Another first timer – Tri the Hook 2016
Having become well acquainted with many of the faces of Wexford Tri Club over the past couple of years since my wife joined, I finally bit the bullet and joined up in April this year. Not sure where I was going with it, I got myself a 2nd hand bike (which worked out quite well), a cheap wetsuit (didn’t go so well) and I already had a semi decent pair of runners!
I did the club’s pool mock tri in April (thanks to the organisers, this was great), then another mock tri in June, and by July I reckoned I was capable of participating in one of the TriforTen events which I managed. Although I spent many a childhood summer holidays literally in the sea in West Clare for most of June, July and August, my swim is where I need to do the most work. For this reason I was delighted to see Rosslare Strand flat as a pancake with a beautiful rising sun at 5.30am on Saturday July 23rd. However I quickly realised that morning that the combination of the cheap wetsuit and my capabilities were not the answer!
My sights were now firmly set on Tri the Hook 2016 sprint triathlon. I had participated in a relay team at this event in both 2014 and 2015 so knew the lay of the land so to speak, but this would be my first time doing all three activities in a race.
Roll on a few weeks, the forecast was firming up a few days out from the event and it didn’t look good! South Easterly Force 6 winds were being predicted from Wednesday, this would surely rule out the swim as Baginbun bay is South Easterly facing. What a disaster. Then Thursday came with the news that the depression would blow through Munster on Friday night meaning winds would shift to South Westerly just in time. That gave some chance.
Saturday morning driving wind and rain bashing off the window woke me before the alarm could. Looking out the window it could have been mid-November, not August! The update from the organisers was that TI officials would make the decision on the swim after an assessment at 8am. So off to registration with me, where I learned that the full swim was going ahead.
Now, I knew there was plenty of uphill running, and had heard about hills on the cycle course, but I really wasn’t expecting the uphill swim! Clad in my newly acquired “proper” wetsuit, I stuck to the rear of the first wave for the beach start. Out from the beach for maybe 250 metres, turn right parallel to shore for roughly the same, then right again and back into the beach. Visibility for the middle section was quite poor due a layer of misty conditions just above the surface caused by the ever so slightly agitated water (or was that decidedly choppy?)
Out of the water, onto the bike, I think we got the four seasons in one day. At one point, I found myself struggling against wind and rain, then the realisation that I was struggling to cycle downhill! Honestly the rain was pelting so hard at one point I thought it was hailstones!
With the 2nd transition out of the way came what should have been the easy bit. This is a challenging course though and even more so after the swim and cycle. A steady slog saw my cross the finish line in Fethard with a PB of 1:53 (well the first one has to be a PB right?) The next challenge was to get to Dublin for a wedding at 4pm!
I promised myself I’d only do one Triathlon this year, but I’m eying up the Moby Dick in Youghal in September now!
Tadhg Henderson