Tri-ing my best...

couerdelion

Monday 13th February

Now that I don't have to race next week I've added some strength training into the mix. So lunchtime session was:

Interval Run: 1km warm up, 8x (400m at 4 min km pace, 400m easy pace) 1 km warm down.

Strength Work: 5x5's on Squat, Bench Press, Bent over BBell Row, Wide Grip Pull-ups.

Evening was club swim. I some how managd to turn up with one flipper so was left playing catch-up on those sets.
WU: 4x (3x25m FC progessively faster, 25m BS)
4x50m FC with Flippers
3x400m pull buoy
4x50m FC with Flippers
4x50m Kick
CD 100m FC

I cramped badly in my hamstrings during the second flipper set so called it a night then. Good session though and not feeliong too bad after two weeks out. Gym work did leave my shoulders tired though but not to the detriment of form (IMO).

couerdelion

Tuesday 14th February

Lunch: Run. Meant to be an easy run but ended up running faser than I should have done as I was finding it easy (which is the whole idea!). 6km in 30 mins.
Stretching. Working on my flexibiity as I am cramping too much in the swim. Worked extra hard on calves, hamstrings and whatever the name of the tendon is that runs down near your shin.

Evening: Late turbo session. Aerobic Power 3 (8x3 min) - Endurance - 60 mins. Realy felt a bit it in the legs but felt good to get it done of that makes sense. Another stretch after it.

It's hard work getting back to the heavy workload I've set myself. Any body who knows me will admit I don't look particularly fit but I am starting to feel a bit more like it.

***Wheel Update***
New wheels purchased. Gone with the Planet X Model C which seem to be a bit tougher than my last two wheelsets. Fingers crossed for these otherwise I'll have to go handbuilt I reckon...

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Tuesday 14th February

Lunch: Run. Meant to be an easy run but ended up running faser than I should have done as I was finding it easy (which is the whole idea!). 6km in 30 mins.
Stretching. Working on my flexibiity as I am cramping too much in the swim. Worked extra hard on calves, hamstrings and whatever the name of the tendon is that runs down near your shin.

Evening: Late turbo session. Aerobic Power 3 (8x3 min) - Endurance - 60 mins. Realy felt a bit it in the legs but felt good to get it done of that makes sense. Another stretch after it.

It's hard work getting back to the heavy workload I've set myself. Any body who knows me will admit I don't look particularly fit but I am starting to feel a bit more like it.

***Wheel Update***
New wheels purchased. Gone with the Planet X Model C which seem to be a bit tougher than my last two wheelsets. Fingers crossed for these otherwise I'll have to go handbuilt I reckon...

There was me getting excited by 6k in 34min:o

Are the wheels really causing you a lot of problems ?

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

There was me getting excited by 6k in 34min:o

Are the wheels really causing you a lot of problems ?

It was a treadmill 6km so much easier

I 'd like to think that it's the amount of power I'm putting out that's causing the wheels the problems, but it's more likely that it's my weight

Had the original trued twice and still go out of true after a ride or two (spokes are nearly hnging off in a couple of places after each ride. The replacement RS20's lasted about 2 rides till a spoke broke, then the very next ride after they were fixed they broke again. They're currently in the bike shop awaiting the correct spoke and have been for a month now. Ideally the strongest wheel would be handbuilt but I don't have the cash saved for that. Although buying cheaper wheelsets might be a false economy anyway.

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

It was a treadmill 6km so much easier

I 'd like to think that it's the amount of power I'm putting out that's causing the wheels the problems, but it's more likely that it's my weight

Had the original trued twice and still go out of true after a ride or two (spokes are nearly hnging off in a couple of places after each ride. The replacement RS20's lasted about 2 rides till a spoke broke, then the very next ride after they were fixed they broke again. They're currently in the bike shop awaiting the correct spoke and have been for a month now. Ideally the strongest wheel would be handbuilt but I don't have the cash saved for that. Although buying cheaper wheelsets might be a false economy anyway.

I'm not far off your weight and haven't had that problem at all ?

Can't do threadmill, i'd go to the gym and change. Go out and run and back to shower. Just can't do it. I'm amazed i can do a turbo session.

RedB

griffin100 wrote: »

There's a waiting list available for this, chances of getting a spot might be slim but won't hurt to register (I did )

Completely missed the Tri an Mhi entry myself! :mad: What planet have I been on Didn't even realise it was due to open yet .

Guess its a lap of Lough Derg on the bike and the Great Limerick Run Half Marathon the following day as a training exercise for me with the club so .

elvis jones

RedB wrote: »

Completely missed the Tri an Mhi entry myself! :mad: What planet have I been on Didn't even realise it was due to open yet .

Guess its a lap of Lough Derg on the bike and the Great Limerick Run Half Marathon the following day as a training exercise for me with the club so .

I'm doing a sprint tri on the sat and Limerick half on the sunday !

couerdelion

griffin100 wrote: »

There's a waiting list available for this, chances of getting a spot might be slim but won't hurt to register (I did )

Cheers, I did email them so fingers crossed!

couerdelion

Wednesday 15th February

Missed the lunchtime gym session as I had lunch with a client. My choice of venue so we wnt for a healthy bagel option. Managed to dissapear to an afternoon meeting with the gym around 4 ish:
2km warm-up @ 5:30 pace.
5x5 Squat
5x5 Deadlift
5x5 Overhead Press
5x5 Dips

Evening was swimming and after not doing much and going back to the weights it was tough. Lane was packed too. Session was:
WU 200m FC
100m FC 30s rest
200m FC 30s rest
300m FC 30s rest
400m FC 30s rest
300m FC 30s rest
200m FC 30s rest
100m FC 30s rest
CD 6x(25m FC, 25m BrS)
Total 2100m

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Wednesday 15th February

Missed the lunchtime gym session as I had lunch with a client. My choice of venue so we wnt for a healthy bagel option. Managed to dissapear to an afternoon meeting with the gym around 4 ish:
2km warm-up @ 5:30 pace.
5x5 Squat
5x5 Deadlift
5x5 Overhead Press
5x5 Dips

Evening was swimming and after not doing much and going back to the weights it was tough. Lane was packed too. Session was:
WU 200m FC
100m FC 30s rest
200m FC 30s rest
300m FC 30s rest
400m FC 30s rest
300m FC 30s rest
200m FC 30s rest
100m FC 30s rest
CD 6x(25m FC, 25m BrS)
Total 2100m

I need to start doing something like this in the pool ( lower amount to start off ).

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

I need to start doing something like this in the pool ( lower amount to start off ).

It was tough. Took my inspiration off BeterthanHoyte's post although the pool was too busy to do my original aim which was to do it as 100m on 2 mins, 200m on 4mins, 300m on 6 mins, 400m on 8 mins. Shoulders/arms were too tired too so thought it would be better to take a breather and concentrate on form although I could feel my hips dropping at the end of the 400. It's an easy way to get the swim fitness work done too as it's easy to count the lengths.

couerdelion

Thursday 16th February

Turbo session this evening. Same one as Tuesday so Aerobic Power 3 (8x3 min) - Endurance - 60 mins. Enjoyed it. Plan to take it easy-ish tomorrow as I have BHAA race on Saturday in the park. Wouldn't be surprised if I turn up and get pointed to the operation Transformation run instead

couerdelion

Friday 17th February

Easy day. 2km run to warm up then onto my 5x5's

Squat
Bench Press
Bent Over Barbell Row
Wide Grip Pull Ups.

Load increasing and I can feel the strength coming back and it's great!

On the plus side I still have a job after my voluntary redundancy was turned down but rather than celebrating it's as though I've been told by the judge I'm incarcerated indefinitely with little or no chance of parole

Oryx

Youre obviously meant to be a wage slave for another while yet! I wish I could do 5 wide grip pull ups...

couerdelion

Oryx wrote: »

Youre obviously meant to be a wage slave for another while yet! I wish I could do 5 wide grip pull ups...

Ahhhh They're assisted pull-ups

couerdelion

Saturday 18th February

BHAA Garda XC. 4 mile cross country race in the Phoenix Park. 32:24 in the end which was a little faster than last time out. Was slippy under foot in parts too. Heel slightly hurting this evening and a couple of blister too.

couerdelion

Sunday 19th February

Woke up and heel was worse so had to make a decision on whether or not to go cycling. Decided to head to the meeting point and see if there were any others going. If no one else turned up I could always go back home to bed.

I got to the NAC and I knew two people had dropped out so wasn't expecting company but met up with a new member and set out for an easy 25km loop. NAC--> Kilbride --> Clonee--> Clonsilla --> NAC. Joe left after one loop and I did another one on my own. Total was 57km. No foot pain whilst on the bike but still sore.

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Saturday 18th February

BHAA Garda XC. 4 mile cross country race in the Phoenix Park. 32:24 in the end which was a little faster than last time out. Was slippy under foot in parts too. Heel slightly hurting this evening and a couple of blister too.

Not a bad time at all !

couerdelion

Monday 20th February

Club swim session.
WU: 4 x (50m FC, 50m non-FC)
4x(3x50m racing person of similar ability, 50m easy, 30s rest each 50m)
400m kick w/fins
200m doggie paddle (can't remember it's proper name)
200m side kick
CD: 200m FC

Edit: The racing section saw me up against one of the female fish from the fast lane and I managed to beat her on all but the last race when I was cramping. 6 months ago I couldn't even stay on her feet for 50m so I'm feeling good about my swim and where it is. I was managing to hit 45s on most of the lengths. She told me afterwards though that the last one was the most important and the physchological victory was hers

I have flexibility issues in my lower leg. I'm cramping way too often and I think it's possibly tight calves that has caused my heel/achiles issue that I picked up at the XC race. Need to address this as my stretching routine isn't helping.

couerdelion

Tuesday 21st February

Heel still causing me pain so booked in with the physio on Friday. Also means running and cycling are out for now (I don't think cycling will cause anymore damage or hinder it but I've been advised to rest). Tuesday was just a weights day so:
5x5's
Squat
Dead lift
Overhead Press
Dips

Still enjoying the weights and feeling stronger each session (But still not strong enough to share the actual weight I'm training with!).

Wednesday 22nd February

Still resting so just a swim:
WU: 6x50m FC Easy, 30s rest
5x100m FC Race Pace 10s rest
4x200m FC Race Pace 15s Rest
5x100m FC Race Pace 10s Rest
6x50m FC Race Pace 5s Rest
CD 100m BrS
Total was 2500m and I was feeling comfortable enough and could have gone on and done more.

couerdelion

Thursday 23rd February

Gym session at lunch. 5x5's again:

Squat
Bench
Bentover Bbell Row
Pull-ups

Saw an interesting tabel that shows that to be in the top 50% of the population (i.e. above average) I should have a 1 rep max of 0.93 times my bodyweight amd 1.24 times to be in the top 10%. At the moment that would mean 102kgs and 136.4kgs. :eek:
Link is here--> http://www.edb.utexas.edu/fit/musclefitnd.php

Turbo cycle session this evening. Actually helped the pain in my heel and it feels much better this evening. Aerobic Power 3 (8x3 min) - Endurance - 60 mins. Felt good to do some cardio!

couerdelion

Friday 24th February

Not a good day. Got told this morning I had to make two people I consider friends redundant. Spent most of the day justifying their positions but to no avail. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Needless to say I didn't feel like going to the gym or eating healthy.

This evening I went to see a friend of mine who does neuromuscular therapy and sports massage and got agreement that my consultation with Dr Google is probably correct and I have Achilles Bursitis. He treated that with Ultrasound after first discussing my tight calves and spending 40 minutes with his thumbs lodged deep inside them. He was kind enough to tell me he would be using his weight to help with the pressure. As he's a 6ft 7 ex rugby player that didn't help and I was whinging and screaming like a baby. Also got more advice on stretching and self treatment but the overall diagnosis was that my calves aren't in too bad a shape, my achilles is pretty flexible and the bursitis will disappear soon enough. the cramps are more than likely to do with nutrition more than anything else and I am not getting enough back into my system after the lunch time sessions to replenish lost salts etc. Back to the drawing board on that then.

couerdelion

Saturday 25th February

Nice easy cycle with the wife ~25km at a snails pace.

Sunday 26th February

Club cycle and after about 5km to warm up a few us of took up the pace at the front. Well I say a few of us but the other two just tucked in behind me claiming they didn't know the way. Was pretty windy too so I took the full force of the headwind. Still, I won't get any where to hide in a race so ideal training. short enough ride though, only about 30km done.

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Friday 24th February

Not a good day. Got told this morning I had to make two people I consider friends redundant. Spent most of the day justifying their positions but to no avail. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do. Needless to say I didn't feel like going to the gym or eating healthy.

This evening I went to see a friend of mine who does neuromuscular therapy and sports massage and got agreement that my consultation with Dr Google is probably correct and I have Achilles Bursitis. He treated that with Ultrasound after first discussing my tight calves and spending 40 minutes with his thumbs lodged deep inside them. He was kind enough to tell me he would be using his weight to help with the pressure. As he's a 6ft 7 ex rugby player that didn't help and I was whinging and screaming like a baby. Also got more advice on stretching and self treatment but the overall diagnosis was that my calves aren't in too bad a shape, my achilles is pretty flexible and the bursitis will disappear soon enough. the cramps are more than likely to do with nutrition more than anything else and I am not getting enough back into my system after the lunch time sessions to replenish lost salts etc. Back to the drawing board on that then.

That's one crap day.

I had Achilles Bursitis 2 yrs ago, i got exercises and physio and the best cure was simple...........REST.

Lucky i haven't had it since then.

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

That's one crap day.

I had Achilles Bursitis 2 yrs ago, i got exercises and physio and the best cure was simple...........REST.

Lucky i haven't had it since then.

Yeah, the rest is killing me! It seems to be taking an age to go but at least it allows me to cycle and swim still.

couerdelion

Monday 27th January

Lunchtime: Gym. No running still as I still have discomfort from my heel. I might start running again tomorrow depending on how it feels. Fingers crossed.
Weight set:
Squat (5x5) 70kg
Deadlift (5x5) 70kg
Overhead Press (5x5) 40kg
Dips (5x5) Assisted with 19kg
Still feeling that I'm getting stronger and didn't max out on any of the sets.

Evening: Club swim:
WU: 200m FC, 50m BS, 50m BrS
Main set: 8 x (25m FC sprint, 25m FC recovery) 15s rest.
1000m FC (no touching walls)
8 x (30s kicking holding wall, 25m FC sprint, 25m recovery) 15s rest
CD: 200m Back stroke w/flippers arms pointed in front.
Total 2300m
Good session but I got held up quite a bit which means my form goes as I slow right down, use fists, widen my stroke, switch to BrS to try not to catch up etc all leading to my legs dropping. I need to be a bit more confident and lead out the sets sometimes. I did get cramp towards the end but only in one calf and knowhere near as bad as usual.

couerdelion

Tuesday 28th February

Rest day. I was tempted to run but a friend wisely reminded me that it would be foolish and could set me back weeks with the heel injury. Decided to give it till Thursday and then re-assess but it may well be Monday now till I run again.

Wednesday 29th February

Lunch was a continuation of week 3 of the 5x5's weights session and again I'm adding kg's to the lifts.

Squat 80kg. Felt strong. was concerned about my form but got someone to check and I was fine. Squats are probably the toughest of all the stuff I do.

Bench 80kg. Felt good till the last set where I only managaed to get 3 reps out before needing help from the spotter. Will repeat this load till I complete all 5 sets. Eventual target is 5x5 bodyweight.

Bent over row 50kg. Poor gym etiquette but I did these in the squat rack as it wasn't being used and I needed the olympic bar. Easy. Might push up to 60kg next time.

Pull-ups. +17kg. Shoulder felt sore for this. Not when I was doing them but on the down phase. Equivilent to 95kg body weight so If I can get my weight down I'll be able to do them unassisted.

All in all a good session. Still getting stronger and don't seem to be gettting bigger

Evening. Had my dinner and then started to nod off watching TV. Decided to shelve the planned swim and go to bed until I was informed the sister in law was coming round and needed to go into the bedroom to try jewellery on. Decided to go swimming instead. Pool was in 50m format and reasonably empty but still managed to get in a lane with 2-3 of those people who push off as you are coming into the wall. Set was:

15x100m FC 20s rest (30s if someone had just pushed off)
6x(50m FC, 50m BrS)
Total 2100m

couerdelion

Thursday 1st March 2011

The heel feels much better today. I think the few days of wearing trainers runners has really helped it to settle down (plus the rest it has had). I'm still going to leae the running out till Monday though.

Evening: Cycling - 1 hour turbo (Aerobic Power 4 - Endurance)
10 mins warp up
3 mins semi intensity
2 mins easy
4 x (6 min high intensity, 4 mins easy)
5 mins coll down

Felt easy enough. Perhaps time to get into a higher gear on the intense bits.


Signed up for 4 of the Dublin Rce series races today but stupidly didn't cross check the dates and I have a few clashes!

30th June - 5miler and TriAthalone Oly
22nd July - 10k and Beast of the East
25th August 10miler and Dublin City (26th Aug)
15th Sep 1/2 Mara and nothing luckily.

so 3 out of the 4 clash...I haven't entered any of the triathlons yet but they are what we have deemed club races whereby we'll encourage members to compete in these and get a crowd going down to support each other (and the wife said I have to go with her to the Tri's).

couerdelion

Friday 2nd March

Strength work. Usual 5x5's

Squat 80kg
Deadlift 80kg
Overhead Press 45kg (first 2 sets on 50kg)
Assisted Dips +17kg (last set on +12kg)

I had decided to switch the squats to box squats and go down onto a bench. However on my first go I missed the bench and had to get the lads to lift the weight off me (this was after trying to show them yesterday in the office what I mean by a box squat using my chair which rolled away as I stood up leaving me sitting on the floor...) Sticking with ordinary squats now! strength training has been going well but I know I can't do squats 3 days a week when I'm back running.

Saturday 3rd March

No training today as I've been doing the TI level 1 coaching course. Long days but enjoyed the day even if some of it is a bit scary. One lad got given a pen and was told "use it as a coaching aid. Off you go" A lot of thinking on your feet . Tomorrow is more practical sessions where we, in groups of three, have to take a swim, bike and run session and then we'll get feedback at the end of the day.

After someones bright suggestion I put my name down on the waiting list for Tri an Mhi not expecting to hear anymore. I got an email yesterday telling me I would get a link to entry Monday morning if I wish to enter. S**t! 9 weeks to train for it and I'll be hoping my heel holds out ok too. Decisions, decisions...

couerdelion

Sunday 4th March

Did a swim session and bike session as part of the coaching training but nothing of significant length to bother logging.

Monday 5th March

Tried a run but heel still not right.
Weights - 5x5's
Squat 82.5kg
Bench 80kg
Row 55kg
Pull-up (+17kg)

Club Swim session
WU: 100m FS, 100m BS, 100m kick 100m FS
8x(4x25m ascending speed, 20s rest)
8x(4x25m ascending speed with fins, 20s rest)
8x25m legs crossed
CD: 100m FS
total 2300m

Also got an entry into Tri an Mhi. Eeekkk:eek: