On Sunday the 19th of July, Galway Tri was represented by Luke Canavan in the middle distance (70.3) championships in Tyrone.
Over 300 athletes took to the start line on the ideal morning in Dungannon. Dave Higgins crossed the line first in 3:55 while Sarah diamond crossed the line in 4:12 (new course record).
I was no where near as fast as either of these top class athletes, clocking in just under 4:44 for the distance.
The morning was bright and warm. I doddled down from my nearby accommodation for the 8am start. 25 degrees and it’s not even 8am. I knew the day was gonna be a scorcher!
The water temperature was 21 degrees, just below the legal requirement for a non wetsuit swim! Had the guns out in the sleeveless wetsuit 😎 . Forgetting to take any of my coaching advice, with the rolling start, I was miles back and had to swim through roughly 50 people over the 1900m, 2 lap course. The water tasted a bit like Guinness actually with all the soil being washed up from the gravel pit. All in 37:47 for the swim, not my best work…
Coming out of the water like I was on the beaches of Normandy not having a breeze where I was. Came out of the water in 71st.
The wetsuit was a bit snug, think it might have shrunk over winter 🫣 wasted a bit of time in T1 with that!
Then my actual race began (coaches don’t play, forgot how to swim) . Gained a good 30 spots on the bike. The bike course is nice, bit of a slog, it’s a 3 lap course between two turn abouts. Was nice in a way as you can just switch off and mash the pedals. Came into T2 with a 2:26 split.
Onto the run I went, with no suncream, in the broad daylight, sweltering 30 degrees. You already know how that one goes!
There’s 3 aid stations on course. At every station I walked, and doused myself in water. Don’t do that if you’re planning to win a race, but if you want to enjoy and survive, I highly recommend!
After 10k into the run, I followed the feet of a chap a lap ahead of me (he was finishing). In doing so, he thought I was hot competition. He rand onto a pothole, hopped it last second. I ate it for lunch… ankle was rolled. Had to dog out the last 10k. I was raging as was on track for a 1:25 half. It only slowed me down a bit however as the adrenaline was still working its magic. As I came to the end of lap 2/3 I shouted to my family to get the ibuprofen ready. The final lap is just about leaving it all out there, and I closed off a 1:36 half. Lost a few places with that ankle roll but finished in P40.
Had to waddle to the medical tent after the race as once I sat down in the finishing hut, the adrenaline wore off. The ankle was in agony. I was really looking forward to the 5 hour drive home to Galway!!
All in all I’m chuffed, had a great race and a PB. I think the level has just gone astronomical in recent years. I was over 50 minutes back from the winner (who also won my age category). Tyrone is a must race for anyone who wants a fast ish flat course for a 70.3 PB. The race ran like clockwork and had an amazing crowd and atmosphere.
Thanks for reading!