a little too much recovery!

so last week was supposed to be a recovery week, and i managed pretty much feck all!

one strength session on Tuesday, an hour of tag rugby on wed and a 2hr spin on Sunday!

is that what normal people call an active week!

still no excuses now, the body is well rested, and in need of some punishment now!

This weeks starts the build up of my 3 week Winter Training camp!

i'm off work from the 15th Dec till the 2nd Jan, so plan on getting a solid block of training in (mostly on the bike).

Targets
Week - 10th - 16th 
Swim = 3hrs
Bike = 6hr
Run  = 2hrs
Strength = 1hr
Brick = 2hrs
Total = 14hrs


Week - 17th - 23rd 
Swim = 3hrs
Bike = 7hr
Run  = 2hrs
Brick = 3hrs
Total = 15hrs


Week - 24th - 30th 
Swim = 2hrs
Bike = 10hr
Run  = 2:35hrs
Brick = 3hrs
Total = 17.5hrs



Should be well and truly need of a rest by then!

Roundup of the last 2 Weeks!

Another solid but unspectacular 2 weeks in the bank!

12.5 hrs and 14.5 hrs respectively!

Swim training starting to build momentum, not least due to my 39x100's birthday set on Friday last. all off 2mins in on av 1:33 so very happy with that. Arms felt good, bit of leg cramping at around 3km but it cleared after a few 100m!

Bike has been consistent, 17hrs in the last 2 weeks, been deliberately keeping the HR under 160, which has meant dropping back a group on my Club spins, but hey!

Run ok, averaging 2 runs a week, and i need to up that to 3 runs. However i've been doing trail runs once a week which is really helping my running strength!

so overall happy out, solid base mileage being done!

TSS Score for past 2 weeks = 630 and 675 (target for a medium week is 700) so getting close.

I have a recovery week this week, and i will be making sure i do just that!

then its into 3 big weeks over the Xmas period. I'm off work from the 15th, an am planning a 2 week Winter Camp over that time. Aiming to get 2 sessions per day, and over 15hrs each week!

Finally a snapshot of my PMC -

You can see i'm currently at 82 CTL with a target of exiting 2012 as close to 100 as possible. (note i entered 2012 at just under 40. This should put me in an excellent position to build on in 2013).



CTL levels per sport entering 2012, exiting 2012 ( as of Dec 3rd).

	into 2012	exit 2012	Delta
Swim	2.3	7.4	5.1
Bike	31.6	52.2	20.6
Run	1.2	17.3	16.1

See ya next time, refreshed and ready for the last push of 2012!

Club Person of the Year..... woo hooo

So first week of the formal program last week, plan was 11:45 and i managed 12:20, so solid consistency!

No swim last week, struggling with getting to the pool, as i've off-peak membership in Shoreline, means i have to be in by 6pm. Mon and Wed are my scheduled swim days, but i'm playing a bit of rugby on wed evenings with work!

had a solid running week = 3.5hrs, bike = 7:40, and 2 gym sessions, giving me a TSS of 630, which is good.

After a good few weeks on the MTB, i certainly felt the road spin on sat (95km), pace was fair to at 26.5kph... but really need to keep the momentum on the road bike now! no more playing on the MTB at the weekends unless its very bad weather!

Base 1 week 2 this week - 14:15 planned - Swim 2, Bike 8:15, Run, 2.5, Gym 1.5

Finished the week in style with the WTC Awards dinner on Saturday night, where i was honoured and humbled to be voted as Club Person of the Year. Thanks to everyone who voted, delighted!

a weekend of nothing!

Last week was always going to be a mixed bag, my plan had me down for 10hrs, its the last preparation week before i hit the main base phase. Mid week was fine, 2 swims, 3 runs including a nice night run in Devils Glen. 2 Turbo sessions and 2 strength sessions!

The weekend however was a very different matter, had an all day Stag on saturday, drinking (steadily, nothing manic) from 12noon until 9pm, and then onto an engagement party until 2am, meant Sunday was a total write off, the day spent stuck to the sofa watching rugby and other assorted crap TV programs

They say the odd weekend off does you good, i felt like i wasted 2 perfectly good days by not training, The stag was great fun though i have to say!

This week see's the start of the full programme to get me to Tri An Mhi in May! 

Base 1 - Week 1 - Target 11:45hrs, with a focus on longer runs as i build towards the 1/2 Marathon in Waterford on the 1st December.

signing off with the above photo, which makes me giggle every time!

Beasting Ballyhoura

well for a supposed recovery week, i certainly clocked the miles up on the bike!

Swim and Run were non existent this week, one very easy 8km shuffle on Wed evening!

Monday was Marathon day, so span around the course for 2hrs very easy pace!
Tuesday took the day off, and did a solid 3.5hr road spin with some good hills - 1000m climbing!
Thurs and Fri no training
then off to Ballyhoura for the weekend!

Saturday the Red Loop - 50km of trails

http://app.strava.com/activities/26803423

Sunday the White Loop - 35km, wet, cold and frozen!
http://app.strava.com/activities/26929775

11.5hrs on the bike, total training 12:20

Total TSS = 563

next week target 12:30, with 3 runs, 2 swims, 2 gym and 3 Spins!

Turbo Crazy!

Great week last week, 12hrs total, target was 14, but horrendous weather and a tired body on Sunday told me to take a rest day!

Bike - MTB Tue, 2hr Turbo Thurs and 3:40 MTB sat meant for another solid Bike week!

Running - 2 runs, totalling 2hrs,

Swim - Just the 1 swim this week, and 2 gym sessions.

highlight of the week was a great B2R turbo session, Eanna really knows how to keep you interested and awake on the turbo! ended up with 2hrs (longest ever for me), although it really didn't feel like it!

This week i'm on an easier week, i'm dropping the swim and gym sessions, and focussing on 5 spins +2 runs!

In Ballyhoura at the weekend, and have Mon and Tues off so will aim to get consistent week on the bike!

First big(ish) week

After a very solid block of preparation training, averaging 8-11hrs, last week was my first big week of training! My target was 14hrs!

Swim - 2 Pool sessions on Tue and Wed, clocked 6km! certainly felt it in the arms on the 2nd session, but a great start back to proper pool training!

Bike - target 9hrs, actual 8:48- pretty happy with that, very easy 45mins on the Turbo on Monday, then a 100min B2R turbo session Thursday, followed by over 3.5hrs MTB sat and around 3hrs on the road on Sunday!

Run - target was 3 runs, 2hrs total, only managed 2 runs and just under 90mins total

Strength - target 1hr (2 x30min sessions), managed 1x30mins session.

All in all a very solid week, Weekly TSS of 630 (ideally need to be above 700TSS for these bigger weeks!)

My CTL is now at 73.7, compared to this time last year at 58.5 is a great sign, my CTL then plummeted between Nov and Dec last year to 26.5 due to the back injury.

Also, my Monday morning weigh in came in at 91.7KG, so 1/2 kilo down on last week!

back from the dead..... AGAIN

resurrecting the blog for the umpteenth time...

new focus for next season, and a new winter approach!

Now that i'm pretty much over my back injury which put pay to 2011 and the best part of 2012 seasons, i'm now in a good place to re-set the goals for 2013, and get into some serious winter training!

2013 Goals - 
IVCA Road Racing - I turn the big 40 next year, which means i can now race IVCA. Been wanting to do this for a good while now, as they have a great setup, structured road races and time trials. So my primary focus is Road Racing and Time Trailing next season.
1/2 Ironman Triathlon - I wont be hanging up my tri shoes yet though, i still plan on doing 2 1/2 ironman events next season, one early (possibly Tri-An-Mhi) and then if it happens, Ironman Galway 70.3.
Open Water Swimming - I'm targeting 2 swims a week from now (october), which will build me to a solid base for the OW swim season in June.

Specific race / training targets

Swim - i clocked a seasons best 400m this year of 5:35. (my PB from a few years ago being 5:23). So i'm setting 2 swim targets for 2013.

• 400m Pool TT of sub 5:30, 
• Complete the 5km Open Water champs in Lough Dan. 

Bike - I've been chasing the ever elusive hour for the 25mile for a few years, now i'm focussing on the bike primarily, my goal is to break the hour this year. Also my latest tested FTP is 255 (which is the highest ive ever tested, so a great sign!), target FTP for 2013 is 280.

• Sub 1:00 for 25miles TT
• FTP = 280 Watts

Run - I have to be realistic with my run goals this year, having had almost a year out. Consistency over the winter will be paramount, 3 runs a week, Mon, Wed and Fri, building from aerobic endurance to threshold race pace work nearer to season start. I would love to break 50mins for a 10km.

• Consistency - steady running every week, minimum 2 runs
• sub 50mins for 10km

Triathlon - Nothing too lofty for me, with the above Bike and Swim targets, i'll be happy with 2 solid 1.2 IM races. No time targets, just happy with my performance!

so that's it for this post... setting the goals!

Lanzarote WTC Training Camp -

Day 1 report A hot first day in Lanza, temps peaking at 28 deg on the fire mountains, and the Lanza wind didn't disappoint. 4 groups out Bren and Liam were tearing up the mountains, with Dermo and Rob hanging onto their wheels. Moley and Rose did a solid tour of Femes and Timmanfaya, as did the sub10 boys (sub 10% body fat crew)..... aka the Mountain Goats.... and finally, last but certainly not least, yours truly and his posse... Bren and Amanda Mannix, Helen, Gaby and Deirdre clocked a steady 2.5 hrs. all in all a steady day for most, as we accustom to the heat. The afternoon saw most head out for their second session of the day, either a run or a sea swim. Tomorrow we'll be upping the ante a little, target 3+ hours, and some more climbs, with a visit to the far side of the island to look at the surf. All capped off with a couple of beers and an Irish win in the Rugby.... off for food now check back tomorrow for day 2! connect.garmin.com/activity/156558722 Day 2 - Lanza report Hotter again today, with clear blue skies, and temps peaking at 32 degrees. 3 groups today, the mountain goats hit the North end of the Island for 100km of big hills (1600m of climbing), whilst the more sensible of us did a steady 80km - 3hrs 1000m of climbing. the "Ladies who Lunch" group decided to get lost in Arricefe (after conquering Timmanfaya for the second day in a row) but all made it back safe n sound and of course the day was rounded off by England beating Les Bleus in the rugby. 2 days down, 140km in the legs, and 1600m of climbing done so far. tomorrow a slightly easier day as we explore the south end of the island, then its off to hit the big mountains on tuesday for a 4hr epic. hope yer all enjoying the mild weather at home, and are all looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.....  connect.garmin.com/activity/156955555 Day 3 and the bodies are starting to get tired! what was supposed to be an easy day today, still ended up as 60km and 850m of ascent, there's just no escaping the hills over here. we rode over Femes (a nice climb, with a great 80kph descent) all the way into Playa Blanca, where we had an ice cream and a dip in the sea. other groups took it easier today, with a steady spin around the middle part of the island. Everyone seems to be saving themselves for the big mountain day tomorrow. once home a few did their sea swims, runs etc, and a quiet night tonight with some home made grub and perhaps a little vino... tomorrow is when the fun really starts as we head North to the hills, we are planning on climbing the Tabayesco which summits at the top of Haria. A classic climb by all accounts. so hope you all enjoyed your first day back to work today, good luck for tomorrow, tuesday is always the worst..... never mind we're having a ball app.strava.com/segments/627914 Day 4 - up them there hills Another tough day in the office today, most of the group hit the mountains and up the Tabayesco climb. around 100km and 1400m of climbing. So well done everyone. the sub10 boys did a couple of hours (with a 25% climb) and a hard run thats 4 days on the trot now, 300km ridden and just shy of 5000m of climbing! tomorrow a well earned rest day needed. 1hr of very light spinning in the afternoon maybe! we're all out tonight to celebrate sending the savages home (Liamo and Bren), we can all relax a bit more from tomorrow  connect.garmin.com/activity/157621789 Day 5 was a rest day, the hair was certainly let down on tuesday night, and plenty of sore heads on wednesday. having said that, a group (including the wife) got up at 7:30 (after 2hrs sleep) and ran a half marathon.... nutters! a few groups did cycle, 3 of us did a very easy flat 20km, yup we did find a flat road! Day 6 - More Hills and we welcomed back the famous Lanzarote Wind which has evaded us until now. 80km and 1100m of climbing today, the wind made it much tougher, and everyone finished up feeling the extra kick in the legs that a 40km headwind gives you! totals so far 6 days - 400km, 5000m climbing and 16hrs of cycling. Tomorrow is our last big day, the plan is 110km with 2 of the largest climbs on the Island, Mirador Del Haria, and Mirador Del Rio, The 2 big climbs from the Ironman Course. some very tired bodies here now, with some people having ridden almost 600km in the 6 days so far! Day 7 PLan for today was to do 4hrs in the hills, which everyone (except me and the ladies who lunch did) I was finished, and knew it on the first climb, so turned tail and headed for home. The rest did 4:10 and 1700m of climbing, in very high winds! By all accounts a very tough day in the hills. Day 8 - Final Day Plan again, easy spin for coffee, (there really is no such thing here!) 2:30 ride, 800m climbing, 37 degrees heat and high winds again made for a tough spin! so that's it my training camp is over! In the end i managed 8 days on the bike 20hrs of cycling Over 500km Over 6000m climbing most people did more, which is pretty awesome going! have to say it, the more times i visit this island, the more i fall in love with it! General consensus with the rest of the guys was that the camp was a great success, ideal accommodation, access to sea swims, and some of the toughest biking you can find! i'm now on a well earned rest for the week!

So much for a recovery week......

so this week was pretty much a recovery week, finished off with a tough weekend.

Mid week was very steady, 2 rest days, a couple of gym sessions and a couple of very light steady turbo sessions. I did however do the Anti-Turbo spin on Monday night on the fixie, where i was somewhat outgunned in the gearing department (cue a visit to the bike shop for a larger front sprocket for Trixie!)

i also got in the pool on thursday night for 30mins, the back felt good, so i'm gonna start building up the pool sessions from next week!

The weekend was an absolute cracker, best on the bike this year on saturday, as we all slogged our way up and over Slieve Mann, i rode reasonably well on the climb (for my standards), holding around threshold the whole way (173ish bpm) for 22mins.

The route form the summit back through aughavanah and aughrim was stunning and fast, so the average speed picked up nicely, all finished up with a manic sprint at Burkes... had to be done.

http://app.strava.com/rides/4491432

So yes i probably did overdo it on saturday to be able to post a decent time in the 10mile TT on sunday, i woke up feeling pretty cack to be honest, and really wasn't looking forward to 30mins of hell on the bike. Still i dusted off the TT bike, for her first outing on the road this year, put the deep section wheels on and was ready for the TT.

A couple of the "Big Guns" were out, Scotty "Too Hotty" Graham looking concerned as the Derminator rolled up on his P3, John Connaghan was also going to pressure the youngster. Needless to say youth prevailed, leaving us old boys in his wake....

I ended up 5th, 27:30, which was pretty cack to be honest, i have to be realistic, i've only really been training hard since Xmas, and wasn't expecting too much. I now know how much i have to do, the weather was ok, so on par was 3 mins down on last years 10TT time, then again that was 2 months later in the season, and i was on form from the IM training last year! Oh how much difference 12 months (and a few KG's extra can make)

one positive from the TT is that my CP20, or 20min Power was 5 watts higher than 4 weeks ago, so moving in the right direction.... :-)

Totals for the week:
Bike - 6hrs
Swim - 45mins very easy
Strength - 2hrs
Total = 8:45

Next week, Base 3, Week 1, target 12:30 total, 9:30 bike, 2hr strength and 1hr swim.....

Onwards and upwards!

Hills... Hills.... Hills....

This week i was mostly climbing hills....!

at least that's what it felt like. Great weeks training, with over 10hrs of cycling and a couple of hours of strength work. I got back to the weights (proper weights, not fannying around) this week, 2 sessions. Legs were pretty sore after the first session on Monday.

Did a 2x20min hard interval session on the turbo on Monday night, @85%FTP, then a great MTB spin which took us over the summit of Carrick, and down the NPS downhill route. Lots of mud and great fun.

Wednesday another turbo session, this time 5x6min intervals. Thursday a rest day, manic in work, swim coaching and the New Members evening didn't make for much rest but hey!

Friday a really light 50mins on the turbo then a weekend of climbing.

Saturdays spin was arguably one of the toughest spins I've done in a few years, starting with Kiliskey, Slaughter, Shay Elliott then the climb into Rathdrum, fortunately one of the group had a technical on the last climb, so we bailed the final climb to aghowle and picked up the pace on some well earned flat road from Rathdrum to Wicklow. 70km and 1000m of climbing!

Sunday i met up with Mark and Beth, for an MTB spin over Carrick, we stayed out for 2.5hrs. Stunning weather, icy in sections but a superb day on the hills.

All in all a really solid week on the bike. 2000m of climbing! legs are pretty sore now.

Rest n Test week next week, going to move my FTP test to wed night, so i can ride with the club again on saturday.

Back held out well this week, missed a couple of stretching sessions, but will make up for them next week, as i'll have more time. Going to try the "Anti-Turbo" spin tomorrow evening!

Miami Nice....

Forgive me father, its been 2 weeks since my last blog.....

last week i was travelling with work to Miami for a conference, a very hectic schedule with little to no time to train! i managed 2 gym sessions (in the same day, Wed), and a very short spin 30km on Saturday, before the effects of the Jet Lag took over to ruin my Sunday!

The week before was a solid one with 9.5hrs on the bike, and 11.5hrs overall.

The back is certainly getting better, i'm able to drive to work in the mornings with no pain now (mornings are always the worst, as everything tightens up overnight!). I'm going to hit the pool for a short swim session on Thursday this week, just 15mins to see how everything feels.

The rest of this week is back to the program, Base2 - Week 3, with a target of just over 12hrs on the bike.... will be interesting to see how close i can come to hitting that, and a couple of hours strength / conditioning work.

Its great to see the lighter mornings and evenings starting to take shape, felt like a real hint of spring this morning driving to work!

Signing off for now.... Gonon!

What have the Romans ever done for us.........

Week 4, and a rest'n'test week. Pretty much stuck to the plan, missed one bike at the weekend, as the weather was poxy. Mid week felt great, MTB on tuesday felt strong, solid spin and some great trails over Devils Glenn and Carrick.

The rest of the sessions were done on the Lemond Trainer... i'm enjoying the indoor sessions so much more since Santa delivered it. A couple of steady easy high cadence sessions mid week, and an FTP test at the weekend. Numbers were lower than i'd hoped, but at least now i have a benchmark to improve on!

CP5@300W, CP20@223W

You can see my pacing for both 5min and 20min intervals was way off, ideally HR and PWR lines should be parrallel, there is significant de-coupling here. Had i paced the first 5min interval better i might have also had a bit more in the legs for the 20min interval! Lesson learned for next time :-)
 
Finally i got my MRI scan done on Saturday, so am waiting for the results as i type!

Next week, Base2 Week 1 - 10.5hrs planned, lets hope the snow/ice doesn't interuprt the training too much!

Playing the waiting game...

So week 3 of 2012 down, and another solid week of training. The back hasnt hindered me too much this week, just working within my limits!

8.5 hrs on the bike, and 3hrs of strength/stretching and yoga, made for the best week of the year so far (doesnt really say much tho!)

For those who follow/understand the principles of TSS (Training Stress Score), i'm looking to hit around 500TSS per week for the bike, last week 412, so a little low.

also following the principle of periodisation, i'm on my first rest'n'test week this week. This weeks target is 6hrs on the bike, and an hour of strength/stretching. no yoga this week, and am having my MRI on saturday, so that should help me identify whats causing this nerve problem and set me on the right path to fix it!

Also planning on doing my first FTP (Functional Threshold Power, i.e. the power you can hold for a 1hr TT) test on saturday afternoon, havent done one of these in a long while, but with the new indoor trainer and my trusty Ergomo, i'll aim to get a benchmark as to where i am right now.... i'm guessing around 230-240 FTP!

The test itself is from Coggans Power book, and is a 20min all out TT in controlled conditions, then with a bit of simple maths, works out your FTP.

so for now, signing off, this time next week, i hope to have data galore - MRI and FTP!!!

so RSVP..... TTFN......

:-)

Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.....

Week 2, and a mixed bag this week. Made the decision mid week to see the GP and get a referral for an MRI. Long overdue, but progress on the back just isnt moving fast enough. So MRI now booked for the 28th, and a months worth of strong painkillers to keep me from grumbling too much!

on the training front, managed few solid sessions, 4 spins adding up to 6.5hrs on the bike, a couple of strength and stretching sessions, and my first ever Yoga session!

have to say, really enjoyed it. Felt like a twat for the first few mins, then got into it! Could do most of the exercises, a few i was really restricted with, but am really hoping this will help address the muscle imbalanace issues that are impeeding recovery for my back!

Saturday's spin was a bit of a write off, and probably will be for the next few weeks, as the Yoga is on a Friday night, so will be aching and sore on saturdays for a while, but hey, if it leads to progress!

still trying to stick to a plan of sorts, which will get me to the Wicklow 200! Target for more solid hours this week, try and get the saddle time up to close to 10hrs, but we'll see!

Humble Pie and being on the recieving end!

Well week 1 over, and i finished up a reasonable week with my tail between my legs and feeling very sorry for myself!

The week ended with a 3hr fast(ish) paced club spin on Sunday. we had a solid group of 10 or so in the group, and rode a steady pace from Ashford to Aughrim. From there the pace picked up as we descended down the valley and back to Avoca. From Avoca the climb to Shelton had me shelled out the back pretty quickly on the steeper sections at the beginning, i just tapped out a rhythmn, around 175bpm and as the gradient eased the group came back into sight, and even managed to sneak past them to the top of the climb.

Was feeling ok at this stage, tho i knew that i was low on fuel, no brekkie, and only an Oat bar to keep me company, i was fearing the dreaded bonk at some stage. This came at 2km out from home, the final dig up the new road from wicklow to rathnew, the gasket blew, and i was left with my granny and large dose of humble pie!

Great spin, first spin with the "big boys n gals" in around 3 months, so happy to have almost survived


The rest of the week was ok, a tough MTB spin on tuesday night, with a 3km - 24% climb cleaned the lungs out. Managed only one indoor session on wedesday and a 2hr spin sat pm, so just over 7hrs on the bike.

Was at the osteo Tuesday morning, progress is slow with the back, i'm having most of my pain in my left glute now, the back pain itself seems to be dissipating. The glute pain is quite uncomfortable to be honest, i need to get to work on the strength sessions for my back and glute muscles over the next month.

so far so good, nothing spectacular for the first week, but a solid start.

4 bikes, 1 swim (which hurt), 3 stretching sessions and 9hrs total.

This week, Base 1, Week 2 target is 10hrs on the bike, 2hrs Strength and Conditioining!

2012 - the next chapter

So 2011 is done, and I've closed the chapter on a year of injury and false dawns.

Im still not fully fit, but am moving in the right direction.

this time last year, i was starting my preparation for my 2nd Ironman, felling strong and ready for a great season of racing. It's amazing what 12 months can do both physically and mentally.

Triathlon is all about dealing with challenges, and last year was no different in that respect. The challenges were with my body rather that against the clock.

I've certainly become a stonger person in being able to deal with the injuries and also the potential longer term challenges i will have with managing them.

From now on, i will have to stretch every day, and make sure that Strength and Conditioing become part of my weekly routine whether in a programme or not.

I haven't raced a triathlon in anger since 2009 (i did a 1/2 IM half heartedly in 2010!).

so my goals for 2012.....

1. Regain my fitness and get my back ready for full time training - End of February
2. Focus primarily on the bike for H1 - looking at Wicklow 200, Leinster Loop and some Sprint time trials
3. complete a triathlon by the end of the season.

not the most lofty of goals, but i have to be realistic!

Lifes too short to be sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself!