As part of my Kona prep I knew a trip to Kenmare for The Lost Sheep would fit in well to break up a
training block. Nothing like a weekend in Kerry and West Cork to reignite the fire!
I travelled down Thursday evening after work with a quick stop in Base 2 Race Ballymount to pick up
my expertly serviced bike- thanks to Peter in Velomotion for tuning it up for me. It’s a fairly long
drive so it was great to wake up in Kenmare on Friday and have the day to relax. I had a short pre
breakfast swim off the pier in Kenmare where Will, Nick and I tried to keep sight of Anne O’Leary as
she torpedoed off into the sunrise. A short bike and run followed and I relaxed for the rest of the
day. My parents had travelled down to watch the race so it was nice to meet them for lunch and
point out all the necessary viewing points for race day.
Registration was so quick but I must say I was slightly unnerved with any mention of “defending
champion” as I made my way through the process… I certainly don’t enjoy the pressure! A sociable
pizza after registering with my piranha tri club mates was perfect pre race fodder.
I got back to the house, got all the gear ready for the morning, calculated my nutrition needs and
packed it all on the bike. The alarm went off at 5.30am on Saturday. I wasn’t really feeling the love
for the Lost Sheep at that stage but I knew I would be more eager by 7.45 am when we were due in
the water.
The swim was uneventful-I tried to stick on feet so I ended up swimming with Breda Daly for most of
it. I felt pretty comfortable but was glad to get out of the water- 35 mins. I spotted Will and Maire
Triona Keane in transition so I figured that was about right. I headed out on the bike and heard I was
10th girl…I was a bit disappointed but no different to any other race in the overall female standings
after the swim. I remember calling the same position out to National Champ Derval Devaney in
Dublin 70.3 as she started the bike and she biked and ran her way all the way back up to the front of
the field..this motivated me.
I felt really great on the bike, my legs were moving well and I was hoping they would continue to
move well as there were 9 girls ahead that I was chasing down. I train with a power meter but for
half distance races I prefer to just listen to my legs and not worry too much about the numbers. I
tried to keep my cadence up and keep my legs from feeling the burn. I had caught all the girls bar
Kim Hickey by the start of the Healy Pass. I heard she was about 2 mins ahead of me when I got to
the summit , but this info was from a girl with poms poms with a burning desire to wear a
mankini…thanks Rachel! I know how well Kim is going this year with an awesome performance in
Austria IM in June so I wasn’t confident I was ever going to see her on the bike. I caught up with her
on the Caha ascent and went on to catch Will at the top of Caha- he wasn’t working hard enough I
told him.
I took it really handy coming down off the Caha- the cross winds were pretty hairy and I had Tami’s
words of advice ringing in my head “ Take no chances on those hills Aileeeeen..think of Kona..”. I
tried not to work the bike too hard after that as I knew I would need some good run legs to take on
those hills on the run. I don’t think I put much time into Kim on the back end of the bike and she
wasn’t far behind me coming out of T2. My parents were on the bridge at the end of the bike and I
heard my Mum shout out that I was first lady- she sounded so excited! Bike time 2h36mins.
I tried to start out the run with a steady push but not too hard. I was interested to hear what was
going down at the front of the men’s field as I thought things could be quite close up there with
some big names turning up. I heard that Bryan McCrystal was 6 mins ahead of Kevin T with Kev
closing the gap. I saw Bryan coming in off the out and back section looking very strong, then I saw
Kevin- he looked bad. I’ve seen Kevin racing hard lots of times but he didn’t look good. Anyway…
back to my race! I think I was building after the turn around and tried to pick up the pace a bit for
the second half of the run. I was hoping I was pulling away from Kim but I couldn’t be sure. I also
knew my clubmate Steven Moody would be hunting me down on the run so this was even more
motivation to keep the foot on the gas. I was very happy to turn the corner onto the home straight
down the hill to the finish line. With some run coaching tips from Bjorn Luddick on how best to take
on that downhill.
It felt really great to break that tape again for two years in a row and even better to see my parents
smiling proudly at the finish line to welcome me. Run time 1h 34, finish time 4 h 51s.
Thanks to Cork Tri for putting on such an amazing race. Thanks to my coach Cat Morrison for getting
me to do just the right amount of work. Thanks also to Eanna McGrath and Peter Kern for some
great bike and swim sessions over the year…and to the bestest club Piranha for the great
camaraderie I have with them. Thanks to all my training buddies for all the laughs and coffee stops-
you all know who you are ! Special thanks to number one training buddy Will (aka the current IM record holder
for Piranha tri, but likely to be deposed by the people’s favourite Niall McD in Barcelona and Orwell Randonee Champ 2015), for all the long bikes we have put in over the
year.
Well done to my fellow podium girls Kim Hickey and Maire Triona Keane. Great racing ladies xxx
Next stop Kona…gulp!
COMMENTS