I'm Back !!

Summary of 2018 (very brief)

Yep, I've had a whole year off this blog, but I have been active with triathlon and other races. The year was spent focusing on swimming and resting my poor right knee...However, amongst other races I managed to complete the Gauntlet middle distance triathlon at Hever castle on a boiling hot day which resulted in a compulsory non wet suit swim. And Ironman Weymouth 70.3 which was the extreme end of the weather spectrum and was freezing cold blowing a hooley. There were a couple other standard distance sea swim triathons in there, sea swimming being the big deal for me in 2018. So, i'm over that, and ready to go again.

So it's 2019 and I have a brand new goal

IRONMAN WALES 2019!!!

I've bitten the bullet and entered this race that excites and scares me all at once. Perfect.
If I am going to do one full Ironman in my life I want it to be a toughy. I've been sucked in by all the hype about Tenby, and part of me can not wait.

This  year has started brilliantly for me as I have been chosen (along with 12 others) as a Tailwind nutrition UK trailblazer for 2019. Picked from nearly 300 applicants. It's great to be a part of the team.  Tailwind is 'All you need, all day, really'. It does what it says on the sachet. No extra gels or food needed, a completely liquid source of energy for endurance training and events. The recovery powder is second to none in my opinion. Tastes, good, mixes easily with no lumps and it really works ! Rumour has it that some trailblazers make cakes/brownies using the chocolate recovery powder.


So, I finished 2018 with the Telford 10k on the 9th December, and after that took a few weeks of enjoying some social riding and running.  It was lovely to have a little break and just do what I fancied really. I was then raring to get back into proper training from about the 2nd week in January....just around my 53rd birthday !


So, training has begun, nothing too much just yet. Just a bit of structure and a few efforts on the turbo for cycling and hills with my running.

The Pain Cave.

True love, The Malvern Hills.

The Malvern Hills always play a big part in my run training...it would be criminal if they didn't when I am lucky enough to live with them on  my doorstep.

 I have membership at both the Malvern Splash and Malvern Active so have access to swimming pools on a very regular basis, along with the Tri club coached swim sessions on Friday nights which are brilliant. Strength and resistance training usually comes from my own classes which I teach, this involves body weight exercise with plyometrics, I also teach Fitness Pilates so plenty of core work on a weekly basis too. I use The Sufferfest on the turbo, the app also includes yoga sessions for pre and post workout and strength and conditioning sessions.

Parkrunning as a Malvern Buzzard.

Parkrun has become part of my life again after a long break so this will be incorporated into my training too.

I have membership to two local clubs in Malvern, Malvern Triathlon Club and Malvern Buzzards running club. Both are very welcoming clubs, encouraging and motivating. Because of my anti social working hours I find it tricky to fit in many training sessions with either club but do so when I can.

As IM Wales isn't until September I needed an earlier focus, so the Cotswold 113 (middle distance tri) is booked up for June. I should be incorporating a few local races and time trials in the build up to this. So, watch this space.

The club social ride was cancelled this morning due to the weather forecast, so instead I had a teetered run on on the very icy Malvern hills and an easy half hour on the turbo to spin the legs through. Then a long soak in the bath listening to 'The Brick Session' podcast, an episode on an interview with Louise Minchin, talking about her experience at the Patagonman triathlon at the end of last year. A great listen and very thought provoking. She talks about how she is not going to enter and more GB stuff but instead go for events/races that offer more of an experience. This struck a chord with me.. So, here's to 2019, the year I become an Ironman.

The best gym in Malvern.