in memory of David - Go Tri to Ironman

Last year I took on a triathlon without training for it. It went pretty badly and I won the wooden spoon, so I decided this year to go back and try again.

In march I learnt to swim and ride a bike properly. I also learnt what a turbo trainer was. HELL

My running is far from quick and I've been struggling to fit in the training required with work. And there's a time limit of 16 hours to complete the biggest challenge of my life. In Vichy, France, in the middle of August so 36 degrees on average. Arrrrrr

Didn't think that through properly at all, although there will be plenty of french pastries I've been told.

So this challenge is all about raising money for The Maddermarket Theatre and Emmaus, both charities are very close to my heart and both give people a second home to go to.

I worked for Emmaus for 18 months helping build up the social enterprise and the home life to enable homeless men and women to have a place they could call home and some worth to their life again. I spent a lot of time making them exercise with me and take up the joys of running.

The Maddermarket has been my second home over the last year, essentially when not training I can be found there. The theatre doesn't receive any government funding and relies on the goodwill of the volunteers and the kind donations off strangers as well as ticket sales to keep us going. I felt it was time I led from the front and raised some more money for them.

So from Go Tri in March to full ironman
in August. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, 26.2 mile run in under 16hours. yep I'm mad....

This year has been particularly hard as my partners father passed away in July from Cancer, he was desperately hanging on to see my complete my Ironman but the cruel disease took him away just a month too early. He did get to hear all about my half ironman and I know he was very proud. I want to do him justice by completing. He was an avid theatre goer and loved the work I did for Emmaus so these two charities would have also made him proud. I will be donating a third to the N&N hospital where David passed away. They may not have been able to save him but the nurses there were fantastic in his last few hours and let me stay with him way past visiting hours. I would like to stop other families having to go through what Graham, Catherine and Eleanor have had to face and if I can make them smile with my medal then it will be worth it. This of course has affected my training so the more money raised the more incentive I will have to push through the pain.