Some going, fair play, great reportRace Report
So after a summer of not getting the training in, and 2 of the triathlons cancelled I finally got to complete the Valentia Island tri yesterday. In another remarkable turn of fate it was the first time I’ve done a tri without storm conditions!
Drove down Friday, 5 1/2 hours, you arrive wondering how it’s a good idea at all but the atmosphere was underway already and the forecast was good. Sure enough Saturday morning was glorious with very little wind so the swim across to the island was on.. happy days
5 of us took part this year, the new fella in the group is an ultra runner and has done an iron man so my target was to beat the other 3, and hopefully get it done under 1:30
The ferry across to the pier to start the swim was great, lovely atmosphere amongst the competitors and the usual pre-race nerves. I got in and acclimatised, but one of the lads wanted to start on the right hand side so I agreed despite BPTs advice about starting on the left ringing in my ears! I also hung back and started the swim well back in the group as I wanted to avoid the mayhem at the front. They went for a mass start so there was bodies absolutely everywhere, I settled into the swim quickly though, kept the head down and drove on. After about 5 mins I heard one of the kayakers shouting at me and 2 others.. we had drifted way to the right.. shite! So I corrected the course and put the hammer down to recover, found my way back to the main group and then had a really good swim, making my way past loads of them.. 16 mins for the swim
Up the slipway, into transition and I noticed my legs were feeling it, but I spotted that 3 of the lads were already gone. The first 4km of the course is a stiff enough climb so I ate into it as I figured I wouldn’t catch them afterwards.. and 5km in my left calf started to cramp FFS! I managed the cramp out over the next 5km by lashing the entire electrolyte drink in to me, stretching the calf at the bottom of the stroke, and not using the left leg really.. what a dose! Anyway, it eventually worked out and I found a group of about 5 others, kept a nice pace going but afraid to push it. Passed one of the buddies after about 16km
Back into transition and on with the runners, really worried I’d cramp again with the first 2.5km all uphill and a serious drag at that. I took a gel at this point to give me a jolt for the climbing. Once I settled the breathing I actually found that I was ok with the running, kept plugging on and caught the next friend at about 1.5km, got within 10m of the ultra runner at the turn and wondered if I could take him going downhill.. not a chance! He tore off and I ran my own race again coming in for 1:23:XX and 1:10 behind the friend
Delighted with that, slower than last year but the swim was longer and the cramp cost me time on the bike although I averaged 29.5kph. Happy with my run as well, 5:08/km with 245m vertical
Its a great event, will definitely sign up for next year again and push for getting back into the top 50
Next up, the Clontarf HM 16th Nov
Well done!Race Report
So after a summer of not getting the training in, and 2 of the triathlons cancelled I finally got to complete the Valentia Island tri yesterday. In another remarkable turn of fate it was the first time I’ve done a tri without storm conditions!
Drove down Friday, 5 1/2 hours, you arrive wondering how it’s a good idea at all but the atmosphere was underway already and the forecast was good. Sure enough Saturday morning was glorious with very little wind so the swim across to the island was on.. happy days
5 of us took part this year, the new fella in the group is an ultra runner and has done an iron man so my target was to beat the other 3, and hopefully get it done under 1:30
The ferry across to the pier to start the swim was great, lovely atmosphere amongst the competitors and the usual pre-race nerves. I got in and acclimatised, but one of the lads wanted to start on the right hand side so I agreed despite BPTs advice about starting on the left ringing in my ears! I also hung back and started the swim well back in the group as I wanted to avoid the mayhem at the front. They went for a mass start so there was bodies absolutely everywhere, I settled into the swim quickly though, kept the head down and drove on. After about 5 mins I heard one of the kayakers shouting at me and 2 others.. we had drifted way to the right.. shite! So I corrected the course and put the hammer down to recover, found my way back to the main group and then had a really good swim, making my way past loads of them.. 16 mins for the swim.
Up the slipway, into transition and I noticed my legs were feeling it, but I spotted that 3 of the lads were already gone. The first 4km of the course is a stiff enough climb so I ate into it as I figured I wouldn’t catch them afterwards.. and 5km in my left calf started to cramp FFS! I managed the cramp out over the next 5km by lashing the entire electrolyte drink in to me, stretching the calf at the bottom of the stroke, and not using the left leg really.. what a dose! Anyway, it eventually worked out and I found a group of about 5 others, kept a nice pace going but afraid to push it. Passed one of the buddies after about 16km. The lap of the island in the bike is absolutely spectacular passing Skellig Michael and the Blaskets
Back into transition and on with the runners, really worried I’d cramp again with the first 2.5km all uphill and a serious drag at that. I took a gel at this point to give me a jolt for the climbing. Once I settled the breathing I actually found that I was ok with the running, kept plugging on and caught the next friend at about 1.5km, got within 10m of the ultra runner at the turn and wondered if I could take him going downhill.. not a chance! He tore off and I ran my own race again coming in for 1:23:XX and 1:10 behind the friend
Delighted with that, slower than last year but the swim was longer and the cramp cost me time on the bike although I averaged 29.5kph. Happy with my run as well, 5:08/km with 245m vertical
Its a great event, will definitely sign up for next year again and push for getting back into the top 50
Next up, the Clontarf HM 16th Nov
Last tuesday we did one mile warm up, Then 10 minutes as close to max as possible, 1 MIN recovery, 1 min max, 1 min recovery, until we hit 5 miles.I have 7 weeks including this week to the Clontarf HM on 16th Nov, thinking thats 6 weeks of training and the last 4 or 5 days resting. I have a simple plan in mind, but Ive never done any interval stuff so will be new for me. I have been doing a 10km run every week so thats my starting point. Looking at some of the advice on here before and chatting with the runner guy at the weekend I'm thinking:
Weekend run:
Slow pace, told to keep the heart rate at around 130bpm which would mean I really need to be taking it handy. I might ignore the HR and just make sure I could hold a chat all of the way around. 12km this weekend, then 14km, 16km, 18km and 20 the following weekends, and one last 20km on the 6th week.
Midweek Runs:
Tuesday night is a lock for me as the young fella has soccer training so I have 55minutes. I generally go and do somewhere between 8-10km depending, but I think I'll switch to 5-8km with intervals. So something like 400m - 1000m at pace and then 90 secs walking or jogging between x 5 or 6 repeats?
Thursday run would be either a 5-8km run at race pace or another interval session?
Any opinions/help appreciated.. I have never done an interval session so this could all come crashing down spectacularly
sounds like a tough session JimmY!
I stayed with my group until just after mile 3, Mile 4 was a struggle so eased off and then had a very quick mile 5
That's a good plan. I'd make the Tues sessions 4mins @ 10k pace for maybe 5 secs per slower than an all out 10k, i can't remember your 10k race times but if its 52 mins you can go at 5:15 for 10k , make it 5:20. if this is really close to easy pace youre going to fast easy or too slow in races.I have 7 weeks including this week to the Clontarf HM on 16th Nov, thinking thats 6 weeks of training and the last 4 or 5 days resting. I have a simple plan in mind, but Ive never done any interval stuff so will be new for me. I have been doing a 10km run every week so thats my starting point. Looking at some of the advice on here before and chatting with the runner guy at the weekend I'm thinking:
Weekend run:
Slow pace, told to keep the heart rate at around 130bpm which would mean I really need to be taking it handy. I might ignore the HR and just make sure I could hold a chat all of the way around. 12km this weekend, then 14km, 16km, 18km and 20 the following weekends, and one last 20km on the 6th week.
Midweek Runs:
Tuesday night is a lock for me as the young fella has soccer training so I have 55minutes. I generally go and do somewhere between 8-10km depending, but I think I'll switch to 5-8km with intervals. So something like 400m - 1000m at pace and then 90 secs walking or jogging between x 5 or 6 repeats?
Thursday run would be either a 5-8km run at race pace or another interval session?
Any opinions/help appreciated.. I have never done an interval session so this could all come crashing down spectacularly
