Familiarity Breeds Complacency

I hung my bike by the saddle from the rack marked with my race number. Already placed on it was my nutrition and bottles. On the ground I placed my runners, bike shoes and a towel. I placed my helmet on the tri-bars of my bike and hung my heart rate monitor from the handlebar. All done and ready in only two minutes. Except I wasn’t, I forgot my bike computer! I had readied the van and drove to Tyrone without an inkling of stress. Even with a mechanical that required a stop-off on route, I had done Tri Limits 70.3 Tyrone before and had no concern. Yet I was standing on mucky, squelchy grass staring blankly at my bike trying to figure out how I had forgotten this crucial piece of equipment. It was because I wasn’t stressed, I was complacent and this wasn’t the first time. A week after Xterra Italy I took part in the TriAthy Olympic distance triathlon. As I struggled to drag myself onto the makeshift ramp that led out of the river at the end of the swim, I knew I had made a mistake. I was physically and mentally fatigued. On the bike I tried to push hard but was shocked to see how slow I was moving. On the run I trundled around the course wanting it to all be over. I didn’t expect to be here. To be at the end of another race not happy with how it went. Xterra was a unique experiment but TriAthy was a standard triathlon and race I did in 2022. Yes I was still tired from Xterra but something didn’t feel right. As I thought about my training this year I began to realise that it wasn’t where it should be. I had inadvertently become my own coach. I was following the club plan but I was adapting it to my new work schedule and in doing so diluting some of its key elements. I was complacent, unwittingly making runs slightly shorter or just taking it easy because I thought I was tired. TriAthy was a wakeup call and I took action. Through Training Peaks I connected with a coach in the UK and after a couple of conversations we started working together. In the six weeks leading up to Tyrone I was running longer with more specificity, doing hill reps on the bike and working off my pace zones in the pool. I felt ready for the race.

I entered the water of Lough Eskragh near the back of the pack. I waddled my way forward until the water was waist deep and then began swimming. For the first couple of strokes my hand brushed off grass and reeds that protruded from the lough base. Once I was a little further out I settled into a rhythm and began swimming steadily. I swam from buoy to buoy, feeling confident and strong. At the end of the second lap I exited the water and noted a faster time than last year, on my watch. I also completed 1983m, meaning I sighted well for the first time. The swim wasn’t perfect, I too often lost focus on my pace, something I will work on during my Saturday morning swims.

On the bike and without my bike computer, I tried to maintain a steady, strong effort. The course is three laps and as I neared the end of my first lap I slowed to take in some nutrition. As I did this I noticed a rubbing sound coming from my rear wheel. I stopped the bike and investigated the issue. My rear break was rubbing off my wheel. I am not sure when this started. The only solution I had was to completely disconnect the break. Once I was back on the bike I began passing people that had previously overtaken me. The next two laps passed quickly and again as I entered transition I was faster than last year. Even with the stoppage. I deliberately took the run easy. I was nursing a sore calf since the previous Monday and didn’t what to jeopardise my Ironman training. For the first five kilometres I tried to run close to my 70.3 pace, after that I began slowing to stretch, and walking aid stations. I felt stiff from head too toe but kept moving forward and the kilometres kept ticking by. The distance never felt to daunting, there was always an aid station or turning point not too far ahead, milestones to tick off on my way to the finish line. When I finally ran across the finish line I was happy to have the race done and had no expectations that it was a fast time. As expected the run was slower than last year, surprisingly however it was still safely under two hours. Before joining Naas Triathlon Club, finishing a half marathon under two hours was a pipe-dream. I had tried and failed three times at the distance, going very close in Salt Hill in 2015 before blowing up in sight of the finish line. To finish a half marathon in one hour and fifty three minutes, off the back of a 1.9k swim and a 90k bike, while spending time walking, stretching and chatting, is remarkable. I have come along way.

The positivity you may infer from the above paragraph is not how I felt on the day and in all honesty is only 50% of how I feel now. Yes some of the times were faster but with caveats. All too often it is these caveats that I focus on after a race. In my strive to be better I look for areas to improve and these become the memories of the race. The falls, mechanicals, bad weather or just being tired, can cloud moments of progress that should be acknowledged. Tyrone was not perfect but it was progress.