Where it all began...
Hello again and welcome back!
You may be wondering where and when my triathlon journey began and if I remember correctly it was almost a decade ago, when my Dad completed his first tri in 2011. My first memory of triathlon takes me back to a summer's day in London, when my Dad completed London Triathlon, a sprint race, consisting of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. A late afternoon start meant it felt like my Mum and I waited for an eternity to see him start the swim, let alone cross the finish line ;) Nearly a decade on I would never have believed we would be waiting 15 hours for him to finish Ironman UK and truthfully I don't think he would have believed it either. But after almost a decade it is safe to say that as a family, triathlon has become more of a way of life, rather than a hobby. Since 2011, my Dad has gone on to complete over 30 triathlons, including five half distance races and two full distance races, the whole hog, 140.6 miles of torture, I mean triathlon. Our time watching my Dad complete triathlons led to my Mum also taking up the sport in 2015, with her favourite race being one of my favourites too - Blenheim Palace Triathlon! So, thanks to my parent's crazy hobby, I just had to get involved with the triathlon lifestyle.
Swimming has always been my go-to sport, after joining Burntwood Swimming Club at the age of 8, I couldn't get enough of it. I have met some of my best friends through swimming, many of whom are now more like family! Week nights were spent training and weekends reserved for competitions, my parents have spent so many Saturday nights sat on the side of sweaty swimming pools, near and far. My love for swimming meant that starting triathlon seemed like a natural progression. Until recently I have never considered myself a runner. A few years ago I would do the odd Parkrun and join my Dad for the occasional run, but I never particularly enjoyed it. Just last year after my Mum persuaded me to join Chasewater Runners, following her glowing reports of what a brilliant, social, supportive running club it is, I took the leap and started to run with the club! To my surprise, with the support of this lovely running club, I have come to LOVE running. I now try to run five times a week and have recently run my first half marathon. Just 12 months ago, I could barely run 10K, now I can't wait for our Long Run Sunday each week. My Mum says that's youth for you...
As many of you will know, last June the Benton Tri Family, completed Staffs Ironman 70.3 as a relay team. I swam 1.2 miles in Chasewater, my Dad biked 56 miles around Staffordshire, before my Mum ran a half marathon to bring us all together on the famous red carpet, where we crossed the finish line together. This has to be my current triathlon highlight, the race couldn't have been better. The build-up, the buzz, the bug. I have definitely got the bug. I completed the 1.2 mile swim in 31 minutes, finishing 3rd in my age category (18-24) in a field of 2,430 competitors, amongst 50 professional triathletes. It was by far the scariest experience I have ever had, arms flailed and I got my first real experience of the 'washing machine' as we turned at the first buoy. Nevertheless I knew the second I exited the water that was also the best swim I'd ever had. In the past, my experiences of swimming in open water have been rather pleasant, early evening swimming in Chasewater on a Thursday and early Saturday morning sessions, thanks to the Chasewater Open Water team, every session is always enjoyable. At Blenheim Palace Triathlon, I accidentally got too close to the front of the race before the klaxon sounded, so I ended up leading the swim, before I was promptly overtaken on the run up to transition, albeit another exciting open water experience (see the bottom of this post, for the elated picture of me, realising I was the 1st person out of the swim, although I didn't know I was already being tracked down). I still love swimming and I can't wait to get back into the open water once the lockdown is lifted. The icy temperatures, simply add to the exhilarating experience. Since I last swam in open water, I have also upgraded my watch to a newer Garmin, hence the data-obsessed part of me can't wait to try that out too!
So in my last post I mentioned a secret... After the incredible day we had at Staffs last year, racing as the Benton Tri Family, I knew once and for all that I wanted to complete the race, as an individual athlete, no longer as part of a relay team (no offence Mum and Dad). As Ironman races go, they are worldwide, from Hawaii to Tenby, so for the start of this race to be two miles from home, it is the perfect first Ironman race for me. At the moment, I can swim and run the race distances, but the bike leg needs work! MAJOR work! Then comes the issue of putting all three distances together. Hello brick sessions :) There is a plan in place, over the next few months after the lockdown is lifted I plan to get some serious bike sessions in the bag, not just the distance, but bike handling too, I'm a novice cyclist to say the least. I love a Sunday social ride, having a chat with others and drafting off someone else's back wheel, but I am increasingly aware of the training that I need to do, it's a good job I like a challenge. I plan to enter the 2021 race as soon as it opens, however with the current arrangements of this year's event remaining unknown, there is some uncertainty regarding when entries will open for the event. All being well, I will be standing on that start line in just over 12 months time, with a solid training block in the bag and with a whole lot more experience on the bike. I shall be trying to avoid any more embarrassing bike falls, although I am reassured by many experienced triathletes that they are all part of the training. I only wish I could have skipped that training session when I fell off in front of the whole University Tri club, on my first ride may I add, rather embarrassing! As it stands, there is a long way to go, but in the words of Ironman, 'Anything Is Possible'.
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about my triathlon journey so far and my plans for the not so distant future. Keep an eye out for future posts and updates from my training journey.
Stay home, stay safe.
Speak soon,
Lot x
You may be wondering where and when my triathlon journey began and if I remember correctly it was almost a decade ago, when my Dad completed his first tri in 2011. My first memory of triathlon takes me back to a summer's day in London, when my Dad completed London Triathlon, a sprint race, consisting of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. A late afternoon start meant it felt like my Mum and I waited for an eternity to see him start the swim, let alone cross the finish line ;) Nearly a decade on I would never have believed we would be waiting 15 hours for him to finish Ironman UK and truthfully I don't think he would have believed it either. But after almost a decade it is safe to say that as a family, triathlon has become more of a way of life, rather than a hobby. Since 2011, my Dad has gone on to complete over 30 triathlons, including five half distance races and two full distance races, the whole hog, 140.6 miles of torture, I mean triathlon. Our time watching my Dad complete triathlons led to my Mum also taking up the sport in 2015, with her favourite race being one of my favourites too - Blenheim Palace Triathlon! So, thanks to my parent's crazy hobby, I just had to get involved with the triathlon lifestyle.
Swimming has always been my go-to sport, after joining Burntwood Swimming Club at the age of 8, I couldn't get enough of it. I have met some of my best friends through swimming, many of whom are now more like family! Week nights were spent training and weekends reserved for competitions, my parents have spent so many Saturday nights sat on the side of sweaty swimming pools, near and far. My love for swimming meant that starting triathlon seemed like a natural progression. Until recently I have never considered myself a runner. A few years ago I would do the odd Parkrun and join my Dad for the occasional run, but I never particularly enjoyed it. Just last year after my Mum persuaded me to join Chasewater Runners, following her glowing reports of what a brilliant, social, supportive running club it is, I took the leap and started to run with the club! To my surprise, with the support of this lovely running club, I have come to LOVE running. I now try to run five times a week and have recently run my first half marathon. Just 12 months ago, I could barely run 10K, now I can't wait for our Long Run Sunday each week. My Mum says that's youth for you...
As many of you will know, last June the Benton Tri Family, completed Staffs Ironman 70.3 as a relay team. I swam 1.2 miles in Chasewater, my Dad biked 56 miles around Staffordshire, before my Mum ran a half marathon to bring us all together on the famous red carpet, where we crossed the finish line together. This has to be my current triathlon highlight, the race couldn't have been better. The build-up, the buzz, the bug. I have definitely got the bug. I completed the 1.2 mile swim in 31 minutes, finishing 3rd in my age category (18-24) in a field of 2,430 competitors, amongst 50 professional triathletes. It was by far the scariest experience I have ever had, arms flailed and I got my first real experience of the 'washing machine' as we turned at the first buoy. Nevertheless I knew the second I exited the water that was also the best swim I'd ever had. In the past, my experiences of swimming in open water have been rather pleasant, early evening swimming in Chasewater on a Thursday and early Saturday morning sessions, thanks to the Chasewater Open Water team, every session is always enjoyable. At Blenheim Palace Triathlon, I accidentally got too close to the front of the race before the klaxon sounded, so I ended up leading the swim, before I was promptly overtaken on the run up to transition, albeit another exciting open water experience (see the bottom of this post, for the elated picture of me, realising I was the 1st person out of the swim, although I didn't know I was already being tracked down). I still love swimming and I can't wait to get back into the open water once the lockdown is lifted. The icy temperatures, simply add to the exhilarating experience. Since I last swam in open water, I have also upgraded my watch to a newer Garmin, hence the data-obsessed part of me can't wait to try that out too!
So in my last post I mentioned a secret... After the incredible day we had at Staffs last year, racing as the Benton Tri Family, I knew once and for all that I wanted to complete the race, as an individual athlete, no longer as part of a relay team (no offence Mum and Dad). As Ironman races go, they are worldwide, from Hawaii to Tenby, so for the start of this race to be two miles from home, it is the perfect first Ironman race for me. At the moment, I can swim and run the race distances, but the bike leg needs work! MAJOR work! Then comes the issue of putting all three distances together. Hello brick sessions :) There is a plan in place, over the next few months after the lockdown is lifted I plan to get some serious bike sessions in the bag, not just the distance, but bike handling too, I'm a novice cyclist to say the least. I love a Sunday social ride, having a chat with others and drafting off someone else's back wheel, but I am increasingly aware of the training that I need to do, it's a good job I like a challenge. I plan to enter the 2021 race as soon as it opens, however with the current arrangements of this year's event remaining unknown, there is some uncertainty regarding when entries will open for the event. All being well, I will be standing on that start line in just over 12 months time, with a solid training block in the bag and with a whole lot more experience on the bike. I shall be trying to avoid any more embarrassing bike falls, although I am reassured by many experienced triathletes that they are all part of the training. I only wish I could have skipped that training session when I fell off in front of the whole University Tri club, on my first ride may I add, rather embarrassing! As it stands, there is a long way to go, but in the words of Ironman, 'Anything Is Possible'.
I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about my triathlon journey so far and my plans for the not so distant future. Keep an eye out for future posts and updates from my training journey.
Stay home, stay safe.
Speak soon,
Lot x
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