I Am the Master of My Fate

zico10

catweazle wrote: »

Where did you get the turbo - it's not something I would guess would be common over there

I bought one when I lived here. They're probably not that common, but anything can be ordered, as mine was. I was pretty certain I'd be back at some point, so instead of trying to sell it, I gave a lend of it to the owner of a local bike shop. Same story with my Trek 2.1 that sat unused for two years, there was little point selling that either. I just let the owner of the bike shop know I was coming back and I'd be wanting my turbo for the three weeks I was there.

zico10

pgibbo wrote: »

Enjoy your last few days in Thailand.

Is your marathon pace in the above sessions your planned IM run pace?

It's not actually.

<4:00/km pace would give me a sub 2:50 marathon, which I don't think I could manage in an IM. But at the same time my standalone marathon time is well under that, so the pace in training isn't taxing enough that it's negatively affecting my other training. At least I don't think it is. I'm hoping that having trained my legs to run at sub 4:00/km pace, <4:15/km, which is what I'll go out at in Mallorca, feels easy. If I'm capable of running faster on the day, then all the better, but a sub 3 hour marathon is the ballpark figure I'm expecting right now. I don't know if this training approach is a wise strategy, but I didn't suffer nearly as much during run training for last year's IM, as I did for a spring marathon in Connemara. I feel I need to push harder this time round.

Trig1

zico10 wrote: »

I was carrying a lot of speed into the turn. After straightening up, I had to break hard or else I was going to hit a traffic island. With this the back wheel skidded and went from under me, and I came off the bike. My right hip bore the brunt of the fall and I banged my inner left knee the crossbar. It wasn't as sore as it might have looked though. I knew I was coming off a few seconds before it actually happened and I tried to brace myself for it. There is a little bit of road rash, but I think the wet road lessened it. I was actually surprised how little it hurt and I had the presence of mind to stop my Garmin while I was still lying on the ground. (It was essential I kept my average speed above 36km/hr.)
This happened directly opposite an obliquitous Thai restaurant, and the owner who had witnessed what happened came over to help me. She cleaned and disinfected the wounds and after this, I was back on my bike and starting the return trip to Lang Suan. My bar tape was sliced on the right hand drop and the rear wheel was slightly buckled, but apart from these two things the bike was okay. .

Wow.... fair play to you , I don't know how I could have continued with another 70k of cycling after a fall not to mind an 18k run- that's some determination and it will stand to you come Ironman time!! well done!

MojoMaker

Ouch. Hope all is ok now zico, never a good time to fall but glad to hear you got up without no obvious hurt.

zico10

Monday 27th July
Nothing


Tuesday 28th July
Cycle

1 hour easy turbo

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km


Wednesday 29th July
Run

27.01km in 2:04:06, 4:35/km
Kilometre splits; 1) 4:31/km, 2) 4:36/km, 3) 4:35/km, 4) 4:32/km, 5) 4:35/km, 6) 4:40/km, 7) 4:37/km, 8) 4:37/km, 9) 4:31/km, 10) 4:31/km, 11) 4:32/km, 12) 4:36/km, 13) 4:35/km, 14) 4:38/km, 15) 4:37/km, 16) 4:38/km, 17) 4:32/km, 18) 4:36/km, 19) 4:32/km, 20) 4:36/km, 21) 4:37/km, 22) 4:35/km, 23) 4:37/km, 24) 4:35/km, 25) 4:35, 26) 4:40, 27) 4:36

This felt a lot longer than a 27km run usually does. I did it in a city park in Bangkok, which was a lot busier than where I usually ran in the town I had been staying. It was by no means a big park, one complete loop of the outer path was 3km. It was good for people watching at the start, but this became a bit monotonous after four or five laps. It seemed to take ages to complete a lap and counting them down wasn't giving me any encouragement. I'd have been better off with fluids, but bring far easier to carry! I took two gels with me instead. I consumed one of these after an hour, and the other 30 minutes later. Perhaps the three previous days of doing SFA had me feeling sluggish, but I didn't feel super at any point and was glad to just get it done.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 27.01km


Thursday 30th July
Run

8.01km in 45:41, 5:42/km

I felt brutal throughout this. I realised how slow I was going, but I just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to pick up the pace. I did it early morning and started less than 12 hours after finishing the 27km run the previous night.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 8.0km

I flew back to Ireland this evening and couldn't get anything else done.


Friday 31st July
I arrived back in Dublin today. Unfortunately my bags didn't though and as the key to my apartment was in one of these bags, I had to go into the city to meet my flatmate, and make a copy of his key before I could go home. The two long flights had me feeling jaded, so I went to bed in the afternoon. I left it until late in the evening before getting on the turbo. My cycling shoes were in my mislaid bags, so I had to do the session in ordinary runners.

Cycle

2 hour turbo, steady effort

Totals: 2.0hrs - 60.0km

I wanted to run after the turbo, but just couldn't face it. It was only 8km and it the last chance I had to finish the week having done the correct number of runners as prescribed in the program I'm following. This would usually be motivation enough for me to drag my arse out the door, but it didn't work this evening.


Saturday 1st August
I wanted to get to the NAC before 12, but was told my bags would be delivered to me this morning. It was in the afternoon before the courier arrived, so I missed out on a swim once again.

Cycle

1 hour turbo, easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

Run

16km with 8km @ HMP (<3:35/km)
4.50km in 20:18, 4:30/km (I increased the pace as I went along.)
8.01km in 28:37, 3:34/km
Kilometre splits; 1) 3:26, 2) 3:28, 3) 3:36, 4) 3:34, 5) 3:38, 6) 3:37, 7) 3:35, 8) 3:36
3.5km cool down

This took a huge effort. A lot of things made it difficult, the main one being I'm just too heavy to be comfortably hitting the faster target paces I've set myself. I wore my race shoes for this and took a gel before the session and one before the HM paced segment as well. I was bolloxed when I finished the fast 8km and walked for a good bit afterwards to recover. It was painful to breathe and my ribs seem to be bruised, which could only have happened from my fall off the bike last Sunday. This is the first session since that I would have been using my full lung capacity and the pain in my ribs was really noticeable afterwards. Also a ligament in my back has been getting tighter and tighter all week and is even more painful than my ribs.
Despite all this, I was very happy to have finished with my average pace under target. I didn't pace it very well though and could see it was slipping away from me towards the end. I wasn't confident enough I'd be able to start off steady and keep it up. So I went out with the strategy of going hard and hoping I'd have enough surplus time banked in the first few kilometres to finish under target.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 16.0km


Sunday 2nd August
Swim

150m farting about

My back was still sore waking up. I wasn't expecting much from this swim and planned to bail at the first sign of discomfort, which happened the first time I turned to breathe. After this, I swam a length of breaststroke. This wasn't any less painful and I switched to backstroke. If I could swim this stroke well, I could have got a bit of distance done in the water. But anytime I overreached or God knows what, I felt a sharp sudden pain in my back. There was no point continuing and I got out of the pool.
Totals: 0.0hrs - 150m

I'd hoped to get a cycle and 18km run done today as well, but after the swim I realised they'd both be counterproductive.


Weekly Totals;
Swim: 0.0hrs - 550m
Bike: 4.0hrs - 110.00km
Run: 4.0hrs - 51.02km
S & C: 0.0hrs

Despite the much reduced hours, I haven't given my body a chance to recover from the fall last Sunday. I did two hard run sessions this week, that both took a lot of effort. At this point, I don't think I'm doing myself any good by stubbornly training through obvious injury. I've patched my back up with kinesiology tape and I'm booked in for a physio session on Tuesday. I think the wisest thing for me would be no more training until after that. I plan to eat sensibly this week, get plenty of sleep and hopefully after physio, I'll be alright to race Caroline Kearney next Saturday.

68 lost souls

hope the back and ribs settle alright before CK.

peter kern

so what do you think was more effective cycling 2200 k in 2 weeks in france last year or the camp in thailand?

zico10

peter kern wrote: »

so what do you think was more effective cycling 2200 k in 2 weeks in france last year or the camp in thailand?

They were two different things done for two very different reasons, so I can't really tell you which was more effective. And anyway I won't fully make up my mind on the training in Thailand until I've raced in Mallorca.

But just to go some way to answering your question; I think cycling in France last year was exactly what I needed at the time. I'd just finished 5 months of big run volumes and I needed a break from it. I hadn't cycled in all this time and I think I needed to build a cycling base for the IM training I was about to do. There was no pressure whatsoever to go fast or push hard during those two weeks. The trip was merely about fattening up and getting long rides in. I put myself in a situation where I had no choice but to cycle every single day for two weeks whilst dining at boulangeries, and the trip gave me exactly what I was hoping for.

I know it looks more like I was training for Powerman, but my training in Thailand on the other hand came in the middle of what was supposed to be focussed IM training. Unlike the cycle trip in France, I wasn't in a situation where I absolutely had to train and I think it was less effective than it might otherwise have been because of that. Having no swimming pool really messed up my plans, but still I could have planned my training better and been more disciplined about things.

'Was it effective?' I honestly don't know. Warm weather training camps are big business. I could do my own camp off my own steam for relatively cheap. If warm weather training is effective, then I'm hoping my three weeks in Thailand weren't a waste of time. Hopefully all going well and I secure a qualification spot in Mallorca, right now it is something I would consider doing again in advance of racing Kona.

Dory Dory

zico10 wrote: »

'Was it effective?' I honestly don't know. Warm weather training camps are big business. I could do my own camp off my own steam for relatively cheap. If warm weather training is effective, then I'm hoping my three weeks in Thailand weren't a waste of time. Hopefully all going well and I secure a qualification spot in Mallorca, right now it is something I would consider doing again in advance of racing Kona.

If you get a Kona spot and want a warm place to train, you have an open invitation to stay at chez Dory for as long as you want next summer. All you have to do is get here, I'll do the rest.

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

If you get a Kona spot and want a warm place to train, you have an open invitation to stay at chez Dory for as long as you want next summer. All you have to do is get here, I'll do the rest.

Wow, thanks very much. That's incerdibly generous of you. I'll keep it in mind.

peter kern

Sorry should have made it clearer. This was my question. Is 2 weeks focus better than a longer semi focused camp.

zico10 wrote: »

They were two different things done for two very different reasons, so I can't really tell you which was more effective. And anyway I won't fully make up my mind on the training in Thailand until I've raced in Mallorca.

But just to go some way to answering your question; I think cycling in France last year was exactly what I needed at the time. I'd just finished 5 months of big run volumes and I needed a break from it. I hadn't cycled in all this time and I think I needed to build a cycling base for the IM training I was about to do. There was no pressure whatsoever to go fast or push hard during those two weeks. The trip was merely about fattening up and getting long rides in. I put myself in a situation where I had no choice but to cycle every single day for two weeks whilst dining at boulangeries, and the trip gave me exactly what I was hoping for.

I know it looks more like I was training for Powerman, but my training in Thailand on the other hand came in the middle of what was supposed to be focussed IM training. Unlike the cycle trip in France, I wasn't in a situation where I absolutely had to train and I think it was less effective than it might otherwise have been because of that. Having no swimming pool really messed up my plans, but still I could have planned my training better and been more disciplined about things.

'Was it effective?' I honestly don't know. Warm weather training camps are big business. I could do my own camp off my own steam for relatively cheap. If warm weather training is effective, then I'm hoping my three weeks in Thailand weren't a waste of time. Hopefully all going well and I secure a qualification spot in Mallorca, right now it is something I would consider doing again in advance of racing Kona.

zico10

peter kern wrote: »

Sorry should have made it clearer. This was my question. Is 2 weeks focus better than a longer semi focused camp.

There are too many ifs and buts to answer that. But approaching anything fully focussed is of course better than doing so semi-focussed. For the two instances with me though it was far easier to focus on cycling 150km a day in France, than it was to train 4/5 hours a day in Thailand. The cycle trip in France was probably more beneficial, but like a lot of things in triathlon it depends on individual circumstances. Apart from actually enjoying the lifestyle, I'd absolutely no need to do a long cycle tour this year. The two weeks I had free at Easter were better spent continuing with my normal training in Ireland.

My 'training camp' in Thailand could have been better. In many ways it was an excellent location to train when I did the Ironman 70.3 over there. I went back to the very same place and I had great intentions when I left Ireland. I didn't quiet follow through on these intentions, but I still think I did some quality sessions. Warm weather training was a big reason I went back to Thailand, but it wasn't the only one. So it was never going to be a fully focussed 'training camp', no matter how well things went.

Does that answer your question?

peter kern

it does cheers
one more question
do you have a paper that suggest that the plasma volume increase benefits from heat training lasts more than 12-28 days, that most papers conclude. ( i assume that was your reason why you wanted to do a heat camp ? )

zico10

peter kern wrote: »

it does cheers
one more question
do you have a paper that suggest that the plasma volume increase benefits from heat training lasts more than 12-28 days, that most papers conclude. ( i assume that was your reason why you wanted to do a heat camp ? )

No I don't, Peter. But if I had such a paper, it sounds so boring, I probably wouldn't read it. Whatever about increased plasma volume, I went to Thailand with the intention of doing tough training. Tough training toughens people up! That's what I look for from my training and I hope that's what I got.

zico10

Monday 3rd August
Nothing

Tuesday 4th August
Nothing

I went to the physio today, a muscle in my back is gone into spasm and needs to be loosened up. Bruised ribs are probably a bigger problem and they'll take longer to heal. The physio advised me to take the rest of the day and tomorrow off. By training hard, I probably postponed recovery after my fall off the bike in Thailand. I'm more inclined to listen to common sense at the moment and I took their advice on board.

Wednesday 5th August
Nothing

Thursday 6th August
Cross training

90 minutes on a cross trainer

I very seldom use a cross trainer, but it's the closest and cheapest way I can think of to make up for not being able to run. I was due to do a 19km run this week. At the pace I run 19km at, it would have taken me about 90 minutes. So 90 minutes is what I did, putting in what I considered was the same effort I would have to hold on a training run of this distance.
Totals: 1.5hrs

Cycle

2 hours turbo, steady effort

Totals: 2.0hrs - 60.0km


Friday 7th August
Cycle

Turbo; 10:00 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, 3:00 cool down

Not having done any session with any intensity for a while, I thought I should do something in advance of the race tomorrow. I first tried running, but instantly felt pain in my ribs and stopped as soon as I started. I climbed on the turbo after instead and did the above. With no impact from the cycling, my bruised ribs weren't bothering me and thankfully I was able to get through the session.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 34.0km

I went to the physio after the turbo and she did more work on loosening up my back. There's still some tightness there, but it's a big improvement on how I felt at the start of the week. My ribs are still sore though and I was advised to take the rest of the day off and also to skip the race tomorrow. It wasn't a target race and I did consider it, but I figured I would be okay for the swim and cycle. So I decided to go to Mullingar with the intention of doing those two legs at least and pull out as soon as I felt any discomfort on the run, which I expected would right away.

Saturday 8th August
Race

Caroline Kearney Memorial Triathlon

Swim: 00:24:29
T1: 00:01:01
Cycle: 01:02:04
T2: 00:00:43
Run: DNF

Aside from the advice from the physio yesterday, all week I was doubting I would be able to do this. As the week went on and the tightness in my back lessened, I became more and more optimistic of at least being able to start the race. The attempted and quickly aborted run I did Friday morning, meant finishing it was still very unlikely. I wasn't 100% sure how I would fare in the water either. I expected any discomfort would be tolerable though and once the swim was completed, I was fairly certain the cycle wouldn't pose any huge difficulties.

Swim
I hadn't done any swimming all week and I didn't know how my body was going to react. With my ribs and back the way they were, I just planned on taking things nice and easy and I tried to avoid any mêlées. From the gun, I didn't push hard to stay with anyone and hoped by doing so I'd find myself in clear water quickly enough. Things weren't as frantic as they usually are, but the occasional bump reminded me why I was swimming at such a relaxed pace. It wasn't just contact that was causing discomfort though, anytime I turned to my left to breathe or lifted my head to sight, I felt a stabbing pain in my ribs. This left me breathing to my right only and sighting far less frequently than I would have liked. Despite these handicaps I got through the swim unscathed. I wasn't wearing a watch, so I didn't know it at the time, but I came out of the water in 24:29. All things considered it wasn't actually that bad a time for me. I certainly wasn't pushing hard and even if I had been, I don't think I would have gone significantly faster. Based on other peoples' splits, I think fully fit and going for it, I would have been somewhere between 1-2 minutes quicker. It makes me wonder how much I should put on the line for the 3.8km swim in Mallorca.

T1
I'd no real issues here. I'd my shoes clipped into my pedals, but it was pointed out to me afterwards by another competitor that it was such a short run to the mount line, that this usual time saving strategy was hardly necessary. After crossing the mount line, it was a good few hundred metres before I had my feet in my shoes, and I'd tend to agree with him now.

Cycle
Once I had my feet in my shoes I put the boot down. I didn't know what time I was on for, but I knew enough people racing, that I would be given some indication of how my race was going by how early or late I passed them. I overtook a lot of people along the route, but I could see there were still a good few ahead of me on the doggy leg heading back to T2.
I would like to have been further up the field, but overall I think I cycled well. A car pulled out in front of me as we passed through a village, causing me to slam on the brakes. I lost a lot of momentum here and it took me a while to build back up the speed. Even allowing for this, with the course being slightly long, I'd like to think I covered 40km in under an hour. I've never done this before and I've no stats to prove I did it on Saturday, but even if I didn't quite manage a sub 60 minute 40k, I'm certain I was capable of it. This is one positive I can take from the last two weeks of awful training.
I had my feet out of my shoes approaching the dismount line, but I was afraid of the effect the impact of a flying dismount would cause to my ribs and just rolled up to the line, stopped and stepped off my bike.

T2
I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to get through the run, so I was in no rush. I had a good spot in transition though and was able to get out in what I think was a reasonable time.

Run
I started this not expecting to finish and my ribs were bothering me straight away. I wasn't even running particularly hard and every step I took convinced me that running 10km was a bad idea. I was going to pull out almost as soon as I started. Then I saw a photographer at the base of a small hill. The narcissist that I am kept me going for an extra 100m until my photo was taken. I stopped immediately after this and started walking back to transition. Race over.

Despite not finishing, I thought this was a great race. Kudos to Midland Tri for putting it on. It was good to meet other boardsies and thanks to Kurt for the bottle of bubbly, promised many months ago. http://http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=88262452&postcount=17
Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs - 1,500m
Cycle: 1.0hrs - 135.0km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.5km


Sunday 9th August
Nothing



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 0.5hrs - 1,500m
Bike: 4.0hrs - 110.00km
Run: 0.0hrs - 0.5km
Other: 1.5hrs


I took a lot of time off this week for recovery. Even though I'm still not back to 100%, I don't think I can afford to do this for much longer. I'm still not fit to run, but the race on Saturday showed me that I should be able to swim and manage intense sessions on the bike. This injury lay off has come at a bad time. I intended to seriously up the volume during the month of August and I'm disappointed that so far I haven't been able to manage this. It could be worse though and I hope I'll be back running within two weeks. I'm going to miss out on some key run sessions during that period, but I'm hoping to compensate by increasing the intensity on the bike and suffering through the boredom of long hours on a cross trainer. There'll be challenging run sessions to do whenever I am back running and depending on how they go, I'll know whether I've lost much run fitness over the intervening weeks. Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself, the target for next week is >30 hours of training. I'm not too concerned how they are made up, but I feel just getting them done is crucial.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Ribs are a pain, in IMFF 13 I really struggled in the swim and bike after I cracked a few.
From memory I think I was back proper training after 3 weeks or so. There is feck all you can do to accelerate the process but I imagine training through could slow recovery down. Oh and sneezing ain't fun with them so try avoid

catweazle

It six weeks now from France and I still have sore ribs from the crash, it's improving very slowly, I can swim cycle and run now but only easy sessions

pgibbo

Speedy recovery with the ribs.

zico10

Ahmed Wide Ostrich wrote: »

From memory I think I was back proper training after 3 weeks or so. There is feck all you can do to accelerate the process but I imagine training through could slow recovery down. Oh and sneezing ain't fun with them so try avoid

It'd not the first time this has happened me, so I knew what to expect. Slowing down recovery is acceptable, just as long as it didn't completely come to a halt. Sneezing certainly isn't fun, but not much I can do about it after an hour in chlorinated water unfortunately.

catweazle wrote: »

It six weeks now from France and I still have sore ribs from the crash, it's improving very slowly, I can swim cycle and run now but only easy sessions

🙉🙈🙊

catweazle

catweazle wrote: »

It six weeks now from France and I still have sore ribs from the crash, it's improving very slowly, I can swim cycle and run now but only easy sessions

I actually thought after that wasn't the most encouraging of posts, I would have healed faster except for 2 lazy moaning kids that needed constant lifting into pools etc on holidays

All good now - except for being in a lazy rut as regards training

zico10

Monday 10th August
Cycle

Turbo, 4 hours steady effort

Totals: 4.0hrs - 120.0km

Swim
Coached session, 25m pool

400m warm up
16*50m off 60", alternating between breathing every 6 strokes and concentrating on finishing the stroke
Four sets of {3*50m off 60" & 100m off 2'}
25m easy

I still wasn't feeling 100% and I was sore at times, but breathing wasn't as painful as it was during the race on Saturday. Like the race though, I was still only breathing to my right and I just did enough to make the times.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,250m


Tuesday 11th August
Swim

Sets of {200m & 400m} x 9

I wasn't watching the clock, but I've the feeling my times were very slow. I need to push more in tomorrow's swim just to remind my body what it is to swim fast.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,600m

Cross training

40 minutes on a cross trainer

I experimented a bit with the settings today, but none of them felt anything like running. It's frustrating not to be running out on the road, but I know the repercussions aren't worth it.
Totals: 0.5hrs - n/a

Cycle

Turbo; 15:00 warm up, 15:00 HIM effort, 4:00 recovery, 15:00 Olympic effort, 4:00 recovery, 15:00 HIM effort, 4:00 recovery, 15:00 Olympic effort, 4:00 recovery, 15:00 HIM effort, 10:00 cool down

This was tough. My rpm was falling as the efforts went on and I couldn't do anything about it. I took one gel after an hour and drank 1½ litres of fluids over the two hours. I sweated buckets though and it wasn't enough, but I didn't want to stop in the middle of the session to go to the tap either.
Totals: 2.0hrs - 65.5km


Wednesday 12th August
Swim

400m warm up
16*50m off 60" (coming in on 48-49 seconds)
400m easy
{2*50m off 60" & 100m off 2'} x 4 (50s in on 48-49 seconds and 100s on 1:43)
200m easy

Nothing about this session would make me go 'Wow', but at least I felt like I was moving in the water for short spurts.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,600m

Cycle

Turbo; 1 hour easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

Cycle

Turbo; 30:00 steady,
{3:30 max effort & 2:30 recovery} x5,
15:00 steady

I was supposed to be running 1km intervals today, but as I'm not risking running at the moment I came up with a turbo session that would replicate the intensity. It was hard to strike a balance between the intensity over the duration of the interval, the resistance level, and my cadence. I'm sure I'd have worked harder had I been running, but c'est la vie.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 40.0km


Thursday 13th August
Swim
25m pool, coached session

There was nothing frantic in today's session. Overall distance was Peter's guess at the end.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 2,800m

Cycle

205.89km in 6:00:01, avg. speed >34.3km/hr
Speed for 10km splits; 1) 26.9kph, 2) 33.1kph, 3) 34.4kph, 4) 35.9kph, 5) 38.5kph, 6) 36.7kph, 7) 34.6kph, 8) 37.6kph, 9) 34.9kph, 10) 33.4kph, 11) 33.2kph, 12) 35.6kph, 13) 32.4kph, 14) 34.4kph, 15) 37.6kph, 16) 34.3kph, 17) 34.8kph, 18) 32.3kph, 19) 35.8kph, 20) 34.2kph, 21) 33.4kph (5.89km)

This was a long day in the saddle. I held off taking any fuel on board until I'd 2½ hours of cycling done. I think this was misguided and I possibly paid the price for it in the last couple of hours. I was struggling to keep the effort up by then and even my concentration was going.
Gels were the only energy I was taking on board and as I was running low on water, I stopped at a petrol station after 135km. I took a short break here, during which I ate a packet of Scampi Fries and a bar of chocolate, and drank a bottle of Coke. I don't know if it was due to the rest or the food, but I felt better after this and was able to get my speed back up once I was back on the bike.
My best consecutive 180km of cycling was from kilometre 20 to kilometre 200, which I did in 5:09:00 for an average speed of 35.02km/hr. Obviously it won't be the same course, but this is almost exactly where I want to be on September 26th. I was fairly tired by the end though and even had I not been injured, I would have found it hard to face into a run of any length.
The cycle taught me I need to give more thought to my nutrition. Also it might possibly have been from having not cycled my TT bike for six weeks, but my core muscles and neck were sore from sitting in the TT position for so long. I'm sure I'll get used to it over the next few weeks, but it also has me thinking that neglecting S & C was a bad idea. I have a feeling I might have recovered quicker from my fall in Thailand, had I included regular strength work in my training. Whether it prompts me into doing anything remains to be seen.
I'd like to get a few more cycles of this length in, before a 180k TT three weeks out from my Ironman, but they take up a good chunk of your day and with only a week and a half of holidays left, I'm not sure how many more of them I'll be able to fit in before Mallorca.
Totals: 6.0hrs - 209.89km


Friday 14th August
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

1,000m,
800m,
600m
400m
200m

These were untimed and about half of the total distance was done with a pull buoy.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 3,000m

Cross training

90 minutes on cross trainer

This was done instead of a 19km run.
Totals: 1.5hrs - n/a


Saturday 15th August
Cycle
I did these with two others from my club. We were in the Wicklow Mountains, but I didn't know the roads we were taking. I'd never cycled three of the climbs before. Two of them which ended in dead ends were amongst the toughest I've ever done. I was hoping for an easier few hours of cycling, but all the climbing ruled that out. According to my club mate's stats we did 1,693m of climbing in total. A long time off my TT bike didn't help matters, but I was shockingly bad on the descents and the two others had to wait for me at the bottom of all of them. I swept up all the KOM points though, so it spared me total embarrassment.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 91.0km

Cycle

Turbo; 1 hour easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km


Sunday 16th August
Cycle
I just cycled for three and a bit hours. I didn't want the distraction of a Garmin, so I left it at home and just had a regular stop watch running. I'm not bothered about what distance I did and it's only a guess.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 91.0km

Cycle

Turbo; 25:00 warm up, 1:15 IM effort

This second bike session of the day was done in place of a 24km run with 19km @ PMP. As I'm only working off perceived effort, it's hard to be sure if I was working as hard as I would have to, to run 19km in under an hour and a quarter.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 25.0km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.0hrs - 14,225m
Bike: 25.0hrs - 732.44km
Run: 0.0hrs
Other: 2.0hrs


I was happy to have got my training hours back up to where I feel they need to be. Not being able to run makes this harder, but I'm hoping I'll be all right to start some easy running next week. Breathing during swims is getting easier, although I was still only breathing to one side during my final swim of the week in Thursday. At Monday night's coached session, I'll push things and see how it goes. How this goes will give me an indication as to whether running on Tuesday will be a good idea or not.
Right now I'm hoping I'll be able to do the Olympic distance race up Ballybay, Monaghan next Saturday. I haven't entered yet, but I've been in touch with the organisers who said it will be possible for TI members to register on the day. In all likelihood it will be the last race I get to do before Mallorca, so I'd hate to go there and have to pull out on the run. This next week is going to tell a lot.

RJM85

Obviously depends on the unjury, but I trained through a bruised rib in january. Took a bit over a month to be right, but didn't miss any training. Just took nurofen when it was really bothering me

zico10

RJM85 wrote: »

Obviously depends on the unjury, but I trained through a bruised rib in january. Took a bit over a month to be right, but didn't miss any training. Just took nurofen when it was really bothering me

I tried training through it, it didn't work out too well for me though. Incidentally, while I'd understand using pain killers to get through a race, I'm not so sure it's a good idea for training sessions.

zico10

Monday 17th August
Cycle

Turbo, 4 hours steady effort

Totals: 4.0hrs - 120.0km

Swim
25m pool, coached session

400m warm up
5 x {4*100m off 1:45, descending 1-4} (The second & third set were done as pull.)
4*50m off 60 seconds, descending 1-4
75m cool down

I was planning to push hard tonight and see how my back and ribs held up. I started breathing to my left again during the warm up and was able to do so without any pain. So I stuck with bilateral breathing for the rest of the session. Although I was planning to swim fast, I was hoping I'd get plenty of rest by demoting myself from my usual lane. Instead though all lanes were given the same times to swim off and I now found myself leading out the lane with nobody to draft off. I managed alright for the first 4 sets and my times fell from the first to the fourth 100. The final four 100s came in on 0:43, 0:44, 0:46 and 0:44. I then got a rest before starting a set of 8*50m. I felt a twinge in my back and bailed on this set halfway through.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,675m


Tuesday 18th August
Swim
25m pool

400m pull, steady
4*100m off 1:50 (coming in on 1:38-1:39)
400m pull, steady
4*200m off 3:40 (coming in on 3:28-3:30)
400m pull, steady
4*50m off 1:00 descending 1-4
200m pull easy

My times fell for the set of descending 50s, but they weren't as fast as I would have liked. Like last night, I'd planned on doing 8. The pain in my back wasn't improving though and for the second day in a row, I bailed on another swim set.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,800m

Run

10km with 6*100m strides

I drove to the Phoenix Park after my swim, so I'd be able to do the entire run on grass. Bar the strides, it wasn't done at a hectic pace by any means. Unfortunately it wasn't entirely pain free either. It's a discomfort I'd be willing to put up with were it not for the fact that I've missed over two weeks of run training because of injury already. I think the pain is more coming from tightness in my back rather than my ribs, so the prognosis is not as bad it might be. After the session, I booked in with the physio for Thursday. Hopefully he'll be able to loosen up the muscle in a single session and that will be the end of it. I'm due to do a 19km run tomorrow, but just to be careful will probably hop on the cross trainer for 90 minutes instead.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 10.01km

Cycle

Turbo; 2 hours steady

Totals: 2.0hrs - 60.0km


Wednesday 19th August
Cycle

Turbo; 1 hour easy

I did this before breakfast and the thinking behind it was simply to burn calories.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

Swim
50m pool

6*400m alternating pull & f.s.

These were untimed and I didn't intend to look at the clock, but I was aware of how slow they were.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,400m

Cross training

90 minutes on cross trainer

Totals: 1.5hrs - n/a

Cycle

Turbo; 15:00 warm up - steady,
20:00 hard, 5:00 recovery,
12:00 hard, 3:00 recovery,
5:00 hard, 1:00 recovery,
5:00 hard, 1:00 recovery,
15:00 cold down - steady

I did the hard parts in a medium-high gear and I was holding an rpm of 83-84 throughout. It was tough.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 47.20km


Thursday 20th August
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm up,
600m drills,
12*50m off 60" as (three steady/one fast) x 3,
Straight into 12*50m off 60" as (two steady/one fast) x 4,
50m backstroke,
8*50m (one steady off 60"/one fast of 70") x 4,
5*50m fast off 75",
50m backstroke,
800m steady with paddles and pull bouy

I wore bouyancy shorts for this, but I was pushing hard and still found it a tough session. I haven't been working hard enough in the pool recently and I need to start changing that.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 3,550m

Cycle

Turbo; 1 hour easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

Cycle

Turbo; 2½ hours moderate effort

Totals: 2.5hrs - 70.0km

I went to the physio in the middle of the day and I feel a lot better now. I hope that's the end of any issues with my back and I can get back to proper run training from here.


Friday 21st August
Cycle

2½ hours with;
{4:00 hard, 4:00 recovery, 2:00 hard, 2:00 recovery, 1:00 hard}, {40.8km/hr, 38.6km/hr, 44.9km/hr}
8 minutes recovery
{4:00 hard, 4:00 recovery, 2:00 hard, 2:00 recovery, 1:00 hard}, {39.2km/hr, 44.3km/hr, 38.2km/hr}

The varying speeds for the hard parts had a lot more to do with wind direction, road surface and gradient than the effort I was putting in, which was the same whatever the length. It's not hugely important, so I haven't tried to work it out, but a quick glance tells me the average speed for the 14 hard minutes was over 40kph. Someday I'd like to hold this over the bike leg of an Olympic triathlon, so I have it out there as a magic number. Mention of which, this session was used as a sharpener for an Olympic distance race tomorrow.
Totals: 2.5hrs - 74.42km

Run

8.01km in 41:14, 5.09/km

I drove a couple of kilometres to somewhere I'd be able to do the entire run on grass, if I'd have to. After a couple of kilometres, I was feeling brave enough and went out onto paved surface. Looking at the stats from this, shows nothing in anyway spectacular, but I got through it without any discomfort, which was a huge relief after what has felt like an eternity of no running.
Totals: 0.5hrs - 8.01km


Saturday 22nd August
Race

Ballybay Standard Distance Triathlon

Swim: 00:25:08
I deliberately took it easy during the swim leg of the last race I did. Here though I set out with the intention of pushing hard and hoping I'd have no issues. At the start, I got up as close to the front as I could and waited for the countdown. 3, and everybody in front of me was gone. Thankfully I was expecting this and I went with them. I was able to breathe to my left without any pain and this gave me increased confidence to keep pushing. I was on somebody's feet for most of the swim and I was trusting him to swim straight. I was trying not to, but I must have been tipping his toes too much for his liking and after we rounded the final bouy, he put in a surge and lost me. He'd been a big help up to this though and I had saved a lot of energy by drafting him. I swam the last several hundred metres on my own and came out of the water in 25:08. This was 39 seconds slower than my swim in Caroline Kearney, but that day I was 5:37 slower than Peter Kern. Today the difference was only 3:18, so clearly this was a much better performance.

T1: 00:00:43
I hadn't used any Bodyglide on my ankles and had some issues getting my legs out of the suit.

Cycle: 01:01:27
Going out onto the road, I was told by a marshal that I was in seventh place. Assuming he wasn't mistaken, this was much better than I was expecting and it gave me extra impetus to put in a good bike split. The marshal was correct in what he said to me and shortly after the first turnaround, I had moved into 4th spot. Despite some hold ups due to the course, I had moved into third before the midway point. I wasn't wearing a watch, but I judged from seeing Peter for the second time on the opposite side of the road that I was more or less holding pace with him. At this point though, I was more concerned with catching the guy in second. I was gaining on him along the fourth and final leg back to transition. He was moving quicker than others I had passed though and It wasn't going to be as easy catch him. In the end I ran out of road and he disappeared into T2 before me. I wasn't fully aware of where I was and didn't hear any marshals telling me to go left and I overshot a left hand turn into T2. I went about 10m past the turn and had to stop and turn my bike around to take the turn. It cost me a bit of time, but no position and in the end had no bearing on the overall result. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't a very costly mistake. Happening in a minor race for me, I actually look on it as good thing. It serves to remind me, if I didn't already know, how important it is to know the course in advance.

T2: 00:00:23
This was the quickest transition of anybody, which I'll take, but I still feel like I wasted a second or two.

Run: 00:38:07
I was fairly sure my back and ribs were going to hold up, but this race was the acid test. I passed the second placed guy early on the run and it was now a case of seeing how far off Peter I was. I knew he had a sizeable gap and if I wanted to have any hope of catching him, I was going to have to suffer on this run. The way the course was laid out gave me three opportunities of seeing Peter. I knew the game was up the second time I saw him. Although first place was gone, I was pretty sure I was going to hold on for second and I eased up after this. I was 33 seconds slower over the second half of the run. How much of this was down to me easing I'm not sure, but even still assuming it was an accurate course, I was nowhere near as fast as I would have like to have been over the first 5k. It wasn't a fast course and I guess I'll find out in training next week how much speed I have lost for definite. Anyway I crossed the line having completed the run in 38:07 holding on for second place.

Total Time: 02:05:52
I knew going up I didn't have much of a chance of beating Peter. But he is a good yardstick to measure myself off. Even though he denied me the win, I was glad he was racing and I was happy enough with how I compared. This was another race in which I had the fastest bike/run combo. Despite certainly having lost some run speed from last year, I seem to have found a better balance between cycling and running. It probably wasn't a stellar field, but even still it was a good indicator of where I'm at. This will be the last triathlon I do in Ireland this year and looking back on the season, I've certainly done better than I did in 2014. Just over a month out from Mallorca, I can take positives from that.

Totals; Swim: 0.5hrs - 1,500m
Cycle: 1.0hrs - 40.0km
Run: 0.5hrs - 10.0km

Cycle

Turbo; 2 hours easy

Totals: 2.0hrs - 50.0km


Sunday 23rd August
Cycle

Turbo; 3 hours steady effort

There was nothing complicated about this. I kept it in the same gear and my rpm remained consistent over the three hours. It was done as part of a brick session and as a precursor to the long run that followed and I fueled myself with gels and sports drink throughout the session.
Totals: 3.0hrs - 96.0km

Run

31.19km in 2:29:09, 4:37/km

I wasn't very much looking forward to this and the three hours on the turbo didn't make it anymore appealing. After missing out on two weeks of running, I was worried I'd find it harder to hold my target pace. Thankfully from this point of view, it went better than expected and all the kilometre splits were well under my target time of 4:48. I was running in The Phoenix Park and stayed on grass for the majority of the run. No issues with my back or ribs, but either a ligament, a tendon, or a muscle in my shin was sore. I think it had more to do with running hard in the race yesterday than anything I did today.
Totals: 2.5hrs - 32.19km



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 5.0hrs - 12,925m
Bike: 20.5hrs - 567.62km
Run: 4.5hrs - 62.20km
Other: 1.5hrs

I'm confident in saying now that I'm over my injuries and hopefully there'll be no other incidents between now and September 26th. I'm a bit worried about the couple of key run sessions I've missed. The marathon plan I'm following calls for two tune-up races over the next three weeks. I was prepared to skip these, but looking back on my run in Ballybay, I think I could do with at least one good performance to use as a confidence booster before Mallorca. So the races are back on the agenda. I'm supposed to run the first tune-up race next weekend, so hopefully I'll find something convenient and I'll be able to post back here with a good result next week.

MojoMaker

Looks like the guy you caught out of T2 was our own MD1983, nice job on the season zico - all signs are strong for Mallorca.

RJM85

zico10 wrote: »

I tried training through it, it didn't work out too well for me though. Incidentally, while I'd understand using pain killers to get through a race, I'm not so sure it's a good idea for training sessions.

Yeah, it probably really depends on the the injury. I kind of had no choice but to take painkillers as the little fella was only 7/8 months at the time and constantly needed to be carried everywhere.

zico10

Monday 24th August
Cycle

Turbo, 4 hours steady effort

Totals: 4.0hrs - 120.0km

Swim

8*50m steady off 60",
9*200m as threes sets of three off {3:20, 3:30 & 3:40}
5*100m off 2:00 (1st, 3rd and 5th all out)
50m cool down

After starting the main set, the coach interrupted us to give us some pointers after the first set of 3*100s. So we didn't quiet swim the off the times I'm quoting above, but it was close enough.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,750m


Tuesday 25th August
Totals:
Cycle

Turbo; 1 hour easy

Totals: 1.0hrs - 25.0km

Run
13km w 5 x 600m @ 5k pace

7km warm up
30 minutes stretching, drills and strides
Intervals;
647m in 2:05, 3:14/km
616m in 1:58, 3:12/km
613m in 1:58, 3:14/km
613m in 1:56, 3:10/km
615m in 1:58, 3:13/km
Total: 3.10km in 9:58, 3:12/km
1km cool down

I was fearing the worst when I started this session. My legs felt heavy and even though the intervals were short I wasn't sure I'd be able to hit my target pace of :15/km. After the race on Saturday, I'd actually have been happy running the intervals in anything under 3:20/km. So I'm happy how they went. It was raining throughout and although I'd liked to have ran 3 out of 5 with the assistance of the wind, the most convenient thing to do was run the majority of them into the wind. I was looking at my watch a bit too often during the the first three intervals, but I decided I'd be better off concentrating on form and ignored the watch during the final two intervals and they turned out to be the quickest. While I was glad to successfully get through this session, I've longer and tougher intervals to do over the coming weeks and I don't want to get too complacent just yet.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 13.0km

Swim
25m pool

400m fs, 800m pull, 400m fs, 800m pull, 400m fs, 800m pull, 400m fs

I drove to the NAC after finishing the run session and did this as recovery. I wore buoyancy shorts so my legs would have to do as little work as possible.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,000m

Cycle

Turbo; 2 hours steady effort

Totals: 2.0hrs - 60.0km


Wednesday 26th August
Swim
25m pool

400m f.s.
8*50m pull off 60" (47-48 seconds)
400m f.s. easy
4*100m pull off 2:00 (1:40 approx.)
400m f.s. easy
8*50m pull off 60" (46-47 seconds)
200m f.s.

Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,600m

S & C

30 minutes core work

Totals: 0.5hrs

Cycle
Turbo;

15:00 Warm up,
15:00 HIM effort, 4:00 recovery,
15:00 IM effort, 4:00 recovery,
15:00 HIM effort, 4:00 recovery,
15:00 IM effort, 4:00 recovery,
15:00 HIM effort,
4:00 cool down

Totals: 2.0hrs - 60.5hrs

Run

18.01km in 1:22:14, 4:33/km
Kilometre splits; 1) 4:42, 2) 4:37, 3) 4:41, 4) 4:34, 5) 4:29, 6) 4:41, 7) 4:20, 8) 4:23, 9) 4:27, 10) 4:23, 11) 4:25, 12) 4:25, 13) 4:38, 14) 4:36, 15) 4:39, 16) 4:37, 17) 4:36, 18) 4:41

I was out running 20 minutes after finishing the turbo. I'd been fueling on the turbo for this run, but didn't bring anything with me. I was fading towards the end of the run and regretted not bringing a gel.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 18.01km


Thursday 27th August
Swim
25m pool, coached session

200m warm up,
38*100m best avg. w. 5 seconds rest
1:41, 2) 1:44, 3) 1:45, 4) 1:46, 5) 1:45, 6) 1:46, 7) 1:45, 8) 1:45, 9) 1:44, 10) 1:45, 11) 1:44, 12) 1:46, 13) 1:46, 14) 1:45, 15) 1:45, 16) 1:47, 17) 1:47, 18) 1:46, 19) 1:46, 20) 1:46, 21) 1:47, 22) 1:47, 23) 1:47, 24) 1:47, 25) 1:47, 26) 1:48, 27) 1:48, 28) 1:48, 29) 1:47, 30) 1:48, 31) 1:46, 32) 1:46, 33) 1:46, 34) 1:47, 35) 1:46, 36) 1:48, 37) 1:46, 38) 1:45
Totals: 3,800m in 1:07:47, Avg. Pace: 1:46/km

I found this a right bastard of a session. Peter was away in Austria for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships and had sent us the session through Viber. Everybody else got 30*100m with significantly more rest, but the joys of a late season IM meant I got to do 38 with only 5 seconds rest. In anticipation of a suffer fest, my pre-swim breakfast was a can of Red Bull and a gel. After the 200m warm up, I didn't drink anything. I assumed this session was to replicate the Ironman swim, so I figured as I wouldn't be able to drink in the race, I shouldn't drink today either. Bar the initial 100m split of 1:41, all the others came in between 1:44 - 1:48. I'm happy with that consistency. I won't be happy with a 1:07:47 swim split in Mallorca though, but I hope that by not having to fiddle with buttons on my Garmin, the extra buoyancy provided by salt water, being able to draft, and the fact I'll be wearing a wetsuit or a skinsuit, that I'll be several minutes quicker over 3,800m than I was today.
Totals: 1.5hrs - 4,000m

Cycle
I drove to Enniskerry for this, with the intention of practising my descending in the Wicklow Mountains. It was windy up in there and then it started raining. I wasn't dressed for the weather and I started to get cold. With the wet roads, I was very nervous going downhill and I wasn't getting what I wanted from the session. I was hoping to be out for 4 hours, but I wasn't enjoying it and decided to go home early and finish the day with a short run.
Totals: 3.0hrs - 67.0km

Run

6km w. 6 x 100m strides

Totals: 0.5hrs - 6.0km


Friday 28th August
Race
Kilkerly 4 Mile

6.53km in 23:11, 3:33/km
Kilometre splits; 1) 3:08, 2) 3:22, 3) 3:36, 4) 3;37, 5) 3:42, 6) 3:37, 7) 3:38(528m)

I was scheduled to do a running race this weekend, but it made more sense to do this race on Friday evening rather than a Saturday or Sunday as it would still leave those two days completely free for training. I was lucky to find a race which was only an hour from Dublin. I signed up on arrival and there was a minimum of fuss in registering, so I immediately got kitted out for the run.
After a warm up and a few stretches, it was time to start. I had no idea who any of the other runners were and once the gun went, I tried to stay with the two guys who led out. They turned out to be on a different level to me, but trying to stay with them combined with a mostly downhill initial quarter meant the first mile marker came much sooner than I was expecting. I felt was doing great at this juncture and thought I might be going back to Dublin with a very good time. This didn't last long though and soon afterwards we turned onto to a main road, straight into a headwind and uphill for a long stretch. When we did turn off the main road, we were at least out of the wind, but it was still mostly uphill to the finish line. It was a struggle to run at the desired intensity and for the remainder of the race, I never managed to get anywhere near the pace I ran the first mile in. I was way off the two leaders by the end of the race, but I finished in 3rd. It's always nice to podium and I got €20 reward, which was gratefully accepted. There were plenty of sandwiches and refreshments at the awards ceremony and I left with a very positive impression of the whole event.
The race itself wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. 4:33/km is just about under the half marathon target pace I've been training with and it's all I could manage for 4 miles tonight. Ideally I would have liked to have been well under 4:30/km, but the marathon program I'm following doesn't factor in the additional 20 hours + cycle and swim training I was doing for the last two weeks. I wasn't anywhere near my ideal race pace, but I still did a race, which like any key session is an important part of the program.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 14.70km


Saturday 29th August
Cycle

7km warm up
117km in 3:12:12, 36.5km
2km cool down

I can't find the charger for my Garmin, so I had to use Strava for this. It was my first time ever using Strava and I only installed it on my phone last night. I'm still not sure of all its features, but I was happy to see an average speed of 36.5km/he when I finished my effort. I did three loops of the N11 for from Bray to Coyne's Cross and I didn't have to stop once, so I presume the stats from Strava are accurate. My phone was in my pocket for the whole cycle and I didn't have any metrics to look at over the course of the 3+ hours. It wasn't ideal, but I think I managed alright and I seem to have been consistent enough with my pacing. Hopefully I'll have a fully charged Garmin for next Saturday, when I want to hold a similar speed for 180km. I plan to do this with my race wheels and aero helmet. With those advantages and a Garmin on my wrist, I'm hoping the 180km at this pace will be easier managed.
Totals: 3.5hrs - 123.0km

Swim
Open water
East Coast Of Ireland Open Water Swim Challenge

2,360m in 45:36
Lap 1: 1.18km in 22:09
Lao 2: 1.18km in 23:27

This swim seemed like a great idea during the week. Two club mates were also doing it, so it was nice to have the company. I was hoping to swim it as a time trial, but the cycle earlier in the morning completely dampened my enthusiasm for this. Also the 38*100s I swam on Thursday felt like enough tough swimming for one week. Putting on my wetsuit in the rain before getting in the water, I was thinking how much I'd rather be getting into the Mediterranean and how this wasn't going to be race specific preparation. It was a triangular course of 1km and the participants had the option of doing anything between one and four laps. I'd signed up for the 4km option and was in the first wave to go.
Unlike triathlon swims, I didn't feel under any stress. Although there was a count down to the start, I was in no rush and started when I was good and ready. I was on my own almost as soon as it started. I'd nobody to draft off, so sighting was all up to me and I think I did a good job of it.
The first lap seemed long, but I thought I swam okay. Then on the second lap I started to feel cold. Near the end of the second lap, I was actually starting to shiver in the water. This wasn't a good sign and I decided there and then to finish up after two laps. As soon as I stood up, I started shivering uncontrollably. I was helped back up the beach, where I was wrapped in a foil blanket and I stuffed myself with cakes, biscuits and other refreshments that were on offer. It took me ages to warm up again and all in all it wasn't a good experience. This has happened me before, but on those occasions it was much earlier in the year. I like to think my body fat percentage is dropping. This isn't helping, but I think the main reason is I just haven't been doing enough sea swims of late and the process of aclimitisation needs to start all over again. But I'm thinking balls to that, it's too late in the season, I want to lose even more body fat, and it's quiet possible the Ironman Mallorca will be declared non-wetsuit anyway.
Although I haven't been able to charge my Garmin for a number of days, there was enough power in it though for this swim and both laps I swam were bang on 1.8km. I've often wondered about the accuracy of the Garmin in the open water, but with nothing else positive to take from this swim, I'll assume it did an excellent job today and take it as evidence that I at least swam straight.
Totals: 1.0hrs - 2,360m


Sunday 30th August
Nothing
During another week I might call this a rest day, but it wasn't planned and I was hoping to hit >30 hours training again this week by doing a 2 - 3 hour bike followed by long run, so I feel like I did nothing. My Achilles started bothering me after the cycle yesterday. I was walking around Blanchardstown Shopping Centre for about an hour today, looking for some clothes I didn't get free at a race to wear to school tomorrow and my Achilles started paining me. Applying ice multiple times over the course of four hours didn't do too much to help and I scrapped the training I had planned for the day. I probably needed the day off, but I was reluctant to take it as compared to last year I haven't done enough long runs in advance of my Ironman and I was missing another one today.



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 6.0hrs - 15,710m
Bike: 15.5hrs - 450.50km
Run: 4.5hrs - 51.75km
Other: 0.5hrs


Despite a disappointing race on Friday and the disaster of the swim on Saturday, I was feeling alright about the week in general going to bed on Saturday night. I was annoyed that my Achilles flared up on Sunday. If it was any other time during the year, I'd probably train regardless, but I'm not prepared to risk it so close to my Ironman. I'm quite worried about the number of run sessions I've now missed. There's no way I'm going to be able to make up for these missed sessions in the coming weeks, so I'm hoping the running fitness built up over the last few years is enough to see me finish with a goodish marathon in Mallorca.

pgibbo

How's your Achilles now?

I recently had an Achille issue and a tight calf was the root cause. Lots of rolling and trigger point with a sliotar sorted it.

1.8 +1.8 = 3.6

zico10

pgibbo wrote: »

How's your Achilles now?

I recently had an Achille issue and a tight calf was the root cause. Lots of rolling and trigger point with a sliotar sorted it.

I didn't run or cycle on Monday or Tuesday either and the only swimming I did was with a pull bouy. I'm not sure if it was a good idea, but I risked a run today. The pain wasn't entirely gone, but it was more niggling than hurting. I'm icing it now and I guess I'll have a better idea in the morning.

I'm allergic to foam rolling unfortunately.:pac:

1.8 +1.8 = 3.6

Good point, that should read 1.18. What should have stood out even more though would be me actually swimming 1.8km in 22 minutes.

zico10

Monday 31st August
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

7*400m pull with buoyancy shorts

My Achilles was still sore and I didn’t want to risk kicking, so this was all pull. This was my first day back at school and this session was as much about reacquainting myself with a 5.40 a.m. alarm, getting back into good habits and beginning the school year as I intend to go on.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,800m


p.m.
Swim
25m pool
Coached session

400m warm up
6*25m sprints
20*100m off 1:50, every fourth one fast (I was coming in 1:28 – 1:30 for the fast ones)
100m easy

Like my morning swim this session was all done with a pull buoy and buoyancy shorts.
Totals; 1.0hrs – 2,650m


Tuesday 1st September
a.m.
Cross training

55 minutes with 6*20 second efforts

Totals; 1.0hrs – n/a

a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

1,500m pull, steady effort

Totals; 0.5hrs – 1,500m

p.m.
S & C

30 minutes core work

Totals; 0.5hrs – n/a


Wednesday 2nd September
a.m.
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

400m warm up
5*200m off 3:50 ( 3:30 approx.)
5*400m off 7:30 (7:10 approx.)
400m easy

Totals; 1.5hrs – 3,800m

p.m.
Run

18.01km in 1:25:27, 4:44/km

My Achilles still wasn’t 100%, but I wanted to get out and run. The discomfort was tolerable at the start, but got worse towards the end of the 18 kilometres. I decided after this not to run for the rest of the week.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 18.01km


Thursday 3rd September
a.m.
Swim
50m pool

400m pull w. Snorkel
12*50m off 1:00 (48’ approx)
400m pull w. Snorkel
{2*50m off 1:00 & 100m off 2:00} x 2
400m pull w. Snorkel
6*100m off 2:00 (1:40 approx)
400m pull w. Snorkel
12*50m off 1:00 (48’-49’)

Totals; 1.5hrs – 4,000m

p.m.
Swim

1,500m straight with pull buoy and buoyancy shorts

Totals; 1.5hrs – 1,500m

S & C

30 minutes core work

Totals; 0.5hrs – n/a


Friday 4th September
a.m.
Nothing

p.m.
Cross Training

½ hour

Totals; 0.5hrs – n/a
Swim
NAC, 50m pool

4,000m pull straight, easy effort

This swim was sort of like Forrest Gump’s run. I got into the pool intending to swim 1,000m, but when I got this much done, I just kept going. It was all done at very nice and easy effort. I wasn’t using the clock to pace off, but I made a note of when I completed 3.8km, which was a whisker under 1:15. I realise this is far from fast, but I was happy to manage it for the effort it took.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 4,000m


Saturday 5th September
This was supposed to be a mock race day with a long swim, bike and run. I realised I was very unlikely to be fit for a long day’s training yesterday. On the off chance, my Achilles was miraculously cured overnight, I carb loaded the day before. On waking though, I knew going ahead with the training would have only aggravated my Achilles, so I postponed it until next Saturday when hopefully I’ll be fully recovered.

Swim
NAC, 50m pool

200m warm up
4*400m w. 30’ rest
4*300m w. 20’ rest
4*200m w. 10’ rest
4*50m w. 5’ rest
200m easy

This was an Ironman test set. I did the 3,800m of swimming in 1:07:03. This compares to a time of 1:11:13 when I did the same session last year. The sessions aren’t directly comparable though. I used a pull buoy today, while I wore buoyancy shorts last year. By using a pull buoy, I definitely saved energy by not having to kick, but I don’t know if using them or the pull buoy is a bigger advantage to me. I was only pushing off the wall with one foot today and no way would I have had to do this last year. I could over analyse this one particular session too much and I know it won’t necessarily translate into a 4:10 improvement in my swim on race day. Still I think it’s a clear indication that my swimming has come on over the last 12 months, which is one positive to take out of a training week that was far from ideal.
Totals; 1.5hrs – 4,200m

Cross Trainer

2½ hours

This was boring as f*ck, but carrying an injury it was a lot safer than a long run.
Totals; 2.5hrs – n/a


Sunday 6th September
I thought about swimming this morning, but I think the problem I’m having with my Achilles stems from over training. No point trying to compensate for missed run and bike sessions, by picking up another injury by swimming way more than I’m used, so I decided against it.
Cross Trainer

1 hour 20 minutes w. 4 x {4:00 hard & 3:00 recovery}

Totals; 1.5hrs – n/a

I went to the physio today hoping he’d be able to sort out the problem with my Achilles. Going in I wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to do, but three weeks out from Mallorca I had to try. I think he’s pinpointed the problem and the pain he inflicted on me was as hard to endure as any training session I might do. I felt better for it though and and while there’s still some pain, I’m hopeful it will be eliminated over the next two weeks. I booked in for two more session between now and Mallorca.



Weekly Totals;
Swim: 9.0hrs – 23,950m
Bike: 0.0 – 0.0km
Run: 1.5hrs – 18.01km
Other: 5.0hrs

Not being able to cycle or run had me feeling pretty low all week about but some light appeared at the end of the tunnel over the weekend. I’ve still a bit to go before I’m fully recovered, but thanks to physio and rest, I’m confident I’ll be pain free in three weeks. The issue was almost certainly caused by me trying to squeeze so much training into the previous three weeks. I tried to play catch up after recovering from my bruised ribs and became obsessed with hitting 30 hour weeks almost for the sake of them. In a standalone week I can cope with the volume, but trying to hit 30 hours training three weeks in a row was misguided. In addition to that though I think I’m also paying the price for the little maintenance work I’ve done over the last year or more. I hadn’t spent a penny on physio until this year, now at this stage I forget the number of times I’ve had to go. I might have needed some of the sessions regardless, but neglecting S & C work seems to have been a costly mistake.