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Alanya, Turkey 2013 - My Euro Dream Odyssey
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Mon 28th Jan
An easy 30 min run and my first session with Mr Tango in the pool. So for the next few weeks on a Mon night I will have an expert casting an eye over my stroke, it's just what I needed and nice to have some interaction with people during training (95% of my training is solo).
First impression is that the stroke "is there" but I just have a couple of bad habits like crossing my centre line upon entry. I really hope for a return to form, in what was my most consistent discipline last year, i.e. 100's off 1:50 coming in on 1:26-1:33 and 200's off 3:45-50 coming in on 3:22-3:30.
After a decent 4 weeks my mind and body are delighted that I have a recovery week
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Tuesday 29th Jan
Rest day, the first of the new year
Weds 30th Jan
Swim
Truth be told I feel like someone else in the water these days. Not myself at all. I feel like one of those fat people I see in other lanes, so much so that they are even swimming better than I am for these past 3 weeks. I need to get back to where I was last year. Steady 200's coming in on 3:25 and steady 100's coming in under 1:38 - no problem. This mornings 100's - 1:49, 1:51, 1:58, 1:59 and 2:00....might I add that these were steady off 2:10. Couple with the times from my mod had 200's it safe to say something is a miss. Then, out of nowhere it made sense. My left shoulder was getting very sore-I was dropping my left arm every time I breathe to the right. I was not rotating my shoulder, to 'get over the barrel'. All of a sudden an easy 100 came in on 1:44. I'll have to wait till Friday to see if this is the case.
Run
Awful weather so another treadie run. Uneventful, I will say though that running is feeling better/easier.
Thurs 30th Jan
Did not have time to get my planned bike session done...first session of 2013 missed
Fri 1st Feb
Swim
I was very curious to see if I had figured out the swimming problem (major (MAJOR) drop off in swim times) Well the right shoulder is sore from all the poor swim strokes it has taken in the past 3/4 weeks so it is hard to know but I think it is sorted. My 200's easy felt easy again and were under 3:45 and my easy 100's under 1:45. So back to where I expected them to be. We will see, come next Weds I will be swim fresh and sure we will see then....
Over the past week I been reminded how important core strength work, flexibility (stretching/rolling) and sufficient sleep is. I always knew how important these things were but had simply forgot! 6 months of feck all training will do that to you, funny it isn't until you stop doing these things that you realise how important they were.
Looking forward to next week as I rarely enjoy recovery weeks but it must be said I am feeling a lot better, more fresh since Monday.0 -
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@P Gibbo Well I hope I have P, we'll see next week. Connemara duathlon is still on the cards alright. Will you be gracing this event with your presence?
@BTH you are right
@courdelion you are also rigth
No harm in mixing it up a bit. I actually like the treadmill, it really helps with the mental side of things and I seem to be able to hold my focus/concentration longer. Also as shorts (tiny ones), runners and a HRM strap is all that's required it is an efficient use of time when time is an issue That all been said I am determined to get out this evening for my 30min easy 0 -
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Sat 2nd Feb
Long Bike Easy
What a wonderfull day out there for it Long time since I could say that. The last two Saturdays were spent in doors on the turbo (2hr and 2.5hr rides). The sun was shining and there was little breeze. I was busy in the morning so it was the afternoon when I got out, I thought the rugby was on at 5ish but it was at 1:30, I had time so I watched 70min of it and got out the door. Thankfully there is a decent stretch now in daylight. On the 5th Jan I struggled big time on the same route,
Time 2:00; Dist 50km; Ave Speed 25km/h; Power 164; NP 180; HR 128; Cad 88;
I was flattened after it and confidence at a low ebb. Confidence restored now though and I felt strong throughout so good signs on the bike. Only data screens I used were HR/Ave HR and Cad/Ave Cad, I aimed for low/mid easy zone and mid 90's cadence.
Time 2:00; Dist 56.42km; Speed 28.2km/h; HR 136; Power 199; NP 213; Cad 94;0 -
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Sun 3rd Feb
LER 1hr Easy
The window in my room at home faces the rising morning sun, it peeps up over the small woodland and I leave the curtains open so that I get a natural alarm as the sun rises. During the winter though the sun comes up too late and more often than not it's too cloudy to notice. Not this morning. The stunning sun rise was the perfect backdrop to the melodious chorus of blue tits and robins. I had porridge with honey, banana and Udo's Oil (too much, not the banana anymore) I had my running buddy out for this and we set off on a new route that I thought would roughly take an hour. It's funny, even after all this time I am still discovering new loops/routes at home. The one thing they all have in common is the fact that there will be hills. This route is beautiful. Half of it is bog and woodland. We felt like the only people for miles around as we ran in the middle of the road. Now I tried to take in all the nature around me but unfortunately my head was concerned with how crap I was running. Last week I ran 15min longer, 7sec/km faster in horendous conditions. That's running for you I won't analyse it much though. It could have been the fact that I had too much breakie or the fact I was less focused on form as we were chatting. Who knows...that's running for you. It will become easier as the weight comes off bit by bit.
Time 1hr; Dist 12.2km; HR 154; Pace 4:56/km;
I have a long way to go until I can describe a run like MCOS and DD, but I will endeavour
:) 0 -
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Wow. Just add an audio with your Irish accent and you'd have all the ladies swooning.
You mention bogs. Do you live on the west coast? My family is from Achill in County Mayo.
LOL, my swooning days may be over but sure if it makes the ladies happy then who am I to deny them
I'm from the west but not the west coast, Ballymoe, Co. Galway, gogle it and see google photo's of the area 0 -
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Tues 5th Feb
Bike 1hr Turbo
A great session, loved it. Walked away had my shower and the legs felt great about 20min later, I felt almost recovered For the main set I tried to up each one by 3/4 watts but no higher than 260w.
Cad|Power|HR
51|242|129
92|246|133
54|251|133
90|253|137
53|258|137
89|260|139
So HR was low to mid easy. Also a new Max Ave Power of 241.5W according to GC
Loved it. :cool:
Time 1:00; Dist 33.5km; Speed 33.5km/hr; Power 203; NP 229; Cad 83; HR 126;0 -
Weds 6th Feb
Swim
A good swim session at last. The main set contained 100's which I did easy/steady (not sure of my pacing these days) and they started at 1:43-1:45 which is were I hope them to be but by the 9th and 10th they were gone to 1:50+. Thats cool, with some fitness I will hold those. The 50's were dire 46sec- 51sec. God be with the days when these would have been all under 41/40 Again, just need patience which I have.
Dist 2,600m; Pace 1:47/100; Ave strokes 23/length; SWOLF 76; Eff 38;
Run 50 easy with builds
Started this with 10 min on the treadie to WU and then into stretches and drills. Felt good running today Big difference from Sunday. Was it the fact I don't like morning runs or the fact that I had too much to eat or the fact that Ihad a partner and wasn't as focused on my form? Probably a bit of everything and other things too. It's usually never just down to one thing in my experience. I might just go solo though for my LER's just until I have dialled in the running form and can do it without thinking. The form just clicked today but I lost it at about half way and had to refocus to get it back. Which I did. Anything I felt my legs tensing I made an effort to relax them completely which really helped. Trying to relax everything below my hips and open out the hip flexors. Apparently you should feel a LITTLE rotation around the spine which I now do. Anyway when all put together it feels good.
Time 49:52; Dist 10.5km; Pace 4:40min/km; HR 151;0 -
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Thurs 7th Feb
Bike 1 hour turbo easy
Obviously there is something up with my cadence/speed sensor as I could only wish for an ave of 39km/hr for easy effort! A solid session though and enjoyed it.
Power 192; HR 130; Dist+Speed
Friday 8th Feb
Swim
Still finding the fast 50's very tough but the steady 100's are going back in the right direction after 3 weeks of frustration, they were between 1:40-1:43. Getting a nice rhrhythm going, driving at the hip and a slight glide but need to be carefull of over gliding. My hope is that by next month these steady 100's are back under 1:38 and fast 50's under 42/43.
Dist 2,000m; Pace 1:47/100
Run Easy,15steady, 5 mod hard, easy
This cannot be right...right? 4:26min/km for 155bpm (high easy)?? I am doubting my zones a little TBH, not sure that easy is easy, steady is steady etc.... Can I hold a conversation at easy, I'll see on Sunday. Is it that my form is improving, well yeah it is but surely not that dramatically. So either my zones are wrong (using Friels 7 zones for running, used Friel last year too but it seems he has moved the percentages around a bit) or I am only now realising what easy is (I was going too easy) or my garmin fvcked (that would not be a surprise). Actually just checking the data there it seems I spent 13 min in mod hard Anyway, just one session so I'll monitor. 0 -
Sat 9th Feb
Bike Long Easy
A good session in the pissing rain. No birds tweeting or beautiful sun rise to report today but sure isn't it great to be alive and fit and healthy :cool: One of those days were I was just up for it. Ear phones in and and after 10min I got in the groove. The rain never let up but it was still enjoyable. HR ave was on the low side of easy and my ave power for the ride was my best yet. Still using RPE and HR though to control things.
Time 2:32; Dist 72.11km; Speed 28.4km/hr; Power 214w; NP 229w; Cad 93; HR 134;
The body is also feeling better these days. The result of getting back to regular rolling, stretching and core work I guess. It's funny you sometimes wonder if these little things really matter but like many things...you only see it's worth when it's gone (or you stop doing it).0 -
So over a week since my last update, so.....
Sun 10th Feb
Back in Dub for this one, left the 910 down home so had to go by feel. Aunt coming up from the west Tues so fingers crossed I have them for the bike session. Teemedtgroughout this but once out it was fine. I did a known 16k route and just added a bit to make up the time.
Mon 11th Feb
Run:
Again by feel. Felt good, consistency in running is doing me no harm at all Aunt text to say she would be up by 12 tomorrow which is great as I really need it for that bike session tomorrow.
Tues 12th Feb
Bike:
Well my aunt was going to be too late with my garmin so switched Tues and Thurs bike session as I needed a power unit for it. A nice hour, good rhythm and cadence.
Weds 13th Feb
Bike
Did this indoors as it was pissing and i don't want chancing a cold. I was a little too enthusiastic starting this one, well I averaged 213W for Sat long bike and that's we're I started. Sat ride was out doors though so perhaps that's why I was pretty toasted by 2hrs. I was determined to keep going but called it a day after 2.5hrs as my HR was drifting into high steady and power output dropping. So no playing the hero and finally got off.
Swim
99 /100 I do my swim first thing, usually never the second of two workouts. Today was different, it's an untypical week after all. Anyway, I thought that this swim would be negatively affected after the long bike. It went alright though. Arrived at the pool at 15:45 and then realised I forgot the garmin. No biggie, I had time to turn around and get it-which I did. I then realised that I wouldn't get back before 4pm and I have an off peak membership. So clock wall would have to do. The left shouldered feeling stronger again and my stroke felt nice. Enjoyable water session. 300's were 5:25-5:40(ish), the 100's 1:40-1:45. Once again though the last 2/3 fast 50's were very laboured.
Thurs 14th feb
Swim
Fast 50's still very slow, 100 pt all about 1:55, 100 sw were all 1:48(ish) then I woke the fvck up and started to focus. Last two were under 1:43. Although still crap I feel it is coming back to me. By far my most consistent discipline last year and all that will stand to me. So I keep at it
Run
Headed to Galway to do a couple of things. Left Linda's bike in for a service which would take an hour. Gear in the car so off I went on a trip down memory lane and my old stomping ground. Must admit I felt like stopping for 'one or two' in the NUIG college bar but decided not to as that would have lead to a day on the piss (god be with the days:) ) anyway nice run, sun shining and actually warm! Paces are coming down which is nice
Fri 15th Feb
Run
Well we were in Rome for the weekend so all I could get in are some short runs. A nice easy run along the Tiber, love running in new cities. Very very pleasant evening, no need for skins. Also very nice to be running in my new Kinvara...first new runners in 14 months!
Sat 16th Feb
Run
A nice easy run again this evening in the opposite direction up the Tiber. Trying to take in all this amazing city has to offer! Took my run up to the walls of the Vatican City. Once again, very enjoyable.
Interesting map
Mon 18th Feb
Run
I really need to be more careful when reading the session description, missing the build work was an over sight. It was 1:20 when I can to bed last night as it was a late flight so a morning session was not an option. Instead I managed to fit it in at lunch but on the treadie. Pace must be off bit as it seems too fast for me for an easy 30min (pace from the cadence sensor).
Time 29:07; Dist 6.5km; Pace 4:19/km; HR 147; Cad 85;
Bike
Despite the travel and late night I was full of beans and tempted to start out at 200-210W but I was sensible and just kept the first 10 easy. I got out on the road for this as it was a very pleasent evening. I was glad though that I layered as it was bitterly cold. On the road it takes constant focus in order to hold a particular wattage, changes in elevation, surfaces, wind and loads of other little things makes it very difficult. However over a 10min period I was able to roughly average what I aimed for. The ave power for the 10min intervals: 187, 196, 210, 216, 228 and 239.
Time 1:05; Dist 30.36km; Speed 28.8km/hr; HR 126; Power 209; NP 218; Cad 87;
Now last week I did miss two sessions and nothing was done on the Sunday. All in all though I am happy with my efforts since Jan 1st. Still far from my best but thats fine, that should come during the summer.
This weekend it's my first duathlon of 2013. I will be doing it on my road bike (TCR) with it's stock wheels. I have been training on it and haven't been on the TT since September. Also the PM is on it and I am looking forward to pacing myself in a race using one for the first time. It should be a good tune up. I found race pace at the 8k in Jan very tough and a shock to the system so these early races are just to reminde the body of what's to come 0 -
Tues 19th Feb
Bike
I wish disappointed to have missed this one last week so I was glad to see it on the menu this week. It was tough but enjoyable.
1) Power 280; HR 151; Cad 97;
2) Power 281; HR 156; Cad 97;
3) Power 281; HR 160; Cad 98;
4) Power 280; HR 164; Cad 97;
5) Power 278; HR 164; Cad 93;
If I had to guess right now I think 280W would be a good estimation of my FTP. Good one to have in the bag. TBH I am still only learning what it is like to train with power, it is a whole new world of hurt
Time 1:05; Dist 32.35km; Speed 29.9km/hr; HR Ave/Max 141/174; Power Ave/NP 207/234; Max Ave 20min P 241W; Cad 92rpm;
Weds 20th Feb
Swim
My swimming is fvcking sh1te right now. No two ways about it. I need more consistency/time in the water and I'm sure it will turn around. TBH my stroke does not feel too bad, it has been worse but I still seem to be stuck in one gear recovery/easy pace, I can also do all out....for one 50. Thats it. Frustrating and totally stuck. All I hope is that either something is picked up at the Monday night coached sessions or more time in the water will see me regain where I was last year. I obviously understand that that will take a while but I thought there would be some progress by now. :mad: Patience, patience, patience required.
Dist 2,500m; Time 0:45; Pace 1:50/100; Ave Eff 40; Ave SWOLF 80; Ave Strokes 24/length;0 -
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Weds 20th Feb
Run
After this run the penny dropped for me. You see I sometimes write in haste, go away and have a good think about it through the day knowing that there is an explaination for everything. I feel light. running feels good. But I? was in a world of pain for the mod hard reps. It was like I could not get in enough O2 into the lungs...like my lung capacity was that of a smokers. Then it hit me...my lung capacity is reduced, sure it is only Feb and I have done very little VO2Max stuff. This is cool. sure it is only Feb Then this makes sense in the pool too. Same thing. I am struggling to get breath and recover. I had actually to stop 3 times to try and fill my lungs with nice fresh air on the easy 2 mins. The mod hard paces are actually not bad (1st one up hill). On the fourth though I got an awful pain under my right ribs...I thinki this is a sign of not getting in enough O2...it almost had me on my knees!! So it's Feb. Plenty of time for the high intensity stuff that will see these sort of sessions get easier and my pool times come down too
Time 45min; Dist 10k; Pace 4:24/km; Hr Ave/Max 154/173;0 -
Coaches response to that run session......I feel a little silly but this is a place of learning after all so I am posting it here. BTW he is totally right.
"Sorry to rain on your parade - but the below makes no sense whatsoever. there is no link between vo2max and lung capacity.
The mod hard reps were to be done by RPE, if you were "in a world of pain" for the mod hard reps then they weren't mod hard reps.
Having looked at the file the pace was higher than I would have said for mod hard (i.e. you cannot run a 32-33 ten km as the splits would suggest on pacing)
If you look at your pacing, you started all the reps fast (pace wise) blew your load a minute in and hung in for the last two minutes.
Rather than being a case of lung capacity and vo2max sets - in this case you didn't quite follow the session, went too hard, mis-paced the intervals...."
I should have had a look at the file/listened to my body. I was feeling good and full of beans and too eager, I just need to dial in the pacing again.
Here is the file0 -
Thurs 21st Feb
Swim
My first 2013 "clinched fist" moment in the pool this morning Basically this was the first time I could keep the fast 50's very close to each other and near 45sec The 100's were 1:39, 1:46, 1:47, 1:48, 1:42. Again, like the running I went too fast on the first. Happy getting out of the pool. 0 -
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Tomorrow's race strategy.....
So the instruction for tomorrow's race is simples...all out on the bike and this will be an approx. of my FTP. So that also means I need to pace it well too i.e don't start too hard and blow up, build into it instead. I am to do this with power numbers hiden. This will of course mean a painful second run The format is 3.5k/21k/3.5k
Actually looking forward to it. I have a new appreciation this year where just being able to start has me smiling. Not at all concerned with placing tomorrow just following the instructions and enjoying it.0
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