The Running, Cycling and one day Iron Man Log

[Jackyback]

Thought I would share my own training log and events i will be covering over the next few months seen as its quite in here. A bit of background I was unhealthy, overweight by 2 stone and totally unfit last year and decided to turn things around at the start of this year.
My first goal was to loose at least two stone which i completed and the second was to train for a marathon which I completed in Cork back in June (just under 4 hr). From there I have set some goals for this year and into 2011 such as running the DCM in under 3.30 and an Ultra or Iron Man for next year. In terms of fitness I am probably 90+% of the way there and I am totally hooked on the whole exercise regime sometimes training 5/6 days a week in some format and sometimes two sessions a day.
Weekly training generally consists of,
Two cycles probably covering around 80-90km
Three/Four runs probably covering around 40-50km
Two/Three gym sessions focussing on weight training and core strenght
Indoor Footie
Swimming

I will try log my journey and I have a few up and coming events with one major goal this year...to run the Dublin City Marathon in under 3.30 (26 mins off my pb)

So some events I have coming up
8th August - Kilomarathon in Kildare, a 26.2 km run/race
29th August - Sean Kelly Cycle, undecided on the 90km or 160km version
12th September - Bike the Blackwater, 105km cycle race
25th September - Wicklow Adventure Run (WAR) which is a 7 stage race covering nearly 50km of cycling, 1.5km kayaking and 20km of running with 6km uphill mountain running.
03rd October - 3/4 Athlone Marathon, a 19.65 mile run/race which will be a good training run for DCM.
25th October - Dublin City Marathon, a 26.2 mile run/race which I hope to run in sub 3hr 30mins.

Will try keep this updated.

[Wreck]

Good luck man, looking forward to reading this.

[Mellor]

looks great keep us updated on progress and such

[TomD]

subscribed for the awesomeness and pain

[careca]

Best of luck Fran.

I'd be slightly worried about the amount you are doing prior to DCM. In basically a week from end of Sept you have two tough races. Hope these dont bottom you out for the marathon. Personally I would cut one of these from the schedule*

sub 3.30 would be a great time to achieve.



*this is coming from someone who has never run a marathon !!!!

[Jackyback]

Best of luck Fran.

I'd be slightly worried about the amount you are doing prior to DCM. In basically a week from end of Sept you have two tough races. Hope these dont bottom you out for the marathon. Personally I would cut one of these from the schedule*

sub 3.30 would be a great time to achieve.



*this is coming from someone who has never run a marathon !!!!

Cheers Neil,

The 3/4 Marathon run would be a training run so might as well run it in a race environment, i will more than likely have another 3 or 4 18-20 mile training runs leading up to DCM and start the taper down for DCM two weeks prior. I reckon WAR will be the toughest challenge out of all the events in terms of all round effort.

[kincsem]

Good luck. You might be setting yourself for an injury with so many events closely packed. It might be better to treat most of the events as runs instead of races.

What bike do you use? What gears: sprockets, cassette?

What is your age, height, weight?

I am a nosey f*****.

[Jackyback]

Good luck. You might be setting yourself for an injury with so many events closely packed. It might be better to treat most of the events as runs instead of races.

What bike do you use? What gears: sprockets, cassette?

What is your age, height, weight?

I am a nosey f*****.

The only one i will be doing at race pace will be DCM and the other runs form part of my training.
I use a Boardman Hybrid Comp see attached

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_502571_langId_-1_categoryId_212377

Age - 32
Height - 5.7
Weight - 162 pounds
BMI - 12%

[Jackyback]

Kilomarathon in Kildare TR

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/43694088

Really tough course with the warm weather around 23 degrees and hill after hill after hill. There was a good few people around the course complaining about the hills but hey what goes up must come down.
I ran a 2.16.54 in the end, a good 7 mins off my target time. All was going well up to mile 6 in terms of pacing but the hills between 2.5 and 8.5 miles took a lot out of energy out of me and it would appear everyone else around me so i had to revise my plans.
Like most hilly courses you can take advantage of the declines but the hills took that much out of me i was not pulling sufficient time back on the declines to keep up the 8min mile pace. I decided to drop the pace for the last 10 mile trying to keep it around the 8.30/8.40 mark.
I was in stitches laughing at some guy around mile 6 who commented ah ffs not another fcking hill what are they trying to do kill us!! A valuable lesson learned....must study the routes before i run a race.

Well organised and scenic route apart from looking at hill after hill Off on holidays next Saturday for two weeks but plan to do a 6 mile recovery run tomorrow with one 80km cycle later in the week and one or two gym sessions focussing on some metcon sessions. Will be keeping the training up on holidays as we have a gym closeby to the house so no excuses with all the events coming up in the next few months.

Time to open a nice bottle of wine methinks

[Jackyback]

Recovery run was tough on Monday as the quads and calves were very stiff, ended up running 4 mile and walking for 2 as the left knee was pretty stiff. I went out last night for an 84km cycle at steady enough pace as i still felt Sundays race in my legs. http://connect.garmin.com/activity/44054796.
I burned over 3000 calories and cycled an average pace of 2.17 per km and an average speed of 26.3 km/h. There was two nice hills at the very start which were testing enough, other than that it was very flat and a perfect evening for cycling. I have cancelled the Sean Kelly race and have replaced it with http://www.lapthelough.org/lap-route.html. The route covers 140km and it will be the first event back from the holidays.
Today will be a gym session at lunchtime with some metcon/abs work thrown in and then take it easy tonight.

[Theresa]

Hey Fran,

Am I reading it right or is your bodyfat at 12%? If it is then thats mightily mightily impressive given your previous bodily state and age.

Reckon Im going to start my own log on my diet and weight sessions in this place, seems to be good for the motivation.

[Jackyback]

Hey Fran,

Am I reading it right or is your bodyfat at 12%? If it is then thats mightily mightily impressive given your previous bodily state and age.

Reckon Im going to start my own log on my diet and weight sessions in this place, seems to be good for the motivation.

Yeah sorry meant to be BF not BMI i was previously around the 22/23% mark. Start the log as it's always good to get an insight into other training regimes.

[Jackyback]

So back off holidays and straight into Lap the Lough race today. I did 4 gym sessions and 2 runs over on holidays which were less than expected but at least kept me in reasonable shape. The diet sort of went out of whack for the two weeks with rich food and plenty beer/wine. I will be giving the beer/wine a miss until after the Dublin City Marathon as it really does fuck up the fitness.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/46737719

The race in Lap the Lough went reasonably well. It is a flat course and the weather was pretty poor for the first 2 hours with wind and rain which was not helped by me forgetting my waterproofs but at least it picked up for the remainder of the race. I completed the 140km course (actually only 133 km on my garmin) in 5 hours and 8 mins at an average pace of 2.19 per km and an average speed of 25.9 km/h. I burned a total of 4500 calories and felt fairly tired afterwards, 90km through 115km were tough going but I finished strongly which was good.

The next on the calender is the Bike the Blackwater cycle but between now and then I will be focussing on my running and I hope to be hitting at least 40 miles per week with some gym sessions thrown in.

[kincsem]

That was a good time for Lap the Lough. You need a few days to let your body recover. Good recovery is important as you know. The tough part is getting out again.

[Jackyback]

Felt good the morning after the bike race with no niggles. Took it easy on Monday with just an hour of indoor 5 a side which was a good run around.
Went for a 10k run at lunchtime today in 45min 21secs and felt good after it. It makes a huge difference getting out of work at lunchtime for a run or quick gym session.

Late Tonight (after kiddies bedtime) will be a good gym workout and i cannot wait to get back to familiar surroundings as it's nearly 3 weeks since i done my last session there.

Session will go something like,

Bench Press - 2x8 60kg, 1x6 70kg
Some Metcon covering,
Clean & Jerk - 40kg, Chin ups and Dumbell High Swing 20kg. I will go 12/10/8/6/4 reps or until i am ready to collapse which most of the time creeps in around the 6 rep mark.
Squats - 3x8 100kg
Pulldowns - 3x8 65kg
Bent over row - 3x8 60kg
Deadlift - 3x8 70kg
Dumbell Hyperextension - 2x15 20kg
Then fall asleep in a corner

[Jackyback]

Last nights session was altered slightly as the gym was packed. I managed to only get down to 6 reps in the metcon session as i had been going non stop for at least 15 mins and was bollixed, the chins ups are the real killer in that trio. I only managed to bench press 55 & 60 as it was towards the end of the session were i normally do these at the start. I was pretty shattered aft6er it but in a good way.

Today i done a quick 45 min session at lunchtime mostly covering hiit,
Bike - 3 mins with 2 mins gear 8 maintain 110rpm and 1 min off saddle gear 16 maintain 80rpm. Rinse and repeat 5 times.
Row - 2 min 500 metre with 1 min rest. Rinse and repeat 4 times.
20 mins of core work.

I plan to do a 15k run tonight and depending how late i get out might throw in 4k of the run across hilly cross country in preparation for the WAR race.

Seen as all the other fitness freaks in here are listing food intake

Brekkie 8am: Porridge with banana sliced
Snack 11am: Apple and Orange
Lunch: Steak pieces with noodle and green/red pepper (prepared by me)
Dinner: Beef fajita with peppers (no dressing)
Supper: 250ml whey protein shake and peach pieces
3 litres of water throughout the day.

[Theresa]

Keep er lit Fran.

The next IPB footy match won't know what hit em.

[Jackyback]

Keep er lit Fran.

The next IPB footy match won't know what hit em.

Thanks,, we need to sort a match soon enough.

Just back in from the 15k, creeking like an old piece of furniture

[Mellor]

The thoughts of lashing out a 15k run mid week hurts me,
endurance looks great, 140k course

[Jackyback]

The thoughts of lashing out a 15k run mid week hurts me,
endurance looks great, 140k course

I save the real pain for the weekend, 25k run planned for Saturday.

No Gym today but i will be doing a combined 25k cycle/10k run this evening for my WAR training.

[Lurker23]

No Gym today but i will be doing a combined 25k cycle/10k run this evening for my WAR training.

The thoughts of this makes me want to puke. Fair play, I'd love to do some ironman at some point in my life. Looking forward to seeing how you progress.

[Jackyback]

I think i have more or less decided to go for the French Ironman in June 2011

3.8km swim

http://www.ironmanaustria.com/event/content.asp?pageid=300&MicroSiteID=8

180km cycle

http://www.ironmanaustria.com/event/content.asp?pageid=301&MicroSiteID=8

42km run

http://www.ironmanaustria.com/event/content.asp?pageid=302&MicroSiteID=8

Going to book it this month and be done with it as they seem to sell out well in advance.

[kincsem]

Why is a French triathlon on an Ironman Austria website?

[Jackyback]

Why is a French triathlon on an Ironman Austria website?

LOL not sure Sean, i had initially planned to do the Austrian one but it has sold out 10 months early I then seen the French one listed on the site.

Last night i completed 29.5km on the bike and 9.75km on the run with 3.5km of the run cross country. A mate who is doing WAR came along with me and whilst he is good on the bike he is not as strong on the run.
Moving time was 2hr 04min 58sec, i forget to split the time between bike and run but it was.
Bike - 29.5km - 1.05.25 time - 2.13km pace with an average speed of 27 km/h
Run - 9.75km - 59.33 time - 9.75km pace with an average speed of 9.8 km/h

I am going to have another go at this next week and i should take at least 8 minutes off the time as i still had plenty left when i finished.

[Jackyback]

Weight session went well tonight. Squats, Deadlift and Pulldowns all increased by 5kg. Took the chin ups out of the metcon and incorporated the pulldowns into it. I managed to complete the 12/10/8/6/4 reps in around 14 minutes or so

Bench Press - 1x8 60kg, 1x8 65kg, 1x8 70kg
Metcon - Clean & Jerk - 40kg, Pull Downs 70kg and Dumbell High Swing 20kg.
Squats - 3x8 105kg
Bent over row - 3x8 60kg
Deadlift - 3x8 75kg
Dumbell Hyperextension - 2x15 20kg
Incline Dumbell Press - 15kg (30kg total) 2x12
Incline Dumbell Flies - 12.5kg (25kg total) 2x12
Seated single arm overhead extensions - 12.5kg 3x8
Some tricep dips

Diet today,
Brekkie 7am - 2 poached eggs and banana/kiwi/strawberry smoothie
11am - toasted bagel
Lunch 1pm - Beef udon noodle dish
Dinner 6pm - Pasta, brocoli and 2 pork chops
Supper 9.30pm - Pear slices and 300ml whey protein shake

[Jackyback]

Due to the bad weather i did not get my long run in so settled for a gym session on Saturday. I completed 10k on the threadmill (really hate running on threadmill) and 30k on the bike with some conditioning work thrown in. Sunday was my rest day and overall the diet for the weekend was good with no booze

Lunchtime today i completed the following workout and i have 5 a side later this evening. I hope to get my long run in tomorrow evening.

Bike - 3 mins with 2 mins gear 8 maintain 110rpm and 1 min off saddle gear 16 maintain 80rpm. Rinse and repeat 5 times.
Row - 2 min 500 metre with 1 min rest. Rinse and repeat 4 times.
20 mins of core work.

[Jackyback]

Tuesday
Completed a weight session at lunchtime similiar to previous workouts and done all of it at fast pace due to time constrainsts. Twinged something in my neck doing deadlifts but thankfully it's back to normal today. I did not get the long run in as intended due to going to the match last night.
Today
Will be doing a gym session at lunchtime today with HIIT work and some core work, i will probably go full out for the hour. This evening i will be doing my long run even if it starts snowing!!

This weekend i have changed my bike race from Bike the Blackwater to the one below. Its ideal as it covers some of the bike section from WAR in particular the climb up Shay Elliot. It looks like a testing course covering 123km and from the elevation profile there is a sickening 4/5km hill with an 8% gradient which i cannot wait for

http://www.braywheelers.com/downloads/JoeLoughman2010-LongRoute.pdf

[Jackyback]

Just back in from my long run and sipping on my whey protein shake. Tonight was a nightmare, first off missus had to pop out so by the time i got home from work, had dinner cooked, homework done and kids off to bed it was 8.30 before i got out running.
I was shattered before i even put one foot in front of the other which is never a good feeling when you are setting out for a long run. I managed 16.3 miles/26.2km in 2hr 18 mins 11 secs which worked out at 8.28 minutes per mile pace. I never got into a rythm and felt fairly crap for the run which was 8 minutes off race pace. I know sometimes you will get these dud training runs but it really puts into perspective how difficult breaking the 3.30 mark for DCM is going to be... essentially taking a minute per mile of my Cork time!!

[Jackyback]

I completed a 3 mile recovery run at lunchtime today just to loosen up the legs a little from last nights long run. Tonight was another gym session covering

Bike - 3 mins with 2 mins gear 8 maintain 120rpm and 1 min off saddle gear 16 maintain 85rpm. pushed out for 6 of these
Row - 500 metre with 1 min rest. Pushed out an extra one, times were 1.52, 1.55, 1.54, 1.59 and the last one i was all out for a 1.53.
Leg press - 140kgx8, 150kgx8, 160kgx8, 170kgx6
Leg extensions - 70kgx8, 75kgx8, 80kgx8
Leg curls - 55kgx8, 60kgx8, 70kgx8
20 mins of core work.

Really happy with the weights i am covering on the legs. Pushed myself tonight in the gym in particular hiit on the bike and rower and worked up a good sweat.

[Mellor]

Those rower timrd are great.
Have you ever tried a single 500m sprint for best time?

[Jackyback]

Those rower timrd are great.
Have you ever tried a single 500m sprint for best time?

No although i would be confident of taking a good few seconds off my best split time, should easily break 1.50.

[Jackyback]

Completed a 25k cycle at full whack on Friday evening and ran out at 2.03 per km pace with an average speed of 29.2 km/h which was decent enough. I had planned a gym session today but the body was tired and sore from a tough week so decided to take a rest day.
Looking forward to the bike spin around Wicklow tomorrow.

[Jackyback]

Wicklow 123km cycle TR

Today’s spin only got a measly 150 runners across the three distances with probably less than 30 doing the long route of 123km. I waited at the start for a decent group to get started and headed off with a group of 20 for the first 30km.
The first climb we hit was around the 22.5km mark, it was more of a long drag that went on for around 11km with an elevation gain of 190 metres. There was 7 of us broke from the larger group and we started drafting and reaching speeds over 40 km/h for the next 25kms through lovely scenery until we reached the main food/drink stop around the 55km mark. At this stage I had taken on two full bottles of sports drink, 2 energy gels and 1 energy bar so I just tucked into a banana, a few sambos and chockie biscuits.
We left shortly after in the same group that cycled in but unfortunately 5kms down the road all 6 turned off to the right as they were only doing the shorter course. The parting advice “was take it easy up Slieve Mann it’s a monster of a climb”.
I hit Slieve Mann at the 60km mark, it lasts for just over 5.5 km with a total elevation gain of 320 metres. To say Slieve Mann was tough would be an understatement, the fact I was tackling it on my own into a wind did not help matters. There were parts of the climb which were very steep but I just about kept the bike moving up it.
I had a nice 4k downhill section were I reached speeds of over 50km/h. I near came off the bike towards the end of the descent as the course took a sharp left at the bottom and with me motoring along I hit some loose gravel when braking and my heart was in my mouth (near emptied the drawers).
The next climb was straight into Brown Mountain lasting 4 kms with an elevation gain of 180 metres, although it was not much of a climb I still had Slieve Mann in my legs so I struggled up this section. Next on the list was the dreaded Shay Elliot climb. I actually found this slightly easier than Slieve Mann, it lasted for around 3.5kms with an elevation gain of 240 metres. Thankfully there was another food/drink stop at the top so I quickly refilled the bottles and had a quick bite to eat.
The last 38kms had two quick descents and some rolling hills near Roundwood. I really struggled with the last 20kms but just kept the pedals churning over.
I finished in 5hrs 2mins although there is 4kms missing from my Garmin as I forgot to switch it back on after the stop at Shay Elliot. Total Elevation Gain was 1653 metres, average speed was a measly 23.7km/h, average pace was 2.32 per km and total calories burnt was 4720. I really enjoyed this scenic but very demanding route and the weather was fantastic. At least I know what to expect on the bike section of WAR in two weeks.
Need to get myself sorted with clip pedals and cycling shoes. Some of the lads on the cycle said it would increase my pace by at least 10/15%, not sure if there is any truth in this perhaps Kinscem could shed some light on it. Garmin info here http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48694690.
Going to treat myself to a nice Chinese takeaway as i am bloody starving….nom nom nom.

[Jackyback]

Just played 5 a side this evening and played pretty well, back to the gym tomorrow. Just ordered myself one of these for the winter months cycling training. I am such a sucker when it comes to fancy gadgets

http://www.tacxvr.com/en/products/fortius-multiplayer

http://www.tacxvr.com/en/products/tacx-trainer-software-ii

I think it's a decent investment as i will get plenty of use out of it.

[Jackyback]

Yesterday was a very productive day!!
I was up early at 6am as i could not sleep so I decided to go out for a gentle 5k run to start of the day.
At lunchtime i went to the gym and done my usual weights session for about an hour. No pb's as such but have the form pretty much nailed on all exercises so will start to increase the weights the next time i am in the gym.
In the afternoon i had a meeting in town so i grabbed the bike and left it in to get the cleats fitted and got a pair of cycling shoes. In the evening i went out for a quick 25k blast just to see if there was any difference with the cleats and i noticed the difference straight away. Even when i was taking it easy i was moving along at a decent pace, i have no actual pace for last nights spin as i forgot to reset the garmin from my run but i reckon i was under 2 min per km pace.
I managed to snag a late swap for the Dublin Half Marathon in the park on Saturday, i will be aiming to break 1hr 40mins and will be trying to stick to the pacers for as long as possible.

[Jackyback]

Today

11k run at lunchtime in 59mins....gentle pace as i want to take it easy for the Dublin half the weekend as i will be running this at race pace.

Gym tonight consisted of the following
Bench Press - 1x8 65kg, 1x8 70kg, 1x2 75kg failed on the 3rd rep but chuffed to have lifted over my body weight.
Metcon - Military Press - 40kg, Pull Downs 80kg and Dumbell High Swing 20kg. I added an extra level in and started at 14/12/10/8/6/4, completed all sections albeit the last 5 mins hurt like hell.
Squats - 1x8 100kg, 1x8 105kg, 1x8 115kg, essentially now squating 1.5 times my bodyweight, need to get the form nailed on the 115kg as i was not getting low enough.
Bent over row - 3x8 60kg
Deadlift - 1x8 75kg, 1x8 80kg, 1x8 85kg
Dumbell Hyperextension - 2x15 20kg
Incline Dumbell Press - 15kg (30kg total) 2x12
Incline Dumbell Flies - 12.5kg (25kg total) 2x12

Had another assesment completed tonight as my last one was a month ago. Interesting enough I am 2lbs heavier but 1% down in body fat (down to 11% now), i can only think that i have replaced fat with muscle.
The aim is to try and get down to 8-9% (6 pack should be fully visible by then) by the end of the year but the PT was saying it will get harder and harder to reduce down any further.

Diet today,
Brekkie 7am - Porridge with a chopped banana mixed in
11am - 2 slices toast
Lunch 2pm - noodle dish
Dinner 7pm - Steak with thai flavoured couscous
Supper 10pm - Fruit mixed with 300ml whey protein shake

BTW Mellor 1.41 flat out for the 500 mtrs albeit the concept2 rower near ended up halfway across the gym!!

[Jackyback]

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I have been suffering with lower back pain since yesterday morning so there has been no exercise since. Hardly a great time to pick up an injury with so much coming up but i have always had problems with my back as i have scoliosis.
I have an appointment booked with the physio later today to see what the issue is, hopefully it's only a muscle strain but it looks doubtful for running the half marathon in the morning.
The strange thing is the back does not feel to bad when moving about it's when i sit down it causes pain.

I hate sitting idle....bah!!

[Jackyback]

Dublin Half Marathon TR

I ended up running this along with another 8000 crazies which on reflection was pretty stupid tbf. I went to the physio yesterday and he felt the back pain was brought on by my hamstrings. After half an hour with him I was feeling much better although his advice was best off to leave the race alone.

I woke up this morning feeling slightly tight and sore so went for a quick 2k to see how i felt, which went well. Soon after I found myself driving down to the Phoenix Park!!

The course is fairly flat and although carrying a slight injury I still went off with the sub 1.40 pacers as I wanted to post a pb (again stupidy). All was going well until around the 3.5 mile when I got the back pain again. I had been on the shoulders of the 1.40 pacers up to then but decided to drop it back a click to see how the back would fair out. I ran the next 3 miles or so at a slower pace and then picked up the pace for the the last 7 miles. At one stage I seen the 1.40 pacer balloons about two minutes ahead and for once I made the right decison not to go after them.

I ended up finishing fairly strong and in a time of 1.41.37 which considering the circumstances I am happy enough with as it was a pb (previous 1.43.23 Enniscorthy). I reckon i would have been close to a 1.38 on that course so that gives me plenty of confidence for the sub 3.30 in DCM.

Even though I had a good stretch after the race I am really hurting now so resting up now for a few days and probably more physio on Monday.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/49505846

[Mellor]

Just so you know, the Garmin info doesn't show up for others, we get the message;

You do not have sufficient privileges to view the activity with id 49505846.

Nice job on the PB all the same

[Jackyback]

Just so you know, the Garmin info doesn't show up for others, we get the message;


Nice job on the PB all the same

Cheers Mellor, it should work now, i think i had it locked

[Jackyback]

I went for another physio session today and he has ruled out the hamstrings as the problem albeit they are very tight. He identified it as a pulled/strained muscle on the lower left side of the back. He reckons i need to rest it up for two weeks or so but we will see how the heat packs and stretching exercises go for the week
I am going to be fairly pissed off if i miss WAR this weekend as i was really looking forward to it with it being my first adventure race.

[Jackyback]

Well after two suspect visits getting nowhere with the Physio (who gave me a different diagnosis each time) I went to another guy who came highly recommended in work and specialises in sports injuries. He diagnosed the problem as a muscle imbalance problem mainly on the legs and the hip flexors which was causing the strain. After an hour session I was pain free and I could notice the improved movement on my left side.

Feeling good today with very little stiffness/pain, he suggested a fast walk/gently paced run this evening for 20 minutes to see how I get on so not ruling out WAR just yet

Sent off a stinker of a mail to the first physio and they are refunding me one of the sessions.

[Lurker23]

Your back problems sound eerily similar to my own. Can you send me a PM with the name of the physio? Might have to go see him depending on how well my own recovery methods work.

[Jackyback]

Your back problems sound eerily similar to my own. Can you send me a PM with the name of the physio? Might have to go see him depending on how well my own recovery methods work.

PM sent

[Jackyback]

I am doing WAR this weekend as the injury seems to be 90% sorted Went out for a short run yesterday evening and felt fine so went down to collect my WAR pack this evening and headed out to do some climbs in Wicklow on my sweet new bike. It takes a bit of getting used to after having the hybrid/heavier bike so I plan to do a short lunchtime spin tomorrow. It feels good to be back doing some exercise, god forbid i was even contemplating playing some poker to fill the void.


Really looking forward to my first adventure race and i am hoping for a sub 4hr 15mins

[Mellor]

Could you post a stage breakdown for the race.
Just so we know what you are in for this weekend;

[Jackyback]

Could you post a stage breakdown for the race.
Just so we know what you are in for this weekend;

They have changed the route around and here is the final layout,

Stage 1 - 10k Kirikee mountain run with 310m climb

http://glenmalure.wicklowadventurerace.com/index.php/course/kirikee-mountain-run/

Stage 2 - 22k cycle covering Shay Elliot and Slieve Mann climbs with 587m climb

http://glenmalure.wicklowadventurerace.com/index.php/course/shay-elliott-cycle/

Stage 3 - 7.5k run up and over Croaghanmoira Mountain with 385m climb

http://glenmalure.wicklowadventurerace.com/index.php/course/croaghanmoira-run/

Stage 4 - 19k cycle down Slieve Mann to Glenmalure with 180m climb and 483m descent.

http://glenmalure.wicklowadventurerace.com/index.php/course/cycle-down-slieve-mann-to-finish/

Stage 5 - A surprise!!! River run with an obstacle course before the finish line.

Should be painful and fun at the same time

[Jackyback]

WAR Trip Report....tldr

Stage 1 - 10k Kirikee Mountain Run

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50472958

No softly softly approach here and straight into a steep climb for about 4km. I ran the first 3km and walked the last k to the summit due to the steep climb (everyone else walked). Coming down the other side of the mountain was fun and I picked up some decent speed, at some points I was running speeds of 22km+.
I finished this in 59mins 20secs and the transition time between the run and bike was just under 4 mins which was pretty dire.

Stage 2 - 22k cycle covering Shay Elliot and Slieve Mann climbs

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50472960

The first couple of km was ok with around 1.5km off-road which I decided to run as I did not want to risk a puncture. Around the 9km we started off on the Shay Elliot climb which lasted for around 5km.
I was pretty much fcked after 2km of this climb and decided to get off the bike and walk a bit, at this point I noticed the back break was rubbing off the wheel (probably caused by the off road section). After a quick fix I hoped back on and completed both climbs at a steady pace. I passed out a good few struggling on the second climb which was good.
I finished this in 1hr 30mins 10 secs which was a good bit off the time I had planned. Transition time between bike and run was better at 1min 44secs

Stage 3 - 7.5k run up and over Croaghanmoira Mountain

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50472964

This simply put was insane. The terrain and the steepness of this mountain climb was very tough. There was a good few people at the summit either waiting on help with injuries or simply just exhausted. I fell twice coming down sections of the mountain so decided to walk some of it rather than risking injury. I did enjoy doubling back on the route and watching all the people suffering behind me
I finished this in 1hr 17mins 47 secs, I had this originally planned for 55 mins but I completely underestimated it. Transition time from run back to bike was 2min 40secs.

Stage 4 - 19k cycle down Slieve Mann to Glenmalure.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50472969

At this stage I was feeling sick before the last cycle from all the energy gels/bars and contemplated making myself sick but decided against it as I would have feck all energy left. The last 19k cycle was much easier than the first cycle with a bit of downhill and just one significant drag which went on for around 4.5km. We had to take parts of the descent handy due to bad roads, one section we were allocated 5 minutes to pass through due to loose gravel.
I finished this in 55mins and 32secs and was happy to be so close to home as the finish line was right beside the last section. Last transition came in at 2mins 6 secs.

Stage 5 - River run and obstacle course

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50472972

This was more or less done for the novelty factor. The river was bloody freezing and up to waist height. The obstacle course was very short with just a few crawl nets and jumping/climbing over a couple of hay bales. I finished this in 7mins 11secs.

I crossed the line in 5hr 26secs (on garmin) and an official race time of 4hr 58mins covering 59kms. I won my prop bet with my mate which was sweet as he finished 35 minutes behind me. The garmin said I burnt 3000 calories I think it’s more like 5000 calories, I have not stopped eating since the race finished.

I really enjoyed my first adventure race and plan to do a few of these next year. I am not sure of finishing position but results should be up tomorrow.

[Lurker23]

Nice write up. Well done you insane mofo

[Mellor]

Nice job, I'd love to give one a sHot, but not 5hrs, fcuk

[Wreck]

Nice write up, sounds like you really enjoyed it, and the times look pretty good too. I know after Gaelforce I ate twice what I would normally have for the next three or so days, it's insane what happens to your body on these things.

There's another good adventure race on in November if you're interested - See2Summit, think I'm going to do it - will give me something to train towards at least.

[Jackyback]

Nice write up, sounds like you really enjoyed it, and the times look pretty good too. I know after Gaelforce I ate twice what I would normally have for the next three or so days, it's insane what happens to your body on these things.

There's another good adventure race on in November if you're interested - See2Summit, think I'm going to do it - will give me something to train towards at least.

Yeah I was looking at this, I will probably end up doing it as I am trying to do one endurance type event per month.

[Jackyback]

10 mile run went well tonight and the legs were good after WAR, I ran 4 of these miles at PMP. I plan on doing two more 20 mile LSR's over the next two weekends along with a few short runs and that should be me ready for DCM.
I hope to get back into the gym this week at some stage.

[Jackyback]

No going back now Sweet that i bagged early reg for this as it sold out within a day last year and i can easily get the ferry over with the bike instead of treking off to France.


IRONMAN UK 2011
Sunday, 31 July 2011 06:00 - 23:00 (GMT)
Bolton, Lancashire

Your registration is complete.

Congratulations

Your entry into the IRONMAN UK 2011 has now been confirmed.

[kaiser soze]

U should tackle those weeds in ur driveway for extra training lol.

[Jackyback]

U should tackle those weeds in ur driveway for extra training lol.

You cannot get good weed killer these days

[Mellor]

No going back now Sweet that i bagged early reg for this as it sold out within a day last year and i can easily get the ferry over with the bike instead of treking off to France.


IRONMAN UK 2011
Sunday, 31 July 2011 06:00 - 23:00 (GMT)
Bolton, Lancashire

Your registration is complete.

Congratulations

Your entry into the IRONMAN UK 2011 has now been confirmed.

Race Distance - 140.6 miles inc 2.4mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run

*vomits*

I'd be able for each of those in solation. with training. Just.
Would do each in the same week, let alone the same day.
Fair play Fran

[Jackyback]

Race Distance - 140.6 miles inc 2.4mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run

*vomits*

I'd be able for each of those in solation. with training. Just.
Would do each in the same week, let alone the same day.
Fair play Fran

I know i could probably do the cycle and run right now but I really need to work on the swim element, as it stands I would be the last out of the water!!

[Jackyback]

Managed to get the 20 miles in very early this morning, it was a nightmare getting up at 6am but had to be done. The legs were heavy from mile 15 through to 20 and ran it 1 minute per mile slower than PMP. The feet were fairly swollen after the run (first time) and I managed to loose a toenail in the process.
One more week and then into tapering down....cannot wait the body is starting to hurt!!

[Jackyback]

Monday - Skipping the 5 a side footie until after DCM so went for a sharp 5k run in 21.24.
Today- Gym at lunchtime for the first time in a while. I dropped the weights and increased the reps on my usual exercises and will build the weight back up over my next few sessions.
I also plan to do a 45km section of the Ventoux stage on the indoor VR cycle trainer this evening. Should be fun as there is a couple of 20%+ gradients in there.