Christmas Pireneum 2013

The "Pireneum" is defined by a very good friend of mine as the "weird bit between the fun bits", ie the strange suspension of time and reality between Christmas and New Year, where you have to keep checking the day and date with others, and actually have a valid excuse for asking, instead of just being senile and forgetful.  Medical dictionaries define it slightly differently, but what do they know, eh?

My very good friend, aka Mr Thorpedo, says that he uses this time to look back on the year, measure success and failure and plan the next year.  I thought that was such a good idea, not only would I steal it for the end of my last blog here, but also for the start of this blog, well, here.  Pireneumising them nicely together (yip, that is a made-up word, but it should be real, AND in Medical dictionaries)

So what did I expect at the start of my last blog "Really Trying to be Really Athletic"?

The aim of that game/blog was to not only try to finish a Half Iron distance race, but also to blog about the whole training process.  And I sort of did both.  But I didn't just finish that Half Iron distance race, I actually won*** it.

But it didn't stop there.  Well, technically it did, but lots of other stuff happened on that journey to Half Iron victory.  Some of which was beyond my wildest dreams, others I still have nightmares about.  So here's a top random number of high and low points of 2013

High Points;  (in no particular order)

1. Planned one half marathon.  Finished three.  Wahey!
2. The Bacchus half marathon.  Best.  Race.  Ever.
3. Took part in the ITU World Championships.  And ran the 5k in a PB of 26.15.  Awesome!
4. Managed a 10k run in less than an hour for the first time (and probably only time), during the Virgin London Olympic Triathlon. Actually questioned whether the officials had measured the course wrong.  Got strange looks.
5. Got a birthday gluten-free chocolate cake with golden curly wurlies all around the side
6. Managed HbA1c levels so low that I appear almost "normal"  (46 in March & 41 in September if you a) know what on Earth I'm talking about and b) are even vaguely interested)
7. Discovered that the Pound Shop sells 5 curly wurlies for £1.  Even cheaper in the 99p Store!
8. Lost 6 kg whilst training for the half iron
9. Didn't lose my job

Low Points;  (in no particular order)

1. Fell over, hurt my knee, and cried like a baby.  It still hurts.  I still cry like a baby
2. Never managed to beat Jody at anything.  Ever
3. That last 1km of the 22km run at the end of the Half Iron.  There shouldn't have been that last 1k.  I will get over it at some point, I promise. 
4. Didn't get any better at mental maths, and still need a calculator to work out how old I am
5. Had to share my birthday gluten-free chocolate cake with golden curly wurlies all around the side
6. Got some nasty hypos, including one in the exact same spot I got hit by a truck 3 years earlier
7. Developed a severe curly wurly habit.
8. Put on 6kg after the half iron
9. Didn't quit my job

So I guess now it's time to set my goals for this blog.

Well, first of all, I want to keep blogging.  Even if it's just about how I manage to dodge a training session or ten and document the number of curly wurlies I eat whilst avoiding said training sessions

But also I want to write a bit about Diabetes, what it is, how it affects me, my training, and the whole world at large.

However, the main point of the blog is to keep a log (d'oh) of all the training I've done, the successes I've succeeded at, the failures I've failed at, and to include some pictures of cute kittens.  So, let's kick this off with a list of races I'm going to try to swim, bike, run, hop, skip, jump or otherwise in 2014.

So here's the list; (in chronological order)

Brighton Half Marathon - 16 Feb 2014
Last year I finished and didn't die. This year I need to finish, not die, AND do it faster than last year, which means beating all the twos - 2:22.

Brighton Marathon - 6 April 2014 
Never done a marathon before.  Probably never will again.

Uncle Steve's Sprint(ish) Triathlon - 8 Jun 2014
This will be my third time.  Which means I have to beat my PB of 1:36, or else Uncle Steve will beat me with a stick

River Arun Iron Swim - 14 Jun 2014
This is a whole 3.8km swim.  All in one go.  Need to train really hard for that one.  Might have to swim a bit, and everything.

BTRS Half Iron #1 - 26 Jul 2014
A nice practice one for the big one at the end of the year.  Just for "fun".

Virgin London Olympic Distance Triathlon - 3rd Aug 2014
The original, and still the worst.  I've done it twice before, both times I've been sick in my mouth during the swim, and both times the sick has tasted nicer than the water.  Not really bothered about the time, just love it when I overtake some of the lycra-clad speed-freaks with bikes more expensive than my house (if I had one) when going up unexpected hills.

Evans Brighton Sportive, featuring the Bastard Beacon from Hell - 31 Aug 2014
Never done it, but apparently it's 90 miles of hell.  The start is also around 10 miles from home, so if I don't get a lift from anyone, this will be the equivalent of an Iron Man bike leg

Bacchus Half Marathon - 15 Sep 2014
Now that one really is for fun.  And wine.  And hog roast.

BTRS Half Iron #2 - 4 Oct 2014 
Last year I stopped for chips and a coffee in T2 and ran the slowest half marathon-plus-1k ever.  This year I want my time to start with a 6.  Even if it ends with Eleventy Twelve.
UPDATE - The goalposts have CHANGED!  It's now the BTRS 2.5 and it's on 27th September.  This means a full Iron swim, a full Iron bike, and a half Iron run (because of stupid diabetes)

I'm knackered just thinking about all this.  Pass the curly wurlies and wish me luck!

*** OK, I was the only female entrant, but I still had to start, finish, and everything inbetween.

PS Ooops, almost forgot the kitten