Nick Walsh writes in with the following report from the Piranha training week in Italy.Day 0 Tuesday
Nick Walsh writes in with the following report from the Piranha training week in Italy.
Day 0 Tuesday
Strange faces and even weirder haircuts at the airport, and many introductions and forgotten names later we’re off and not a beer in sight! Arriving in Cesenatico there is time for a quick look around, place seems very quiet, no distractions from training! We first timers are a bit apprehensive about what lies ahead and sink a guilty beer.
Day 1 WednesdayFirst round is supposedly an “easy” swim, which took a lot out of me; I’m not looking forward to the harder stuff.
After lunch by the beach, we head off on an “easy” cycle, breaking into two groups. This actually does turn out to be ok and we pedal around the Italian countryside in brilliant sunshine.
Cycling was followed by a short siesta (at least for me) and then we headed to the woods for an “easy” running session with John. After Tom’s comprehensive stretching routine we did a series of drills, most of which were completely new to me, convincing me that I must get to Johns track sessions when we return.
Great dinner followed by an early night, completely whacked out!
Day 2 Thursday
On the bikes at 8 am and we head out for some interval work in the rain, 8 X 3 km at full whack, definitely not easy! (Interestingly, Scott seems to have been cloned overnight, appearing at several points along the route simultaneously while also at my shoulder urging me on).
We are back at base by 10.30, for quick shower and in the pool, in the rain for 11am. No hanging around today! I’m glad to get through today’s session, which actually does not seem much harder than yesterday’s. Lunch at the beach and a siesta are followed by a brisk 15km run through the woods. Very, very tired this evening!
Day 3 FridayBack in the saddle by 8 am, for longer intervals this time, unfortunately in the rain again. Where is the promised sunshine? Despite Scott’s clear directions our group manages to get quite lost but thankfully I’m in the later swim group so have sometime to recover. This turns out to be just as well, as swim session is brutal!
The now familiar pattern of lunch and siesta is followed by an advanced fartlek session through the Woods. The constant switches make this undoubtedly the hardest session of the week for me (and I like running best!).
Dinner and collapse into bed, I am getting increasingly tired each day!
Day 4 SaturdayThe good news is that there is no swimming; the bad news is that we have three consecutive duathlons. After a warm up lap of the bike circuit and a bit of stretching it’s down to business. Feeling tired I hold back a bit on the first one, feeling more tired on the second one I still hold back. Nothing to hold back for on the third one so I go flat out and like I think everyone else, am well knackered at the end. A warm down lap and its back to base via, for me a detour into Cesanatico to get my dodgy cleats replaced at last.
Lunch at the beach (I think we all know the menu by heart now) is followed by an unscheduled but much needed snooze. Then it’s off for retail therapy at Decathlon, to get more stuff I don’t need. Anne and I wander around Cesanatico and have a great dinner there before heading back to the hotel. Tonight it seems I’m not alone in having more energy, maybe we all feel we’re over the hump now, with only two more full days of training left.
Day 5 SundayAfter another hard swim session this morning, we have the option in the afternoon of a longish cycle or a recovery run. I opt for the cycle, and our group heads off in poor weather. Having split into two groups, our one manages to get lost but we all meet again at the start of the hills. The weather deteriorates as we ascend and after several steep climbs we stop in a village at the top for a very welcome hot chocolate break. The (cycling) veterans among us stuff newspapers down their tops for the cold descent, the long duration of which reminds me how far we must have climbed. Then we’re on the flat again, managing to miss the turn and end up taking the “scenic” route home. Shower and dinner is followed by a topical debate on tapering with us newcomers trying to get a handle on exactly what this involves (apparently it doesn’t just mean doing kicking back).
Day 6 MondayUnbelievably, we’re back on the bikes at 8 am, this time for a “power session” on the hills. By now it’s pretty much mandatory that we get lost en route, so we do. Five times up the hill in as high a gear as possible while staying in the saddle hurts well. Back to base, once again via the obligatory missed turn. (Don’t ever put Mary in charge of navigation!)
For me today’s swim session is the hardest yet and I struggle to keep going.
A quick lunch at the beach and already it’s nearly time to head to the track. This session involves a number of 8 and 4 hundred metre runs, the aim of which is to get us to run each 100 metre element at a consistent pace, a concept we have difficulty grasping but, but improve by the end (thanks to John’s surprisingly strong voice).
This evening we break out and head to a fish restaurant in Cesenatico. The wine flows, the fish keeps coming, dancing ensues, and then there are the speeches and presentations. Daithi starts, Tom restarts, Mark concludes, albeit reluctantly. Coaches are acknowledged and those athletes rewarded are pictured looking pretty in their new jerseys.
Eimhin dons his new jumper and we’re off elsewhere in search of more drink. For the more mature of us (and Ciaran), sleep takes priority and we return to the hotel.
Day 7 TuesdayWe wake to stories of wayward wanderings, water walking and associated mishaps, sure could be worse …
Despite the numerous hangovers, the 11 o’clock relay swim races prove very competitive. For me the highlight was Anne somehow avoiding being clubbed to death and emerging as the winner of the 25 metre sprint.
The sun is now shining like it should have been all week, making the last few hours by the pool particularly pleasant.
All elements of the return trip go smoothly, and before I know it the damned alarm clock is harassing me back to reality and work!!
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