He Can’t Run, I can’t ride or swim!

He Can't Run, I can't ride or swim so we thought it would be a good idea to do a Triathlon!

Now it probably would of made more sense to do this as a team so we could both try and excel in our strongest category but we are not the type of people who do things by halves- Never have been! So on the 29th of June Gavin and I will be taking part in the Jersey Triathlon - The Olympic distance (1500m sea swim, 40km bike ride and a 10km run). I had this idea last year after completing my 3rd Marathon, I knew I had a bug for challenges and I knew I was ready for a new challenge, trust me a marathon is a great challenge but I felt I had achieved so much and I had trained myself to a high standard. My hard working husband sometimes needs an escape so would often go for a ride or a sea swim, I hadn't ridden a bike since I was about 10 so when we made the decision to start training I knew things were about to be very different. I'll never forget the first time we went to the pool, I could do an OK breaststroke but a mermaid I am not! After an hour of technique lessons I managed 4 lengths of the pool doing front crawl. I felt exhausted, I can run all day long but put me in a pool and after 10 minutes I'm totally wrecked! I knew I had a lot of work to do but I also knew that with time and training I would be able to do it.

Time is something we don't have a lot of, I work part time, my husband works full time and volunteers at a youth centre, I am in the process of doing a college course which involves studying at home, we have 2 young children and our youngest is only in part-time nursery, with no family to call on for help the next few months became one big juggling act. We made the commitment that at least once a week we would set the alarm and go out to train before the school run, I would usually go Monday and Wednesday at 6:00am, that feeling of dread when the alarm goes off at 5:30 is awful but I soon realised that the feeling of satisfaction I got from completing an early morning run far out did the dread. I have had some beautiful morning runs/rides watching the sun rise or running by the waters edge at high tide when there is no one else around.  As I mentioned before I hadn't been on a bike since I was 10, I needed a bike for the race so I bought a beautiful white road bike, I was so excited to use it. My first ride out I woke up early and headed up to the cycle track, It was a beautiful morning, I just kept doing revolutions so I could get used to the gears and chain sets. I got more and more confident and was picking up some nice speed, out of no where a lady appeared and threw a ball across the track for her dog to chase, the dog ran straight in front of me knocking me flying from my bike landing on the concrete (in front of 30 cadets!) - OUCH! I lost most the skin off my elbow, shoulder and knee, I recovered over 2 weeks but it certainly put a holt to my training, my next challenge was to learn to ride "clipped in" This was something I found tough and to date I think I've probably fallen off about 15 times!! But I am getting the hang of it and it is a more efficient way of riding. Gavin got his bike, cleats and clip in shoes and was a complete natural - why was it so hard for me?  

Gavin finds the running hard, he started by running 2 miles and built up to 6 and worked really hard at picking up his pace. Back to back training started last month and wowzers what a shock to the system! The sea swimming is tough and this is the area that I will struggle with the most. After cycling up steep hills for 1 1/2 hours and then to get off and run feels so strange, but we are getting used to the feeling of running on tired legs. This is a big personal challenge for us both and a lot of people ask why are you doing it if you can't swim very well? My answer is always the same "If you find something easy, Is it really a challenge?" I have no idea how the day will go but what I do know is that I have shed blood, sweat and tears for this race, I have sacrificed lie-ins, meals and drinks out, my last date night with Gavin consisted of a cycle and a run rather than dinner and cocktails. I always put 100% effort into everything I do and this race will be no exception.

We are wanting to raise money for the school PTA where our children go. Oscar and Daisy are very lucky to go to such a lovely school. The PTA work really hard and give up their time for free. They are always looking for fun ways to raise money. All the money raised by doing this challenge will benefit our children and their friends. Just this year the PTA have raised money to have a trim trail installed in the school - We are all for active kids!

Please,  if you can make a donation do so as it will be very much appreciated and put to very good use. If the girl with the dog ever gets to read this then here is your chance to make it up to me - dig deep lady!!

Thank you all so much, knowing we have your support means a lot and when it gets tough on the day  we can think of all you lovely people who have donated and it will definitely spur us on. This is my biggest challenge to date.     

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