Sportsister’s own Ironmum blogs for us about her preparation for Challenge Copenhagen, an ironman distance triathlon this summer.

I’m feeling fantastic at the moment and more motivated than I have in years .. which feels absolutely brilliant! What never ceases to amaze me is the impact stress and life issues have on your ability to train and perform, and over the last three years, I’ve had my fair share and have been struggling to get properly motivated.

But now I’m feeling eager to train, I have the motivation to not only train, but organise my schedule to ensure I can fit it in which believe me, takes some doing at times.. If only I could bottle this feeling and sell it.

Mixing it with the stars!

I’ve also had the pleasure and honour to mix it with some big stars in running this last month, and I think that has really inspired me to get my backside back in gear. Writing publically about my training and progress also helps and adds a certain element of pressure - there’s no hiding and no excuses! It’s strangely motivating.

Dame Kelly Holmes is my heroine

Starting the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon in February alongside Dame Kelly Holmes was a fantastic day and so inspiring! We had the worst weather conditions for 27 years though - the rain poured from the skies and created puddles the size of lakes on the route.

The runners were magnificent though and just got on with it and as for Dame Kelly - well I can’t think of another double Olympic champion who would stand for two hours in the rain congratulating runners on the finish line. She had enough wet hugs and kisses to last a lifetime. So Kelly, if you’re reading this - thank you massively for your support, you are truly an inspiration! She was even kind enough to have her photo taken with my two lovely boys - who were thrilled as you can see from their faces!

Will Clarke

An exciting training day in Loughborough with Olympic triathlete Will Clarke (pictured top right and below left) - on behalf of sports drink Multipower (www.multipoweruk.com ^[1]) - was brilliant. I felt old enough to be his mum (sorry Will!) but what a lovely young lad and a fantastic athlete with a great future for 2012.

Liz Yelling & Richard Whitehead

Then a day with the amazing Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling coaching the Virgin London Marathon team runners was great fun. Most people on the day were first time marathon runners and just so keen to learn and improve - an absolute pleasure to coach.

Double leg amputee and world record holder Richard Whitehead (pictured above right) was also there and gave a huge amount of inspiration to the runners. I never tire of listening to him and talking to him about how he’s come so far and what drives him to raise the bar again and again. Look out for his result from Rotterdam Marathon, as he’s looking to set a new World Record of 2:40 for a leg amputee runner.. Good luck Rich! I’ll be cheering for you.

And finally me..

My main goal this year is Challenge Copenhagen on 15th August - a full Ironman distance triathlon. Training is going really well and I cannot wait! We are combining it with a family holiday so I’ve spent the best part of last week booking hotels, the ferry (if anyone has any seasickness tips then please let me know!) and most importantly Legoland for the boys.

Researching how to get there, what we need to take, timings and hotels has been time consuming and incredibly expensive, but it’s all done now. For the main stay in Copenhagem I wanted a hotel that had proper beds for the kids and a bath to relax in after the race, as well as centrally located and comfortable - the Radisson Blu Royal came up trumps and we’re really looking forward to the stay there. It looks lovely www.radissonblu.com/royalhotel-copenhagen ^[2].

With all this expenditure, blogging and training - the pressure is mounting - but actually in a good way! I think it’s just what I needed. Easter holidays now so resigned to the turbo trainer in the garage and hiding the kids eggs so I don’t eat them !

Hope you all have a happy easter

Sarah Russel, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine