Well 9 weeks in, can’t believe I’ll be hitting double figures next. I planned to put in a strong week this week as I know the next 3 weeks will be somewhat disrupted due to holidays. This week was spent trying to decide what races I might get in before and after Galway. It has been really tough to try fix something in that works well with Galway. I really want to try do as many National Series Races as I can but looks like that won’t be possible without disrupting my training. I have a few races in mind and must start locking down my calendar fairly soon.
The week started off with an interesting run. There was as weather warning in place but I still managed to get up early on Tuesday morning and as I drove to work the wind was strong enough to blow the car from side to side and the rain poured down. At times on the drive up I was thinking would I change it to an indoor cycle in the gym. Eventually I got to work and I said I’d go ahead with the run. I’m glad I got out. It was tough conditions but I got in 11km. I started by trying to avoid big puddles to eventually just giving up since the rest of me was soaked to the bone as well. I kept to the main roads rather than going out by the water as I knew the wind and driving rain would catch me there. I was almost lifted off the ground at some stages but once I got back and had a nice long shower I was happy I went out. Who knows what conditions I will face while out so it was a good test.
Wednesday I did my usual indoor bike session in the gym and on Thursday I did my turbo session at home. Watching Wolf of Wall Street helped me get through it. Friday I has to tackle more windy conditions on my run. Rain wasn’t bad but the wind did pick up. Lucky the route planned out meant I missed some of the strongest wind and had it at my back at the most open part. I got another 11km in and was feeling good. Friday evening I headed to the pool and my plan was to mix it up a bit and do 2km on Friday and 3km on Saturday. I managed to complete both. 5km in 2 days was a lot on the shoulders but I knew I wanted to free up Sunday evening so it meant getting them in one day after the other. I started getting tired towards the end of the 3km session but that would be expected. If needed I’d have been able to kick on and do some more so at least in my head I’m in a good place.
I knew it would be a busy weekend so I was up early on the Saturday for my cycle. My plan was to cycle to Cobh and meet up with the team there as they cycled to Garyvoe. That meant I could drop off as they headed back. When I got up and looked out in the morning it looked as if the day was as calm as you could get but that wasn’t the case once I got out on the bike. I had a wind in my face all the way to Cobh but the advantage of that was that I’d have it on my back on the return journey. It was the 1st time out for a club cycle and I will definitely have to get out more often. It was enjoyable and the time passed a lot quicker. I got a good 66km in. That meant I finished the month on 499km. If only I knew that before had and I would have went that bit extra to make it up.
Dungarvan 10 Mile rac
Next up was the big item of the weekend. The John Treacy 10 mile road race in Dungarvan. My plan for this was to take it easy and use it as training for next weekend. I think that lasted all of 1km. I had originally planned on 80 mins but I found myself with a view of the 75 min pacers just ahead. I decided I’d let them in the distance and do my own thing. I found I was hitting the mile makers right on the 75 mins time frame. Half way I was looking good for 75 as well. It wouldn’t be a PB but I’d be very happy with it as a training run. Once I hit the 8 mile mark I knew there was a hill coming so I picked up the pace and used that momentum to get up the hill with no worried. Last mile was then my fastest as I finished in a time of 73:31. I picked up a minute and and half in the last few miles but post a respectable time. Main thing was that I kept my heart rate down and felt good finishing. If I can keep that going for the extra 3 miles I’d be good for a PB but a lot will tell on how the day goes – heat, humidity, jet lag will all have a part to play
Almost finished Dungarvan 10 Mile
I was delighted to finish off the month with my highest mileage in swimming, cycling and running. In swimming I did just over 18km, cycling I hit 499km and running I broke the 100 mile barrier for the 1st time.
Breakdown
Mon – Off
Tues – 1 hour run,
Wednesday – 45mins cycle (indoor)
Thursday – 1 hour cycle(indoor)
Friday – 1 hour run, 2km swim
Saturday – 2 hour 35 min cycle (road), 3km swim
Sunday – Dungarvan 10 Mile Road race
Swim Session 2
Warm Up
300m FS
Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m BS; 4 x 25m L,R,F,B; 4 x 25m with PB; 4 x 25m with fists
Main Set
4 x 125m with 20 sec break between each
4 x 175m with 30 sec break between each
4 x 125m with 20 sec break between each
Drills (8 x 50m total)
4 x 25m L,R,F,B; 4 x 25 BR every 4, BL every 4, BLR every 3, BLR every 5; 4 x 25m with legs tied; 4 x 25m with legs tied with PB
Cool Down
200m FS
Week 10 will be a bit all over the place so no official plan. It all depends on how the body is, work, house work and travel