At least it not a cold winter morning ergo LSD...

Hill Running last night.

7.2km around Cratloe Woods in Co Clare. About 180m of climbing mostly in one tough steep climb. The descents were sharp drops and technical. Terrain, mud, fire road, forrest trail, gravel, more mud and the usual fallen logs and low branches to negotiate. Route was marked with yellow arrows and luminous green paint but many still got lost. I hung on to the lead guy for a good quick and somtimes scary run. Dipped in the lake to cool down, again so very enjoyable. Core and quads were stiff from Pilates the night before so I originally set out cautiously with some slower guys but just couldn't resist leaping though the forrest at speed

Swimming this morning. Felt quite tired. Heavy week, extra work load plus looking after 2 great danes who have to be fed and walked before training in the morning plus extra driving. Rest Day tomorrow though so going to have fun with my son and completely forget about training for a day. 600m warm up easy breathing every 2/4/6. I was drifting onto the ropes so had to alternate this to breathing the other side every length. Concentration wasn't great though so drank some water...euch. Set was 16*50m/5*200m/6*100m. 3,000m of lazy swimming... although it meant stroke length was good... about 36 per 50m at times

MrCreosote wrote: »

Impressive session there yesterday MCOS! Forgetting about Kilkee, you must be pretty pleased with the training with Kenmare in mind?

I was very happy to get a long bike in as its been ages. I only thought about Kenmare for a brief moment on the run when I imaginged what it would feel like to be facing a half marathon and after 2 proper bike climbs in Kenmare too :eek: How You set for Kilkee?

Abhainn wrote: »

mm....nice brick session there MCOS.

Just one water bottle on the bike?

Yeah one of my bottle cages broke when I crashed a couple of weeks ago. I'll be revisting the training after Kilkee. Thinking about looking up a coach too

Jesus, thanks for the compliments guys There really is a great support on these boards eh... a nice community with us all keeping each other on our toes. I'll do my best to stay in touch with all of your logs too

@ --amadeus-- eh... No! I have surpassed my expectations so far this year but I still have 2 of my 3 'A' goals to go. That said, I think I can improve all 3 disciplines for next year with a much more structured and maybe coached winter training.

@Abhainn, yep my Athy Bike was awful. In fact it was my worst split of the 3 and its usually my strongest. Funnily enough my swim was my best split that day!! I think I was so nervous about my swimming during the winter that I worked pretty hard on it and its now paying off! Next up will be a focus as such on the running! My bike is an entry level roadie, Giant SCR1 with clip on TT bars. I'd love to try one of those TT bikes out though!

@KC and pgibbo. Basically I listen to others for starters. My biggest education this year in Tri has been about the bike. I don't get out for many group spins as I have my son at the weekends so I usually cycle alone. However from the group spins and TTs a few things I picked up (other than about equipment)

-Position is key. Its not just a case of slapping on the tri bars and lifting the saddle. Have your position checked for your bike
-Cadence , mashing a 50-12 into the wind is hardy stuff but its slower and tires the legs out quickly, I try to use my gears more effectively to keep a decent cadence up (without being a granny about it!)
-Hills, I've really only recently started doing these )as the hills I did were not considered hills) but they make a difference in terms of strength and also how you approach hills. For everyone its different but I attack the base of a hill, downshift to a decent spinning gear and then as a get to the crest I press hard and shift up so that I'm accelerating at the peak rather than at my slowest... not sure if that makes sense but its only recent.. something I have to practice much more of.
-40k, 50k, 60k.. I used to think going out and doing 50k by myself was grand. It is, however the session should always have something specific in mind other than accomplishing a nice round number of kms Such as a few intervals or hill repeats thrown in etc... At the weekend I went out for a long bike and went out of my way to find some hills
-Bike maintenance, its the most expensive piece of equipment you have and you put hours on it. The amount of grease I took off my chain rings recently was unbelievable and explains any shifting problems I had.
-Check tire pressure regularly, softer tires are more prone to punctures
-Its always windy, just deal with it!
-oh and nearly forgot this one.... pulling the pedal up one side while pushing it the other side is something else I've discovered that helps

Anyway, I'm only cycling 8 months so I have a ton more to learn and I'll try to share it on my log. Thanks again for all the nice words guys. Kilkee is the next 'A' goal and is just 3 days away At the start of my log the aim was to finish it.

Went for a swim yesterday in the lake. 1,400 meters and the lake was almost flat calm and warm! Gorgeous swim. Loving the OW swimming. I felt good yesterday. Breathing each side giving me an easy rhythm and I focused on 2 things. Length and resistance. Hence I tried to glide a little longer and in doing so rolled ever so slightly to each side. Whatever I was doing I was swimming past people who leave me for dead in the pool...

Turned into an active rest day with a few sets of Tennis.. boy oh boy do I suck at it! I'll still happily play anytime though, such is my love of anything active... perfect sport to be playing when the midges are attacking though ... I killed millions of the buggers