Race Report: Bo Peep 2013…

By Aileen Flynn..

(I asked Hugh Larkin would he ghost write this for me but he is up to his neck in book deals/writing comedy screenplay/shopping centre openings…)

Having been racing the National Series circuit for a few years I decided 2013 was going to be all about some new races. Bo Peep was uncharted territory so off I went, Kenmare bound, bike on roof, full of the joys of a weekend away …..a moment of distraction had me drive under a low barrier and dislocate not only my lovely bike but the roof rack it was on….not a good start. Only myself to blame. I cannot describe how peed off I was.

A quick trip to the nearest bike shop delivered a diagnosis of “no can ride” and a clever “hit her while she’s emotional” sales pitch of a P2 Cervelo “ all set up with your own parts …and on the road to Kenmare in an hour!”…. tempting but…no!!!

To cut a long story short, after numerous offers of replacement bikes via a post on Cork Tri facebook page (thanks Jen and Katie Cooke), Jack Olden kindly lent me his bike and Nick Walsh brought it to Kenmare for me…THANK YOU! I was overwhelmed by the generosity of fellow triathletes…but also their questionable judgement, offering a bike to a girl who,given the circumstances, is clearly a bit careless.

Onto race day- 10 am start into a flat calm sea- the swim was fine…left around 2 big buoys , dodge the numerous jelly fish and in. It lashed rain during the swim and the sun was well hidden. I dawdled in T1 deciding on sunglasses- yes or no??- decided no, then reached down last minute to grab them- Thank God I did. The Heavens opened on the bike. No glasses would’ve meant either cycling with eyes closed (Ivan) or some very sore eyeballs.

I’m usually out on the bike trying hard to catch some of the better female swimmers….today was no different. I managed to catch a few of them early on and was making my way through the course on my borrowed bicycle -“ride it like you stole it” was my mantra. I had to hop off the bike a couple of times to fix a dropped chain which was frustrating as I would see the same group of cyclists wiz by me on both occasions…GRR! Nothing like a chase though to get back into the race.

Coming into T 2- my runners and socks were soaking. Due to the lovely summer so far I hadn’t even thought of a bag or towel to protect them from getting wet. I wrung out the socks and on with the squelchy runners, same for everyone no doubt! 10km run for me = socks…can’t be dealing with blisters.

The run was out and back mainly uphill for first 5km and downhill on the return leg. Kenmare tri had the run course dotted with motivational posters ( take note Heartbreak hill marshals!) which were fantastic. Apparently if I was Kenyan I would’ve been finished 2 hours ago … I noticed them all on the uphill leg- not so much on the turnaround as I was spinning down the hill totally out of control wishing for the terrain to kick up or level out so I could slow down…otherwise I was close to surfing the run course! I was on the chase to catch number 2 girl who I could see ahead of me. The last poster I saw was something along the lines of “if you wonder have you more to give you most definitely do”. Right- I dug deep and picked up my pace to try to reel in the girl ahead. I did manage to close the gap but fell short of her by a second…so close! ( did I really need to fix my hair at the start of the run?).

Overall this is a great course- flat calm sea swim, challenging and varied bike and some good reading on the run! Kenmare Tri club put on a great race and had a huge spread of fantastic post race cakes from Jam Café in Kenmare. The select crew of Piranhas all seemed to have a great day and a big well done to Anne O’ Leary, Jane Ryan, Fergal Daly, Dave Killen and Ivan Eustace. Thanks to the support crew of Linda Clarke, Nick Walsh and coach Elena! Apologies if I have forgotten anyone.

I will be back to participate again …. If only to try and pick up another silver bangle made and engraved with split times by the local Jeweller “George”.