Training for an Ironman triathlon is not an easy task. Athletes spend hours every day preparing their bodies for the 3km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run. It’s a big ask for anyone to find these hours, working a fulltime job and balancing commitments to a spouse or partner. Eve McCrystal tackled this challenge less than a year after giving birth to her and partner Niall Casey’s second child.
The Ironman bug bit Eve when, at the Carlingford Lough Endurance Challenge in 2006, she and good friend Sheena Dullaghan saw some Dundalkers wearing Ironman tee shirts, having just completed the race in Frankfurt, Switzerland. “I bet we can do that,” Sheena said. Though she didn’t have a clue what an Ironman was, Eve agreed. This joking exchange launched an epic adventure which would see both women attain fantastic achievements.
Eve started training, not following a programme or making use of a personal trainer. “I was completely green,” she says now. She’s very hard on herself, though, and managed to build up the fitness needed to do her first Ironman in 2007. She felt the distance suited her, and undertook to do another Ironman soon, but partner Niall had his turn first when he travelled to Switzerland for this prestigious race in 2009.
Eve set her sights on the same Ironman race for 2010, but October 2009 saw daughter Nessa’s needs added to their family life. Eve’s first and foremost priority was her children, but with loads of help, she didn’t need to shelve her goals. “If not for the grandparents, I wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Eve says. Both her and Niall’s parents helped mind the children, while Eve herself did what was needed to not let her intense training take her away from the two little girls too much. It often meant getting up long before dawn so as to complete her day’s exercise before they woke. Niall put his own triathlon goals second while supporting her in hers.
The big day arrived, and Eve smiled right through it, though her muscles really hurt on the run. This gruelling physical challenge is what she loves, what suits her personality and body. “On Ironman day, anything can happen. You must be prepared for things to go wrong. It can be lashing rain or howling wind. Your mind is what gets you through that.” She was shocked when she crossed the finish line and saw her time: an astonishing 10:27:01, placing her 7th in her age group.
Eve led the Garda team in the EU Police Triathlon Championships in Kitzbuehel, Germany, on 15 August 2010. While an Olympic distance triathlon is shorter with a 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run, athletes push themselves harder to go faster, and she didn’t enjoy this race as much as the earlier Ironman.
Her goal for the rest of the year was to take it easy for a while and just enjoy her children. That doesn’t mean Eve stopped training. “When I train, it helps me relax, it’s good for my soul. It makes me a better person, and in turn a better mum.” When you see happy Nessa bouncing in her mother’s arms, you have to agree Eve is onto a winning formula.
