Fat Girl to Ironman

25 January 2016

Monday Morning Motivation – What Daley taught me

I’ve always liked Colin Jackson for being such a modest athlete – he seems like a genuinely nice guy. In this short video and accompanying article, Jackson talks about how Daley Thompson (decathlete) was a great influence on his sporting career: Meeting Daley Thompson at a Crystal Palace event was a major turning point. “I was 17 and competing as...

Categories Motivation Comments: 0

24 January 2016

My fifteen minutes

I’ve found myself in the media not once, but twice this week. I definitely feel like I’m having my fifteen minutes of fame! First up was a discreet image from the lovely new Embrace Sports website. This is the company that Stuart and I use when we want to go on a training holiday. I was browsing the site and...

Categories Cycling/Motivation/Running/Swimming Comments: 15

24 January 2016

9 benefits of working with a coach

Last week I posted that I had decided to work with Solent Athlete this year in the run-up to ABP Southampton Half Marathon.  This raised a few questions about why I was working with a coach when I’m a member of a running club (and a couple of tri clubs), so I thought I’d deal with those questions here and...

Categories Running/Swimming Comments: 9

24 January 2016

parkrun at Royal Victoria Country Park

Yesterday morning I ventured over to Netley Abbey parkrun for a change. I had agreed with my friend Dörte that we would meet up for a run at her local parkrun. I had originally intended to cycle to Royal Victoria Country Park, but it was very foggy when I got up. As my main cycling jacket is white, that didn’t...

Categories Running Comments: 4

22 January 2016

Friday Five – Five lovely places to run in Southampton

I’ve now been living in Southampton for 20 years, so although it’ll never feel like my true home (Cornwall), I’ve lived here for long enough to discover some lovely running routes (they’re not quite far enough off the beaten path to count as hidden gems). Technically, not all of these locations are actually in Southampton, but they’re close enough for...

Categories Running Comments: 0

20 January 2016

Workout Wednesday – Splish splash

“Sometimes you can’t be graceful and successful at the same time” – some more wise words from Zach Anner. “Remember: the best swimmers are the ones who just keep swimming and are the most determined…”

Categories Motivation/Swimming Comments: 3

18 January 2016

Monday Morning Motivation – I love my body

One of the (many) reasons why I never learned to swim as a teenager was because of hang-ups about my body. If I could go back in time, I’d tell myself that unless I exercised, I’d be stuck with the body I hated forever. I’d also tell myself that there isn’t a significant correlation between body weight and composition and...

Categories Motivation/Swimming Comments: 18

17 January 2016

Stubbington 10k race recap

I ran my first race of the year today: Stubbington 10k. I’ve run it four times previously, so I knew what to expect. I got up early and went to collect some friends: Rodolfo, Khalid and Khalid’s wife and son. I had been worried about the drop in temperature and thought I might have to de-ice the car, but it...

Categories Running Comment: 1

17 January 2016

Recovery week before my first race of 2016

It’s been yet another busy week without enough time for blogging. Does anyone have any magic answers for making more hours in a day?! On Monday, I went to my usual STC swim session. I really like starting the week with a swim, but think I need to push myself harder. I am determined that I will move out of...

Categories Cycling/Running/Swimming Comments: 4

17 January 2016

On your marks… Training with Solent Athlete

Although I have been planning and training, I’ve really struggled to get my motivation back. I think I overdid it last year and have felt fatigued since October. I realised that having a clear schedule and working out with a team of others with similar goals would help to get me back to where I wanted to be, so I’ve...

Categories Motivation/Running Comments: 2