Thursday 3 December 2015
Challenge Galway 2016....training has commenced!
The Challenge Galway 2016
Here are some of the challenges I face going into training for Challenge 2016:
(1) I haven’t trained properly in two years (i.e. any structure to my training)
(2) I just have had cataract surgery in my right eye (8th October); followed by a macular edema on my retina.
(3) I take blood pressure tablets every day (mild ones albeit but lots of family history of cardiac issues). Not necessarily a challenge but something to be mindful of.
(4) We run our own business, my husband Sean and I.
(5) Sean is also competing in Challenge Galway 2016.
(6) We have a daughter aged 7 and a son aged 5 (nearly 6).
(7) I entered ironman Galway (half) in 2012 but the swim was cut short and I didn’t do the run as I had a running injury so I have never even completed half ironman distance.
(8) I am reasonable swimmer, ok on the bike and a poor runner.
Two years ago I decided to stop doing triathlons and spend more time with the kids while there were small. This year I realised how important it is for me to train and be fit, for my mental wellbeing as much as anything else. Apparently, kids who see their mothers (particularly) exercise are far more likely to exercise themselves. Obviously this is something we would like our kids to do.
While I qualified as a fitness instructor in 1994 a lot has changed since then and I knew that without a rigid training programme training would be ad hoc and on wet & windy days just wouldn’t happen. I decided that I needed a coach. I got Don Fink’s book but without some accountability I probably would skip a few sessions. Thankfully, through my husband, I was introduced to Dave. I now have a plan, someone to ask questions, and someone to keep me on track.
Every week I receive a training plan and I follow it. Sometimes the lingo has me confused and I just have to ping Dave an email and all is explained. Recently we had our financial year end in the business and the kids were waking a lot of nights, Dave saw the results on my Garmin connect and decided that I needed another rest day during the week for the next few weeks. I needed more time for my body to recover.
I started training on Marathon Monday, 26th October so I am now 6 weeks into a training plan. The first few weeks was all about biking and running as I wasn’t allowed back in the pool after eye surgery.
My first turbo session (46 minutes) was as follows:
10 easy
4x(1HC, 30 sec easy)
4x(30sec build, 30sec easy)
4x(3 BG steady cap, 1 easy)
5x(15sec sprint, 45 sec easy)
5 easy
HC= high cadence > 110rpm
build= first easy, second less and so on
BG= < 60rpm
steady cap = HR cap top end of steady
sprint=go for it
My first run (30mins) back was as follows:
Easy - include 5x(20sec fast, 40sec easy)
fast here means fast but not a sprint, not flat out
After 6 weeks I am doing harder turbo (Tuesday nights) sessions (55 mins) and my heart rate recovery is a lot better and I even hit 150 cadence. After this session my heart rate after the cool down period was 125 which is good for me (for the moment at least).
10 easy
4x(1HC, 30 sec easy)
4x(30sec build, 30sec easy)
4x(5 BG steady cap, 1 easy)
5x(15sec sprint, 45 sec easy)
5 easy
Wednesday morning is Swim session and this week I did a 3km session as follows:
400m warm up
8 x 50m drills ( arrow drill) to help rotate and glide
(this following set x 6)
2 x 100m @ 1;55 - breath every 5 breath (focus on glide when breathing)
2 x 100m @1;50 – breath every 3 breaths ( focus on glide when breathing)
1 x 50 @1;30 easy
100 easy
Today Thursday 3rd December Run (40m)
Easy - include 5x20sec fast, 40sec easy
Because of work commitments at the moment Dave has tailored my plan to facilitate less time for training. The intensity of the sessions has however increased. As a summary my weekly training is 2 hours bike turbo ; 2 hours run; 1 hour swim. ½ hr strength and conditioning class. Total 5.5 hours per week. Hopefully in January things will return to normal and long runs and long bike rides can take place but for the moment we are working with what time is available for us to train.
It’s great to be back in training, I love the routine and structure of it and I find I have more energy (in general) than before. I will try to keep a weekly blog on my progress and occasionally I will throw up a blog about particular issues that I encounter.
Saturday 23 May 2015
Coast to Coast 2015 –Multi Sport Race Report
An account of a Husband & Wife Team Adventure
(300km plus race in 24hours)
“You will set off from
Enniscrone, Co Sligo and race your way across Ireland in daylight and darkness
along a stunning route to the finish line in Newcastle, Co Down 316km later and
at the finish line of the toughest multi-sport race in Ireland and one of the
toughest in Europe.”
I missed that section of the 26
Extreme website and only read it the day after the race! I actually didn’t
really look at the web site that gave details about the Coast to Coast 2015 before
doing the race, I just wanted to do an adventure race this year and ideally I
wanted to do it as part of a team with my husband Sean.
Usually, if we ever get to race together, it
gets quite competitive between both of us!
We both met at Wicklow Triathlon Club so triathlon is what we both love
doing and pushing ourselves to the limits is a definition of who we are.
We had a pretty stressful 2014 as we
eventually took a decision, in August, to close a shop we had opened in
Limerick. November and early December
are traditionally the quietest periods in our business but even being aware of
this I am still always anxious during that six week period and fearful that
things won’t pick up again– it happens every year and fortunately I am always
nicely surprised as to how well business resumes after that traditional
lull.
Finally Christmas and New Year for
one reason or another turned out to be a period where Sean and I would go
through a ‘dark’ phase and ended up arguing quite a bit. For all of these
reasons I reckoned it would be good for us to do a team event. A small part of me also wanted to prove to
Sean that I too had the strength to do a long haul adventure race! (Sean had
competed in the Beast of Ballyhoura the previous summer a gruelling 40 hour race).
The race title ‘Coast to Coast
2015’ caught my eye and I liked the fact that it started in my native Co. Sligo
so I mentioned it in passing to Sean early in the new year.
As I mentioned my background is
triathlon, adventure racing never really looked appealing to me particularly
because swimming is my strongest sport and there usually isn’t a swimming
section in an adventure race. This year however I wanted to venture into
something different and something that would be a good test of my stamina (I am
not a good sprinter).
I have competed in triathlons
since 2006 (well actually I did the swim section of one of the first half Ironman
triathlons in Ireland in 1995 in Rosses Point, Co. Sligo but I don’t count
that). I had babies in 2008 and 2010 so I was out of action for a while.
Unfortunately I wasn’t one of those super females who train right through
pregnancy and ended up gaining over 2.5 stone in weight over that period. The
babies were only 13 months apart so it was only when Ruaidhri, our youngest,
was one before I was in the mood to get fit again. In 2010 we opened a running
specific shop in Oranmore, Co. Galway, +Amphibian King West - Galway, so that meant I needed
to get back training fast.
Before really discussing it
properly, towards the end of January this year, Sean said he had entered us for
the Coast to Coast race on May 16th and that we really should start training
seriously.
I would characterise myself as; stubborn and
determined (I am a Taurus of course); focused; can get anxious (but usually not
just before or during a race); good stamina; strong upper body and legs but
very weak glutes; mediocre willpower (hard to resist wine on a Friday or
Saturday night). I firmly believed I had what it took mentally to get through
the race.
Rachel our daughter, now 6 years
old, has woken me every night since she was born, sometimes twice a night. This
is something we have been working to sort out for some time. A few nights a
week I can be awake for two or three hours during the night after having been woken
and not being able to go back to sleep. So despite being hard on the body I was
confident that lack of sleep during the Coast to Coast race wasn’t going to be
a big issue for me. I was concerned however that she would look for me during
the night when we were away but I had a few chats with her and just hoped all
would be okay.
Winter Training (Jan-April)
During the winter I hadn’t been
out on the bike at all and I was only getting out occasionally for some runs so
there was loads of work that had to be done.
As I age I am more conscious of doing some weight bearing exercises to
avoid osteoporosis and to avoid injury, core workouts. I had been consistently
attending a class in Club Vitae in Oranmore all winter where three times a
week (well I usually made two times a week if I am honest) Kashia put us ladies
through our paces with squats, dead lifts, jumping jacks and lots more. I
really loved the classes. I also attended and loved Jane Ann Meehan’s class at the Athenry Physiotherapy
and Performance clinic once a week for a half hour circuit/ core workout. So I wasn’t totally unfit at the end of January.
I gradually (without any
structure) got out on the bike once or twice a week and got a few runs in when
I could. I swam consistently from mid -January to early March for the Limerick
Masters Long Course Championship where I competed in the 1500m swim race. My
lungs were starting to feel strong. Immediately after the swim race (March 6th)
I dropped the swimming and started more consciously running and biking. Even my
classes with Kashia in Club Vitae suffered as I was afraid I would have muscle
soreness after the classes and wouldn’t be able to train for the Coast to
Coast.
5k to 10k runs and 40-50k cycles
became my new training regime, done whenever I could fit them in.
Six weeks before the Race
About 6 weeks before the race I
was rushing about cleaning the house trying to get as many jobs done as I could
before I went out a run and I caught my little toe on the leg of a chair. It
went out sideways and was excruciating painful. I was sore, black and blue all
over the top part of my foot. No running for about three weeks. It was all down
to bike training for a while and the occasional swim.
Two weeks before the race
We took delivery of our new
kayak. We ventured out one Sunday morning with the kids to Rinville near Galway
Bay Sailing Club and I got my first kayak lesson from Sean with the kids in the
boat. I then got a 750m spin on my own and that was the sum total of my kayak
training for the Coast to Coast.
In terms of our shop, we managed
to secure Doireann, a super reliable ex staff member to come back to the shop
and manage it for the day of the race for us. Peadar who has helped us out on
and off for the past 5 years was preparing for exams but he still made himself
available to cover for Sean as he needed to get on the road to get registered
for the race in Enniscrone at 8.30pm on Friday 15th May. Diarmuid,
Peadar’s younger brother agreed to help Doireann on Saturday so finally we had
secured the shop position so we could get away….now I just needed someone to
mind the kids for the weekend!!
I am extremely fortunate that my
Dad (who lives in Rosses Point, Co. Sligo), my aunt Tez and my cousin Eoin came
to the rescue, I knew the kids would be in good hands and they would have a
great weekend too. Knowing that my Mum would have just loved to have taken them
for the weekend if she was still around was sort of tough but I knew she would be
with me to pull me through any dark moments during the race.
During the week we were very
lucky that Maurice Moloney agreed to be our support crew for the race. Why
anyone would want such a job was beyond me and I was very surprised Sean had
actually a number of friends who offered to do the job but Maurice stepped up
to the plate. A support crew was an essential requirement of the race, driving
the equipment from A to B, and helping organise the kayak and the bikes.
Maurice was amazing and had everything laid out for at each transition so we
couldn’t have asked for better person to do the job.
One Week before the Race
The week before the race was
manic. Ruaidhri had his MMR booster vaccination at school (he woke in the
middle of the night with a sore arm so I was up getting Calpol at 3am), I had
to trek out to Furbo (the other side of Galway from where we live) with Rachel
for an appointment and then had the usually gymnastics, swimming, Irish
dancing, Gaelic football runs to do. I did manage to have a massage with Greg McLean
in Kilcolgan on Wednesday morning which was excellent as I had a slight niggle
in my knee. He found my legs and back pretty tight and recommended needles into
my left leg which normally I don’t agreed to but I did on this occasion. If I
was anxious about any part of the race it was the 33k run at the end. I am
extremely flexible and my ankles do not respond well to uneven terrain so I was
fearful of going over on them, additionally I was fearful that the niggle in my
left knee would get worse and I would be in agony trying to finish the race. I
did no training all that week – no bike, run or kayak. Every morning I woke up
my quads felt like I had already run a marathon, I was exhausted from all the
running around.
Wednesday night I started to
gather my gear in one place and organise a first aid box. Even though I was
exhausted on Thursday evening Sean insisted I lay out my gear for each stage of
the race on our kitchen floor. Being the obedient wife and all that I did what
I was told. At this point I had most of
my gear collected and we put our stuff into our own boxes. I had a separate small box of gear to cover
all weather outcomes.
One Day before the Race
The morning the day before the
race I spent making Lasagne & egg mayonnaise for sandwiches, getting the
kids bags packed, food ready for them for the weekend and collecting them from
school. Sean thought I was totally mad making ‘real’ food for the race (as
opposed to energy bars and gels) but I knew I would be sick of those types of
snacks if I needed them to keep me going for 24hours. ‘No way Edel, you really
won’t need half the amount you think you will need.’ said Sean after his
experience at The Beast of Ballyhoura last year. (Ref: lesson three below)
It was a miserable day and
driving conditions as we headed to Sligo were very poor. It was a three hour drive in the conditions
and with various loo stops etc. for the kids. There was no way the weather could
be like this for two days in a row I was sure (hoped). We arrived in my Dads
house and he said his cleaner had let him down so off I went cleaning and
making up the room for Maurice! Nothing like a distraction to take my mind off
the race ahead!
Registration (Ocean Sands Hotel Enniscrone):
Sean and Maurice arrived at
registration shortly before 9pm and the race briefing had already commenced. I
got the kids to bed in my Dads house in Rosses Point and headed to Enniscrone
not realising quite how far away it was. It was 9.20pm before I arrived at the
registration hotel and people were exiting from the briefing. Sean and Maurice
had picked up the maps and hoodies and there was absolutely nothing for me to
do. I didn’t need to be there for registration, I missed the briefing so I may
as well have saved myself the 2 hour round trip in the car!
It was 10.20pm before we got home
and Sean mumbled something about being afraid that he forgot one of the boxes.
I didn’t pay much heed.
Morning before the race:
Awake at 7am or so with the kids
and looked out the window to find that the weather looked OK, windy but
reasonably dry. The forecast was that there would be westerly winds so that suited
us going from East to West. I set about getting my food box ready. Apples,
bananas, ham sandwiches, egg mayo sandwiches, Lasagne divided into portions,
trail mix. Not a great porridge fan I opted for Nutella and banana on toast for
breakfast and a two cups of coffee.
I knew I had some hand & toe
warmers in my first aid box so I went to look for it. I don’t have great
circulation and I find my feet in particular get very cold. The thought of
doing 200k plus on the bike with cold feet didn’t appeal to me.
To my horror I learned that Sean
had forgotten to bring our first aid box with him. ‘Sure I have a first aid box
that will do us fine’ he said. This was a general first aid kit that I was sure
didn’t have what I wanted in it. ‘Really
Edel, I promise you we have everything we need with us, you never need half the
amount of stuff you bring’, he said. Luckily I had thrown in a few hand and toe
warmers into my handbag. (Ref: lesson number one)
Unfortunately I had put my inhalers
in my box (although prescribed for asthma I didn’t really use them as I am fine
most of the time but I liked them there as a comfort); my hockey ball (to tease
out my piriformis problem – the root of my knee issues I believed); my nice
Clairn’s sun cream; ice packs; my knee support, lots of plasters I had bought
and some painkillers (just in case). (Ref; lesson number one). Needless to say
I was really annoyed but was given the line that ‘there were no boxes left on
the kitchen floor when we left’ despite me leaving the first aid box with all
our gear earlier in the day. Poor
Maurice had to jump out of the firing line! There was nothing I could do save
insist we stop by a pharmacy before the race which started at 12 noon in
Enniscrone.
I then looked for my Asics water
bottles to fill with water and accelerate (liquid power fuel for the over
40’s!). My bike, a carbon Cannondale racing bike was only a 51cm frame so I
needed small water bottles to fit on them. I went to the van and couldn’t find
them. I had left 6 of them neatly on the island in the kitchen before I left.
There was nothing else left on the counter so I assumed Sean would grab them
and throw them into the van (ref: lesson seven).
My blood pressure was now
rising as I couldn’t find any water bottles. ‘Are you not wearing your Camelbac for the race Edel?’ he asked. ‘I thought you were’. Perhaps I have to blame myself here for lack
of communication because while I left
out the Camelbak out on Wednesday night as we went through our gear, it was
never my intention to wear it on the bike – I only wanted to put water in it
for the run. Accelerate, while lovely to drink, is difficult to wash out of
bottles as it sticks to the edges. I didn’t want to drink accelerate for the
whole 24 hours so I reckoned I would keep the Camelbak just for water and use
the other water bottles for sports drinks. Now I was in trouble, we had no
water bottles with us in Sligo!
Poor Maurice stood aside silently as the stress
levels were now at an elevated level.
9:30am and time to get dressed
for the race. I opted to a long bib to run in and I was going to pull on a pair
of bike shorts over them to do the cycle. A long sleeved top and waterproof rain
jacket.
As I checked through my gear I
noticed some of my clothes were missing. I had nothing to change into for the
second leg of the bike; I had a long bib but no thermal top. I had left aside a
box in the kitchen with all my other (additional) gear which I assumed Sean
would throw into the van. In that box was a lovely long sleeve top and some
other bits of gear that I needed. (Ref lesson number seven)
At this point I was fuming. I
couldn’t understand how someone could take out four boxes and leave two behind
when all six were packed neatly together in the first place. I, whether good or
bad, tend to throw in the kitchen sink, ‘just in case’, particularly when we
have a large van and have the space. I just could not fathom it.
While I was raging, and I let it
be known I was mad, I said I would somehow manage. I had no choice.
We said goodbye to the kids and
Dado and stopped off at Gary Cycles in Sligo town. Sean needed new cleats for
his bike shoes and I decided to pop in in case there was anything I could find
for myself. Luckily I found a medium Pearl Izumi thermal top on a clearance
rail and I picked up two small water bottles (Cannondale so they would go with
my bike). In fairness Gary looked after us really well, gave us a nice discount
and threw in a few gels to boot!
Off to Enniscrone and a quick stop
at the pharmacy. Ice packs, knee support, Nurophen & Dextrose sweets (for which we were
very grateful for later on).
Finally, albeit less than an hour
before the race began, I felt we had everything we needed.
Sean knew I was annoyed with him
and I was getting drained from all the energy I had spent by getting annoyed. (Ref;
lesson number two). ‘Just let it go Edel’ he said and I really tried to but I
found it hard.
5km Run - Enniscrone Beach, Co. Sligo
At 11;55 we were all called
together and told it was an out and back 5km to a cone on the beach. Stay by
the water we were told to find firmer ground. Apparently the two day event
people that started at 6am weren’t as lucky as the tide was in and they had to
run the full 5k on soft sand.
12 noon and a shout ‘off you go’
and that was it – it was here finally – the start of our crazy adventure. There was a headwind on the way out and I
tucked in behind Sean to shelter. Then a group caught us so I decided to tuck
myself in the middle for a while but when we hit soft sand they all moved ahead
of me and I was left with poor Sean again. I hated every step of the way. I
never liked running on beaches and this one was no different. We hit the 2.5km
mark and thankfully the way back was easier but I was very worried as I finding
it tough and we were only 2.5km into a 300km plus race. On the return 2.5k I
had a chat with myself and told myself that if I don’t let my negative thoughts
go now it was going to be a really long race and I probably wouldn’t have the
energy to finish so I made a conscious decision not dwell on any of the
mornings events and get on with what we had set out to do. I was so glad to get
back to the transition even if we were one of the last teams in.
I hate running on beaches and the first part
of this race didn’t change that fact one bit.
108km Cycle – Enniscrone to Ballinamore
(Enniscrone ; Easky; Dromore West; Templeboy ; Beltra; Ballysadare;
Collooney; Ballygawley; Geevagh ; Keadew; Drumshambo ; Ballinamore )
I pulled on my cycle shorts over
my long bib and kept my Ronhill Tempest waterproof jacket on for the
cycle. I was so happy to be on the bike.
Sean was ahead of me and was happy to lead out as we had a strong wind mainly
behind us. I was slightly worried at times that Sean was pushing it too hard. I
had no speedo on my bike so I had no idea what speed we were doing. My watch is
a Garmin 220 run watch but the GPS would drain the battery so I didn’t bother
turn it on, similarily the heart rate function would also drain the battery so I
didn’t know my heart rate. I just kept cycling behind Sean and occasionally
took the lead to give him a break. I kept drinking and nibbled on a Jack o’Bar
(nice coconut taste). I wasn’t even too sure what distance we were going to
cover before we go into the kayak (ref lesson number seven). I was happy out, while we doubted we
were assisted by the wind for the majority of the trip, it was great to be out
together just enjoying a bike ride. We had a brief stop in Ballygawley (after
55km) where Maurice was duly waiting. I had a ham sandwich partly to prove that
it was important that we brought ‘real food’. Off we proceeded to Ballinamore.
27.4km Kayak- Shannon Erne-Waterway
At approx. 4pm (if you read
Sean’s report (which I haven’t yet) you will probably get more exact timing as
he has a more sophisticated Polar V800 watch that recorded everything) we got
to Ballinamore for the Kayak transition. Again Maurice had everything ready. I
dibbed in (electronic device used for tracking and ensuring we hit designated points) and proceeded to get changed. My quads were burning at this stage so
I opted to walk into the water on the slipway into the ice cold water. I hoped
it would help my legs for the next bike leg.
As we fumbled onto the kayak my Camelbak fell in mud. Apart from that we proceeded to move well along our route. I
was told I should keep my arms straight and move from the hips but it didn’t
feel comfortable. ‘Your deltoids are only a small muscle Edel and they will get
tired quickly so keep your arms straight’ but I still found it unnatural.
The
weather had turned pleasant and by 7pm (after having to lift the heavy kayak
over three locks (fortunately I only had to lift it once)) we both agreed it
was a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday evening. Not having a clue where we
were going I totally relied on Sean for the navigation, which he did superbly.
If you want a more detailed account of the waterway I assume Sean has given all
the in’s and out’s in his report so I suggest you read that!
One of the lasting
memories I have is when we almost capsized! Totally my fault of course (I am
serious here). We were in the middle of the most exposed part of the waterway,
a large lake. We had to navigate around the side of an island and then verge
left to another canal. A race safety officer approached us in a boat and
started to shout something at us. I couldn’t hear him so I stopped and let the
paddle drop. All I recall is the boat tipping over and Sean almost in the
water. He was furious. Lots of water was in the boat but at least it had stayed
upright. The egg sandwiches were locked in a bin in the boat and thankfully
remained dry!
Sean mentioned that we were
really close to the transition area but it kept being ‘just around the corner’.
At this stage I was tired. While we finally had managed to work very well in
the boat together and managed to get it moving swiftly at 6km odd per hour, I
had had enough of it and wanted it to end. I started singing ‘Show me the way
to go home…’ and Sean joined in! It was just something to keep our minds off
that next corner and the fact that it wasn’t the last one! Finally we saw
Maurice in his blue hoody. I was sure I saw him running in a white top along
the waterway so I assumed it wasn’t him as he was there waiting for us when we
arrived. I found out it was him running and he hadn’t expected us back so soon!
Nice to hear that…we must have been really fast! It was 8pm (again approx.) and
I think I recall Sean saying we were ahead of his estimated time.
My legs felt wobbly and I
stumbled out of the kayak, luckily someone saved me from falling back into
the water. We dibbed in and changed into fresh bike gear and I replenished my
bottles. Sean kindly adjusted my newly acquired Silva Trail running light on my
head and made sure my lights were on my bike. My newly acquired Pearl Izumi top
felt really nice!
I was not that hungry but mentally wanted a small break. I
looked around as I recalled there was mention of ‘share’ house at the end of the
kayak where we might be able to sit for a moment and eat some lasagne (if they
had a microwave to heat it up). Maurice had kindly bought us some nice hot
coffee which was really welcome. I asked him where was the ‘share’ house was as
I couldn’t see it. ‘You have to cycle to it’ he said ‘it is another 17km away
in Lisnaskea’. Nice!
140km Cycle Lisnaskea to Rostrevor
(Lisnaskea; Fivemiletown; Clogher; Augher; Aughnacloy ; Caledon;
Armagh; Newry ; Warrenpoint ; Rostrevor (Kilbroney Park Cycle))
I was a little cold but Sean was
shivering and I was quite worried about him. He had short pants on for the
kayak (I had long dry pants) and he had got quite wet when we nearly capsized.
He also managed to kick over most of the coffee Maurice had bought him and I didn’t
realise that until mine was all gone. He just wanted to get moving so he could
warm up.
I don’t think many of the
24hour race teams or individuals bothered to stop at the share centre but we
believed (even Sean did) that a hot meal of Lasagne might see us well
throughout the night. The place was deserted apart from two race organisers. There
was a big table of loads of sandwiches, juice and water, fruit and Taytos. Apparently
there was a sign saying you were allowed two sandwiches per person! We heated
our food, ate it rather quickly and proceeded on the road.
I felt really glad that Maurice
had to drive behind us for the hours of darkness. A really horrible job for him
but for me this was the scariest part as I knew running our own business
neither of us could afford to get injured and of course, if something awful
happened, what would happen to our kids. I am a worrier I will admit, but these
are the things that were going through my head not just cycling but for the
weeks prior to the cycle.
We took turns at the front but somewhere
near Aughnacloy, I didn’t see the road split into a messy verge with a lip and
then the main road. All of a sudden I was on horrible gravel and couldn’t control
the bike. Luckily I finally managed to and lifted it onto the road. It was my
first puncture. Sean was really fast at
changing it (it probably would have taken me half an hour but he had it fixed
in few minutes). I felt the back was a little soft after a little while but
Sean said ride on and if it gets worse we would change it. We proceeded to Aughnacloy
where I wanted to stop to take something out of my shoe. A young girl who had
been not far from us on the kayak section passed us out in the darkness. She
looked strong; I was full of admiration for her. I didn’t think at that stage
it was a race I would be able to or want to do on my own. We were about to
leave and I noticed my back tyre was quite soft. Sean decided we better just
change it there and then. I have no idea what time we left there but we kept
cycling and apart from some lower back stiffness and neck stiffness I actually
felt grand.
I managed the hills better than Sean and was able to encourage him
with a few words. On some of the hills I felt I would go backwards if I slowed
down and Sean was aware of this so he just said for me to ride on.
It was very strange cycling
through Armagh at 2.30pm odd as people emerged with a few drinks on them onto
the streets. On another day that could easily be me I thought! I was a little
nervous some people might annoy us but nobody did thankfully.
I thought we were going great but
I had no idea of our speed. It wasn’t until the day after the race really that
it registered that we were 7 hours in the saddle during the night hours. I
joked with Maurice in the van on the way back that I thought we lost the race
on the first 5k run but he disagreed and said he thought we lost it on the
second bike leg. We were like two totally different cyclists he said. I was
surprised as I felt fine on both sections – well relatively at least! I guess
that is the surreal part of the race, through those hours of darkness when your
speed automatically reduces even if you aren’t fully aware of it. Weird.
Up, up and up more hills from
Armagh to Newry which never seemed to be compensated for by the short downhills.
On arrival to Rostrevor the yellow arrow that we followed so diligently for the
near 250km plus on the bike pointed to a narrower road which I reckoned was the
end of the bike stage. How cruel however, after turning left, the road went
vertical upwards for 500m approx. Sorry I am no good at guessing gradients and
distances (particularly at 4am) so no doubt Sean has covered that in his
report. Lets just say it was a very steep hill!
33km Off Road Run- Mourne Way Route
4am. We were cold and miserable. I didn’t
feel mentally tired however and I guess Rachel putting me through sleep
deprivation every night was starting to pay off! I really just wanted a hot cup
of tea before we set off again and a toilet stop. I dibbed in and there was one
official there who said there was no tea or coffee but then remembered he had a
kettle and indeed there was some coffee but he had no mugs. I agreed to supply
a mug if he made me coffee. Not a toilet in sight either and nothing available
he said so it was off to the bush with me.
When our coffee arrived I
actually just held it for warmth. I couldn’t bring myself to drink it as I knew
I was quite dehydrated. Sean gave me an orange juice carton he had picked up at
the share house and I drank that followed by some taytos for salt. I sucked on dextrose sweet and finally I was
ready to sip a mouthful or two of coffee.
I got my Camelbak (which was
full of water) and threw in some dextrose sweets, a ham sandwich, a Jack o bar,
trail mix, a can of red bull, a gel and a banana.
At about 4.30am on Sunday morning
it was just starting to get bright and we headed off up into the forest. I was
delighted to hear Sean say that we would just trek this last section. I had Saucony
running pants on, covered with waterproof dry pants. An Atak thermal
compression base layer and a Brooks running top over which I put on my Ronhill
jacket. A pair of warm Asics trail
socks, my Adidas trail shoes, a buff, a beanie, a set of poles and I was
appropriately attired I believed. I think I saw somewhere that Sean had
estimated we should complete this section in 4.5 to 5 hours so I reckoned we
would be back at base by 9.30am approx.
I couldn’t believe the terrain we
had to go over. My legs felt heavy after the long cycles but even if I could
move them for a run I just couldn’t imagine that anyone could run over such
uneven surfaces. The trek brought us up to be brought back down again over so many
hills I can’t recall. Over bog land, following sheep trails, jumping over
streams. I still didn’t feel sleepy and my legs were fine once you didn’t ask
them to run. I just kept following the line Sean had made ahead and I totally
trusted his judgement in whatever decisions he made.
Once again I was totally ignorant
with regards to direction and where we were going but this section (unlike the
kayak section which wasn’t marked at all) was fully marked with yellow arrows
which we were to follow.
We told Maurice to skip the first
recommended stop as we would be grand and suggested he head to the half way
mark and get a few hours’ sleep in the van which was kitted out with a blow up
bed and sleeping bags! If we needed him at that point we would wake him but
otherwise we would leave a gel in the window so he would know we passed
through.
I honestly could not believe that
it was only the half way point, I just couldn’t see us making it to the end if
we had to that all over again. Sean looked for somewhere to dib in but there
was no dibber to be seen. We spent some time here wasted wandering about at 8am
in the morning. We just went on eventually.
A couple of Km on a hard surface and even at
that I wasn’t tempted to get running. Only on one downhill road section Sean
suggested we get into a jog and I agreed, until I saw we had to climb another
turnstile into yet another field.
At some point an older man passed
us running in his Hoka trail runners. I was amazed he ran over these surfaces.
Finally we came a point to dib
and an official was standing there. I asked how many more Km to Newcastle and he
said 13km. It is mainly uphill but the very last bit is downhill he said. I didn’t
believe him, I was sure he was joking.
The terrain turned to loose rocks
and was tough to walk on. Further on it started to go up hill, sections of
which I had to climb on my hands and knees. We dibbed in at the top of the
hill and proceeded to head left towards which I assumed was Newcastle. Across
the side of a mountain, in and out between rocks, twists and turns. It was pleasant
looking down at a totally deserted place, two mountains and a large lake
between them. The wind was on our backs
and I was happy that finally the end was near.
‘I can see people at the top’
Sean said as he pointed to the top of a nearby mountain with what looked like a
wall running up the side of it. People
out mountain climbing I thought to myself. ‘We have to climb that mountain to
dib in’ he said ‘then we need to return to where the guy told us it was 13km to go’.
I was in shock, I wasn’t thinking right and I just asked ‘how far is it to
Newcastle from that point’ 2km he assured me.
‘No way’ I said ‘I am not
climbing up there’. ‘I don’t care if we lose points or whatever' I just needed to
get back to let my aunt return to Swinford where she lives and I promised we
would be back in Sligo about 4pm. It was 10:30am at this stage and I just couldn’t
see us being back for the kids if we climbed that mountain. Maurice also needed to get back to
Killaloe so we didn’t have time to spare. Looking back I think
physically I probably could have done it.
Off we trekked back across the
side of the mountain and gingerly found our way to the bottom of the big hill
with the rocks. I asked Sean on the way why there were no yellow arrows
pointing the direction we were travelling but he said it was obvious to
everyone and everyone knew that you had just to retrace your steps to the dib
point. I was seeing things, like water on the horizon but Sean assured me it
was just another field. I wasn’t concentrating for a few minutes and I fell off
the side of the pathway badly twisting my ankle. Fortunately my flexibility
came to the rescue and I managed to stand up again with the help of Sean. I
walked a few steps and went over on the other ankle. Helped up again Sean said ‘come
on Edel’ so I pushed on.
I was very tired at this stage
mentally and physically and when we got to the point where the official said ‘13k
to go’ he wasn’t there. Sean took out
his map and screamed at the top of his voice ‘F**K’. I knew things weren’t good
with that kind of exclamation. We didn’t need to come all the way back to that
point he said we should have just continued past the mountain we both agreed
not to climb and then proceed three km to the finish line on the promenade in
Newcastle.
Sean was gutted, personally I didn’t really care. I just wanted to
finish. ‘Don’t worry’ I said, ‘in my
opinion we still made it Coast to Coast’ Sean, even if we missed the last 3km’.
We agreed to call Maurice to pick
us up but he had been tracking us on the GPS and was already on the way. How
nice it was to get back into the van. He asked us if we wanted to go down to
the finish line but we were anxious to get started on the journey back to
Sligo, onwards to Galway for Sean and Killaloe for poor Maurice.
Our crazy adventure was over. We
stopped the clock after exactly 24hours of activity. Sean burned 17,500 calories
during that time; I assume I burned somewhat less. There were some lows but
mostly highs. Sean and I got along very well and worked well together as a
team. I loved the adventure, I loved being out there with Sean doing what we
love to do, I was proud that I was able to sustain the pace and keep it going
for the whole 24hours.
I am not sure if I would like to
try a 48 hour event but I would actually have no fear now of ever trying an
ironman event, even if that was an itch I still had to scratch (but it isn’t…yet).
We are still married and we both feel doing the race has
brought us closer together. We even came home and started to look at what other
team events we can do together! Success!!
Lessons learned from Coast to Coast 2015
(1) Be
fully responsible for your own gear
(2) Don’t
let negative thoughts consume you and sap your energy
(3) Trust
your own instincts and don’t let anyone sway your gut feeling
(4) Have
confidence in yourself, keep focussed
(5) Test
your limits as you will be amazed at what you can achieve
(6) Don’t
be afraid to do a team event with a partner, it is actually great fun.
(7) Familiarise
yourself with the course even if someone else is taking responsibility for
navigation.
(8)
Never assume anything!
Sunday 30 June 2013
29th Hell of the West 2013 Race Report- Lessons learned and room for improvement
A rare Saturday off from +Amphibian King Galway and I was all set to race the infamous Hell of the West.
Friday 22 March 2013
Being a Swim Smooth defined “Swinger”
I started to read a few swim
books to see if I could gain any further insight. I read a Total Immersion Swim
book but just couldn’t identify with it. Trying to take long strokes just isn’t
me, it never was. I struggle to take 23 strokes per 25m so there is no way I was
going to get that down to 18 without a lot of work. I am the mum of two young
kids aged 3 and 4 years and I simply don’t have the time to massively overhaul my
stroke. I probably just don’t have the patience anyway.
I picked up my husband’s Swim Smooth
book and I was thrilled that I was able to relate to one of the swim types that
they had mentioned. Fast choppy stroke rate, straight arm recovery, performs
better in open water, dislikes sprinting but likes distance swimming. This was
just me even the comment “may have received unfavourable comments about their
stroke in the past in comparison to smoother swimmers” was so applicable. They even said that many elite swimmers were
this swim type which they termed “Swingers”. Maybe things weren’t so bad after
all!
On seeing that Paul Newsome and
Adam Young the authors of the book were giving a clinic in Limerick
I got very excited. Yes it wasn’t cheap and I was going to have to ask my
husband to mind the kids on a bank holiday but I was determined to go.
It was an action packed day to
say the least. After seeing the schedule I thought I might get bored – how on
earth could one analyse the freestyle stroke for a whole day? However from the
moment we had the ‘meet and greet’ to the receiving our own DVD’s at the end of
the day I loved every minute of it. All
this helped no doubt by the fact that I was finally being complimented on most
elements of my stroke, I was really chuffed. Yes I can now live with having an
“uglier” stroke then the smoother swimmers. Anyway as Adam said Swingers have
more fun!!
First time in the pool since the
clinic this morning and a few things to work on, (1) reduce leg kick and kick
from the hip (apparently even Ian Thorpe only gets 11% of his propulsion from
his kick). I have been wasting far too much energy on kicking hard from the
knee; (2) Try and reduce stroke rate from 86 per 100m (on 1:30.) to about 76
(3) Focus on my left arm underwater and try to maintain a high elbow position
underwater. (4) Change to single side breathing to bilateral breathing every 5
strokes.
Session this morning: 2600m; 300m warm up; 1 x 400m (off
6:30); 3 x (1 x 200m (off 3;20); 2 x 100m (off 1:45) and 2 x 50m (off 55’); 1 x 100m easy) 100m
cool down.
My aim is still to get my pool
1.5k down under 25 minutes and hopefully get my open water 1.5k in between 23
and 24 minutes. Apparently you can gain 38% by drafting effectively so I am
certainly going to work on this for the ITU World Age Group Championships in London in September. Since the clinic I have beefed up our swim section in our shop (Amphibian King in Oranmore, Galway) - we now have a range of Finis Swim toys, Orca wetsuits, TYR swimwear &
goggles. Coming soon Zone 3 &
HUUB wetsuits.I eyeing up the new HUUB Aura 3.3 myself for this years events....don't think I will wait until next Mothers day to treat myself!!
Tuesday 5 February 2013
Back in action…..kind of
2013 – Week 1 (commencing
28th January)
Training for the last few months has been haphazard to say
the least. I started swimming (properly) before Christmas and have kept it
going but I am definitely not going as hard at it as I did this time last year
and that is going to make achieving my goals at my first big event of 2013 - The Limerick Masters Swimming Gala on March
1st and 2nd a big
ask. I got back running after Christmas also and I was really enjoying the
interval and speed work with Craughwell AC until I strained my hip. I haven’t
been on a bike since last August and I have no desire to go out in this weather
(I have no problem jumping put of bed at 6.10am on a cold winter morning and
jumping into a swimming pool but don’t ask me to go out on a bike!!)
My big event and goal of 2013 is to put in a decent
performance at the Triathlon World Championships in London on 14th and 15th
September 2013. Every event and all training will be structured around this
event (well when I get around to getting structured). I keep consoling myself
that I have all summer to train but as we all know the days are slipping by
fast. Time to get on that turbo my
husband kindly bought for me!
Monday 28th
January - Swim – 2,300m
Warm up 200m
Main Set
5 x 400m off 7”
Cool Down 100m
Felt strong throughout the set and come in on approx 6;40 on
each set. Felt slightly fatigued at the end but reckoned I could have done
another one or two. Back/shoulder muscles a little stiff later in day.
Wednesday 30th
January - Swim 2,500m
Warm Up: 200m
Drills (250m)
1x 50m Hand entry position with board
1 x 50m finger drag; 1 x 50m f/s (x2)
1 x 50m Fist Only; 1 x 50m f/s (x2)
Main Set
10 x 200m off 3’ 30”
Cool Down: 50m
This session opened the lungs and I felt I really got a
workout. I need to do a lot more of
these kind of sets to get stronger and back to where I was this time last year.
Hip still not 100% so going to skip running training
tonight. May try core work but I did try a few crunches last night on the Swiss
ball and I reckon I have a pulled muscle on my left side too. Waiting on my
sports therapist Derek King to get a cancellation so he can squeeze me in for
an appointment,
Friday 1st
February - Swim 2,300m
Warm up: 400m
Main set
6 x 200m off 3’30”
12 x 50 off 50”
Cool down 100m
Sunday 3rd
February – Run 7.5km
7.5km easy run. 3 or 4k into the run the pain in my hip
returned. I was really disappointed as I thought getting acupuncture and a rub
on Thursday would have sorted things but obviously not. I knew if I kept
running I would probably do my back in so I walked/ran for the remainder of the
session.
Monday 4th
February – Swim 2,300m
My swim buddy wasn’t able to make it this morning so I
shared the lane with a group of swimmers that had a set in mind so I just
tagged along with them. I will leave my 6 x 400m off 7’ until next Monday
morning.
Warm up: 1 x 300m
Main Set: 6 x 300m
Cool Down: 1 x 100m
Starting to feel swimming fit again, thankfully as there is
only a few left until Limerick Masters and I will be bitterly disappointed if I
don’t improve on last years time – especially the 25min 34 sec for 1500
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