140.6 deep breaths...

Swim
Just a short swim to get a feel for the water and practice race start pace.
200 warm up
400 in 6:27 with first 100 hard in 1:27 steady from there on
400 in 6:07 with first 200 hard in 2:56 steady from there on
300 easy at the back of the masters group
200 CSS pace (1:32) going off 2nd in the masters group
3*100 leading the masters group, in on 1:27, 1:28, 1:27
Total 1,800m avg pace 1:32, avg swolf 67, avg strokes 19, efficiency 34

Good session. The first 1km alone was a bit of an effort but felt ok. The masters were gathering on deck as I finished the 2nd 400 and invited me to join. I tagged onto the back of the group at first until one of the tri lads spotted me and told me to go off after the lead lady. I did so for the 200 but my feet were being clawed off me and I accidently brushed her feet a few time. She let me up to lead out for the next 3 100s as a result and I was mortified. Leading out the masters set! I never thought I'd see that day. I swam hard for fear of showing myself up and managed to keep some clear water back to her hands. I hopped out when they finished their first set. Its a shame I can't make the session regularly but I'd never make it over and back to work on my lunchbreak.

Bike/Run
A simple half hour on the bike with some pick ups. My legs barely got going but the lower back felt ok which was a positive sign. The legs have had a break for the last few days to let it heal. My new shoes, Asics DS Trainers 17 had arrived today so I put them on for a 5k run off the bike with some small efforts. They felt good but it was very warm and muggy out. My feet felt roasted for a finish and the sweat dripped off me, after just 5k! I was going to order another pair of the Adidas Response Cushion but after checking around and talking to people decided to gibe a 'lighter' shoe a go. They felt good but when I compared to the Adidas, they weighted the exact same :rolleyes: I have a dilemma now whether to wear them tomorrow or go with the old shoe with my toe poking through...
The energy was there but my back tightened again my the end of the run, as did my hamstring. I guess whatever happens, happens in the morning
Total 16k/5k

pgibbo wrote: »

What did I miss? Pardon my laziness but busy at work so can't go back to find out what the Beast is.

Thanks. The Beast of Ballyhoura is a 36 hour non stop adventure race around the Ballyhoura Mountains and surrounding areas of Cork, Limerick and Tipp. Its something I heard about years ago but thought it was some mad event for soldiers or something. After the Headless Horseman race I was invited to join a team for the event and jumped at the chance. Its a proper adventure race where you have to navigate your route and stay with your team at all times. One of our AR boardsies DaPope from the Get no Sleep Adventure Racing posted a cool report about it on his site. He was also a member of a team that did the Godzone AR which made my jaw drop when I first checked it out.

TriAthy Double Olympic report.

Pre Race - not so smooth
Alarm off at 0430, woke up, blinked and it was 0500 crap! Wolfed down some porridge and coffee which woke me up. I hadn't had any caffeine in 2 days. made haste to Athy and registered efficiently apart from the usual volunteer confusion with my surname. Forgot to pick up the eggs on the way out. Down to transiton and had everything racked shooting the breeze with Jackback and bennymul. I suddenly reaslised I had left my chip back in the car. 1km sprint, borrow a mates bike en route, 1km TT, find chip, 1km TT, hand bike back, owe a favour, 1km sprint back to transition panting. Found that my running gels had been swiped WTF?! Clubmates came to the rescue and donated spares. Excellent. Chip on, suit on, head for the river. Sensed nerves from the boardsies.

The Swim - Super start
Countdown got to 3,2,1. Some shot off on 3. The start was nothing short of a maul. We were climbing over each other until we emerged from under the bridge and the melee settled a little. About 20 shot off ahead. I eased into it finding a feel for the water. After an elbow to the face I had enough and sprinted 50m clear of the pack. Chased feet aimlessly for the next 500m. They were zig zagging all ovr the place so I resigned to doing my own thing and hugged the rope. A group of 5-6 pushed on ahead to my left. The lead fish were already far up the river. By the turnaround buoy it was clear my line was better as I overtook the group to my left. I had clear water now and spotted a group of 3 about 30m ahead. I reeled them in slowly dragging a few more with me and jumped on the train. Again zig zagging all over the place so I just did my own thing and matched the pace of the trio. The downstream section was awash with reeds that wrapped around your face fopr several straokes at a time. I even saw swimmers stop to take them off.

I was having a good swim and dropped the small group. There was lots of clear water now heading back upstream. I had no idea how many were in the lead group but there were a few stragglers between and we collected each other to form a group of 4 for the rest of the swim. I lead it until the last 200m when they all surged for the slip. My shoulders felt the effort but I knew I had to be close to my 50 minute target. The 4 of us hopped out one after another and I glanced at the watch as I crossed the mat. 47:21 chuffed with that. Turned out to be the 8th quickest swim and my best split of the day. The lead group had just been 4 and were well gone. Eric Wolfe bombed through transition and I left the other 2 from our group behind to leave T1 in good shape. Overall I didn't like the swim much. Good that it was straight up and down the river but the river was murky and shallow and I didn't enjoy the reeds. The garmin clocked 3.16km for me too showing how much zig zagging I was doing chasing feet

The Bike - 3 stages
Stage 1 0-20km
I hit a groove immediately and got stuck in. My plan was to bike about 2:15 as long as it involved a steady effort and no incidents. Eric Wolfe pulled away and passed someone to leave me with a target. I was over 2km from the 15km turnaround when the leader Kevin Thornton passed eating the road up. I sizeable gap back to the next 2 and a further 2 individual chasers meant I was in 6th and surprised as hell by that. I took on some fuel after the turnaround and passed the next guy within a few minutes to move to 5th. The top 4 were out of sight at this stage. I also had some serious heat on my tail in the form of Joe Lynch and Mariusz Olenjnizac (sp?) working together legally. Another km back from the was a group of 3 working together illegally. Typical Athy I thought.

Stage 2 20-55km
I bike this 35km alone with noone in sight up the road. At each turn around I could see the leaders pulling away and the chaser closing in. I felt like the young wilderbeast separate from its parents with a pride of lions in coordinated hot persuit. On this stage I felt I became a bit complacent, bored, cycling on my own on fairly poor road surfaces at times. I was sensible with the output, spinning up hills and hammering down them. Steady on flat. I used gears well and kept a comfortable distance from the red zone. I just plugged away feeding and drinking. Drifting in and out of the zone. After teh 15km turnaround on the second lap Joe and Mariusz came passed me and I snapped back into focus.

Stage 3 55-80km
This section flew by. I just drifted 15-20m back from the 2 lads at sat there matching their pace. Mariusz especially looked very comfortable but I also felt comfortable with the output required to hold them. I was working hard but steady. The pace did climb a little 5km from Athy but I just spun the pedals quicker rather than push a bigger gear. It was here that I sensed my legs felt a bit unsettled and hinted at cramp. I rolled into T2 in 7th knowing the 2 boys were going to leave me in a cloud of dust but I was happy with the progress thus far. A 2:12:27 split was 14th fastest on the day, not great for me but not bad either and on target. I faffed a bit getting my bike racked and shoes on but was well out of T2 by the time the next lot rolled in. Overall I wasn't too enamoured by the bike course. Yes it was good to have closed roads but I found the route boring and the road surface slow.

The Run - train wreck
I knew my legs felt off and sure enough after a 4:08 opening km both quads cramped up. I had tp stop and massage them out and got going again at a more relaxed 4:15-4:20 pace. It felt steady and manageable and I held it for the the next 3km but the cramps wouldn't go away. I had to stop and massage them out again. The soft thick uneven grassy bank didn't help either and the cramps persisted depite dropping to a manageable 4:30 pace. I held the pace with the cramps on board for the first lap but it was pretty painful. It was warm and I gulped water at each aid station. I lost 2 places on the first lap dropping me to 9th. I still had a gap back to the next few chasers and figured if the cramps would just go I might be able to up the pace and defend. No chance, they just got worse, progressively so.

We were joined by the Olympic Distance gang on lap 2 and the bank suddenly became a very busy place. I hit 11km and had to stop again to massage the lower smaller quads just above the knee. It provided little respite I just had to dig in and run with the cramps. I t was unpleasant and slow. I was passed by the world and its mother over the next 5km and had no idea how many places I had lost. I didn't care either I just wanted to finish. I had to stop so many times to prevent the cramps developing into full blown seizures. It was demoralising I recieved plenty of encouragement along the way and passed Brian Campbell walking looking like he was having an even worse day than I. The last I saw of him he was 2nd! I didn't care who caught me but I was wary of Tunney running well not too far back and a part of me just wanted to finish before he did. Jackyback must have dropped out as I didn't see him at all so my race within a race became good ole Tunney Every time I stopped in the last 3km I cursed myself and expected him to pat me on the back as he passed

19km running with cramp is not fun and it doesn't just take the wind out your sail, it sucks the energy from you if you fight it. My energy had left me since km 11. I fought it and hobbled across the line after a miserable 1:39:27, 57th run split. I don't remember much of the next few minutes as I collapsed and was carried to an ambulance. They kept me there for a half hour, taking blood twice checking and monitoring everything and hooking me up to an ECG. I must have been in a sorry state but I was very dizzy and slurring my words so they took all necessary precautions. They wouldn't let me go either until Tunney came to my rescue and 'discharged' me. He was sound enough to sit me down and get me some curried rice too, thanks mate

Overall I wasn't far off target with a 4:41:30, 17th overall and 8th AG. Not a catastrope but I've had enough of cramps wrecking my races now. Its time to sort this issue out once and for all as it cost me the sub10 and sub3 last year and has toyed with me on so many races. Caz was not too impressed that I pushed through them to that point and has set down the rule. No more triathlon until I get myeslf checked out properly Its easy to assume magnesium or calcium deficiency but I'd rather not shoot at this blind. I'm not putting another sub10 attempt to chance. I've ruled out pushing too hard on the bike as my bike today was a sensible effort and more or less at IM pace. Its something else...

I'm done with Athy now. Its well organised and there is a good buzz about it but its still my least favourite race course of the ones I've done.

OW Swim
I wasn't bothered about this swim. Coach has me on a few easy days before a short intensive training stab for Kilkee. I met with a couple of lads at Worlds End and did the usual out and back yesterday evening. 2 of them turned back after 800m and myself and the Duracell Battery (my new nickname for a mate who will smash IMAT on his rookie attempt in a few weeks) pressed on. I can drop him in a pool set but stick him in a wetsuit and he seems to find more speed! 1,416 strokes later and he was still there a few meters back. We were moving well too and took a good line. 1.60km out and 1.63km back. I've noticed that I feel more relaxed at a higher cadence in OW than the pool. I average 26 stroke per minute in pool sets and 29spm in OW, yet the pool feels like a higher tunover. Solid Swim. Just when swimming is feeling good again, I need to focus on core strength and the Yoga class I want to do clashes with the group swim :rolleyes:
Total 3.23km in 49:21, avg pace 1:31/100m, avg efficiency 33.9

I felt battered on Sunday,the worst I've felt after a race since Roth last year. I also felt really really frustrated by this cramping issue. The door creaked open just a tiny bit this year to let some light of improvement shine on the running. It was a competitive field at Athy so I doubt even with a solid run that I'd have done significantly better. However, if I remove the 6 minutes I spent standing still massaging my lower quads, and take the same again off the run that should have been a comfortably steady pace and I'd have been a bit higher up the order. I can't even think about the hell I'll face in Barcelona if I cramped up that early in the run. I need to get this sorted. I wonder what Rasmus Henning did?

Izoard wrote: »

On the cramps - have you tried Quad guards while racing? I presumed they were only for recovery, but you see a few of the pros racing with them (the Compressport ones anyways...).
It doesn't get to the root of the problem, but could help on the day.

Hey Izoard yes I have quad guards. I wore them for the Berlin Marathon last September and still cramped up after 2 hours. They help with recovery alright. I might try them for Kilkee. I'd rather get to the root of the problem though and therein lies the mission...

I got it into my head that 36 hours of the move for the Beast is not something to just expect I can do anytime. Some Silly O'Clock activity practice is necessary (I can hear the jokers already making suggesions!). I set a plan of a late run and early turbo.

Late Run
Out at midnight for 50 minutes in the wind and rain. It felt good to be able to run down the midde of the road albeit with raindrops rolling down my face. I felt ok initially despite not running for 5 days and rather enjoyed the eerie setting. However right hamstring gave out on hills and my quads began to tighten after a half hour. I could feel the residue of the cramps last weekend. I kept the effort bottled. I showered, stretched, drank some water and hit the hay with the intention to get up after 4 hours.
Total 10.5km

Early Turbo
Not done. Didn't even hear the alarm The need for practice validated!