As 2016 began I had no inkling that by the end of the year I would have completed two triathlons and would have lost 1.5 stone in weight (9.5kg). It certainly wasn't a New Year resolution. Truth be told, some tough love from friends encouraged me to start Slimming World at the end of April and soon after I had entered myself in for the Culford Sprint Triathlon in Suffolk with a d-day of 24th July. I chose the Culford Triathlon as it finished with 4km run instead of the usual 5km. Running is my weakest discipline (still) and so I thought that might help me somewhat.
Inspired by my wife who 8 months after barely completing her first Parkrun in Southend, ran a marathon, I started the free, timed and organised 5km runs in mid 2015. My 10th Parkrun was on 2nd January 2016 and my time was 34:23.
My target ever since starting was to 'sub 30mins' but I was struggling to even be sub 32 mins, my PB for up to that point was 32.13.
Upon joining Slimming World however and actually losing weight I had an amazing run of 5 PBs in 5 weeks.
I managed to go sub-32 on 14th May, sub-31 on 21st May and sub-30 on 28th May. My five week streak culminated in going sub-29 on 25th June. In that time I had lost approximately 1 stone and 3 mins16 secs.
I love Parkrun and am so thankful for the organisers and volunteers who run them week in week out. My wife, sister and friend even made it into one of the local rags in celebration of 200 Parkruns in Southend.
My Triathlon Tips for Novices
1. The first bit of advice I received was to get fast tie elastic laces to help with transitions. Job done, they are great.
2. Nailing transitions is really important and they are rightly referred to as the 'fourth' discipline. I took part in two Go-Tri events (200m swim - 5km bike (on grass) - 2500m run) hosted by East Essex Tri Club which were brilliant for getting my transitions quicker and more efficient as well as getting used to doing a Triathlon.
3. Bring talc for socks/shoes.
4. Get a number belt. Makes things easier regarding showing your number.
D-Day 24th July
The Culford Triathlon is located at Culford Independent School which provided an impressive backdrop for the day's proceedings. Being a fast swimmer my set off time for the pool swim was towards the end. Being a slow runner I was concerned that I might be the last one out on the course.
My modest aim was to not come last although I did set a target of 1hr 20mins. My other more important target was to raise money for The Dorothy Springer Trust, an educational charity in Sierra Leone that we support. We managed to raise £2000 which fully funded a couple of disabled students on IT courses. Cometh the day...
As for my time I was delighted with 1:13:51, more than six minutes off my target. I was also awarded 121st place out of 191 finishers so I was very happy with that.
I did another sprint triathlon in 2016 too, in October. Again I was really happy with my performance, particularly the swim where I was 10th fastest out of the whole field. Sadly I was the 15th slowest runner though. You can't have everything.
I even did the Southend 10k after refusing to even entertain the idea...
So, if you have the will to improve your fitness this year, if a fat bloke in his forties can do it, surely can you.
Onwards into 2017...
Park Run
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| Southend Parkrun Early 2016. I call this photo 'Why?' |
My target ever since starting was to 'sub 30mins' but I was struggling to even be sub 32 mins, my PB for up to that point was 32.13.
Upon joining Slimming World however and actually losing weight I had an amazing run of 5 PBs in 5 weeks.
I managed to go sub-32 on 14th May, sub-31 on 21st May and sub-30 on 28th May. My five week streak culminated in going sub-29 on 25th June. In that time I had lost approximately 1 stone and 3 mins16 secs.
2. Nailing transitions is really important and they are rightly referred to as the 'fourth' discipline. I took part in two Go-Tri events (200m swim - 5km bike (on grass) - 2500m run) hosted by East Essex Tri Club which were brilliant for getting my transitions quicker and more efficient as well as getting used to doing a Triathlon.
3. Bring talc for socks/shoes.
4. Get a number belt. Makes things easier regarding showing your number.
D-Day 24th July
My modest aim was to not come last although I did set a target of 1hr 20mins. My other more important target was to raise money for The Dorothy Springer Trust, an educational charity in Sierra Leone that we support. We managed to raise £2000 which fully funded a couple of disabled students on IT courses. Cometh the day...
As for my time I was delighted with 1:13:51, more than six minutes off my target. I was also awarded 121st place out of 191 finishers so I was very happy with that.
I did another sprint triathlon in 2016 too, in October. Again I was really happy with my performance, particularly the swim where I was 10th fastest out of the whole field. Sadly I was the 15th slowest runner though. You can't have everything.
I even did the Southend 10k after refusing to even entertain the idea...
So, if you have the will to improve your fitness this year, if a fat bloke in his forties can do it, surely can you.
Onwards into 2017...
