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At least it not a cold winter morning ergo LSD...
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beware long post...
So, last Tri of the season and I believe I found the lost sheep down in Kerry on the most glorious weekend of the Irish weather calender so far. Just so you know, said lost sheep were on the lefthand side of the road about 2km from the top of the Caha Pass. They looked quite relaxed and undisturbed by the plethora of colouful cyclists winding their way pass them up the mountainside.
It was a perfect day for any kind of race. I was carbed up, rested, relaxed and ready to go. I did oversleep a little but the lads in the house got me up thankfully. However by the time I got to transition there was precious all rack left upon which to put my bike. I eventually squeezed in between 2 of my club mates. I made a decision to attach everything I needed to my bike rather than stuff wet pockets after the swim and this proved to be a good decision. As per the nutrition plan I washed down a gel 10 minutes before the start. I was nervous yet excited, a good state to be in. The river was flat calm and rather cold. I had no intention of blasting off and attacking the start and so hung back a few meters. It made for plenty of space as I worked into a rythm for my longest open water swim to date. It was a straight ish out and back with a slight flow on the return leg so I worked steadily up to the buoy and rounded it without incident. I was swimming with a few others essentially sandwiched by clear water between 2 packs which is why the turnaround bouy was less physical than usual. Sighting the bridge on the return leg was difficult as the sun was glaring of the water surface so I relied on tracking bubbles under the water instead. With 600m to go my swim cap started to slowly slip off with every stroke. Even stoppping briefly I could not get it back on. Because the goggle strap held it, it hung off the back of my head like a bag of water before eventually falling off. I swam the last 300m with a very cold forehead! As I approached the bridge I kicked my legs and took a decent line to the beach to ensure I was emerging alone and not wrestling for the ground with someone. When I took off my goggles I was quietly delighted to see 31'xx on the clock, way under target for the swim. T1 was efficient. The only difference between this transition and all the others during the season was that I took some time to put socks on as I did not fancy running a hilly half marathon without them later.
I mounted the bike on the move and waited until I had sufficient momentum to put my feet into the shoes. I passed a few straight away as some clearly tried to do it all at the mounting line. It pays to practice this before races. After a couple of kms I looked at the HRM. 168!! Damn, I needed to get this under control straigt away. It was dropping slowly but even after 15 minutes it remained at 161. I worried for a few seconds but then noticed that I had been so preoccupied with the HRM that I didn't notice we were climbing gradually. Aha, I decided I'd wait for the first descent to check it again. There were about 5 bikes ahead of me all within 250m and I seemed to be reeling them in slowly. 2 others blew by me. It was a bit difficult to judge what pace to go at but I figured I had been a bit conservative for me up to that point so I got a bit excited on the first descent. It was actually a thrilling few minutes of cycling. I passed a haf dozen or so on the way down and was throwing myself rather fearlessly into bends. It was only when I passed a club mate who is always ahead of me did I think I was being a bit gung ho. Adrenalin! I glanced at the HRM expecting it to still be at 160+... 137 perfect. I kept the race plan in mind and only sipped water for the first half hour before starting to eat.
So, the Healy Pass. I do feel there should have been a marshall at the turn to this climb, actually there was too few marshalls overall and that taking the fact that it was a long course into mind too. There were some yellow arrows painted into the ground which I saw but I suspect a few people missed them and thus missed the turn. The Healy pass itself is a decent climb and the most technical section of cycling on the course. Good hard work you could say. About half way up you glance up to your left and see a stream of cyclists against a stunning backdrop and get an idea of the gradual gradient ahead. It also seems miles away but a few minutes later you are at the vantage point yourself and a glance left at the lake 1000ft+ below was utterly breathtaking. The lake was so still it had a perfect reflection of the mountain in it and almost looked surreal. I got caught gaping at it too as 2 of my club mates passed me on my right hand side in quick succession. On a clear sunny day there are few places in Ireland that can rival the magnificence of Kerry. Anyway I got stuck in again. I noticed that as usual the majority of people passing me on climbs seemed to have Wicklow jerseys on. They must live on the hills! The last 250m or so of the Healy Pass gets quites steep and although you have to drop a gear or get out of the saddle it is short lived and a fun winding descent awaits you as a reward. I like descents and wasn't passed on one all day. I was rather pleased to catch one of those wicklow guys on the way back down. I did brake a little late on one or two sharp bends and cut it quite close!
The next drag up the dual carriageway to Glengariff into the headwind is a soul destroyer after the Healy Pass and easily the most boring and menatlly draining section of the bike course. Its just over the halfway mark on the cycle and I did struggle for a few minutes for whatever reason. There was a tall guy on a TT bike about 100m up ahead of me that I just could not catch. He turned out to be my only drafting frustration later but for the meantime I lost sight of him climbing the Caha Pass. I had no idea when the Caha Pass started but had been climbing for a few km and was wondering if I was on it. It was the only lonely part of the cycle and finding yourself on your own plays all kinds of games with your mind. Within minutes however I passed a roack sign with 'Caha Pass' engraved on it and thougt 'you have got to be kidding me, its only starting now?!!'. The Caha Pass is very picturesque too but its very loonnng. There were pockets of rapturous and often funny supporters on the way up but the climb never seemed to end. The HRM was under 160 which is usually fine for a climb but the legs were certainly burning. The 'lost sheep' at the side of the road drew a smile but the sight of the tunnel drew a smile of relief. I was 'promised' by one of the spectators that I was at the top and I believed her. The tunnel itself is maybe a long 10 seconds of eerie pitch darkness. Apparently there was a pot hole in there but thankfullly I didn't find that out. The Caha descent roads are wide and open so you can put the throttle down. I passed the tall guy on the way down and was glad for the slight breather the legs got from the constant climbing work (I'm not good at climbing).
As I took my last gel I passed a sign saying 'Kenmare 13km'. I did a quick calculation and knew I was short of my bike target but not by too much (target was 2'45' all going well'). Just as I had calculated my probably bike split (what you have to do to occupy the mind, some people sing, I do sums) the tall guy on the TT bike passed me with his club mate in tow. I backed out of the drafting zone and then watched them exchange position every minute or so right in front of me. I felt quite annoyed as up to that point I believe that the cycling in this race, unlike other events I've done, was in good honest spirits. Anyway the anger turned to power and speed and I pushed passed them both looking behind me to ensure I created enough space. 5 minutes later they crawled passed me again and then sat in fornt of me. I was dismayed that I now looked like I was drafting so I gave them their 15 meters and then put the head down and left them behind this time. All of a sudden I heard people and saw this marsalls at the dismount line. The last 13km had flown by! I looked at my clock and was actually 5 or so under target.
48 seconds later I was heading out on the run stuffing some gels into my pocket. I was mindful of littering so I had left all of my bike debris beside my wetsuit. It was now very warm out and I was really looking forward to the first water station. The first 2km of the run was hell. My legs would not fire. I was badly shuffling and temporarily horrified that I had overcooked the bike and now had another 19km to run on failing legs. It didn't help that I was completely alone for the first 20 minutes of the run also. If it wasn't for the occasional yellow mark on the ground and the km marks I would have seriously questioned if I was on the right road! Strangely enough the thing that got me going again was the rolling hills of this undulating run course. By the 3rd or 4th km I had found a use for my arms and almost punched my way up the short hills. It proved a useful tactic for me as it established a rythm and restored some confidence it getting to the finish. At about 5km a guy pulled up beside and looked to going well. He started to pull away but I caught him on every hill and so we kept each other company passing each other for about 20 minutes. The first water station was at about 6 or 7k and bit late into a run on a hot day to be honest. At this stage the race winner Bryan Keane passed obviously moving in the opposite direction. It was at least 15 minutes before the 2nd placed guys appeared. Very Impressive! Back on my own run I was making better of the hills than my partner and soon lost him. After the turnaround he looked in bad shape. Indeed the run played havoc with quite a few athletes which many walking and few sitting down in the ditches. I had a steady rythm going and took a gel before each station and washed down with a gulp of water. With 6km left to go it became a real mental battle. I had made up a few places but a guy and a girl cruised past me at this point. I figured it was the 3rd placed girl so I tried to hang onto her. I actually just needed something 10 meters in front of me to aim for. My HRM showed 161 which is usually ok for a run but the legs were really burning with 3km to go. I had to walk for a minute as I felt quite dizzy. I took a few deep breaths and got jogging again however the legs were out of steam. I felt toasted and needed water. I had figured up to this poin that I was on for a sub 5 hour finish and that was something I had never contemplated. I knew that if my race plan was executed, I stayed together and held by best case scenario splits I might land somewhere around 5'15 and thats waht I had written in my journal (the secret goal if you will) but here I was with a possibility of 4 something and legs in bits. I just pushed whatever I had left to give into the last 2km. A few people seemed to sprint past me but I didn't care my legs were on auto pilot and finishing was the only thing on my mind. I remember hearing the support and seeing the clock at the finish line and it was still on 4'5x. I made it! I needed treatment straight away so it took about 30 mins to comprehend it but I had exceeded my expectations. I had tapered well, ate well and actually stuck to my race plan. Unbelievably my run was 5 mins under target. Very pleased with holding it together. The plan was to give it everything and I can safely say I left it all out on the course. The support, replenishments, medical staff etc.. at the finish was excellent and once I had my senses back I was simply delighted. I recovered in time too to see Batman arrive at the finish!! The wall I hit at 2km from home was tougher than any marathon I've done. Very tough event but extremely rewarding
Thats the end of my first Triathlon season and last 'A' goal of the year.
Overall 47th 4'54'38" swim 31'33" (59) T1 1'15" bike 2'40'50" (56) T2 48" run 1'40'11" (60)
The goals
Run a sub 40 min 10 k... done!
Finsh Kilkee Hell of the West... done!
Finish the Kenmare lost sheep 1/2IM.... done!
Thank you to everyone who commented, contributed and supported this log. Signing off now and I'll keep an eye on you all! Perhaps I'll have a new log for 2010 who knows.0 -
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Thank You Guys! First season has been a good eye opener alright.hunnymonster wrote: »Great Report and fantastic race MCOS. You've captured the course exceptionally well.
I went looking for you in Kenmare to introduce myself but then got tied up with other stuff. Next year.
Thanks. Thought I saw you jogging across the bridge on my way to transition? Myself and pgibbo had our eyes peeled for a boards celebrity 0 -
really happy your last race of the season went so well , you battled hard to overcome your seasonal obstacles and i am glad to hear it has been worth while , dissappointing that the log is coming to a close but look forward to catching up with next years log and exchanging advice (given mainly on your part) and support .
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