My name is John Williams, I'm 33 years old, and this is my first post on my journey as an age grouper to the Ironman World Championship.
I thought in this first post I would start by sharing why I have chosen to blog on this topic, what started me of in triathlon, what I have achieved to date, my goals for the future and what I anticipate sharing in the future!
Why I started this Blog
I have started this blog for a number of reasons. I love training and racing Ironman's, however the training is full on and gets tough sometimes. It takes a huge amount of dedication to train for events and as such you have to be pretty disciplined. Accountability is something I find helps me maintain my discipline and focus, by committing to writing this blog and sharing my goals and experiences I believe it will keep me more accountable, plus along the way I may learn some things about myself - this is another reason for doing the blog.
The other main reason I wanted to write this blog is to share what I have learned and what I continue to learn each day with regards to Ironman triathlon. If you are someone who is interested in Ironman, triathlon, endurance sports, fitness and nutrition then it is my hope that this blog will give you insights and information that will help you and perhaps entertain you!
How I got started in Triathlon
In 2003 I was working as a Personal trainer in a Central London gym and we got offered some free places for the London Triathlon. I was asked if I would like to do it, I could swim (well 50m before I would need a breather), I could ride a bike (although I had never ridden a road bike), and I could run, so why not?
I immediately fell in love with triathlon after my first one and spent a couple of years racing sprint and olympic distances, my attention then started to turn to Ironman and I entered my first in Western Australia (in 2006) where in high 30 degree temperatures and a beautiful setting I raced 11hrs 35mins.
It is fair to say I am not a naturally built triathlete. I am a mesomorph, meaning I am short and stocky, most think I am a gymnast and am surprised when I tell them I am a triathlete and that I have achieved sub 10hr Ironman times. It has not been easy though and I have worked hard to achieve what I have.
- Western Australia 2006
- U.K 2008
- Nice, France 2009
- Florida 2009
- Austria 2010
- Arizona 2010
- Frankfurt, Germany 2011
- Cozumel, Mexico 2011
- Wales 2011
- Texas 2012
- Sweden 2012
- Florida 2012
For the short term in 2013 I have Ironman Lanzarote on the 18th May and Frankfurt on the 7th July and am waiting confirmation on the World Championships in Kona Hawaii. Kona is my number 1 goal. My number 2 goal is to complete all the full Ironman races on the Ironman calender, as they are all in great places around the world which encourages me to travel, which I also love doing.
Future posts
Well in future posts I will be sharing details on my training and how it's going leading up to Ironman Lanzarote. As I write this I am in week 1 of 18 of my 'full on' training program......the work has begun.....
Hi John. Great idea to do a blog! It might be good to link under each of your past ironman races a breakdown of your times? Good luck in May!
ReplyDeleteHey Rachel - good idea I think I will add times soon hope all is well.
ReplyDeleteHi John, enjoyed your blog i'm just in the process of writing one myself for the first time. Keep up the training and i hope to see you at the start line in Kona !!
ReplyDeleteHey Kona Dreamer, thanks for the comment really appreciate it. Look forward to your blog! And yes if you get into Kona let me know!
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