Paul May

Saturday, got fitted for proper running shoes by Mick Dowling in Terenure; he seems to think I need insoles made - I think he’d know what he’s talking about. Sunday, a pretty long cycle with some of the others from Piranha and 3D. I think we covered 70K+, roughly, at a fairly quick pace (I’m sure the more advanced people thought we were crawling).

And then to top off the weekend myself and Cliona went to the 40 Foot to try out my new wetsuit. Sam (Piranha) and Nessa (3D) were there to brave the cold water, along with the usual lunatics who partake in sea swimming here.

My wetsuit is pretty tight, and when I got in the water I felt warm - but found it very difficult to breathe. I paddled about a bit, but couldn’t get my body into a good position - and basically when we got out into deeper water I got a bit “intimidated” (I bottled it) and went back to the shore. I don’t know if the suit is supposed to be so tight, but the combination of the newness of sea swimming and the suit managed to freak me out a bit. Turning my head to breathe and finding a wave there was also an interesting experience. I’m sure I’ll go and try again next week, hopefully I’ll get used to the suit and the open water in time. Thanks to Sam and Nessa for keeping an eye on me in the water, and Cliona on the shore - it was much appreciated.

Not a whole lot to report. Swimming is going well, and has boiled down to building my fitness and stamina; nothing too interesting, just slogging away two mornings a week :) Cycling on Sunday was miserable - torrential rain and 30mph winds for 65Km (Dublin to Maynooth and back). Running, yeah…running hasn’t started back up yet other than a quick run last week. I need to get back on the horse (the metaphorical running horse).

I’m now the proud owner of a very snug Zoot Z2 wetsuit. I tried on a few suits, and swam in them, but this one fitted the best (and it wasn’t too pricey either). My first sea-swim is on Sunday evening, I’ll keep you posted on that.

Okay, I’ll admit is. I slacked off and didn’t go swimming on Tuesday. I had been working late, and my body just needed a rest. Today, I did go, and had a great swim. My fitness is slowly improving and my technique is much better than a month ago (I know I keep harping on about “technique”, but the training has made all the difference). There were a few interesting cramp moments where my left calf clumped into a fist-shaped knot, but I got through it with some stretching.

More physio stretches tonight, light run tomorrow (my first since hurting my left side, cycle and swim on sunday).

Just a quick update before I run out the door. On Friday I had a very positive swimming session, and I felt like my technique was pretty good (in comparison to previous weeks). Fitness is still terrible, but working on it. Instead of the club run on Saturday (still have some pain in my back and left side, so not back running yet) I did a short swim in Belvedere pool. I only did 30 minutes, but it felt good. Today (Sunday) was great; I met up with people from Piranha and 3D tri clubs in the Phownix park and we did a long 50K+ cycle out into West Dublin, then into Meath and back. The weather was perfect, and I really enjoyed the cycle (despite nearly falling after running into the back of Pras’s bike).

Right, that’s all for now. Physio tomorrow.

It’s been a month since I started training, so it’s a good time to look back and see how I’ve been doing. All in all, I’ve found the training enjoyable, tough, frustrating and tiring, all at the same time.

Most of my time training has been given over to Swimming, and it’s been a real eye-opener. At the beginning of the month I couldn’t swim 50 metres solidly, and even then it’d take me an hour to do a few broken laps of the pool. Now, I’m slightly better - I can do 50 metres without too many problems, and I can do many lengths over the course of an hour. I can feel my arms getting a bit stronger, and I’m generally more confident in the water. My breathing is still poor, my body alignment, technique and endurance are poor - and I’m nowhere, absolutely nowhere near being able to swim for long distances - but hopefully that’ll come in the months ahead. I’m working very hard on the swimming, so fingers crossed.

Cycling has been more of a financial challenge (new bike, various bits and pieces) this month, and I can’t say that I’ve been putting in too many hours training. I did 60K this weekend, and it was really enjoyable. This month will need to see me putting in some solid time in the mornings, evenings and weekends. Riding a bike is a bit like riding a bike, you don’t forget how to do it - but riding a bike enough so that you’re fit enough to jump off and run 10Km is a very different prospect.

Running has been a bit of a mixed bag. The first two weeks were okay, between my own time running and the club run with Piranha, I probably covered 25-30K, but that all came to an end with my back/hip injury. Physiotherapy has been helping that and it’s less painful every day, but the strength in my left leg will need to improve drastically if I’m to have any chance of making the triathlon a reality. All I can do is keep doing the physio, start back training slowly as soon as I get the go-ahead, and hope for the best.

Thanks for the messages of support I’ve been getting from all of you. Thanks especially to Cliona who has been patient and loving to a fault in the last month, and who has had to listen to me harping on about my back, leg, bike, wetsuit, knee etc. day-in and day-out.

Thank you all, here’s to a great second month.