Be careful what you wish for!

A few weeks back I went into a competition-entering frenzy. It started with an offer on the front of Runner's World to win a brand new car. A quick bit of mental arithmetic and I figured my chances had to be pretty high. Not that many people read UK Runner's World and, of those that do, how many actually enter the competitions? It didn't end there... what else could I enter? I came across a few holiday competitions and then one in the SportSister newsletter for a place in the Dextro Energy Triathlon. I entered them all then thought nothing more of it. Until last Monday...

I was a bit taken aback when an email arrived in my inbox say that I'd won the triathlon competition. Amazing - I never win anything! But, hang on a minute, it's a place in a TRIATHLON. In 2 weeks. I'm struggling enough with my marathon and half-marathon training and haven't actually been in a pool since the last triathlon at the beginning of May. I'd planned to just run and do the odd gym session or bike ride through the summer, before launching into a swimming programme over the winter. Oops.

I briefly considered saying 'thanks, but no thanks' before it occurred to me that the prize included:

• Travel costs to London
• A night in a 5 star hotel, with dinner and breakfast
• An undoubtedly very fetching 'high end competition outfit'

Two of my best friends live in London and I can never afford to visit them so that was enough to persuade me that it would be worth the pain.

Let's just hope I'm not last this time...

1,2,3...GO!

I'm not feeling particularly motivated today and I haven't done any exercise. Actually, I'm sitting in the warmth with a scarf and fluffy slippers on, drinking a glass of red wine. The weather is supposed to be awful this weekend but I'm definitely going to power through it. Only a few weeks to go 'til my first race of the year! This is what I've entered so far:

1. A triathlon. My first. In March. Am I insane?
2. An adventure run. In March. In the dark. Definitely!
3. A half marathon in April. A jog in the park in comparison.

I've constructed a very vague training plan, based around a few I downloaded from the excellent Runner's World Smart Coach, but I'm not going to take it too seriously. I've had too many injuries in the past and know to take it easy until my fitness is better. I'll just do these for fun and see how I go.

I started with a first training run with my team-mate for race number 2 last night. We jogged, we chatted and we tried not to slip on the ice. It took us about 40 minutes and was apparently only 3.67 miles. I refuelled with a skinny hot chocolate on my way home. The perfect mix of protein and carbohydrate!