Kilkee 2012 Race Report

By Aishling Barry

My first olympic race!

After a few weeks of injuries I was nowhere near race fit but as I missed out on Dunmore East and a sore knee was not going to get the better of me.

FRIDAY: After some logistical problems Stephen got stuck with me for the three hour journey to the West. Our first stop was Supermacs, We decided it was best to carb up followed by chocolate, jellies and Stephens collection of 80’s hits!

We just made it in time to register and pick up our fab goodie bag which was the best part. We headed in direction of Grainne’s house where I was greeted be a very merry Gra, Conor and Sharon. I just looked longingly at the wine glasses!

SATURDAY: 7am rise and it was off to transition with all the Piranha crew where everyone was racked up together, I was parked up beside Casso,( Note to self: I wish I could hop on the back of his bike and register a time like his…..all my prayers would be answered!) Steven Moody as always calms a tense situation with his words of wisdom. Wave 1 kicked off off 10mins ahead and It was time to get started. The swim went ok apart from a few punches and kicks.The total distance was 1.600 metres, very long and slow! I got out of water and to my relief, there was still a few people behind me.

I ran into T1, grabbed bike and weather took turn for the worst, hailstones and heavy rain…..It was the worst feeling ever, I decided to cycle a few km and see how I felt. The cycle course was tough and the weather conditions did not help matters. My Garmin ( the signpost) signelled 5k back to Kilkee which made me very happy. What seemed like an eternity I finally got back into T2 and off on the run.

Casso, Sharon, Clare, Judy and Steven M were all cheering …….Sharon was coaxing me with the promise of a good night out……JUST FINISH THE RUN. It was the hardest 10k ever! The first 5k uphill(Elenas voice going around in my head……..all the cold Tuesday night hill repeats, if only I worked harder on them). I passed lots of people walking and it was great not to resort to that yet! I reached the 5k turn-around point and back trotting towards town with choclate brownies in mind at the finish line. (none left)!

T3. I went back to house and dried off, Sharon, Gra and Conor made the best chip butties ever followed by a long nap!
We all met up in Scott’s pub and the craic was great……Joanne from the Galway Tri Club convinced us go to the Disco! Rock the boat, jiving, the “shift” cocktail……anything go’s there! The Disco is set up in a Hotel function room for the yearly event.

SUNDAY: was a slow start, typical the sun was shining ! The word on the street was that a certain Piranha missed the party bus to Piranha HQ and had to seek refuge in Galway HQ! I also heard that Stephen C vacated his bed for this certain person………aaaaaaaaaah
To sum it all up, It was a very tough race but I would definitely do again next year.

Thanks to everyone for making it a great race and weekend!