Celtic Tri-Nations is on in Swansea from may 27th – 29th. Tri-Nations is always a good competition and there are usually some fast swimmers to race against. It is the the first time since 2009 that I am swimming for an Irish team at international competition. There is something different about racing for Ireland when it’s against Celts from two other countries. There is a similar quiet competitiveness amongst the three nations that can make racing each other very interesting.
Day one is the 200 fly for me, the heats were a pleasant surprise. A 2.07.0 was a good swim in the heats and 2.07.1 added an air of consistency to my day. Big swims from my team mates as well today, Karl Burdis on the men’s 4 x 100 freestyle relay that saw them win the race and Niamh O’Sullivan as part of the women’s 4 x 200 freestyle relay with the Irish girls dominating from start to finish.
Day two was my main event, the 400IM. I had no racing in the morning but the final of the 400IM in the afternoon session. My time was a 2.39 which is PB +12sec, not a great swim by any stretch of the imagination but I followed up with an ok swim on the men's 4 x 200 freestyle relay. The whole team had a busy night of racing and I think some of us were the feeling it a bit.But some words of wisdom from Coach Banks reassured us in what we had to do the next day.
Day three, I hadn’t been feeling great on the final day of the gala, a bit of an upset stomach, the details are a bit gruesome. I took the heat swim in the morning at a “steady” pace, touching in a 2.19. For my afternoon swim I decided to have a go despite not feeling well. Clocking a 2.09 was a good swim I thought all things considered. Our guys 4 x 100 Medley relay put up a really good fight, leading at the half way mark, only to be touched out at the wall by Scotland in a tight finish.
Sometimes you just have to get up and get the job done as best as you can, you never know what your situation may be come a big meet. A valuable learning experience. It’s always important to have something to bring back to the training pool from a swim meet, even if it didn’t meet all your expectations.
Getting a blackberry in the very near future, my tweets are going to be awesome….YEAH SON! http://twitter.com/#!/Swynning_Man89
Results: http://www.welshasa.co.uk/liveresults/
