Ballina Race Report - 15th July 2006

Wednesday, July 19 2006 @ 03:15 PM IST

While most of the Piranha members headed off to race in Carrick-on-suir triathlon this Sunday. I had a double date in Ballina. I had entered carrick-on-siur in the first 24 hours that it opened. But then 2 weeks later I got invited to a wedding in Ballina on Saturday (& hotel in westport). Its about 5 hours from Ballina to Carrick-on-suir, so I figured I’d just have to have a triathlon free weekend. But then I realised that there was a triathlon on in Ballina the same day - The Inaugural PowerAde Salmon Run Triathlon as part of the Ballina Street Festival. A sprint distance and it started at 10:00 am. The wedding started at 1pm. A plan started to hatch that I could fit in both the wedding and the triathlon in the same day. So I sent off my entry form for the triathlon. Unfortunately I got a call from the Festival office the next day to say that my entry had been put on the waiting list. I figured that as long as I was there, I might as well volunteer to help out...

On the Wednesday evening before the wedding saying that someone had pulled out and that there was a spot available for me. I didn't really know much about the race other than that it was a sprint. I got to registration around 9:00pm on Friday. I was number 67. Registration was a breeze with one of the biggest goody bags ever. The girl, who was body marking, put 69 on my arm. Rory Brennan, the race referee, happily gave me a 67, instead of a 69. (I’m sure there must be some joke there, but cant think of one.) After registration I headed off to Westport where I had booked my B&B prior to entering the triathlon. The B&B women wanted to go out on the town, and was waiting for me.

Next morning I got up at 6:45am, the sky was a hazy blue. It looked like it was going to hot sunny day. A quick breakfast of muesli and fruit and I was on my way to Ballina. I parked my car outside the Ballina swimming pool, which was conveniently located right beside both the transition area and the church. I sorted out all my bits and pieces and I headed over to the transition area. The sun was starting to beat down. There was a distinctive lack of Piranha’s around. I didn't see any others in fact until Fergal Coen nonchalantly strolls into transition with 20 minutes to race start.

The swim was a 500m swim with the current; it did seem suspiciously longer than 500m. The water level was rising fast as we approached 10am. I kept my wetsuit off until the last minute, as I didn't want to roast in the sun. I positioned myself right in the middle of the stream where the current was strongest. The hooter sounded and we were away. There seemed to be plenty of space as we passed under the first bridge. I got into a rhythm and stayed as much I could in the centre of the current until the second bridge. The swim went really well and there were more bikes in transition than I normally see in T1. The crowds cheered on, as I prepared for the cycle.

I quickly hopped onto the bike, got my feet into my shoes and I was away, I passed a few cyclists early on and then settled into steady rhythm. I didn't feel like I was going particularly fast, but my heart rate was high, so I kept it steady. It all became fairly spread out after about 5km and I didn’t see any other cyclists until the turn around. I could see that I was about 15th overall. The 2nd 10km felt a lot faster than the 1st. One guy, a real cyclist, flew past me, but that was it. I arrived into T2 with no one particularly close in front or behind. And the crowd were clapping and cheering for little old me.

As I left T2, I put on my hat and sunglasses. I expected the heat and sun to be really bad on the run, but thankfully after about 1km into the run, we entered a shady forest. One relay runner passed me as I entered the shade. There were marshals galore and plenty of red and white tape to guide us on our way. I felt good on the run, keeping steady but not particularly fast. Another runner passed me just after we exited the road. I could see a runner up ahead struggling, but there wasn't enough road to catch him.

I finished to more cheering crowds. A guy in the finishing chute shouted 15 to me; I shouted 67 back to him. But then I realised that he was telling me that I was the 15th finisher including relay teams. So I figured that there were at least 2 relay teams ahead of me, and that I came about 13th. My best ever finish was 12th, so I was very happy with this. Not long after Fergal came running towards the finish. There was a guy sneaking up behind him. I shouted at Fergal to warn him, and he had enough left to power across the finish line ahead of the sneaky guy.

One or two of the wedding guests were there to see me in my shiny new Piranha gear. I had a quick dip in the river, and then I was back to the swimming pool to get changed into my wedding suit. It was so hot; it was hard to cool down properly. I walked past the church said hello to the groom and then headed over to one of the best post triathlon feeds that I've ever seen. Then back to the church for the wedding ceremony. The priest said a nice quick mass, and I headed back to the triathlon prize ceremony, which was just finished. I picked up a results sheet. It turned out that I had come 12th and I had had my best swim position ever. And Fergal was 17th.

It was all so well coordinated, that I'm sure the triathlon race director and the wedding planner organised it all for me. :o) I'll stop there, other than to say sparks flew on the dance floor that night.

In summary it was one of the most enjoyable races of the season. There was beautiful weather. It was very well organised, loads of marshals, great goody bags and a wonderful post race feast. This was the first time the race had been run. It will only get better next year. I’d definitely recommend it for next year. And given that its in the middle of the Ballina street festival, it could be a great weekend away.

Congrats to everyone in Ballina street festival and all liquid motion for organising a great race,

Steve.

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