Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category

York parkrun takes place on York race course. it’s one and a half laps, meaning it starts on the far side and finishes in front of the grand stand. It’s a popular one: despite the cold November weather, there were 608 of us there. It’s probably a PB course if you are at the front as it’s absolutely flat and tarmac all the way around. Further back there is quite a lot of congestion, especially around the large puddles that form after heavy rain. Thank you to all of the volunteers and excited to have got my Y for the alphabet challenge.

Broadmeadow Linear is a new parkrun located in Swords. Saturday was the 5th edition and I was keen to complete this as I had otherwise done everything in the area and it was ruining my map ?. It’s a nice compact park and you complete three loops of the perimeter. There is a lake at the far end and plenty of trees along the river.

This is my 54th parkrun in Ireland. But the 5K app doesn’t count the ones I’ve done in the north as Irish, so this one took the count up to 50 in my World Tourist challenge. That’s Unionist propaganda fo you. Congratulations to my mum who graduated from the C25K programme again after coming back from injury.

Last year, I had an awful time at Dublin Marathon and it was a real struggle to finish. But I did and was very proud of doing so. This year, I wad hoping for more of a victory lap where I enjoyed the run and felt good.

To avoid the transport chaos of the morning, I decided to book a hotel. We booked a Staycity, which we tried back in 2012 where it was a bit of a mess. Unfortunately, again it was a mess. We booked a suite, which is supposed to sleep three people but only has one bed and no sofa. It was absolutely tiny. I would say that a regular hotel room would have more space.

Thankfully, the morning was milder than the night and I got to the start line feeling good. Once we were through the check in and into the starter area, there was a kilometre or two walk from there to the start line. This included a convenience store that was open exclusively for runners. I used it to stock up on a bit of extra chocolate while the guy in front of me in the queue hopefully enquired as to whether they sold energy gels. Like the one I was eating at the first photography point.

Then we were underway. I did actually feel reasonable for the first 15k. This section passes through some of North Dublin and spends a lot of time in Phoenix Park. All of this was pleasant enough. After this point, I was on and off with a bit of panic. Nothing like last year but not feeling great, either.

This lasted for most of it. From 30k onwards I couldn’t really decide whether I was physical or mentally stressed. But there were highlights, too. Especially Johnny leading a rendition of happy birthday half way up Clonskeagh hill.

The final few kilometres were a real struggle. I could feel my pace dropping off and I wasn’t sure if I was about to pass out from dehyration, or about to die from hyponatremia. I suspect neither and that I was actually completely fine. Things picked up for the final few hundred metres and I enjoyed crossing the finish line.

Congratulations to th other 87 Blackrock athletes that finished. Especially Gerry, completing his 61st marathon. This was only my 5th big organised chip-timed marathon. But in my defence, two weeks after completing my first, I completed my first ultra and never really looked back.

Killarney House parkrun takes place at the large house and gardens in the centre of Killarney. It’s a three lap course with the beautiful hills in the background and a chance to see some deer (although we didn’t spot any on this occasion). Well worth doing if you are in the area.

It was wet. Proper wet. Soaked to the skin wet. Lovely course through the woods, though. Thank you so much to all of the volunteers who came out in the rain.

The Causeway Coast race takes place on the north coast of Ireland and passes the Giant’s Causeway. There are distances of 10k to ultra, with the half marathon involving a bus ride to Carrick-a-Rede where the race starts and the course follows the coast line back to Portballintrae.

The race starts in the quarry and heads up along the headland. There are several chokepoints and stiles so it is easy going at first with lots of queuing, but it isn’t the kind of race you try and go fast in anyway. You pass through Ballintoy Harbour, which is a beautiful sight.

It then drops down onto the beach and there is lots of scrambling over rocks, followed by a kilometre or two along the beach. The sand wasn’t soft, although was a bit soggy. After that, it mostly runs along the cliff tops with plenty of ups and downs for good measure.

I started feeling anxious about half way and had a rough few kilometres. Then, just as I was feeling better and picked up my pace, I went over on my left ankle. I was worried I had done some damage but luckily, after getting back up I was able to walk and then run it off. No issues the next day.

You do see the Giant’s Causeway but it is from the top of the cliffs so it is not comparable to seeing it up close. The cliffs around there are impressive, if a little unnerving given the wind. I am not sure how high they are but I would estimate it is around a hundred-metre drop.

For the final part, we drop down to sea level again and run along the railway tracks back into Portballintrae where the finish is.

My official time was:

2:37:11

I wasn’t interested in the time; I just wanted to finish, so I was happy with anything. It is definitely one of the prettier races I have done so if you want a scenic coastal route and just want to have fun, this is a good choice.

Christie parkrun is an out-and-back along the River Bann in Coleraine. There was a warm welcome from the team and ticked off another C for the pirates challenge.

What better way to end the triathlon season than with a tip in the Atlantic Ocean?

There was no accommodation available in Westport itself so we ended up staying outside of the town in rural County Mayo. The internet download speed was 500 mb/s. This is what happens when a country invests in infrastructure.

The weather wasn’t particularly kind and it rained heavily overnight but eased off to on-and-off showers. But thankfully I had my support team with me so I had a robe to wear until just before the race.

The swim

The swim was in the harbour and a chilly 12 degrees C in the water. I was nervous about drowning and freezing to death and had a rocky first third of the course as we wam the first side of a triangle. Then we turned and swam across the bay with the second third going face on into the waves. The final side was easier but seemed to take forever so I was pleased to get out of the water.

A big thank you to the water safety crew for looking after us. The water temperature was unpleasant but I have definitely had worse and the group warm-up before the race really helped.

The cycle

it is a fantastic bike course. It is an out-and-back along the Wild Atlantic Way. Relatively flat and I never felt like I was going into a headwind, but did feel like I had a tailwind on the way back. The view was beautiful across the bay with Croagh Patrick on the other side.

The run

The run goes up the greenway out of Westport. That means it is uphill but only gently so you can still run a comfortable pace both ways. There was an aid station at the turn around point and despite the poor weather, I was so warm by this point I went for the old cup of water over the head before making the return journey.

The result

My overall time was:

1:26:53

And my splits were:

That was good enough for second place overall! With the important caveat that there were only 19 of us in the try-a-try distance. They did have prizes for the top three men and women, though, so I came home with a prize!

It’s a lovely event if you don’t mind a sea swim and want some fantastic views packed into a sprint distance.

Lough Ree is a lake in the middle of Ireland. It is where I did the Two Provinces Triathlon in July. But where that took place in Lanesboro at the north of Lough Ree, this took place at the opposite end, as Coosan Point just north of Athlone. Which is great because there is a motorway all the way to Athlone.

I think the water temperature was higher than the air temperature. Nice to get it in before the autumnal days bring the water temperature back down.

Lake swims are usually the easy option compared to sea swims but the weather is not always kind on the far side of the Irish sea. There was a real chop on the water. Not as bad as Lough Cutra, but comparable to a calm day on the sea. This was my second weekend in a row racing, after Lough Key last weekend, so I was hoping for some confidence and an ability to go for it in the swim.

Alas, no. The chop really took me out of my front crawl and it made it feel like hard work. Hard work reminds me that if I stop swimming I will drown, which leads to a bit of panic. It did not stop me, though, and towards the end i did get into some front crawl. We then turned back directly into the waves, though, and that was that.

As we got out of the water, the rain started to come down. Most of the cycle was in the rain which made it difficult to see through my sunglasses. But otherwise a nice ride: a few lumps but no real hills. Three loops of the same course, so once you had completed one lap you knew what to expect. The rain eased off as I came into T2.

The run was an out-and-back along the same road that the cycle course initially went out on. I felt good on the run: I was maintaining a strong pace without feeling it too much. That said, it is always hard work and I was delighted to see the finish line. Which came with a well-stocked array of water, milk, biscuits, buns and crisps, as well as a voucher for a complementary burger from the burger van.

My overall time was:

1:16:16

And my spits were:

Transition was fully neutralised so my leisurely T1 cost me nothing. The bike course was 17-18 kilometres which is why I was so snappy there. My watch had the run a little short, too, but maybe that was just the trees.

We were well loved after the whole way and there were loads of marshals on the course. Thank you to everyone at Athlone Tri Club, and to
Derek Fox and Toine Siebelink for the photos!

In addition to the support, I really liked that they had our names on the bibs, and that all of the stickers were bright yellow. It is the club’s colour and makes the stickers look much more interesting than the plain white ones.

Lough Key is a beautiful forest park located in Roscommon. I am looking to avoid sea swims so it was worth the drive over for what is the first of a few end-of-summer/autumn races I have lined up.

Being in a forest park they have a visitor’s centre with proper indoor toilets, which was a luxury. I wasn’t feeling great on the drive over, though, and had to stop a few times meaning I got there a bit late and was in a rush to set up transition, misplacing my neck protector along the way.

Luckily, it was a short swim (200m) that I took easy for the first half and then a bit faster on the way back. Despite the cool conditions, the water was warm enough.

The cycle route was fantastic. It was extended to 23 km to allow us to do one complete loop of the lough. Some of it was behind trees but other parts climbed up onto the hills and gave us a beautiful view right across the lough. Tough side winds, and a final head wind, made for some hard work but well worth it for the views.

The run was similar, going alongside the lough before turning in land a little to come back. Things were going well until 2 km in when I felt a sudden pain under my arm. It didn’t stop me from running and I finished in good time, delighted to have completed another event.

My total time was:

1:33:31

And my spits were:

After the race, I headed over to the first aid station so they could take a look at my arm. The paramedics suggested it might have been a bee sting. Nothing serious but I ended up in the ambulance for 30-40 minutes while they checked my vitals and what not. Thank you to Andrew and Mags for taking good care of me.

I finished the day with some food from Paddy Paella. Thank you to everyone at Lough Key Triathlon and all of the volunteers who made the event happen.