Day Three Run: 4.2k: 25:42

Slowed down today's run a bit to get me going the full way. Seemed to help as I got there and back without having much issue, but faltered at the end.

Day Two Run : 4.35k : 25:44

Quicker first half this time around, but still struggling on the second half... this will get better!  :)

Loch Ness Marathon 2014

So, I need challenges set up for 2014. I already have my first triathlon booked in for June and the first six months of 2014 are centred around building my base fitness and running, cycling and swimming as much as I can.

If I'm going to get to the point of being able to complete a Norseman I also need some long distance races under my feet. At present I'm looking to enter the ballot for this race for either 2015 or 2016, so a few good Marathons and a few good triathlons by the point that I do will be very helpful.

I've just signed up for Loch Ness Marathon in September 2014. This Marathon will signify the end of my summer training and the beginning of my winter training. Seems like a great course with a hell of a hill at about mile 17, but stunning. Being Scottish, its a shame to say I've never travelled this far up the country before, but no better opportunity to do so.

I wont start looking at serious training for this until June. Until then, I'll be sticking to my plan.

Day One Run : 4.42k : 27:54

Lets call this day one! Faster than expected for this run. Had no feedback whilst running just run with feeling :)

Some Inspiration

It's these sort of videos that hype me up before runs right now!

The Beginner's Gear

There seem to be so many guides out there for beginner triathletes. I was a runner for some time, so running wise I'm covered, plenty of running gear and some decent running shoes (including some newly bought trail shoes which I'll review soon enough). I currently run on some Asics Gel 1170's which I've had and run on for about 200/300 miles some years ago. They are a solid shoe which will probably need replaced next year at some point.

When it comes to swimming, I don't want to go all out for a wetsuit just yet as theres no need. I'll be doing pool swimming for the forseeable future and I already have a pair of basic speedo goggles, the only other purchase was an Orca swimcap which I'm told is a minor must.

Finally, the bike. I already have a decent (albeit cheap) road bike. The Carrera Virtuoso 2013 edition. I was told by numerous articles that the major must have for bikes are decent pedals and some decent shoes. So I've updated the pedals to some Shimano PDR-540 pedals and picked up Wiggles own DhB T1.0 triathlon specific shoes. All of which I haven't actually tested yet and hoping to before xmas rolls in. 

I've managed to spend little getting me up and running/cycling/swimming and hope to have many more updates for you over the next few months. 

The Initial Training Plan

I've been doing a little running throughout December, which has been good to see where I'm at (back to square one essentially). I've decided to do a very basic training program for between 12-16 weeks (see above). This will allow me build a good base on all three triathlon disciplines, with three workouts of each every week. I'm not going to start this until January, as my partner and I are moving back to Scotland at the end of this month so already booked in to join the brilliant Edinburgh Leisure network. (£50.00 a month and use of all gyms and leisure centres in Edinburgh, including the great 50m commonwealth pool).

Next, a discussion on the early gear I'm going to need.

The Beginning

So, I'm overweight, lethargic and sick of it. I've always had a problem with weight. I have yo yo'd up and down depending on what I'm into at any particular time. I've decided to take a stand. I ran Edinburgh Marathon this year in February at a not very fast time of 4:55:56 but have done very little since, putting on about 13kgs in the mean time. I decided quite recently to set myself on a journey to becoming fit enough to complete a full distance Iron Man, with my long term goal being to compete in Norseman.

On a side note, but still important, I've suffered fairly long term with clinical depression and I know that staying fit goes a long way to helping me deal with this. I'm hoping that in logging my progress and throwing down my feelings here, that this will become a tool to long term management of this. I think it's also very important that I be very public about this, as it's important to the world that we all realise mental health is prevalent, important and should never be stigmatised... anyway... here we go :)

The Goal: