Lought Cutra Half
Posted: Sun May 31, 2015 8:47 am
Ok, my sixth triathlon, and some might say it’s time I wrote a race report, so here goes:-
In or around December 2014, having taken a lot of inspiration from the Iron men and women of Roth 2014, I decided to up my game and think a bit longer… ½ iron distance, why not. Bit of research done, Ironman Dublin 70.3 on the cards but then I found Lough Cutra, the first of the season, jumped on board and it took me to Sunday, 24th May 2015.
Travelled down to Galway the evening before. My chief organiser (wife) had booked a b&b between Gort and Kinvara, approx 7k from the event. Registered at Lough Cutra at 5pm on the Saturday, took a quick look around, familiarised myself with the layout and headed off for R&R.
Up early on the Sunday, morning, 5.45am ish. Bit of breakfast and while I’m addicted to tea drinking, I usually don't drink tea on the morning of an event. However the lady of the b&b had a cup filled for me and I took it, together with another (first lesson learned – stay away from the tea as it gave rise to too many pit stops during the event). Off down to the Course, arriving at 7am, bike / run gear all sorted, wetsuit on and in the water for 7.55am. Water was nice, actually Mediterranean compared to the previous Tuesday at Poulshone. Didn't really get nervous for this event, maybe due the fact that I've been injured for most of the previous six weeks and as I was unable to run much my goal was to get to the run and see if I could continue or finish. All those swimming sessions with Liam have also gave me an extra confidence in the water as now I feel I'm not going to drown.
Gun goes and off we go. There were 270+ competitors registered for the event and as per usual a bit of mayhem at the start but I got into my stroke early. During the course of the swim there was a group of three of us but I kept getting tangled up with one guy in particular as we continuously either bumped / swam on top of / under each other for the full 1.9k. Got out the water in under 38mins which is good for me and off I go to transition.
Having spoken to a number of experienced triathletes before the event, I have always been told to expect at least two things to go wrong during an Iron distance race, well this was the first. In my hurry to take my wetsuit off while running I stubbed my right foot (all toes) on a clump and landed head over face on the ground. All concerned for my wetsuit I didn't take any note of any damage to my foot. Kept going, into transition out and on the bike.
The bike course was slightly long according to my garmin – 94k. It entailed a 1.5k cycle out of the Lough Cutra estate before hitting the roadway. Direction was into Gort, head for North West and into the Burren towards Ballyvaughan, then head south to Kilfenora and East back towards Gort. Only one real climb at Corkscrew Hill (approx 35k in). Three things that stand out for me on the cycle, (1) my foot was throbbing early on but I put this to the back of my mind and just put the head down (2) a stiff NW wind was in our faces for the first 46k to Ballyvaughan. There was nowhere to hide from the wind in the burren. At 46k I was delighted to meet a marshal who gladly informed me that the wind was behind me to Kilfenora (15k ish) and to enjoy and (3) the road surface for approx 35k was brutal. This road surface caused my second issue of the day. Due to the uneven road surface and been shook like I was entering the atmosphere on a spacecraft at times, I noted at approx 56k that my garmin stopped recording. Off the bike to give quick adjustment to my garmin sensor and noted that a cable tie had severed. Quick adjustment, back on the bike, a further 10k down the road and now the garmin was dancing around on the back stay, so to save myself from it entering the spokes and knocking me in the process, off the bike again and rip it off and into my pocket. Completed the 94k in 3hrs 24mins, not great but got there. Was feeling ok for the run. Into T2.
The run consisted of 3 x 7k loops over mainly forest trails and chipped surfaces. There was about 500m of tarmac on each loop. I had heard bad stories about this course prior to competing but to be honest I found the run course very enjoyable and something similar to what I'm used of training on in Ferns. In T2 I took my time put on calf supports and socks, bit of stretching done. Noted my toes on my right foot a bit swollen and discoloured but said now is not the time to worry about that. Decided to set off at 5min / km pace which was perfect for the fist lap and I felt great. Then I noted that I was running a bit on my heels which is not my style of running and this gradually led to cramps in my legs. Anyway onto lap 2 and times began to slip a bit. There was good encouragement on the course and it kept me going. The final lap was tough. At the food station with 3k to go, I grabbed a flat coke and walked for approx 200m before getting myself going again. Within a short while the finish line was in sight and got there in 1hr 50mins, a total time 6hrs 12sec. Delighted to have finished. Would like to have broken the 6hrs but I know it is there for another day.
Would I recommend this race – absolutely, the organisation was first class, the goody bag was ‘good’, support was good, weather was overcast but dry, only recommendation is that Clare Co. Council get around to tarring their roads!!!
Must thank all of Racing 795 for the support and encouragement I received by text, call and email prior to and after the event. Also, big thanks to my No. 1 supporter who puts up with my continued absence while training and attends all these events – my wife Zilpha.
In or around December 2014, having taken a lot of inspiration from the Iron men and women of Roth 2014, I decided to up my game and think a bit longer… ½ iron distance, why not. Bit of research done, Ironman Dublin 70.3 on the cards but then I found Lough Cutra, the first of the season, jumped on board and it took me to Sunday, 24th May 2015.
Travelled down to Galway the evening before. My chief organiser (wife) had booked a b&b between Gort and Kinvara, approx 7k from the event. Registered at Lough Cutra at 5pm on the Saturday, took a quick look around, familiarised myself with the layout and headed off for R&R.
Up early on the Sunday, morning, 5.45am ish. Bit of breakfast and while I’m addicted to tea drinking, I usually don't drink tea on the morning of an event. However the lady of the b&b had a cup filled for me and I took it, together with another (first lesson learned – stay away from the tea as it gave rise to too many pit stops during the event). Off down to the Course, arriving at 7am, bike / run gear all sorted, wetsuit on and in the water for 7.55am. Water was nice, actually Mediterranean compared to the previous Tuesday at Poulshone. Didn't really get nervous for this event, maybe due the fact that I've been injured for most of the previous six weeks and as I was unable to run much my goal was to get to the run and see if I could continue or finish. All those swimming sessions with Liam have also gave me an extra confidence in the water as now I feel I'm not going to drown.
Gun goes and off we go. There were 270+ competitors registered for the event and as per usual a bit of mayhem at the start but I got into my stroke early. During the course of the swim there was a group of three of us but I kept getting tangled up with one guy in particular as we continuously either bumped / swam on top of / under each other for the full 1.9k. Got out the water in under 38mins which is good for me and off I go to transition.
Having spoken to a number of experienced triathletes before the event, I have always been told to expect at least two things to go wrong during an Iron distance race, well this was the first. In my hurry to take my wetsuit off while running I stubbed my right foot (all toes) on a clump and landed head over face on the ground. All concerned for my wetsuit I didn't take any note of any damage to my foot. Kept going, into transition out and on the bike.
The bike course was slightly long according to my garmin – 94k. It entailed a 1.5k cycle out of the Lough Cutra estate before hitting the roadway. Direction was into Gort, head for North West and into the Burren towards Ballyvaughan, then head south to Kilfenora and East back towards Gort. Only one real climb at Corkscrew Hill (approx 35k in). Three things that stand out for me on the cycle, (1) my foot was throbbing early on but I put this to the back of my mind and just put the head down (2) a stiff NW wind was in our faces for the first 46k to Ballyvaughan. There was nowhere to hide from the wind in the burren. At 46k I was delighted to meet a marshal who gladly informed me that the wind was behind me to Kilfenora (15k ish) and to enjoy and (3) the road surface for approx 35k was brutal. This road surface caused my second issue of the day. Due to the uneven road surface and been shook like I was entering the atmosphere on a spacecraft at times, I noted at approx 56k that my garmin stopped recording. Off the bike to give quick adjustment to my garmin sensor and noted that a cable tie had severed. Quick adjustment, back on the bike, a further 10k down the road and now the garmin was dancing around on the back stay, so to save myself from it entering the spokes and knocking me in the process, off the bike again and rip it off and into my pocket. Completed the 94k in 3hrs 24mins, not great but got there. Was feeling ok for the run. Into T2.
The run consisted of 3 x 7k loops over mainly forest trails and chipped surfaces. There was about 500m of tarmac on each loop. I had heard bad stories about this course prior to competing but to be honest I found the run course very enjoyable and something similar to what I'm used of training on in Ferns. In T2 I took my time put on calf supports and socks, bit of stretching done. Noted my toes on my right foot a bit swollen and discoloured but said now is not the time to worry about that. Decided to set off at 5min / km pace which was perfect for the fist lap and I felt great. Then I noted that I was running a bit on my heels which is not my style of running and this gradually led to cramps in my legs. Anyway onto lap 2 and times began to slip a bit. There was good encouragement on the course and it kept me going. The final lap was tough. At the food station with 3k to go, I grabbed a flat coke and walked for approx 200m before getting myself going again. Within a short while the finish line was in sight and got there in 1hr 50mins, a total time 6hrs 12sec. Delighted to have finished. Would like to have broken the 6hrs but I know it is there for another day.
Would I recommend this race – absolutely, the organisation was first class, the goody bag was ‘good’, support was good, weather was overcast but dry, only recommendation is that Clare Co. Council get around to tarring their roads!!!
Must thank all of Racing 795 for the support and encouragement I received by text, call and email prior to and after the event. Also, big thanks to my No. 1 supporter who puts up with my continued absence while training and attends all these events – my wife Zilpha.