Aquathon

750m swim and 5K run later

 

 

I dawned my wetsuit last night and became an amphibian completing my first ever Aquathon! And I have to say I really enjoyed it. The ladies began the first wave at 7.30pm. I was so freakin nervous man!!! It was really good fun though. I went to the Martello Bar and registered early – sat watching more and more very fit looking sporty people arrive. So I got changed into my wetsuit around 6.30pm. Eek! It was really well organised and everybody got a little box for changing into their running gear for transition.

You can't see but I was very nervous just at this moment!

So we started the swim down towards Bray head – there were two large yellow buoys to swim around. I got into the water and it was fecking freezing! I was actually glad of the wetsuit. So the race began and I was up near the top of the pack at the beginning. But I’ll tell you sea swimming is seriously different to the pool! With the cold it is a lot harder to feel comfortable breathing. I had done loads of stretching, running on the spot etc to get warmed up but I didn’t really have a proper warm up. We rounded the first buoy and I was throttled by another amphibian! She wacked me over the head and it was not just that we were in each others space. Not being one to lie down I decided to move away from her, was tempting to give her a good whack back - but I am very strong and wouldn’t want to be responsible for drowning a fellow aquathonian! So I kept up fairly well but just tried to pace it because my worst fear was keeling over halfway through!! We rounded the 2nd buoy and I then on the way in I got off course a little bit which lost me a few seconds. I left the water struggling to run up the beach! They put a mat down to run over the stones which was good. Got to transition and ripped off the wetsuit, put on my shorts and top and had to lace up runners which definitely lost me time – I need a pair of toggled runners.

 

The best supporter in Wicklow!

You can’t see but I was very nervous just at this moment!

That’s me in the pink shorty wetsuit

750m swim and 5K run later

Number 221 didn’t keel over, hurrah!

 

I rounded from the transition area and there was Simon’s mother Anne! It was so nice to see a friendly face cheering me on! I tried to pace the run as I wasn’t sure how far up Bray Head we had to go and how much the sea swim had taken out of me – I didn’t want to bust it completely as I had bit of a stitch coming out of the swim. There were a good few girls who passed me on the run – but as I was definitely one of the first ten to leave the water I was happy enough. Overall I am really glad I competed yesterday - it was exactly the kick up the proverbial I needed!

 

Overall out of 47 women competing, I came 36th with a time of  42 minutes 40 seconds. Not too bad for my first time out – there must have been a few more who passed me in the run than I had thought!

The next Aquathon is Wednesday 19th August so I have a month to train hard and hopefully come up in the rankings!

Good Omens

Ems little trucker has been all the way to Peru and back!

 

Good Omens is the name of one of my favourite Terry Pratchett novels. Last night the Space Shuttle Endeavour could be seen breaking off from its fuel tank as it raced across the sky. We saw it in Blacklion it was amazing. Good Omens.

Yesterday – I found my bike in Dublin!! GOOD OMENS ALL ROUND!!!!

How on Earth did this happen?

I was at Bus Aras in Dublin and about to hop onto to the Donegal bus home which drops you in Enniskillen. Now every single bike I have seen in Dublin I was checking out in case it was mine. I saw a guy walking along with two bikes in the area between the baggage hold of the bus and the silver specialized jumped at me – it was small enough to be mine! I hesitated for about half a second and followed the bike. It was my bike!!! With a very tall and built looking fella who I later found out is from Zimbabwe. Well…now…this would not deter a heartbroken Emma from getting her little trucker back! So I told him it was my bike – a stolen bike and that I had reported it stolen and was all a fluster not wanting to let go of the bike. Robert was absolutely lovely. His girlfriend Gosia who is about to pop (have a baby) in three weeks came over and we had a chat. Turns out they were sold the bike for €50 – WTF!!!

A fella living in an apartment above their place – or at least always hanging around had sold Robert the bike because Robert fixes bikes. Obviously the fella had no idea of the real value of that kind of bike. And it turns out that Robert has a really interesting history. He used to take people touring all over Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and other countries in the southern part of the continent. Amazing. Sometimes they would be away for an entire year with different groups.

 

So we all walked up to Fitzgibbon Street Garda station where Daddy had reported the bike stolen last Friday night and spoke to the Gardai. Robert gave a statement and I am hoping that is the last he hears from them. They only have the first name of the fella who sold him the bike but the danger is the Gardai will decide to prosecute Robert for handling stolen goods. Which poses a question of ethics. If you were offered an almost brand new bike worth in the region of €800 for €50 – you know that it probably has been stolen. You know that you could report it to the Guardai. But do they have any system in place to check whether the bike has been reported stolen? Even if they did there is no incentive to do this. I would probably buy the bike. Most people would probably buy the bike anyway.

 

Emma descending towards Nazca after four weeks at altitude

It turns out Robert had his brand new Trek stolen about three weeks before my bike came along. Funny enough he suspects the guy who sold him my bike as it was stolen from his home or garage. He didn’t report it stolen because he didn’t see the point. Usually when a bike is gone it is gone. Therein lies a message – always report the bike stolen, you never know where you might spot it.

And now for my cynical side. I am worried for Robert. He was one of the loveliest people I have met in quite a while – open and honest. His girlfriend is about to have a baby. But the Gards will probably try to prosecute him for handling stolen goods unless they get the other fella. I am in touch with Robert and sending an email to the Garda handling the case to emphasise how lucky I am and how co-operative and straight Robert was with me. Just before we left Fitzgibbon Street a BanGarda who had been on duty Friday asked us about the bike. I told her how great Robert was but she was naturally suspicious and said “He knew he shouldn’t be handling stolen goods”. Robert has now become an easy target for the Garda to prosecute - should I have asked him to give a statement? Well it was the straightest thing to do, I couldn’t exactly say I found the bike parked along a wall.

So – we shall see what happens. But once again I ask the question – knowing a bike was probably stolen, would you buy it anyway?

I probably would.

WICKLOW TRI AMPHIBIAN KING AQUATHON SERIES

Pre Nazca heights - making a splash at 4500m in Peru

 

Well I bit the bullet and have entered for another race. No cycling this time. The Aquathon is basically a 750m swim followed by a 5km run which starts at 7.30pm on next Wednesday the 22nd July. Thanks Pete for having an eye for detail – I thought it was 7.30am start…again the mind boggles.

I am also considering going to see the TRI-ATHLONE this Saturday as an exercise in fear. Talking about doing sprint triathlons and actually doing sprint triathlons are two very different things so I figured I would start by taking inspiration by watching triathletes in action. Interestingly enough an old family friend and former swimming buddy, Gavin Noble Ireland’s foremost triathlete is racing. I’m hoping to pick up a few tips in transitioning from the swim to bike.

Which leads me onto the next question – What kind of new bike should I be getting? I want something fast – unfortunately my budget won’t be stretching to the extent of a carbon frame but suggestions are welcome and I am tempted to go second hand.

Why this sudden surge of action you ask? Well, my Daddy once said to me “I’m not fat Emma, I’m curvy!” – and getting curvier every day I told him. I felt amazingly fit when I came back from Peru, and I have decided I want to feel like that every day! Between weddings, catching up with friends and Blacklion’s Fair Day weekend I have been neglecting my training and don’t feel any better or wiser for it. And it’s the best way to beat the Bicycle Blues!

Bicycle Highs and Bicycle Blues

 

Well I did complete the Wicklow 100! Although Pete beat me by a couple of hours due to his lovely Giant racer bike. The Wicklow 1oo was really well organised with excellent tea and sambos halfway through!

 

Unfortunately my little trucker has since been stolen in Dublin…how could I let this happen I ask? Well it was supposed to be en route to Blacklion and unfortunately it was left on its own unlocked for a few minutes and got nabbed. I am hopeful to recover it though as there aren’t too many 13″ Specialized Rockhopper Comps in silver floating around so please keep your eyes peeled!

 

In saying that my next bike will definitely be a racer…and next year I am doing the Wicklow 200. Challenge set. In the meantime I am looking into starting Sprint Triathlons – any advice welcome!

Wicklow 100

On next Sunday the 7th June, I will be testing out my legs once again through the Wicklow Hills. The Wicklow 100 is 100km from UCD through County Wicklow. I am very excited for a couple of reasons – there will be between 2,000 and 3,000 participants – this is my first ever cycling race – if I manage to beat Simon’s Dad I will have reason to gloat! Only joking Pete but I want to test out my legs again, I am ashamed to say that since I got back I have done very little work in the saddle!

If you didn’t get a chance to sponsor me before, please take this chance to donate to Aware online, just click on the following link.

 http://sponsorme.aware.ie/event/revolution-cycle/ejmcgovern/

I have raised over €1,500 at this point I would love to make my target of €2,000 even a fiver can go a long way!

Peace At Last

 

Peace At Last was the name of one of my favourite childrens books. It was about a bear who couldn’t get to sleep at night becaause of all the different sounds, he tried the sofa, the car and lots of different places and finally when he made it back to his own bed it was time to get up! Well I have finished cycling in Peru and I cannot wait to sleep in my own bed.

After finally arriving in Nazca we had a few days off and headed off on the Panamerican highway towards Lima. The first day we did 50km with a roaring headwind and the heat of the desert was searing causing me to arrive in Piqua sodden with sweat once again, in dire need of a shower. We headed off early the next day hoping to cover a good mileage but the headwind was back and the traffic was really stressful with lots of trucks and buses which decide to career on past you with about four inches to spare! I was still feeling pretty awful from a prolonged bout of tummy monsters (I had managed to puke up in a restaurant in Nazca when I arrived!) so I decided call it quits just south of Ica and bus it up to Lima for my final few days in Peru. With 800km on my speedometer and four passes ranging between 3,000 and 4,500m I was pretty pleased that I had lasted so long!

Lima has been beautiful and vibrant, a far cry from a lot of the poverty ridden Andean villages we cycled through with its swanky shops, elegant boulevards and decent coffee. My Revolution Cycle experience pushed me to my limits both in terms of physical effort and comfort levels. I am glad I trained so hard but no amount of training could enable you to keep up with Fearghal & Simon. I am just grateful to have had this short taster of what life will be like for them over the next year until they make it back to Ireland. I am hooked on cycle touring though and am already excited about taking the Specialised up to Killybegs and around Wicklow for the Wicklow 100 race in June. I wish the boys the best of luck over the next 12 months it is tough going but who couldn´t be envious of the task they have laid ahead for themselves, cycling through every kind of landscape, through so many different countries meeting every nationality along the way.

Once again thank you so much to everyone who has sponsored me already, I have raised over EUR1,300 so far which is well on the way to my target of EUR2,000. I may be holding another event in Dublin upon my return once I get over the jetlag! You can sponsor me by clicking on this link

http://sponsorme.aware.ie/event/revolution-cycle/ejmcgovern/

 

Adios Amigos!

Descent from the Andes…Abancay to Nazca

How many days has it been? How many times did my peddles rotate? How many kilometers?! Well almost 700km actually which makes me chuffed! Other statistical information such as average speed, height of passes and other mundane information I leave to the Revolution experts…the Andes are too beautiful for me to care about these things.

Since leaving Cusco I have peddled really really really (insert appropriate colourful Emma language) hard. At first we camped and cycled by a mystical river once the homeplace of bandits. It was uphill all the way and hot hot hot. Having cool rapids streaming past you when the sweat is dripping down your back towards your buttcrack can be infuriating! At least I knew I was working hard according to one theatre techie i used to work with who said you never knew you had worked hard unless you had a sweaty bumcrack to prove it! Sweating into your double padded cycling shorts for days on end is not everyones idea of fun but the sun descending between two mountains at the end of a long days peddling certainly makes it worth it.

The Andes are so varied in their landscape it is difficult to describe. At one point you are cycling through tropical landscape with Cactii and lush greenery on either side of you, insect bites being the physical reminder of feeling tropical. Then you go up a few hundred metres and it is all red clay , big boulders and thatched huts. When we got up very high between 4,000m and 4,500m the landscape becomes barren and somewhat akin to the wiles of Donegal! I think this was my favourite part. We passed clear blue lakes which sparkled enticingly at me and a game of trickery came to mind. Fearghal had cycled on to Nazca at this point so it being just myself and Simon a bit of my drama training came in handy. I had told Simon I was dying to go for a swim (even just to wash…five days camping without a shower) but we were under pressure to make it to Nazca. So when he suggested that we go for a swim (him thinking the cold would put me off) I said, no no no we really need to push on we have another 120km to do and really we should keep on peddling (expedition above cleanliness!) So the next thing he turns onto a dirt path into the lake thinking he had called my bluff! Well I was out of the cycle gear and into the bikini before you could say John Bluff (RIP). It was so cool and refreshing, absolutely freezing of course but so worth it. I even did some Butterfly to recount my glory days! Yes Gillian the hardcore mentality is alive and well thank you. And the odd bit of confunding Revolutionaries is fun.

Harry Potter refererences aside it has to be said the altitude is really tough. Not only is the food fairly assaulting on the stomach (I am just recovering from another bout of liquid motion), but the air is genuinely a lot thinner and on the second last day I just couldn´t get my breath. I had to walk the bike and had a minor panic attack reminiscent of my sisters asthma attacks which genuinely scared me. The trick is to keep breathing. Simon gave me a Sorochi pill which is designed to help with altitude sickness but I think the panic of not being able to breath was worse that the actual shortness of breath. Luckily Simon was calm and collected enough for both of us and the downhill descent from the Andes on Tuesday was wonderful.

The landscape changed from green and barren to hot and dusty with huge desert like mountains and a road literally cut into the rock. A misty blue haze hung over the skyline which led down to the famous Nazca lines. Our downhill was really good fun. I must have passed about 100 workmen with plenty of wolfwhistling to buoy my weary spirit after 9 days of cycling. Sticky and absolutely stinking we arrived in Nazca at mid day to the most welcome shower I have ever had. Even the brief dip in the lake couldn´t expel the feeling of dirt ingrained on your skin.

Tomorrow we depart towards Pisco and Lima with a few days at the beach and a trip to the Ballestas Islands (the Peruvian equivalent to the Galapagos). Photo´s coming soon!!

War Wounds, False Starts & Beurocrap: Cusco to Abancay

 

The Irish enjoy talking about all the problems of the day, in our newspapers, on the TV and in the staffroom over tea and cookies. The Peruvians are a little more active and their way of protest involves a little more than slanderous tongue wagging about the state of Brian Cowens ´moobs´ (man boobs for the uninitiated). Road Blocks are the flavour of the month at the moment, or according to Simon ´just all the time really´. We were supposed to leave Cusco last Monday however Road Blocks had been put in place on every exit.

Thursday last we began out ascent from Cusco. I was very nervous on the bike as I had had a minor accident whilst pleasure cycling on the Tuesday, I basically cycled head on into a storm drain which had the metal bars pointing in the wrong direction, straight forwards so the front wheel of my bike took a woopsy into the drain and I went bum over head over my handlebars and smacked my chin off the tarmac, eek! It was pretty sore and I got a nasty cut underneath my chin with blood spurting everywhere I was pretty shocked for my first time on the bike in South America! A lovely lady called Claudia took us into her home and arranged for her sister to bring us to the Medical Centre where there were huge bottles of Iodine and TCP decanted into big Coke bottles! I was out in half an hour and very impressed with the efficient service. So this is my second cycling warwound! One under my nose from when I fell off the bike cycling to watch Belcoo play football when I was seven (why were we going to watch Belcoo anyways Rachel?!) and now one just under the chin, hardcore.

So Thursday we set off only for Marina’s bag to be stolen in a cafe just outside Cusco, a place called Chica Chica, I say Cheeky Cheeky…we had to go back to Cusco to go through police beurocracy, or beurocrap for short. Check out Revolution Cycle for the juicy details!

Friday we set off again with a good downhill, fairly big pass and a headwind. I was really nervous after my fall but I plugged on and we made it to Limatambo and a hostel which had steel sprung beds, I don´t know how else to describe them! I remember seeing something like that in the Mc Caffrey homestead when i was about eight or something, mad. We then cycled up up up and I was hot hot hot! Day two was tough with lots of insect bites and heat. Day Three we continued up the 4500m pass and I was so chuffed averaging about 8km per hour which was good going I can tell you (the previous day I averaged about 5km per hour just about walking speed!). The climb was beautiful with snow topped peaks to either side and really green landscape. It is actually so beautiful it´s impossible to describe. All the houses are made out of red clay which contrasts against the green, Simons beard would be an accurate enough shade of likeness!

Peddling through without lunch we eventually made it to the top after thinking we were there about 5 times.

75km uphill = 30km STEEP downhill WEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

I made a topspeed of 50km per hour! Hurrah!

Macchu Picchu

Hola Chicas!!

Just a quick post to say I have been in Peru for a week now luxuriating as a proper tourist! The cycling will begin on Monday. I landed in Cusco after 30 hours of travelling very very tired last Saturday however I have since recovered to see the procession of Christ in the Playa del Armes, Cusco on Monday which was very moving, lots of gold with red and black feathers on a black Christ. On Wednesday, myself, the lads and fellow Revolutionary Marina headed off on a4 day tour of the Sacred Valley, Inca trail, thermal baths and Macchu Picchu.

Unfortunately food poisoning struck me down for day two of the tour however I was fully recovered to visit Macchu Picchu today…words cannot describe it has been the most incredible day. We arose at 4.30am to hike up to the entrance which was fairly tough on my not so thighs of steel! It was worth every step though. I will post photo´s as soon as I can.

Cycling starts Monday and I am looking forward to testing my bike out. I will have to chuck out one or two items before departure…I´m sure Rachel is saying I told you so at this point!

Oh, and I saw my first hummingbird today!

Crack in the Black

 

Emma with DJ Cyclone (how appropriate!)

 

Gerry Eddy thumbs up to the Revolution!

 

With Rachel & Shelly

 

Not so little brother gets on board!

 

Well Frank Eddies Bar Blacklion was pumping with the sounds of DJ Cyclone last night for the fundraiser!

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far – I am proud to say that over €1,200 has been raised to date!

This brings me over halfway to my target of €2,000.

Thanks to Gerry Eddy who provided the venue! Ciaran Nolan for providing the awesome sounds and glowsticks a plenty!

And a big thank you to everyone who sponsored a raffle prize – Neven Maguire of MacNean Bistro, Clara Martin of The Custom’s House, Roy Street of The Olive Grove, Cox’s Supermarket, Eamonn’s Piano Bar, The Bush Bar, Mc Cann’s Spar Belcoo and Leo’s Off-Licence Belcoo.

I have overwhelmed by the support from people for Revolution Cycle and AWARE.

You can still sponsor me online – just click on the following link!
http://sponsorme.aware.ie/event/revolution-cycle/ejmcgovern/

Many Thanks,

Emma Jane