Monday, August 30, 2010

Winter Swim Training Details

Winter swim training will recommence on Tuesday 21st September in Sligo Regional Sports Complex.

Every effort possible was made to secure additional pool time in the Complex and then anywhere else without any luck, the complex is seriously oversubscribed and the private pools don't want to disrupt their members pool time.

What that means is that we have 48 places between the Friday 7pm and Tuesday 10pm sessions.

We will again have the club coaches on hand for the sessions which will be coached and structured unlike the meet and trains we've been doing at rosses point so are well worth doing.

We will also continue the video analysis (underwater camera etc) which we did last year and think everyone found it very useful to see their own stroke for themselves.

Swim training will be strictly limited to club members with the winter sessions going on for 12 weeks into december. You can only do one of the two nights so as many people can take part as possible.

Details of registration will follow, stay tuned to the blog for details.

Sligo Triathlon Club Try a Tri Registration now open


Sligo Triathlon Club is delighted to announce that the third annual Try A tri will take place on Sunday 10th October at the Sligo Regional Sports complex in Cleveragh.

The event comprises of a 10 length swim in the pool (250m), 12km Cycle and 4km run in the adjacent race course.

It's a very manageable event and a great way to get into the sport of triathlon.

Registration is through Run Ireland and is now open
http://www.runireland.com/events/sligo-try-tri
The number of places has increased from 75 to 100 this year to cope with increased demmand but be warned these places will go extremely quickly so get your entry in as soon as possible since places have already started to fill.

The event committtee would urge all club members to spread the word on the event to friends, co workers etc. All club members not taking part will be expected to marshal at the race.

For more information contact Pauric at pauricdeery@hotmail.com

GOAL Perpetual Cup Charity Bike Hill Climb this Tuesday 31st August


From our friends in Innisfree Wheelers....
innisfreewheelers@gmail.com



"This Handicap charity event takes place on Tuesday evening 31st of August at 7pm from Shanvas crossroads close to Manorhamilton. Club members can meet at Sligo IT at 6pm and group-cycle to the starting point - if they wish to do so. The climb will be over a distance of 3 kilometres on Muragh hill-climb that varies from 4% to 8% gradient.
The PERPETUAL GOAL CUP was won in 1997 by the great Mark Scanlon. Other past winners include Neil Walton and Dessie Foley and Innisfree climbing wizard - Alan Kelly.

The event is open to all standards and with the handicap system in place any rider can actually win the event.

Club Chairman Seamus McGowan has been promoting this event now for a number of years, raising badly needed funds for the GOAL Charity organisation. It is hoped that most cyclists will turn out to support the charity - and enjoy the challenge of Muragh mountain."

Please bring €10 as a donation to GOAL

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Good luck to all warriors!


Good luck to all Club Members taking part in this weekends Warriors Run in Strandhill.
Promises to be a great event as ever

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

National Middle Distance C'ships

National middle distance champs

-well done to Eamonn, Colm and Joe who all finished well in the recent national middle distance (half ironman/ 70.2) race; below is a race report from Colm which gives an insight into what is involved, with the jump in numbers in the club next year should see even more people attempting the distance:

"I entered this race 2 weeks ago. I wanted to give the distance another shot before the end of the season. I enjoyed Swinford (half ironman) immensely, I particularly enjoyed the mind games and the fact that I felt I have loads more to give. That's the thing with triathlon and my mind I always feel I have more improvements to make that keeps me coming back for more. The other reason for being here is mouse mc andrew (aka Eamonn), an old mate and serious party animal chewing my ear to enter. Nothing like a bit of friendship rivalry to spur us on. We had to travel up on Saturday and ended up above a nightclub venue in newtownards. Lesson one don't let mouse book the hotel. It wasn't to bad apart from the heart palpatations about the bikes being nicked. Anyway a monster meal and a good nights sleep once the disco ended and we were on the way.

We had enough time to drive the course on the morning of the race as the race didn't start until 12. A bit of a joke forcing people to register the day before and no registration on the day. More expense. When we scanned the couse during the ironman race we both comented that there was no marshals on the bike course for the ironman race.

Anyway back to transition and the usual bike tinkering and just make transition with a couple of minutes to spare. When I was laying out my bike gear, I quickly realised that I had forgotten my homemade flapjacks. That left me with four gels and 1.5 l of zim. I had no time to go back so I figured I could get some solids at the aid station.

The starter called us down for the swim start and a quick scan of the course it looked slightly short. The water was like a swimming pool. It was a beech start so I positioned myself at the front. Horn goes, run, 2 dolfin dives sprint for 150 meters and start looking for some nice feet to toe me around. What no feet was my first reaction. I was stuck in no mans land. I went around the first 2 bouys in 4 th place. The leaders were gone. Eventually I saw what I was looking for a perfect long smooth stroke with very little kicking passing 10 meters to my left. Quick acceleration and lock into position and my lift home. I drafted of the same feet until a lack of concentration when I lost my lift about 100m from home. I exited the water with a group of five or six in around 25 mins I think I had a reasonble swim and a quick scan of the pulse monitor showed a heart rate of 150 so all under control. Mouse wasn't too far behind only 3 minutes and fair play to joe Watters a man who has only just learned to swim was out well up the field.

Uneventfull transition. A bit slow. Make sure not to forget anything and onto the bike. The bike was a fair course. Good road surfaces. Plenty of draggy roads. no major climbs and some small

Villages to navigate. I backed off a little on the bike in Swinford because of lack of training but I rode at a high tempo level at the weekend. The idea was to try and pace of anyone who passes. 93k can be a long way and I can sometimes fall asleep and back off the pace. My average speed was 35k ph for the 93 k or 2:41 mins which was quite fast compared to Swinford but I really struggled on the last lap. I was hungry and dropped a bottle of energy drink at the last feed station. I paced of Mike O Brien from Limerick and kept him in sight for 2 laps or 40 miles. On the last lap I got passed by 3-4 riders and kept them in sight but I was really struggling. I was glad to get off the bike as the neck was getting sore. The most notable thing about the bike was that there was only a handfull of marshals. Maybe 6-8 and no stopping traffic. Every roundabout, juntion, crossroads and village had to be navigated solo. The other thing were annoying flying ants that were all over your face. I had the 12 fastest bike split and was in the top 10 at the start of the run. On the first loop of the run I met mouse on his way back. I reckon I had about ten mins lead not really enough I thought with the way he runs. You don't care because you have enough to worry about trying to finish.

Started brightly enough on the run and with the sun in my face I was ploding along. I got a swarm of ants in my face and was trying to remove one of the bloddy things from my eyes as I was trudging along. I thought to myself were was everyone gone and then I caught sight of a runner coming towards me. When I reached the runner he informed me I was running on the ironman course. My turn was into the caravan park way back. I had passed the little bit of illuminous paint that was directing us. I don't think the organisers factored in flying ants and sun in the eyes. The worst thing is I had warned mouse when passing the turn before the race not to miss it. I reakon I went of course by 2k but worse again I started feeling sorry for myself and was contemplating droping out. It took me a couple of gels and 5-7k to re focus on just finishing. The run was someting you would expect in an adventure race. Tarmac, sand, coastal paths which were like running over the top of the mountain on the warriors run. Rocks sticking out of the ground. The run was dangerous and the most striking thing is if somone got injured there was no chance of first aid. I kept plodding along and the most pleasing thing is that the only stop was a toilet stop. I really strugled in Swinford and had to walk-shuffle the last 7k. Once I got over the self pity I was very comfortable, probably a little too comfortable. I had a slow run 2:09 and the slowest first lap split. After looking at my run pace I reackon I lost ten minutes. The mouse man would have sailed by me at around 15k. Just like damien at Swinford. Mouse had a stormer and finished in 23 spot in his first middle distance race the national championships. Its scary to think what he will do this time next year. We spotted joe coming through transtion starting his secound lap and he looked very comfortable with about 7 k to go. Joe went on to finish comfortable and for a man to complete a tough half while only learning to swim last year. Joe gets major kudus in my eyes. Fair play.

Overall the race had a good vibe. Good bike course and a tough run. It would be very easy for us to run races if we just painted signs on the road or put up directional arrows. For a national championships I felt it was a bit disapointing. Swinford was better organised and you always knew where you were. Maybe 20 marshals for a half ironman and I say we had 3 times the amount for our sprint. The winner of the ironman crossed the line and his first comment was he got lost a couple of times!"

Pos: 23 Race no: 122 Eamon McAndrew Sligo M 30-34 SWIM 00:28:01 T1 00:02:24 BIKE 02:46:50 T200:01:53 RUN 01:42:31 TOTAL 04:59:12

Pos: 52 40 Race no: Colm Casey Sligo M 30-34 SWIM00:25:21 T100:01:50 BIKE 02:41:38 T200:02:17 RUN 02:09:25 TOTAL05:18:40

Pos:156 Race no:213 Joe Waters Sligo M 50-54 SWIM 00:38:19 T1 00:04:18 01BIKE 03:32:10 00:01:58 00:17:25 RUN02:10:03 06:22:28

Full results and a link to a bit of news footage from the event are on the new and improved TI website (click here).

Monday, August 23, 2010

Blackrock Lighthouse Swim - Change in Date

Paul will be at this wednesdays swim (1st September) in rosses point to sign up anyone interested in taking part in the swim.


The Sligo Branch of Water Safety Ireland have been in touch to let us know they are organizing a swim from Rosses Point beach, around Blackrock lighthouse and back again which is a distance of approximately 5km in total.

The race will take place in September with the date to be confirmed by the event organisers.

The event is to raise funds for equipment for the Sligo Surf Lifesaving Team which includes Sligo Triathlon Club members Rory O'Connor, Scot Reid and Shane O'Doherty.

It's a good one to do for anyone looking for a tough swimming challenge to finish off the open water swimming season.

Anyone interested in taking part should contact Paul Rennick at paulrennick@gmail.com or call into him at the lifeguard station at Rosses Point. Numbers will be limited.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

CHAINDRIVEN Cycles Time Trial League

Just a reminder next week will be the last of the 2010 series. With just under 70 different participants over the 10 weeks of the league it has been a great success building on last years numbers. We peaked at 35 as the maximum entry for an individual timetrial. The lowest number was 15. It has been positive to see the vast improvement from the majority of participants and a special mention to Kate Hawney for posting the fastest female time last night on her first spin on a borrowed road bike (time to upgrade).

As a twist the final time trail will be 13k and 'old skool' .

Road bikes only - you must only ride the flat bars or drops. No TT bikes, no disk or aero wheels, no skin suits or tri suits, no heart rate monitors, no spedos, no aerobars.

Man and his original machine. This will level out the playing field. True power will come to the fore.

Sign on @ 6.30pm sharp- Sun is getting low so we have to start promptly.

Time Trial League Results and prizes

Just a reminder the league is nearing completion and the updated results will appear on sligotriathlon.ie

Scoring is based on the folowing

Best six tests including 1 hill climb.

6 prizes for male seniors
4 prizes for male intermediate
3 prizes for male rookies
2 prizes for female seniors

Also some prizes for outstanding performances.

Top 3 prizes will be trophies & vouchers (2 for females). Other prizes will be vouchers.

Vouchers for Chaindriven Cycles

We were low on Marshals last night. If you have not marshalled please marshal next week

NO MARSHAL, NO PRIZE, NO EXCEPTIONS







Last nights TT results


The results for last nights penultimate round of the Chain Driven Cycles TT league are up on the club website (click here for link).
...for anyone interested TI are hiring at the moment (see website).


Monday, August 16, 2010

Blacksod Tri -18th September

A lot of club members have signed up for the end of sesason Blacksod race, with many using it as an excuse for a weekend of craic in the wilds of Mayo -below is an extract from the race press release, it is a good chance for any new members of the club to give an olympic distance race a go before the winter break, and there will be plenty of club members about to keep momentum going through the course, entry is open online, and a reasonably good video of last years event is up on you tube (click here for link):

"This national series triathlon on the most westerly tip of Europe showcases some of the most stunning scenery in the country with rolling sand dunes, splendid Atlantic vistas and dramatic sea cliffs providing a spectacular backdrop along the race route.

The Blacksod Point Challenge involves a 1500m endurance swim in Blacksod Bay, a forty three kilometre cycle to Belmullet town, passing the highest point on the Erris peninsula and an amazing ten kilometre run across the sand dunes of Falmore. Organised by the Kilmore Triathlon Club, this stunning event has being described by previous winners as one of the most challenging and demanding sporting events in Ireland.

“The interest in this year’s event has been phenomenal as the triathlon continues to grow every year. The sport of triathlon is now one of the fastest growing sports in Ireland. We now have competitors coming from all over Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, Germany, Northern Ireland and even as far away as the USA,” stated race director and secretary of the Kilmore Triathlon Club Jason Ó Mongáin."

“The Gateway Blacksod Point Triathlon Challenge is now the biggest multi sporting event in North Mayo and we’re delighted that so many people will be spending the weekend in the region,” commented Ó Mongáin."

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Discount for club members



Catherine Burrows, who provided the race day massages at the Rosses Point Sprint triathlon, is offering a 5 euro discount per massage to Sligo Tri Club members -see the attached flyer for details.

-Last Tuesdays times from the Chain Driven Cycles TT league are up on the website -only two races to go, next one will take place on Tuesday 17th.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Congrats to all warriors of the sea!


Congratulations to all 26 swimmers who took part in and completed the Warrior of the Sea swim in Sligo Bay today. The swim was 6km in length, starting at Rosses Point and finishing at Strandhill rounding both Coney Island and McGuinns Island.

Things got underway with all the swimmers safey negotiating the infamous channel and rounding the cluckhaun causeway at Coney Island. The island sheltered the low westerly winds meaning for a quick opening leg of the swim.

Once round Coney swimmers faced into the meat of the swim and into the wind which made conditions somewhat choppy but still manageable.

Once around blue rock at the airport the end was close. A draw across the beach from that point to the last buoy really tested the swimmers and they all proved more than up to the challenge.

A good crowd had gathered to welcome home the swimmers at strandhill.

Event organiser Scott Ried put in another blistering swim to land home first. Metalman Swim Series winner Matt McGarrigle took second place with Shane O'Doherty close behind in third place.

The club would like to thank the following for their assistance, RNLI, Civil Defence, Yacht Club, Sligo Kayak Club, Voya, Dunes Pub, Outer Point and all the Marshals who helped from the club.


Men hr:min

Scot Reid 01:31

Mathew McGarrigle 01:45

Shane O’Doherty 01:46

Willy Tindal 01:47

Rory O’Connor 01:49

Molua Donahoe 01:53

Fergal O’Dowd 01:58

Brendan Ruane 02:00

Daniel McGarrigle 02:03

Niall Melvin 02:07

Paul Renick 02:10

Alan Shaw 02:10

Jason McMorrow 02:12

Kieran Fitzgerald 02:12

Liam Fitzgerald 02:12

Neil Dwyer 02:12

Padraig Hanley 02:19

Filipe 02:27

Tommy Sheridan 02:29

Brian O’Hara 02:33

Allan Mcguire 02:34

Sean Flanary 02:36


Ladies hr:min

Caoimhe NiMhurchu 01:54

Kimberly johnson 02:04

Lyndsey Dunne 02:14

Martha Van der Meulen 02:21

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Warrior of the Sea Tomorrow - Good luck


Good luck to all the club members taking part in tomorrow's Warrior of the sea event from Rosses Point to Strandhill.

Club members not taking part are encouraged to come along and support the swimmers.

Full race details on
http://www.wix.com/warriorofthesea/warrior-of-the-sea

Friday, August 6, 2010

last weekends photos...

As mentioned in the forum there are plenty of photos of the action last weekend up on the net...

Thanks to Darek Novak for these...(photosligo blog link).
Thanks to Michael O Connell for these...(facebook link -scroll down to post on 1st August).
Thanks to trudy Brown for these...(Picassa link).

Portaferry Triathlon in September


For anyone looking for a late season blast and not travelling to Blacksod this event might be worth a go; entry is open now on runireland.

Members who are veterans of the old Metalman club probably remember this race (it's going to be the first edition since 1990). If anyone is feeling nostalgic irish triathlon have posted some old footage of the event up on their website.

Warrior of the sea...

The warrior of the sea swim is set for this Sunday (August 8th) @ 9am in the Point.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Time Trials and Thursday Chain Gang

The remaining 3 time trials in the league will take place over the next 3 Tuesday nights

Tuesday - 10th - 28k
Tuesday - 17th - 28K
Tuesday -24th - 28K

Anyone who is looking for a bit of form for the remaining triathlons during September in Lough Key, Lough rea or the Black sod these are ideal lung busters for building some speed and form back into your legs. To complement the timetrials on Tuesday we are going rolling with the chain gang session on Thursdays recommencing this Thursday 5th of August (Meet at 6.30pm Depart @6.45pm) and running through until the final session on Thursday the 16th of September. Combining these with a good aerobic endurance ride at the weekend and you will be flying for the remaining races.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Club Time Trial cancelled

Tonights (Aug 3rd) Chain Driven Cycles Time Trial due to be held in Rosses Point has been cancelled and re-scheduled for later this month -the new dates are:

August 10th
August 17th
August 24th