Dreams And Courage: An Athlete Story

Dreams And Courage: An Athlete Story

One of my athletes sent me a story – his story – of how he got into this sport and how unlikely this seemed for many, many years.

I’ve included this here – with his permission – to show what is possible, and to show what ambition, determination and courage looks like.

Not every gold medal winner crosses the line first.

Here is his story.

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The Start

I woke up in June 2009 on the day of my holiday to my favourite place Ibiza coughing up blood. I had a chest infection the month before which just got worse and worse.

Previously pre-2009 I had no lung issues but was never able to run for more than 60 seconds. I later found out I had asthma all my life – this made sense to me because I was last in every cross country race in school and always lagged behind the others in anything long distance. I did a lot of weight training but was never able to build a fitness base.

Health Issues

Things got really bad from here and between 2009 to 2016 I averaged around 9 -10 chest infections a year, coughing up blood was now the new normal ( the doctors told me that this was down to bursting blood vessels in my throat because I was coughing soo hard ). I lost 2 stone in weight and could never manage to put any weight back on.

After years of poor health and many courses of prednisone which caused huge weight gain I finally managed to get my asthma under control, one of the main causes was gastric reflux from an undiagnosed hiatal hernia which I finally managed to get diagnosed and was put on acid suppressant medication which calmed things down to a reasonable 3 – 4 chest infections per year.

Quality of life was pretty poor with getting sick all the time and I remember watching a football match and dreaming about being able to run without getting out of breath.

After journaling everything I ate and drank for a couple of years things began to settle, I also found out I was intolerant to milk which was causing some of the acid.

The Training Diary

In 2018 I started a training diary and wrote some fitness goals for our wedding in 2019. I wanted to try and get fit and lose weight.

I started to swim breaststroke a couple of times a week – and felt better afterwards.

The Dream

I remember one morning sitting in the jacuzzi in David Lloyd fantasising about doing a triathlon. I knew this was ridiculous but I thought if I broke it down into small sections that this would be the only realistic way of doing it. I kept visualising myself doing it for years and imagined crossing the finish line and winning a medal.

I didn’t know anyone who had done a triathlon and agreed to myself this was one of the biggest goals I’d ever set. My theory was that if I could commit and complete a triathlon all my health issues would have no choice but to be fixed.

I knew I could ride a bike so ticked that off. I’d never ran before but thought if I get fit I’d somehow get round it. Realistically I knew I needed to learn to swim without dying after half a length.

I’d heard about a coach who was based in the Albert Dock and I was told he was supposed be the best. I waited years because I knew I wasn’t ready and could only contact him once I knew my asthma was under control.

In 2020 I was put on a combination inhaler which changed everything, my asthma was now better than ever.

Meeting The Swim Squad

I remember going down to meet Bryan in 2021, absolutely terrified because I had never swam in open water before and had never been in a wetsuit.

Bryan agreed for me to stay at the back of his group (Triathlon Swim Squad) and see how I got on. I remember trying to keep up with the group and was absolutely blown away by the high standard of swimming I witnessed – I had never seen anything like this before and loved it. I felt privileged to swim alongside the group.

Racing!

With practice and work in the pool I entered my first open water swimming event in June 2021 and loved it. (Here is a link to the post we wrote at the time)

In April 2023, with the help of Bryan Riley and the members of Triathlon Swim Squad, my dream came true and I crossed over the finish line and completed West Lancs Sprint Triathlon and got my medal to prove it.

Now I know anything is possible for anyone willing to work hard and follow your dreams.

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What this athlete doesn’t say is how much commitment he has shown and how much effort he has put in to get to where he is now.

• He has been a regular swimmer at our Monday evening swim technique sessions.
• He has been to lots and lots of our open water swim sessions.
• He diligently followed a personalised training plan to help him get to that finish line.
• He came along to last year’s Swim Squad Christmas get together and was so inspired by all of the triathletes, he entered his first triathlon the very next day!
• He is hooked – and is currently building an extension on his house for a dedicated ‘pain cave’.

What a story!

The power of a dream and the courage to go for it.

I’ll say it again …

Not every gold medal winner crosses the line first.