Well I have to say I was looking forward to this one without too much worrying, the post on the website earlier in the week had put any nerves to bed regarding the swim and the confidence gained from Ballinasloe and the rest in the week had the body feeling good.
Arrival:
I arrived with Dave Martin (I was his co-pilot) after a journey in the rain, this was to set the scene for the day as all it did was rain, sometimes the rain was heavy but most of the time it was really, really heavy.
Registration:
Fairly uneventful, lucky enough we arrived early and missed the big queue that formed around 12ish, no real goodies aside of another swim cap for the collection and a couple of mini muffins that were devoured very quickly.
Transition Area:
The area itself was very compact and near to the swim exit and also the run exit so no complaints, messed around as putting the gear out, then away again as it was so wet I made the decision to leave the runners in the bag so at least they’d be dry when putting them on. We went off back to the car and put the wet suits on a full hour before the race, it was the only water proof clothing I had in the bag – did I mention the rain !!
Kids / Mini Tri:
Sorry missed the action …………………….
Breifing:
Good briefing but it did go on a bit as everybody wanted to be off and in the water
Race:
The start was a bit confusing, there were swimmers everywhere, in the water out of the water sitting on the side …….. swimmers didn’t know where the actual start was so in the end we were told to GO GO !!
The swim itself was a 750m roundish course, straight out to a buoy for around 300m, then a right turn for the next 100m to the next buoy down to a rock for next 150m keeping it on your right hand side then the last 200m past the last buoy and dash for home to the exit – my swim was good, the mass start was an experience that I loved and I gave as good as I got, the water was so clear it was easy to follow other people and hope they were going straight which took a lot of the sighting requirement away, I remember running past the timers for the swim and I had broken my expectation for the swim in around 19 mins – fist pump, big grin and move on !
T1 / Bike:
No problem finding the bike, helmet and bike shoes on and away, the first 5k seemed a bit of a struggle as it seemed we were going uphill for a lot of it but I kept going and the downhill sections were fast when they came so the exhilaration was great and I felt like I was actually racing myself against the clock, at about 15k the calf cramps kicked in, now I don’t have many miles on the bike as the summer has been rubbish and I have to admit I’m a fair weather cyclist and it showed for the last 5k, coming into the town and the sharp left I came in too quick locked up the back wheel and both calves cramped all at the same time, the guard’s face on traffic duty was a picture, I was happy to stay up right and now dreading the run. I was still fairly happy with the cycle as it was hilly and certainly passed a lot more than overtook me, so I was in credit, which is nice !!!
Into T2, had to get off the bike rather gingerly as the cramps were there ready to get me, I got into transition and had the thought of dry runners, I got the bike back onto the rack at my second attempt, runners out of the bag and on quick enough and trotted off.
Run:
The run was an out and back 5k, I started off at a nice pace for me and the legs were ok, no sign of the cramps, the leading lads were just finishing when I was going out - for the first 1.5k I took it ok and was passed by a few, this is very normal for me, I upped the pace slightly after this and reeled in a few of the lads that had blasted past me at the start, I saw a few of the ATC lads doing well and this pushed me on.
I got to the turn and felt relatively good but was glad that in 2.5k’s time I’d be finished, I pushed on and was only passed by a couple women who were going really well, I stayed with them for a while but just kept the concentration ready for the sprint finish, I could hear the finish coming up and upped the pace coming down the final stretch and was delighted that I passed more runners in the last 2.5k than passed me, I sprinted down to the finish and was the season over. I missed the finish clock but I’m sure I came in better than my hope and expectation of 1hr 30 min, I await the official results ……………..
My first season in Triathlon over ………….. this is some sport, why didn’t I find it 10 years ago, roll on the winter training and roll on next year !!!!!
