Sheena Dullaghan is like an explosion in slow motion. She exhudes a sense of energy, of expectancy, as if something good is about to happen. If you get to know her better, you find this impression is correct.
The trim brunette’s interest in triathlons was first peaked about four years ago, when she and partner Peter Tomany watched Camlough tri. “We got a great buzz from it,” she says. Though they were both fit and active, it was still a big undertaking when they decided to tackle this multi-discipline sport themselves. Her background was in running, not competetive cycling, and she could barely swim.
Sheena loves endurance sports, though, and persevered with swimming lessons and hours on the saddle to prepare for her first triathlon. “I hated the cycling at first, but I carried on with it as I felt so guilty over the expense of the bike,” she explains with a laugh. “I told myself I’d give it a year, and if I still hated it, I’d stop.” She learned to like cycling, enough at least for her to stick to her triathlon plans. Completing Castlewellan sprint- and Carlingford Olympic distance tri cemented Sheena’s place in the sport. Setanta’s Masters Swimming sessions on Saturday mornings at Felda helped a lot. “That’s the worst of the three for me, the swimming, because it’s so monotonous. Everyone has a favourite in triathlon, and a second favourite, and a least favourite.”
Once the triathlon bug had well and truly bitten, Sheena tackled a Half Ironman in Austria in 2009. Yet when she’d completed the 1.9km swim, the 90km cycle and 21km run, it somehow felt incomplete. The logical next goal was a full Ironman triathlon, with a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and 42km run. Training hard – alongside good friend Eve McCrystal whenever possible – not even a broken foot could stand in her way. On 25 July 2010, she reached her goal, finishing the Zurich Ironman in a fine time of 11:20:26.
Training for this gruelling event led to a very regimented, very focused lifestyle, where you had to be on top of things. “I found it very difficult to come down from that, after the race. It’s only now, two months later, that I feel I can take it easy. The Dublin marathon is coming up. But I’ll give it a miss.” She looks thoughtful. “Or maybe not. I might think of doing it. Maybe. Possibly. Probably. Yeah, I think I’ll most likely do it.”
Either way, Sheena won’t slow down for long. “It’s great for the mind, training. You go out with a hundred worries, and come back with none.”
