MalcolmG the Athlete

I always hated running, dreaded the day of cross country at school, ending up walking at least three quarters of it, and never made any attempt to push myself. I guess I would say that all the sport I played growing up was more skill-based (i.e. cricket) rather than intensely athletic.

By the end of uni I found myself in worse shape than I'd ever been, carrying a bit of extra fat and no longer doing anything remotely active, so I set about changing it. This started off as going to the gym 2 or 3 times a week, doing mostly weights with a bit of cardio after each session. After a few weeks, I decided I was going to give running a crack - it started off as 5-10 minute sessions on the treadmill, eventually in April I managed a 20 minute session, doing about 4km - easily the longest distance I'd run in my entire life.

Things progressed over the next couple of months, and in August I decided I was going to run a half marathon in October, while I was in Melbourne on a brief holiday. That came and went, with 6 weeks of training I managed a 1:47:23, which I was immensely proud of; I really enjoyed the run and was hooked. Unfortunately, I still didn't really like running, but at some point got the idea in my head that I might like to give a triathlon a go.

Getting in to swimming was by far the hardest part; although I'd learned to swim at a young age, I'd never been fast or competitive, and I was most intimidated by the swim portion of my upcoming triathlon. Initially I would swim one length of a 33m pool before having to stop for a breather, but after about a month I was able to string together a 500m set. Moving to open water swimming in a wetsuit was a massive shock, but fortunately after a couple of weeks of regular outings at St Heliers Bay I got to a point where I was able to get through my first sprint tri without too much trouble.

Since that first triathlon, I've been training hard to compete in my first Olympic length tri (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run). My swimming has come a long way in the few months since then, and I've already managed several competitve open water swims over 1000m. I'm at a point now where I usually look forward to a swim workout or race, and somewhere along the way I've started really enjoying running, too. Interestingly, cycling - which was initially my favourite of the three disciplines, is probably the most dreaded for me now, largely due to the much longer time that I have to dedicate to a cycling training session (they're double the duration of the swim and run workouts in my program).

My desire to compete is high now, as is my desire to broaden my horizons somewhat and tackle some new challenges. Before 2011 is over, I aim to run a sub 100 minute half-marathon, run my first marathon (tentative goal of 3:30), and prepare myself to be much more competitive for the summer of 2011/12 triathlon season.

And because the question does pop up with semi regularity - yes, Ironman is a major long-term goal for me; in the coming months I'll have to make the decision whether I want to tackle Taupo 2012.

I hope this suitably sets the scene for future postings on my various athletic experiences and endeavours, without my common issue of waffling on too much.