Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Chronicles of a fish: the days of surf and turf
Options
Comments
-
-
I don't feel so bad about walking half my marathon now.
Fair play for getting out and doing it when you don't feel 100%. Its these horrible ones that will stand to you on race day.
Oh and yet again I am so jealous of your pool!
From what I hear, everyone walks part of their IM marathons, so no shame in that.
I do admit, the pool is pretty fantastic....and open to visitors.
0 -
-
-
I do believe the Irish Sea does have some magic.
Proper Bike Ride
Up and out early this morning for a 6:30 pedal around the tri course with hubby and a friend. I donned the uber cool cycling jersey that Interested gave me (a little big, but not too big to wear ) so I would look like I knew what I was doing even if I didn't. There was a slight threat of rain in the air, but for the most part it was clear sailing. I was wrecked last night after yesterday's struggle of a 20 mile run in the heat and humidity, so I decided to just do this spin at a pace I was comfortable with and not be hard on myself if it was not a stellar performance. I downed a breakfast bar (leftover from Achill half goodie bag) and a glass of orange juice and out the door I went.
Met the boys at the starting point.....a quick discussion about goals for this ride, and then we were off. This course is riddled with just about everything you can imagine - it greets you with a steep climb, then rewards you with a huge downward coast, then a long slog before you have a nice descent which then morphs immediately into another sharp ascent, then a turn to the left and some rolling hills up and down, then another life-hating drag, a life-saving drop, and then it bids you farewell with two horrible climbs that my speed plummets to 4 mph on. I don't think they missed a trick with this one.
Not a bad ride, really. I pushed it to some degree, but on a fresher day I probably could have pushed it harder. I did note that this is the second time I've cycled this course and the second time I've felt nauseated and the second time I drank orange juice before the ride. I think I may have to skip the orange juice in the future. My stats for this ride were essentially the same as the previous ride, so I am happy, especially since there were three of us on this ride and there was a bit more chit chatting going on this morning.
Stats per Garmin:
17.2 miles in 1:05:39 for an average speed of 15.7 mph with a top speed of 40.3 mph.0 -
Advertisement
-
-
Solobally8 wrote: »I cant believe you ran round your field for 20 miles. I would have gone mad. You are one tough cookie
I distracted myself with my music and misery quite successfully for the 30 times I had to run that field. I guess it was 30 times. I lost count pretty early on and relied on my watch to keep me honest.0 -
Intervals
Sneaky lunchtime intervals on the treadmill while watching the Tour. I swear those boys looked much more comfortable mashing up the category 3 hills than I was during this session. I guess I'm still catching up from the trip and the sniffles....and I've got no real food in the house - just tuna fish and corn. Haven't been in the mood to face the grocery store.
1 mile easy warmup
1 mile at 7:04
90 second recovery
1 mile at 6:59
90 second recovery
1 mile at 6:54
1 mile easy cool down
5.2 miles in 44 minutes for an average pace of 8:27 min/mile.0 -
Solobally8 wrote: »I cant believe you ran round your field for 20 miles. I would have gone mad. You are one tough cookie
I had to go back and re-read that bit....oh my god. 20 miles of laps. I did 5 miles the other day around a football field and it was all that I could bear. Am really impressed.
And I'm jealous of the pool too0 -
Swim
All the speed is gone.....and it's been replaced with the desire to sleep.
I guess it's just more post-holiday fatigue. My cold was pretty short lived, but I'm still having some breathing issues that are very annoying and quite inconvenient when I'm swimming. A little bit of coughing is going on, and I'm tired. Heading to bed early tonight so I can start fresh tomorrow.
But tonight's swim was okay....just steady with no real power. It felt good to be in the water all relaxed and alone....there was just no "umph" I could be bothered to muster up. No desire to fight tonight.
3,000 yards as follows:
2,000 swim
800 pull
200 swim0 -
Advertisement
-
Swim/Bike Session
This was a great session....and this may be my staple Tuesday session from now until the tri. I have a deck timing clock I may have to drag out over the weekend and start tracking my swim times to see where I am and how much more I can squeeze out of myself.
After a brief discussion with a true "legend", it was suggested that I set my trainer up on the deck with all my gear at the ready and do the following session:
Proper swim warmup....then 4 sets of: 400 yards swim at intended race pace, building into it each time....then hop on the bike and spin at a high cadence for 5k....then 5 min recovery swim before I start the next set.
I'm still having some breathing issues and my eyes are bloodshot and irritated (I guess this is how my cold has manifested), but I was able to dig for this session. I did a better job "building" on the third and fourth swim sets than on the first two, and I definitely had jelly legs off the bike. I wore my tri suit, which I think was a good idea for me to get familiar with how it feels both in and out of the water.
400 yard swim warmup
4 x (400 yard swim building to race pace, 3.1 mile high cadence bike spin, 200 yard recovery breastroke swim)
200 yard swim cool down
Session Total: 3,000 yard swim and 12.4 mile bike0 -
-
Solobally8 wrote: »Sounds like a great session Dory. Wonder how my local leisure centre would feel if i set my turbo up on deck beside the pool?
Ha!! You might start a new trend, who knows?? And it could be a great selling point for your leisure centre if they start providing the deck turbos for you!! 0 -
Tempo
Lunchtime tempo on the treadie, and as hot as it is right now here in Virginia I am quite thankful I have an alternative to running outside. Plan called for 2 miles easy, 3 miles at short tempo pace, 1 mile easy....so after I transformed myself from work attire to in-my-basement-where-no-one-can-see-me running attire, off I went on the conveyor belt to marathon (and triathlon) fitness.
This session wasn't too terribly bad, but I still find the pain and effort associated with shorter/faster runs less enjoyable than the pain and effort associated with the longer/slower runs. But, I had my boys on bikes in France on the television, so we cycled and ran up and down the Pyrenees together while the crowd cheered us on to the finish. I always hate to see the Tour end.....but, we've then got the Olympics to look forward to!!
2 miles easy at 10 min/mile
3 miles ST at 7:30 min/mile
1 mile easy at 10 min/mile
6 miles total in 52:30 for an average pace of 8:45 min/mile.0 -
Swim
2,200 yards in my comfortably warm pool while I kept one eye on the approaching thunderstorm, and decided to call it quits when the thunder sounded a bit too close for comfort.
400 free
400 pull
400 breast/one arm butterfly
400 kick
400 free
200 breast/free he
While the body was swimming, the mind was busy making lists of items I need for the triathlon and of questions I have regarding the triathlon. One question I have for anyone reading this is what are hydration and nutrition recommendations for a sprint tri keeping in mind my warmer climate? On one hand, it's just a sprint. On the other hand, it will take me somewhere around (hopefully nicely under) 2 hours to complete. To make matters worse, I am not exactly coordinated enough on the bike to grab my bottle from its cage and drink on the go - I'd be nothing more than a hazard on the road if I tried that. I can drink and eat on the run however, so there is that. 0 -
-
-
Hey DD, what distance is this sprint. From what ive read here id be thinking 2hrs is a bit slower than id have exected for a standard sprint
The bike is really the only time to get something into you so id really recommend getting to terms with grabbing the bottle. With the 5k run being so short there isnt much time to take anything. Id recommend usual race day bekkie at the usual time you'd do before a race (i generally try for 2hrs15mins/30mins before. Stop drinking about an hour hour or you'll end up over-hydrating, sip if you need to due to nerves etc. Take a gel 10/15mins before start. On the bike have maybe about 350/400mls of some form of energy drink and if you really think you will be out maybe have a gel (+water if that gel requires water - i use High5 isogels myself as these dont need water). On the run id really only be inclined to take water if there is an aid station with it.
Thank you for all that - I really appreciate it.
The race is 750 meter lake swim, 17 mile hilly bike, 5k hilly run. I only stated 2 hours because I was rounding up.
I will work on drinking on the bike this weekend **gulp**, and I do have a handy water bottle I can run with if needed. No water/aid stations anywhere....unless you count the law enforcement officers who will be directing traffic that day.RacoonQueen wrote: »No way will it take you anywhere near 2 hours to complete. 80/85 minutes max.
Cough...cough....80/85 minutes. :eek: Oh god. No way. I've done the math....and that is not possible. My times in the past for the swim (no wetsuit, mind you) have been between 11 and 13 minutes (depending on conditions - blinding sun, rude swimmers, poor navigation, etc.).....my last weekend's time on the bike course (17 miles, mind you) was 1:05 (with no swim in front of it, so fresh, right?).....and my best 5k is 22 minutes (again, fresh as a daisy).....SOOOO.....your math just doesn't add up!! To make matters worse, I checked times for the bike from last year, and to be competive on this course I need to shave 10 minutes off my time....which will only be done with more bike training, learning to clip in, and a bike that's better than one step above entry level. I'll go at this as hard as I can, but using this as a learning event. 0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
I know in a sprint tri every second counts so what I'm about to suggest will probably be frowned upon by everyone on here but what I do to get some water into me is have a water bottle in transition and take a big gulp in T1 and T2. Of course it adds a few seconds to my transition times but I'm a snail anyway
I'd say you should practice drinking on the bike though- especially as your cycle leg is longer than normal.0 -
Solobally8 wrote: »I know in a sprint tri every second counts so what I'm about to suggest will probably be frowned upon by everyone on here but what I do to get some water into me is have a water bottle in transition and take a big gulp in T1 and T2. Of course it adds a few seconds to my transition times but I'm a snail anyway
I'd say you should practice drinking on the bike though- especially as your cycle leg is longer than normal.
My brother is coming for a visit this weekend and he's going to see about hooking up a cage on my handlebars for my water bottle. He said "it won't be pretty", so that concerns me a little. But either way I will see how much headway I can make over the next 4 weeks - and if it's a total bust drinking and pedalling, I will go with the original plan of drinking in T1 and T2 just like you. Shoot, I did my PB half marathon with taking on no fluids, this can't be that much different.
Here's my Garmin data of the cycling course from last weekend's ride - and this is the cycling course for the triathlon. I've finally input all my data...it took a while.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2012344610 -
18 Mile LSR
Whoop whoop! It's done, dusted and in the books! This was a decent run, and the weather was lovely - cloudy, cool and misting rain. When I checked the thermometer and it read 66 degrees, I threw on a long sleeve top over my short sleeve top but shed that pretty quickly a mile into the run. It's very humid here.
I spent most of my time concentrating on my form, and in particular my feet. I started to compare and equate my running legs/feet to my swimming stroke/hands and decided I needed to make sure that my feet/toes grabbed the surface and really pushed it behind me, very much like the way my hands/fingers grab the water and push it behind me to propel me forward. I visualized my feet, and in particular my toes, in the runners giving an extra "flick" as they finished the stride and left the ground....again, very much like the extra push of the hand as it leaves the water in swimming. Perhaps this is totally wrong, but it did seem to make me go faster.
Speaking of my feet, I'm having some issues with them. Not only are some of my toe nails turning black, but my right heel (in particular, the outside of the heel, not the bottom of the heel) has been quite painful for about a month. I was hoping that my holiday would give it proper rest, but it didn't. It hurts when I walk and it hurts when I run and it hurts when I touch it. The pain does go away after a few miles of running but then comes back after so many miles. I'm guessing some serious rest would do it good, but there really is no time for that.
Any way....the rabbits were out in full force today cheering me on. The plan called for 18 miles at MP plus 45-60 seconds, and I was bang on target and very disciplined. Had my tunes with me - Foo Fighters to lull me into the run, then Gogol Bordello to carry me home. As I clicked my watch when it sounded my 18th mile, my strap came apart and the watch fell to the ground. I've a replacement - I knew this was coming - but that was some great timing.
18 miles in 2:37:23 for an average pace of 8:44 min/mile
Splits in sets of 6 miles (ran counter clockwise first 6, clockwise second 6, counter clockwise last 6):
8:47, 8:47, 8:31, 8:39, 8:46, 8:45
8:51, 8:47, 8:49, 8:44, 8:45, 8:50
8:47, 8:45, 8:41, 8:48, 8:42, 8:310 -
-
-
-
-
Swim Set
Wow....sort of having a hard time of things right now. Maybe it's still post-holiday fatigue, or the stresses that come with training for a marathon and a triathlon, or the realization that I feel I am not going to be properly armed and dangerous for this first tri, but I feel I'm on a roller coaster right now. But I guess we all go through this 4 weeks out from an event. Right?
I pulled out my deck timing clock for this session to see where I am time wise in the pool - haven't timed myself in probably 2 years so I was curious, plus I want to have a realistic target time for the tri and try to eliminate as many surprises as possible. Well, this was an eye opener for me. Let's just say I was disappointed enough with my first timed 400 that I ran in the house and got my cell phone to use the timer to make sure that the deck timing clock was not running fast. Nope. It was dead on. Okay....well....this is all part of it, right? Now I know I've some work to do over the next 4 weeks....and perhaps I won't be quite as fast as I was a few years back as I am a few years older. It's funny, with age does come endurance, but the speed does suffer.
3,000 yards as follows:
400 warm up
2 x 400 free, timed
400 pull
4 x 200 free, timed
400 pull
200 breast, cool down
Cycling the tri course with hubby this evening after I go check on all the critters at the clinic.0 -
Advertisement
-
Tri Course Bike Session
This was my third training ride on the tri course and I am starting to really learn the contours and twists that make up these 17 miles. Due to visiting family and work obligations we didn't get to knock this out until this evening, and I was a little unprepared for the sun in my eyes, the bugs in my face, and the wind that about knocked me sideways at one point. This ride had some highs and lows, but overall I think it was a good training ride.
Highs of this ride: I was very aggressive transitioning from the uphills to flats or downhills, I am utilizing just about all my gears, I am learning to spin more in certain sections rather than grind, I successfully drank from my water bottle without falling off my bike, and my speed plummeted to 4 mph only on the last hill rather than the last two hills.
Lows of this ride: I still suffer on the hills and still need more work spinning, my thighs scream and yell more than I think they should, I don't clip in and am trying to accept that I don't have enough time at this point to learn, I don't have aerobars and am trying to convince myself not to worry about it this time around.
Comparatively similar stats to the previous two rides...the only difference being that we had wind tonight and it never seemed to be at our backs, so that's something in my training favor.
Per Garmin:
17.3 miles in 1:06:24 for an average speed of 15.7 mph and a top speed of 36 mph.0
Advertisement