Read on for Steven Moody's race report on Mourne last weekend. Read on for Steven Moody's race report on Mourne last weekend.
The trip up to the Mourne triathlon was a gruelling one – as from the minute I got into Niall’s car, he was giving it the hard sell on getting me to sign up to Iron Man Switzerland. I think in a moment of weakness I agreed just to shut him up but I am not sure if I signed anything so I might be ok.
Once we had gotten over this hurdle – I started to ask questions of my own as seeing as this was my first crack at Castlewellan – I was trying to gather as much information on what the course was like. Niall was of the opinion that swim was nice, the cycle tough and the run was lovely. Ok that sounded fine to me….
Despite suffering Niall’s awful taste in music for the journey, we arrived in good time for registration and met a load of Piranahas – Jen S, Jason M, Frank K, Emily E, Rory, Emer E, Clare etc. All were in good spirits and looking forward to the race. I also took advantage of our early arrival to further research what the course was like from team mates and ex team mates (Belpark – boo hiss) alike and I soon realised that the advice I was getting was becoming rather contradictory – “Yeah cycle is a doodle, run is a killer”, “The cycle is murder but the run is a dream”.
So after figuring that everyone’s opinion of a course is biased by their own strength, I decided that I would have find out the hard way…..
Lining up in wave 2 armed with my now ever present swim jitters - I got ready for the start slightly reassured that the canoeists were all lined up in a row and looked very professional …… Off went the hooter and we were away …. Despite initially doubting that the buoy was in fact the correct distance from the shore (it always looks so far!) – I did find the swim did actually lived up to its website billing of “pristine waters and beautiful surroundings” and got out in approx 33 mins – a good bit behind most but with lots of targets to aim at on the bike/run …
Would have had a quick enough T1 if it were not for the fact I tried to put my helmet on sideways and subsequently tried to persuade the marshal that this is how we wear it in Dublin ….. he was having none of me and after only a short delay I corrected my headwear (much better look for me!) and headed off on the bike – the cycle starts off with a sharp climb and this is a sign of things to come …. Once onto the closed road section – there is a longer gradual climb that really wakes up the quads before the course breaks into a series of short medium climbs and then downhills …..
I really found myself enjoying this course as despite it being difficult to get and maintain a good high speed with the undulating landscape – I got a really good work out in terms of how to use my gears to try and keep my cadence at the level I wanted …. I also became involved in a number of cat and mouse chases on the bike with me tending to overtake competitors going downhill (due to my complete aversion to using my brakes) and then losing ground on the uphills to the same people (am thinking I need to work on my climbing technique)
The cycle course consists of four out and back 10 km stretches which finishes off with a great downhill stretch that allows you to get up some serious speed …. The only problem was on the fourth leg of this journey when you turn back into the park – there is another sharp hill which takes a fair bit out of you…. Managed to get through it in 1 hour 22 mins ….
Another quick T2 and I was on the run …. It is a gorgeous run around the perimeter of the lake … and should be flat and fast – well it would be if it were not for the random 1km hill the organisers placed midway to ensure that the course is 10 km in total – it is a sharp hill 500 metres up and then back down again and is not “a very gentle rise at the far end of the lake” as the organisers would have you believe ….. despite the lovely lady marshal telling me at the turnaround point that it was only downhill now – I knew that just meant a different muscle group that was going to get punished but on I struggled ….
Managed to catch a load of people on the run as I think the hill really breaks people’s ability to get into a good rhythm (mine included) and I was delighted to be homeward bound after completing the hill for a second time ….
With a 44 min in the bag – I just managed to take 1 min off my pb for Olympic distance so was happy enough with the race overall – especially as I think I have identified areas I can work on to improve my time – sure isn’t this what the whole sport is about – learning and improving ….
For anyone who hasn’t done the race and is wondering which is the more accurate description of the course – i.e. tough cycle or tough run – I am going to have to say both are tough but it is a good race to really push yourself ….
From the piranhas I spoke to afterwards – most were happy with their performances and enjoyed the race (aside from Jason Milne who took the missing goodie bags very much to heart “I only do these races for the T-shirts”)
A special mention to Rory O’Sullivan who completed his first Olympic distance triathlon (on a tough course – see above) in a savage 2 hours and 27 minutes…. Very impressive …
Results - http://www.triathlonireland.com/filemgmt_data/files/MourneResults.xls
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