Greetings it has been a while since last we spoke. I thought I would take the opportunity to update this blog seeing as we are back into pre-season in earnest. Since Christmas I have been swimming a couple of times a week in UCD with the triathlon club which I enjoy because I always get more motivation swimming in a group rather than swimming alone. We swim a minimum of 2km each session which I find is a good workout. Most weeks I have been swimming twice a week. I’m not getting much faster but i do think I am becoming more efficient in the water which may shave a little time off. Ultimately to really get faster in the water I would need to be swimming 4 times a week which isn’t really doable.
I have been running although I know not to overdo things in the running department given my previous early season running injuries. Indeed after started running in the new year I felt my calf a little bit so took a break. I have to be more consistent with my glute and hamstring strengthening exercises because its weak glutes and hamstrings that are causing my recurring calf issues.
I am only really running once a week now and back on grass to again take the pressure off my calves. This weekend saw the club put on a duathlon in Corkagh park on the Naas Rd. Its an ideal spot for safe racing as it’s a contained track of 1km surrounded by grass verges. The race would comprise a 2.5km run followed by a 20km cycle and topped off with a 4.5km run. The weather initially was cold and wet but it began to dry up as the race began. A couple of guys looked pretty serious as they stormed off into the lead. I thought I’d pace myself for the first run and was pretty happy that I covered the 2.5km in 10 minutes. It’s funny how we are always quicker in races than in training even when we say we will take it easy. On the bike leg I started in fourth but quickly moved into third. We had to do 19 laps of the circuit, which was very winding and undulating, in short not conducive to getting up much speed. To complicate matters further new people kept joining the circuit as they finished their run leg. But I managed to get 2 laps in before I had to lap anyone. The main thing with the cycle was trying to negotiate the corners in the most efficient and safest way possible, There was still surface water and I was worried I would slide so I was trying to maintain speed without pushing too much. I was pretty happy with my race line on each lap. In fact my speed wasn’t bad either. The only people who did lap me were the two front runners.
Then it was on to the run. The two guys ahead of me were in view but they were a couple of minutes in front. I managed to get a lap in before anyone else joined the run leg. My back which had begun to hurt after 10km on the bike was easing as I started the third lap of the run and I was trying to keep to the grass on each lap. In the end I crossed the line in 3rd. I was really rather pleased with how it went. The bike wasnt the fastest but it was a weird circuit that prevented any momentum building. I was happy with both run legs especially given I don’t do much run training. I wanted to get this race under my belt as I plan to race the Phoenix Park duathlon later this month and I have already book ed to race my first triathlon of the season in Carlow at the end of May. Its one I normally miss out on because it sells out very quickly. I was determined to race it this year, and the same applied to the Dublin City Triathlon in August. It’ll be novel to cycle to a triathlon and home again 🙂
mathieunorry 