Half Ireman Race Report

This was it, the final leg of the UK HIM Tour.

Swim 1.9k
Bike 93k
Run 21k
Why? Because I can.

Well that's what the race motto was, and very apt it is too.

Let's start with the event itself; set in Groomsport, on the east coast of Northern Ireland, it is a wonderful setting. The organisation was great, very slick and the goody bag was by far the best I have received this year - Brooks running top, beanie hat, mug, drink, gel, discount vouchers - you get the idea.

For the only time of the tour, Reg had home advantage. Kelda had also flown over to join us on our final leg; it was going to be a tough race but we were all looking forward to it.

The weather leading up to the race had not been good, and race day dawned overcast and grey, although the forecast was good. Emma Davies, Ireland Olympic triathlete sounded the horn, and 212 triathletes and team members were off.

So how did it go?

Swim - 2 laps. Firstly, it's a sea swim and I would be losing my sea swimming virginity in this race. And it was cold. Once away from the shore there was a noticeable swell that made sighting difficult, and I reckon I swam much further than the advertised 1.9k. The water tasted horrible as well; made me yearn for the chlorinated stuff in the local pool! Everyone was being very polite and there was a noticeable lack of biff, although that might just be because I was well off course! End of lap 1 and you get out, run round a marker on the beach and then back in for lap 2. Whilst I can't say that I enjoyed the sea swimming experience it is something else I can now tick off my tri list. A time of 48.17 did not impress me much, but it seems that even last year's winner was 10 minutes slower this year so something was definitely up.

T1 - What can I say, another leisurely T1 but over a minute quicker than the Vit at 3:09 and then it was Hammer Time.

Bike - 3 laps. I was disappointed with my swim time and reckoned the only way to address this was to go hard on the bike; if the wheels fell off, so be it. Unfortunately, a couple of events had conspired against me. Firstly, those nice baggage handlers at Flybe had trashed my wheel skewers and as I use a Mavic Wintech computer with the sensor in the skewer handle I would be without my computer. I had also managed to stop my stopwatch in T1, so I had no time data at all for how I was progressing until the end of lap 2. I hit lap 1 hard and was determined to get back the time I thought I had lost. Some of the roads were really good, but other parts were very poor quality and the road was constantly changing gradient - it was either up or down, with very little flats and it was certainly challenging, but I was giving it my all and overtaking people like it was going out of fashion. Kelda was some 6½ minutes ahead out of T1 (although I didn't know that at the time) and I was surprised to catch her after about 16 miles. I timed my 2nd lap at 55:43 but as I started lap 3 I was not feeling good. I know I had raced hard and fast but that effort was now catching up with me; my mood was not helped by getting badly held up at 2 of the roundabouts, including a full on stop, unclip and foot down at one point. However, I took on some nutrition and had a word with myself, but it took another 10 miles or so before I felt comfortable, smooth and fast. I timed the last lap at 59:43 so using the amazing power of post race analysis my first lap had been completed in 52:49 for a total bike time of 2:48:15. Interestingly, Reg posted an identical time.

T2 - Slick and fast here, 59 seconds.

Run - 2 laps. By now the sun was up and it was quite warm, maybe even hot. The run is "interesting", as it includes roads, pavements, single track coastal paths, soft sandy beaches, promenades etc etc. It certainly isn't a run course for setting a PB! My bike exertions had taken their toll and I was not feeling great, so set off at a steady pace with a view of getting to the finish. I saw Kelda cycling in after I had been running for about 6 minutes and worked out that by the time she cycled the rest of the course and got through T2 she would be about 9 minutes behind me; nowhere near enough for me to stay ahead. Through the coastal path and across the soft sand for the first time and you go passed the transition area again and the first feed station, and there was the delightful Emma Davies handing out the drinks - well done to her. Heading out to the turn around point and I saw Reg running in the other direction; he was looking comfortable and I timed the gap; he was about 5 mins ahead; unless he had another nutrition disaster I wasn't going to challenge him today. Onto lap 2 and I decided that I would take full advantage of the aid stations; water, coke, jelly babies, sweet bananas etc, I felt like I needed a rush and these made me feel better. Just after the first aid station on lap 2 Kelda cruised passed looking very strong. I reckoned that Reg was about 8 mins ahead at this point. I eased through the coastal path section and the transition area, enjoying the support; it seemed like the whole town was out to support the race. Reg's wife Caz was also there, giving support and encouragement and some time checks to allow us to monitor the gap. It came as no surprise to me that the gap to the others was getting bigger all the time. After the final aid station I fuelled up just about everything they had to offer and felt much better and even managed to increase my pace towards the finish. I crossed the line and was met by more enthusiastic helpers, received my medal and recovery drink in a suitably logo'd drinks bottle (Why? Because I can). My run time was an unremarkable 2:04:51 but, amazingly, was 88th fastest on the day.

My overall finishing time was 5:45:29 for 58th overall and an amazing 4th in my AG. Reg was 10th in his AG and managed to stay ahead of Kelda by just under a minute and a half. Kelda finished 2nd female and 1st in her AG.

Results:

Swim T1 Bike T2 Run Total AG Position
Reg 46:57 01:43 02:48:15 01:48 01:52:36 05:31:17 10th
Kelda 43:03 01:39 03:04:00 01:11 01:42:49 05:32:41 1st
Mick 48:17 03:09 02:48:15 00:59 02:04:51 05:45:29 4th

We ended the day at a fabulous restaurant in Belfast and even James Nesbitt popped in to offer his congratulations (well maybe I made that last bit up but he was sat just 2 tables away).

So that's it, the tour is over and what a fantastic experience it has been. I have been to places in the UK I haven't visited before and raced some great courses, and ticked off a few new things on the way. A full review will follow in due course, including Turbo Man's Guide to the Toughest Middle Distance Races in the UK (that he completed in 2008).