Getting to know..........MD1983

pgibbo

How are you settling in to the new house?
Did you self build or get a builder? Stressful?
Five people you'd have for dinner and why?
What would the courses be?
How many hours a week do you train?
Is every day a double or triple training day for you?
Do you use a PM? If so, what one and what's your FTP? Watts/kg?
it appears you have a strong bike and the ability to suffer. Any thoughts on why your run lags a bit compared to your bike?
Have you done any HIMs or IMs?

MD1983

Hi pgibbo

How are you settling in to the new house?
getting used to it now, back living in the middle of nowhere was a bit strange at first but it now feels like i never lived in Dublin at all. having a nice big house rather than a pokey apartment is refreshing but there is more to attend to like gardening and planting hedges and trees and the like.

Did you self build or get a builder? Stressful?
got a builder as self build wouldnt be practical when i was not living close by and also i think the new building regs make that difficult now. builder is obliging sort of guy and i get on well with him but the last few finishing touches are dragging out a bit which is starting to grate. stressful enough but not as bad as i thought it would be, wouldnt do it again in the short term thats for sure

Five people you'd have for dinner and why?
hmmmm i have never thought about this. if it was an open an honest conversation i would like (and assuming people can be resurrected of course...)

Brian Lenihan - what really happened? i think this man did his best for the country from an impossible position

Hitler - looking back what would you have done differently and what was your motivation to push on when you already had so much?

George Bush - what was the Iraq war really about?

Obama - i want to know all about whether there is aliens or not and what do we know?

Gerry Adams - whats your real plan if you do get into power as i dont buy what you are saying at the moment?


What would the courses be?
just stuff that i like

starter - something with goats cheese on it or even battered goats cheese balls, i just love goats cheese

main - simple enough - steak with pepper sauce, some veg and potatoes/chips or something like that

dessert - profiteroles - love them


How many hours a week do you train?
i would say something between 14-17 on good weeks.

Is every day a double or triple training day for you?
most days are now that i can go to the pool, id say there are more double and triple days than days where i only do one thing


Do you use a PM? If so, what one and what's your FTP? Watts/kg?

yes i use a PM, its a Quarq (crank based).

i havent tested my FTP since February of last year - my 5 min power was 398 watts and 20 min was 329 watts. i havent tested since and am about 5-7kg lighter now. based on recent training i would estimate as follows:

5 min - about 370-380 - that would be circa 5 watts/KG
20 min - 310-320 - that would be circa 4.2 watts/kg

you couldnt pay me enough to test this at the moment! i did 100m in the pool for Kurt but an FTP test is a totally different kettle of fish....

i use the PM as a guide in races, i am not a slave to it at all, i go as hard as i can and look at it from time to time, i think trying to hold an average power for me seems stupid, you could be going downhill for a few mins and average very low watts and then trying to bring that back to the goal average would take a lot. for me its more of a limit guide and especially on moderate/bigger climbs i would try to keep it consistent as i have a tendency to really spike efforts on climbs and that is probably not helpful

it appears you have a strong bike and the ability to suffer. Any thoughts on why your run lags a bit compared to your bike?

thats something that nags at me and i think about it a lot, i am a much more committed cyclist than runner, thats probably part of it, i am balancing the cycling and running more this year but the running lags a few years behind in commitment terms.

i would not say that i have good run economy but that is improving.

and finally perhaps i put too much into the bike and have largely ignored fuelling for olympic distance racing when i should have thought more about it, that probably starts to hurt me a bit on the run.


Have you done any HIMs or IMs?

halfs and the double olympic in Athy twice. i did galway twice, the first year i was woefully unprepared and walked some of the run, the second year i did a bit better.

i am signed up for the double olympic in athy this year and am hopeful as i think i can do ok at it. i might sign up for an ironman for later in the year but i will see

pgibbo

I hear you on the FTP tests - a world of pain!!!!

Do you ski or board?
Have you been many times?
Favourite resort?
Have you skied in North America? If yes, how does it compare to Europe?
Do you wear a helmet when skiing/boarding?

MD1983

pgibbo wrote: »

I hear you on the FTP tests - a world of pain!!!!

Do you ski or board?
i Ski, never boarded

Have you been many times?
cant recall exactly, i went when i was a child and then in my 20s and with the wife. never went for more than a week and i always have the desire to go for a season and tour around to loads of different resorts. pipe dream, maybe next year...!

Favourite resort?
St Anton had the best skiing from what i can remember. i liked Zell am See too, went with the wife and enjoyed it, nice place. might be nice to go back to in the summer sometime.

i also liked the thermal Spas in Bad Gastein but the skiing wasnt as good

Have you skied in North America? If yes, how does it compare to Europe?
no but a mate of mine has moved to boston and i might go over and go with him if he stays for long

Do you wear a helmet when skiing/boarding?

at first no but in recent years yes

pgibbo

Do you do much in the line of core, SnC, maintenance (rolling, stretching, etc)?
What sort of time do you think you're capable of for an IM with ideal prep and an issue free day?

MD1983

Do you do much in the line of core, SnC, maintenance (rolling, stretching, etc)?
i do a bit of S&C but not a lot, mainly at the moment as my left knee tilts slightly inwards when i run and gets a bit uncomfortable after about 6-7km but nothing major.

i roll when injured or tight but rarely when not so, a bit lazy like that. i am not flexible at all so maybe i should do a bit more


What sort of time do you think you're capable of for an IM with ideal prep and an issue free day?

hard to know exactly not having done any long distance race in a few years.

on a fast course i think i would be close enough to 10 hours this year, i hope to do one this year later on so i will get an eye opener thats for sure. but for the sake of speculation i would say

swim: 1 hour should be very doable assuming of course its wetsuit. i think i swam about 3.4km in a 1 hour pool swim last year with no wetsuit and a wetsuit makes a huge difference to me, about 45 secs over 400m i think. so considering that 1 hour is a solid estimate.

bike: 5 hours should be doable, thats only 36km per hour and i hear the roads on the continent are like glass and the wind is always at your back..... on the glassy irish roads 280 watts gets me circa 42km per hour average so perhaps as little as 210-220 watts average would be enough for 5 hours. no idea but thats not a bad guess.

run: so i am back in T2 after 6 hours and then i have 4 hours to do the marathon!

d4r3n

Based on your power information to date... max power, 5s wkg, 1m wkg, 60m wkg?

What are your least favourite swim/bike/run sessions?

Of your 14-17 hour weeks, how many hours per discipline? what would the intensity split between hard/easy be?

MD1983

Based on your power information to date... max power, 5s wkg, 1m wkg, 60m wkg?

i will test max power, 5s w/kg and 1 w/kg tonight and let you know. absolutely no way i would do a 60 min test! i dont know if i would ever really know what this is at an open TT race unless i enter some TTs which are not on the horizon currently

What are your least favourite swim/bike/run sessions?
i suppose the sessions i am happiest to be done with are long swims - 4-5k, i hate FTP testing with a passion that why i havent done one in so long, and least favourite run would be a long treadmill run when i do one, say ifs its dark outside or poor weather


Of your 14-17 hour weeks, how many hours per discipline? what would the intensity split between hard/easy be?

bike - normally 2*1 hour sessions that i would class as hard with the rest i suppose easy, i dont really keep them that well defined as i could include hill repeats in an easy cycle or there could be a long section into the wind or up a big climb where i am essentially pushing myself - of that weekly hours i would say 8 would be bike

swim - i suppose 4-5 sessions a week ranging from 45 mins to 90 mins. if i said 4 - 5 hours a week would be average. i will do some days intervals say 100s or 50s or 200s and mixed in some longer stuff, some days if i was intent on doing a longer session the sets might be longer say 400m

Run - about 4-5 runs from 40 mins up id say average about 4 hours per week. mixture of faster and easy stuff

MD1983

Max power - 822 watts,

5 seconds - 810 watts

1 minute - 538 watts, probably could do more if i tried it again as at the end of the minute i could have gone on longer

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/734721778

MD1983

I have one more day of questions, if anyone wants to volunteer to take over please PM me otherwise i will have to go looking for a replacement!

Dory Dory

Hello....couldn't let you get away without a few more questions!

One piece tri suit or two? And why?
If I were to hop in your car right now, would you have to clear the passenger seat of clutter for me? And what would be playing on your radio?
Morning person or night owl?
What makes you laugh?
What is the most annoying habit you have?
What is the last book you read?
Do you play a musical instrument or sing?
Have you ever done karaoke?
How many bikes do you own, and do they have names?
Right now, what kind of shoes and socks do you have on?
What is the first thing you do when you come home from work and walk through the door?
What kind of cook are you? And what is your signature dish you make?
Chocolate cake with chocolate icing, fruit pie, or any flavor ice cream?

That's all!!!

MD1983

Hello....couldn't let you get away without a few more questions!

One piece tri suit or two? And why?
mixed bag over the years, i am in a one peace now for the simple reason that a company i have an interest in has trisuits and i wear one


If I were to hop in your car right now, would you have to clear the passenger seat of clutter for me? And what would be playing on your radio?

no clutter - wife sits there regularly and she cleans my clutter out

Newstalk radio or Today FM


Morning person or night owl?
Neither really, i get up early some days but not very productive if i am left to my own devices, tend to sit, drink tea and watch TV unless i have a goal. rarely stay up late as training has me tired


What makes you laugh?

stuff like Only Fools and Horses, chatting with friends and family that sort of thing


What is the most annoying habit you have?
i get a bit narky if wife repeatedly asks me to do something, that happens so often its probably a habit now....


What is the last book you read?

Zlatan - i think that was the title of Zlatan Ibrahimovic's book, read that around Christmas. the last book i referred to was Bohan: Capital Acquisitions Tax which i looked at today but its not a cover to cover type book


Do you play a musical instrument or sing?
instrument no - sing yes in my own head regularly enough


Have you ever done karaoke?
yep, drink has a lot to answer for

How many bikes do you own, and do they have names?
2 bikes, one TT one road bike, the TT is Betsy and the road is POS


Right now, what kind of shoes and socks do you have on?
brown runners, two odd black socks

What is the first thing you do when you come home from work and walk through the door?
turn off the alarm if its on, drop what i am carrying and probably put on teh kettle


What kind of cook are you? And what is your signature dish you make?

a limited cook. have no signature dish, but what i cook for myself most regularly is sweet potatoe, tomatoes, spinach and chicken for my dinner

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing, fruit pie, or any flavor ice cream?
a bit of rhubarb tart would do

shotgunmcos

How many times have you watched Gladiator?
What is your view on water charges?
Favourite weather presenter?
How long can you hold a plank to fail for?
Have you cracked an hour for 40k?

MD1983

How many times have you watched Gladiator?
3-4 i would say

What is your view on water charges?

the people who dont pay for anything are shouting the loudest, everything should be free blah blah blah and i am delighted to see these people finally having to fork out for something, i already pay for water via a group scheme and i think everybody should pay. the government have handled the whole thing so badly though

Favourite weather presenter?
Gene Byrne ;-)

How long can you hold a plank to fail for?
5 minutes

Have you cracked an hour for 40k?

yep have done this in olympic distance triathlon in Kilkenny last year, 40.1kph average IIRC. think it would be handy enough in an open TT but all course dependant

pgibbo

What sort of numbers for the 40.1 average?
What does POS stand for?
When will you make a call on IM Barcelona?
What's the current A race for 2015?
Hope you enjoyed the spotlight?

Cheers.

P.

ray o

How do you cook your sweet potato?

MD1983

What sort of numbers for the 40.1 average?

250 watts IIRC - pretty low and faster with circa 20 less average watts on the same course than the year before. fastest split of the day which made me smile a bit ;-) it was around that time that i thought my PM was reading low but if it is broken at least it is consistent!

What does POS stand for?

piece of sh*t - its a complete gate and i swear it is so slow compared to the other one and also sometimes i ride the wife's road bike and even that is quick compared to it, probably all perception and i raced a few tris on it in the early years

When will you make a call on IM Barcelona?

it will have to be soon but i dont know what the trigger will be or if i will procrastinate until it is to late, that wouldnt be out of the question as i am good at over thinking and inaction


What's the current A race for 2015?
the double olympic in triathy - thats the A race at the moment. putting it out there for future embarrassment i want to:

swim 46 - 47 mins
Bike in about 2hrs 8-10mins
Run in about 1hr 30-33

thats the goal so i will see how it goes and of course conditions could play havoc but if the weather is good i think i can do that and i suppose that is the first step


Hope you enjoyed the spotlight?

thoroughly.....!


P.[/QUOTE]

MD1983

ray o wrote: »

How do you cook your sweet potato?

chop it into cubes/slices and steam it, its surprisingly quick to cook like that and actually cooking the meat usually takes longer. its such a superior taste to the traditional spud IMO

zico10

Dory Dory wrote: »

If you could put together your dream boards tri relay team, who would it be made up of (and you are one of the legs) and why?

MD1983 wrote: »

i think Zico may be the best runner on the tri forum so i would get him to run

That's probably touch and go at the moment. You might be better off getting Peter to do both the swim and run right now.


I'm afraid I know very little about you, and I'm not sure what to ask.

Any sporting ambitions outside of triathlon?
You mentioned you thought your weight having an impact on your running. How heavy are you? Did you ever make any great efforts to get your weight lower than this?
Are you careful about what you eat in general?

You said you'd like to holiday in Switzerland and Thailand. Have you travelled much? Where are the most interesting places you've been?

Finally do you think you've kept your log updated?

MD1983

Any sporting ambitions outside of triathlon?
i would like to try cycle racing but thats along a similar vein to triathlon i suppose. when i was a young lad i suppose we all dreamed of football etc but now that i am 32 i think i can accept that i wont play in the premiership. nothing else really appeals to me at the moment


You mentioned you thought your weight having an impact on your running. How heavy are you? Did you ever make any great efforts to get your weight lower than this?


i am now about 75kg so i dont think the weight impacts me at the moment to a degree where i want to lose more, i look pretty thin now and my mother is getting concerned which probably means i am about right. i started triathlon at 95kg and am 182cm

Are you careful about what you eat in general?

yes - very careful, havent had chocolate bar or ice cream, biscuits or really junk food since July last year. occassionally i might have some crisps or some a few of my wife's celiac biscuits but they are not the same and lack taste

You said you'd like to holiday in Switzerland and Thailand. Have you travelled much? Where are the most interesting places you've been?


havent travelled a huge amount really. when i was in school and college i worked in the summers on the farm and i might get a weeks holiday in france or spain somewhere cheap as i had no cash really

i pretty much started working full time from college as a trainee accountant and on that money you could barely get a bus home so no real chance for travel in those years, also they worked you like a dog and holidays where generally a day here and there rather than weeks in a row

i went to singapore , Bali, longbok and Gilli T on honeymoon for a good few weeks, think the honeymoon might have been 6 weeks and i thought that was great. also spent some time in a small town in france in the foothills of the Pyrenese and cycled around a good bit and i really enjoyed that.

i suppose thailand would just be to see what that is like and i think i would like to cycle around the Alps as i see it on the cycling on TV and it looks great


Finally do you think you've kept your log updated?

my log is reasonable, it lacks some detail in comparison to yours. i go in phases at it in terms of whether i am interested in it enough to type out everything that i have done, times and HR and power etc, i find it easier to remember the cycling and running in more detail than the swimming as you could have 40 different things in a swimming session and i dont accurately recall whether i do my 100m repeat in 1.30 or 1.33 each time

ray o

MD1983 wrote: »

chop it into cubes/slices and steam it, its surprisingly quick to cook like that and actually cooking the meat usually takes longer. its such a superior taste to the traditional spud IMO

I have to admire your diet and avoidance of treats.

If time permits you should try sweet potato this way. Maybe stick in on before a turbo session

Medium/Large Sweet Potato
Give the Sweet Potato a good clean (don't peel)
Pierce all round with a fork
Put in onto a piece of tin foil (to catch the gooey stuff and save cleaning the oven)
Stick in the oven for 60 - 70 mins @180 degrees (fan)

The taste and texture is a step from boiled or steamed.