To Hell with Good Intentions.

RJM85

Must be time to start logging again.

RacoonQueen

Great minds think alike :pac:

rodneyr1981

RJM85 wrote: »

Must be time to start logging again.

Good to see you back

Bambaata

Was wondering what was going on!! Its December lad, get logging!!

RJM85

Main goals:

· Qualify for the 2018 70.3 WC & AG Podium at Dublin 70.3
· Sub 3hr marathon at Dublin Marathon


Main races:

· Newry Marathon (28th May –
· Tri an Mhi Olympic (10th June -
· Dublin 70.3 (20th August - A)
· Dublin Marathon (29th October - A)


Progress / Other Goals:

· 10% BF
· Sub 21 minute 10TT
· Sub 85 minute HM

joey100

Working with a coach again RJM?

That's the world champs in South Africa? That would be a great race I'd say.

I would have thought you would be well able for a sub 1.25HM already. Is that off the bike or in a seperate race? I'm around 30 seconds over it and your 10km PB would be a fair bit better than mine, I'd have thought you would have been well able for around 1.22/1.23.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Working with a coach again RJM?

That's the world champs in South Africa? That would be a great race I'd say.

I would have thought you would be well able for a sub 1.25HM already. Is that off the bike or in a seperate race? I'm around 30 seconds over it and your 10km PB would be a fair bit better than mine, I'd have thought you would have been well able for around 1.22/1.23.

Yes - same coach as last year. The plan is a fairly similar approach with a little more focus on strength for the moment. First week in January will be the start of training proper, but I'm already in the gym 3 days a week focusing on building strength.

Yes - SA. To be honest I'm not sure it mattered where the race would be - I feel like I missed an experience this year and I want to tick that off the bucketlist.

PB for HM is 1:25:24 - that was set in 2013 and I've equalled it in training since then without a "race effort". You're probably right that fit I could go lower in an A race but any HM I do will be treated as a C race and will be done on tired legs. You could probably debate the necessity to put that target in there, but it is something I'd like to make sure I tick off while going about the bigger goals. It's hopefully more of a "progress marker goal" if that makes sense?

RJM85

Back to structured training effectively from NYE. The offseason was a bit of a mixed bag with a nasty chest infection derailing a lot of my plans. It all stemmed from a cold I picked up in August and was exacerbated by my underestimating its impact and racing twice (at Borderman 70.3 and Pulse Sprint). I have done intermittent bits of decent training – certainly more than the offseason last year, but nothing near the level I had hoped. I’ve knocked a few planned sessions on the head in favour of family time, which I think was a good move; and I’ve piled on an impressive amount of weight too. That said; when compared to this time last year I’m in similar shape body composition wise, and marginally fitter (about 10 CTL points according to Training Peaks).



31st Jan – NYE Time Trial

This is a tradition run by the local cycling club and I’ve done it almost every year since I bought a bike. The course changed from the familiar 10 mile route this year to a shorter 12km route on a different stretch of road. I didn’t go into this expecting much, and my expectations were pretty much met 100%. I held ~300w for just under 19 minutes which, basically, is what it is. I certainly wouldn’t be happy with that once the season is in full swing, but it gives me a starting point. My FTP on Training Peaks has been set as ~270 for the moment.



1st Jan

Long Run - 90 minutes – 15.5km - easy / steady ~5.30/km pace. Nothing fancy or strenuous, just running really easy.



2nd Jan

Rec Run – 40 minutes – 6.68km – 3mins @ 5min/km, 2 mins walking – repeat.

Bike – 40minutes – easy evening spinning.



3rd Jan

Weights – 30 minutes – lunge walk, bodyweight stuff. No real weight here for the moment, just getting back in the routine.

Swim – 25 minutes – 1.5k – aerobic swim. Probably not the best idea to have my first swim in a while straight after a weights session, but it went ok. Arms tiring fairly quick, but the form and pace were fairly decent considering.

Bike – 90 minutes – cadence sets.



4th Jan

Run – 30 minutes – done on a treadmill with intervals of 90 seconds @ 10km, 30 seconds @ 13km – focussed on getting good leg turnover on the faster bits.

Swim – 35 minutes – 2k – similar to yesterday – tiring early, but not too bad overall.

Weights – 30 minutes – Dumbbell set – again, not big weights, but getting back to the feel for it and will add more weight and volume as we progress.



Early days yet, but so far everything is going pretty well (including food!). A good first week back will really help build the momentum.

RJM85

5th Jan



Run – 20mins – easy on treadmill.



Swim – 1hr – 3k. I had to split this session in two. Just after getting in the water I remembered something I forgot to do in the office and needed to get in before 9 to get it sorted.



Did the WU & CD in the morning (just swam straight EZ) and then main set @ lunch. Similar to the last couple of swims - arms tiring easier than I remember, but the feel for the water doesn't seem that bad and I'm getting the rhythm going pretty well. I want to work on getting the cadence up another bit as that seemed to be working well for me towards the end of last year, but I think I'll need a couple more swims to get the strength back to a decent level first.



6th Jan



Run – 1hr – long run – again, on the treadmill.



Weights – 30mins – lifts and things – starting to get back in the swing of these.



7th Jan



Bike – 1hr – turbo – interval session.



Run – 20mins – easy off the bike.



8th Jan



Bike – 3hrs – easy / steady long bike. 3 punctures and had to walk the last mile home in my cleats. I did this fasted and suffered a bit towards the end – as to be expected – I’m not sure it’s an approach I’ll continue with as I found it very difficult to show restraint with food in the immediate aftermath…



Run – 40 mins – hill reps done late in the evening, but went well and was able to push pretty hard.



Happy with how the first week went overall. Turned everything green on training peaks; diet was good for the most part (bar Sunday post bike); and enjoying being back in the swing of things.



Totals:

Swim: 2hrs / 6.5k

Bike: 6hrs 20 / 164km

Run: 3hrs 30 / 36.3km

Weights: 1hrs 30



Total: 13hrs 20

mossym

good to see you back

RJM85 wrote: »

Did the WU & CD in the morning (just swam straight EZ) and then main set @ lunch.

doing the warm down before the main set. and 4 hours at that.

i know they say do whatever works for you but that's a novel concept..:)

RJM85

mossym wrote: »

good to see you back



doing the warm down before the main set. and 4 hours at that.

i know they say do whatever works for you but that's a novel concept..:)

Purely an exercise in logging the miles....

rodneyr1981

RJM85 wrote: »

5th Jan
Bike – 3hrs – easy / steady long bike. 3 punctures and had to walk the last mile home in my cleats. I did this fasted and suffered a bit towards the end – as to be expected – I’m not sure it’s an approach I’ll continue with as I found it very difficult to show restraint with food in the immediate aftermath…

I've been trialing this over the last few spins and find the complete fast is counter productive for me - has me craving the whole day long which i don't have the discipline for.
By having the porridge and a banana or 2 during the spin reduces my post post ride craving for the top press...

RJM85

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

I've been trialing this over the last few spins and find the complete fast is counter productive for me - has me craving the whole day long which i don't have the discipline for.
By having the porridge and a banana or 2 during the spin reduces my post post ride craving for the top press...

You know, I'm fairly certain I've come to this conclusion on more than one occasion but I guess I was hoping for different results this time round or something.

RJM85

Monday

Swim – 35mins – 2k



Tuesday

Weights – 40min – bodyweight, lunges

Run – 20mins – 3km - easy on treadmill



Wednesday

Long run – 1hr 35 – 16.9km – easy with HR cap. Slow and a bit boring, but a decent run.

Weights – 30mins – Dumb bell set



Thursday

Swim – 1hr – 3.2km – swimming is starting to come back to its old level. That’s happened quicker than last year, so that’s a good sign.

Bike – 1hr – easy spinning

Run – 20mins – 3.9k - easy off the bike



Friday

Run – 50min – 8km – treadmill – run / walk mix

Weights – 40mins – mixed set of heavier lifting and bodyweight stuff

Bike – 1hr 30 – Big Gear session



I had to miss a swim session planned for lunch time on Friday as my wife was in a car accident with the kids and I left work to go home. Nobody hurt and all ok. We’ll have a big insurance bill in October but in the circumstances the important thing is that everyone is alright.



Saturday

Bike – 1hr 30 – bike – short hard intervals of 30 seconds.

Run – 35mins – 2 minute circuit building to full on sprint for 30 seconds.



Sunday

Bike – 4hrs – 102km – easy aerobic riding – I wouldn’t have been as strong at the end of 4 hours like this at this time last year, so there’s a few signs already that I’m ahead of where I was at 12 months ago.

Run – 20 mins – 3km – easy



Totals

Swim – 1hr 30 – 5.2k

Bike – 8hrs

Run – 4hrs – 40.8km

Strength – 1hr 50

Total – 15hrs 10.

Overall it was a decent week with good signs. I had to reshuffle some of the training meaning that the end of the week was a bit more busy than the start. Part of this was to do with recovery after last weeks long bike and part of it was to do with kids not sleeping / colds in the house.

Diet and weight is still moving in the right direction but I've still got plenty of work to do.

joey100

Glad to hear the family are alright RJM.

That's a good solid training week there, doesn't seem to be taking you long to get back into it!

pgibbo

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

I've been trialing this over the last few spins and find the complete fast is counter productive for me - has me craving the whole day long which i don't have the discipline for.
By having the porridge and a banana or 2 during the spin reduces my post post ride craving for the top press...

Those cravings stop over time but you also need to limit the amount of crap you eat too before you see the benefits. Otherwise I think you're just confusing the body.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Glad to hear the family are alright RJM.

Yeah. Family is the important thing. Given what happened to that lady in Meath over the weekend it's relatively easy to put some perspective on a missed swim and a larger than you'd like insurance premium.

I genuinely think that a proper break over the winter is the best way of ensuring you're ready to get started in January. 90% of logging the training is mental!

joey100

Meant to ask you yesterday RJM, what do you count as a proper break over the winter? Did you stop training completely or just do a bit when you wanted?

I took some proper time off at the end of last year, earlier than most, my season was over after Dublin half. Went on holidays, built a shed, done some work around the house. Probably took too much time completely off if I'm honest but it was definitely good for the head space.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Meant to ask you yesterday RJM, what do you count as a proper break over the winter? Did you stop training completely or just do a bit when you wanted?

I took some proper time off at the end of last year, earlier than most, my season was over after Dublin half. Went on holidays, built a shed, done some work around the house. Probably took too much time completely off if I'm honest but it was definitely good for the head space.

Sorry - kept thinking to respond to this at times when I actually couldn't...

I think the off season break needs to be different things to different people. It depends on how hard you've worked (especially the mental stress) over the season, what else is in your life, how do you best unwind...

For me, I like to completely forget about tri for a couple of weeks. I'll have a beer most nights, eat whatever I want and I'll do *some* training only if I feel like it, and I'll spend more time with the kids, my wife, meet friends etc.I don't drink during the season and I might see friends only once or twice during the year until the off season.

My average month last year in season was between 70-80 hours - for October November and December I think the highest month was 20 hours and I did no swimming for almost 2 months. For me, the sign of a good off season is that you're really itching to go in the last week or two in December, and unless you've got really early season goals I don't feel like there's any need to start any earlier than January.

I'm a kind of all in or nothing person though, so I'm not sure that approach is best for everyone. I certainly feel like I need it each year though - certainly in the last two seasons where my training load and commitment to training was relatively high.

MD1983

joey100 wrote: »

Meant to ask you yesterday RJM, what do you count as a proper break over the winter? Did you stop training completely or just do a bit when you wanted?

I took some proper time off at the end of last year, earlier than most, my season was over after Dublin half. Went on holidays, built a shed, done some work around the house. Probably took too much time completely off if I'm honest but it was definitely good for the head space.

think you are right on this - not good for the mind to be always focused on training. there is a lot more to do than just SBR! i still like to be active in the off season but only when its convenient. anyhow after a few weeks training you are back to where you left off

RJM85

MD1983 wrote: »

think you are right on this - not good for the mind to be always focused on training. there is a lot more to do than just SBR! i still like to be active in the off season but only when its convenient. anyhow after a few weeks training you are back to where you left off

It comes back a lot quicker than most people think I think....

RJM85

Monday

Bike – 1hr – Easy spinning



Tuesday

Weights – 30mins – dumbbell stuff – found this quite tough. In a small bit of a hole after last week’s long bike and struggled a little Monday and Tuesday of this week with tiredness.



Wednesday

Run – 1hr 40 – long run – easy with a HR cap. Slow, but a bit faster than last week. Comfortable.

Swim – 1hr – 3k – swimming is going well and part of me is looking forward to the first test week to see where it’s at.



Thursday

Weights – 40mins – bodyweight and lunges

Run – 40 mins – hill reps

Swim – 1hr – 3.2k

Run – 20 mins – easy



Friday

Run – 50 mins – mix of running and walking.

Weights – 35 mins – another mix of bodyweight exercises and heavier stuff. Seeing progress here and while I’m not lifting big weights I’m lifting the same as I was around May last year which is progress.

Swim – 1hr – 3.5k

Bike – 1hr 30 – 3 *15mins @ just below threshold. Good session – total sweat fest!



Saturday

Bike – 1hr 45 – 2 * 25mins sweet spot – another sweat fest.

Run – 20 mins easy (not easy enough) off the bike. Feeling good and had to hold back more than once.



Sunday

Long bike – 4 hours.



Totals:

Swim – 2hrs 40 – 9.7km

Bike - 8hrs 18 – 218km

Run 4hrs 5 – 38.7km

Strength – 1hr 50

Total - 16hrs 55

RJM85

Monday

Bike – 40 mins easy spinning



Tuesday

Long run – 1hr – 11.7km – negative split run based on HR caps for out and back.



Wednesday

Swim – 1.5k aerobic set.

Run – 30 mins with 5 x 1 minute efforts.



Thursday

Aerobic Run test – 40 mins with 10 minutes each at specific HR’s. Pace was slower than I’d like, but it’s a good starting reference point and it will improve as weight goes down.

Swim – 2km – main set of 50’s.



Friday

Long swim – 3.3k – just get in and swim for an hour.



Saturday

Aerobic Bike test - 40 mins with 10 minutes each at specific HR’s – Pwr figures very much in line with this time last year.

Bike – 1hr – 8x1 mins efforts

Run – 15mins easy off the bike.



Sunday

Long bike – 2hrs -55km

Run – 15mins easy off the bike

S&C – 40 mins aerobic strength – mostly bodyweight type stuff.



Totals:

Swim: 2hrs; 6.8km

Bike: 4hrs 20; 116km

Run: 2hrs 40; 28.9km

S&C: 40mins

Total: 9hrs 40



First rec week done. Things are moving in the right direction, and weight is down 3.5kg so far. Plenty of work yet to be done but it’s moving along nicely in the right direction.

RJM85

In other news; our new club gear arrived this week. I was involved in getting the design and arranging the order etc. Really happy with how it's all turned out.

Modelled in the attached by some club mates...

rodneyr1981

RJM85 wrote: »

In other news; our new club gear arrived this week. I was involved in getting the design and arranging the order etc. Really happy with how it's all turned out.

Modelled in the attached by some club mates...

Nice kit looks the job

RJM85

Monday

Swim – 3k

Bike – 40 minutes – easy spinning



Tuesday

S&C – 40 minutes – Dumbbell set

Bike – 90 minutes – 5*5minutes @ building to threshold



Wednesday

Run – 1hr – 4 * 8 minutes descending pace

Swim – 1.5k – easy



Thursday

S&C – 45minutes – mixed bag of heavy lifting and bodyweight stuff.

Bike – plan was for a BG set, however my turbo stopped working about 15 minutes in and is now deceased. Did my long run in place of this session

Run – 1hr 40 – steady with a weighted pack – 2.5kg.



Friday

Run – 45mins – hill reps.

Swim – 3.5k – 2*1,500m descending pace



Saturday

Run – 20 mins – steady

Bike – 90mins – this was planned as a threshold set, but because of my turbo woes it ended up being a makeshift steady spin. New turbo is on the way and I should have it midweek this week.



Sunday

Long bike – 4hrs – with some BG sets.

Run – 15mins easy with some short sprints.



Totals:

Swim: 2hrs 17 8kkm

Bike 7hrs 57 207km

Run 4hrs 2 43.7km

S&C 1hr 27

Total 15hrs 42

joey100

Your a man who likes his gear so I'll guess at a tacx Neo??

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Your a man who likes his gear so I'll guess at a tacx Neo??

I've actually gone for an elite qubo fluid trainer. Didn't want to eat into the new bike budget! Plus, I have power data from the PM anyway...

joey100

Good stuff, new bike would be a bit nicer than a fancy turbo alright. Must be all them watts your putting out that broke the last one, no more 100% plus work for you on it!

pgibbo

Have you decided on a bike?

Tipping away nicely with the training. How do you find running with the weighted vest?

RJM85

pgibbo wrote: »

Have you decided on a bike?

Tipping away nicely with the training. How do you find running with the weighted vest?

One of these...

I wear a small backpack with a weight in it packed with a towel to stop it bouncing around. It takes a couple of runs to get used to but I know from last year that I felt progressively stronger over a couple of months. Forces you to focus on good form and you really feel it in the legs like BG work on the bike.

zico10

RJM85 wrote: »

One of these...

I wear a small backpack with a weight in it packed with a towel to stop it bouncing around. It takes a couple of runs to get used to but I know from last year that I felt progressively stronger over a couple of months. Forces you to focus on good form and you really feel it in the legs like BG work on the bike.

Unless I'm picturing it wrong, something like this is bound to affect your form. It sounds like your inviting injury to me. If you really must introduce extra stressors to your run, would you not be better off wearing extra layers or running with a jacket open so it catches the wind?

pgibbo

zico10 wrote: »

Unless I'm picturing it wrong, something like this is bound to affect your form. It sounds like your inviting injury to me. If you really must introduce extra stressors to your run, would you not be better off wearing extra layers or running with a jacket open so it catches the wind?

A colleague of mine who does a lot of ultra running and has won some 100 mile races uses a weighted vest. You can increase or decrease the weight due to the way the vest is designed. He reckons it's very popular with ultra runners. He had no great concerns over injuries either which I found a little strange.

mossym

pgibbo wrote: »

A colleague of mine who does a lot of ultra running and has won some 100 mile races uses a weighted vest. You can increase or decrease the weight due to the way the vest is designed. He reckons it's very popular with ultra runners. He had no great concerns over injuries either which I found a little strange.

couple of guys i know use them to prepare for ultra mountain runs, make up for having to train on the flat. proper mountain stuff, not the hills we have here

Neady83

pgibbo wrote: »

A colleague of mine who does a lot of ultra running and has won some 100 mile races uses a weighted vest. You can increase or decrease the weight due to the way the vest is designed. He reckons it's very popular with ultra runners. He had no great concerns over injuries either which I found a little strange.

I run with a backpack regularly, to train for running with it in events. My experience and what others who do similar have agreed with is that it's improved my running posture. Even a small weight in the backpack pulls the shoulders back and forces you to run in a more upright position. I think if the back pack is well fitted to the body and the weight isn't bobbing around, there shouldn't be a problem.

RJM85

Right, I have a bit to catch up on here... generally things have been ticking along however, I’ve been very busy at work the last while and we’ve had some sick kids which has meant I’ve missed one or two planned sessions. I also managed to sprain my wrist and wasn’t able to swim last week. It appears to be sufficiently healed to get back in the water this week.



@Zico – I think you’re partially correct in that yes, I am increasing my risk for injury but I don’t think it’s any different to say running with a Camelbak which I doubt would raise too many eyebrows. This session is intended as a replacement for a long aerobic mountain run which unfortunately due to my family circumstances is often unfeasible. My understanding is that intention is similar to a big gear bike session in that you’re working on leg strength (by adding weight in this instance rather than pushing a bigger gear). The session is done at a relatively low intensity – HR was capped at 150 for me which is (as far as I can remember) middle of zone 2. It is absolutely adding stress and therefore increasing injury risk, but the risk is somewhat mitigated by:

a) I don’t tend to injure easily - the majority of injuries I’ve had are due to falls / knocks etc.
b) Low intensity of the session
c) I have experience of including the session before and haven’t had any negative effects.
As mentioned above, I actually think it helps with form as 1) you’re forced to run upright and 2) over time it appears to help core strength and help run form outside of the session.



Week commencing 06/02/2017

Monday

Two uncooperative kids meant that the planned run session wasn’t done.



Tuesday

Swim – 3.2k

Run – 8k – 2 minute circuit finishing in 30seconds hard



Wednesday

Run – 25min easy

Strength – 40 mins – bodyweight,lifting.

Bike – 1hr easy spinning



Thursday

Run – 15mins easy

Strength – 1hr – core work – lots of new exercises in this one for me. A deceptively difficult session!

Swim – 3.5k

Bike – 90mins – BG work



Friday

Swim – 3.8k

Bike – 90 mins – More BG work



Saturday

Long run – 90 mins working on cadence



Sunday

Long bike – 4hrs.



Totals

Swim: 3hrs

Bike: 7hrs 50

Run: 2hrs 50

Strength: 1hr 40

Total: 15hrs 20



Week commencing 13/02/2017

Monday

Bike – 1hr 5 – easy spinning



Tuesday

Strength – 30 mins – core work

Bike – 90mins – 16*1 minute hard intervals



Wednesday

Run – 1hr – hill work



Thursday

Run – 20mins easy

Strength – 30 mins – core work

Run – 20mins easy

Swim – 3.5k



Friday

Swim – 3.2k – Morning

Swim – 3.5k – Evening

Bike – 90 mins –BG work



Saturday

Long run – 2hrs – good run and finally seeing some progress. Unfortunately tripped and sprained my wrist though.



Sunday

Long bike – 4hrs – on the turbo because of the wrist.



Totals

Swim: 2hrs 40

Bike: 8hrs

Run: 3hrs 50

Strength: 1hr

Total: 15hrs 10



Week commencing 20/02/2017

Monday & Tuesday

Had to travel to Tralee for work. Between driving, the actual work, and my sprained wrist I didn’t do any training on these days. This was to be a recovery week anyway.



Wednesday

Run – 30mins easy with 6 * 1 minute hard efforts



Thursday

Long bike – 2hrs



Friday

Long run – 1hr

Bike – 40mins easy



Saturday

Aerobic Bike test- 40mins – seeing good improvements here.

Run – 15 mins easy



Sunday

Aerobic run test – 40 mins – marginal improvements here

Bike – 1hr – with 8*1 minute hard efforts

Run – 15 mins easy



Totals

Swim: 0

Bike: 4hrs 20

Run: 2hrs 45

Strength: 0

Total: 7hrs 5

RJM85

I guess I should probably do some kind of update. I’ll not do a full update on all the training or lack thereof.



The last block hasn’t really been great – of the last 3 weeks I’ve only had one proper relatively uninterrupted training week, followed by two weeks where a number of sessions were missed due to (in order – a cold (this didn’t actually cause any missed sessions!); a 2 year old with an ear infection; a vomiting bug that made its way through the house; and a baby with an ear and throat infection). Effectively I’ve probably treaded water fitness wise for this block - all things considered I’ve done a few decent sessions; but nowhere near the consistency I’d expect of myself – but then again the missed sessions were for legitimate reasons.



I had my first race of the season at the Sportsman’s duathlon on Sunday where I came 10th in a pretty strong field. It’s hard to take any conclusions from the race given the lead in (I was up till 1:30 the night before with the baby after a very long day); but roughly speaking I’d say I’m maybe 5/10 watts off where I was this time last year on the bike, and I’m 2-3kg too heavy to run anything near well (that said; I’m 5kg down on January and making steady progress on that front – all the interruptions over the past couple of weeks have slowed progress a bit though).



My notes to coach from the race were as follows:

· Overall I think it was fairly reflective of where I am. I don’t think I was overly impacted by tiredness or outside factors even if they were present. Considering where I am in the season and what I already knew going in there were no nasty surprises. I think if I can get a good consistent run and drop the remaining extra pounds I’ll be in a good position come August. I have the last Sportsman’s down on the calendar – if you’re happy enough I’d like to use that as a mini progress marker to show improvement over the next ~6 weeks.
· Some silly things which I’ll have resolved for future races:
o Shifting on the TT bike not as good as it should be – I’ve probably neglected the TT bike over the winter in the knowledge it’s being replaced.
o Didn’t have the Garmin (bought a new one recently) set up right to display power or even HR – in the shorter races I like to really focus on a power number and I might have squeezed a little extra out with the visual – that said; I didn’t finish with much left in the tank so it’s not as if there was 20 or 30 watts or something.
· I focused on cadence in the run – especially on the 2nd one and I think this really worked well. I had someone to chase on the 2nd run which helped also, but I didn’t feel like I faded over the course of the run like I might have this time last year – or at least to the same extent.


Sunday week puts me at the 20 weeks out mark for Dublin 70.3 and coach has 2 relatively easy maintenance weeks in the diary until then before things start to ramp up. With a decent run of consistency I’ll be in a good place at the end of April – hopefully everything else will cooperate!

joey100

Looks like your not having much luck RJM, hopefully this is it though now, all your bad luck done at once!

When is the new bike coming? Sure that has to be worth at least them 20w your down.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Looks like your not having much luck RJM, hopefully this is it though now, all your bad luck done at once!

When is the new bike coming? Sure that has to be worth at least them 20w your down.

To be fair, we tend to be quite lucky with illness in general so I'm sure we were due a bit of a blip. Main thing is that everyone's on the mend now - youngest hasn't had a nice last couple of days and it's particularly unpleasant seeing him in bad form as he's an exceptionally happy child the majority of the time.

Herself probably needs a night out or similar as well so we'll have to do something on that front and hopefully the house will be back on the right track.

New bike is sitting in the shop waiting for final payment and my crankset to be transferred over. I should have next week at the latest!

How's your new ride working out?

RJM85

Here she is...

joey100

Only been out on the roads on it once, turbo twice. Been sick since I got back from Amsterdam and haven't done a whole lot really. In the doctors tomorrow to try and get to the route of it. But the bit I've been on it it feels nice, not as harsh as the Argon, lot more comfort and don't feel as stretched on it. Didn't feel as bad in the crosswinds either, bit heavier alright but I'd take that for the comfort and stability. Just need to start getting out on it. In the middle of getting the FLO rear and Disc changed to 11 speed.

Had a look at them Giant's too, look really nice, nice bit of integration on them too. Will work well with the flo's on it.

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Had a look at them Giant's too, look really nice, nice bit of integration on them too. Will work well with the flo's on it.

Yeah, going to look into new decals for the Flo wheels as my current red won't match.

joey100

Ah crap, I just ordered 2 11speed hubs from them, if I had of known I could have put them in the same order, saved you the shipping. Saying that the hubs have been in Chicago since 7th march.

rodneyr1981

Well done at the weekend.

Did you take the new bike out?

joey100

Was that yourself I seen running down past Herbert park this lunch time? If not you have a twin, even wears velo revolution too..

RJM85

rodneyr1981 wrote: »

Well done at the weekend.

Did you take the new bike out?

Thanks, but I'm not sure there's anything well done about it! Power numbers on the bike were decent; otherwise I'm far too fat to be moving anywhere near fast enough. I'm behind where I want to be for various reasons but last couple of weeks have been good and it's not all negative in terms of current fitness.

Had the new bike alright. All positive on that front!

RJM85

joey100 wrote: »

Was that yourself I seen running down past Herbert park this lunch time? If not you have a twin, even wears velo revolution too..

Most likely was me alright - I was down that way on my run today!

RJM85

Dublin 70.3
Every race report needs a bit of context. For this one, it’s probably sufficient to say that I’ve struggled with training in the past 12 months for various reasons. These include work, kids, sickness, and motivation. Training has improved in the past number of weeks, but for the purposes of this race the improvement came a little bit too late to allow me to get into the shape I’d like. I also had done a 70.3 race in Tyrone 4 weeks ago where I achieved a personal worst time at the distance, paced the bike terribly and walked a significant portion of the run. With all of that in mind; the goal for the day was to swim well and pace the bike in order to allow me to run strongly – whatever the result.

The day before the race I packed the kids into the car and the lads went for a day out in Dun Laoghaire. We had great fun checking out the boats in Scotsmans Bay and dealt with the matter of registration and dropping my gear off. By the end of the day I was exhausted and really questioning the sanity of going ahead with the race. But sure I had to collect my bike either way.



The morning of the race I had my trusty chauffeur (Dad) pick me up shortly before 5 and we made our way to Dublin. I have done much of my training the past month or so fasted and have found it working pretty well. They say you shouldn’t change things for race day so I decided to forego my usual bagel and or porridge and just had a coffee and some water on the trip down.



We arrived at the race site shortly after 6am and I set about preparing myself, my gear etc. There was no expectation, no nerves, andno pressure.

Swim – 29:02

Once I had my wetsuit on we wandered along the seafront towards Sandycove Beach. I downed a gel with 5 minutes to go and made my way to the front of the swim start in the ~30 minutes pen. I found myself standing next to Owen Martin – time for a quick handshake and ‘good luck’ before the countdown began in earnest.



Before long we found ourselves filing into the water to the sound of the Dropkick Murphys and the race was on. The water was relatively cold, but it was calm and the surrounds of the bay combined with the hues of the sunrise made this a particularly peasant swim. I found my rhythm fairly quick and settled into a good stroke focusing as usual on taking hold of the water and pushing right through. Whatever about anything else; I’ve been swimming well in training and was keen to show this on race day. I swam the majority of the course on my own – getting feet here and there, but rarely at a pace that was really a good fit. My Garmin has the swim as a bit long (2,070m) but I’m not certain whether this is because of going off course or the course actually being long. Regardless, I swam well and I’m happy with a 29:02 which puts it as my best split for a 70.3 race to date. More importantly, I was getting out of the water feeling pretty fresh and I didn’t feel like I had burned any matches.



T1 – 4:21 The results sheet has my T1 time as 4:21; however, that also appears to have been noted as the transition time for almost everyone so I’m assuming there may have been a malfunction with one or other of the timing mats. My T1 was a bit of a disaster; I headed for the tent and had my wetsuit around my waist quick enough, but once inside I set about looking for bag number 1905 which wasn’t my number (my number was 1095). When I found where I thought my number should have been, there were no bags and it took me an age to calm myself sufficiently to get my head straight and get back on track. It felt like an eternity, but realistically I think I lost one or two minutes here.

Bike – 02:25:37

The goal for the bike was to pace it conservatively and ensure I had the legs to run. In previous races I have viewed the bike as, for want of a better phrase ‘my weapon’, only to suffer towards the end of the run. For this race I decided to view it as my weakness. While I normally work off a power figure and ignore almost everything else; this morning I looked to ride easy at a zone 2 heart rate and looked to view power as a guide for climbs. I had settled into a nice rhythm around 150bpm, and 240w by the time I hit Blackrock, and was at 145bpm by the city centre. My power was creeping up though, and by the time I passed the Phoenix Park I started to wonder whether today might be a good day; or at least a better day than expected. Overall, I biked well. I have a bit of a theory that dropping breakfast and going easy for the first section of the bike allowed my stomach and body to return to normal after the swim, and that this aided digestion and hydration for the remainder of the race. I often have the problem of a high heart rate immediately after the swim which I struggle to get under control for the rest of the race. I was able to steadily increase the effort over the course of the bike and I’m happy with how I paced it. By the end, I had averaged 267 watts (NP 280), which is the highest I’ve ever hit in a 70.3 and a full 15 watts more than I managed in Tyrone just 4 weeks before. I also was feeling pretty fresh.



If that was the sole story of the bike course, I’d be happy; however there was also the small matter of a 5 minute drafting penalty to spoil my day. I have since re-read the rules and have sent an e-mail to TI and the race organisers detailing a number of issues I have with how the draft marshalling was enforced. However, I also understand that a draft penalty is effectively deemed to be a judgement call on behalf of the marshal and therefore cannot be appealed. Suffice to say that I disagree with the penalty; furthermore the two guys in the penalty tent with me singled me out to the TI official to state that I had not been drafting and that indeed I had effectively been on the front of a group being followed for a huge portion of the race. Anyone who has raced with me or who knows me will know that I particularly dislike drafting and would certainly not intentionally cheat and I am gutted to have a penalty against my name.

T2 – 7:53 (including a five minute penalty)

The penalty tent was a joke. The bike marshal had not shown me a card so I didn’t know what my penalty was and had to spend time talking to the TI official to figure things out before I could even start serving the penalty. I was told by the official not to eat or drink during the penalty – I have since consulted the rules and found that this was incorrect information and that I should have been allowed to eat and / or drink anything that I had on my bike or on my person.

Run – 01:30:08



I was starting the run with legs feeling pretty fresh and I still had little or no expectations from the race. I stopped at the first portaloo to spend a penny and then got into the real meat of the race. I was caught about 2km into the run by a relay runner – I ran with him until 4km at a pace that transpired to be a little too hot for me, but I think I managed to recognize that pretty early on. I settled into a good steady hard pace which consistently seemed to fall at 4:15 or so per km and was pretty comfortable all things considered for the first lap. My heart rate was high, but that’s fairly normal with even open running races for me, and I felt pretty good. The race was 3 by 7km laps, and I reminded myself continuously that really, the pain should come on the last lap – and it did. At this stage, it’s all too familiar – slowly but surely my legs start to seize up and the range of motion gets smaller. I grit my teeth and push on. The soft controlled steps of 70 – 80 minutes before turn to loud slaps of the pavement. I start to feel my IT band really tense and it’s all I can do to stop from grimacing and gurning. This really hurts. And I’m loving it. Because I’m still moving forward, still passing people, and I’m proving even my own self-doubt wrong.



Finish – 04:37:01 – 11th – M30-34 All things considered I’m pretty happy with the race. Yes, I could have been fitter and training could have gone better. Yes, I could have been leaner and that would have had a decent impact on my bike and run times. Yes, I’m not happy about the drafting penalty. But I enjoyed my race, I got the best I could out of my body on the day, and I’m enjoying my training probably more than I have done in 12 months. There’s plenty of time to lay good foundations for next season and to hatch some cunning plans (and cunning ways to sneak them past the boss).



Edit: I have since received confirmation from IM that I should not have received any penalty and that they will be reducing my T2 time by 5 minutes. This leaves my end result as 4:32:01 and 7th in AG. It would also have been sufficient for the first WC roll down slot. I have requested that this be made available to me but have been told that it cannot since I didn’t attend the roll down ceremony. I’m appealing.