7 triathlons in 2013 - well it seemed like a good idea at the time

After I completed the London Triathlon I contemplated what to do for 2013 now that the triathlon bug seems to have taken hold.

I knew I wanted to make the jump to long distance as I feel I am definitely built for endurance rather than speed, especially given how stubborn I can be.

So I had already decided I would be completing the Outlaw Triathlon on the 7th July. Then I got to thinking about completing a minimum of one triathlon at every distance up to iron in 2013.

This would mean completing the following triathlons in 2013

1. Supersprint (0.4k swim, 10k bike and 2.5k run)
2. Sprint (0.75k swim, 20k bike and 5k run)
3. Olympic (1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run)
4. Half iron (1.9k siwm, 90k bike and 21.1k run)
5. Iron (3.8k swim, 180k bike and 42.4k run)

So far I have managed to enter all but one of these distances

1. Not entered
2. Rother Valley Triathlon on 9th June
3. London Triathlon on 28th July
4. Mallorca Ironman70.3 on 11th May
5. Outlaw on 7th July

I have also entered the Clitheroe Triathlon on 14th April as it is quite a hilly course and I think I will need some hill practice before the Mallorca Ironman 70.3 in May.

The course profile for Mallorca is a little extreme and sees you rise 600m over 20km which is an average gradient of approx 3% which admittedly doesn't sound a lot but it is for an unrelenting 20km and given I live in one of the flattest areas of the country, I don't get much practice at climbing.

Course profile for Ironman 70.3 Mallorca

Thankfully I am also going on a training camp to Mallorca in March which will see me complete the bike route before the triathlon in May.

I have also signed up to be part of a relay team for the Leeds Triathlon on 8th September where I will be completing the swim.

Anyway the reason for this blog is I am currently contemplating completing a supersprint triathlon in July.

Now before you all go off thinking I am mad for contemplating a third triathlon in July, which I probably am, there are valid reasons behind all three triathlons.

Outlaw

I realise I am never going to set the triathlon World on fire given the fact I am currently tipping the scales at 15 stone 11 (woohoo I've lost a whole 6 lbs in just under a year since I started this quest) so I purposely picked the Outlaw due to its relatively flat nature and proximity to my home for my first iron distance event. If I am bitten by the iron distance bug, there is a good chance that I will complete other iron distance events with more hills. After all I would like to get an M. tattoo at some stage. Who knows Bolton in 2014 may be on the agenda but I will delay making statements like that until after I have survived the Oultaw.

London

This is the one that started it all, the one that caught my eye some 11 months ago when I was starting this quest. I've been there and done it but given the horrendous weather (http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/and-on-seventh-day-god-created-rain.html) I was unhappy with my time and feel we have unfinished business so I need to go back and redeem myself and I will smash my PB from 2012.

And now for the supersprint I am contemplating..........

On the 21st July 2013, 14 days after the Outlaw and 7 days before London. www.fun2tri.co.uk are holding the City of Birmingham Triathlon which includes a supersprint distance event. Now why has this triathlon in particular caught my eye. Well for two reasons.

1. Firstly it will be good to get the legs working after a break post Outlaw given I have to swimbikerun for 51.5km 7 days later.
2. But most importantly www.fun2tri.co.uk have chosen HelpHarryHelpOthers as their official charity partner for 2013 and given I have chosen to raise money for HHHO in 2013 it seems quite fitting. There is also the fact that Harry Moseley was born in Birmingham, his charity is based in Birmingham and the people of Birmingham cherish Harry (there have been sponsored walks, cycles and a Ball in his honour and now some idiot has decided to run triathlons for HHHO) so it all seems like a good idea at the time of writing. Who knows www.fun2tri.co.uk may even want to stock my custom design trisuit for the event. I am sending the design and a pricelist to Harry's mum this week once I recieve them off my supplier.

My HHHO custom trisuit

So do I go for my third triathlon in July or would this be considered lunacy by some?

Remember you can sponsor me by clicking on the following link www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry

That's all from me for now.

Michael

2012 - A retrospective look at the year which changed my life

I sit here writing this blog reminiscing over the previous 12 months.

One year ago today, if you'd asked me what 2012 would mean for me. I would have responded that the Olympics would be a big deal and I would get one year older. That was the scale of my sedentary lifestyle.

Who knew how much my life would change following a decision I made on the 26th January?

It was on this fateful day that I decided to give up smoking. It was also on this day that I thought that I could complete an Olympic distance triathlon.

So here I sit looking back at all I have achieved and 2012 looked like this for me.

• Distance travelled under my own steam - 703 miles
• Distance Swum - 26 miles
• Distance Cycled - 511 miles
• Distance Run - 166 miles
• Number of workouts - 141
• Calories burnt - 78679 kcal
• Time spent training - 86 hours and 9 minutes
• Times this blog has been read - 11305

This is astounding in itself but if we break things down further the scale of improvement is massive

Comparison between 2011 and 2012

As well as this I have completed a sprint and an olympic distance triathlon and in the process raised £1025 for Cancer Research. 

Not bad for a years work but if we consider what I have planned for 2013, there's a long way to go.

2013 will mean for me

• Completing 5 triathlons ranging in distance from sprint to ironman on my own.
• Completing an olympic triathlon as part of a relay.
• Swimming a minimum of 210km as someone on Twitter challenged me. This is equal to swimming the channel six times.
• Training as a BTF level 1 coach
• Assisting in the running of a new triathlon club in Sheffield.
• Raising as much money as I can for Help Harry Help Others
• Beginning to enjoy running
• Training everyday in January as I have signed up for the Poppyfields January Challenge.

01/01/13 edit

It seems that I have signed up to several challenges for 2013 through the wonderful medium of Twitter

I have signed up to

• #DryAthlon and aim to become a #DryAthlete by not drinking for a minimum of one month. This should help with my planned weight loss.
• #ChannelChallenge which involves swimming the English Channel as many times as possible in 2013. Obviously I will not be swimming the English Channel for real but will be completing the 35km as many times as possible in 2013 by swimming in pools and outside and logging the distances completed.
• #12runsofchristmas this involves running everyday for 12 days from the 26th December. I am currently on day 7 and will be going for a run later. This challenge has seen me set new personal bests for 1km, 1 mile and 2.5km and there is still another 6 days of running to go.
• #PoppyfieldsJanuaryChallenge involves me exercising every day throughout January and if I miss any days I have to pay a fine to charity of £1. For more information on this challenge please check out the blog here. http://www.shortfatbaldsid.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/poppyfields-january-challenge.html?m=1
• #FitTeam13. This is not a challenge but more of a Twitter movement set up by Stuart Amory who is a personal trainer to celebrities like Jake Humphrey. Every month he posts a video on YouTube which his followers aim to complete. The hashtag #FitTeam13 connects like minded people on Twitter and has put in touch with some wonderful people. For more information on this please check out Stuart's blog. http://stuartamorypt.com/2012/12/28/what-was-fitteam12-and-what-is-fitteam13/

If you're feeling particularly generous and would like to donate to my quest, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry 

Thanks everyone for reading and continuing to support me in my quest.

Michael

Training bits and bobs

Well my blog post last week was received very well. I can't believe the support my honesty got. If you missed it you can read it here.

http://smoker2triathlete.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-hardest-thing-i-have-ever-written.html

I am a little shocked that I haven't blogged since the 5th November about my training. It's been going okay apart from the fact that my knee is a little painful today although that could be as a result of 8 training sessions in 8 days.

I've been steadily improving in my swimming and my running. And finally I don't have an excuse not to go out on my bike during the winter.

Swimming

Since the 5th November I have been swimming a total of 5 times and have accumulated over 4 miles in the pool. I really do find that swimming helps me forget the stresses of work. I've been concentrating on both technique and speed this month. I've also set myself a target of being able to complete 1500m non stop in the pool in a time of 00:27:30. My best time to date has been 00:29:30 so I have some work to do but I think it will be achievable.

One of my Twitfriends commented on how well my swimming has been going and as a result I am now signed up to the Leeds Triathlon as part of a relay. I will be completing the swimming leg with @thebaldygit completing the bike leg and  @nicolaclarefox completing the run. We have named the relay team "The Twitter Trio" as we have all met on Twitter and not in real life.

Cycling

My cycling workouts since my last post have totalled 38.55 miles split over two workouts. I've been struggling to find the time to train at weekends as I have been busy. The other reason behind my lack of training has been my nervousness over crashing on my Trek Madone during winter.

I formulated a plan for this with the help of my friends and family. I debated getting a second bike using the Governments Bike to Work Scheme but decided against this. I debated buying a second cheaper bike but in the end I decided to take my 1996 GT Tempest mountain bike to a local bike shop to see how much it would cost to repair and turn into a winter training bike. This was the cheapest option and I really don't know why I didn't do this sooner. I picked my refurbed bike up today and took it out on two rides. It's definitely not as quick as my road bike but at least if I crash, it should be cheaper to repair.

My refurbed training bike

This month has also seen me purchase my race wheels for 2013. I decided on some Planet X 60mm carbon clinchers and I can't wait to try them out in Mallorca in March.

My new wheels

The turbo chamber has also been outfitted with a telly to make my sessions less tedious, this training in winter lark is a lot different to training during summer.

The latest addition to the Turbo "Torture" Chamber

Running

This month I've mostly been concentrating on increasing my run distance in weekly increments with the aim being to be able to complete most of my runs without walking next season. This has been going very well until yesterday when I seem to have tweaked something in my right knee. Yesterday was my first trail run since I was 14 and (apart form the pain today) I really enjoyed it which was a shock in itself.

My muddy trainers

My Newton trainers have been a really good purchase and I'm really glad the ran the BOGOF offer. Two pairs for £120. They really suit my forefoot strike. I think I prefer the Sir Isaac to the Terra Momentus but this is probably due to the fact I ave worn them more.

In total since the 5th November I have run 11.37 miles and set a new PB for 1km. 5 minutes and 33 seconds. Who knows maybe there is a runner hidden in me somewhere. I'm not gonna lie I was knackered after this but at least I set a new PB.

The other interesting thing I have learnt about my running this month is I appear to not be using my glutes when running. I think this is the case as I am getting a lot of pain in my quads when running. I need to remedy this as my legs are beginning to look like Robert Forstemann's. They are bordering on ridiculous. I would put a pic up but instead you'll have to make do with the aforementioned sprint cyclists.

I resorted to Twitter and think I have a plan to make my glutes start firing but if this doesn't work I am sure the wonders of Google can come to the rescue.

Other bits and bobs

Centurions Triathlon has moved on in the last month or so. I met with the bloke who's brainchild it is and should be attending my first training session this week (knee pain depending). I've been given a Centurions Triathlon hoodie as thanks for my help in getting things moving. The trisuit design has been finalised by Quest Sportswear and it largely replicates my initial design and is looking really good.

Centurions Triathlon trisuit

Also this month I have ordered a mug to provide motivation with regards to the London Triathlon next year. I am still annoyed I missed my target by 2 minutes and 57 seconds.

My daily motivation and reminder

Just so you all know I finally managed to beat my sponsorship target for Cancer Research. In total I raised £1025. Thank you all for your support.

November in numbers

Training sessions - 15

Training days - 15

Non training days - 15

Swimming miles - 4.06

Cycling miles - 47.48

Running miles - 12.57

Average speed - 7.63 mph

Total calories burnt - 5173

Remember you can sponsor me for next season by clicking on this link. It is for a great cause (Help Harry Help Others) and your sponsorship could make a huge difference to someone.

Thats all from me folks. Thanks for reading.

Michael (30 days without a cigarette and going strong)

The hardest thing I have ever written.....

I've been debating long and hard over this blog post but I feel it only fair to share what's been going on in the past few months.

As you are all no doubt aware I have managed to get a new job at home, which is amazing as I only applied for the one job.

This job meant so much to me as it would allow me to live back at home and actually get to spend time with my friends and most importantly my wife. Living in hotels for a period of 51 weeks was really not for me especially when it was meant to only be for a period of 10 weeks.

I met some fantastic people who I would not have met had I not been in the hotel in London, most notably all the RG Active people who I consider friends.

Anyway back to the point. Due to how much this job meant to me, I had managed to heap an inordinate amount of pressure on myself prior to my second interview.

This job would end my hotel boredom and allow me more stability for training. Like I said pressure.

During a stupid moment of weakness on my way to my second interview I managed to undo over 150 days hard work and succumbed to a craving for a cigarette as I thought it would help me cope with my nerves.

To this day I have no idea why I did this and hated myself for doing it but I was once again feeding the nicotine monster and before I knew it I had started my descent down the slippery slope. At first I was buying a pack a day and smoking one cigarette and throwing the rest in the bin. After a night drinking in London with my work colleagues I took another step down the slippery slope and smoked more than usual and was then a smoker again.

It really is a slippery slope and I hated what I was doing to myself as I hadn't struggled to give up. I'd just had a moment of weakness and was now paying the price.

I had also become what Allen Carr refers to as a secret smoker as I hadn't told anyone I was smoking. When I was at home I would formulate excuses to go out to allow me time to feed the little monster. I was lying to my friends and family. I felt stupid but here I was again a smoker.

It wasn't long before I developed a cough and I even lied to my wife when she asked me about my cough and if I had been smoking. I denied all knowledge. What an idiot I was being.

Things all came to a head when me and Nicola went to went to the Help Harry Help Others ball in Birmingham on the 19th October. I had relied on Twitter to get the tickets but due to some complications, the person who I was getting the tickets off couldn't make it. She was meant to be travelling from Germany but didn't and I had no way of contacting other members in her party. I worked myself into a right bundle of stress and fed the monster due to extra complications with a receptionist at the hotel I had gone to, to collect the tickets. Anyway relief ensued and I finally managed to get the tickets. I happily made my way back to the hotel where Nicola was getting ready and as soon as I walked in to give her a hug, she said I smelt of smoke. This was it, that one moment where I could have lied again but I had to come clean, this is my wife I couldn't lie again so I was honest and confessed all. I admitted to being a smoker again. I cried and felt stupid but I also felt a huge weight had been lifted off me. Between us we formulated a plan for me to start taking Champix again and to recommence the journey to being a non smoker again (she was amazingly supportive, which was not what I was expecting). I have now been a non smoker since Friday 2nd November and am taking each day as it comes. I've been an idiot and undone so much hard work.

To all the people who have called me inspirational and followed me on this journey, I'm sorry. I've been an idiot.

My faux pas shows that no matter your level of motivation is for not smoking, it can all be undone in a moment of weakness. I have learnt so much about the idiosyncrasies of the nicotine trap and believe me from experience it is a trap and you can only break free with the right support. My wife will always support me through everything and for that I am eternally grateful.

If you are annoyed with me for failing in my journey, I am sorry. If you have stopped smoking because you were inspired by me, I am also sorry but stay strong and don't start smoking again. Use the support of friends and family when life gets tough and don't make the same mistake that I did.

Hope you all stay with me on this journey,

Unlike a certain well known cyclist, at least I have had the courage to admit my failings in a bare all confession. Lol.

Sorry.

Michael

I love it when a plan comes together

Firstly apologies for not blogging, I've been ill. I had a stinking cold, which resulted in no training and has been irritating.

I'm settling back into living at home and my new job and I even think my wife is enjoying having me back despite my "hamster-like qualities". Apparently I have a habit of creating nests out of clothes AKA being too lazy to hang my clothes up. OOOPS.

2013 will be a good year

As discussed previously I have been formulating a plan for my triathlons in 2013 and things are nearly finalised.

So far I have signed up for

• Clitheroe triathlon in erm... Clitheroe on the 14th April 2013, this is a 3/4 olympic distance triathlon in my home town and I am looking forward to me family being there to support me.
• Ironman 70.3 in Mallorca on the 12th May 2013. I am hoping the heat isn't to prohibitive but I have managed ot fir this in with a holiday as well. This will be my first foray into a half ironman distance triathlon
• Potentially the Rother Valley Sprint in Sheffield on the 9th June 2013.
• The Outlaw in Nottingham on the 7th July 2013, the big one and my first full distance triathlon. I really hope my legs are up to the 26.2 mile run after completing the 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike ride.
• The London triathlon on July 27th in London. I am completing this as I have unfinished business with this triathlon after this year.

Al these triathlons are for Harry Moseley and his charity Help Harry Help Others. I hope my stubbornness sees me complete all the triathlons and raise lots of money for the charity.

The HHHO trisuit

 I was lucky to go the inaugural charity ball for HHHO and had a fantastic time with my wife.

I have also contacted Compressport about doing me some custom calf guards to compliment my trisuit design and they have said this could be a possibility. I hope they can sort these out.

Triathlon is again proving an expensive hobby. Recently I have bought some new trainers as Newton Running had a BOGOF offer on, which equated to two pairs for £120.

I also think I will need a new wetsuit for next season given I am dieting at the moment.

I have to find some way of making the running easier on my knees.

I have also managed to devise a wish list of things to buy. So far for next season that consists of

• Louis Garneau Vorticce helmet
• Planet X 60mm Carbon Clincher wheel set
• Xlab Carbon Wing
• Huub Aerious wetsuit

Since my last blog I have finally joined a gym. I have decided to grace Nuffield Health in Doncaster with my presence. I will mostly be doing my swimming training there but I may be tempted to spin at some point.

Swimming

Before my cold, I managed to set a new PB in the pool by completing 1500m in sub 30 by completing it in 29:47. This was on day two of joining the gym and on day one I only just missed out on the sub 30 by completing the distance in 30:59. I haven't swum in two weeks since I contracted the evil lurgy.

Cycling

After finally changing from my racing tyres to my normal tyres, I have put some time on the turbo trainer. On Saturday I completed an easy hour and cycled 35km. I was quite happy with this and was glad to get some time in the saddle. I should have ridden outside but I was a little pushed for time as I had to complete my Christmas shopping. Aren't I organised?

Running

Since my last blog I have completed three runs. Two before my cold and one since. The first two were to break in my new Newton Gravity trainers but they rubbed some of my toes. These shoes were bought for racing but I am not happy about the rubbing. I will have to investigate. 

I then bought a pair of Newton Sir Isaac and Newton Terra Momentus in their BOGOF offer and the Sir Isaac are very comfy. I can't wait to get some more miles in them. The Terra Momentus were bought with the aim of completing some trail runs over the winter months.

My new trainers

Run 1 was just over 2km, run 2 was just over 4km and run 3 was just under 2km. I plan on slowly building my distances up over the winter months and will try and stick to the training plan I have been set by Karen.

As previously discussed I was trying to find a triathlon club, I am now proud to say I will be joining a new club based in Sheffield. The name of the club is Centurions Triathlon. I was invited by the founder to design their trisuit and I think I came up with a cracking design.

Centurions Triathlon trisuit

The design has been sent to Quest Sportwear and I am sure they won't disappoint with the finalisation. I can't wait to see the pimped up design.

It has even been rumoured that I could help with coaching the new club. Honestly me a triathlon coach. Who'd have thought that would happen?

If you would like to sponsor me, please visit my Justgiving page.

Thanks for reading and hopefully I will be back to blogging regularly now I am over the lurgy.

Michael