My turn to support

After two years of competing in triathlons and being superbly supported by #MrsSmoker2Ironman at each and every event, I thought it was about time the roles were reversed.

I had heard of a new women only triathlon event being held in various places across the country.

Triathlon Pink was first launched in Australia and has raised over AUD$1M for breast cancer research since its inception. But it is now making its debut in the UK with events in the following places.

• Crystal Palace
• Bath
• Sunderland
• Leeds
• Basildon

What I really liked about Triathlon Pink was that it was non competitive and as such would be a perfect way for #MrsSmoker2Ironman to be introduced to this crazy sport which has hanged my life.

Here is a quote from the Triathlon Pink website which is what sold the event to me. "Triathlon Pink is inclusive, challenging, non-competitive, open to women of all ages and abilities, and most of all good fun! The races are held in swimming pools and on closed park roads. They are safe and provide full support to the participants taking on this life-enhancing journey."

The distances involved also seemed really achievable for #MrsSmoker2Ironman.

They consist of three different distances.

Short Course:        100m swim, 3km cycle, 1km run

Medium Course:    200m swim, 6km cycle, 2km run

Long Course:         300m swim, 9km cycle, 3km run

All really friendly for those new to the sport. And what a superb introduction to the wonderful world of multisport. I hope the events are well received and they lead to a lot more people taking up multisport.

To date I have dragged my Mrs on some small runs and she has joined me on some of my longer runs by being on her bike so that's two out of the three disciplines nailed with a bit of help from me.

There is just the slight issue of #MrsSmoker2Ironman not being able to swim.

So over the next 40 odd days we have to teach #MrsSmoker2Ironman how to swim. If she was already a swimmer I would have opted to enter her in a longer distance but given she doesn't swim I decided to play it safe and enter her in the Short Course event.

The bonus is she didn't completely flip when I told her I had entered her in the race.

She has joined me at my triathlon club swim session on Tuesday and she made some real progress in one session.

If you would like to know more about Triathlon Pink, please check out the website (www.triathlonpink.co.uk) for more details.

I can't wait to cheer her on when she starts her first triathlon in 40 odd days and it will fill me with such a sense of pride when she crosses that finishing line and I know she will.