Life after Ironman Austria

Right now I am sitting in my living room, weeks after my successful race, trying to write this blog post. I have so many thoughts running through my head, I really don't know where to start. So much has happened since my return from Austria… I was welcomed back by my teammates and a delicious cake (made by rising baking star Jen). I received cards, flowers, and lots of congratulations from so many friends. It was quite overwhelming to be honest.....as I was still a bit shocked by what I had just accomplished. My main focus over the coming weeks was to simply recover and also to keep my fitness..... “active recovery”. Luckily my body arrived back from Austria in good shape. I didn't have any signs of niggles, injuries, or tightness. I was a bit tired overall from the lack of sleep but that was mainly because I was buzzing with excitement. After a couple of days off I was back into swim, bike, run, repeat but with very low intensity; just enough to enjoy myself. And oh yes I did enjoy myself… Relaxed, pedestrian paced cycles with coffee stops felt really good, short swims giving me enough time to have breakfast in peace, without rushing off to work, easy jogs with my legs moving just enough to keep my body and mind ticking over.....I loved active recovery! However while my body was resting, my mind was racing at top speed. So many things to think of now! Kona......how do I get there, what about accommodation, flights, finances? "OMG, where do I start?" I don't think I have ever spent so much time in my life staring at the computer, researching, reviewing, emailing, and writing. While I was occupied with these thoughts, my friend Charlie came up with the idea of contacting a website called Pledgesport.org. It's an organisation that helps athletes fund their training and racing expenses by creating a platform for the athlete to engage with the public and share their experiences online. The idea really stuck in my mind. I hoped that if I shared my story it could potentially help to solve my financial challenges for Kona, but also inspire and motivate other athletes on their way to success. So I decided to take a step into unknown and (with a little help from Kev) I created a project called "Road to Kona" on the Pledgesport.org site. It is now successfully running and I am sincerely amazed by the support of people who have kindly contributed to my funding page. Literally every Euro contributed gets me a step closer to Kona, so I truly appreciate all the support. I am now 4 days back into full training after my 3 weeks of active recovery. I am starting to build up towards the Lost Sheep - the Irish Middle Distance National Championships, which takes place in Kenmare, Co. Cork on August 29th. It will be my only pre-Kona race and I am so excited to compete with the best of the Irish field. I have completed my first paced run in training and it went very well. I was only allowed to run 8km at 4.20/km but it felt good to re-join the group sessions again. Power tap (high intensity indoor cycling) sessions followed three days later; that one was a bit more difficult to conquer! I looked like a lobster both during and after but I really enjoyed the satisfaction of completing it. My swim lane-mate Liamo (Mr.Invincible) just got back in time from holidays to start challenging me in the pool again.... So the easy stuff is over for me now, the hard work is coming up....and I feel ready for it.......bring it on! I would like to dedicate this blog post to my father, who was hospitalised last week. His heart failed after running up the stairs (Don't do that again Dad, you are not the Ironman in this family!). Hope you get well soon!

Huge thanks to Elinor+Richard Krock for their kind and generous support!!!!Amazing! Its very much appreciated! : )

Thank you Aileen Flynn for your contribution! xo

Thank you to Alan Duggan for your kind donation! Thank you Mary Ward for you support!

A big thank you to another great supporter Jozef Jurkulak