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
Heart Don't fail me now
Options
Comments
-
Friday Lunch: A reasonably paced run. Decided I wanted to push it a little to see how I feel. Did the local 8k route and was running at 4.54 pace, decided towards the end I would push it into Z4 and a couple of 4.15 K's got me in at 4.47 pace. Better but still 10 seconds a kilometre slower than what I was doing a month or two ago at that heart rate. AHR = 154
Saturday Lunch: The tough week finally caught up with the wife so I snatched a 2 hour session on the turbo before I was going to bring Pudsey into watch the aquathon. Some friends called out unexpectedly so only 1:30 session at the end of it all. I am getting killed lately for training sessions :mad:
Enjoyed the aquathon - it was a big eye opener to see the pace of some of the top guys.
Sunday Lunch: Out to the Coral beach in Carraroe with family. Lovely swim if a little bit too much seaweed. With the two American nieces bullied into going for a swim in their skivvies, I was able to sneak a small victory by beating them to the buoy and back. It was quiet amusing to see two 10/11 year old twin girls that can swim close to 1 minute for 100m reduced to doggypaddling by the cold
. Went for a dip after probably about 1200m in total.
Sunday Evening: Got a 10k run in. Pace wasn't particularly fast 5.28. AHR wasn't fantastic either at 138 average. But for some reason it was a feel good run which I haven't had in a long time. Perhaps it the visualizing of next weeks Humbert challenge finish line with the PA and crowd urging me on as I try desperately to get over the line as the clock is ticking towards 5 hours
Anyways back to reality, legs felt good!0 -
Monday AM: Having negotiated no feeding duty in morning all week some much needed swim training will be coming this week. Today was a little rushed for time but I stuck in 2 x 396's off 8.20, yep I have gone back a bit as expected and was only coming in on low 7.50s, these were low 7.20's for the same effort a month back or so.
Monday Evening: An hour on the turbo which I took taking it easy to a new level by reading the Sunday sports sections as I pedalled. A tiny bit harder of a push for the 2nd half as I had my interrupted episode of Game of Thrones to finish
Tuesday AM: Slightly better, torn between taking it easy and trying to get some of my swimming legs back. The compromise was 16 x 54 off 1 minute and then 4 x 108 off 2.10. I felt a bit lethargic at first during the 54's but it seemed to be getting easier. Finished them in 16.48
I was on target time wise after 10 reps and thought I picked it up slightly so hopefully it was 17 x 54. The 4 x 108 was nice swimming at 1.50 pace - was a little bit stiff around the shoulders after which shouldnt be happening after such a shortish session
Tuesday Evening: A brutal day weatherwise and the last episode of season 2 of Games of Thrones to watch meant I didn't bother running and went back on the turbo instead. Heart rate seemed to go up much easier than normal and I pedaled away in the 120's for most of the hour.
Enjoyed season 2 but no climactic ending like Season 1 - good TV though0 -
-
Mentioned to the wife last night that I thought i had a cold coming on whereas I was told I was late and its usually the monday before the Humbert that i start complaining about that and it will be a full blown run down man flu by saturday night.
Wednesday AM: Much more like it in the pool. Wanted to do one longish section to make sure the stamina was still there - it was a bonus to see that the swimming speed was back as well.
5 x 396 off 8.25 descending in 7.18/7.10/7.08/7.08/6.52
Enjoyed this the hardest set was the first which I will put down to a poor warm up. Stroke was consistent and just pulled a slight bit harder each time for the first 4. Surprised that the 4th set wasn't faster so increased the stroke rate for the last one to make sure, it all felt very comfortable.
Will have a dip friday again but will be very easy
Wednesday Evening: Deliberately didn't bring the Garmin and just ran the local loop in Z1. Legs felt ok and heart rate was fine but felt a bit drained almost like I was hungry. No idea of pace - wouldnt say it was very fast AHR = 132
Thursday: Looking like nothing today - had hoped to do an hour easy on the bike but with a family barbecue this evening I had to pack the turbo away and tidy the shed. I did sneak the race wheels on while I was out there and it always puts me in a good mood as I know there is a race coming up0 -
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
Finally got a chance to finish this - not very exciting this year I am afraid - but it probably has made me look at some changes for next year and try and focus on the shorter distances and finally have a crack at a few shorter distance pbs in running
Humbert Challenge Race report
I knew the warning signs were there after Kilkee that I wasnt really going well this year. I never thought the Louisburgh triathlon would be the highpoint of the season for me. I am not really sure what happened me, I cut out eating crap and lost 5/6kgs very quickly and I was back to the shape I was in during my GAA days, certainly not waif like but in good shape. I should have been flying but I wasn't.
Unlike nearly all of my other races, organisation was great for this race, car packed and ready to go the night before and everything double checked. In the car my HR was in mid 70's which was high for me, this didn't bother me too much as it was the same last year when I put in a good performance. Nice drive and stuck on the headphones to get me pumped up, weather was crap going up but was pleasantly surprised to see dry weather in Swinford although it was windy.
Registered nice and easy and had loads of time to do general chit chat and gossip, chatted for a few minutes to Interested and Abhainn and then went over and said hello to my three targets The School friend, the man with the van and the Plasterer and then got myself ready. My initial prediction of a 33 minute swim looked in trouble straight away as I saw they had extended the finishing section by placing some buoys out at an angle rather than straight across like it used to be.
Into the water nice and early and was glad we had some time to get ready as I struggled to stop the goggles from leaking - got this sorted and went into about the third row and off we went. It was a pretty smooth swim I hardly got hit at all and I very quickly found the feet of a guy whose line I liked sticking tight to each of the buoys on the left. I sighted every now and then but after 500-600m I didn't bother this guy was as straight as an arrow to every buoy. Stayed behind him the whole way for a pretty effortless swim, right leg started to cramp up towards the end and had to be careful with the kicking. I came out to a 36.51 swim, crap a minute behinds last years swim. I wasn't overly worried at that stage as I had factored in that I thought they had stretched the course by 100ms or so, the last section felt like it took ages compared to last year.
Running up to my bike - I wasn't so happy to see The Gym Bunny heading off out on the bike already and The Man with the Van and the Plasterer taking their wetsuits off. I had beaten two of these in Louisburgh and was expecting to beat the Plasterer out of the water comfortably also - looking at the results I see the Gym Bunny was almost 2 minutes quicker than me. I must have got into too much of a comfort zone behind yer man and perhaps thought I was going faster than I was.
Swim 2010 = 38.50 (54/101)
Swim 2011 = 35.40 (48/137)
Swim 2012 = 36.53 (54/160)
Transition 1
Anyways what harm I thought - we are only talking about a minute or two either way and proceeded to tackle my cramp, it wasn't too bad a one compared to Kilkee. Went with a gillet this time and put on socks and off I went with a transition time of 2.57
Bike
I started off pretty well in this but the heart rate was in the 150's and I knew this wasn't sustainable, I couldn't get it down really at all. I got into Foxford which was about 15k in just under 32kph but I wasn't happy with the heart rate. The first real warning sign was the first hill out of Pontoon - this isn't much of a hill but I could feel very little power in the legs and had to come out of the saddle and tax the heart more which was not what I wanted.
The next stretch is tough with a few drags and the worry that I needed to get the heart rate down rapid as the Windy Gap was coming up. My average speed was tanking quick and I was down to about 27k an hour. I was getting really worried about The Windy Gap and whether I would be better off walking it as I was struggling up the drag just before it on the lowest gear - where oh where was my trusty road bike with my granny ring gone.
Got to the Windy Gap and decided I would give it a go. I think experience on this hill is a must for weaker riders. There is a slight downhill just before it which you need to cannon into as it will get you up it a good bit at the start and after that there are then three steep sections with a slight ease on the gradient after each one where you can catch your breath. It was the first time I had used the S80's and I don't know was it subconscious but I thought I could feel them grabbing the road better as I stood up and muscled my way up.There was three of us going up it and a guy walking it not much slower than us up ahead.
Finally got up it heart rate in the mid 160's 5 beats off my max and planned to power on. My average speed had dropped to 25.4 kms with an hour done. This is where I started to pick up a bit of speed as it is a gradual downhill section but the cross winds was playing havoc with my wheels and I got a few gusts which put the fear of god up me. Turned now for the section from Castlebar to Parke - there was almost an eerie calm from the lack of noisy wind but immediatley I could see the speed going up into mid to high 30kphs. Thats more like it I thought to myself got into a decent rhythm heart rate dropped into the 130's and I finally managed to catch and drop a few at this point.
All too quickly we hit the dead zone of Parke which always seems to be the slowest section of the course, at 50kms I begin to struggle again and the School friend passes by me like he was on an easy sunday ride. I hate this section of the course and am glad to finally get into Turlough and the N5 where I thought I would be getting some more of that sweet tailwind, at this stage I am at 27kph and I still thought I could get it under three hours if I can get 20k of fast section that I was expecting. But nothing, cross wind if anything and I became a bit downbeat again, my arse and shoulders were killing me and I was struggling to stay down on the drops.
Finally as we came through Swinford there was a bit of a tailwind again for the last few kilometres and I managed to get the overall average up to 28kph. A bitter disappointment - with the Pussywagon, more cycling and less junk milage I posted my worst time of the 3 1/2 Ironmans to date. I found the wind tough but I cant really blame that as the leading times aren't down much from previous years
Bike 2010 = 3.05.30 (69/101)
Bike 2011 = 2.59.26 (73/137)
Bike 2012 = 3.08.56 (107/160)
Transition 2
Came into transition well down on myself knowing my chance to beat last years time was gone let alone 5:30. Fair play to Interested he was there waiting with a pep talk for me which he ruined at the end by mentioning he was damn glad he didn't have to do the run this year 2.01 minutes
Run
I ran out thinking this isn't half bad, I was running 4.55 pace for low 140's. The heart rate shot up hitting the first hill but that's to be expected as it is a steep one. First km with most of the main hill out of the way 5.14. I then seemed to settle into low 5 minute kms for low 150's average. Lets go with this for a while and keep it in the low 150's. Decided to take a leak at this stage and with a two piece suit on no need for any dramatics this year so I pulled up at a ditch at the side of the road. Around 5k into it I went past a walking Man with the Van at this stage, I felt sorry for him its a long way from home to be walking already, his first half and I assumed a rookie mistake of pushing too hard on the bike, he was well stocked for gels so all I could say to him was to drink as much coke as he could at the aids stations.
It began to get harder at the 7/8k stage and I had gone out to 5.30 pace, at the 10k mark I was shagged and just mentally tried to keep running until I got to the aid station at 12k, my left shoulder was hanging off me, I was going out to well over 6 minute pace at that stage. That aid station was good craic, there was about 5 of us at it gossiping about how screwed we were, all we needed was cigarettes and some ashtrays. I ran through every aid station last year but I spent a good while here drinking coke and eating bananas. I very quickly felt a little better and my main worry about having to walk was relieved a bit, I was able to get it back under 6 minute kilometres and was able to keep rolling till I hit the station at 16k. Again another stop and more bananas and coke later I was off again, I was down around the 5.40 minute pace here and average pace was 5.52. So at that stage I was thinking I may be able to squeak under 2 hours but knew the run was slightly long.
I was feeling much better at this stage and was holding 5.20 minute pace, I was able to run through station 18 by just grabbing a coke. Turned into Swinford and as I crested the sharp hill there I could see the distinctive red of an Ennis Tri suit way ahead in the distance. I almost got a semi at this stage - the school friend and he was catchable - perhaps I can salvage something from a bad day. I immediately pushed into sub 5 minute territory but wasnt reeling him in too quickly - the bollix must have spotted me. I caught up with him at 20k and the fight just seemed to wilt out of him and he slowed up majorly. I stayed with him for a while as I knew he would get under 6 hours if he kept running and I had no real target to go for at that stage. We then caught up with a relay girl from my old gym who was full of chat, which was fine with me as I was running within myself at this stage. I decided to move on then as I could see I was annoying the School Friend as he was in a dark place.
Coming into home then I was trotting along very disappointed 30 minutes slower than I thought I would be, no-one near me, caught a glimpse of Mrs C coming into the finishing straight who much to my surprise had Pudsey with her. Now I have always thought that carrying kids across the line was a bit twee and I wouldnt be seen dead doing it but as you can see below my morals slipped very quickly and I grabbed him, crushed him with a hug and trotted proudly over the line. Some things are worth getting worked up over but a missed triathlon PB isnt one of them, I enjoyed the race, loved the cameradrie, fantastic location for a race and very well organised as always.
Run 2010 = 2.26.07 (81/101)
Run 2011 = 1.57.23 (63/137)
Run 2012 = 2.04.35 (103/160)
Overall = 5.55.21 (97/160)
I immediately said to the missus thats it for the year race wise where I was swiftly put in my place and was told she wanted me to do the Dublin Marathon again and make a weekend of it. I didn't realize she enjoyed it so much last year (or was it the shopping the day before). I haven't really decided yet a part of me says the lost 5 kilos if I can keep them off will make a huge difference on the day but at the moment I cant face thinking of 22 mile training runs. I have the runners in the bag for Portugal so we will see if they are taken out of the bag over there
Preliminary discussions went well here for next year - it started off great with her broaching the subject first asking me when I am going to get that Ironman monkey off my back. I had considered next year but I have a time in mind when I do one and I wont be making it on this years Humbert time. I have a dream in my head for 2014 for Ironman Canada on my 40th weekend (to get out of a party over here). It went well till she heard the price of entry - plus the little man might be a bit young at that stage to go on such a once in a lifetime holiday.
Next year I plan to race more - a years training for three races when 2 of them go pear shaped isn't the most satisfactory outcome. I missed taking on the usual suspects this year - I will target some local sprints around the area which they all will be in and perhaps make Kilkee my A race, I am tired of being hammered by all the club mates in that one.
Mrs C laughed when I said I might do the Sprint version of The Humbert next year, shes probably right 30 minutes into the drive home and I was looking forward to having another crack at 5:30 next year.0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Nice report CW and hard luck about missing your target time.I have a dream in my head for 2014 for Ironman Canada on my 40th weekend (to get out of a party over here).
I'm in the same boat next year and will be getting away to a nice event so that my mother can't throw a 40th birthday party 0 -
great report,
if im allowed I will add that 1/2 to the list for next year.
See you at DCM, you aiming for any specific time?
+1
DCM is starting to get a bit busy with Tri Boardsies :rolleyes:.
Reminder - 5pm today is the cutoff for the 1st early bird entry fee. Just heading to sign up myself now.0 -
Well the running is going over here - wouldn't say its going well but I am getting out most days. Its bloody hot so a lot of it is trotting along as I cant really get out in the morning or evening. A few 7k runs and two 14k run so far, getting a short 2k swim in each day when I can as well but it is more dodging lilos and kids than anything else
I must admit I am enjoying it though, nice to have a change of scenery for the running - I finally decided to run on the beach today and I cant think why I didn't do it earlier. Just under 9 miles and I think there was loads more sand to go if I wanted.
A heady cocktail of bikini thongs and oppressive heat had me near delirious towards the end so I cut it off by a mile, I had entered a nudist area as well I assume as there were loads of fat naked men up by the sand dunes.
Staggered up to a beach bar where he was out of smoothies but had a little left in a jug so I got a freebie off him - that capped off one of those lovely runs that you get sometimes. Its finished off by jumping into the uncles pool when you get back to the house
The place drips money, I was sickened taking a picture of the Lamborghini below in the beach car park when the smug owner who couldn't have been more than early 20's rocks up, his mate then gets into the Ferrari beside him :rolleyes:
The iphone doesn't even do it justice, it looked like the Batmobile
So I have no idea of the weight at the moment, dessert after every meal too I am afraid, but I signed up for Dublin Marathon anyways - no idea of predicted timegoal yet. I will be jumping into the Runners World 12 week marathon when I get home0 -
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement