Tara is now back in Australia and preparing for Ironman Hawaii. While our Irish athletes are getting into the swing of yet another season, Tara has taken a well earned break from training. After 3 Ironman and 6 Half Ironman races in under 12 months, her time back in Ireland with family and friends was well deserved.
From triathlon Ireland Website : www.triathlonireland.com Please read on to hear more from Tara……
I’m back in Brisbane just over a week now after spending 4 weeks at home in Ireland. A well deserved break from training and a nice opportunity to recharge my batteries after a big year. 3 ironman competitions and 6 half ironman competitions in less than 12 months, I definitely needed a bit of time off.
I had a wonderful opportunity to enjoy some active recovery sessions with Bryan Harvey from Pulse Tri Club and some additional cycling with Liam Maguire from Drogheada. Managed to get around on a borrowed bike for a while and had some decent laughs with the lads but time just slipped away far too quickly and I didn’t manage to catch up with everyone. I did however get the opportunity to meet lots of fellow triathletes around Kells, Dublin, Drogheda and a jolly old fella Ruaidhri from Setanta Tri Club. I am really overwhelmed with the support from everyone back at home and I am particularly thankful for all the words of encouragement and support. Brian C, Peter Sav, Bobby, lisa Horg….it was great to chat and catch up.
My trip home also proved fruitful with an opportunity to finally meet the faces of Tri Irland and also Rob and Damien from Wheelwork and Amphibian King whom are both suporting me in the lead up to Hawaii. Both lads have been exceptionally helpful and supportive in many ways and their backing has been most welcome as the small things can sometimes be ‘big things’ when you live 23,000 miles away from home and family. So a huge thank you goes out to them both for the time they invested in me during my visit home and for the future.
Last week and this week is all about settling back into life here in Oz as I started a new job last Monday. Lots of change and it’s important for me to find my routine again but I finally feel that I am over my jet lag and I’m starting to settle a little better.
Balancing training with my new job is going to be the hardest aspect of my return as I have had a career change and with that, there’s plenty to learn and additional pressure!
Anyhow, I have been back to training every day since my return but no hard sessions just yet, my program at the moment highlights a slow and gradual build up in the coming weeks. I’m back on track again and looking forward to the weeks ahead.
Lastly, I’d also like to say a huge ‘thank you’ to a number of small local business’s in the Drogheda area and to a number of individuals for their help and much appreciated support in my lead up to Hawaii. It’s nice to know that I have that backing and belief in me as an athlete to succeed and their help is genuinely appreciated.
Catch you next week with ‘the plan’, some pics and hopefully I’ll be a little more settled into my routine. It’s now time to loose those 3kg’s that I put on while at home on holliers, it seems as if I enjoyed the Irish chocolate a little too much!!
