Reach for the sky...

woody1

those of you with small kids will get the title..

been hanging round this and the a/r forum for a while now , ask the odd question, answer the odd simple one..think its time to take part a bit more
so with that in mind i joined in with the s/b/r challenge and i can see that making a bit of a difference motivation wise already so following on from that im going to start a training log here as well..

background
past 3 years doing bits and pieces, multi-sport races, duathlons, bike and run in local triathlon as i cant swim properly..
last year tried to take the running a bit more seriously in terms of training more regularly and getting distance up a bit..(with one eye on a marathon in the future ) this year will be about improving on that in terms of structure and more distance..while trying to bring the cycling along a bit more and making some headway at the swimming..

before that i used to do a lot of hillwalking, used to play a little bit of gaa badly and a fair bit of soccer slightly less badly..but kids and old age put and end to that , around the same time the salmon run triathlon started locally and that sparked the interest, initialy different family members put teams in and ive done either the bike or bike run different years now..some of those team members have gone on to do the whole thing but im limited with the swimming, obviously the multisport races appeal because i cant swim.. but like i said im hoping to work on that and get it sorted if not this year then next..

goals..
salmon run triathlon.. hopefully this year but depends on how swimming goes
gaelforce well under 5 hours
humbert ..bike and run..wife can swim it

marathon..portumna probably, id like to, i did the 3/4 in athlone last year with no great problems, depends a lot on how the swimming goes, if it goes well i doubt il have time to take the running seriously enough to do it justice, if swimming doesnt go well then will prob divert attention to this
( there are time limitations which will probably become clear as the log goes on, i could get into them here but i think this post is long enough as it is, plus im just not dedicated enough to get up at 5am or sacrifice time with my family ) but cant even look into swimming lessons until mid february..

il be doing the carlingord off road half as i got an entry for christmas, hoping to do one of the sportsmans duathlon, probably 17th feb, as i can visit my family ( im from east, live in west ) and get race in at same time..
will probably do the local tri clubs ( liquid motions ) duathlons , id have to join the club but its probably about time i did that anyway...

woody1

so actual training
Jan 1st 8k run in the woods
Jan 2nd 8.5k run in the woods
Jan 4th 8k run
Jan 6th 13.5k run on the roads.. bit over the hour, didnt time the others but they were done with a mate thats a bit quicker than me naturally so they were a bit harder than id normally have done on my own, hoping to get a run in with this guy at least once a week and with any luck it will help with my lack of speed..
Jan 8th 6.6k run, woods
Jan 9th turbo ..30 K ? finally got the turbo back up after having to take it out of the guest room over christmas .. there is no try at about 80% effort just to get things started..
Jan 10th 11.5k run, round and hour..didnt time , night run in town with mate

planning to get back on turbo tonight as better half has drama rehearsals and kids will be in bed so feck all better to do anyway. and with any luck longish run on sunday..

question for anyone thats reading, my neck and shoulders have been a bit sore from the turbo on wed night, the bike feels like its a bit long for me, particularly when on the tri bars.. would that fit..im 6-1,all legs, will check bike size later and post more relevant details, might even put a photo up for ye to see it ( laugh at )

woody1

bike is cluad butler vicenza, 59cm frame, 10cm stem from centre of handlebars to centre of frame..

BTH

woody1 wrote: »

bike is cluad butler vicenza, 59cm frame, 10cm stem from centre of handlebars to centre of frame..

59 Claud Butler seems big for your size. I'm a similar height (all arms and legs) and my first bike when I got into this lark was a 56 Claud Butler, which I still do a little training on it. To use aerobars youd need the bars slightly closer, TT bikes fit smaller so you wouldnt have that stretched feeling.

Best of luck with the log and the swimming.

woody1

thanks ..wont be getting a tt bike, or indeed changing this bike for a while ..have a fast forward saddle post from trying to make the best of a hybrid bike before..suppose i could whack that on and see what happens..
usual craic ..bike was very good price... yer man in bike shop says yeah your tall frame will be grand for you.. anyway my own mistake, il know more next time..

BennyMul

Good luck Woody,
Where abouts is the pain in your neck,shoulders is the pain (middle or across?)

Is it only when on the Tri bars you get it, and is it straight away or after a period of time?

woody1

after..morning after, been stiff for most of today, right in at the joint of the base of neck and shoulders on both sides.. possibly i need to raise the tv that im looking at , although im only half looking at it anyway..

catweazle

I assume with the A/R racing you know Padraig Marrey, I would ask him to measure you up on the bike and run down to him in Ballinrobe, he spent a lot of time with me a few years back on my first road bike.

woody1

yeah i kind of know him to see ..... in the medium to long term a proper bike fit is needed and theres a very good cyclist just moved in down the road who im hoping will help with that when i get to know him better, if not i think theres a guy in sligo does it, ballinrobe is a long spin from ballina..

red face dave

Good luck with the log. Will be keeping a close eye as I am hoping to take part in salmon run triathlon also.

woody1

thanks dave..

Jan 12th.. turbo 1 hr ( very dark place )

thought this was going to be a disaster but i felt my way into it .. finished well

BennyMul

Hey Woody may be well off the mark, but it is possible that you are simply tense in the shoulders and this is causing the pain, try and relax everything especially from the butt up. dont even grip the bars (on the turbo) just let your hand sit there.

but the sooner your get a bike fit the better remove all variables

woody1

Jan 13th.. 10k ish 1 hour.. slow because i had to do it less than an hour after a massive 3 course dinner.. glad i went, was a battle with myself to get out the door ,

Dory Dory

Best to you!!! Keep working on swimming - the lessons will help!!

woody1

local tri clubs duathlon dates put up online last night, so ive gone ahead and joined, so thats a step forward, ti membership still to be done yet
bike fit booked as well..but its over a week away as i just dont have the time to get to him this week
wife in rehearsals and working late all this week so there wont be any running probably until the weekend its going to be a turbo week, which is no harm cos i need the time on the bike anyway ..

woody1

jan 16th turbo

will be giving blood later so if i do anything tonite itl be very easy
some building work going on in the house as well so kids set up in turbo room watching the dvd player, will have to see whether i get time to get it set up again later..

woody1

**** week.. (training wise )
was originaly going to call this log "adventures in procrastination" maybe i should have..
didnt do anything thursday, friday, i dont work either day but i do mind the small ones all day, which has 2 effects
1. spending all day doing mindless stuff with little movement and this time of year a lot of time in the house makes you really want to train when their off to bed, but
2. your mentally wrecked and all you want to do is chill...
easy to take option 2 and then you get seriously pissed off with yourself the next day..
birthday as well on thursday so i let meself off a bit easier and put it off til friday, then saturday ....

wife on call friday, so starts work friday morning and home sat morning and then off to bed til lunchtime.. so again i mind kids for this, and on call again today.. so me and kids again today til 8 ish.. there are variations on this theme but i effectively mind the kids thursday to sunday a fair few weekends in the year and obviously other weeknights as well..when you spend so much time without adult company its hard to run out the door ( or even get up on the turbo ) when the better half comes home..

anyway this is all pure excuses and im sure lots here have similar situations.. i have a turbo at the very least i shouldve got my arse up on it on friday again.. ( was hoping for every night from wed to sunday with varying degrees of effort ) ...

so back to the start tonight.. turbo and get some momentum going again..
bike fit next saturday... bike steering seems off ( notchy ? stiff ) so it will have to go to be sorted tomorrow but can use better halfs bike on turbo for the week..
duathlon next sunday.. il be grand for the run but will get eaten alive on the bike but sure have to start somewhere...

woody1

21 Jan
1 hr turbo

woody1

24th Jan 7k run morning, turbo 1 hr evening
26th Jan 5k run morning
27th Jan..duathlon 6k run, 14 k bike

thought i did something on 25th as well but dont have anything in the diary
have to ask better half later..

bike fit on saturday morning, i had saddle waaay too high, ( and i had let it down already ) .... moved it forward..adjusted cleats on shoes.. otherwise supposedly its ok.. time will tell..no pain in arms or shoulders or neck from duathlon.. so thats a good start..
duathlon went ok.. ran well within myself , bike went better than i expected i got passed by 3 i think, i pulled one of them back and wasnt awfully far back off the other 2..shouldve and couldve went faster on the second run but the fellas in front had a huge lead and i wouldnt have caught them so i took it handy enough and let 2 from behind pass me and then couldnt speed up enough to catch them but only seconds in it at the end.. transitions crap but thats a bad habit of mine and i know ive got to work on it...third from last ( out of 17 ) but with better transitions and a bit more honest effort i reckon i couldve been a bit further up..

woody1

Tuesday 29th Jan 10k run
thursday 31st Jan turbo 1hr ..put the resistance up on the turbo cos i felt i may have been fooling myself a bit after the duathlon at the weekend, whilst it went ok i expected the bit i had done to stand to me more.. so this was a tough hour....but stuck with it ...hard to know what resitance is equal to road cycling.. its not a lever with different settings ie 1,2,3,4 but just variable..so cant check what settings right ..anyway its set good and hard now..

saturday 2nd feb 20k run.. savage morning weather wise, sun shining no wind, just kept going, got to back to the house at 15k and felt like doing another bit so i did a little 5k loop that brings me back to the house.. legs stiff now but not too bad.. ( bugger that reminds me i left a rain jacket and a t-shirt tied to gates and never went back to get them, hope there there in the morning ):eek:

including the duathlon on sunday i suppose it wasnt a bad week, probably shouldve got another cycle in somewhere but im not panicking yet...
hopefully get out on the bike tomorrow for a decent spin and start the next week off well..


i was hoping to get my running up to 140k a month ( from 100 ) but just havent been organised enough this month to do it ( just managed 90 something i think , if i can swing one good long run at the weekends like today then that will go a long way...

woody1

Sun 3rd Feb.. 22k bike..meant to be a nice easy cycle but the lashing rain and the wind put paid to that.. but nice to get the bike outside again..
went to pick up the bits i had left tied to gates from saturday.. got the north face baselayer ( thank f*ck, it was a christmas present ) but some b*stard took my rainjacket which i didnt even have 6 months..anyway my own fault for leaving it there, even though i do it all the time and never had any bother before.. this is seriously middle of nowhere country.. i pass a total of 6 houses over 6k out and back (12k ) so its not like hanging it on a gate in a town or village and expecting it to be left there..there really are very few people about to take it...im half hoping to see someone i know wearing it

woody1

tuesday 5th feb turbo 1hr

wednesday 6th feb 10k run

friday 8th feb 30k bike 1k run

Saturday 9th Feb 12k run

Sunday 10th Feb 32k bike , meant to be long slow bike, turned out to be short slow bike cos i didnt get out of bed early enough, kids were being minded so we got a lie in..dont get many of them.. , cut short the run on saturday too as legs were stiff and tight so thought it better to cut it short than make things worse..
not planning anything tomorrow so will prob dig out foam roller and try to loosen out a bit..

swimming lessons start in ten days , so thats going to affect something, be it cycling or running but theres only so many hours and the swimming is what needs attention more than anything, probably going to have to try to cycle and run on the same days, keeping both short and sharp.. fine as far as triathlon is concerned but doesnt help with plans to do longer distance running, i think the idea to run ( walk / crawl ) the 50k in portumna will have to be re-assessed, not a hope of getting anywhere near the mileage in training..

setanta duathlon next weekend, which i was fairly ****e in 2 / 3 years ago so itl be interesting to see what progression theres been , or if theres been any

woody1

Rite so. Setamta duathlon today. Went pretty well all for me really. 15 mins faster than last time. Last time was 4th last. This time mid pack. Even the transitions were better. Good day overall.

Dory Dory

Congrats!!

woody1

Tuesday 12th feb turbo 1 hr
thursday 15th feb 6k run
friday 15th feb 8k run
saturday 16th feb 27k bike,
sunday 17th feb setanta duathlon , 6 and a bit run, 16 and a bit bike..

for some reason i had it in my head that the run in the duathlon was 4k instead of a bit over 3, i reckon i couldve done the first run a tiny bit faster, wouldnt have cycled or ran the 2nd run any faster though, ... no great drop off between the 2 runs though which is good, and cycled a nice bit faster which is nice to see given im doing way more cycling this year.. need to work on hills though, pulled away from people on the flat and downhill but was caught up going back up....only passed by one on the second run and passed a few myself and felt good.. swimming starts on wednesday.. see how that goes in terms of keeping everything going, theres spinning on 2 hours before in the same building, id be tempted to do the spinning, maybe go for a short run, shower and head for swimming.. leaves me leaving the house at 7 and not getting home til 11.. not hugely keen..but it gets a lot done in that 4 hours.. then again it might be better to attack the swimming completely fresh and just accept that im not going to get as much cycling or running done, given that i practically cant swim thats probably the more intelligent option..

woody1

took a break on monday
tuesday 19th feb turbo 1 hr
wednesday 20th feb 8k run + swimming lessons.

swimming went well considering 2 years ago i wouldnt have got into a pool for love nor money..
back at the basic lessons but got some good tips for me and made some headway..
will head in again tomorrow to try and push things on a bit..
dont think its worth counting the widths im doing for the sbr challenge during lessons, theres so many breaks i dont think it counts as training in a true sense..

BTH

woody1 wrote: »

dont think its worth counting the widths im doing for the sbr challenge during lessons, theres so many breaks i dont think it counts as training in a true sense..

If commuting counts then everything counts!!

woody1

fair point.. will try to keep a count so..

woody1

feb 22nd 1 hour swimming

20 + lenghts of 18m hotel pool, its an oval pool with steps cutting into it and i didnt get to go centre to centre all the time so im calling it 15m long
obviously not consecutively.. one at a time, tried to go straight into a second and nearly drowned.. but overall its huge progress for me..

woody1

Sat Feb 24th 1.15 run, was hoping for longer but after a tough week with youngest with ear infection and very little sleep for 3 nights i found this tough enough going..

Sun Feb 25th 50k bike..less than 2 hours, good enough going for me for a middling enough pace..

so swimming is affecting things, less running and less cycling, the cycling that was done, with the exception of the duathlon was fairly handy going pace wise and the running wasnt exactly hard going either, going to have to get organised enough to get at least one tough bike and run in along with the swimming and then try to tag whatever i can on when i see what free time is available.. but the swimming is going better than expected so im going to try to get in 3 if not 4 times this week and try to push it on a bit..

woody1

Monday 25th 1 hr swimming lessons..
Wednesday 27th 10k run and 1 hr swimming lessons

up to about 20m in the pool , i dont think theres a lot in it in terms of getting the full length, i shouldve done it on wed night hopefully will crack it soon.. anyone have any tips on treading water by the way im ****e at it

meant to be swimming again yesterday but landed down to hotel pool with kids and there were lessons on, couldnt go to public pool as it was adult lengths so couldnt bring the boys,consoling a 4 year old that discovered he couldnt go wasnt fun
going out tonight and minding kids today so cant do anything today, better half working tomorrow, so from 8 am to 8pm is out, so if its going to be anything it has to be turbo either early or late..probably late if it all....( its not very nice to jump up on a bike for an hour when your o.h. has just got home after 12 hours work ) we'll see so what started as a good week is now looking like finishing with 3 days doing nothing.. got a bad cramp doing backstroke and it still hasnt really worn off so logically its probably better to be resting but doesnt stop it p*ssing me off..
so its looking like back to it properly on sunday.. bike swim bike is the plan..
duathlon or 10k race next weekend, club havent confirmed duathlon is on so its one or other

woody1

Sunday 3rd March
swimming hotel pool.. so probably 300m , 20 x 15m , actualy probably more but thatl do for a figure for now, ive too much to keep my mind on without trying to count lengths as well

sick kids, they couldnt go, great dissapointment, lucky to get in myself, didnt even mention cycling in and out..

Monday 4th March
swimming lessons
legs were stiff from sunday, im surprised by how much the swimming is knocking out of me..made the mistake of reading up a bit on form and techique and probably undid a lot of my progress to date.. too much thinking.. but got my head round that and tried to go back to what i was doing well.. long story short i finished a length, last few yards wasnt pretty but i got there,****ed after it though..bit annoyed by that , can swim 20 ish metres reasonably comfortably but add 5 and im wrecked and standing against the wall for 5 minutes, that was just before the lessons, as usual the instructor tried to get me to do one after the lessons but i was just too ****ed, only 2 people in my group of lessons, a lot missing for some reason but that was good for me as i got a lot of attention on my technique and told a lot of little things i didnt know, did a fair few 3/4 lengths and some diving in and a fair bit of trying to tread water ..

i was running 10k before the wednesday lesson but im not going to this week as id like to do it totally fresh, with that in mind im doing nothing today either, wife not on call or working at the weekend so i have from thursday through the weekend to try to get some running and cycling done
more than likely going to do ashford duathlon in cong, wife knows someone on the cunga tri club and he was recomending, had a look at videos on website and it looks good and she doesnt mind hanging round ashford castle for an hour and a bit either.. havent been on the bike in over a week, havent ran in a week, .... maybe i will jump on the bike tonight just to spin the wheels and at least be happier in my head that ive done a bit..

as usual have too many irons in the fire (mentally, thinking about marathons, half marathons , relay half ironmans, gaelforce, sea to summit etc etc )... am thinking will just have to concentrate on ballina triathlon and swimming in particular until july , i will prob do some running races ( half marathons )but wont be killing myself training specifically for them or worrying about times.. after july will have a think about just the marathon and training properly for that..

woody1

wed 6th march swim 1 hr lesson
thur 7th march 1 hr bike turbo
fri 8 march 3/4 swim ..300m ish
sat 9 march ashford duathlon 5k run ( 4.2 ) 20k cycle ( 20.5 ) 2k run
sun 10 march 7.5k run 46 mins slow and easy

finished just above mid pack in the duathlon, first run was shocking for me ( i was happier when i thought it was actualy 5k ) , havent ran in 2 weeks and it showed, legs still a bit stiff from a full week but more surprising was the blowing i was doing, anyway good transition, bike went ok to a degree, felt ok going out felt bad the longer it went on but was able to put a good effort in unlike the run, second run was ok as well, not great but ok, happy enough in the knowledge i couldve been a little bit faster and that the bike work im doing is making some kind of improvement..
swimming is improving,more in terms of technique than distance but thats what i want.. hard on my legs , generally if i have to stop its because my legs are in bits.. maybe i kick too much, i dunno..working on breathing on both sides and its coming easier than i expected and its making a difference to the legs...

hoping to get into the pool for a handy hour or so later today, swimming tomorrow as well, so thatl be 6 days running and 8 days out of 9 doing something,
looking forward to tuesday doing nothing .. maybe club duathlon next wknd maybe not, dont know if its on yet

woody1

Sunday 10th March
swim 45 mins.. 200m ish
Monday 11th march
Swim lessons
200m ish, theres so much over and back and stopping and starting that its hard to say, more than likely further than this but itl do for a figure
importantly after getting stuck at the 20m mark for a good while i managed a full lenght
tuesday..day off
Wednesday 13th march
swim lessons - last one, 200m
did a bit with regular teacher then got sent off with the improvers to do lengths.. had managed one already before the lesson started, anyway managed another 3 which is great, only me and one of the improvers managed any length at all ..

lessons are now over, ive been advised not to bother with the improvers as apparently im ahead of that standard now, i had been watching what they were doing and i wasnt planning on doing it anyway .. so now its up to me to keep going in, which should be handy enough as better half will have my head wrecked to do it..
salmon run triathlon sign up is soon, april 1st so thatl keep me motivated as well ,

plan is get in as often as possible, get the number of lenghts up and maybe join in tri club sessions when i feel more able for it ,
try a tri on in 3 weeks, need to be able to do 10 lengths, its in the back of my mind but i wont make any decision until the last minute , if i could do 2/3 lengths reasonably concurrently ( or with very small breaks ) id have a go at it ,

but in just over 3 weeks ive gone from sucking half the water out of the pool, stopping if i take on any water, having problems with breathing, relaxation, all kinds, to being able to swim a length reasonably comfortably, i know there are parts of my technique that need working on but i have to be happy with the progress made in those 3 weeks , hopefully the next 3 bring as much

woody1

thursday 14th march bike turbo 1hr
friday 15th ..13k run .. slooooooow as hell
saturday 16th .. swim 300m ish.. hotel pool.. sign of progress that a 15m pool now bugs the sh*te out of me ,
sunday 17th turbo.1hr 40. new sufferfest video, blender, horrible day outside so i tried this out instead, didnt go full tilt at it as duathlon following day but i could see it being very very tough indeed if i did.. but the time passed surprisingly quickly..
monday 18th club duathlon
2k, 16k, 4k
first run went out hard as was the plan, there are a few mid-back of the pack people like me ability wise and i wanted to see could i beat some of these so the idea was to do first run flat out and see what happened from there, came up to the transition with some of the better guys, not where i expected to be and not where i was going to stay but nice to see that i can at least run with some of them.. albeit for 2k 2k 7 min something, forgot to split watch until on the bike
not a great transition.. onto the bike.. no real wind to speak of thank god, spent most of the first lap getting my breath back from the run and trying to go as hard as i could, got passed by 1 about halfway thru then another 3 ( together !! :mad: ) towards the end of lap 1, lap 2 got breathing somewhat back to normal , speed probably dropped slightly but not too bad still.. not caught for 2nd lap but i could see one was coming closer coming into transition..
16k .. 29 mins ( this is a massive speed for me and i dont care if there was no wind, if i could translate that to a 36 min 20k for sprint tri i would be a happy man )
2nd transition, good dismount off bike, elastic laces too tight , got them on quickish but not quick enough as 1 girl got into transition behind me and out ahead of me, another just came in behind me and was hot on my heels coming out, long story short couldnt catch girl in front quick enough and girl behind passed me ( shes a far better runner than me i was expecting it ) as usual i started to narrow the gap as it was coming to a close.. 4k just under 20 mins.
happy with first run, happy ish with cycle, not overly pleased with 2nd run
.. all of the people i wanted to finish ahead of passed me on the bike, although they were all within 1 min 30 of me overall at the finish..
took 4.15 mins of my last time for the course, another one in 3 weeks so hopefully get another bit then..
considering the focus is on swimming and i havent been running or cycling much at all, im semi-pleased, but now i need to get some quality back into the little bit of running and cycling im doing,

woody1

19th march .. swimming, ( not lessons ) 1 hr. completed 5 lengths , started and abandoned a fair few more, most at around the 20m or more mark, had awful trouble with breathing on my left side which hasnt been a problem before.. 400m ish

20th ..turbo 1 hr, dark place, wanted to really give this one a real effort, couldnt find heart rate monitor so had to do it by rpe, but threw all it at anyway, room stinks, have to get a fan..

21st ..swimming..45 mins im avoiding the adult lengths as i feel id be in the way a bit so im going in for the public hour and a half but everyone there is doing lengths so that kind of suits anyway.. 8 completed lengths, numerous other abandoned, some practically at the wall.. happier because at least some of the lengths i got felt easier and the stops between were shorter..and when i did have to stop a length i got straight back in the water and finished it.. 400m ish ..but swimming progression seems to be slow, youd imagine once you can finish a length you have it cracked, just swim lots of lenghts make the breaks smaller and off you go, not working that way for me, 4 lengths one day, then 5 , then 8, suppose im only at this 6 weeks but i thought it be getting more into the hour at this stage..

8 days straight on the go now, tempted to take a break but also tempted to do a quick 5k today, lilipoo ( better half now on boards ) drama rehearsals start back next week as they are doing a second staging of it so im aware that time is going to be tight , days are gonna be missed and im gonna be annoyed by it..

weekend promised rubbish weather, so more than likely going to be turbo again , would rather get out.. especially since thursday friday minding boys as usual and head done in by cbeebies and the like

edit.. just checked there, started swimming on the 20th feb so only at it a month.. have to be a bit more realistic i guess..

woody1

sat 23rd march 15k run..

sun 24th 40k bike outside ..

mon 25th .. lunchtime swim, pool wedged !!! shocking... 30 mins about 6 complete lengths and a lot of sh*te swimming.. stopping twice and three times during lengths... dont think getting full breath on left, possibly kicking too much..still wrecked at the end of a length

tuesday 25th .. nothing, felt completely zapped and a bit nauseous, not well, better half not well either and one of the boys, some class of tummy bug.. hopefully thats some of the reason for mondays poor swimming

wednesday 26th
5.5k run. 1min 30 hard ( ish ) 4 recovery and repeat..

thursday 27th
swim .. waterpoint enniscrone..leisure centre / kids pool.. brought kids , big pool didnt suit with times..
so a lot better than monday 18m pool apparently.. did about 24 lengths no stops and tried a few things with breathing and kicking, managed to do 2 lengths consecutively twice and only stopped cos its really a family pool and i felt like it was time to get out of the way.. ( and pay some attention to my own kids )
im happier with that but not counting any chickens, we'll see how this translates to the 25m pool at the weekend, id like to get to 2 lengths of the 25m pool consecutively soon..

friday 28th.. better half working today and tonight, sunday 8 til 8 and monday nite 7-8 , so its pretty much me and the boys for the weekend.. which is grand if not for over exposure to crap kids tv and lack of conversation other than change the chanell, daddy im hungry, daddy im bored , daddy, daddy , daddy . repeat ad infinitum !!! and or the smaller one trying to seriously injure himself in new and exciting ways..

so seeing as the kids had us awake plenty early i jumped out for another quick 5.5k before she had to go.. same idea as before with hard efforts and then rests, i am terrible for just jogging out the likes of these runs nice and easy so the idea is if time is tight to try to make the best of it..

turbo tonight.. swim tomorrow.. possibly nothing sunday.. long easy spin / run monday..

woody1

fri 28th turbo 1 hr,

sat 29th, 1 hr run, meant to go swimming but again local pool d*cking around with times, " were open as normal on saturday " when i checked, actualy translates as were closing 3 hours early !!! so no swimming and closed sunday monday too..
went for an hour slow run.. tired , lethargic..stiff.. anyway the sun was out so apart from that it wasnt too bad..

nothing today..sunday.. back to small pool tomorrow seeing as big pool is shut.. if it goes as well as thursday then i want to see can i get 3 lengths consecutively at least and then see can i do 250 in a reasonable-ish time .. try a tri local to me soon so id consider it depending on this..

have been experiencing full body pins and needles lately particularly in the few hours after doing something.. considering getting blood tests done too see am i low in something.. last iron test i had i was at the low end of the normal range..with increased exercise lately it wouldnt be surprising to be low in that or something else.. could just be dehydration either, itl be thursday before i can get in so if it persists until then il definitely get checked out..

red face dave

try a tri local to me soon so id consider it depending on this..

When & Where is this on Woody

woody1

dave, its on in sligo next weekend ! , 7th april , i hadnt realised that entries closed over the weekend, i half know someone in the club so i might see is there any chance of getting in still , so seeing as ive prob missed out on that one ive been checking for others

lough key have one in carrick on shannon on the 21st april , date doesnt suit me

one in letterkenny as well in june sometime, i know im gone well beyond the bounds of local now,

your swimming is pretty good ( well its much better than mine ) how about the castlebar tri, run by the ballina tri club.. pool based, 32 lengths i think 20k bike 5k run, thats the 21st april as well

while im here.. swim today, 500m ish did my 14 lenghts to make 250 took me about 13 mins ..then did some more, trying to do 3 in a row , nearly but not quite, still having to take a small break ( seconds ) before the third one..

entered the salmon run triathlon in ballina earlier, to have it done and to keep up the motivation to keep going swimming...

red face dave

Cheers for that, I have a few running races coming up I might just stick with those. I am due home again in a couple of weeks was going to do one if it was.

I hope to enter Ballina also

woody1

tuesday 2nd april 5.5k run. intervals
4th april 400m swim back in the 25m pool, got 2 lengths consecutively , quite happy with that, feel a third and fourth are not far away
5th april 50k bike ride, 1.45, last 10k a bit too hard..
6th april swim 300m.. in line with the one step forward two steps back theme that my swimming is following i didnt get any consecutive lengths today , legs trashed, presumably from the end of yesterdays cycle.. but im no longer stopping mid length, and at times its feeling easier / better , only got 300m done as i had to entertain my kids in the pool for a while first

club duathlon tomorrow, last one and its handicapped, so people start in order of their previous times,slower times going first and the fastest last.. so technically anyone has a chance to win it, it should be an interesting last run as everyone should in theory be running in pretty close to each other.. in theory !

woody1

club duathlon
started 7.30 down on the first starter but with an 11 min head start over the last guy .. 1st 2nd and 3rd went to the 2nd 3rd and 4th starters , i wasnt sure if it would work out but obviously it worked from the weaker guys point of view, stronger guys may not agree,
first run.. went well, tiny bit slower than last time cos i didnt want to be so shagged when i got to the bike and from that point of view it worked, overtook 2 that started ahead which was the plan..
bike.. one of the 2 that i passed got me back within 2k on the bike, and i think my cyclings improving ! the guy that started next behind me caught me mid way thru next lap.. otherwise no one else passed, happy enough, tough headwind for some of it but kept plugging away despite feeling like quitting early on
second run.. bad start as usual, passed by one girl, then later on passed by some of the speedmerchants, including the last to start who apparently was right up on the first three at the finish so the handicap idea worked fairly well.. got going about half way round and finished in about the same place i started.. even though it was a bad start its the fastest ive done this 4k,
2 mins slower than last time but there was a headwind this time, have to work on speed off the bike..

woody1

took monday after duathlon off
tuesday 9th april ..swimming 20 lengths .. still no 2 or more even in a row.. maybe different tactics next time, just turn at the wall and go as far as possible.. sweet jesus 20 single lengths would bore a man to tears..! i am very impressed with most people here that are putting in serious mileage in the pool..

wednesday off again.. taking a rest from bike for the week cos of sore arse issues.. decided not to do anything else just have a break

off road hilly half marathon on the 20th so il have to get out for at least one decent run and a couple of shortish ones so bike may suffer next week as well..
after that the focus shifts totally to ballina triathlon and surviving the swim,getting a bike pb and doing ok on the run..

woody1

thurdsay 11th 7k run

13th swim 23 lengths

14th 14k run

15th 16.5k run

16th swim 26 lengths
last nites swimming started well, the tired legs stopped me from kicking too much and i went thru 4 lengths pretty much together, and then the legs loosened out and the rest of me got tired and it went to doubles and then singles, but i was expecting it to be much tougher anyway after the 2 long runs..

race on sat so i shouldnt to a lot between now and then , swimming tomorrow and il be taking that very easy, tempted to just spin the legs on the turbo tonite as i havent been near it in almost 2 weeks ..

red face dave

Good on you Woody your swimming is coming along nicely. Just in time for Ballina tri.

Could you maybe throw me an update if you hear that Ballina Tri it is coming close to selling out. Cheers

woody1

thanks dave, i havent heard anything yet anyway, il let you know if i hear anything..

woody1

17th april.. not sure, i have short run written in the diary but i think i took it off,
18th swim , 22 lengths.. not great, long runs from earlier in the week catching up to me
19th off, driving to meath with 2 small kids..an endurance event in itself..

20th..cooley legends half marathon.. 21.1k 1.58.. 9 minutes off last year.. will give more detail later..but suffice to say its 2 days later now and im still walking like an old man..oh my god the pain..everything from hips down to soles of feet is sore..

off yesterday, off today , will see what tomorrow brings..

woody1

cooley legends half marathon
so this is a very hilly mostly trail with a bit of road half marathon
i did it last year, and i liked it a lot so i entered again this year,and as a bonus i got my sister to pay for it as an xmas present so it was free..
convinced better half and 2 brothers in law to join me, however 1 had to pull out at the last minute,
road trip to meath the day before to deposit kids at granparents for the weekend and then on to carlingford early in the morning for registration and race
as usual out of bed far to early , 6 am and one of the first to register at 8 ish, and then hanging out , chilling out, getting changed and waiting to be brought to the start on the bus, all helped by a very sunny morning promising to turn into a lovely day..
all into the bus for the start and theres a lot of chat and nerves, im not generally nervous before races but i know whats coming and a lot of it is going to be painful

off the bus at about 9.45 so we have 15 minutes to warm up, loosen up or just hang out and chat, which is what our little group does, first time ive not done some little attempt at a warm up for a race but its probably the first time ive had others there with me to chat to so i got distracted..

walk down to the start, turn around and as with last year there isnt much warning , " we'll be starting soon", changes to 3 2 1 go in seconds, and were off, the first 500 yards is pretty flat and im making an effort not to push on too hard as i have a habit of doing, then it turns uphill and everyone slows a bit and im still feeling ok, but when it turns from trail to road after the first km and then gets uphill in earnest then i get a shock, i dont remember it being this steep, this tough, lung burning leg bursting slow painful shuffle tough from last year, and were only a km and a bit in,.. so all i can do is slow it down a bit and a bit more and wait for my heart and lungs to chill out a bit, but theres no way im walking, feckin hell were only starting here.. the first hill is about 5k long, with differing grades of flatter and steeper sections and i know il get a proper break soon, i reckon itl take me 40 ish minutes to get to the top so i just start to count it down in 5 minute patches, in the meantime my nervous system figures out that im not being chased by a lion and allows my heart and lungs to chill and everything feels a bit better.. and so over the top we go pretty much dead on 40 mins and into the downhill, grassy downhill with buckets of grip and i belt down it passing loads , but then i stop dead at the first water station at the bottom to get a proper drink and they all pass me back, i dont mind, its a hot day and theres only 2 water stops and i want all the water i can get, drink 2 cups properly and take off again.. 8k done.. 6k of road now to do.. im in trail runners which i dont wear very often, mainly for the reason that i dont run trails very often but also cos the soles are like concrete and i cant run in them without serious discomfort.. but they are brilliant for downhills so im suffering them for today, and as soon as im on the road im suffering, the road is also hillier than i remember , with a steep little climb right at the start of it.. but again the plan is that its going to take 30 mins ish to get to the next station and just count it down, after about 10 minutes ive got a twinge in my right calf which funnily is better if i run with a longer more open stride unfortunately my lungs cant cope with the extra effort and ive got to stay with the shorter stride and just live with the twinge.. on the plus side ive pretty much caught up with the few that have passed me at the water station and were all within 100m of each other, i know if i can keep it this way that il pass them on the downhill again into carlingford.. just as im starting to lose faith in my timing calculations and wondering where the hell the turn off back to the trail is i see guys turning off the road in front of me, thank god for that..
second water station and again stop to drink properly, fellas passing me again but theres no panic this time , i know the craic here , in 2 minutes their all going to be walking and sure enough as i turn the corner to see whats ahead theres a line of people walking up the hill, i did this last year , walked all the way up feeling sorry for meself, change of plan this year, walk for 2 minutes run for 2 minutes, its probably bugger all faster as i dont exactly pass everyone but it keeps me concentrated on moving forward and the hill doesnt feel half as bad as last year and as i get close to the top im running and looking forward to the downhill.. last year i ran it 2.07 and this year i didnt have any goal time but as im getting to the top my watch says 1.45 and im wondering if i can get 2 hours or even below.. so off down the hill i go, and im in trouble straight away, the trail cuts diagonally across the hill so your running down on a camber left foot higher than right and i cant get my left foot to land at anything resembling a natural looking angle at all and after 2 minutes its seriously painful, so i have to slow a bit, and then a bit more, i stop to tie laces tight as possible to see does that make a difference, no thats worse, stop again and adjust them a bit, not much better but on i go, the trail switches directions and i cant wait for it so my right foot can take a bit more of the pressure and when it does turn thats how it works out, but now my laces are open, stop again to tie them, 2 minutes later open again, decide to leave them open, 2k or less to go so feck it, and the road is getting close anyway itl be grand, still not sure on the sub 2 , il see where i am in a few minutes, onto the road laces open whipping the back of my right leg and driving me mental, some sort of a thorn stuck between the tongue of my shoe and my sock, il leave it its fine, but its not, stop again to get that, only takes seconds but i see fellas catching up from behind, get going again, this is all on road now but very steep downhill, and im clattering down it, pass 3 or 4 on this section and get into carlingford central, ive an idea of what distance is left now and the watch is at 1.55, still not sure whats in the tank for sub 2 though, just keep going, round to the car park about 500 yards to go, no one behind and no one in front to chase so for a second i let the pace drop cos im f*cked and so close to the finish but i pick it up again ( to something marginally quicker than a slow crawl ) and keep it going to turn the corner and see the finish line and across it in 1.58
delighted with that as i wasnt expecting it, im doing a nice bit less running than last year and little or no hills , lovely day helped a lot, il be back for it next year as i think that without having to tie laces half a dozen times and with a bit more specific training for it that i could knock another nice bit off 1.58..
brother in law finished in 2.13 in his first race of any kind..wife finished in 2.30 with me waiting at the finish worrying about my impending death for talking her into it.. " ah sure itl be grand, youve already done a half with no training and you were fine " no it wasnt grand, she died a million deaths and suffered through most of it, and shes still stiff as a board, but obviously i havent been killed or divorced...
sorry for the long report..

Dory Dory

Well done. And so very glad you haven't been killed or divorced.

Trig1

Nice report, well done on the sub 2hrs