Episode #7 Conquering The Roc: Helen and "The Dream team's" Inspiring Journey

Helen is a keen triathlete, and podcaster, she also works as a Cancer Rehabilitation Specialist for MOVE Charity.

Today, we're diving into the journey of Helen and "The Dream Team" who headed to North Wales, in 2023 to take on THE ROC triathlon to inspire other women and raise money for MOVE Charity.
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www.theroc.com/the-roc-wales/
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Helen's podcast: www.insidetrishow.com or search Inside Tri Show wherever you listen to podcasts
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https://www.moveagainstcancer.org/ the charity Helen works for as a cancer rehabilitation specialist who inspire and support people affected by cancer to stay active
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Helen's fundraising page for MOVE Against Cancer

https://www.justgiving.com/page/helen-murray-move

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Follow Celia at Love The Rain Triathlon Coaching

Website: https://ltrcoaching.co.uk/
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Transcript

0:03

[Music] hi I'm Celia boothman founder of LTR coaching and I'd like to welcome you to the inspired triathletes podcast where I'll be bringing you stories from female triathletes and taking on topics that are important to women in the sport hello and welcome so today I'm going to be talking to Helen from the inside TR show and Helen is a triathlete and presenter and what else do you do do you do any other yeah the main the main thing is a cancer rehab instructor but I can tell you about that amazing oh cool so that's your day job and you work that fulltime yep so I do that four days a week and then I do Media stuff one day a week uh and then I that that's that's pretty much it and then the podcast I don't do a weekly podcast uh anymore I'm going to do oneoff series uh later this year but I had been doing triath on podcast for about nine years so oh amazing yes because I remember listening to the inside you were on oxygen addict weren't you before and then you set up your own podcast the inside TR show and I remember when you set it up and I was listening to it on my Turbo yeah exactly I like I think I've entertained many people on their on their turbos or their long runs and um yeah so no absolute pleasure okay well yeah it's really great to speak with you and have you on so thank you for that um so really just want to get like a bit of a background on you know how long you've been doing Triathlon what kind of got you into the sport and yeah we'll start there that's enough questions yeah no that's up so I have been doing Triathlon since 2011 and I was always at school I was always the one who would be picked for the 800 M the 1500 M like I was good within my year at school I wasn't necessarily much better than that I'd always come you know I'd never come last when you were running for the school against other schools locally but I would literally never ever ever win it cross country I'd be again you know mid pack and then if you represented rexon schools I would then be like right at the back so yeah so I would always grew up doing different sports I could keep going I would be put on the wing in hockey um but again I never did anything more than just play for school like I actually the thing I loved growing up was tennis um absolutely love tennis I was a mold area under 10 singles short tennis winner I was like amazing very proud of that[Music] one and then yeah I mean I learned to swim through again it would have been at school um or more through the village actually there was one guy who I met the other day Celia and I said to him Dave I hope you realize just how amazing what you have done for the children of this Village is like he literally set up a swimming club 40 years ago and taught all these people in the village to swim but it was kind of through the primary school but at the same time it wasn't anything to do with the primary school he he named it the Primary School swimming club yeah but you know it wasn't the teachers that were were involved it was like this Dad and it's still going and I'm like that's awesome that so cool that's so good we need more of that stuff like so I did I saw him at the supermarket I said Dave I wouldn't have appreciated this as a youngster but you need to know it's amazing um so yeah learned to swim as a youngster that way um and then you know as I got older um I think I'd quit Swimming by the age of 11 so again it wasn't like I grew up as a as a swimmer um but yeah did loads of Sports at school loved it didn't really excel at anything enjoyed running through University other a way to keep fit and when I was 21 I did the London marathon with my dad dressed as a fairy um and he dressed as a fairy he was also dressed as a he was I I said come on dad let's let's get into this um let's do it dressed as fairies so yes he was like a his was a little bit more I don't know these local people made it for us these two little Tut his had a bit more Brown so he looked like a swamp fairy so they clearly run out of green material at that point uh anyway he got a lot of he got a lot of Cheers but it's the sort of thing honestly it took us I can't remember if it was like 5 hours 20 or 6 hours 20 so it really was doing it to raise money I but I had grown up watching it loving it thinking I want to do that when I'm 18 I didn't do it when I was 18 I did the great North run with my mom when I was 18 and again talking of like 2 hours 45 so very much doing these things as challenges and feeling inspired as a youngster by watching them on TV and thinking that's amazing I want to do that one day and then yeah basically did did lots of running in my late 20s fell off my bik like commuting to work got injured and thought well I can't run I want to do all these challenges to raise money before I'm 30 a triathlon's going to be one of them and really enjoyed it and it went from there so what did you do like a Sprint or I did a Sprint y Sprint Triathlon pool it was with a pool swim uh and I was petrified and I nearly didn't do it because I was I was on my period And I was so worried about the whole what do you do in that situation faf so I nearly didn't do it but I did do it and I really enjoyed it and it was fine your period was fine no problem it was fine it was fine I know it's funny the things we worry but I remember really worrying about like clothing what am I going to wear am I God it's like a disaster and I put my t-shirt on I tried I was so worried about the whole not touching your bike thing I got really stressed about that before you put your helmet on and so I put my bike helmet on and then was trying to get my t-shirt on I think I've done sa before you put your helmet on and then you're like oh God I I do I do remember once seeing someone who did the whole bike with their goggles on so nice well kind of like cycling gogg exactly they come in handy yeah it it sounds quite similar to me I played hockey on the wing as well you see you could just run up and down yeah on the left I was yeah yes I couldn't but the left was really hard because you I'm I'm right-handed so you I can't even yeah but I just remember the PE teacher she'd be like go on hel muray go on go on go on hel maray yeah they taught me a trick to sort of like scoop the ball back and and slide it across and got that far we got round a few teams I wasn't very good I'm not saying you know still I'm not in the in the good team but that was that was my one trick I don't think I had any tricks apart from I could probably just keep on running just run yeah yeah not fast by the way not fast I wouldn't have had any Sprint in me um but I could just keep going yeah we kind of need that hockey is quite it's a long game isn't it so yeah yeah nice okay so you did your first Sprint try um what that was 2011 was it y 2011 yep how many years ago was that I don't ask Celia I mean far too long that was4 now so yeah 13 13 years yeah wow it's mad isn't it terrifying and so then what happened after that Sprint so you enjoyed it and you were like okay I W to do well then what happened was as part of this turning 30 and doing uh different challenges to raise money one of the challenges was uh this anger in cross country ski Marathon yeah in Switzerland and I so I had signed up to this prior to that I was doing a coastal I don't know Coastal Marathon I think it was Coastal marathon and a lot of my brother's work friends or colleagues or friends were there and we basically had a few drinks and it got to the point that they were saying come on we're going to go and do the 70.3 and I was like no way I I literally I don't have a bike I mean I did the Sprint triathle on on my dad's Road bike I I didn't have a like no just no yeah come on Helen you're nailed you've just done a Marathon today you'll be fine I was like all right then I'll come and do that you come and do the ski marathon with me I don't ski well there we go nor do I come on it's a good Spain yeah so I went and did uh the rappers Ville 70.3 so in Switzerland uh and earlier that year I had done the enged in cross country ski Marathon but I quite enjoyed this uh the training for that 70.3 I was utterly utterly petrified of the whole thing petrified I don't think I had any bike handling skills I hadn't done all that much Open Water Swimming um I was so scared that I could barely take my uh I wouldn't have swapped a bottle on the bike no way I just didn't have the confidence to take a bottle out and grab grab something on the go I think I literally had about two pieces of malt loaf so when it came to the run that was uh yeah bit strug Yeah interesting exactly I Ian it was just Dreadful but I enjoyed the training for it and I enjoyed the big event of it I enjoyed the atmosphere and everything and I think pretty much even before we had gone to Switzerland with these same guys it was like we're doing an Iron Man next year aren't we yeah yeah all right yeah so then 2013 um yeah we signed up for Iron Man Austria so that was the first Iron Man that's like really quick sort of you know Sprint half he lck forget that and just went straight to Iron Man and and half Iron Man and then Iron Man yeah I well before so before that 70.3 I did the I did Harlot so Harlot tform uh and got blown off off my bike and ended in a ditch so that was a real confidence booster um then I did slate man oh[Laughter] God I think that was one of my first races as well I was like that looks fun I just I just remember it was freezing but also I had two punctures on the bike and I didn't even know how to fix the first one and these lovely two girls stopped and helped me um but then got another one and I had a sweeper bus right by me and this local cyclist actually was going past and had to help me fix it um so yeah I had a great few little fir before rappville uh which you were nervous as well exactly had some quite sort of scary experiences so yeah so that yeah that that's that's pretty much been um where and how it's um progressed yeah so which 70.3 did you do where was it so it's in Switzerland in a place called rappville Jonah rville Jonah War fish yeah um no water I'm thinking of the water I think you know what the water was definitely warmer than snowdonia prior to going out there which was freezing I don't remember thinking this is horrendously cold yeah yeah because I was just you know like slate probably been quite pre for if it was cold water it's so cold everybody that does that race is like the water so called yeah and they don't quite often they don't reduce the time of the swim or anything like that no Triathlon come on I think they find a I think they find a little bit by the shore and make sure that you know a duck's weed there or something and then put the thermometer in and go yeah that's fine I never you they use that that's quite a good strategy Isn't it nice I have no idea if they do by the way I'm not I'm just making I know it sounds like it could be true though because you're like God it's so cold exactly can't be allowed to swim in that and it's early as well isn't it so nothing I think quite often you're watching the weather thinking go there's got to be some sun at some point to war exactly happens so then so it was last year you did the I wanted to talk to you specifically about the rock but obviously you've done other stuff you've done IR man Wales haven't you um how many Iron Man have you done uh so I have finished let me get this right I think I've finished three and then one was a dnf so lakesman was a dnf uh and I have done Austria UK and Wales yeah yeah so which is your favorite one out of those ones yeah um oh I I'm not expecting any you to say no so you know what I my I loved Bolam when I did it I also think that's because I did way better than I had expected and I I just had a really good day I had been to Wy at loads it would have at the time I was probably living about an hour away so it really was on the door there's no excuse not to go and wreck it so I felt like I knew it and yeah just one of those days where it went right and I loved it I really really loved it 2017 when I did Iron Man Wales the conditions were horrendous I remember that year yeah yeah and I didn't realize at the time but actually I had early signs of a stress fracture um in my hip which is not great so like it just the training before it it and even on the run like it was just quite painful as it would be obviously don't do that and then Austria again I enjoyed it and that was special for a different reason my brother and I did it together and I just remember coming out the water and had this tff on my shoulder I was like oh my God Tom what are you doing here um so yeah I enjoyed that for a different reason and the first one and kind of rookie and being out in Austria and again I would have done way better than I had thought I did but I think by 2016 I don't know I was more competitive and I really felt like oh wow that's probably you look back now and you're like I doubt I doubt I'll have another one of those days yeah yeah I know what you mean yeah definitely it's like you kind of think how did I manage that yeah I don't know I lit don't know I know yeah well that's really good but yeah and obviously I live near um the course for Wales it goes right past the house so nice it's pretty cool but um but it's helped so much if you you know especially if you're doing something like an Iron Man and and you you know you know the bike course yeah in all weathers yeah you can save so much time yeah definitely even like I did Olympic distance down here last not last year two years ago now and it's a course I know really well and just knowing where all the turns are and that you know where you can kind of put power down and stuff and it just it makes a huge difference definely yeah yeah awesome so then you did The Rock was it it's last year isn't it 2023 yeah so may may 2023 I was actually meant to do it in September of 2022 okay and part of the reason for that is I had seen it anyway it was on my radar but then the charity that I work for so move against cancer we as a charity a charity Partners to the Rock so I then was able to get a place um for September 2022 for the Wales one and I was like oh this is brilliant and kind of get involved with the fundraising side of things in terms of they have like a torch light run on the beach to help raise money for move against cancer um and just help fly the flag really yeah but there's always a but um I broke my wrist um so I wasn't able to do it and so that was why then I did it in May of 2023 right so they moved it to May instead of September so just to kind of ADD a little bit of confusion here they had two Wales events I think for two years I don't know if that was to do with uh covid or quite what I'm not sure but they had one in the May one in the September and then again 2023 May and September whereas 2024 they're only going to be having the one in Wales and that's in May okay well that's cool because I've also now got Scotland right okay yeah so they have the rock Wales The Rock England and the Rock Scotland so then now they have the rock Trilogy oh that's cool yeah so yeah tell people about the rock because people won't know what yeah it's such a cool format of a triathlon so it is a triathlon but I would say it's more of an adventure Triathlon so you with the rock Wales let's take that one so it starts in abasar which is a small uh Village are in a beautiful part of Northwest Wales on the uh penley in the slim Peninsula so it starts with a sea swim 1500 meters and we had perfect conditions last May it was just beautiful like oh lovely then you get on your bike and you cycle 50k to the bottom of the Watkin path which is the hardest path up Snowden which is the highest mountain in England and Wales um so you have t uh two there I about to say T1 no definitely T I was thinking you going to say tea and cakes yeah te tea and Cakes as well so yeah T2 so you get off your bike then you have to have your Mountain bag and in your Mountain bag you have to carry some staple kit so like like seamed waterproofs and um you know emergency food the kind of things if you were going to be doing an ultra run that so you've got your vest you've got your hydration and then off you go up to the top of the summit of snowm yeah checkpoint there sort of say hello great Flags whatever nice um come all the way back down yeah get back on your bike ride 50k back to abasar yeah and then they have another transition and you do a 1K run on the beach to fin a nice okay so it's very different and I think because it is so different and because you have a mountain in the middle you know you can really go in with that I think it's a different mindset yes of course you want to go and do well and whatever but actually you don't have to be stressing about oh well normally I do this time on a on a run or normally I do this time on a bike or doesn't matter it's a massive day out and it's I think it's harder than a 70.3 yeah without doubt yeah yeah well you've got to run run up a big mountain you got to run Big Mountain yeah and it it was just incredible so if you want a challenge something different really good organization um and yeah just a unique format in a beautiful part of the world check out the rock triathlons I have looked at it um I looked at it a few times and I was like oh it looks really good and I never did it because it was in September I was like oh they're doing it in may now maybe I could but then I've sort of stopped training now so yeah I'm not not doing it but yeah may I I really like the look of it it looks awesome I did something at an event called the dragon giron you know that where you like ride we ride from North Wales to South Wales but you run up like Snowden cadid van on the way and that's casually yeah just run up there back there it's fine um but we and we didn't get to run all the way up snow down I was a bit gusted because the weather was so bad but um it was similar you know that sort of mindset of like yeah I just out here to enjoy this and I just had such a good time sure can you hear my kids shouting no good I can running up stairs I'm sure I did I forgot to tell that I was recording any hopefully they'll go away um yeah but it was nice it was just like everybody was just you know it was an adventure you had to have like someone the logistics of it or got quite complicated as well which I'm sure it does with that carry nut yeah but I think it's not I wouldn't definitely wouldn't let that put anyone off in terms of you know you put in your bag what it says on the list and you're fine and actually because they've got the transition set up as long as you've got your kit you're fine yeah and I guess they've got feed stations and things like that yep so they have uh at at T2 they have uh they have that's where they have the uh feed stations portaloos change T everything like that um at the top of the mountain they really it was more water for an emergency um like you meant to be self-sufficient but when we did it it was so hot that actually they were finding that they were having to give out um some some water at the top yeah but yeah honestly if like don't let Logistics put you off it's not that complicated just work your way through the pre-race uh guide make sure you got everything that you need in your bag uh and and then you're fine and you just have to actually it's easier if you give your bag in the way that they do it if you give it in the night before then you don't even need to worry about it or think about it Bingo dumb yeah I'm always in favor of getting things done ahead of time anything you can do like that exactly take it off have a have dinner have a have an easy night don't worry about oh heck have I got my you know space blanket in your bag yes you have because you've tied it off your list yeah no I was just getting conf like thinking about the thing that I did we had to carry everything there was no it was really like there was only about 20 people that entered or something so oh wow take everything with you proper you have to have a car and like pick oh yeah none of that no Noone and if you've got actually if you've got people coming to support you um they have other races going on so the other thing that they in Wales this is they have the they have a runup run which I looks so much fun so run and then yeah stand up paddle board and then run they have a beach bar going on all day lck there's just such a chilled out kind of beach Vibe it's it's really nice so it's difficult if you are a spectator to unless you drive to the foot of Snowden and which is possible it's difficult to spectate apart from the last K on the obviously the swim and then the last K on the beach so it's always like it's a long day off Spectators but because it's in AB s there's you know there's plenty of restaurants and cafes and stuff like that so yeah yeah and they put us stuff on as well thinking about exactly yeah yeah sounds they have a DJ like you know it's great nice yeah I think like whales I don't know they just put on good events quite often they I think the geography yeah the geography the vibe yeah yeah so was that what inspired you like the the landscape the geography the kind kind of like being able to run up Snowden yeah you know what I think it was originally so even before I knew that they were charity partners with move I think it was just the unique format of it like I had done um I had done 703s I had done Iron Man I think I had got injured all that sort of stuff and I probably thought I just want to do something different yeah this would grab my attention I like being I like hiking I like walk walking um it will be a challenge but I'm well up for it yeah that's what appealed yeah nice and and you did it with there was a group of you that did it went so when I did that come about yeah so it's all to do with move charity basically so when when I did it in May it was just it was basically just me doing it yeah but I really I was very aware that the rock doesn't often um like I just SE I had seen a post and they said something the percentage of their female entrance and I was like give me five places yeah and I will bring a team of women to your race we can we'll we'll get them to fund raise for move yeah so that sort of in a way like ticks the move fundraising box so we can do that but actually at the same time you get something back because I'm going to bring these females we're going to track their Journeys we're going to hear their stories on the podcast we're going to find out all about them and hopefully then that will inspire other women to think you know what yes I can do that so I had 30 people getting in touch saying I want one of these places which even that alone is pretty cool because I think well we could have I could have taken six teams obviously uh that yeah I didn't want to pay for well no exactly I mean I didn't put I yeah so I I would understand that so no we had we had our team yeah and it was just amazing because we had a WhatsApp group they were all very very different and we we yeah they supported each other um and their abilities were very different there were other females who then did actually decide to enter the race after hearing about it or maybe think yep I'd love to do that or the rock actually said look to other people look if you raise I don't know 250 we can give you this rate or we can do X or Y so okay they were totally on board with trying to bring more females to their races and it's I think it's it's one of those things that what is it that why and it's like many races isn't it why are there not as many women as men with The Rock in particular what's that about is it that it's is it the mountain is it that it's too challenging and all them would say like all of the ones who did it would say if I can do it you can do it as well so there was something very very powerful I think about about that and it wasn't that you know the winning guy literally did it in something sick amazingly amazingly rapid we we weren't there for that we were there for actually this is totally possible POS yeah it's a new thing it's something different that you've not done like a variation on stuff that you've done before but yeah yeah a different way of looking at do you remember what the numbers were for like percentages for entries or I don't want to get the wrong figure but I don't know if it was and there's a big difference with what I'm about to say I don't know if it was 12% or 20% I think it might have been 12 originally yeah I can't think what it is normally it's like 20 Wales or it was one year 20% or something like that yeah so but definitely definitely a big a big big difference um so yeah that was my aim thinking you know what if we can if we can Inspire some other women to think that sounds awesome I can absolutely do that or you know what maybe I can't do it this year but I'm going to work for that and I can do that next year yeah and I like the you know I think that sort of supportive atmosphere that you get with women when they get in a group together like that it's just it's really nice to see it's infectious it's just fantastic so even before the race um because I was there so I wasn't doing it in September with them I said I'm going to be Chief cheerleader um but even before the race I was there on the beach with them and just looking at the sunrise over um yeah over the hills and I just like oh wow this is incredible it just felt like a really special thing and then there were some other women uh shout out Kelly and Shout Out Kath who had entered they put their names in the Hat actually but they hadn't got pulled out okay but they they kind of found us and and and joined us and we were all cheering each other on and it was just so so cool yeah it's really nice yeah I like it's a different vibe isn't it totally different vibe to what you get I just like this might seem a bit random Give an example I was at a climbing comp on Saturday with and took my son he's like a teenage boy yeah and it's like really busy with quite a lot of young people and there was lot the problems were separated into like men and women's problems but there was some that were both men and women some that were there was one that was just for women and I get to the women's one and I'm like there's cues everywhere and people were like pushing in and what have you we got to the woman's well the women are like do you want to go you go first first and it was like such a different atmosphere to there the other ones where everyone's like got to get get in my place got to get on the boulder quick and pushing people out the way and stuff it's like why can't everyone just be nice to you I don't know I don't know it's it's so different isn't it yeah it's just like a different um like way of Behaving I suppose it's like we we kind of like can support each other but I think sometimes we kind of like I felt like I was taking a you know you're sort of trying to be nice too much sometimes then and not then taking your place and taking up the space that you need so it's like a balance but that isn't there that you've got to get but yeah yeah there was some girls that kept no you going I like no you and they were just letting everyone go in front I was like no you really need to go now oh push elbows out elbows out go for it it's like in the swim isn't it when you're like right got to get you know take up your space and obviously not aggressively but you know you do need to be confident and be able to to to use your space and maybe that's something that puts women off is that kind of you know especially with that swim environment it is about taking up space and being like I deserve to be here I've got just as much right to be in the water as anyone else and I can be assertive with my space and not I'm not trying to put anyone off by making it sound but I do you know what I mean yeah it's um yeah I I mean I I I don't I don't know exactly what it I don't know what it exactly boils down to um but it's different for everyone as well I think it is different for everyone I really do think it's different for everyone and I was just thinking in um you know the other day I was doing a local running race and it's it's a bit like a cross country league but it's on road instead and you know I I was just chatting to the person next to me in the queue for the toilets and that's that's me I like doing that before you know before before a race but then other people would hate that and just want to be in their zone or like I don't need to talk to anybody I'm happy I'm confident I'm happy days off we go so yeah there's no there's no right or wrong I think um yeah everyone deserves to be there and everyone deals with sort of sport I think in a in a very different different way yeah and it teaches you a lot about yourself I find because I know I'm like okay I'm doing that thing again when I let everyone go in front of me and don't like you know make space for me so I kind of pick that up and I think that's a really valuable thing that that we can all get from the sport is that noticing of okay what am I doing and how it affects you then with your confidence going into other things so you know bringing people into something like the rock is going to help them not just enter races but it's help with all of your life because you start noticing those patterns of behavior through the racing that you can then Implement well that's what I found anyway yeah I think it's helped me grow like as a person massively doing Triathlon I I remember um I remember after the first it I did and I just had almost this not a glow but this thought in my head of I can literally do anything I've just done that I remember I did I wore my t-shirt in the office with pride yeah it I I really did the day after I thought I don't care I'm going to put it on and I just thought prior to that I had felt um sometimes in a work environment not particularly confident and it didn't it didn't change overnight I'm not saying that there'd still be situations whereby I don't feel confident in a particular situation but I do remember thinking like that person has never thought I'm capable of stuff in a work situation I think they've always just thought I'm a bit[ __ ] and actually me then having done that I thought I I have a bit more respect like almost this this respect I kind of thought in my head I wonder if that's changed his view even if he didn't know I was doing it to be honest I probably thought well stuff you mate I've done an Iron Man yeah yeah yeah I know what you mean you feel like I'm you know I've done something really hard that it done yeah it was that and at the time yeah 2013 there I didn't I didn't know that many people in a in that work environment Who had who who had done one you had done something like that yeah no it it definitely helps with that confidence and thinking I've done something pretty amazing yeah and then I guess like once you when you do that the way you so you know internally you feel it so externally you pres you start presenting different so you interact with people in a different way because of that yeah yeah almost that small voice in your head which previously might be thinking oh I'm going to hide in a corner and I don't really want to you know bring up an idea in a in a meeting actually then you're like well you just say it yeah yeah definitely that's awesome that's how so it's like an advertisement for a insurance event yeah def it's not just it's not just the insurance event it's like everything I think yeah and you know so many people get you know you start out going I want to do this Challenge and you're not sure why and then you kind of go through the process and it's like oh wow I'm learning all this stuff about myself it's amazing So Co yeah I think I think there's a lot in that and I think there's that satisfaction from from having done something that perhaps at some point you really could never have imagined and and there's that there's the you know the discipline that that comes with it all the friendships is one of the biggest things I think that um for me has come out of triathlon the the friendships without doubt i' I'd Almost Say Yeah that's the top and then obviously yes I'm fitter I probably feel healthier um I've been to different places I've had different experiences I've probably my whole working life has probably taken a bit of a change because of it there all all that sort of stuff it's not for me there's far more to it than a training plan yeah definitely it's like a lifestyle kind of overhaul basically isn't it and even when you come out of it as well like so I'm not training now for big endurance events but I'm doing other stuff but you can apply that stuff like in in different sports or whatever you want like whatever comes up in your life it's like okay right we've got this yeah yeah yeah and it's like with any you know with any job I guess there's I'm not God I'm not saying it was a a job it wasn't at all but with any job you learn skills so with anything in life you you learn skills that then you transfer onto other things whether that is transferable work skills so you know okay you did a particular communication role actually well then okay you can communicate with people you can use that in something else or whatever it whatever it is I think there's always ways that we can adapt and change as as people yeah for sure yeah one of the things that um I think has helped a lot is that controlling the controllables like that's one of the things I say to people when they're preparing for a race okay what can we control what can you what can you do to minimize you know like you're saying handing your bag in and that kind of thing controlling those things so that's something that you can do like when you when some stress like we've got a load of family stress at the moment it's like whoa and you go okay well what can we control what what steps can we take that are in our control do that and then everything else sort of feels like it's a bit easier it's okay now so that's another skill that's definitely come out of it and I think you know the more people that we can get doing that stuff it's going to help them with all sorts of things in their life so I think that's amazing that you inspired the women to do it really good um and your goal you said you know was just to enjoy it and and kind of have have a slightly different challenge to what you've been doing and you didn't want to compare your times to other stuff as well oh no I couldn't I couldn't give a damn about that um I so last year 2023 my big thing was uh something called the pan Celtic race uh so that's a big bike packing uh race which I did uh as a pair with the amazing Lori Bowen and so yeah that that was what my main focus was it wasn't the the Rock so um yeah that was why for me it was a big day out a bit of a hit out get a sea swim under my belt um get a triathlon under my belt I hadn't done one for probably since that dnf the lakesman dnf which I think was 2021 right um so yeah that that's and obviously importantly being there as well for move charity yeah yeah definitely So like um I'm going to ask you how your training what your training look like but if you weren't really focusing you probably more focused on your bike than the rock if you're doing a big bike s but I was also doing I my whales so um so my what did my training look like uh yeah to be honest um shouldn't I ask that question no absolutely no no totally ask it so it was pretty at the time I was following more of a plan rather than having specific oneon-one coaching but that plan um well actually rewind so the summer before July 22 obviously I was meant to be doing it in September yeah so I had been prior to breaking the wrist I had been up the walking twice right so I had already wrecked it um very very purposefully for the rock thinking I don't know it I need to go and see what that path's like so I had I felt like I had ticked that off in terms of I know what it's like so I'm not going to stress too much about that so rewind again then to 2023 I did do a couple of sea swims um before it because it's really it was really early it must have been I I don't know I want to say something like May the 12th so the two weekends yeah it was pretty early the two weekends prior I had tried to get in the sea just thinking just you need to like climatize to it because it's going to be cold so crack on um and then other than that I like I didn't do uh run Bike Run sessions I didn't do I I I was doing hill reps definitely for running they they've pretty much been a almost like a constant so I definitely would have done Hill reps but genuinely other than that it was just pretty standard triathon training because yeah again if I go back to 2022 the big thing I did that year was a 3-day uh ultramarathon okay so I had done so much hiking yeah uh hiking and hills and elevation and kit and all that sort of stuff so like I knew I knew what was going to be going in my kitb like I was happy with all that sort of stuff and so really it was a case of Just Just Being Fit yeah but it wasn't totally specific towards the rock yeah so you had like probably more biking yeah in because of your other thing as well yeah Okay cool so how much training were you doing a week can you remember uh like nine hours okay it's not too bad no nine nine or 10 yeah that's all right it's not like 20 oh God no I I I honestly see if if you said to me you've got to do 20 hours of training I know it's not I wouldn't be doing it there's no way there is no way I would be happy trying to do work full-time uh be a present wife be a present daughter be a good friend um learn Welsh dog walks there there's literally no way I would find balance with that that I wouldn't and it's so no I know I can have balance in my life I can train hard and I can train consistently with anywhere between sort of 9 to I don't know 9 to 11 hours yeah okay yeah and obviously I know okay near a race time yes that'll be a bit it might go up for like nor bike rides and things like that but yeah that's that's Sim you know that's pretty much what most people that I coach that are you know doing a day job yeah will be able to manage on top of everything else so totally yeah and it is completely doable um you don't need to be doing like you know 20 hours is like a Le sort of that's like level I did it once how long four not not just it was only like a couple of weeks I think I had 20 hour week or something but that was when I was trying to qualify for Kona so I yeah I was I did a lot but it wasn't I wouldn't have wanted to carry on doing I say did you feel like you had balance in your life um it was all right because I was not really I wasn't working full time you know I had Co I was coaching athletes but I didn't have loads of athletes to coach um yeah so then it's almost like there is time then I had time I wouldn't there's no way I would do that like you know people sort of see what you've done and they go oh how did you manage that I'm like wa I was like that was what I to do that was pretty much what I was doing that was like my job to just go and train and I obviously have kids so I was looking after them and things but it I way made a way to fit it in because I really wanted to achieve that goal but yeah you know I wouldn't I would recommend it no I think on a training camp or something when you know if you've specifically gone abroad um and you know you're there you're in the sunshine obviously and you don't have to go oh God I need to put that wash on or oh I need that like it's yeah it's doable as a oneoff but yeah and and you can get a lot of benefit from that you know if you are out of your normal situation um but for most people training just needs to be sustainable and consistent most of the time and get a few long rides and runs in to prepare you so yeah yeah nice okay so um how did it go on race day did you have like any setbacks was there anything that and un expected with the with the rock yeah yeah so um oh I loved it I loved it so the swim as I say the conditions were really good it was pretty pancake flat it was yeah lovely temperature um I probably had a few issues with sighting I often do to be honest in a especially in a sea swim and part of the reason for that is that I so I wear glasses on a daily basis I don't have contacts I don't have prescription goggles so I genuinely I just struggled to see probably which I think is pretty explainable and then especially if the waters me I find it even harder so yes my ideal swim would be a uh a Lake Swim With Boys every um 100 200 meters then I have a chance of seeing it and then when I can see something I I'm I'm not awful at sorry let's put in spin that yeah I'm pretty good at swimming in a straight line if I can see where I'm going to yeah so that bit Yeah the bike out I really enjoyed there were people around me um and yeah it was just like it felt like there were other people around the as soon as I got off the bike I thought oh Christ oh my God these legs feel great for going up a mountain I just stuff I am GNA just shovel food in and I am gonna H I am going to rout March it up this mountain so I just thought you know what I'm not going to be great at running up it so I will I'll walk it I'll speed hike it and I I feel like I got in a Groove and I got in the Rhythm so was that a setback probably I probably thought I would have been able to jog a bit more of it to um it's almost in two sections in that maybe even three like it it starts off uh in the valley um and then you and then it gets a bit more uh like steps and uh Rocky and then it gets really Rocky at the very end like it is a hands and knees scramble it really is um but actually on the way back down I I ran it and I felt I felt good going back down and because I had fueled well um that was Happy Days you didn't have you just your malt lifea no I didn't just have my malt lifea I had I had sandwiches I was L I thought what did I have last year on the Highland Ultra solid food for going up a mountain right I'm going to go solid food so I I had a selection uh it was great and then back on the bike what were in your sandwiches sorry I had one uh one Nutella one peanut butter and jam and one cheese nice okay I clearly made a an indent on my memory because this is now nearly a year ago and I can remember what I had in those sandwiches were you rotating as well so or was it like no I literally just I think I literally just was like oh what what can I get oh that'll do yeah fine shove it in um back on the bike on the way back so the 50k back I remember singing to myself um I I did not enjoy that bike back I found it quite lonely because there was no one around at that point and it it felt like just a drag um so yeah I I I wasn't loving the bike back um and then the run on the beach I quite enjoyed someone there was another female who wasn't far behind me coming into transition and I thought you're not having me I was like I am going to run hard um yeah and would have just obviously it wasn't that fast but um she didn't overtake was it enough yeah nice so I was like so what did you sing on the bike because I've done that before really awful I can't remember if it was lay Miz I I've probably told someone somewhere but um it might have been lay Miz or something like that it just was like this is not this is not a good place to be and and that tells me that my I mean my concentration had obviously just gone I remember fidgeting loads on the bike I was just not comfortable yeah but you had enough to to finish at the end oh yeah yeah yeah I sang chesne Hawks I am the one on 100 miles did you did it get around and around in your head I was just like it was they had it was like pissing with rain it was um they canel loads of events because there was a storm but they did didn't cancel this one and I was like quite pleased cuz I needed to no I needed to ride 100 miles it was in in my like focused phase and I remember going just being like that going[Music] I because no one else is out in this bloody weather although there were because there's a load of time trials out well not that many I think a lot of people decided that they weren't going to do it no was so bad but yeah yeah hey needs M sometimes yeah character building isn't it yeah yeah that's what I say awesome so what are you working towards now what are you kind what are your goals on the horizon have you got any yeah so uh I am doing uh challenge Roth this year awesome that's another one I want to do yes yeah so actually let before that so I am so I'm doing challenge Roth okay and that was I've known that I've been doing that for two years my mom it was my mom's fast fingers I was like Mom I'm doing I'm going to be in the sea I'm going to be doing a sea swim session but this is could you have a go for me she's like yeah I have a go nailed it I was like Mom you're just too good so I originally had the place to do it last year but because of doing the pan Celtic I was like I'm going to I want to do the pan Celtic it was going to be Britany and then cycling back up to Wales I was like I totally am doing that and I'm going to defer Roth so let me go back to uh I mentioned I was meant to be doing I man Wales last year yeah 2023 okay so the week before my appendix decided to burst so I needed open surgery and it was not all that fun and I thought oh I um I thought I had missed the deferral I I I put it in like literally the Saturday of like the week before how I've missed it damn it little money grabbing people then and then afterwards maybe like a week after I in Wales um I got an email saying you know you can now secure your place I was thinking oh damn it oh man and then I was like oh God that means I'd be doing Roth and whales in the space of a year I've never done two Iron Man in a year and I'm not that bothered about doing two I really it's like in my head I was thinking Roth and then I'm out of this game I'm like I'm retiring from triathle I'm I'm dumb and even at Christmas time I was so Christmas 2023 I was like no I'm totally not doing TBI I'm just gonna I am going to work my butt off for Roth but I just want to enjoy the summer I want to do fun stuff I don't want to be on a training plan and then Lucy gosage did her obviously does amazing stuff for move charity I'm lucky to call her you know a colleague a friend and there she was D this bluming winter spine race raising an incredible amount of money for move charity like nearly 30 grand and you're just like that is insane I've been working for the charity for five years and yes I you know I do I I workit for the charity I love the charity there's we do so much amazing stuff I was like if Lucy's done that I'm I like I'm gonna have to do some fundraising aren't I so then I thought you know what actually Lucy thank you that's brilliant I'm GNA turn this year into a more of a fundraiser for move against cancer yeah so I am going to do I on Wales and I'm going to do it with the aim of I want to raise some money for move against cancer so getting to answer your question finally thinking come on question so I start with the shsh way 8K Festival in April this is an 80k um again I wouldn't recommend doing this however I've wanted to do it for a few years and I'm like life is too short just BL sign up yeah just sign up do it as a hike so it's very much open to Walkers or hikers it is 80k you have a 24-hour time limit I'm like go and do the hike and then yes there'll still be some recovery involved but not as much as if I was going to go and try and run it and get injured which forget that I'm not playing that game so we have the shopshire 8K which I am so excited about it's all about the food they have pie halfway around they have stew I'm like bring it on then I'm GNA be doing Roth then when's Roth then Roth is the first weekend of July yeah yeah then this is what I told uh Mark the coach I was like I said Mark I've decided I am going to do IMA Wales however what I hadn't said to you you need to know this is with move charity we're going to be doing a big hiking fundraiser at the eale skyline which is 21 miles August 31st so I was like I'm gonna do it I'm gonna stay away from Lucy Gossage but I will be doing that yeah then uh I think on the 8th of September I'm going to be doing a swim run with my husband Rich which we were meant to do last year after I'm man Wales but obviously at be appendix meant I couldn't do it could do it so the lovely organizer Mike has deferred our entry so two weeks before I am a whales are G be doing the swim run that's quite they're quite long aren't they swim runs yeah it's pretty long yeah but this goes back to my point of I am now doing I am on Wales as part of a bigger fundraising picture so Roth is the that is the aace I am working my bum off for rth um I want to just go and enjoy it that that is the aim TBE I literally want to go and enjoy the atmosphere and get around I'm quite scared that it's so late on in September um I am pretty sure I will get Dreadful weather like 2017 but I feel now I feel now having done the pan Celtic last year in God awful conditions on some days and having done Ira Wales in 2017 uh I and I know I'm Gonna Be Fit enough so I'm like I just want to go and enjoy the day yeah and even if it's bad weather you know you've dealt with those conditions I'll be praying to the uh WEA we gods for you thank you I got someone in the group that's doing it as well well meant to be she might have to defer I'm not sure but yeah last year we had a few and it was nice it's just I love the event I go and watch honestly it's amazing but yeah I can keep an eye out for you then please do please do I need all cheers that's you if if if if you're going down and cheering on please give me a cheer please don't just stand there and half half ask doesn't do anything for me go mental go nuts you will get everything back from me I will go nuts with you whilst on the bike or on that's awesome yeah I usually go to Templeton um up you know in the hill there yeah what what are you wearing do you know it's a bit early to ask no I I was thinking you know I can look for colored helmet that really helps when you if top tips if you're a spectator look out for helmet color oh definitely definitely I think I last year because we were still down there because we obviously had the accommodation and I managed to spectate for about an hour and then I was like I need to go home and lie down I feel awful um but I think I cheered on um there were definitely a few people I called Emily thinking I was cheering on Emy Marchant okay and then got the right one yeah eventually I know sometimes you're like yeah go and yeah there quite a few GS as well who weren't GS but hey they got cheers too it doesn't matter it's all good all good yes so do you know what you're wearing so it's either going to be uh the uh I have a ho truit which is that sort of faded turquoise one which probably quite a few have got um though I was thinking today this is what I was thinking today CIA yeah if if move had a truit because we have running vests if we had a truit I would 100% wear that okay but we currently don't you need to get I need to speak to the powers that be what color is your your helmet uh white and turquoise okay CU that's the first thing that I usually spot is people's helmets and then I kind of go if they've got that color helmet on then I look at their kit and okay we do this I do the sort of like I'm quite impressed that you're making notes like what six months out this is amazing ages I'll probably forget where thisa is like what's that thing yeah so no I will hopefully I'll be there I don't think we're doing anything this oh there was something that came up my son's going to University um well hopefully going to University so as long as we're not having to drop him off take him somewhere then I will definitely be there because it's quite late isn't it this year as well yeah 22nd yeah yeah so oh no that's that's my youngest birth oh you won't be there then scrap scrap the bit about the helmet the helmet yeah I know it is it's his birthday on that day yeah unless piz out in TMI I might be able to I don't know it depends what he wants to do he's obsessed with climbing so that's all he wants to do and unless there you go climb in the morning come your birthday is Saturday this year climb in the morning come into town for the uh run and have you know pizza or whatever he wants wait he might we might be able to persuade him yeah about one year I'm just tell you the story because thinking about birthdays and stuff it's nothing to do with Triathlon but um my eldest we were traveling back and we book this holiday and I was like convinced i' booked it all fine we were going to get back the day before his birthday we get on the ferry and I'm like well we like day before I was like oh I've booked us traveling back on the day of his birthday we just just won't tell him that it's the DAT of his birthday CU he was quite young anyway we got to the passport office you know when you're coming back in off the ferry and the passport woman was like oh and it's and happy and we were like and she like you nauy Mommy I felt so bad it was so funny like we did it the next day though you know we planned it I just totally forgot that it was that day when I was booking it's easily done no it's e it is easily done it's easily done don't worry anyway so yeah so where can people find out about the move charity if they want to sponsor you or help out in any way or any other things that you want to link to or tell people so if uh if you haven't heard uh inside TR show then go and check it out it still exists it's still there like there's an amazing interview actually with lu see after her uh Skylight her um I can't even think what she did but uh the thing in January the spine race the winter spine um so insid TR show.com and then yes move against cancer is a charity um we help and Inspire and support people to be physically active uh following a cancer diagnosis so specifically um I work with 13 30y olds we have an online program it's one-on-one uh so I help young people to build up their Fitness build up their strength build up their confidence again following a cancer diagnosis it doesn't matter where they are in the UK or Northern Ireland it's an online program so it's amazing it works and then the other thing that uh the other two things that we have a whole load of resources so lots of uh workshops articles inspiring blogs podcasts everything all with that link to physical activity and then the other brilliant thing uh is the 5K your way initiative which is linked to park run it's a councel support group it's on the last Saturday of the month and it's about encouraging anyone affected by cancer so whether that's a patient a health care professional um family friends go along once a month to your nearest 5K your way group it's not about running it you can if you want but it's not about that it's going it's having other people around you going and having a catch up over a coffee afterwards and all of these things are absolutely changing lives and having such a positive impact on people at a really crappy crappy time so Google move against cancer charity I put the link in the notes as well so I'll I'll get that in the in the show notes that' be amazing and then yeah I've got a just giving which I will send over to you and Bug it in in the show notes that be amazing okay well it's really nice to talk to you thank you again for it's a pleasure joining me thank you so much for the invite stomach's not too rumbly it's all good it's dinner time now isn't it yeah it's fine no thank you so so much for the opportunity and yeah just go and do the Rock and um as I said I think when I finish the other podcast enjoy life beyond the training plan as well yeah definitely for sure that's a good good thing to end on thank you thanks for listening today have a great day take care bye for[Music] now