Tri-ing my best...

couerdelion

Ok time for an update after a period of inactivity.

So I spent last Weds - Sun relaxing in Sardinia. Did nothing. I could pretend I did some open water swimming but all I did was swim out to dive off rocks.

Mon 13/06
Planned - Gym HIIT & Swim Training.
Actual - Gym HIIT & Swim Training.

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps Trisets in the gym followed by a 20 minute run 5:30s per km pace. Easy enough. Have decided to do a 20 minute run everytime I'm doing a gym session to help with the weight loss and to get more miles in the legs. I'll see how I'm feeling and decide if I'm over doing it. If I am I'll cut back again.

Swim training was good. Not good as in I'm a brilliant swimmer (I felt I was pretty crap really!) but just to have some structure to the training and having someone telling me what I am doing wrong. Session for me was 2x(50m crawl, 50m backstroke, 50 kickboard, 50 pullbuoy), 300m kickboard, We then finished with 300m leading with one hand and practising breathing to the opposite side as we were told that we were lifting up out of the water when breathing. I don't normally use my legs at all so was in bits with all that kicking. I even had to get out and stretch the calves as they were cramping which then caused cramps up my shins. Still I really enjoyed it and am thinking of adding in the Thursday morning sessions too.

Tue 14/06
Planned: 30 minute Run
Actual 29 minute Run

Built up slowly from 10.0kmh (6:00s per km) to 11kmh (5:30s per km) on the treadmill and then did 10 intervals at 14.5kmh (4:07s per km) for 1 min dropping down to 10kmh(6:00s per km) for a breather for 1 min. It was hard enough but not a killer session by any means. I was going to 30 minutes but sweat had got into my iphone speaker microphone and it kept switching to voice control.

elvis jones

Hope Italy went well !

You back in our weight loss thread ??

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

Hope Italy went well !

You back in our weight loss thread ??

Very relaxing thanks, felt like I was away for ages.

Yep back on the weight loss wagon, I'm lucky number 13!

couerdelion

Wed 15/06

Planned: Gym/Run |1000m swim
Actual: Gym/Run |550m swim

Legs/Back/Biceps then a 20 minute run.
Swim in the evening was disappointing. Practised breathing without moving my head too much but still seem to be swallowing more water than air. Didn't get into much of a rhythm at all and then the wife starting getting wheezy so we called it a day.

couerdelion

Thu 15/06

Planned: 1 hour run
Actual: 1 hour run

I do most of my running in the gym on a lunch time. I've thought about running in the streets but too many traffic lights in central Dublin. Anyway today I did a 20 min warm-up bringing the speed upevery minute till I hit 5 min km pace and then the idea was to continue that for 40 mins. Unfortunately after about 8-9 mins I had to bring the pace down. There was no air in the gym, and a heavyish weights session on the legs the day before had left them feeling a little bit heavy. I ended up dropping the pace to 5:45 per km and then back up to 5:30's for the last 20 minutes so I ended up finishing with more or less dead on 11km for the hour.

Macanri

Fair play to you having the will power to be able to do most of your running on the threadmill. I can't bear them - luckily I don't work in the city centre.
At least you finished out running the full hour and didn't quit when the pace dropped. I suppose thats why they call it training.

couerdelion

Fri 17/06

Planned: Gym session
Actual: Gym session

Day off really but still working on strength and losing weight. Chest/Shoulders/Triceps and feeling tired throughout. I'll watch for signs of over training.

Sat 18/06

Planned: Cycle
Actual: 30km Cycle

Wasn't really sure what I wanted to do today. Had beers last night. Lots of them. Then met friends for brunch but knew I needed to get out. Met with borther in law and did an nice easy 30km ish ride. Shot off and left him for dead a couple of times just to prove to myself I still have more speed than him Was going to turn it into a brick but decided to save my legs as my calves were tight enough.

Long cycle tomorrow. Maybe my first 100km!:eek:

couerdelion

Macanri wrote: »

Fair play to you having the will power to be able to do most of your running on the threadmill. I can't bear them - luckily I don't work in the city centre.
At least you finished out running the full hour and didn't quit when the pace dropped. I suppose thats why they call it training.

I'm lucky enough that there is at least 3 of us going over from work each day. On thursday there were two extra and we were all on the treadmills. I had to carry on so they could "witness the fitness!"

couerdelion

Sunday 19/06
Planned: 100km cycle
Actual: 107km cycle --> http://runkeeper.com/user/couerdelion/activity/40023655

First really long cycle. Headed out from T'town down to Ratoath and then onto Dunshauglin and Trim. From Trim headed down to Longwood and then to Moyvalley coming back via Maynooth and Dunboyne. I found it pretty tough. I wasn't trying to hammer it, just keeping the cadence high but I always felt like I did not have enough energy.

Out to Trim wasn't too bad, but between there and Moyvalley was a killer. The road surface wasn't great and there was a slight headwind but I think I just ran out of energy. I stopped in Moyvalley at a garage for a drinks refill and a refueling and then was grand on the way back. Got slightly lost in Maynooth and had to stop, check bearings and turn around. I completed it in 3hrs 55mins so an average just over 27kmh.

elvis jones

Well done man, your putting me to shame !!!

I'm planning to do a long one this weekend, i'm going to design a route now and fingers crossed its abotu 80 to 100km.

Whats up next race wise ?

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

Well done man, your putting me to shame !!!

I'm planning to do a long one this weekend, i'm going to design a route now and fingers crossed its abotu 80 to 100km.

Whats up next race wise ?

I use www.ridewithgps.com to map out intended routes. Seems better than map my run or any of the others.

Race wise: Docklands 8km tomorrow, Dunshaughlin 10km on Saturday (thinking I'm just going to run with the wife to help her beat her 1 hour target) then rounding off the week with Skerries Sprint distance on Sunday. Yes, I've stupidly overstretched myself, but they're all just being treated as training sessions so shouldn't be a problem. They'll also help towards losing weight

Of course when I say I'm treating it as a training session I will still try to beat my brother in law who talked me into entering it with jibes about my sexuality.

kennyb3

couerdelion wrote: »

Sunday 19/06
Planned: 100km cycle
Actual: 107km cycle --> http://runkeeper.com/user/couerdelion/activity/40023655

First really long cycle. Headed out from T'town down to Ratoath and then onto Dunshauglin and Trim. From Trim headed down to Longwood and then to Moyvalley coming back via Maynooth and Dunboyne. I found it pretty tough. I wasn't trying to hammer it, just keeping the cadence high but I always felt like I did not have enough energy.

Out to Trim wasn't too bad, but between there and Moyvalley was a killer. The road surface wasn't great and there was a slight headwind but I think I just ran out of energy. I stopped in Moyvalley at a garage for a drinks refill and a refueling and then was grand on the way back. Got slightly lost in Maynooth and had to stop, check bearings and turn around. I completed it in 3hrs 55mins so an average just over 27kmh.

Are you fuelling these sessions proper? Do you take banana's, bars or gels with you? how much are you drinking?

couerdelion

kennyb3 wrote: »

Are you fuelling these sessions proper? Do you take banana's, bars or gels with you? how much are you drinking?

No, I didn't fuel that session properly at all. I took a couple of gels with me and had planned to stop a couple of times to refill the bottle, but I missed the first garage and didn't want to turn round. I'm still pretty new to this long training session stuff and unfortunately still make mistakes. Still I now know for next time that I need to be eating more regularly and to fit another cage to the bike and carry more liquids.

The quandry/difficulty for me though is that I don't want to be fuelling all my riding through eating as i want to be burning fat but at the same time I can't rely on my body for all the fuel I need.

elvis jones

Had a look at the Dunshaughlin 10km but its not until half 7 in the evening wouldn't be able to do it with a gig that night in Roscommon.

Its late for you if you have a tri the next morning !

couerdelion

@ElvisJones Yep I know it's stupid, but that's me! I suppose I could still go and just watch Mrs cdl run it. But I'd get cold, find a nice pint to warm me up ad get locked instead. More fun though!

Mon 20/06
Planned: Weights and Club Swim
Actual: Weights and Club Swim

Legs, back, biceps. Took it easy and dropped the weights a little. Easy session.
Swim training; I hate leg excercises! Good session though and feel good in a tired kinda way. Ended up swimming around 1400m.

elvis jones

How did the docklands go ?

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

How did the docklands go ?

Tue 21/06
Planned: Dublin Docklands Run
Actual: Dublin Docklands Run

Not my greatest run in the world. Had an upset stomach and realised just after the start that it wasn't a fart waiting to come out. so 7.8km of clenching

The first few km were a case of zig zagging through the crowd. I was trying to take it easy but my arch-nemesis 'Bill' (I need catweazle's help with imaginative names...) was running and as he is ultra competitve (like me!) I wanted to beat him. I got to the 4km mark in 22:04 which was bang on the 44 minute pace I was expecting. However 'Bill' was still near me so I decided to try and inject a little more pace. It was difficult to run much faster as I didn't want to be pictured with poo running down my legs so I had to run within myself and when everyone kicked and sprinted in the last km I just clenched, grimaced and gurned. Finished in 40:57 which means a second 4km of 18:53. and even better I beat 'Bill' by 3+ mins.

catweazle

You are going well, the run is coming down and you are a strong biker. I will be staying away from any races you are doing or I could be a future target, I certainly don't want an 18 stone rugby playing behemoth chasing me down

couerdelion

Wed 22/06

Got stuck in a convention all day so no time to train. Pretty glad really as I was tired from the docklands run.

Thu 23/06

Planned: Gym
Actual: Gym and Run

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps and a 25 minute easy run.

Fri 24/06

Suppliers took me out to Shanahans on the green all afternoon. Unfortunately missed training as I was drinkning too.

Sat 25/06

65km cycle over to howth to sign on for Skerries Triathlon.
10km Dunshaughlin Road Race. My time was 52 minutes 06 secs. Found the second half (especially the hills) tough. But I now have a 10k time to beat!

Sun 26/06

Skerries Triathlon. After the previous days exploit I was hoping just to finish. 2/3rds or above I would have been happy with, top half was a dream.

Horrible swim. I waded out as far as I could as it was just as fast as swimming. When I eventually started to swim it was very choppy and found it hard to breathe without swallowing a facefull of water. finished in 25min 36 secs (154th/220). T1 2 min 16 secs (129th/220).

Cycle. Got out well although I nearly took out someone from Fingal tri club who couldn't maintain a straight line and veered right as I was overtaking. On the first steep climb my heart rate maxed out and I jumped off and walked. Was over taken by 3-4 cyclists. I then jumped back on the bike and over took them on the rest of the hill. On the first descent I hit 64kmh and was back cycling comfortably. Enjoyed the rest of the cycle and completed it in 47min 36 secs (69th/220). Coming in to T2 I decided to leave my shoes on the bike so unstrapped and jumped off only to find it was a gravel path into T2. T2 took me 1min 35secs (187th/220)

Run. After the two runs this week I had nothing in the legs. ALl I could do was try and move them as quick as possible. I was looking for runners moving slower than me and then fixing them as targets and trying my best to catch them. 25min 47 secs (141st/220).

Over all I finished in 1:42:47. (109th/220). Just under halfway so I was more than happy with the result.

It's been a tough week training/race wise but my diet has been poor too. Need to sort that this coming week.

couerdelion

Mon 27/06

Recovery Run: 30 mins at 5:40 pace on incline 2.0.

Club swim: WU = 100m front crawl, 100m kicking on right arm, 100m kicking on left arm, 100m backstroke. Main 600m Pull Buoy, 600m front crawl, CD = 100m breast stroke).

Trying to use this period to try and put 3 weeks of solid work in prior to my next tri in Monaghan (Muckno Mania). Hard to say no though though to invites for pints

couerdelion

Tue 28/06

Day off. Listened to my body and after 3 days of pretty intense excercise decided to take a rest day.

Wed 29/06

Gym workout. Legs/Back/Biceps.

Meant to be swimming this evening but have a bad case of wetsuit bite/kiss that's stinging a bit. I guess I should just SUI, HTFU and get on with it.

couerdelion

Wed 29/06 (Evening) - Swim

Tried to put into practice what I had done on Monday night. It's a little hard to do kicking excercises when you're sharing a lane though without looking retarded. Ended up with about 1200m of FC before I started getting cramp in my calf. Probably down to heavy legs session in the gym today.

Macanri

Fair play for heading for the swim with a neck like that - looks nasty.

I went for an OW swim on Mon evening and as I also suffer a bit from the wetsuit rash I put plenty of bodyglide on the neck and it worked a treat.

couerdelion

Thu 30/06

Run. 5km Treadmill at an easy pace. No energy today and feeling tired so left it at 5km. I was half thinking of carrying on going for an hour but glad now I didn't. Wrecked.

@macanri - cheers, a few people have recommended bodyglide. Going to head over to wheelworx at the weekend and get some.

couerdelion

Fri 01/06

Gym session - Chest/Shoulders/Triceps + 20 min run
Swim - 1000m. Pool was pretty busy with just 2 lanes open to public. Never really got into it.

Sat 02/06

Golf at Tulfarris followed by long brick = 40km cycle, 10km run. it was a pretty hot day and my run taken very easy. Finished quick shower, dinner and then threw it all up.I think I might have overdone it a little.

Sun 03/06

Decided to take a day off after yesterdays session.

couerdelion

Mon 4 Jul

Weight sessions at lunch. Legs/Back/Biceps. For the last couple of sessions I've been increasing the weights and am feeling better because of it. I've no problem just staying at a certain level and not pushing for a while but it's a bit boring. i aren't eating anything like the quantity of food to increase muscle so it should be purely strength that I am increasing. Finished with a run. I set the treadmill to 10.7 with a 2.0 incline and ran until the machine said I had burnt 500 kcals which was 21 mins. I know they counters aren't accurate but it's a way to judge the output from one session to another.

Club swim session in the evening. Longest session to date with around 2200m swam. I actually felt at times that my stroke has improved and I felt pretty strong in the pull sets. Still got legs of lead though!

Next tri is in 11 days in Monaghan. Again just using it as a training session.

couerdelion

Tue 05/06

Was meant to be a 30 min run. The gym was roasting and I managed 20 mins before I gave up. Other lads who were in there were the same and didn't manage their planned runs either. Apparantly only one AC unit was working.

Wed 06/06

Gym session - Chest/shoulders/triceps. good session and increased weights slightly on a few excercises. Finshed with a 21 min run. Didn't get to the pool for the evening swimming session as I was wrecked.


I seem to be losing motivation a little this week. I seem to be tired and cranky and grazing on sweets and biscuits. Need to have a good word with myself!

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Tue 05/06

Was meant to be a 30 min run. The gym was roasting and I managed 20 mins before I gave up. Other lads who were in there were the same and didn't manage their planned runs either. Apparantly only one AC unit was working.

Wed 06/06

Gym session - Chest/shoulders/triceps. good session and increased weights slightly on a few excercises. Finshed with a 21 min run. Didn't get to the pool for the evening swimming session as I was wrecked.


I seem to be losing motivation a little this week. I seem to be tired and cranky and grazing on sweets and biscuits. Need to have a good word with myself!

Snap, i have 2 races 2 weeks in a row and have to step off the pedal a bit and not do as much. Its actually getting to me. Can't wait for the race to be out of the way on Sunday and then i can step it up again !

Do you do a lot of your running in the gym ? I can't do it at all, 10 mins and i bored and give up. I have to be on the road checking my pace and "feeling" the road.

couerdelion

Thursday and Friday last week were pretty much a write off. I had to take people to lunch both days so missed the gym sessions and was wrecked when I managed to get home from work.

Sat 09/06

Open water swim practice. The wife didn't cope well in Athy (minor asthma attack) so she decided we needed to practice open water swims a little more. This was just to get used to the darker water as opposed to swim any significant metres. We met up with a couple of others at the grand canal dock and did a couple of small circuits (around 500m I reckon). The water didn't taste the best and was murky enough but it helped me to get used to putting my head under. Had to float around every now and again as the viking splash came along

Sun 10/06

Brick. I was hoping to do an olympic length brick but after struggling to true my wheel which then managed to loosen itself half way through the ride it was never going to happen. Ended up with 20km at around about 36 kmh average. Quick change then a 6km run at 5:06 pace.

Ordered new wheels for the bike last night. Only cheapo ones though - Shimano RS20's. Hopefully from the reviews i've read they will stay true for more than one ride!

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

Snap, i have 2 races 2 weeks in a row and have to step off the pedal a bit and not do as much. Its actually getting to me. Can't wait for the race to be out of the way on Sunday and then i can step it up again !

Do you do a lot of your running in the gym ? I can't do it at all, 10 mins and i bored and give up. I have to be on the road checking my pace and "feeling" the road.

How did the race go?


Running on the treadmill is just the most convenient way for me to train and I can force myself to run at a pace. On the road I sometimes find myself daydreaming and find I'm not putting much effort in. I don't find it much less boring when I'm out on the roads either.