Half Iron Elvis

elvis jones

Time was tight at lunch but i got in just shy of a 7k interval session.

700M warm up & stretches

Further 500M warm up

1k at 4:55
400M rec
1k at 4:55
400M rec
1k at 4:55
400M rec

1.5k at 5.45 warm down

Felt really good and i think the 1k interval at just above my PB 5k pace is the way to go. I wasn't mad out of breath but felt as if i was doing good work.

Tri Laois weekend kicks in tonight so i don't what i'll get done between now and an LSR on sunday.

Awaiting new pedals and shoes so cycling is out for a week:(

elvis jones

Crazy weekend as i thought and i got nothing done at all...........apart from a good session and a pizza on sat night after trilaois:D

Trilaois went very well and it was a very long day for me after just 2 hrs sleep the night before. I got home in the late afternoon and my bloods were very low so my wife was dispatched to get me a can of full sugar coke so i could avoid a coma !

A quick 90 min sleep and my dinner later and it was back out the door for a few pints and relaxing with the Trilogy crew. A great night was had by all and i lived like a normal human for a saturday night.

Sunday was about recovery and getting energy back into my body.

Brought the kids to the pool today and caught a few lengths to stretch out the body. Had a chat with my wife and said i'd love to get to 10 lengths without stopping which would be a major step for me and i want that by May 25.

Back out interval running at lunch tomorrow and pool tomorrow night.

Oryx

How many lengths can you do without stopping now?

elvis jones

Oryx wrote: »

How many lengths can you do without stopping now?

At the moment i'm disgusted to say about 3...........BUT i haven't been in the pool much in the last few months and when i have been its to work on my breathing, stroke and position which i am finally happy with.

So now i'm changing my focus to fitness and getting distance 3 times a week with one other session still to look at the above.

I'm thinking of 100M ( 4 length ) sets with a short break and building from there.

Oryx

I found that the only way to crack that barrier was to make myself do it. Do two continuous lengths, then four, then six, and so on. In the one session. Once you can do ten, you can do as many as you want. Its a point of swimming thats hard, but you have to push past it. You'll overcome the need to stop very quickly once you try.

elvis jones

Oryx wrote: »

I found that the only way to crack that barrier was to make myself do it. Do two continuous lengths, then four, then six, and so on. In the one session. Once you can do ten, you can do as many as you want. Its a point of swimming thats hard, but you have to push past it. You'll overcome the need to stop very quickly once you try.

Thats true, if i have the stroke and know how to swim whats stopping me ? I can run 26 miles.........which can't i swim 100m ????

elvis jones

I heard talking about this online so i looked it up and i think i'm going to give it a crack. Its 0 to 1650 in 6 weeks, you swim 3 times a week and its a focus on distance and not stroke or speed. Any thoughts on it would be great and i'm starting tonight.

Oh and you just replace yards with metres

Week is 3x the yardage. Week 1 is 700 per day, 2100 for the week

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK one[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] (Three Days):[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
4 x 100 yards (or meters)...rest for 12 breaths between 100s
4 x 50 yards...rest for 8 breaths between 50s
4 x 25 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 25s
total: 700 yards[/FONT]
[SIZE=-1]([FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Your pool is 50 meters? Just add 2 50s instead of the 25s) [/FONT][/SIZE]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK two:[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
200 yards...rest for 12 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 10 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 100s[/FONT]
4 x 50 yards...rest for 6 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 50s[/FONT]
4 x 25 yards...rest for 4 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 25s[/FONT]
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]total: 900 yards[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK three:[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
400 yards...rest for 12 breaths
200 yards...rest for 10 breaths
4 x 100 yards...rest for 8 breaths[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 100s[/FONT]
4 x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 50s[/FONT]
total: 1200 yards[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK four:[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
600 yards...rest for 10 breaths
300 yards...rest for 8 breaths
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4 x [/FONT]100 yards...rest for 6 breaths between 100s
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4 x [/FONT]50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s
total: 1500 yards[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK five:[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
1000 yards...rest for 8 breaths
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4[/FONT] x 100 yards...rest for 4 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 100s[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]4[/FONT] x 50 yards...rest for 4 breaths [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]between 50s[/FONT]
total: 1600 yards[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]WEEK six (days 1 and 2):[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
1200 yards...rest for 6 breaths
3 x 100 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 100s
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]3 x [/FONT]50 yards...rest for 4 breaths between 50s[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif](day 3) [/FONT]
1650 yards straight (equals 1500 meters)
total: 1650 yards![/FONT]

elvis jones

Well that started out cr@p.

I got in the water and started gulping in air like it was going out of fashion..........really didn't do well and 1 was back to my single lengths. I just kept plugging away and doing lengths anyway.


UNTIL about 600m in and i watched a guy come slowly up the pool doing a nice slow length and the light bulb went off !!!!!! I decided to go down really slowly and i started to relax and enjoy my swimming, my breathing was normal at the end of the lengths. I did 6 more like that and they felt so easy.

I was going too hard, too fast and not relaxing. Thus needing to rest every length. I was the runner who busts past me, then has to walk, then busts past me again and so on..........while i keep up my slow constant pace.

Its taken a year but the penny has finally dropped and tomorrow a new dawn rises.

Oryx

Yes! Am thrilled for ya. I was gonna say just relax! when I read that first bit but you cracked it yourself. Find your nice steady rhythm and enjoy. Can't wait to read your next few swim reports. They'll be good I reckon.

Dory Dory

I echo Oryx's sentiments. Relax, slow it down, and you will be amazed at how far and long you can go. Well done! And bravo for figuring it out for yourself.

elvis jones

Dory Dory wrote: »

I echo Oryx's sentiments. Relax, slow it down, and you will be amazed at how far and long you can go. Well done! And bravo for figuring it out for yourself.

It only took over a year, i should be running the country:D

Run at lunch and swim tonight.

elvis jones

Anyone who is Dublin today will know what the weather is like out there. I was out on my break buying goggles ( which i almost put on me ) and was thinking ugh i'm not going out in that..............then i thought, what would couerdelion do, the answer of course is get on the threadmill;) but i didn't have that so out i went.

It was cold, wet and windy but i just blocked that out and thought this was karma getting me back for the 3am pizza on sunday morning:D

5k done at an average of 5:38 per/km. I think thats my fastest 5k so far this year so i'm happy with how my runs are coming along. Considering the wind was so bad at some points it almost blew be backwards and stopping for dublin traffic.

Back,wet clothes off and a nice warm shower with some homemade soup in my belly:)

Swim tonight and the aim is to do my 1st 100m non stop using what i learned last night.

BennyMul

You can never tell how bad it really is until you get out, by which time its too late;).

well done on the swimming,
+1 on relaxing, as a newb myself I find when I try and push it I tense up and I really struggle.

couerdelion

elvis jones wrote: »

and was thinking ugh i'm not going out in that..............then i thought, what would couerdelion do, the answer of course is get on the threadmill;) but i didn't have that so out i went.

Yep, I was on the treadmill and then a lovely sauna to make sure I was toasty warm before walking back to work.

elvis jones

couerdelion wrote: »

Yep, I was on the treadmill and then a lovely sauna to make sure I was toasty warm before walking back to work.

I'll do the sauna tonight after swimming;)

elvis jones

No swim this evening as i was wrecked, didn't fuel myself properly and only had soup at lunch. I didn't feel great coming home and had coffee with a few sugars to pep myself up.

Looking forward i need a better lunch on the double session days.

Swim tomorrow night.

elvis jones

Busy weekend work wise last weekend and my daughters birthday party so little done.

Quiet week with gentle 5k and 20k on the bike tonight, 5k again at lunch tomorrow and the half marathon on sunday.

Once i get this out of the way i'm starting my 6 week swim program which will be my main focus. That all start on Tuesday and i'm off from 12 to 19 may with double swim session planned most days.

I have it in my head that i'll be doing sprint distance non stop by the June bank holiday weekend.

elvis jones

I spent 15 min doing out a post yesterday and lost it when my wifi went down:(

Anyway Great Limerick run on sunday and i did the half pacing two mates who hadn't ran in Jan and one of which is over 18 stone.

As usual i was working sat night and only got 3 hrs sleep before i jumped in the van and headed for Limerick with a big mug of coffee !

I got down and it was a lovely morning. The others arrived and were rather pooing themselves. I spent an hour calming them down and got changed and ready for the race.

We were staying about 1k from the start line and used the distance as a warm up with a lot of stretches.

Got to the start line and music was pumping with people milling around. I popped over to see Ger664 to say thanks for his help in getting my to the end line in DCM.

Back to the lads and 5 mins to the off. We got in position and i told them about pace we had talked about looking to get in between 2:25 and 2:30.

Off we went and hit our pace from the start. The legs opened up and the first 5k flew past. The day begun to warm up and i advised the lads to get some fluids onto them slowly.

As we got to 11k one of the lads begun to feel sick and stopped, he really felt he was finished and after about 2 mins of talking he stayed and we went on ( my 18 stone mate was still with me )

We kept plodding along and got back into Limerick city at 14.5k ish. We passed some friends and that seemed to give my mate a lift.

On we went to 16k and "the hills" came up, we did drop pace back slightly and i just kept him putting one foot in front of the other just telling him we'll get a good recovery on the way back down the hills.

My mate begun to close off and was unable to talk, i just kept pushing him on until we hit about 19k and the end of the hills.

There was one final water station at roughly 19.5k and he said he had to stop so i got him to grab a drink and walk through and just get some fluids into him.

After 500m we got going again and i got him to focus on that final mile.

The river came into view with crowds and music. People seen his name and begun to encourge him as he went.

i counted him down and as we got to the final corner i just said its yours now so get to the line. I hung back and let him go across the end line in 2:28:25.

We got our medals and got through the end line crowds to some friends where we were talking for a few min when my other mate appeared after getting sick 3 times on the route. He got over in 2:33:xx

I really enjoyed pacing the lads and think if i can improve my fitness i'd like to pace a 2hr group in a half in the future.

I'd say i had another 10k in the legs at the end and it was a nice gentle run for me at the pace.

Race itself isn't great value for money and space for runners on the road wasn't great at all with only place for two people at times. If they are going to run a race with 8,000 people and charge 55 for a half marathon at least close the roads and manage the runners properly.

Vast amount of beer was had afterwards and little down yesterday !

Operation 750 begins tonight and i want to be doing sprint distance in the pool by June 5th.

jester1980

Fair play Elvis, great gesture there helping out your mates.

Would love to Run a hlaf Marathon with a few friends, say the time would fly by.

Oryx

Good luck with your swim progress I'm looking forward to hearing about how happy you are at cracking it

elvis jones

jester1980 wrote: »

Fair play Elvis, great gesture there helping out your mates.

Would love to Run a hlaf Marathon with a few friends, say the time would fly by.

Ya it did indeed fly by and a few others around us stayed with us as they wanted to get in under 2:30 so it was an unofficial pacer group:)

elvis jones

Oryx wrote: »

Good luck with your swim progress I'm looking forward to hearing about how happy you are at cracking it

I just have to remember to relax and slow down !

elvis jones

Swim starts tomorrow........off to see The Avengers:)

elvis jones

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh pool closed tonight :mad:

Anyway 5k done at lunch at a slow 6:15 per km. Just needed to turn over the legs and break in my new runners.

In other news.......................Half Iron Elvis is back, i entered The Lost Sheep this morning:cool::o

Might do a quick 30k on the bike this evening if i get home on time and get the kids to bed.

jester1980

Fair play mate. Great to have something like that to aim for. Was it expensive by the way?

Decided to give the HIM a miss myself this year, just dont feel like i'd have it in the legs for the cycle.

Good luck with it though.

elvis jones

jester1980 wrote: »

Fair play mate. Greta to hvae something like that to aim for. Was it expensive by the way?

Decided to give the HIM a miss myself this year, just dont feel like i'd have it in the legs for the cycle.

Good luck with it though.

It was 94, i looked at galway and it was 235:eek:

I was looking at the Brussels marathon and the lads i was going to do it with decided they wanted to do the half and i'll do it with them.

So i was left thinking do i want to do DCM, i've done that already.

I'm off on holidays on Sept 13th and with The Lost Sheep being on Sept 8th it suits to race and then enjoy my 2 weeks off in the sun without having to worry about training.

It also gives a reason to more importantly...................FOCUS

I know i could finish a sprint or Olympic but the HIM would require a lot of training and focus.

It will give me the kick in the @rse i need to do the work needed.

catweazle

What was the avengers like??

elvis jones

catweazle wrote: »

What was the avengers like??

Really enjoyed it, escaped from the kids for almost 3 hrs:D

elvis jones

Tried to run at lunch................no hot water...............:mad:
I want to swim tonight.............pool might still be closed..........:mad:


BUT

I've signed up for my 1st club Sunday cycle, 78k on sunday. Its a flat enough course.

Tomorrow

Run at Lunch
Swim in the evening

Sat
Run 10k

Sunday
78k cycle.

In galway all next week with the family and there is a pool thats quiet all day so planning double sessions in the pool all week and my wife is fine with it so i'm really looking forward to it.

jester1980

Is that cycle with your TRI club?

Need to start putting mileage in like that but hate going on my own.