A new gym

I went for a swim yesterday in Northwood gym in Santry. I joined there last week with Louise, Ronan and Waggers. Only a 25m pool but it wasn't busy at all. I tried out some tumble turns and was starting to get the gist of it by the end. Didn't do much else except for a few hundred metres of fist drill. Wow, it's a weird one, I didn't realise how much I use my hand for balance! Some more of that will either drown me or get my balance better.

On another note, we have snow! The weather has turned cold and we are getting a nice bit of snow and cold wind from the continent. Not as bad as England, but it's nice to look out and see snow falling. It's even nice to cycle through it as long as the flakes don't freeze to your glasses and make you blind :)

Hard football training and a cycle

Football training is in full swing now, we had two more sessions over the weekend. I'm using these as interval and speed sessions as we are doing lots of running to get everyone fitter. We spent 20 minutes running in circles on Friday night on the track around the pitch. I really enjoyed it, but I don't think that was the general concensus from everyone :)

On Saturday I went for a cycle into Enniskillen to see the new boat quay place that is being built by the Round O. It looks like it's the perfect size to fit in polo pitches and with walkways on both sides to let the referee walk along. Now all we need to do is to get the Fermanagh District Council and Waterways Ireland to let us use it for a competition. There is loads of parking, and even a coffee shop as well. Perfect.

The cycle took me around an hour and a half for 46km in nice cold and dry conditions, not much wind to speak of either.

Later on that evening, I had the second training session, this time in Loughan House. Yes, the prison! Training on the astroturf pitch is different to grass and it tends to burn more if you try to slide on it! More running after some short passing games and it was all over. Everyone was glad to get out of the heavy rain and the cold.

I took yesterday off as a rest day and today I plan to get back into the pool for a session.

Football has started again

Like the subject says, training for the new football season started last weekend. We had 2 sessions, one on Friday night and one on Saturday evening. Nothing too strenuous, I thought, but then again I have more of a base to work off than most of the others. I only really have to work on my football specific skills. Oh, and maybe some speed work! :)

I came back up to Dublin on Saturday night to go to the Punchestown Duathlon on Sunday but when I got to Dublin it had been snowing and the forecast was for more snow, some ice and 100km/h gusts. Not ideal racing conditions so I decided not to go out. In the end the race was turned into a 3 lap running race, so I'm glad I didn't go.

I have also been back in the pool in the last couple of weeks, just some light sessions with an emphasis on technique and long slow distance. I think I'll keep at this for another couple of weeks and then start bringing in some more pace.

We've been in the middle of a strange non-Irish cold snap recently with snow, ice and cold winds every day. I'm looking forward to getting out in it tomorrow for a run.

First ever triathlon win

Heh heh heh.

There was a very very short triathlon in Glenfarne on Saturday. Glenfarne is a small village down the road from Blacklion, and they were having a festival. So some people decided to organise a triathlon for it. It consisted of a a 2km cycle, 200m swim and 2.5km run, in that order.

The cycle started off with all 6 of us (yes only 6) on the start line. I got caught in some traffic, and had to wait for a few hundred metres until one guy tired out. Then I shot past Pauline and caught up closer to Greg. No more fun on the cycle until it was time to get out of the shoes. I saw Greg unshod himself and followed suit, it was a little hairy, I think the forks on my bike are loose!

Then the swim, nice out and back. I passed Greg shortly after the turn and just managed to stay in front of Pauline. On with the shoes and bam! I was away. Nice run course through the forest and up some hills. Then back down them and around to the finish. Finished in a total of 25:43.

Pauline came in second with Greg in third, coincidentally also the order of our entry numbers.

I had training then in the evening, but was a little bit tired and full of food, so it was quite hard.

Went into Enniskillen to watch some of the polo tournament and then back home before heading to Bawnboy to play a tournament match against Templeport. We were beaten by a point in the end. My legs were starting to seize up at the end after being moved from midfield to full back. I'll have to find some ice for the rest of the week and probably give the physio a ring on Monday.

Nice weather makes it easy

To train.

Went for a run yesterday evening, blowing off the plans to go to the gym and for a swim. 56 minutes or so for the run, felt good throughout and pushed for the last half of it after leaving Ronan, Junior and Gráinne to go home.

It rained heavily last night so I thought it was a good thing and I could go to the gym this evening. Woke up this morning and it was still wet. Good stuff :)

Then over the course of the day it got better and better and now it's warm and sunny again! Still went to the gym and then did 500m of a swim afterwards. Felt really tired in the swim and noticed that my technique was waaaaay off, so I left it at the 500m.

Home now, and about to make dinner. Mmmmmm.

Looking back at Switzerland

On the Friday (our second day in Rapperswil) we decided to go out and do a loop on the bike course. We picked up a German guy as we were leaving the hotel and started out nice and slowly. Myself and Waggers hung at the back trying to get used to the distance we would have to keep. After 10km we turned to go up the first hill. It went on for a bit and this was supposed to be the short one! Once at the top, we regrouped and went gingerly down the other side. I lost the yellow spongy bit from my aero bottle and had to go back for it. This led me to tying it in with cable ties for the race.

We weren't quite sure where to go after that and after going up an even worse hill, and down the other side, we realised that we had skipped a good bit of the loop including "the Beast". But seeing as we had two hills under us, we decided that going back to the hotel was a good idea. It was also quite hot at this stage and we didnt want to be out for too long. We said farewell to the German guy and another girl that we picked up on the way in the next town. They continued around to find "the Beast" and we headed back. An uneventful trip back, no thunder storms or punctures or anything.

We went through the registration process on Friday too. It was quick if a bit confusing as to where we were supposed to go.

After food and resting for a while, Greg and I decided it was time to test the water. A quick 20 minute dip in the lake ensued. The water was cold, but once you got moving it wasn't too bad at all. There was great visibility too. That cleared out the butterflies a little bit for me anyway.


Saturday came quickly and dragged on for days! It was the day for doing nothing. We watched TV and movies and then Pauline arrived. Louise arrived later on before we went to the pasta party. Free food and Erdinger for all! Fantastic :)

Only a few days left now

It's time to take it easy. Ish. I'm not a good one at taking it easy. On Thursday last, I went for an outdoor swim in Malahide with Waggers and with Louise as our lookout in her newly repaired boat.

Friday was drinks out with work and then drive home on Saturday to play a league match. We were beaten by two points by Templeport in a lousy match :(

The B team were beaten today by Cornafean and after that I went on back to Dublin. Just back a short while now and going to head off for a swim shortly. It'll be Gráinne's first proper time in the open water. Luckily Malahide isn't too deep at all.

The results are out

For the Fingal tri. I came 25th with a 2 minute penalty for drafting. I've sent the organisers a mail to see where I was drafting so that I can make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Fingal Sprint Triathlon

Woke up good and early and had breakfast of porridge and honey. Packed up the camper and drove around to pick up Greg. Got to the NAC at about 7:40ish and went to register. Got the goodie packs with a large toblerone and powerade and toothpaste. They do put the most random stuff in there!

Checked the bikes and then racked them into transition. Got all my gear laid out as I wanted it too. Then back to the camper for 40 minutes before the race briefing. Drinking a lightly dilutable drink and snacking on a few pieces of chocolate to keep my energy levels up. I watched the first wave go off and then went and got changed. I was in wave 2, lane 3. We got given swim hats and then into the pool. One length of a warm up and then 750 metres of a swim. I started off in front but got passed after 3 lengths by three people who were close together. I picked off two of them over the next few lengths and the last guy on the last one. So that meant that I was first out of the pool in my lane. I got whooshed out by the guy at the end and trotted out to T1.

Everything went smoothly coming out of T1 and onto the road. the Gardaí were out in force with the marshalls, stopping traffic and directing us around roundabouts. I got passed by a few lads but kept them in my sights. At the turn around, I had passed them again and they seemed to miss the cones. I powered out from the turn and kept the lead until near the end of a long straight. Two guys passed me there, but seemed to slow on the small incline after it, so back I went again past them. I kept pushing hard until the end of the bike and got in first.

Another decent transition despite throwing my glasses off when I took off the helmet and I was out in front. I pushed hard for the first few hundred metres and then got into my stride. Kept up a good cadence and felt really good. At the turn around, I got confused by the marshall asking me was in wave 2 and slowed a bit. I saw the next few lads behind me, so I pushed again up the hill to the corner. Then I eased back into my stride for the next bit. Turning the last corner and heding downhill to the NAC, I pushed up the pace again. I was starting to feel it now but pushed on. I didn't want to look behind me just in case I was being caught, this was about my race for me. Got in to the finish and across the line with no problems, all done in 1:08.

Overall, I was happy with what I managed, did a little bit of stretching and had a shower. Put on the compression tights and lived in them for the rest of the day.

We hung around for the prize giving and then headed home. Had tea and cake and watched the Cavan and Antrim match. Everyone was tired, some went for a snooze.

Went out later to get food for a pasta bake, ended up making three and salad and garlic bread. Got an early night too, it was well needed!

Up this morning at 5 to drop Pauline to the airport, no pains or stiffness.

Open Water Swimming

Remember, when you want to swim in the sea to check the tide times!
Went out this evening with Gráinne and Waggers to go for a quick dip down by Bull island. When we got there, it dawned on us that this was not going to be all that fruitful! The tide was way out. But we got in anyway and after wading out for a few hundred metres with the water no deeper than out knees, we came back again.

Jogged back home with Waggers and got beeped at by a few cars. Is it only Ireland that people can't accept that someone might want to go out and do some exercise?

Swimming and running

Nice little brick session today. I ran from work to Westwood and then went for a quick swim. Just a little 750m at race pace. Then a run from Westwood to Antioch along the coast road.
Overall it took just over an hour and a half.

Wilmslow tri

We had an early start on Sunday last for the tri. My wave was off at 8:20 with Greg off earlier and Pauline off in the wave after me. The swim went well, I started first in the lane and passed out the two others in my lane. Out onto the cycle, I passed someone on the first corner but then didn't see anyone for about 15 minutes. I wasn't sure if I was on the right track, but kept going and eventually saw some signs showing me the way. I passed out some more people and kept tapping along at a nice pace, not too fast, but keeping my legs going.

On the way back to transition, I nearly missed the turn off the main road. I recovered and got back feeling fresh. As I went into drop the bike off, I heard Greg and Sarah shouting for me. Nice to hear someone cheer you on!

I spent a few seconds trying to take out the spare tyre and repair kit from my pocket, but then gave up and decided to run with them. The run was getting warm with no breeze and running through a nice little park before heading out through a housing estate. There was a great family out passing out water and hosing us down as we went past. Very nice!

The rest of the run was quite uneventful, passed out some people and kept a good cadence up. I felt like I could have run for a lot longer at that pace. Coming in to the finish line, I had to up the pace and sprint over the line :)

At the end of the race, Edinburgh Cycle Co-operative had a stand of free drinks and power bars, so myself and Greg fed and filled water bottles with as much free stuff as we could.

Pauline came through shortly after and got interviewed by the guy with the microphone and then he spent the next five minutes asking if the Dublin people would be having a beer or two that evening :)

After it was all over, we had a few hours to wait until we got the final results. Pauline came third overall in the women's section and first in her age group.
I finished in about 1:14 according to the official results, but I thought I was about 3 minutes slower than that. Not going to argue though!
After we got home, it was time for a trip to Decathlon and then off to the Curry Mile for dinner.

Greg and I went home on Monday, getting to the airport one minute before check in closed, being given priority boarding passes and getting to the gate as they opened up. Perfect!

Countdown

Only a few days to go until the first tri of the year. Wilmslow is on this weekend and while it's only a short one, it should be good. I also get to visit Pauline while I'm there, which will be good.

Things are starting to fall into place too, I have the tri suit, the new runners, a new bike bag and my watch all set up and ready to go. The only thing is that I still have no tri bars. Syntace are sending them out again as UPS sent them back to them for some reason. No official word from UPS on where they are yet either, so I wonder do they even know what they've done with them.

Greg is lending me a set for the weekend, except he still has to pick them up from one of the other guys who has them at the moment. I hope he gets them!

This week we had some great weather so it was a pleasure to get out and do stuff. Spent Monday in Bray at the beach, just chilling out and relaxing. Tuesday was a swim and then cycling home the long way along the Coast Road. Then a race back into town for a dancing lesson before dinner. Today was the long way home and then a 40 minute run with Waggers.

Tomorrow I'll probably take as an easy day, I might head to the pool in the evening just to splash about and do a few lengths. I still want to figure out the tumble turn as it keeps confusing me :)

Good swimming

A good week of swimming. A session on Tuesday and then a better one on Thursday. Feeling good in the water in the run up to Wimslow. I'll have to try and get a session in a 25m pool tomorrow before next weekend, just to get the distance sorted in my head.

I'm still waiting for my tri bars from Syntace, they sent them out a couple of weeks ago, but UPS seem to have lost it. I've started a trace, but I'll have to try and source a new pair for next weekend.

Oh, and another good win on Friday night against Butlersbridge in the League. We won 0-8 to 0-5.

Hailstones in April!

I went for a run at lunchtime today. About 5 minutes into the run, I was bombarded by hailstones for about 30 seconds. Then it stopped and the sun came back out. It got quite warm after that. I did about 9.5km and it took about 40 minutes.

On the way home, I decided that it would be a good idea to go for a swim for a change. I spent about an hour in the pool, mostly technique and getting a feel for the water back again. Then I did 4x200m to finish off and then home.

Swimming

I did a swim session tonight. 300m warm up and it was supposed to be 3x500m descending. It didn't quite turn out like that though. I got the first one done fine, and then on the start of the second, I got one length finished. As I touched the wall, some guy decided that was the time he wanted to start his length. The only problem was that he was a numpty. I managed to pass him out and gave it no more thought. Got through the rest of the 500m, but was slightly slower. Then on the third 500m he did it again. Exactly the same thing at the same time. I stopped until he was far enough away that I could pass him at the end of the length, but he stopped after about 20m. I gave him some more time and then headed off. At the end of my length, he was getting out of the pool. I called after him to tell him I wasn't happy with him and he went off on one at me. The lifeguards didn't seem to believe that there was a shouting match over some swimming!

I finished out the last 400m faster than the previous ones, so maybe I need to get angry before I start swimming :)

Now it's time to watch some ice hockey, Dallas v Detroit on NASN2

I did it again!

I can't believe it, I went and did it again! I entered another tri :)
This one is in Manchester, near where Pauline is now. So I guess I get to go and pick up my ice cream, eh Pauline? It's happening on the 11th of May.

I've done two swim sessions this week and I'll be going to the gym tonight for the second weights session. Tomorrow is DCPL and then football training on SAturday night and a match on Sunday.
The football league starts in two weeks time, so this is my first and last chance to get back into the groove.

I managed to lose my HRM last week, so I've been on the look out for a new one. If anyone manages to find mine, or has a cheap one for sale, let me know.

Feeling better

I cycled into work this morning and felt good while doing it. I was a little apprehensive as to how I would feel today, being two days after the max test. Last Saturday, I did a great impression of a dead log, so I was hoping it wouldnt be the same today.
I went to the gym last night with Louise but didnt do a full session, I just did some light weights and some chin ups. Today, I'll be in the pool after work and then a 20-30 minute session on the turbo trainer to sort out my position on the tri bike.
Tomorrow will be a run and weights session, and Friday will be a run and swim.

If I get through all that, I'll be very happy. The last round of the Munster league is on Saturday too and I'm going to bring the bike with me so that I can get a good long spin in on Sunday.

Running around the place

I went for a run this evening, a nice long run. I decided to test myself a little and ran down to Louise's house. From there, I ran with her for about 30 minutes and then ran home. An hour and a half in total and it felt pretty good. I had no trouble keeping a pace and even managed to surprise myself on the way up the hill on the Swords Road.

I have been busy training recently, I was running on Saturday night, swimming on Monday and had a weights session last night. Tomorrow is back to weights, with a swim session planned for Friday. Then off home to Cavan. I'm going to try and get out on my new bike on Saturday before the Shannon Gaels dinner dance. Then on Sunday, I might go for a paddle on the lake.

That's all assuming that Dad hasn't got loads of work for me to do! :)