Recovery Spin

I decided to go for a recovery spin today and joined some of my club mates for a 70k social ride. It was another lovely summer's day, only spoiled by a puncture. But Robbie used the opportunity to show some of the newbies how that gets fixed!

Zone 2 Running

Based on AI advice, I am now trying to stick to Zone 2 for my long runs on the weekends. I feel as slow as the snail I saw sometimes, but it is improving week by week and should help my long-term results. On this last run, I noticed the new Center Parcs cabins are almost ready. They are a little bit close together for my liking, but then again, if you are up from an estate in Dublin, it probably feels like heaven.

Spot the deer crossing in the distance...

New Wheels for Douwe

After breaking down twice in three weeks with the Skoda on the way back from Galway, we realized Douwe needed his own reliable car. So, he is now the proud owner of a 2016 Ford EcoSport.

A Hot Century Ride

It was predicted to be the hottest day of the year, maybe even since recording started in Ireland! I decided to take the day off and re-do that 100 km cycle through Longford from a few weeks back. I had missed a photo opportunity at a nice old stone bridge, and I wanted to see how fast I could do this on my own at race speed. Given the heat, I did build in two stops: one halfway for refreshment, and another at the top of Ardagh hill.

I managed to get up to 31.3 km/h, which is my fastest 100 km+ cycle in four years. After the cycle, I went for a short brick run through the forest and jumped in the river for a swim as a cooldown, which was absolutely pure bliss...

Happy Father's day

Father’s Day started off with another 100 km cycle, this time with Trevor to Kilbeggan, Mullingar, and back over the greenway at a respectable 29.3 km/h. We treated ourselves to an ice cream when we got back to Athlone.

Back home, I enjoyed the garden where the Californian poppies are in bloom with a cool glass of nice IPA beer at the pond. While choosing a nice spot for 'Harold' the king frog, my kids' Father's Day gift, we put him between the water lilies in the pond. Finally, we all went for hamburgers in the re-opened Coosan Inn.

Sunset at Coosan Point

Tarmonbarry Aquathlon

It was time for our second aquathlon of the Midland series, this time in Tarmonbarry and organized by the Longford club. Yet again, it was a beautiful evening with a very good showing from my club. Although I swam and ran a bit faster than last week, I wasted some time in transition taking off my swimsuit, and I finished a few places down in 26th out of 79.

(for once, I was able to single myself out at the swim start: golden cap, top middle, arm going up!)

Nice view over the area when I drove home: 

Study Refresh

It took some time, but we finally got the new curtains and blinds for the study. It looks good now, and it is very close to the AI-generated mock-up.

Reality:

AI Generated (in March)

A Spin Through Longford and Roscommon

The weather is still very nice for an Irish summer, so I planned a decent 100 km cycle from our home and invited some club members to join me for a bit of a different route. We headed north and stayed mainly in counties Longford and Roscommon. The group all agreed it was a nice route. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we stopped for some snacks and drinks in Drumlish, and then had an ice cream at the pond back home.

Training in Zone 2

I am using AI as my coach now, and it advised me to slow down on the longer runs at the weekend by staying in Zone 2. I found it quite hard to keep the pace back, and I ended up running very slowly, over 7 minutes per kilometer. The idea is that this should help prevent injuries and that the speed will build up over time. We will see how it goes.

In the meantime, it was a gorgeous day, and I really enjoyed being out in the forest and by the river.

Getting Back in the Groove

After some training on the turbo earlier this week, I decided to test the bike out on the road again. I just wanted to make sure everything was still running smoothly and see how the body felt back in the saddle. It all felt good, and I am feeling ready for a long spin this weekend!