Two and a half years ago I was 22.5 stone, didn’t do any exercise, simply sat in front of my Xbox with takeaway food. Today, I’m 8.5 stone lighter, the games console is history, swimming, biking, running and outdoor fitness sessions take up all my spare time, and now I’ve signed up to do Ironman Wales!

I knew I needed to do something with my weight, I’d been to the doctors to get me going, but ultimately it was joining Nicky Palmer Fitness that turned things around for me in a big way. I’d never done any exercise as such, apart from the occasional bike ride, and this was all new to me. I was determined to stick at it, and the weight began to drop off. I’d met a great group of new friends, I was going to outdoor fitness classes three times a week, I then even started going to the running club. Rapidly I became hooked.

September 2013, I went down to Tenby to cheer on Nicky whilst he took part in Ironman Wales, and was inspired by what I had seen. I then went down to watch Gav participate in 2014 as well.  In order for me to do such an event seemed out of the question, but a plan was formulated.

Firstly, and probably the biggest issue was my swimming. It was awful. I couldn’t swim a single length of the local pool. All things considered, what was I thinking? I was advised to join the adult swimming classes in the leisure centre, of which I attended for over 12 months, up until October last year, where ultimately I got to a point where I needed to progress to the next level. In November I joined Cardiff Triathletes where the level of swimming and coaching has brought me on leaps and bounds….I still have a long way to go, but things are falling into place. Transferring my skills from the pool to the sea is something I’m embarking on at the moment, as I am now following a 24 week Ironman training programme.

Secondly, and not such a big concern, was biking. I could ride my bike no problem, with the weight loss I’d ride my mountain bike regularly, but for a triathlon, I’d need a road bike. So after buying one, I started going out more and more on that. A lot of work still needs to be done with the biking, but over the next few months the distance and time I spend on it, will all help.

Finally, my running wasn’t great at all. When I started NPF I couldn’t run more than 30 metres without getting completely out of breath, so I persisted hard by attending running club every week.  It has been very hard, but I stuck at it. Since then I’ve done 5k, 10k runs, the Cardiff Half Marathon, and recently an 18.5 mile coastal path run from Porthkerry Park to Ogmore.

Many people I know are doing the event to get a personal best time, however I’m doing Ironman purely to complete it, because I think it will be a wonderful experience,  and an incredible achievement.  I have chosen to do it by also raising money for MacMillan the cancer charity. They do ever such good work, and its for a very good cause. My own mother passed away from cancer in 1991, so it’s a cause close to home, and I’d be very grateful if you would consider sponsoring me towards what is such a worthwhile charity. 

There is still a long way to go, however with the support and encouragement of my family and very good friends, Nicky and Gav especially, come September I’ll do my very best.  

Donating through this JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Life is certainly not what it was for me, things have changed completely for the better. If I can do this, anyone can.  It will literally be Fatman to Ironman!  

 Wish me luck!