A busy summer's viewing ahead

EURO 2012. Ireland Vs New Zealand. The Olympics. Wimbledon. The British Open. This is quite a summer for sports fans.

What am I most looking forward to? It has to be The Olympics.  The idea of all of the above events though, is that Irish athletes and sports people will compete valiantly and nobly but more than likely in defeat. And many will be told they have failed.

Other though are truly world-class. They can and do compete with the best, and some of the above were Olympic sports, Ireland would be very much competing for medals.  Brian O'Driscoll, Paul O'Connell and Rory McIlroy all fight well above their weight in their sports.

In the run up to previous Olympics the weight of a nation rested on Sonia O'Sullivan's shoulders. And now this weight has been transferred to the small shoulders of Katie Taylor, which until lately she may have thought she would have to take care of on her own. But the emergence of triathlete Aileen Morrison has shown that Taylor will not be our only female medal hope in London.

Morrison has recently brought the profile of triathlon nearer the surface of mainstream sport coverage, and the reporting of her recent 2^nd place in Spain by all media can only be looked at as very positive. But how likely is it that the sport can remain there is another question. Two things will largely stand against it happening. Female sports, to a great extent, don't get mainstream coverage, and then at the moment triathlon is still a minority sport.

Much was made of the outstanding Chrissie Wellington not making the BBC sports personality of the year short list last December. Indeed, the case for her inclusion far outweighed her exclusion, and her achievements in a very short time are mind-boggling. However, Ironman is not a live TV friendly format, so mainstream coverage for the sport is always going to be difficult.  While the recent appearance of Lance Armstrong in Ironman events has raised the level of the coverage to a certain extent, the long form distance of the sport may always fight an ongoing battle.

With Morrison riding high in the ITU World Series, and an increased interest in the shorter triathlon races, it must be a hope that The Olympics could change that.

Roll on London 2012.

Watching from a distance

With the arrival of my darling daughter I have not had a chance to keep up my training. Surprise surprise!  What I have had time to though is to see how much triathlon has consumed so many other things in recent months. 

Despite having started doing a few triathlons last year my involvement in the sport has gone to a new level this year. While I obsessed over my results (much like Darren in his recent race report - http://www.piranhatri.com/news/reports/997-triathy-race-report), this year it is up again. Average time. Percentage location per discipline. Discipline splits. Any hope of a reverse split (I didn't even know what that meant 9 months ago). And all of this to try to find something positive out of very average results. That search for progress. 

Then there has been the vocabulary. 2011 - wheels; 2012 - Clincher Vs tubular. 2011 - gears; 2012 - groupset. 2011 - bike; 2012 - TT. You know I could go on. Fartlek anyone? So between the nods, agreements and unknown approvals in the midst of a tri conversation, I have slowly begun to get some sort of understanding of what all this means. That, unfortunately does not mean that it has made me a better triathlete. 

To further get involved with the sport I have been following various pro triathletes on twitter. Lance Armstrong is now on the IM (Sorry, that's Ironman) circuit, but who the hell are Craig Alexander, Simon Whitfield and Christ McCormack? As for these Brownlee brothers cracking the ITU circuit - I still don't know which is which! - it's also great to follow the Irish pro exploits of Gavin Noble and the ever improving Aileen Morrison.  I even now have the ITU world series on series record... 

As for the Irish scene, and the club scene, this is a truly new level. Mariusz Olejniczak, Bjorn Ludick, Russell White, Con Murphy are all names that are becoming more familiar. And over the weekend I was poring over TriAthy results to see how all from Piranha Tri Club got on. First timers, ever improvers and the top advanced girls and guys. With a few tris under my belt I now have people to compare myself against as well as trying to emulate in the coming months. 

In the meantime, while I eagerly await the delivery of my next issue of 220 Triathlon magazine - that's normal, right? - and try to learn more about the insides, the outs and the transitions of triathlons, watching the sport from a slightly further distance than normal, I have a nappy to change.

So near. Yet so far away.

When setting yourself challenges, it is always good to have attempted them and if not quite beat them, at least made a good effort at attaining them. But 3 minutes 17 seconds were to ruin my first triathlon of the season.

Last Sunday evening when results we're published for the fingal sprint, my confirmed time was 1hr 17 minutes exactly. I was absolutely  delighted. My target window was 1:20-1:25, so beating that by three minutes had me thrilled.

Sunday was a very hot day, and as I had to register on the morning I had a lot, probably too much, time to hang around.  About a dozen from Piranha's new to tri group were doing it, so as people arrived there was a good buzz building, fuelled by nervous energy. Everyone was just egging to get started.

The 750 metre swim was pool based and could only be described as chaotic at best. Despite a minor miscount on my lengths I got through it well enough in about 14 minutes. Not brilliant but not way off either.

A hectic T1 and out onto an out-and-back bike route. The new bike was pushed as hard as possible. Into the wind on the way out I looked forward to upping the ante on the way back. No such luck. The wind turned with us and offered little or no respite.  So the legs were that bit heavier heading into T2.

The run took place at the height of the midday heat and with a steady slight uphill straight out of transition, I thumped rather than glided way through at least the first kilometre. Things didn't get too much easier until the turnaround. Finally a bit of a downhill to the finish line, which couldn't come quickly enough.

The wait for results is always annoying. So the relief and delight on seeing them was great. However this delight was swiftly ended on Thursday morning on receipt of an email from the race organisers.

The swim times were out by 3 minutes and 17 seconds. So my revised time was 1:20:17. When facing this against my target I should still be very pleased. And in one sense I am. If I received this time immediately after the race I would have been thrilled.  But to have my better time taken away is gutting. I must simply use it as resolve to better my times later in the year.

Quite when the next race will be is uncertain. An arrival in the household, a new baby daughter, Eve, will determine the answer to that. So the only race at the moment I have to worry about is the human race (it's bad I know, but give the new dad a break).

So while 3 minutes 17 seconds brought me disappointment yesterday, a bundle of 6lbs 10ozs has brought me nothing but total joy and pride.

First tri of the year. This should be...interesting.

5kms in 24 minutes and 17 seconds.  Not a bad return on only my third run of the year. The third run of the week.

Having given myself a target of the 24 minutes I was quietly pleased with the results. Equally, the body finished in one piece as well. No knees, calves or ankles were left strewn around Malahide Castle.

So that race was the warm up for the first triathlon of the year - the Fingal sprint triathlon. Tomorrow.  Despite having competed in a number of races last year, I have yet to compete in a sprint triathlon.  While the distance is half of what I have done before there is an increased onus on fitness and an increased heart rate due to the short nature of the event.

Training has gone well in the last 4-6 weeks. I feel relatively in good shape so hopefully

 I feel that I can compete well. Finish in a good time. And most importantly, not make a fool of myself.

Of course that is easier said than done.  I’ve never done a pool based swim, and I have the new time trial bike out for its racing debut.  That isn’t said as a point to boast, more as a point of fact.  I have been out on the bike a number of times, and believe that I have a good feel for it, but as is often said, match fitness is a different level altogether.

So having set myself a target for the run last weekend, I have been trying to work out what is a realistic time to aim for this race.  Now the difference between a challenging time and a realistic time could be as low as two minutes or as high as eight.

So the nerd has set in.  I checked the times from last year’s race. Checked the times of the other newbies from a race two weeks ago.  The calculator, no actually the excel sheet, nearly burned up with the permutations I put through. 

 

And still, I don’t know how near I am to the ‘right’ figure.  ‘Man up,’ I rightfully hear you say. Lay it down. Money where your mouth is. Cliché. Cliché. Cliché.

So this week Matthew, I am going for one hour twenty minutes as the challenging time.  But anything over one hour twenty five minutes and there will be disappointments.

So there it is.  Quite how it all pans out is anyone’s guess.  Sure what could go wrong?

Fail to prepare. Prepare to fail.

ROY Keane’s infamous quote above from Saipan still resonates in Ireland as we approach the 10 year anniversary of the most infamous sporting exit in the history of this country.

It is a phrase that has been going through my head quite a bit for the past few weeks as my racing season begins in haste tomorrow.  At 11.30am I will attempt to run 5km in under 24 minutes at the John Davis Memorial race in Malahide Castle.

All quite achievable I hear you say.  And indeed in theory you would be correct.  The only problem is that my first run of the year was only last Sunday.  And only a trot for 2.5kms at that.  It was followed up by a 5km jog on Tuesday.

So quite obviously, this has not the most ideal preparations for either race.  But last Sunday’s run broke a spell.  For the past six weeks, I have been meaning to go for that first run.  Having spent a lot of last year with niggly ankle and hip injuries, I was apprehensive about starting the run.

I went to physio to try to loosen out my leg and did the exercises to try to strengthen my leg. So I was trying to prepare as best as possible. And yet, I couldn’t force myself out to run.  When I did finally get a few runs under my belt, the ankle ached and my hip hurt.  So this weekend will be approached with some trepidation and no small dollop of hope that the legs hold up.

I have been aiming to prepare well.  Preparation for my triathlon has not been a total failure, however the preparation for this weekend’s race would likely leave a lot to be desired. 

I can’t imagine I’d get Roy Keane’s seal of approval, but then again, that will depend on how this weekend’s race.  Only time will tell.

How elusive is the search for progress?

Progress is relative. Progress is subjective. But the infrequent times I have managed to maintain some forms of training, progress is hard to find.

The ongoing chase for that elusive ' race fitness' continues. And one that is made all the more prescient as suddenly the full triathlon season is upon us.

Due to this errant approach to training lethargy sets in more easily. More easy to turn over than answer the early morning alarm. More easy to hit the couch than the track. And yet there is the yearning to progress. More than three months now in the pool, and several in the original beginners have, rightfully, been promoted to the intermediate lane. I, though, stalled. I have led the beginners lane on a number of days, but progress seemed to elude me. 

I pressed on session after session, drill after drill. And while my fitness and stamina appeared, at least on a superficial level, to have improved, I really didn't know if I was making progress.

Progress is more than simply an indication of improvement, it is a motivation. A reward for the hard work put in, and a way to move forward. But training wasn't giving me that. Mild frustrations set in. As much at myself for missing training through laziness, fatigue and illness. But frustrations nonetheless.

And as the season arrives, the lack of progress gets amplified. So having asked our coach, Lee, for a few tips on how to improve I had my next step towards progress. I hoped.  But quite how I progressed surprised me. Next training was on Bank holiday Tuesday. I arrived at the pool more out of habit than eagerness. I sought to put Lee's suggestions into play. 

Eight lengths later I was in the intermediate lane. Progress. Made. Motivation restored.

Progress is relative. I am now in the intermediate swimming lane. Progress is subjective.  I believe I can keep improving.

Roll on the season and the first triathlon in two weeks time.

Looking like a triathlete does not a triathlete make!

Once again my lethargy in updating my blog has been due to more rollercoasters and circles of late nights, early mornings, lack of rest, a worn down body, oh and the weather! But yesterday evening finally brought the chance to get back into it again.

The weather eventually allowed the new toy get unwrapped properly.  

My body is now in trouble. It's sore. Some call this recovery. I'm not fully convinced. I'm clearly unfit and in need of more training. But I managed 20kms on my new bike. My first proper cycle on my new time trial bike. Exhilarating. Nervous. Fast. Shaky. And really quite breathless.

I picked up the Planet X time trial bike a little over two weeks ago and ever since it has sat in the apartment staring tantalisingly back up at me. The weather left a lot to be desired. And I certainly wasn't going to bring out the toy in the pissing rain. That would be no fun at all.

A five minute race down the road and back up about ten days ago was merely a warm up. It merely confirmed the bike worked.

So last night as I alighted the train the weather presented the perfect opportunity to properly bring the bike out on a test run.  I decided to tackle Howth Head - go on a route I know and can possibly compare to my newly appointed 'training bike'.  It took a while to get used to changing the gears at the end of the tri bars. The ease with which the bike advanced was tremendous, and the power that could easily be generated without too much effort, surprising.

Now going up Howth Head is never easy at the best of times, but I managed to get up the hill quite well, and the up hill sections were more manageable than expected.  And the downhill was, well lets just say I didn't want to push the bike (or myself) to that limit just yet.  Bike control is one thing on this bike that I won't be taking for granted.

I just have to get out on it more often and hope that I don't make a fool of myself on it during my first triathlon of the season in four weeks time.

This bike is just so light. It is fast. It is agile. I think it will simply remove lethargy from my vocab. At least that's the hope.



PS A real triathlete was used in the photo. I don't know how to go that fast yet! And no I don't have one of those helmets either.