Tunney's Blog

Since I hurt my leg at the beginning of the month I’ve been limited in what training I can do. I can still spin and swim but I’ve really struggled to motivated and in effect have had the month off. A few runs and one or two swims is all I managed, and the last week or so has been the worst. All I have done eat and drink.

The leg is very slow to heal, I’ve has massage and work in it. It’s now Kinesio taped up as well, but for some reason the rec fem just won’t turn off. Oh well, perhaps some things just weren’t meant to be.

Someone recently reminded me that I’ve kept a blog since 2004 of my training. So far all I have been able to find is my first year 2004 when I kept one of four of the original Triathlon Ireland Rookie’s diaries for the year. Cringe.

Week one
Week two
Week Three
Week Four
Week five
Week six
Week seven
Week Eight
Week nine
Week ten
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Week 17
Week 18
Week 19
Week 20
Week 21
Week 22
Week 23
Week 24
Week 25
Week 26
Week 27
Week 28

I had a chat with the guy who sorts out my issues and my coach on Friday. Struggling to walk to the bus to get home was a strong suggestion that I needed to be more marshmellow like and like my rec fem and patella tedon calm down and hope normal service would resume. Technically I could have still swam but wasn’t that arsed, it always happens when I get injured. Combined with the fact that I’ve been working stupid hours and weekends I’ve not done any training since Thursday.

Looking back on how I cycle to work this, or worse, was always going to happen. When I’m training hard I leave in plenty of time, cycle slowly and generally obey the rules of the road. When I’m fresh I tend to hammer it everywhere, pay less attention to the rules of the road, cycle on the wrong side of the road and generally be a prick on two wheels (but its alright I wear my old clubs gear ). I’ve had near misses with buses, bikes, motorbikes and cars so I should really consider myself lucky that all that happened is I strained a few muscles.

Anyways I hope to get back into it soon and I’ll be a different commuter altogether. Its not worth missing two and a bits weeks training for a laugh. My biking is brutal, I’m practically drowning in the water and I’m not running fantastically. The runnign will come back quickly, the others………….. Combined with the change in circumstances in the new year its going to be fun to get back to shape.

I have been getting my knee/rec fem looked at and I had gotten the all clear to run and ride as long as I didn’t do strength work or speed work. I was even told I could run long if I wanted. However no terms of reference were agreed and last night I could barely walk to the bus to get home. Turns out their long for December and my long for December are different. Very very different.

Buggered today and going to scrap the training plan and take it easy for the weekend, which in itself is no bad thing as I’ve being working all the hours that god gives this week and have to work tomorrow too and I’m wrecked. Oh to be a teacher.

Its two weeks now since I strained my rec fem and despite getting a good bit of treatment on it it’s not clearing up. I was told I could train on it as long as I didn’t do weights or BG work or hills on the bike. I haven’t but it’s still not loosening out. A pain in the hole.

Did a nice turbo set last night. you can’t beat a CT for ease of inflicting pain and I was grand. Did my long run this morning and now almost crippled. I felt as flat as a pancake during the run and just didn’t enjoy it.

Bloody fvcking knee.

The last two weeks haven’t been the best training wise, I’ve been tired, unable to get up in the mornings and just not in the mood for it. I’m hoping that I’ll snap out of it soon as its going on a little too long.

Last week was a bit of a disaster, I was running around the place like a stressed, injured, tired idiot for most of the week. My patella strain was, and still is, acting up. I missed two swims and my long bike on Sunday.I went to the XC instead and painted a room instead of the bike but in truth I’m not feeling the love for the bike at the moment. I’ll have to get this sorted sooner rather than later or it will be too late.

Anyways I decided to to the Aware 10km instead, at the start line they were announcing that it was a 9km, “Oh well just go harder”. Gun went and off we went. A couple of hundred metres in and I realised I was in the lead. “Fcuk”, I thought, “This is very very wrong, you’ve gone too hard” Checked the Garmin, and 2:45 a km. Slowed down, said ta-ra to the lads and settled into a reasonable pace. The whole thing flew by really. A few hills, (but I’d done loads of repeats on Howth so they’re weren’t really hills). Everything felt nice and easy but I just couldn’t turn the legs faster. Nothing hurt, lungs, heart, legs (other than my knee), but nothing would turn over faster. Race was over in a flash and I finished 9th. My goal for the race was a sub 35:00 10km, which turns into a 31:30 9km and I did 31:10, so goal met.

Some lessons learnt.
1) I run reasonably well after just doing easy runs and some hills, some speed work or pace work would have a big impact
2) Don’t go off like a spa
3) I get cold very quickly, after the race was over I couldn’t even talk to anyone, had to go put on about 100 layers
4) I need to get more miles and more speed in the legs to be able to run the desired pace off the bike in Austria
5) I need to get on my bike and ride it first
6) The pear and carmel cake in the visitors centre is lovely

When I used to live in Terenure I used to love when the legs were somewhat fresh and I could get a nice draft up the Rathmines road when riding home from a Honda 50 or the like. A few years later I was back riding up the Rathmines road after work towards the end of last week. Legs felt good and a Guard on a motorbike that wasn’t going that fast. I caned it onto his wheel and smacked it up the Rathmines road sitting on his wheel. Whether he wasn’t in a rush or was keeping the pace down to let me stay on I don’t know but it was the best draft I’ve ever gotten. I would loved to have had my PM on the bike as it would have been the highest 1 minute power I’ve ever put out. Unfortunately my legs didn’t really like it and I tweaked a few muscle groups and had to take a few days off. Still not back at it. Oh well.

Its happened to me a few times after a taxing block of training, start a recovery week and after a day or so of it my body just shuts down and I’m like a dead duck for the rest of the week. I suppose this is just the recovery process doing its thing – but I’m not a fan of it.

Had a long chat with my coach during the week – planning the next few months. Definitely won’t find a plan like this in a book or in an online programme He has some good ideas on trying to minimise the impact of “developments” when they occur and how to approach maintaining fitness during the first two months post “developments”. Could get very “interesting”

The Wicklow 200 has opened and I intended to do it this year, well the course anyways. Given that they have given the route on MapMyRide, running the route through a few tools generates a a .3dc file which can be loaded into the CT and ridden. I can see this getting an outing when I am banned from riding outdoors.

2010 Wicklow 200 CT file