Suffering for the sake of something Special!

Report on the last 10 miles of the Challenge126 run from Limerick to Dublin in aid of Special Olympics Ireland

I only heard about Mike Sheridan and Brian Maher’s epic 126 mile running challenge three days before the event on Twitter.  These two guys decided to run from Limerick to Dublin in aid of Special Olympics Ireland. I should mention that they also decided to attempt doing the run in one go! No overnight sleeps, no non-essential stop-offs along the way, just a non-stop run from Limerick to Dublin which was going to mean a long, long time spent suffering in the battlefield of the mind!  

 

I absolutely love hearing about these kinds of events because they are close to my heart. They lift my spirits and I think they lift everyone’s spirits a little. People need regular inspiration. We need people who like Mike and Brian, like Gerry Duffy and Ken Lawless of 32 marathons in 32 days fame to remind us to get out of the stagnant waters that we can sometimes wade into in life. 

 

Life is a bit like a river. Sometimes we are right in the middle of the flow; life feels challenging, exciting. At other times we can drift into stagnant, murky water; things get stale and if we stay there long enough things life can lose its excitement. Events like the Challenge126 are like racing a jet-ski down the river of life and giving everyone a splash of inspiration and hope. They remind us that there is a bit more to life, a bit more to us as human beings than we sometimes settle for. 

I decided to have a look at the website and keep an eye on the proceedings on Twitter with a view towards jumping in with them for a spin on the bike or a maybe a jog along the route. 

Three days later I was cycling under the M50 bridge at about 7pm on a Friday night wondering what kind of shape the two guys would be in. I  met a cavalcade of vehicles manned by an exhausted support team, a film crew and some runners who were running alongside the guys to encourage them. The lads themselves looked like they were fairing pretty well but I knew from my experience of a few marathons and long distance triathlons that they were probably putting on a brave face and distract themselves from the pain. 

 

The next three hours or so were a surreal experience. I was inspired by the levels of support the guys received from friends and strangers alike. I struggled with being the supporter rather than one of the runners.  I was dumbfounded by the dedication of Special Olympics CEO Matt English who, after hours of running still enthusiastically spoke to runners about the work of Special Olympics Ireland and why the organisation is so important not only at Olympic games level but even more so at as a grass roots organisation. 

We eventually made it to Stephens Green where a crowd waited to greet the guys. I think that people couldn't really imagine what they had been through. I got out of there quickly to stay warm but I'm glad my path crossed with these inspirational guys and I'm excited to learn how much they raised for Special Olympics Ireland. If you feel like making a contribution to the cause then you can do so here. I hope they inspire you to do something that will surpass your own expectations!

 

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Day 6: The most Northerly point in Ireland. 10 years later the dream becomes a reality!

Day 6: Saturday April 2012 Donegal town - Malin Head    Approx 127k

 

If I were advising someone who was cycling Mizen to Malin I’d recommend doing the whole event the way we did day six.  We met for breakfast at quarter past seven and were on the road at half eight. We were able to relax, chat and enjoy the experience on the bikes because being on the road so early meant that there was no real time pressure. The first half of the day's cycling felt like a warm up pace - we could have stepped the pace up but we never did. I was reluctant to crank up the pace and then burn myself out when I was so close to completing the mission!

 

I tried to supress my excitement for most of the day at being so close to relalisiing this long term dream that was rapidly becoming reality. 

 

We had a few short stops along the way and stopped for a long lunch break in a warm hotel bar at the halfway point. The second half of the day was a bit wetter but our spirits were soaring because we knew that we just had to keep going doing what we were doing. 

 

The closer we got to Malin the narrower and more interesting the roads became.  I expected the most Northerly peninsula in Ireland to be quiet and sparsely populated but the roads were busy and there were plenty of modern houses as well as the farms and older homes which were more what I expected. We saw the sea as we passed Buncrana and had some other glimpses of the sea along the way which are always a refreshing break from looking at the rear wheel of the cyclist in front.

 

The final twenty kilometres were misty and on narrow roads with traffic coming in both directions. We were glad to have reflective clothing and a few lights on the bikes. 

 

When we entered the final ten kilometres the conversation turned to whether we would race the last section of the trip. Two of the guys tore ahead to race the final leg with two or three kilometres of torturous winding hills left. I have no idea where they got the energy from as they had covered almost five hundred kilometres between them in the previous 48 hours! 

 

The final ascent was one of those climbs that is so steep that you just have to take it quickly - the alternative is agonizing, wobbly and dangerously slow.  I was glad of the final effort though as it felt like a reminder of all we had overcome in the previous six days. We got some photos and took a few minutes to appreciate the rugged beauty of the most Northerly point in Ireland with white water crashing over rocks and the wind howling.  

 

 

The cold was a great incentive to get on the road home quickly. Before I knew it we were changed, packed up, fed and on the road home. The sense of accomplishment is great but I’ve been waiting to realise this goal for the best part of a decade so I imagine it will take a bit longer to sink in fully. The real rewards of the trip were; the cameraderie and fellowship of a team on an a shared adventure, the sense of inspiration and high spirits that always accompany beauty and a feeling that anything is possible. 

 

If you are thinking of doing this trip then I recommend it. There is an option to do it as a fundraiser with a large team from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. The larger the team involved, the more options for different paces there will be. Cycling with a group suited to your pace is a lot more enjoyable than trying to cater for a mixed group. If you are doing it then; invest money in high quality cycling clothes, get out early in the mornings, take short breaks and use every stop as an opportunity to fuel up, stretch and hydrate. 

 

My next challenge is the Ironman Austria Triathlon on 1^st July which I’m doing as a fundraiser for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Remember to subscribe to this blog to make sure you don't miss updates on that event and others.  My target is to raise a minimum of €2,500 for the chairty in 2012. If you’d like to sponsor me for Ironman and/or Mizen to Malin then that would be very welcome - Live link to follow shortly! Thanks for sharing the experience with me, thanks especially to the encouragers along the way (with both cycling and blogging!) especially to my beautiful wife Cara who is my greatest encourager, funniest friend and the most perfect woman I've ever met xxxx.   

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Cycling Mizen-Malin: Day 5: A reminder of how precious life is and how close to the edge cyclists get!

Day 5 : Friday 6th April 2012 Balina - Donegal town    Approx 124 K

 

Breakfast in Ballina was comical. For some reason none of us wanted to get going so we ate and talked and ate and then talked some more, after we had eventually packed up and toyed with our bikes for as long as possible we got on the road. Procrastination is exhausting! It turned out to be more relaxing and enjoyable to just be on the bike cycling! 

 

The trip to Sligo was plain sailing, we made great time and I actually remember very little of it. We had a nice lunch in a hotel in Sligo and had to race onto the bikes to get going because it was so cold outside. Cold seemed to sap motivation above all else.

(Nice dry morning setting off on Day 5)

We were cycling at a warm up pace, on the hard shoulder, on our way out of Sligo three abreast when our first real crash happened. I was the middle cyclist of the three and didn’t notice a cat’s eye (a ‘safety’ device used in road marking). I avoided it with my front wheel but my back wheel caught in the cat’s eye.  The result was that my bike suddenly pivoted to the right and I collided with Jonny's back wheel.  He went tumbling into the middle of the road. I came off my bike too and vividly recalled watching jonny roll and then turn to behind him to see if there was any oncoming traffic. Thankfully there wasn’t because if there had been we could have been in real trouble. 

(Lots of wind coming in from the coast on Day 5 but lots of scenery to take our minds off it!)

 

Jonny’s back wheel was badly buckled and his bottle cage came off but he just had a minor scratch as did I. My bike was fine. We got back on the road but I was shaking with the adrenaline and nerves for the next twenty kilometres or so. At one point Bruce offered me a bar as we were cycling and although I was starving I was too nervous to take a hand off the handlebars. Thankfully that passed and we put it behind us. I think it was a real moment where we remembered how dangerous it is cycling on busy roads. Suddenly academic statistics about cyclists being killed become much more personal and emotive. 

 

We passed through Mullaghmore where there is an excellent triathlon every year and then Bundoran which was bigger than I remember it. We stopped in a hotel there to fuel up, use the facilities and to give another cyclist a chance to join in. I think Bundoran was only forty kilometres from Doneagal town but it felt like one of the longer phases of the journey. The late start, long lunch, unplanned time spent stopped after crashing and the emotional and physical energy used up from the crash all had me exhausted. I was too tired to follow simple directions on the phone to find the B&B from the Donegal town.

 

When we arrived in the B&B in Donegal it was warm and cosy and one of the gang had brought a tin of his Mum’s homemade biscuits which we devoured. A new cyclist and Ironman in training joined us and the mood was really high. The end was in sight and for me the last two days had been much easier than the first three so I was feeling tired but quite fresh. We went out for dinner in Donegal town which was lovely and got an early night. It wasn't the same without Cara who had was home taking Care of Fauna but the plan was to get straight on a bus back to Cara the following evening so I was looking forward to that. 

 

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Day 4 : Galway - Ballina. Sunshine, Synergy and a Welcome Lack of Suffering!

Day 4: Thursday 5th April 2012   Approx 104K 

(Above: We cut out some of the nice scenic routes on Day 4 in order to make life easier on the legs)

I woke up this morning wondering what all the fuss had been about the previous few days! My legs felt fresh after a good night’s sleep and plenty of healthy food.  I also had time to organise myself a bit better which is foundational on a trip like this. If you forget to dry a key piece of clothing or pack something into your bike bag then you can spend eight or ten hours wishing you had remembered it. I had time before breakfast to sort out my cases. I worked on the assumption that I was proceeding but I didn’t make the final decision until after breakfast as I had promised myself the previous evening. 

 

Breakfast was gorgeous and it was a relief to be able to sit down and enjoy it after the chaos with the dog and bus the previous morning. I felt pretty fresh and perky and as the other cyclists arrived they looked like they might have been feeling the opposite. I’m embarrassed to say I was encouraged by their tiredness! I guessed that they might have been feeling the effects of the cycling to date more than they had been letting on.  I had gone 40k cycling in a pair of runners on day one, done day two on my own in the rain and barely managed to finish day three. Today there were no obstacles in front of me except the distance and weather which were to be expected. I was well organised and the distance was a little shorter so it had the potential to be a more restful day.  I decided to ‘unquit’ and not even mention it to the guys. 

(Some of the scenery on Day 4)

 

I’m so glad that I proceeded. The sun was out when we hit the hotel car park and three of us got on the road much earlier than we had done on previous days. One of the guys was struggling a little with injury and fatigue and he tucked in behind us for a while at the start. It felt like a relief that someone else needed help and that I wasn’t the one struggling at times! 

(Similar distance to yesterday but it looks more impressive on the map!)

We worked closely as a team for the first two hours or so. It was wonderful. We cut the distance a bit shorter than originally planned because the previous day had been challenging for all in the wind. That meant we had a straight, but narrow, road with a good surface so we could put our head’s down (to avoid wind resistance) and really crank up the speed. The more speed then the less time spent suffering in the saddle. 

 

(I still don't konw where this is but it was stunning!)

 

Cyclists will tell you that cycling like this, as part of a pack on a mission, is one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world. There is constant visual and verbal communication from the pack leader backwards and from the back of the pack to the leader. Leadership of the pack rotates so that everyone has a spell in the headwind up front and theoretically everyone gets an equal amount of time sitting in the draft (sheltered from the wind) which makes cycling considerably easier. Galway to Ballina are some of my fondest memories of the Mizen to Malin trip. We sang, discussed issues varying from theology to the use of raw egg whites to treat saddle sores and we even stopped for an ice cream at one point despite the cold. 

 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Another cyclist joined us later in the day and it was fun to have another voice in the conversation. Somewhere between Castlebar and Ballina we came around a bend and saw a lake (see photos). I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place. We pulled in at the side of a lake and just enjoyed the moment for twenty minutes or so. The effect of the beauty was interesting because we had been very focused on speed and our goal until that moment but the beauty of the lake disarmed us and we cycled casually for the rest of the day. We got soaked with rain a few minutes after our stop and the cold really bit in.  We had already cooled down from our stop but thankfully the sun came out again and we continued towards Ballina. 

 

 

Our arrival in Ballina was fantastic. A farmer driving an ancient tractor passed us with about 15 kilometres to go. Dave was leading the pack at the time and he decided to fully utilise the opportunity. We ended up drafting the tractor for about ten kilometres into Ballina. I don’t recommend doing this for many reasons but it was a hilarious experience and a welcome break from the howling wind. 

 

We arrived at a stunning, modern hotel with a jacuzzi which was a real blessing to help the legs recover. If I was advising people on how to do it I’d definitely encourage staying in hotels with saunas and jacuzzis to help promote recovery in the legs. I was feeling very hopeful and knew that I needed to continue to take things one day at a time. If Day Five turned out to be as hard as day one or two then I still wasn’t quite sure if I was going to make it. I still figured that if I made it onto the saddle on day six that I’d somehow get through the day though. 

 

 

Back at home Cara was taking care of Fauna who was as sick as.. well, as sick as a very sick dog! Cara ended up bringing her on a few trips to two different vets but they eventually sorted the problem out. 

 

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Day 3: Mizen - Malin: Even the word hopeless has hope in it!

Day 3: Wednesday 4th April 2012 Spanish Point - Galway  Approx 90K

(Today's route looks very short on paper but the wind was relentless which made it feel like one of the longest days)

 

Day three started with an early morning debate with Cara.  We decided that it was best for her to take Fauna (the dog) home as she had been sick since the first day of cycling. We found out that the one and only bus out of Spanish point left at twenty past eight in the morning so we raced around the hotel trying to pack up everything for Cara and the dog.  Cara grabbed some fruit for breakfast as I stalled the bus driver outside the hotel and then they were off. 

The cycling started at approximately ten o’clock.  I was reeling following our race to get Cara on the bus, quick breakfast and checking out of the hotel. We started on a hill and within a few minutes I could feel my mindset starting to drift in the wrong direction again.  Thankfully those first kilometres turned out to be the hardest of the day and we went on to see some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland over the rest of the day. 

 

 We cycled along the cliffs of Moher and through the Burren which were both experiences that I hope I never forget. The scenery was breathtaking which made the cycling a bit easier. (I hope to add more images later). Heavy winds meant that we needed to start working as a team and drafting behind the cyclists in front. We soon learned how to do this and started to mitigate against the effects of heavy winds. 

 

It was a long hard cycle and it was frustrating as we took lunch a bit too early so it seemed like we should have been finished hours before we did finish. Some of they cyclists decided to take a break in the afternoon and three or four of us started to up the pace and work as a tight unit. It was a long, hard spin to Galway for me as I think I was still recovering from my tiredness from the start of the week but the rest of the guys seemed to enjoy themselves. 

 

 

At one point during the day (isolated from the pack and with the wind howling) I completely gave up on the Mizen to Malin Goal. I figured that this was just not enough fun, it was too hard etc. I was about to tell the guys and jump into one of the back-up cars and eat a vast quantity of chocolate. I then had a thought; ‘If I can make it to Galway then at least I can say I’ve cycled Mizen to Galway (approximately half the length of Ireland) and then I could always do the second half another time.’ I didn’t say a word to the rest of the gang but I quit mentally and it was a relief!

 

The hotel in Galway was really nice. The thougts of a nice long lie in in the morning there were tempting. Amazingly I had enough energy to make it down to the pool for a jacuzzi to help my legs as well as to the bar for a quick dinner. When preparing for the trip I had imagined going for swims and even brick sessions (jogs post cycling) but by the end of Day three I knew that was pure fantasy! 

 

I went back to the basics that evening and decided to think about it one day at a time and even one scene at a time. After dinner I decided to just focus on recovery which needed to happen whether I proceeded or not. I fueled up as optimally as I could (pretzels and dioralyte for salts, fruit, lots of herbal tea and water). I also massaged out my legs and got a bath. I decided to have breakfast with the gang the following morning and not mention my quitting until the very last minute. If at the end of breakfast then I still wanted to quit I’d go back to bed for a lie in and let the team go on without me. That way I could opt out as the guys were leaving the hotel and avoid the inevitable slagging or worse still the encouraging pep talks encouraging me to continue.

 

After a chat with Cara on the phone I decided to have a look at the route for the following day. It was starting to look doable. A bit of hope came back that I could get through the following day. I knew that if I made it through until Day six that nothing would stop me from completing the journey but it was still too much to think about day four and five before that so I went back to my game plan and decided not to decide until after breakfast.  

 

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Day 3: Mizen - Malin: Even the word hopeless has hope in it!

Day 3: Wednesday 4th April 2012 Spanish Point - Galway  Approx 90K

(Today's route looks very short on paper but the wind was relentless which made it feel like one of the longest days)

 

Day three started with an early morning debate with Cara.  We decided that it was best for her to take Fauna (the dog) home as she had been sick since the first day of cycling. We found out that the one and only bus out of Spanish point left at twenty past eight in the morning so we raced around the hotel trying to pack up everything for Cara and the dog.  Cara grabbed some fruit for breakfast as I stalled the bus driver outside the hotel and then they were off. 

The cycling started at approximately ten o’clock.  I was reeling following our race to get Cara on the bus, quick breakfast and checking out of the hotel. We started on a hill and within a few minutes I could feel my mindset starting to drift in the wrong direction again.  Thankfully those first kilometres turned out to be the hardest of the day and we went on to see some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland over the rest of the day. 

 

 We cycled along the cliffs of Moher and through the Burren which were both experiences that I hope I never forget. The scenery was breathtaking which made the cycling a bit easier. (I hope to add more images later). Heavy winds meant that we needed to start working as a team and drafting behind the cyclists in front. We soon learned how to do this and started to mitigate against the effects of heavy winds. 

 

It was a long hard cycle and it was frustrating as we took lunch a bit too early so it seemed like we should have been finished hours before we did finish. Some of they cyclists decided to take a break in the afternoon and three or four of us started to up the pace and work as a tight unit. It was a long, hard spin to Galway for me as I think I was still recovering from my tiredness from the start of the week but the rest of the guys seemed to enjoy themselves. 

 

 

At one point during the day (isolated from the pack and with the wind howling) I completely gave up on the Mizen to Malin Goal. I figured that this was just not enough fun, it was too hard etc. I was about to tell the guys and jump into one of the back-up cars and eat a vast quantity of chocolate. I then had a thought; ‘If I can make it to Galway then at least I can say I’ve cycled Mizen to Galway (approximately half the length of Ireland) and then I could always do the second half another time.’ I didn’t say a word to the rest of the gang but I quit mentally and it was a relief!

 

The hotel in Galway was really nice. The thougts of a nice long lie in in the morning there were tempting. Amazingly I had enough energy to make it down to the pool for a jacuzzi to help my legs as well as to the bar for a quick dinner. When preparing for the trip I had imagined going for swims and even brick sessions (jogs post cycling) but by the end of Day three I knew that was pure fantasy! 

 

I went back to the basics that evening and decided to think about it one day at a time and even one scene at a time. After dinner I decided to just focus on recovery which needed to happen whether I proceeded or not. I fueled up as optimally as I could (pretzels and dioralyte for salts, fruit, lots of herbal tea and water). I also massaged out my legs and got a bath. I decided to have breakfast with the gang the following morning and not mention my quitting until the very last minute. If at the end of breakfast then I still wanted to quit I’d go back to bed for a lie in and let the team go on without me. That way I could opt out as the guys were leaving the hotel and avoid the inevitable slagging or worse still the encouraging pep talks encouraging me to continue.

 

After a chat with Cara on the phone I decided to have a look at the route for the following day. It was starting to look doable. A bit of hope came back that I could get through the following day. I knew that if I made it through until Day six that nothing would stop me from completing the journey but it was still too much to think about day four and five before that so I went back to my game plan and decided not to decide until after breakfast.  

 

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Length of Ireland Cycle: Day 2: How to suffer for 10 hours by making silly mistakes!

Day 2: Tuesday 3rd April 2012 Killarney - Spanish Point    Approx 112

 

Day two was one of the longest and most difficult days of my life.  Cara and I paid a price for bringing our dog (Fauna) with us as the dog had been sick and woke us up several times during the night.  The rain poured down outside as we ate breakfast and I still didn’t have cycling shoes. My body was exhausted after the chaos and exertion of day one and I was disorganised.  

 

By the time I processed my situation about and decided to go and invest in a new pair of cycling shoes the rest of the team were ready to leave so I told them to go ahead and very optimistically told them I’d catch up with them soon. 

 

 

 

(Very happy with my new cycling shoes and covers)

 

The big lessons of the day were about equipment and a little cycle nerdy so skip this paragraph if you aren't a cyclist!  I wore a waterproof hiking jacket to keep the rain off which would later prove to be a mistake.  I learned that hiking and cycling jackets are not interchangeable and that trying to cycle in a hiking jacket is like trying to cycle in a sauna!  How I wished I’d bought one in The Cycle Superstore before I left.  When I put on my new cycling shoes I also realised how bad my old pair had been.  It turns out that by skimping on costs ten years ago when I bought my triathlon shoes it cost me a lot in terms of cycling technique and therefore speed.

 

An hour later I was on the road to Tralee, very happy with myself, with my lovely new shoes and rain covers. I was making great time and thought I could turn the day around!  Approximately twenty minutes from Tralee a text arrived from the gang which let me know that they were only five kilometres ahead of me.  I was delighted at the news and stretched forward onto my tri bars to speed up and catch them.    Then I heard a hissing noise and realised I had a puncture in my back tyre.  Then it dawned on me - I don’t have a pump with me!  Oh no! 

 

 

 

(Feeling a bit silly at this point with no bike pump!)

I replaced the tube with a new one and prayed for a cyclist to pass by to help me.  I rang our back up team and confessed my silly mistake.  They were with me about forty-five minutes later and in the meantime I had become borderline hypothermic.  After almost an hour in total of being stopped I was shaking uncontrollably and sat into the back up car; put the heating on full tilt,  got some warm clothes off the girls and drank a cup of tea.  The Mizen to Malin dream was in jeopardy because of another silly mistake - I couldn’t believe it.  The gang ahead had left McDonalds Tralee so I decided to imagine myself sitting in McDonalds, feeling warm and having made ground on the team.  I needed a new, achievable target and despite how I feel about McDonalds food that one suited just right.  Imagining the heat of the restaurant helped me to keep my focus off feeling so cold. 

 

I eventually made it to the restaurant and quickly re fueled and got back on the road so that I could make an inroad into their lead.  I text them to say I was leaving and a text came back immediately to say they were only ten kilometres ahead.  I was delighted and tried to speed up again but in my haste I got lost leaving Tralee and ended up adding on even more distance to catch up.  The gang must have speeded up because I seemed to get further and further from them as the day went on. We had a ferry crossing to catch at one point so I fueled up on the bike and cycled as fast as my legs would carry me to catch them.  When all hope was lost of me catching the ferry I started to worry about having to finish my cycle in the dark (with no lights and little reflective gear).  

 

(Meanwhile somewhere in Killarney National Park - Fauna finally braves the water but then tries to drink half of it!)

 

I tried calling Cara who was in a backup car to arrange a plan to meet them and get some supplies.  I was soaked, hungry and struggling to stay motivated.  My phone died as I said hello so I was faced with a forty five minute wait for the next ferry, a 50k cycle and the possibility of cycling alone for the rest of the day. 

 

When I arrived at the port I was overjoyed when the sun came out.  I was able to dry out my clothes as I waited for the next ferry.  I used the time to stretch, rehydrate and form a plan to make it home. I was desperately cold. When the ferry arrived I was delighted to find out they had a warm lounge and shop.  I fueled up again and managed to get enough life out of my phone to tell Cara my plan and that I was going to try a shorter route to Spanish Point than originally planned. 

 

 (Above Cara brings Fauna from Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind on her first boat journey)

 

Once off the ferry things started looking up.  The rain stayed off and I made reasonably good time.  The shortcut turned out to be gentle and without too much traffic.  Eventually Cara caught up on me with about fifteen or twenty kilometres to go.  I was able to sit in the car and take some salts and fluids on. It is amazing how much life it gives to be fussed over for a few minutes! I was soon ready to go again and I had to because it was starting to get dark.

 

The last hour was a real battle to keep my mindset positive. With ten kilometres to go I was starting to lose the battle and my mind was drifting toward thoughts of pulling out of the trip. I said a little prayer for inspiration and almost immediately hit a bit of a downhill which I was glad to see.  As I sped up a horse appeared from out of the blue in a field next to me and ran along beside me which really lifted my spirits.  It was one of those magic moments that I’ll really remember from the trip.

 

I was thrilled when one of the guys came back to me and in an act of real sacrifice cycled the last seven kilometres again along side me. I was able to focus on the conversation rather than the fact that I had been on the bike for almost ten hours. I received a round of applause from the gang who were waiting to order their dinner when I arrived at the hotel. I was grateful for the reception and the thought of a meal but when it arrived I was just too tired to eat it.  I think my body just decided that it needed a sleep and couldn’t manage another process! 

 

After 2 very rough first days it was time for a serious debate about whether it was wise to continue with Day 3..

 

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Cycling the length of Ireland: Mizen Head - Malin Head. Day 1

Day 1 of 6: Monday April 2nd 2012

 

Route: Mizen Head - Killarney (via Moll’s gap) Approx 127k total

 

On a visit to Mizen Head about ten years ago I first had the idea of cycling the length of Ireland. The scenery in West Cork is rugged and inspirational. About six months ago I mentioned this dream to a friend who ended up pushing me to commit to a date and make it happen. As a coach, I’m normally the one encouraging people to take a leap of faith and make it happen so I am very grateful for the push! 

 

 

 

The task itself looked achievable on paper. Approximately 120 kilometres per day. The distance seemed achievable because I am training for a long distance triathlon and it was the perfect way to commit to some long hours on the bike which takes too much discipline for me to do on my own I’m afraid. 

 

My first obstacle was the state of my bike! I asked the guys at The Cycle Superstore in Tallaght to work their magic on my racer which they did. If you are ever thinking of doing this challenge then I’d suggest taking no shortcuts with your bike and clothes. I ended up buying a new set of wheels and keeping my old set in a backup car just in case I got a buckle. 

(Above - My beautiful wife Cara and Fauna (from IGDB) prepare for the first leg of our adventure)

 

We woke to the perfect morning on Day 1 and had a stunning breakfast at the White House B&B which I highly recommend. The service was outstanding - Joan the owner insisted on feeding Fauna (our guide dog in training puppy) with chicken for breakfast! 

 

 

After a huge feed we met up with the rest of the gang and I soon realised I had forgotten a key bag containing essential elements for cycling like my cycling shoes and gas tyre pump! We worked around it thanks to some help from Cara and my brother Eoin who always seems to show up for me when things like this go wrong! 

 

Before we ever began cycling we had a mini photo shoot, some mechanical issues, one fall off a bike and a robust ego debate about whether we should be touch the sea at land’s end in order to technically begin the Mizen to Malin experience justice! Therefore we were much later than expected getting on the road. I was overwhelmed with gratitude for my gorgeous wife Cara and for what an encouraging person she is as I set off. 

 

The cycling on Day 1 was tough at first but then got easier as we neared Bantry. We had our second fall about 25 or 30k in and one of the girls badly bruised her thumb. She ended up being taken to hospital later to make sure it wasn’t broken. At 42k we stopped in Bantry and were just finishing lunch as the heavens opened. We waited for the rain to slow down and set off again. I was delighted that I was able to get a loan of a pair of fancy cycling shoes for the rest of the day. It turns out that I’ve been using a cheap and frankly useless pair of cycling shoes for 10 years. When I tried the high quality shoes I couldn’t believe how much more comfortable and effective they were. 

 

The low point of the day for me was the very, very tip of Moll’s gap where I ‘got the knock’. For those who aren’t familiar with the expression it is a phenomenon very similar to ‘hitting the wall’ in a marathon. Things start to feel challenging physically, then the mental game begins. The first negative thought starts with something like; ‘this is feeling hard all of a sudden’ and soon the world can start to feel like a dark and hopeless place. The ability to manage ‘the knock’ and keep going is what will determine if I make it to Malin Head or not! 

 

 

I suffered the rest of the way home but arriving in Killarney was an uplifiting experience. The scenery was something special. I jumped in the bath, ate some food and was too tired to join Cara and the gang for dinner! 

 

We learned a few lessons on Day 1. Get out earlier in the mornings, don’t take so long on lunch breaks, never stop on gravel and never ever forget your cycling shoes or it will make for a very hard day when the quads start to pack in! 

 

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Don’t Panic! 5 ways to improve your triathlon swim by relaxing more..

Mastering swimming is something that is possible to do very quickly if you are willing to swim regularly initially.  This blog is about doing the most important things to master swimming.  A friend of mine who was new to triathlon and highly motivated to improve, it must be said!  He started swimming and trained regularly with two of Ireland’s top junior swimmers for approximately six weeks.  By the end of the six weeks he could swim at about 80% of their speed over a half an hour to forty-five minutes!  These were two guys who swam for hours most days of their lives.  I think that is amazing and if you are new to swimming and want to master it quickly, please know that you can so keep reading! 

 

 

The fastest way to master swimming, if you’ll pardon the pun, is to immerse yourself in the process and commit to swimming a few times a week if possible.  Swimming is weird - it can be mastered quickly!   When the technique is learned and understood and panic is eliminated (swimming mastery) you can really punch above your weight in the water.  The same can not be said for cycling or running because both of those disciplines require ongoing hard physical work to maintain fitness levels.  Swimming just requires the ability to swim perfectly and not panic to be able to swim in an elegant and almost effortless way.  Said another way, if you stop running for six weeks then your endurance and speed will decline sharply but with swimming, when you master it, if you stop for six weeks then you’ll slow down and struggle a bit with the distance but you’ll still be able to safely do the distance without too much bother if you have mastered the technique.

 

I relearned to swim in my early twenties and I’m really glad I did so because it has paid dividends in my triathlon racing times, it has strengthened my heart and lungs immensely but best and most surprisingly of all, I now find swimming a great way to relax and unwind.  I often use swimming as a recovery session after a hard cycle or run or just for fun.

 

 

On the first day I started relearning to swim I was able to swim a grand total of six lengths.  However, I had to stop at the end of each length, and sometimes I had to stop mid length, gasping for breath.  I found swimming exhausting.  Six lengths swimming felt like the equivalent of a six kilometer fast run.  The entire six lengths were performed anaerobically (with me heaving for breath before, during and after the swim).

 

Today, ten years later, I can swim three or four kilometers (120-160 lengths of a 25 m pool) non stop.  I’m not an elite swimmer by the standards of triathlon or swimming but I’m a master swimmer (if that makes sense!)  A mile (64 lengths) takes me about twenty-six minutes.  I compete in long distance triathlons so I need my body to be fresh and ready for a cycle and run even after a long swim - this is a key part of the mindset that makes me a much stronger swimmer than I should be for the amount of time that I invest in the water.  I need to focus on being very relaxed and not exerting myself to much to avoid building up lactic acid before my cycle and run.

 

My strategy for learning to swim was to model success.  Every time I unashamedly got into the pool I got in a lane behind the fastest swimmer I could see and I copied their stroke as much as I could.  (I quickly learned swim etiquette and how to stay out of their way.)  When an opportunity arose to talk to them after their set then I would always ask for a tip or two if they had time.  I was initially frustrated because they just kept telling me to relax which felt like non-advice but I later learned what they meant.

 

Below is a brief summary of the tips I was given by elite and master swimmers and some tips I learned along the way myself.  You will notice that the first half of the list focuses on relaxation, breathing and mindset.  The reason the list is written like that is because relaxation is the most important part of swimming.  Being relaxed is the key to swimming well and mastering breathing and mindset are the ways to be relaxed.  I found that the better the swimmer’s standard who I asked for advice the simpler their advice was and it always boiled down to ‘Relax in the water as much as you can!’  These tips are designed to help you to know how to relax in the water! 

 

How do I Relax in the water?

 

• The goal: Be able to enter the water without panicking

Practice keeping your heart rate and breathing rate low and under control. Your heart rate and breathing rate are ways to monitor how relaxed you are in the water.  Water temperature effects the heart rate do don’t worry if you normally jog at 150 beats per minute but your heart rate is completely different in the water.  Water feels very unnatural initially.  Think of what a fish does when it is left out of water - we respond similarly when put in water. We gasp and start to freak out!

 

When we enter the water our bodies sense the different state and naturally start to react. That reaction, for most people, is panic unless of course we start thinking about relaxation before we even enter the water. I suggest never jumping into the water to avoid sho

cking the body.  You can practice controlling your heart rate in the water without every swimming.  This can be done while minding a child in the water etc. 

 

• The goal: Be able to hold your breath and exhale underwater without panicking

When we start to swim we suddenly become very conscious of our breathing.  Breathing is normally completely subconscious so it is naturally for breathing to feel a bit strange when we start thinking about it.  Test out different types of breathing techniques as you swim to see which suits you. Breathe on the left only, right only, to both sides every 3 strokes.  There is no right or wrong initially.  The right way is the way that keeps your heart rate down and makes you feel most relaxed.  

 

Try breathing explosively underwater as you exhale and then try exhaling slowly and consistently to see which suits you better.  The latter suits me as it keeps me more relaxed and I feel like I’m constantly either inhaling or exhaling rather than holding my breath.

 

 

• The goal: Make sure that what you think about keeps you relaxed as you swim

Think about slowing your heart rate, think about lying on the beach, think about gliding, think about anything that relaxes you!  I find it hard to switch my mind off and just think about my technique but at the times when I do my swimming really improves.  Just thinking about a basic aspect of your stroke like your glide or your pull through the water can prevent your mind from panic during a rough outdoor swim or during a race if you are getting bumped around a bit. 

 

• The goal: Focus on the process rather than the distance or time

 

Do sessions where you consciously don’t swim for a time or count your lengths. This helps to focus on endurance and helps to keep your mindset on your technique rather than the details like what length you are on.  You can also warm up by focusing on time rather than distance.  Do occasional swims where the goal is just to swim continuously for 5 minutes, 10 minutes… 60 minutes.  I’m often amazed at how many triathletes stop regularly for a break/chat.  That might make sense occasionally but let’s not make the mistake of conditioning our bodies to expect a break during an endurance event! 

 

• The goal: Optimise your effort by gliding on each stroke

 

Ensure you have a little glide at the end of each stroke.  It feels counterintuitive if you don’t normally do it.  Gliding is a bit like how great cyclists hug their bike to avoid wind resistance. Gliding maximises the work that you are already putting in and therefore saves effort but the momentary pause also helps to maintain relaxation.

 

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