Triathy

The much talked about Triathy was back and I like this race. It is organised well and the Marshalls do a good job!! I thought I entered this race in January but it didnt suprise me that I hadnt. What did suprise me was It sold out!!!. Time to call in a favour and Bryan keane was the boy that many cant say no to in this game.. Cheers Bryan..

There were serious amount of people around the start. I was in wave 10 which was pretty annoying but the organisers did it in age group waves. I was looking forward to this race because I wanted to gauge how much I have come on from last year. It is nearly a test race to see how the season will shape up. The bike is fast but the surface isnt good.

Swim

Swim went okay. I planned to go out hard and hold on and not be to far down coming out of the water. I didnt swim too good in the swahbuckler so I wanted to make amends. I swam comfortable enough and managed to grab some feet but couldnt hold on. The swim course changed from previous years so it was going to be a bit slower. I found land inside 23 minutes and sprinted the quickest possible route to my bike.

Bike

There were competitors everywhere.. With the earlier waves transition was mayhem I dont know how i noticed but i think some girl next to me was brushing her hair!!! Getting on the bike was an ordeal because the road was norrow and there were people left and right. I mounted safely and it was flat to the mat stright away. With no regard to heart  readings I just put on the power and went on feel. I spent the whole race cycling on the white line in the middle of the road. It was dangerous at times as competitors that I was passing out were passing out too. This put me on the other side of the road sometimes so concentration was needed thoughout. I felt good and fast but this was a race against the clock as you dont know where you are until the finish. With the different waves it was a case of doing your job and hopefully that would be good enough.

Run

If there is a critisism about this race it would be the run. Its not great, starts off on the road and then onto the river bank. Again with the slower waves infront you always passing people and with the uneven surface and small passages it proved difficult. But I kept telling myself everyone was doing the same course!!. I didnt feel that great on the run and couldnt get up to speed but it was hard with so much going on. My 2 laps were up and I was glad the race was over.

Initially I was peed off thinking that I hadnt a good race but after asking a few of the guys I know how they did and their times I thought maybe I hadnt done too bad. I didnt want to say it out load but I had a sneaky feeling that I would be there or there abouts…

(above is L/R- Me, Orla McAdam , Aisling & Owen Martin) 

It turned out I got the win by a mere 12 seconds. It was a great result and I was delighted.. Looking at the splits I won the race in transition!!! but you never know how the race would of gone had I seen my nearest competitor. Things change then and it becomes more tactical. I was most pleased with my bike split and it has certainly set me up for the season.

BMcC