So, it is time to make my big announcement, tell the world what I need to get off my chest and finally come out of the closet! Yes, after years of pretending otherwise, hiding my true feelings from friends and relatives, the pressure has become too much to bear. Therefore, I now stand before you, hold my head high and finally admit the truth …

Back of the pack really sucks!

I really really wanna go to the world championships!

I really really wanna be the best!

At 52 years of age, after years of racing and sitting on my self-satisfied arse, I must admit I am fed up with just completing, I have a longing to be competing. For 13 years, ever since running my first marathon, I have been hiding behind my mediocre success and sucking up the praise for just managing to finish each race. But no more, from today I put it out there, risk my pride and admit that I want to win, to be the best I can be and compete at the sharp end.

I think the phrase I used while talking to someone about my plan, sums it up best

“I want to prove that even old confirmed back of the packers can, with the right training and dedication, improve enough to compete for podium places. I want to show my fellow plodders, who like me have watched with secret longing at other peoples success, that we too can live the dream if  we stop allowing fear of failure to limit our ambition”.

And hell yeah, Im gonna give it a try!

Ok, so what does that mean in reality. It means I set myself the following challenges.

• Qualify for the Half IRONMAN world championships 2018, held in South Africa
• Qualify for IRONMAN world championships 2019,  held in Kona.
• Qualify for Boston Marathon in 2020, held in …. Boston.
• Write a book(s) about the whole experience.

Obviously to manage even half of this I will have to adjust my training, my daily and weekly routines, and commit to a massive change of lifestyle. To be honest I am no sure which is going to be the hardest part, the actual physical effort to qualify or the mental discipline and skills needed to write about it, but I am going to throw myself whole heartily into both, and hopefully come out the other side a different man than I am now!

There is so much to think about, to plan, to consider I don’t know where to start, so I will keep it brief here, and fill in more details as I go along. I have decided to officially start the challenge two days from now, on Monday 9^th October 2017,  and it should all conclude in Boston April 2020, in roughly 2.5 years’ time. It’s a little ironic that having taken a month to think things through and finally deciding to announce today, I have woken up this morning with the beginning of a cold, my throat swollen and sore and the dreaded “nasal drip” well under way.

Anyway, enough of the waffle, it’s time for me to get practical and get out on the bike. I will be updating my blog regularly, detailing everything from the process of making the decision and the steps I will take to reach my goals, including my daily routine with the how, where and when of training, a breakdown of daily stats, the advice and gear I will be relying on to help me, as well as the adventures, the ups and downs, and my thoughts and comments on the success and failures along the way.

Oh, and the name for my new challenge: “Time to Tri Harder”! Look out for the book by the same name in the bargain basement section of your local second-hand shop in the summer of 2020!