I seem to be having a quarter life epiphany. Yes. I will live to be 120. No that’s not the epiphany. The epiphany is thus; sometimes we say things that are just 100% bullshit. Here are some quotes from me that fall into this category:

1. CrossFit is shit. Don’t do it. [Complete crap, CrossFit has some amazing elements and I made the above statement before I’d even tried it. Smart]

1. Being a vegan is a really stupid idea. It is not good for you.[Again, knew nothing about it]

1. I hate running [Actually running with people you love and dogs in the sun in the countryside makes me love running]

1. Bla bla various bullshit statements about fitness in general [just too much to remember and type – oh wait wait, the comments I made about bananas not being good snack options if you want to be lean… buuuuuuuuullshiiiiiit]

So… I am having a lovely big slice of humble pie. It is delicious thank you very much. In previous years I would never admit to being wrong. I am quite well known for my stubbornness thank you very much. But actually it is quite refreshing to admit I talk nonsense quite frequently. I am not a scientist. I am not a dietitian. I am not a professional athlete/coach. And even if I were – that doesn’t automatically mean everything THOSE people are saying is correct or applicable to YOU.

So, just brushing the crumbs away from my pie, lovely lovely. Here we are at the start of another Ironman year of training. A few people have said they can’t wait to follow my progress of training etc. A few people have rolled their eyes and most likely thought “oh god… not again”. Well tough tamales.

A few new things going on in my weird little head at the minute. It isn’t little actually. It’s mahoosive. Full of air. I can’t wear normal hats either. Wah.

New things are…

• I am very intrigued by the vegan world
• I cannot stop reading Born to Run
• I cannot stop researching and social media stalking the people featured in Born to Run

I was at my parents at the weekend. Mum turns to me “Well I’m glad to see Tom (Tom Wright – the guy that kicks my ass on a weekly basis with squats and really heavy stuff to chuck about) has the measure of you. Honestly… Vegan. What’s this idea you’ve got in your head now?!”. Fair play to her actually. I quite often ricochet around the fitness arena pouncing on varying concepts of health. “Oooh I’ll eat all the protein” – “Oooh I won’t eat carbs” – “Oooh let’s eat clean” – “Oooh let’s do HIIT” etc etc you get the idea. Anyway, whatever, I like it ok? So vegan food! I’m not going into the whole vegan this vegan that bla bla I’m a vegan argument. I’m not. I like Haribo and chocolate buttons and deep fried brie. The point though is I am super interested in people like Rich Roll, Scott Jurek, T. Colin Campbell and Brendan Brazier. I don’t expect anyone to know who the hell these people are, I didn’t until about two weeks ago. But it IS interesting. They are all, minus Mr Campbell, athletes. Not just any old athletes but ultra-marathoners etc. Mental.

I’m getting off subject here. The point is I have new people that I am watching and following for inspiration for Ironman Austria next year. Instead of filling my tummy with gels and powdered carb drinks for training I would like to try and focus on whole foods. Sounds super simple but it is actually harder than you think. Well watch this space I guess.

Oh and before I start rambling about something else. Read Born to Run. Even if you hate running and even if you hate reading. It is truly astounding. I’m not saying anything else. I went for my first trail style run at the weekend. Total eye opener. Who knew running could actually be FUN as well as “ow my f***ing ankle x 23,546,4235.

One month until the 10km open water swim. I have swam twice in the last fortnight. Grrrrrreat. Hoping I can ever so slightly wing this one to be honest. I have 8 days in the UK between now and tapering week. Not that I will actually NEED a taper week at this rate. More likely I will just have to plough straight into the swim full speed ahead training until the last minute. Sigh. Never mind. Stupid “summertime” cold (the cause of my lack of training recently).

I have decided to “go it alone” for Ironman training this time. Just me, Chris and our books. No coach. I am going to see what I can do just by listening to my own body and learning when to push harder on the bike, when to run faster on the long runs and when to rest and sleep and eat. I am actually very very excited. I have a good couple of months before I will have a rigid training schedule which waves goodbye to my social life in the pub again so I am going to use this time to build some serious strength in my legs and also focus on my running technique. I think I have already mentioned that though.

Not much else to report currently. I go to Australia next week. Wheeeeeeeeee! VERY excited. Two weeks in total, first week in Melbourne and the second in Port Douglas. Shocker. Poor me. Waa waa waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahoo.

If anyone here is big into trail running or eating vegan food then give me a shout. I’m interested in all that nowadays don’t you know.

Oh and finally a list of documentaries I have LOVED recently;

1. Cowspiracy
2. Forks Over Knives
3. Fittest on Earth

Really interesting and stops me watching old Disney movies before going to bed at 9pm. What?! That’s allowed!

C xx