6 Miles with 2 intervals

Thursday 27th December 2012

Running
(6.61 miles / 00:09:05 per mile)

A Steady run with miles 2 and 5 run at 8.15 per mile pace.  This actually felt OK and didn't take too much out of the legs on the slower miles.

No pain in the Achilles either which was reassuring.

Surprisingly good actually

Monday 24th December 2012

Running
(2.09 miles / 00:09:10 per mile)

A very dangerous moment.
My first effort at some sort if pace work since returning to running with the hammy leg.
The aim was 4 X 1/4 mile with each set done in 2 mins with 90 seconds rest in between.
RESULT!
I felt good and each set averaged 1:40.
Well ahead of plan.

Lets hope this is a sign of positive things to come.

It's amazing how that small packet expands, and other innuendos.

Wednesday 19th December 2012
Running
(3.01 Miles / 00:09:44 per mile)

Saturday 22nd December 2012
Running
(4.01 Miles / 00:09:50 per mile)

FINALLY – I managed to string 2 runs in to a week.
It has been a painfully (literally) long time since I have been able to put 2 runs together in a week because of the dreaded Achilles injury.

I stuck to the instruction of my Podiatrist and held off until Wednesday before venturing the foot out the door in a pair of trainers.
I purposely held back on both runs to make sure that I just used them as an opportunity to get running again and not worry about pace or Heart rate or anything. Quite literally just putting one foot in front of the other and hoping to remain pain free.

Thankfully the old body held together and there was no adverse reaction to the runs.

What is painfully obvious is how much fitness I have lost over the last few months. If I am honest part of this has been down to lethargy on my part and the rest has been down to an inability to string together a decent period of training without injury. Either way, a lot of fitness has gone and a lot of weight has come!

I am glad that I wasn’t paying any real attention to my Heart Rate during these runs as that monitor was clearly going bezerk AGAIN and recording some intergalactic levels.
This is despite investing in some fancy conductive gel to enhance the sensitivity of my electrodes! Ooooh Matron!! Phnar Phnar.


Another purchase is a thing called a SPIBelt. I wonder how many other people have suffered from annoyance at running bum bags. I never seem to get one that is totally comfortable and it always seems to bounce around a lot.
I noticed on the DC Rainmaker website that he uses one of these SPIBelt. Now, if he uses it, it must be good. So I ordered one.
The result – it is very good. The amount of expansion in what seems like an unfeasibly small package is remarkable. (Here we are again with the Phnar Phnar innuendo again.)
It didn’t bounce around when running and looks like it will be great when loaded up with Gels and stuff for long runs.

So, at least I am back running again and the plan for the week ahead is to do a short session, a 40 minute comfortable run and then at the weekend do a slow 10 mile run around Castlewellan. The same as I did this time last year on the road to Ironman.

I will give some thought to a round up blog about 2012. It has been one hell of a year and I would like to capture my thoughts on it for posterity.

Happy Christmas to everyone who bothers to read.

Positively mixed emotions.

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks since my last exercise / training and I think I'm finally ready to slip on a trainer and dip my toe, or more accurately, my Achilles back in again.

I have been poked, twisted and 3D scanned over the last few weeks.
I have custom fit orthotics on the way.

I have mixed emotions about my hopes for the London Marathon as I am significantly behind where I hoped I would be at this stage but I am positive and have modified my training plan to allow for having to build back up again

This week I will aim for two short easy runs and if these go OK I will step it up a wee but next week.

So, here's to mileage up and waistline down!!

It's been a while and a medical adventure.

Tuesday 11th December 2012

Swimming - 0 Metres
Cycling - 0 Miles
Running - 0 Miles

Scale of frustration 10/10.

The Achilles has gone AGAIN. Grrrrrr!

I am so frustrated it is unbelievable.  I seriously can't believe that I have yet another injury which is serious enough to prevent me from doing anything.
It hurts when I walk and there is no chance of running, or swimming or biking for that matter at the moment.

It is gradually getting less painful and it loosens up through the day as I walk on it, but it is clearly not right.
I am with the Podiatrist tomorrow and that begins the process of hopefully getting me sorted out properly - perhaps fitting of Orthotics.

So far with my foot injury and Achilles I have had to see a Doctor, a Physio, a Sports Doctor and a Podiatrist.  I hope that this is the end of my adventures with the medical profession.

It is about 18 weeks until the London Marathon and in all reality I think that I may need to amend my approach to the event.  I still feel that I can train to go faster and achieve a Sub-4 Hr time, however anything below 3.59.59 is going to be a bit unlikely.
Once I get running again I will focus less on the top end speed sessions I had been doing and will scale these back a bit and add some more endurance building slower sessions.

Keara was commenting to me that it is ironic that during 40 weeks of training for Ironman I didn't get injured this much or to this degree.  It's true.
I am guessing that the change from lots of slow paced training to the introduction of hard fast paced runs has probably exposed any physiological weaknesses and hence the subsequent falling apart which ensued.

But... onwards and upwards and I am confident of a return some time soon.

Funkin' unmotivated.

Tuesday 4th December 2012

Cycling
Spin class (50 Mins)
Another tough spin class tonight and the added bonus of a bit of core work thrown in for good measure.  God it hurt like a bitch!
That was the toughest spin session I have had so far and I reckon I sweated about 2 pints.
I think I should be building in a turbo session during the week to build on this and maximise the benefit.

All I need to do now is get out of this funk I am in and gain a bit more motivation, which has been severely lacking recently.

Tri Limits Duathlon - 1st December 2012 Race Report

 

Tri Limits Duathlon – Race Report

2 Mile Run - 00:14:06 
Transition 1 - 00:01:32
10 Mile Bike - 00:34:56
Transition 2 - 00:01:27
2 Mile Run - 00:13:59
Total time - 01:06:00
(19th Overall / 28  )


Almost certainly my last event of the year and in a sign of the season, it was completely Baltic for the race.
I travelled down with Mark Vaudrey from the Tri Club and we had a great chat about all things Tri and Ironman as Mark has signed up for Ironman UK in Bolton in 2013.  A brave man as this is one tough course.

Once we got to An Creagan (which is halfway between Cookstown and Omagh) we realised just how cold it really was.  Frost was still on the ground and the temperature was barely a couple of degrees.  Thank God there wasn't a swim.  That could have been nasty!

I managed to meet up with the legend that is Frank McVeigh, a fellow Macca MX12 Facebook member and IM Talk contributor and listener.  We have been bantering back and forth on Facebook and Frank had been "claiming" to be nursing an injury.  As his performance would later show, I would love to see what he is capable of when not injured!

It was brilliant to see another couple of Lisburn Triathlon Club members at the event too, with Darwyn Young and Mark Crawford there too.  This was the first multisport event that the club had been represented at, and there is a real possibility that we had the largest club presence  at the race.  Now that's impressive.

                                                 Darwyn, Mark C, Me, Mark V

The Run - 1
Although this was only 2 miles, the first mile hurt like hell.  I started out pretty quick and I was struggling to get my breath properly for at least half a mile.  I just went out too quick - plain and simple.
I got in to some sort of rhythm and regained my composure albeit I still had snot running down my chin which was no doubt induced by the extreme cold and running pretty quick for me.
I was fairly pleased to do a decent time and get out on to the bike.

The Bike
After a slow(ish) transition which was made harder by trying to put on cycling shoes while wearing gloves, I headed out on the bike.
The out and back route felt pretty good on the way out and I seemed to be moving along quite well.  Frank passed me at about 4 miles and I barely saw him again through the rest of the ride.
Literally as soon as I reached the turnaround point we came straight in to a headwind and suddenly there were hills where I don't remember ther being any on the way out.
Hills is maybe a bit of an overstatement, but the rod was definitley undulating.
it was pretty tough going on the way home and another guy and I managed to swap position literally 6 or 7 times on the road back.
I turned back in to T2 knowing that I had pushed pretty hard and that I am now officially Bike UNFIT!  I need to do more work on the bike.

The Run - 2
Another slowish transition and I ditched the gloves after trying to get the bike shoes off and having to admit defeat with the gloves.
Pretty quickly I was out on the run and really unusually for me I started to get those horrible little calf niggles that are the prelude to a cramp.  I very rarely get these and I can only put it down to the cold and my lack of brick training recently.  Luckily after about half a mile the muscles loosened up and I was able to get back to a normal stride again.
About 1 mile in to the run I met Mark V coming back the other way and he was looking very relaxed and was heading towards an overall 6th place finish which was brilliant.

Not far behind was Darwyn and then Mark C.  As it turned out, these two had a great battle and at the end only about 9 seconds separated them for 12th and 13th place.

As I neared the turnaround point I met Frank on his way back.  We exchanged a high five and went in opposite directions.
I felt pretty strong on the way back and pushed the pace on a bit and managed to pick off 3 people on the return mile.  This seems to be a trait of mine recently, that I am able to pull off a negative split.  In this case the second run was faster than the first run.  I was well chuffed with that.

The overall finish time of 01:06:00 was pretty pleasing off the back of not too much training on the bike.

Post race
Once again the guys at Tri Limits rounded out a great event with soup, rolls and Pavlova.  Yes - Pavlova.  Beat that WTC and Challenge!!
Thanks to the Tri Limits team and all the volunteers.

I had a great day, I loved the event, it was great to meet Frank and also to for a few guys from the club to race together.  The Club really feels like it is coming alive.
It will be even better when I get the Club kit organised and we race in the same colours.

A great way to round out what has been an amazing year of racing, and it sets me up nicely to move fully in to London Marathon training.

Spinning at The YMCA.

Tuesday 20th November 2012

Cycling
Spin class (50 Mins)

My first time at the Tri Club spin class tonight.
I was a bit anxious as I didn't really know what to expect.

I have to say that I really enjoyed it, apart from the fact that I was a complete dipstick and didn't wear cycling shorts and the usual undercarriage chafing ensued.
Why the hell did I not think that I would need cycling shorts at a SPIN class? What a tube!

The class was a really good workout and the little core session off the bike half way through was a lovely little break. NOT!

I did feel like on of the Village People as both Chris and Dessie are doing Movember and there was a definite YMCA vibe going on - thankfully we avoided doing the actions as that would have probably killed me off completely.

I'm really enjoying mixing it up a bit in my training now with the Spin, Circuits and Pilates.  It's just making things a little bit more interesting and I hope that it will improve my core strength, flexibility and anaerobic capacity.

Gazelle to Buffalo in half a mile and drowning to the left. Confidence kicked.

Monday 19th November 2012

Running
(2.64 Miles / 00:10:24 per mile)

Another Monday, another Yasso (half mile) speed session.
This time the goal was 3 X half mile at 3mins 30 per set with a 3 minute recovery between sets.
I was unsure how this would go today given that my hamstrings were still a wee bit tight after the 10K race on Saturday but I decided to harden up and get out and do it.
The wind along the Ormeau embankment had picked up and given the curving nature of the embankment I always seemed to have a wind either in to me or really strong from the side. The second set in particular was very hard.
It is amusing that the first couple of hundred metres of each set when the legs are fresh or rested feels great – the legs feel light and the feet feel like they are floating and gazelle-like on the African savannah. (That’s the first time that phrase has been used in association with me I bet!)
Then the reality, and Lactic acid kick in and the Gazelle suddenly becomes a Buffalo and at the end the Lions have caught me and all that’s left is a big heap of an animal snorting and blowing, unable to take another step.
Despite that, I was pleased to knock the 3 sets out in 3.18 / 3.27 / 3.27. Pretty consistent running, although I must confess to feeling completely knackered after the 3rd one and just about managing a slow jog back to the gym to change.
A pleasing set and I know that this will do me good in the long run.
Next week I am supposed to step up to 4 of these at 3.30 per set – that might be a bit of a challenge but we’ll see how it goes. The Buffalo is getting faster – and that’s No Bull!

Swimming
(Tri Club – Sets and Drills – 50 Minutes / 1500M approx.)

This was probably the hardest set we have done at swim training so far.
The big focus was on bilateral breathing and technique to maintain form, rhythm and body position.
I found this really tough going on my bad side – breathing to my left. I normally only breathe to my right and changing to go to the other side was so hard. I honestly felt like I had forgotten how to swim and I was taking in huge amounts of water instead of air for a lot of the time when I tried to breathe to the left.
Sometimes the technique would click and I would get it for a few strokes or maybe a length, however, this didn’t last and as a bit of fatigue set in, the stroke completely went to hell.

Towards the end of the session my confidence was completely shot. I went from thinking of myself as an OK swimmer to someone who was really struggling to get the basics down.

I know that this is exactly what is missing from my training – the structure, discipline and technique focus that will lead to improvements for me and hopefully make my swimming more efficient and possibly faster. To be honest, at the moment I would take any sign of improvement over last night as a big success.

I have to take the knock from this session and lock in the learning and accept that while we are focussed on technique I am bound to find things a bit more of a challenge. It’s probably like trying to re-learn anything with proper technique – whether it’s a golf swing, running technique, even driving like we were originally taught – it’s all about going back to the basics that work and then build back up again.
What doesn’t make me drown will only make me stronger – although I might swallow a few gallons along the way!

Seeley Cup 10K - Race Report

Saturday 17th November 2012

Running
6.23 miles (10K) / 00:47:45 / 00:07:40 per mile / HR 122% Max

This event was always planned as an opportunity for me to go for a PB over the 10K distance based on a good block of training to improve speed.
This as you will know has sadly not been the case.  The speed training has been sparse, as has any real amount of running over the last 7 weeks.

I reset my expectations and realistically set out to just have a good run, push myself a bit and hold on - hoping to come in under 51 mins - which is just under 8.30 per mile.

There was a great turn out for the event with over 900, and it was the usual excellent organisation from Willowfield Harriers.

It was great to catch up with some familiar faces, fellow Ironman Donald, |Paul, Michael, Barbs and a few of the guys from the Tri club; Mark, Chris and Gavin.  They were flying the flag and had entered the event under the Tri club, which I think makes their results the first official race results for the Lisburn Triathlon Club. An important first!

As the gun went off I was quite far back and it took me a good 1K to get in to a steady rhythm although I did note that I was well below 5 mins for the K, and this would bring me in under 51 mins which I was happy with.

Early on I latched on behind a few guys, one of whom was wearing Tri shorts (don't ask how I know. I just know - as would most other triathletes) and the other was wearing a finishers t-shirt from another Tri.  They were consistently sitting at around 7.45 per mile pace and I thought I would try to hang on to them until I got tired and then drop off a bit.

passing through 5K i wanted to note the time it too to loop around to the finish line as I would have another lap to do and this would give me a good indicator of potential finish time when I got to the last lap.  As it turns out the time was six and a half minutes to get round to the finish area.

The first 2 laps went well and I was very pleased to be holding pace at around 7.45 pace.  And the best news was that I hadn't detonated and felt pretty strong.

With 3K to go I decided to press on the pace and see if I could hold together. Things started to get tough and the shoulders started to get hunched up.  i could hear the words that Oliver Harkin (our Club coach) had talked about at a seminar type event he took for us on the night before - relax the shoulders and keep the arms at 90 degrees.

I focused on this and concentrated on keeping the form and pushing through to the end.  As I crossed the mat where the 5k mark had been, I knew that there should be about 6.5 mins of racing left and that I could hurt myself for that length of time OK.

I really dug in hard and managed to pass quite a lot of people on the last 1K.  To be honest I don't think I was passed once in my last 3K.

I crossed the line and couldn't quite believe that my watch said 47.47.  This was a huge PB.  My previous best was 49.19.
(subsequently the official results show I had 47.45- even better. - averaging 7.40 per mile)
To make things even better, I managed a negative split by running the second half of the race exactly 1 minute faster than the first.

On the whole I am chuffed as anything at achieving this time and especially with the strength that I pulled out.  I firmly believe that the Ironman training has given me a lot of strength even if it is not raw speed at the moment.  I am able to prolong the hurt, which is always a good thing.

I look forward now to working more on the speed and hope that the injuries stay away.

This is a real confidence booster for the goal of going sub 4 Hrs in the London Marathon next April. 

Stretching myself

Friday 16th November 2012

Pilates 45 mins

Back to the pilates class today.
I really enjoyed it last time and I would like to stick at it now.

It is a slightly strange feeling to come away from the class not feeling wrecked or like a complete sweat ball.

I am not entirely sure if I am doing the exercises correctly. In fact I would say that I am NOT doing things correctly but I am blaming that more on my lack of core strength and flexibility rather than misunderstanding what I am meant to do.

Hopefully the shaking of my body on some of the excises will stop once I get a bit stronger.

Good fun though.

For every down there's an up!

Wednesday 14th November 2012

Running
(3 miles / 00:22:51 / 00:07:37 per mile)

Part of my approach to London marathon training is to include quite a bit more work at a pace faster than my desired marathon pace. Every week I hope to run a 3 mile time trial and the idea is. To. See the time drop and hopefully to get comfortable running in discomfort. Even if that's an oxymoron.

Tonight the mile splits were 7.29 / 7.33 / 7.49. That's not bad as the first mile is downhill and consequently the last mile is uphill, so the pacing wasn't too bad.

I'm happy enough but if I am to reach my marathon goal, I need to be able to do 26.2 miles at just under 1 min per mile slower than this.
That feels a really long way off but I have over 20 weeks and the biggest challenge is remaining injury free throughout.

300th Post - That's quite a lot. Circuits today.

Tuesday 13th November 2012

Circuits - 45 Mins

This is my 300th post in the Jellyman blog - i never thought I would keep it up that long, or indeed that it would have been read over 11,000 times.  I'll keep it going for a bit longer I think.

Back to circuit training today at the Gym.  First time back in over 6 weeks since the foot injury started up.

It went well but I know I will be a bit sore tomorrow.  Hopefully it will be  a good hurt.

Yassos and Lung busters.

Monday 12^th November 2012

Running

2.62 Miles / 00:27:07 / 00:10:21 per mile

A Lunchtime interval session today and thankfully no foot pain.

A wee bit of a warm up run at a very easy pace and then 3 X  ½ mile intervals at target pace of 3.45 (7.30 / mile) and 3 minute recovery between sets, then a short cool down run.

Everything went well to plan and each of the sets was completed under target time – coming in at 3.26 / 3.24 / 3.24 for the 3 X ½ mile sets.

These sets are basically a type of interval training called Yasso 800s.

I think I have mentioned them before. Designed by Running Guru, Bart Yasso – they are designed to help improve your speed in working towards a marathon. Simply put, you decide on a target marathon time, e.g. 3h 45m and then translate that to a 800M interval at 3m 45s.

Very simple but effective.

I have tried these before and they are effective and hard work.

The problem is that I have never really stuck at it properly the whole way through a marathon training schedule.  This time I hope to; a) be injury-proof enough to get through the planned schedule, and b) keep up the Yassos each week, along with some other intervals planned to improve my speed over the 26.2.

The plan is to increase the number of repetitions that I can do at target pace.  Ideally not increasing the number until I can achieve all within target pace.

At the end of this week I have entered the Seeley Cup 10K race in Ormeau Park in Belfast.  I had always intended this to be a bit of a crack at a new PB for the distance as I had hoped to have some decent speed work training under my belt over the last 8 weeks.  Alas this was not to be the case, so expectations of a new PB are probably pie in the sky and I think that anything under 51 minutes will be a bloody good result for me.  I know that I could hold 3 or maybe even 4 miles at 8 min mile pace, but I have no idea how much I will detonate after that and how much time I am likely to loose as a result – but we shall see soon enough!

 

Swimming

Training session with Tri Club - 1650M (Sets)

 

This was a fairly tough session tonight.  Plenty of work on the legs tonight, mostly with the fins on.

The sets of 25M race sprints at the end were an absolute lung buster but great fun to have a bit of a smack down race.  I actually surprised myself at being able to move relatively quickly in the sprint, even though I lost mine.  Good fun though.

Last Week – saw me get back to running for the first time properly in a while.  I managed a nice slow run in London and then a good lunchtime run later in the week.  4 miles which included a 1 mile warm up and cool down sandwiched around 2 miles at sub 8min / mile pace.

It felt comfortable enough and pain free also, which was encouraging.  The pace was even well under 8 mins at about 7.45 per mile when I pushed on a bit.

Just a wee one but it felt good.

Monday 5th November 2012

Running
3.00 miles / 00:31:01 / 00:10:20 per mile

Delighted to be out for a run tonight. Over in London for work and I just headed out for a nice easy slow run just to get a few easy miles on the foot again.
Thankfully it went well and I experienced no pain at all.
I really hope that it feels ok tomorrow. That will be the real test but so far so good.
I am just dying to get stuck in to my London Marathon training with some purpose now.
Here's hoping!

Remember me? No. I don't either!!

Sunday 4th November 2012

I have had a bit of a crap time for the last 5 or 6 weeks.  The lingering injury in my foot has been nagging at me still and I have only managed to run about 3 times in the last 6 weeks.  Pretty pish!

I have been to the Physio over the last 2 weeks and the pain from my toe had developed in to a fairly severe pain in my foot.
The physio diagnosed this as an injured tendon between the big and 2nd toe and it was aggravating a sheath covering the tendons on the foot.

He also recommended something that I had been told to do about 1 year ago and never did.  Go to a Podiatrist and get fitted for orthotics.
My big flat feet may well be catching up with me.
He also recommended that I should get an appointment to have an X-ray just to rule out any chances of something broken in my foot.

Now, I have been paying a ridiculous amount of money to BUPA private medical insurance every month for the last 19 years and thankfully it came in to its own this time.
I got a letter from my Doctor to authorise an X-ray, and I called the Ulster Clinic at 10.30 to book an X-ray.  By 12.30 I had been in, had the scan and had the all clear from the Consultant.
Now that's what I have been paying for all these years!  I like it!

So at least it was nothing broken and I had my appointment with my Podiatrist and I have to go back to get 3D scanned for orthotics. (not my foot below - mine is A LOT flatter than that one!)

I have enough time to do this and get used to them and get a decent run of training in before the London Marathon in April.

Over the last few weeks I have been able to get a wee bit of swimming and cycling done with the Tri Club, and although not really enough, it has been enough to keep me slightly active without aggravating the foot again.

I am keen to get back to running and while I am on London on business this week I aim to get in a very easy short run just to break my self back in gently.  I need to shift the 14lbs I have put on since finishing IM Frankfurt.  NOT GOOD!!

The Tri club has been going really well and we have a membership of 30 already within 6 weeks of starting.  The Committee are active and we are close to finalising the Club Kit and have a couple of great partners on board with us also.
Things are looking good.

The malady lingers on and on and on

I am now getting really pissed off.
I have had a sore foot for about 5 weeks now and as much as I have tried to rest it and "tested" it with a few runs and swims and cycles, it is not getting any better.
The only thing that has happened is that the swelling and pain has moved from my big toe to further up the foot to the area between the top of my foot and ankle.
It is swollen, red and friggin' sore.

(See comparison - right foot good, left foot bad. )

I am going to make a very painful decision. (Probably just as painful as my foot) I am going to rest it completely until at least next Sunday.

This will kill me but I can't think of anything else.
Interestingly it feels like my stomach is swelling in sympathy with my foot but unfortunately the swelling in it only seems to increase with rest.

Keep your toes crossed for me.

Interval training. You gotta love it! Don't you?

Monday 15th October 2012

Running
3 X 0.5 mile intervals
(3.20 / 3.18 / 3.22) 0.5 mile warm up & 0.5 mile cool down.

First run in 2 weeks and my dodgy toe is feeling better.
I decided to do a short interval session during my lunch break today and I am pleased that I squeezed it in.
I won't lie. It did feel tough but I knew it would.
This is all part of the effort to run faster and move on from all the long slow Iron distance training. I want most of my runs now to be a bit quicker than I am used to.

My aim today was to do 3 half mile sets each under 3 1/2 minutes with a 3 minute recovery in between.

Mission accomplished and most importantly it is great to be back running and not hurting.

Bring on the hurt.

Nice ride Kermit.

Sunday 14th October

Cycling
01:57:59 / 32.07 Miles / 16.30 MPH / Cadence 86 RPM

My first ride out with the new Lisburn Triathlon Club.  In fact my first club run of any sort.
It wasn't a bad morning and I was looking forward to getting out as I have been restricted to swimming for a few weeks because of the persistent sore toe and I also wanted to get meeting some of the other club members.

It was a good ride and the Latte in Lurgan was nice, even if it was not really needed on such a short run, but nice anyway.

I am really pleased that I managed to hold on to the pace (more or less) and even took some turns on the front of the group.
The Guys are really dead on and there is a good range of experience and I can tell already that if I am able to stick with the group cycles that I will improve, and that is one of my big objectives for this year - to improve my cycling.

I felt sorry for Arran, who punctured early in the ride and had to quit as he could not get it sorted.  It is horrible when you puncture and even more frustrating when you cant get it fixed.

I enjoyed the ride, the company and being part of a club.

Back home and a nice family afternoon to watch the Muppet Movie.  I think I am looking forward to it more than the kids!

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming."

Monday 8^th October 2012

Swimming

1300M

Back to the Tri club swimming sessions coached by Oliver Harkin.

These really are good sessions as they are structured and focus on improving technique – hence the relatively low distance covered during the session – but this is not about endurance, or even necessarily speed at this stage.  It is about good technique and the speed will hopefully come from that.

There is a big focus on kick drills and it has confirmed to me what I already knew, which is that I literally have no kick.  I make virtually no forward movement with just my kick and am totally reliant on my upper body and arms for forward momentum.

I look around me and people are going a LOT faster than me just kicking and I wonder how the hell I can’t do it, given all the years of running I thought I would have had strong legs.  Maybe this is part of the problem.  I don’t know, but I will trust in the training and keep working on it.

Wednesday 10^th October 2012

Swimming

1300M

Before the training, Arran and I went to meet Powerhouse Sports to talk about kit for the Tri Club.  It was a great meeting and hopefully between Powerhouse and SLS Tri, the other Company I am getting kit samples from, we should be able to start organising kit relatively soon for the club.  I think this will be a big step as the Kit helps people to feel part of something.

Slightly different training tonight as the coach was late to training because of traffic, so Arran “Ironman” McKee took the reins and gave us a few sets to do.  And Yes, he tried to beast us with 6X50 Leg Drills.  Monster!

I used my new Fins for a couple of the sets and the difference is amazing.

I had real forward momentum – not particularly fast but I had momentum at least.

It did feel a bit like cheating having the fins on, but I could also feel a better kick technique coming from it as I didn’t have to worry about my legs feeling like they were falling off and I could just concentrate on getting a good kick from the hips.

I am still surprised at my arm pull being quite strong as I would consider myself as not being a particularly strong upper body type person – but I must be OK as I would say at the moment about 90% of my forward momentum is arm pull and the small remainder is legs.  I need to really improve this.

Finally – the foot injury is feeling a bit better and I am hopeful of a run and bike this weekend. HOPEFULLY!

“Hi, my name is Jeff and it has been 2 weeks since my last run . . . .” 

Runners Anonymous

Crashing through 10,000 and Tri Club Swim

Monday 1st October 2012


Yee hah - the blog has gone through 10,000 hits.  Thanks for reading.

Swimming
1450M

Swim training with the Tri club this evening taken by Oliver Harkin.
This was a great session and it was probably a good way of loosening up the legs after the beating they took yesterday at the South Armagh Warrior Tri, although I think Oliver was definitely focusing a bit more on leg work tonight and it is something I am crap at and need to work on - so this is a good pain!

It is great to get some good structure to my swimming rather than aimless laps up and down at the same pace.

I really hope to improve my technique through the winter with the goal of making me a stronger and hopefully a bit of a faster swimmer next season.

I am pleased at how well i did this evening but there is a lot of water between me and next season.

South Armagh Warrior Triathlon - Sunday 30th September

Sunday 30^th September 2012

 

South Armagh Warrior Triathlon 

 

 

Total Time 00:03:53 

 

“Right! I’m getting back in the car and going home!”

That was my initial thought as I stood looking out over Camlough Lake at about 10.30 on Sunday morning.

It was belting down with rain, it was cold, the waves were starting to build on the lake and the sky was grey heading towards black.  Not a good day to be taking on a pretty tough looking Tri course.

I got back in to the car, turned on the music and waited for more competitors to arrive, or rather SEE if any more competitors would arrive, or whether they had been more sensible than me and stayed at home.

Thankfully the weather started to turn, the rain stopped and the clouds broke up.  The wind didn’t disappear though.  The competitors started to arrive thick and fast too.

So, I zipped up my mansuit and went and registered.

One of things that struck me straight away about this free event (Yes – FREE, how often do you ever hear the words FREE and TRIATHLON in the same sentence?) was the rally friendly atmosphere about it.  Everyone was happy to chat and give a bit of banter.

Once the race briefing was done, the 60 odd competitors got loaded up to make their way to the start of the swim at the far end of the lake.

Getting out to the swim start some 2 miles or so away proved to be interesting and great craic.  We all loaded in to the back and front of assorted vans laid on by competitors and supporters and drove to the far end of the lake.  10 sweaty bodies in the back of a van was interesting and thankfully the wetsuits contained any pre-race nervous odours from polluting the atmosphere.

The Swim

The whole idea of this event as to be fun, not too serious and the swim start thankfully mirrored that and was not one of the usual battering sessions I have become used to.

Everyone got in to the water and once the initial shock of the very cold water passed we were waved on our way.

The number of support boats and kayaks on the lake would have put many other larger and more established Triathlons to shame.  I was glad of the sight of these helpers as the water was completely Baltic and the end of the swim 2.7K away was a very long way off.

I managed to relax in to a steady rhythm pretty quickly and didn’t suffer from any panic attacks in the cold water.  (Did I mention it was cold?)

I guessed that the swim would take me about 1Hr, so I was happy to just grind along at a steady pace.

About 2/3rds of the way through I really started to feel cold all over.  Not just the initial shock of cold but a real sense of coldness right through to my bones.  Interestingly my hands were OK but my feet were completely frozen and severe pins and needles were starting to even spread up to my calves.

I decided to start kicking more vigorously in order to drive some blood their way and it seemed to work – combined with the obligatory wee in the wetsuit.  The passing heat was quickly dissipated.

Rounding the corner of the lake I could see the exit which was probably about 400M away and it seemed to take forever to get there but eventually I managed to pull myself up the slipway in a very pleasing 59mins and 30secs.  Talk about pacing!!

At the top of the slipway was one of the best things I have seen at a Tri.  One of the helpers was handing everyone emerging from the water a big cup of hot orange juice.  It was fantastic and a brilliant idea which really helped to raise the core temperature again.
Off to T1 on frozen feet.

T1

I knew this was gong to be slow (as it always is for me anyway) as my hands and feet were frozen which makes it interesting to strip the wetsuit off and put the other gear on.

I was lucky though and managed to do it in an uncompetitive 7 minutes. Not that I was in a rush as this was not really the purpose of the day.  It was all about the craic – the frozen craic in my case.

The Bike

I had been warned that the bike route would be challenging and it turned out to be so.

Miraculously I warmed up really quickly and my new Mavic winter gloves came in handy (do you see what I did there?) and performed brilliantly.

The bike route lived up to its reputation and the first 10 miles or so seemed to be uphill all the way.  Nothing too steep but just pretty relentless.

At the first downhill into Belleek I got the fright of my life when a big gust of wind hit me from the side and I nearly lost control of the bike at about 35mph. I decided that going fast on the downhill was not as important as being alive for the uphill, so I sat up and took a bit more control.

The route was undulating throughout and the road surface was a bit dodgy at times, but I was impressed with how pretty the countryside is in South Armagh.  A part of the country I don’t know all that well but will definitely be back.

The Marshalls the whole way along the route were really enthusiastic and helpful and I thank them for standing out in the cold to help us.

Up until about 5 miles from home I had only been passed by one cyclist and seen no one else.  At this point I saw someone up ahead and decided that I was going to try and catch him which I successfully did after about a mile, only to be overtaken by 2 others who had sneaked up behind me.  This turned out to be a good thing as I kept them in sight and pushed on a wee bit harder than I would have done if I had not had them as targets.  I passed a couple more people on the way in and rolled down the hill in to T2 feeling pretty good but knowing that I had ridden a tough route in windy conditions and now had a mountain to climb. Literally!

There was a great amount of support in the village as the cyclists rolled in and the runners trudged out.

T2

I had a bit of a challenge locating my bag with my running gear in it which had been transported from the start to T2 in Camlough village.  It took me a minute or two but I eventually got it and slipped on the trail running shoes.  I kept on my long sleeve cycling jersey as I thought it might be a wee bit windy at the top of the mountain.

I headed out of T2 and up the road.  After about 300M the road turned left and up a really steep road which led to the open mountainside.  This road is possibly the steepest road I have done and for the first time in any Triathlon I was reduced to walking because I physically couldn’t run up it.

I walked up the road and at the end of the lane and the start of the mountain there was a water station. This was very welcome.

I reckoned this was about half way up, which meant I had quite a bit of climbing to do on boggy ground to get up to the top.

There was a steady stream of runners coming back down the hill and without exception everyone one of them shouted some form of encouragement at my pained expression heading up the other way.  Easy for them, the y are going the right way.

The climb up the hill was probably one of the hardest runs I have ever done but I manned up and kept on pushing up the hill.

At the top was one of the hardiest souls around.  He had a greeting and handshake for every person making it and also told them what number they were to reach the top.  I was informed I was 38^th.  Pretty happy with that.

I only found out later that he had done the swim, got dried and put on about 10 layers of clothes and walked up the mountain to be the marker at the top.  What a guy.  Pure hardcore.
 
The run down was easier but treacherous at times.  I lost my footing more than once but made really good progress down the way, managing to pass about 4 people going down.

The steep roadway back down to the main road was hell on the quads and I knew I would pay for it the next day.

I kept pressing on and headed for the finish line.

Possibly the best finish line ever as it was inside the beer garden of Doyle’s Pub.
I can honestly say that there cannot be many Triathlons around the world that finish in a Pub.  Only in Ireland!

The Finish

Once finished the real touch of class happened.

I had been looking forward to my medal which looked fantastic as it was adorned with a warrior mask and ranks among my top 5 medals and I was duly presented with it . . . after it had been engraved on the back with my name, time and finishing place by Sean Featherstone, the winner of the event in the amazing time of 2.35.

I was delighted with a 3.53 finish time as I had hoped for about 4 hours. (Although my medal says 3.53, the official results say 3.55 – I’m sticking with the medal time.  It is inscribed there forever!)

On the whole it is a great event with great people and a real challenge of a course.

It was free and the donations from competitors went to a charity of the winner’s choosing.

If anyone is looking for a bit of a beasting to finish off the Tri season, this is the event for you.

I will be back again next year and it is great to say that in the year I became and Ironman, I also became a warrior.

Well done and thanks to all involved.

Keep it short and sweet.

Thursday 20th September 2012

Swimming
2000M (00:47:01)

Toe still sore.
Still can't run.
Swam 2000M instead.
It felt good.
Job done.
Hope it's better tomorrow.

It's all about the technique.

Wednesday 19th September

Cycling
00:40:00 / 9.46 Miles / 14.20 MPH / Cadence 93 RPM (Turbo Trainer)

The sore toe hasn't gone away so I wasn't able to swim today or run.  Total Bummer.
So, I decided to dust off the Turbo Trainer and do a little structured session.  It was only 40 minutes but it is designed to give a little bit of a focus on pedalling technique, and it really does force you to concentrate on a nice smooth pedalling technique.

It went well and the pool of sweat below the bike at the end was evidence of a decent wee session.

Here it is:

Toes crossed.

Tuesday 18th September
Cycling
01:12:01 / 17.43 Miles / 15.00 MPH / Cadence 85 RPM
I had planned to run in and out of work again today but I have developed a bit of a sore big toe joint and there is no way I could run on it.  Bugger!

So, I decided to get the Kuota out and cycle in to work and then home again this afternoon.

It was also an excuse to christen my new long sleeved cycling jersey from my favourite podcast, IM Talk.  It is a brilliant jersey and kept me warm on what was a chilly morning.

The ride down was great and I didn't get stopped at too many red lights. (Not that I went through them.  I am a responsible cyclist and do actually stop for red lights.)

The homeward stretch gave me a bit of an opportunity to do a wee bit longer and take a different route to add an extra couple of miles and a few more hills.  It felt fine but I was somewhat surprised at the slow average speed but then again I had a backpack on, it was all uphill and in to the wind, so maybe it wasn't too bad really.

I hope my toe gets better as I want to run tomorrow night.  I also plan to do about 2 - 2.5K in the pool at the gym tomorrow.

Fingers Toes Crossed!

Heading towards 10,000 hits and a decent swim.

Monday 17th September 2012

Swimming
1500M (00:33:39)

Before I get on to my swim today, I noticed that the blog has almost reached 10,000 hits.  I am pretty pleased about that and thanks to everyone who continues to check in to the crap that I talk.

Given that the South Armagh Warrior Tri is in 2 weeks time and it involves a fairly long swim at 2.7K, I thought I better get cracking on a bit more swimming.
I knocked out a reasonable 1500M in the pool at the Gym today.

The swim felt very comfortable, apart from a very slight niggle in my neck but nothing to really complain about.  I forgot how boring swimming can be, and even though this was 1500M it started to get a bit boring.

I will have to remember all the tricks I used to keep my mind occupied on the long swims.

Gym Bunny Circuits

Thursday 14^th September 2012

Circuits Training – 45 Mins (Felt like a lot longer)

I am not what could ever be considered as a Gym Bunny, however today I took a big step and it wasn’t even in time to some sort of Techno-based Ibiza inspired Pete Tong background gym music.

I went to a Circuits class at the Gym during my Lunchtime.

I was a bit apprehensive as I don’t really like Gyms.  All of the machines that I don’t know how to use, the free weights that I don’t know how to use and the occasional professional Gym body who spends more time gurning in the mirror and checking his false tan and perfectly “scruffy” hair than getting on and doing a real man’s workout, like running 10 miles or swimming or riding a bike.

I may have to take it all back though.

The class was full of pretty ordinary people, in fact I was the only one with an M dot Ironman Tattoo, which I was rather pleased at, and no one seemed to fit the bill of the stereotypical Gym Beast described above.

The instructor was really friendly and even made sure I was OK with all of the “complicated” machines – like the medicine ball and dumbbells!

I have to be honest and say that despite all of my Ironman training that this was the first time in quite a while where I got that jelly like feeling and a real sense of being properly worked over. I don’t even think that this was a particularly hard session either. Worryingly!

I was delighted that the trainer made a point of checking with me, as the new guy, how I was getting on and also complimenting me on my form. (Oh Matron!) 

Shortly after that, my form disappeared in a pool of sweat on the floor and some other poor Bugger had to do some press ups in it.  There’s an incentive to keep your head up.

It is just such a different type of exercise than what I am used to.  Pretty intense with not much in terms of rest time as you progress through and it is clear that for all of my fitness that getting in to this will take a bit of time.

Afterwards I could feel my arms go wobbly as I tried to dry my hair (and yes, Ha Ha it didn’t take too long!) and put on my tie.  It was a bit unpleasant but in other ways it felt good.

The verdict – I think I will go back again.  It is a bit different to what I’m used to and I am sure that it will compliment my other training activities.  One thing is for sure that it will certainly do me more good than harm.

I’m off now to get a bottle of false tan and a gallon of “Just out of Bed” hair gel.  One has got to look the part.

Running from work . . . and to it as well, to be fair.

Tuesday 11^th September 2012

Running
7.75 Miles / 01:09:08 / 00:08:55 per Mile

7.75 Miles / 01:11:39 / 00:09:14 per Mile

No. I haven't gone mad and written my running details down twice.
I decided to do some thing a bit different today and run to work this morning . . . and home this evening too.
A grand total of 15.5 miles today. 
This morning there was a definite drop in temperature and it was probably the first morning that felt like we are sadly heading towards Autumn.  It wasn't long before I warmed up on the run in to Belfast.
I have never really run with a backpack on so I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of bouncing or rubbing or chafing.
As it turned out the pack was brilliant and the comfort was matched by the lack of rubbing.
I was delighted by the average pace when I got to Belfast and somewhat surprised as I hadn't bothered to check the time along the way and my pace felt comfortable.

I must admit that at the start of the run home my legs did not feel just as light as they had this morning.  In fact they felt a bit heavy and I was a bit slow to get in to a steady groove.
Even though the backpack had exactly the same stuff in it, it began to feel about 5lbs heavier.  It may have been that the fact that the run home is pretty much all up hill and I'm not used to doing longer miles at the moment.
In all honesty I think it is probably harder to do a 15 mile run split with a days' work in between than just go out and run 15 miles straight out.

From my point of view the good thing was that the run home only took a couple of minutes more than the downhill run this morning. It must have been all of the excitement of my daily work schedule that pushed me through!

Tired legs this evening alright.

I also had the pleasure to attend the opening meeting for Lisburn Triathlon Club tonight.  This is a brand new club and training sessions will begin week after next and I am really looking forward to being a member of the club,  It's always nice to be in on something like this from the start and it will be great to get the chance to get structured training with fellow triathletes.  I hope that it helps me to improve for next season.

Swimming for the Warrior.

Monday 10th September 2012

Swimming
1000M (21.50)
A decent wee swim at lunchtime today. I managed to get the roped off lane in the gym pool so at least I wasn't competing for space with any other swimmers.

I am going to get back in to swimming regularly twice a week now as I have gone and entered a Tri at the end of September and the swim is rather long.  The good news it is a free event which is unexpected but nice.

The colourfully titled "South Armagh Warrior Triathlon" is held at Camlough Lake and Town.
The swim is 2.7K, 50K bike and a 5K mountain run.

It is a funny sort of distance with a swim which is 800M longer than Half Iron distance and only 1K less than the full Iron distance swim.   It will be a good challenge and I will need  to get a few swims of at least 2.5K in before tackling it.
The bike route looks a bit lumpy and the run is basically straight up and down Camlough Mountain.

Should be fun.

So here's to more swimming practise.

Queen's Park Run 5K - A New PB

Saturday 8th September 2012

Running
(3.16 Miles / 00:22:39 / 00:07:11 per mile)

Another bash at the Queens Park Run, this time without Ben running with me.
I had hoped to give it a really good bash and do sub 23 minutes.

I went out hard and found it pretty tough going after a mile but at this stage the filed had sorted itself out pretty well and anyone who was going to pass me pretty much had done.
From here in it was really hard and I had to dig deep.  The good thing was that I started picking people off as I stayed strong even though it was hurting like hell and I pressed strong for the last half mile.

I almost felt ill as I crossed the line and was completely tubed.  It felt strangely good though.

I am pleased with the new PB and hope to maybe drop another minute off this by Christmas.  We'll see how it goes.

Sightseeing Run of London

Tuesday 4^th September 2012

Running
10.36 Miles / 01:38:21 / 00:09:29 per Mile

Having to spend time away from home on business is never going to be the thing that floats my boat, but this trip wasn’t too bad in so much as it was to London and with the Paralympics on at the moment, there was bound to be a bit of a buzz about the place.

When in London I usually stay by Tower Bridge, which always looks fantastic.

Having failed miserably in trying to get tickets for the Paralympics events scheduled for that night, I thought the best thing to do would be to go for a bit of a run.

When I have run in London in the past, I always kick myself that I didn’t take my camera with me as everywhere I go there are amazing landmarks.

This time I went prepared and wanted to get a bit of a longer run than the usual 4 miles or so.  Partly because I wanted to kill some time rather than just sit in a hotel room but also because I have my eye on a fairly tough Duathlon in October which will require me to have a decent amount of run fitness under my belt.

I mapped out a decent route, mostly based around the Thames Path in Central London and a bit of a loop around by Victoria, The Mall, Westminster and back towards Tower Bridge.

It was a beautiful night for a run and the outward leg along across Tower Bridge and along the South Bank was absolutely brilliant.  Such a vibrant atmosphere and great tourist spots like, The Golden Hind, The Globe Theatre, The London Eye, Parliament and quite a few Paralympians around in their National tracksuits..

Once I got to Vauxhall Bridge I headed up towards Victoria and the back of Buckingham Palace at the Wellington Memorial and then down to The Mall and up past Trafalgar Square and back down past Downing Street to Westminster Palace again.

The last leg was back along the Embankment past St Pauls to Tower Bridge.

About a mile or so from the Hotel I started to run against the flow of runners in fairly decent sized groups coming the other way, many wearing vests with London City Runners on it.  There must have been close on 80 of them all at varying paces but taking advantage of the Embankment and Thames Path for a club run.  It was great to see.

As for my run, I was pleased to have averaged just under 9.30 per mile given that this is the longest run I have done since Ironman and also that it was hot, I kept stopping for photos and it was difficult to get running at a consistent pace due to the sheer volume of people around.

I have to say that I would rate this as perhaps one of my favourite runs and look forward to doing it (or a variant) of it again.

Stena Sprint Tri - 2nd September 2012

Stena Sprint Tri – Race Report

750M Swim - 00:16:55 (90th Overall)
Transition 1 - 00:02:04 (160th Overall)
20K Bike - 00:42:39 (69th Overall)
Transition 2 - 00:01:02 (102nd Overall)
5K Run - 00:20:32 (40th Overall)
Total time - 01:23:10
(30th in Age Group / 75 & 63rd Overall / 181)

https://www.championchipireland.com/cca/results/files/Stena%202012%20Result.xls

Probably my last Tri of the year and I was hopeful of a good showing, despite the lack of training, over-zealous alcohol consumption and general weight putting on over the last 6 weeks or so.
I don’t know what made me think I could perform well but I did think that my running has been strong recently and my recent dipping of the toe back in to the pool had confirmed that I had not forgotten how to swim.

I love the Stena Tri as it was the very first Tri that I competed in and it got me hooked on the sport. It is also a reasonable course with a bike route that isn’t flat and a 2 loop run which has you heading up hill for about ¾ of a mile at the start of each loop but rewards you with a nice downhill run to the finish of each loop.

I had hoped to be sporting my new Trisuit, decked out in the colours of my favourite podcast, IM Talk, which was a 40th Birthday present from Keara. However, when it arrived it was too big – who would have thought that was possible!! So it had to go back and the replacement has not yet arrived. Damn.

On to the race itself.

The Swim
This Tri is done in swim waves and I was in Wave 4 of 6. The faster your predicted time is, the later your wave start.
I love the pool in the Valley Leisure Centre. Like all the pools in Northern Ireland it is 25M, however I think it looks shorter because it is only 6 lanes wide and I am used to swimming in one of the best pools in the country in Lisburn, which is 8 Lanes and looks a lot bigger. Even though it is not.
I got in to my lane with 5 other people and we all lined up ready to go based on our expected finish times. I optimistically said 16 minutes – most others were roughly the same with a couple of 15 minute men.
Once underway it became apparent that most of them had been lying Bas$€*ds. The pace was really sharp right from the start and after about 6 lengths I thought I was starting to fade.
I stuck with it and only got passed on about length 15 for the first time.
I got in to my rhythm and decided to swim at my own pace rather than trying to stick on the heels of obviously faster swimmers. This worked well and as I rounded towards the end at length 28 with only 2 to go the first of the other swimmers was getting out after completing his swim. This was indeed at about 15 minutes, so maybe they hadn’t been lying after all.
I got out of the pool at 16 mins and 15 secs. Pretty happy with that and then a short run to T1.

T1
As usual, not the best part of my day.
I spent more time trying to get stones off my feet and put my socks on than I really should have and this cost me valuable seconds.
Once I finally got myself sorted and off to mount the bike, I found myself incapable of actually getting on to it and clipping my feet in. I was weaving around like a drunken Orangutan and almost fell off as my feet missed the pedals altogether and I slipped off the saddle.
What a tube!!
I eventually got on and headed out on the course. Not my best T1 ever and I really do need to sort this out next season. I was 160th from 181 competitors. Crap!

The Bike
The route takes up hill for about the first 3 or 4 miles. Nothing too steep just a fairly constant and gradual gradient but it makes it a little bit more challenging that heading out on to a nice flat route.
I made good progress but was disappointed to have to stop at a Red Traffic light after only about 2 miles. Then another one about 500M later.
Not that I would go through one anyway, but the race briefing had been very strict about this and the threat of being disqualified really put me off.
At about the 4 mile mark – guess what? Another Red light. Bloody hell this was frustrating.

I was going well and only got passed once the whole way round but managed to pass about 6 other people. Most spectacularly on the mile long descent to T2. This is a pretty steep and fast descent on a good road. I came up behind a Guy who was tucked in to an aero position and freewheeling fast down the hill. I really cranked it and went past him like a shot. I will have to check the Garmin for the actual speed but I am sure it was at least 45mph. It felt really fast and the roundabout at the bottom of the hill came upon me pretty damn quick.

I am really pleased with the bike split time as it took about 2 minutes of my time last year and didn’t feel as hard work. I also made up quite a few places here.

T2
This is always a much better affair than T1 for me and I was in and out pretty quickly this time. Pretty pleasing.

The Run
Everyone talks about how bad your legs feel going to the run from the bike. To be honest in pretty much all of my events this year, including Ironman, I have not had any jelly or lead feeling legs going out on to the run.
I got a bit of it here alright.
The first half mile of the run, which is pretty much all up hill, felt really hard and I imagined that I was making no progress at all.
The reality was that I would complete the first mile in just over 7 ½ mins and the second loop around the course would feel much better.
My dream time of 1Hr20mins had passed so I was just trying to get as fast a time as I could.
I passed about another 8 people before even getting to the final 800M or so where I really pushed hard. It felt really tough and I was starting to hurt like hell but I knew it would all be over soon and there is time to hurt, boke, pass out or do whatever at that point.
I crossed the line absolutely knackered and pleased that I had pushed it pretty well all the way through and happy with an improved time over last year.

The ballsy approach worked and my run time was the 40th fastest of the day from 181 competitors – probably my best relative performance in a run at a Tri to date.

Overall
On reflection I probably lost about 1 minute with the traffic lights and another minute through being a dipstick in T1. At least I can work on one of these!
Another enjoyable event and a nice way to round out such a big and important Tri season for me.

Hopefully there will be more running races before the end of the year to enjoy and try to get he benefit out of my improving speed over the shorter distances.

Well done to my friends, Donald, Paul, Stuart, Simon and Joanne who all competed and did really well.

One great thing was that this was the first time the 3 Ironmen have raced at the same event, Me, Donald and Simon. We had to get a commerative photograph of the tattoos to save for posterity. (L-R Donald, Jeff, Simon.) Looking good.

Don't bank on it.

Thursday 30th September

Brick Session

Cycling
00:37:39 / 10.92 Miles / 17.40 MPH / Cadence 83 RPM
Given that I have a Tri on Sunday, I thought I better do a bit of a Brick session to get the cycling and running legs back in gear.
I picked a route that would be quite like the route on Sunday, so the first half was up hill and back with a slight downhill.
Without being overly optimistic I felt as though it went really well and I am surprised at the average speed being over 17mph. 
Let's hope I can take this form in to Sunday - but don't bank on it!!


Running
3.00 Miles / 00:22:59 / 00:07:39 per Mile

The after-effects of the Yasso speed session were still lingering in my legs today and I definitely felt it as I headed out on the run.  Not so much heavy legs as sore legs.  Ironic really given the volume of training I have done in the recent past compared to not that much this week at all.

Given that soreness I was somewhat surprised that I was able to sustain a pace well below 8 min/mile all the way around, even on the hill home.

So - things look OK for Sunday, but like any Tri, it never pays to be too confident as many things can bite you in the Arse.
My goal for Sunday - the elusive sub 1Hr20min time.  Let's see how we go.

Really blowing - me, not the wind.

Tuesday 28th August

Swimming
1000M (21.35)
First time back in the pool since July. I thought I better try it again before the Tri this Sunday.  It was just he 18M pool at the Gym so it felt a little bit easier than the 25M pool in Lisburn.
I was showing off ab it by wearing my Ironman Frankfurt swimming cap and it also put a bit of pressure on me not to swim like a total tube.
I wanted to see how quickly I would go through 750M which will be the distance on Sunday and I was pleased to do it in 14.30.  This will probably be about a minute faster than the bigger pool - but it was fairly decent for very little swimming over the last 2 months.

Wednesday 29th August 2012

Running
2.44 Miles / 00:23:03 / 00:09:26 per Mile
(4 X 1/2 Mile intervals 3.09 /3.00 / 3.14 / 3.23@ 2.30 Rest)
Another Yasso speed session this afternoon at lunchtime.
The aim was to do each set at 3.15 for the half mile  - I was delighted and quite surprised to see afterwards that I did achieve it for the first 3 sets, even though I felt like I was blowing out my Bum on the 3rd one and didn't think I would be anywhere near the time.
The fourth set was really tough but still pretty close to the goal time.
Back to the gym for a shower and to get changed.  It was a complete nightmare getting changed and back to work as I continued sweating like a Pig for about half an hour afterwards.
I will try to fit this session in every week and it makes sense to do it at lunchtime.