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Alanya, Turkey 2013 - My Euro Dream Odyssey
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Nice report and congrats on a great race. A prize too!!! :cool:
Enjoy the relay this weekend. Going anywhere nice for the 2 weeks?
Sorry P I forgot to answer this. Two weeks, one in Galway for the Volvo Ocean Week (excellent craic) then one travelling from Barcelona to Alicante down the coast by train, the weekend inbetween the two weeks I had to go to a stag in Edinburgh (I almost drowned in alcohol). At least the week in Spain I kept away from the drink!
So it's been a while....not much to update although sessions were done, but nothing last week only 1 30 min easy run, I was sick, wrecked and with the holidays and everything that went on I lost focus and motivation. Very much back now. So I won't even attempt to update but there was one event that I should mention as the numbers here are important imo.Athlone Sprint Relay Team Event
My first relay and I really enjoyed it
I did the bike leg and it was nice not to have to run after it as I've had Athy sprint, Crooked Lake sprint and Hell of The West all in the past 4 weeks. We actually ended up winning the event (sprint relay) handily enough. I took off and my aim was to hurt. The sprint relay was one of the very last waves out on the road so there were plenty on the course but all the fast guys were done, so there was a lot of passing going on and 'mini' (legal) drafts. There was a strong enough head wind....to be expected on the way out and at about 5k a heavy downpour occurred and continued for the next 15 mins. I had to check my speed at this point as the ground was very greasy. For the first 10k I averaged 35k/hr and then the return with the tail wind I averaged 45k/hr for an overall ave speed of 39.7km/hr and the second fastest bike split over the 20k course that day. So that was pleasing but I was certainly pushing and I did hurt...ave HR 170bpm! 
That is very high for me on the bike, I have learned how to hurt on the bike this year. The course was longer than 20k, maybe 21 or so, I didn't put my garmin going until maybe 3/400m into the race. BTW still no prizes or even an acknowledgement from, nor a reply to two e-mails now from/to Tri Athlone.
Garmin File Here
So like I said not updating any other sessions, just going to start from this week (Monday), if I let the log go again, if I find updating becoming a pain I will have to pull the lot TBH.
Mon Morn 16th July
Swim NAC Swim Coach Prescribed
First swim in two weeks nearly, I was very disappointed not to get any OW swimming done in Spain. Anyway back at it now that's the main thing. The main set was 5x 200 easy: 3:25, 3:34, 3:35, 3:34, 3:37 So an average pace of 147/100m....mmmm not great but funny enough I felt form and tech was decent. Enjoyable swim.
Time 0:50; Dist 2,000m; Ave Pace 1:47min/100m; Ave Eff 39; Ave SWOLF 77; Ave Stroke/Length 48;
Some stretching and rolling done 15min
Mon Eve 16 July
Run
Well back in Dublin now and getting my serious/focused head back on. Good to be back at it. Although I didn't feel too horrible the number never lie. I struggled to keep the run capped in easy zone, at 148bpm I was in the upper end of easy and my pace for that was 4:34/km (4 weeks ago it would have been roughly 4:16/km). Anyway it's a start.
Time 0:30; Dist 6.65; HR 148; Pace 4:34/km;
Tues Morn 17th July
Strength/rolling/stretching/core for 1hr 20min.
Tues Eve 17th July
Bike 1hr easy
Had company for this on a rare fine, warm and sunny evening. A mate of mine who got into cycling when he was 13 or so, cycled with the best and I always considered him the best I'd seen. Unfortunately injury and burn out meant he was finished by 23. Since then (8 years ago) he just doesn't want to know about it. I always thought what a shame. Anyway he started commuting and is staying with me so I just casually asked "fancy an easy hour spin?" I have always been at him to get back into some cycling for fun....to my surprise he agreed! Great to see he still pedals beautifully and his fitness is there too! For me, like running yesterday my HR crept up much too easily but all in all I was happy Also enjoyable to have company.
Time 1:03:52; Dist 28.65km; Ave Speed 27km/hr; HR 128 (170 MAX!);
Weds Morn 18th July
Run Easy Morning Run
Don't be fooled by the title here, this was a horrible run....after 5min I thought to myself, "so this is why I never run in the morning!" God I felt awful, HR too quick to climb, pace very very slow, at least I had some build work which forced me to put in some fast parts with no regard to HR. Anyway, done, another step to getting back to where I was and hopefully beyond.
Time 30:59; 6.5km; Ave Pace 4:40/km; HR 149;
One - on - One session with coach this evening so looking forward to some critique as it's been a while since anybody had a look at my technique.
Ok, so back up and running...hopefully more regular updates from now on.0 -
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Turs Eve 19th July
Bike Easy Spin with sprints
Another decent day weather wise. Headed out this time solo, 1:15 with 6x sprints thrown in. Headed to the Park where I saw Bambaata at one point heading in opposite direction, thought about turning around and almost did but we were both too focused on our training Loved the sprints down the ave but into the wind coming back up was very very difficult. Still the effort was certainly there! Again an enjoyable spin and glad with the way the week is going so far.
Time 1:12; Dist 35km; Ave Speed 29.2km/h; Cad 89; HR 137
Fri Morn 20th July
Swim Coach Prescribed NAC LC
Forgot the 910xt but I always have my poolmate with me anyway. A short but tough session I found. A bit of fatigue setting in, to be expected I guess as this is the first proper week of training in a while. Had some drill work as usual including some new ones which went well enough, I really focused for them and did them pretty well I felt. With my kick now taken out of the equation for sculling drills they were much tougher Some numbers:
4x 50 des 1-4: 49, 48, 45, 42
3x 300 mod hard alt sw/pull, 40 sec recovery; 5:04; 5:14 (forgot pull); 5;11
4x 50 fast: 41, 43, 44, 45
Happy enough with the 300's, sub 1:45 pace was ok...for now. I really concentrated on long and strong as opposed to fast turnover.
Time 0:50; Dist 2,200m;0 -
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El Director wrote: »Turs Eve 19th July
Bike Easy Spin with sprints
Headed to the Park where I saw Bambaata at one point heading in opposite direction, thought about turning around and almost did but we were both too focused on our training
Ha, i did turn around when i got to the bottom of the hill but chose the wrong direction and in thinking you might be doing something specific i didnt go searching too much. Where you just starting or what point where you at? I had only started, was only about 15mins into a 75mins session myself0 -
Ha, i did turn around when i got to the bottom of the hill but chose the wrong direction and in thinking you might be doing something specific i didnt go searching too much. Where you just starting or what point where you at? I had only started, was only about 15mins into a 75mins session myself
I was about 45 min into my session and had just done my sprint efforts. I half turned myself but I saw you continue and thought, like you, that perhaps you were doing an effort or something Next time (we'll head to the tea room/hut 
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Fri Eve 20th July
Run Easy with 10min steady
So I had a little bit of work to do in this one, 10 min steady. I am trying to incorporate some run drills into my routine, just twice a week and it only takes 10min, best done after a 10min WU. The key here is to stick to it as it could be a long time before I see those drills improve my running form. Good form == free speed So I did 11min WU, that brought me to a park where I did 2 sets of the drills and then continued on with my run. I got into the steady portion after 15 or so mins and I was glad that I could let my HR drift up for a change, all week finding it difficult not to keep in easy zone because of the loss in fitness. Not to worry, I know next week I will be performing better. Much more enjoyable run than Weds one.
Time 40:59; Dist 9.1km; Ave Pace 4:30/km; HR 148;
Sat 21st July
Bike Long Easy Spin
First long bike in 3 weeks or so! Felt pretty good though. Forgot HRM so had to go by REP, if I had to guess I'd say I averaged 135bpm (top end of easy zone). I was on the road bike and for much of the last hour was into a head wind, it was very obvious that the best way to tackle the head wind was to get on the drops, bend at the elbows and stay really relaxed in the upper body. I was experimenting with different positions and grips on the handle bars. A lovely afternoon and a fun spin. Elevation gain was 537m according to 910xt and I am beginning to think that the elevation on the watch isn't as bad as I once thought, it is a hilly route.
Time 2:03; Dist 62.63km; Ave Speed 30.5km/hr; Cad 89;0 -
Sun 22 July
Run LER
Like the long bike...it's been a while! 16th June actually and even then it was only 1 hr, before that it was May 7th - 1hr20min But that is when I got into my racing phase. Anyway, it's been a while and it felt like that too! At home there is no choice but hills and usually its windy, today was no different. I decided that what ever the pace the last two km I'd pick up (while still staying in easy zone). So the first 3/4k was flatish with wind behind me, the last 3k was flatish with the wind at my back but the middle 10k was hilly with a strong head wind! Tough but I enjoyed it and that is the main thing.
Time 1:17; Dist 16.47km; Ave Pace 4:40/km; HR 147; Cad 81
BTW for anybody interested here is the running drills I eluding to in yesterday's post.0 -
Mon Morn 23rd July
Swim Coach Prescribed NAC LC
Still slogging it out and that's exactly how I feel. At least yesterday's recovery routine from my LER worked well, legs felt good. As usual I started with 30min dynamic stretches and rolling just to wake the body up and get firing. On paper it was looking like a tough session, and so it turned out to be. So after my WU I had sculling drills, my forearms were in bits after the front sculling! It is much more challenging now that my kick has been neutralised. Then it was onto the serious business of 4x 400m at desired Olympic race pace. Unfortunately I am not fit enough yet to hit desired Oly pace of 1:38/100m (in a pool paced Oly tri) so I thought if I could keep them all under 7min (1:45/100m pace) then I'd be happy with that...for now
400m: 7:01; Pace per 100: 1:32, 1:50, 1:47, 1:43; Ave Pace 1:45
400m: 6:56; Pace per 100: 1:40, 1:49, 1:44, 1:44; Ave Pace 1:44
400m: 6:56; Pace per 100: 1:38, 1:45, 1:45, 1:45 ; Ave Pace 1:44
400m: 6:58; Pace per 100: 1:40, 1:46, 1:50, 1:40; Ave Pace 1:44
I was worried when I saw the time for the first one, "o no...gotta pull it back..." So delighted that the following 3 were all under the 7min. The first 100's and indeed first 50's were all faster than the ave for the rep, what I now aim for is that the pace for the first 100 in each rep be my ave pace for 400 in a few weeks time, before Blacksod...61 days.
Time 1:10; Dist 3,000m; Ave Pace 1:42/100m; Ave Eff 37; Ave SWOLF 74; Ave Storkes 47;0 -
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Tues Eve 24th July
Bike With some Olympic Dist Intervals
Have not been on the TT since Athlone almost 4 weeks ago now, didn't have any interval work and I like to hop on the roadie from time to time. Anyway it was time to get back on the race horse. It felt good It really shows how important aero is, I'm in a whole different zone for ave 30km/hr, on the road - easy zone(Z2), on the TT recovery(Z1). Anyway, I got a break in the sh1t weather and headed out towards Ratoath. Really enjoyed it too, afteer some build work it was into 3x 10min olympic dist pace by RPE, 5min recovery. So I turned the HR data screen off and worked on RPE, here are the details:
Time 10min; Dist 5.86km; Speed 35.2km/h; HR 156; Cad 89;
Time 10min; Dist 6.1km; Speed 36.6km/h; HR 154; Cad 91;
Time 10min; Dist 6.3km; Speed 37.8km/h; HR 155; Cad 88;
So it seems a HR of 155 is roughly my Olympic Dist racing HR. I felt controlled while doing these and enjoyed the work. Now looking forward to longer intervals at the weekend
Time 1:05; Dist 35.31km; Ave Speed 32.9km/h; Ave HR 141; Cad 88
Weds Morn 25th July
Swim Swim Coached Session NAC LC
After my WU it was some balance drills, I like these and I know I will improve at them and they will be of great benefit to me but like everything it certainly will not be over night. My 4x 50m des were crap: 50.4, 49.4, 49.6, 46 Then it was 15x 100m alt swim/pull off 2 min hitting Oly desired pace. Like I said Monday though I cannot hit my desired pace of 1:38/100m yet, I am confident I will, but not this morning. I actually forgot to alternate so the first 8 were swim, then the last 7 were with the pull.
100sw: 1:40
100sw: 1:46
100sw: 1:45
100sw: 1:49
100sw: 1:43
100sw: 1:40
100sw: 1:40
100sw: 1:40
100sw: 1:43
100sw: 1:44
100sw: 1:43
100sw: 1:41
100sw: 1:42
100sw: 1:39
100sw: 1:39
Rep 2, 3 and 4 I thought, "...God this is crap.." I was worried that the session would just deteriorate but I knew that this was a pivotal moment so I just HTFU and off I went with rep 5 and on I went. All that internal monologue took place in 11 sec! Anyway very happy the way I turned it around. I have also noted that discipline is returning, not just to training but to diet as well.
Time 1:10; Dist 2,900m; Ave Pace 1:40; Ave Eff 37; Ave SWOLF 74; Ave Strokes 47.4/length0 -
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It's been a while.... :rolleyes:
Basically training was still going on despite a fall off in terms of motivation, found it difficult to shake that but I have. Head in right place now but....patellar tendonitis has seen me not run or bike in a week now.
If interested what sessions I've been doing you can see them here with notes.
Visited Ciarán McDonagh yesterday, only back from a two month stint with the Jamaican athletics squad, Oslo, Rome, Jamaica (Oly trials), Birmingham and London....great stories and craic! Anyway this was how that went:
Definitely the patella tendon and more than likely caused by the 3.5hr bike with 1cm higher than normal saddle. Basically, although the inflamed and sore spot was the tendon it was and always stems from the hip area, more specifically the TFL (very much like the ITB,FYI this prob is the opposite leg to the ITB issue I had earlier this year) So he did a full body check and then zoned in on the hip, quad and lower back areas. Very sore as per but feel great after it. So the plan, keep icing and go for a 10 run tomorrow evening and see how that goes, I have to ring him then for feedback on that.
Now swimming has continued and actually going ok, well my last two sessions anyway.
Tues Morn
Swim NAC LC
After WU and some drills it was 15x 100 alt swim/pull on 1:55...nice I thought, just what I need! Usually off 2min so I thought ok what would be a good pace for these? 1:45/100 for the lot and I would be very happy with that. That would mean 10sec recovery. I forgot to alternate between sw/p until the 5th so:
1-5 swim: 1:39, 1:40, 1:41, 1:40, 1:40 ......ok I thought not bad, now with the pull
6 - 10 pull: 1:42, 1:43, 1:43, 1:40, 1:44....so still below 1:45/100 pace, not bad
11- 13 swim: 1:42, 1:43, 1:41
14 - 15 pull: 1:44, 1:44 Great, all under 1:45, very happy and my grá for swimming returning
Weds Morn
Swim NAC
Forgot the 910 but no real need for it this morning. After WU and the drills straight into the 5x 100 steady. I decided after listening to a podcast recently that was going to really relax in the water this morning. Try to not overload the muscles and just let the arms do what they want almost. As it turned out I was faster...for less effort....swimming holy grail! Really felt great. Also I lessened my kick, whenever I took a breathe I stopped the kick momentarily and it just felt good.
5x 100 steady alt sw/p: 1:29, 1:33, 1:30, 1:34, 1:31.
Fast 50's on 80: 38, 38, 39, 39.
I know I had more rest than normal but all under 40 - first time (in LC pool!) Happy. Just hope the run test later goes ok.
Now I was about to pull the plug on this log but I have decided just to go lite. I feel it's ran it's course here, not really getting anything from it anymore. But something I don't really have in my real life is meeting other tri heads on a regular basis just to chat, this forum gives me that opportunity so going forward...I will only update once/twice a week, it will lack the detail I have normally included. This will be a place to get stuff off my chest, float idea's, get advice and if I have particularly good sessions or bad sessions I will go into them in more detail. 0 -
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My first guess would be that when you are relaxed you are completing a full stroke....and conversely, when you are surging you are shortening your stroke. Pay attention to where your hand enters and exits the water the next time you do this session - there really should be no difference in your stroke other than speed of the revolution. Finger tips enter water, shoulders roll to extend reach forward, hand grabs water and pushes water past your body and propels you forward, hand leaves water with thumb practically hitting your thigh and arm basically fully extended back. Complete stroke. Without that you are inefficient and wasting energy. Most times when a stroke is shortened it's at the exit, so pay attention to the exit.
Also, something to keep in mind, the mere addition of a stronger kick (which I assume you are doing when you surge) can make for a chaotic situation (especially if you don't spend a lot of time swimming with a fast kick) and throw your comfy rhythm off and contribute to a shortened or inefficient stroke. And, keeping with the kick theme, time your kick with the use of a kick board just like you have been doing with swimming and pulling. Confirm that when you kick harder that it is indeed faster than when you kick relaxed, otherwise you may have an issue in that regard as well.
Hope this helps! Keep me posted!!! 0 -
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Thank's DD I will keep those tips in mind. I am home so have very poor internet but once back in Dublin I will check Sun out, I watched his 1,500m performance in the final and was blown away at how good he was.
I am certainly learning that longer and strong stroke is better. My times in the pool right now are not getting any faster but since I started concentrating on longer strokes my RPE is definitely down, I mean from an 8 out of 10 to at least a 5. So once I get used of this I can always add the speed after. Really enjoying my swimming right now I must say, which is just as well as the instruction from my physio this morning was no biking or running until further notice.
Basically the tendon is still inflamed, twice the size as the right. So I have to ice it a lot and rest. I can swim and do core and flexibility work which is at least something. So I guess that more or less spells an end to my second peak of the year which was supposed to be Blacksod but I don't mind TBH. I will just be glad to be able to toe the line in Blacksod and Clogherhead indeed. The reason I'm not too disappointed is because my eye really is on June 2013 and while I am very confident of taking my swimming and biking to the next level next year I am determined to keep up my maintence work because if I do not prioritise that then my running, and everything will suffer. If I do keep up the maintence then I believe my running too will hit the next level. So keeping positive and for now my focus is swimming and icing!
O ya, I was lucky enough to get to take a spin a a top of the line TT bike today. I shouldn't have, now I know how good they are! What was noticeable was how light and responsive it was! Amazing. I am at an awful disadvantage when it comes to power to weight ratio, I mean there is only so much weight a man can lose! Still, I know someday I will benefit from a light, speed demon machine too 0 -
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Time for an update I believe I tend to keep away from here when things aren't going so well because as I have said before - I am a big believer in being responsible for the energy that I bring to a room. It's not that I have been suffering in silence (well not lately anyway) my coach and Physio have been great in getting me through these weeks by keeping me focused on one day at a time and progressing/moving forward when I can. Also being back at work has helped things in a way, having too much time off made me so inefficient and I list focus. First week back and a maths/sci dept inspection next week so that has added to an already busy time in school.
Got back running and biking this week, slowly bit by bit starting with 10 min runs and 15 min bike so it was very cautious approach. Coach basically deferred all biking and running sessins to the Physio. Yesterday I got through a 50min bike and 40min run today! So happy days. Of course fitness is lost now but I am just happy to be getting out there again. As most of ye know it's a tough place to be especially when things were going so well. The most annoying thing is it wasn't even a run injury, it was my fault. I neglected my maintenance work for a couple of weeks and then compounded things by setting my saddle 1cm too high and compounded it even further by doing a 3.5hr session with 2hr TT stuff!!
I must say, watching results coming in over the last few weeks has been depressing. There were plenty of top 10, top 5/podium opportunities IMO.
Anyway, the positives are:
I am almost out of the woods;
I will probably be able to complete my last two races (as in swim hard, bike steady and run easy);
Swimming has moved onto another level I think.
Banked a lot of swim km's in 3 weeks and had a breakthrough session weds
Coach pitched it perfect, not too difficult/too soft. I feel that when I haven't targets that
I might not be getting the best out of myself in the pool. This session has given me great confidence.
4x 100 on 3:00 hitting 1:28: 1:25,1:26, 1:27, 1:25 ( I feel I could have got another 4 under 1:28)
4x 50 fast on 80 hitting 40: 40, 40, 40, 38 (PB for LC pool)
I was sure I'd hit those times in a 25m pool but not 50m so I was dellighted. I'm actually going to enter a wetsuit swim race in Galway in Oct-may as well use this good form.
So this week just gone has been a very easy week and low in volume all round. Clogherhead tomorrow morning see's a return to the race scene for me, more for the love of it than anything (swim hard, bike steady, run easy type of thing). Then it is Blacksod next Saturday which will give me my second Olympic race and therefore an NS score and therefore I can apply for Turkey ETU next season, which I had done the qualifying race now like I did for London in Athy where I secured my World AG spot. So the aim in these races is to finish and enjoy the atmosphere and meeting the people I usually meet at these for the craic.
So that's more or less my news. Hope all is well and peaceful in ye're lives 0 -
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shotgunmcos wrote: »Great to hear you are on the mend ElD. Great attitude too. If you have Worlds and Euros next year... 2x A Goals or Euro tune up for the WC?
Given the logs title I presume the Euros are the main target, meaning he's only going to the worlds to act as a super domestique for me
Good to see you gettin back on track M.0
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