Dublin City Triathlon 2017

With the year I have been having Dublin City Triathlon quickly became my ‘A’ race of the year. Having done it two years ago and really enjoyed it in awful weather (report here) I wanted to get back and do it again. Training was starting to go well over the weeks leading into it and besides a couple of niggles here and there I was confident. I completed Blackwater Sprint Tri a couple of weeks before and put in good times. My only aim was to get around in 2 hrs 45 mins but if I didn’t make it I wasn’t going to be too annoyed.

This year there was a new addition to pack for on the road trip to Dublin. We had to get all of Georges stuff into the car as well as mine. I think I won with the amount I packed. We set off early on the Saturday with an early stop to grab some food. A healthy start for me. A stop in Kildare outlets followed by a trip to Ikea made it a productive shopping trip so far. Once we got to the hotel and I unpacked my 100 bags I headed off to register. As per usual the goodie bag is the best around and instead of the usual tshirt we got a useful bright gilet. Registration was quick and easy and I got a quick look at the swim course before heading back to the hotel. With George in the room with us it was an early night for all. Alarm set nice an early but these days George is our alarm so he will be waking me before my phone does.

Race Morning
I was up nice and early to get in a proper healthy breakfast this time and had some porridge to fill me up. Filled the car up with what I needed and headed in with Martha and George. After I emptied the car Martha headed back to the hotel as it would be impossible to keep George occupied for the length of the race. Got into transition 30 minutes before closing so I didn’t have to overthink anything. Racked the bike, double checked I had everything and had a quick look at what way we would be coming in and out of transition. Lucky for me I had a bit of extra space next to me as the person never showed. I always have my pink towel – makes it easier to spot when getting into transition and not thinking straight.

It wasn’t long before race briefing started and the sprint races got going. I was wave 6 but things were running smoothly and I timed when I eat last so I wasn’t too hungry starting off. It was good to ease the nerves by meeting up with the rest of Cobh Tri members doing the race.

Swim

Last time I did the swim I completed it in 28 minutes so I’d have liked to at least match that. I kept over the the left and made sure I took the 1st buoy a bit wide to avoid the chaos. It meant I was able to keep in a good rhythm. I passed the 750 turn point thinking oh how lucky they are, we had a long way to go yet. The good thing about this swim was I never got sucked into a pack and no need to fight for my space. I did have someone hang on to the back of my feet to their advantage but I had to swim my own race so I kept doing what I was doing. The second buoy was a lot quieter and I was able to take that turn with ease. The good thing from here is that I knew I was on the way back. Once I knew I had about 200m to go I started to kick the legs to make sure they were ready for the jog to T1. I got out of the water and across the timing mat in an official time of 27:11. I was delighted with that time. (60th out of 428)

T1

Transition isn’t always the best for me and I do tend to take my time. Took the extra few seconds to put on my socks and shoes and was ready to go. An official time of 2:02, again faster that 2 years ago when I took 2:29. (110 out of 428)

Bike

Now to my least favourite part of the race. I could read my review from 2 years ago and copy large portions of it. The one thing that was different from 2 years ago (besides some of the course) was that the ground was dry so I didn’t have to be so cautious. But just like then on the 2nd loop of 4 my calf started to tighten up a bit. Even my hip started to give out. This meant slowing down for a couple of kms so I knew that I could at least finish out the bike. A bit of stretching on the bike and I was feeling a bit better, but it is definitely something I need to get to the bottom of. With 4 laps there was a lot of traffic on the the course but it never affected my race. Bike marshals broke up a few groups which is always good to see. It is an up and down course so my pace was all over the place but as usual I had plenty of people go past me, some with bikes more expensive than my car 🙂 I kept at what I was going and made sure to get fuel in early so that it was digested in time for the run. I averaged a pace of 28.67km/h, which was .5 better than 2 years ago, so another improvement there. The bike course was 39k and I had an official time of 1:21:38 (286 out of 428). If I can make improvements on my bike times it would really help my overall performance. Hopefully I can get the right formula together to do that.

T2

Into transition I went and there was a run through field and over ramp and then to my bike. Off came the bike shoes, quickly on with the runners and grabbed my gels and water and off out I went. In a time of 1:29. (85 out of 428) I was happy with the timing here and again faster than 2 years ago.

Run

Now to what is my probably my strongest or I guess the thing I do most. The run started with roughly a flat first km before I hit a sharp climb which seemed to go on forever. Someone who was on their 2nd lap, which starts at the turn of the sharpest incline, was alongside me and I paced myself with him. This gave me the kick I needed to get up the hill. It was starting to get hotter at this stage and the sun was coming out. There were large crowds on the run but this helped to keep me going. I felt I was doing a good job pacing myself on the run and my 1st 4kms were in and around the same time. Then came the big down hill before repeating the loop again. The downhill was a welcome relief and I know it would definitely help push me home the second time around. My slowest lap came when I had to hit the climb again but got back into my rhythm again and kept a good pace around before the downhill section came and the flat road home. I passed a couple of people on the home straight, I could possibly went a bit harder but I didn’t want to risk anything so I just enjoyed the run to the red carpet and the finish line. Official time on the run of 46:29. This was almost minute slower than 2 years ago but the course seemed a fraction longer. (77 out of 428)

Overall

I finished up in and official time of 2:38:51 with finish position of 129 out of 428. There are improvements to be made but I am delighted with my overall time and felt good after the race. Weather was great and food after was exactly what I needed. It will definitely be one on the calendar next year and highly recommend people to do it. It was always great to test out my Airofin Tri Suit over the longer distance. Even in the heat it didn’t feel too warm. Great purchase. Check them out here (10% discount with code Jonathan10). Well done to Jess, Brendan and Adam who had great times on the day. There was no catching any of them