Reflections on the London Marathon 2013

  Firstly I have to apologise for the lateness of this blog. This time last week I was doing the London Marathon and I am only just updating how I got on. Well, I did complete it, slighly slower than I wanted in 4h45 but still a marathon runner for the second time. Despite being hard on myself for not completing better I still got a huge sense of achievement, relief and euphoria when crossing the line. Regardless of the pain I was in and the vow I said to myself at mile 19 to never put myself through it again, I was already deciding which one to do next year. It can't have been that bad...

  Before Dan and I set off to London for the big weekend we went kayaking on the Friday. As I said previously I was really excited about this. There isn't a lot to say about this paddle except for that it didn't go according to plan. As I mentioned before Dan and I have both kayaked before, both being competent. Dan was being his normal competitive self and boasting he would be better purely because his upper body strength is better than mine. However, once in the kayaks Dan felt unstable and struggled to gain control. I however just thought he was 'getting on his feet' and sped off, stopping to wait for him. This must've been frustrating for him as well as damaging to his ego. Needless to say Dan didn't enjoy it, we got out shortly after and after some expletives at eachother we didn't talk for a while. It was only 2 hours later when we had cooled off a bit that I bravely said "your not as good as me then". His explanation as to why he struggled was that he is too heavy due to his muscle mass (I thought his upper body muscles were a good thing to begin with?).
  Dan is like the majority of people whereby if you're not good at something you don't want to do it. Therefore I questioned whether he still wanted to do the race. I would have been pretty upset if he said no as I have taken on many things I am weak at in order to do triathlons. For example I have never been a strong runner and still need to gain confidence on the bike. Perservering with the things that we aren't good at is hard and takes a lot of will power but makes the achievement much more rewarding. The DW canoe race will be going ahead, Dan just needs to get his own practice in first before we go in together. I'm just naturally better in water just as he is naturally better on a bike.  

I had to get a picture next the The Savoy's Rolls Royce

  I woke up on Saturday super excited. I had packed everything the night before, going over and over everything I needed to make sure I didn't forget anything vital. The one thing I couldn't find anywhere was the charger for my Garmin watch. I ended up admitting defeat and took Dan's stopwatch watch instead, better than nothing. We left the car at Dan's parents and walked to the tube station. Before going to the London Marathon expo to pick up my number, time chip and my goody bag we went via The Savoy to drop our bags off. Our greeting at the hotel was amazing, I said my last name at the front door to the porter and immediately everyone in the lobby knew we were coming in as they all had ear pieces. I didn't have to go to a reception or fumble about with the booking confirmation. I'm sure they would've wiped my arse if I asked. This is why people pay to stay in places like this, to feel important and be treated like royalty. After some small talk we were shown to our room. The room was so nicely decorated and very luxurious. The room had a door bell as well! I always wondered if these luxury hotels get boring and aren't exciting for the people who do this all the time. I would like to think if by some miracle I ever get that wealthy I would take the time to marvel at the decor and appreciate the whole experience. One of the first things I do when in a hotel room is look at the mini bar. It is a good job I never buy anything from the mini bars because a plastic litre bottle of Volvic water was £6. On the way to the Excel for the expo we went to Sainsburys and grabbed 2 for £1!

  The tubes were full of people clutching London Marathon magazines and once at the expo the excited and anxious atmosphere was contagious. After collecting my number and time chip it is compulsory to walk around the many stalls that try and offer you a last minute piece of kit that will help you go faster. Adidas had a vast amount of 2013 Marathon kit, some of which was really nice, but the area was huge. Dan's sarcastic reaction was, "you would never know that Adidas are the sponsers would you?". It was amazing how much people buy at these places, it is a sport advertisers dream. I went into the hustle and bustle of the stalls for three things. The first were some free bracelets which outlined the time splits to get 4h. I picked up 3h55, 4h and 4h10. The second thing was a head band. I have found that I rely on these when exercising as it mops any sweat up so it doesn't drip down my face and feel uncomfortable. I needed to get a bright pink one as I had told everyone at work I was wearing all neon pink. I found an awesome stall with piles of bright head bands and picked one that had written on it "Suck it up buttercup". It reminded me of an episode of 'The Big Bang Theory' one of my favourite programmes. This came in at £4. The last thing I needed was a fuel race belt which I could keep my sports gels in. I could not believe the price of some of them, they are just a piece of elastic with holes in and they were trying to charge £20! I found one with advertising over it for £5 so grabbed that (it didn't last long - hence the price). After collecting my goody bag which included the wholemeal basmati rice I normally buy (I was very excited about this) we were off to meet my friend Becca for a drink. Becca was spectating the day after with Dan, despite never meeting Dan before, so it was a chance to meet and talk about the planned spectating points. After walking what seemed like the whole of the Thames, Dan and Becca began to plan their beer crawl around London.

I deserve this brownie!

 

  On the way back the hotel we stopped off to buy one of the brownies in Spitalfields market. By the time we were back in the room we were shatttered. We both dosed off for a little bit and then got a bath ready for a lovely meal at Gordon Ramsays' steak restaurant the Savoy Grill which is inside the hotel. I know it is normally the law to have pasta before an event but I had pasta for lunch and managed to convince myself that protein is vital too before an event. As well as that, I also broke another rule, no drinking before an event. However this was nigh on impossible when the member of staff who greeted us told me that Eric the barman had just recieved an award for worlds best cocktail maker. It would be a sin not to have one! Being me I'm sure I managed to pick the most alcoholic one. It tasted of pure alcohol almost burning my throat as I drank it! I couldn't resist getting this one though as it had my name on it, literally! (See the picture). For dinner I had an amazing sirlion steak and chips with a small glass of red wine. The theory behind this glass was that it is a sin to not have red wine with steak and it would help me sleep. I woozily fell asleep straight away when we got back to the room and laid everything out ready for the next day, this most importantly included the black ribbon we were given to show our support for the Boston Marathon victims.

How could I not get this cocktail with this name?

 

Me enjoying my cocktail by Eric the worlds best barman

 

  On the morning of the marathon I was so tempted to go against my morning nutrition ritual of porridge for a Savoy full English. Whereas I was persuaded elsewhere to break the rules this one could impact my performance the most. Porridge is my tried and tested method before racing now, it doesn't make me feel sick and I know that the slow burning energy aids me. I probably had the poshest porridge ever full of berries, bananas and raisons.

  I was, as always, fashionably late which completed my pre-event ritual of porridge, nervous shit and being in a rush. I wished the people around me good luck and before I knew it I was running across the start line of the Virgin London Marathon 2013. I was in high spirits but it soon became very congested which was frustrating but it had to be expected at such a big event. At mile 2 I threw my fuel race belt away as it kept riding up and I lost 2 gels. I was going strong for the first 6 miles, hitting the 3hr55 time splits and not struggling too badly. The idea was to consistently hit 9 minute miles the whole way round which would get me across the line in 3h59. I was hitting 8 minute miles for these 6 miles. I felt like a proper runner. I missed seeing Dan at mile 6 and when he called me to ask where I was I was heading towards mile 8, even he was shocked! My 5k time was 23minutes, a PB. However, I did begin to slow down. By mile 9 I was loosing the minute lead I had over the 4h splits.

At the start line in Greenwich Park

  My half marathon time was 2h10, exactly the same as when I completed it in Bath as its own event. I was already beating myself up but knew I could get a 4h20 finish time. When I saw Dan at mile 15 my legs and my back were hurting. (I later found out my back was a trapped nerve and I am still struggling with it now). I was constantly trying to push more but it was as if my legs were disobeying my mind. I saw Dan again at mile 18 and was really struggling. I spoke to him briefly telling him that everything hurt and then gave him a quick kiss. He said to me afterwards it looked as though I was about to burst into tears and I think I would've done if I had stayed any longer. I had asked that Dan spectate at mile 15 and 18 as I remember from my mums advice and the last time I did the London Marathon that this is the worst stretch as there is little support. I don't know whether the Boston Marathon disaster meant more people came to support or whether the event has grown in popularity since the olympics but there was not one section without supporters. This was in sharp contrast to the lonely feeling last time. The support and atmosphere throughout the race made the event such a great one to be involved in. I was even being cheered on by spectators who were calling me 'pinky' and 'buttercup', which always brought a smile to my face. I decided against wearing my name on my tshirt like many people do as after last time I was fed up of hearing my name shouted out after 5 hours of torture. I also love looking at all the signs and banners of encouragement there was one in particular that I liked; "Pain is temporary, pride is forever". This is a statement I shall carry with me especially during my Ironman. Another one I remember seeing a lot is "Do it for Boston".

  The marathon may be the ending of an Ironman but it is not easy. There was a low point when I thought how am I going to an Ironman? I was doubting myself and my ability and it crossed my mind to quit trying. It is these thoughts you need to rid of when training for such an event, pain is temporary! I couldn't believe how emotional I was getting and seeing all the amazing reasons and causes people are running for nearly set me off. Tshirts' saying this is for my Mum even now makes me tearful.
  By mile 18 my 5k time was 32minutes, something I have really beaten myself up about post race. What was so frustrating for me is that I wasn't physically tired, I wasn't even out of breath I just could not move my legs faster than the plod I had adopted. Becca who had been out the night before and then ran out of battery on her phone managed to see me at mile 25. I wanted to stop and hug them both but Dan and Becca both screamed "Don't stop!". Apparenty the spectators around them looked horrified as they were so mean but I'm glad they said it.
 

During my sprint in the last 200m

The man congratulating for finishing sprinting
and beating him

  I did as always manage a sprint finish, beating anyone who tried to take me on.
(There is actually a picture that shows me just as I cross the line with a guy who congratulated me on my sprint finish - see above). I crossed the line in 4h53 official time. My actual time was 4h45 as it took me 15 minutes to actually cross the line due to congestion. (I haven't got the exact time as I forgot to stop my watch when I finished). I grabbed my goody bag, which had nothing that good in it, who wants to eat an 'Eat Natural' bar after a marathon?! I got a Mars bar last time. The tshirt isn't even that nice, nothing like the 'LonDONE' slogan one I got last time. I finally found Dan and Becca in the crowd where I was greeted with some beautiful flowers, thank you Becca! (She believes that no matter how many events or marathons you do you always need flowers - she can come again!). I then hobbled to the Ritz with Becca while Dan got the bags from The Savoy. I had a quick shower, got ready and we went to meet my friend Sarah who had also completed the marathon at Cafe Rouge for some dinner. Thank you very much to the Dixon's for such a treat! Contrary to the mass beer celebrations others may take part in I only managed one refreshing beer before I was back on the water. Dan's mum asked if I was ill when I told her that. Dan and I were asleep by 9pm.

All over and I can still smile!

  The last thing we had to do in London was tea at The Ritz. We were nearly not allowed in as they thought Dan was wearing jeans and have to say they were very rude to us about it. Overall the tea was pleasant

Ignore the horribly close red face - look at what I did to my 'tea'

enough, we did seem to be the only people laughing and having a good time. Although this was probably at my expense as I put milk in a tea that was obviously meant to be drunk without it. This was obvious as the 'tea' became transparent, I unpleasantly had to drink this very quick so no-one would notice. I can now tick tea at the Ritz it off my list now. Our overall stay at the Ritz wasn't the high class trip we thought it would be though. We didn't get a key to our room throughout the stay despite being assured everytime we asked that one was being made. The rooms were also not as fancy as we thought they would be. I expected the Ritz to be a place were they could go wild with the clashing florals and four poster beds, but it was nothing like that. I don't mean to sound like a snob but I was comparing it to The Savoy and that seemed to be in a different league. Their staff were more welcoming and friendly and their decor was well done. If you're thinking of treating yourself do so at The Savoy, its much better than the Ritz. There was just nothing special about the Ritz and I think I like anyone would be was expecting that. As I walked out of the Ritz towards the tube station my dress blew up, showing my arse to London. What a way to end the weekend. Dan said that my mum and friend Sandra would call me Bridget Jones as these things always seem to happen to me!

  Despite being disappointed with my time I am pleased with what I achieved and know that next time I will get a sub 4 hour marathon and finally beat my Mum's marathon time! I need to be increasing my running distance on a regualr basis so my legs are used to the mileage I am putting them through. Following this I shall be doing a half marahon at least every 2 weeks and come next year for Ironman training I shall increase that even more. There are always postitives to take away from an event even if we don't achieve everything we want.

Some frustrations but excitement for the London Marathon 2013!

  So I suppose I had better write a post before one of my biggest events this year, the London Marathon on Sunday. Apologies for the lack of posts for nearly two weeks, this is merely because there hasn't been a lot to say, although I bet the length of this post will disprove this. The combination of post-race blues and being on night shifts meant that my training has not been as intense as before. On the Wednesday and Thursday after the Andover Triathlon I went spinning and swimming before working overtime night shift. This worked well on Wednesday but it didn't go so well on Thursday. The spin session did not set a good tone for the rest of the weeks training. Firstly I turned up late so I rushed to find the only free bike there was and then it went down hill from there. Now I am not normally disrespectful to any instructor that I have when spinning as I know it must be a tough job to structure and gain enthusiasm from a class. However, today I did not enjoy or like the instructor or her session. For anyone who hasn't done a spin class we basically all follow the instructions given to us in regards to where we position ourself and how much resistance to put on the bike. There are many positions which put simply are seated or standing hill climb and seated or standing sprints.When standing these positions vary from positon 1 which is standing vertically, to position 3 where you lean over the farthest handlebars. As well as that there is also the hover position where you stand hovering over the saddle keeping your body still and only using your quads to spin the bike, the slower you are the more control you have. Many instructors use a scale of 1-10 whereby you put the resistance up to your own personal ability in line with what number they shout. After years of doing spinning I have witnessed many people spinning way too fast for the resistance and pain that they should be in. Although sublimally this annoys me I know they are only cheating themselves and always give myself a good workout. So when the instructor said level 7 resistance, that to me is pretty tough, meaning it is nearing a struggle to keep the wheel moving especially at a high RPM (revolutions per minute; this figure shows up on the bike computer the faster the RPM the faster your speed). What was frustrating me was that even when at this level the instructor was unrealistically telling us to put the resistance up by a whole turn (the resistance is turned up and down with a small knob underneath the handlebars which you turn clockwise to increase and vice versa). Now, one full turn is a lot of resistance especially on top of the level I had it on originally and she continued to shout out these demands. I am not meaning to sound arrogant by saying that no one in that room would've been able to keep up the pace they were at if they were on my resistance (unless Bradley Wiggins or Mark Cavendish was there without my knowledge). That is not me saying I was the fittest there by any means, but after trying to keep up with her insistent up on the resistance I was hardly moving, which made me look like I was struggling in comparison to the others surrounding me. This wasn't a damage to my ego as I do not mind going slower as I know I was being true to myself by starting at the correct resistance scale, but it was very frustrating which angered me. Throughout the session I felt like I wasn't doing a good session and that was even more annoying. Despite this I still came out of the class wet through with sweat. The unrealistic resistance measures carried on for the whole session and I could not wait to get out. As soon as the music slowed down to have a cool down I was off the bike and ready to go swimming (something that didn't make me popular with the instructor). I didn't have the time (or want the time) to stretch with the class.

  Furthermore, a comment she said during the class also annoyed me. She asked the class whether anyone was doing the London Marathon. Despite not seeming to get along with her I raised my hand. She either wasn't looking or expecting to see a hand in my direction and noticed just one hand in the air. She wished him luck and then singled another person out who must've looked like they weren't dying like me and asked if he was doing it, to which she said he should be. What type of comment was that? I shouldn't let such a silly thing get to me the way it did but I felt it as a little dig. Just because I was struggling from her ridiculous resistance increases does not mean I'm not fit enough to do a marathon just because he looked OK.
Maybe I was just having a bad energy day and was struggling more than usual and am being pathetic, but I certainly will not look forward to her being my instructor again. Needless to say, she put me in a bad training mood.
  Swimming that night with the Tri Club however went great. I was in the open water pool, normally where I struggle to keep up but not tonight. I thought I was going to struggle with the little amount of food I had had for dinner and the frustrating spin beforehand but managed to constantly be on the persons feet infront. We did 2000m that night made up of 10x200m (8 lengths). After that I went to work until 6am.

  I mentioned about eating little that night, this consisted of a piece of steak and some potatoe wedges, equalling 510 calories. I burned off over 1000 calories. I was in calorie debt as I like to say. This may seem good for the weight loss I was inevitably want but not good when I need to put effort into my sessions. I did not intend to have this little amount of food but after sleeping after a night shift I wake up around 3pm, leaving me a mere 3 hours to wake up, shower, eat and digest my food before heading to the gym. This is something I have found tough all week. When working I just have a cup of tea and a chocolate bar to get me through the night and havesomething when I wake up like beans on toast. Not a particularly nutritional athlete enriched diet.

The DW crew: I am at the front in the orange kayak

  After a whole weekend of night shifts I then went kayaking with some of the people taking part in the DW canoe race. Dan unfortunately couldn't come as he had a firefigher course. I nearly forgot however as I was sleeping from a night shift and was only reminded when I looked on Facebook and saw someone had commented confirming meeting times. I loved being out on the water paddling. One of the participants in the DW race crew, Sheona and her husband Paul, has a lovely house in Bourne End right on the river and owns some single kayaks and a canadian canoe that can hold three. I went out in a single kayak similar to what I learnt to kayak in. We paddled upstream (towards the wind) for about 45 minutes and got back downstream in about 5 minutes. I tried out the canadian canoe and that confirmed that I definitely do not want to be doing the event in a boat like that, I felt too high and would not be comfortable being in that position for over 24hours. The only thing I was annoyed about is that I didn't wear my wetsuit as would've gone for a swim too. We ended our first kayak session with a lovely hot cup of tea and a chat, no one as of yet is put off doing the event. Thank you Sheona and Paul for your help and hospitality!

Me trying out the Canadian Canoe

We were meant to be going that way!

 

 

 


 



 

  On Monday I had a night off, but was working nights on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so stayed awake all night whilst Dan went to bed to not ruin my routine. I was due to go spinning on Monday but was suffering from a migraine so I unfortunately had to cancel those plans.

  I also have to mention the Boston Marathon disaster on Monday. I cannot express my disgust at whoever is responsible and my sympathy to anyone who was affected by the bombings. It obviously did bring questions in regards to the safety, not only for myself but also for my spectators, at the London Marathon. This did really worry me the night after the attack and it is still playing on my mind. Working in news definitely does not aid this. I have had many people ask me whether it has made me want to pull out and others who have said, please don't get yourself blown up (I'm sure they mean well with that comment). However, after reading all of the triathletes and sports people I follow on Twitter it was evident that we cannot stop running as that is giving the terrorists what they want. Jim Lynch is an runner and author who has completed 91 marathons and finished a marathon in every US State, his tweet was "The best thing we can do right now as runners is keep running strong and proud. Remember those that lost their life or was injured". So I shall run proud on Sunday and will be wearing a black ribbon to show my support for Boston.

  So I am upto the present, Thursday night, my last night shift for another month. Although my training has not been intensive I have been tapering for the London Marathon, maybe not quite as much as I would've liked, but I know that I am well rested as I do not feel tired all the time and that can only be a good thing from how drained I felt in the previous week. I also blame my smaller amount of training due to being on nights and because I have felt the effects of post race blues. After every race I get excited about training more to make me faster but then when the euphoria ends I go on a downer and it takes a tough kick up the arse to get my motivational head on again. With going straight into night shifts and the crap spin instrucor I had no kick and just let myself rest. I do not feel too awful as although I began to then get down about losing a week of training, I think my mind and body needed the break and in the grand scheme of things one week is not going to see all of my fitness disappear is it? The idea of this blog was to show the highs and lows of training, this is just one of the many lows that will occur until June 2014.

  Well to celebrate the end of my night shifts I shall be kayaking tomorrow with Dan, something I am so excited about. After that it is a busy weekend in our favourite city London where I am catching up with some great friends. Some of whom are going to support me and some of whom are competing. I hope the next blog is a more cheery post about a personal best in my marathon time! We are staying at the Savoy on the Saturday night and at the Ritz on the Sunday (which is a short stumble from the marathon finish) which all adds to all the excitement. I said to Dan today that I am starting to get the nervousness and excitement of such big event. I even said I am excited about starting the race, Dan's reply was "I bet you won't be saying that at mile 20", ever the optomist! Wish me luck!

So many questions...

  I have to get this post out there following a conversation I had with Dan the other night. It was the night I got back from the Andover Triathlon and we had decided to have a drink for the first time in ages. The night posed a lot of questions, some of which I would love to come back and answer in July 2014 after my Ironman.

  When I first started competing in triathlons three years ago I did it as something else to try and hope I was good at as I wasn't going to win any enjoyment from merely running events. However, I never expected it to become part of my life to the extent it has. I would never have thought that the months April-September would have to be religiously planned around what triathlons I would be doing on what weekends. However, throughout the three years, this year has been the most important. I have committed to it mentally, physically and financially. Moreover, I am starting to understand the sport in greater detail and with that understanding becomes more love for it. I enjoy analysing mine and others time splits, finding out where the minor improvements can be made. Where I can make up precious seconds that can mean the difference of 50th or 80th place.

  The one question that started off an array of others was 'what next?'. What do I do after I am an Ironman? People have asked me this before. I know that doing the even longer distances such as the double or ultra-Ironman would not be something I would consider so I selfishly assumed I would just do another Ironman and constantly chase a better time. Constantly wanting to do one in another more desirable or tougher location around the world. However, would I have the time to keep this routine up forever? How much stress and fatigue can one body go through with a full time job as well? As Dan said 'It is not like an Ironman is good for your body' and he is right. The amount of physical and mental impact you are putting your body through during the event is not healthy. Matt Fitzgerald, sport nutritionist, coach and author, writes "the changes the body undergoes in 12 hours of extreme exertion are similar to some of those that occur in the body over the course of two decades of non-exertion, as a result of normal aging". The body also burns around 10,000 calories throughout the event which is impossible to make up through water, gels and bananas alone no matter how often you take on fuel throughout the race. Would it really be sustainable and healthy to continue to put my body through this pressure and fatigue?
  Moreover, would I need to up my training hours per week in order to continue? Are the hours I am able to sensibly commit to too little to compete in Ironman for a long period of time and see improvements? Are my training plans suitable to only improving sprint and olympic distance triathlons as opposed to making gains on my eventual Ironman time? At the moment this appears so, as my training schedule at the moment is making huge personal bests in my previous small distance triathlons. This could be due to getting it wrong before and not having a focussed training plan, but it does pose the question as to whether I would be doing enough to have an impact on an Ironman time. Would getting 30minutes faster on the bike leg really be as euphoric as the first time of becoming an Ironman? Does completing another mean the same again? Will it ever feel as good as crossing that line for the first time?
 
  Furthermore, does Dan really want to have my event being the centre of our holidays because we cannot afford to have two holidays abroad every year? Is that asking too much of him? Is that fair on Dan? Probably not. Surely Dan should be able to get a say where we decide to go on holiday as opposed to where the most appropriate Ironman is. Surely I am asking enough now by hardly being with him on the majority of nights yet him still being the friendly and reassuring face I need when I do return?

  Ironman is never far away from my thoughts and I would be suprised if I go a day where I don't have a conversation about it. Will that get dull to listen to and boring to try and retain interest? Of course it will! This is my sporting event and goal. I could talk about Ironman and triathlon to anyone who cares to listen until I'm blue in the face but that doesn't mean it is fair or interesting to hear about everyday!

  BUT can I just end it all in June 2014? Can I say goodbye to the journey I have taken? Can I stop being an Ironman? If the elation is anything like I imagine when crossing that finish line will I just be able to stop and draw a line under my achievement and move on? Will I be able to return home and go back to a minimal amount of training in comparison and be happy with that?

  Dan's suggestion is that I would have to find a new hobby, a new event, a new challenge. We could possibly find one that we can do together. However, most importantly, would I be able to drop triathlon altogether? I think I am able to answer this one now. No. I am in too deep now, triathlon has me gripped. Whether I do other sporting events on top is another matter. Whether I continue long distance triathlons after June 2014 I am unable to answer until then. All I know is that me and triathlon are not going anywhere. Sorry Dan, its me and the triathlon, I am hooked.

It is good to be back

  After the swim time trial on Friday I had a rest day before my first triathlon of the season in my home town of Andover. I was really excited for this event and be back to competing in triathlons again. Although I had done the Winchester Duathlon which included transitions there is nothing better than the tatical side of transitions during a triathlon particularly after the swim.

  Before driving to my parents where I was staying the night before the race I went to see the venue for a wedding I am filming in May and saw my Dad in hospital. I mentioned before the pain he has been in recently with his hip and on Thursday he had finally had a hip replacement. Hopefully this will rectify the excruitiating pain he has been in. He was slightly down due to feeling ill and having hardly any sleep since being in hospital. There is also the worry that a procedure may not fix the problem and this may have been playing on his mind. However, he was in good hands (the doctor had said they would give him a sleeping pill that night) and was due home to then be looked after by Mum the following day.

  I arrived at my family home around lunchtime. My four year old niece was there so we made some bracelets together and then went to the park. My sister met us there and then mum and I went on a recce of the bike course. I haven't done that much preparation before a race and I have to say it paid of on race day - good idea mum! It obviously helped that I know the area well but doing this extra preparation was really beneficial. Throughout the drive around the bike route I was pin pointing what mileage I was at, therefore come Sunday I would know where to push it. As well as that I knew where the hills where and whether there were any pot holes to look out for. This made me definitely think of trying to get back down to Devon to try and recce the cycle route for the half-Ironman. After our little road trip I had my compulsory pasta dinner, got my breakfast and clothes ready and went to bed with mum around 10pm.

  After my trusty breakfast of porridge, sugar and banana with a coffee I was on my way to Andover at 6.30am. There were two transition areas during this event, which I haven't come across before. This meant I had to drop my running kit off at a seperate locaion to where I was starting, this was T2 (Transition 2; the change over from cycling to running). I picked my spot and then I headed off to registration, where the location of T1 and the start was. This was at my old gym, Andover Leisure Centre. Unfortunately due to open water temperature regulation stating the lakes are too cold this was a pool based triathlon. The majority of races stay indoor based until June. I am not too keen on these due to having to be split into wave times as opposed to a mass start. This means that during the bike and run I would likely to be with the same 16 people in my wave rather than getting a whole array of competitors. This makes it difficult to assess how I am doing, as although I may look like I'm behind some of the other cyclists our overall time post race could show something completely different. However this is something I am getting used to and I have to say after today I do not mind an indoor triathlon as it is the time splits at the end that matter. However, you cannot beat a 'real' triathlon outside.
  One of the members of Chiltern Tri, Will, was doing their first triahlon with me so I knew I had a friendly face there as well as some friendly competition, especially as we were in the same wave. It was Dan's brothers birthday and they were planning to go paintballing. I told him a week before the event I would rather he went to that than watch me do a race that was just a training event. As well as that it would do me good to do some events alone as I need to get used to not seeing familiar faces very often as it will not happen during an Ironman. As I was registering I did a double take as I saw my brothers best friend, and best man at his wedding, Ben, walk through the doors. I had never realised he competed in triathlons and soon found out we were in the same wave. More competition now. I then managed to be racking up next to a girl who went to the same school as me, this was also her first triathlon. I had been back in my home town for a day and it was like a reunion.

  So, Will, Ben and I were in wave 2 together which started at 8.10am. I had been worrying that I had put my swim time too slow at 8minutes and would be held up as I knew my 400m swim was now nearer 6m30. I couldn't think of anything more frustrating than being held up when you know you can push more. This was exactly what happened. It took 4 lengths and about 10 taps of the mans ankle in front before he stopped to let me pass and it didn't take long until I had overtaken the others and was overtaking him for the second time. I did end up coming 28th overall for my swim which obviously isn't bad but I know it could've been a lot quicker and therefore this affected my overall time.
  I had to navigate some very wet and slippy stairs to get to transition. I had said to myself that I would spend as long as needed in T1 in order to make sure I was comfortable. I have made the mistake in the past where I rush this and end up being uncomfortable during the bike (the worst discipline to feel uncomfortable). I did one triathlon with my cycle jacket undone and flapping all over the place for the 25km. It would've taken me 10seconds to do it up properly but I was too worried about trying to get my transition time down to think of the bigger picture. With that in mind, I was not impressed when I saw my T1 time was 3m06secs. That was far too slow, especially for a sprint distance triathlon. (It didn't help that my cycle jacket had the sleeves inside out - getting them back the right way seemed impossible when I was panting, high on energy and endorphins and in a rush). I left transition (completely comfortable I have to add) at exactly the same time as Will (Ben was still in the pool by this point). Within seconds I had pulled away from Will and was storming after my next victim to try and hound down and play cat and mouse with. It didn't take long. I had my first, the one who I kept overtaking during the swim but had a better T1 than me. I said well done as I passed, he tried to hang on but dropped off when the long slog uphill started again. By that time I looked over and saw a group of people climbing the hill too, one person in particular was someone in a red jacket. I was struggling and expected to be overtaken soon. I had done a really tough spinning session on the Wednesday and it was still burning. I had a small thought that I should've began tapering sooner, but pushed it back as I knew Dan would say he was right. Dan had told me to cut back on my training on the week before the triathlon so I was prepared and had fresh legs but I brushed him off saying that is was a small training race and didn't need to.
  I could see no-one in front of me by this point so worked out that I must be at the front of the wave 2 pack (of which there were only three women including myself). It occured to me that everyone else was struggling too as they weren't gaining on me. I hit the flat and tried to push hard. After turning onto a more secluded road I heard the cogs of a bike behind me. I admitted I may have to let one go past. However, after 20 seconds of him being in front I thought he wasn't going that fast, especially not fast enough for me to warrant letting him overtake me and stay there. I had regained my position soon enough. I then saw a flurry of red when I looked behind to see how I was doing. The guy in the red jacket had gained on me and soon overtook me. I was not happy. I got some energy and confidence from somewhere and bolted downhill past him. I was now the mouse and was the whole way to T2 but he did not catch me again. My bike split was 47m51s for 21km putting me in 66th position.
  Transition 2 went a lot quicker at 1m20s. The 5km run route was two laps around Charlton lakes. It was clear from the look of the men around me I was not going to be a winner here. They were all tall and thin and had that runners look about them. Ben also falls into this category, who was entering transition as I was leaving. I knew I needed to keep it steady to not burn out during the run and potentially affect me more later on. It was however very frustrating to see all my efforts on the bike seem wasted when runners came past me. It was pay back time for them, this was their discipline now.

Still had chance to crack a smile round lap 2

  Ben ran past me when we were nearing the end of lap 1. He shouted that my Mum was trying to get a picture of me. I had no idea she was there! I looked round and I saw her jumping around in the middle of the pitch (that was a nice lift to me which naturally brought a beaming smile to my face). However, I was not happy that Ben had overtaken me and wanted to keep him in my sights. I started running to his beat making sure he didn't get too far away. Mum had come onto the path and started taking pictures of Ben and I, I said to her "I'll have him". Shortly after that Ben peeled off the course to be sick. As I passed him I shouted "Come on, you can't be beaten by your best friends sister!". That must've struck a nerve as he stopped bending over behind the hedge and overtook me halfway round the second lap. Again I kept him in my sights but he was starting to pull away more now. I realised I should've saved that line for later and let him take his time in the hedge! By this point I was just enjoying the event. I had had fun pushing myself on the bike, had a laugh during the run and saw my Mum cheering me on too. I sprinted to the finish in 1hr27 a measly 5 seconds behind Ben! I cursed that swimmer who wouldn't move and my inside out cycle jacket during T1. I vowed to get him next time. I was 75th overall out of 125 competitors and the 8th woman. Will completed his first triathlon in 1h36.

Finishing with a compulsory sprint in 1h27m - good picture mum!

  Overall it was a great event and well organised. Mum said she was proud of me, especially seeing me up there running with all the fit looking men.

The Chiltern Triathlon Club at Andover Triathlon - Will and I post race

  However, I do have to take away one negative that I NEED to improve on and that is my run. I know that the thing I love about triathlon is the tactical element, how no-one can be perfect in every discipline and that everyone has a weakness. What I want to do now is get to the best I can be. My run has to improve. I did not like seeing the people I was hounding down on the bike overtake me on the run. For example, the guy who was in my swim lane holding me up and who was the first I overtook on the bike ended up 59th, 3 minutes quicker than me just because his run was faster. I had a quicker swim and bike than him by over 5 minutes but he made up the time as he was quicker on the run and 1m10s faster on the transitions. This just goes to show what a tactical sport triathlon can be and although I won't be looking into my time splits this severely during an Ironman or a half-Ironman the smaller distances are still exciting. It is good to be back!
 
  With my run woes, good mood, great weather and being finished by 10am I decided I wanted to use more of the day effectively. It was a perfect day to enjoy the Hampshire countryside and just enjoy running and doing sport. It reminded me of a day when Chrissie Wellington would have wrote, "We should never ever lose the joy of wind in our hair, the joy of sports for sports sake".
  I had commented on Facebook I may go on a post race run, whether anyone believed me or not I don't know but I did just that. Mum who knows the mileage of every run route starting from the house told me an 8mile run. I did that and more, adding extra on as I felt good. Shockingly my time splits for every kilometre were getting faster! I had no idea what was going on, maybe it was just sheer enjoyment of sport and fresh air. I never thought I would be the person to go for a run for enjoyments sake but I did enjoy the wind in my hair and the sun in my face. I may not be the fastest runner but I am determined to improve and after today I think I can safely call myself a runner, but most importantly a triathlete.
 

I just cannot help myself

  First of all there is one thing that I have to mention that I did not get round to writing in my last post. I have signed myself up for another gruelling endurance event next year. I just cannot seem to help myself! This is the DW canoe race. It all started with this message being posted on the Chiltern Tri Facebook page by one of the members;

  "Anyone like paddling (as in kayaks!) Or fancy trying it? A few of us are planning to take part in the Devizes to Westminster canoe race next year. The more, the merrier! It's a 125 mile paddling marathon, held over Easter weekend every year. There are a number of categories and ways to do it, but the proper race involves double canoes/kayaks and at least 24 hours of paddling, with locks, currents and tides to contend with. It will require lots of training and preparation. Who's up for it?". I was the first to reply with "I'm always up for a challenge. Tell me more". A coach of the event explains in more detail, "The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race: described as the Longest, hardest and most challenging non-stop Canoe Race in the world. It is 125miles long and has 77 Portages, it is on a Canal River and Tidal Water it goes overnight and just to add a bit more flavour, it is held at Easter, which is not the most ideal time for weather and water conditions". It is a massive challenge, dangerous and involves tough training, how could I of all people say no?

  After registering my interest we had a small collection of people. But more importantly I needed a partner. Although Dan and I don't have the same interest in triathlon I knew that this event would appeal to him. He had seen I had registered my interest on Facebook so knew what I was on about when I asked him if he wanted to team up with me. His first reaction was to question me about how I would be able to train for such an event as well as an Ironman and a channel swim. My response was that it would aid the strength in my arms and core as well as being physically demanding so would be beneficial towards the Ironman. Anyway, I had planted the seed and when I next asked him he was getting excited about it. I told the group that I would be doing it with my boyfriend. This solved many problems for me. First of all there are race goals. I knew that in any event I do I want to do my best and this is true for Dan. I also knew that he was a good kayaker and you only have to look at the size of his arm muscles to know that (I can see his head expanding already upon writing that comment). I have done a fair bit of kayaking in the past and I loved it. It was also something I was quite good at. With these things in mind I knew we would want to be in a racing kayak for the event as opposed to a canoe. Secondly due to my shifts and the many events I sign myself up for on weekends, training would normally have to be done during the day mid-week which is unsuitable for many people. Therefore, the convenience is that Dan and I can go and train together when we can. It is really exciting for me as I have always wanted to involve Dan in my events and this way he can actually compete as opposed to just watch me. This is something my parents seem happy we are doing as well, I suppose for once it’s not all about me?

   There are a lot of logistical things that need to be sorted before the event, such as getting a support crew. They have to be on hand throughout the 20-30hours of the race and need to be able to get between each lock quicker than we can paddle it. Another more urgent issue however, is that we need a kayak and with that somewhere to store it. Dan and I unfortunately don't have the luxury of space in our flat so a hard race kayak will not fit anywhere. With that in mind we are looking into getting an inflatable one that is easy to transport and suitable to use for training. If and when we need to upgrade this to a rigid kayak for the event we shall do so closer to the time or potentially rent one for the race itself.

  There is a lot that we have to work out in regards to kit, rules and training but it is an exciting event to be involved in. It will add another skill to my physical fitness and that is an exciting prospect. We will also have some kayak coaching at some point so that we are able to deal with a capsize and be able to navigate the 77 locks there are throughout the course. There will be a lot of cold and wet training schedules for the next 11 months including night paddles and long days getting used to the burn of kayaking but that is what makes a challenge such an achievement. I'm sure there will be an update on our progress in the next few posts. We are having our first paddle on Sunday so fingers crossed it goes well.

  Back to Ironman training. Last Thursday (4th April) I managed to get enough energy and will power to go for a run in my lunch break. I have been reluctant to do this again as it always seems like a rush trying to cram a run and a shower into an hour. I had tried before to do 10 minutes, see where I get and turn around but didn't like that strategy, it felt like I had not completed a workout as there was no complete route as such. However today I felt that despite the bitter cold and potential snow I should do the 3.5mile route I first did with Andy, especially as I was working with a shift partner that day who did not mind me being a little over an hour if I obviously returned the favour. I decided to do the route the other way round to make it a little different and felt comfortable throughout the run. Just over half way through it began to pour down with snow. On the home straight I could barely see where I was going with the snow pounding in my eyes. Despite this I was enjoying myself and felt like I could go on forever. When I got back the zip on my jacket was frozen but I had done the route in 32minutes which I was happy with. I had in fact picked up the pace when the weather got worse partly due to my head thinking I was too physically comfortable and needed to get out of that zone to improve and partly because I had something else to think about (navigating my way back with no barely any vision). I was so pleased I made myself go for the run and although I felt my ankle pain come back slightly it gave me a lot more confidence in my run ability which was a good thing with my first triathlon of the season on Sunday.

  On Friday it was my half-Ironman swim time trial (1900metres). Although being late and eating a mere 25minutes before getting in the pool (something I definitely do not recommend) I was pleased with my time of 34.09. I did however know instantly I could make that better, hopefully under the 30minute mark soon enough. Furthermore, my 400m split was 6.57 which I was also pleased with especially considering during those 16 lengths I felt like my dinner was going to come up.

  I couldn't believe it when I was told to stop swimming. When I swim alone and do the 80 lengths that makes up this distance it feels like a lot longer, and after looking at my time it obviously takes longer as I was roughly 6 minutes faster! It proves that a little competition goes a long way. During the time trial I seemed to go on autopilot. I began counting the lengths in my head like I do when I'm alone so I knew where I was even though someone was counting for me, but I quickly forgot where I was as I began thinking about how to overtake the person in front and daydreaming about this, that and the other. It was as if after 10 lengths I went to sleep and woke up half an hour later to be told I was finished. I was in shock and would have carried on to complete the Ironman distance had I not have been late entering the pool.

  On a further note I got an email on Friday telling me that it was 16 days to the London Marathon. I have become so obsessed in the toughness of my Ironman goal that I have forgotten how tough a marathon on its' is. The only way I am going to be brought back to reality is on the 21st April, as nothing will jolt the pain I felt the last time I did it. I know a marathon is a tough endurance event, something that many people will never do, but my head is so focussed on an Ironman being the toughest that a marathon just seems subliminal. This may anger some people and make me sound arrogant but that is the way my head is thinking. I know in head and in my fitness that a marathon is possible, what I am trying to do now is challenge the 'impossible'. I know that once I finish the bike leg on the Ironman and even the half-Ironman I will get round the run. Although the run is my weakest discipline I am not worried or fazed by it. The run, even though it is a marathon is my home stretch. Maybe I will feel differently on April the 22nd?

It's all in the head

  It is obvious that physical fitness is the main component of an Ironman and that is obviously where the major focus of the training goes. However, it is essential to not forget about the mental side. The brain is the most powerful organ when it comes to an Ironman. Chrissie Wellington, four time Ironman champion (the elite I was so desperate to meet at the Triathlon Show) writes, "you wouldn't go into a race without any physical training, so why would you go without any mental?". It is important to train it to make it strong enough to endure such a demanding event. I believe I have a lot of this already as you have to have a certain mindset to want to become an Ironman but I have yet to endure the gruelling day. Everyday athletes, particularly amateur have to have the sheer will power to get out of the door to train.

The unbeaten four time Ironman world champion,
Chrissie Wellington

  During an event you need to have the ability to switch off and try and occupy your thoughts elsewhere, this is particularly essential when the fatigue and pain kicks in. However you also need to be able to stay in control of the job in hand. The only thing that gets me through a hard training session is thinking about crossing the finish line in Austria next year. The pain I am in disappears and I go into another world. It is my subconscious and I am only brought back to normality by an instructor shouting the next move, having to negotiate a roundabout on the bike or try and remember my length count in the pool. Chrissie Wellington wrote in her autobiography, "The mind constantly wanders when you are engaged in repetitive activity for a prolonged period. There have been many times I have been thinking of other things, only to snap out of it and say, 'Wake up! You're in a race here!'. This is natural, but you have to be aware of it and to learn to stay in the moment. If your mind wanders, so does your body. You should constantly be asking yourself questions. Are my arms relaxed? Is my face? Am I working as hard as I can? A I breathing into my belly, or am I stopping in my throat? On the swim, it should be is my hand entering correctly, am I finishing the stroke properly, am I on feet? There should be a regular check/feedback mechanism, whether you're in training or in a race. If you lose that continual self-assessment, before you know it your face and shoulders have tensed up, you're clenching your wrists and you're holding your breath or gasping when you don't need to. It all adds up to a waste of valuable energy and loss of form". This self-evaluation is something I have been doing a lot lately whilst training, especially when cycling. The most commons ones I ask myself is 'does this hurt enough?', 'Are you pushing your heels down and pulling your toes back up?', 'Are you breathing heavy enough?'. The fact that had been doing this and then read it as a method used by none other than one of the greatest woman Ironman there has been was a nice inkling that I was doing something right.

  Chrissie Wellington came into the sport of Ironman late at 30. She had never even realised her potential in triathlon until then as she only stumbled upon the sport by chance. Her natural talent is almost unbelievable. Inevitably when she did impress one of the best and most respected triathlon coaches in the industry, Brett Sutton, the other girls training with him began to get envious. Within nine months of trying the professional triathlete lifestyle she had won her first Ironman as the nobody. Throughout the years she definitely became a somebody and is now probably one of the first names people would relate an Ironman to. She has competed in nine Ironmans, winning every one! She retired in 2012 with no Ironman losses to her name and has been world champion four times. She did what most athletes fail to do, retire at their peak and never be beaten. I would definitely recommend her autobiography.

  Anyway, as an exceptional athlete I have naturally read some of her advice and want to take on some of her methods. As this post is all about the mental side of an Ironman these are about strengthening that important organ, the brain. I shall give three that I believe will be important for me.

• Improve capacity for boredom

  It goes without saying that an Ironman is a long and enduring race with nothing else to do except swim, pedal or run. The bike leg is by far the most feared for me for the sheer length of time spent on it. My time on the bike leg will hopefully be around 7hours. That is a long time to be in one position doing the same monotonous movement. (I worked out that the distance is from my parents in Hampshire to the caravan in Devon - think that will be a training ride next year!). After that I then have to complete a marathon, which taking in fatigue and any other issues will probably take me around 4-5hours. Inevitably, boredom will kick in. Chrissie wrote, "The best way to improve your capacity for boredom is to endure boredom". The way that she and other athletes were coached to do this was to go to what they called 'The Dungeon Room'. This was basically a basement with nothing in it except for training equipment. Some athletes were told to complete full marathons down there. A way that I do this is on turbo trainer. I definitely do not regret buying my turbo trainer but it is boring and tougher than on a bike outside. Moreover I normally watch a DVD whilst doing it. It would definitely take some serious doing to do even an hour with nothing to look at other than a blank wall, but then it's not supposed to be easy, it is an Ironman after all! At least during an Ironman I would have scenery and some stunning scenery at that in Austria!

• Find a motivational poem/saying

  Maintaining the motivation to train is tough, my method is to think about eventually crossing the finish line and that is true for any event I take part in. Therefore there also needs to be the motivation to keep you going. Some uplifting words, phrases or poems can become part of that motivational speech you give to yourself. Chrissie Wellington for example uses 'If' by Rudyard Kipling. She even writes some of the sentences on her kit such as her water bottle to give her the extra kick to keep going. Mine would definitely be Edgar Albert Guest, 'It couldn't be done'. The last paragraph is the most significant to me.

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done

      But he with a chuckle replied

That “maybe it couldn’t,” but he would be one

      Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.

So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin

      On his face. If he worried he hid it.

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it!

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you’ll never do that;

      At least no one ever has done it;”

But he took off his coat and he took off his hat

      And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.

With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,

      Without any doubting or quiddit,

He started to sing as he tackled the thing

      That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,

      There are thousands to prophesy failure,

There are thousands to point out to you one by one,

      The dangers that wait to assail you.

But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,

      Just take off your coat and go to it;

Just start in to sing as you tackle the thing

      That “cannot be done,” and you’ll do it.

• Store memories

  When during the Ironman fatigue sets in and the body begins to think about quitting it is the mind that has to over rule this thought. In order to try and make your body be relieved of pain it is essential to be able to turn the pain off by thinking of something else. I need to have a vast amount of good memories banked in my head that I can draw on to get me through the bad times. For me these will include my friends and family, the places we have been together and the laughs we have all had. Even a future memory of crossing the line may come into the mix. It is important for me to have some images in my head that I can think of to keep me going. 

  I know this is all starting to sound dramatic, but the mind plays such an important part in endurance racing, especially Ironman. As you can probably tell completing this Ironman means everything to me. Just reading about reaching the finish brings me to tears, so imagine what I will be like when I finally do it?! (Poor Dan!). This journey is so important. Reading about Chrissie Wellingtons achievements shock and inspire me, I still cannot phantom the speed in which she is going and yet when she crosses the line it all looks so easy. However, her natural talent got her to be a pro and tough training made it her job but the majority do it as a hobby. She takes inspiration from people like me. An Ironman requires a lot of training and to make that commitment as well as having a full time job is hard work. Moreover, if it is tough for an average healthy person then it is the real inspirational stories that put my attempt at an Ironman into perspective. These are the types of heroes I will have going round my head when completing mine. I shall list a few.

Team Hoyt

  I mentioned this amazing and inspirational father and son team on my first post. Their story brings a tear to my eye very time and if you still haven't seen this clip I urge you to!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRHxHapwirw&noredirect=1

The inspirational father and son; 'Team Hoyt'

  Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalise Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. They refused to believe this and developed their own way of communicating with their son. 

  In the spring of 1977, Rick told his father that he wanted to participate in a 5-mile charity run for a Lacrosse player who had been paralysed in an accident. Far from being a long-distance runner, Dick agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair and they finished all 5 miles, coming in next to last. That night, Rick told his father, "Dad, when I'm running, it feels like I'm not handicapped.
 They have now competed in over 1000 races including marathons, duathlons and triathlons (including 6 Ironman events).

  In a triathlon, Dick will pull Rick in a boat with a bungee cord attached to a vest around his waist and to the front of the boat for the swimming stage. For the biking stage, Rick will ride a special two-seater bicycle, and then Dick will push Rick in his custom made running chair (for the running stage).

  Dick is 72 years old and there is no sign of him stopping.

Jon Blais

  On May 2, 2005, at age 33, Jon Blais was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known motor neurone disease, an incurable and progressive disease in which the nerve cells controlling voluntary muscle movement degenerate and die off. He was permitted to enter the 2005 Ironman in Hawaii, a lifelong dream. As Blais put it, "Finishing the race is huge for me. No one is beating ALS. No one has done anything but walk away and die." His resolve to finish the race was unwavering as he stated, "Even if I have to be rolled across the finish line, I'm finishing." After a total of sixteen and a half hours of agony, just over half an hour before the cut-off, he "log-rolled" across the finish line and is the first person with ALS to finish this race. He died on May 27, 2007. Some international triathletes, including Chrissie Wellington, continue to honor Blais and show their support for the fight against ALS by doing a "Blazeman-Roll" across the Ironman finish line.

Chrissie Wellington doing the 'Blazeman' roll across the finishing line

Scott Rigsby

  This story just astounds me, it is so moving.

  In 1986, aged eighteen, Scott had been riding home from work with friends on the back of a pick-up truck in Georgia, when the truck was hit by an articulated lorry. He was dragged hundreds of yards beneath the trailer. He suffered third degree burns up his back, his right leg was severed and his left was left barely intact. Nearly twenty years of pain and despair followed. After twelve years of operations and treatment, Scott decided to amputate what was left of his left leg. He suffered from depression and prescription drug addiction.

   In 2005 he had an epiphany and set himself the target of becoming an Ironman. In 2007 he did just that coming in a quarter of an hour short of the cut-off time, at 16hr43min. During the marathon he’d had to stop every few miles to empty the blood and sweat from his prosthetics.

  He now has his own foundation and inspires people through public speaking and counselling. Just his story is inspiring enough.

Rudy Garcia Tolson

  Scott Rigbsy is the first double amputee to complete and Ironman, and in 2009 Rudy Garcia Tolson became the first double-above-knee amputee to complete one. By then at twenty-one he had already competed and won medals in the pool at the Paralmpics in Athens at fifteen and then in Beijing. 

  In 2009 he raced in Ironman Hawaii, but missed the 5.30pm cut-off time on the bike by eight minutes. It is no wonder that he struggled to make the cut-off time. I cannot conceive how anyone could ride 112 miles without any hamstrings or quads. In propelling his bike forwards, Rudy can only use his glutes. He can't stand up on the pedals or shift his weight around, which robs him of yet more strategies to ease the pain.

  He tried again in Ironman Arizona six weeks later. 

  Rudy was born with numerous genetic defects, the worst of which were in his legs. He required fifteen operations as a child, before, aged five, deciding to have his legs removed altogether, so that he could get on with living on a pair of prosthetic limbs.

  He is an example to us all. 

  There are many more heroes within Ironman but these few put everything into perspective and prove that the 'impossible' is possible.