As you will have seen in my bio. I’ve been nuts enough to be involved in triathlon for over 16 years now. I was only ever going to do one little women’s race but I got the bug and well, here I am, signed up for Ironman race no. 18.
When I first decided to take on the Ironman journey I got myself a coach. I was full of insecurities but knew whoever was going to coach me had to understand balance, mmm, kinda worked but I soon found my new coach didn’t quite get women, having said that John and I stuck it our for over 10 years.
He learnt a lot about women, largely due to his wife telling him he couldn’t talk to women the way he talked to men, thanks Belinda! He kicked my butt, he made me cry, he made me mad and he made my dreams come true, but as with all good relationships we grew tired of each other and parted ways, friends.
For a couple of years I just did what I wanted and even managed to finish a couple of Ironman races, self coached, but it’s much harder that way because there’s no accountability and because you know yourself so well you win all the arguments about what, where and when to train, or not.
So why am I getting back on the horse with a coach?
Peer group pressure amongst triathletes is fierce. There’s always a race out there that someone eggs you on to enter and once you’ve entered the smack talk begins about training, bike porn and swim togs and predicted race times. Pressure starts to build from the moment you press the enter button!
So, as the clock ticks towards 60, yes 60 years of age, not 60 minutes, it was time to ask why I’m going to spend vast sums of money and put my ageing body through hell.
I’ve always been a middle of the packer, neither at the front, nor at the back, the most unrecognised athlete place in a race. Winners get the acolades, tail end Charlies get the sympathy, middle of the packers get nothing. So why enter my 18th Ironman race at all?
Ironman Canada 2020 will be held in Penticton, British Columbia. I’ve never been to Canada and I have some great triathlete friends there which seemed like a good enough reason to enter the race. But with 50 weeks to plan, panic and prepare I decided it had to be more than just a race, but a journey and a journey that I took other like-minded people on.
So, with 50 weeks to experience the three Ps, plan, panic and prepare it all began last week with the interview – with the head coach, the other half of two old girls Jan Wanklyn. More on that later.