As part of the "Love a Langer" week - I have finally decided to publish Anne O'Leary's story on Dunmore east - either that or she was too busy being successful and planning to open a chip shop that she only got this to me now ....
And it is a great tale of the underdog overcoming the odds, seemingly insurmountable odds, Gods fury.... yet strangely enough it all ends in betrayal ..... I think it is a classic
P.s. I think Anne stole my writing style from Kilkee and infringed copyright but am awaiting for the lawyers final call on this!
Dunmore East – Sprint Distance Tri – Saturday June 21st – The longest day of the year
Dunmore East was described to me as 'A picturesque fishing village located at the entrance to Waterford Harbour'
Unfortunately this does not describe the Dunmore East of that weekend…….
We got off to a late and bad start on Friday night – half an hour into our journey and we got a puncture…..now I can’t even mend a bike puncture so I promptly supported Nick as he went under the car, by reading out loudly and clearly ‘how to change a wheel’ from the car manual.
While doing this I never noticed a car wheezing by with two heads conveniently staring the opposite direction …..yes you won’t believe it but two piranha people saw us helpless by the side of the road and kept on going……more of that later!!!!
So therefore Nick and I arrived Friday evening late!!! Having stopped for a bite to eat to find ourselves sitting in a restaurant surrounded by about 20 hens……Nick looked quite contented with the company……We fell into bed about midnight and woke to the sound of wind howling and rain battering against our window.
I said that I don’t do races in bad weather….and Nick said I did…..so off we pottered down to find out the story…and me praying that it would be all cancelled…..it’s too dangerous I said…and prayed…..I can just go back to bed…....I love to sleep…..
The stories were varied - from it will be cancelled, to there will be no swim to a short swim, to no cycle because the roads were too water logged…
I left my bike on the car hoping and praying that there would be no cycle….The swim, even though the water was orange, didn’t really frighten me as I decided years ago that I was never going to drown…..
By the way June 21st is officially the longest day of the year and the race commentator was heard to say in the midst of the torrential rain
“And it’s the longest day of the year today – 35 hours of this!!!!
After many discussion and waiting around it was decided that the race would proceed as planned. This came as a complete shock to me so I had to remove the bike from the car and make my way to transition which was at the top of a very steep hill. I arrived with my bike and gear to see most people in wetsuits limbering up!!! I rammed my bike in somewhere and put on the wetsuit to find them clearing transition and Muggins herself refusing to move even with the very direct encouragement from some cross man…..I always ignore cross people….everything was wet and I was confused….
Anyway off we go in torrential rain to the start of the race (onto the beach) and the water looks a bit choppy and a bit red…weird colours in this picturesque village….and off the young ones go…I used to be young once…I say a little prayer that the water doesn’t gobble Clom up because I am not going to be the one to explain that to mum…you see….when Clom arrived it was like baby Jesus was born into the house and my mother has a little candle in her house waiting for Clom to visit whenever he does…..
So the other young ones were Matt Coughlan (Speedy), Tadgh Cronin (Cutie), Frank Kehoe (Smiley) and Niall Power (Hunky) in the first wave…and in the second wave Lizzie, Eleana, Lisa Howley, Jen O'Reilly, Clare McEntee and myself….
So I was chatting to Nick and someone else and the hooter went….oh my god….bad start, swim, swim, oh someone’s running in the water next to me…not good maybe I should be running and not swimming…too late now…keep the head down….keep away from Eleana because she will beat the crap out of me (like she did in Athy) it’s ok nobody is bashing or hitting me…it’s a bit rough but I am on my own…that’s not good from an efficiency perspective but I hate people near me…..turn at 1st buoy , water still a bit rough, turn at next buoy, relax the stroke….it’s not the end of the world…enjoy it…ah yes….let the tide drag you…I am getting a bit of a lift…not so bad….around the final buoy…..and into the beach….I exit the water and look up …there is Lisa Howley, running up the awful hill ahead of me into Transition…that’s ok…she’s a good swimmer so my time can’t be that bad….I don’t see anyone else I recognize ahead of me….(now there is a few…) I run up on my tip toes….j**us this is a lot of exertion very early on in the race….into transition…..everything’s wet…the weather is miserable and its quite dark, helmet on, glasses on - I can’t see…., unrack bike …run out of transition…go to jump on bike…oh Jes** …there's no bike shoes on bike….oh chr**t the embarrassment I have to run back into transition……Take Two…..can’t see a thing with these glasses….hand them over to nice Marshall at transition and head down the hill….at this stage Elena and Lizzie have disappeared and are off on the bike course…..I will never see them again……
Bike course not so bad, there’s a few puddles….and the first few miles are up hill and I hate cycling and particularly up hills….I hope there’s a bit of downhill so I can try and show how 'not to use brakes'….seems to be the only thing I can do on the bike…..
Feel comfortable enough on the outbound route and the usual happens…..a few (understatement) people pass me, some at great speed, namely Jen O'Reilly, and I pass nobody…the hailstones are battering against my face…I am sure that this is better than any expensive beauty treatment…I wish I had my glasses on now...….there is a headwind on the way back so this proves a bit tougher and I am soaked from head to toe…but its only sprint so it will be over soon…..I see Lizzie ahead of me but sure I will never catch her….how could I have forgotten my bike shoes???
Into T2 on the now drenched running shoes (apparently Trevor Woods had his wrapped in plastic….I would have too if I knew that it was going to lash rain) but it’s known as the 'Mid summer's Day Triathlon in a picturesque fishing village' - one does not expect a gail force wind and torrential rain…..so I am not prepared……Thomas Kelly would give me a good telling off for this……Fail to plan, plan to fail….that’s what they say in the air cor…..
Off we go on the 7km run……yes 7km not 5km…..uphill for the first 2 km…I like that because I seem to go faster than some people uphill running as opposed to hill cycling….ran past some of those that passed me on the bike course….I enjoy that but it is still very hard….and every time I do these races I ask myself….is it time to retire??? And maybe I am too old…..why am I doing this?? I decide I must do a good run time… and stop wasting energy on thinking……put the head down and find I am gaining and pass four woman and one, young one, who I end out running with for 2km and I lose her on the last k…….so happy enough with that…I found some energy somewhere…
Over the line….relieved ….a familiar voice gave me a kiss and a hug only to realize that it was the little boy I babysat in Cork ….he's 25 (and not so little now!!) so….the first question was - what time did you do??….……its all worth it….beaten by the old babysitter is a bit of an embarrassment…...and then I turn and overhear the ‘young one’ I passed on the last K of the run say to Lizzie – ‘That Lady passed me on the run’ – jes** she thinks I am her mother…..I am a girl……
Nick completed the swim but because of back issues didn’t do anymore….he was happy enough with his time…his swimming is improving…..Lisa Howley having done a fab swim couldn’t face the downhill going onto the bike route (I thought she wasn’t afraid of anything!!!)….Clare McEntee did a great swim and run….and Lizzie did a fab run of 29.08 and while coming third in her age (only beaten by two Pembrokshire tri club members), she was crowned the Munster champion…..as they didn’t count really…..
Elena was first woman home in a time of 1.20.20 (we think you are brilliant Eleana) ……Lizzie came 5th woman, 3rd in her age group (and Munster champion)….and Muggins here came 6th woman overall and 2nd in my age group…..Jenn and Claire were the next two Piranha woman home….I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone else…I am sure I have…it was a really wet day and visibility was poor……...and the race is all a bit blurry now….the only disappointment was that lizzie and I were beaten by an old one…..she came 4th….Barbara I think….
Matt Coughlan was first Piranha man home in a time of 1.15.57 - 5th out of the water overall, 10th best bike, and 9th best run overall……well done Matt…..Tadgh 2nd Piranha home came in at 1.17.48 - think he had a bad fall in T2 (as displayed at the bar-b-q later) it always happens in front of a home crowd….I had something similar in Kinsale last year….new bike and me up into air and landed in front of home crowd….scarlett!!!!
Clom followed in 1.22.18 and Frank in 1.23.06…..and I can’t remember anything else….
Tadgh injured but not broken, managed to cook (or at least his brother did!!) for all of us that night in his family home in Tramore…..I think it should become a tradition that every race someone should have to host and entertain us….it was really nice…Thank You Tadgh and we hope your knee mends soon…..And I hope the girls behaved themselves at the ‘sleep over’?
It was a lovely day on Sunday and Dunmore East did actually resemble ‘a picturesque fishing village’ so Nick and I swam across and back from the sailing club to the beach which landed in T1 - it was like a different place…..but is suppose Ireland seems to go from hell to heaven with a change of weather….
Off home then to throw, literally, everything smelly and wet into the washing machine…..if only I could fit….
PS – it was Speedy and Hunky that were in the car (apparently they were already on their 2nd attempt at getting to Dunmore….the first was minus matt’s bike wheels!!!) so he thought that we looked well in control – me instructing and Nick executing……and I thought all Cork people stuck together…….traitor…..moody will love this….
PiranhaTri
http://www.piranhatri.com/article.php/20080703191802135