mantra or else' agendas of some Coaches. Ok so you want to get strong and faster/fitter on the F/S required for Tri. Thats your agenda and he should really at the very least give you suggestions. I wouldn't expect a session plan to be changed but he could also be real and suggest that the session is not for you based on your goals. Anyway, personally I have slowly started doing some backstroke (or something vaguely resembling it) recently and I find it good to change the stroke now and then to give the f/s muscles a break. I actually do 1-200m b/s at the end of most sessions just to stretch the shoulders out. If Im too tired I cool down with breaststroke.

Get thee to a daacent group session chief. like Masters or something to that effect...

Izoard

After your scurrilous claims on the Hardman thread, I was about to start slagging you off for taking on a downhill long distance course (unlike Roth:)), but I reckoned I'd better check the course first - just as well, the 2nd half of the bike looks pretty rough! Run is lumpy enough too, but the swim is pancake flat...

griffin100

I take the point about other strokes (i'd love to be able to swim butterfly properly) but I didn't realise that mixed stroked was part of the requirement for these sessions. I specifically told one of the instrictors I couldn't swim anything other than front crawl before I paid and she said that was not an issue. After our conversations I was expecting a session of swims off the clock and drills, not a mix of slowly swum mixed stroke work. Thats what's annoying me most. To these classes I have to stay late in Dublin after work and I dont end up getting home until after 10pm so I'm woundering if my limited training time could be used more productively.

After your scurrilous claims on the Hardman thread, I was about to start slagging you off for taking on a downhill long distance course (unlike Roth), but I reckoned I'd better check the course first - just as well, the 2nd half of the bike looks pretty rough! Run is lumpy enough too, but the swim is pancake flat...

Ha, its a tough second half of the bike alright out there in the Nevada desert. I'm hoping thoughts of the blow out I plan to have on the Vegas strip post race will get me through it - that or the thought that the longer I take the finish the race the more money my wife will have blown in the casinos before I can get to her

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

On the swim lessons Griffin just be firm with the instructor on what you want to get from the lessons. I had coaching lessons a while back and was having the same troubles, i told them i needed f/c only as i was doing an IM and that was that.
I cannot imagine too many doing butterfly in an IM:), breaststroke is probably more likely for some with recovery in between.

griffin100

Time for an update - I seem to be taking the Izoard approach to the training log this year - updates are few and far between :rolleyes:

I compared my training volume to this time last year and I'm about 33% down on both swimming and cycling but am about 15% ahead on the running. I'm getting in 7 or so sessions a week but am struggling to get anymore done. Hitting around 10hrs week training volume. The motivation is not as stong as it was last year and not sticking to a set training plan doesn't help. Weight is not around 10lbs above where it was last August:rolleyes:

I've tried to get more quality into my sessions rather than just thinking time and distance so hopefully that is helping. My swim sessions have a lot more stroke work than last year and my technique has improved. I've got my 750m TT in the pool down to 14.35 which for me I'm delighted with, although I'm a bit jealous of CW's reapid swim progress this year. My time in the saddle hasn't been great but I'm up to 3hr rides. My new favourite turbo session is a 5 min warm up followed by 10 sets of 3 mins flat out / 2 mins recovery. Dont know if its anygood but its enjoyable and torture at the same time. My running is getting back to where it was late last year so happy enough. Lots of hill sessions.

First race of the season is tomorrow in Port Laois. This will hopefully give me an indication of where I am versus this time last year. Last year I did 15.21 / 35.53 / 22.16 Total 1.15.52. This year I'd hope to beat the swim and be close enough to the bike and run times. In some ways it would be better to be much slower. as this might give me the motivation to get off my pardy arse:D

Patrick_K

I thought a Vegas triathlon would involve some combination of drinking, gambling and sex!
Best of luck with it.

catweazle

Ha I wouldn't call it rapid - the new pb is more a measure of me having never really tried a 400m TT before. The big drop in time is more due to the fact that I had a couple of easy days before this attempt. I always seem to be trying it on tired legs.

A 750m TT is a whole new ball game for me though, I dont think I would be getting your PB time there the exhaustion would catch up with me around 600m

Good luck tomorrow, out nice and early i have another 6/7 weeks to go before Spiddal, lovely weather for one!

Izoard

griffin100 wrote: »

Time for an update - I seem to be taking the Izoard approach to the training log this year - updates are few and far between :rolleyes:

I compared my training volume to this time last year and I'm about 33% down on both swimming and cycling but am about 15% ahead on the running. I'm getting in 7 or so sessions a week but am struggling to get anymore done. Hitting around 10hrs week training volume. The motivation is not as stong as it was last year and not sticking to a set training plan doesn't help. Weight is not around 10lbs above where it was last August:rolleyes:

Given that your A event is in November, your volume will even out as you build up for it - I can't imagine you were caning it after IMUK?:)

griffin100

I thought a Vegas triathlon would involve some combination of drinking, gambling and sex!

That all depends on whether or not the wife comes;)

Given that your A event is in November, your volume will even out as you build up for it - I can't imagine you were caning it after IMUK?

Yup a long way to go. Looking to find a 'B' event for August to concentrate the mind and am thinking about the Hardman in Kerry - not sure if I want to chance the first year of an IM distance race though (I still have nighmares about Eireman).

If the funds hold up I might try Finland for the europeans as a warm up for Vegas, but getting to the arse end of nowhere in Finland aint cheap.

Macanri

All the best for your race tomorrow. 'Twas my first tri. A good race.

griffin100

Tri Laois
What a cracking day for a race. It was baking by mid morning. Last year I was in wave 7, this year wave 2. Good because I wouldn't have to wait around for hours for my swim; bad because wave 2 is a slow swim wave (not that I'm fast but you know what I mean). Got talking to the other swimmers in my lane and as I had suspected they were all 20-25 min swimmers I was hoping to do a 14-15 minute swim. The chief swim marshal was great though, she reorganised the few of use who were all hoping for a 15 minute swim (one guy was aiming for a 13 minute swim - how he ended up in this wave I'll never understand) into the same lane.

At the warm up did a relaxed 100m in 1.40, looking good for a decent swim. I started in second place in the lane and off we went. Straight away it went awol; all the technique work I had been doing over the last few months went out the window and I ended up muscling my way through the swim. For the last 200m or so I was fcuked. Marshall shouted 14.57 at me as I exited the pool, about 3 seconds quicker than last year...ffs....I had done 14.35 in training last week so dissapointed with that. Results show 15.16 as swim and part of the long run into T1 added together.

2.45 TI:eek: - there was a long long run into and out off transition including a hill that had me panting like a dog by the time I got onto the bike. First 5km on the bike a struggle - heart rate through the roof from the swim. First 5km in 12 minutes:o, then settelled and did the last 14kms in 26 mins so a bit better here especially as the road surfaces were sh1te. Only seen one other bike on the course and he was from my wave. He stayed about 200m ahead of me for the whole race. Did bike in 37.53.

Into T2 and quick change out for the run - 1.31 - ehh....like I said transition had a long run in and out. On the run caught a few from the first wave and got close to the lad from my wave but couldn't quite get to him. Felt comfortable on the run but was lacking a bit of pace I thought. Finished run in 23.30 and tbh I think the run course was shorter than last year.

Overall 38th individual finisher which is only 6 places down on last year but overall I was exactly 5 minutes slower. Swim was the same; bike was exactly 2 minutes slower and the run was 1.14 slower. Rest of lost time was longer transitions this year. I'm dissapointed with the swim. I had hoped to get under 14.30 but its my own fault for not concentrating enough on technique. I also made an arse of most of my turns so rather than getting any glide off the walls I was splashing around like a drowned rat at every turn. Bike time was to be expected given how little bike work I've done this year (I only got back on the road for the first time in 6 months a couple of weeks ago:rolleyes:). Run was a dissapointment, I have a reasonable amount of running in my legs but just lacked some pace.

Next up is North Tipp and then the Tri An Mhi Half. I'll need to work hard in the next few weeks to get up to the standard I want to hit in the half. I have bought one of these though so hopefully I'll have a mega swim:D

catweazle

I swore after last years Joey Hannon and Nenagh the previous year that I would never do another pool based triathlon again. I don't mind getting banged about in the open water but I cant seem to handle swimming in a packed lane

38th overall with over 200 entrants isn't bad plodding at all though

shotgunmcos

Hey G100 good show in portlaois, you have loads of time to shape up for Vegas and pool based Tris to my experience can be a lottery of a swim. I'll be out to give you whatever roar/kick/slap/joke you need to go faster in North Tipp. Looking forward to watching some suffering for a change

BTW if you are worried about your stats, you know what my suggestion is.... SBR Challenge! With a late long distance goal you will rock up the charts this Autumn

griffin100

38th overall with over 200 entrants isn't bad plodding at all though

Cheers CW, but tbh this race is beginner heavy and I should have been better. Now 38th in an NS race I would be happy with;)

BTW if you are worried about your stats, you know what my suggestion is.... SBR Challenge! With a late long distance goal you will rock up the charts this Autumn

hhmmm, maybe I'll wait until my numbers are a bit better.

griffin100

Had my first ever boink in the pool last night. Decided to try and get a 2,500 straight swim in and felt good for the first 1500m or so then it started to get a bit difficult. Last 300m was hell, I couldn't feel my legs or arms, I wanted to puke, my head hurt, I was drinking pool water on every breath and I was reduced to 2.30 / 100m pace:eek:. When I finished I crawled back to the dressing rooms and lay down. Looking back at it I probably should have eaten more than one scone and a small bananna during the entire day - I won't do that again:pac:

shotgunmcos

Did you just forget to eat or are you also training for Americas Next top Model? :pac:

griffin100

Did you just forget to eat or are you also training for Americas Next top Model?

Ha, just a busy day in work and I never got a chance to get lunch and didn't get home until late. I try and avoid stopping for food on the way home as I usually end up with a couple of danish's and a coke:rolleyes:

griffin100

The last few weeks have been plodding along - averaging somewhere around 8-9hrs most weeks. I had planned on getting a few longer sessions in over the easter break but I had to work for some of it and the rest of it was spent paining the house at the behest of a heavily pregnant emotionally unstable wife to whom I was afraid to say no:D

North Tipp Sprint
Wasn't too bothered about doing this race but when the forecast looked good for saturday I decided at the last minute to head down so trained as per normal up to Friday night.

Registered and got ready. Was in wave 3 so didn't have to hang around too long.

Into the lane for the swim - 6 of us all saying 15 minute swim. Myself and two other lads agreed a rough stratedgy of taking turns to lead out with the other two drafting. I was a bit nervous about the swim not having done much swimming in the last two weeks but it went ok. I started off in second place and the lad in front of me lead off for 12 or so lengths. I felt good and as he started to slow I tapped him on the feet and went past. I buried myself for the next 12 lengths planning to hand over to the next guy before the end. At 500m a quick peek at the large clock mounted at the swim exit (a great idea) showed just under 9 minutes - looking good for a possible sub 14 minute swim. With about 150m to go I was tapped on the feet and let the next guy go in front except it wasn't the third guy in our drafting group, it was a girl who then proceeded to do a good impression of a drowning rat for the last 6 lengths learning the hard way that drafting is easy, its a lot tougher to lead out :rolleyes: Oh well, all that hard work for nothing. Clock showed exactly the same time as Portlaois 3 weeks ago when exiting the pool so was happy with that.

Did my best to go fast in T1 and as usual seemed to be in there for an age. Out into the road and into the wind and first of the drags. The first 10km on the bike were tough enough - it took me 22 minutes to do the first 10km. I pushed hard though as I knew from one of the posters on the events thread that the return 10km would be fast, and boy was it fast. I did the return 10km in 15 minutes. I managed to spin out the pedals in the smallest ring and was flying, event the uphills were fast. I was passed by 3 or so others during the first 10km of the bike and passed another 3 on the return leg.

Into T2 and again an age. Out onto the run and overtook two other runners immediately. Didn't see anyone else until near the end. Run was tough, lots and lots of drags. I was starting to fade badly by 4km when it finally levelled of allowing some sort of recovery. Managed to catch a couple of the slower lads from the previous wave in the last km and I was caught by one of the guys I had passed at the start of the run as we came into the finish - given he looked about 10 years younger and 2 stone lighter than me I wasn't too bothered.

Finish time was 1.20.15 -Swim 15.10/ T1 1.35/ Bike 37.38/ T2 2.04/ Run 23.48. I was really happy with this as it was quicker than 3 weeks ago even though this course was longer on the bike and the run and was a lot tougher. I was also only around 15 seconds behind a club mate 'on the road' who normally beats me by around 2-3 minutes on the bike and run. His transitions were a minute or so shorter than mine so I have to work on these - its putting on socks in T2 that really slows me down.

Overall a well organised event. NS races really are a different sport to the standard tri. In Portloais my 1.20 got me into the top 40, on saturday it was good enough for a finish well outside the top half of the field. Goes to show the quality on show. The bike bling was unreal as well, I've never seen wave 1 'slow' starters on cervelos with zipps. I had a chance to look at final wave swimmers after I finished and whilst they were impresively fast some of them to my untrained eye seemed to have poor looking technique - straight arm recoveries, no sign of a high elbow:D but what they all had was a streamlined long body shape through the water - something to think about. Glad I made the trip. Congrats to Nenagh Tri Club.

Only a couple of weeks now to the Tri An Mhi HIM. Looking forward to it. I've a rough plan in my head to go hard in the swim, be extra conservative on the bike, and go for broke on the run. Should be interesting, especially as I've yet to get beyond 75km on the bike in training and probably wont before the race. This is all assuming that the wife doesn't go int labour before or during the event (I will be carrying the mobike on the bike and run for this one).

interested

not the medium for it but - you may very well be right that their technique wasnt the greatest but ... on the other hand

"straight arm recoveries, no sign of a high elbow"

its whats happening under the water the counts - and it does highlight a difference in stroke between pool and open water. When wearing a wetsuit its often better to not fixate on a high elbow since its harder to do and can tire your arms ... as long as your hand is entering as far forward as possible and not short then a straighter arm may not look as pretty but from an energy point of view its often the better option.

Again, not the medium really but hopefully you get what I mean.

griffin100

... as long as your hand is entering as far forward as possible and not short then a straighter arm may not look as pretty but from an energy point of view its often the better option.

That's interesting (pardon the oun).....so should the hand be entering the water as far forward as possible or should it be entering alongside the head and reaching as far forward as possible under water?

interested

griffin100 wrote: »

That's interesting (pardon the oun).....so should the hand be entering the water as far forward as possible or should it be entering alongside the head and reaching as far forward as possible under water?

It should definitely be entering as far out in front as possible
Bear with me, if your hand enters the water near your head and you extend it out under the water (or even on top of the water) you're effectively pushing yourself backwards since youre pushing water away from you in front - even if you're hand is flat there's resistance.


At the end of your stroke, when hand is down around your hip - arm recovers over the water and you reach and extend - finger tips first into the water as far forward as possible (roughly shoulder width apart) - attempting to meet the outstretched hand in the middle can cause 'crossing' and will make swimming in a straight line harder.

Again, hardly the medium but its a fundamental bad habit that alot of people have in my experience. Apologies if Ive confused you / anyone reading this - but in the water it makes sense.

griffin100

It should definitely be entering as far out in front as possible
Bear with me, if your hand enters the water near your head and you extend it out under the water (or even on top of the water) you're effectively pushing yourself backwards since youre pushing water away from you in front - even if you're hand is flat there's resistance.

That is something that I've definitely being doing wrong:mad:

Again, hardly the medium but its a fundamental bad habit that alot of people have in my experience. Apologies if Ive confused you / anyone reading this - but in the water it makes sense.

Feel free to use this thread as a medium to speed up my swimming at any time:)

interested

griffin100 wrote: »

That is something that I've definitely being doing wrong:mad:

Feel free to use this thread as a medium to speed up my swimming at any time:)

In many ways its good news for you so, since you swam 1.15 during IMUK in this way. Lots of analogies that can be used but when swimming if you think of climbing a ladder - your head is in the centre - your hands stretch to grip the rail as high up as possible, roughly shoulder width apart. This approach will obviously avoid pushing water in the wrong direction and ensure you start to 'feel' the stroke more and the roll and rythm (as you stretch you should feel yourself rotate around the centre line onto your side (not too much though)) that should see you swim faster.

griffin100

I've only had two swims since last week but in those swims I have tried to work on my stroke, especially the concept of dropping the hand into the water as far forward as possible rather than driving it alongside my head as discussed above.

On the first swim I was throwing the hand and arm far forward quite fast and getting tired quickly. I then looked at the link Interested suggested and read the stuff on the swim smooth site and I identified flaws in my stroke, specifically the early hand entry and the outward sweep of my hand at the start of my catch. Went to the pool that night and tried to work out these issues. I ended up doing a straight 2,000m at a very very low effort, probably a PE of 5/10, concentrating on technique and ignoring pace. At the end of the first 1,000m I was fresh as a daisy (unusual for me) and was less than a minute slower than my all out effort time for 1,000m; for the second 1,000m I was within a few seconds of the time for the first 1,000m and overall was at about the same time that a hard 2,000m would give me, all with very little perceived effort - so something must be working:).

Unfortunately haven't had a chance to get back in the pool this week as I got sick. An 11 mile run in the rain last Friday evening gave me a chill (I think) and then to cap it all off I picked up the tummy bug that had worked its way through all of the kids. Have you ever had a coughing fit with a tummy bug - interesting. I got lots of fartlek runs done - random sprints between my bed and the toilet. I also lost approx. 10lbs in two days.

Much better today so after missing three days of training I'll get back into the pool tonight. Problem is I have the Tri an Mhi HIM this saturday and have been looking forward to this for weeks but now I'm not sure about it. I dont know if I'll be in a fit state for it given how sick I was this week. Added to the fact that the weather forcast is sh1te for the weekend I really dont fancy cycling and running for 5hrs+ in the rain. On the plus side the chances of me fitting into my new wetsuit have been greatly increased by my sudden and unexpected weight loss:). I'll see how my body reacts to the swim tonight and make a decision.

Izoard

griffin100 wrote: »

I also lost approx. 10lbs in two days.

Excellent...where do I sign up?:)

All the best with the recovery and hope you make it to the start line on Sat.

pgibbo

griffin100 wrote: »

I've only had two swims since last week but in those swims I have tried to work on my stroke, especially the concept of dropping the hand into the water as far forward as possible rather than driving it alongside my head as discussed above.

On the first swim I was throwing the hand and arm far forward quite fast and getting tired quickly. I then looked at the link Interested suggested and read the stuff on the swim smooth site and I identified flaws in my stroke, specifically the early hand entry and the outward sweep of my hand at the start of my catch. Went to the pool that night and tried to work out these issues. I ended up doing a straight 2,000m at a very very low effort, probably a PE of 5/10, concentrating on technique and ignoring pace. At the end of the first 1,000m I was fresh as a daisy (unusual for me) and was less than a minute slower than my all out effort time for 1,000m; for the second 1,000m I was within a few seconds of the time for the first 1,000m and overall was at about the same time that a hard 2,000m would give me, all with very little perceived effort - so something must be working:).

That's a serious iprovement there. If RPE is way dwon and times are the same you're on to a winner.

Where the link to that video that interssted recommended? I don't see it on the thread? Cheers.

Best of luck Saturday. I hope you're well enough to compete. I also hope these winds and the weather in general improves for it.

griffin100

Where the link to that video that interssted recommended? I don't see it on the thread? Cheers.

http://www.swimsmooth.com/catch_adv.html

the whole site is worth a read.

griffin100

So despite being sick during the week and having a wife that was about to pop at any minute I decided to do the Tri An Mhi HIM on Saturday. I was packing my kit on Friday night when it dawned on me that I really had no business doing this race. I have done less than 1,000kms on the bike this year and this race was going to represent 10% of my cycling in the last 7-8 months:( Earlier this year I had put this down as an important race in that it would be a good indication of my fitness compared to this time last year. I had hoped that I would be able to to a 37min swim / hold 31kph on the bike / and get as close to 1.50 as possible on the run. That was all academic by the time last weekend rolled around given my lack of training so I had a new stratedgy of going as hard as possible in the swim and run and being ultra conservative on the bike.

Up at 4.30am on saturday for the 2hr drive to the middle of nowhere. Only for Mloc's directions on the event thred I'd still be looking for the place. Mild panic attack on arrival when I realised there was no mobile signal in the car park - panic over when I realised there was a signal across at the lake. Panic reignited when a message from the wife comes through saying she is feeling a bit funny - I offer to come straight home but she tells me to stay but to keep an eye on the phone:eek: Meet up with Izoard for the first time - nice to put a face to a name.

Weather was windy and rain was a definite. Hhmm, what to wear on the bike.....

Reister to get a t-shirt, water bottle and some gels - all for €65 - good value for money this race.

Looking at the swim course it looked very very short for 1,900m. I know that in the event thread the organisers say it was GPS'd the night before at 1,900m+ but I'd say the wind blew markers inshore overnight. On a 1,900m lap I usually have trouble seeing the marker buoys at the end of the loop without my glassess - not today. It looked more like a 1,600m course max.

Into the surprisingly warm water for the swim. My first OW swim since last september and it showed. My sighting was ****e and I spent quite a whilke swimming wide towards a canoeist with a yellow top on who looked like the yellow marker buoy:rolleyes: Outward leg of swim was rough with the wind in the face but the return was smoother. The same could't said about my stroke - I was all over the place. I got out in 33.xx which suggested a very short course - unless my super new wetsuit has me swimming sub 1.50 100m's even with a crap stroke.

A long long T1 where I made the decision to put bib shorts and a long sleeved cycling top on over the tri suit. Checked the mobile, no messages, and stuck it in a plastic bag and into the pocket and off I went. Being concious of the fact that this would be my longest cycle since last August I took it very easy. On the first lap I only got out of the saddle at the only real hill at 16kms and when I wanted to stretch the legs. Spent the whole 93kms tick tacking with Izoard and a girl in a USA cylcling kit. First lap it stayed dry, half way through second lap the heavens opened, and I mean they opened. Torrential rain that had cars pulling in to the side of the road, torrents of water flowing across the road. I was saturated, but was glad I wasn't wearing just a tri suit - I reckon some of the tri suit wearing cyclists must have come close to hypothermia:D. Then the rain stopped at last.....and the hailstones started....oh ffs.

Finished bike in 3.24hrs. Second lap was just under 4 minutes slower than first lap which was probably due to the weather. I was conservative the whole way around and never pushed up the HR apart from on the only big hill on the course (and when a dog chased me). I had tried out a new fueling strtedgy which was to fill a water bottle with 9 Hi5 isogels and take a mouthful every 20 minutes (whilst checking the mobile for messages) or so and this worked really well when backed up with two banannes and a pack of ride shots. Felt really comfortable the whole way around.

Another slow T2 where I took off the soaking wet cycling jersey and for the very first time and in honour of Betty the seconds visit to Ireland I broke out the IMUK finishers jersey with its multiple union jacks:D Off on the run and the legs felt a bit numb but not too bad. My bottom half felt a bit strange and I then realised I still had bib shorts on:rolleyes: These came off and went into a field. Legs felt good after 2km or so so just kept up a nice steady plod. Run was a hilly course and for the first lap it lashed rain. For the seond half of the second lap it got really hot and I got sunburnt. I had two gels and a bananna on the run and this worked well. With about 3km to go the legs started to feel the 5.30hrs+ and I ended up having to take 5-6 10sec walking breaks but I still managed to get in under 2hrs, which is a first for me in a HIM run.

Overall 6.08 including about 10-11 minutes of transitions. My slowest ever HIM but given my lack of training I was actually happy enough. Other than the last 2km on the run I was very comfortable. I did however finish the run and think how the fcuk did I ever do a full IM:D.

A big congratulations and thanks must go to Tri An Mhi for a great event and in particular to the marshals and Garda who stood out in atrocious weather for hours on end - well done.

I've nothing planned for the next few weeks. I'm tempted to do the Hardman IM distance race in August as I'll be in Kerry with the family at this time anyway - assuming this baby ever comes out - fecker is still ensconssed in the wife. We'll see how it goes:)

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Sounded like a rough old day. Good luck on the baby front and the future family/life/training juggling act:)

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

So despite being sick during the week and having a wife that was about to pop at any minute I decided to do the Tri An Mhi HIM on Saturday.

Mild panic attack on arrival when I realised there was no mobile signal in the car park - panic over when I realised there was a signal across at the lake. Panic reignited when a message from the wife comes through saying she is feeling a bit funny - I offer to come straight home but she tells me to stay but to keep an eye on the phone:eek:

A long long T1 where ......checked the mobile, no messages, and stuck it in a plastic bag and into the pocket and off I went.

I had tried out a new fueling strtedgy which was to fill a water bottle with 9 Hi5 isogels and take a mouthful every 20 minutes (whilst checking the mobile for messages) or so and this worked really well when backed up with two banannes and a pack of ride shots.


I've nothing planned for the next few weeks. I'm tempted to do the Hardman IM distance race in August as I'll be in Kerry with the family at this time anyway - assuming this baby ever comes out - fecker is still ensconssed in the wife. We'll see how it goes:)

Don't know who I'm more amazed at - You or your missus for letting you off . Well done. I'm sure you won't be bored over the next few weeks . All the best.

griffin100

Baby finally made an appearance last week and despite having a couple of weeks off work in the lead in little training was done. Its now getting very hard to get out in the evening with 4 small kids to try and sort for bed:)

Due to fact that I had to stay close to home over the last few weeks I started doing some new cycle sessions close to home. One was hill repeats on a 0.5mile hill (approx. 2.30mins of climbing) close to home doing repeats of 5 in progressively easier gears starting off in the small ring but well down the cassette. Nice session and 90 minutes of these really gets the legs singing. I also started doing a session that I think Bradley Wiggins uses. Take a hill and cycle up it at a comfortable pace trying to get a cycle of 3-4 minutes in. Go back to the start and then go as hard as you can up the hill. Repeat until you cant make it up the hill faster than your initial time despite pushing hard. Another nice session that gets your lungs and heart going.

I'd been considering the MdS for my 40th birthday in 2013 and was watching this site for updates regarding registration. Unfortunately I should have been watching this site :rolleyes: and I missed the registration for 2013 which happened last weekend. I'm gutted. I did get a place on the waiting list but thats a bit of a pain as I mightn't get the nod until a couple of months before the race and obviously there's a years training in this event. Its also €500 to get a place on the waitlist (but it is refundable). I think I might take the place on the wait list and try and get a place in 2014 when they are made available if I cannot get confirmation on 2013. It could be a blessign in disguise though given the €3,500+ race entry fee:eek:

ronanmac

Congratulations! Sounds like a busy house... nothing like kids as an incentive to get out and train

Izoard

Congrats on the new arrival!
MdS looks like a suitably ridiculous event to celebrate a 40th...

Git101

Congratulations on the new arrival.

Always knew IM competitors were slightly cracked, you just proved it my mentioning MdS