So TriAthy in Kildare was the second round of the 2023 Triathlon national series. I hadn’t actually planned to race this race but lots of my clubmates were doing it so I thought I would take part too. This particular race was the location of my first foray into triathlon in 2017, so i was keen to see how much I have improved if any since then. While I have more experience now, Im also 6 years older, so it was anyones guess as to how I would fare by comparison.
It was a hot day, with cloudless skies, so I had lathered myself in sunscreen as I had suffered sunburn in my last race. Today temperatures were expected to hit 25 degrees so suncreen was a must as was hydration. Also the race was starting at 1.45pm, quite late for a sprint triathlon but it meant we would be experiencing the strongest sun of the day. I met up with my clubmates on arrival. And before long we headed down to the swim start. There were 800 racers so I was very keen to start towards the front. This race is synonymous with novice triathletes as I once was, so I was keen to get out ahead of them. Starting towards the front meant that stronger swimmers would bypass me and I would have less traffic to overtake later in the race.
The swim went fine, i did have to stop a couple of times as my goggles were filling up with water. I didn’t feel quite as comfortable as I had in Carlow possibly dfor this reason which I felt upset my rhythm. It didn’t matter too much as the downstream cuurent was very strong and I finished the swim in 12 minutes, a full minute quicker than the river swim in Carlow.
The bike leg was next. Running into transition the surface wasnt great and something jammed into the sole of my foot, I managed to pull it out while still running and forgot about it thanks to the adrenalin. My heart was pounding as I shovelled a few wine gums into my mouth for energy. I felt strong on the bike as I had in carlow and was keen tompost a faster time compared to 6 years ago. This race is advertised as easy and flat, but there were more hills than I recall from my previous visit. Still I finished strong and then it was on to the run which was when the heat of the sun was really in evidence. I was really trying hard to push the pace but also being mindful that I didn’t want to puch too hard and strain my calf, so the run was a balancing act.
All the same, I came home in a time that was 3 minutes quicker than the previous out here in 2017. I managaed 64th out of 800 racers and 10th in my age group, so all in all a very good result. With 2 National series races in the bag, I have just 2 more to do so that I may rank officially. My next race is the Harbourman in Wicklow, its a standard distance race, whcih equates to double the sprint distance. I did this race last year so know what to expect. In the meantime, I’ll just keep training and aim to be on teh start line in a month. 🙂
mathieunorry 