tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26394594668088665322015-06-03T14:11:12.849+01:00Féileacán MórOne man's adventure through life.Sean Conroynoreply@blogger.comBlogger68125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-67005004599623846242015-06-03T14:11:00.000+01:002015-06-03T14:11:12.863+01:00[Training Diary] The curse of exuberance...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g69pDBpfcqI/VW7fGjdybVI/AAAAAAAAmRU/-vOY9ZOAl2c/s1600/May%2B25th%2BActivity.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="91" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g69pDBpfcqI/VW7fGjdybVI/AAAAAAAAmRU/-vOY9ZOAl2c/s400/May%2B25th%2BActivity.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">W/C May 25th</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Solid start to the week last week. First week training after the #Coast2Coast adventures with <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/112513788855010388719" target="_blank">+Edel O'Reilly-Conroy</a>.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />I'm following the Experienced Marathon plan and working on incorporating that in and around cycling and strength training over the next 2 months as the #TriHarderAR team build towards meeting the Beast again in August.<br /><br /><u>Monday:</u><br />A good day which started with a great kayak session on the Craughwell / Dunkellin River with Edel.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kh0gHCK7YpU/VW7ftaJgh-I/AAAAAAAAmRc/HkbrgYSvGLU/s1600/May%2B25th%2BSession%2Banalysis%2B%2B%2BPolar%2BFlow.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kh0gHCK7YpU/VW7ftaJgh-I/AAAAAAAAmRc/HkbrgYSvGLU/s400/May%2B25th%2BSession%2Banalysis%2B%2B%2BPolar%2BFlow.png" width="400" /></a></div><br />13k or so and a nice chunk of the turlough explored.<br /><br />Managed to get out for a spin on the MTB with my young lad and then again in the evening for an hour by myself. I gave Mattress Hill a run and should have stopped at the successful 1st run.<br /><br />A tree got in the way for the second run.<br /><br /><u>Tuesday - Saturday:</u><br />Run sessions as per the <a href="https://amphkingwest.wordpress.com/2015/05/15/experienced-akwest-dublin-marathon-program-weeks-0-4-or-23-19/" target="_blank">Experienced Plan</a> though on Wednesday I did a double day as there was a run with <a href="https://amphkingwest.wordpress.com/2015/05/28/an-epic-running-triumph/" target="_blank">SauconyUK in the evening</a> which turned out to be a fairly lively tempo run for me.<br /><br />Do no harm! :)<br /><br /><br /><u>Sunday:</u><br />We were originally planning to go camping in Lough Key Forest Park on Saturday evening as we have to be in Cavan on Monday. We ended up deferring until Sunday morning for departure so as Edel did her 18k I packed the camping gear and prepped the van for departure.<br /><br />1st Procrastination was leaving my run until we got to Lough Key.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/9U20tZc4mE7w3xvUympgrJMt2-725612HMB_u52I1Wae=w1032-h582-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/9U20tZc4mE7w3xvUympgrJMt2-725612HMB_u52I1Wae=w1032-h582-no" width="400" /></a></div><br />By the time we got the tent pitched the kids wanted to explore a little so 2nd procrastination was to wait until we'd had dinner and put the kids down before I went exploring the trails.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/V_aS0oJBJzj8LPsAAVCcGtH6QdWam1CobcP3phxQqmJN=w556-h741-no" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/V_aS0oJBJzj8LPsAAVCcGtH6QdWam1CobcP3phxQqmJN=w556-h741-no" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeky monkeys!!</td></tr></tbody></table><br />3rd procrastination happened shortly after having a BBQ and settling the kids (VERY excited) in their 'bedroom' when the local neighbours started playing rockabilly and rebel songs. The only dry pitch was in the middle of a triangle of 3 caravans 20m apart and they insisted on shouting back and forth.<br /><br />That was the end of that and we all hunkered down to endure the off key singing and back and forth until well after curfew at 11pm.<br /><br />Sure I'll do 18 early in the morning before the kids awake.<br /><br />Yeah right!! 6am the birds started and the kids were awake.<br /><br />We decided to pack it up, quick breakfast and to loudly ringing rendition of "Let it Go! Let it GOOOO!!" we left at 8am for the trip to Cavan.<br /><br />Arriving home in Galway after driving in horrendous conditions I message Dave asking if I should squeeze in the session or skip. He said skip but not again! :)<br /><br />Phew!! :)<br /><br />All told, a busy enough week, reasonable amount of training, one missed session and a ton of driving; gotta be happy with that result.<br /><br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-75048085772633569992015-05-22T18:48:00.002+01:002015-05-22T18:48:28.938+01:00[Training Diary] Where to from here?Having just finished up with the #Coast2Coast Adventure last weekend it is time to revisit the diary and plan the space between now and the Beast of Ballyhoura in August. (You can read all the race reports on the <a href="http://www.triharderar.com/">#TriHarder</a> website and check out the video on my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwXyT2rXLg01L3gagT6ajRw">Youtube Channel</a>)<br /><br /> Training from here is going to be <strike>mostly</strike> <b>fully</b> focussed on the Beast and we have a couple of warmup events planned that the team will be tackling to zone ourselves in on the tasks ahead (check #TriHarder for details).<br /><br /> Here in my personal space my training is longer term aimed at Dublin Marathon and achieving the elusive 3:15 goal that I have chased the last 2 times at marathon distance. I have signed up to the follow the Experienced Marathon plan that my friend Dave has developed for our <a href="https://amphkingwest.wordpress.com/category/events-race-reports/dublin-marathon/">own running groups</a> you are more than welcome to join in, full information in the link to all the program levels.<br /><br /> I have taken this week off.<br /><br />Mostly I have been too tired to really get stuck into anything bar a 20minute swim on Tuesday. Straight back to work on Monday is not ideal but has to be done.<br /><br /> Thankfully following the Beast we are taking a week off to chill with the kids and maybe go camping for a few days. Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-71141486164478199082015-03-25T15:13:00.000+00:002015-03-25T15:13:03.669+00:00[Training Diary] #TurboTuesday - back on the bike with #TunneysTurbo<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BL6CrnuTMMc/VRLO9SL9s6I/AAAAAAAAjoA/xFRjPLGni0A/s1600/traphouse-tracy-turbo-tuesday-98.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BL6CrnuTMMc/VRLO9SL9s6I/AAAAAAAAjoA/xFRjPLGni0A/s1600/traphouse-tracy-turbo-tuesday-98.jpeg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br />First time on the turbo in a long time to give the new thread a go with #TunneysTurbo session. Badly needed kick in the a$$!!<br /><br />The session was quite straightforward ....on paper! Warm up, spin up/down and 5 x 4mins LTHR+10 / 2min easy - cool down.<br /><br />As I have yet to sort out an upgrade on my Power Pedals I am working off Lactate Threshold Heart Rate (LTHR) as a guide to the effort asked for by the session. Ideally this would be a power based workout using an accurately tested FTP +% as a metric for the workout.<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=343052&stc=1&d=1427286613" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=343052&stc=1&d=1427286613" height="141" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The session as it looks on the V800</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />With a doubt as to where exactly my LTHR is at the moment I just went off RPE and 'power' feedback from the Tacx Flow to guide efforts relatively.<br /><br />Knowing that the legs were tired following from the exertions of <a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2015/03/race-report-craughwell10.html" target="_blank">Craughwell 10</a> on Sunday, it was a matter of SIU and pushing through.<br /><br />1st rep might have been a tad on the safe side of effort but I lifted effort and used gearing for each of the other reps to keep the effort up there.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=343057&stc=1&d=1427287504" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=343057&stc=1&d=1427287504" height="212" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heart Rate graph - despite a fan and open doors the temp went up!</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Happy with the first outing back on the turbo in a long time. I'd forgotten how long it takes to set up, between laptops, tyres and finding my bike shoes! As well as 10 mins looking for an extension lead!!<br /><br />Looking forward to the next one! :)Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-77739687097912440322015-03-23T12:35:00.004+00:002015-03-23T12:35:56.599+00:00[RACE REPORT] - Craughwell10<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YgH00GdEku8/VQ_rmPw61oI/AAAAAAAAjlQ/gqEbph2seQ4/s1600/pablo%2B(13).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YgH00GdEku8/VQ_rmPw61oI/AAAAAAAAjlQ/gqEbph2seQ4/s1600/pablo%2B(13).png" height="200" width="400" /></a></div><br />You know when you set out to not do something but then end up doing it anyway? Well, that's what happened to me at the weekend.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Jawing with the guys a couple of weeks ago led me to entering the Craughwell 10 a race local to me which I have never raced (it's Edel's race - how we divy things up in our house - but she opted for Kinvara - my race) but always fancied a run out.<br /><br />So Maurice and myself ended up entering and very quickly got into a target time of 72 mins. Now, Maurice is lighter, training consistently, younger than this old boy, but I got stubbornness and 'belief'.<br /><br />Having been sick (on and off) I haven't been training and certainly not training specifically for a race I hadn't considered entering (goal is the <a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2015/02/going-coast-to-coast-in-ireland.html" target="_blank">Coast to Coast</a> followed by the Beast of Ballyhoura) With that in mid I went out during the week for a test run. With the knowledge that 4:30/km was required to finish 16k in sub 72 mins I wanted to see if the legs would remember to do that pace.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VLHXhUnwiNg/VQ_xYyUUXmI/AAAAAAAAjlk/KXLf70kyyBA/s1600/0315%2BShock%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bsystem%2B%2B%2BRun%2B%2B%2BStrava.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VLHXhUnwiNg/VQ_xYyUUXmI/AAAAAAAAjlk/KXLf70kyyBA/s1600/0315%2BShock%2Bto%2Bthe%2Bsystem%2B%2B%2BRun%2B%2B%2BStrava.png" height="376" width="400" /></a></div><br />They did. Just about and I suffered for days afterwards. Though I pulled on the trail shoes for a wee jaunt on Thursday morning to shake things out again.<br /><br />Anyway, we're here for Craughwell 10 mile!!<br /><br />Maurice popped up early on Sunday, the kids were busy making support signs and I was pottering around making coffee and figuring out what to wear.<br /><br />Plan was to ramble down to register around 12, get the numbers and warm up before the start at 1pm. Got the first bit done and headed back up to the line. I'd sort of run through the twists, turns and rises with Maurice on the way over.<br /><br />Now Maurice is well able to go but he offered to run with me and not embarass me in front of the family so we set off at a planned pace of 4:45 for the first couple of km and to then pick up to hit 4:£0 and finish strong.<br /><br />Once we started a couple of glances down at 4:02, 4:13, 4:05 and I reckoned the instant pace was off a bit. Maurice said something about ".....4:45...." and I went grand.<br /><br />2km in and I realised the splits were a bit fast and said so. Maurice then repeated that what he had said was " what happened to the <b>4:45</b> plan at the start?" I missed the important bits!! So dialling it down a little we sat in for the first 4 miles into the wind. We kinda found ourselves in a bit of no-man's land with groups ahead or behind.<br /><br />First water was at 3.3 miles and as I called out "water coming on the right" Maurice laughed that the pacing gig never leaves you. (Only thing I don't like about the water stations is that they are at the bottom of the steepish bits of the course)<br /><br />Around the bend up the drag and around the corner to be greeted by the cheering family & some friends.<br /><br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">Dads fan club out and ready for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/craughwell10?src=hash">#craughwell10</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/amphkingwest">@amphkingwest</a> <a href="http://t.co/o7OvPodgDZ">pic.twitter.com/o7OvPodgDZ</a><br />— Edel (@EdelConroy1) <a href="https://twitter.com/EdelConroy1/status/579625962851160066">March 22, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> Dropping the gillet and cap with the kids, Maurice proceeded to drop me. This was fine, while I enjoyed the company I really wanted him to have his own race cos I know he is in good shape. So off he went.<br /><br />Now at this stage coming down and up by Roveagh church we were hitting the meaty bit of the course where it stays relatively flat for a while and I would have a procession of neighbours to look good in front of!<br /><br />So with a smile and form that probably resembled an attacking zombie I passed: the 5 mile mark (35:57, Avg 4:28/km) Alan & Ger, Peter (a handy runner who lied saying I was looking well :) ) then onto Barry & gang who doled out the required dose of slagging. Turning the corner and heading for 'home' I breathed a sigh of relief and look for the next water station coming up when I see Timmy (another handy runner) and do the smile / form rictus thing again.<br /><br />Coming to the 6 mile mark my already tightened right hamstring (from get go) was joined by the left and doubts creep in. I kept pushing the "you're injured" thoughts away and focused on letting go of the tension.<br /><br />I wasn't exactly floating above the ground but I also knew my form was not too bad. I kept consciously relaxing my legs and letting them turn over from the hips. I was suffering but I was also starting to see gaps closing as I reeled a few people in slowly. A couple of new bodies passed me but I was focussed on the same backs that were there from the start. They were the only ones I was interested in finishing in front of.<br /><br />I knew from the feeling, the pace was choppy and with the road lumpy I knew the drags were taking it out of me. I was counting on a nippy last km and was trying to figure out at what point I needed to 'go'. This counting down in miles was wrecking my head!! :)<br /><br />As we cut across the bog road the wind came into our face again and with 3k to go I was thinking I need to stretch a bit. The hams were having none of it though so as we turned left to head to Craughwell there was 2k to go and a drag to negotiate (some 15m gain or so). A guy tipped by me and I went with him for a while. It took the mind off the climb back up by the start and as we came to within earshot of the commentary box it was time to let loose whatever was left in the tank.<br /><br />Last km 4:21 and a sprint for the line brought me under the gantry for 1:12:54 race time.<br /><br /><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/amphkingwest">@amphkingwest</a> sean couple pictures from C10 today <a href="http://t.co/EyvHAcodyf">pic.twitter.com/EyvHAcodyf</a><br />— Paul O'Connor (@oconnop3) <a href="https://twitter.com/oconnop3/status/579678869172686849">March 22, 2015</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script> Now for the technicality!! We messed up the pacing plan. Thinking in metric we went with a 4:30/km pace to break 72 mins for 16k.This I think I managed to do. However a 10mile race is 16<b>.1</b>km not 16km :)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5uAueSOtfs/VRAIfaFkIbI/AAAAAAAAjlw/y13hKf02k1k/s1600/03%2B22%2B2015%2BCraughwell%2B10mile%2B%2B%2BRun%2B%2B%2BStrava.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-E5uAueSOtfs/VRAIfaFkIbI/AAAAAAAAjlw/y13hKf02k1k/s1600/03%2B22%2B2015%2BCraughwell%2B10mile%2B%2B%2BRun%2B%2B%2BStrava.png" height="380" width="400" /></a></div><br />All that aside, I'm chuffed with my results from my 1st ever 10mile race and thanks to the family for all the support and Maurice for the company.<br /><br />Definitely, definitely, definitely back next year to break 72mins for 16.1km :D<br /><br />Thank-you Craughwell AC!!!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-58100185629054631062015-02-19T18:00:00.002+00:002015-02-19T18:00:25.237+00:00Going Coast to Coast in Ireland<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m2M9fIICYII/VOYice4LFcI/AAAAAAAAiio/KZW2TaYGx_A/s1600/Coast2Coast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-m2M9fIICYII/VOYice4LFcI/AAAAAAAAiio/KZW2TaYGx_A/s1600/Coast2Coast.jpg" height="155" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Time for me to step up to the plate and register for some other races in 2015.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">My wife has expressed interest in Adventure Racing so after a bit of discussion and looking around we settled on taking on the Non-Stop Coast to Coast Challenge from Co. Sligo to Co. Down in May for our own bit of team building exercise:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><b>16 – 17 MAY 2015 – ENNISCRONE, Co SLIGO – NEWCASTLE, Co DOWN</b><b>NON – STOP & 2 DAY MULTISPORT RACE ACROSS IRELAND</b>Ireland, an island steeped in history and mythology with scenery which rivals that of any other sights around the globe. For many years visitors have flown or sailed to Irish shores to take in these sights and to go home with great memories of this fantastic island. For one week in May many travelling will have their sights set on a truly iconic event – the 26 Extreme Coast to Coast Multisport Race Across Ireland.<br />Traversing Ireland in a west to east format the route of the 26 Extreme Coast to Coast will pass through unspoilt rural locations, through quaint villages and along one of the most famous waterways in Ireland – The Shannon – Erne Waterway. Whether you choose to race the NON-STOP version or the TWO DAY version you will follow a route which winds its way along 316km of the best cycling, paddling and running terrain Ireland has to offer. Competitors will be truly astounded at the scenery and challenge laid down before them in this fantastic event.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">We’re entered to do the Non-Stop version.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><blockquote class="tr_bq">Ireland – Coast to Coast – Saturday 16th to Sunday 17th May 2015<br />Course Option: Non-Stop<br />Team Type: Pair<br />Class: Mixed<br />Club: Team <a href="http://www.triharderar.com/">#TriHarder AR</a>Team Type Name: Gotta Run<br />Team Member 1: Sean Conroy<br />Team Member 2: Edel Conroy</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Apart from enjoying the experience and completing the main goal for us is to see how we get on together working as a different kind of team, without the kids around!! <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/></v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=":)" style='width:11.25pt;height:11.25pt;visibility:visible; mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Sean\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" o:title=")"/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt=":)" border="0" height="15" src="file:///C:\Users\Sean\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_2" width="15" /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">As most Adventure Racers will know there is a dynamic to the team and how it works together before and during a race. It is this dynamic that I think will be different because we are a couple and life partners too. I’m really looking forward to this as it opens a whole lot of new doors for us. What else could be better than finding out that both of you love Adventure Racing?!<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Imagine a whole new world opening up for holiday destinations!! <!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt=":)" style='width:11.25pt;height:11.25pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\Sean\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" o:title=")"/></v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><img alt=":)" border="0" height="15" src="file:///C:\Users\Sean\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1" width="15" /><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I've laid out my training diary and goals for each week, I'll post shortly with those. Be sure to follow <b><a href="http://www.triharderar.com/" target="_blank">Team #TriHarderAR </a></b>as the entire team continues to work on core training fitness towards this years bug goal race.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">–<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">See you out there!<o:p></o:p></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal">Sean<o:p></o:p></div>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-66685008895331093232014-12-05T19:36:00.001+00:002014-12-05T19:36:03.542+00:00When mañana arrives - you'd better be ready!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDl9R_sypjo/VIHzsfKGCKI/AAAAAAAAgLU/YpnrQOeqjfk/s1600/Trail%2BTuesday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lDl9R_sypjo/VIHzsfKGCKI/AAAAAAAAgLU/YpnrQOeqjfk/s1600/Trail%2BTuesday.jpg" height="133" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">#TrailTuesday - nightime trail runs</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: large;">I get so distracted that I forget to update this little thing of a blog that is supposed to keep my training honest.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">It's so easy to let it slip, slide away. Skipping a day leads so easily to a week or 4 of doing little or nothing.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">"Mañana, mañana" so easily becomes the refrain.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I'm <s>often</s> always motivated by what others are doing and it helps if I do something to motivate them to motivate me kinda like a Gerry Maguire senario :)</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">This is how #TrailTuesday, #AKWRunstreak and #Zero25k came about. By organising a group event I 'encourage' myself to not back down. I know I have to organise my Tuesday so I meet the group, I get my exercise. I know with Runstreak I have to help motivate others and by default motivate myself. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sVR_sA2CzGs/VHYUIziTCsI/AAAAAAAAAAA/TFuBQfpRcrQ/w1200-h300/event_theme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sVR_sA2CzGs/VHYUIziTCsI/AAAAAAAAAAA/TFuBQfpRcrQ/w1200-h300/event_theme.jpg" height="100" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Zero25k I get a great kick out of it. By encouraging others to begin I get to reaffirm the realisation of how fortunate I am that I run. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFM2Se_67UU/VIIH0pNbkhI/AAAAAAAAgLw/QCoYRPSltkY/s1600/First%2BStep.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cFM2Se_67UU/VIIH0pNbkhI/AAAAAAAAgLw/QCoYRPSltkY/s1600/First%2BStep.PNG" height="203" width="320" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I choose to run. How I motivate myself to run comes across as selfish but we all need different tricks to keep going sometimes.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">So for the past month I have been training away and now I am building my base mileage through to the New Year when the next generation of Zero25k runners will start and my next group challenge begins for the experienced runners.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Will you be ready for it?</span>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-43854141991929607242014-10-22T16:31:00.001+01:002015-05-29T11:37:55.988+01:00[Training Diary] Week in Review & Back to Ballyhoura<u><b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Week ending 19th October: </span></b></u><br /><br /><table class="stg_table tborder"><tbody><tr class="alt2"><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Date </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Run Distance </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Bike Distance </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Time </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Avg BPM </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> AvgPace/Km </span></u></td><td><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> KCal</span></u></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">13 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 9.5 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:49:38 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 147 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:05:13 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 787</span></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">14 Oct 2014 </span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 9.6 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:23:40 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 141 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 343 </span></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">14 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 11.82 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:57:59 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 156 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:04:54 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 1009</span></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 9.52 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:52:01 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 148 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:05:27 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 830</span></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">15 Oct 2014 </span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9.5 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:25:15 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 137 </span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">355</span></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">16 Oct 2014 </span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">9.73 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:27:29 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 137 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 387</span></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">16 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 11.63 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:59:56 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 156 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 00:05:08 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 1059</span></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">19 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 23.74 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 02:00:43 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">148 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1933</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><u></u></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Taking a look at the second half of the week the basic premise is I am wrecked.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />The kids, daughter mostly, have attrocious sleeping habits. It's like a merry-go-round in our house with everyone swapping beds. I'm normally a sound sleeper but when I'm woken in the night I don't go back easily and often end up reading for 2 or 3 hours.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />By Friday I had no intentions or will to cycle, let alone run into work. It's a long day too as open til 7:30pm.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />Saturday I was up early with the mind to do a 1.5 hour recovery run (as per plan) before work, out at 7 back for 8:30 shower etc. However the slightest hesitation had me bailing and chilling with the kids.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Sunday morning I was up at a godforsaken hour to drive myself and a friend to Ballyhoura!! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/wink.png" title="Wink" /></span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />In fairness Mrs AKW insisted that I head off with the crew for a few hours R&R. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Stopping in Limerick we collected Team #TriHarder captain <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/114940271562679642090" target="_blank">+Michael Casey O'Shea</a> who too was like a child getting let loose at the zoo! After a navigational error (surprise, surprise) brought on by someone playing with their new watch & not paying attention we eventually got to the trails with Eugene collecting a bike from <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/100628979769860744120" target="_blank">+Ballyhoura Trailriders</a> </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oy2eRPWub0A/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/Oy2eRPWub0A?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/v/Oy2eRPWub0A?version=3&f=user_uploads&c=google-webdrive-0&app=youtube_gdata" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />Meeting the rest of the Boards crew in the carpark a plan was quickly formulated to hit loops!</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pkx0EF8z2Io/VEfKGsIu24I/AAAAAAAAbxo/aFtWNwUFh7A/s1600/VIRB0068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pkx0EF8z2Io/VEfKGsIu24I/AAAAAAAAbxo/aFtWNwUFh7A/s1600/VIRB0068.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Not knowing the names of the different areas I've no idea what we did, though one area was introduced to us as having loads of steps and there was a rock garden somewhere else. The steps were fun as they were quite close requiring you to be on the ball or you'd get your ass kicked and over the bars you'd go. These led to a nice open area with bermy turns where you could get a good head of steam up once you found the rhythm.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_bpfZQ2dkE/VEfK-fsJ8wI/AAAAAAAAbxw/dnujURPwAE8/s1600/VIRB0070-MOTION.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_bpfZQ2dkE/VEfK-fsJ8wI/AAAAAAAAbxw/dnujURPwAE8/s1600/VIRB0070-MOTION.gif" width="320" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I did have one hairy moment with a spectacular 'off' that I had much to the enjoyment of Mike who was following my wheel. <br /><br />We were flying along the brown trail, I was really enjoying how comfortable I was handling the bike and going with the curves. There was a series of steps and I dropped nicely off each of them nailing the landing but one of them caught me adjusting my feet.<br /><br />Bike lifted off nicely, then I lifted off the bike, the legs went akimbo, I hit the apex of the arc and as body and bike sucumbed to the overpowering attraction of gravity in a long drawn out, slowmontion "NOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo!!!" I scrambled to get the feet back on the pedals.<br /><br />The advantage of being 71 (I'm not really, but it keeps the younger lads on their toes ;) ) is the accumulated wisdom of knowing that if the feet don't make the pedals, clutching the saddle with your inner thighs will dimminish the damage to the undercarriage.<br /><br />However I was yet to learn that it doesn't eliminate the injury. Ouch!! <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/eek.png" title="EEK!" /> <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/eek.png" title="EEK!" /><br /><br />I'm glad someone found it amusing though as Mike struggled to contain himself though later he very nearly had a bike implanted in his head as he stopped mid trail on a blind bend after a big jump and ended up fightening a stripe into the saddle of the CUBE Eugene was riding</span> :D<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">All in all we had a great morning outfollowed by the obligatory Selfie</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3DQXrVE5IA/VEfNpLDIgLI/AAAAAAAAbx8/c1a9IZQBMQE/s1600/2014-10-19%2B13.30.11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-t3DQXrVE5IA/VEfNpLDIgLI/AAAAAAAAbx8/c1a9IZQBMQE/s1600/2014-10-19%2B13.30.11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Here's my Polar V800 Relive playback:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/relive/31818709" width="560"></iframe>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-46197350779506398522014-10-15T14:51:00.002+01:002014-10-15T18:06:49.198+01:00Post Lactate Threshold testing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-38ul2Lct8AY/VD14TxivisI/AAAAAAAACHg/FZ42KkegGuI/s1600/Fitness%2BAnalytics%2BText.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-38ul2Lct8AY/VD14TxivisI/AAAAAAAACHg/FZ42KkegGuI/s1600/Fitness%2BAnalytics%2BText.jpg" height="77" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Last Thursday I was over with <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/111976501876672142719" target="_blank">+Matthew Bidwell</a> of Fitness Analytics in Claregalway to have my Lactate Threshold Tested. I planned a really long and complicated post explaining what the process was but with HR being so individual I decided to just summarise it and show what it means to my training.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ok, a little background first, originally I started running focused on pace, then after educating myself I quickly bought a HR (Polar RS200) and ran to zones. Not understanding what I was doing fully I got Lactate testing done in the Sports Lab at Trinity College Dublin 7/8 years ago and understood a bit more.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since then I've been in and out of training with kids, life etc and defaulted back to HR (without any major plan) for the past few years.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With what I felt was a nice base fitness through regular training I took on Galway 70.3 (twice) and a couple of other races at which I seemed to do better on endurance based training.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two years ago thanks to Fran's Plan I took a different approach to marathon training and realised I was probably limiting my progress through solo HR training. I found I was relatively fast for a fat, under trained aul fellow!!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, after an interview, where Matt drilled into PB's paces and how I generally felt when running we started the test.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3 minutes at steadily increasing paces with a 1 minute pause when Matt would pierce my finger and run a blood sample for determining Blood Lactate levels (mmols)</span><br /><br /><br /><style type="text/css">.nobrtable br { display: none } tr {text-align: center;} caption {caption-side:bottom;} </style> <br /><div class="nobrtable"><table border="2" bordercolor="#0033FF" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0"> <caption><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Treadmill Test Results</span></caption><tbody><tr><th><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Running Speed</span></th><th><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pace</span></th><th><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HR @ 1min Intervals</span></th><th><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Blood Lactate (mmols)</span></th></tr><tr><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Slow training pace</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(questionable training benefit)</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">05:30 min/km</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">126bpm</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.4</span></div></td></tr><tr><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Threshold zone pace</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">04:11 min/km</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">150bpm</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3.2</span></div></td></tr><tr></tr><tr><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tempo zone pace</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">03:55 min/km</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">160bpm</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4.5</span></div></td></tr><tr><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interval zone pace</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">03:36 min/km</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">166bpm</span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9.2</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My cadence was pretty spot on at 88 (176 per minute) so all-round very happy with the results.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So summary, the speed at which my blood lactate first rises substantially above the base line values is my Lactate Threshold and this was established at a heart rate of 163bpm.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1922406_1499145553667181_8140247964985038044_n.jpg?oh=b03ca180bd0149916b06b69868c94251&oe=54B9D15A" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://scontent-a-fra.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/1922406_1499145553667181_8140247964985038044_n.jpg?oh=b03ca180bd0149916b06b69868c94251&oe=54B9D15A" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flat out!! Not :)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So with the new information I took my stock HR values that were based on a combination of resting heart rate (RHR) and 220-age:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ISOEPF8sGX8/VD55bw3pz5I/AAAAAAAAbU8/--KpR-_Jet0/s1600/HR%2BZones%2Bdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ISOEPF8sGX8/VD55bw3pz5I/AAAAAAAAbU8/--KpR-_Jet0/s1600/HR%2BZones%2Bdefault.jpg" height="298" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And edited them on my Polar V800 to properly represent my test results, in essence I was training at levels too low to see any decent fitness gain: </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_n7moMTnT4Y/VD55egVPjaI/AAAAAAAAbVE/SAkOg-JHnL0/s1600/HR%2BZones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_n7moMTnT4Y/VD55egVPjaI/AAAAAAAAbVE/SAkOg-JHnL0/s1600/HR%2BZones.jpg" height="295" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Curiosity and a modicum of necessity led me back for re-testing to find that indeed I was training well but at a zone below the point at which it would become 'beneficial'.<br /><br />So, to answer the important question posed by Maurice. Now my run workouts are governed by HR (as I generally did) but governed through using the correct zones (now that I can personalise the zones on my V800 <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://b-static.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/wink.png" style="border-style: none; margin-top: -2px; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle;" title="Wink" /> ) Over time the pace will follow within those zones, pace should always be secondary IMO and I would advise the same ideal to anyone starting the run groups with me.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This week I've been smothered with a head cold / sinus thingy which always hits me with a change in the weather. Judging by my sleeping patterns taking Sudafed before bed is not a good idea.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning was the first morning my waking HR was below 60 (just) inspite of the threshold workout the evening before.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table class="stg_table tborder"><tbody><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Date </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Run Distance </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bike Distance </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Avg BPM </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">AvgPace/Km </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">KCal</span></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">13 Oct 2014 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9.5</span></div></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:49:38 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">147 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:05:13 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">787</span></div></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">14 Oct 2014 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9.6 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:23:40 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">141 </span></div></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">343 </span></div></td></tr><tr class="alt1"><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">14 Oct 2014 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11.82 </span></div></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:57:59 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">156 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:04:54 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1009</span></div></td></tr><tr class="alt2"><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15 Oct 2014 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9.52 </span></div></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:52:01 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">148 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:05:27 </span></div></td><td><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">830</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If ever you wondered about the effect of fatigue on training, simply compare my recovery run from last Saturday:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><table class="stg_table tborder"><tbody><tr class="alt2"><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">11 Oct 2014 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">9.74 </span></td><td></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:50:06 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">146 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">00:05:08 </span></td><td><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">785</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With Monday (+ 7 sec / km) and today (+19 sec / km) distance is exactly the same, same direction of hills etc and more-or-less same HR avg.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I was running focused on pace I would be piling fatigue on top of that. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So there you have it a quick(ish) update with a background on the Lactate Testing and progression from here.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0Galway, Ireland53.2705588 -9.056667699999934527.748524300000003 -50.365261699999934 78.792593300000007 32.251926300000065tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-49119326572890965862014-10-12T14:20:00.001+01:002014-10-12T14:20:25.048+01:00Finding your way in Orienteering<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10445982_1515465455361625_719395663868821634_n.jpg?oh=604957620606d07de54c9b7aa8d9e220&oe=54C1B8FC" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10445982_1515465455361625_719395663868821634_n.jpg?oh=604957620606d07de54c9b7aa8d9e220&oe=54C1B8FC" width="140" /></a></div>An event invite from Western Eagles Galway Orienteering popped up on my Facebook timeline a few weeks back and I added myself as a plan for a Sunday morning outing with the family.<br /><br />My son loves maps and is always drawing treasure maps which only he can follow so I pitched the idea to the family for a bit of fun outing.<br /><br />Edel has never done orienteering, its been 20+ years since I did any (outside of <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/115216116401689903432" target="_blank">+Beast of Ballyhoura Adventure Race</a> this year) and its great fun for the kids to go exploring in the woods.<br /><br />So off we went this morning to register at Merlin Park Woods in Galway. We were handed two maps and two control cards.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1O-6ofUI6vk/VDp8MmMbW6I/AAAAAAAAbSw/TFYPVEJ5LAw/s1600/20141012_110330.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1O-6ofUI6vk/VDp8MmMbW6I/AAAAAAAAbSw/TFYPVEJ5LAw/s1600/20141012_110330.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting the maps and outline instructions</td></tr></tbody></table>Ruaidhri had it all worked out that we would work as a team with him and daddy going one way and the girls going the other way.<br /><br />He's 4. <br /><br />Once I explained the map and what we would be doing he decided we could all go together. He was 'Chief Navigator', daddy was assistant, mummy was the controller in charge of dibbing in at the stations and Rachel was scout, who took instruction on directions and found the control points.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oSg2AdMo10/VDp8MsBPcjI/AAAAAAAAbSw/PmjV7xNIR-g/s1600/20141012_111833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oSg2AdMo10/VDp8MsBPcjI/AAAAAAAAbSw/PmjV7xNIR-g/s1600/20141012_111833.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chief navigaor pointing out the way.</td></tr></tbody></table>All sorted and off we went. The course was mapped out nicely and the first control points were easy to pick out. Once we were into the woods we had options of following trails or cutting through the woods.<br /><br />We had to make team decision on what route to choose and at one point after explaining that (1). we could go through the woods but if we got stuck we'd have to turn back and go around or (2). we could stick to the main path and make good progress.<br /><br />The scout decided to stick to the path.<br /> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oSVxSg2ICxM/VDp8MovdHdI/AAAAAAAAbSw/D_-ETtu70LM/s1600/20141012_112601.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oSVxSg2ICxM/VDp8MovdHdI/AAAAAAAAbSw/D_-ETtu70LM/s1600/20141012_112601.jpg" height="180" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun in the sun.</td></tr></tbody></table>There was one sticky situation towards the end where we pushed through a trail in the woods to find we were heading away from our goal. Doubling back along the fence line we found a gap and with a quick one, two the kids were fired over and we followed off to CP8.<br /><br />From here it was a short trot back towards CP9 and a circum-navigation of a fenced area back to the starting point were scout ensured that the team was together (good practise for #AdventureRacing) before dibbing in and handing back the control cards.<br /><br />All in all a great morning adventure and the best thing is there will be another event in 2 weeks time in Renville Park.<br /><br />Keep an eye on the Western Eagles <a href="http://westerneaglesgalwayorienteers.org/" target="_blank">blog</a> or Facebook page for more details. If you are are looking for a fun way to get fit and involve the family, orienteering is a great option.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/analysis/30784927" width="560"></iframe>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-35898468171014079432014-10-03T14:15:00.000+01:002014-10-03T14:15:25.176+01:00[10km Focus] - Week 1: The plan so far...The plan so far has been of the 'wing it' variety. It is also likely to remain so for the next few weeks too.<br /><br />I'm working on base mileage and introducing speed work as I go with increasing focus on longer and longer tempo sessions at slightly faster than race pace but the lynchpin of the training, I believe, will be based on interval sessions of 200m and 400m repeated over and over and over bringing these down to 47 & 95 seconds respectively.<br /><br />So far this week has looked like this:<br /><br /><style type="text/css"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--></style><br /><table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" dir="ltr" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: 1px solid #ccc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; table-layout: fixed;"><colgroup><col width="27"></col><col width="84"></col><col width="56"></col><col width="66"></col><col width="63"></col><col width="61"></col><col width="58"></col><col width="63"></col><col width="47"></col><col width="60"></col><col width="53"></col><col width="57"></col><col width="70"></col></colgroup><tbody><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">40</td><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">29 Sep 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">9.5</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">00:50:07</td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">146</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">00:05:16</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">782</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">40</td><td style="font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">29 Sep 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">9.5</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">00:49:00</td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">150</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">00:05:09</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">802</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">40</td><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">30 Sep 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">9.5</td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">00:19:54</td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">134</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">267</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">40</td><td style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">30 Sep 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">9.53</td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">00:20:26</td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">132</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">266</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">40</td><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">1 Oct 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">9.47</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">00:47:26</td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">148</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; color: black; direction: null; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">00:05:00</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">757</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">40</td><td style="color: black; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">2 Oct 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">9.5</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;">00:49:34</td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: bottom;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">141</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; color: black; direction: null; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">00:05:13</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-size: 90.0%; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; vertical-align: bottom;">723</td></tr><tr style="height: 17px;"><td style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">40</td><td style="background-color: white; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">2 Oct 2014</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">9.46</td><td style="background-color: #93c47d; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">00:49:56</td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #6fa8dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #f1c232; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ea9999; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;"><br /></td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">143</td><td style="background-color: #4a86e8; color: black; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">00:05:16</td><td style="background-color: #ead1dc; font-family: arial,sans,sans-serif; font-size: 90.0%; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px 3px 0px 3px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: bottom; vertical-align: bottom; white-space: normal;">745</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Green is running (km and time), Orange is bike (km and time). In Pink is Average Heart Rate, Pace (running) and Calories, I'll keep this format going forward, oh and blue is swimming! (Once upon a time!!)<br /><br />Wednesday evening (1st Oct) was the interval session:<br /><ul><li>Warmup - 3km</li><li>8 x </li><ul><li>200m in 55secs</li><li>200m recovery</li></ul></ul><ul><li>Cooldown - 3km </li></ul>Happy enough that I brought the 200's in around 47-48seconds each. <br /><br />Another double run Saturday and possibly a longer steady pace run on Sunday should have a decent block of running to start this program with.Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-54657085826741551402014-09-29T11:55:00.000+01:002014-12-19T19:46:31.663+00:00[RANT] Country roads take me home (& to work)...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MK11oM0lL0o/VCk2ORq2R6I/AAAAAAAAa9o/R6SNkWa-4u4/s1600/Country%2BRoads.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MK11oM0lL0o/VCk2ORq2R6I/AAAAAAAAa9o/R6SNkWa-4u4/s1600/Country%2BRoads.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>My commute, daily, in and out is mostly along country roads.<br /><br />Quiet country roads.<br /><br />At least, that is, until there are roadworks on the main roads.<br /><br />Then every divil in the County uses <i>my</i> road as a bolt hole, an escape route, a rat run.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Of course the divertees (unofficial as no diversion in place) are naturally impatient people.<br /><br />I mean they aren't happy to wait in the traffic light queues like everyone else. No siree, patient they are not, they are determined that an addiitonal 8k loop onto their journey is not going to cause them any grief.<br /><br />Especially not if they can make up time by racing down backroads where the posted speed limit is 50km/h.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">They're not limits, they're target!! And in my line we exceed targets regularly!!</blockquote>I can hear you coming on the road. Your tyres rumbling, your engines revving as in convoy you play a game of follow the leader, kiss my bumper.<br /><br />The worst ones are those 2nd & 3rd in line. You spotted the turnoff but are frustrated that the driver in front of you had the same idea and went first. In fact I can just see you edging out of the line of traffic, maybe thinking how soon can I break the line and jump the queue?<br /><br />Anyway there you are, blind following the blind. And here I am running along the side of the same road my taxes are paying for, a road user, just like you.<br /><br />Except for one thing.<br /><br />I am using the road with due care and consideration for other road users.<br /><br />You see, I hear you coming, even with my music on. And knowing that you are coming around the next corner clipping the apex as you look for more speed, I step out.<br /><br />Yes, that is right, you read it.<br /><br />I step out.<br /><br />I widen my verge. Instead of running 30cm from the edge of the road I am now 80..90..100cm from the edge of the road.<br /><br />You see when you come flying around the corner (I know you are coming) the wider I make the bend the earlier you will see me and the more chance I have of stepping out of your way, into the space that I have created.<br /><br />Oh don't worry about the oncoming traffic, they see me too <u>and</u> I'm already aware of the road behind me, out of your line of sight so I'm not putting either of us in peril. Well, not me anyway.<br /><br />Though judging by the startled look on your face which quickly flares as anger directed at me as you believe it is my fault that you were speeding, my fault that you have no anticiption of the road ahead, my fault that you had to brake for an 'unexpected' obstacle.<br /><br />Get stuffed!!! <br /><br />Direct that anger at yourself. It could have been a tractor or a herd of cattle around that bend. Clean that out of your seat. <br /><br />Another few weeks and the roads will be mine again, all mine!! Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-60002172443013287002014-09-28T13:25:00.000+01:002014-09-28T13:25:56.853+01:00Going for goal - Sub40 10kIn the absence of an Autumn marathon goal - it was to be <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/109800609868101112860" target="_blank">+TCS Amsterdam Marathon</a> - due to circumstances this year these plans were shelved early and I've been drifting along with no structure or training format.<br /><br />Things have changed recently which means I can be a little more structured in my approach to work and exercise so I have decided to train towards a sub 40 minute 10k in November.<br /><br />The <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/104645439364056686963" target="_blank">+Amphibian King West - Galway</a> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1473353249604154/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Clarinbridge 10k</a> will be a bit ambitious, with just 7 weeks to go, but I need a target. Aiming for Fields of Athenry while suiting most training plans is not imminent enough to motivate me.<br /><br />Doing proper speedwork is going to be new to me, I've never really tackled it properly in the past. I at least have an advantage of having the course literally on my doorstep so come 7 weeks I will know every single step and stone on that course.<br /><br />Here we go....Week 1 awaits!!<br /><br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-56327274521325327972014-09-17T16:53:00.006+01:002014-09-17T17:26:36.765+01:00Creating workouts on Polar FlowTinkering around a bit with @PolarGlobal Flow website at the moment (it's still in Beta) trying to be creative with a few workouts and set up a Training Diary again.<br /><br />Unfortunately it is no ProTrainer5 software nor is it like the setup on PolarPersonalTrainer.com where phase limited but advanced workouts could be created. Hopefully this will change when the next firmaware update on the #V800 includes cycling metrics like power and cadence.<br /><br />For now I am working with time based phases with Heart Rate limits to bring my turbo sessions back on stream. Anything is better than nothing at the moment and if I give the bike a good 45 mins this evening sure it can do me no harm.<br /><br />Can it?<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/target/442711" width="560"></iframe>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-1729026617174583222014-09-08T09:43:00.002+01:002014-09-12T10:03:13.599+01:00[RACE REPORT] Not Fit to #AchillROAR<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yk7m3PWPMTE/VAxqOlq76EI/AAAAAAAAaME/XWu9iCebDFs/s1600/Achill%2BROAR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Yk7m3PWPMTE/VAxqOlq76EI/AAAAAAAAaME/XWu9iCebDFs/s1600/Achill%2BROAR.jpg" height="78" width="400" /></a></div>From time to time -as a result of sponsorship arrangements - I get invited to partake in events and #AchillROAR was one of these events which I have a new interest in on account of my exploits in adventure racing this year.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />To be honest these events never featured on my radar as I was always wary of 'doing myself a mischief' and being unable to work as a result. Hobbling around on crutches is not a good look in a running store!!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aKmBaPTbhKI/VAxuXaRNtfI/AAAAAAAAaMs/E_w-vZrtAdg/s1600/20140905_194931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aKmBaPTbhKI/VAxuXaRNtfI/AAAAAAAAaMs/E_w-vZrtAdg/s1600/20140905_194931.jpg" height="255" width="320" /></a>I was heading to Achill on Friday afternoon to be at the registration with a table full of wares, trail shoes, gels, bags, socks etc. and racing was not really part of my plan.<br /><br />However with #TriHarder teammate <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/114940271562679642090" target="_blank">+Michael Casey O'Shea</a> making the trip down and some clever 'cadjoling' from race director Paul Mahon who featured us in the <a href="http://www.roar.ie/userfiles/Achill_ROAR_2014_Formguide.pdf" target="_blank">Form Guide</a> (I trust in jest) and registered me for the 'Expert' I decided to give it a go.<br /><br /><br />I hope Paul is not a betting man, cos he didn't read my form very well!! :D<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Others looking to make a break into the top 6 include likely vet winner Des Kennedy, Michael Reilly, Mike Casey O Shea and Lonan O Farrell whilst other top 10 contenders include 2013 Expert Series winner Chris Caulfield, Sean Conroy, John Joe Rodgers, Paul Tierney and Nick O Donoghue.</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-04zUCBrcEbY/VAxZPOOynTI/AAAAAAAAaL0/Mi35eyDK_DU/s1600/20140905_181928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-04zUCBrcEbY/VAxZPOOynTI/AAAAAAAAaL0/Mi35eyDK_DU/s1600/20140905_181928.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><br />Having rested on my laurels for the past month, training wise, since the Beast there was no way I would be competitive and Mike was of the same mind to relax and enjoy the event. So we decided to bale into a kayak together and run the race as a team training exercise.<br /><br />(Un)fortunately 'Mike' and 'being uncompetitive' do not belong in the same sentence as you can see from the the Start line he was positioned right at the front and was off with the hooter. So immediately the doors were being blown open.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xestXWLp5tg/VAxu_iGOxQI/AAAAAAAAaM0/tODCOVooXto/s1600/Start%2B-%2BJake%2BScott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xestXWLp5tg/VAxu_iGOxQI/AAAAAAAAaM0/tODCOVooXto/s1600/Start%2B-%2BJake%2BScott.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Start line photo - Jake Scott (Acill ROAR Facebook Group)</td></tr></tbody></table>We had a shortish, flat run out of the gate, around onto the dunes and a dash across the sheep land to the lake. Grabbing a PFD we were quick into a boat and onto the water. I sat up front as Mike is the water technician and we stroked away from the bank. The water is exceptionally shallow and I kept hitting the bottom with the paddle but modifying my stroke I started to set the rhythm.<br /><br />We rounded the first buoy with a load of kayaks stretched out in front of us but as Mike noticed we were only the third double on the water, the rest were all behind us.<br /><br />The water was deeper here and very soon the paddles began to sing. A really nice rhythm with a solid tempo into a slight headwind and we reeled in the 2nd boat and set sights on the 1st. It's funny, how - while a novice kayaker myself - I can pick out flaws in other boats. The guys in front of us were out of sync and were cutting back and forth. Mentally I tasked us to stay steady, rhythmical and to not lose ground.<br /><br />We hit the second turn 10m behind the 1st boat and settled in behind them. They were still drifting back and forth while we kept a steady line. Arm were tiring but this is nothing, a 2k kayak, SIU Sean!! kept stroking abeit slower tempo, but kept it up and hit the bank at the same time as the other guys. We were up, vests off and running first though! Small victories!!!<br /><br />Kayak / Swim : 28.47 (incl 1800m run) <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-goR70ju3KiQ/VAx4emHI0PI/AAAAAAAAaNE/n_RMcxJvMmY/s1600/Kayak%2BStage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-goR70ju3KiQ/VAx4emHI0PI/AAAAAAAAaNE/n_RMcxJvMmY/s1600/Kayak%2BStage.jpg" height="91" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayak Stage</td></tr></tbody></table>Back to transition, dib in and out onto the run proper.<br /><br />Onto the beach and a loop around a giant <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/104645439364056686963" target="_blank">+Amphibian King West - Galway</a> flag and what looked like a run forever to the base of the climb.<br /><br />As we ran along the beach the sun came out and literally lit up the route from the base of the mountain to the trail.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abFutlPIa44/VAx5r0u00FI/AAAAAAAAaNM/eSUqh-bMaGU/s1600/Zombi%2Brun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-abFutlPIa44/VAx5r0u00FI/AAAAAAAAaNM/eSUqh-bMaGU/s1600/Zombi%2Brun.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photobombed by a Zombie - Jake Scott</td></tr></tbody></table>I felt like I was blowing a gasket even though our pace was only around the 5:10min km mark. Matches had been burned in the kayak.<br /><br />We turned the trail run into a minute on minute off going up and while being passed by a few we stayed steady right to the top. The views are stunning!! You are literally running up overlooking the Atlantic with a cliff on your right. As I said to Mike, make sure you fall in and not out or you could say bye bye forever.<br /><br />Hitting the 473m summit in 58:10 there is a rocky run across the spine where I was encouraged to use the extra kg to catch a few on the descent, ouch!! :)<br /><br />You are then directed down to the left over the heather beds and a steep descent back towards the marshal (<a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/117751660036286572502" target="_blank">+JuJu Jay</a> ) at the Sport turnaround point. On the way down I jokingly rolled down pretty much like a child would on a steep bank and a minute later Mike did the same thing only as I caught up to him I realised he wasn't messing and had gone over his ankle, again. Another bad sprain for Mike but in no time he had shaken it off and was leading the way back along the beach to T2.<br /><br />Run Total: 1:35:41 <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1tuDpYEzi3w/VAyAXwHPk_I/AAAAAAAAaNc/bL9ZX6StbmE/s1600/Hill%2Brun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1tuDpYEzi3w/VAyAXwHPk_I/AAAAAAAAaNc/bL9ZX6StbmE/s1600/Hill%2Brun.jpg" height="122" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Run Stage</td></tr></tbody></table>Into T2 helmets on, unracked the bike and through to the line for a flying mount. Probably the best executed part of our race right there!!<br /><br />The cycle course leads out from Keel beach and proceeds to drag up and roll down for the next 15km. We were to work together but between Mike's ankle suffering on the drags and my doors being long blown off we suffered through the next 2 hours of cycling. Normally we would be strong enough and had hoped this would be our better part of the race but lack of fitness, lack of food, and lack of control led to us racing from the start and burning out long before we should have. Both of us fought off cramping calves most of the way around and struggled in the lightest gears on the hill, really grinding our way up. There was little reprieve on the downhills as often the wind was in your face so pedalling was a must there too!<br /><br />Having said that, the cycle is through one of the most beautiful locations I have ever seen. For a lot of the route you are overlooking the cliffs and the Atlantic ocean. We had a fantastic day for it and the sea looked so calm whereas on another day it really would be the Wild Atlantic Way.<br /><br />Unfortunately I did not have the altitude enabled on my V800 so I have no record of the total climbing or descending. There was a fair bit and as of now my legs are still not forgiving me!! :)<br /><br />Bike Total: 2:01:36<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PJAFgWyx_s/VA1qFFw-4fI/AAAAAAAAaOs/tCqxb4WGl4Q/s1600/Cycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0PJAFgWyx_s/VA1qFFw-4fI/AAAAAAAAaOs/tCqxb4WGl4Q/s1600/Cycle.jpg" height="87" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycle Stage</td></tr></tbody></table>Back into Transition again, gingerly trotting into transition and racking the bike I turned to see the anxious face of Mike as we thought there was another run to do. He missed the marshal speaking to me so when he heard it was literally 20m to the line he was like a child at Christmas.<br /><br />We crossed the line together and dipped out at the same time. Job done. Not a good job, but done all the same and with a high 5 we swore to never again do any event off no training, it is not worth it at all.<br /><br />Total Race Time: 4:07:41<br /><br />A fantastic event, well run and organised, a great crew of marshals and other helpers. It was an awful pity we couldn't hang around for the party afterwards but I will definitely be back for 2015, fit and ready to give the event the respect it truly deserves.<br /><br />Polar Relive file below. <br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/relive/26114626" width="560"></iframe>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-32598206907706767592014-09-03T20:07:00.000+01:002014-09-03T20:07:00.348+01:00Seasonal Slump<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0wXgE8Xscg/U_xnzAZrZ6I/AAAAAAAAZQA/oMufGMPJEpU/s1600/Low-battery%2BKitty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0wXgE8Xscg/U_xnzAZrZ6I/AAAAAAAAZQA/oMufGMPJEpU/s1600/Low-battery%2BKitty.jpg" height="277" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Often at this stage of the year your body can go into a little bit of a slump. The weather is changing, the days are getting shorter, you're tired after a long summer with the kids under your feet, work has been hectic and you have been squeezing exercise into an ever decreasing time slot.<br /><br />You're bound to be tired. You are bound to be demotivated somewhat.<br /><br />But do you know what?<br /><br />Forgetting about the plan for one or two runs won't spoil your overall goals. Head out for something different, if you are road running go to a trail for a few runs to find the gra for it again.<br /><br />By taking the pressure off and changing the route you will be amazed at the difference it makes and how quickly you will find that running mojo again. Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-1605486143442031202014-08-28T13:38:00.000+01:002014-08-28T13:38:27.382+01:00[RACE REPORT] - Club Vitae Coast Road 5km<a href="http://www.runireland.com/sites/www.runireland.com/files/imagecache/preview/images/western_alzheimers_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.runireland.com/sites/www.runireland.com/files/imagecache/preview/images/western_alzheimers_logo.jpg" height="231" width="320" /></a><b>If you are in work there is Sound below which can be muted!</b><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />It's been a while since my last 5km...<br /><br />In fact it's been a while since I've done any speed work at all, having been consistently doing long endurance runs this year.<br /><br />Rocking up to the Club Vitae Coast Road 5km last night - this is the 2nd year - I was to be in with an opportunity to run an event rather than being a spectator. Last minute decisions and all that!!<br /><br />There was a good turnout, some 300 hardy souls fluttering around the Garda Station in Oranmore with some of the usual suspects off up the road warming up. Of course I warmed up chatting with everyone as we mixed around the starting area.<br /><br />A quick chat with <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/111976501876672142719" target="_blank">+Matthew Bidwell</a> who is providing a great service with his new business Fitness Analytics in Claregalway. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fitnessanalytics?fref=ts" target="_blank">Check it out!</a><br /><br />So back to the start line. Hugh had a few words to say, thanking everyone while reminding us all that this was a fundraiser for <a href="http://westernalzheimer.ie/" target="_blank">Western Alzheimers. </a>A quick 10, 9, 8 ....3, 2, 1 and we were off!! <br /><br />Lack of experience at this distance and lack of speed work and the extra poundage quickly showed as my best lap was my first! I went out faster than I should have, happy to be reeling people in gradually and hit the hill where I tell all my #Zero25k group to run evenly, punch with the hands and settle over the top.<br /><br />Of course the Coast Road route is not forgiving as over the top you tend to catch the wind to the turn at 2.5km (10:32) and then I was dragging my sorry ass back towards the finish. A couple of lads set in behind me for km 3-4 leaving me to do the work to the finish. I did manage to lift it a little, not a lot, but a little and finished over the line in 21:42 I think was the official time.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10443065_760087704030259_965398130989796734_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t31.0-8/10443065_760087704030259_965398130989796734_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Not too bad a result for the abysmal amount of work I put into preparation. :/<br /><br />Great organisation by Maree AC and well done to all who ran last night.<br /><br />My +Polar Flow #Relive and file are below if you are interested. <br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/relive/24711817?rel=0" width="560"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://flow.polar.com/training/analysis/24711817?rel=0" width="560"></iframe> Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0Oranmore, Co. Galway, Ireland53.2683 -8.919999999999959127.746265500000003 -50.228593999999958 78.7903345 32.38859400000004tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-13489495458471047522014-08-18T16:22:00.004+01:002014-08-28T13:44:53.617+01:00Episode I: The Lough Derg Beast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wrN2Q_fRMs4/U-4_EMzEGEI/AAAAAAAAX8o/-dE-ztgfOdg/s1600/20140801_093959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wrN2Q_fRMs4/U-4_EMzEGEI/AAAAAAAAX8o/-dE-ztgfOdg/s1600/20140801_093959.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pig on a spit seemed fitting breakfast in Oranmore</td></tr></tbody></table>Time to wrap this journey up. <br />Depending on how you look at this post it will be the beginning or the end of my 2014 Beast of Ballyhoura race report.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br />You can read these in any order but the story so far runs like this: <br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7n2pqouYJ0/U-44lzodLSI/AAAAAAAAX8g/fcKHQh8k5-A/s1600/20140801_182156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-C7n2pqouYJ0/U-44lzodLSI/AAAAAAAAX8g/fcKHQh8k5-A/s1600/20140801_182156.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/the-beast-bites.html" target="_blank">Episode IV: The Beast Bites Back</a><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-ii-protracted-beast.html" target="_blank">Episode II: The Protracted Beast</a><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-iii-beastly-river.html#more" target="_blank">Episode III: The Beastly River</a><br />Episode I: The Lough Derg Beast <br /><br /><br />There were no nerves waking up on Friday. I'd good sleep Wednesday & Thursday (in so far as relative to normal nights in our household). I had my gear organised, it was a simple matter of cooking up a bit of grub to get me through the weekend without chewing the arm off a team-mate. So there was going to be plenty of cous-cous reinforced with bacon, peppers and sweetcorn, <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/110508972075947256346" target="_blank">+jackoatbar</a> was to be my go-food for refuelling on the hoof along with 500g of rashers and some protein / carb drink. <br /><br />First though I had some work to do and was going to be busy in the Oranmore store until 1pm and then it was a mad dash home to finish the food prep and get on the road to race HQ in Castletownroche.<br /><br /><br />As usual there was a bit of teasing and joking on Twitter as our team captain Mike rang through a couple of times for updates on my ETA. It also appeared that Warren was out of range so we were hoping he wasn't going to repeat his getting lost on the way trick (him being chief navigator and all that) or sleeping in til Saturday!!<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nakxe5ivJrM/U-4_EN4LH4I/AAAAAAAAX8o/l_XoEKUcung/s1600/IMG_20140801_143230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nakxe5ivJrM/U-4_EN4LH4I/AAAAAAAAX8o/l_XoEKUcung/s1600/IMG_20140801_143230.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More cous cous than I can bear!!</td></tr></tbody></table> Loading up and hitting the road, Edel & the kids were off to Sligo for the weekend, I rattled down to Limerick and onto the Cork road. I quickly sussed a shortcut over the hills through Donerail rather than going through Mallow and arrived in Castletownroche just in time to miss the team photo and catch them all coming out of the race briefing!!<br /><br />After the initial greeting by a hyper-excited team captain babbling "You'll never guess where Stage 1 is!! Moylussa & UL & Tountinna!" we proceeded to set up the van as our Race HQ in Race HQ and sorting out the gear; bikes into boxes, food into bags and boxes, shoes, socks and first aid kits in waterproof bags got ourselves organised.<br /><br />Saying au revoir to the bikes and food we settled in for a strategy meeting.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fw1fiHbla28/U-5A4VNCU1I/AAAAAAAAX80/0jod45jggXk/s1600/VIRB0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fw1fiHbla28/U-5A4VNCU1I/AAAAAAAAX80/0jod45jggXk/s1600/VIRB0015.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All packed up and ready to go.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DskNi492Sx8/U-5A4TUvcAI/AAAAAAAAX80/unCyc7H0mQI/s1600/20140801_210055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DskNi492Sx8/U-5A4TUvcAI/AAAAAAAAX80/unCyc7H0mQI/s1600/20140801_210055.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A serious #selfie :)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table> It is amazing how quickly time moves when you are tipping away at bits and pieces, we were offered a lovely bit of chili con carne from the marshals kitchen (leftovers) which we devoured and very soon after we decided to sit in and relax, try get an hour shut eye before gathering ourselves to board the bus at 12am.<br /><br />Mike and I sat and were soon joined by Kate who couldn't sleep and in no time at all I was being slagged about missing my Twitter and saying goodbye to my phone, how would I last for 2 whole days?!?<br /><br />I quietened them down with some motivational music!! :)<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hjYBar0n83o" width="420"></iframe><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0mIy71QLMP8" width="420"></iframe> <br />We didn't sleep, snooze or slumber. Instead we chatted and met Ivan the Race Director, we waited patiently for the bugle blast at 11:50pm to leave and head for the bus. Catching decent seats on the bus, Kate & Warren napped while Mike and I looked at, and read control sheets (all new to me so learning curve = steep)<br /><br />Meandering through Cork and into Limerick was surreal. Looking back there was a convoy of vehicles making their way to the start at University of Limerick Activity Centre.<br /><br />All off board and nervously gathering in the lakeside gloom I snagged a photographer and asked him to take a team photo for us, which he did, just before teams were called forward for maps. Walking to the start area we discussed and decided to go with the plan for Mandatory points.<br /><br />Slightly over time we all started and there was a rush for the paths to the top of Moylussa. This was so familiar to us having been up here only a couple of weeks previously so we cut through the truck roads and very quickly got to M1 and then straight on up the fire road towards the peak. Knowing that there were a couple of long short cuts to the peak across the bog and then a sneaky turn onto a very rocky access lane we skipped the bogs and stealing a march around the bend jumped onto the access road whilst simultaneously 'going dark'. For a brief few seconds we hid our lights so the following team would miss the junction we took.<br /><br />Hey, it's a race!!<br /><br />We jogged on for a bit and headed straight for the peak. There is a 'pathway' to the top which is more of a trudge through a peat bog but I remembered the route we took off the top the last time and reversed that quickly using the embedded posts and railway sleepers as a marker. There were a lot of headlights bobbing around up here, yet we beelined right to the dibber, M2 done and dusted.<br /><br />The plan was not to hang around and we turned tail and dropped right off the summit.<br /><br />Next was M11 (we avoided all the Bonus points on top) which was tied halfway up a tree on a bank, down a dead end. I was arguing for a beeline from here to B8 which would get us nicely to B9 on the way to the Activity Centre. It would have been through a forest which would be tricky enough to navigate in daylight so we abandoned that idea and went around, jogging down the trails.<br /><br />We'd made great time to the bottom and as a team decided to set off to find B10 and as you can see we gave up searching just before we found it, we gave ourselves a time limit and stuck to it. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ccsqy5pSS54/U-5PcbTwv4I/AAAAAAAAX9E/vSyEBBB4daE/s1600/B10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ccsqy5pSS54/U-5PcbTwv4I/AAAAAAAAX9E/vSyEBBB4daE/s1600/B10.jpg" height="186" width="320" /></a></div><br />Section 1.1 Foot Orienteering - 4hrs 56 mins<br /><br />Unfortunately we'd overlooked M12 which was located on the point before we went straight to the swim start at M13 so we would get a penalty for missing the MCP. Mike, Warren and I stripped off and baled into the black water. Kate was the runner with the gear bags to the kayak point at M13.<br /><br />The water was chilly and as I pulled my first stroke I immediately regretted not bringing a pair of goggles. Even though it is fresh water I don't like swimming with my eyes closed and so quickly reverted to breast stroking my way across to the pontoon. Warren was as comfortable as I was and we made good company on the short 300m trip.<br /><br />Hauling our ass out of the water Mike & Kate were waiting with our gear. So a hand sluice to dry off the body and swiftly into dry clothing the decision to don the waterproof gear was a good one to help stop the body cooling by wind chill.<br /><br />Dibbing in at M13 we set off for the kayaks. We'd a bit of triathlon transition here as we all automatically pulled on our PFD's (life jackets) before touching the kayak. Obviously carry over from 'no helmet no touchy bike'. Stowing the bags we stuck to the previously agreed pairing and Mike launched Warren in his boat while I launched Kate in ours.<br /><br />Starting a trend, as Kate settled in her seat I went to get on board and whatever combination of the way we moved over went the boat spitting both of us onto the slip and into the water. Spluttering and gasping we boarded the boat properly and off we went. I didn't realise at the time, Kate bashed her knee and ripped her Ronhill pants so my belated apologies for that.<br /><br />You'll sit still the next time! :)<br /><br />Off we went. This was to be an experience as the sum total of kayaking experience was the 5km that we did on the training weekend. The plan was forget the bonus points and just go for the finish at M16.<br /><br />We paddled and paddled and paddled for what felt like a lifetime. There was an island that I was convinced was adrift as it just never got closer no matter how much we paddled. There was a cross wind that was throwing up a little swell that definitely made for a couple of squeaky bum moments as I thought we were going swimming.<br /><br />Observing several kayaks making a beeline for the eastern side of the lake I wondered what did they know that we didn't. In hindsight there was probably less swell and less wind closer to the shore but we still made good time regardless of the amount of snaking our kayak was doing. Technically I was doing something wrong with my paddling as we kept heading off line requiring an adjustment every few strokes to re-aim the boat at where we wanted to be.<br /><br />Rounding the headland after 8/10k we still had a fair whack to go but the wind was now coming behind us. We passed another team who were scrambling around a mini harbour. I thought looking for bonus points but possibly they were lost or looking a toilet. Paddling on we spotted the tower which was our landmark and caught another team just as we swung into the slipway.<br /><br />Mission accomplished!! We'd paddled the guts of 12 / 13km and had made good time pulling into Larkins Bar for a welcome cup of hot coffee and breakfast sandwich.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94UKV02wDVE/U_IXSJSYwTI/AAAAAAAAYCs/e1H_X0aHJwk/s1600/VIRB0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-94UKV02wDVE/U_IXSJSYwTI/AAAAAAAAYCs/e1H_X0aHJwk/s1600/VIRB0048.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />Section 1.3 Kayak - 3 hours 19mins.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-ii-protracted-beast.html" target="_blank">Reading in Sequence? Then go to Episode II: The Protracted Beast</a><br /><br />If you have followed the story thus far you will know that the assault on Moylussa and the Lough Derg paddle have been probably our best legs of the race this year. In all likelihood this is due to our familiarity with the area and freshness.<br /><br />As you discovered once fatigue and lack of judgement started to creep in our gameplan fell apart somewhat. If you are just after joining the journey, don't worry I have not spoiled it for you, you are now aware and possibly have an insight to what was happening as we made our future decisions in the event.<br /><br />In any event thank you for joining me, apologies for the length of the story but I feel it was necessary to gather my own experience of my first Adventure Race.<br /><br />Team #TriHarder definitely acquitted itself well by all accounts and you will definitely be seeing a whole lot more of them in the future though I expect my race reports to be somewhat edited in the future!! :)<br /><br />Bye for now.<br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-69337073260647421452014-08-12T05:58:00.002+01:002014-08-28T13:43:08.360+01:00Episode III: The Beastly River Ok, just to be clear, I'm writing this race report in reverse order or to be honest in order of decreasing pain and frustration. Like everyone who took part, I want to go out on a high with the Beast of Ballyhoura.<br /><br />Team #TriHarder <strike>were</strike> are an awesome team and I don't want to be taking away from the performance.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>You can read these in any order but the story so far runs like this: <br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/the-beast-bites.html" target="_blank">Episode IV: The Beast Bites Back</a><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-ii-protracted-beast.html" target="_blank">Episode II: The Protracted Beast</a><br />Episode III: The Beastly River<br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-i-lough-derg-beast.html" target="_blank">Episode I: The Lough Derg Beast</a><br /><br />Arriving into the village of Golden (M42) sometime around 5am on Sunday we literally dropped our bikes beside the boxes in transition and promptly scattered.<br /><br />Some went to the toilet, some went to sleep, some organised food, we just went our separate ways for a while. There was no real discussion about any of this, it just happened.<br /><br />It took us 10 mins of wandering around until we settled in a team area. With the food box at our feet, some warm tea and coffee to wash down Rocky Road biscuit and other 'pick-you-up' grub, we formulated a quick plan before Mike and I stretched out for 15 mins powernap, It wasn't really sleep as other teams were trotting around in close proximity to my head, but all too soon I was aware of Kate kicking my feet and telling me to get a move on.<br /><br />This section was to be a straight run down the river Suir to Cahir but we still had to pack the bikes away for the last leg and prepare the kayaks for the river.<br /><br />Kate and I tackled the kayaks, attaching and adjusting the backrests which we had bought. I found paddles that weren't cracked (it was a near miss as I discovered one of the paddles was broken just as we were setting off so I changed both to be safe) and we packed away the bikes making sure that everything that was needed for the trekking stage was safely in the bags rather than the boxes.<br /><br />Back inside to roust the guys out, they'd been rearranging packs, food box and generally sorting gear out.<br /><br />All in we spend almost 2 hours fluttering about with transition. In hindsight we could have eaten on the kayaks taking it turn about to rest, hell we could even have napped in rotation too. I'd like to see this sort of transition (where no mapping is required) to be heading south of 45 mins in future races.<br /><br />We made a call to wear the wetsuits on account of rumours that we would be traversing a few weirs. It was a good call as it turns out!<br /><br />Entering the river via the slipway across the road (we'd to hump the kayaks over the road) the two boys headed off with a slick launch. Kate and I were a little more cautious this time and I waited til she was sitting before launching and landing myself into the stern seat.<br /><br />First obstacle was navigating a bridge. The lads were ahead and straight away they ran aground on some shallow stuff around the base of the bridge supports. Kate and I are no expert kayakers by any stretch of the imagination but we very quickly got used to reading the flow of the river and spotting submerged rocks and reeds by the way the river flowed over them. We immediately adjusted course and shot through the nearside where flow was quickest and for the first time ever got a big lead on the guys!! :)<br /><br />We settled nicely into the flow of the river and realising it was very shallow in places we found a rhythm of speeding the boat up and then bum shuffling the boat over the shallow rocky places where they was no way around. This was quite funny to witness I would imagine as once we heard the faint rub of a rock under the boat, both of us would lean back and throw ourselves violently forward in the boat whilst simultaneously scooching our butts forward too adding momentum to the boat and scooting it over the obstacles.<br /><br />Unfortunately it also lead to more than one dunking at a weir too!!<br /><br />As we got the flow of the river and realised where best to paddle, generally in the middle, we would sight through the curves ahead cutting as straight a line through and around the meandering river as possible.<br /><br />It was a beautiful morning and we spent quite a bit of time 'oohing' and 'aahing' at the sight of the trees overhanging, the perspective from the river and generally enjoying the change of scenery for a while. After 2 hours we had enough though!!<br /><br />Chatting with the guys they seemed quite relaxed. Mike and I were to get the seats with beer holders and reclining backrests but somehow the order was mucked up!! Warren had his feet up, so all was good. <br /><br />I knew Kate's wrist was sore so seeing as how I was aided by the current I suggested that she rest up and that it was only at obstacles that her extra paddling power was really needed but I think she actually nodded off a couple of times and jumped back to attention & started paddling when she jolted awake!! :)<br /><br />A couple of inadvertent dunkings didn't help her ability to trust me at the 'wheel'. To be honest I'm going to shirk the blame for the several capsizing and suggest that it was all a team effort.<br /><br />Each one of the 5 (give or take) dunkings resulted from a weir traversing mostly.<br /><br />We'd pick our line. Speed up to the weir and bottom out. My teammate (not to name names) would get fierce excited at the idea of going 'WHEEEE!!!!' that she would immediately throw her weight forward (butt scooting) over the weir and thus lift the back end of the boat. My inability to straighten the boat in the current usually had us sliding sideways down the weir and flipping right over as soon as the nose of the boat dipped in.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/10275447_758463500862289_4664503179365840493_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/t31.0-8/10275447_758463500862289_4664503179365840493_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a weir - Photo from Sleepmonsters.com</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This was great fun the first and maybe the second time. But by 3 it was wearing thin. Our fourth over was a spectacular one. We cleared the weir nicely but over corrected the boat which spat us into the fast current along the side of the river which swung the boat sideways to the flow and right into an over hanging tree on the left bank. Grabbing overhead branches did nothing but accelerate our exit from the boat and as I was bungee corded into the well with my bag between my feet, Kate usually went swimming while I held onto the boat and righted it.<br /><br />As we headed into the 3rd hour of paddling we were getting tired. We were warm and dry, the sun was peaking out and we had the wetsuits on, but our feet were well and truly soaked, as were our gear bags and everything inside bar that which was in the drybag.<br /><br />Approaching the next weir we heard a shout from the bank where two marshals were waiting to give further instructions.<br /><br />This was a big drop off. The line to take was left of the big pile of branches and right of the little pile. Give it socks and go hard.<br /><br />The guys went first. Over they went and into the drink. We followed swiftly in their paths, and sure enough went for a big swim. The weir was high and the flow swift so finding my depth and righting the boat with heavy wet bags inside wasn't easy. Kate was off for a drift downstream hanging onto her paddle and had to be gathered by Mike & Warren. <br /><br />Back in the boat we were immediately faced with move overhanging trees and obstructions in a fast moving tight channel. Yep, over we went again :(<br /><br />The water was shallower so we got sorted and in again and fed up now, the fun was long over we just wanted out at this stage.<br /><br />We caught up with another team of four who were similarly having conversations with the trees on the river bank and bypassed them for a bit, though we essentially paddled along together for a while as one big group towards the final obstacle. (Well second final, we had to find the exit too!)<br /><br />Approaching the town of Cahir we saw a great bridge ahead with the Castle in the background.<br /><br />We also saw another bloody weir!! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aboutireland.ie/places/tipperary/images/cahir-0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.aboutireland.ie/places/tipperary/images/cahir-0.jpg" height="258" width="400" /></a></div><br />A canoeist was waiting at the top for us and his job was to point out the line for us. From our vantage point we could make out the top of a helmet below so we knew this was a big drop. Again the guys went first, over the top and they nailed it!<br /><br />We followed quickly but resignedly anticipating the usual. We hit the top of the weir, Kate did her butt scooting thing, I did my losing control thing, the boat slewed sideways and over we went, bobbing and weaving, rocking and rolling, jiddering and juddering. The nose of the boat dived in. Kate all but disappeared in front of me. The arse of the boat went skew-ways, we over corrected, and over corrected again and then we were out. We nailed it!!! We didn't flip!!! Talk about keeping the best to last!!<br /><br />This simple save, not getting dunked was like winning the Lotto. It is the little things that matter and with a happy heart we paddled on under the bridge and right past the slipway!<br /><br />There was no marshal so it was an easy miss. Mike spotted it on the left behind a downed tree so we paddled back up stream (30m of so) and we exited onto the slip after a quick scout to <br />verify the exit.<br /><br />We'd a big drag with the boats across the park from the slip to the Castle carpark where the marshals were waiting offering hot coffee and collecting gear.<br /><br />All told we'd spend a minimum of 3 hours on the river this morning.<br /><br />Checking the packs, our gear was saturated! Pulling off my shoes to remove the wetsuit I checked the insole and found that the river had filled the shoes with grit so clearing out what I could I made the decision to change shoes at this point. The dry <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/116871052528671481809" target="_blank">+Mizuno Running</a> Hyate served me admirably before so I'd no hesitation switching out my soaked PureGrit. (The issue I would later discover was gritty socks.)<br /><br />Packing away the wetsuits I gathered all the wet gear that the team was discarding and stuffed both the dry bag and the wetsuit bag with all the soaked items. It would save us from carrying it for the next few hours.<br /><br />Bidding adieu to the race crew we set off in the direction of the Galtees. It was a bit surreal walking through the town on Sunday mass-time with loads of tourists and pedestrians around we felt like we should be stopping for a '99 or something and admiring the Castle views.<br /><br />But not today. Off we went in search of the Galtee Foothills and the next stage of our adventure. First we had to get out of the town!!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/the-beast-bites.html" target="_blank">Episode IV: The Beast Bites Back</a> <br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-4003547257945804102014-08-10T15:43:00.002+01:002014-08-28T13:41:56.548+01:00Episode II: The Protracted Beast <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9llaYyHXlpc/U-dMmdFGSyI/AAAAAAAAXzg/6FmQfyzhepg/s1600/IMG_20140808_201350.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9llaYyHXlpc/U-dMmdFGSyI/AAAAAAAAXzg/6FmQfyzhepg/s1600/IMG_20140808_201350.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a>The hardest part of a race report is rationalising the emotions that you felt during the race with what is perceived to be normal after the race.<br /><br />It is very easy to let frustrations build up, especially in a long event and allow them cloud your judgement over what would be considered petty things in 'real-life'. Dealing effectively with these frustrations is one of the secrets to having a successful event team. If your team can 'get-over' the issues and move on without killing one another or bearing grudge then you have the makings of an awesome team regardless of the result.<br /><br />Team #TriHarder is one of those teams.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a>You can read these in any order but the story so far runs like this: <br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/the-beast-bites.html" target="_blank">Episode IV: The Beast Bites Back</a><br />Episode II: The Protracted Beast<br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-iii-beastly-river.html" target="_blank">Episode III: The Beastly River</a><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-i-lough-derg-beast.html" target="_blank">Episode I: The Lough Derg Beast </a><br /><br />The Second stage of The Ballyhoura Beast was one of these rollercoaster stages. It was destined to be our longest stage with time and stamina being leaked all over the roads and hills of Limerick and Tipperary.<br /><br />Long before we hit Cahir, I think our race was effectively run. We lost so much time in Section 2 that we were always going to be under pressure and looking to compromise our race plan. At the same time I am not going to be hard on us, we are rookies, we make rookie mistakes. Like the young buck we are guilty of a certain overexhuberance and cockiness probably resulting from a spectacular Section 1.<br /><br />Coming into Transition 1 we had our plan laid out. It was clear what each of us had to do. But first things first, get the breakfast buttys and coffee on board!!<br /><br />Mike & Warren were getting and marking up the maps with control points for Section 2 & 3. Every detail was painstakingly transferred to our blank OSI maps. All the Mandatory Control Points (MCP's or Mx) as well as the Bonus points (BCP's or Bx) were copied to our maps.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OhvmzJM5ITg/U-dRmt-xjNI/AAAAAAAAXzw/lep1TQgPZ5k/s1600/VIRB0042-MOTION.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OhvmzJM5ITg/U-dRmt-xjNI/AAAAAAAAXzw/lep1TQgPZ5k/s1600/VIRB0042-MOTION.gif" height="180" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>While the guys were doing this Kate & I assembled the bikes which had been packed into the boxes on Friday evening. Making sure each bike was back on its wheels, with helmet, spares and pumps attached a few quick cross checks with the guys to see if there was anything else they wanted from the bike boxes (spare shoes, clothing etc.) and then it was time to raid our food box to ensure we all had enough 'go-grub' for refuelling over the coming day.<br /><br />It was now time to mark our route from M-point to M-point in numerical order and see if we could plot easy routes to grab the odd B-point along the way. We were eating and drinking the whole time, I was observing some of the other teams in transition and making mental notes of how smoothly they were operating. Being of a triathlon background we seemed to be ages in transition but it was commented on by some of the marshals that we seemed to be one of the best organised of all the teams they had seen so far this morning!! (Up go the peacock feathers!!)<br /><br />2.5 hours later we were done and dusted heading out on the road on our bikes.<br /><br />We were on familiar ground here. We had trained in this region and knew the route up Tountinna and the Graves of the Leinster Men.<br /><br />Familiarity breeds contempt as they say, and this bit us hard later on.<br /><br />We nailed the first M point even though we sailed past and had to turn back, the turning back in itself threw a team off our tails as they turned back too and went up a side road. Eagle eyed nav, Warren, spotted the dibber on a style into a field. We made it look like a peestop and horsed the bikes and men over the style into the field in jig time while the other team scampered up the road.<br /><br />As we bi-hiked up over ditch and dyke we could hear the other team on the far side of the hedgerow on the road looking for the CP. We'd stolen a march!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HNR8wK75VT4/U-dWz1QUtrI/AAAAAAAAX0A/qwXIdE14S2E/s1600/VIRB0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HNR8wK75VT4/U-dWz1QUtrI/AAAAAAAAX0A/qwXIdE14S2E/s1600/VIRB0070.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />I'm not sure of our bearings as I don't have the maps, but I believe this is known as Millennium Hill and we had no option but to push the bikes ahead of us. We were looking for the next CP which was on an old ruined cross.<br /><br />This we found easily as there was only one ruined cross and the dipper was at the top of the ruin. A couple of teams were swarming up the base of the concrete structure and dealing with some vertigo issues. That's the CP at the top left hand side of the uppermost concrete structure. <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/l/t1.0-9/1525515_10152715714521454_5715349607898357243_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/l/t1.0-9/1525515_10152715714521454_5715349607898357243_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Beast photographer Valerie O'Sullivan</td></tr></tbody></table>The view from up here was awesome!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_yspnmKv3g/U-dYIdhTLAI/AAAAAAAAX0I/Q_nElu1u89w/s1600/VIRB0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-K_yspnmKv3g/U-dYIdhTLAI/AAAAAAAAX0I/Q_nElu1u89w/s1600/VIRB0065.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />Nailing the CP we realised we jumped another team and headed quickly off to rattle down before heading up the back of Tountinna to the next MCP at the second lake. Bouncing across the bog we all quickly dibbed in before hopping on again to go down our team favourite descent.<br /><br />Another team hesitated at the junction and we jumped ahead again, leading the way down. However, there was a twist!<br /><br />The trail was closed off after a km or so and we were routed across country. Ah ha, so this is where we were warned about the ticks! A little bit of biking across what was rough boggy land and we decided to hump the bikes again for a while. I was hiking ahead of Warren and tracking a stream we came across a piece of red and white tape which normally marks the CP's. We tried to make sense of it and pushed on. Suddenly there were no bike tracks on the ground and a shout from behind had us turned around.<br /><br />Mike & Kate had spotted that the tape was supposed to go across the path, not define it and that someone must have broken it in the night. We dropped down a bank to cross a stream and up the other side to start our descent down from M22 to get on the road for M23.<br /><br />For some reason we started to go wrong from here.<br /><br />Instead of a right turn to get straight to M23 we turned left and ended up a dead end chatting with a local lady who couldn't wrap her head around why we couldn't just cycle straight there rather than going around the way we were. Race rules meant we were very limited in the routes we were allowed take, avoiding main roads etc.<br /><br />Leaving the helpful lady we went left instead of right and arrived at the underpass motorway bridge where the M23 CP was to be located. Or so we thought. We spent the best part of 20 minutes scrambling up and down the side of the motorway bridge buttresses looking for a CP. We had been so confident that we were on the right route, we didn't cross check. This was our mistake.<br /><br />Referencing the railway line behind us we placed ourselves on the map, at the wrong bridge. Quickly plotting a route we got to where we were meant to be and the CP was exactly where it was meant to be.<br /><br />Our biggest error was not learning from this. mistake and letting go of our local knowledge.<br /><br />We had decided to go for a bonus point on Keeper Hill. This is a location for one of the Munster IMRA runs so I was curious about it too.<br /><br />Starting up the hill we almost right away were faced with a 'Road Closed' sign and red & white tape across the trail. Inexperience shows and rather than querying it right away we went the detour! This lead to more discussion, investigation and backtracking until I noticed it was a 'Coillte' sign for the road closure.<br /><br />These re-routings were in isolation relatively small, 20 mins here, 30 mins there. But at 20 km/hr we were racking up extra mileage that was unnecessary, burning calories that had to be replenished and nibbling away at morale constantly.<br /><br />Eventually on the right track, we picked our way up Keeper Hill to some amazing views over the Tipperary vales. We biked up to roughly 500m where the trail went steeply up and decided to hump it from there. The team grabbed some food and dropped their packs, I'd volunteered my pack for the tracker so was bound to carrying it with me at all times. A mist was settling in at this height and we were looking at clouds above so on went the <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108429727008924746490" target="_blank">+RonhillUK</a> Tempest pants and jackets and hiking we were off.<br /><br />The ground was very rough but we made good time, hitting the peak and dipping in at the summit trig-point just as the heavens opened up around us.<br /><br />We ran back down to the bikes. At some point in this, a combination of the weight of the pack, rough ground and slippery surface I hurt my left foot. No idea what or how it happened but a sudden sharp pain on the top of my foot told me something was not 100% anymore. My first thought was shoes tightly laced, but I'm wise to that so something else was wrong.<br /><br />Hitting the bikes we hosed it down the side of Keeper Hill. Mike and I have the benefit of being especially attractive to gravity so we literally flew down the hill. :)<br /><br />It took us something over 2 hours to get to the summit and less that 16 minutes to get back down again!!<br /><br />However the exhilaration was short lived as we aimed to pick up a total of 3 bonus points while in this region B26, B27 and B28 with a rough loop linking all three.<br /><br />We misread the map for B27, flew past the turn off and laid down rubber in the direction that we thought it was in. Realising our mistake we tried to reroute back, but misreading of the map lead us to retrace our route (the long way) and start from where we knew we went wrong. The rain was teeming down now and while we were snug and dry in the gear the weather tended to turn us introspective and quiet.<br /><br />Eventually finding the location a quick spot by myself of the dipper lying on the ground at an unmarked post had us wondering if someone was gaming the event and removing or tampering with markers. It was definitely one you would be looking for for a while.<br /><br />We abandoned the 3rd BCP as these were costing us far to much time to achieve. Move on. <br /><br />Next stop for us was a water based special task in the Clare Glens. Apparently the only class 5 rapids in Ireland and as far as we were concerned a well deserved, hard earned break off the bikes. We had been over 10 hours in the saddle at this stage.<br /><br />Section 2.1 Bike - 10hours 20 mins<br /><br />Pulling in, we were off the bikes and transitioning into our wetsuits (kindly provided by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/118057157379804001135" target="_blank">+ORCATRIATHLON</a> ) ready to launch ourselves over the rapids. We didn't chat much with the other teams, just glad to get out of wet clothing, hang it up for a while and jump in a river!!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1dqWh_9CbIs/U-dxlGwbGZI/AAAAAAAAX0Y/yYMvDRAy9A8/s1600/VIRB0072-SMILE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1dqWh_9CbIs/U-dxlGwbGZI/AAAAAAAAX0Y/yYMvDRAy9A8/s1600/VIRB0072-SMILE.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike looking quite happy with the idea of canyoneering.</td></tr></tbody></table>Free of the backpack we dibbed out and made our way to the Glens. We could see some teams leaving the bottom of the rapids and as we made our way to the starting area we met a team walking down towards us. They informed us that the river was being closed as rain was causing flash flooding.<br /><br />A quite team decision to go to the start anyway to get the official word meant that we were actually dibbed in at the task before being sent back without having any fun :(<br /><br />There was some confusion as we were the last team allowed to go up to the start but yet we lost a fair bit of time on the task while newly arriving teams were being sent on without stopping, changing or hiking to the task. These teams were being short timed by 2 hours and advised to be complete by 4pm on Sunday, rather than 6pm as a result. We argued that it was unfair for us to now lose 2 hours and face a penalty for missed task despite having turned out for it. Anyway, one for later!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10580134_10152716105066454_5693981407758398774_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="217" src="https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/t1.0-9/10580134_10152716105066454_5693981407758398774_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Beast of Ballyhoura Facebook - this is what we missed.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Easing back into the wet gear we were back on the bike for the next leg. We were about to have some fun with a river anyway.<br /><br />From the Clare Glens it was to be a straight run through the next Mandatory CP's. We made it look hard.<br /><br />Learning from our last episode with signage we ignored the next 'Road Closed' sign and ploughed on ahead. Even with signs like 'Bridge Out' we figured it can't be that bad really. And to be honest we were right. We even had a mini 'Killinascully' episode with some locals who advised us that our colleagues had just gone ahead of us and suggested to the neighbour (who was sending us back around again!!) that she should really go and watch as it was "something else to see!!"<br /><br />Rounding the bend, sure enough the road was closed and the bridge was out. Did it stop us? HELL NO!!! We'd enough backtracking done so no it was forward motion only! Time to hump the bikes again but this was easy, we now had a system. Mike goes ahead, jumps up, Warren passes a bike up and follows then Kate goes up and I pass the remaining bikes up to the willing hands. Onwards we fly!!<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvcCdx0d6ds/U-dxlOyVZ1I/AAAAAAAAX0Y/Za6nDwgC878/s1600/VIRB0080.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rvcCdx0d6ds/U-dxlOyVZ1I/AAAAAAAAX0Y/Za6nDwgC878/s1600/VIRB0080.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />Shortly after this we again made a mistake. Turning right instead of left we ended up facing a main road. Reversing our tracks again we bypassed the turn and did the same thing. If you look at the tracked route it makes sense. We came in from lop left and should have gone out top right but for some reason we added the loopy bit at the bottom. This cost us another hour ~20km of biking.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5JO1hh46Vvk/U-d6929daxI/AAAAAAAAX1A/lv_C3IrXuwA/s1600/FireShot+Screen+Capture+%23001+-+%27Beast+of+Ballyhoura+Adventure+Race%27+-+www_beastofballyhoura_com.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5JO1hh46Vvk/U-d6929daxI/AAAAAAAAX1A/lv_C3IrXuwA/s1600/FireShot+Screen+Capture+%23001+-+'Beast+of+Ballyhoura+Adventure+Race'+-+www_beastofballyhoura_com.png" height="232" width="400" /></a></div><br />All told by the time we reached the Special Task 2.4 at M34 we'd a heap of time on the bike to be faced with a shooting task which we couldn't do on account of the wetness hitting the guns. Looking at the photos most of the teams hit this task in daylight. We were up here on top of another summit in the middle of the night. It was after midnight!!<br /><br />Section 2.3 Bike - 6 hours 4 mins.<br /><br />Leaving the CP we took a wrong turn and very nearly dibbed into a Penalty CP before realising the mistake and backtracking to the correct trail.<br /><br />It was nasty up here. Cold, windswept, mucky, nasty wet sticky trails. we just wanted down off the hill. Again the gravity boys lead out the descent though this was more of a slide down in the dark and Mike showed us how not to do a stoppy. Out over the handlebars for a facefirst landing in a caressing bed of heather. We had to move fast or he'd be asleep!!<br /><br />Coming off the hill we bumped into what looked like three or four teams working together. To me they just looked lost and with one of the guys taking the hump with another and refusing to move on we just went around and carried on.<br /><br />When we realised that we were now being tracked we went 'dark' and switched off the red backlights. These were county lanes, barely blacktopped and it was the middle of the night. I wasn't worried about traffic, I didn't want to lead teams to CP's.<br /><br />I felt strong on the bike for the first time. I was leading the team and trying to encourage the guys to draft off my wheel. I remarked to Mike at one point that I had no idea what happened, what was making the legs go round, but let's make the most of it while it lasted. But now we see patience running out.<br /><br />While I thought I was doing good for everyone. I avoided looking round to see where the guys were as my lamp would affect their night vision but instead would call out names every few minutes like a mother hen clucking at her chicks. This in hindsight sounds condescending, not what I intended, and after a few solid km's I was roasted for powering off on the bike and dropping everyone. <br /><br />The main thing was we hit our night CP's, we got on the tail of a pro team at M41 and after I explained what I was trying to do on the bike made good time to the Transition Zone at M42.<br /><br />Dropping the bikes at the boxes we headed inside to the hall for a hot drink and some grub.<br /><br />Section 2.5 Bike - 4 hours 9 minutes<br /><br />There were a lot of errors made, over confidence, map reading, orienteering, even just finding ourselves was a problem from time to time. There were a lot of positives too. We held it together, we didn't get too disheartened, we didn't throw in the towel or start blaming each other, we're not about to do it now either.<br /><br />We are learning a hell of a lot through this journey. Some we will share, some we will hide away as future strategy gains ;)<br /><br />For now a little break, a hot drink and possibly a nap before hitting the water stages - <a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-iii-beastly-river.html" target="_blank">Episode III: The Beastly River</a><br /><br />Thanks for reading.<br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-64513813594740895292014-08-09T12:43:00.000+01:002014-08-28T13:40:18.625+01:00Episode IV: The Beast Bites BackI knew by the silence what was going through the heads of the rest of the team. It was a big decision. Not one taken lightly by me and with full consideration of what it would mean to Kate, Mike and Warren.<br /><br /><br />I was the compromise. I was the one stopping the team.<br /><a name='more'></a>You can read these in any order but the story so far runs like this: <br />Episode IV: The Beast Bites Back<br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-ii-protracted-beast.html" target="_blank">Episode II: The Protracted Beast</a><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-iii-beastly-river.html" target="_blank">Episode III: The Beastly River</a><br /><br />Mike was in pain too. Warren was on his 5th wind and flying, he'd found his groove again and was in the zone. Kate, well Kate, she just does. There is no stopping her. <br /><br />My feet were in bits. I know now what to do, I didn't then and this was one of the rookie mistakes that persisted in this TriHarder performace.<br /><br />I made the call. I'm not a quitter though. We'd gone through a rough night, it hadn't ruffled our feathers at all, we were shaking this challenge off, it wasn't easy, no way was it easy. But we were handling it well. You wouldn't think we were rookies (apart from the mistakes) who had only <a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/07/you-gotta-triharder.html" target="_blank">trained together once</a> as a team, we definitley have promise and potential as a team.<br /><br />Stepping out of the kayaks at M43 in Cahir we still had a long way to go.<br /><br />We'd a hike (minimum 25km) to and over the Galtee Mountains to collect a number of mandatory CP's before meeting up with our bikes again (M53) and routing back to Castetownroche via another couple of CP's (minimum 45km) including a land based special tasks at M54 & 59.<br /><br />Due to time pressures we decided to take the nearest M-point and then reroute across the foot of the Galtees to collect the bikes. It would mean penalties for missing the M-points but we wanted to finish in the time given. At this stage our plans and thinking had gone out the window. Our race plan was to complete the mandatory course inside the racetime, incurring no penalties.<br /><br />With the 'wobblies' thrown at us last night / yesterday we were well off track and shooting from the hip with decisions. We were also missing the detail on the control sheets when looking at routes.<br /><br />Our lead nav Warren spotted a great shortcut on a grey road which got us a jump on a team just ahead of us. Unfortunately my feet already sore, I suspected a stress issue on the left foot, but with blisters developing rapidly across the base of all my toes due to the coarse road surface, soaked feet (they'd been in and out of the water) had all puffed up and gotten that 'too long in the bath' effect.<br /><br />We ended up with a long hike which lead meandering across towards the general direction of M53 but I was steadily going backwards.<br /><br />I was the one who threw it out there. I knew that I was not going to be able to pick up the pace. Warren was chomping to run, Mike was grinning and bearing it, Kate was just Kate.<br /><br />When we got to Burncourt and realised it had taken 2 hours to trek 5km I asked Mike to call in for a pickup if possible. My thought process was that event though we are a team, the motivation to complete the course was overruling common sense. At this rate we would still be on the back roads of Cork at 10pm tonight, with all of us suffering like dogs. Yes, it's an adventure race, a journey, but not one to take unnecessary risks at.<br /><br />Call was placed, van was on route and we all sat down to take 5. It was like the air being let out of a balloon.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eVUtkOHSAxM/U-X_Sb9MskI/AAAAAAAAXjY/EDmasJXLupA/s1600/VIRB0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eVUtkOHSAxM/U-X_Sb9MskI/AAAAAAAAXjY/EDmasJXLupA/s1600/VIRB0086.JPG" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>The van brought us up to M53 where the guys decided to go on with the bikes. I was shifted into a car with Molly who garciously endured my gushing appreciation for the lift which probably sounded like a drunken monologue. It was either I talked or, fell asleep dribbling on her windows.<br /><br />We passed many teams on the road back to Castletownroche and my first thought were to do with the roads they were on. As it transpired when short coursed, you take the fastest route, not the planned route which we were set on doing. I was desperately hoping the others would realise this!!!<br /><br />Back at base, I showered, changed, examined my feet, which were in a mess alright, collected the gear, broke down the bike box, sorted the food box (way, way too much food with us!!) and waited for the crew to arrive.<br /><br />I felt humbled to be in the company of so many people who were accomplished racers and who had all so graciously welcomed the new kids on the block. They were free with advice, gave help and guidance where possible and there were tips a plenty being offered. I chatted with Eoin Keith in the finish area. I thanked him for sharing his self-experimentation with food, it inspired me to try something different, and it works for me. I thanked Ivan for such a wonderful event & promised to be back.<br /><br />I felt bad though. I was not a finisher. I DNF'd and as a result was responsible for the DNF or short coursing of our team. I hung around the van waiting and praying the guys were not stuck out there. Hoping that they had got the message about the quickest route home.<br /><br />Every time the trumpet sounded, I hobbled out to have a look at another team coming home. Eventually the trumpet sounded for Team #TriHarder and I was told to get in for the team photo. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mlsD2j18C7Y/U-YGuLbFlQI/AAAAAAAAXqc/6815DssUDzM/s1600/10479363_758686514173321_2745014487386686327_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mlsD2j18C7Y/U-YGuLbFlQI/AAAAAAAAXqc/6815DssUDzM/s1600/10479363_758686514173321_2745014487386686327_o.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><br />Now a week on and the feet are still sore. We've all been chatting and sharing our thoughts and experience over email, the lessons we learned, the mistakes that lead to those lessons, the plans for the future of Team #TriHarder.<br /><br />The funny thing about this Beast of Ballyhoura event is that it's not over for me, not by a long shot.<br /><br />If you bear with me I'm going to take you back to the startline and show you why.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/08/episode-ii-protracted-beast.html" target="_blank">Next Episode II - The Protracted Beast</a>Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-77541789019191308922014-07-31T12:07:00.001+01:002014-07-31T12:07:30.541+01:00Thank you @Orca_Triathlon for your Team #TriHarder support<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ulyE1DeWLL8/U9ojWs-_-2I/AAAAAAAAXPw/EzuvhddGSFI/s1600/Orca+logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ulyE1DeWLL8/U9ojWs-_-2I/AAAAAAAAXPw/EzuvhddGSFI/s1600/Orca+logo.jpg" height="116" width="320" /></a></div>One of the emails last week form the organisers of the +BeastofBallyhoura mentioned that wetsuits were advised for a portion of the event which will be water based:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Wetsuits</span></strong><br /> We'll transport your wetsuits to the start of the swim, to be honest we don't think you'll need to use them so it might be best to keep them in your teams dry bag for use later on in the race.<br /> We've requested that each person brings a full length wetsuit, both arms and legs, the section with the water based task will be the main area we expect teams to wear these, if you read the website we've said that they will be used in caving/coasteering type activities in other words there may be some rocks about, these could be likely to do damage to both you and your wetsuit. When the task was tested both us and our wetsuits came to no harm but we would like to keep you all in the race to the finish line so please make sure you bring the kit we are asking for, it's there for a reason. By the way the water will be cold ;) The long arms and leg cover will protect you from both the cold and the rocks.</blockquote> This put the fear of God in us. As you may know triathletes are fierce proud of their top notch equipment and the thoughts of damaging my precious Orca 3.8 frankly caused a lack of sleep.<br /><br />A call to my friendly Orca manager had him coming to our assistance with a bevy of TRN wetsuits which would be capable of taking a thrashing and our good suits would come to no harm!<br /><br />Whew!!!<br /><br />What's the TRN wetsuit?<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.orca.com/img/products/product/large/2014-orca-wetsuit-trn-lite-men-front-20140226095532.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.orca.com/img/products/product/large/2014-orca-wetsuit-trn-lite-men-front-20140226095532.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div><br />Well briefly it was developed as a training suit so you could thrash it on the beach, in the pool, in rough water, exit, egress conditions and not worry about damaging the top quality race suits like the Sonar, 1.5 or 3.8.<br /><br />Here's the skinny<strong>:</strong><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><strong>Orca's TRN is the world's first ever training-specific wetsuit.</strong> If you're after a second wetsuit for regular training, look no further. This reliable, durable complement to your race gear offers you the best of both worlds: enabling you to potect your higher end wetsuit while serving as a solid companion to your sea or pool training. The TRN lite's 2mm smooth skin neoprene front and back with flat lock stitching balances flexibility, buoyancy and thermal protection. 2mm Yamamoto 39-cell neoprene on the shoulder panels provides excellent range of motion. High strech jersey side panels offer flexibility and comfort through the full swim stroke and kick. The TRN lite's polyester lining helps protect it from the effects of chlorine and warm water.</blockquote><br />Hats off to Orca for rowing in at a moment's notice and thank you very much for the help and support from all at Team #TriHarder. Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-22914384904544328312014-07-29T13:55:00.002+01:002014-07-29T13:55:30.800+01:00Tracking the Beast<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJhFyXk69lk/U8fl7havTNI/AAAAAAAAVcA/atRx3o5FIpE/s1600/10264441_10152515117086454_3782502236773899553_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RJhFyXk69lk/U8fl7havTNI/AAAAAAAAVcA/atRx3o5FIpE/s1600/10264441_10152515117086454_3782502236773899553_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>3 more sleeps!!!<br /><br />The emails are coming thick and fast with information on gear and preparations required. It's definitely not about who can bike the best, or run the best or the fastest swimmer.<br /><br />Something entirely new for most of Team #Triharder for sure, but we're relishing the challenge and are most definitely up for it at the weekend. The training has been done, the team building has been done, it's all going to come down to putting it all together on the day(s) and making it happen for each other.<br /><br />More information about the stages and preparing for them is being 'leaked' out on email over the past few days and when we are going from a a guesstimated 4-6 hours Stage 1 to a minimum 10 hour Stage 1 you know there is a new level of sadism involved in the organistation especially when you are being warned of blood sucking ticks, nettle beds and brambles.<br /><br />(I actually googled some tick images to embed them here and my skin started to crawl, so I left them out, see how nice I am to you!)<br /><br />Anyway there is a live tracker set up which will be active on the weekend <a href="http://www.beastofballyhoura.com/live" target="_blank">www.beastofballyhoura.com/live</a> you can follow along the 'progress' of Team #TriHarder and there's plenty of craic on Twitter all this week too!! Join us via my own feed @Amphkingwest with the hashtag #TriHarder<br /><br />Look forward to hearing from you :)Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-2316201361029680032014-07-18T11:39:00.001+01:002014-07-18T11:39:29.699+01:00You gotta #TriHarder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Incz66ejsh4/U8UHP_AaYyI/AAAAAAAAVYQ/uPtu1KYdLTs/s1600/20140713_060957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Incz66ejsh4/U8UHP_AaYyI/AAAAAAAAVYQ/uPtu1KYdLTs/s1600/20140713_060957.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lough Derg in the morning.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />A review of last weekend's training - Time for some teamwork.<br /><br />With the Beast of Ballyhoura just over 2 weeks away it was kinda getting to the time for a little team work. Mike and I had worked well in <a href="http://www.amphkingwest.com/2014/07/three-men-tent-24hrs-and-tub-of-vaseline.html" target="_blank">#Endure24</a> and didn't kill each other (apart from noxious gases) over the long hours in close proximity, I think laughing had a lot to do with that. It was time to bring some of the jigsaw together last weekend.<br /><br />To be honest I was a bit anxious as history shows I'm not the best Mountain Biker in the province, by a long shot. So far in my MTB experience I'm a '2fer' (Out twice, accident twice) so I was wary of what we would be up to.<br /><br />Plan was Saturday night #MTB on the Ballyhoura trails. This was after less than 5 hours sleep on Friday night, a Saturday morning trail run, a day in work so I was all set up to test the endurance and effect of tiredness.<br /><br />Anyhow, down to Ballyhoura, met up with TriHarder teammate Kate, made the introductions, offloaded the bikes, kitted up and off we went warming up on the road to the trails. Warren was to meet up with us in a wee while so we did a couple of laps of the Skills Loops starting with 1 and then Skills Loop 2. Back to the carpark and discovered Warren was still on route somewhere and we'd have an hour so quick decision to head off on the longer brown trail and set him the task of the green so we'd finish sometime together.<br /><br />Kate experienced a spectacular off. I was at the back and just watched as her bike, bucked, bounced and fired her off over the bars. On inspection we discovered she'd clipped a stump which launched her into the heather between two piles of rocks. Poor Kate giggled her way down the hill with bruised & cut knees nursing her front wheel which was destroyed.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_GQJiYXitw/U8jutxrHt5I/AAAAAAAAVe4/E2XSurMLMxc/s1600/20140712_220153.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0_GQJiYXitw/U8jutxrHt5I/AAAAAAAAVe4/E2XSurMLMxc/s1600/20140712_220153.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perfect alignment for cornering!!!</td></tr></tbody></table>Limping back to the cars, the one positive was my bike no longer squeaked the loudest!. We met Warren on the road, easily identified as a #TriHarder as we were the only eejits biking up there at night :)<br /><br />Warren had his own issues with a puncture and was making his way back to the car too.<br /><br />Loaded up and off we went to Mikes for showers, tea, repairs and discussion til the wee hours.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MJS5sQJpOQA/U8jzSSTlESI/AAAAAAAAVfg/qx3WyFYPJ_s/s1600/20140713_005615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MJS5sQJpOQA/U8jzSSTlESI/AAAAAAAAVfg/qx3WyFYPJ_s/s1600/20140713_005615.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mike the Mechanic</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5OKUf5UHkA/U8jxhlJl9mI/AAAAAAAAVfE/E8l1fi0ndLw/s1600/Ballyhoura+map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h5OKUf5UHkA/U8jxhlJl9mI/AAAAAAAAVfE/E8l1fi0ndLw/s1600/Ballyhoura+map.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AStkQly8iGk/U8jxwN0-ZuI/AAAAAAAAVfM/hpeSghjIFuc/s1600/Ballyhoura+MTB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AStkQly8iGk/U8jxwN0-ZuI/AAAAAAAAVfM/hpeSghjIFuc/s1600/Ballyhoura+MTB.jpg" height="400" width="195" /></a></div><br />Got to the point at 1:30 where, "ah sure we may as well go on out for a trek." "Sure, we're on the bikes in 3.5hrs, no point sleeping now" at which point I nudged Warren and told him to make a break for bed. Kate full of beans on adrenaline was bouncing around the place like a bluebottle. She was next to be sent packing!!<br /><br />2hrs of kip on the sofa broken only by the vision of Mike trying to suffocate me with a blanket and we were back on point. Coffee, porridge and more coffee and we were off to Killaloe for Day 2.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LNTLhviCtZg/U8jzLwdJXeI/AAAAAAAAVfY/mvh2R8V3LR4/s1600/20140713_060957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LNTLhviCtZg/U8jzLwdJXeI/AAAAAAAAVfY/mvh2R8V3LR4/s1600/20140713_060957.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>Parking at UL Activity Centre we followed the marked trails for the East Clare Way and MTB'd our way up making a decision to dump them and trek our way to the top.<br /><br />(Note: Our maps were slightly out of date so we dumped earlier than necessary ~1km)<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bb5Q7VWQTqI/U8jzL8SenUI/AAAAAAAAVfY/f_t4j0k3PTQ/s1600/20140713_071334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bb5Q7VWQTqI/U8jzL8SenUI/AAAAAAAAVfY/f_t4j0k3PTQ/s1600/20140713_071334.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />Job done, time to hump it back down, pick up the bikes and let her rip to Killaloe where the plan was to go up the other side looking for <a href="http://www.homeatfirst.com/GRAVES-LEINSTERMEN.HTM" target="_blank">Graves of the Leinster Men</a>.<br /><br />A minor navigation error kept us on the main road rather on the walking route, but chief mapreader Warren soon put us right and up towards Tountinna where we biked to the top, enjoyed the view, grabbed a sandwich before hiking over the top to look for the Graves.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNik86Y3vR4/U8j5SrEovPI/AAAAAAAAVgc/WR3E62gZrCU/s1600/20140713_092714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNik86Y3vR4/U8j5SrEovPI/AAAAAAAAVgc/WR3E62gZrCU/s1600/20140713_092714.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div><br />We allocated time to our search as we had to be back at UL Activity Centre for 11am. (Yes! Most of this was done before many had rolled over in their beds! :) )<br /><br />Checking the map we realised the Graves were in a very arbritary position and we were the wrong side of that for easy access. About turn, back to the bikes and<br /><br />WHEEEEEEEEE!!! all the way down again :) :)<br /><br />Kate caught a rear puncture. 'Pitstop Pete' changed it in 4 mins from stop to go and we were off again catching the boys who we reckoned were in Ballina slurping down a 99.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SS4OB_7DDjU/U8j3tf1SP0I/AAAAAAAAVgA/lBLuiDnvaz4/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SS4OB_7DDjU/U8j3tf1SP0I/AAAAAAAAVgA/lBLuiDnvaz4/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna.jpg" height="240" width="400" />A</a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cUhrkryqbHs/U8j3tChhvUI/AAAAAAAAVf8/yfnVs5uUNSU/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna+summary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cUhrkryqbHs/U8j3tChhvUI/AAAAAAAAVf8/yfnVs5uUNSU/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna+summary.jpg" height="203" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-65zDj8LaDNs/U8j31lL6wGI/AAAAAAAAVgM/Oj_12WytUUI/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna+altitude.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-65zDj8LaDNs/U8j31lL6wGI/AAAAAAAAVgM/Oj_12WytUUI/s1600/Moylussa+-+Tountinna+altitude.jpg" height="37" width="400" /></a></div><br />All that was left was a 2 hour practical lesson in handling sit-on-top kayaks with Mike Jones. This was a steep learning curve for me and part of my issue is trying to understand the physics of what my paddling is doing rather than just finding a groove and letting it happen.<br /><br />As the team said, we've 53km in the Beast to figure it out!! (Minimum 53km)<br /><br />All in all a great weekend of training, bonding, figuring things out, planning and we're all about set for a few more 'wind-down' sessions before toeing the line in 2 weeks time!!!<br /><br />Have you ever done anything like this before? All advice is welcomed.<br /><br /><br />Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-4621740066569963862014-07-17T16:06:00.002+01:002014-07-17T17:16:02.397+01:00A quick word about our sponsors...@RonhillUK.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJhFyXk69lk/U8fl7havTNI/AAAAAAAAVb8/mn-5e5N9zyM/s1600/10264441_10152515117086454_3782502236773899553_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RJhFyXk69lk/U8fl7havTNI/AAAAAAAAVb8/mn-5e5N9zyM/s1600/10264441_10152515117086454_3782502236773899553_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>As you may know I am training as part of Team Triharder to take part in The Beast of Ballyhoura.<br /><br />I am lucky in my position with work to be in touch with some of the most amazing specialist brands on the market (all of whom we stock in <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/104645439364056686963" target="_blank">+Amphibian King West - Galway</a> and <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/115379652957569444915" target="_blank">+Amphibian King West - Limerick</a> )<br /><br />As part of our mandatory kit for The Beast we are required to have fully waterproof jacket and waterproof trousers.<br /><br />As it turns out <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/108429727008924746490" target="_blank">+RonhillUK</a> have off the shelf specialist jackets and trousers and are supporting Team Triharder with a complete set for each team member!!<br /><br />Awesome, thankyou Ronhill!!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wkmvGGZWNI/U8filgFHO_I/AAAAAAAAVbs/VuUlf_W3TpU/s1600/rh-000088_rh-00014_-_card_redsolar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6wkmvGGZWNI/U8filgFHO_I/AAAAAAAAVbs/VuUlf_W3TpU/s1600/rh-000088_rh-00014_-_card_redsolar.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div><br />Spec on the Trail Tempest Jacket-<br /><ul><li>Market leading super-lightweight waterproof running jacket</li><li>Aqualite fabric</li><li>Mountain marathon event regulation spec</li><li>Just 250 grms.</li><li>2.5 layer hydrophilic coating</li><li>Waterproof to a minimum 10,000mm hydrostatic head</li><li>Breathable: minimum 15,000 g/m2/24hours (mVtr)</li></ul><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eVwnLLCCB_U/U8filqzQoQI/AAAAAAAAVbo/M6gd6h4lmW0/s1600/rh-000086_r842_blackfire_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eVwnLLCCB_U/U8filqzQoQI/AAAAAAAAVbo/M6gd6h4lmW0/s1600/rh-000086_r842_blackfire_1.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></div>Spec on the Trail Tempest Trousers-<br /><ul><li>Super lightweight, waterproof, & complementary, running pant for the trail tempest Jacket.</li><li>Aqualite fabric</li><li>Mountain marathon event regulation spec</li><li>Just 166 grms.</li><li>2.5 layer hydrophilic coating</li><li>Waterproof to a minimum 10,000mm hydrostatic head</li><li>Breathable: minimum 15,000 g/m2/24hours </li><li> </li></ul>Other equipment suppliers will be coming on board. If you have a product you feel is suitable for Adventure Racing and would like us to field test or review, we'd be delighted to help :)Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2639459466808866532.post-43905256011387573822014-07-06T13:14:00.001+01:002014-07-06T13:17:52.427+01:00The Beast is Stirring<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F1YAX8OlliM/U7k6nDUCBbI/AAAAAAAAU6E/Ht9SvgOMQs4/s1600/Number+of+the+Beast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F1YAX8OlliM/U7k6nDUCBbI/AAAAAAAAU6E/Ht9SvgOMQs4/s1600/Number+of+the+Beast.jpg" height="135" width="320" /></a></div>So with #Endure24 behind us now, the full focus is on The Beast of Ballyhoura for the coming weeks.<br /><br />Information is being 'leaked' about the course and the sense of tension is palpable as the team learn more about the challenge each day.<br /><br />At the start of July we received the following information: <br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><u><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">2014 Beast Route Minimum Distances For Each Section.</span></b></u><br /><ul><li>Start Short Foot Orienteering 1km</li><ul><li>Section 1.1 Kayak 20km</li><li>Section 1.2 Swim 600m</li><li>Section 1.3 Foot Orienteering 11km</li><li>Section 1.4 Kayak 13km</li></ul><li>TA1 Kit/Bike Boxes</li><ul><li>Section 2.1 Mountain Bike 50km</li><li>Section 2.2 Water Based Task 3.5km</li><li>Section 2.3 Mountain Bike 38km</li><li>Section 2.4 Foot Based Task 1km-5km</li><li>Section 2.5 Mountain Bike 28km</li></ul><li>TA2 Kit Boxes</li><ul><li>Section 3.1 Kayak 20km</li><li>Section 3.2 Foot Orienteering 25km</li></ul><li>TA3 Kit Boxes</li><ul><li>Section 4.1 Mountain Bike 27km</li><li>Section 4.2 Foot Orienteering 5km</li><li>Section 4.3 Mountain Bike 20km</li><li></li></ul><li>Finish</li></ul></blockquote>And then we learn a little more about each discipline:<br /><br /><div></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div id="mid_title"><b>Race Disciplines </b></div><ul type="disc"><li><b>Mountain biking</b> – teams should be prepared for a range of riding including single track, steep hills, gravel roads and sealed roads. </li><br /><li><b>Trekking</b> – will involve travelling by foot through rugged and diverse terrain. The Irish hills can be wet and boggy in places. </li><br /><li><b>Kayaking</b> – kayaks will be provided by race organizers. Kayaking may be on inland rivers or lakes. Generally kayaking will be permitted during both day and night. Some of the rivers may have weirs. Teams will be advised in advance about any obstacles. There will be a dark zone in operation for the kayak stage</li><br /><li><b>Swimming</b> - teams will be required to cross rivers. there will also be a swim section (minimum of 2 members per team must swim) 2 * 300 meters, PFD’s will be available if you feel you need one.</li><br /><li><b>Rope work</b>. Could include abseiling, traversing, ascending etc.</li><br /><li><b>Orienteering</b> – orienteering is an extremely important part of the race. The course is not marked and teams are required to navigate using maps.</li><br /><li><b>Special </b>- as always you should expect some surprises, and special tasks </li></ul></blockquote><br />The night kayak could be interesting though the total (minimum) 53k of kayaking is going to be a hell of an upper body workout!<br /><br />Currently looking at some training day options to see if we can all day hire kayaks and throw in a little bit of orienteering / mountain trekking to clean up rusty map skills. Ropework, swimming and trekking is fine. Mountain biking, well you know my history there, but a planned 163k (minimum!) could feel like 300k if there is loads of climbing.<br /><br />Plenty of planning to arrange the kit and ensure each zone is properly fuelled and equiped. At least we will have access to the transition zone or team kit boxes 3 times so the travelling load can be broken up a bit.<br /><br />Not called The Beast for nothing!!Sean Conroyhttps://plus.google.com/109675522838672008951noreply@blogger.com0