Bala North Wales 78 miles from Hollyhead going by the Google maps bible which Jim doesn’t believe in any more. (He was in charge of directions from the boat). The race was no harder to get to than “Hell of the west” or “Kenmare”.
Bala North Wales 78 miles from Hollyhead going by the Google maps bible which Jim doesn’t believe in any more. (He was in charge of directions from the boat). The race was no harder to get to than “Hell of the west” or “Kenmare”.
The race was a middle distance or Half Ironman distance but the bike was 10k short so 2k swim in a dark lake followed by 80k bike ride through Snowdonia and an undulating half marathon awaited those who chose the race. The race was perfect for our final few weeks of preparation for the IM in July which is approaching fast….very fast.
Please note: an undulating half marathon…looked this up and it’s a tri word for very fecken hilly…note here for Neill o Brian to test Mary for whatever Drugs she had to be on for the run time she did….more on this later.
Going with the approach that it’s just a training session really does help with avoiding the pre race jitters. The kind texts and calls of best wishes form club mate’s doesn’t …but all very much appreciated.
The elite car left at 5am Saturday to collect everyone for a 7am boat and full assessment of the course etc. Me and Jim took a more relaxed approach and took the 4.30pm fast ferry and arrived in Bala at about 7.30pm that evening.
Not much atmosphere in the town the night before the race. We booked into our B&B and then headed off to meet the others in the backpackers hostel which was a friendly place (not) with 12 to a room. The elite pack were all fed and ready for bed so we headed off for some food and were kindly offered two places by other competitors at a table in the only place in town still serving food.
Our company turned out to be Rachel Horn who had won the race the past 3 years and clearly won it again thanks to Jim me and our nutrition advice. See picture of Jim at restaurant and Rachel’s shoulder on the right…and yes she did have some and stayed out till 10pm the night before a natural talent.
We were all up for 7am breakfast and the landlady trying her best to chat and fill us full of a fry but we held our ground. We walked to the race venue at the lake and again the atmosphere was a little different maybe because there were none of the normal faces around or maybe it was the music selection which included Enya as one of the highlights.
The swim was a simple out and back course a flat calm lake. The layout always makes it look longer than 2k. The swim was set off in two waves each 15mins apart. The water was very dark and very hard to see the person you were trying to draft off. Some very pretty feet out there but they seemed to come and go. Was it me our were they faster or slower…after the half way I tried again to catch a lift but the punter I got was all over the place so I gave up and made my own way back.
The bike was through the town and out to the hills not much to say about the bike course but the roads were good surface which made the downhills very fast. There were a lot of lads really going for it and it was difficult not to join in. (IM is about pace or so I am told) There was a little wind which was welcomed as it helped with the heat. Not knowing where your going sometimes gives a little surprise and that was the case for the end of the bike which seamed to be over before it should have been. Nobody was complaining…
Into transition which was a quiet affair. The lad in the commentary box had stopped playing Enya at this point so everyone could hear him call out the race numbers and names of the bodies flying by just like it was an all day bingo session (nice and slowly).
Out on the run and I was feeling great I had been to Magic Hands (or Loraine as we know her) for a massage on the Friday night and the legs felt like someone else’s. This feeling (a great feeling) lasted up to the 2 mile marker when I felt a breeze which got louder and louder and then it happened….Mary tornado Horgan passed me in her all new, all in one piranha outfit and all I could say was…for feck sake…some words of encouragement for a club mate.
I tried to keep up with her but the gap got bigger and bigger when we got to the turnaround we passed again and then she was gone out of site. At this point I got back to the real race stuff of trying to fight the fatigue but was encouraged by the others who I started to pass. A lot of people had started walking up the hills and jogging down them.
I met James and then Jim which was nice to be able to acknowledge each other again. At mile 10 the heat started to get to me and I reached for the reserve gel and a cup of High 5 off the table of the water station which turned out to be all of 2 fluid ounces in it and half that went over the front of my top. As we turned for the last stretch someone tried to catch me and I found I had enough for once to beat them not that the race commentator/bingo caller noticed.
Mary came fourth in the women’s event with time of 4:49, Jim did 5:40 and I did 4:57.
Related Links
PiranhaTri
http://www.piranhatri.com/article.php/20060606153237842