I have never been sporty and have little athletic ability come naturally to me. But, after seeing one of my closest friends complete in a triathlon, I made the decision that I would too one day. It took another 5 years before I toed that same start line and then my love for triathlon and endurance sports really took off.
When starting my triathlon journey I always had this mad idea that one day I would do an Ironman. At this point I had run a marathon but was swimming 1500m once a week in the pool and pootling around on my bike, I had no idea what an Ironman really was, it just sounded like a good way to challenge myself and do something that sounded impossible. I didn’t really give myself too much of a chance to change my mind and 12 months after my first triathlon I was doing a 70.3 and was already signed up to my first full distance Ironman in Austria. 140.6 miles! 2.4 miles of swimming 112 miles of cycling and 26.2 miles of running. What was I doing?!
I thought the hours of training for my first triathlon were excessive, and I trained 6 days a week. Suddenly there were double days, 5am starts most mornings and no rest days. But I could see so much progression and I was loving all the hours. They always say that you don’t deserve a medal for completing a marathon but for all the training that goes in to get you to that start line. This is so true about Ironman as well. That race day is your final training day, your lap of honour for 9-12 months of hard work, sacrifice and dedication. All of that hard work meant I got to complete my first Ironman loving the entire day and it still gives me goosebumps that I was able to complete something so huge. I am so proud of this achievement. I have since completed several 70.3s and a very hilly Ironman in Canada last summer and cannot wait for the next one when we can race again! I am really competitive against myself and want to keep chipping away at times. This year I wanted under 11hr30 in my ironman, that will have to wait until next year, and the times are going to have to come down I think! I also want to see if I can get a world champs slot, that’s the next dream.
Ironman and triathlon has had the most positive impact on my life and I am so happy I took the plunge to sign up to that first race.
Schools' Active Community Coach 