The count-down clock to my inaugural triathlon is ticking increasingly louder as, since Sunday, training has entered the last four weeks.
It would be untrue of me to say that the training has intensified, or that the sessions, which have slightly declined in number, have been harder. In truth my fitness levels have become more apparent but there is still much to do.
There is a fine line between squeezing in two sessions of each discipline a week without also trying to overdo it. If a session is missed, it’s missed. A couple double sessions took their toll very easily, leaving the body overtired and requiring additional recovery time, i.e. poor time and training management.
Patience and training quality are key to successful training.
Patience has been most prevalent in my swimming training. Having joined a swimming clubs’ twice weekly sessions, my ability to reach the (dreaded) 750 metres has become increasingly attainable and I am now much more at ease with what is required come the event. Patience will also be required when it comes to the event also though, as a steady pace will win out over my previous swimming personality who sought to swim as quickly (and badly) as possible to cover the distance. Let’s not forget that the triathlon is a test of endurance as much as anything else.
Training quality is the other key. It’s all well and good pounding the pavement for an hour and a day, but will that help you improve your speed, your technique or your enjoyment of the training? Probably not. Running or cycling training should be controlled such that you are gaining the most from it, whether you do a twenty or a sixty minute session. Quality will beat quantity almost every time.
As the days ticked off begin to outnumber the days remaining, the key to the coming weeks is to remain patient – there will be bad days – and ensure that regardless of the day or the weather a quality training session takes place. So as the clock ticks louder, so does my heart.
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Chariots have reached a new low
It is often said that rugby is a thugs game played by gentlemen and football a gentlemen’s game played by thugs. And yet over the years it has oft been the footballers who have had the most scandalous of stories sprayed across the red tops. But oh how the mighty have fallen. Almost five years since winning the Rugby World Cup, and with four members of their squad being investigated for an alleged sexual assault on tour, the England team has reached a new low.
In New Zealand, a country where the rugby stars are followed and reported on as if they were Premiership footballers, a group of English players have landed themselves rightly in the mire. The line between professional rugby players and professional footballers could officially be muddied.
With their team not playing to anywhere near their potential, their new management not yet in place (I don’t pity Martin Johnson), this ship is truly rudderless. Clive Woodward ran a tight ship, but equally his players were given much responsibility and they reciprocated with respect for the manager, fellow players and most importantly the team. The shenanigans in New Zealand would not have happened under Woodward.
When Brian Ashton was not replaced following last year’s World Cup, it caused a number of difficulties for the team. Many of the senior players distancing themselves from the manager in the aftermath and it did not allow the team the opportunity to turn a new leaf. So the team made it through the Six Nations without any real conviction, despite finishing second.
The RFU have a lot to answer for. They hummed and hawed about Ashton’s position rather than simply ending his contract after the World Cup and starting anew. And so Director of Rugby, Rob Andrew, took charge of the tour to New Zealand.
For the players, the tour (as it was for all the home nations, probably two games too many at the end of a very long season) was probably not seen as a chance to impress the new management, but more a means to and end – finishing the season.
The team failed to impress during either test against the All Blacks but without proper leadership off the pitch, and not enough leaders on it (not like 2003), what more was to be expected. And so after the first test, instead of relaxing a few of the players decided to blow off a bit of steam, naively unaware of the hype that would surround their midnight escapades.
Johnson now has a job on his hands to re-build the team, re-build the public’s confidence in the team and re-build respect for his team in the international rugby arena.
The former England captain must now hope for two things. Firstly, that this is as low as they can go. And secondly, there are more gentlemen than thugs in the squad.
In New Zealand, a country where the rugby stars are followed and reported on as if they were Premiership footballers, a group of English players have landed themselves rightly in the mire. The line between professional rugby players and professional footballers could officially be muddied.
With their team not playing to anywhere near their potential, their new management not yet in place (I don’t pity Martin Johnson), this ship is truly rudderless. Clive Woodward ran a tight ship, but equally his players were given much responsibility and they reciprocated with respect for the manager, fellow players and most importantly the team. The shenanigans in New Zealand would not have happened under Woodward.
When Brian Ashton was not replaced following last year’s World Cup, it caused a number of difficulties for the team. Many of the senior players distancing themselves from the manager in the aftermath and it did not allow the team the opportunity to turn a new leaf. So the team made it through the Six Nations without any real conviction, despite finishing second.
The RFU have a lot to answer for. They hummed and hawed about Ashton’s position rather than simply ending his contract after the World Cup and starting anew. And so Director of Rugby, Rob Andrew, took charge of the tour to New Zealand.
For the players, the tour (as it was for all the home nations, probably two games too many at the end of a very long season) was probably not seen as a chance to impress the new management, but more a means to and end – finishing the season.
The team failed to impress during either test against the All Blacks but without proper leadership off the pitch, and not enough leaders on it (not like 2003), what more was to be expected. And so after the first test, instead of relaxing a few of the players decided to blow off a bit of steam, naively unaware of the hype that would surround their midnight escapades.
Johnson now has a job on his hands to re-build the team, re-build the public’s confidence in the team and re-build respect for his team in the international rugby arena.
The former England captain must now hope for two things. Firstly, that this is as low as they can go. And secondly, there are more gentlemen than thugs in the squad.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Another week bites the dust...
Having spent last weekend away on a stag holiday, the thoughts of resuming training last week were tough to say the least. But persevere I did.
The most vital element of the training that I have found to stand to me is that through repetition of each of the disciplines, I am gaining in confidence as well as fitness in all three.
Swimming is still my weakest discipline, but a lesson on Thursday has helped to provide better guidance in technique and the required confidence to take on the 750 metre swim in less than seven weeks time.
The course for the triathlon is thankfully reasonably flat (especially the swim!) so the additional hill-work during both cycle and running training should hopefully help on the day.
Last week I reached full race distance on all three and while I felt fine after each training session, they did take their toll. Today is the first day that I have been fatigued and will have to fight myself to go swimming training this evening. There is the additional onus on me to go as the swim session I am attending is run by the swim coach who provided me with the lesson last week. But this can only be a good thing. Honing my stroke (if I move it from awful to bad, I’ll be happy) is key to my jumping into Grand Canal dock with any confidence.
My fitness levels have definitely improved, but a lot more work is still required. The training discipline is key, I just hope I don’t have to come down on myself too hard!
The most vital element of the training that I have found to stand to me is that through repetition of each of the disciplines, I am gaining in confidence as well as fitness in all three.
Swimming is still my weakest discipline, but a lesson on Thursday has helped to provide better guidance in technique and the required confidence to take on the 750 metre swim in less than seven weeks time.
The course for the triathlon is thankfully reasonably flat (especially the swim!) so the additional hill-work during both cycle and running training should hopefully help on the day.
Last week I reached full race distance on all three and while I felt fine after each training session, they did take their toll. Today is the first day that I have been fatigued and will have to fight myself to go swimming training this evening. There is the additional onus on me to go as the swim session I am attending is run by the swim coach who provided me with the lesson last week. But this can only be a good thing. Honing my stroke (if I move it from awful to bad, I’ll be happy) is key to my jumping into Grand Canal dock with any confidence.
My fitness levels have definitely improved, but a lot more work is still required. The training discipline is key, I just hope I don’t have to come down on myself too hard!
Thursday, June 19, 2008
US team to benefit from Tiger injury
So Tiger Woods’ knee and leg injuries have ruled him out of the rest of this year’s season and he will now miss the last two Majors of the season, the British Open and the USPGA Championship. He will also miss this year’s Ryder Cup.
A number of questions have to be asked. Firstly, why was Woods’ so determined to return to play the US Open if he was aware that his knee had not heeled as quickly as he had hoped and that he had a double stress fracture of his tibia? The gruelling five rounds it took to beat off the challenge of Rocco Mediate may well have done untold damage and the ACL operation he now has to undergo will take a long time to recover from.
Clearly the World number one had targeted the US Open for his return to full play and he did not want to let that deadline slip by, regardless of medical advice. But his actions and subsequent injuries, while not detrimental to his career, appear to have been short-sighted.
Woods’ identified the US Open as another Major he could add to the collection in his unrelenting pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ Major record. Having already won at Torrey Pines before (six times in nine outings), he may well have viewed it as an easier course to win on than possibly the British Open at Royal Birkdale or the USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
The second question, which may well be quite easy to answer, is how must Tiger view the Ryder Cup and how will the American team play without him? This biennial event has never been something that Woods’ has on his list of achievements. He only wants to beat Nicklaus’ record. Majors are the only currency the World number one deals in.
Indeed, while this may appear to be a blow to the American team’s chances, it may also allow the team to travel to Valhalla more unified. The debate so often surrounds who will partner may be Woods. And yet, regardless his partner, he has simply not had the same influence in individual matches, let alone the overall Ryder Cup, he has simply not starred in any one of the five Ryder Cup’s he has played in to date. While sponsors and organisers will bemoan his absence, there may well be a return to the ethos of the competition as a whole – that it’s a team competition.
So with the pressure off the players, and with as determined a captain as Paul Azinger leading the team, the players may actually play as a team. With Tiger in the team, this is something that appears to have been lacking in recent years.
Don’t shout it too loudly, but without Woods in the team, the Americans have a better chance than ever to beat Europe at Valhalla this September. And not a moment too soon!
A number of questions have to be asked. Firstly, why was Woods’ so determined to return to play the US Open if he was aware that his knee had not heeled as quickly as he had hoped and that he had a double stress fracture of his tibia? The gruelling five rounds it took to beat off the challenge of Rocco Mediate may well have done untold damage and the ACL operation he now has to undergo will take a long time to recover from.
Clearly the World number one had targeted the US Open for his return to full play and he did not want to let that deadline slip by, regardless of medical advice. But his actions and subsequent injuries, while not detrimental to his career, appear to have been short-sighted.
Woods’ identified the US Open as another Major he could add to the collection in his unrelenting pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ Major record. Having already won at Torrey Pines before (six times in nine outings), he may well have viewed it as an easier course to win on than possibly the British Open at Royal Birkdale or the USPGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
The second question, which may well be quite easy to answer, is how must Tiger view the Ryder Cup and how will the American team play without him? This biennial event has never been something that Woods’ has on his list of achievements. He only wants to beat Nicklaus’ record. Majors are the only currency the World number one deals in.
Indeed, while this may appear to be a blow to the American team’s chances, it may also allow the team to travel to Valhalla more unified. The debate so often surrounds who will partner may be Woods. And yet, regardless his partner, he has simply not had the same influence in individual matches, let alone the overall Ryder Cup, he has simply not starred in any one of the five Ryder Cup’s he has played in to date. While sponsors and organisers will bemoan his absence, there may well be a return to the ethos of the competition as a whole – that it’s a team competition.
So with the pressure off the players, and with as determined a captain as Paul Azinger leading the team, the players may actually play as a team. With Tiger in the team, this is something that appears to have been lacking in recent years.
Don’t shout it too loudly, but without Woods in the team, the Americans have a better chance than ever to beat Europe at Valhalla this September. And not a moment too soon!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Flat out for 2009
When the idea of Rally Ireland was first thought up, there were many nay-sayers who didn’t think it could be done. They didn’t like the route. They didn’t like the Service Park location. They just didn’t like the idea of it. Full stop.
And yet with the help of people from all corners of the island, and even further afield, Rally Ireland, led by Tom Walsh, Ronan Morgan and Sean O’Connor, was ranked the second best rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2007. Only Rally Finland was better. And they have only been running their event for 60 years.
Rally Ireland’s success did not happen by chance. Everyone knew that if the event was to be retained in the WRC, one of the best shows in the Championship had to be put in place.
And what a show – Rally Ireland was the most watched round of the WRC last year with more than 62.8 million people tuning in to watch. That the rally was held in one of the most picturesque areas of the island (ignoring all the rain!), only added to the TV spectacle.
Starting at the Super Special in Stormont and finishing at Mullaghmore, Sligo provided a backdrop so different to the usual WRC events that it made everyone in the WRC sit up and take stock of what Rally Ireland has brought to the Championship.
And it was for that very reason that Rally Ireland was awarded the honour of kicking off the 2009 Championship replacing Monte-Carlo. They now know that a world-class event can be staged on these shores.
That world-class event is down to the hard work and dedication put into Rally Ireland 2007 by more than 2850 marshals and volunteers who gave up their time to work on the event.
But it’s not just the scale of the numbers of marshals required that is amazing. Rally Ireland 2007 used more than 82 kilometres (yes, kilometres) of rope, 15,000 posts, 3,000 metres of motorway mesh, 2,600 metal barriers (excluding Stormont, Mullaghmore and Service Park) and 1,150 rolls of tape.
Deep breath.
2,000 arrows, 1000 garbage bags, 470, whistles, 300 fire extinguishers, 250 flash lights, 200 portable toilets, 100 bales for chicanes. And all before food or accommodation for the event are even taken into consideration. The sheer scale of the event cannot be underestimated. And it is all being done again for next January.
There is only one aim for Rally Ireland 2009. To be the best rally in the world.
And just as the idea of Rally Ireland was first raised, there will again be nay-sayers dismissing the chances that this objective can be achieved.
Having already proven them wrong once, there is no reason why the organisers will not be able to prove them wrong again next January.
And yet with the help of people from all corners of the island, and even further afield, Rally Ireland, led by Tom Walsh, Ronan Morgan and Sean O’Connor, was ranked the second best rally in the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2007. Only Rally Finland was better. And they have only been running their event for 60 years.
Rally Ireland’s success did not happen by chance. Everyone knew that if the event was to be retained in the WRC, one of the best shows in the Championship had to be put in place.
And what a show – Rally Ireland was the most watched round of the WRC last year with more than 62.8 million people tuning in to watch. That the rally was held in one of the most picturesque areas of the island (ignoring all the rain!), only added to the TV spectacle.
Starting at the Super Special in Stormont and finishing at Mullaghmore, Sligo provided a backdrop so different to the usual WRC events that it made everyone in the WRC sit up and take stock of what Rally Ireland has brought to the Championship.
And it was for that very reason that Rally Ireland was awarded the honour of kicking off the 2009 Championship replacing Monte-Carlo. They now know that a world-class event can be staged on these shores.
That world-class event is down to the hard work and dedication put into Rally Ireland 2007 by more than 2850 marshals and volunteers who gave up their time to work on the event.
But it’s not just the scale of the numbers of marshals required that is amazing. Rally Ireland 2007 used more than 82 kilometres (yes, kilometres) of rope, 15,000 posts, 3,000 metres of motorway mesh, 2,600 metal barriers (excluding Stormont, Mullaghmore and Service Park) and 1,150 rolls of tape.
Deep breath.
2,000 arrows, 1000 garbage bags, 470, whistles, 300 fire extinguishers, 250 flash lights, 200 portable toilets, 100 bales for chicanes. And all before food or accommodation for the event are even taken into consideration. The sheer scale of the event cannot be underestimated. And it is all being done again for next January.
There is only one aim for Rally Ireland 2009. To be the best rally in the world.
And just as the idea of Rally Ireland was first raised, there will again be nay-sayers dismissing the chances that this objective can be achieved.
Having already proven them wrong once, there is no reason why the organisers will not be able to prove them wrong again next January.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Woods a cut above the rest
Tiger Woods goes into a play-off with compatriot Rocco Mediate for the US Open title later today, seeking his 14th Major victory of his career. But it was nearly a case of what could have been for Rocco Mediate.
Woods had the second worst score in the Top 10 (2 over, along with Camilo Villegas and Lee Westwood). Only Geoff Ogilvy finished worse off, one shot further back.
Woods, who has never lost a major title when leading going into the fourth round, clearly struggled with his left knee throughout Saturday and Sunday. The physios will have been busy overnight to ensure the World No.1 is in tip-top shape for another cut at the testing Torrey Pines course. But that final 12 foot putt will be the only shot broadcast to tell the story of the final round. Never bet against Tiger when it comes to the crunch.
And yet even with Woods visibly handicapped by his knee injury he managed to out-last any of his nearest ‘rivals’. Ogilvy was the only other Top 10 World-ranked player to finish in Top 10.
It seems that the World No.1 will need to be further handicapped in order for the rest of the world’s top golfers to lose their inferiority complex and try competing against Woods.
While Woods has not won every major going, it is symptomatic of the other ‘Top’ golfers that only Phil Mickelson, Vijah Singh and Retief Goosen have increased their Majors tally above one in recent years. Singh (3rd) and Goosen (2nd) last managed that as long ago as 2004 and have not been able to add any more since. While South African Ernie Els has not added to his Major tally of three since 2002.
So Mediate now has an opportunity to break the record that last-round lead record Woods has maintained throughout his career. And no better time to do so either. A fifth day will test all the mental and physical resolve of the World No.1. But one-on-one it is hard to see past Woods. Even with only one and a half functioning legs!
Woods had the second worst score in the Top 10 (2 over, along with Camilo Villegas and Lee Westwood). Only Geoff Ogilvy finished worse off, one shot further back.
Woods, who has never lost a major title when leading going into the fourth round, clearly struggled with his left knee throughout Saturday and Sunday. The physios will have been busy overnight to ensure the World No.1 is in tip-top shape for another cut at the testing Torrey Pines course. But that final 12 foot putt will be the only shot broadcast to tell the story of the final round. Never bet against Tiger when it comes to the crunch.
And yet even with Woods visibly handicapped by his knee injury he managed to out-last any of his nearest ‘rivals’. Ogilvy was the only other Top 10 World-ranked player to finish in Top 10.
It seems that the World No.1 will need to be further handicapped in order for the rest of the world’s top golfers to lose their inferiority complex and try competing against Woods.
While Woods has not won every major going, it is symptomatic of the other ‘Top’ golfers that only Phil Mickelson, Vijah Singh and Retief Goosen have increased their Majors tally above one in recent years. Singh (3rd) and Goosen (2nd) last managed that as long ago as 2004 and have not been able to add any more since. While South African Ernie Els has not added to his Major tally of three since 2002.
So Mediate now has an opportunity to break the record that last-round lead record Woods has maintained throughout his career. And no better time to do so either. A fifth day will test all the mental and physical resolve of the World No.1. But one-on-one it is hard to see past Woods. Even with only one and a half functioning legs!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
10 down. Only 52 days to go!
As is my wont, I have thrown myself, two feet first, into the triathlon training, and I have not wilted just yet.
Actually starting training did not put the fear of God into me, more the amount of training. Six days a week is a serious commitment. And while it would not be remiss to describe my level of fitness as below average, with ten sessions completed, my body has not totally rejected the work it has been put through. Indeed after only a week and a half’s training I have already noticed a change in my level of fitness. And before you ask, it’s moving in the right direction!
Each as an individual discipline is not that challenging, but as a triumvirate of one event; now that presents a real test. The swim is the one that is causing me the more trepidation. While I can swim, I was never the one to simply crunch out the laps in a pool. The triathlon isn’t in a pool. So that lifeguard need not be too far away, just in case!
I am moving steadily towards the actual race distance of each, but as stated above, as I started from a rather low level of fitness, the push to get there is going to be steady rather than bring on the quickest ever triathlete burnout known to man.
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