First wetsuit swim of 2012

The program today was an hour bike and 3k straight swim. The plan was to do the bike on the power trainer and the swim in the pool but when I saw the weather this morning I took out the wetsuit and put the bike in the boot and drove the 1 mile journey to cuskinny. The sun was shinning across the bay I took a couple of pics with the mobile but they don`t do it justice.
I lined up all the gear with the bike ready to roll straight after the swim. I knew the water would be freezin  but I had the wetsuit and needed to man up a bit after the swim in spain so in I went. I don`t need to explain once more how cold it was....Anyway I went into the breaststroke dipping my head to get some way used to it... just as I made it across to the small slip there were two women coming in wearing normal everyday swim wear...your mad I said...is it warm they asked?.. ya I chattered....its lovely.. they laughed they swim all year round...After a while I got into the swing of things and did a mile that's enough... the 3k wasn`t going to happen today but none the less I did really enjoy it the water was flat and crystal clear.
After an extended transition I hopped on the bike straight to the hill I thought needing the warmth so off up ballymore hill left to the grotto,Ballard hill and back to cuskinny via the ferry x 2.
All done for today wouldn't it  be great if this weather kept up for the summer.....

Warmer Waters

I think a break was over due so luckily we got a week in Spain quiet reasonable and off we went. Just the break we needed.  It was nice to see some sun I didn't bring the wetsuit... thinking I could brave the cool Spanish waters..how hard could it be for an Irishman I mean lets face it we have been hardened in the coolest of waters....So there I stood up to my ankles and wondering had I been stung by a jelly fish or what I mean I didn't expect hot water but I did think the water would be a small touch.. ummm.. warmER...not so...I sauntered back up the beach Jayne asked me why I wasn't going in with a bit of a smile...forgot the goggles was the answer. I found myself challenging the cool Spanish waters throughout the day but each time the answer was the same freezin...I looked up and down the miles of beach front and no one was in swimming. Ok!.. I didn't come out here to not go in so up I hoped and ran  down like I was jumping hurdles I took out the first wave then the second the  feeling of cold shot up my... legs I fell at the third  down I went and under....holy $h!t..I surfaced to a round of laughter the girls found it quite amusing and bobby seemed to be quiet entertained too...moving in frantic motion I tried to warm myself but the pain across the face was unreal...note to self bring the wetsuit next time...So most of the swimming for the week was confined to the indoor heated pool back at the hotel more of a leisure type pool but I floated about for the week and enjoyed it none the less. The diet also suffered a bit..(: the sugar machine was kept fueling all week...Arriving back Saturday I rang Alan half hoping he had forgot about the Olympic race that the program recommended for Sunday...  no luck there so off we went Sunday morning to Coral leisure set the bikes up in the porch and hit for the pool 60 lengths then  out the door towards little island back again and off on a 6 mile run. The weather was super this week and we had a smashing day for it so really enjoyed it we worked hard too.
Thanks to Terry and Jim  we got to wear the Cobh Tri gear on the way its nice to see the club with its own stamp well done to all involved...

Busy Bee

Training has taken over all the spare time I have at present and the lack of posts are due to just having no time to sit down and log on. The program is fairly intense at the moment... I`m doing my best to keep balance and although some sessions will be dropped I am making most of them. Its tight with most days demanding two sessions and Saturdays requiring 3 to 5 hour stints and another 2-3 hr session on Sundays.Our weekend workouts normally start at 7.15 so we can get home early and not impact the day with the kids much. Surprisingly its manageable on the weekends as time wise its no different than most guys would take to get ready to go to a match and get home after but the week days are really about getting organised not much time for hanging about.
Alan and myself have gotten good at organising the sessions there`s no messing about... set a time get the job done and off home after.There`s plenty of time for banter during the session but as you can imagine we`re always rushing away afterwards . Everyday your planning how you can fit in the next days workout.
We`re heading for week 17 now time is flying and soon it will be time to sit down and make a plan for the course...Its refreshing to see the brighter evenings. I thought I would race my way through the plan but it turns out that to go to a race would be to deviate from the schedule and theres no real point doing a 10 mile race if it means missing out on a 4 hr cycle it`s to much to lose. Most importantly is that the training is still really enjoyable and I signed up for my first sprint Tri in Waterville about 3 weeks ago so looking forward to that to.
The next thing to get moving on is the bike upgrade and Alan B is gona get one too we are very close to a purchase so next week looks like we could see a new bike unleashed...I`m really excited about this I`ll put some photos up when I get it..