2019

Even since I wrote this in late summer 2018 it seems that my plans have changed!

So what’s the plan for 2019?  I think this will be my year to tackle the full Ironman, with a few of us keen to do Ironman Italy.  Is the prospect of a nice holiday full of tasty food and wine after the race valid extra motivation? Having got a little too excited when everyone else was signing up, I am signed up for Triathlon X in the Lake District in September which is the same weekend as IM Italy.  This meant that a new Ironman plan was needed so I have instead registered for Ironman Switzerland in Zurich on 21st July… the preparation continues.

For now I am seeing Triathlon X, billed as one of the toughest half ironman distance events in the world, as a nice weekend away in the Lake District with friends.  Until the Ironman is done I don’t think I can consider it any more seriously than this!

I also love the idea of going back to do Slateman Olympic distance tri again – my first Olympic distance back in 2015, it was such a good weekend with the TVT crew that I’d like to give it another crack and see where I’ve got two in the last four years. So instead we have registered for the Keswick Conqueror which is part of the Keswick Mountain Festival running on the same weekend.  This comprises of a 3k swim and 25k trail run on the Saturday and a 72k bike with ‘infamous mountain passes’ on the Sunday.  As someone who isn’t an expert at hills this should be quite interesting!

Further plans include London Marathon with Tracy & Steph (provided we have qualified with the changing rules) and I would really like to go back to Tenby and do the whole of LCW.  That marathon will probably be one of the toughest things I’ve ever done but going into it with the aim of soaking up the atmosphere and completing the course I think it could make for a great weekend. So despite being HUGELY excited to have qualified for London, I managed to get distracted over the summer, miss the payment deadline and not enter the marathon after all.  As it turns out I haven’t bounced back and recovered from my injury quite as well as I’d hoped so really it’s probably a blessing in disguise!

Alongside that I definitely want to make time for some more bike trips in my beloved mountains and am quite excited about getting my little Gitane set up for some touring! – this is still something I really want to do!