Dear Friends and Family,

 I haven't raised money for charity in a quite a while now so I really hope you won't be thinking "NOT her again" when you read this. Most of you will know I have developed a rather strange addiction to endurance sport over the last few years. I never would have imagined me being like this years back when my only physical activity was dashing to work late every morning and adding in the very occasional 10 minutes in the gym once or twice a month!

I had a mad year last year competing in Age Group Triathlon World Championships in London,  my first Ironman in Zurich plus many other endurance races. This year I am raising the bar again and competing in similar events with some extra twists.  I will be running the London Marathon this April in the Championship League (qualification time sub 3.15). Just two weeks after I will be taking part in the Mallorca 312 sportive. This is a 312K cycle around the mountains and perimeter of the island in hopefully under the cut of time of 14 hours! Following this I will then be attempting the Brownsea Island swim race in Dorset. Last year I finished the 1/2 island swim but will hopefully manage to swim around the entire island this year (8K). Later in the year I will do my upmost to qualify again for the Triathlon Age Group World Championships being held in Canada and hopefully throw in a holiday there along the way. The aim of the madness of all the above is to get me ready again for another Ironman. The plan is to merge the training all together and hope it works out on the day. I have entered Ironman, Wales in September which is apparently one of the hardest Ironman races out there! Not sure whether mixing endurance racing with faster paced racing is a good idea but I love the sport so much I find myself getting carried away and enter everything.

I truly believe endurance training/racing is a wonderful healer for the mind body and soul. Last year everything I achieved in both training and competing helped me significantly in one of the lowest points in my life to date. Most of you will know that I lost three members of  my immediate dear family in the space of just 13 months. The tragic and sudden loss of my sister was such a shock for me and so many others. It was this endurance sport and of course the support of great friends and family around me which I truly believe saw me through. It allowed me to focus and think rationally rather than wallow in my own grief and pain.

Losing one's Mum is something that most of us will experience in our lives. It is impossible to explain how it feels. Some of you will unfortunately already know. The void it leaves will never be filled. Alzheimer's crept into my Mother's body one day and suffocated her from within with it's cruel grip. It robbed her of her vitality, personality and joy for life. Thank God she still knew us all when she peacefully past away last year. Some families are not that lucky. Please help me help these poor afflicted people who suffer this awful wicked illness.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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