Little Miss Blogger

‘The simplest things are often the truest’ Richard Bach

Triathlon races are funny events-funny, weird.

The first triathlon I ever did was in 2000 in Windsor. I don’t remember much about the race except I remember thinking it was all a little odd. Everyone was making such a big deal out of everything…..what they should eat on the bike, their taper, number belts, elastic laces, lubricant, Vaseline, shaving …it all seemed a bit……. well…. silly. In my then boyfriend’s words, ‘all a bit too camp’. We were both seasoned athletes and had spent our teenage years equally clad in lycra and muscle. We were used to athletes, but there was something different surrounding the intensity of the people in triathlon – or at least the ones who presented themselves to us…an apprenticeship to serve, a snobbishness, a somewhat reverted elitism.

Ten years later and I’m converting to Ironman but nothing’s changed. Again, as a double World Champion, I enter race venues wondering if I’m missing something in the big picture. I’m the stranger, the novice in an elite, (slower than me) world. When I answer questions surrounding training and racing in an honest manner I get hit back with more scientifically constructed acronyms and research. No matter how hard I press the ‘Just do It’ slogan (ironically a running slogan) the brick wall of understanding remains tall.

I am now labelled ‘the blunt one’….with the hard work philosophy, ‘the simple one’, ‘the maniac’. Whoah, whoah, whoah, whoah – how wrong an assumption to make. I’ve had enough of beating around the bush about it it’s all a load of bull.
This will be no ordinary triathlon blog. Call it the anti-forum for its lack of b*ll*x. There may be little science, lots of mood swings, fashion and shopping talk….wait even…. MAKE-UP ADVICE….so un professional for a pro triathlete to care about such trivialities (as demonstrated by Amanda beard, Sharron Davies,Flo Jo, Blanka Vlasic, Brooke Bennett, Summer Sanders, Denise Lewis, Jess Ennis etc, etc).

I’ll talk bras, I’ll talk saddle sores, hey I’ll even talk periods if you like (not exclusively of course I’d be a very shite agony aunt). I will give the real story on blood, sweat and tears, because being a Jodie Swallow ‘Normal’ effects training just as much as training effects being Jodie Swallow ‘Triathlete’ (I am the same flippin person!!!!).

I’ll be me, who knows if my ramblings will teach you anything about performance, I really hope so.