We had our 9 weeks old niece for a short visit over the weekend (the one that was born at the same time I did the Connemara Ultra). Her exhausted parents took a day off to attend a wedding (no, not their own) to leave Niamh and me in charge (ok, ok, just Niamh) of their little offspring. What can I say, looking after only one baby is so easy, I don’t know what people are complaining about! Still, handing her back the next day was welcome. There’s only so much lullaby singing I can do without aggravating the rest of my family. The great news is, the baby now knows at least a dozen Man City songs and she likes them all.
My quads have gradually forgiven me for putting them through the manger for a second time in 5 days. Running a downhill race 5 days after a marathon was always a big ask (read: the kind of stupid thing only I do), but by now they seem ready for some more punishment. As it just so happens, there is another triathlon this Saturday. The bad news is, Grellan will be there as well and he’s going to humiliate me. Since when exactly do we allow those Cork people across the county border? Ideally they should just be allowed 70 minutes in Fitzgerald stadium before driving back home, crying.
After two days of cycling and swimming I took to the roads again in proper fashion on Wednesday in form of an 8 mile run alongside the lake. It was a beautiful morning, which made for a very nice run. The quads did behave themselves but my right hamstring felt uncomfortably tight. Not sure where that came from, it had been fine both after the marathon and the downhill race. The run went pretty well nevertheless and the pace was surprisingly quick.
On Tuesday I thought I should have turned the cycle workout into a brick; on Thursday I did exactly that. After cycling for an hour (which passed so quickly I had to double-check my watch) I ran 4 miles in 30 minutes. As always, the legs felt wobbly for the first few minutes but did not affect my pace. The right hamstring was uncomfortably tight again but I really don’t think this is a real issue. I fully expect it to go away sooner rather than later. What’s always funny about running off the bike is that my pace is rather strong even though it feels awkward and slow. Without pushing the effort I got close to 7:00 pace. Oh, and I managed to get out of my cycling shoes while still on the bike. That’s one thing I want to improve during T2 compared to my last (and so far only) triathlon in Valentia.
It was just 6 easy miles this morning, with a wry smile on my face after France proved that cheats don’t prosper. The hamstring troubles were still there, but definitely improving. The HR was pleasingly low; I seem to have recovered surprisingly well considering what I’ve just put my body through.
As I’ve just found out, they put me into Wave 1 for tomorrow’s triathlon. After overcoming the initial shock, my new target is not to be the last wave 1 swimmer out of the water. Beating Grellan is not on the agenda, I estimate he will have 5 minutes on me by the time I reach dry land and unless I manage to fiddle with his bike that’s that matter settled. My only other target for tomorrow is to improve my transition times. I’m a desperately slow transitioner and there’s plenty of room for improvement. I have a few ideas in my head on what I will do differently from 4 weeks ago; let’s see how it all works out.
- 16 Jun
- 8 miles, 1:02:20, 7:48 pace, HR 151
- 17 Jun
- 60 mins cycling (about 18.5 miles)
4.2 miles running, 29:52, 7:02 pace, HR 153 - 19 Jun
- 6.1 miles, 49:56, 8:11 pace, HR 142
Good luck and have fun this weekend. I'm really looking forward to reading your race report. All the best!
ReplyDeleteYes, all the best!
ReplyDeleteI hope you know what you're doing Thomas!! ;)
I'm looking forward to this match-up. Have already put $20 with Centrebet on you-know-who for the victory.
ReplyDeleteYou could always let his tyres down, slip the chain off and tie his shoelaces together ;)