Kilkee Hell of the West 2016 25/06/2016

boysinblack

Anyone know if wave 1 and wave 2 are super series waves?

Girls are in wave 5.

So looking like 300 men a wave for 3 and 4?

mossym

viperlogic wrote: »

Going from your strava swim times, think I found my draft buddy!!

you'll be disappointed if you do, my ow swims and pool swims bear no relation to each other.

zico10

Kurt, you would have loved the swim yesterday.

Anybody else think it was the roughest water they've ever had to swim in?

mossym

100% agree Kurt would have loved it. was a washing machine of a swim, but i loved every minute of it, which was several minutes longer than i hoped for but given the conditions won't complain. was really a swim to test your comfort, needed to time breathing to the swells which was tough given it was rough in general and no real pattern to them but it was just fun


also, apologies to whoever was running up dunlicky and shouted boards at me as i ran back down the hill, was gone past you before it really registered. not even sure who it was, anyone want to own up?

Kurt_Godel

Sounds like a blast! I didn't travel, a lingering cold, coupled with a glance at the forecast and potential for...eh... swim cancellation, kept me at home. Well done on enjoying the chop!

viperlogic

zico10 wrote: »

Kurt, you would have loved the swim yesterday.

Anybody else think it was the roughest water they've ever had to swim in?

I've only a few OW swims under my belt so a definite yes for me. But in talking to our club super series guys and well seasoned OW swimmers they all said the same, never raced in such conditions before thou suited some of them.

It didnt look too bad from the shore but once we got past the pier it was nuts, both chop and swell. Saw a few lads beached up on the reef/rocks on the way back in! Was glad to get ashore as was race on for me then, gained 366 places

mossym

Kurt_Godel wrote: »

Sounds like a blast! I didn't travel, a lingering cold, coupled with a glance at the forecast and potential for...eh... swim cancellation, kept me at home. Well done on enjoying the chop!

it would take something for the swim at HoTW to be cancelled. 3 years ago(2013) year gavin noble won i'd wager was worse than yesterday, swell was pushing people back into shore by more than they were swimming out between the swells, and it went ahead.

some interesting results on saturday. don't think many would have seen Carolyn Hayes been beaten home. know she entered late but would still have been strong favorite. was running up dunlicky and saw a lady coming down against me, thought i must have missed hayes running down and was shocked to meet her quite a bit back further up the hill.

mens winner less of a surprise, but could still have gone to one of a few, would have been interesting to see what would have happened if there hadn't been withdrawals after the bike.

fair to say after two calm years it was a nice reminder where the race got it's name

68 lost souls

mossym wrote: »

some interesting results on saturday. don't think many would have seen Carolyn Hayes been beaten home. know she entered late but would still have been strong favorite. was running up dunlicky and saw a lady coming down against me, thought i must have missed hayes running down and was shocked to meet her quite a bit back further up the hill.

I was fairly surprised when I saw the results alright too. Although it is nice to see some one else at the top for once. Hayes is a fantastic athlete and give us all hope that the best can be beaten

Shedite27

Very good race, real test of ability. Certainly they toughest Olympic I've ever done. Swim was very choppy alright, I'd suspect quite a few people panicked in the swell. The way back in, the swell seemed to be pushing people towards the rocks.

The cycle had a bit of everything. Some challenging climbs, and some long straight bits to really get the power on. I didn't have the cycling training done so struggled here, lost about 100 places on this bit.

Run was nice, lovely little course, tough first 2k uphill, then some gorgeous scenery along the coast, nice little descent to finish.

Well run race, nice jacket, good food. Just wish I'd had more cycling done!

Doeshedare

The swim was fun alright. The wind was from the NW so was blowing straight down the bay. With the prevailing SW wind the bay remains fairly calm even if all hell is breaking loose outside it. This was my 4th HOTW and it was the most challenging swim.

I got caught in a boat rope at the beginning which was disconcerting. Then after the pier the change in sea conditions was very abrupt, I can imagine it freaked some out. Though it was a busy swim from start to finish it was really hard to draft given everyone was bouncing every which way. I also caught up with the back of the wave ahead which complicated it further. Lots of reports of people hitting the reef at the west end, I could hear the kayak'ers shouting.

Initially I was disappointed since I was slower than last year but I've been checking people on page 1 of the results this year that did it last year and the swim seems to be about 2 and a half minutes longer this year for these, which is 10-15% (Carolyn Hayes was +3.46). I was less than 2 mins slower (7%) and don't appear until page 6 of the results so I am pretty happy now.

I didn't enjoy the bike much, it just felt like a slog the whole way but the run was lovely and a great atmosphere. Well done to LTC again.

griffin100

My first tri in almost two years and I had a blast. Swim conditions were rough but nothing anyone with ow experience should be scared of. The waves made sighting hard as every time I looked up all I could see was water. I went way of course for a bit and on the return in I swam over the reef along with a lot of other swimmers and got pretty beat up - hands and feet are in bits. My own fault though, should have sighted better. Ended up taking 5 minutes longer than I did for the same distance in Dunmore East a couple of week ago. Bike was not as bad as I was expecting. I did it on the road bike and was glad to hold an average of just over 30kph. Run was tough but enjoyable. Overall a very good and well run race.

The only downside for me on the day was the level of blatant drafting that was going on. At the start of the bike there was a lot of congestion and I understand that it was difficult not to get caught up in it, but as the race went on I was repeatedly passed by groups that were working together. I know that in the middle of the pack where I was drafting is not going to make a difference to the winners, but it's frustrating for riders that are genuinely trying to test themselves to see people cheating so blatantly.

viperlogic

Re drafting, I did see some trains, but I was passing them, not the other way round . Overall didn't see much drafting as compared to other races.

EC1000

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zico10 wrote: »

Anybody else think it was the roughest water they've ever had to swim in?

Yes, loved it. A proper swim and a proper triathlon.

MojoMaker

^ Echo that - a proper triathlon. Well done LTC once again.

Swim was not smooth by any stretch but I seem to remember a 2014 or 2015 Howth aquathon being as rough.

Kurt you would have loved it.