In at the deep end (pardon the pun)

Hi,

Well, where to start! I did my first sprint tri last March and I swore I'd never do another one ever again. I was sent the wrong way on the bike which added extra distance. I was stupid and didn't do any brick training, so I ended up blowing up on the run! I was also directed to the finish line after 1 lap rather than being sent back out on the course. The feeling of crossing the finish line, only to be told to get back out there and do another lap was heartbreaking. I hung up my tri medal at the end of the day, happy that I'd given it a go, but confident that Triathlons weren't for me.

I'd managed to keep that promise to myself up until 3 weeks ago when I signed up for my first 70.3 IronMan in 2015! I have a buddy who has done a few 70.3 and she had just completed her first full 140.6. I got caught up in all the excitment and thought "To hell with it! You need a challenge!"

I took up cycling 2 years a go and I love it. I'm comfortable doing a 100 mile ride and I'm a bit sadistic when it comes to hill climbs. I recently completed the London 100 (86) which I completed in 5hr 6 mins. Not bad for a fat lass on a second hand bike.

Running used to be my passion until cycling came in to the picture. I wasn't an amazing runner. I could run 10k in just over 50 mins and I've done one 1/2 marathon which I completed in 2 hours. Again, not bad for a fat lass!

Swimming is something that was always done in a pool and it never really caught the swimming bug. 3 weeks ago my IronMan buddy dragged me to Capernwray for my first OW swim. After two laps of coughing and spluttering and holding on to each buoy for dear life, I soon got in to the swing of things and now I'm hooked! I'll be OW swimming every Wednesday until the weather gets too bad. I've also just started swim coaching on Sunday, so I'm hoping that will make me a stronger swimmer.

Like I said, I'm not your typical slender looking cyclist/runner/swimmer. When I rock up at a sportive or running event, it looks like I'm just there for the food stops.

I'm doing the IronMan next year with a buddy who is just recovering from Stomach cancer, so we're going to be there to support each other and spur each other on. I'm hoping these boards will give me inspiration and motivation to get out of bed each morning and get training!

Thanks for listening to me waffling and I apologise in advance for all the silly questions I'll be bombarding you all with

r00