I Am the Master of My Fate

zico10

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Have you any target racing leading into kona?

They were Ironman Mallorca 2015 and Ironman Mallorca 2016.:)

The next race I've entered is The Lost Sheep. I feel like I let myself down in that race last September and I'd like to go back and rectify that. Having said that, if it rains again on race day, I won't take any chances with the descents and the result will end up being the exact same. I'll do another few triathlons between now and The Lost Sheep, but they certainly won't be target races. Neither is The Lost Sheep for that matter. I'll probably be given an easy week before it and few easy days afterwards, (he won't) but if my coach tells me to flog myself the week before Kenmare, then that's what I'll do.

zico10

Monday 29th May
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

400m warm-up,
2*200m w. pull buoy & snorkel,
18*100m off 2:00, (desc. 1-3) x 6, (Approximate times ~ 1:48, 1:42 & 1:38)

I should have been resting, but I wasn't going to be able to make it to my weekly club session tonight and any swim I wanted to get done today was going to have to be done in the morning. It meant heading to the NAC, instead of an extra hour in bed, but at least it meant I didn't have to worry about training for the rest of the day.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

p.m.
Nothing, unfortunately life decreed that I wouldn't be able to do any training this evening.


Tuesday 30th May
a.m.
Run
75 minutes steady w. 6*15" strides

16.48km in 1:15:24, 4:35/km

I was tired doing this and felt sluggish and slow until I was 10 minutes into proceedings. My pace picked up from here, but it never really felt comfortable. This could simply be because I'm not used to running only 15 minutes after waking up. At least I hope that's all it is. It was an out and back run for which I'd usually take splits, but I didn't want to know today and just let the watch run on.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 16.48km

p.m.
Swim
25m pool

6*25m off 40" (17"-18"),
5*100m off 1:45 (1:36, 1:38, 1:40, 1:37 & 1:36),
2*50m off 60"(46" approx.),
100m easy,
5*200m off 3:30(3:18, 3:20, 3:22, 3:24 & 3:25),
100m easy,
9*100m as three sets of {3*100m off 1:45, desc. 1-3},(I came in under 1:45 for all of the 100s, but failed to descend any of the sets.)
6*50m off 60",(desc. 1-3) x 2, (Once again, I failed to descend either set.)
50m easy

I got details of last night's club swim off the coach and did it on my own today. The results were disappointing and I got out of the pool felling rather deflated.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,300m


Wednesday 31st May
a.m.
I was late going to bed last night and too tired to contemplate getting up for a.m. swim. So I decided to set my alarm for later than usual, get an extra 90 minutes in bed and do two sessions in the evening.

p.m.
Swim
50m pool

4*100m fs, 4*100m paddles & pull buoy

I repeated the above pattern of 400s until I had nine done. None of them were done at too hectic a pace.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,600m

Cycle
90 minutes steady

47.87km in 1:33:29, 30.7km/hr, 114m gain

Just an easy/steady effort.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 47.87km


Thursday 1st June
a.m.
My sinuses started bothering me after yesterday's swim and the 90 minute cycle I did afterwards didn't do anything to help settle things. After a poor night's sleep, I woke up this morning with a runny nose and in an even worse state than yesterday. With the first of the Pulse Bull Wall Aquathlons planned for this evening, I didn't want to further hamper my chances of doing well by making a runny nose even runnier. 90 minutes in chlorinated water would be a sure way of doing this, so I decided to skip Peter's swim and after resetting my alarm, I turned back over in my bed.

p.m.
Race
Pulse Bull Wall Aquathlon, Race 1
Swim

638m in 9:43, 1:31/100m

Run

4.95km in 17:42, 3:35/km

I entered this to get another bit of practise racing in the open water and the main objective was simply not to disgrace myself. I think I achieved this, more or less. The swim went well and I finally beat a club mate out of the water, who'd beaten me every single time I faced him before tonight. He might have had a bad swim, but we both did the same race and my time also compares favourably to other people I faced in Howth.
It was a tough run, but I still managed to make up a few places. I wouldn't have passed as many as I normally pass in a race, but I'm looking at this as positive indicator of how well I swam. I was busting myself for the entire run to catch those in front of me, but it became harder and harder the closer I got to the finish. I got to the point where I only had 500m to go and John Woods was directly ahead of me. He had soundly beat me in Howth and I was determined the order would be reversed tonight . He wasn't just going to let me have it though after expending all I had to make contact, he heard how hard I was breathing, knew I was spent, picked up the pace and comfortably crossed the line one second ahead of me.
I finished 4th which wasn't the end of the world. After a long race on Saturday, and no doubt some fatigue still in my legs, I was happy with the pace I held for a run. This came after what could argued was my best open water swim ever. After being 1:25 off first person out of the water, I was only 48 seconds in arrears come the end of the race. I think it's the closest I've ever coming to winning an aquathlon and forgettting about the demons I'm wrestling with in the pool, the result would certainly seem to hint that my open water swimming at least is in as good a place as it's ever been.
Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs - 850m (with warm up)
Run: 0.5hrs - 4.95km

Run
30 minutes easy post-race jog

5.38km in 30:01, 5:35/km

I did this along the beach, so it was low impact. I got cold quickly after the race and threw a few layers on to keep warm. I still had them on doing the run, but with nowhere to stash any items on an out and back run along the beach, I couldn't shed any layers and warmed to a pretty uncomfortable level.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 19.58km


Friday 2nd June
a.m.
Morning off - ordinarily, I'd classify this as rest, but after missing the two previous mornings, I didn't feel like rest was warranted. With a long race tomorrow though, I thought extra sleep would be more beneficial to me than getting up just to do a token session.

p.m.
Swim
25m pool

6*25m all out off 40" (17"-18"),
5*100m pull steady off 1:40 (1:34-1:37),
2*50" off 60"(48" & 46"),
50m easy

A regular warm-up interested often gets his his groups to do; the purpose of it was two fold, 1) to get warmed up fir the cycle that followed and 2) some short, sharp prep for the race tomorrow.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 800m

Cycle
1 hour easy w. (3 x 3') & (3 x 1') race paced efforts

38.49km in 1:13:24, 31.5km/hr, 202m elev. gain
Efforts;
1) 3' @ 40.8km/hr, 8m gain & 4m loss,
2) 3' @ 39.7km/hr, 6m gain & 6m loss,
3) 3' @ 42.3km/hr, 2m gain & 6m loss,
4) 1' @ 38.3km/hr, 4m gain & 0m loss,
5) 1' @ 35.6km/hr, 11m gain & 2m loss,
6) 1' @ 41.3km/hr, 6m gain & 0m loss,

Race bike & race wheels
Totals: 6.0hrs - 182.99km


Saturday 3rd June
Race
Tri-Athy, Double Olympic
Swim
This was far from the best swim I've ever done. I didn't get off to a great start and it took me a while to find any rhythm. I chose some good and some bad feet to draft and with it being my first OW swim of any significant distance this year, it felt like I was in the water for a long time. My calves started cramping badly about 1,000m from the end and I had to stop kicking when cramps first struck. I lost one of the better sets of feet I found to draft off because of this and it took another minute or two before the cramps eased. Bit by bit, I made it up to the swim exit and thankfully this was the last trouble I had with cramps all race.

T1
The fastest T1 was 1:21 and it took me 1:49; not a huge gap, but sizable enough at the same time.

Cycle
There were quite a few bike still in transition, but realistically what really mattered to me was what was the gap to the bikes who had made it out onto the road before me. I felt like it was them I was competing against and not the guys who like me had yet to start their cycle.
Once out on the road, I passed a few in the opening kilometres, but after this initial flurry, it was a while before anyone else came into view. I felt like I was moving okay, but my first glimpse of the leaders told me I wasn't moving well enough.
I've said elsewhere on boards about how I missed two turns and between the two of them, I'd say I lost somewhere between 60 to 90 seconds. But the same thing could have easily happened others and besides, I didn't run well enough off the bike for it to have really mattered.

T2
I decided I'd put on socks for the run and ended up giving back time to those, who I'm guessing put them on in T1, or perhaps didn't wear socks at all. I was 63rd fastest in T2 compared with 13th fastest in T1, but I still made up two places here and without studying the results in any great depth, I'd say my combined time in both transitions compared favourably enough with others around me.

Run
I'd moved from 33rd after the swim to 12th exiting T2. I couldn't have been 100% sure of this, but reckoned I was close enough to the top 10. To make up much more places was going to require running strongly, but it just wasn't going to happen today. I didn't have the pace showing on my Garmin and I was running off feel. With so many races on, it was hard to know who was racing what, but not too many people went by me, and those that did seemed to be moving too fast to be racing the Double Olympic. At least that's what I was telling myself. Looking back on my performance, Strava tells me I managed to run the kilometre splits in consistent enough times, unfortunately though, they just weren't consistently fast. I lost two places on the last lap, but it doesn't matter at all in the grand scheme of things. I was disappointed with the run, but at the same time there were only four guys that ran quicker than me and I biked quicker than three of them; some positives to be taken from that
Totals;
Swim: 1.0hrs - 3,000m
Cycle: 2.0hrs - 80.9km
Run: 1.5hrs - 20.0km


Sunday 4th June
Cycle
6 hours easy/steady

167.14km in 6:05:07, 27.5km/hr, 792m elev. gain,

I did the first 2 to 2½ hours without taking any calories on board and think I fuelled sensibly enough after this. I'd originally only planned on staying out for 5 hours, but after taking a coffee stop after 3, I decided I could manage an extra hour.
Totals: 6.0hrs - 167.14km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs - 14,150m
Bike: 10.5hrs - 333.50km
Run: 4.0hrs - 46.81km
Other: 0.0hrs

The message I took from this week is I'm too heavy to race well. I was talking to the winner of Tri-Athy, Emmet Kelly, after the race and it really struck me how lean he was. We've both ran sub-3 IM marathons, but I know if we're both asked to repeat the times tomorrow, there's only one of us who'd have a chance of succeeding. I need to get back that level of conditioning and just chatting to him really opened my eyes to this.

Kurt.Godel

Ignore this zico if its too intrusive- but having followed your log to get a Kona place over the past few years I'm curious as to what the reward actually costs. It can't be cheap to get to Hawaii with your gear, during a peak hotel time... thats before IM take their cut for the entry fee.

If you don't mind, how much is it costing you to race Kona?

zico10

Kurt.Godel wrote: »

Ignore this zico if its too intrusive- but having followed your log to get a Kona place over the past few years I'm curious as to what the reward actually costs. It can't be cheap to get to Hawaii with your gear, during a peak hotel time... thats before IM take their cut for the entry fee.

If you don't mind, how much is it costing you to race Kona?

I wouldn't consider the question at all intrusive. I've still to book flights, but they'll be €1,000 + another couple of hundred give or take. Then probably another couple of hundred to bring a bike.
I've booked a basic enough room for €1592 from 2nd October to 16th. There's a small bit a flexibility with changing dates, which I might yet do, but that price won't come down much.
The race entry and associated fees were almost another €1,000.
Spending money? I've no idea, but I'm told Hawaii isn't cheap, so I'll budget for €1,000 or so.
I've been told by other Irish who have raced there that even doing it on a shoestring, you'd spend five grand and looking at my above calculations, that would seem about right.

But it's only money, 'tis "trash. 'Tis something, nothing:
'Twas mine, ’tis his, and has been slave to thousands."

Kurt.Godel

Cheers, its very pricey all right. You've a good attitude to money. I think you alluded before to the real cost in getting to Kona (non-monetary), and thats what gives it so much value.

RacoonQueen

Wondered the same myself and was going to ask the question. How do you manage it with your job? How do you get that time off? I mean for me I'd just book two weeks off but where do you get the scope to take that time in October?

zico10

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Wondered the same myself and was going to ask the question. How do you manage it with your job? How do you get that time off? I mean for me I'd just book two weeks off but where do you get the scope to take that time in October?

You asked me something similar a long time ago and I wasn't quite sure of the answer.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=88849063&postcount=18

Thankfully I now know and paid leave has been approved by the Department of Education.

peter kern

camp site is us 20 in kona a night and prob one of the freshest places to sleep as they are both on the coast and get the sea breeze and no need for risky AC

zico10

Monday 5th June
Run
a.m.
2 hours steady

26.38km in 2:00:00, 4:33/km

I ran to Fairyhouse Race Track, so I'd be able to most of the run on grass and just like last week, I felt as if I was getting progressively slower the longer I ran on grass. With no real change of scenery and no real option to vary your route, Fairyhouse is a boring place to run and I'm not sure how long more I'll want to keep coming back here for my long runs.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 26.38km

a.m.
It was a bank holiday, so the regular evening club swim was cancelled.

Tuesday 6th June
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo

45 minutes steady w. 10 x {6" max effort & 24" recovery}

Totals: 1.0hrs - 22.5km

p.m.
Swim
Open Water

900m in about 40 minutes

This was a club organised swim, which turned out to be a complete waste of time for me personally. There was nobody there at my level and not being able to swim off on the group, I spent a lot of time just treading water and I ended up badly shivering before I even got out.
Having missed missed out on one weekly swim last night, this was definitely not what I wanted.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 900m


Wednesday 7th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

800m paddles & pull buoy,
4*200m fs off 3:45 (3:30-3:45),
800m paddles & pull buoy,
4*100m fs off 1:45 (1:40, 1:43, 1:45 & 1:48),
1 minute rest,
4*100m off 1:50 (1:43-1:45),
100m easy

The 200s were comfortable, but the 100s proved too challenging. The extra 1 minute rest between each set of 4 was only decided upon after missing the time for the 4th. Four 100s off 1:45 was obviously too challenging for me today, so I didn't see any point in trying to hit this time when I pushed off for a second set, and allowed myself an additional 10 seconds. I'm never happy when I I fail to hit targets, but at least it shows I do occasionally challenge myself in the pool.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,300m

p.m.
Race
Belpark Duathlon
Run 1

2.53km in 8:32, 3:22/km

I hadn't warmed up and this cost me once the gun went. It was either that or my legs were jaded from the race on Saturday, or that I'm too fat, or a combination of all three. A good few got away from me early on and amongst them were a few that simply wouldn't have been ahead of me had I been on form. I clearly wasn't having a good race and I knew with my winter hacker waiting for me in transition, I wasn't going to be able to rescue things on the bike.

T1
This was 1:10 on my Garmin, but I can't remember when I pressed the lap button before starting my cycle. The time is way off on the results, so I don't know what to record it as.

Cycle

11.5km in 21.06, 33.0km/hr

I got through this more or less holding my position from the run, but having lost further time to the majority of those in front of me.


T2
I was too slow rolling up to the dismount line and I don't think I moved fast enough after this either. Five of those ahead of me got through transition in 30 seconds or less. If I could have been as fast as they were, it would have moved me up two positions; not hugely important in this race, but it could prove very costly somewhere else and to develop good habits I think I should approach transition in any race I do with a greater sense of urgency.

Run 2

2.52km in 8:37, 3:25/km

I wasn't too far off the pace I held for the first leg and I'm pretty sure out of all the field, I came closest to matching the speed of my first run. It shows what any sort of warm-up might have done, but anyway.
I spent the run working hard to chase down a guy who had gone by me halfway through the first run and had stayed ahead of me on the bike. I was running faster, but he wasn't easily caught and in the end I ran out of road and he finished one second ahead of me. It would have been nice to have beaten him, but at the same time if he wasn't there as a target, I doubt I'd have ran so fast myself.
Totals;
Cycle: 0.5hrs - 11.5km
Run: 0.5hrs - 5.05km

No warm up beforehand and no cool down after the race reflects the poor attitude I took to this race. Hopefully I'll get dryer conditions a give a better account of myself at the next duathlon in the series.


Thursday 8th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m one arm dills,
3*50m kick,
30*100m w. 6" rest, (1:39 average),
50m easy,
300m pull

Thirty 100s with minimal rest made this a tougher Thursday morning than usual.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 3,700m

p.m.
Run
90 minutes steady

18.91km in 1:30:03, 4:46/km

The instructions from my coach were not to go chasing things, so I didn't look at my pace during this run. So as I'd have some idea how I was getting on, I had my watch set to autolap every 5km. When the splits did flash, I tried my best not to react to them and just kept on plugging away. I wasn't pushing at all, but 4:46/km is a good bit off where I'd like to be. But I'm hoping my speed automatically drops as I get fitter and lighter.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 18.91km

Friday 9th June
a.m.
Morning off

p.m.
I'd a bike fitting with Aidan Hammond which took up a lot of the evening. I could have cycled down there, but I didn't want to be riding hills and getting used to a new bike set-up at the same time.

Cycle
2 hours steady w. (3 x 3'), (3*2') & (3 x 1') IM efforts,

38.49km in 1:13:24, 31.5km/hr, 202m elev. gain
Efforts;
1) 3' @ 35.5km/hr, 11m gain & 2m loss,
2) 3' @ 36.8km/hr, 13m gain & 9m loss,
3) 3' @ 33.5km/hr, 24m gain & 7m loss,
4) 2' @ 42.5km/hr, 10m gain & 25m loss,
5) 2' @ 39.8km/hr, 2m gain & 8m loss,
6) 2' @ 36.8km/hr, 2m gain & 0m loss,
7) 1' @ 38.3km/hr, 0m gain & 0m loss,
8) 1' @ 40.8km/hr, 0m gain & 4m loss,
9) 1' @ 37.9km/hr, 2m gain & 2m loss,

Despite the fitting earlier and the need to get used to the new fit, I still did this on my road bike. The efforts were all done in the one direction along the Trim-Ratoath road. I had to deal with a crosswind for all of them, which from looking at flags and studying Garmin Connect afterwards would have been more of a hinderance than a help. I held good speeds for these efforts, but sustaining IM intensity for such short periods really ought to be a piece of p!ss.
Once I was finished the efforts, I was approaching Trim and a high-nelly rally/race was coming out of the town on the opposite side of the road. It was causing long tailbacks and doing a U-turn at my usual roundabout just after Topaz on the way into Trim, would have meant getting caught up in proceedings. Although I wasn't 100% sure of the route and after having resolved to avoid Navan after cycling through countless traffic lights 12 months ago, I took this road. I knew I was going to be tight for time if I were to make it home before dark and with only a high-vis vest and a small blinking LED light in my pockets, I wasn't well prepared for night time riding. I was moving speedily enough though and had no real worries. I then got to Navan and it all changed. I got lost, had to stop to check Google Maps several times and seemed to get caught at every single set of lights I passed. Lesson to be learned is whatever the circumstances, never go near Navan on my bicycle again.
Totals: 2.5hrs - 73.06km


Saturday 10th June
Swim
50m pool

800m paddles & p.b. steady,
800m fs (14:50),
800m paddles & p.b. steady,
800m fs (14:55),
200m easy

I felt like I was moving well, but the times don't reflect this. I got into the pool planning to do some fast stuff, but then decided I'd had enough of that on Thursday. I switched to my mind to instead do reps of 400s during what was meant to be my warm-up, but then changed it again when I got to that juncture and ended up doing the above.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,400m

Cycle
4 hours steady

124.42km in 4:14:41, 29.3km/hr, 684m elev. gain

I started off on my Cervelo, but a problem arose and I had to go back home and swap it for my road bike. A bit annoying, but I guess it doesn't make much of a difference as I write about it over a month later.
Totals: 4.0hrs - 124.14km


Sunday 11th June
Run
a.m.
1 hours 50 minutes steady

24.10km in 1:50:02, 4:34/km
Pace for 5km splits; 1) 4:38/km, 2) 4:33/km, 3) 4:31/km, 4) 4:35/km 5) 4:34/km for 4.10km

I stuck to the road and I can't remember why I didn't seek out grass, but I think running exclusively on grass wouldn't make me resilient enough to the demands of a marathon. So maybe no harm in doing one long run every now and again on the road.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 24.10km


Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.0hrs - 11,300m
Bike: 8.0hrs - 231.48km
Run: 6.0hrs - 74.44km
Other: 0.0hrs

rodneyr1981

Hi zico,

You've referred to your weight more than once in last update.
Can I ask how you compare to your mallorca race weight at present and planned weight for kona?

zico10

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Hi zico,

You've referred to your weight more than once in last update.
Can I ask how you compare to your mallorca race weight at present and planned weight for kona?

I'm 74.something kg right now and I was 71.something last September. I've established that the second figure is my ideal racing weight and I plan to get back to that for Kona. Having to lose only 3-4 kg in three months is easily doable and it's not something I'm particularly worried about. I've lost similar weight in a similar timeframe before and consistently telling myself I'm too heavy is just to remind myself that I'll have to start trimming down soon enough. The constant drip feed ensures things never get too bad, so I'll be probably continue referencing my weight for another month or two yet.

zico10

Monday 12th June
a.m.
Run
75 minutes steady

16.17km in 1:15:30, 4:40/km

The wind was moderate, which made this harder it should have been, but starting so soon after waking didn't help either.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 16.17km

p.m.
Swim

400m warm-up,
16*100m as four sets of 4*100m off 1:45, w. extra 15" rest between sets (avg.=1:40, fastest=1:37, slowest=1:42),
100m easy,
24*25m off 40", (desc. 1-4) x 6 (28"-20" typically)

I was happy with the consistency I showed during the hundreds, but just to keep those good vibes in check, I made hard work of descending through the 25s.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,700m


Tuesday 13th June
a.m.
Cycle
Turbo

59:30 w. 3 sets {3 x 10" max effort & 3' recovery}

I did this early morning in place of a regular swim, so I could attend a club OW session in the evening.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 29.0km

p.m.
Run
Open Water

1,262m in 23:38, 1:52/100m

I got slightly cold tonight; nothing major, but with it now being the middle of June, and me still getting cold in my wetsuit, it makes me wonder if doing any of the Leisnster Open Water would be such a good idea.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 1,262m


Wednesday 14th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

{400m paddles & pull buoy & 400m fs. w. 20m fast every 100m} x 3,
200m easy

I felt like I was moving fast during the 20m of increased effort, but I always think this, so who knows? I definitely managed to settle back to a comfortable, steady effort after each short burst though, so that's something.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,600m

p.m.
Run
90 minutes steady w. 5*80m strides

19.99km in 1:30:04, 4:30/km

I did this in the Phoenix Park and stuck to the grass for 90% of it. I did the strides in the last 15 minutes. Overall, it felt a lot better than Monday's run and I finished it feeling a lot better about myself.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 19.99km


Thursday 15th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm-up,
50m kick,
100m one arm drills,,
21*50m {#1 & 2 fast, #3 easy} x 7 w. 10" rest,
300m paddles & pull buoy,
21*50m {#1 & 2 fast, #3 easy} x 7 w. 10" rest,
400m paddles & pull buoy,
21*25m {#1 & 2 fast, #3 easy} x 7 w. 10" rest,
125m cool down

Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,800m

p.m.
Cycle
Turbo

1 hour steady

This should have been longer and I've no recollection of the session. And bar that I had recorded it on my Garmin, I wouldn't have known I had done it.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 28.0km


Friday 16th June
a.m.
Morning off

p.m.
Swim
50m pool

6*25m off 40",
5*100m off 1:40,
2*50m off 60"
50m easy

This is a regular swim warm up we do with Interested, but I thought it would do just as well as a warm up for a run. I did everything with a pull buoy though, so my legs were spared any work.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 750m

Run
60 minutes steady w. 5 x (1' & 5k pace & 1' recovery)

13.46km in 1:00:06, 4:26/km
Efforts;
1) 3:26/km,
2) 3:15/km,
3) 3:21/km,
4) 3:10/km,
5) 3:17/km
Avg: 3:18/km

I had a rough sort of target of sub 3:20/km for the efforts. I doubt very much I'd run a 5k at that pace right now, but I didn't see the point in aiming for anything softer. I scraped under that target, but at least I got faster as the efforts progressed.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 13.43km


Saturday 17th June
Run
Pre-race warm up; progression w. 3 x 1' of increasing pace

2.96km in 13:17, 4:29/km
Efforts: 1) 1' @ 3:53/km, 2) 1' @ 3:14/km (this included a lot of downhill, 3) 1' @ 3:09/km

I'd great plans to get to the race venue early and get in a good long warm up on my bike, but I wasted a lot of time and ended up doing this short run instead.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 2.96km

Race
Lough Derg Sprint
Swim
The start was a bit of a farce. The gun went as we were being called back in from our warm up. It easily gave some people a 20m head start on me, but I've no idea where the top 3 were at this point, and it might well have been the case they were in an even more disadvantageous starting position than I was. Whoever it did or didn't favour though doesn't matter, it shouldn't have been let happen.
Due to the farcical start, the field was well spread out and I got to the first buoy without the usual thumps that go with a normal swim start. I then got onto the hips of another swimmer and managed to stay with him until we got to the second buoy. I moved to his feet after this and started following bubbles. He was sighting regularly and I felt he was doing a good job of swimming straight, so I ended up trusting him to get us back to land in the straightest possible line. We got to the pier at the swim exit and I managed to get out and run into transition before him after having saved myself a lot of energy in the water. I was still nearly 2½ minutes down on Darren Dunne and Ross Higgins in 1st and 2nd, but it was closer than I've been to them before, so I'm taking it as a sign of progress.

Cycle
I got off to a bad start and ended up getting stuck behind a driver who was afraid to overtake anybody. Having a steady stream of returning cyclists on the opposite side of the road from the try-a-tri, meant the driver wasn't going to take any risks. I thought they had several safe opportunities to overtake, but chose not to. I was left with no other option than to just stay behind the car, growing more and more frustrated, as it drove at an even slower pace than a slower cyclist ahead of me. It probably didn't end up costing me as much time as I thought it did at the time, but having only missed out on the podium by one second, it is annoying.
Once the car made the pass and I got clear road, I felt I did okay. I had the fifth fastest split of the day, but I really need to be quicker. I wasn't using my biggest gear; not even close to it and I wonder if this was a mistake. I'm telling myself now that it was only a sprint and pushing a hard gear for less than half an hour wouldn't have done too much damage.

Run
My coach had told me that I should nearly be looking to blow up in today's race. I definitely hadn't done this on the bike and feeling guilty about not trying hard enough, I took this mentality into the run. I pushed as hard as I could at the start of the run. The first kilometre included two steep hills, so it was the perfect course for someone eager to blow up.
I passed someone early on and someone else after about 2km. Shortly after this, I saw Darren Dunne leading the race, on the opposite side of the road on his way back to the finish line. He had a big gap on 2nd and 3rd, whom I thought I might be able to catch. I reached the turnaround cone and started back to the finish line, but I didn't seem to be getting any closer to them. I'd resigned myself to finishing 4th until it came to a straight stretch of road and it was the first time 2nd and 3rd had came within striking distance.
Then, I thought if I could just dig deep enough, I might have a chance of making up one, or even two more places. I upped the effort, but both guys knew I was coming and did the same. My speed increased on the downhill stretch to the finish, but I wasn't the only one to benefit from this loss of gradient. In the end, I just ran out of road and finished in 4th, just 5 seconds off 2nd and 1 second off 3rd.

Despite a poor start to the swim and bike, I was happy enough with this race. I finished with the fastest run split, but with nobody pushing Darren Dunne for the win, this stat on its own it doesn't mean too much. But my run time of 17:27 was 28 seconds quicker than when I last did this race two years ago. After a disappointing run at Tri-Athy, I resolved to get down to a respectable weight. There's still a bit to go, but I was in better shape going into this race than I was two weeks ago. It shows my residual fitness is never too far away and hopefully it won't take too much work to tap into over the coming months.
Totals;
Swim:0.0hrs - 850m
Cycle: 0.5hrs - 19.0km
Run: 0.5hrs - 5.0km

Run
Cool down

5.76km in 29:29, 5:07/km

Totals: 0.5hrs - 5.76km


Sunday 18th June
Cycle
5 hours steady

165.03km in 5:14:25, 31.5km/hr, 970m elev. gain
Hourly Splits;
1) 34.3km/hr, 166m gain & 162m loss,
2) 33.6km/hr, 116m gain & 144m loss,
3) 25.3km/hr, 354m gain & 221m loss,
4) 33.6km/hr, 143m gain & 250m loss,
5) 30.6km/hr, 173m gain & 152m loss,

It was a warm day and I was debating for a while whether I would go into the mountains. After two hours of skirting the Slieve Blooms, I finally decided to tackle them. It's the first time I've done any significant climbing on my P3, but it felt slow. Maybe I just need more practise, or maybe I was still feeling the effects of yesterday's race in my legs. All in all, it wasn't a super day's cycling, but only one day after a tough race, it was acceptable.
Totals: 4.0hrs - 124.14km


Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.5hrs - 11,962m
Bike: 7.5hrs - 241.03km
Run: 5.0hrs - 63.13km
Other: 0.0hrs

zico10

Monday 19th June
a.m.
Rest

p.m.
Race
Howth Aquathon Series, Race 2
Swim

1,000m in 17:43, 1:46/100m

I got off to a good start and got clear of the melee I had to deal with in the last race. The water was pretty calm on the first lap, but a lot choppier the second time round. It was nothing like the conditions during the first race though and I was still able to stay on the feet I had chosen to draft off. They turned out to be those of Barry Cronin, a guy who put 51 seconds into me in the swim leg of the last race. By staying on his feet, I exited the water in the exact same time as him today. My time also compared favourably with others who had done both races and based on these stats, I'm satisfied that I swam well.

Transition
1:05
I transitioned 14 seconds quicker than last month, but was still 13 seconds off the fastest time. Crucially though, I was 5 seconds slower than Barry Cronin and he was 10-20m ahead of me starting the run. It might have been the case that he'd have ran away from me anyway, but he did seize the initiative here.

Run

7.14km in 24:16, 3:24/km

I crossed the timing mat and immediately set about closing the gap Barry Cronin had opened up on me. Buoyed by the effects my initial surge had in Lough Derg Sprint two days prior, I put the hammer down without worrying about the consequences. I made contact with him soon enough and made the pass, but I could never lose him.
I completed the first lap of the 7.4km run with him still right on my heels. I was running as fast a pace as I could manage, but it wasn't having the effect I wanted and I simply wasn't able to break away. I was expecting it would come down to a sprint finish, when he put in an injection of pace just before the steep downhill section. I couldn't match this and he quickly opened a 5-10m gap. He held this gap more or less until the finish line, but I kept working hard hoping he might blow up and I'd be there to take advantage. That's not how things transpired, but the hope that it might happen, kept me honest until I crossed the line. There's not much joy in finishing 5th, but it was another good run and I was happy I had given it my all.

Cool down
Run

5km easy

Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs - 1,000m
Run: 1.0hrs - 15.40km


Tuesday 20th June
a.m.
I was too tired to do anything and took the morning off. It meant no swim today, but I hope I'll have plenty of time to make up for any missed sessions in July and August.

p.m.
Run
1 hours 45 minutes steady

23.47km in 1:46:10, 4:31/km

There was a noticeable slow down towards the end of this run. The elevation wasn't in my favour, but I was running out of energy as well. I took no gels or fluids on board. Having either might have prevented the slump, but I feel 1 hour and 45 minutes is not quite long enough to justify ingesting calories.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 23.47m


Wednesday 21st June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

3*50m fast off 1:20 (42", 43" & 43"),
5*100m off 1:50(1:43,1:44,1:45,1:44&1:42),
2*50m off 60" (44" & 43"),
50m easy,
4*50m off 50" (42", 46", 49" & 49"),
400m paddles & pull buoy,
4*50m off 50" (43", 45", 50" & 49"),
400m paddles & pull buoy,
4*50m off 50" (44", 48", 51" & 52"),
50m cool down

Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,250m

p.m.
Cycle
2 hours steady

62.51km in 2:03:25, 30.4km/hr, 198m elev. gain

It was the warmest day of the year so far, but I went out late in the evening and it had cooled significantly by the time I had started. I was on my road bike and wasn't putting in much more than an easy effort. I was happy enough with my overall average speed given those two things.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 62.51km


Thursday 22nd June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

9*100m as {easy/steady/fast} x 3, w. 5" rest (850m done),
50m easy,
9*100m paddles & pull buoy as {easy/steady/fast} x 3, w. 5" rest,
50m easy,
400m as 50 fast/50 easy,
6*50m sprints,
1,000m steady

I was pushing off after a much faster swimmer. She's so much faster, it didn't feel like I got any drafting benefit whatsoever and by the time I got to the third rep in any set, she was almost at the far wall and the draft was definitely well gone. We were instructed to take 10" rest, but to try keep things running smoothly in the lane, I took 5". I didn't feel like I needed 10 seconds and I won't get any rest in a race, so no harm in going with the shorter amount.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 3,550m

p.m.
Run
1 hour 45 minutes steady w. 6*100m strides

22.92km in 1:45:01, 4:35/km

I ran from the NAC to the Phoenix Park and back. This allowed me get about 40% of the run done on grass. I tried to keep the effort at a comfortable level, which I think I managed.
I started the strides in the final 15 minutes and settled back into 10 minutes steady running once they were completed.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 22.92km


Friday 23rd June
a.m.
Morning off

p.m.
Swim
50m pool

6*25m off 40",(42", 43" & 42")
5*100m off 1:40,(1:41, 1:42, 1:43, 1:41 & 1:41)
2*50m off 60"(47" & 45"),
50m easy

I wasn't as fast as I had hoped I'd be. I was losing it on the steady 100s. The main purpose of this swim though was as a warm up for the run that followed, so times weren't all that important today.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 800m

Run
1 hours 15 minutes progression

17.45km in 1:15:01, 4:18/km
Splits;
1) 12.61km in 55:01, 4:22/km,
2) 4.83km in 20:00, 4:08/km

After quickly getting into my running gear, I did a loop of Ballycoolin Industrial Estate and two laps of Waterville. I pushed things a little bit, but not overly so.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 17.45km


Saturday 24th June
Swim
50m pool

800m paddles & p.b. steady,
8*100m fs w. 5" rest (14:50),
800m paddles & p.b. steady,
8*100m fs off 2:00 (1:39-1:45)

Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,200m

Cycle
3½ hours steady w. 1 hour progression

105.20km in 3:16:10, 32.2km/hr, 268m elev. gain
Start;
1) 65.91km in 2:07:02,31.1km/hr, 157m gain & 159m loss,
1 hour progression;
2) 10.77km in 19:59,32.3km/hr, 46m gain & 55m loss,
3) 11.74km in 20:00,35.2km/hr, 42m gain & 26m loss,
4) 12.32km in 19:58,37.3km/hr, 16m gain & 24m loss,
Finish;
5) 4.40km in 9:06, 29.4km/hr, 7m gain & 2m loss

I was out my P3 and went without fuel for the first 90 minutes. After that, I started eating sweets and other crap and got plenty of calories on board for the rest of the cycle. It was windy enough and I feel I hit good enough speeds during the 1 hour progression. I didn't have to kill myself for them either. One thing I noted from this cycle is that the P3 seems to handle better on bends than my Kestrel. But I haven't ridden my Kestrel since September and it's still sitting idle in my bedroom, waiting to be put back together, so it will probably be a while yet before I can make a more accurate assessment.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 105.20km

Run
40 minutes easy off bike

8.73km in 40:04, 4:35/km

My pace over the first half of this run was 4:38/km, which fell to 4:35/km for the second 20 minutes. I was trying not to react to the pace showing on my Garmin, but I probably became too concerned with it towards the end of the run and didn't want to slow. Still, I was never under any stress and it wasn't a bad end to the day.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 8.73km


Sunday 25th June
Run
2 hours steady

27.25km in 2:00:00, 4:24/km

I met my fellow KQ club mate in the Phoenix Park for this. He was keen for an early start, so it ruled out any chance of a Sunday morning lie-on. It's never any harm getting training out of the way early, so I was happy to go along with his plans. The pace was probably slightly faster than I would have ran on my own, but no harm in being taken outside your comfort zone. With about 50 minutes left, we were joined by another 3D member who was racing IM Austria the following weekend. (He also managed to qualify for Kona, so that means three 3D heads racing there next October.) The pace picked up a little bit after he joined us, but it was still manageable; except when going uphill and I'd end up losing ground to both of them. I'd make contact without much strain when the ground levelled out, but they weren't putting in any extra effort here and I'm taking it as a sure sign that I'm overweight.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 27.25km

Swim
50m pool

3,800m straight w. pull buoy & buoyancy shorts (1:08:30 approx.)

Since starting to breathe to my right side only last season, I think my stroke has deteriorated anytime I am forced to breathe to my left. If you happen to be reading this Dory, don't get me wrong, breathing to one side is definitely the only way to go when racing, but I still think it's important to be able to breathe on either side with some degree of finesse. Recently, I've been trying to incorporate more bilateral breathing when swimming, but most of the swimming I do is so frantic, I usually revert to what is now my default breathing pattern of right side only. Not having to kick requires far less oxygen than swimming full stroke and what I did today allowed me breath bilaterally for the entire 3.8k. One solitary session hasn't rectified my shortcomings, but if I can do more swims like this one, hopefully the cumulative effect will be a positive one.
I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to make times, so I was only half watching the clock and when I did look, it was more as a means of tracking distance than checking how fast I was going.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,800m


Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs - 14,600m
Bike: 5.5hrs - 167.71km
Run: 8.0hrs - 115.48km
Other: 0.0hrs

pgibbo

That's a nice crew from 3D travelling this year 8-) I assume you guys will be training together a bit over the summer too.

Kurt.Godel

zico10 wrote: »

Swim
50m pool

3,800m straight w. pull buoy & buoyancy shorts (1:08:30 approx.)

Since starting to breathe to my right side only last season, I think my stroke has deteriorated anytime I am forced to breathe to my left. If you happen to be reading this Dory, don't get me wrong, breathing to one side is definitely the only way to go when racing, but I still think it's important to be able to breathe on either side with some degree of finesse. Recently, I've been trying to incorporate more bilateral breathing when swimming, but most of the swimming I do is so frantic, I usually revert to what is now my default breathing pattern of right side only. Not having to kick requires far less oxygen than swimming full stroke and what I did today allowed me breath bilaterally for the entire 3.8k. One solitary session hasn't rectified my shortcomings, but if I can do more swims like this one, hopefully the cumulative effect will be a positive one.
I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to make times, so I was only half watching the clock and when I did look, it was more as a means of tracking distance than checking how fast I was going.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,800m

My 2c until Dory comes around- if you're going into oxygen debt through kicking, you're kicking too hard. Loads of reasons for this (probably something to do with position) but I've never seen you swim and in any case wouldn't know what to look for. However I've been through something similar over the past year, moving to BE2 and there is a trade-off in stroke/position. FWIW I race BE2, and hard efforts in the pool are usually BE2, but there are a number of things I do now to incorporate bilateral breathing:
- during warm-up try 300m alt BE3/5/7
- during hard sessions try to alternate BE2/3/2/2/3/2 or similar
- work on a flutter kick at all times
- BE3 when using PB (I'll often BE5 with PB), point is bilateral when you have the improved position from PB
- end of set hypoxic 10*25 as B 3/2/1/0/0/0/0/1/2/3 (B=breaths per 25) full recovery each length

The main reason for the bilateral is to stop one arm becoming dominant, and the knock on balance problems this presents. In particular I find a constant flutter kick in OW races is useful to maintain balance, and I'll sometimes BE3 for a while when flutter kicking a little harder.

pgibbo

I do some of the things Kurt mentions above. The other thing I do when working is breathe to my left going up the pool and to my right on the way back. Not bilateral but it means I'm able to breathe on both sides.

interested

Feel free to ignore btw, idly interested in what you're up to before next week

"I still think it's important to be able to breathe on either side with some degree of finesse" why ? the big bold waves gonna splash you ? its useful when learning for stroke balance or autumn during warm ups, or swimming easy to ensure stroke mechanics, but if it makes you feel 'off' then, don't practice it ? since inevitably 9/10 races there's no way you'd employ it - even if it's choppy, "read" the waves, the sets of waves as you swim, time your breathing ... if you're not breathing to a particular side when drafting, then switch side ...

"3,800m straight w. pull buoy & buoyancy shorts" - Im guessing a swim TT for fun ? true | false or what was the purpose of this ? or was it to practice bilateral breathing?

How many people do a kick session every time they swim ? ... more than 400m worth of kick constitutes a kick session fyi
How many people find the effort of consistent kicking (notice the word 'consistent' versus 'hard') makes them feel out of breath, tired ? more tired than they would if they were using a pull buoy ?

Pull buoys ... give buoyancy, but .. from what I've seen recently fix a common problem where swimmers kick with wide legs .. (about 2 foot gap or more between ankles) which creates a massive amount of lateral drag.
If you're investing more than 3 hours a week swimming, then its worth fixing by actually doing a kick set after your warm up, learning to kick without going into the red ... if not, then life's too short

"but most of the swimming I do is so frantic" ... how you feel, effects how you swim|bike|run|transition ... etc etc .. - @Zico I've threatened you comically with medically inducing a state what others refer to as 'relaxed' before, it may be that time ...
It's not easy, it's difficult for people learning as adults to swim ... but ... knock, knock ... you, some of the contributors here are no longer learners - so relax more, feel more, breath deeper .. you'll swim better .. either that or embrace the peppa pig inflatable ring and superman water wings and join the rest of the kids for the slide next time you're at the pool.

zico10

pgibbo wrote: »

That's a nice crew from 3D travelling this year 8-) I assume you guys will be training together a bit over the summer too.

Probably not as much as you might think. All three of us will be following our own training plans and things won't always sync up. We keep in touch about what we're doing and if we've a similar session planned, we'll meet up, but quite honestly sticking to my plan is more important to me than having people to train with. That might seem incredibly self absorbed, but that's the way it is and I know the other two guys are of a similar mindset. It is an individual sport afterall and had I relied on other people to train with for the last 5 years, I don't think I'd be going to Kona in October.

pgibbo

zico10 wrote: »

pgibbo wrote: »

That's a nice crew from 3D travelling this year 8-) I assume you guys will be training together a bit over the summer too.

Probably not as much as you might think. All three of us will be following our own training plans and things won't always sync up. We keep in touch about what we're doing and if we've a similar session planned, we'll meet up, but quite honestly sticking to my plan is more important to me than having people to train with. That might seem incredibly self absorbed, but that's the way it is and I know the other two guys are of a similar mindset. It is an individual sport afterall and had I relied on other people to train with for the last 5 years, I don't think I'd be going to Kona in October.

Far from being self absorbed. It's very hard to align times let alone sessions on specific days. More importantly training solo works for you. 

Have you many more races planned over the summer?

zico10

pgibbo wrote: »

Far from being self absorbed. It's very hard to align times let alone sessions on specific days. More importantly training solo works for you. 

Have you many more races planned over the summer?

I tried getting into the HIM in a Tyrone on Saturday, but it was closed when I went to register. The next race on the agenda is Caroline Kearney. It seems like a big gap between that and my last triathlon in Lough Derg, but I wasn't prepared to travel very far for a race and nothing suitable caught my eye.

Apart from CK, the only other race I've registered for is The Lost Sheep (Forget what I said about not wanting to travel very far for a race. :pac:) Those two are likely the only triathlons I'll be doing prior to Kona.

I find shorter races useful as training sessions and it's a pity there were so many aquathlons within driving distance for me in June and July and only one (Bray) in August. I'll likely being doing that race as well and in the absence of any other aquathlons or duathlons, I might enter one or two running races. Coincidentally, I happen to be doing one tonight; a 6k trail race in Carton House.

peter kern

Since starting to breathe to my right side only last season, I think my stroke has deteriorated anytime I am forced to breathe to my left. If you happen to be reading this Dory, don't get me wrong, breathing to one side is definitely the only way to go when racing, but I still think it's important to be able to breathe on either side with some degree of finesse. Recently, I've been trying to incorporate more bilateral breathing when swimming, but most of the swimming I do is so frantic, I usually revert to what is now my default breathing pattern of right side only. Not having to kick requires far less oxygen than swimming full stroke and what I did today allowed me breath bilaterally for the entire 3.8k. One solitary session hasn't rectified my shortcomings, but if I can do more swims like this one, hopefully the cumulative effect will be a positive one.
I didn't want to put any pressure on myself to make times, so I was only half watching the clock and when I did look, it was more as a means of tracking distance than checking how fast I was going.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,800m

i guess the real question is is your open water swimming improving...

let the others make it overcomplicated.

zico10

interested wrote: »

Feel free to ignore btw,

Appreciate the input and even if might appear as I'm ignoring your advice in the pool about relaxing, not entering wide enough with my left had etc., I can assure you I'm listening and taking your tips on board. But, old habits and all that.

idly interested in what you're up to before next week

Is this just swim training?
I've started a second weekly session with Peter, so that meant a session with him Tuesday and Thursday. I got a new cheap training wetsuit and did a 3,800TT in it on Wednesday. Then I did an OW swim yesterday evening, it was about an hour in total. I've a long run to do tomorrow morning and for the warm up and I'm thinking of going to the NAC and doing your classic 750m swim warm up, then get into my running gear asap and start the run.

"I still think it's important to be able to breathe on either side with some degree of finesse" why ? the big bold waves gonna splash you ? its useful when learning for stroke balance or autumn during warm ups, or swimming easy to ensure stroke mechanics, but if it makes you feel 'off' then, don't practice it ? since inevitably 9/10 races there's no way you'd employ it - even if it's choppy, "read" the waves, the sets of waves as you swim, time your breathing ... if you're not breathing to a particular side when drafting, then switch side ...

It might be true that I'll get away with breathing to one side nine times out of ten, but that one time I need to breathe to my left, it's better I do it well rather than done no it badly. Likewise swimming in the pool and in the open water are very different things, but surely if I become a better pool swimmer, the skills that got me there will transfer to the open water. Granted there's only so much progress I can expect, but I find it hard being told not to worry about something because it won't matter in a race. There are some people that swim faster than me in the pool that I beat out of the water in races, but surely if I can beat them in the pool as well, I'd be even further ahead of them in races. That's what I'm striving for.

"3,800m straight w. pull buoy & buoyancy shorts" - Im guessing a swim TT for fun ? true | false or what was the purpose of this ? or was it to practice bilateral breathing?

I can't say I did it to specifically practise bilateral breathing. It was a Sunday evening and the last bit of training I did in the week. I was all out of ideas and after a 2 hour run that morning, I wanted to give my legs a break. If I was really pushed for an answer, I think it might be that I'm one of those exercise addicts that are making headlines recently.

How many people do a kick session every time they swim ? ... more than 400m worth of kick constitutes a kick session fyi
How many people find the effort of consistent kicking (notice the word 'consistent' versus 'hard') makes them feel out of breath, tired ? more tired than they would if they were using a pull buoy ?

Pull buoys ... give buoyancy, but .. from what I've seen recently fix a common problem where swimmers kick with wide legs .. (about 2 foot gap or more between ankles) which creates a massive amount of lateral drag.
If you're investing more than 3 hours a week swimming, then its worth fixing by actually doing a kick set after your warm up, learning to kick without going into the red ... if not, then life's too short

I do wonder about my kick as well. I've gotten to the point where I'm able to swim 25-50m quicker without a pull buoy than with one, but when I try to swim longer distances at the same speed, I need to breathe more frequently and my body gets thrown out of alignment.
I'm certainly investing 3 hours a week into my swim, so I'll implement a kick set as part of my warm up from now on, great to know 400m constitutes a set.

"but most of the swimming I do is so frantic" ... how you feel, effects how you swim|bike|run|transition ... etc etc .. - @Zico I've threatened you comically with medically inducing a state what others refer to as 'relaxed' before, it may be that time ... so relax more, feel more, breath deeper .. you'll swim better ..

'Frantic' is perhaps a bit of a strong word, but I never get that 'relaxed' feeling in the water. And the shorter the rest, the worse it seems to get. I follow triathletes on Strava that I would finish close enough to in race, and the ease with which they seem to swim 100s off the holy grail of 1:30, really shows up how poorly I swim.

either that or embrace the peppa pig inflatable ring and superman water wings and join the rest of the kids for the slide next time you're at the pool.

I'll do that in November. I plan on going to Belvedere at 8:30 on a Monday and laughing at all the guys you flog at the 7:30 session.

zico10

Monday 26th June
a.m.
I'd a poor night's sleep and took the morning. A scheduled 80 minute run had to be postponed to the evening due to this decision.

p.m.
Run
75 minutes steady

16.86km in 1:17:29, 4:36/km

I got off to a very sluggish start, but eventually managed to up the effort and my pace increased over the duration of the run, most of which was on the cross country route in the NSC.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 16.86km

Swim

400m warm-up,
Four sets of {3*200m off 3:30 (desc. 1-3)},
50m easy,
200m fast

I made the times for the 200s in the main set, but whether I actually descended through them is dubious. After leading out at the beginning of the hour, I got demoted midway through the session. The fast 200 at the end wasn't fast and all round it was just a poor night in the pool.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,050m


Tuesday 27th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

400m paddles & pull buoy,
500m drills,
400m paddles & pull buoy,
8*50m off 60" alt. easy/fast(47", 48", 46" & 47")

Even by my own mediocre standards, it wasn't really happening for me when I tried to swim fast.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 1,700m

p.m.
Cycle
2 hours steady w. 5 x (1 minute fast & 1 minute recovery)

66.57km in 2:00:43, 32.6k /hr
Efforts; 1) 41.8k /hr, 2) 41.3km/hr, 3) 41.5km/hr, 4) 45.0km/hr, 5) 41.7km/hr

I held good speed for the efforts, but it has to be said that a lot of things were in favour for them. This was more to do with when I planned them rather than good fortune.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 29.0km


Wednesday 28th June
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

3*50m off 40",(41", 42" & 42")
5*100m off 1:50,(1:43, 1:43, 1:44, 1:43 & 1:42)
2*50m off 60"(44" & 43"),
50m easy,
4*200m off 3:50,
400m pull,
4*50m off 50",
400m pull,
4*50m off 50"

The 50s in the warm up look okay, but the 100s need to be quicker. I didn't write down the times for anything else, but I'm assuming I made the times for the 200s and 50s in the main sets.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,800m

p.m.
Run
1 hour w. 2 x {10' @ Tempo pace (<3:30/km) & 5' @ 5k pace (<3:20/km)}

15.96km in 1:04:01, 4:01/km,
Efforts;
1) 2.86km in 10:01, 3:30/km,
2) 2.72km in 10:01, 3:33/km,
3) 1.47km in 4:57, 3:22/km

I didn't hit my targets, but they were optimistic to begin with. I was happy enough how things went though and I'm hoping these tempo runs become easier as I get lighter/fitter.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 19.99km


Thursday 29th June
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

I've only one thing recorded for this session which was a set of 6*100m off 6 minutes. (Yes, 6 minutes) Numbers 1, 3 & 5 were done with paddles and a pull buoy (1:24 approx.) and 2, 4 and 6 without toys (1:27, 1:27 & 1:28).
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,000m

p.m.
I was supposed to cycle, but my staff had an end of year night out and I went to that instead.


Friday 30th June
a.m.
Although I didn't drink last night, I still made excuses not to train and did nothing.

p.m.
Run
80 minutes progression

18.54km in 1:20:00, 4:19/km
Splits;
1) 13.60km in 1:00:01, 4:25/km,
2) 4.94km in 19:59, 4:03/km

I was pleasantly surprised by the pace I held for this run. It seemed a good return for the effort I put in.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 13.43km


Saturday 1st July
Ccle
180km steady

186.83km in 5:42:39, 32.7km/hr, 747m elev. gain

I stayed unfuelled for the first 2 hours, then started eating sugary sweets and other crap. I felt like I was fading for a bit, but that could have been just the wind, or that I was running low on caffeine, or my imagination. Anyway, I took a coffee stop after 117km and got going again. I won't get to do this in a race, but all the same, it wasn't a bad day's work.
Totals: 5.0hrs - 186.83km


Sunday 2nd July
Cycle
2 hours steady w. 3 x 15' IM Efforts

67.43km in 1:54:41, 35.3km/hr, 193m elev. gain
IM Efforts;
1) 9.83km in 15:00, 39.3km/hr, 29m gain & 52m loss,
2) 9.38km in 15:00, 37.5km/hr, 62m gain & 6m loss,
3) 9.99km in 15:03, 39.8km/hr, 17m gain & 33m loss,

I was out on my P3 and was very happy with the speed I held for the three efforts. I don't think I was going this fast last year. That could either be down to the fact that I've a new bike or I'm a stronger cyclist. But whatever the reason, both my bike and legs will be going to Hawaii.
Totals: 4.0hrs - 124.14km

Run
35 minutes steady off bike

8.47km in 35:08, 4:09/km

I wasn't pushing and I still I had my pace down to 4:05/km at one point. The pace came easily enough, which off the back of a cycle with some solid Ironman efforts, bodes well for Kona.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 5.76km

Swim
50m pool

400m fs,
800m paddles & pull buoy,
400m fs,
800m paddles & pull buoy,
50m fs,
50m fs fast (40")

I had to get out when I did as the NAC was closing. It would have been interesting to see if I could have swam another 50m in 40 seconds. While 40 seconds for 50m is a pace I'd be very happy to hold, one of them on its own doesn't mean much.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,500m



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.0hrs - 13,050m
Bike: 9.5hrs - 319.83km
Run: 4.5hrs - 59.83km
Other: 0.0hrs

gilleek2

zico10 wrote: »

Probably not as much as you might think. All three of us will be following our own training plans and things won't always sync up. We keep in touch about what we're doing and if we've a similar session planned, we'll meet up, but quite honestly sticking to my plan is more important to me than having people to train with. That might seem incredibly self absorbed, but that's the way it is and I know the other two guys are of a similar mindset. It is an individual sport afterall and had I relied on other people to train with for the last 5 years, I don't think I'd be going to Kona in October.

We probably should try to get more sessions in together but as you say its hard to get days where all the planets align!

zico10

Monday 3rd July
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

8*50m off 60", #4 & 8 fast (43" & 43"),
6*25m off 40" alt. easy/fast(17"-18"),
4 sets of {3*100m desc. 1-3 off 1:45} (1:39, 1:38, 1:34 approx.) w. 50m easy between sets,
100m easy

We got a long motivational talk from Interested tonight, hence the low volume. I was struggling to hit top speeds when required and had to let the other guy in my lane take over lead out duties. I didn't get faster after this, but thanks to the draft things did become easier.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,100m


Tuesday 4th July
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

400m fs,
5*200m kick w. fins,
10*100m off 2:00 (1:38 - 1:42; slowing),
1,000m paddles & pull buoy,
8*50m off 65" desc. 1-4 & 5-8 (55"-46")

I wasn't fast enough when I needed to be.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,800m

p.m.
Run
1 hours 30 minutes steady

21.00km in 1:30:53, 4:20/km
5k splits; 1) 21:54, 4:23/km, 2) 21:36, 4:20/km, 3) 21:30, 4:19/km, 4) 21:30, 4:19/km, 5) 1km @ 4:16/km

Bar the 5km splits flashing on my watch, I didn't look at the pace. It's faster than I have been running recently for the same effort and it came surprisingly easily to me to be honest.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 21.00km


Wednesday 5th July
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

200m warm up,
3*50m fast off 1:20,
5*100m off 1:50,
2*50m off 60",
50m easy

Nothing too long with tonight's duathlon in mind.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 800m

p.m.
Belpark Duathlon No. 3
Warm up - Run

2.5km in 10:48 w. 1' @ 3:32/km, 1' @ 3:26/km, 1' @ 3:14/km

Race
Run 1

2.5km in 8:09, 3:13/km

Cycle

11.5km in 19:57, 34.6km/hr

Run 2

2.5km in 8:29, 3:23/km

I finished 5th. Time, position and performance were all better than last month, but I was still a long way from the podium and I wasn't overly excited about any of those three things going home.

Cool down - Run

2.0km in 11:05 5:22/km

Totals;
Cycle: 0.5hrs - 11.5km
Run: 0.5hrs - 9.5km


Thursday 6th July
a.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

Today's session was all about practicing for the open water. We'd buoys in the pool marking out an oval course that we had to swim around according to instructions issued to us by Peter. Not everybody was enamoured with the manner in which I was swimming, but it's not like I wasn't getting kicked and hit as well. It's all part of the game and far worse happens in a race.
The session ended with some 25m sprints.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,800m

p.m.
Cycle
2 hours steady w. 20 minutes sub IM intensity

58.32km in 1:50:15, 31.7km/hr, 221m elev. gain
Effort: 11.95km in 20:02, 35.8km/hr, 33m gain & 39m loss

I was on my road bike, which made the 35.8kph average speed I held for the effort even more pleasing.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 58.32km


Friday 7th July
a.m.
S & C

40 minutes strength work

Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a

p.m.
Swim
50m pool

6*25m off 40",(41", 42" & 41")
5*100m off 1:40,(1:37, 1:38, 1:38, 1:36 & 1:35)
2*50m off 60"(46" & 44"),
50m easy

I used this as a warm up for my tempo run that followed. I hit speeds I haven't hit in a while and it felt good to finish seeing these times on the clock.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 800m

Run
48 minutes w. 4 x {5' @ tempo pace (<3:30/km) & 1' recovery}

12.26km in 48:01, 3:55/km
Splits;
Warm up) 2.83km in 12:01, 4:15/km,
Efforts;
1) 1.46km in 5:01, 3:27/km,
2) 1.44km in 5:00, 3:28/km,
3) 1.45km in 5:01, 3:27/km
4) 1.46km in 5:01, 3:26/km
Finish) 2.71km in 12:00, 4:26/km

This was the best session I've done in a while and it was on grass too. I was also running on the X-country course in the NSC and there are definitely easier places to run. I felt like I'd pushed a bit too hard on effort #3, but it seemed to set me up nicely for #4. The recoveries were also much faster than my previous recent efforts, which you'd think is a good sign. How I ran at the duathlon on Wednesday gave me the belief that I wouldn't have any problems holding :30/km pace this evening and thankfully this turned out to be right.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 12.26km


Saturday 8th July
Ccle
180km steady

181.90km in 5:28:37, 33.2km/hr, 1,032m elev. gain

Without paying much regardto my computer, I still managed to hold a consistent speed throughout the 180km.
Totals: 5.5hrs - 181.90km


Sunday 9th July
Cycle
2 hours steady w. {3 x 20' IM Efforts & 5' recovery}

105.20km in 3:16:10, 32.2km/hr, 268m elev. gain
Efforts;
1) 13.26km in 20:01, 39.8km/hr, 41m gain & 82m loss,
2) 12.90km in 20:02, 38.7km/hr, 77m gain & 34m loss,
3) 13.20km in 20:03, 39.5km/hr, 41m gain & 50m loss,
Total) 39.36km in 60:06, 159m gain & 166m loss, 39.3km/hr

This wasn't a bad couple of hours' work. I'd a headwind for the first effort, so it was a stroke of good fortune that I spent twice as long going downhill as uphill. I'd a tailwind for the final two efforts and it helped me in holding an overall average speed of 39.3km/hr. It would be very ambitious to expect to hold this for the best part of 5 hours in Kona, but on bling wheels without Gatorskin tyres and fully decked out in aero gear, I might just surprise myself.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 105.20km

Run
40 minutes off the bike, Target <4:00/km

10.50km in 40:02, 3:49/km

My pace for kilometres 1-8 ranged from 3:47-3:54/km, then I decided to empty the tank for the 9th kilometre and see what that would yield. I was able to run it in 3:27, which matched the tempo pace I've set myself. Considering I sometimes find it hard to hit this pace in my tempo sessions, to do it under today's circumstances was a nice outcome.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 10.50km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.0hrs - 12,500m
Bike: 10.0hrs - 323.12km
Run: 3.5hrs - 53.26km
Other: 0.5hrs

I'm falling way behind with this log. My next few updates might need to be more succinct so as I can catch up. This update seems to be from one of my better weeks and there hasn't been as much positivity generated from all the other weeks since.

zico10

Monday 10th July
Run
1 hours 30 minutes progression w. 6 x 80m strides

20.05km in 1:30:01, 4:29/km
Splits;
1) 15.36km in 1:10:01, 4:29/km,
2) 4.69km in 20:00, 4:16/km

I was targetting 4:24-4:48/km pace for the opening 70 minutes and <4:24/km pace thereafter, so it was mission accomplished despite it taking a while to get going. I did the six strides towards the end of the run and gave myself a 3 minute break between each of them. The terrain was fairly flat, but my legs were still feeling the exertions of the weekend.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 20.05km

Swim
25m pool, coached session
[/INDENT]100m easy,
400m w. last 100m at 80% PE,
12*25m off 40" every third one fast (16"-18"),
3 sets of {3*100m desc. 1-3 off 1:45} (Set #2: 1:40, 1:32 & 1:25, Set #2: 1:40, 1:32 & 1:25, Set #3: 1:43, 1:35 & 1:30),
100m easy,
12*25m off 30"/45" every second one fast (18"-19")[/INDENT]
There were only two of us in the lane and I was drafting the other guy for the hundreds. This saved me a lot of energy, but we swam side by side for the sets of 25m and they proved more difficult. I was working very hard at times for this shorter stuff and it's interesting to note how my times got slower from the beginning to the end of the session.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,100m


Tuesday 11th July
Swim
50m pool

200m paddles & pull buoy,
400m one arm drills,
8*50m off 60" desc. 1-4 & 5-8 (Set #1: 48", 46", 44" & 42", Set #1: 50", 47", 45" & 44"),
100m easy,
6*400m paddles & pull buoy, steady (6:40 approx.)

I wore buoyancy shorts for this, but even with this assistance, I still didn't manage to swim as fast as last night. There should probably be nothing surprising about this though, given I was in a 50m pool this morning and there was some undoubted fatigue in my arms.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,500m

Cycle
3 hours steady

91.91km in 3:00:33, 30.5km/hr, 360m elev. gain

Totals: 3.0hrs - 91.91km

Run
45 minutes steady off bike

9.77km in 45:04, 4:37/km

My legs and arms felt heavy and I'd no real motivation to start. With an Ironman not too far away, this is something I need to sort out. I wasn't trying to push the pace, which was just as well given how I was feeling.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 9.77km


Wednesday 12th July
S & C

40 minutes strength work

Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a

Swim
OW - Lough Lene, Collinstown

2,357m in 42:05, 1:47/100m
Splits;
1) (Out) 1,169m in 20:03, 1:43/100m,
2) (Back) 1,188m in 22:03, 1:51/100m,

With very limited availability for members in the NAC today, I didn't bother staying there for a swim. Instead I drove to Collinstown in Westmeath and swam in Lough Lene, the venue for Tri an Mhí's races. I was wearing my old Zoot wetsuit and wasn't going full gas. The 1:43/100m pace I held on the way out from land to the middle of the lake is just about okay, but the 1:51/100m pace on the way back is way too far off the pace I'd like to hold for 3,800m to be simply explained away by a sh!t wetsuit or swimming at an easy pace. And in any event, I won't have a wetsuit of any sort in Kona.
Ideally I would have liked to have stayed in the water for longer, but I'd a 4 hour cycle to do as well and there just weren't enough hours in the day.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,357m

Cycle
4 hours w. hills

85.08km in 3:43:35, 22.8km/hr, 1,374m elev. gain
Effort: 11.95km in 20:02, 35.8km/hr, 33m gain & 39m loss

Up and down the hill from Tri an Mhí's old middle distance race 16 times; probably not what my coach meant by "hills", but it was the best I could do given where I was. I don't feel like I followed his instructions per se, but it salvaged the day somewhat.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 85.08km


Thursday 13th July
Swim
25m pool, coached session

100m one arm drills,
8*400m w. 30" rest, alt. paddles & pb (6:40 approx.)/fs (6:55 approx.),
100m easy,
6*50m sprints (4?"),
4*25m sprints (17"-18"),
100m cool down

There were fewer people in a slower lane next door, than in my regular lane, so I jumped in there instead and was on lead out duty for the full 90 minutes. I perhaps could have pushed harder for the sprints, but I was conscious of the fact I had a hard run planned almost immediately upon finishing and didn't want to be giving Peter, who was going to be running with me, too much of an advantage.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,900m

Run
60 minutes tempo run w. 5 x {5' @ tempo pace (<3:30/km) & 1' recovery}

15.58km in 1:00:45, 3:54/km
Splits;
Warm up) 3.59km in 15:00, 4:11/km,
Efforts;
1) 1.47km in 5:00, 3:25/km,
2) 1.44km in 4:59, 3:28/km,
3) 1.43km in 4:59, 3:30/km
4) 1.43km in 4:58, 3:29/km,
5) 1.44km in 4:59, 3:28/km,
Finish) 3.67km in 15:45, 4:18/km

I did this run with Peter. I stayed behind him for the most part and he served as useful shelter from the wind when required. The efforts got easier as they progressed, the gradient that is, rather than the work required to run them. I found myself having to push harder and harder to bring them in on target. This might make it sound like I had things under control, but that wasn't really the case. I was tired from the swim and still feeling the effects of yesterday's training, so to successfully hold tempo pace for the second week in a row is certainly something to be cheerful about.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 15.58km


Friday 14th July
Cycle
2 hours steady w. {4 x 20' IM Efforts & 5' recovery}

64.28km in 1:49:48, 35.1km/hr, 313m elev. gain
Efforts;
1) 12.26km in 20:00, 36.8km/hr, 70m gain & 49m loss,
2) 13.07km in 20:01, 39.2km/hr, 21m gain & 78m loss,
3) 12.72km in 20:01, 38.1km/hr, 81m gain & 50m loss,
4) 12.69km in 19:53, 38.3km/hr, 62m gain & 79m loss,
Totals) 40.74km in 1:19:55, 38.1km/hr, 234m gain & 256m loss

I was out on my P3. Happy with the speeds I held for the efforts, but maybe that's a sign my target IM pace is too soft.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 64.28km

Run
30 minutes w. first 5' @ IM pace (<4:10/km) & 25' steady

7.23km in 30:01, 4:09/km
Splits;
1) 1.29km in 5:01, 3:54/km,
2) 5.94km in 25:00, 4:12/km

Looking back on the splits from this run, it would appear I took it out too hard, but it didn't feel like this at the time. One thing for sure is I won't be running 3:54/km in Kona, but the effort will be the same. The steady effort simply returned a pace of 4:12/km. This matches what I ran for the marathon in IM Mallorca last September, so hopefully it bodes well.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 7.23km

Swim
OW - Low Rock, Portmarnock

942m in 17:26, 1:51/100m - moving time & pace 15:28 & 1:39/100m

This was a group swim. The rest of the group stayed in for about an hour, but I got too cold very quickly and had to bail.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 942m


Saturday 15th July
Run
90 minutes steady

19.56km in 1:30:22, 4:37/km
Splits;
1) 9.91km in 46:02, 4:39/km,
2) 9.66km in 44:19, 4:35/km

So as not to be distracted by my pace, I'd only the time of day showing on my watch during this run. It made a 90 minute run seem longer than usual, but I was happy enough with the average pace when I got home. It's good that I picked it up by a few seconds per kilometre over the second 45 minutes. It feels like my body is becoming more fine tuned to the paces I should be running at.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 19.56km

S & C

50 minutes strength work

I drove to the NAC with the intention of swimming, but didn't have the enthusiasm for it when I got there. Speaks volumes for my motivation to swim when I found the gym more appealing.
Totals: 1.0hrs - n/a


Sunday 16th July
Swim
50m pool

8*50m off 60", desc. 1-4 & 5-8 (Set #1: 50", 47", 46" & 44", Set #2: 51", 48", 46" & 44")
4 sets of {100m Olympic effort off 1:50 (1:36, 1:35, 1:34 & 1:33) & 300m IM effort (5:20-5:13)} w. 40"-45" rest,
100m Olympic effort (1:36),
100m easy

I was planning to do a fifth set of the 100m & 300m combo, but the scheduled pool changeover cut short my session. I wasn't looking forward to this session, but I got faster as the swim progressed. That's something to be positive about, but not looking forward to the swim in the first place, and bailing on my swim yesterday evening, shows a poor mentality that needs to be addressed.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,200m

Cycle
4½ hours steady

150.83km in 4:35:38, 32.8km/hr, 885m elev. gain

Speed was okay and I did the whole 150k without stops. I was getting tired though, and the aero position was becoming harder to hold. I probably just need more days like this and that should solve those two things.
Totals: 4.5hrs - 150.83km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs - 14,999m
Bike: 13.0hrs - 392.10km
Run: 5.5hrs - 72.19km
Other: 1.5hrs

zico10

Monday 17th July
Cycle
2 hours easy

61.71km in 2:13:38, 27.7km/hr, 280m elev. gain

Very easy spin to save my legs for race tonight.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 61.71km

Race
Howth Aquathlon Series, Race 3
Swim

1,299m in 17:30, 1:21/100m

1:21/100m would be incredibly fast for me, but it includes the run into and out of the water. It doesn't feel like I'm going very fast when I'm doing this, but it would go some way in explaining the pace my Garmin recorded. I showed suitable determination to get round the first buoy before the group I was swimming with, and got on the feet of someone who put 1 minute into me in the last swim after this. He couldn't lose me tonight and this swim was probably the best performance I've ever turned out in a race.

Transition
2:06 on Garmin, 1:03 in results; 8 seconds off the fastest. No real excuse for that, but it didn't matter a huge deal in the end.

Run

7.15km in 25:01, 3:30/km

I'd the quickest run of the night, which was enough to move into first place and take the win. It's my first time ever winning an aquathlon, something I would have never thought possible until tonight. A good few people from the previous race weren't competing tonight though, so I won't get too carried away with myself, but it was a nice feeling all the same and at least now when I retire from the sport, I'll be able to say I've won a triathlon, duathlon and aquathlon.

Totals;
Swim:0.5hrs - 1,299m
Run: 0.5hrs - 7.15km


Tuesday 18th July
Cycle
3 hours steady

88.25km in 2:55:51, 30.1km/hr, 290m elev. gain

I was at home for this and I was cycling my road bike on the old N7 from Roscrea to Nenagh. It was quiet windy out today and it wore me down.
Totals: 3.0hrs - 88.25km

Run
1 hour steady

14.04km in 1:00:11, 4:17/km

This should have been easy, but I didn't read my coach's instructions properly. I got faster and faster over the hour, and would have been happy with this had it been what I was told to do.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 14.04km


Wednesday 19th July
Swim
25m pool

200m paddles & pull buoy,
6*400m w. last 100m of each at 80% PE

There were only two lanes available for members today and with feck all room, I scrapped the session I had planned. To make matters worse, it's going to be like this until next Monday.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,400m

Cycle
Turbo

1½ hours w. 3 x 20' IM Efforts

My rpm rose during the first effort, but fell again for the second and third ones. It was nothing major though and I'm not overly concerned about it.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 46.0km


Thursday 20th July
Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m warm up,
400m as 50m very fast & 350m steady,
600m as 50m very fast & 550m steady,
800m as 50m very fast & 750m steady,
600m as 50m very fast & 550m steady,
400m as 50m very fast & 350m steady,
200m easy,
5*50m sprints (<45"),
10*25m sprints (?"),
100m cool down

I was tired after this and didn't feel very confident going into the run that followed.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,000m

Run
50 minutes tempo run w. 20' @ tempo pace (Target = :35/km)

12.45km in 50:01, 4:01/km
Splits;
Warm up) 4.84km in 20:00, 4:08/km,
Tempo Effort) 5.41km in 20:00, 3:42/km,
Finish) 2.20km in 10:00, 4:32/km

The fear that gripped me after the swim turned out to be well founded. Peter who was running with me finished about 100m ahead of me for the 20 minutes of work. Perhaps messing up Tuesday's easy run ended up costing me today and with it being my third hard run of the week, it's probably no surprise it went the way it did.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 12.45km


Friday 21st July
S & C

50 minutes strength work

Totals: 1.0hrs - n/a

Swim
25m pool

400m warm up w. Last 100m at 80% PE,
8*50m off 60", every second one fast (44" approx.)
3 sets of {3*200m off 3:30}, extra 60" rest between sets (Set #1; 3:20, 3:28 & 3:28, Set #2; 3:25, 3:25 & 3:25, Set #3; 3:23, 3:28 & 3:24)

This was supposed to be a rest day, but having missed my club swim on Monday, I got details of the session off the coach and used the rest day as an opportunity to get the session done tonight.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,600m


Saturday 22nd July
Run
1 hour 40 minutes progression

23.57km in 1:40:01, 4:15/km
Splits;
1) 8.00km in 35:02, 4:23/km,
2) 8.17km in 34:59, 4:17/km,
2) 7.40km in 30:00, 4:03/km

As an alternative to warm weather training, I got well layered up for this run and put up with the heat and the buckets of sweat brought on by wearing a winter base layer, rain jacket, hat and gloves.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 23.57km

Cycle
Turbo

1 hour 5 minutes steady w. 3 sets of {3 x 10" max efforts}

Totals: 1.0hrs - 34.0km


Sunday 23rd July
Cycle
3 hours steady w. {30' Sub IM Effort & 4 x 8' Olympic Efforts}

109.93km in 3:16:29, 33.6km/hr, 588m elev. gain
Sub IM Effort) 17.73km in 30:01, 35.4km/hr, 74m gain & 54m loss,
Olympic Efforts;
1) 5.67km in 8:01, 42.5km/hr, 4m gain & 28m loss,
2) 5.05km in 8:03, 37.7km/hr, 26m gain & 8m loss,
3) 5.05km in 8:02, 37.7km/hr, 35m gain & 38m loss,
4) 5.33km in 8:03, 39.7km/hr, 22m gain & 32m loss

This was good work, which I'd have been happy with last year, but things were generally in my favour when it mattered today and besides I need to up my game. What sufficed last year for Mallorca isn't going to cut it in Kona.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 109.93km

Run
50 minutes steady off bike

11.74km in 50:01, 4:16/km
Splits;
1) 5.85km in 25:04, 4:17/km,
2) 5.89km in 24:56, 4:14/km

Just like yesterday, I got well layered up for this run. I was feeling it more today though.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 11.74km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 4.0hrs - 10,299m
Bike: 11.0hrs - 339.89km
Run: 5.5hrs - 68.95km
Other: 1.0hrs

zico10

Monday 24th July
Cycle
2 hours easy

15.46km in 2:00:25, 25.6km/hr, 155m elev. gain

Another easy spin, another easy start to the week
Totals: 2.0hrs - 51.46km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m w. last 100 @ 80%,
16*25m off 30" alt. easy/fast (26"/20")
4*200m w. first 100 & 5 RPE & second 100 @ 8 RPE (3:20-3:25),
8*100m w. first 50 & 5 RPE & second 50 @ 8 RPE (1:40 approx., ~55" & ~45"),
50m cool down

Distance was short, but I was working harder and harder to hold the pace.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,450m


Tuesday 25th July
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm up,
6*50m building,
4*200m w. 10" rest as 100 steady/100 fast,
100m easy,
650m paddles & pull buoy steady,
8*100m w. 10" rest alt. steady/fast (1:50/1:42),
100m easy,
6*100m w. drag shorts, easy/steady effort
8*45m fast off 60" (45" approx.),
100m cool down

I looked tired according to Peter, but I didn't think I was too bad.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,050m

Cycle
3 hours steady

103.44km in 3:18:47, 31.2km/hr, 349m elev. gain

I was on my road bike and wasn't looking to smash it. I would have settled for anything over 28km/hr setting out, so I was successful from that point of view.
Totals: 3.0hrs - 103.44km

Run
1 hour easy

12.23km in 1:00:01, 4:54/km

I got off to a very slow start and it took me a while to get my average pace under 5:00/km. I wasn't looking to go fast though, so it hardly matters.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 12.23km


Wednesday 26th July
Swim
50m pool - 3,800m wetsuit TT-ish

100m easy,
3,800m in 1:07:31,1:46/100m

As my old Zoot wetsuit had to be scrapped, I bought a cheap replacement for training swims. It just arrived in the post this morning and all out of ideas, I decided to check it out in the pool today. I wasn't really trying to swim fast, but rather just looking to get warm and uncomfortable. It was straight into the steam room and sauna afterward for further heat acclimatisation. I could only manage 5 minutes in each, but hope to build this up over the coming weeks. I don't really consider sitting on my arse as training, but if I can tolerate both of these for longer periods, it can only be good for me.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,900m

Cycle
Turbo

1½ hours w. 3 x 20' IM Efforts & 5' recovery

My cadence was consistent during the efforts, which is all I can judge them on.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 51.0km


Thursday 27th July
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm up,
5*200m fs,
3*400m paddles & pull buoy,
5*200m parachute,
400m easy,
4*25m sprints,
100m cool down

I don't remember much about this, but according to Peter's feedback, I got better as the sets progressed.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,000m

Run
Race
Carton House 6K Trail Race
Warm up

4.07km in 18:11, 4:28/km
Splits; 1) 2.95km w. 3*100m strides in 14:00,4:45/km, 2) 0.28km in 1:01, 3:40/km (uphill), 3) 0.31km in 1:01, 3:15/km (downhill), 4) 0.31km in 1:01, 3:20/km (uphill)

I might have left it all behind me here in the warm up. I never went any faster than 3:15 for one minute in the race, that's for sure.

Race

6.06km in 22:11, 3:40/km,
Kilometre Splits; 1) 3:33, 2)3:36, 3)3:42, 4)3:57, 5)3:49, 6)3:30

This was a pretty poor race. I was beaten by people I was beating comfortably not too long ago and despite finally managing to speed up in the last kilometre, I still lost a couple of places in the last few hundred metres.

Cool Down

1.2km very easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 11.33km


Friday 28th July
Swim
Open Water - Low Rock, Portmarnock

This was a group swim led by Peter Kern. I wore the new wetsuit. Unfortunately the sleeves slide further and further up my arms the longer I swim in it. I won't ever be racing in it, but it will do for nights like tonight. I forgot my Garmin and the distance is an estimate. I didn't find the sea at all cold and unlike the last time I went to one of these group swims, I was able to stay in the water for the full session.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,500m


Saturday 29th July
Cycle
3 hours steady w. {30' Sub IM Effort & 4 x 8' Olympic Efforts}

108.95km in 3:15:43, 33.4km/hr, 671m elev. gain (+3km not recorded)
Sub IM Effort) 17.54km in 30:01, 35.1km/hr, 91m gain & 82m loss,
Olympic Efforts;
1) 5.52km in 8:02, 41.3km/hr, 7m gain & 23m loss,
2) 5.27km in 8:01, 39.4km/hr, 33m gain & 11m loss,
3) 5.29km in 8:03, 39.4km/hr, 22m gain & 38m loss,
4) 5.33km in 8:03, 39.9km/hr, 17m gain & 21m loss
Totals: 21.41km in 32:07, 40.0km/hr, 79m gain & 93m loss

Not a bad cycle, I hit the magic number of 40km per hour and that's always going to give me confidence.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 111.95km

Run
55 minutes steady off bike

12.75km in 55:06, 4:19/km

I started off and finished with a 4:18 opening kilometre split. I got a bit slower in the middle, but not by much, with the slowest kilometre taking me 4:23. An average pace of 4:19/km was alright, but I'm not quick enough starting these runs once I finish the bike. It was same story tonight.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 12.75km


Sunday 30th July
Run
1 hour 50 minutes progression

25.85km in 1:50:01, 4:16/km
Splits;
1) 17.38km in 1:15:00, 4:19/km,
2) 8.47km in 35:01, 4:08/km

I'm becoming very conscious of the fact that I'll be going to Kona without any warm weather training, so by the clothing I wear, I'm doing my best to make do. I was well wrapped up for this run and sufficiently uncomfortable. I still found the pace relatively easy to hold. I'm not really experiencing any problems with this long steady pace, but anything faster is taking too much out of me.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 25.85km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.0hrs - 16,900m
Bike: 10.5hrs - 317.85km
Run: 5.0hrs - 62.12km
Other: 0.0hrs

zico10

Monday 31st July
Cycle
3 hours w. 45 minute IM Effort

89.21km in 2:57:07, 30.2km/hr, 296m elev. gain
IM Effort: 24.66km in 45:01, 32.9km/hr, 105m gain & 66m loss

I was on my road bike and as it was raining, I was wearing a rain jacket over a winter cycling jacket I wear pretty much year round. Neither of these things would have helped my aero-ness. During the tempo effort, I had to pass through two roundabouts, which I did very, very cautiously. Basically what I'm trying to say is that even apart from the positive 39m elevation differential, there are valid reasons my IM speed is well down on usual. It was wet and miserable and the most important thing for me today was not falling off my bike. I'm glad to report it was mission accomplished on that front.
Totals: 3.0hrs - 89.21km

Run
30 minutes easy

6.57km in 31:12, 4:45/km

There were no other instructions than to do an easy run, so that's what I did. It makes me happy that at such an easy effort, I still ran 3 seconds per kilometre faster than 4:48/km. This was at the very upper end of the pace range I allowed for my long runs in preparation for the best run of my life at Connemarathon 2014; good onens hopefully.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 12.23km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m w. increase in pace for the last 100,
3*50m off 60" desc. 1-3, (#3 = 41"),
50m easy,
3*50m off 60" desc. 1-3, (#3 = 40"),
6*25m focusing on rolling onto side,
2*200m #1: 5/6 RPE & #2: 8/9 RPE (3:11 & 3:04*),
50m easy,
9*50m off 60", desc. 1-3, 4-6 & 7-9 (~50", ~46" & ~42),
50m cool down

*I thought we'd only been asked to swim 100m and stopped halfway through thinking we were finished. I was stopped for 3-4 seconds before I realised my mistake. It's a bit annoying as I'm fairly certain I would have broken 3 minutes (something I think I've only done once before) if it weren't for this.

Distance was low tonight and we did lots of technique work over the hour. Most of it was focussed on getting us to rotate onto our sides and finish the stroke. I thought something had clicked and it was they key to the faster times I swam tonight. I haven't swam 200m as fast since, so it's looking more like an anomaly a month on.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 1,850m


Tuesday 1st August
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm up,
5*50m building,
600m drills,
20*100m off 2:00/2:05 (average ~ 1:34),
600m easy

Two other faster swimmers led out three each and opened up a big gap on me. I was shunted up the front after this though and led out four in a row. It got tougher, but I still did a respectable job of holding the pace. I was tired by the end of the set, but pleased with how I had swam.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,450m

Cycle
3½ hours steady

105.56km in 3:33:29, 29.7km/hr, 469m elev. gain

I was getting tired during this cycle and even though it wasn't all that intense, I found it hard to maintain what intensity there was. I was on my road bike for a second day in a row, so I accept I'll be a little bit slower; not bad, but not great either.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 105.66km

Run
50 minutes steady w. 6. x 80m strides

11.69km in 50:01, 4:17/km

I was well layered up for this and even though it was only a steady paced run, I was suffering like a dog by the end of it. I was poring sweat (every bit as much as I used to when I ran in Thailand), with the arms of my rain jacket acting like sprinklers when I was doing the strides.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 11.69km


Wednesday 2nd August
Swim
50m pool - 3,800m wetsuit TT-ish

100m easy,
3,800m in 1:06:11, 1:44/100m

This was the second week in a row doing this test and today saw a 1 minute 20 second improvement, but 1:06:11 is still a long way from where I'd like to be. Compared to my race suit, the wetsuit is terrible. It's a very poor fit around the shoulders and both sleeves had moved about 5 inches up my arms by the end of the session. My pacing was a bit more consistent than last week, but I still slowed over the second half of the swim. This always happens though when I wear a wetsuit in the pool, but the slowdown was no doubt hastened by the poorly fitting suit I was wearing.
After a combined 14 minutes in the steam room and sauna, I got back into the pool for a most invigorating 100m cool down sans wetsuit.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 4,000m

Cycle
Turbo

2½ hours w. 3 x 25' IM Efforts & 5' recovery

Totals: 2.5hrs - 75.50km


Thursday 3rd August
Swim
25m pool, coached session

50m warm up,
4*600m as 150 fast/300 steady/150 fast w. 60" rest,
100m easy,
3*400m as 100 fast/200 steady/100 fast w. 45" rest,
125m cool down

I was tired from the turbo last night and I did the whole session with a pull buoy. I was hoping this would save my legs for the run I had planned doing immediately afterwards. It probably did, but I still tired by having to lead out the lane for the full session.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,875m

Run
Tempo Run w. 6 x {5' @ tempo pace (<3:30/km) & 1' recovery}

14:59km in 58:23, 4:00/km
Splits;
Warm up) 12:01 @ 4:16/km
Tempo efforts;
1) 1.44km in 5:01, 3:28/km,
2) 1.46km in 5:01, 3:27/km,
3) 1.44km in 5:01, 3:30/km,
4) 1.36km in 5:01, 3:41/km,
5) 1.35km in 5:01, 3:43/km,
6) 1.38km in 5:02, 3:38/km,
Cool down) 11:09 @ 5:00/km

I did this with Peter after his swim. I managed to hit my desired pace for the first three tempo efforts, but I'd to dig way too deep at the end of the third one to ensure I brought it in under target. I never really recovered from it. The one minute recoveries I was taking simply weren't enough today. I was more than a bit disappointed with how they went, but at least I have the excuse of attempting them too close to the end of the swim, and even on fresh legs, the cross country route in the NSC is challenging terrain.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 14.59km

Cycle
1 hour easy

16.91km in 43:15, 23.5km/hr, 97m elevation gain

I was given the option of doing an easy hour on the turbo, but the club were holding a 20k TT on the Summerhill to Dunboyne Road. I decide to ride over to the start of that for a gawk. It rained while I was there, but thankfully I was able to avail of shelter in someone's car and when I was offered a lift home, I took it.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 16.91km


Friday 4th August
Cycle
Long & Hilly

92.18km in 4:05:58, 22.5km/hr, 1,401m elev. gain

I haven't ridden in the Wicklow Mountains in a long time and perhaps the distant memory of the last time here made this seem harder than it actually was. I drove to Enniskerry and started climbing (very slowly) immediately. The road had been recently resurfaced as well and the rough surface provided plenty of rolling resistance. It took me over 5 minutes to cover the first kilometre and that was the start of a long slow day in the mountains. Apart from the fact I didn't get wet, I can't say I particularly enjoyed anything about this ride, but it needed to done.
Totals: 4.0hrs - 92.18km


Saturday 5th August
Run
2 hours progression

27.68km in 2:00:02, 4:20/km
Splits;
1) 17.92km in 1:20:00, 4:28/km,
2) 9.76km in 40:02, 4:06/km

I was running in the Phoenix Park and stuck to grass throughout. It took a while to get going, but once the 40 minutes of increased effort came around, I'd no problem picking it up. I was well wrapped up for this and sweating buckets. Then it rained buckets and I couldn't figure out if I was hot or cold, but it was some form of misery.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 27.68km

Swim
50m pool

2*800m as 50 kick/50 swim

All very easy
Totals: 0.5hrs - 1,600m


Sunday 6th August
Cycle
Turbo

1 hour IM Effort

I held a similar cadence from start to finish. With no metrics to go on, it's hard to accurately judge things on the turbo, but I was sweating a lot and definitely putting in the required effort.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 34.5km

Run
60 minutes easy/steady off bike

13.06km in 1:00:23, 4:37/km

My enthusiasm was pretty low for this and even though I'd a swim planned for the evening time, I just couldn't face it and after sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself for a couple of hours, I called it a day and finished my week's training with this run.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 13.06km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.5hrs - 14,775m
Bike: 14.5hrs - 413.86km
Run: 5.5hrs - 73.59km
Other: 0.0hrs

BTH

zico10 wrote: »

....Apart from the fact I didn't get wet, I can't say I particularly enjoyed anything about this ride, but it needed to done....

....Then it rained buckets and I couldn't figure out if I was hot or cold, but it was some form of misery.

......I just couldn't face it and after sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself for a couple of hours, I called it a day........

Your enthusiasm is infectious and inspiring.