Blessington Triathlon 2019 – Aidan Connolly

I had entered the Blessington standard distance race quite early in the year as I have raced this event a few times in the past. It’s a nice course on quiet roads and it’s so close to Dublin.

Armed with only a few 10k runs under my belt, a LOT of cycling but not so much open water swimming practice, I arrived at the transition that morning with some mixed feelings.

Even after a few seasons of triathlon I often find that I ‘’endure’’ the swim but ‘’enjoy’’ the  bike and the run.

I had taken the advice of Dazz and made sure to acclimatise to the water temperature just before the off and this really helped me to control my breathing and keep my heart rate down.

I had been placed in wave one so didn’t have any time to get nervous as we were counted down and started quickly. I had made a conscious decision to be generous and let the other swimmers get a head start on me and I stayed at the back away from the mad thrashing. During the swim I made a mental note to work on my sighting but I finished strong and left the lake quite happy …maybe I do actually enjoy the swim after all!

The 40k bike was uneventful and then it came to the long slog of the 10k..I was getting tired but Ciat’s advice from the track sessions to stay tall ,relax and drop the shoulders went through my head. The finish line came quite quickly and I crossed the line to rapturous applause! and a string of sponsors wondering why I wasn’t a professional yet!

So why do I race triathlons I hear you ask? Is it because I’m competitive ..yes a bit I suppose, but I don’t see myself ever entering an Iron Man. Is it for the craic? the Pulse crew are great and with so many training sessions you constantly meet new people and share experiences. Is it for the right to wear the Pulse tri suit ? In my mind it makes me look like a Greek Adonis, and as we always hear, it gives you an extra 10% .

That ‘’come on Pulse’’ that you invariably hear from supporters, marshals or your fellow competitors really gives you a push, usually at a time when you feel you could do with a little rest.

So are these the reasons I race? yes its all of these but the most important reason is Ice-cream… I do it for the ice cream!