On 11/11/15 we welcomed Bodi to our family. The name is inspired by Bode Miller, the skier, and we happen to quite like Point Break too in which one of the main characters is Bodhi. Ironically, Mark was watching Point Break when I went into labour with Indie!
Bodi is 10 weeks old as I write this and a very content little boy…he loves watching Indie play and seems to put up with lots of poking, prodding and ‘cuddling’ from his big brother.
As much as I love being mum and spending lots of time with the boys, I am also relishing returning to doing some sport. As many of you know I tend to sign up for things and think about the consequences later. That is why I am currently entered to do 2 half marathons(Reading and Brighton), a marathon(Brighton), an ironman(The Outlaw) and a 45km swim run event over the Scilly Isles ( http://www.islesofscillyswimrun.com ). Mark suggested that it might be a step too far(literally) to sign up for the Pony Express 60 miler, one of my favourite runs/jogs/walks. Are you laughing nervously? Just me then.
I am really looking forward to challenging myself with a triathlon-I have only ever done 2. One was a supersprint at Eton and one was an Olympic at Windsor. Both were 6 years ago. I am in the minority of triathletes in that I am not daunted by the swim. I’ll make sure I am strong enough to swim well in the Atlantic waters for the Scilly Isles event(it will be quite chilly at about 12 degrees celsius) but this will involve some short, sharp training and I am lucky that my swimming fitness comes back relatively quickly so I can get away with proportionately less swim training than most people doing an ironman.
Running is running. You put one foot in front of the other until you get to the end. I’m not fast but a marathon does not daunt me either.
Now the bike…aah the bike. This scares the hell out of me. I am assured that once I get riding, it will become second nature and I will just be able to plod away but at the moment, a 10 mile ride feels like a marathon and don’t even get me started on the hills! Get me on a hill and I’m weaving, I’m sweating, I’m clunking the gears and panicking that I’ll fall off if I go any slower. I am nervous on a bike which doesn’t help and so my biggest challenge is to get the mileage up and to get comfortable and economical on it. We have hired a Wattbike so that I can cycle when I’m at home with the kids- just 20 mins here and there really does add up. I’ve got a lovely little Specialized road bike that is women specific and is so comfortable to ride, even for me. Mark is going to take me out this week so we can practise going up a few hills and get my confidence up enough ride with the TriSurrey group or Addiscombe cycling club at the weekends. Right now I feel a long way from being able to do that so watch this space!
Training in January has not had much structure. I think its important for me to listen to my body at this stage and for training to be organic and flexible but I am managing to do some running,swimming and biking most weeks. I’ll update this blog with a bit more of my training and hopefully some race reports when I’ve done them!
Lucinda Bayliss 