Story of a GB age-group triathlete: Ellie Barnes Q&A

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to represent your country at your chosen sport? Or even at one you can’t do, but dream of being good at? Olympic athletes aren’t the only ones who get to pull on a GB vest. What does it take to compete at international level as an age-grouper? I asked my friend Ellie Barnes, a Personal Trainer, to tell us her story – just before she sets of to compete at the European Triathlon Championships this Saturday.

thefitwriter: Ellie, massive congrats on making the GB team for the Europeans. So exciting! Can you give readers some background on your own sporting journey and history?

Ellie Barnes: Sport has always been high on my agenda (not surprising with a mother as a PE Teacher and a father who cycled from London to Paris for fun!) I was a keen netballer but it wasn’t until I moved to Reading in 2006 that I started to get into competitive running. My first race was the Shinfield 10km. My partner at the time put money on me not completing it in under 60 minutes (tfw: Ha ha, I have a similar story behind my first running race!) Much to his wallet’s dismay, I finished in 43 minutes!

I then did the London Marathon in 2007, training with Reading Roadrunners and finishing in 3hrs 38minutes. Marathons became my mainstay for a few years with my PB a few years later in Amsterdam: 3hrs 07minutes. Whilst training for the London Marathon 2010 I got a stress fracture in my metatarsal, which taught my body a lesson about cross training and I mixed my running up with some cycling and swimming.

I was introduced to a competent triathlete and triathlon coach in 2010 (Jo Lewis of Tri50), who has nurtured me to become the GB Age-Group triathlete I am now!

tfw: For how long have you been doing triathlon?

EB: My very first triathlon was whilst marathon training was very much still my main focus so I really didn’t know what I was doing. So much so, that when I was in transition from swim to bike, I put my cycle helmet on first and then tried to get my t-shirt on over the top. Top tip: this doesn’t work!

My next encounter with triathlon was in May 2011 at Dorney Lake. I still didn’t really know what I was doing, swimming in open water with a wetsuit was rather an alien experience and trying to keep track of how many laps I had cycled proved a challenge! Much to my amazement, I actually was the first lady to cross this line, I really wasn’t expecting that at all! That success gave me the bug to learn more about triathlon and do more races.

tfw: When did you realise you might be good enough to challenge for a GB place?

EB: Once I competed in the London Triathlon in August 2011, I realised I may have potential to go further. I finished 6th in my age group (25-30) at this event and really wasn’t that far behind the winning women. I actually had the fastest run time of the whole day. I spoke to my coach, Jo, about trying to qualify for the GB Age Group Squad and she suggested we look at last year’s results from the European Championships to see whether we thought it was realistic. We did, and I decided “why not?”

tfw: What was the process like? How did you have to qualify?

EB: There are three events per year which are “qualifying races” for the GB Age Group Squad, and there was only one left in the season, so I had no choice but to enter “Newbiggin-by-the-Sea Triathlon” on 11 September 2011. I had no idea where Newbiggin was before I entered it. Turns out it is 325 miles from Reading, yes, this is commitment! And the swim was in the North Sea in September. What was I thinking??

tfw: How did your training, nutrition, recovery and general preparation change once you knew you were going for qualification?

EB: Once I knew I was going for qualification I read up a lot about triathlon specific training and sought expert advice from Jo. I trained with the David Lloyd Triathlon Club that Jo coached as well as the Tri20 Club in Reading. I also learnt that I needed to work on my swimming to increase my chances of qualification, so this became my main focus for the next six weeks, swimming 4-5 times per week including a 6am session on a Friday morning!

tfw: Tell us about the qualifying race.

EB: Five hours in a car is not my idea of fun, however my Mum, Dad, brother and partner all came along for the ride. Arriving in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea was like walking back in time: a quintessentially British seaside town, with the traditional fish and chips shops and beach huts.. and what felt like Force 10 gale winds. Just walking through the car-park to registration was a challenge as the wind was howling. The sea was choppy with seven lifeboats on the course, the bike was a two-lap course with some great headwind sections as well as tailwinds downhill, so not all bad. Then the run, where I usually feel strongest, but not today. It was along the sea wall and back and I couldn’t feel my feet by this point. I actually had one of the quickest run times of the day, though.

When I crossed the line I didn’t know where I had finished in my age-group. I knew I had to finish in the top four and, by the time I went to get my results print-out it was confirmed, I had finished 3rd in my age group, and therefore I had qualified! Woohoo!

tfw: What then – how long between qualifier and GB event, and how did things change for you?

EB: Since that race, the date 21 April 2012 has been engraved on my brain! The remainder of 2011 was spent maintaining base level fitness and primarily working on swim technique. On 1 January 2012 it was time to start SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic & Timed) training – I could not have done this without the amazing guidance and support from coach Jo Lewis: our weekly meeting to review my progress from the previous week and look at the next few weeks training has been invaluable. I also sought expert nutrition advice from Janie Perry of Relax to Revive, Strength and Conditioning advice from Aynsley Fry of Gecko Fitness and regular Sports Massage from Diksha of FixMe.

Training became more intense with two sessions most days, six days a week. A lighter week was welcomed every five weeks. A very intense week training in Lanzarote was thrown in the mix as well as various races to test my fitness including the Green Park Triathlon (1st Lady), Oulton Park Duathlon (1st Lady) and monthly parkrun 5km run timetrials.

tfw: How does it feel to be racing with a GB vest? Is it a dream come true? Does it live up to expectations? Is it different to imagined?

EB: When I received my GB trisuit with BARNES, GBR emblazoned across it it seemed a little surreal. Is this really for me? Then when I put it on for the first time I was a little stunned… yes this is me, I have worked hard for this but need to keep focused on 21 April 2012 when the training will be really put to the test.

tfw: What’s next for you and how can readers look out for you/support you?

EB: Saturday 21 April 2012, 7am in Eilat, Israel, the ETU Triathlon European Championships (2hrs ahead of GMT). I will be updating my Facebook and Twitter, but you should also be able to find results here (select 25 – 29 Female AG Sprint).

tfw: Finally, what advice do you have for any amateur triathletes wanting to one day qualify for GB kit?

EB: Do it! Don’t think about it, get yourself entered and believe in yourself….look here for more info.

Best of luck, Ellie! Perhaps you’ll come back and tell us about the race?

Story of a GB age-group triathlete: Ellie Barnes Q&A is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

A cautionary tale (why runners and bikers should always carry emergency ID)

Just one day after he was merrily giving you his opinion on rye bread, my husband came off his bike on a busy town-centre roundabout.

He’s (relatively) OK and in one piece. We’re both shocked, he’s in huge amounts of pain, but the main thing is – of course – that he is still here to tell the tale. He has one dislocated shoulder and several torn ligaments, but things could have been so much worse.

So, today’s blog post is a short but serious one. If you run, or ride a road or mountain bike, whether it’s every day to and from work like my husband or whether it’s once in a blue moon, my question to you is:

Do you wear some kind of emergency ID?

Happily, my husband was still conscious and just about with it enough to remember our phone number. And the person in the car behind him, who stopped to help, was a qualified First Aider. And he was (ironically) just moments from his work building. What if all of this hadn’t have been the case?

Who would emergency services – or that good Samaritan – call, if you slipped or were knocked down whilst biking or running? How would they know who to call?

Please, get some kind of ID tag which carries emergency contact details and other important information. It’s easy. Just click here for Road ID, or here for Cram Alert. Make it your Friday Thing To Do.

Happily, sandwiches can be eaten one-handed, so I think my husband will survive this latest scrape. But next time he gets on that bike, he’ll be wearing emergency ID. I’ll insist on it.

A cautionary tale (why runners and bikers should always carry emergency ID) is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Story of a first-time triathlete: Auntie Rose’s race report

Remember my Auntie Rose’s foray into triathlon (and her training update post?) She did it! And I’m very proud of her. Here’s her recap of her first triathlon – the Dextro Energy London Triathlon earlier this month:

Race day dawned (it couldn’t come soon enough!) At last, all the training was to be put to the test. Hyde Park was ready for us… and us for it! Since this race was being used as a try-out for the London 2012 Olympic triathlon, we were surrounded by all levels of athleticism, and a massive crowd, too. It was quite daunting really, but what a buzz! I felt so honoured to be part of it all.

As we were not due to start until 16.30, we had a nerve-wracking couple of hours marvelling at the super-fit youngsters and going over the race in our heads. We were all very calm, given the size of the event. Bikes racked, cycling and running gear laid out, we were all ready.

As the water temperature was 21*C, the option of wetsuits was ours. I opted to keep mine on, concerned that today was not the day to try without (all our training had been done in wetsuits). I was glad I did as the Serpentine was cold and pretty murky.

The swim was a pontoon start and turned out not to be the washing-machine I’d anticipated. I made the dubious choice to try and support my two friends, neither of whom were confident in the water. That turned out to be a mistake, and I eventually had to leave them to support one another. I swam the second 400m way faster than the first, but felt really mixed emotions as I glanced back to see Sue and Nikki’s furrowed brows as they got further and further behind.

T1 was immensely long and by the time I reached my bike I felt like I had already run the 5k. In fact it took me a whopping 7 minutes from swim to bike, way longer than I wanted it to be.

The cycle was exhilarating and I actually found myself passing quite a few people. My trusty little Giant did me proud and was a joy to ride.

Three loops later I was back at T2 for my very least favourite part: the run. As it turned out, the training we had put in paid off as I didn’t feel as leaden-limbed as I anticipated starting the run.

It was very heartening to be cheered on by friends and family, and the supporters of my four fellow “triathloonies”, too. It seemed that no more that five minutes would pass before someone would spur me on by name.

All too soon I was approaching the blue finishing strip, but not before I was passed by several of next year’s Olympic hopefuls vying for selection for the Aquathon event. They were gazelles as they breezed passed me as I lumbered along for my final kilometre. I admit to having a chuckle at my own expense as I compared my performance to theirs. But the overriding thought I had was pride in myself at having actually finished.

My finish time? I managed 2 hours exactly, and know that when I do my next Sprint Triathlon, I will definitely be faster. I know I can do the swim faster, I’m sure I can negotiate T1 way faster, I think I can knock at least five minutes off the cycle, and shave 3 minutes or so off the swim. So my next target is sub 2 hours, and I can’t wait to do it all again!

Mid life crisis? Maybe. But if being fit and cheerful means pushing yourself to succeed, does age matter?

Story of a first-time triathlete: Auntie Rose tells all is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

thefitwriter on BBC Radio 4

Hi all! Just a very quick one – remember when I was interviewed by the BBC about triathlon, whilst coaching open-water swimming down at Dorney?

The interview finally aired last night as part of BBC Radio 4′s World Tonight show. You can listen again here I believe. (Tuesday 16th August) I think it’s towards the end of the programme – I haven’t had a chance to listen yet myself!

Here’s the relevant section of the show

Download: ?mode=viewupload&id=9997435

thefitwriter on BBC Radio 4 is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Story of a first-time triathlete: my Auntie Rose tells all

Remember back in February, I told you how my Auntie Rose was about to embark on an adventure? Well, here we are just a few weeks away from her very first triathlon.

I thought it might interest some readers to hear exactly how she’s found training for her first triathlon. What’s been toughest, and easiest? What were the highest highs… and the lowest lows? What are her hopes for the race, and will she do another?

Over to Auntie Rose!

December 31st 2010. It seemed a really good idea to challenge myself physically in 2011. I’d reached my mid 50s and – as ever – was conscious of how my own mother had died at age 63. Because of that, I’ve always been determined to keep fit and active. My latest decision, however, promised to take my activities to a higher level.

What was my starting point prior to triathlon training?

Throughout 2010, my weekly activity had included two swims (usually a mile each time), a trip to the gym, a couple of games of tennis, a twice daily dog walk and the odd cycle. So, although I was far from a couch potato, I was not exercising seriously. Just enough to keep my weight stable and feel fit.

So, when challenged by my exercise buddy Clare to make 2011 the year that I entered a triathlon (something she – at four years my junior – has done twice in the past four years), my resistance weakened. I can swim, I can cycle, I have two strong legs and therefore should be able to run. So, why not, I thought!

We entered the Dextro Hyde Park Sprint Triathlon (London, 6th August 2011) and started to train.

What does the race involve?

First of all, there’s a 750m swim in the Hyde Park Serpentine (“piece of cake”), then a 22km cycle round Hyde Park (“pips”), then a 5km run. Ah, the 5km run. Now we have a problem!

The last time I tried to run was not pretty. Hampered by boobs that risk giving me black eyes, and a feeling that my brain rattles around inside my head when I start to jog, running is something to avoid. Suddenly, however, it became something I had to improve.

I contacted my niece Nic, an accomplished endurance swimmer and triathlete, to ask her for advice, and she came up trumps. One visit to her house later and I was armed with wetsuits to try on, triathlon tips galore, diet advice as well as a swimming session to tweak my stroke. I felt ready to roll.

My husband proved very enthusiastic and lent me his lovely Boardman bike to train on. The only snag was that our heights are massively different (his 6ft to my 5′ 5”). I realised that the frame was too big and my back was taking the strain. So we researched and I got my own Giant Defy road bike.

I’d never ridden drop handlebars before but after 10 seconds I felt at home. We are blessed with living on the edge of the Romney Marsh in Kent, and can leave our house and immediately be on flat country lanes. I built speed and endurance without having to climb hills. That said, we do have some killer hills which I added in to the mix, surprising myself with how much my riding has improved – and with how much I am enjoying it.

Two become five – triathlon trendsetters!

By the end of January, we two became five. Our friends Philippa (62), Nikki (59) and Sue (51) decided that, if we could do it, so could they!

All of us had our strengths and weaknesses. Sue could run forever, but wasn’t a swimmer. Phil was a strong swimmer and keen recreational cyclist, but not keen on running (plagued by a knee problem). Nikki was a spinning fiend, but couldn’t run well, and is scared of “things in the water”!

In late February, whilst on holiday in France, I embarked upon the challenge of beating my running phobia. To my horror, when I did start to jog on the beach, I could do no more that 30 paces before fighting for breath, my chest feeling as though I’d been sat on by a very large beast.

On my return to the UK, I saw my GP who confirmed that I was suffering from asthma.

Two inhalers later and clear instructions on how to improve my lung function, I set about building up the distance I could run.

Sue and Clare were very supportive and before too long I was notching up longer and longer treadmill sessions, and eventually realised I CAN do it. This culminated in my taking part in a 5km run last month – and managing to do the whole thing without a single wheeze!

We all did an open water workshop at Leybourne lake with Mike Russell and Giovanna Richards in late June (www.teamoutrageous.com), and it was thoroughly excellent. I would advise anyone undertaking a triathlon to do such a course, as it serves to dispel myths, but also makes you realise how different swimming in open water is from a pool.

I am learning to cope better with the restriction of swimming in a wetsuit , (even appreciating how weeing in it warms you up) and can get out of it without falling over and wetting myself. Yes, I’m not proud, I did do that the first time I tried! Fortunately that was at a private pool!

We have been practising transitions, feeling like beached whales in our wetsuits, blundering out of the water and running around to find our bikes, then cycling for 30 minutes before parking our bikes and then running on jelly-like legs. This is hard work!

One month to go: course recce

On July 6th, we all did a recce of the Hyde Park Course (exactly a month before the day!) and frightened ourselves silly at what we saw: goose poo worthy of a Great Dane, algae, steep inclines on the cycle course (steep when compared with Romney Marsh anyway).

But we are now all really gearing up for what is likely to be the most challenging thing any of us have done in a long while. We are loving the camaraderie of sharing our training and loving seeing and sharing one another’s successes. We also love the endorphins that flow after a good run, cycle or swim.

Current training schedule

At the moment, our week consists of something every day for six days then a rest day. It has been a revelation to me that I can fit it in and run a business and a home, and still continue with singing in two choirs and play tennis. I just don’t often sit down. (“Or speak to my husband”, says my husband.)

Now all we have to do is put it all together on the day. Watch this space!

Thanks for letting us know how you’ve been getting on, Auntie Rose! I’ve been quietly watching your Facebook updates and helping out when I can. You have to let us know how you get on – will you do another guest post after the race?

Oh, and you never did answer my question about “will you do another triathlon”?

Please all wish Auntie Rose and her friends the very best of luck with her triathlon. She’s an inspiration to me and I’m so delighted she’s taken on this challenge – and risen to it so admirably. Joyce genes are tough stuff!

Story of a first-time triathlete: Auntie Rose tells all is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Nicola Joyce – the Fit Writer – is a freelance copywriter and journalist who writes for the sport and fitness industry. Her main website is here.

Coaching, cold water and the BBC

(I’ll wait to see if anyone Googles that exact combination of words!)

Phew, what a day. Lying in bed with my laptop on my knees and typing this is about all I can manage right now.

(Shortly after this was taken, clouds rolled in and wind picked up – brrrr!)

As long-time readers of the blog will remember, a few weekends a year I coach open-water swimming (I do this for triathlon coaching company thetrilife.com in partnership with event organisers Human Race). Time rolls around quickly, and here we are at the start of the triathlon season again, so it was time for me to zip up my wetsuit, put on my coaching hat (it looks just like a swimming hat but contains top tips and handy hints) and step into that cold water.

And, maaan, was it cold. I mean, it actually was cold, but it felt even colder. Not surprising really since I’m probably sitting at anywhere between 5-10% less body fat now than I was last year. And, as any Channel swimmer knows, subcutaneous fat makes a big (gooood!) difference when it comes to feeling at home in cold water.

I was in a wetsuit, of course. A wetsuit which was so baggy the other coaches were laughing at me. Yes folks, heavy weight training will not make a woman bulky. The baggy wetsuit didn’t do much to protect me from the cold water. Brrr!

Despite the cold, it was a great day. I truly love coaching and feel it’s a real honour to take people through what is often their very first time in open-water. And I got to see my coaching buddies again, and chat with Bill Black, perhaps one of my favourite people in triathlon. (He always seems to find new ways to introduce us to our coachees: this year I was “that little fish…”)

Last year, I finished off my days coaching at Dorney with a 20+mile bike ride home, having also ridden there. Not this year (no such long cardio for me, certainly not with 7 weeks to go til my comp). Today had a rather unusual ending: being interviewed by the BBC! This is not something which happens to me frequently. Or, ever. But on Thursday I had a call from a nice young woman called Charlotte, a BBC news reporter who works for Radio 4. It seems the BBC are putting together a feature or series of features about the explosion in popularity of triathlon in this country. They found me online via this very blog, decided I’d be able to be vaguely useful to the feature and came along to interview me. Happily, I was decked out in triathlon kit, soaking wet from lake water and set against a backdrop of a supersprint race.

I don’t know where the clip will be used (Charlotte said it could be on Radio4, on TV and/or online) but as soon as I find out, I’ll let you know. I just hope I was useful to them – I was seriously so cold that I was having trouble speaking (you know when you want to say a word but your mouth won’t form the correct shape?!)

A few people have challenged me with the idea that bodybuilding is a vain sport, and others have suggested I’m vain for working towards a bodybuilding show. I can’t answer for the sport in its entirety, but I’m hoping my willingness to be filmed whilst wearing a wetsuit and woolly hat and without a scrap of makeup on my face (which is tinged blue and chapped from the wind) answers the second challenge. (And remember when I wrote that piece for the Observer book? My portrait photo for that one… yep, me in a swimming costume (!) standing in a lake. In April). Or perhaps bodybuilding allows me to indulge the small scrap of vanity I have left after Channel swimming and open-water triathlons have taken their toll?

Right, I must go. Richard of Richards TransRockies is here because he and my husband are doing some mega-long off road sportive tomorrow. And there’s Eurovision to watch. I hope you had a good Saturday.

Do you think bodybuilding is a vain pursuit? Do you think it’s possible to engage in a vain sport without being a vain person? Do you find that once you’ve typed “vain” several times you start to doubt that you’ve spelled it correctly?

Coaching, cold water and the BBC is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

How to get your triathlon wetsuit on…and off

In my capacity as an age-grouper triathlete and triathlon feature-writer, I’m often asked the best, easiest and quickest way to get a triathlon wetsuit on and off. When someone asked me the question on Twitter today, I thought – why not write a quick “how-to” blog post. The open-water training venues are opening up very soon and the first triathlons of the season won’t be far behind. And I daresay this glorious sunshine will tempt a few of you into the open-water. But it’s a bit chilly to go without a wetsuit just yet (don’t be fooled by the air temperature!) And why swim without a wetsuit when the event you’re training for dictates you wear one?

So, here they are: my top tips for getting that skin-tight triathlon wetsuit on – and then off again!

Getting your wetsuit on

Remember a couple of things: firstly, no prizes for being the fastest person to put their suit on. Secondly: yes, it really should feel that tight (it will loosen off a little once you’re in the water, which is all that matters).

The clock doesn’t start ticking til the starter sets you off on the swim. So you can take as long as you like. Leave yourself plenty of time and find a cool spot (it’s amazing how hot and sweaty you get struggling into a wetsuit). Take your secret weapon (thank you to my triathlon pro and super-speedy swimmer pal Richard Stannard for this tip):

Yes, the common carrier bag. Put the carrier bag on one foot, like a sock. Slide that foot into the suit (the leghole, obvs). Take the bag/sock off, repeat on the other side. You should now have the suit on both legs, up to about the knees.

Pull it up. The zip should be at the back. You now need to make sure the groinal area of the suit (I know groinal’s not a word, but how I wish it were) is right up into your groin. Do this by inching the suit up, from below the knees if necessary, in tiny steps. Don’t yank and pull at it – therein lies a future of rips and tears to your suit. Use the pads of your fingers to pinch a bit of suit, and pull it up a few inches…and repeat all over the legs until the groin is in the right place.

Now check there are no rucks or folds behind your knees. This+swimming=ouch.

OK now check the time. Is your wave nearly ready to go? If so, proceed to the next step. If not, leave things here for a while. You really don’t want to be walking round for ages completely zipped up into your wetsuit on a hot day.

Put one arm and then the other into the suit (different arm holes). Then repeat the process you went through with the legs, but with the arms, making sure the suit fits right into your armpits. This is really important. So, inch the neoprene up in tiny bits from the wrists until it fits properly. Get someone to help you if necessary, don’t feel shy to ask, after all you need to keep your strength for the triathlon and it can be exhausting getting a wetsuit on!

Once your arms and legs are in and your groin and armpits are aligned with the relevant bits of the wetsuit, it’s time to zip up. Again, don’t do this if you have a long wait for your swim, it’s just not worth getting overheated.

Ask someone to help you zip the suit up (you may need to breathe out and draw your shoulders together right back behind you). They’ll need to press the velcro flap down over the top of the zip. Get them to hand you the end of your zip leash (if that’s what it’s called?) so you’re confident you can find it on swim exit.

Now just a couple of things to do to really check your suit is fitted snugly. Bend forward at the waist and grab any spare neoprene around your stomach. Yes, it really is neoprene and no I will not believe it is your belly. You are a triathlete! You have trained!

Ease any spare neoprene up, over the boobs (if you’re a lady…) and onto your upper chest/shoulder area. This is really the only area where you want any ‘spare’ neoprene. Can you grab a fistful of neoprene in that dent in front of your shoulder/under your collarbone? That’s OK. Can you grab a fistful of neoprene anywhere else? This is not so OK.

Check again for folds and creases in your elbows and behind your knees – get rid of them.

You’re ready to go (assuming you have your hat and goggles on). Enjoy.

Getting the wetsuit off

OK so you’re out of the swim. Time really does count now so it pays to practise getting your wetsuit off as fast as you can. What makes that super-tight wetsuit come off quickly? The layer of water inside. So act quickly before the water drains out. Here’s the drill.

Stand up out of the water, pop your goggles on top of your head, and start to run/walk towards transition. Immediately, reach behind you for your zipper leash and pull.

As you run/walk along, take one arm and then the other out until the suit is flapping around your waist.

Get to your bike and roll the suit down to your knees. Then lift one leg and the other until you can pull one foot free. Use that foot to stand on the other leg of the wetsuit, so you can pull the other foot free.

You’re done!

If you struggle with this technique, experience dizziness after the swim (me too) or feel a bit flustered, there’s no shame at all in just sitting down by your bike and pulling your suit off whilst you sit on the ground.

Hope that helps!

Do you have any tips or personal experiences to add? Please do!

Edited to add: My friend Dick (yes, really) has alerted me to the fact that “groinal” is, in fact, a word. Thanks, Dick!

How to get your triathlon wetsuit on…and off is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Giving it a tri

I hope you’ve had a nice weekend. I had lots of family over today, including my Auntie Rose, who has decided to take up triathlon. Now, it’s terribly rude to talk about a lady’s age but, if I tell you that I’m 33, you can probably work out for yourself that my Auntie is not quite a teenager. So I think it is fantastic that she is training for her first triathlon.

Auntie Rose and my little sister 20+ years ago yesterday – sorry both of you, ha ha!

Auntie Rose is no couch potato – she’s a good swimmer and plays tennis (very well, I’m told) regularly. But triathlon is quite a challenge for anyone.

Before lunch, she picked a few products from my cardboard boxes of items I’ve kit tested for magazines (PRs, if you want them back, please just ask – Auntie Rose has only borrowed them). And, over lunch, she picked my brains about the mysteries of brick sessions, transitions, race belts and lock laces.

I’m thrilled to be able to help her out and can’t wait to cheer her on in her first race. And I’m delighted to have someone else sporty in the family!

I’ve asked her if she’ll do a few guests posts on this blog as her training progresses. If there’s any part of the learning curve you’d like her to write about, please let me know.

Did you take up a particular sport later on in life? Would you ever consider doing a triathlon?

I’ve got an exciting day lined up tomorrow with one big bit of kit to test and a talk to give at an industry event. I also owe you a blog post about fitness kit I’ve tested this week – some interesting stuff! I’ll blog again soon…

Giving it a tri is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Guest post: Nicky at Run To Live on Ironman training

Today’s guest post is from Nicky at Run To Live. Nicky started running with her Dad when she was 10 and has never really stopped. She’s completed 14 marathons and one Ironman triathlon to date and is training for a few more this year. She manages fibromyalgia, which she says sometimes hampers training but never enthusiasm!

Here’s Nicky on Ironman training. (For those of you who don’t know, Ironman refers to a long distance triathlon: 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and marathon (26.2 mile) run.)

Training for an Ironman isn’t something you do overnight. It takes months and sometimes even years of preparation for something that will last a maximum of 16 hours. Outside of that cut off time, you cannot call yourself an Ironman even if you finish the course.

“You’ve done an Ironman!”, friends and colleagues exclaim. It sounds grand, but often it only takes an extra dose of ignorance (of what to expect) or stubbornness to complete it. There is no doubt that Ironman triathlon uses all of your emotional tools against you, sometimes at your weakest moments. But my friends at Run To Live and I have learned that all you need is courage, determination and a little bit of luck to get to the finish line.

I mention this as we have again just embarked on an Ironman journey, this time with friends in tow. On the first weekend in August we’ll all be toeing the start line in Regenburg, Germany for the second running of the event. It’s been really interesting to watch their approach to training and compare.

(photo by Laurie King)

That’s Jules. She’s our ring leader. She’s always there, never shirks and doesn’t rely on rubbish excuses that some of us throw in when we can’t be arsed. She’s the one who borrowed her Dad’s climbing helmet to cycle in when she forgot to take her own. She’s the one who will get in and do her 100 lengths without the chit chat. Determined, focussed, capable.

Phil is our panicker. He does every training session, adds extra and thinks he’s still isn’t doing enough. Everything is 100%, which results in some amazing improvements but is also the same highway to burnout. We’re keeping an eye on him.

Laurie is the frustrating beginner who picks everything up so quickly (he’ll be blushing when he reads this). The one who threw himself into the lake last year not being able to swim (Note: cheap wetsuits from Sainsbury do not help you to float!) Now he can comfortably do 100 laps in an hour while we are still struggling. He can cycle for hours at a really fast pace. Fast is fun to Laurie. Running is his achilles heel at the moment. A stress fracture and sprained ankle have hampered his plans to go long right now. But he’ll be fine, we don’t worry about him at all.

If you have the guts and determination to have a go, which one would you be? In the meantime, you can follow our progress to the start line at Run To Live.

Thanks Nicky, and best of luck to all of you! My husband did Ironman Switzerland some years ago and I was there as a spectator and supporter – completing the course (regardless of speed) is no mean feat and I take my hat off to all of you. I’ll be keeping an eye on your progress via your blog!

Guest post: Nicky at Run To Live on Ironman training is a post from The Fit Writer blog.

Sports journalism: Nicola Joyce interview

This week I was asked by the website Essential Writers to talk a little about my journalistic niche: sport and fitness. The interview is now up on the Essential Writers site; if you’re interested in how to get into sports journalism or just want to read what I have to say about the job, the perks and the challenges, head over and have a look.

Here’s an extract:

It’s difficult to untangle my career as a sportswriter from my own adventures in sport and fitness. In fact, I don’t think I’d be doing this job had it not been for one, rather special, sporting achievement. This is how it happened:

I made the decision to become a freelancer when I was made redundant and moved out of London. It seemed like as good a time as any to pursue a career in writing (something I’d always wanted to do). Initially, I took on copywriting clients, but knew I really wanted to write features for sport and fitness magazines.

I just needed a way to get my foot in the door. At the time, I was just a few weeks away from swimming the English Channel (the first of two successful swims, as it would turn out). If I couldn’t pitch a first-person piece about swimming the Channel, it was unlikely I had what it takes to be a freelance writer of sport-related features…

Thanks to Essential Writers for inviting me to be part of their specialist genres pages.

Sports journalism: Nicola Joyce interview is a post from The Fit Writer blog.