MSA Trust

Trustee’s Triathlon Endeavour

Al Loehnis looks back on his training and triathlon experience whilst raising money for the MSA Trust…

Late last year, feeling a bit unfit and out of shape, I decided to do a triathlon. It was an opportunity to raise some money for the MSA Trust (of which I have been a Trustee for some years), while getting back into physical shape. And the timing seemed perfect. I could enjoy a guilt-free Christmas and new year of over-indulgence, safe in the knowledge that come June my fitness would magically rise and weight simply drop away. So the theory went.

I started running in January and promptly developed a groin strain which, in spite of long periods of rest, stubbornly recurred whenever I put on my running shoes. I took up spinning classes instead and developed heart palpitations, which turned out to be benign, but put me off cycling. Leaving me time to focus on the swimming bit, which I had been finding every reason to avoid, having not swum a length in earnest since the age of 12. Gasping for breath after two lengths, and with the event now only two months away, I was at a low ebb. I lowered my sights, decided that simply finishing would be a triumph and an Easter holiday allowed me to get back on track.

So I arrived at Blenheim Palace on the day itself with excitement and some trepidation. Swimming in open water with hundreds of rubber-clad strangers was going to be a rather different experience from doing lone laps of a local reservoir with a duck for company. But the odd mishap aside – setting off running with an energy gel pack in my left shoe was a mistake – it all went smoothly and I finished with a perfectly respectable time of 1 hour 39 minutes.

I’m afraid that the scales show not much change from where I was before, but I did raise over £8,000 for MSA Trust and I thoroughly recommend the experience to anyone who feels minded to follow in my swim-strokes, pedal-turns and footsteps.

Al - Tri

Triathlon complete!


Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the blogs published on these pages are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the MSA Trust.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Recent Posts

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x