Mr Spencer Smith

 

Our thanks to Spencer Smith for an enjoyable cycle last night and we wish him the best of luck tomorrow in Tri-Athy.
More Photo,s to follow.
MF

Helping out on Friday

Hi Everyone,

We have a major job on our hands putting up, organising and labelling the transition area in Emily Square on Friday evening. (Please let me know if you can come earlier than 6 too).

I would be grateful for any time anyone can spare after 6pm to help with this. The more the merrier, the faster we all get home for what is going to be a HUGE day on Saturday.

Likewise, taking it all down from 3pm on Saturday will be made easier if as many people as possible can be around to help.

TriAthy Volunteers at 77

We're just at our initial target. With 77 volunteers, all the major stations are now covered for the race, with more people than last year for transition, the turnarounds and the cycle course.

There are a few positions still to be filled, so by all means let me know if someone wants to come along and help out.

Thank you again over the last two weeks!

PS Willie has just edged ahead of maeve Bracken - its now 8-7!

70 Volunteers now confirmed - Thank you!

Well done everyone. I will keep taking names right up until Friday morning - so don't give up yet!

Results from Test Tri3

Results from yesterdays Test Tri 3 and a brilliant report from Damien Marshall can be found at http://www.trilogy.ie/RRTri32008.html. Thanks again to all involved.

A few updates on TriAthy

1. We're at 62 confirmed volunteers. Last year we had 68 - one last push, lets beat it. Well done to everyones hard work so far with this.
2. We are expecting 100+ on Sunday in the Barrow. Its a great time for Trilogy, wear your gear with pride and join in the swim. Tea / Coffee and bag-packing afterwards in Athy.
3. Over the next 2 days volunteers will be getting a text regarding volunteer briefing for Athy. This year there will be the option of a briefing in Portlaoise on Tuesday night 9pm, in Athy on Wednesday, after the Barrow swim or on race morning. It would be a big help if you could be available on Tuesday or Wednesday leaving Staurday for non-local volunteers.
4. Former World Champion Spencer Smith arrives on Tuesday in Portlaoise. Sinead will be taking care of Spencer and his wife during his stay, and we hope that he might join us in some of our training. Another occassion to wear the Trilogy gear with pride!

Duathlon 2 results now online

Sorry for the delay - click here

Duathlon 2, Delayed Results & Report

Hi all.
Due to a technical fault, the times and race report for last night are delayed, but will be available tomorrow along with the Test Tri results and reports.
Apologies for the delay.

As I am up to my eyes with TriAthy work, I would also like someone to volunteer to write tomorrows race report. You can be either a competitor or one of the people watching / marshalling.
Please text me if you can help.

Dooley TriAthy Volunteers Prize

We are up to 56 Now. Well done everyone. There are still at least another 24 places to be filled by Trilogy, that’s well over €2,000 more. Keep up the volunteer ideas – we’ll get there yet.

If you need inspiration, take a look at the top table. Maeve Bracken is favourite to take the prize here – either a Trilogy Winter Jacket or Trilogy Tri Suit for Maeve if she stays on top come race day.

1st Place – Maeve Bracken (7 volunteers)
2nd Place – Willie Fitzpatrick, Pawel Debakowski (5 each)
3rd Place – Alan Phelan, Tom Downey, Shane Delaney Sinead Wearen (3 volunteers)

More gear being ordered

The final order for Summer 2008 is going in today. If you haven’t got any gear yet and would like to order some, please contact Karl ASAP. Delivery time will be before end of June.

Also, if you have the gear already but need a size change, also contact Karl ASAP.

Prices for gear is €40.00 for the cycling top, €40.00 for the run top, €80.00 for the tri-suit and €80.00 for the Winter Jacket. Package deal is all four items for €200.00 (save €40.00).

You can pay now or when the items arrive in June. Standing Order payment also available (€40 per month for 5 months, for example, on the full set of gear).

Night Owl Wanted!

We need someone to look after the Dooley TriAthy transition area overnight before the race – not wanting to risk all our good work in transition ending up in the Barrow!

If anyone could consider doing a few hours from midnight to 4:30am before the race, please contact Karl. It would be a big help!

Information Night 19/05/08

TRILOGY TRIATHLON CLUB
Information Night 19/05/08
Portlaoise leisure centre 7.30pm


Agenda

7.30 Opening of Meeting (Karl)

7.40 Swimming & Transition (Sinead)

7.50 Cycling (Murt)

8.00 Running (willie)

Questions & Answers.

8.15 Update on Tri-Athy

8.30 Break for Coffee

8.45 Andrea Ryan (Glanbia)

9.30 Meeting Concludes.

MF.

Dooley TriAthy Trial Swim & Goodie Bag Fill - Sun 25 May

There is a ‘trial swim’ planned for Dooley TriAthy next Sunday (25 May) at 2pm. Your participation and help would be appreciated – there could be large numbers of people there, so all experience is valued. We will pretty much follow the safety rules of the Wednesday night swim, with Trilogy people dotted around the swim crowd keeping an eye out for incidents.

After the swim, I need apx 8 helpers to fill 1500 goodie bags in Athy – the more help the faster we get the job done. This is a great way to get children involved too. If we get 8-10 pairs of hands I estimate the whole operation will take less than an hour.

Thanks as always for all the support and help.

Missed TriAthy on Radio 1?

Click here to hear Brians interview on the Saturday Sports Show (needs Windows Media Player). (c) RTE 2008

Lisbon Report and Photos

Trish's report from Lisbon is now online.

Click here to read it.

Thanks to Dockweiler and Leinster Sports Clinic for their help with the trip. The prize of a recovery massage goes to Finn Ryan. Well done all, enjoy the photos and keep any more of them coming my way!

Information Night

Our information night is on this Monday and it is being held in the new Portlaoise Leisure Centre(Where we do our swimming). It starts at 7.30pm an it will last about an hour and thirty minutes. The Information Night is open invitation – so come along
and bring a friend. We will take you through the sport of
triathlon, tell you more about what Trilogy is all about,
and if you like what you hear, you can even join on the
night.
We will also be hearing from Miss Andrea Ryan who is a
nutritionist from Glanbia Ireland and this will be of great benefit to all our existing members, there will be some
goodies and information to take away, and tea, coffee and
refreshments will be served.
MF

43 Confirmed Volunteers

Well done and thank you to all of you who have answered the call for volunteers.

43 is just over half way. We still need 30 more volunteers during race time (8am to 3pm). Theres still thousands of euros to be earned for the club.

Remember - if you are racing, we expect you to provide at least 2 volunteers.

Register online or text Karl.

Dooley TriAthy Volunteers now up to 25

Thanks to everyone who registered today. See the sidebar for more details. We still need at least 50 more people - if you know someone who can't access the website, please ask them to text me.

TriAthy Volunteers - C'mon everybody!

Registration for volunteers has been open for one week, and so far just 12 (yes 12)helpers have volunteered (see sidebar).

C'mon guys, aren't we supposed to be one of the biggest clubs in the country? Last year we had over 60 helpers, this year we need 80.

TriAthy is now just 16 days away, don't let the opportunity to raise €8,000 for your club go elsewhere.

Register yourself and your friends now! - Click Here.

PS Free Tri-suit, Jacket or run top & cycling for the person who nominates the most people.

Trilogy Gear is here

If you are waiting on a back order of gear, please contact Karl ASAP. Your order is waiting to be collected. We will be accepting new orders at the open night on Monday.

New Summer Training Schedule

Trilogy announce a new training schedule starting today. This schedule will run until the end of the season, and is mainly focussed on mid-week evening workouts.

The new schedule has been put together by a few committed souls, who I would like to thank on the clubs behalf - Murt Keane is looking after the cycle on Thursday and Saturday; Willie the brick session at the Heath on Tuesdays, Simon the new forest / trail run on Mondays at Togher and Stephen the outdoor swim in the Barrow on Wednesdays.

By and large you can expect these sessions to go ahead, except where racing or other club events get in the way. Next Monday's run will be put to one side while we have a club meeting (Open Night), likewise the cycle on Saturdays 24 May and 31 May will not take place due to Test Tri 3 and TriAthy respectively.

Read all about the New Schedule here.

Bring a guest to training

As you may already know, next week we are holding an Open Night - perfect for making the introduction to your club. what you may not already know is that we now have a facility to allow you bring guests along to a training session without first having TI membership. So they can 'try' a session or two and then decide whether to apply for TI membership or not.

Just two rules:

1. Guests must fill out a form - download it here

2. Guest memberships cannot be used for Test Tri or Test Duathlon events (you must be full or associate TI card holder to participate in these)

Castlewellan Triathlon

Hi All,
The following have been entered into The Mourne Olympian Triathlon at Castlewellan. Sinead Wearen, Brian Bohnam, Simon Tsang, Karl McCann, William Fitzpatrick, Padraig Crossan, Eimear Mathews, Mark O Sullivan, Stephen O Toole.
For more information and times and dates see our website reports. Cost is €40 and payable to Taco or Noel Territt.

http://www.trilogy.ie/RRCastlewellan2008.html

For the Triathlon itself see,

http://www.mournetriathlon.com/mainpage1.html

Thanks
MF

TriAthy - Volunteers Now Wanted

Just over 3 weeks to go now to TriAthy 2008, and I am putting the call out officially.

80-100 Trilogy Volunteers needed on race day, plus a few more on Friday.

Come out and support your race, and your club. Sign up yourself, and sign up a few friends or family for the day - your support gives Trilogy funds to develop your club.

Click here to start.

PS Trilogy TriSuit or Jacket to the person who volunteers most people.

Joey Hannon Memorial Triathlon 2008(Miriam Geaney)

In January 2008 I was introduced to my first ever Spin Class .This wasn’t my first attempt at embarking on increased Cardio Vascular work, I had been attempting to run since November of 2007! I found that I was very obviously unfit, but I also had serious problems with staying on a bike for any short period of time without encountering massive issues around walking the next day. I persevered though, with the encouragement of the others in the class and under the expert tutelage of Deirdre Ryan our instructor. I began to secretly enjoy the sessions as I noticed the improvements from week to week. I even made the huge decision to buy a bike shortly after commencing the classes. This would give me the incentive to continue on my journey towards participating in my first ever triathlon in the Summer of 2009.
Now that I was engaging in the cycling and running aspect of Triathlon, I had to look at the third aspect of what it would take to be able to participate fully. I couldn’t swim! Sure, I could stay up in the water with my own version of a breast stroke, but I knew that this would impede my making any serious attempt at doing a triathlon in the future. Trilogy had that one covered also, Stephen O Toole had generously assumed the role of instructor to the Newbies in Portlaoise Leisure Centre, alongside Bobby Behan who was instructing the more experienced swimmers. With this kind of input from the Club, I had all the necessary support structures in place, to achieve my goal of taking part in a Triathlon.
I first heard about the ‘Joey Hannon Memorial Triathlon’ at the Trilogy AGM. I left that meeting, realising that at some point during the night, I had signed up for that Triathlon and two other events! What was I thinking? Had the increased oxygen levels in my system driven me over the edge! I had the encouragement of another new member, Louise Mooney. We realised later that we had talked each other into it, and we, barely able to stay afloat in the pool. Surely, 500m was attainable? It was, if one could swim!
I focussed entirely on the ‘Joey Hannon Triathlon’, in the months that followed .Even more poignant, was the fact that I had known Joey personally. He hailed from the same village in Co. Limerick as I had and the man had the unfortunate experience of trying to teach me in sixth class in the local primary school in Croom. He subsequently moved on from the Educational field, one wonders why!! It was this triathlon event that had me training consistently over the next three months, that, and the massive support from my new training partner, Ms Mooney.
Murt Keane and Mick Farrell had the roles of cycling and running mentors. Would they be able to achieve the unattainable and have us ready to take on the ’Joey Hannon’ challenge on May 4th 2008?
As if by some horrendous, mysterious and damning series of events, I awoke at one a.m. two a.m, three thirty a.m. and finally five a.m. on the morning of May 4th 2008, Triathlon Day. By 5.40 a.m, with the help of Mick Farrell and Kevin Conroy, we had the bikes on the rack. Ominous looking clouds gathered as we headed south.



Uppermost in our minds was that the pool would test us. Nice and slow, we had been warned time and again, to take the pool easy. Several times on the way down, I threatened to turn around. Louise was a rock, supporting me fully every time I suggested it. By the time we hit Moneygall, there was no going back, the much needed toilet facilities were nearer to us in Limerick.
It is difficult to describe the way I felt when we hit the campus in U.L. It was a mixture of fear, excitement and determination. Too much work had gone into the training to opt out now. If I could get out of the pool in one piece, I knew that I would complete the race.
My sister had come in from Croom to soak up the atmosphere, but I couldn’t take anything in at that point with the mounting nerves and anxiety. In her view, I was already a winner, I was there, I was prepared to try, and prepared to humiliate myself publicly in order to do so!
I walked to my swim lane with trepidation, and positioned myself last in the swim order as advised. With the encouragement of my Trilogy brothers and sisters at the far end of the 50m pool, I managed to swim, length after length, nice and easy until I emerged triumphant if not very shaky at the end of my 500m swim. That, for me, was the ultimate achievement, fourteen weeks earlier, I couldn’t swim. I could have cried with exultation at that point. I had other business to complete however, and by God was I going to finish it now.
Getting to the bike and having a fairly decent transition, I felt totally invigorated. I was doing it, it was happening, I was one of 200 cycling 26km on a glorious day in Limerick. I have never enjoyed a cycle as much. I was on a high having survived the pool.
I returned to U.L. about an hour later to the sound of cheering and clapping from the crowd assembled, it was as if I had come back from some serious mission and had saved the nation in the interim.
The 5km run was next. Running has never been my forte. I was aware that I would not enjoy the huge effort this would take.
I thought of Joey. I knew he knew me, I asked him for his help. For his endurance, his Strength, his Stamina, but most of all for his Spirit, so that I would keep it going now, being so close to finishing. He came through for me, as he did for the countless others who embarked on the Sprint and Olympic challenges that day. I finished in 1:55:15, it was my dream come true, another goal achieved, one I thought impossible just a few months previous.
So where do we go from here? As one who has never been in open water, I can say that it is to get into a wet suit, and out of it. The Barrow beckons, as we continue on our journey this first season towards Dunmore East and the new challenges awaiting us there. I know we can do it now. Trilogy Triathlon Club is committed to helping members achieve their personal goals. My dream was realised in the club, not just from an athletic perspective but also from a personal one, in the friendship and camaraderie that is the essence of what Trilogy and Triathlon is all about.

Yours in Triathlon
Mir

Mourne Triathlon (Castlewellan)

Hi All,
Mourne Triathlon (Castlewellan) is now open, this is an Olympic distance. It takes place on Sat 2 Aug. the cost is €40 euro and please text me in Lisbon and I will hopefully get everyone registed before all the places go. At this moment there is 245 so if they start dropping I will eneter those who have alredy sent me a text.
See web site below

http://www.mournetriathlon.com/mainpage1.html

MF

Limerick Report & Photos

We had three Age Group winners and one top-ten overall finish at Joey Hannon. Click below to read Roys report, find out who our winners were and see some great photos.

Read On

Introducing the Trilogy Youth Squad

A quiet revolution is taking place every Saturday morning over in Portarlington. So much so that it may come as quite a surprise to all of you to know that we now have a 20-strong group of Trilogy Youths, training away and coming to a race near you soon.

Our best kept secret is down to the dedication and work of two of our members - Eimear Mathews and Sinead Wearen. While most of us have been training or racing each Saturday morning, Eimear has been working with this squad - firstly in the pool, and then out on the streets of Portarlington. Sinead, mean time, has been putting in place all the foundations of a youth squad - membership forms, race development, organising supervision training, committee meetings etc.

So I would now like to introduce you all to the new squad - you will be seeing and reading much more about them this Summer. And I would like to say a BIG welcome to all our new members!

Read on for a special report Sinead has written about this weekends training, and some photos from the occassion. Trilogy Youth Squad Report.

Joey Hannan

Hi All,
Meeting place and times for Joey Hannan are all on the link below. Remember to bring your new T.I cards, if anyone who has not got their T.I. number contact me Saturday. Temperatures likely to reach into the low twenties in places so bring sun block.
MF


http://www.trilogy.ie/RRJoey2008.html

Wanted: Field Reporter

Would any of the people going to Joey Hannon (Preview here) be so kind as to offer the rest of us a few words - and maybe even a few pictures - from Joey Hannon this weekend? Roy did a great job with Nenagh - is there anyone else perhaps taking on a tri for the first time and would like to share the experience?

Please contact Karl if you would like to help.

New Photos Added - Thanks Anna

Anna has sent on some extra shots from last Saturdays Test Tri (see here) and also some photos from the first Duathlon (17 April). Click here for the new Duathlon gallery.