Hi, I’m Norma and I recently signed up to do my first marathon and first half Ironman this year, so I was asked by ELT to provide a few posts to give an update on training and how I am getting on – perhaps to inspire anyone else thinking of doing a longer distance event!
The marathon is in Edinburgh at the end of May and the half Ironman (1900m swim, 85km bike, 21km run) is the Vitruvian at Rutland Water in early September.
First a bit about my background: I was never very good at sports in school and always underweight as a child growing up in Mexico. My friends and family gave me the nickname “Flaka” which means “skin to the bone”, and that’s how they still call me these days. I used to swim when I was younger but hadn’t really done that for years. I also had problems running due to my knees and had never owned a road bike.
In 2015/2016 I started seeing a physio about my knees who gave me quite a few exercises (stretching / rolling / strengthening) which made them much better so I could run about 10km. In 2016 I joined ELT and started going to the swim training once or twice a week, usually a forest run at the weekend (10km or so), and I bought a road bike for the first time and started to go on club rides on a Sunday.
Out on the long ride
In 2016/2017 I did a few sprint triathlons and a couple of half marathons. In September 2017 I did my first Olympic distance triathlon. So having gradually increased my distances I decided to sign up for a marathon and a half Ironman in 2018. I originally tried to get into the London marathon via the ballot but was not successful so entered Edinburgh instead. I chose the Vitruvian as it is a popular half Ironman for the ELT club so there will be quite a few people doing it. I also signed up my husband for both events so he is training with me also!
Over the next few months, I will give you an insight into my journey and experiences into stepping up into the half Ironman. In my next post, I will explain a bit about the training I have been doing.
Norma
