I Am the Master of My Fate

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

Was there any feedback on the results of your 3 x 400 TTs? Was anything learned by this exercise?

To be fair to Peter, he sends us a weekly email with individual feedback after the session.

He would have expected me to go faster with the wetsuit. Like Bambaata says it might be the case the wetsuit I have isn't the right one for me. It could also be the case that I just didn't put it on properly. It's the very first wetsuit I bought. I've never swam in another one and I've nothing to compare it too. Peter recommended a few different suits I could trial, but how I'll lay my hands on them I'm not sure.

I was thinking of buying a new suit, but then it's likely IM Mallorca will be a non-wetsuit swim again this year. That being the case I'd rather spend €400-500 on something else.

I don't know how much anyone really learns from 400m TTs. They've little relevance to OW swimming and racing. But given that, what I learned is that my high volume approach to swim training is paying off. I attach most significance to the non-wetsuit TT. All the swimming I've been doing has been pool based and non-wetsuit. Testing myself under the same conditions is the best gauge of whether this training is working or not.

Dory Dory wrote: »

Or, when was the last time you wore it?? If it's been stored for a while, maybe it needs "breaking-in" again. ?? Of course, your body shape may be different from the last time you wore it too.

The last time would have been September. I've done two non wetsuit 1,000m TTs over the last two weeks. I plan to swim 1,000m with my wetsuit soon enough and I'll have a better idea of things then.

peter kern

the 3 tts are a good way for profiling swimmers.

Dory Dory

peter kern wrote: »

the 3 tts are a good way for profiling swimmers.

So, more for your purposes as a coach then? If so, and if Zico doesn't mind, what did you conclude from his results?

Bambaata

High volume definitely seems to be slowly paying off anyways! You're times have come a long way the past few months.

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

So, more for your purposes as a coach then? If so, and if Zico doesn't mind, what did you conclude from his results?

I wouldn't mind at all.

zico10

Monday 9th March
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Run
Runs to and from swimming.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 11.5km

Swim
Coached session, 25m pool
4*100m descending off 2.00 (time fell from 1.45-1.30)
4*400m off 7.00 (I came in on 6.30 for the first one, but my time drifted out to 6.45 for the final 400)
4*200m off 3.30 (Times were between 3.20-3.16)
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,800m


Tuesday 10th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool
600m warm up as 100 swim & 100 pull continuous
2 sets of 4 * 400m off 7.25
1st set all full stroke (7.19, 7.08, 7.10, 7.08)
90 seconds rest
2nd set alternating full stroke & pull (7.14, messed up the timing, 7.24, 7.14)
200m easy

I was disappointed with this session. It became a real struggle at the end, and I'm not sure I would have made the last one had I not been using a pull buoy.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 4,000m

p.m.
Run
34.01km in 2.30.35, 4,25/km
I ran this along the Royal Canal Path. I pressed the ‘lap’ button at half way point just to compare the halves; 1st half) 17.02km in 1.14.45, 4.23/km, 2nd half) 16.98km in 1.15.47, 4.27/km
I was wearing trail runners for this, but there really wasn’t any need as it wasn’t slippy underfoot. I missed the cushioning provided by my normal runners and finished up with sore feet and glad I hadn’t ran out any further than I did.
Totals; 2.5hrs – 34.01km


Wednesday 11th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool
I met a club mate for this session. He’s slightly faster than me, so he was happy to lead all the way. And with the prospect of a much easier session, I was happy to let him.
12 * 100m on 2.10 (desc 1-4, 5-8, 9-12)
No rest between sets, times were between 1.50-1.40 estimate
easy 200
3 * 800 off 14.50 (14.17, 14.17 w. pb, 14.24) I was getting a big benefit from the draft for the first two 800s. My club mate used a pull buoy on the last rep, I didn't, and I lost his feet. I worked hard to close the gap on the last 100m and managed to come in just behind him.
Easy 200
Totals; 1.5hrs – 4,000m

p.m.
Cycle
2 hours easy turbo
Totals; 2.0hrs – 50.0km


Thursday 12th March
a.m.
Swim
Coached session, 25m pool
100m warm up
200m one arm
6*50m build
100m easy
1000m TT, HIM pace (I messed up the count and swam 950m in 15.12, 1.36/100m)
150m easy
3*200m fast
100m easy
3*100m fast
50m easy
3*50m sprint
25m easy
4*25m sprint
50m cool down
Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,225m

p.m.
Cycle
2 hours
15.00 warm up
15.00 HIM effort & 5.00 recovery, 15.00 IM effort & 5.00 recovery, 15.00 HIM effort & 5.00 recovery, 15.00 IM effort & 5.00 recovery, 15.00 HIM effort & 5.00 recovery
5.00 cool down
Totals; 2.0hrs – 56.50m


Friday 13th March
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Run
Easy to and from swimming
Totals; 1.0 hrs – 11.5km
Swim
Coached session, 25m pool
16*50m off 1.00, every fourth 50 fast
50m easy
16*100m off 1.45, every fourth 100 fast (I was getting about 5 seconds rest on the first three 100s, the fast 100s were coming in on 1.30)
4*50m descending off 1.00
I had the benefit of a draft for the entire hour, which made things easier, but I still felt I got quality work done.
Totals; 1.0 hrs – 2,850m


Saturday 14th March
Run
Treadmill
20 minutes warm up with 5*10 seconds @ 20.0km/hr
{30 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 30 seconds recovery} x 2
{45 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 45 seconds recovery} x 2
{60 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 60 seconds recovery} x 2
{90 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 90 seconds recovery} x 2
{60 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 60 seconds recovery} x 2
{45 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 45 seconds recovery} x 2
{30 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 30 seconds recovery} x 2
3 minutes @ 11.0km/hr
30 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 30 seconds recovery
45 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 45 seconds recovery
60 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 60 seconds recovery
90 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 90 seconds recovery
60 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 60 seconds recovery
45 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 45 seconds recovery
30 seconds @ 19.0km/hr, 30 seconds recovery
20.00 minutes cool down with 2*10 seconds @ 20.0km/hr
Totals; 1.5hrs – 17.48km

Swim
6*400m alternating full stroke & pull, untimed
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,400m


Sunday 15th March
Cycle
I went out for a spin on my TT bike. Bar the Limerick Duathlon, it’s the first time I had it out on the road since September. I’m still getting used to an Adamo TT saddle I recently bought. I managed three hours with neither the aero position nor the new saddle causing any major discomfort. The effort was steady and according to my Garmin, I held an average pace of over 31.4km/hr. This probably doesn’t mean a whole lot to anybody else, but I’ll be able to cycle the route again at some point and see how the times compare.
Totals; 3.0hrs – 96.33km



Weekly Totals;
Swim; 7.5hrs – 19,275m
Bike; 7.0hrs – 202.83km
Run; 6.0hrs – 74.49km
S & C; 0.0hrs

Kurt Godel

zico10 wrote: »

1000m TT, HIM pace (I messed up the count and swam 950m in 15.12, 1.36/100m)

Validates your swim volume. Well done, thats a big big improvement.

peter kern

Dory Dory wrote: »

So, more for your purposes as a coach then? If so, and if Zico doesn't mind, what did you conclude from his results?

not going to answer your question but i would think its as importatnt or not important for coach and athelte alike. its another piece of a puzzle no less no more

its still aobut chopping wood and carrying water, mostly ( paulo sousa wrote something nice on that )

zico10

Monday 16th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC 50m

100m warm up
200m one arm
6*50m build (10 seconds rest)
100m easy with pull buoy
1,000m TT, HIM effort (17.18, 1.43/100m)
100m easy with pull buoy
3*100m fast (1,36, 1.37, 1.37) with 30 seconds rest between each 100m
50 easy
3*50m fast (45 seconds approximately)
100m easy

Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,600m

p.m.
Run
There was no club swim this evening, which also meant no Monday night runs to and from swimming. All day I was scratching my head about else I would do and decided whatever it was, it should include a bit of work. I shouldn’t hold off doing intervals for too long more, but one more week won’t be too detrimental. Anyway, I opted for hill reps as generally I’ve no specific target pace when starting off these and whatever my average pace worked out at, I wouldn’t be running home too disappointed. Ignorance is bliss sometimes. All this saw me back running up and down the Khyber Pass for the first time in a while. It was getting dark and the fading light meant the figures 600 painted on the pass to mark 600m were hard to sight. I used two trees a bit further up the pass instead as the finishing point for my interval. I kept forgetting which trees I chose though, hence the variation in the length of my reps.
Warm up
Hill Reps; 8 x >600m & jog back down as recovery

1) 674m in 2.38, 3.54/km
2) 670m in 2.37, 3.55/km
3) 691m in 2.40, 3.52/km
4) 693m in 2.46, 3.59/km
5) 686m in 2.31, 3.40/km
6) 678m in 2.41, 3.57/km
7) 690m in 2.38, 3.49/km
8) 681m in 2.35, 3.49/km

I wasn’t worried about pace until I saw how close I came to exceeding 4.00/km pace on the fourth interval. I went a bit hard on the fifth effort, so as to make sure this wouldn’t happen again. The sixth one was another disappointment, after which I decided to just run the straightest possible line and not worry about the fact that I’d have to cross into the bike lane to do this. Feck all cyclists had passed anyway and luckily no more came along.
Cool down
Totals; 1.5hrs – 20.06km


Tuesday 17th March
a.m.
Cycle
I went out with my flatmate and did a 3 hour cycle with some hard efforts thrown in.
6*{3 minutes flat out & 3 minutes recovery}
Efforts worked out at;

1) 40.6km/hr
2) 40.8km/hr
3) 41.7km/hr
4) 38.3km/hr
5) 40.2km/hr
6) 40.5km/hr

We took about half an hour recovery before doing 3*{3 minutes flat out & 3 minutes recovery}
These three efforts worked out at;

1) 42.2km/hr
2) 41.3km/hr
3) 39.3km/hr

Totals; 3.0hrs – 78.72km

p.m.
Run
Easy, I had my Garmin switched on, but didn’t look at it.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 9.90km


Wednesday 18th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool
I was coming down with the flu and didn’t feel up to any hard work. I did a mix of drills instead and finished off with 20*50m off 65 seconds.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,600m

p.m.
The swim this morning didn’t do much to improve how I was feeling. I was only getting worse during work and decided in the middle of the day to take the rest of the day off.


Thursday 19th March
a.m.
Swim
Coached session, 25m pool

100m warm up
100m kick
100m one arm
6*50m with band
750m TT, HIM effort (13.00)
2*400m with paddles (First one steady effort, second as 50 fast/50 easy)
200m easy
400m mix of sculling and balance drills

I still felt unwell when I woke up this morning, but I don’t like to miss coached sessions, so I dragged myself to the pool. Before getting in the water, Peter asked how I was feeling. I’m not sure if it was because I looked out of sorts or he was just making pleasantries, but instead of my stadard response of ‘Fine’, I said ‘Not great’. I was instructed to take it easy for the session, something I was going to have to do anyway, but it was nice to have the coach’s approval.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,225m

p.m.
I felt like crap coming home from school and went to bed for 3-4 hours. I don’t like missing training, but this was probably the smartest thing I did all week.


Friday 20th March
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Cycle
There was no club swim this evening*, which was just as well as I still wasn’t 100% recovered. I sat down on my couch after school and contemplated an easy run, an easy turbo, or nothing. I would have been appalled with myself had I done nothing, but I didn’t want to go outside either, so I opted for the turbo in the end.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 25km
*This is what I had originally typed, but it turns out there was a session. I found this out yesterday at my Monday night club swim. Oh well.


Saturday 21st March
a.m.
Swim

NAC, 25m pool
400m warm up
4*200m pull
3*400m + 250m full stroke

There was a gala taking place in the 50m pool today and us members were shunted into the diving pool. Even though there was no changeover, we were still kicked out at 10 a.m. I wanted to get 6*400m done in the second set, but had to cut it short.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,650m

My tri club had organised a session where we could practise our transitions. It is something I could do on my own, and the session was aimed at beginners, but I was eager to attend and do think I benefitted from the hour.
Run
I went out at a quarter to 8 planning to get back to my local Supervalu before it closed at 21.30. I had about 1½ hours to do something. I wanted to get a quality run in after what felt like a sh!t week’s training. After the first kilometre, I started pushing the pace. It steadily dropped throughout the run and I finished off having ran 20.06km in 1.29.06 for an average pace of 4.26/km
Totals; 1.5hrs – 20.06km


Sunday 22nd March
Cycle
My Garmin recorded 150.68km in 4.53.07 for an average speed of 30.8km/hr. I stopped my watch at a set of lights in Ratoath and didn’t think of starting it again until I was gone about 4km out the road.
I went out with a bag of wine gums, four gels, a 750ml bottle of water, another 750ml bottle of water with a High 5 Zero tablet mixed in, and notions of doing somewhere between 3-5 hours. I was back out on my TT bike and at a bare minimum I wanted to be out for longer than I was last Sunday. I didn’t want to be flogging myself, so I started out in the small chain ring. Once I got out of the urban sprawl that is Dublin, I was managing to hold an average speed of over 32km/hr without too much difficulty. I was down in the TT position for long stretches, which was undoubtedly helping. This position became uncomfortable after 3½ hours though. I had to come off my tri bars more regularly after this and as a result I had to generate more power to hold a similar speed. I moved into the big ring and pushed hard for the first time.
As well as holding off on moving into the big chain ring, I was also holding off on ingesting calories. Trying to kick start some fat burning, I hadn’t touched any of the sweets or jellies I had taken with me. Because I’d made it this far I convinced myself that I could make it through 5 hours on only water and an electrolyte drink. I suffered for it, but I got back to my apartment door without having to eat anything.
Totals; 5.0hrs – 150.68km

Run
9km easy with 6 x 100m strides
I didn’t wear a watch for this and did it about 3 hours after finishing the cycle.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 9.0km


Weekly Totals;
Swim; - 5.5hrs – 10,400m
Bike; 9.0hrs – 258.04km
Run; 5.0hrs – 59.02km
S & C; 0.0hrs
Miscellaneous; 1.0hrs


After a few missed sessions in the middle of the week, I was happy with the way Saturday night’s run and Sunday’s cycle went. I’ve run and cycled better before, but this early in the season they do give me confidence.
Right now I’m contemplating entering the Ennis Duathlon on Sunday. I’m hoping it attracts a quality field as I’d like to see where my bikes and run rank against other category 1 athletes. Plus with the swim taken out of the equation, it’s probably the best chance I have of doing well in an Irish race this season. I’d prefer if the distances were longer though and it’s a long way from Dublin, so I’m still undecided.

zico10

Monday 23rd March
a.m.
Cycle

1 hour turbo, my ‘go to’ session;
11.00 warm up, 10.00 Olympic effort, 5.00 recovery, 8.00 Olympic effort, 4.00 recovery, 6.00 Olympic effort, 3.00 recovery, 4.00 Olympic effort, 2.00 recovery, 2.00 Olympic effort, 5.00 cool down

Totals; 1.0hrs – 32.5km

p.m.
Run

To and from swimming

Totals; 1.0hrs – 11.5km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

350m warm up with every fourth length fast
2*400m off 6.40
I was drafting off someone and he miscounted the lengths on the first rep. I was pretty sure he had miscounted, but I pushed off after him anyway and ended up swimming 450m. Leaving out the extra 50m I came in on 6.42 for the first 400. It’s easy blame him for pacing it poorly, but I don’t think I’d have missed the time had I led. But to be fair I was happy to let him lead out at the start, and he was working harder than me. Anyway, we came in on time for the second 400, with him still leading.
60 seconds rest
4*200m off 3.30 I was coming in on 3.15 approximately
Straight into the next set;
8*100m off 1.40
With no rest after the 200s, the times were meant to be challenging. I was doing grand for the first few and made the times comfortably. Then the order ahead of me changed and people didn’t seem to be pushing off on the correct times. My times were a bit messed up in the middle. I took an extra 10 seconds rest and got back to doing my own 100s off the right time. It turned out to be a tough session when it was over.

Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,800m



Tuesday 24th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool
After last week’s 1,000m TT, Peter asked me to do it again in a wetsuit.

100m warm up
6*50m build
100m easy
1000m wetsuit TT, HIM pace in 16.24, 1.38/100m
I was overheating towards the end of this, and it became progressively harder. I was losing a couple of seconds per length as I went on. I’ve been more consistent in the other TTs I’ve done recently, but thankfully I shouldn’t have the same issues with overheating in the OW.
Given all this I still thought I would have gone faster though. Main thing to conclude is that my wetsuit just isn’t right for me.
200m easy
3*200m (3.42, 3.39, 3.36)
I’d planned on doing these fast, but I couldn’t manage this. I backed off to a steady pace about 25m into the first effort
100m easy
3*100m steady
50m easy
3*50m fast (48 seconds approximately)
100m cool down

Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,100m

p.m.
Run
5*600m Intervals

5km warm up
20 minute stretches, drills & strides
Intervals;
1) 618m in 2.00, 3.14/km*
2) 616m in 1.56, 3.09/km
3) 626m in 1.59, 3.10/km*
4) 606m in 1.55, 3.10/km
5) 617m in 1.58, 3.12/km*
*headwind
5km cool down

I was happy with this session after finishing it, but comparing it to the same session last year, clearly shows I’m a few seconds slower than 12 months ago. Sunday’s race as well is another indicator that I need to get the finger out.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 16.00km



Wednesday 25th March
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

800 warm up, last 100 at 80% PE
20*100m on 1.55 (1) 1.43 w. p.b. 2) ) 1.43 w. p.b. 3) 1.48 4) 1.47 5) 1.46 w. p.b. 6) 1.45 w. p.b. 7) 1.49 8) 1.49 9) 1.48 10 ) 1.49 11) 1.45 w. p.b. 12) 1.45 w. p.b. 13) 1.49 14) 1.48 15) 1.45 w. p.b. 16) 1.45 w. p.b. 17) 1.49 18) 1.48 19) 1.44 w. p.b. 20) 1.43 w. p.b.)
8*50m on 75 desc 1-4, 4-8 & 9-12 last one all out (Fastest 50s came in on 46, 45 & 45 seconds)
200m cool down

Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,600m

p.m.
Cycle

2 hours easy turbo

Totals; 2.0hrs – 55.0km



Thursday 26th March
a.m.
Swim
Coached session, 25m pool
I was put in a lane with two others who are quicker than me. The coach is well aware of the differences in our abilities, so I assumed the message was to work hard for the 90 minutes and try stay with them. It was difficult at times, but I was happy with how things went.

150m warm up
200m kick
200m on arm
7*50m with band
500m TT in 7.56, 1.34/100m
I pushed off straight after another swimmer and had a drafting benefit for about 200-250m. After this, I lost him and it started to feel like work.
500m TT with fins in 7.34, 1.30/100m
I had a drafting benefit throughout. My fins were larger than the others in the lane, so this was relatively easy.
275m+ TT with paddles & p.b. in 4.33, 1.35/100m
This was supposed to be another 500m, but I lost a paddle and I knew I was doing crap. I gave up in frustration.
100m easy
200m TT in 3.01, 1.30/100m
I worked hard to stay on feet and had the benefit of a draft for all of this.
200m TT with fins in 3.00, 1.30/100m
Once more I could draft for the 200m. With the fins on, this was very easy.
200m TT with paddles & p.b. in 3.06, 1.33/100m
The paddles were a nuisance and really slowed me down on the turns. I think I'd be quicker with just a pull buoy.
100m easy
7*50m sprint off 1.00
I was drafting for all 7 and was coming in on circa 40 seconds
50m cool down

Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,600m

p.m.
Run

I’d no Garmin or watch for this, but it was slow and slightly longer than an hour. I mapped the route on mapmyrun afterwards.

Totals; 1.0hrs – 12.55km



Friday 27th March
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Cycle
Turbo; I did Tunney’s week 2 session, but reduced it slightly. This was partly because I would have been in a rush to get to swimming had I done the full session, and partly because of a race I was doing on Sunday.

10.00 easy
5 x {30 seconds build & 30 seconds easy}
8 x {2.45moderately hard & 0.15 hard}
5.00 easy

Totals; 0.5hrs – 23.0km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m warm up
400m as 50 swim & 50 kick
4 sets of {4*50m pull on 1.10 with target time of 46/47 seconds & 2*100m on 1.40}

Using the pull buoy was my own idea and wasn’t on the instructions of the coach. I did this with Sunday’s race in mind. Halfway through I felt I’d have been better doing the 100s with a pull buoy, but I didn’t change either.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,400m

Run

Once again I ran to the pool. Usually somebody offers me a lift home, which I was hoping would happen again, but none of these kind souls were here tonight and I found myself reluctantly running home after swimming.

Totals; 1.0hrs – 11.5km



Saturday 28th March
Run

5km on treadmill with 6*15 seconds at 20.0km/hr

Totals; 0.5hrs – 5.00km

Swim
NAC, 25m pool

10*100m untimed

Totals; 0.5hrs – 1,000m



Sunday 29th March

Ennis Duathlon
Run 1: 25.14 (7.23km in 25.14, 3.29/km)*
T1: 01.02
Cycle: 44.41 (27.00km in 44.41, 36.26km/hr) †
T2: 01.00
Run 2: 14.59 (3.99km in 14.59, 3.45/km)*
Total; 1.26.57

Run
Totals; 1.0hrs – 13.50km (inclusive of warm up)
Cycle
Totals; 0.5hrs – 27.00km
*based on Gamin
†based on Sport Splits stats

Run
I had planned on cycling for an hour or two down in Ennis after the race, but I didn’t fancy going back out into the wind we had to deal with during the race. After a fill of sandwiches and cake, I drove back to Roscrea instead. When I got here I couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to go out on the bike and opted for an easy 7km run from my home to Monaincha Abbey, the 9th wonder of the world.
Totals; 0.5hrs – 7.0km


Weekly Totals;
Swim; 7.0hrs – 16,500m
Bike; 4.0hrs – 137.50km
Run; 6.5hrs – 76.77km
S & C; 0.0hrs


Training hours are down on account of the race on Sunday, which has given me a few things to think about. There are some negatives and some positives I can take from it. I’ll outline these in a report to follow.

shotgunmcos

Now thats an update. Solid sessions throughout. Good work

Dory Dory

I like the new posting format. !!!

zico10

Run 1 – 25.14
I knew starting off that I wasn’t as fast as others on the start line and decided no matter how tempting it might seem, to not take the lead at any point. Not that I had any notions of winning overall, but I wanted to save myself for the cycle and put the hammer down here.
The pace wasn’t incredibly fast for the first two kilometres and a group of 15 or so runners were still together at this point. I got the impression people were holding back. Then after 2½km some runners at the front of the pack picked up the pace and I was left behind. I tried to stay within striking distance, but the gap just kept growing. It was a bit disheartening to see how easily they seemed to pull away from me.
Once I realised I wasn’t going to rein any of them in, I just got on with my own race and felt better for it. As I got nearer transition I could see I had closed a gap on two runners who had moved ahead of me earlier. Most of the others who had gotten away were still well ahead but the fact I had closed the gap on these two runners meant I had limited the damage somewhat.
I came into T1 in 14th position in a time of 25.14, 1.26 down on the lead runner.

T1 – 1.02
Unlike my previous transition in Limerick, this was a much smother affair. I was in and out in 1.02, only 12 seconds slower than the fastest time. There’s still room for improvement, but compared to the last race I did, it’s a hell of a lot better.

Cycle – 44.41
The road out of the Sports Centre was a twisty 800m stretch that swept up and down. I was fiddling around with my shoes and two people passed me before I got to the main road. Once out on the road I set about trying to chase these two down. It was tough work and it took a while, I was caught in the wrong gear going up a hill, but I finally caught and passed both of them.
After this, I was keeping an eye on my Garmin to see how close to the turnaround I was. I was also looking to the other side of the road to see just how many people were ahead of me and how far ahead they were.
I counted about 10 cyclists before I rounded a roundabout, just before Crusheen Village, that served as the turnaround point. I hoped I’d catch a few of them before T2, but I was immediately hit by a very strong wind that meant this was going to be far easier said than done.
For 90% of the return leg the wind was either a headwind or a crosswind and there was very little respite from it. There were a couple of occasions when my front wheel was caught by a crosswind and I had to come off my tri-bars to steady myself. It was impossible to build any momentum and it made passing other cyclists a very difficult task.
I caught one or two more before getting back to T2, but the majority of people who ran quicker than me had also cycled quicker than me as well, and coming off the bike I hadn’t moved up too many places in the overall standings.
My time for the cycle was 44.41, which gave me the 9th fastest split.

T2 – 1.00
I’d practised my dismount a few times since Limerick and rehearsed it a couple of time during my warm up. For such a simple thing it really pays dividends and while I wasn’t the fastest in T2, I was only 11 seconds slower than the fastest guy in T2.
Run 2 – 14.59
Aaron O’Brien had come in off the bike just before me, which meant I was either having a fantastic race or his wasn’t going according to plan. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the former and I passed him soon enough after starting the run. He wasn’t moving well and he was clearly struggling. There were still a lot of people ahead of me and I now focussed my energies on chasing them.
I moved up alongside a junior and we ran together for the remainder of the race. This seemed to work in both our favours, but I was worried though with him being probably being half my age, he was going to able to outsprint me if we were still together near the finish.
I wanted to lose him before we got to this stage of the race, but the opportune moment never arrived and we were still together with 200m to go. Running together though we had picked off another runner and each gained position. He took off with about 100m to go and I was on the verge of letting him go, when I thought ‘Fnck it! Don’t just let him have it.’ I matched his speed and came across the line right beside him.
We were given the same finishing time, but I thought he had just pipped me and he would be placed ahead of me. If it was decided on a photo finish, I think he would have been given it. But according to Peter Kern, seemingly it was decided on who had the fastest second run, which was me; 14.59 and 4th fastest second run.

Finishing Time – 1.26.57


Reflection
I finished in 8th position, but I was still 2.26 off the winner and 1.23 off 3rd place. I would have needed to have been a lot better to have made the podium and I’m under no illusions about that, but it would have been nice to have been closer. I was really disappointed with my run. I was getting dropped by a lot of people on even the slightest of inclines. There’s a few possible explanations as to why going through my head right now.
It’s hard to know what to make of the cycle. I’m sure the conditions weren’t ideal for anybody, but I didn’t feel strong at any point.
I think overall it was a subpar performance, for which there could be numerous reasons and I could write a 500 word thesis as to the possibilities.
One positive I’m taking from the race is that while I was only the 14th quickest for the first run, I finished the second run with the 4th quickest split. I like to think this means my endurance is still there, which for someone whose primary goal is long distance racing is a good thing.
I’m doing Tri Laois on Saturday, for which I won’t be able to properly taper either. But I have reduced my training hours this week and I’m hoping for a performance that will leave me feeling more positive about things than this race has done.

viperlogic

zico10 wrote: »

The road out of the Sports Centre was a twisty 800m stretch that swept up and down. I was fiddling around with my shoes and two people passed me before I got to the main road.

So much for no race zone!!

I was stuck behind one fella trying to get one shoe in for ages, being a good boy I didn't pass him! On the way back in 5 more passed me, but I passed them in T2 and the run.

Great race report and well done.

MojoMaker

Great report, thanks for sharing.

4th fastest second run split in the national championships says it all. How many of those guys that finished ahead of you are swimming 16K a week do you reckon?

zico10

viperlogic wrote: »

So much for no race zone!!

I was stuck behind one fella trying to get one shoe in for ages, being a good boy I didn't pass him! On the way back in 5 more passed me, but I passed them in T2 and the run.

Great race report and well done.

Thanks, but I wouldn't have any complaints. Neither of them did anything dangerous. It was nearly a kilometre from T1 out to the road, and had they stayed behind me, I would have been holding them up. I wouldn't like to be stuck behind some nitwit struggling to get their feet into their shoes and probably would have done the same thing. There was no need for the full stretch of road to be a no passing zone. I think rules need to be sensibly enforced and penalising them for overtaking me on that stretch of road wouldn't have been sensible or fair.

zico10

MojoMaker wrote: »

Great report, thanks for sharing.

4th fastest second run split in the national championships says it all. How many of those guys that finished ahead of you are swimming 16K a week do you reckon?

Here's one!:)

I can't answer your question, but my suspicion is overall there wouldn't be much difference in the overall hours we're doing. I'm going to be competing against the same guys in Kilkee this year and swimming is where I'm going to lose the most time, hence my high volume approach to it. Time will tell if it pays off. 4th fastest second run on its own honestly doesn't mean that much to me. I would have been a good bit quicker 12 months ago. Whatever the reasons for this are, it is something that concerns me.

peter kern

Apart form the 2 guys that were fastest on the first run and raced on road bikes, and swim a good bit more than Zico there was also another guy in the top 6 where I gather from a conversation with his coach that does as much mileage as Zico or more

there is 4 guys in the top 8 that swim an combined average of roughly 14- 15 k a week and without road bikes there would almost certainly 6 guys in top 10 that swim an combined average of 16 plus k a week .

quote="MojoMaker;94939883"]Great report, thanks for sharing.

4th fastest second run split in the national championships says it all. How many of those guys that finished ahead of you are swimming 16K a week do you reckon?[/quote]

Chartsengrafs

Well done today. Hope you'll take plenty of positives from it.

shotgunmcos

Congrats on the win! Had a feeling you would take it

Dory Dory

Zico, you crack me up. Congratulations. I don't know the details of the race (report in the hopper yet???), but well deserved on so many levels.

pgibbo

Well done at the weekend. Nice to start with a win in the first tri of the season :cool:

zico10

Monday 30th March
a.m.
nothing

p.m.
Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m warm up last 100 at 80%
4*100m descending 1-4 off 2.00 (1.40-1.29)
8*100m off 1.50
8*100m off 1.45
8*100m off 1.40 (We ran out of time and ended up doing seven 100s in the end.)

I had the benefit of a draft until the final few 100s in the final set. I managed to hold the times, but it became tough after I lost the draft.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 3,100m


Tuesday 31st March
a.m.
Cycle
3½hrs easy turbo
Totals; 3.5 hrs – 96.25km

p.m.
Run

After a 2km warm up, I started a set of {1km fast & 1km slow} x 6. Breakdown of the 1km fast/1km recovery was thus;
1) 3.56, 2) 4.49, 3) 3.54, 4) 4.59, 5) 3.42*, 6) 4.52, 7) 3.44*, 8) 4.57, 9) 3.49†, 10) 5.08, 11) 3.47†
*majority downhill
†strong headwind
2.10km cool down in 11.04, 5.16/km

Totals; 1.0hrs – 15.10km


Wednesday 1st April
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 25m pool

400m warm up
4*100m off 2.10
6 sets of {2*100m off 1.40 & 200m off 3.30}
Times for above sets were;
1) 1.37, 1.38 & 3.20
2) 3.16, 1.38 & 1.37 (I forgot I was meant to have stopped after the first 100m, so reversed the order of the 100s and 200.)
3) 1.36, 1.38 & 3.22
4) 1.36, 1.40 & 3.17
5) 1.36, 1.38 & 3.21
6) 1.36, 1.38 & 3.31 (I completely switched off on the last 200m and ended up with a terrible time.)
100m easy
8*50m off 70 seconds, descending 1-4 & 5-8 (Times fell from 56-46 seconds)
200m cool down

I felt tired and wore buoyancy shorts for this session. I was hoping this would make for an easier session, but I still found it a slog. I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind and didn’t enjoy it.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,900m

p.m.
Run
Intervals; 5 x 800m
9.50km warm up
Intervals;

1. 815m in 2.40, 3.17/km
2. 827m in 2.33, 3.06/km
3. 827m in 2.46, 3.21/km
4. 822m in 2.37, 3.11/km
5. 813m in 2.43, 3.21/km
Total; 4.10km in 13.21 Avg; 3.15/km
4.5km cool down

I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I feel I must start regular speed work from now on. The odd session here or there doesn’t really prepare me for racing. For some reason I’m finding it hard to work up the motivation to go out and do intervals on my own. My club do a weekly run, which is targeted at those new to the sport. But it will do me for now and I plan to go along for the next couple of months until I feel I need to start properly targeting the Ironman run.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 19.70km


Thursday 2nd April
a.m.
Swim
Coached session, 25m pool

WU 100m warm up
4*50m build;
3*400m with 30 seconds rest between sets; 1st with paddles & pull buoy fast; 2nd 50 fast/50 steady; 3rd 200 fast/200 steady
100m easy
3*300m with 20 seconds rest between sets; 1st fast; 2nd 50 fast/50 steady; 3rd with paddles & pull buoy 200 fast/200 steady
50 easy;
4x200m; 1st & 2nd fast (3.06 & 3.02); 3rd &4th 50 fast/50 steady
50m easy
6x50m sprint (40-42 seconds)
100m cool down

Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,850m

p.m.
With Saturday’s race in mind I decided to take the rest of the day off.


Friday 3rd April
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Run
Treadmill

Warm up 1.5km @ 11.5km/hr, 5.13/km
2.0km @ 18.0km/hr, 3.20/km
Cool down 1.5km @ 11.5km/hr, 5.13/km

Totals; 0.5hrs – 5.0km


Swim

50m pool
150m pull & 50 swim easy
200m in 3.20, 1.40/100m
50m swim & 150m pull easy
4*50m as 25 easy/25 sprint with 10 seconds rest
4*50m as 25 sprint/25 easy with 10 seconds rest
200m easy

Totals; 0.5hrs – 1,200m


Saturday 4th April
Tri Laois
Swim; 00:13:04 (750m in 12.30, 1.40/100m*)
T1; 00:00:58
Cycle; 00:30:55 (19.3km in 30.55, 37.5km/hr)
T2; 00:00:52
Run; 00:18:08 (5.00km in 18.08 3.40/km)
Total Time; 01:04:10
*Based on the time I got out of the water
Totals;
Swim; 0.5hrs – 19.30km
Cycle;
Run; 0.5hrs – 7.0km (including warm up)


Cycle
I drove on to Roscrea after the race and went for a cycle later that evening. I kept it in the small ring and finished up before dark.

57.35km in 1.50.19, 31.2km/hr

Totals; 5.0hrs – 152.73km


Sunday 5th April
Cycle
I was still down home in Roscrea and set off with no real route in mind. From Roscrea I passed through the towns of Borris in Ossory, Durrow, Urlingford, Cashel, Holycross (where I stopped for coffee), Borrisleigh, Toomevara and then home again to Roscrea. It was a lovely day and a very enjoyable cycle along a lot of roads I hadn’t ridden before. I’m hoping it precedes a week of some big cycling mileage.
Totals; 5.0hrs – 152.73km

Run
To loosen out the legs from the cycle earlier on I went for a nice and easy jog around a loop I often run when home. No watch or GPS.
Totals; 0.5hrs – 5.76km


Weekly Totals;
Swim; 4.5hrs – 12,900m
Bike; 11.0hrs – 325.13km
Run; 4.0hrs – 52.26km
S & C; 0.0hrs

zico10

Swim - 00:13:05
Before starting, we were stood by the side of the pool with the other swimmers in our lanes. In these groups we were to decide what order we would go off in. Two thought I brought into these negotiations were; 1) I didn't want to be leading and 2) nor did I want to be at the very back. After a bit of discussion, the order was decided upon. I would go off third, which I was satisfied with.
I knew the girl in front of me and while I was happy to let her lead, I didn't think there was going to be much between us over 750m. This is the way it panned it out. It also turned out there wasn't much between me and the two guys behind us either.
The lead swimmer pulled away from the rest of us after 25m and wasn't troubled by anybody for the duration of the swim. Discounting him, the girl, myself, and another guy swapped lead out duties for a couple of lengths at a time. It wasn't an overly taxing swim and it only felt like work after I was leading for a few consecutive lengths. All in all I led for somewhere between 200-300m. The three of us all came out of the water within a few seconds of each other. Trailing right behind us was joey100. After getting out of the water and starting to run out of the pool, I looked at my watch and saw 12.35 on it. I pressed start when the first swimmer pushed off, so by my reckoning. my time for the 750m would have been slightly less than 12.30.

T1 - 00:00:58
The timing mat was located at the entrance to some astro-turf pitches that served as the transition zone. I crossed this after 13 minutes and 5 seconds for an official swim time of 13.05. Due to a neutralised transition, we had an extra 100 metres or so to run, before we got to our bikes. Once at my bike, bar my voluminous and luxurious beard preventing me from fastening my helmet first time, I thought I did everything speedily enough. Joey had got out just before me though, so I wasn't speedy enough to maintain my position.

Cycle - 00:30:55
After exiting transition we had a short run uphill before we crossed the mount line. Along this short stretch I was informed that I was about 2 minutes down on my club-mate, David Cahill. I'd never beaten him in a triathlon before and today he had a target on his back. I would have liked to have been closer, but he is a very good swimmer, so I wasn't hugely surprised. 'Get a move!' I told myself and 'Try catch him on the bike.'
Once on the bike, it was hard to get into any sort of a rhythm until we were out of the town. There were a good few roundabouts we had to get through and there was quite a bit of traffic by the time my wave was out on the road. I never had to come to a complete stop, but momentum was slowed right down on two occasions. Still everybody in my wave had to deal with the same conditions, so it probably evened itself out.
Once out of Portlaoise, I was down on my tri-bars for an extended period. We cycled out the old Dublin Road initially. I felt good up to here and thought I was moving well. After about 9km, we took a sharp left turn onto a rural road. It was twisty and undulating, with one or two farmers out for a spin in a tractor or jeep. There were some blind turns in the road and I never felt like I was properly motoring for the rest of the bike.
Though I didn't know at the time I'd passed most of wave 1 with a good bit of the bike still to go. With around 2km to go David came into view. I could see I was closing on him, but when I was within striking distance we back in urbanity and it would have been extremely reckless of me to try and overtake him. I held back and followed his line round bends and through roundabouts.
We got back to T2 with him still in the lead, but I had cut his advantage to just seven seconds.

T2 - 00:00:52
I transitioned quicker than David as well and came out of T2 right on his shoulder.

Run - 00:18:08
I knew starting off the run I was faster than David and was fairly confident I was going to take him. We had the same short uphill stretch on grass to get up that we had already surmounted starting the bike. I thought there was no point hanging about and pushed on past David here.
I wasn't certain I had taken the overall lead and kept running at the same pace. It was an out and back run and I could see runners from earlier waves returning to the finish line. The closer I got to the turnaround the more hopeful I became that I was winning. I turned the cone at the halfway point and now kept on eye out for David Cahill and other runners from wave 1 on the outward leg. I saw I had a bit of lead and now 99% certain there was nobody ahead of me, I could relax a bit.
I concentrated on running the straightest line I could from here on. This wasn't always possible though as the road was open to traffic and I had to veer off my desired route a couple of times for cars on the road.
I came back to transition and entered the grounds of Portlaoise Leisure Centre once more, from here it was just a short half lap round a field and over the finish line to win.

Total Time - 01:04:10


Reflection
I was happy with the win and although the quality of the field wasn't as strong as the previous week in Ennis, I had the fastest bike and fastest run. In general I also thought my performance was better. I'll take these positives from the race and I'm probably going to come across as a pretentious curmudgeon to complain, but I'll complain regardless.
The swim wasn't as fast as I was expecting. It'd be easy to blame the pace setters in front of me, but when I took the lead, things didn't get any faster. I'm probably going to curtail my swimming from here on out, so it looks like I'm as fast as I'm going to be this year. I won't be doing another pool swim though and I can cling to the hope that I have better luck in the open water.
I was never really able to totally let rip on the bike, so it's hard to know what to make of this. It was messy getting out of the town. I was fastest in my wave and 1.02 slower than Con Doherty. I was told by marshals the inter-varsities had far less traffic to deal with when they started their cycle, so I think I would have been closer had we gone off in the same wave. Being so close to someone like him is a good thing, so I look on the bike as a positive.
Unfortunately I messed up the timing on my own Garmin. But assuming the run was bang on 5km, I held an average pace of 3.40 for the 5k. I don't have any recent sprint races to draw comparisons to, but last year in Kilkee I held a quicker pace for the 10km run. I think the longer the race, the more it plays to my advantage. Had we been asked to run 10k on the day, I still think my overall pace wouldn't have been too far off 3.40. At the end of the day, I'm not too far off where I'd like to be and I still have a few months to sharpen up.
I'm feeling more positive about where I am than I was after Ennis. I took it easy for the week and got more sleep (helped of course by the fact I was on Easter holidays). I was much fresher going into the race than I was a week previous and it's reassuring to know, if wasn't already obvious, that simple things like that help hugely.

Dory Dory

Did you receive your <cough> fab IM gift yet?

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

Did you receive your <cough> fab IM gift yet?

I did indeed. It arrived in the post in the middle of a two week break from work. I really need the cheering up.

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

I'm probably going to curtail my swimming from here on out, so it looks like I'm as fast as I'm going to be this year. I won't be doing another pool swim though and I can cling to the hope that I have better luck in the open water.

There's some free speed if you'd shave that voluminous and luxurious beard of yours. Or are you timing the laborious removal of this special weapon of yours as part of your psych strategy and "A" race enhancement?

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

There's some free speed if you'd shave that voluminous and luxurious beard of yours. Or are you timing the laborious removal of this special weapon of yours as part of your psych strategy and "A" race enhancement?

It comes off on the eve of A races. There'd be little point shaving my legs, if I left this monstrosity on my face.
Peter actually wants me to do a TT clean shaven, but I'm not sure if the 'laborious removal' is worth it for a bog standard 400m TT in the middle of a training block.

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

It comes off on the eve of A races. There'd be little point shaving my legs, if I left this monstrosity on my face.
Peter actually wants me to do a TT clean shaven, but I'm not sure if the 'laborious removal' is worth it for a bog standard 400m TT in the middle of a training block.

Braids, cornrows, Saran Wrap, modified silicone swim cap.....

If only Speedo had a beard cap made for the fashion-conscious and in-vogue man like yourself. I mean, why sacrifice your 21st century lumberjack good looks for a bit of pool speed? Pfft. In this day and age, you deserve to have both!

MojoMaker

Steamy!