Getting race fit and ready

My first big race since Powerman UK is going to be on this Sunday the 3^rd of August in Geel, where I’ll be racing at Powerman Belgium.

I have been training intensely for the past month now and will be using this race as a final run-in to the Elite European Duathlon Champs in Austria on the 24^th of August.

My summer so far has been fraught with a few injuries that have caused me to miss a few blocks of training. However the last three weeks of training have progressed very well and I have been looking forward to this week as I am winding down my training as I get closer to the race allowing me to rest more and catch up on very important T.V viewing like Home and Away and Coronation Street!

During the months of January to April, getting up at 5am in the mornings to run was a tough task. During those months it was pitch dark so I had to wear a head torch so that I could see where I was going on the road. Usually, by the time I had finished my session and was running home, dawn was breaking and it was great motivation for the day ahead.

Running

Most days I train twice a day, alternating between running and biking sessions.

A typical week of running would be: (for those interested)

·         Sunday: Long run. (14-16 miles)

·         Monday: Easy run. (40 minutes, 7 miles)

·         Tuesday: 3 mile warm-up, 10 Hill reps followed by 3 mile warm-down (10 miles in total)

·         Wednesday: Recovery run. (40 minutes, 7 miles)

·         Thursday: 50 minutes, 8 miles followed by strides

·         Friday Speed session on the track ( 3 mile warm-up, 8 by 400mtrs, 3 mile warm-down)

·         Saturday Recovery run. (30 minutes, 4.5 miles)

Cycling

My training on the bike has changed to spending specific amounts of time doing particular intervals (or efforts in race speak!) in order to become race ready. This has allowed me to really focus the time and effort I spend on the bike so that I can maximise my workouts whilst also avoiding those pesky motorists (that’s a whole other post for a whole other day!!!). As my biking sessions change more often than my running I will post some of the sessions I do in another post.

I also try to get to the gym once a week and have recently started swimming so will post more about it as I hopefully improve.

It is always important to have a goal for your training so that you know what you are training for and nothing focusses the mind better than a race. A race gives you a deadline and means that if you want to hit a certain time or position in the race then you have to commit to the training.

I’ll post again once I’m home from Powerman Belgium.

Fingers crossed that everything goes ok,

Cathal

Racing History and Results

When I first started racing I was totally new to the whole race scene and didn’t even know how I should pace myself during a race. As I was a newbie, I was obviously unsure of my athletic ability and when the competitors were called to the start line I would not go anywhere near the start line. I always had the thought “Shure what would I be doing up there with all the fast lads?”

It was only after a few races and as I found that I was passing out a lot of people after a few minutes that I realised that I should probably be starting the race on the actual start line. It might sound simple now, but at the time I was much too scared to even go near the front of the race.

One example was at the 2011 Age Group European Duathlon Championships in Limerick. This was my biggest race up to that point and I travelled down with only a passing hope of getting onto the podium. At the start of the race, I once again entered the start area and positioned myself around 20 rows back from the front of the race. A friend of mine, Aidan O’ Gorman who was on the side-lines, said to me “What the hell are you doing down there? Get up to the start line, will ye!!”

So I had to push my way up to the start line and experienced for the first time what it felt like to race hard from the beginning of the race.

I learned a lot from that race and began to believe in myself and that I actually deserved to be up the front. I’m still learning even to this day and in every race I learn something new. I have no problem with going up to a fellow competitor and politely asking them about a specific piece of kit, or technique they’re employing. Coming from an athletics background I always love talking to people about what works and what doesn’t work for them. My motto about this is “You can never know enough”

Below I have listed some of the races that I have taken part in over the last four years in order to give you an idea of how I have developed in my racing. What you may notice is that my results have gradually improved and my times have come down.

I put this down to a few things.

1.      Joining a club

2.      Consistent training

3.      Enjoying the sport

Duathlon Races

·         I won the summer series of Duathlons (5 races in total) in West Cork in 2010.

·         3^rd in the Clonakilty Duathlon (3km run, 20km cycle, 3km run) on Sunday 19^th September 2010 with a time of 58:51 minutes.

·         2^nd at the Skibbereen Duathlon (3km run, 20km cycle, 3km run) on April 25^th 2010 with a time of 1:21:29.1 hrs.

·         1^st in the Ilen Duathlon (3km run, 30km cycle, 3km run ) on Sunday 3^rd April 2011.

·         5^th at the European Duathlon Championships Open Race on April 17^th 2011 with a time of 47:41 minutes.

·         I took part in the Team Relay at the Lough Hyne Challenge Triathlon (I did the first run 11:07 minutes and cycle 1:16:12 hrs) on 16^th July 2011 which we won with a time of 2:05:03 hrs.

·         5^th at the Ashford Duathlon (5km run, 20km cycle, 5km run) on September 17^th 2011 with a time of 1:10:46.33 hrs.

·         1^st at the Timoleague Duathlon (2km run, 16km cycle, 2km run) on September 24^th 2011 with a time of 40:53 minutes.

·         1^st at the Kenmare Duathlon (40km cycle, 6km run) on October 24^th 2011 with a time of 1 hour 18 minutes and 47 seconds.

·         1^st at the Limerick Triathlon Club Duathlon (4.5km run, 20km cycle, 4.5km run) on February 19^th 2012 with a time of 1:05:01 hrs.

·         1^st at the Carrick on Suir Triathlon Club Duathlon (5km run, 20km cycle, 3km run) on February 26^th 2012 with a time of 58:17 minutes.

·         1^st at the 2 Cool for School Duathlon (6km run, 25km cycle, 4km run) on March 4^th 2012 with a time of 1:10:56 hrs.

·         2^nd at the Ennis Tri Club Draft Legal Duathlon (2.6km run, 16.5km cycle, 2.4km run) on March 11^th 2012 with a time of 43:03 minutes.

·         1^st at the Valentia Island Tri Club Duathlon (4.5km run, 18km cycle, 3km run) on March 18^th 2012 with a time of 54:33 minutes.

·         1^st at the West Cork Bantry Duathlon (3km run, 22km cycle, 3km run) on April 8^th 2012 with a time of 56: 49 minutes.

·         1^st at the West Cork Skibbereen Duathlon (3km run, 22km cycle, 3km run) on April 22^nd 2012 with a time of 60: 12 minutes.

·         24^st at the Elite European Long Distance Duathlon (15km run, 60km cycle, 7.8km run) on April 29^nd 2012 with a time of 03:07:53 minutes.

·         1^st at the Donadea Forest Park Duathlon (5.2km run, 21.5km cycle, 5.2km run) on June 10^th 2012 with a time of 01:11:26 hours.

·         1^st at the Phoneix Park Runways Duathlon (2.7km run, 13km cycle, 2.7km run) on July 10^th 2012 with a time of 37:23 minutes.

·         1^st at the Phoneix Park Runways Formula 1 Duathlon (2.7km run, 8km cycle, 2.7km run, 8km cycle and 2.7km run) on August 1^st 2012 with a time of 53:51minutes.

·         1^st at the Schull Fastnet Duathlon 2013 (5.2km run, 21.5km cycle, 5.2km run) on March 10^th 2013 with a time of 55:41:00 minutes.

·         1^st at the Valentia Island Duathlon 2013 (4.5km run, 20km cycle, 3km run) on March 23^rd 2013 with a time of 55:41 minutes.

·         1^st at the Clonakilty West Cork Tri Club Duathlon 2013 (5.2km run, 21.5km cycle, 5.2km run) on March 24^th 2013 with a time of 54:43 minutes.

·         1^st at the Fingal Duathlon 2013 (6km run, 20km cycle, 6km run) on March 30^th 2013 with a time of 01:12:56 hours.

·         I won the Irish National Duathlon Championships 2013 (10km run, 40km cycle, 5km run) on April 6^th 2013 with a time of 01:48:01 hours.

·         1^st at the Tinahely Duathlon 2013 (5.5km run, 20km cycle, 3km run) on May 5^th 2013 with a time of 01:02:53 hours.

·         1^st at the Phoenix Park Duathlon 2013 (2.5km run, 12km cycle, 2.5km run) on July 3^rd 2013 with a time of 36:27 minutes setting a course record for the fastest first run and coming close to beating the overall course record.

·         1^st at the Humpty Dumpty Duathlon 2013 (40km cycle and a 6km run) on October 26^th 2013 with a time of 01:17:58 minutes.

·         1^st at the Butchers Block Naas Duathlon 2014 (3.5km run, 20km cycle and a 3.5km run) on January 19^th 2014 with a time of 52:26 minutes.

·         1^st at the Fota Island Duathlon 2014 (6km run, 18km cycle and a 6km run) on March 1^st 2014 with a time of 01:10:54 minutes.

·         1^st at the Ashford Duathlon Cong, Mayo 2014 (5km run, 20km cycle and a 3km run) on March 8^th 2014 with a time of 57:05 minutes.

·         1^st at the Fingal Duathlon 2, Dublin 2014 (4.93km run, 20km cycle and a 3.39km run) on March 15^th 2014 with a time of 01:02:49 minutes.

·         1^st at the Naas Buthchers Block Duathlon 3, Kildare 2014 (3.2km run, 19km cycle and a 3.2km run) on March 23^rd 2014 with a time of 51:34 minutes.

·         I also won the overall Naas Duathlon series 2014 as well.

·         I won the Irish National Duathlon Championships 2014 at Skerries, Co. Dublin on April 5^th 2014 for the second year in a row (10km run, 40km cycle and a 5km run) on April 5^th 2014 with a time of 01:45:41 hours.

·         1^st at the Powerman UK Elite Distance Duathlon 2014 in Sherborne, England (10km run, 60km cycle and a 10km run) on May 11^th 2014 with a time of 02:44:07 hours.

Road/Track Races

·         16^th at the John Buckley 5k Road Race - 31st May, 2011 with a time of 16:15 minutes.

·         5^th at the Glanmire 4 Mile Road Race - 14th June, 2011 with a time of 21:52 minutes.

·        4^th at the Ballycotton Summer Road Race Series 2011 at the Shanagarry 5 mile race on Thursday 23 June 2011 with a time of 27:14 minutes.

·        4^th at the Courtmacsherry/Timoleague 10km Road Race – Friday 24^th June with a time of 35:07 minutes.

·        4^th at the EMC 5k Road Race - 6th July, 2011 with a time of 16:52 minutes.

·        7^th at the IPS-Garda 5K Road Race - 13th July, 2011 with a time of 16:16 minutes.

·        4^th at the Carrigtwohill Community Council 5km on Wednesday 20 July 2011 with a time of 16:11 minutes.

·        2^nd at the Kenmare AC 10km Road Race on February 11^th 2012 with a time of 34:38 minutes.

·        1^st at the Bantry Bay Half Marathon on May 6^th 2012 with a time of 1 hour 17 minutes.

·        1^st at the Bandon 10k Road Race on May 13^th 2012 with a time of 34:06 minutes.

·        1^st at the Ballineen 10k Road Race on May 30^th 2012 with a time of 35:12 minutes.

·        1^st at the Dunmanway 10k Road Race on June 17^th 2012 with a time of 32:54 minutes.

·        1^st at the Daniel Kingston Memorial Macroom 5km Road Race on June 21^st 2012 with a time of 16:14 minutes.

·        1^st at the Timoleague/Courtmacsherry 10km Road Race on June 29^th 2012 with a time of 32:22 minutes.

·        1^st at the EMC 5km Road Race on July 4^th 2012 with a time of 15:53 minutes.

·        1^st at the 5^th John Buckley Sports Cork County Graded League 5000 metres on July 15^th 2012 with a time of 15:39 minutes.

·        3^rd at the 5^th Carrigtwohill 5km Road Race on July 18^th 2012 with a time of 15:33 minutes.

·        1^st at the Banteer 5k Road Race on July 22^nd 2012 with a time of 16:00 minutes.

·        2^nd at the Churchtown South 5 mile Road Race on July 26^th 2012 with a time of 25:40 minutes.

·        2^nd at the Kinsale 5 mile Road Race on August 3^rd 2012 with a time of 25:38 minutes.

·         1^st at the Route to Crook 5 mile Road Race in Goleen on August 19^th 2012 with a time of 26:22 minutes.

·        1^st at the Timoleague 5k Road Race on August 20^th 2012 with a time of 15:48 minutes.

·        1^st at the Timoleague/Courtmacsherry 10km Road Race on June 29^th 2012 with a time of 32:22 minutes.

·         20^th overall at the Great Ireland AA1 National Club Championships 10k Road Race on April 14^th 2013 with a time of 32:07 minutes.

·         8^th Irish man home.

·         2^nd at the Dunmanway 10k Road Race on June 16^th 2013 with a time of 32:17 minutes.

·         4^th at the Docklands 10k Road Race on June 20^th 2013 with a time of 32:06 minutes.

·         I led the St. Finbarr’s A.C men’s team home to win the team prize and came 2^nd myself at the Courtmacsherry 10k Road Race on June 28^th 2013 with a time of 31:55 minutes.

·         1^st at the Togher Athletic Club 5k Road Race in Cork City on December 28^th 2013 with a time of 15:15 minutes.

·         2^nd at the Samsung Night Run 10k Road Race in Cork City on April 27^th 2014 with a time of 31:38 minutes.

Bicycle Road Races

·         1^st at the Blarney Cycling Club Kay Stratton A4 Road Race on May 2^nd 2013.

·        1^st at the Ras Clar A4 Road Race on May 9^th 2013.

·        3^rd at the Tralee Manor West A3 Road Race on July 14^th 2013.

Cross Country Races

·         3^rd at the Cork County Cross Country race at Coona on October 9^th 2011.

·        3^rd at the Munster Novice Men’s Cross Country at Newmarket on Fergus - 23^rd October 2011.

·        5^th in the Munster Intermediate Men’s Cross Country at Punchestown Racecourse, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Sunday 13th November 2011

1^st man home for St. Finbarr’s who won the Club Intermediate Munster Cross Country.

·        3^rd at the All Ireland Novice Cross Country at Waterford Institute of Technology Sports Campus on December 15^th 2013 with a time of 19:44 minutes.

Balancing training, racing and injury

My last proper race was the Powerman UK Championship back in May which I managed to win.

When I came home to Ireland I had to race the 5000metres for my athletic club, St. Finbarr's AC at a National League race in Waterford the very next weekend. Big mistake!!

I was still tired from the race in the UK and I could feel it on the start line. In the end I ran 15:33 minutes which was 33 seconds slower than where I had wanted to be considering the form I was in at the time.

I ended up getting the flu during the week and gradually began to pick up one niggling injury after another. 

The two main injuries that I had to deal with since the middle of May where, shin splints in my left leg and a touch of runners knee in my right knee.

These have kept me out of action for the last few weeks. However, it is important to learn to deal with injury and move forward with a definite goal in sight so as not to become disheartened.

Now thanks to lots of rest, aqua jogging and physio work I can safely say that I'm back on the road to recovery and looking ahead to my upcoming big races. 

Since the start of January, 2014 I've been training under the guidance of a cycling coach (Timmy Barry) and running coach (Martin Mc Carthy). This is the first time that I've trained off specific plans that are tailored for me.

When I sat down at the beginning of January with my coaches, we set out a number of my main goals for 2014.

These were:

·         Retaining the Irish National Duathlon Championship title

·         Qualifying for the Elite European Duathlon Championships

·         Getting a podium at Powerman UK

·         Getting a podium at Powerman Belgium

·         Racing at the  Elite European Duathlon Championships and hopefully getting onto the podium

·         Racing at the  London Duathlon and hopefully getting onto the podium

 

The next big race for me now is going to be Powerman Belgium on the 3rd of August in Geel, Belgium. This is going to be a 10km run, a 60km cycle and a 10km run.

 

The course is supposed to be totally flat which should mean a very fast affair although I would prefer to have a few hills!!

The next two weeks will be quite intensive as I taper towards this race. I’ll try to keep you updated as I work through the training.

Stay safe on the roads!!

 

Beginning my love for all things athletic and cycling related

For a long time now friends and family have been telling me to start a blog so I've finally decided to give it a go. I'm completely new to the idea of writing about my training, etc. and posting it online so I hope you enjoy reading it.

Hopefully, it may shed a little insight on how with a little dedication and commitment it is possible to go from watching a race and wishing you were taking part, to not only taking part but even winning it.

People, especially Irish people love to know how you got into sports and I have been asked many times if I was always a sporty person.

My answer is always "No of course" as I still laugh at the idea of me being an athlete. I only developed an interest for athletics/cycling after I had finished college. Up to that point I had only a passing interest at best.

I can remember my father watching the Tour de France on television and I not able to understand how some fella could win it even if he hadn't won a single stage.

Even in school I was constantly trying to get out of doing PE and would always have a note explaining why I couldn't do PE that day. I don't think that the teacher was fooled though.

When I was attending the University of Limerick, I got more involved in sports and was an active member of the karate and kayak clubs. Myself and a good friend Diarmaid Lane would periodically take part in circuit training in the UL arena or a in a kick about on the astro turf pitches next to the arena.

I have always had a bicycle but up until I started racing, the bike was used purely for getting from point A to B. The words "aero" and "carbon fibre" meant nothing to me and doing a "brick" meant something completely different.

In 2009 my friend Diarmaid told me about this exercise class called spinning and that I should give it a go. Long story short, I tried it out and after I got over the first few classes of "wobbly legs" when I got off the bike I was converted.

The bike to work scheme was a huge factor in my decision to buy my first road bike which I purchased in 2009. It was a basic, entry level, aluminium bike that I thought was amazing. After I turned up to my first duathlon, I then discovered it was not. However, I soon put it to good use, biking the back roads and hills of West Cork only for leisure at the start. The idea of racing never even occurred to me.

The very first duathlon that I did was in Clonakilty which I cycled to from Dunmanway with my running shoes in a bag on my back. I arrived late and had to run off down the road with my race number in my hand.

I think that I managed to come in the top ten but when I returned for the next race I made sure I was on time and managed to win it.

Well I think I'll leave it there for the time being and will continue to add as I get time.

Hope that you enjoyed reading it.