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Dilbert75

OK - so here goes. Following 36 1/2 years of slovenly exercise avoidance, two years ago (almost to the day) I became a runner. To cut a long story short, I've done a nice few running races from 5k to marathon, along with a couple of adventure races (which I loved), in that time. With some injuries along the way, thankfully none hugely serious, I was motoring nicely (with one notable hiccup) till late August of last year when I started getting calf problems (bad muscle knotting culminating in damage to anterior tibialis probably due to me failing to look after it properly).

I've run intermittently since then, though I did complete DCM13 and, to be honest, I've kinda lost the enjoyment in running 6 days a week like I was. It was becoming more a chore than a pleasure. At the same time I've started enjoying getting out on my bike (courtesy of the clotheshorse to work scheme) and a new pool has just opened near home so, with tri very much in mind, I've joined. I'm not a strong swimmer by any means - I can manage quite a bit of breaststroke but very little FC. So that's a work very much in progress.

Since the nice people in the A/R forum like to hear about just athletics & running, I'm rehoming myself and moving from 1 sport to 3 (1 to 3 - geddit?). I've yet to come up with a new trisport excel spreadsheet to record my activities. And I have to sort out my spare back wheel for my turbo trainer (there'll be a separate thread). And I've to apply for tri and cycling club membership. And renew my membership of the athletics club ('cos I don't live near where the tri clubs are based, so I'll probably train with the local clubs). And I've to start getting used to getting into and out of my new wetsuit. Yep I've all of the gadgets but little else.

So the plan for this year includes several running races, a couple of sportives, maybe a couple of adventure races and a couple of du's/tri's. I'm not expecting to be competitive but I want to enjoy them and not disgrace myself. Let's see what happens.

career_move

Are you going to do any training or are you just camping over here in the lycra forum for the craic?

Dilbert75

Smart ass. I'm just trying to avoid the verbal diarrhoea of the last log. I'll update tomorrow after whatever it brings...

Yourself and Runchick came to mind today actually. Was at the Young Scientists' exhibition and there was one project comparing the effects on fitness of morning vs evening training. Conclusion was that fitness increases more by morning training than by evening training. When you see my log update you'll see why that's good news for me...

RacoonQueen

Moving your log to the the tri forum is like admitting you'll bever be a runner again. For shame! :eek:

Dilbert75

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Moving your log to the the tri forum is like admitting you'll bever be a runner again. For shame! :eek:

But I am a runner - it's just I'll also be a cyclist and a swimmer too!

Dilbert75

Normally for me, in exams and stuff, I've played to my strengths and tried to limp along with my weaknesses. This won't work here. My weakest sport of the SBR is swimming and if I don't do something about it, I'll drown. Within my weak swimming skills are particularly weak FC skills. Also, a couple of years of studying followed by a couple of years of just running has left me with enough muscle in my shoulders to eat, wash my hair and reach up to the top shelf for Pringles, but little more.

So just after Christmas I started going to the pool and, so far, have done so three times a week. Aim for each visit is to do 30 lengths, or 750m. It's not yet done without stopping but I'm working to a 5x6 lengths routine. I'm at the point now where the first of each 6 lengths is FC and the rest are BRS and I'm working towards stringing two consecutive lengths of FC together (from little acorns...). Really going to have to find me some swim coaching though - I'm pretty sure my technique is rubbish.

So swimming so far has been:
750m - 27/12, 31/12, 3/1, 6/1, 8/1 & 10/1. It feels like I'm improving a little - my shoulders certainly know each time I get out that they've been busy.

Aside from swimming, I've had two runs in the new year. First was a handy 8.3k in around 50 mins on 6/1. Unspectacular by design - average pace was 6.01/km, average HR was 132bpm. Second one was today - Ferrycarrig 5m. Mrs. D bought me this as part of my Christmas present (along with The Grid, which was wholly welcomed despite the pain it's unleashed). Had low expectations for this, given my low mileage for the last couple of months. Spoke to a friend beforehand and he asked me what time I'd do and I truthfully told him I didn't know but that I knew it wouldn't be under 35 mins (which is a fair bit slower pace than my 10k PB from last April of just under 40 mins). Lots of water (and injuries) under the bridge since then though.

Closer we got to the start time, the windier and wetter it got till it was properly raining and blowing a gale just as 1pm came. Myself and Mrs. D ploughed on anyway and stuck together from shortly after the start. First bit wasn't too bad, mostly down hill though into the wind and rain. Mile 1 was completed pretty quickly. We were out on the N11 soon enough and the wind & rain were at our backs. This was grand as long as it lasted but we were soon enough turning off again and with the rain coming across us, then into our faces for the last section. After mile 4 Mrs. D was starting to lag behind so I started trying to goad her into pushing on a bit more but she ended up telling me to feck off and run ahead as hard as I could. With about a half mile to go I did that and came in with a chip time of 34:56 (though my watch said 34:50), avg HR of 170, max HR of 183. Mrs D came in with a chip time of 35:10, 9 seconds outside her PB for the distance. She said I looked comfortable but the data shows I was under pressure throughout. Km paces were 4.16, 4.19, 4.21, 4.14, 4.18, 4.24, 4.23, 4.17 & 3.49 for the last few metres. Corresponding avg HRs were: 164, 170, 171, 168, 171, 172, 172, 176, 183.

Nice fair course though and the souvenir towel was very useful at the end. There were hot showers available too, for those who were well enough prepared that they brought a change of clothes with them. Apparently there was a good spread of food there too but I had to fly and bring the kids off somewhere so I didn't get to partake.

No cycling so far this year - the wind has put me off and I still haven't gotten round to getting my turbo wheel fixed. Not only is the cassette not lining up with the derailleur, but the brakes are not lining up either. I'm suspecting that well-meaning man who changed the bearings before selling me the wheel may have made a balls of something.:mad:

career_move

Nice race there considering you haven't done much running recently! Did Santa bring you any nice toys?

Dilbert75

Thanks K - I was quite pleased. And I can still walk, which was a bonus when I went to the pool for 7 this morning.

As far as Santa is concerned, there was no stand-out bling like a new gps watch or anything but I think I did very well. I got two running gifts (this race and the grid), two cycling gifts and two music gifts. Get anything nice yourself.

career_move

Slacker :P

Dilbert75

career_move wrote: »

Slacker :P

Patience woman!

Dilbert75

OK a little bit later than SOME people expected :

Was planning to do a small local adventure race (Taghmon/Camross GAA's Mud, Sweat & Tears) yesterday. Start of the week was fine - swim 30 lengths before work on Monday and Wednesday. Started getting a dose on Tuesday though and it was getting progressively worse as the week went on - there was a danger of it descending into man-flu - so I decided not to enter the race. Being wet on a windy 3°C day wouldn't have been a good idea. Skipped the Friday morning swim too (for the same reason) but did it on Saturday afternoon, the usual 30 lengths. Also swam this morning, but concentrated on trying to do more FC than normal. Managed 20 lengths FC in total (non-continuous), plus 2 BRS to warm up and cool down.

Then this evening I had to drop off Mrs D's car to my friend's house so I ran home the long way - 14.65km in just under 80 mins. Found it tough going - light was fading, it was getting cold again and I was under pressure to get home and bring the young lad to his bus. Managed it anyway - my first double. My chart for the year is not very impressive so far but hopefully it'll start to fill up a bit as the weeks progress. Trying to balance the 3 sports is going to be a challenge but it should be fun.

druss

Dilbert75 wrote: »

OK a little bit later than SOME people expected :

Was planning to do a small local adventure race (Taghmon/Camross GAA's Mud, Sweat & Tears) yesterday.

May I just say, I am kind of glad reading through this that you dropped out of Taghmon. :P

I wimped out of Ferrycarrig because i'd done no training, was sleep deprived, and it was kind of windy out. Impressed that you could just lash a sub 35 out in those conditions and with a lack of base behind you.

I also wimped out Taghmon. Never did one of those mudbath yokes, but this was close by and didn't look that intense. Then man-flu, bad weather, still no sleep and i dropped out of that too.

There is only so much self recrimination i can take in one thread!

Dilbert75

Do you think you'll have run out of excuses, sorry, caught up with sleep by Feb 15th? If so you might be interested in the 5k Valentine's Muckfest in Tullow... sounds like fun to me.

career_move

Dilbert75 wrote: »

OK a little bit later than SOME people expected :

Just keeping you honest

druss

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Do you think you'll have run out of excuses, sorry, caught up with sleep by Feb 15th? If so you might be interested in the 5k Valentine's Muckfest in Tullow... sounds like fun to me.

Highly unlikely that i'll ever catch up on sleep this year. But I will bear Tullow in mind. You going to do Enniscorthy or Duncannon?

Dilbert75

Almost certainly not Enniscorthy (Rosslare Duathlon and confirmation mass both on same morning myself and Mrs D will be competing to get our event on the calendar). Possibly Duncannon but not sure yet.

upthe19th

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Do you think you'll have run out of excuses, sorry, caught up with sleep by Feb 15th? If so you might be interested in the 5k Valentine's Muckfest in Tullow... sounds like fun to me.

Jaysus.....dirty weekend eh!:p

Dilbert75

OK - bit of a dip from plan this week. Yeah I know - only three weeks in and dipping already...:o

Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings: 750m swim. Instead of 5x 150m with 1x 25m FC per set, I went for 3x 200m + 1x 150m with 2x1x25m FC (non-consecutive) in each set - in plain English: 30 lengths with 8 FC and 22 BRS where previously I was doing 30 with 5 FC and 25 BRS. Progress, however small.

Tuesday morning: 35 mins on TT. Didn't think I could sweat so much in my kitchen. Going to have to figure out how to graph my TT time when I'm just using 1st gear and am not counting distance. Maybe I'll just do all my cycling in terms of time, not distance. Or maybe not. Answers on a postcard.

Wednesday evening: Session with running club. Total of 12.2km incl. 8x100m strides (100m recovery jog in between) and 10x 400m <5k pace (60-90s standing recovery in between). Nicely tiring.

Thursday: Working late & Dad's taxi duty. Planned a run or more TT fun but ended up not.

Saturday: 7.8km run out to my friend's house to collect Mrs. D's car. Strong westerly wind (behind me most of the way), which was grand but for the fact that it had heavy rain with it. Ended up doing it much faster than expected - running up long steep hills at <4:45/km. Got SOAKED though. Would have been better in the wetsuit.

Sunday: Nothing today. Went to Dublin and back last night for a concert and ended up sitting in a chipper half way home eating curry chips & drinking 7 up at half past midnight. Was therefore late up this morning and, as Mrs. D was heading off to the Dungarvan 10 (she chicked my last year's time by 14s:() so I got to do the supermarket shopping :mad:. Other stuff on this afternoon so I called it quits for the week. Tomorrow's another day.

Dilbert75

Monday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Wednesday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Thursday
PM: Run - 8km in 44min, avg HR 147bpm

Friday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)
PM: Run - 10.09km in 1:00, avg HR 136bpm

Sunday
AM: Run - 16.09km in 1:24, avg HR 147bpm
AM: Swim - 500m (20x25m FC) - followed by sauna and jacuzzi!:D

Overall
Reasonably good week. The swimming is definitely improving - I'm feeling stronger and don't feel as beaten every time I get out. Don't get me wrong, I still need to take breaks after each length but today's session in particular showed me I can string consecutive lengths together when I'm not under time pressure. Just need to string them closer together.

Three runs is a good improvement too. Felt under pressure for all of them, even the slow Friday run, but I did them. Thinking of seeing if I can gather a small group from work to go running after work maybe twice a week, to give me a bit of company.

I just need to get more bike work done - in the short term the turbo will be the way forward I think, cos family commitments over the next few weeks preclude me from cycling with the local club on Sunday mornings. I was caught with Dad-duty today but my lack of saddle time was the main reason I missed the local club's 100k sportive and that pee'd me off no end.

Still 7 training sessions in a week is not bad going.

Dilbert75

Monday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Tuesday
AM: Turbo session. Hadn't the foresight to get it set up beforehand. Or to go to bed early. Or to buy a computer that would play the Tacx DVD within 10 minutes of being asked. Ended up getting just over 22 mins at avg cadence 83rpm and avg HR 112bpm.

Wednesday
AM: Swim - 3x200m (incl. 2x25m FC, 6x25m BRS) & 1x150m (2x25m FC, 4x25m BRS)

Thursday
AM: Turbo session. Bit more organised this time. Ended up getting in 36 mins at avg cadence 92 rpm, avg HR 121bpm.

PM: Run - 10.38km in 57min, avg HR 150bpm

Friday
AM: Swim - 30 lengths continuous with 1xFC & 3xBRS, so total of 8xFC & 22xBRS. First time swimming 750m without resting.

Sunday
AM: Long Run - 17.55km in 1:27, avg. HR 164bpm (max was 183bpm:eek:) Was planning to run 16km at about 5:30/km pace but was feeling good so went further and faster, just to see what'd happen. Ended up averaging faster than PPMP (previous planned marathon pace), so was happy. Didn't feel too dead afterwards either and thought I could have gone further if I hadn't been on Dad-duty soon after.

PM: 4km walk with dog. Then swim: 750m (30 lengths) FC. Not continuous but the furthest I've gone FC so far, so happy with that (and I'm going to conveniently ignore the fact that it looked more like the death throes of a harpooned whale than the graceful stroke of a wild dolphin). I'm tired now.

Overall
Another 8-session week, which can't be bad. Have decided some goals for the coming year - including having booked my first tri (or it'll be my first if I don't do another one before then!:p). And I'm teetering on the edge of deciding to do Hell & Back with a gang from work in June.

Dilbert75

BTW two attachments: 1 is my YTD (though I'm not entirely happy with it still) and the other captures my outlook quite well.

Dilbert75

Bit of a mixed-up week this week. Started well, fizzled out a bit.

Monday AM 30 lengths of the pool continuous in sets of 1xFC & 3xBRS. Working late so no run in the evening - not too fussed though.

Tuesday AM 43 mins on the turbo, watching a Tacx video, hence the strange duration. Sweated like a pig - the video I chose started off on level 9.

Wednesday AM 30 lengths of the pool, again continuous in sets of 1xFC & 3xBRS. Wasn't tempted to brave the storms in the evening for the club run session - and I was passing the track twice within about 20 mins and the lights had failed the second time I went by. (Though they were back again the following day).

Thursday AM Repeated the 43 mins on the turbo, using Tacx video again. Some twit in a dark blue Renault Clio Williams is taking the pi$$ - he passed me at the same place on both Tuesday and Thursday mornings. :mad:

Friday AM No morning swim due to this. Safe to say this is a big hiccup in my tri training plans. There's one other pool locally, in a hotel, and apparently it was jammers even before this and very difficult to get a good swim in. Now there's a bunch of extra short-term members, plus the local swimming club, trying to get in there. Need a Plan C.

So instead I asked Mrs. D to create a workout using our 5kg kettlebells. I didn't get far into it before the glutes and hamstrings started giving out. Cycled to work with soft tyres on my old heavy mountain bike too. But it's not far so it doesn't count for much.

Planned to go running in the evening and it had cleared up in time for the club session but I was out of work late and ate too close to the time. So I relaxed with a glass of red wine instead.

Saturday PM Did the 5k Valentines Muckfest in Tullow, Co. Carlow. Great craic, 5km with 35 obstacles including into and out of the river a few times. Not that awful challenging but good fun. And my glutes and hamstrings took another hammering.

Sunday PM Had planned a brick session of turbo and run for this morning. Then my *lovely* next door neighbours decided that it was great craic to make loads of noise at 3am and I was awake then till 5am.:mad: So it was too late when I got up and ate to get the session in before I brought my son to win a county silver medal for underage cross-country relay just outside Wexford town!:D

So I went with Plan C and visited the pool in Wexford, bought a 10-swim ticket and will try get to it twice a week for the time being. 50 lengths done (25m) with sets of 2xFC and 2xBRS. If I'm going to be limited in swims I need to start getting the most from them.

Overall Bit of a step up in biking, feel the swimming is still coming on, need to do more running. If it ever becomes possible to run outside without needing a bloody wetsuit.

druss

The pool roof was the main topic of conversation in our office for a bit. It should have occurred to me that it was also part of your Triathlon-conversion plans!

Oryx

If you ever want to come out for a cycle with any of the Wexford triheads, give me a shout.

Dilbert75

Thanks Oryx - might do that. Had planned to join the tri club and take in the coached swimming - and God knows I could do with some coaching - but I can't make the nights it's on. Will prob end up joining anyway, sooner or later.

Dilbert75

Monday
AM - Kettlebell circuit

Tuesday
AM - 10.1km run in 52:57, avg pace 5:15/km, avg HR 139bpm
PM - 60 lengths of 25m pool in sets of 2xFC & 2xBRS

Wednesday
PM 12.9km incl. 8x100m strides & 5x900m (3:44, 3:38, 3:34, 3:39, 3:44), avg HR 147bpm

Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Nada.

Sunday
AM: 13.5km in 1:11. No HR data as I brought the wrong HRM strap with me. Found it hard - very windy and wet and I was tired. Followed straight away by 40 lengths of 25m pool. Pool was a bit packed though so kids were even straying into the swimming lane. :mad: Was tired, hungry & thirsty after the run so I wasn't in the most patient form.

Overall
No cycling bar to & from work one day. Need to fix that this week. Swimming was ok and running was pretty ok too.

Dilbert75

OK more than time for an update. They've been a bit sporadic lately, just like the training.

Monday AM 24/2
Kettlebells. Arms still feel weedy.

Tuesday AM 25/2
Turbo - 43 mins with Tacx video again. Avg HR 145bpm, avg cadence = 85.5rpm

Wednesday PM 26/2
Swim - 50 lengths in 2xFC + 2xBRS sets - total 26xFC + 24xBRS

Rest of week
Stomach bug - no exercise

Sunday AM 02/03
Run 15.93km in 1:23, avg HR 143bpm

Wednesday AM 05/03
Run 8km in 40:52, avg HR 140bpm

Friday AM 07/03
Turbo - 31 mins: 5 mins low resistance, 1 min high, 4 mins low, 1 min high, 3 mins low, 1 min high, 2 mins low, 1 min high, 1 min low, 1 min high, 2 mins low, 1 min high, 3 mins low, 1 min high, 4 mins low. Avg HR 138bpm, avg cadence = 82.5rpm

Friday PM 07/03
13.8km in 1:14. Avg HR 147bpm

Saturday PM 08/03
Was just meant to be an hour of walking the dog but it turned into 2.5 hours, so thought it worth mentioning as an excuse for not doing any S/B/R.

Tuesday AM 11/03
Run 8km in 39:15. Avg HR 151bpm

Wednesday PM 12/03
Run - club session - incl. 3x900m with 60s rest & 3x300m with 75s rest. Total 8.7km. Avg HR 155bpm

Sunday AM 16/03
Unexpected turn-up for the books. Got talked into entering the county novice road race. 6km - 2 laps - of a mostly-reasonable course (with a hewer of a hill in the middle). To cut a long story short I did the 6km in 23:40 (avg HR 176bpm) and finished 26th, making the fourth member of our team and a county team bronze medal. Nice to meet up with fellow Boardsie Druss too - he also had a good run. Followed this with a trip to the pool and did 40 lengths in my customary 2xFC + 2xBRS sets.

Then fell asleep in front of the F1 that I'd recorded.:eek:

druss

Great running Dilbert. After around 2k I'd lost sight of you and you were at least a minute ahead of me by the finish line.

Well done on the County medal. A much bigger field than recent years, so it was hard earned!

career_move

Great stuff yesterday!

F1 is boring anyway - no wonder you fell asleep

Dilbert75

Thanks guys - I'm under no illusions that it makes me the next Blockic or anything but it'll be something nice to stick in a drawer. Onwards and upwards - or maybe onwards and onwards - time will tell.

career_move

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Thanks guys - I'm under no illusions that it makes me the next Blockic or anything but it'll be something nice to stick in a drawer. Onwards and upwards - or maybe onwards and onwards - time will tell.

Nah you've plenty of speed in those legs ..... what's more of a surprise is that you actually updated the log :P

Dilbert75

OK - another week down.

Monday
St. Patrick's Day - no drink but nothing much doing other than the local parade.

Tuesday
Was going to get out of bed early but it was pouring horrendous amounts of rain. So I chose extra sleep. Other stuff on in the evening so didn't get a chance to do anything then either.

Wednesday
AM: Run 8km in 38:57. Avg HR 149bpm
PM: Swim 32 lengths in sets of 2BRS & 2FC

Thursday & Friday
Nada.

Saturday
AM: Dilbert Og Beag got a racing bike for his birthday so this was really our first proper chance to give it a shot. So we went for a spin. 19.5km in 1:05 - avg. 18km/hr. Avg HR 111bpm, avg cadence 83rpm.
AM: Pretty much straight off the bike and out for a run. Legs felt funny for the first few hundred metres but ok after that. Felt good. 16.6km in 1:24 - avg 5:04/km. Avg HR 147bpm.

Sunday
AM: First spin of the year with the touring group of the local cycling club. Just over 68km (my longest cycle yet) in 3:09. Avg HR 118bpm, avg cadence 83rpm. Felt grand, legs & lungs were well comfortable. Saddle soreness wasn't even too bad. TBH the pace was a bit low for my liking but the faster group did an extra 30km in the same time :eek:, so I'm not ready for that just yet. Later in the season there may be an intermediate group that pushes on a bit further and faster so I'll look forward to that.
PM: Swim with the kids. 64 lengths (2x BRS + 2xFC sets) + 3 widths = 1624m - so that none of the imperialists can argue that I didn't complete one of their old-fashioned miles for the first time.

Overall
Not a bad week - 6 sessions: 2S, 2B, 2R. Need to do more R if I have any illusions of doing any significant distances later in the year. But sure we'll see. I only decided to run DCM13 the day before so it's a bit early to be deciding yet.

Dilbert75

Oops - nearly forgot the updated graph. Getting a bit cluttered now so might have to revise the format. Again.

upthe19th

Well done on the cycling distance. Give me a shout if you fancy some company some weekend.

Dilbert75

Hmmm

Dilbert75

Monday: Nada

Tuesday AM: Kettlebell circuit

Wednesday PM: Run 14km in 1:09 incl. 2x3000m @5k pace, avg pace 4:56/km, avg HR 152bpm. Glutes & hamstrings in ribbons all day from kettlebells. :mad:

Thursday: Nada

Friday PM: Run 10.33km in 54:19 - 5:15/km, avg HR 139bpm. Absolutely chucking it down all the way. :mad: Glutes & hamstrings still in bloody ribbons. :mad::mad:

Saturday PM: Run 16.1km in 1:29, avg HR 132bpm, avg pace 5:31/km. Pi$$ing rain again. Only set out just after six, so despite a late lunch I was starting to be hungry and it made me run not very well.

Sunday: AM - Club cycle. 64.3km in 2:36, avg speed 24.6km/hr, avg HR 113bpm, avg cadence. 76.9RPM

PM - Got home from spin, had a cup of tea and brought Dilbert Óg out on his bike. Another 16.6km in 45mins odd. Avg speed 21.9km/hr, avg HR 117bpm, avg cadence: 79RPM.

Didn't get near the pool at all obviously. What's more the pool has been booked up every Tuesday evening (the only evening I'm in Wexford town) now for a few weeks. Furthermore next weekend it's closed on Saturday, so I have to make it there on Sunday. Still waiting on news of the roof of the local pool but I need to be making a proper move on the swimming soon. Of course the sea should be getting warm enough in the next month or two to be giving it a go but June 21st is getting ever closer...

Dilbert75

Bit of updating to do here - 2 weeks without a screed of news.

Monday 31/3
8km run in 45:16, avg speed 5:40/km, avg HR 130bpm. No particular stand-out memories of this.

Wednesday 2/4
Run 12.89km. Watch dead so borrowed Mrs. D's, so no HR data. Warmed up with kms of 5:05, 5:12, 5:06 & 4:52. Attempted 6km of (what I calculated in my head to be) 10m pace then with 4:22, 4:28, 4:17, 4:34, 4:21, 4:36. Then 5:44, 5:14, 5:02 for remaining 2.89kms.

Sunday 6/4
After a few days of inactivity (why, I can't remember now) myself and Mrs. D attempted to run the 2nd half of the DCM route. New watch, although fully charged the night before was fully dead so just had Mrs D's, so no HR data again.

We got the route mostly right but accidentally diverted one section around Rathgar (we both agreed to go right but it should have been left) and one other section, Roebuck (heartbreak) hill (I was sure it right, it was actually left). We got as far as Haddington Road and then followed the canal back to Harold's Cross, before diverting up to the MIL's. Coming up to the Luas bridge we were hit by the worst shower of rain I've run in a long time, accompanied by a savage head-wind. We were soaked to the skin and started to get cold pretty quickly. All told we knocked 23.6km out of this in 2:05.

Monday 7/4
Unspectacular 8km in 40:30, avg HR 139bpm.

Wednesday 9/4
Run 14.03km in 1:04, avg HR 149. This included a 4km warmup followed by 3x1km @5k pace (4.11, 4.01, 3.50) with 1km @PMP in between (4.53, 4.51). Shortly after I got to the local track and put in 3x300m @3k pace (1:04, 1:03, 1:03) with 2x150m jog in between (0:45, 0:50). Just over 3k home then to cool down (avg 5:35/km, avg HR 150)

Thursday 10/4
Crowd from work are doing Hell & Back in June as a charity fundraiser - I'm now 3rd reserve (was 7th) so in with a chance of doing it. To keep everyone's minds focussed on getting ready, they organised a fortnightly running time trial on a route around town. Basically 5.8km - first 3km uphill, remainder downhill. Jogged down (1.9km downhill in 8:17 to warm up, avg HR 152bpm).

Swore it wasn't going to become a pi$$ing contest till the other experienced runner in the group took off. What was I to do but keep up? Lost him going up the hills (they're all around my home, he's used to flatter terrain) but he passed me on the downhill and I didn't put in too much effort to catch him. Got home second in 24:46, 16s behind him (avg HR 170bpm). Will be a handicapped time trial from here on.

Had an idea for another route through the woods so ran it on the way home. Took me another 6.28km to get home (in 34.18, avg HR 159bpm), for a total of about 14km. Was on my knees by the time I got home - empty stomach, not enough sleep the night before - not a good combination.

Saturday 12/04
Short cycle with Dilbert Óg - 12.13km in 37.14. Avg speed: 19.5km/hr, avg cadence: 60rpm. Brought old HR strap and it wouldn't pair with new (replacement) watch, so no HR data.

Run: 19.3km in 1:44. The worst, most horrible run I've had in a good while. After 3km I was feeling dizzy and having visual disturbance. Crap night of sleep the night before plus being a wee bit hungry were to blame - something like always happens if I'm tired. Was also thirsty but didn't bring money to buy a drink. :mad: Stopped for a few mins and then resumed and was ok. Passing a friend's house and stopped in for a few mins to see how his car rebuild was going - very well as it happens - and struggled home into a strong headwind. Avg pace: 5:22/km, avg HR 133bpm.

Sunday 13/04
Skipped watching the London Marathon to take in a club cycle. They now have a middle-paced group between the racers and the more leisurely tourers so I joined them. Went to Hook Lighthouse (41.2km, avg 26km/h, 75rpm, 124bpm) , had coffee and a scone, then headed back. I was going to see Dilbert Óg at a T&F meeting in Waterford so got the ferry to Passage East and completed the 36.2km @24.2km/hr, 79rpm, 133bpm. The original plan was to get a swim in at the nearby pool and fire the bike in the car for a lift home. Decided to bin the swim (despite badly needing it) and cycle home. So that was 29km @25.1km/hr, 81rpm, 132bpm. Total of 106.5km - my first time over 100km in a day so someting I'm pretty happy about.

The glaring deficiency is the swimming. The one night of the week that I'm in Wexford the local pool has been block booked for the last few weeks - looks free this coming week though so might make that. I was away last weekend so didn't get to swim then either. June 21st is coming so I need to get the finger out. Happy with the running and cycling this week though so all-in-all it's not going too badly.

Dilbert75

Another fortnight with no update so here goes:

Monday 14/04
Run 8.03km, avg pace:5:20/km

Tuesday 15/04
Swim 48 lengths. Totally knackered.

Wednesday 16/04
Progression run - 14.46km total - 15 min @ 5:20, 10 min @5:00, 10 min @ 4:40, 10 min @4:20, 5 min @ 4:00/km (all target paces ±0:10), then jog home.

Thursday and Friday
Nothing. Working from before 8:30 till after midnight both days. :mad:

Saturday
No training. Funeral of a man from town who was a founder member of our multiple world-championship-winning pipe band. He was a lovely gentleman and will be sadly missed by many, not least musicians, young and old, from near and far. RIP Nick.

Sunday 20/04
Cycle 70.55km in 2:50. Average speed 24.9km/hr, avg HR 125bpm. No cadence data - battery in sensor was dead.

Monday 21/04
We went to the St. Senans Open T&F meeting in Kilmacow. Brought the gear and instead of using it for the 3k senior men's race I drove as far as the end of the Waterford bypass (Rhu Glenn end), left the car to Mrs. D & the little D's and ran home. 19km in 1:39, avg pace 5:13/km, avg HR 136bpm.

Tuesday 22/04
Off work this week so myself and Dilbert Óg went for a cycle. Home to Duncannon & back - 52km in 2:38. Avg speed was around 19.6km/hr which was gentle enough for me but pushing it for him. To be fair he's only 12 and managed the whole lot with only a small bit of assistance coming up the N25 near home, which was very good going.

Had a nice run in the woods afterwards - supposed to be recovery pace but I was enjoying myself so ran 8.72km in 46:14 (5:18/km), avg HR 143bpm.

Wednesday 23/04
Progression run with Mrs. D. She generally doesn't believe she has the discipline to do these so I programmed the watch with what we were doing and off we went. Plan was to run from LSR pace through MP to her 10k pace, so it was out at 5:20, 10 min @5:00, 10 min @4:50, 10 min @4:40, 5 min @ 4:30 (again all ±0:10). Total was to be around 23km, so a lot of easier running. Went well, we were ahead of target pace on all sectors, though the Tuesday's activities caught up with me near the end and I slowed a couple of seconds/km. Ended up doing 23.28km in 1:58, avg HR 145bpm.

Thursday 24/04
Nada.

Friday 25/04
Spent most of the day up and down a ladder cutting trees & bushes. Decided to forego a 5k race for it. Thought I'd be immobile on Saturday but thankfully wasn't.

Saturday 26/04
LSR - just decided to do a HM distance - so 21.32 in 1:50 - avg pace 5:11/km, avg HR 138bpm.

Sunday 27/04
Productive day. Started with club cycle - just over 63km in 2:34 - some nice hills in it though (between Thomastown & Graiguenamanagh), so average speed of 24.7km/hr, avg HR of 123bpm and avg Cadence of 76bpm.

Got home and changed into runners for my 8km run. Felt a bit strange for the first couple of hundred metres but then was fine. Was well warmed up so when I noticed the initial pace was quite sprightly I said I'd keep it that way. Ended up with 8.11km in 38:05 - avg pace 4:42/km, avg HR 148bpm. Was hungry after this so had lunch and a shower.

Then to Wexford with the kids for a swim: 64 lengths + 1 width = 1610 metres. Not fast or pretty but done. Must update my spreadsheet and see how it all looks.

Dilbert75

Close to a month since the last update - where does the time be going? :eek:

Monday 28/4
Run 18.1km in 1:35: avg pace 5:16/km, avg HR 135bpm

Wednesday 30/4
Run 14.68km incl. 3.52km @5:00/km, avg 130bpm; 6.00km @4:28/km, avg 152bpm; 5.16km @ 5:09/km, avg 135bpm

Friday 02/05
Run 25.57km, avg speed 5:05/km, avg HR 141bpm. Couple of incidents of sharp abdominal pains, most of which required me to stop for a second. Pretty confident they were just ramblers (wind pains, not beardy countryside walkers).

Saturday & Sunday 03/05 & 04/05
At music stuff - no time for training :mad: Did get to talk to a very recent marathon winner and her charming sister.

Monday 05/05
Funeral - lasted much longer than I expected. Nothing done.

Tuesday 06/05
Life got in the way

Wednesday 07/05
Swim 750m in sets of 2x FC, 2x BRS. Still resemble a harpooned whale, without the blubber.

Thursday 08/05
Run 14.22km incl. 5.21km @5:07/km, avg 131bpm (track & road); 7.66km @5:05/km, 150bpm (woodland trail); 1.35km @5:09/km, avg 146bpm (road)

Saturday 10/05
Run: supposed to have 27km with 16km at PMP. Ended up doing 28.34km @ 4:54/km average, 145bpm. Haven't downloaded the data yet but the first 20km were a lot faster and I suffered for it in the last 8km. Nice to blow the cobwebs off though.

Sunday 11/05
2km training run for Hell & Back. Good fun.
Cycle: 44.57km in 1:34:39, avg 28.2km/hr, 137bpm, 76rpm. Again haven't seen the data but I've a feeling my cycling performance was better than my navigation...

Monday 12/05
Run 6.07km on woodland trail, wearing spikes @6:10/km, 129bpm. Led a training run for H&B with some of the team from work. Lovely and slushy in the woods today. Everyone enjoyed it - including 12yo Dilbert Og who ran with us.

Wednesday 14/05
Run 16km incl. 5x1k @5k pace. 4k @5:08, avg 134bpm; 1k @3:56, 154bpm; 0.5k @4:59, 133bpm; 1k@ 3:58, 158bpm; 0.5k@5:03/km, 147bpm; 1k@3:58, 162bpm; 0.5k @4:59, 150bpm; 1k@4:04, 166bpm; 0.5k@5:12, 162bpm, 1k@4:09, 169bpm; 0.5k@5:36, 149bpm; 4:57k@5:16, 140bpm. Had to stop 3 times with stomach pains. Next time I do a session I'll do it before dinner.:mad:

Thursday 15/05
Run 18.05km in 1:34:40, avg 5:14/km, 146bpm. Did this in the spikes in the woods. Unfortunately it was a lot drier than Monday and for that reason turned out to be a bad idea to run so far in spikes with no cushioning. Right foot feeling a bit tender after this.

Friday 16/05
Cycle 32.27km in 1:34, avg 104bpm, 65rpm. Accompanied by Dilbert Og for this, hence the slow pace (he was working hard). Nice to get out though.

Saturday 17/05
Swim 1600m in 2xFC, 2xBRS sets. Lovely but was hungry so started getting a bit sickly feeling.

Sunday 18/05
Run 29.19km @5:11/km, 136bpm. Pretty much the same route as last week but a lot slower. Felt fine until about 2km from home when, running up a hill, the top of my right foot started hurting. Eased off when the path levelled out. Got home and stiffened up a bit - now the front of my left ankle is hurting quite a bit. Iced it and put arnica on it but I'm worried.

druss

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Sunday 18/05
Run 29.19km @5:11/km, 136bpm. Pretty much the same route as last week but a lot slower. Felt fine until about 2km from home when, running up a hill, the top of my right foot started hurting. Eased off when the path levelled out. Got home and stiffened up a bit - now the front of my left ankle is hurting quite a bit. Iced it and put arnica on it but I'm worried.

Well you've done the right things straight away anyway. Fingers crossed!

Hope you get sorted with the car too.

Dory Dory

Hello there. I hope your right foot and left ankle have been sorted, and hope training is going well. Have you got any races lined up??

Dilbert75

Dory Dory wrote: »

Hello there. I hope your right foot and left ankle have been sorted, and hope training is going well. Have you got any races lined up??

Thanks Double D! They've been ok (touch wood) since I tackled them with the grid so I just need to make a habit of that.

I'm doing Hell & Back (one of these mud running obstacle courses) with a crowd from work on June 14, followed a week later by the Up & Over Triathlon (my first, a sprint). There's a rumour that I may have a marathon lined up a few weeks after that but it's so far unconfirmed...:D

Dilbert75

Monday 19/5
Run in the woods with some of the H&B team from work. Took it gently; we have some newbies to running and I didn't want to flake it around. 7.73km @ avg 6:20/km, avg 121 bpm. Wore spikes for this one and with the rain we had during the day it was getting nice and slidy.

Tuesday 20/5
Late dinner followed by swim - 750m in sets of 8xFC, 2xBRS. Would love to have plenty of time to do my swims so I could relax a bit but I always seem to be up against time, in this case chucking-out time.

Wednesday 21/5
Run - 13.73km @ avg 5:10/km, 132bpm. Unremarkable enough but was wearing my older runners, which I'm blaming for the fact that my glutes hurt like hell when I got home (grand now, thankfully).

Thursday 22/5
Run - back in the spikes running in the woods with some more newbie running team mates and Dilbert Óg. Another 7.63km @ avg 6:37/km, avg 119bpm.

Friday 23/5
14km with 6km @10mP: 4k @ 5:15/km, 129bpm; 6km @ 4:13/km, 147bpm; 4km@ 5:04/km, 143bpm.

Sunday 25/5
Morning run: Plan for this week was step-back but, having missed some in-between runs in the last couple of weeks I decided to step forward instead. Planned to do 24km, decided to do the same route as the last two weeks except in reverse direction, so I'd have more long uphill drags and short steeper descents than the reverse in previous weeks. This would have been just over 29km but I decided to do a small detour on the way to bump it up to 32.4km. Took another notion near the end to throw in a few PPMP kms - but it was only when I reviewed the data later that I realised I'd been close to PPMP for most of the run. 32.4km @5:00/km, avg 140bpm. Was nice to be greeted by my former running partner and erstwhile cycling partner UpThe19th early in the run.

Afternoon swim: Got home from the run, had a cup of tea & a bite to eat and then brought the kids to Wexford for a swim (and to pick up Mrs. D who was doing her LSR - 35km). Again rushed the swim but got in 750m in 2xBRS, 2xFC sets. Was a public swim time so there were several kids doing good impressions of Brownian motion across my path.:( I resisted the urge to push some of the blighters under....:eek::o

Dilbert75

Nice to see my former fellow 2012 DCM Novice is keeping busy:

http://www.triathlonireland.com/index.php?id=107&nid=1772

Dilbert75

Triathlon cherry popped in Portarlington!

Dory Dory

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Triathlon cherry popped in Portarlington!

This better not be the sum total of your race report. !!!

Dilbert75

Haha - long run day today. I'll hopefully catch up on the log before I hit the hay tonight, including some measure of a race report.

upthe19th

Dilbert75 wrote: »

Triathlon cherry popped in Portarlington!

Well done young man. First of many. I echo what kate said. I have a packet of custard creams here and the kettle ready to boil....get going on that report:P.

Dilbert75

S'pose it's time for an update seeing nearly a month has passed since the last one.:eek:

Thursday 29/5
Can't remember now why I did nothing for the last 3 days but sure I didn't so that's that. It was probably due to work. 16km incl. 5x1k @5k pace, which went like this:
3k@5:01, 132bpm
1k@3:58, 159bpm (hilly)
0.5k@5:04, 145bpm
1k@3:51, 140bpm
0.5k@5:08, 146bpm
1k@3:59, 153bpm
0.5k@5:00, 135bpm
1k@4:05, 157bpm
0.5k@5:17, 146bpm
1k@4:05, 167bpm
0.5k@5:31, 152bpm
5.6k@5:11, 143bpm

Friday 30/5
Steady run - 19km, 5:12/km, 132bpm

Sunday 1/6
Run 24k incl. 19k@PMP as follows:
2.5k@5:08, 129bpm
19k@4:41, 145bpm (note this is faster than PMP but I want to train for faster than what I want to race, just to be sure to be sure)
2.5k@5:03, 147bpm

Monday 2/6
Cycle with young lad - 24.52km, 1 hour, 114bpm, 72rpm

Tuesday 3/6
11k, 5:05/km, 131bpm

Wednesday 4/6
Run 19.2k, 5:11/km, 132bpm

Thursday 5/6
Cycle with young lad 24.53k in 1:04, 110bpm, 68rpm

Friday 6/6
Run 19.22k incl 6x100m strides, 5:09/km, 136bpm

Saturday 7/6
Run 35.2km 5:19/km, 135bpm. 1x gel, very warm, very tired. Ran out of water and sugar so stopped in a shop about 8k from home. Glad it was there.

Sunday 8/6
Swim 30 lengths (22xFC and 8xBRS). Totally knackered.

Tuesday 10/6
Run 15.5km, 4:50/km, 138bpm

Thursday 12/6
Run 18.25km, 5:13/km, 136bpm

Friday 13/6
Run 6.14km, 5:22/km, 129bpm

Saturday 14/6
Hell & Back Apollo - 12km assault course as part of 30-person team from work. Myself and one other regular runner were designated as the team sweepers. This soon transpired to mean that we had to drag one particular guy pretty much the whole way around. Up hills he had one hand on each of our shoulders as we pulled him up. Even on the flat sections he had problems jogging slowly, never mind running. All this was fine because I was under the impression that he'd been training hard and lost 3 stone in the process, so it seemed he was doing his best and was just out of his depth. Rumour later emerged that he couldn't be gotten into the gym, despite the best efforts of his colleagues. :mad: If he decides to do the next one with us, I'll trample him into the cow $hit.:cool:

Great fun though and we're lined up for the return on September 13th, but with a 60-person team this time. Hopefully it can be agreed to split us up this time. We were staying over in Bray which led to me, most uncharacteristally, heading out dancing with the gang and getting to bed at 4:15. I was woken at 5:00 by one of my Baileys-fuelled colleagues who was concerned at me going to bed so early and she wanted to check on me. She's a mad Kilkenny hurling fan and Fianna Fail supporter so there are two reasons I was glad she only came half way across the hotel room before retreating.:D

Woke up at 7:15, which was the appointed deadline for getting up, get out for my run and get back before breakfast finished serving. Decided that a 27km run (Bray-Greystones & back twice) wouldn't work well on an empty stomach and 2 1/2 hours sleep so turned over and went back off.

Sunday 15/6
No running done today. Despite no alcohol last night, I was fairly wrecked by the time I got home (nearly 4pm) so I binned it and had dinner and chilled out for the evening.

Monday 16/6
Make-it-up time. Run 26.92k@5:14/km, 141bpm. Dinner when I got home.

Tuesday 17/6
Run 11.3k @5:15/km, 134bpm

Wednesday 18/6
Run 12.0k, supposedly with 4x1200m @5k pace but messed up the Garmin setup so ended up having 5x1200 sections.
3k@5:06, 139bpm
1.2k@4:10. 159bpm
0.6k@4:56, 146bpm
1.2k@4:06, 150bpm
0.6k@5.04, 147bpm
1.2k@4:04, 162bpm
0.6k@4:57, 153bpm
1.2k@4:16, 165bpm
0.6k@5:27, 152bpm
1.2k@4:28, 164bpm
0.6k@5:35, 152bpm
4:0k@5:21, 144bpm
Evidently I was tiring fast as can be seen from the 4th 5k-ish pace (supposed to be 4:00 ±0:10/km but in reality I struggled for the last two). Made it through it though.

Thursday 19/6
Run 15.2k@5:52, 126bpm - to, in and from the woods with some of the H&B crowd from work.

Saturday 21/6 - The Longest Day Triathlon
Saw this on Boards a while ago - three guys, inspired by the illness of one of their mothers, set out to complete 12 sprint triathlons back-to-back in 24 hours, while making 1 sprint triathlon (pool swim) available to the public on the way. I entered shortly after it opened. To cut a long story short, the chap whose mother is sick ended up spending a lot longer visiting hospital than he had hoped so was forced to pull out. The other two guys didn't want to proceed without him so they postponed/pulled their longest day as well but went ahead with the public tri, with all profits going to LARCC cancer care and Irish Autism Action.

Arrived in Portarlington before 5pm, for 5:30 sign-on. All the formalities out of the way I got the bike together and racked and waited about fretting a bit. Spoke to a few other newbies, including some fellow weak swimmers, and found reassurance in that. Never thought of how to attach my number to myself so had no tri (or even gel) belt. Figured I'd swim in shorts and pull on the tri suit over them, with numbers attached. Then spoke to a guy about 20 mins before the start who was going to swim in his tri suit so I said I'd do the same, with the numbers attached to a cycling jersey which I'd pull on. Left towel out to stand on before I went to pull on some socks. Had race briefing and a general description of the route, which I forgot almost as soon as it was delivered (I'd no idea where anywhere was, because it was my first time in Portarlington).

Swim: was in Lane 1 (against the wall ) with 6 others, including a 10 year old girl who was on a relay team. Started the watch (in auto multisport mode) and left it in my runner on the deck. Took a few minutes to get going. When we did I was 3rd off and that was fine - plenty of space behind me and the guys ahead of me were fine. Started struggling then - the lack of swim training caught up with me pretty quickly. There were slower swimmers though, with one guy walking much of the section in his depth which was a stones. I let a couple of people through a couple of times (including the 10yo twice:o) and swam my own swim. Was hoping for the tap on the head and it eventually came, what seemed like about 30 mins later. Grabbed the watch and headed for T1.

T1: Fooster city. Helmet on. Helmet off. Jersey on. Helmet on. HR strap half on. Not taking the helmet and jersey off again. Feet dabbed, socks on, shoes half on. Shoes strapped, gloves on, bike down and off I go. Tried mounting the bike at the line. Nearly fell over. GAAAHHHHH. Felt like about 5 mins.

Cycle: Evidently made an ar$e of the watch - it seems to have put the auto into auto multisport by deciding when T1 was over (bike moving?) and switching into cycle mode. Hit the lap button and it went to T2. Hit lap again, now it thinks I'm running. Fair enough. Hammered it out the road. Roads were open, so the twit dithering at the roundabout did me no favours (apart from not knocking me off). Marshal looked apologetically at me but there was nothing he could have done.

Out the road, started picking off other cyclists pretty quickly. Legs felt pretty good despite my neglect of proper bike training in the last few weeks. If only I'd taken up UpThe19th's offer of some hill training - the route was pretty flat but still. Still passing other people but got to about 7km on the out-and-back course and started meeting the leaders (or the team cyclists, not sure which). So they were 6km ahead of me. One major junction and it was well-marshalled - right turn onto the old N7, down to a turning point. Long clear road behind me, could see the turn point a couple of hundred meters ahead. As I got closer a twit in a classic convertible car came up behind me and "mustn't have seen" my hand signal to turn right so he drove alongside and past me. Thankfully the marshal stopped and held him at the turn. Serves him right. Had caught another cyclist at the turn and he tried to cling onto me on the way back. I saw his shadow behind me and pushed on. He stayed with me so I veered onto the hard shoulder. He came up beside me, made some comment about getting a lift into town and then went ahead. I wasn't going to draft him so I pushed on and left him. Didn't see him then till after I'd finished. Kept passing people all the way back into town - only one car was a problem, dithering again. Shouted at him but he was oblivious. Into T2.

T2: Dismount was ok. Had shoes open but misjudged where the line was so the velcro had reclosed on them. Just clipped out and ran. Racked the bike, took off the helmet and gloves, tried to swap shoes for runners. Damn - elastic laces, should have got some. Fumble, fumble. Seemed to take an age.

Run: Exactly whose legs are these I'm running on? They seem to be attached to me but I have no feeling of control or connection. Never mind. Push on. After about 300m I was catching guys, who appeared to be barely plodding, at an awful rate. Then the HR monitor went off - high HR. Oops. Maybe the fact that you can't feel your legs is misleading you about your speed? Back off. More alarms. Back off some more. Cursed watch setup and failure to practise it. Legs starting to feel more normal. Push on. 1k mark on the road - only 1k? Then it was 2k, 3k. Passing people all the time. This is great - I'm going to stay crap at swimming if this is what it feels like to pass people! 4k, out in the country now, marshals at all the turns offering encouragement and direction - great stuff guys and girls. Getting into town again. I can see a bunch of people at the end of the street but it's only when I pass the tall guy in the organiser's t-shirt that I realise I've finished. Then I notice I'm outside the Anvil pub (I think they helped with the fundraisers). Watch says 1:30 so I'm happy out. No idea about the sector times though. Back for a shower and a change, hit the road home, dinner in Supermacs Portlaoise (for a treat!) and home by midnight.

Got the results yesterday by e-mail:
Swim: 20:46 (about 2 mins faster than I'd have hoped)
T1: 2:16 (felt much slower but can improve a lot quite easily)
Cycle: 38:38 (happy with this)
T2: 1:04 (again can improve a lot quite easily)
Run: 22:40 (very happy with this, seeing my straight 5k PB is 19:42)
Total: 1:25:24

5th placed individual, out of I think 29 or 30 individuals. Chuffed as hell with that but moreso with the times. Some easy improvements to be made. First open-water swim hopefully on Thursday with one of the lads from work.

Sunday 22/6
Run 35.2k, 5:16/km, 139bpm. Quite warm, despite only setting out at 5pm (Mrs D ran a 10k race this morning so we went to watch - and eat the burgers afterwards!). Again ran out of water so stopped in the same shop for a new bottle (TBH I couldn't be bothered carrying 1.5litres with me when I can buy 750ml so easily). Took 1 gel at 24k but it was a real down-the-hatch effort to not taste it (black cherry flavour ). Wine gums kept me going the rest of the way. I love wine gums...:rolleyes:

Monday 23/6
Taper madness starts here. Got my new runners (thank you Parcel Motel). Spent all evening typing up my log update.:cool:

Dory Dory

Whoop whoop!! Congrats on your first tri! And don't worry about that 10 year old little girl passing you twice in the swim - I'm sure you would have put her in her snotty nosed place on the bike and run. Loved your report!!!!

career_move

Brilliant stuff The lycra suits you