Team Freespeed

This week I saw an advert on Twitter from Team Freespeed where you could apply to be a member of Team Freespeed.

For the uninitiated Team Freespeed are a triathlon team made up of Age Groupers who pride themselves on taking athletes to Kona every year. Their list of sponsors is superb (and luckily stuff I use).

You had to submit your application in 154 characters as the team are people who give 110%. A tweet can have 140 characters.

Needless to say I threw my hat into the ring.

An active social media life is also a pre requisite to the process and to be fair between this blog and my Twitter account I do have an active social media presence.

What? I hear you cry.

How dare I consider myself good enough to join a team of superb age groupers. This team produced the fastest female AGer at Kona in 2013 in Catherine Faux. How can you consider yourself good enough.

In truth I don't.

Do I deserve to be a member of Team Freespeed on actual speed or finishes to date.

No.

However, do I have the drive and determination to be a member of Team Freespeed, you bet your ass I do.

My aim is to be the best athlete I can be and being a member of Team Freespeed would help achieve this.

I know that me claiming to have drive and determination may sound self centred but lets analyse this in detail.

• In January 2012 I was a 16.5 stone couch potato who did no exercise and smoked a lot.

• I gave up smoking and set myself a challenge of completing London Triathlon. #jobdone

• Despite having a blip with smoking I finally gave up for good in November 2012.

• I then set myself a challenge of completing the Outlaw Triathlon in 2013, 247 days after giving up smoking. #jobdone. I ran across the line in 15:19:00

• As part of this journey I have set myself numerous challenges to date and completed them all. Lets look at these.

• Sub 30 5km. #jobdone
• Sub 1 hour 10km. #jobdone
• Sub 25 5km. #jobdone PB currently 24:12
• Sub 55 10km. #jobdone PB currently 54:39
• Sub 27:30 1500m swim. #jobdone
• Sub 25:00 1500m swim. #jobdone PB currently 23:46
• Set a new PB in London Triathlon. I bested my PB by 45 minutes in one year. Thats a 22% improvement in one year after I ran across the line in 2:47:04 #jobdone

So yes I have the drive and determination to back up my claims. To date I have not missed a target that I have set myself.

Training and receiving advice with and from world class Age Group athletes would help me be the best that I can be. And after all that is all we want, isn't it?


Two of my close Twitter friends have also applied to be members of Team Freespeed and equally they deserve a chance to train and learn from this group of superb athletes. Good luck Hollie and Lee. I wish you well in your quest.

Thanks for reading,

Michael