My grandfather, one of many positive male roles models in my life, was amongst other things, a country cricketer, rugby player, successful photocopier salesman and a member of the Catenian Society (a brotherhood of Catholic laypeople and businessman).  He, along with many others, instilled a deep sense of social responsibility in me. There is nothing wrong with being a businessman, and making a fair profit through fair competition, as long as you are a positive influence.

Sports conditioning and personal training isn’t always cheap; we know this. We are as vocal as anyone about public funding for sports (and health and fitness) and whilst we cannot portray ourselves as saints, we do try to maintain our social responsibility by partnering with various charitable organisations and projects.

One of the ways we aim to help is through our sponsored athlete scheme.  Each year we will train two athletes for free. There are certain criteria; you must be an amateur, preferably competing in your first event and representing a worthy cause, but other than that everyone’s welcome to apply. Contact us for more details.

One of this year’s athletes is Emma, competing in her first triathlon. Below Emma offers her training diary, her experiences, action shots and some tips and advice for those looking to take up a new sport or compete for charity.  If you enjoy her account, please do give what you can afford to her chosen charity.

Athlete: Emma Miller

Event: First Sprint Triathlon

Charity: The Helen Rollason Cancer Charity: Updates and Sponsorship

Emma’s triathlon Musings:

A year and a half ago, I was about 1.5 stone overweight, and fed up with the gym.

One Foundry gift certificate later, and I was squatting, bench pressing and burpee-ing my way to a leaner, fitter version of myself that I never thought possible.

Having reached my goal weight, I was thirsty to apply my new-found sporting prowess to a new challenge.  Now, at this point, most people would maybe sign up for a 10k, or join a team sport.  However, the Foundry-fuelled sport monster in me decided to sign up for a triathlon.

I bagged myself a charity spot in the London Triathlon, running for the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity and bought myself a new bike.  Only then did it start to sink in what I’d let myself into.

750m swim, 20K bike ride and 5K run – no easy feat.

Training – Though I’m a frequent cyclist, regular runner and a strong swimmer, building up the endurance to do them all back-to-back is a whole different ball game.

Every blog, training guide and fellow triathlete I’ve consulted has said that the best thing to do is just put in the miles and build up the endurance.  So that’s what I’ve been doing.

Every week I’ve done around 4 to 5 workouts with a mixture of the 3 sports, plus usually at least one circuit or strength session with The Foundry per week to avoid losing too much lean mass.

Building up my swimming endurance has been the toughest part.  Though I’m a strong swimmer anyway, getting to the point where I have strong rhythm, good technique and correct breathing hasn’t been easy.  After about 2 months, I’m feeling strong, and today swam a set of drills that equalled 2K in total!  Next step is practicing in the wetsuit – which may change everything!

Cycling and running were killing my legs at first.  But with a bit of practice, and a much-needed Foundry massage, they seem to be doing a lot better now.  I’m finding it’s mostly a matter of taking care of them, and not being lazy about stretching and foam rollering!

From what I hear, switching from cycling to running is the toughest transition, because your legs are just gone.  I’ve done 2 practice trials of this so far and it is tough!  I find I start out too quickly because my legs are still in cycling mode, and then before I know it they turn to lead and I can barely move!

Will need to keep practicing that…

Equipment

For triathlons, you can really go nuts on the equipment. Though at a basic stage, all you need is a bike (and a wetsuit if it’s an open water swim), there are SOOO many extras you can get.  With finances in mind, I’ve tried not to go too crazy.  I did buy a faster road bike using the cycle to work scheme. I also bought a tri-suit, which is an all-in-one shorts and top that’s designed specifically for triathlons.  It dries out quickly after the swim, and means that you don’t have to mess around with putting on shirts and shorts etc. during the transition.

Food and Sleep – One surprise challenge has been balancing all the training with appropriate quantities of food and sleep.

Having spent the better part of a year counting my calories, it’s been weird to have to eat quite a bit more to keep my energy levels up.  Trying to find the right balance of protein and good carbs (as Dave always lectures me), and also paying attention to when I eat them has been an interesting challenge.  I find I’m getting much better at recognizing what my body needs as the weeks go on, but I’m not sure I’ve quite cracked it yet.

I’m also having to be really disciplined with myself about getting enough sleep.  I’m terrible for burning the candle at both ends.  With a difficult work schedule that involves long hours and international travel, I’ve really noticed the impact that sleep can have on my training.  There’s a huge difference in my performance at the end of a long work week compared to after a nice long sleep.  Dave recommends keeping my zinc and magnesium levels topped up helps with sleep function.

With just 27 days left to go, I’m kicking up the training for a few weeks.  I need to keep practicing transitions – doing runs after cycles and so on – as well as practicing the triathlon-specific things like taking my wetsuit off in a hurry and putting my helmet on before getting on my bike!

Tips for Fundraising

Just get out there – don’t expect people to come to you!  Once you’ve rinsed the family and friends, think bigger.  Also, don’t discount how much small change can add up.  We did a baked-goods sale around the office, and the small change alone added up to £100!

There’s just so much to think about!