So today I had a few hours spare and a willingness to crack on, time to give the body a shock then.

I booked myself onto an ‘RPM’ spinning class at my gym, it was the first one I’d been to for months so I had to find my rhythm again and the right resistance but sure enough, by the end of, i was a sweaty mess but it felt good to be on a bike again even if it was a static one and always reminds me that it’s my favourite discipline of the three.

Next up was a mile in the pool, not only to cool off but also to improve my swimming overall. That being said, if it wasn’t for my beloved pull buoy I’d still be there floundering around right now. I’ve got heavy legs and quite simply I just sink so that thing is a blessing, it means I can concentrate on getting my breathing and stroke right rather than focus on my legs which I never use when I’m wearing a wetsuit anyway. The pool was fairly quiet yet somehow a guy resembling a hippo still found it necessary to join in right between me and another swimmer with us all clashing arms and legs, etc rather than using the massive empty space at the side, what a tool!

Fortunately a lane opened up so I took advantage of that and did the last half of my swim there. Not too long ago I wouldn’t have dared to swim in a lane as I’m useless but needs must when you’re trying to improve and I can honestly say that every time I get in the pool I feel a little more confident than the previous time and a little bit better so something must be working.

So today I’ve had to come away with work for a couple of days and had planned to bring my running gear with me so that i could go for a little explore in the evening but given that our hotel is trapped between two dual carriageways, a main railway and a waste disposal company’s land (classy i know) i thought better of it. Instead I did the morning school run and set off straight from there glad to finally get going after being stood around in the bitter wind in running gear waiting for the school to open so that our excited son could go in and see his friends again.

Things got off to a slow start when before I’d even hit go on my watch i realised that i needed a wee so risked it and found a hidden bit behind a bush, desperate to not only water the plants but also not be seen by other parents with my tackle out near the gates of a primary school as that would just lead to some ‘interesting’ questions.

Finally the run got going, I’d planned on doing 10k but right from the off my legs felt tired. I’d spent the last two nights on the foam roller in agony trying to move the lactic acid that was pooled in my calves much to the annoyance of my wife.

This is a relatively new issue for me in that throughout my life I’ve been very lucky in terms of injuries but over the last 12-18 months I’ve found that my calves really struggle to recover unless i give them some attention hence the roller, the stretches, the compression socks, etc and i guess it’s just age catching up with me finally in this race called life.

Nevertheless i cracked on with the run having armed myself with a new album filled with nostalgic tracks from the 90s that I’d not listened to in years which gave my mind somewhere to drift off to, so much so that at a junction i took totally the wrong turn and found myself heading off somewhere completely different before getting myself back on track.

As the run progressed i realised that i wasn’t running at my usual 10k pace and so made a conscious effort to just stick at the slightly slower pace rather than risk upping the pace only to suffer an injury, etc later on. The issue with my calves has caused me to really start to listen to my body more than i used to and whilst there are times when I’ll just have to shout ‘shut up legs!’, there are also going to be times when i just have to be sensible and rest or do something different like a swim instead of a run, etc and this is a habit you can only teach yourself as nobody knows your body better than you.

I managed the run and just over 10k and made sure i did some stretches once i finished as the minute I walked through the door i was helping my wife clean the house before getting my stuff together to go to work. The world keeps turning and you’re just a little insignificant dot upon it but no one is going to live your life for you so try and enjoy it as best as you can.

P.s. as i type this my legs are aching like a good’un so it’ll be more stretches later, rest tomorrow and a recovery run the day after.

Laters.

Thanks for joining me!

Hi there and welcome to my blog. I’ve never done one of these before so keep that in mind when you start wondering what sort of dross will appear next or why you wasted several minutes of your busy life reading this when you could’ve been laughing at that meme your friend just sent you.

So what’s the blog about?

Basically I’ve signed up to an Ironman in 2019 and this blog will hopefully chronicle the highs, the lows and the in betweens when it comes to the training, the dieting and the general prep leading up to the big day.

What makes it different to all the other blogs?

Honestly? Probably not a lot but then again maybe quite a bit. I intend it to be a ‘warts and all’ write up with down to earth language. I’m not being sponsored by any one nor am I expecting to walk away from this having made any money. My only motivation is to share my experience in the hope that it shows other people that anyone can do a triathlon and maybe even inspire the odd one or two to give it a go.

So who the hell am I and what makes me so damn special?

In short, nothing. Not a damn thing. I’m not a fantastic athlete, I’m just a regular thirty something bloke who has a wife and a 5 year old son, I work shifts, i have asthma, I’m short and I run like a fat kid in flippers chasing an ice cream van. I like to exercise and challenge myself but I like to eat more so they both kind of cancel each other out.

I’ll try and update this blog as often as I can but equally I’ll only put something on here if it’s worth a read (in my opinion) so you’re not bored to tears trying to decipher my waffle.

Until the next time, thanks very much.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton