Tadhg Cronin won the Nenagh Triathlon this weekend - here is Cormac's report....
The 2008 tri season kicked off in Nenagh bright ‘n’ early on Saturday with the inaugural North-Tipp sprint. The race, hosted by the newly-formed Nenagh triathlon club, was based around the 25 metre pool in the Abbey Leisure Centre. Myself and Tadhg Cronin headed down to give it a shot. This was to be my second triathlon and I was looking forward to seeing if I’d improved since my first race last September.
As registration was at 7.30 Saturday morning, we travelled down on Friday night and stayed in a B&B just outside the town centre. The weather forecast for the race was ominous, with rain and strong winds expected. Plans for a light race-day meal went out the window when our host Siobhan laid on a fantastic breakfast of fruit, eggs, porridge, cheese and homemade brown bread….washed down by more fruit, eggs, porridge, cheese and homemade brown bread! I’ve no will power or restraint when it comes to food and if Siobhan reckoned I needed “some meat on my bones” well then who was I to argue??!
So feeling full we made our way down to registration, shivering all the way. It was bloody freezing!! I was well pleased with race goody bag but I was even more impressed by the trays of sandwiches laid out for afterwards….win, lose or draw I was gonna do some post-race damage to that spread!!
After pumping the tyres and giving the bikes a last check, we made our way over to the transition area. We were among the last down so finding a space to rack the bikes was a bit of a challenge. Eventually found a spot for my Trek beside a gorgeous Terry Dolan TT bike. Lost all respect for the Terry Dolan soon afterwards though, as I watched its owner pour talcum powder in his bike shoes…..these soft types are giving triathletes a bad name!!
Into the dressing room to get changed into my cooler-than-cool new trisuit. Feeling like a pro until I realised I’d left my timing chip in the car! Legged it back to the car park and made it back to the pool just in time to see the first wave starting. Luckily I was in wave 2 so I wouldn’t have to wait too much longer, but for Tadhg and the other fish in lane 5 it was gonna to be a long morning!
Did some pool-side stretching and tried to ignore the butterflys in my stomach….for me swimming is the by far the biggest challenge so I was keen to get going. We got the call to jump in the pool and soon we were off. Tried to focus on maintaining controlled breathing and I settled down after the hectic first few lengths. I managed to lose count of the number of lengths I’d done and I was pleasantly surprised when I got the tap on the head to tell me I’d just two to go!
Through T1 with no delays and out on to the 20km bike. It was an out-and-back course along the main Dublin road. The road surface was excellent, with plenty of marshals to keep a tight rein on navigationally-challenged competitors like me! A strong headwind made the first 10km to Toomevara a bit of a slog but everybody was motoring along at 50+km/h on the way back in to Nenagh. It was my first time using tri bars and I was pleased with them – reckon they definitely increased my speed. I wasn’t totally comfortable in the new position but reckon it’ll be grand after a few more rides.
Through T2 and out on to the 5.8 km race course. I had that sluggish feeling in my legs when I began running but managed to settle into a good pace quite quickly. The course started off on the main Dublin road but soon turned onto some narrow country roads. Although the surface was a bit dodgy in places, I thought it was a really good course - its way more enjoyable to run along narrow, twisty roads than to hammer down a main road! A gradual uphill as far as the 3km mark was followed by a sweeping descent back into Nenagh, with the finish in the grounds of the CBS. I was pleased with my run, even though the last 800 metres felt more like 2km!
At the finish line a marshall told me that Tadhg’s wave had just entered the water so I knew I had a bit of time to check out the sandwich nirvana in the school hall…
Feeling full (“refuelled!”) again, I joined up with Tadhg’s Mam and Dad back at the leisure centre to watch the rest of the race. Tadhg had come out of the water mid-wave but he put in a massive performance on the bike to be the first man back to T2. With so many waves in the race it was hard to know what the time differences were between the competitors, but we reckoned that if Tadhg could hold his form on the run course he’d surely be in a with a great chance of winning. Tadhg duly delivered a blistering run and he crossed the finish line in a brilliant overall time of 1.07. All that was left now was a nervy wait while the timekeepers compiled the times and overall placings. After 45 minutes, and a few more plates of sandwiches, Tadhg was officially announced as the overall winner!! It was a fantastic result, especially for a guy entering only his second full season! It was also well deserved - as Tadhg’s housemate I know how hard he’s trained all winter and it’s great to !
see all the effort rewarded. Even though Tadhg kept admirably cool during the presentation, I know he’s absolutely buzzing with the win and hopefully this will be the start of a great season for him!!
I finished 22nd overall, a little disappointed with my swim but I know it’s going to take time for the improvements to come in the pool. Overall though it was a really enjoyable day and a great start to the season! Will definitely be back next year to see if I can keep up with Piranha’s defending champion!!
PiranhaTri
http://www.piranhatri.com/article.php/20080421132908960