"After completing and enjoying the Sprint in Rosses Point, it was suggested to me by Declan Conlon that I should consider doing the Olympic Distance in Blacksod. As it was a good few weeks away, I agreed, and entered.
Arranging the accommodation for the night before the Race is the next step, as Registration takes place on the eve of the Race. Mr Conlon came up trumps as he knew an excellent B&B that he had used the last time he did the event, and so another box was ticked.
It was Sean Flannery that had suggested giving Triathlons a go last year, and so I turned to him for some guidance. When he stopped laughing at the idea of me taking on what is regarded as the toughest Olympic Distance in Ireland, he realised I was serious and probably felt that I needed all the help I could get.
I knew the swim would be crucial, as if you don’t get through it, it doesn’t matter how good you are on the bike or on the run. Lynsey Dunn had helped me greatly to get over my anxiety of the sea for the Rosses Point Sprint, and without her help I wouldn’t have been able to complete it. Thankfully the trauma of working with me before hadn’t put her off, and so Lynsey again played a key role in getting me ready for the Event.
For a few weekends leading up to Blacksod, I trained with Timmy McCarthy doing the distances for the 3 elements, so I knew that if I paced myself right, I could complete it on the day. Timmy is a very experienced Triathlete, and was able to give me some good advice, the only trouble was trying to keep up with him on the bike and run to be able to hear the advice!
The Day before:
Having done a short brick session back in Drumcliffe that morning, I travelled down to Blacksod and checked into the B&B. It was my second time down there, as I had checked out the bike and run route in August. Registration was in Belmullet, which is 20k back the road and is on the bike route, without the big hill that I had heard so much about. At this stage the nerves were really kicking in!
I met with Declan and we continued our Carbo Loading. Gradually a few members of the Sligo Tri Club arrived, and the atmosphere was building. Everybody was in good form, and the ones who had done the Race previously were only too willing to share their experiences with those of us new to Blacksod.
A good night’s sleep?
Not one wink did I get that night! Thoughts were going through my head – “Are you mad?” What possessed you to think you could do this?” “The toughest Olympic Distance in Ireland and this is the one you pick for your first one!”
The Morning
Eventually the watched alarm clock went off, and so the day began! Our host, Hanna had prepared a massive saucepan of porridge, with raisins and honey, and we tucked in. We dropped our bikes to Transition, and learned that they weren’t allowing boxes this year – the Race organiser had been down in Galway for the Half Ironman, and had picked up a few ideas.
Thankfully the sun was out, the wind had dried the roads from the previous day’s torrential rain, and the sea looked relatively calm. Within a few minutes the pier was a hive of activity and the atmosphere was electric.
Ready for action
After the Race briefing we put on our wetsuits, and made our way to the start. We had only time for a short warm up and as usual the start was fairly hectic.
The Swim
The Course had us head out from a beach to a yellow buoy about 500m for the start, and take a sharp turn right and head back the 1000m to the Pier. Considering that the majority of competitors were wearing yellow hats, having the turning buoy the same colour maybe wasn’t the best idea. The size of the buoy wasn’t great either; they were the ones that are used for mooring boats in the bay. It made me realise just how lucky we are in Sligo with our very large buoys. There were only about 6 kayaks, and 2 safety boats, so it was obvious that Shane O’Doherty hadn’t been co-ordination the safety crews.
There was only 1 wave for the 200 competitors, so I stuck to my plan of staying at the back and avoiding the mayhem. We were meant to stand in knee deep water for the start, but obviously some people knees are a lot higher than others and after a few calls in vain from the Race Starter to get people to come back, the Race was on!
Before I knew it, I was out at the yellow buoy, and was turning for the Pier. My stroke was going fairly well, I was still relaxed and was actually enjoying the experience. The water then got fairly choppy, and it was difficult at times to see the red buoys on the route to the Pier, but we could see the Pier itself in the distance so it wasn’t that bad. I got a few shoulders and my legs were hit a few times, but thankfully my head and face remained clear and the goggles stayed secure. From once we started we couldn’t see the bottom, so it was great to finally see it as I came up onto the Pier.
My swim took over 38 minutes, but I was delighted to have made it safely back to dry land. After a bit of a wardrobe malfunction in Transition, it was up on the bike and away.
The Cycle
I had driven up the dreaded hill the previous evening, so I knew what was ahead of me. It was pretty steep, but it didn’t go on for too long, and I didn’t have to dismount thankfully! I meet a couple of competitors walking back with their bikes, for them the adventure was over.
Heading out for Belmullet I met the leaders on their way back, and I was delighted to see Neil Walton in about third place. Neil has been fantastic for advising me on training, diet, nutrition and on the mental side of Triathlon over the year, and he’s never left any of my questions unanswered.
Once I reached the turn, I had done about 23km wind assisted, but the 20km back to Transition felt like 40km, uphill! Cycling into a gale really takes it out of you, but I had been warned about this, and I did my best to pace myself throughout the 43k.
As I came towards Transition, I passed Jason McMorrow, obviously it’s not as impressive as it seems, as Jason was running towards the finishing line at the time. Jason is another great encourager of people new to the sport, and was one of the first to extend the hand of friendship when I went to my first Tri Club Meeting last year.
The Run
Coming out of the run, I saw Sean Flannery finishing and I knew that I had about 59 minutes to try and achieve my second goal – to finish within 1 hour of Sean. My first goal was obviously to finish, at my age and my level of fitness, for me finishing is winning.
The run was lovely –after about 500metres we turned left and went up hill for about 2km, and then downhill onto a short beach run, followed by running on grass to another road up another hill. After the turn around, we ran along another road and looped back to where we had ran down onto the beach earlier. Obviously we had the lovely 2km downhill at that stage which brought us back to the main road and the final 500 metres to the finish.
By the time I reached the final 500 metres, the rest of the Sligo lads had finished, done their cool downs, drank their recovery shakes, read the paper and planned next year’s events. But it was very nice of them to cheer me on to the finish line.
Thank you
I really appreciated the encouragement and the support I received on the day from our fellow Club members Declan Conlon, Neil Walton, Timmy McCarthy, Eamon McAndrew, Sean Flannery and Brian Sexton. Their words of wisdom helped to calm me down greatly, and it’s important to acknowledge the positive impact that they had on the day.
Over all, it was a great adventure, and I was delighted to have finished my first Olympic Distance Tri. It’s a great venue, and I would encourage everyone to put Blacksod in their diaries for next year."
More info on the race can be found on the Kilmore Tri Club website.
