Letterkenny Sprint Triathlon - Race Report
750M Swim - 00:15:47 (66th Overall) Transition 1 - 00:02:12 (111th Overall)
20K Bike - 00:38:05 (71st Overall)
Transition 2 - 00:00:55 (106th Overall)
5K Run - 00:23:12 (57th Overall)
Total time - 01:20:14
(37th in Age Group / 65th / 106 Males - 68th Overall / 137)
This was a race that I had been looking forward to as it was not only my first race since Ironman Frankfurt but it was also a sprint distance race which meant I was excited about having a bit of a smack down and going for it on the short distance.
Now, this is a distinct difference to not only my first Tri but also my 2nd Tri which were both Sprint distances. A lot of Tris have passed by since then and the initial feelings of survival and wanting to hold enough back so that I wouldn't detonate on the run have now been replaced with a confidence to go pretty hard on each of the 3 disciplines. This is what I have gained not just from the last 9 months of hard training but also a feeling of strength.
The race was based out of Gartan Lake, which is an idyllic setting and a Watersports Centre. The lake was flat calm and looked very inviting. The weather was also being kind to me and there was no wind and it was a very pleasant day.
Two friends would also be doing the event. Michael Jenkins in his 2nd ever Tri and Simon Cummings who did Ironman UK last year in an extremely impressive time on a tough course. Simon was also joined by Joanne Harris in her first ever Tri.
The Swim
As the Swim got under way I decided to push the pace on a little bit but found it a bit difficult as it was one of the most physical swims I have been in. They breed them tough in Donegal and no quarter was being given in the water and there was a lot of jostling for position and as a result quite a bit of physical contact.
I was delighted to get out of the water without a broken nose in a very respectable sub 16 minute time.
As many will know, my Achilles Heel in tri is Transition. I am notoriously slow and I was determined today to rectify that. I was better than in the past but there is still work to be done to get faster.
The Bike
I was determined to go out hard on the bike, after all how hard could a 20K bike be for an Ironman? How wrong could I be??
the first 2 miles were all up hill and I actually felt ill after about 1 mile as I had clearly pushed too hard and was suffering for it.
I took stock and decided to slow a wee bit to get some food in and accepted that a bit of time lost here in the hope that the additional energy would help me.
The strategy seemed to work and both my Heart Rate and the profile of the course levelled out a bit. After the half way turnaround the course started to head up hill again but I felt much better this time and handled it quite well.
As I came back in to T2 my time of 38 minutes felt quite good given the poor start and the challenging nature of the course.
My time in T2 was much better and I was out again in 55 seconds, despite having to re-enter T2 after I was ready to leave as I forgot to take the Garmin off the bike and put it back on my wrist strap.
The Run
I knew that the run would be taking in the first 3/4 of a mile on the bike route which was all up hill. I paced myself well and felt very comfortable as I went up the hill for the first time of the 2 lap run course.
The reward at the top of the hill was a really long and fast downhill stretch before turning back in to a half mile section back round to the end of the first loop. I made a mental note on Loop 1 of how far I was from the finish so that I could crank it a bit on Lap 2 if I had the energy.
As I started Lap 2 I saw my friend Michael coming along on his first lap of the run and I started up the hill a few seconds ahead of him. I knew Michael would catch me on the hill as he is a very good runner and was looking strong as he approached the hill.
He did indeed catch up to me about 150M from the top of the hill and went past looking good. I made a conscious effort to stay on his heels up the rest of the hill.
As we started on the downhill section I saw another competitor in front with an Ireland (Age Grouper) Tri suit and mentioned to Michael that I had spotted this guy earlier and really wanted to catch him.
Knowing where I was from Lap 1, I pushed on really hard and managed to catch him with about 1/3 of a mile to go. I was pushing really hard at this time and it felt tough but actually manageable. I also sneaked a look at my watch and could see that I was at 1:18:30 with not too far to go and I was agonisingly close the the magical 1:20 mark that I was really keen to break.
I put the hammer down even more and went really hard to the finish line.
I was partly delighted at a new PB time of 1:20:14 but slightly gutted that I was only 15 seconds off breaking the 1:20 mark.
In all honesty I couldn't have pushed much harder on the run, coming in with the 57th fastest run split out of 137 competitors and doing probably my fastest mile ever with a 6.30 on the last mile and an overall negative split running Lap 2 faster then Lap 1.
I know that I need to improve on the bike still and especially Transitions. I know the 1:20 mark is very possible and I would love to crack it before the end of this season.
This was a tough course but a really well organised event in a lovely location and congratulations to Letterkenny Triathlon Club for putting on such a great event.
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