Tuesday 20 October 2009

Thank You Disney Tri.....


As an athlete its easy to take credit for a good performance. The podium or medals are a result of dedication, determination and talent right? Well yes and no....

As an amateur Ironman athlete I work up to 60 hours a week and train up to 25 hours. This means juggling my busy work life with my training and fitting things around my job. My philosophy is where you have a passion for something you will always find the time. I swim before work and use my commute (20Km) to run or bike to and from work. On the weekends I schedule my longer sessions. This means I need to be super organised,I pack bags with kit the night before, ensure I have enough clean shirts for work, enough clean training kit etc, etc.... My life becomes very much swim, bike,run, eat and sleep...

Professional atheletes have a network of people to help with this and of course they don't have to work on top of their training. My network consists of my girlfriend, family and friends. Without my girlfriend all these thing would be so much harder. Our partners make a huge sacrifice for us, after all this 'Ironman lark' may not necessarily be their passion too...

I was recently in Wisconsin to race and I was very touched by the Disney Tri club and how warm and friendly they all were. Not only was I welcomed into their club as an honorary member (being the only Brit in the race and not knowing anyone else within the race) but as I got to know them all and their families who were there to support them. I was so impressed with how much they had embraced their sons or club members achievements. They were there cheering their loved ones on until midnight. Baring in mind the race starts at 7am, this is no mean feat....




So I'd just like to thank The Coleman's, for all their great shouts and all the Disney Tri team for adopting me for my time at Ironman Wisconsin. Truly without the support from our girlfriends, family, friends and training buddies our races would be significantly harder....

1 comment:

  1. Our friends and families HAD to stick around and wait for us to finish. That's their job. You, on the other hand, spent a hard day racing and still came back to the finish line after dark to watch us come in. (Although for the record, it was well before midnight!) We are honored to have you in our group, and thank you for teaching us the most important lesson of all: don't go out drinking with an Englishman.

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