This Girl Can - Michelle

Published:

Michelle had never considered herself a triathlete. In fact, it was only after a chance meeting with a friend when completing her first 5km run, that the mother-of-one’s interest in the sport began to spark.

“My friend told us that her first 5k that led to her becoming a triathlete and I think, still high on adrenaline from completing the run (without stopping), we vowed to do the Liverpool Triathlon as our next challenge. We did have a few days of ‘ oh my god what have we done’, but later that week signed up to the Liverpool Triathlon Sprint distance event with 10 months of training time ahead of us.

“We absolutely loved the variety of training involved and even signed up to a weekly spinning class to improve our cycling endurance (and vowed every week after, never to go again!)”

However, Michelle’s plans were put on hold when she discovered, 10 weeks before the race, that she was expecting her first child. Airing on the side of caution, she decided to save her challenge for the following year.

“Each year since then I vowed to enter, but didn’t get round to it until January this year as a new year’s resolution. I then decided I would train for Tri Liverpool 2015."

Barely able to swim a length of front crawl when she got down to the pool in February, it was through sheer determination she refused to stop working at improving her weakest discipline. She managed to find time to squeeze in training, despite juggling a hectic schedule, and kept her goal in mind throughout – but it wasn’t easy.

“I work full time and have just completed a PGCE alongside my job – it hasn’t been easy keeping focused and finding time to train, especially as I have entered on my own!

“My previous job was ‘Active Women Liverpool’ coordinator – the main focus being motivating and providing opportunities for women with childcare responsibilities, time or money issues to prioritise their health and physical activity in the daily lives.  I think somewhere along the way I listened to my own advice!”

“I think the idea of not just pounding the pavements every night and mixing the activities every week is what I have enjoyed most this time around. The lady who I originally trained with has been competing ever since the Liverpool Triathlon in 2011, so much so, she managed the Liverpool Rock and Roll Marathon last month! She inspires me a lot and being competitive myself, I’m eager to catch her up again.”

 

 

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