Fair play to all in Athy - great results, good to see the Paul back in again after his injury - race report anyone?
44 minutes run in the Olympic Don I'm guessing you're very happy with that - would be very interested to see what your weekly schedule is, how it's balanced between
the 3 disciplines and how to manage the 3 categories long, temp and intervals within each
Tri Athy 2011
Re: Tri Athy 2011
Was just looking at the Sprint Results this morning and I have to say I'm impressed with the results. Big battles between Padraig, Martin & Paul for the top spot, Frank coming in with a seriously impressive 1:17 and what about that time from Lorraine, nearly 10 mins faster than the North Tipp Sprint, fantastic stuff everyone, well done. I had a very interesting race, lost my bottle half way round the bike after hitting a pot-hole on a sharp bend that I took too fast, punctured back wheel with 2km to go, so had to ride it in rather gingerly (those bloody zipps are too expensive....), punctured the front wheel as I turned the corner into Transition and had a very bloody runner after a quite difficult run. However when I found out I finished 7th in my age-group, I have to say I was very happy and my claim to fame is the 2nd fastest T1 time 
. I'll let John do the race report and describe the big battle between himself, Adrian & Ruari, but well done to everyone. PS: Brian next time we meet up I can give you my schedules if they are any help to you, I've no rocket science unfortunately, just lots of training.
. I'll let John do the race report and describe the big battle between himself, Adrian & Ruari, but well done to everyone. PS: Brian next time we meet up I can give you my schedules if they are any help to you, I've no rocket science unfortunately, just lots of training.Re: Tri Athy 2011
well done guys, you all seriously impressed this weekend. Great event, great weather,great results.
Re: Tri Athy 2011
Ruairi and I travelled up together Saturday morning, Ruairi telling me that he had left a very pregnant Claire at home with stomach cramps and me telling Ruairi that if Claire went into labour he'd have to cycle home, I was doing the race no matter what Thankfully Claire managed to hold off until today which was very thoughtful of her 
Drove the cycle route on the way up and then in to register, down to set up transition and all that stuff. On the way back up to the car met a very keen looking Adrian with a starving hungry AnneMarie looking for something to eat
. AnneMarie told me later that she hardly sees Adrian anymore with all the training he's doing.
Mossied on down to the race start area to wait around for our wave, met a very focused Don who posted a great result on the day going off in an earlier wave to us.
People might give out about the organisers of this race being in it for the money and all but I have to say it was very well organised with plenty of bouncy castles and trampolines as well as street markets and stalls to keep kids and adult amused during the race.
Having tried to get Ruairi and Adrian fired up with a bit of pre race banter the previous few days they didn't disappoint and it was not the place for thin skin. As our wave start time approached we made our way over to the entry ramp when out of the crowd appears Mag and Sadhbh who had made a surprise visit up to Athy to see me off on my first Olympic Not too much time to say hello, quickly introduce Mag and AnneMarie and we were into the river.
The start was particularly rough, lots of legs and arms flying every where, one guy who aimed a kick at me going by and got a tug on the ankle in reply, another tried climbing across my back and got a swift kick for his troubles. Things soon settled down and the swim was pretty uneventful after that, except for this one guy who was drafting me (he must be pretty slow
) and kept trying to pass me out only to find it much tougher swimming on his own so he'd fall back in again. Got to the end and running up the ramp I was as dizzy as I have ever been during a race, bouncing like a pinball off the side railing heading into transition. I knew where Ruairi's bike was and could see it still there, but I'd no idea where Adrian had set up and whether he was finished swimming yet or not.
Running through transition I got a great shout from Mag and AnneMarie on my way out. TriAthy is billed as 'Irelands Fastest Triathlon' but they have changed the bike route this year (to accomodate the Double Olympic nutters). The additional 20k add on is certainly not flat and is also on relatively poor surfaces in parts. There was a sneaky little wind and I did find the bike tougher than I was expecting but maybe I just need to train harder. Coming close to the first turnaround point I got a stiff neck looking out for any sign of Adrian, and as I was getting closer I thought that maybe he was behind me
Then next minute I see the boyo grinning from ear to ear coming back towards me. A quick look at the watch now and again at the turnaround I reckon he's probably 4.5 - 5 minutes ahead of me. Meet Ruairi on my way back and reckon he's probably 6 minutes behind me. Head down time to try catch Adrian, only problem is he's been doing lots of work on the bike and had cycled the race route the previous week.
Good to see a very visible team of draughtbusters in operation, and better yet actually witnessed them splitting up groups.
The rest of the additional 20k was fairly lumpy and it was a relief to finally get back onto the open road to put the head down again. Coming close to the 2nd turnaround point I think I nearly suffered whiplash gawking out for Adrian, trying to think what would I say to him when I passed him out This time I reckoned he was perhaps 4 minutes ahead and I was starting to think that it was maybe a bit much to be trying to reach him at this stage. Met Ruairi again and calculated he was about 8 minutes behind at this stage. The last 10k on the bike was into a tough head wind that sucked the life out of me in parts. There was lots of road kill out on the roads as well, including a chicken and at about 36k a bleeding hedgehog!! Only saw it at the last minute and it right in my path.
Coming back into town and again rubber necking keeping an eye out for Adrian. Met him at the petrol station as he was heading out on his run. Almost 4 minutes later I was running past the same petrol station - could I make up 4 minutes over a 10k? Not the way I was feeling right then anyway. I also need to say thank you to AnneMarie who spotted me heading towards the cycle exit from transition and let a roar to point me in the right direction again.
I was trying to time myself between KM markers but either they were missing a few signs, or I was missing a few of their signs but eitherway I gave up watching the time after a while. Up the little climb to the bridge that felt like a mountain and down the other side there was the 2nd water station on the right hand side, where the marshals were rather cruelly directing people to continue to the turnaround point and come back before they would give them any water ( Ruairi was particularly annoyed at this).
Approaching the turnaround and there's Adrian, a quick slap of the hands but no words exchanged as we were both too wrecked in the heat. No proper time check this time but I reckon it was about 2.5 - 3 minutes or that and I always run better in the 2nd half but sure so does everyone when they're pointed for home, not looking like I'd catch him at this stage. Shortly later met a very cheery Ruairi who managed to let a shout of encouragement at me. Not long before hitting the 8k marker I was on a straight bit of path with no sign of Adrian ahead and absolutely knew at that stage that I'd need to get ready to take a bit of flak. The final 2k seemed like my fastest of the race and into Athy delighted to finish my first olympic under 2:50. I had hoped for a 2:45 but the bike was a lot tougher than I expected (and I need to train more )
Adrian deservedly finished 2 minutes ahead of me after having a fantastic swim, and Ruairi was 14 minutes behind, the wrong type wetsuit having taken it's toll in the river. Talking to Adrian after he said that with all the kicking and shoving going on at the start the was sure Ruairi and I were after getting well ahead of him so he powered on to try and catch up. A fantastic race by both Adrian and Ruairi and the bit of banter beforehand made the experience of the day all the better, it almost seemed like it didn't matter that Adrian beat me (almost!!
)
Mag and AnneMarie both got some nice photos of the day, I'll post ours up tomorrow.
Onwards now and whilst Ruairi is not going to Dunmore East both Adrian and I are, just give me 30 seconds alone to rip a few holes in his wetsuit first
Congratulations as well to all the lads doing the sprint on the Sunday, some really fantastic times posted.
Thankfully Claire managed to hold off until today which was very thoughtful of her Drove the cycle route on the way up and then in to register, down to set up transition and all that stuff. On the way back up to the car met a very keen looking Adrian with a starving hungry AnneMarie looking for something to eat
. AnneMarie told me later that she hardly sees Adrian anymore with all the training he's doing.Mossied on down to the race start area to wait around for our wave, met a very focused Don who posted a great result on the day going off in an earlier wave to us.
People might give out about the organisers of this race being in it for the money and all but I have to say it was very well organised with plenty of bouncy castles and trampolines as well as street markets and stalls to keep kids and adult amused during the race.
Having tried to get Ruairi and Adrian fired up with a bit of pre race banter the previous few days they didn't disappoint and it was not the place for thin skin. As our wave start time approached we made our way over to the entry ramp when out of the crowd appears Mag and Sadhbh who had made a surprise visit up to Athy to see me off on my first Olympic
Not too much time to say hello, quickly introduce Mag and AnneMarie and we were into the river.The start was particularly rough, lots of legs and arms flying every where, one guy who aimed a kick at me going by and got a tug on the ankle in reply, another tried climbing across my back and got a swift kick for his troubles. Things soon settled down and the swim was pretty uneventful after that, except for this one guy who was drafting me (he must be pretty slow
) and kept trying to pass me out only to find it much tougher swimming on his own so he'd fall back in again. Got to the end and running up the ramp I was as dizzy as I have ever been during a race, bouncing like a pinball off the side railing heading into transition. I knew where Ruairi's bike was and could see it still there, but I'd no idea where Adrian had set up and whether he was finished swimming yet or not.Running through transition I got a great shout from Mag and AnneMarie on my way out. TriAthy is billed as 'Irelands Fastest Triathlon' but they have changed the bike route this year (to accomodate the Double Olympic nutters). The additional 20k add on is certainly not flat and is also on relatively poor surfaces in parts. There was a sneaky little wind and I did find the bike tougher than I was expecting but maybe I just need to train harder. Coming close to the first turnaround point I got a stiff neck looking out for any sign of Adrian, and as I was getting closer I thought that maybe he was behind me
Then next minute I see the boyo grinning from ear to ear coming back towards me. A quick look at the watch now and again at the turnaround I reckon he's probably 4.5 - 5 minutes ahead of me. Meet Ruairi on my way back and reckon he's probably 6 minutes behind me. Head down time to try catch Adrian, only problem is he's been doing lots of work on the bike and had cycled the race route the previous week.Good to see a very visible team of draughtbusters in operation, and better yet actually witnessed them splitting up groups.
The rest of the additional 20k was fairly lumpy and it was a relief to finally get back onto the open road to put the head down again. Coming close to the 2nd turnaround point I think I nearly suffered whiplash gawking out for Adrian, trying to think what would I say to him when I passed him out
This time I reckoned he was perhaps 4 minutes ahead and I was starting to think that it was maybe a bit much to be trying to reach him at this stage. Met Ruairi again and calculated he was about 8 minutes behind at this stage. The last 10k on the bike was into a tough head wind that sucked the life out of me in parts. There was lots of road kill out on the roads as well, including a chicken and at about 36k a bleeding hedgehog!! Only saw it at the last minute and it right in my path.Coming back into town and again rubber necking keeping an eye out for Adrian. Met him at the petrol station as he was heading out on his run. Almost 4 minutes later I was running past the same petrol station - could I make up 4 minutes over a 10k? Not the way I was feeling right then anyway. I also need to say thank you to AnneMarie who spotted me heading towards the cycle exit from transition and let a roar to point me in the right direction again.
I was trying to time myself between KM markers but either they were missing a few signs, or I was missing a few of their signs but eitherway I gave up watching the time after a while. Up the little climb to the bridge that felt like a mountain and down the other side there was the 2nd water station on the right hand side, where the marshals were rather cruelly directing people to continue to the turnaround point and come back before they would give them any water ( Ruairi was particularly annoyed at this).
Approaching the turnaround and there's Adrian, a quick slap of the hands but no words exchanged as we were both too wrecked in the heat. No proper time check this time but I reckon it was about 2.5 - 3 minutes or that and I always run better in the 2nd half but sure so does everyone when they're pointed for home, not looking like I'd catch him at this stage. Shortly later met a very cheery Ruairi who managed to let a shout of encouragement at me. Not long before hitting the 8k marker I was on a straight bit of path with no sign of Adrian ahead and absolutely knew at that stage that I'd need to get ready to take a bit of flak. The final 2k seemed like my fastest of the race and into Athy delighted to finish my first olympic under 2:50. I had hoped for a 2:45 but the bike was a lot tougher than I expected (and I need to train more
)Adrian deservedly finished 2 minutes ahead of me after having a fantastic swim, and Ruairi was 14 minutes behind, the wrong type wetsuit having taken it's toll in the river. Talking to Adrian after he said that with all the kicking and shoving going on at the start the was sure Ruairi and I were after getting well ahead of him so he powered on to try and catch up. A fantastic race by both Adrian and Ruairi and the bit of banter beforehand made the experience of the day all the better, it almost seemed like it didn't matter that Adrian beat me (almost!!
)Mag and AnneMarie both got some nice photos of the day, I'll post ours up tomorrow.
Onwards now and whilst Ruairi is not going to Dunmore East both Adrian and I are, just give me 30 seconds alone to rip a few holes in his wetsuit first
Congratulations as well to all the lads doing the sprint on the Sunday, some really fantastic times posted.
Re: Tri Athy 2011
John - a great report as usual and a royal battle which definitely makes it all the more enjoyable. Well done to the three amigos. Dunmore should be very interesting between you and Adrian.
Don, great stuff considering all the hardship you endured. I will leave the sprint report to Paul, Padraic, Jim or Martin, as Lorraine and i have already posted one for this season.
John, i definitely agree with your views re: the organisation of this event. While i was one of those who thought it was a bit steep (economy of scale and all that), they ran a great event, considering the numbers they had to deal with. As this was my first time competing in Athy, i really enjoyed the closed roads during the cycle and the run route along the Barrow was class.
Don, great stuff considering all the hardship you endured. I will leave the sprint report to Paul, Padraic, Jim or Martin, as Lorraine and i have already posted one for this season.
John, i definitely agree with your views re: the organisation of this event. While i was one of those who thought it was a bit steep (economy of scale and all that), they ran a great event, considering the numbers they had to deal with. As this was my first time competing in Athy, i really enjoyed the closed roads during the cycle and the run route along the Barrow was class.
Re: Tri Athy 2011
I stuck Mag's photo's up here: https://picasaweb.google.com/racing795/ ... lympic2011#
The medal ceremony afterwards:
The medal ceremony afterwards: