Training up to Tri Athy

It's been a couple of Weeks since I've posted my training plan, I've been busy doing the actual training! I've also had Two races in the last Two Weeks, Valentia Island and the Fingal 3D Tri. Both of these went really well for me and I have seen good improvements in my cycling which I was surprised by. Spurred on from my improvement I'm now prepping for Tri Athy on the 01st June. This is my first Olympic race of the season and I feel a bit under prepared due to a lack of longer distance training. Not much I can do now though, I just have to focus on getting to the start line in the best shape I can. That means stretching, good food and not over training between now and then. If I feel fatigued, I'll take a day off. Hers is what my training will look like.

Wednesday: Physical Therapy (Back and Legs) Swim, 45 minutes of drills. Stretching and rolling 30 mins.
Thursday: Swim, 2000m Steady. Run 5k easy, 5k Race Pace. Stretching 45 minutes.
Friday: Swim  12 x 50m sprint, 50m easy, 25 second rest.
Sat: Bike 3 hours Steady with hills. 45 minutes stretching and rolling.
Sunday: Run Speed work, Stretch,  Swim open water.
Monday: Swim 2500m sets. Stretch
Tuesday: Off / Light strecthing.
Wednesday: Light Brick 25 mins cycling with 3-4 30 second bursts, Run 15 minutes with 3-4 30 second bursts.
Thursday: Swim, 750m including 5 x 25m fast efforts. 30 mins Stretching.
Friday: Light Brick totalling 25-30 minutes with a few 10 second bursts.
Saturday: Race Day :-) Hopefully getting 100 National Series points.
Sunday: Well earned Pints and a rest. First half of my Season Complete :-)

Runways Phoenix Park Duathlon

On the first Wednesday of May, June, July and August the Phoenix Park Duathlon is ran. I took part in the first one in May and it was a great experience. It was also my first Duathlon. The weather was great so it made the evening really enjoyable. The course is largely flat (fast) for the run and the cycle is a bit hilly taking in the hills at the back of the Magazine Fort and St Marys hospital. Here are some pictures of the evening.



Paddy and myself talking pre race tactics!













And we're off, a 2.7k run to get warmed up! Some of the people here were really fast. I think I started a bit quick here as I thought I was about to blow up about 1k in. Luckily I came back from that by slowing up a bit.

Cycling by transition with the Dublin mountains in the background.  3 laps totaling 13k, I managed to push hard here and make up a few places I lost during the run.

 Out for the final 2.7k, feeling good but not for long, I got a bad stitch which slowed me up about halfway around.

The finish! Time to collect my result and a well earned drink!

The Duathlon was ran really well and I'll do another one, for anybody looking to do a Triathlon this is great experience for what a race feels like and helps you to judge and develop your pacing. Anyway, what else would you be doing on a Wednesday evening?

Valentia Island Triathlon (Duathlon)

My legs are on the way to recovery after Valentia last weekend. The race ended up being a 3k, 20k, 5k Duathlon. There was talk of the water being too cold or too choppy / windy or currents too strong etc, so the end the swim was cancelled. The race started in 5 waves of around 100, the conditions were windy and dry, the course mostly flat for the first 3k run. I managed to keep a good pace for this leg, 10:51 for 3k. Then I picked up my bike and begun the cycle. 4.5 k uphill into a good headwind meant I had a slow start to the course. A good few riders passed me on the ascent. Once at the top of the island we were exposed to the elements and a 5k flat / decent begun. This was quick and hairy as there were strong gusts blowing. My bike felt like a leaf in the wind. I picked off most of the riders that passed me earlier in this segment. There were a couple of tight turns to contend with on the far side of the island but nothing too bad. On the return part of the course we had a tail wind and I really hammered home here finishing the course in 33.02. Happy with that I started into the run, it was a difficult out and back course, 2.5 k uphill and then 2.5 back down. Around the 2.5 k mark I got a severe stitch which lasted until the end of the race so this slowed me up quite a bit. On returning to the village my friends were doing a great job of supporting, pint in hand of course. I managed to get over the line in 1:07:00 which I was delighted with. I was also happy that I could now go for food and to the pub. Good prep for next week in the N.A.C.

Eoghan ROONEY Race No : 50 Gender : Male Category : Ages 25 - 29 Status : Finished Club : Activ Multisport Run 1 00:10:51 Overall : 71 Gender : 66 Categ : 11 Cycle 00:33:02 Overall : 46 Gender : 42 Categ : 4 Run 2 00:20:52 Overall : 114 Gender : 102 Categ : 15 Finish Time 01:07:00 Overall : 68 / 455 Gender : 63 / 323 Categ : 7 / 36

Tapering for Valentia (Training Week 07/05/13)

I had a good week of training last week, I pushed myself hard and feel I am stronger for it. I completed my first Duathlon last Wednesday in the Phoenix Park too. It was a great experience and will definitely be doing it again. It's good to get the guys from the club out on a sunny evening midweek! The next one is on Wednesday the 5th of June so if I'm able after Tri Athy I'll be there. This Saturday I will be in Valentia for the sprint triathlon. I'm hoping to do a decent race as I have been putting in a good bit of effort. My training this week is pretty easy from Monday onwards. I'm hoping this constitutes a good taper but I'm not 100% sure, so any tips on pre race training / tapering are welcome.

Monday: Strength and conditioning 45minutes.
Swimming with Activ Multisport in N.A.C. Swim Sets 2000 m+

Tuesday: 60 mins stretching, conditioning and foam rolling.
Swim: Open water, 20 minutes. Include 4 x 30 stroke bursts.

Wednesday: Brick Session: 45 minutes. Bike: WU, 15 mins spinning easy gear. Main Set, 5 x 30 sec sprint with 3 minute recovery.  Run: 5 mins moderate pace, then, 4 x 30 second fast with 2 minute recovery. 5 minute warm down. 50 mins stretching, conditioning and foam rolling.

Thursday: Swim: WU, 200 moderate pace focusing on technique, Main set. 5 x 100 m fast with 2 minutes recovery. Warm down with 200m of drills.

Friday: Swim. Open water 10 minutes easy pace with 3 x 20 second fast bursts . Bike 10 minutes easy with 3 x 20 second fast bursts. Run 10 minutes with 3 x 20 second fast bursts.

Sat: Race time in Valentia!

Sun: Hangover

Triathlon Training for Week 29/04/13

After Two good weeks of endurance training I feel like I have built some strength and confidence. My body is tired though so I will be reducing the mileage. I also have a Duathlon race this Wednesday in the Phoenix Park so I want to be rested for that. I'm hoping the Duathlon is enjoyable and will help to sharpen up my race fitness before the coming Triathlon season. I'm doing a Tri in Valentia in 2 weeks, so after Wednesday I'll be doing some shorter faster work to help with my speed. That's the plan anyway.













Monday:
Swim: Sets with Activ Multisport, 2500m.
Stretching and foam rolling: 20 minutes.

Tuesday: 

Stretching and foam rolling: 1 hour.

Wednesday: 
Phoenix Park Duathlon

Stretching: 30 minutes.

Thursday: 

Swim: WU 4 x 50 focusing on high elbow and keeping head still. MS. 25 x 50m off 1.10. WD 200m easy focusing on Rotation and breathing.

Stretching. 40 minutes.

Friday:

Swim: 3 x 500m with snorkel, 3 mins rest. 1st 500 focus on kicking rythm. 2nd 500 on roataion and recovery. 3rd 500 on core engagement.

Bike: WU, 10k easy building to steady. MS, 4 hard efforts of: 1k uphill, 1k recovery, 4k mixed gradients, 1k recovery.

Stretching: 20 minutes.

Sat:
Bike: 2 hours steady.
Strength work: 20 minutes.
Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Sun: 
Run: WU, 3k easy. MS, 4 x hill repeats, 1k cool off, 4 x hill repeats. WD 2k easy.

Stretching: 40 minutes

Triathlon Training for this Week (15 April)

Strength and basic aerobic endurance are on my training schedule for the next two weeks. Most of my sessions are straight swims or cycles, no fancy trickery or drills. The pace is steady so as to keep my injury risk down. My goal is to go back to basics and build core strength and stamina through longer sessions. Week 2 will have longer sessions than week 1. I will bring back my speed work and drills once these two weeks are finished.















Monday:
Bike: 15 minute warm up. Hill Repeats, 8 x 800m climbs, fast up, recovery down. WD 10 mins easy gear.
Stretching and foam rolling: 25 minutes.
Swim: Sets with Activ Multisport, 2500m.

Tuesday: 

Swim: 2 sets of breathing every 3,5,7,9 strokes, 50m each. 2000m steady.
Run: 10k recovery pace.
Stretching and foam rolling: 25 minutes.

Wednesday: 
Brick, Cycle 70k steady. Run 2k.
Strength work 25 minutes.

Stretching: 25 minutes.

Thursday: 

Swim: 2000m steady,

Run 10k with hills steady pace.
Stretching. 40 minutes.

Friday:

Swimming: 1500m steady.

Strength work 25 minutes.

Stretching 15 minutes.

Sat:
Strength work 40 minutes.
Stretching and foam rolling 40 minutes.

Sun: 
Cycle 90k steady pace.

Stretching: 45 minutes

Triathlon Training (Week of 08/04/13)

It's been a busy week and I'm late posting my training plan. I had my first race of the season last weekend in Portlaoise. It went well and was good to blow the rust off my legs. I'm back to training with a bang now in preparation for Valentia on the 11th May. After this weeks training I'm hoping to do 2 weeks strength and distance work followed by 2 weeks focused on more speed and technique. Here is what i'm doing this week.














Monday:
Run: 3.5k recovery pace.
Stretching and foam rolling: 25 minutes.
Swim: Sets with Activ Multisport, 2000m +

Tuesday: 

Swim: 2 sets of breathing every 3,5,7,9 strokes, 50m each. 6 x 25msprint, 25m recovery, 25 second rest. 500m of easy drills, rotation and fingertip drag.

Bike: 15 minute warm up. 6 sets of, 1 min pedal with right leg, 1 min with both, 1 min with left leg, 1 min with both.

Wednesday: 
Run; 8k easy.
Swim: 3 sets of breathing every 3,5,7,9 strokes, 50m each. 5 x 50 msprint, 50m recovery, 50 second rest.

Stretching: 15 minutes.

Thursday: 

Swim: 1000m at medium pace, Include 5 x 25m sprints

Stretching. 20 minutes.
Cycle: 40k TT

Friday:

Swimming: WU, 500m with snorkel concentrating on good body rotation. MS 500m frontcrawl, fast. 3 x 100m sprints with 3 minutes rest. WD 200m with snorkel.

Run: 5k moderate pace, include 3 x 30 second pick ups.
Stretching and foam rolling, 40 minutes.

Sat: 

Brick: Cycle 70k, with as many hills as I can find. Run, 5 k moderate to fast.

Stretching: 45 minutes

Sun: 

Rest Day: Stretching 30 minutes.

Tri Laois (First race of the Season)

Last Saturday was a cold morning, it dropped as low as -5 on the drive to Portlaoise. I was setting up in transition and I notice jackets hanging on a lot of bikes because of the cold. I don't have one so I decided to leave the top half of my tri suit on the bike so at least it would be dry (warmer) after the swim.

Swim- The swim was in the Portlaoise leisure center. The pool and facilities were very good. I was in wave 7 so it meant I had time to catch up with club mates and get some hydration in. When my wave came, there were 7 swimmers in my lane, we put ourselves in speed order, fastest first, I started third. The swim pace was faster than I normally swim but I drafted well on the feet of the swimmer in front of me so I kept up without over straining.

Cycle- When I finished the swim and ran outside the sun was out so it wasn't too cold. My idea to leave my dry tri suit top on the bike didn't pay off as it stuck to me because I was wet. I ran from transition with what looked like a boob tube on, luckily a helpful official was nice enough to pull my top down before I set off. I felt good and pushed as hard as I could on the bike. I managed to keep up a decent average in spite of some rolling terrain and a rough road surface in parts. The cycle was a little long, my bike computer read 22.08 km from bike rack to bike rack. Only one person overtook me on the bike so I was happy with that.

Run- The run was lovely as the sun had come out to play, It was all on footpaths, with some road crossovers which slowed us up a little bit. My legs weren't as good off the bike as I would have liked but I managed to finish strong enough so I was happy overall.

All in all the race was good fun and challenging. There's nothing like a proper race to blow the rust off the legs and get the blood pumping. It has also given me some areas to work on for my next triathlon on Saturday 11th May in Valentia.

Runways Phoenix Park Duathlon Series

I'm going to do my first Duathlon in the Phoenix Park on May 01st. I was invited to take part a couple of weeks ago and I jumped at the chance as I'd been thinking about doing a Duathlon to aid my Tri training. The Phoenix  Park is where I do most of my training so it will be nice to do a race there. The distances aren't too daunting either with a 2.7k run, 13km cycle and 2.7k run. This is an ideal distance for testing my speed and as the race is part of a 3 race series I can see if I'm making any progress over the Summer. I'll let you all know how the race goes in a few weeks. It's still open for entry though  if anyone wants to join me.  http://www.dublintri.com/duathlon/tag/dublin-city-duathlon/

Triathlon Training (April 01st)

My first race of 2013 is this Saturday, Tri Laois. Thank God it's a pool swim. I'm hoping, really hoping that this cold weather goes away before then. A 20k cycle in a wet tri suit at 1 or 2 degrees is not good. The last few weeks of training were hard enough, I can feel my body getting tired. I can even feel a drop in power and energy so I reckon it's time to rest up a little. Today was the perfect start to my rest as I forgot my Monday swim session was on early because of the bank holiday, I missed it. Rest over! Not really, I will have less sessions this week and generally try to keep them good quality and short. Here is my week.











Monday:
Stretching and foam rolling: 50 minutes.

Tuesday: 

Run: 5k easy. Include 1k at race pace.

Stretching: 30 minutes.
Physical Therapist 45 minutes

Swim: 500m race pace. 20 minutes of drills, working on rotation, kicking and recovery.

Wednesday: 
Brick: Bike, WU 3k easy, MS 9k fast, Run 1k easy, 1k fast, 1k easy.

Stretching and foam rolling. 45 minutes.

Thursday: 

Swim: 500m at medium pace, Include 5 x 25m sprints

Stretching. 20 minutes.
Cycle 7k fast

Friday:

Swimming: 500m with snorkel.

Run: 3k moderate pace, include 3 x 30 second pick ups.
Stretching and foam rolling, 30 minutes.

Sat: 

Sprint Triathlon

Stretching: 45 minutes

Sun: 

Recovery run or swim. I'll see how I'm feeling!

This Week's Triathlon Training (March 25th)

After a week of ridiculously wet and cold weather I'm glad to say I got nearly all of my sessions done, the only one that got away was Saturday's brick session which had to cut short due to risk of frost bite! I'm also lucky enough to be off work for two weeks now so I'm ramping up my training, just a little. This week the focus is on building speed and staying not injured at the same time as I have a race on April 06th. That's why there is a big emphasis on Stretching. This is my last week of intense training before I taper off next week for the race. Any thoughts or comments welcome!

Monday: 

Run: 5k medium pace, 5k race pace.

Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: 

Cycle: WU 2k easy, MS 20k fast pace. WD 2k easy.

Stretching: 20 minutes.

Swim: 30 minutes of drills, working on rotation, kicking and recovery.

Wednesday: 
Run: 5k easy.

Stretching: 15 minutes.

Swim:1000m easy.

Thursday: 

Brick: Bike, WU 7k easy, MS 5 x 2k intervals with 3 minutes rest, 7k easy. Run 2k medium pace, 5x 200m intervals with 1 minute rest, WD 2k easy. 

Stretching and foam rolling. 40 minutes.

Friday: 

Swimming: WU 400m easy focusing on technique. MS, 8 x 200m fast pace with 90 seconds rest. WD, 200m easy.

Sat: 

Brick: Bike, WU 2k easy, MS 3 x 7k fast with 3 minutes active recovery, Run 6k easy. 

Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Sun: 

Run: Tri Club session, approx 1 hour of speed work sets.

Swim: 1000m recovery swim.

Stretching and foam rolling: 40 minutes.

Increasing your V02 Max

Your VO2 max (Volume, Oxygen, Maximum) is probably the best indicator of your aerobic fitness and increasing it will almost certainly make you a better athlete. So what is it? In short, it is the exercise intensity at which your body reaches it's maximum volume of oxygen consumption. Usually if you run 1500m to 3000m at race pace (the fastest pace you can sustain for the distance) or the equivalent in cycling or swimming you will be operating at your VO2 max. The greater your VO2 max level, the more oxygen you can get to your muscles, and the faster or longer you can swim, cycle or run. That's my understanding of it anyway.

So, how can we increase it? Consistent steady aerobic training is an effective way to increase your Vo2 max. However, once you have built a strong aerobic base, running long intervals (3- 5 minutes with 2-3 minutes rest) at a pace that forces your body to perform at it's VO2 max can be introduced. These intervals force your body to adapt and improve as a response to the stress of the training. That's the idea anyway.

Here are some workouts that I will be trying in my training. All sessions should take less than or about an hour to complete depending on your ability.

Running: WU, 2000m easy. MS, 6 x 1000m race pace interval with two minutes rest. WD, 1000m easy.

Swimming: WU 400m easy focusing on technique. MS, 8 x 200m fast pace with 90 seconds rest. WD, 100m easy.

Cycling: WU, 7k easy graduating to moderate pace. MS 6 x 2k fast pace with 2 minutes rest. WD 7k moderate graduating to easy pace.

Triathlon Training for This Week (March 18th)

Swim training and brick sessions are priority this week. I have a race coming up on April 06th so I want to put an extra bike and run session together to get the legs more used to running off the bike. I'm keeping the mileage low enough and separating the sessions by a couple of days to reduce the risk of getting injured. Sunday session is optional, based on how the body is after Saturday. Here is what the plan looks like. Any ideas or tips appreciated.

Monday: Swimming with Activ Multisport in the N.A.C. Swim Sets 2500 m+

Tuesday: Swim 2100m. WU, 300m easy, focus on nice easy strokes maintaining good technique and breathing. Main Set, 250m pull buoy, 200m kick, 150m pull buoy, 100m kick, 50 m pullbuoy, Repeat Twice. WD, Repeat WU.

Wednesday: Brick Session: WU, 5 minutes spinning easy gear. Main Set, Cycle 30k, Race Pace. Straight into 6 k run, relaxed to medium pace. 30 mins stretching and foam rolling.

Thursday: Swim 1500m Recovery pace.

Friday: Swim 2000 m. WU, 200 m easy. Main Set, 16 x 100 m fast with 30 seconds rest. WD, 200 m easy.

Sat: Repeat Wednesdays Training

Sun: Run 1 hour +. All on hilly trails. WU, 2 k easy. Main Set, 6 x 1000 m fast with 2 mins rest. WD 2 k comfortable. 20 mins stretching.