And so it begins...

Last month we introduced you to one of our fantastic fundraisers, Samantha, who's taking part in the Virgin Triathlon on Saturday 27th July and all proceeds are being kindly donated to With Kids. As promised, here is an update on her progress. 

With only 12 weeks to go until her sprint triathlon begins, you can read how she's preparing for the big event below...

Hey peeps! I'm sorry for the lack of updates but now it's exactly 12 weeks until my sprint triathlon and training has properly started, so let the updates commence!

For those who are not triathlon experts (including me as this is my first one) a sprint triathlon includes a 750m outdoor swim, a 20km bike ride and then a 5km run. I was running quite a bit last year, although winter halted that and I used to swim in swimming pools when I was young but not sure thats going to help...

Cycling is quite a new discipline for me and as it's the longest part in the sprint, it's a good starting point. Work is pretty hectic so I'm trying to fit training around my busy schedule. My plan is a bit loose, I cycle lots, as quickly as I can and then go for immediate 3km runs when I get the chance. 

Down the line I'll need to find an outdoor swimming pool and hopefully get a time of under 130mins for the Virgin Active Sprint Triathlon. Maybe I shouldn't have typed out a time but I've got to have a goal otherwise what's to aim for?

I've been cycling around 36km every day, which is my daily work commute, and of course grabbing a shower each side! So its a routine of two cycles and two showers every day at the moment. I bought a second hand road bike; it's black and yellow as you can see (that's the girl in me)!

I want to get a good time in the sprint triathlon and my mountain bike wasn't going to get me there, it's too heavy and clunky. So I'm officially a road cyclist now, lycra'd up to the max. The bike is super light and I'm learning lots of stuff like my tires should be at 120... whatever that means, carbon is cool and I'm even managing to attach my chain back on when it pops off. Eh yes, need to get that checked but I'm so in love with my bike that I cant bring myself to part with it for the two days the shop would need to repair it. 

However don't be fooled by my 'jargon', I was a bit (very) shaky on it the first few times and going down hills is still not as enjoyable as I know it will be but its much smoother than the mountain bike and now I'm more stable, I'm really enjoying it.

To be honest, I am a little sad I have to practice swimming and running, but I will, of course! Well I'll have to because you can't cycle through water.

In order to get better, I thought I should note a few times so I can gauge improvements. My cycling is where I'm focussing on right now so as a starter for 10.... Once around Richmond park (11km), which is my weekend training spot, currently takes 24minutes. There is one large hill which would burn the hind legs off a Tyrannosaurus Rex but I'm hoping I'll get this down to 20minutes.

My 5km run at the moment is taking 28minutes, this is not me running immediately after a 20km bike ride and I don't have a clue what my swim time is... I'm confident?!

To make a donation to Samantha and her good cause, please click on her JUST GIVE PAGE.

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