FionaOutdoors

My tri club friend Smiler Caroline says she struggles to find the motivation to run or cycle unless she’s planned to go out with other people. Other people I know only like to run or cycle on their own. I am somewhere in the middle. I love running and chatting with a friend. I like [...]

The “return” sports session, especially after months away, is always so tough. I was reminded of this fact on Tuesday when I returned to the Glasgow Triathlon Club swimming session after a gap of almost eight weeks. While I tried to keep up with the middle laners, and I did complete the full session, I [...]

It’s great to hear about other people’s outdoor sporting achievements and goals. I “met” Andy Fallon on Twitter. His tweets about an epic cycling challenge sounded interesting. Here’s his story. Andy is 45 and married with a six-year-old daughter. He lives in Huddersfield West Yorks and spends his days working for Morrisons as a senior [...]

TOP Ele (Triathlete always to be found On a Podium) can’t resist a challenge. She likes tough triathlons. The tougher the better, it seems.  And so she decided to aim for this year’s Alpe D’Huez Triathlon. This triathlon isn’t of the normal “set” distances of Half Ironman or Ironman. It has its own distances. The [...]

Chatting to the Ginger Prince before the London Triathlon I started to panic. He is a veteran of this event (and stormed an awesome 2hrs 6mins in this year’s Olympic distance) and told me that the distance from the end of the swim to the transition was quite a distance. Added to this, each triathlon [...]

The good news is I have raised £660 for the charity, Breakthrough Breast Cancer, by taking part in the London Triathlon 2011. The bad news is I almost never made it. The good news is that I made it through the much-dreaded open water swim in Victoria Docklands. The bad news is I almost sat down [...]

Taper. It’s a lovely word and in the sporting world it comes after many months of hard graft. With less than a week to go before my somewhat daunting Virgin London Olympic Triathlon 2011 I am very happy to be enjoying a little tapering. (Yes, I know, that’s eight letters!) The reason for a taper [...]

Three training sessions this week. Two punctures. One closure. And one almighty feeling of sickness. Hmmm. I’m not sure things are going too well as I continue to prepare for the London Olympic Distance Triathlon. On Monday, following Sunday’s Peebles Triathlon effort, I took a well-earned rest day. Tuesday I planned to cycle to an [...]

It is women like Jane Holmes that inspire me to aspire for even better times in my sporting events. Jane was the first lady to cross the line of  Peebles Triathlon 2011 on Sunday. She is 42, has three children and is a busy farmer’s wife in Duns yet she still trounced all the other [...]

If you read this blog you’ll know my feelings on open-water swimming. I hate it. You may also have read about my mind-blowingly idiotic agreement to do a triathlon for charity that includes an open water swim. From the moment I said “yes” to this challenge I have worried about the swim. On the day [...]