In 2008 after I competed in the World Championships in Vancouver I said to myself I would like to do it again. In 2009 they were going to be in the Gold Coast in Oz and I wasn’t prepared to go half way across the world again to compete. So I started thinking about 2010 when they would be in Budapest. I also knew that the Europeans were going to be in Athlone that year. It was also the year I would move up to the next Age Group category 55-59 and be one of the youngest in that age group. I thought 2010 was going to be my year, the year I win the European and World Championships.

Fast forward to Athlone July 4^th 2010. Time to piss or get off the pot!  

I prepared well on the morning of the race. In the transition area I got everything in place and rehearsed the routes in and out several times. Everything was set and I was in good time for the start.

While I was waiting at the start area I talked to John Bruton, who is a local and in my wave (different AG). He knows the river, and he told me the best position to be in for the swim. I also decided I needed to try and stay near him at the beginning of the swim, because he is a better swimmer than me.

The holding pen for the wave starts was quite roomy and carpeted so I was able to do some good warm up exercises whilst waiting. I then took about a minute to do a resource anchoring exercise I have recently developed. It involves closing my eyes, relaxing and thinking about the people in my life who are important to me which now include Alice Elizabeth Molloy, my beautiful granddaughter.  I finish up feeling my dads supportive hand on my shoulder and he is telling me he is with me. I open my eyes knowing he is with me and I am ready to race. I bring him with me and this time I bring Alice too.

I went down to the start. The adrenaline and the music were pumping whilst I continued my warm up with some Masai jumps to the sound of ‘Jump Around’ by the House of Pain. Just before we got into the water I cut loose with some serious air guitar work to the sound of ‘Beat It’ by Michael Jackson. Then we were in the water, no warm up and we were off.

I started off fast, but only for about 10 strokes and then settled down. I felt comfortable and strong and no breathing problems. Kept it steady, but after the first turnaround I felt the group I was swimming with were going a bit slow for me so I decided I needed to catch up with the guys further ahead. I caught up with them at the second turnaround and drafted off them till the finish. Came out of the water feeling fresh and strong and had a good run up to the bike.

Transition was fast and smooth.

The bike leg out was very hard with a strong headwind, but I flew back on the return leg along with everybody else. I am not sure what to make of my performance on the bike. I thought it was good, but I don’t think it was great. I think I lost concentration from time to time and probably lost a bit of pace at the same time. I was a bit worried about the impact of the cycle out into the headwind, so I had half a gel near the end of the bike as a bit of an insurance policy for the run.

Transition 2 was relatively fast and smooth although my right quad cramped up a bit as I tried to put my right shoe on. I relaxed and was a bit more careful putting the left shoe on.

I started well on the run, but I was tired. I wanted to try and keep it steady for the first 2 laps and then try and speed up for the last. I was also trying to stay focused, but I started wondering how I was doing in my AG. After 2 laps I realised I hadn’t seen Stephen O Toole, one of my Irish rivals in my AG, but then I saw him coming after me as I turned around for the start of lap 3. Stephen had beaten me before, he is a good runner and usually if he can see me on he run he can beat me. I tried to dig in, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold him off. I thought I’d blown it and any thoughts of winning my AG were gone. He caught me about half way around the 3^rd lap. I tried to stay with him, but couldn’t. My pace dropped and I was deflated.  By the beginning of the last lap when I saw that he was way ahead of me and his position was unassailable I started rehearsing how I was going to congratulate him, things like “Well done, the best man won etc.” I recovered a bit of my composure on the run up through the town and thought that I still needed to finish strong. I upped my pace and sprinted up the finishing chute and raised my hands high in the air, as is customary, and crossed the line. I was pretty exhausted and after I got my breath I went off to find Stephen to congratulate him. He was nowhere to be seen. I found my family and chatted to them for a while, but said I had to go and find Stephen. It started dawning on me that maybe he didn’t actually overtake me in the race and he was probably a lap behind me. I met some of my club mates and explained my confusion about how I did. I went off for a bit of a warm down jog and then did my stretching routine. I went back to the finishing area and then I met Stephen. He had just finished. He was confused as well. He thought he had beaten me too, but wondered why he hadn’t seen me coming after him as he started his last lap. We both then realised that it was me that had come in first of the two of us as he was a lap behind me! The question then was whether anybody had beaten me at all?

I checked the results later and I had come in 2^nd place, in 2.16.08, 1 minute 10 seconds behind Andrew Girling from Great Britain. I was delighted, but I immediately started thinking about the whole thing with Stephen and how much losing focus and being discouraged by something that actually didn’t happen had affected my performance on the last 2 laps. I probably could have won it if I had had kept my mind on the job in hand and my eyes on the road in front of me! 

However what’s done is done. I have won a Silver Medal at the European Championships. Well Done Jim!

Lesson learned:

·       Stay Focused

Possible improvements

·       Swim – I got a lot of confidence from my swim. Generally my swim performances in races do not reflect my performances in the pool. In races I am sometimes reluctant too push it because of a fear of experiencing breathing difficulties. I now think there could be a 30 seconds or 1 minute improvement possible in a race when I don’t succumb to fear.

·       Bike – Not really too sure. I feel I could have been stronger. Maybe doing some cycle races would help with strength.

·       Run – Stay Focused, Stay Steady & Stay Strong. Have confidence in my ability and learn to compete on the run! 

The goal I set back in 2008 was to win the European & World Championships in my AG in 2010. I made it quite a public goal which is quite a risky strategy. It’s difficult to specify winning a race as a goal, because there are so many factors beyond your control. It can also be embarrassing when you fall flat on your face in the race and get no where near the podium. Thankfully that didn’t happen and I almost achieved exactly the goal I set, but 2^nd place in Europe is pretty cool and half the job is done. I will just have to do better next time.

Next time will be the World Championships, a bigger stage, bigger prize. The Brits and all the Europeans will be there again, and the Yanks, the Canadians, the Aussies, the Kiwis, the Chinese, the Japanese and I’ll be there to try and put them all in the halfpenny place! Let the games begin!

I would like to thank Gavin Noble, my coach, for helping me get to the Europeans in good shape and ready to rock! I would also like to thank Wicklow Triathlon Club for getting me there too. Our swim and run coaches and other individuals who have taught me stuff and who I have trained with. Also I would like to thank Cameron McKeever for looking after my muscles and tendons and Darragh Flynn for growing the wheatgrass that I have a shot of every day.

My family of course need a mention; my beautiful wife, Ruthie, my beautiful girls, Katharine, Lizzie and Molly and especially my beautiful granddaughter Alice Elizabeth Molloy, my sister and brothers and their respective families and my Ma and Da - they are always with me.  

Jim Corbett, Silver Medallist, AG 55-59 European Triathlon Championships 2010