Chasing the Kona dream and a Mai Tai cocktail

catweazle

Jaysus yourself, solobally and ronanmac would put you off cycling in this country, some serious crashes out there. Get well soon

Hope they catch the guy - no more than that bastard who left Paudie o Leary to die on the road to leave someone lying on the ground and drive off is unforgivable

Mellor

Jesus Fran, hope you are ok.
And hopefully you'll get a clearer idea of things once you rest up.

Hope you don;t mind, but I'll pass this along to the guys on IPB too.

joey100

Hope your ok JB. Take your time and don't rush back. Plenty of time for bike racing, look after your health first.

RJM85

****ty news. Good that it wasn't worse. Recover well.

kennyb3

Shocking.

Well worth reading Beasty's log on cycling forum - he had a bad accident racing.

Hope you heal up.

tylerdurden94

Hey Fran wishing you a quick recovery and all the best, intend buying myself a bike in the next couple weeks & was back/forth over if I'd buy a helmet or not but your post has convinced me 100% to get one.

Solobally8

God Fran, I'm so upset and angry about this. I didnt realise on Facebook that you were hit and left at the scene. What the fcuk kind of person would do that! I'm sure you are going to be very sore for the next few days so make sure to take it easy. I understand the guilt associated with how you feel about what your family must have gone through, hearing about the crash and seeing you. My own poor husband has been through the mill with me and I can still hear the worry in his voice if I ever ring him when I'm out on the bike. Mind yourself boss- I need that noggin fully recovered for when you are back coaching me in September


Oh and by the way as Dory says its amazing how similar your smashed up face looks like mine from last year!!

sconhome

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

sense of guilt on my behalf for putting them through it.

Fran,

I know how tough this is on your family, my first thoughts (after is he alive) were for Michelle and the kids but my first thought were for you and I ask you to do the same.

Please for your own sake and for those of your family do not feel guilty over this. You did not choose to put anyone through this, circumstances took control of that.

Trust me, your body will heal with time but right now it is your mind that you need to look after for yourself and the family.

Look after yourself.

Bambaata

Heel well Fran, awful news. Glad to hear nothing broken but do please take it easy for a while....no turbo'ing away now ya hear ;-)

shotgunmcos

Fran you wore your helmet, you were on your known commute. Its one of these random things that happens and pain for you and your support network. Its unpredictable and nobodies responsibility other than the punk who didn't stop.

Bottom line is you are alive and "well". That is all that matters.

I know of 2 such cases in Limerick the last 18 months that ended differently (1 of which I witnessed) and both also commuters with helmets.

Please take the time to recovery physically and mentally! My best wishes to Michelle and your family supporting you through that.

I hope there is CC footage somewhere of the incidents, makes my blood boil that whoever it was didn't stop.

BennyMul

Fran

first off is the bike ok,

secondly sorry, its a **** thing to happen and really brings home how dangerous the roads can be, this is not your fault and can and will happen,
I just hope they find the scum who would drive off and leave someone lying there.

get well soon.

zico10

Jesus,

Tough break. It's scary sh!t. I'm sure stuff like this happens someone somewhere all the time, horrible when it falls on you, but it does happen. Without scaremongering, it does show you just how vulnerable cyclists are.
The photo is pretty shocking and I'm trying not to overreact to it. I hope when you're fully healed, you don't either. I'll stick with my plans to get out for a cycle this evening. Hope you are of similar mindset and are back on the bike soon.

Heal well.

ToTriOrNot

JB, only a newbie here who has completely ignored her log lately, but I keep reading all the logs here. Having recently started to commute, this accident has freaked me out, and I am not doubting myself if I should do it tomorrow. Hope you heal well, and take all the time needed. Sorry your family has been through this, and hopefully the b**rd who did this gets caught!!!

pointer28

Hi JB,

Sorry to hear about this. Hoping you feel better soon and don't let it set you back.

Oryx

I recognised you in that picture. I didn't in the fb ones. Really bad... but youre alive. Thank god. Its shocking how easy this stuff can happen, and worse that its a hit and run. What kind of evil b...stard does that?

You shouldn't feel guilty. The person who caused this was the one who drove away. I so hope they catch them and charge them. For all they knew, theyd killed you, and they still left tou there.

I hate that you have to sit and wait and heal. You didnt deserve this. But i wish you patience and peace dealing with it. All my best to you and your family. I hope your route back to full health is a short one.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

It's been a weird and confusing week, I have resorted to writing stuff down as I am forgetting lots of things. Passed the scene of the accident for the first time and It freaked me out seeing my own blood on the ground. Looks like skid marks by a car before it also. Special place in hell for that person, bad enough being involved in one hit and run but two!
I am starting to come to terms with the fact that this is not going to be a quick fix to get healthy again. My mood and emotions along with remembering stuff is all off. Best way to explain how I am feeling is the lights are on but nobody's home, feel like a passenger or one of the kids in the house that needs looking after.
Pressure starting to ease inside my head and headaches whilst still there are starting to ease. Feeling better today and went to work for an hour or so, bad idea as i was not ready to have the brain working again and tired and sore again this evening
Looks to be some good news at the end of the week which at least raised a smile out of me.
I have a great bunch of friends/family and the messages & calls (some of which I have forgot:)) are appreciated.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

Over a week since the accident. Good days and bad, last weekend was not so good but yesterday was my best post accident although head a little sore today.
I was back in the hospital on Monday and they are happy with the scars clearing up but want me to live like a monk and do nothing for a month with recovering from concussion. That generic concussion advice is probably fine for most people but not as easy to take for someone who is used to living life in the fast lane at 100mph.
Head is improving slightly and Michelle is starting to see the old me slowly coming back, hopeful I can make a full recovery over time given its still only 8 days since the accident.
Have dipped in/out of work for an hour here or there to keep me somewhat active. Against all advice I was also on the turbo twice for 20mins very very easy. This brings me on to cycling and the rest of the season, I am pretty sure I will make a return to road racing but I know it's something that will happen when I am ready and not something that can be rushed. Should not stop doing something I like because of the actions of another.
I am taking the view that the rest of this season is a write off but if I do get back for some racing its a bonus. Mighty jealous that the club league has kicked off and cannot be a part of it.
No sign of the fvker who took me out of it and not holding out much hope. Must be getting back to normal as now getting annoyed over my 4 week old new 1k set of wheels which are fvked.

RacoonQueen

Are you able to claim from MIBI?
http://www.mibi.ie/uninsured-unidentifi.html

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Are you able to claim from MIBI?
http://www.mibi.ie/uninsured-unidentifi.html

Not sure

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

I am worse than PMaldini for the late race reports!

The fact this race report is nearly 3 months late might give you an idea on how hectic life has been with work, family life and moving house, but here we go.

After a hit and run bike crash back in April which left me with some cool facial scars and concussion I was “lost” for a few months. I needed to find something to recover what was a non event of a season, that along with me realising I had lost my “balls” for bike racing it was back to triathlon for me. As Rocky once said, I had some stuff in the basement I needed to work out .

9 weeks out I found a Half Ironman in Ruegen Germany and said to myself what the hell let’s sign up and give it a go. Training was ok but not great, we were in the process of moving house which became a disaster and near prevented me even getting to the start line, but we got there in the end.

Travelled over with my Dad on the Thursday and got set up. Bike racked on the Saturday and the weather was brutal, it was like a wet and windy Ireland.

Swim



Swim was wild, probably the worst I had seen with big swells and strong winds. I was the last wave to go off and my Dad suggested we walk out along the pier to watch the pros and Agers in the early waves to get some pointers, big mistake. I was mildly panicked looking at the conditions and watching a pro being pulled from the water and another clinging on for dear life to a boat done nothing to help with my concerns. The swim had been cancelled the previous year and I think only for that it may have been cancelled and kill the event this year. Into the washing machine and off we went, I was up and down with the swell so sighting was interesting. I knew it was going to be a slow one but just kept myself moving.

I finally exited the water in 46mins and my slowest ever swim. t1 was about 800mtrs away so it was a decent and dizzy run up to the change tent. Liam had suggested I sit down for 2 mins and do nothing in T1 (I suffer with bad motion sickness) hopefully this would transfer to a dizzy free bike.

Bike


Straight onto the bike and I start hammering it, it was windy and wet but just put the head down and got on with it. Started to pass loads and was moving nicely whilst still in control. Passing through halfway on the bike and I was holding around 37kmph and was on for a 2:25 bike. Back and neck issues raised its head around 60k into the 90k bike, that along with the increasing winds meant I lost about 3mins. Came off the bike in 2:28 but importantly felt I was ready to run. The positive thing is that I had no dizziness issues and felt I could bike to my ability and current fitness.

Run


I was really unsure how this was going to go. I had more or less taken a full break from swimming and running for a year whilst concentrating on bike racing. I went out with the intention of running by feel as blowing up was a real possibility. The kms started to click by and I was holding around 4:30km pace. There was 2 large hills which we had to go up 4 times, these were super steep and you were almost reduced to a walk. Seen my Dad on the course and it was a great boost, even if I was a little jealous looking at him sipping his pint of beer.

I purposely held off on the coke until 15k into the run, call it a treat. I don’t think I was ever in the red but was running very close to my limited 9 week run training. Last few kms the effort was increasing but the pace was holding between 4:30km pace. With about 4k to go I signaled my Dad to head for the finish line. What I did not want is to end up fighting with another guy in the last 2 or 3k, i could not shake him and vice versa. With 2k to go I lifted it one last time and was running around 4:15s, finally dropping my companion. Finally crossed the line and was content with a 5hr 7 finish and please with a 1hr 37 run.




Out for beers that night with my Dad I realised how much the crash had impacted me and the recovery process of dealing with concussion is not a fun one. Thankfully I am back and eager to get going again. Two full Ironman's penciled in for next year and I cannot wait.

RacoonQueen

Good to have you back!

Pmaldini

better late than never:D nice report Fran, after you sat down for a few mins did the dizziness go away completely this time or did you have it for the 1st few k's on the bike?

Abhainn

JB great to see you back. Unsurprisingly big targets set for next year.
The 2 IM seems to be the in -thing for a few others I know in 2016.
I assume the first in late June/ early July? and then peaking again for Barca ?

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Good to have you back!

Back to tri not back to logging. Going to let this gracefully slip away into the archives until the next race report.

Pmaldini wrote: »

better late than never:D nice report Fran, after you sat down for a few mins did the dizziness go away completely this time or did you have it for the 1st few k's on the bike?

Cannot recall having any dizziness issues on the bike after taking those few minutes in T1. Whilst i did not have a power meter on the TT bike i was moving well enough on the bike for the first 60k until neck/back problems. It was my fastest HIM bike split off very little training which in itself tells you no real swim dizziness issues.

Abhainn wrote: »

JB great to see you back. Unsurprisingly big targets set for next year.
The 2 IM seems to be the in -thing for a few others I know in 2016.
I assume the first in late June/ early July? and then peaking again for Barca ?

I have Mont Tremblant on Aug 21st and Barca on the 01st Oct so only a 6 week turnaround. MT will be the target race and i will be looking to peak for that, not disrespecting Barca or the IM distance but that for me is a weekend away with the club with some racing crepes and nice coffee thrown in. Not sure what shape i will be in as we are holidaying for 2 weeks in Canada after MT race.

Dory Dory

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Back to tri not back to logging. Going to let this gracefully slip away into the archives until the next race report.


Cannot recall having any dizziness issues on the bike after taking those few minutes in T1. Whilst i did not have a power meter on the TT bike i was moving well enough on the bike for the first 60k until neck/back problems. It was my fastest HIM bike split off very little training which in itself tells you no real swim dizziness issues.


I have Mont Tremblant on Aug 21st and Barca on the 01st Oct so only a 6 week turnaround. MT will be the target race and i will be looking to peak for that, not disrespecting Barca or the IM distance but that for me is a weekend away with the club with some racing crepes and nice coffee thrown in. Not sure what shape i will be in as we are holidaying for 2 weeks in Canada after MT race.

Mont Tremblant looks gorgeous!!! Am sightly jealous of you...but fantastic you will stay for 2 weeks.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

1st race of the season done, a 5k road race. A good 80secs off my pb from around 3 years ago but boy was it good to be running hard again in a 5k race. I would have been happy just breaking 20 so was pleasantly surprised to be breaking 19 at this time of year.

Finished 12th out of about 500 but that's a little flattering as only half dozen or so of the fast regulars there. Did have a great battle with one guy from from start to finish.
It was fun....it hurt but enjoyable at the same time!
Finish time of 18:56 and 3.45km pace, course was slightly measured long.

That's it until the next mini race report:) Training going well, consistent but not taking myself too serious.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

2nd race of the season done. Kinvara Half Marathon.

Weekend away with the good wife who was racing this as part of her prep for the London Marathon. Entered late myself but had planned on running something around 1.28 based off the recent 5k and how my running is starting to come back a bit.

650 lined up and we went off at a ferocious pace, going off at 5k pace in a half marathon is not always the best idea:rolleyes: but i wanted to get into a group and seek shelter on this exposed course. Thankfully the pace settled down to 4min ks after 3k, we passed 5 and 10k in sub 20 and sub 40.

We started to come back around on ourselves at 12k and the next 7k was into a brutal headwind in the exposed Burren. The group splintered at this point, we had been running at 1.24 pace up to this point but i was starting to get distanced. Lost a bucket of time over the next few kms with 4min ks starting to turn into 4.20s/30s for the same effort and i was gassing pretty bad.

I normally have a strong finish in the last k but today the tank was empty rounding the last corner. Crossed the line in 31st place out of 650 in 1.27.52 and 4.08km pace. Happy enough with the time. I knew the early pace would come back to get me but i think i was right to get into the group i did as there was a decent gap to the next biggest group on the road (1.30 pace group) which would have been too slow. Unfortunately i could not stick with some of the lads who went on to run 1.24s/25s from that same initial group. Still happy enough its going in the right direction and it was an enjoyable weekend away.

sconhome

That's a great time on a tough course JB well done.

hf4z6sqo7vjngi

sconhome wrote: »

That's a great time on a tough course JB well done.

Lovely part of the country and i am sure the route was lovely (too focused on following people in front of me).

Good to catch up with you, must remember to report you to child services for underage child labour

sconhome

Aliya Wailing Bench wrote: »

Good to catch up with you, must remember to report you to child services for underage child labour

Hahaha I believe there is an exemption for family members

Must look it up