triathlone european champs.

thebestone

why is the age group european champs starting so early both on saturday for the sprint and sunday for the olympic races-07.30am? surely its asking a lot to have support at that early time of day. why not at a later time of day? i see the open race starts later in the morning?

TomD101

4 stars (good)

thebestone wrote: »

why is the age group european champs starting so early both on saturday for the sprint and sunday for the olympic races-07.30am? surely its asking a lot to have support at that early time of day. why not at a later time of day? i see the open race starts later in the morning?

Saw this in the schedule alright, seems a bit ridiculous compared to other years. The age group races should be on in the afternoons on both days, or at least after the open races so that it is an all day event with a big crowd in watching the event during the day.

kruger73

2 stars (poor)

Was thinking of driving down on the morning of the race (sunday, standard distance). Transition closes at 7 which is fine, leave Dublin 4.30 should be plenty of time, having registered maybe friday evening, but then I see bike drop sat evening is mandatory, what the hell is that about?
Im sure they will let you into transition sunday morning with bike once registered and in plenty of time. Might chance it.

TJAC

The mandatory check in for bikes is par for the course for major championships, as are early starts. While I do agree that it might be better to have the open races swapped with the age group euro champs races its not unusual to start this early in the morning. Enjoy the weekend and best of luck in the race!:)

kruger73

2 stars (poor)

Thanks for the reply,
Gonna look at accommodation sat night so, ah well, will be nice to soak up the atmosphere a bit and enjoy the ocassion rather than rushing down and back to race (8 week old baby at home!)
Any advice on accomodation for myself on my own, much appreciated.


Starting to really look forward to this now.


Thanks folks.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

Looking forward to Sunday. Nice to see who else is registered and it has given me some hope of finishing well enough. Only dilemma now is i cant find my 2009 Irish jersey!! Moved gaf a few months back and it must be at the home place in Meath where i left a lot of stuff i don't use! Fingers crossed its there!!! Driving home tonight to search.

As regards training for this week. What are people doing? I've never tapered before, i have read plenty but I'm still doubting myself! I was planning on doing a short race pace tempo tonight with ample warmup, cooldown and some stretching afterwards. Tomorrow is some short speed work in the pool (50's with long recoveries) with short bike intervals in the evening. Thursday 30 - 40 min run with strides, Friday off , Saturday 15min swim, 15min bike, 15 min run with strides and very short race pace intervals (10 seconds and long recoveries). This sound about right or what are people doing?

thebestone

whats this , no practice swims for the age groupers? only the elite ? surely thats not very fair?

potsy11

3 stars (average)

Any feedback on the Irish tri suit?

Not that impressed with it.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

fortunately i found my one from last year! It was exactly where id asked my flippin' brother to look!!

What is wrong with the new one you got?

pgibbo

What time are the Elite races on at this weekend? The website only seems to list the AG times. It's nuts that the AG champs are on so early.

potsy11

3 stars (average)

Bambaata wrote: »

fortunately i found my one from last year! It was exactly where id asked my flippin' brother to look!!

What is wrong with the new one you got?

Well mine has not arrived yet. Guys in the club got theirs and names are falling off and vofafone sponsor logo is on them too. Poor printing by all accounts and I believe that they may be breaching layout and ITU design rules.

Hope we all don't get disqualified !!

TomD101

4 stars (good)

pgibbo wrote: »

What time are the Elite races on at this weekend? The website only seems to list the AG times. It's nuts that the AG champs are on so early.

Junior women starts 13:30 Saturday
Elite Women starts 15:30 Saturday

Junior Men starts 13:30 Sunday
Elite Men starts 15:30 Sunday

http://www.triathlone.com/uploads/2010%20Schedule-euro2010-final%20draft-v2.pdf

pgibbo

TomD101 wrote: »

Junior women starts 13:30 Saturday
Elite Women starts 15:30 Saturday

Junior Men starts 13:30 Sunday
Elite Men starts 15:30 Sunday

http://www.triathlone.com/uploads/2010%20Schedule-euro2010-final%20draft-v2.pdf

Thanks Tom. I must be losing it, all I can see is AG and Para schedules in that PDF.

shotgunmcos

3 stars (average)

potsy11 wrote: »

Well mine has not arrived yet. !!

Me neither

TomD101

4 stars (good)

pgibbo wrote: »

Thanks Tom. I must be losing it, all I can see is AG and Para schedules in that PDF.

Page 5 of 6 shows the elite !

potsy11

3 stars (average)

Just got word...trisuit arriving tomorrow at some stage (last minute job)

Sounds as if there are lots of complaints judging by emails from TI.

We are back to amateur hour again. Typical... and to be honest its been forecast by many.

So many athletes sacrificing so much over the last 4-8 months for the AG race only for TI to leave everything to the last minute.

Don’t get me started on TI.....It’s worse they are getting....

TomD101

4 stars (good)

quick question - how is the Junior elite section categorised? I would have thought it would just be part of the age groups?

nutzzz123

3 stars (average)

Hi guys,
Im a bit bamboozled with the transitition setup and I was hoping someone can help me out.
My wave is at 9:40 so i certainly wont make the race briefing at 6:30am and wont be in before the 7am transition close either. So I intend in leaving my gear there for the cycle and run on the friday night. Which leaves me with just sorting out wetsuit? Is there an area to get changed in as transition will be closed or is it a side of the river job. Its my 2nd triathlon so Im hoping for advice here...
Cheers
Nutzzz

ckeego

nutzzz123 wrote: »

Hi guys,
Im a bit bamboozled with the transitition setup and I was hoping someone can help me out.
My wave is at 9:40 so i certainly wont make the race briefing at 6:30am and wont be in before the 7am transition close either. So I intend in leaving my gear there for the cycle and run on the friday night. Which leaves me with just sorting out wetsuit? Is there an area to get changed in as transition will be closed or is it a side of the river job. Its my 2nd triathlon so Im hoping for advice here...
Cheers
Nutzzz

I second that question..

Having done half a dozen of these events before, this will be the first Tri of such a size for me!

Is it a case of having everything laid out on the Fri night/Sat morning prior to trans closing at 7pm and bringing your wetsuit to the swim start close to your wave time?

Im in the same wave as Nutzz at 0940, so any voice of experience/tips would be greatly appreciated...Really looking forward to it now!!

Loads of swim practice and running in West cork over the last 2 weeks holidays!!

Manone

It does seem like they were inviting problems leaving the delivery of the suits so close to the event.

Having said that mine has arrived when expected and logo's etc firmly printed on. Was nervous about sizing but thankfully it is covering everything it was designed to.

El Director

thebestone wrote: »

why is the age group european champs starting so early both on saturday for the sprint and sunday for the olympic races-07.30am? surely its asking a lot to have support at that early time of day. why not at a later time of day? i see the open race starts later in the morning?

I was also very very disappointed about this. I had family and friend that wanted to come along and support, but it really is asking a lot of them on their Sat morning. I loved this tri last year for one reason alone....the atmosphere on the run was incredible. It remains to see how many actually get out to support us this year.

Bambaata wrote: »

As regards training for this week. What are people doing? I've never tapered before, i have read plenty but I'm still doubting myself! I was planning on doing a short race pace tempo tonight with ample warmup, cooldown and some stretching afterwards. Tomorrow is some short speed work in the pool (50's with long recoveries) with short bike intervals in the evening. Thursday 30 - 40 min run with strides, Friday off , Saturday 15min swim, 15min bike, 15 min run with strides and very short race pace intervals (10 seconds and long recoveries). This sound about right or what are people doing?

This is the first time I have ever tapered too Bambaata. Started last week and it seemed to work a treat. Was well rested and rearing to go. Basically you seem to have it right. Cut the volume down, do one session a day with bouts of high intensity and longish recoveries. I see you have Friday off which is recommended, I did that last week. I won't be doing it this week as I am only doing the sprint. The day before in the morning it is recommended to do a short brick, 30 min bike with short bursts of speed (6 x 45 sec) and 15 min run with short bursts (6 x 30sec). Thats what I did last week and doing again this week.

thebestone wrote: »

whats this , no practice swims for the age groupers? only the elite ? surely thats not very fair?

I was very lucky, happened to be in Athlone this evening when a friend told me that Athlone Tri Club were doing practice swims from 5 to 6.30. Thank god. Surely they could have a practice swim at some stage for age groupers.

potsy11 wrote: »

Just got word...trisuit arriving tomorrow at some stage (last minute job)

Sounds as if there are lots of complaints judging by emails from TI.

We are back to amateur hour again. Typical... and to be honest its been forecast by many.

So many athletes sacrificing so much over the last 4-8 months for the AG race only for TI to leave everything to the last minute.

Don’t get me started on TI.....It’s worse they are getting....

I agree Posty. I knew it was playing with fire when I saw how close it would be. No room for error. And it ain't as if the trisuits are cheap....after all the sacrifice the least we can expect is gear that is actually as described. Anyway I am heading to Athlone in the morning to try and get it sorted.

My problems:

1. Letters already pealing off my name on the back
2. Got medium in everything...Zone3's medium is very small

So i really hope this can be sorted tomorrow. I did send an e mail to both Zone3 and Tri Ire re all this.

Time now just to focus on what we are actually there for. Racing. :cool:

searay

4 stars (good)

nutzzz123 wrote: »

Hi guys,
Im a bit bamboozled with the transitition setup and I was hoping someone can help me out.
My wave is at 9:40 so i certainly wont make the race briefing at 6:30am and wont be in before the 7am transition close either. So I intend in leaving my gear there for the cycle and run on the friday night. Which leaves me with just sorting out wetsuit? Is there an area to get changed in as transition will be closed or is it a side of the river job. Its my 2nd triathlon so Im hoping for advice here...
Cheers
Nutzzz

The setup is the same as last year. I left my gear in the transition area on the night before in a waterproof box and it was fine when I got into the first transition.

On the wetsuit change, you could change into it over at the baggage drop in the civic square and just walk across to the start. It's only about 500metres away and you can leave clothes to change into afterwards at the baggage drop which is next to the finish line.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

Everyone all set?! I've now got my name on my jersey and luckily it seems to have been done properly (Camden Clothing). What im not looking forward to is the short 4 to 5 hrs sleep im probably only gona get before the race! Ive been having 8 - 10 hrs the last few nights though!

El Director

Yep all set now, just going to do a small brick on the course. Are you in the Olympic Bambaata? The very best of luck to everybody here on boards in the open events and the euro's!

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

yup im in wave 1 of the olympic. 7.30 start sunday!! Seems the weather will be ok early in the day too. Met.ie saying the wind will die back slightly too.

MrCreosote

Best of luck to everybody over the weekend!
Looking forward to some race reports on Monday...

Little bit disappointed with the coverage so far in the national press i.e there is none. Hopefully something in tomorrow's papers, or is that asking too much?

Macanri

4 stars (good)

Best wishes to all in Athlone on Sat and Sunday. And kudos to all representing Ireland on the day, wear it with pride.

pgibbo

Best of luck to everyone this weekend. Give her holly :cool:

Woddle

Best of luck everyone, can't wait to read how yous got on.

Pisco Sour

Only in Ireland would you see zero promotion of a major championships of an Olympic Sport. Well done Triathlon Ireland!!!!! :rolleyes:

searay

4 stars (good)

Thoroughly enjoyed todays event. I thought the organisation was super for such a big event and the run through the streets was great with the crowds all round and lots of encouragement during the run when I was on my last legs. Seamie Flynn from the undertakers looked like he was measuring up on my second lap.

Well done to the organisers. The changes made from last year were all for th better. Looking forward to watching Brownlee v Gomez in the elites tomorrow.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

congrats all who competed today. quick question, are HRM's allowed? I'd like to use my 310 but dont know if they're allowed. Also are they being picky with race belts? At last years euro duathlons they said no race belts with print on them? Not sure if they actually followed up with it though

nutzzz123

3 stars (average)

Bambaata wrote: »

congrats all who competed today. quick question, are HRM's allowed? I'd like to use my 310 but dont know if they're allowed. Also are they being picky with race belts? At last years euro duathlons they said no race belts with print on them? Not sure if they actually followed up with it though

I saw someone with a hrm and no-one said a word to him. And I wore a belt with 2XU and so did hundreds more. Dont worry about it, enjoy it!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

cheers

fluboy

Again, I would also like to thank the organisers for such a great race and day. The run course this year was a big improvement on last year’s one. The atmosphere in the town was brilliant. A big thank you to all the volunteers who made registration pass quickly and smoothly. Also the Gardai, Army and Order of Malta/Ambulance staff did a great job.

My only down point with the day was the amount of drafting on the bikes. I really tried hard on the bike only for a group of maybe ten riders to breeze past me in a large peloton. At one point a marshal on a motorbike came up beside them and told them to split up. They just looked at him as if he had two heads and carried on. Unusually there was no race briefing (I think) and maybe some competitors don’t understand the rules of drafting.

All in all, a great day, great course and a big thank you to all the organisers and volunteers.

greenasgrass

3 stars (average)

Anyone know if there are any individual photos from the event? Some lad gave me a card when I crossed the finish line but was on a different planet at that stage so can't remember the website/company name!!

Well done to the organisers. Really enjoyed the event and the crowd in Athlone was unreal. Big round of applause to all....

kruger73

2 stars (poor)

Folks, was the bike course on the Olympic (age group) short?
Some very fast times. I didn't have a clock on it, but suspect it was a km short at least?
They should have swept the gravel off the big first roundabout on the way back to town.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

Great weekend for Athlone. Well organised with great marshals (special thanks to the two women who where at the turnaround of the run course next to transition! They were giving it loads!!). I'd a mare of a race. Very disappointed. I hit two of my goals (sub 25 min swim and sub 60min bike) but even those two weren't up to scratch. Unfortunately i wasn't staying locally so i had to go down Saturday to register and then again Sunday to race. Up at 3:30am wasn't so nice Sunday morning. I only managed about 3 to 4 hours sleep and wont be letting that happen again!

We were greeted by gale force winds and before the off it started raining, lovely! At least i hadn't got it as bad as some guys who travelled with rear discs. The race referees had banned disc wheels due to the wind and from my experience on the bike that was a very good call! That said there were some very irate competitors which you could understand!

So the race itself:

Swim:
Horrible, possibly one of my worst swims ever. I might have managed 24:21 which was on target but it was a disaster and either it was short or currents aided it as no way in hell would i have managed that time swimming as i did with either no assistance or over a full 1500m. I am slightly claustrophobic and when i started triathlon first i use to get panic attacks putting my head under water. It took a long time to get comfortable with that for me and i thought i had it beat. Needless to say it came back on Sunday within the first 100m of the swim. I panicked, felt like i was about to drown and had to stop. I threaded water for a while and just said HTFU and finally got on with it. It meant though that i lost the pack i was in so i had a lonesome swim. I just couldn't get back to them and they slowly edged off. In the end i was even caught by Amy Wolfe who started 5 mins after me. It was amazing seeing her stroke though. She was miles ahead of her wave and the swim for her seemed effortless!

T1:
A long run into T1 and i was not looking forward to the wind on the bike!! I didnt have any hassle with the wetsuit this time and got on my way as quickly as i could. Exited in 02:21

Bike:
So into a gale force wind for the first 20km! Great! Coupled with that it was lashing. As soon as i got going i passed Amy Wolfe and two or three others but from there i had a very lonely cycle. To me banning the disc wheels was a very good move. Ive a 808 rear and i was pushed around a fair bit so god only knows how a disc would haver faired! Not well i'd guess. The way out was horrific. I could only average 27 - 33km/hr for much of it, at least i knew it would be the opposite for the way home! Finally reached half way, turned and was immediately pushed on by the wind. I was straight up to 50km/hr+ and kept it above 45/km for most of the return leg. Ive a 50 teeth front gearing and i really wished i had a 53. I was spinning out a lot. On the way in i caught 3 more and almost came off when i hot a pothole/manhole and had a bit of a wobble at 45km/hr+!! Finished the bike in 59:31 but im almost positive it was short.

T2:
No real issues, slight delay racking the bike but didn't lose anything more tan 2 seconds with that and out in 01:45.

Run:
Possibly the worst part of the race for me. I started well clocking the first 2km at 3:45/km pace. This was my planned pace for the run but on lap 3 i stitched! Im not sure what it was. I put it down to lack of training and new gels. I recently got the Isogels and haven't used them all that much so probably not such a good idea using them on Sunday. Third km was about 4:08 and from there i was devastated. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day. I have been running sub 20 5's/sub 40 10's all year and thought a sub 38 might be on. I thought i had gone sub 40 but im even more gutted to find i ran the 10km in 40:46.

So finished the race in 02:08:43. I had hoped to go sub 02:05 so unfortunately i failed! I went back to the car and had about an hour of despair before getting some food, having a nap and watching the elites. Even worse was coming in to work today and being asked how i got on. Im still very disappointed with my race and i couldn't really hide it from everyone here so I think they understand the less said the better!

The elites were great to watch. It was a pity Gomez couldn't go with Brownlee as I'd have loved to have seen a final km sprint from the pair but it wasn't to be. Some people really died a death in the Elites. One poor Belgian couldn't hide his disappointment beside us when he dropped out. My fav moment though was seeing Vassilis Krommidas finish. The guy is 40, just about survived the leaders catching him on the bike and got a great cheer when he finished. It seemed to mean a lot to him to finish eventhough he was last. Before the finish line he turned back and blew the crowd a kiss which i thought that was inspiring. He showed great heart to cycle solo, survive it and finish the race.

searay

4 stars (good)

greenasgrass wrote: »

Anyone know if there are any individual photos from the event? Some lad gave me a card when I crossed the finish line but was on a different planet at that stage so can't remember the website/company name!!

Well done to the organisers. Really enjoyed the event and the crowd in Athlone was unreal. Big round of applause to all....

Didn't see any photos yet, but last year when you went into your official results a few days afterwards they had a video clip of you finishing. I hope they caught my stylish moves!

The highlight was Brownlee in the elites. (Almost as stylish). He is a class runner and burned Gomez off the road on the first 2 run laps.

greenasgrass

3 stars (average)

searay wrote: »

Didn't see any photos yet, but last year when you went into your official results a few days afterwards they had a video clip of you finishing. I hope they caught my stylish moves!
.

Cool. Thanks Searay. Anybody else knows of any photos let me know.

Macanri

4 stars (good)

@ Bambatta, that is an excellent time (even though you are not happy with it). On a different day you would get under that 2:05 for sure. Well done.

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

Cheers Macanri. I had highish hopes for Athlone and unfortunately its the first race of the year that i was really gutted with. Pity it was my first A race! It'll make it all the sweeter in Budapest when i come back stronger ;-) I really cannot wait for Budapest!!!

Have to mention it again that it was a very well organised event. Its great to have such an area virtually closed down for a race!

Seres

Bambaata wrote: »

Cheers Macanri. I had highish hopes for Athlone and unfortunately its the first race of the year that i was really gutted with. Pity it was my first A race! It'll make it all the sweeter in Budapest when i come back stronger ;-) I really cannot wait for Budapest!!!

Have to mention it again that it was a very well organised event. Its great to have such an area virtually closed down for a race!

bambaata , dont be so hard on yourself , it doesnt matter how good your form is on the day ,if you end up having to race alone its very hard to push yourself , on the positive side of it , note down the things you learnt from the race compared to the last good race you did and i bet as a learning experience you have gain so much more from sunday , by any account i think its a crackin result !

secman

Well done Bambaata, 2:08:43 is not to be sniffed at especially in the conditions prevailing. Very interested in your splits, your bike time stands out from the swim & run. Did you come from a bike background ? In a previous life, some 15 to 20 yrs ago I used to be a Triathlete. Seems an eternity now !

My splits would have been around :
swim 24/ 25 min
Bike 1:08 to 1:10
Run 38/39 ish

Transition times would have been similar.

would have had numerous 2:16 to 2:20 times as something would always go pear shape ! Its the nature of the sport, thats why no body dominates it for a long period ! Even the elite have bad days.
Relax & enjoy. Its a relative short participation timespan due to extremely long training times required, and especially INJURIES, Still suffering to this day from the load on the body, at one stage when my Physio was changing car i felt I should have a say in the colour !

Anyways I diverse, well done again to all who participated, even if they did not finish.......... that happens too..... once got 3 punctures and only 2 spare tubes in the All Ireland HIM in Sligo at about 1/3 way through bike stage , way out at the back of some lake..... now thats a mare of a time !!!!!!
Never even got to run the half marathon that I had trained so hard for !

Secman

Bambaata

4 stars (good)

cheers all. i aint gona dwell on it. unfortunately i dont have a history in any form of physical activity. i was a bloody goalie in football which i quit when 17 after hating it for many years. i duno why but my bike split is consistently better than swimming and running.

That sounds dreadful secman! I can only imagine that disappointment!!

Seems loads watched the elite highlights last night! Most i spoke to today at work saw some part of it. It would be great to see some more triathlon slots on TV but i think thats asking a bit much. Maybe when we get x (hopefully 4!!) number qualify for the olympics they might realise that its a sport that deserves some attention.

Jupiter36

Bambaata wrote: »

My fav moment though was seeing Vassilis Krommidas finish. The guy is 40, just about survived the leaders catching him on the bike and got a great cheer when he finished. It seemed to mean a lot to him to finish eventhough he was last. Before the finish line he turned back and blew the crowd a kiss which i thought that was inspiring. He showed great heart to cycle solo, survive it and finish the race.

I'm not sure how true this is but I heard yesterday from one of the marshals at the finish that it was Komidas' 40th birthday. Well done to him! And to you too!

toomuchdetail

Bambaata wrote: »

.

So finished the race in 02:08:43. I had hoped to go sub 02:05 so unfortunately i failed! .

Great result Bambaata and great report as always ,tough conditions yesterday , travelled down by train to watch the elite -was something else , Brownlee out of transition was something else.
As someone who would be lucky to break 2:45 I can only imagine what an a time of 2:08 is like.
Well done and well done to anyone who braved the water yesterday.

TomD101

4 stars (good)

great event that was really well organised. Well done to everyone involved.

potsy11

3 stars (average)

Agreed....great support and course. Man that cycle on Sunday was tough (for the 1st 20k anyway!)

pgibbo

Well done everyone. Some great performances there. I hope you're feeling a bit happier about what most would consider to be a great time Bambaata. Then again, you won't kick on from this unless you feel some hurt or drive so I guess the key is to use your disappointment to keep you focussed for Budapest.

I was up on Sunday as a spectator and the organisation was class. The buzz about Athlone was very impressive. Brownlee is an ANIMAL. Unreal performance by him.

bombidal

lads,

I completed the standard olympic on Sunday, enjoyed the whole day... great race, bit windy mind !!!

Got a puncture at 26k on the bike, some fella threw his saddle bag at me in trying to help me out, as I didnt have a pump.. Would like to give this guy his bag, pump and tyre bag and to say thanks... if anyone comes accross his side of the story please let him know im looking for him...

thanks