The Good Mood Cookbook

Oryx

Shell to Run wrote: »

Firstly, I have no doubt you would complete IMW.
But why would you even consider entering Wales? You are on the road to recovery and getting stronger. Why would you risk that?
I say enjoy the summer, get stronger and do not get sucked into the obsessive addiction to continuously enter events.
You have nothing to prove to anyone.

That has been my mantra for the last few months.

No... this whole discussion has been an external look at my internal thought processes. I just needed to see both sides of the argument, to know I'm doing the right thing. Endurance sport is an addictive compulsive thing, everyone gets sucked in to that, I think. Eventually though something breaks and you have to learn to be more conservative in your approach. The email about the entry was just a test, lol!

Oryx

Dory Dory wrote: »

Afraid I'll have to pass this year as I'll be hobbling around from my IM at that time. But if you do do DCM, no peeing behind the loos without me!!!

Clonakilty is in December though.......

RacoonQueen

Donadea ladies?
I'm 99% on for Copenhagen so thinking of a good European Spring marathon...before the IM training starts... *plant seed*

Oryx

Way ahead of you. Sent Anto a nice letter last week.

griffin100

Sloan Tangy Stewardess wrote: »

Enjoy the summer with the kids without an IM hanging over you, use that €600 and sign up to IM Copenhagen next year:)....sure BTH is on a recruitment drive for that race.

Solid winters training and be in great shape for next year.

A very good suggestion, makes lots of sense.

shotgunmcos

Didn't you already enter Challenge Galway?!

Oryx

shotgunmcos wrote: »

Didn't you already enter Challenge Galway?!

Yes but thats a whole year away!

Oryx

Anyhooo... up with the lark this morning for a sunrise swim. The water was flat calm and cool but not chilly. Did an easy pace for all but the last 500m. A glorious day to be in the sea, especially while its quiet, hardly even a seagull awake at that hour. Myself and the hardman did 2.5k in 55 mins, and out for the coffee at 8am. Love summer mornings

468

Oryx

An easy sunny spin on the beastie today, its first trip to hook head. It took a little settling in, I didnt spend enough time on the bars; but the home leg of it I was beginning to fit in it again.

Mileage wasnt important today, I didnt even have a garmin, this was just for the coffee... Roughly 75 - 80k, Italian stylee, looking the part if nothing else

578

Oryx

Sociable training sessions are like buses, none come along for ages then two come along at once. Even though I had done a bike ride yesterday, I wasn't going to turn down another good one today. Who knows when I will get asked again. This one was with the serial puncturer, but i told him if he punctured today I would kill him. Funnily enough, he had no problems

This guy is strong, young, and as enthusiastic as a puppy. Great in some circumstances but not when you're trying to keep up with him on a bike. And I was on the beastie. And it was raining, so I was a little cautious. I spent a lot of the time at least 100m back waiting for a flat straight where I could put the foot down and catch up with him. When I did he would just pick up the conversation where he left off before I fell back. Funny . Great training though. 65k in 2.5hrs or so. I really need that.

Off the bike and as per his plan, into a run. Just 4.5k, pretty flat, but windy as hell. He chatted while he slowly built the pace without even realising. Didn't notice me Trying. To. Reply. In. Breathless. Gasps.

A tough morning on already tired bones, but honestly feel great after it.

458

pointer28

Great to see so many smilies, positivity and general good vibes around here!!!

Oryx

I went to kettlebells tonight. Little did i know that tonight was 'squat night'. 100 squats almost continuous. Jesus wept, my quads are in shreds. Everything after that was done trying to avoid pinging a cramp in my legs. Joyful.

666 - a very apt number

Oryx

Rested yesterday, which was handy seeing as my legs were made of post-squats concrete.

Not much better this morning; I tried to run first thing, but my legs had other ideas. I had small, invisible, painful weights hooked into each muscle group, and I ran like Phoebe Buffay. (See above) I gave up after 25 minutes of that, but even so, it did loosen things up. (657)

Swim this evening with a large club group. A little chop and swell out there, I found this hard work, tbh. And I was told my 'drift' was worse than normal. I was struggling (or neglecting) to sight, but really I need to breathe bilateral. It makes me queasy in open water... a winter job to fix it I guess. I also need to get back in the pool, i haven't seen chlorine in weeks. 2k tonight, working hard to stay with another gal who is quite simply flying in all disciplines at the moment. She beat me of course, but it was close enough

578

Oryx

I know some strange people. The kind of people who invite you out to do cycle hill reps at 6am. Stranger still, I said yes. But its fun being off plan at the moment and able to do silly things like this.

It was a chilly 20 minute downhill spin to the meet point, from where we did 5 sprints up a dragging but not steep hill. My companion was on a 'classic' (read heavy) bike and he is obviously strong as a horse because he flew up. I played around with gearing to see which cadence worked best. Heartrate went a bit berzerk in the first rep but I controlled it better on the subsequent ones. Did each climb on the bars just for the practise of working hard while aero. Tbh it was easier than the hoods.

A long and chatty coffee afterwards before doing the half hour uphill trip home. 43k in 1h46 ride time.

568

Mr Tony Stark

You are Insane.

100% (thats todays score)

Oryx

You should have come!

Mr Tony Stark

Yes I probably should, it sounds like a proper workout. Thats a long slow drag up that hard shoulder.

Oryx

In another fit of preplanned madness, tonight I led a turbo session for my KAR prepping mates. Tonight was overgearing, a lovely echo of this mornings hill reps. But there is a sadistic pleasure in making other people work that takes your mind off your own sweating. It was a bit of craic, and noone fell off or passed out. All good.

60 mins overgearing with a nasty set of 5x max effort intervals as a sting in the tail.

679 (the 9 is for the sadistic element )

Dory Dory

Note to self: never, under ANY conditions, attend one of Oryx's turbo sessions!!! :eek:

Dilbert75

Two things puzzle me about you Oryx:
- where do you get the energy?
- where do you get the motivation?

Oryx

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Two things puzzle me about you Oryx:
- where do you get the energy?
- where do you get the motivation?

Energy fluctuates. This is a good week. I get low energy weeks regularly but I'm learning to roll with that and let it pass.

Other people are the best motivation, promise someone youll show up, then it's not about you. And it's fun then too But at the end of the day there's nothing better than those moments when you find yourself doing something you weren't able to do a while ago. That's the feeling I chase.

cjt156

Oryx wrote: »

...there's nothing better than those moments when you find yourself doing something you weren't able to do a while ago.

That's it; perfect*. I've never seen it put so simply and so accurately.



*Well, now that I've fixed the punctuation...

Oryx

cjt156 wrote: »

That's it; perfect*. I've never seen it put so simply and so accurately.



*Well, now that I've fixed the punctuation...

Apostrophe nerd.

Dilbert75

Oryx wrote: »

Energy fluctuates. This is a good week. I get low energy weeks regularly but I'm learning to roll with that and let it pass.

Other people are the best motivation, promise someone youll show up, then it's not about you. And it's fun then too But at the end of the day there's nothing better than those moments when you find yourself doing something you weren't able to do a while ago. That's the feeling I chase.

Well it's mighty impressive.

I had a bit of a flashback the other day to when we were between swimming pools in New Ross. I brought the kids to Wexford pool one day and there was this woman swimming up and down with her leg in a cast. I don't know why I remembered it then but I'm guessing that was you - correct?

Dory Dory

^^^^ :D:D:D:D

Oryx

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Well it's mighty impressive.

I had a bit of a flashback the other day to when we were between swimming pools in New Ross. I brought the kids to Wexford pool one day and there was this woman swimming up and down with her leg in a cast. I don't know why I remembered it then but I'm guessing that was you - correct?

Ummm.... if it was around May June last year then probably! The rubber cover looked like a sharks fin behind me and kids particularly were fascinated. Thank god that whole thing is now behind me!

Dilbert75

It's not the only thing that's left behind you. Possibly the single most humbling sports experience I've had in my adult life was being left bobbing around in the wake of someone swimming with a broken leg. Thanks for that Oryx!

Oryx

Dilbert75 wrote: »

It's not the only thing that's left behind you. Possibly the single most humbling sports experience I've had in my adult life was being left bobbing around in the wake of someone swimming with a broken leg. Thanks for that Oryx!

Ah, it was like a flotation device. I had an advantage.

And... training. This morning was hilly bike run bike with the muddy crew, I cycled to the meet point because I knew they'd pass my gate on the way back anyway and I could shoot home then. Took the beastie as an experiment - its never done proper hills before. I had a backpack which was less of a hindrance than expected tho it was hardly aero First bike was just under an hour, 17k, mostly uphill. The wee bike coped well. A slow transition to the run (locking bikes and faffing) which was trail with some steep and technical bits. I descend like sh.it. Both on wheels and on foot. I could leave the others on the ups, theyd reel me back in on the downs. Needs working on. About 45 mins here finishing with an uphill sprint that made me feel queasy it was so hard.

More faffing and a quick bike hike back to the road, for a short spin over the mountain. Just the one doozie hill here, a real test for the beastie, but dammit, the thing can climb after all. It shall go to the challenge ball next year. Im getting a lot more familiar with it too, popping up and down on the bars without too much thinking. I do need more sprinting strength though... its still a lot better than I am. And of course, I lose my nerve on it downhill!

Two hours total for today, not sure of total mileage cos I screwed up the watch on the way back.

Oryx

I went for an ow swim tonight. I didn't want to, but I said I would so I did. Turns out my swim buddy was less than enthusiastic too, but seeing as we both had wetsuits on by the time we realised this we went for a dip anyway. (I wont say what my buddy called it, but hes RUDE).

Swam the first 500 against the current and I hated every stroke. The swim back was better, but there was no way I was going beyond the 1k mark. Some days your head says yes. Some days no. This was very much a no but we did it regardless.

And tomorrow is Ironman Bolton. It should have been my A race. But Ill track some friends who are doing it and send them big mojo thoughts. My day will come, just not in pennington flash!

griffin100

There's nothing like tracking someone in an IM from the comfort of your couch to put you off ever doing one again!! There're already finishing the swim when you get up, you've been out with the kids and had lunch when there're still on the bike, and for the late finishers you're watching their run times from the couch with a glass of vino in your hand!!