Emily

Anatomy demonstrator at Cardiff Uni - teaching anatomy to the medics, dentists and biomed students

Current sporting discipline

Triathlon

How and why did you get into this sport?

Throughout university, I played lacrosse and loved the constant training and team focus. When I finished uni, I felt a bit lost without something to keep me motivated and training for. Starting a new job post-uni came with a heavy workload, and I was overwhelmed.

So, a friend and colleague suggested signing up for the Swansea Ironman 70.3 together last year. I had always been fit and active; I ran the Newport Marathon the year before and played midfield in lacrosse, so I thought it would be a great goal to aim for. I had only ever done two sprint triathlons back in school before, so stepping up to an endurance event like a half Ironman required a lot of training and commitment to suddenly remember how to swim and cycle as an adult.

I had six months to prepare, and during that time, I completely fell in love with triathlon and the amazing community around the sport. At Swansea, I qualified for the Ironman World Championships happening this November, so I've got a coach and have fully committed to triathlon training this year.

I have my first full-distance Ironman in a month’s time, Ironman Switzerland. Then, later in the year, I have the Ironman 70.3 world championships in Marbella.

What has been your biggest recent battle with training?

Prioritising recovery. Learning to rest properly has honestly been harder than any session. After my last race a few weeks ago, the Long Course Weekend, I thought I could just carry on at the same pace I was training pre-race. I felt guilty taking a day off or skipping a session, even though I was super run-down and that if I wasn’t training, I wasn’t progressing.

But that mindset quickly caught up with me. I started picking up niggles and little injuries, and realised I was not treating my body well. It made me step back and really reassess how I viewed recovery, not as an optional extra, but as an essential part of the process.

Now I’m trying to approach recovery with the same intention I give to training, prioritising sleep, doing mobility work, taking easier sessions seriously, or allowing complete rest days. I’m learning that rest is what lets you train harder, stay consistent, and come back better for the next event.

If we were to open your diary from the last week, what would it say?

Four weeks out from Ironman Switzerland, and this week felt like a turning point in lots of small but important ways.

I logged 14 sessions, over 15 hours of training, and 243 km in total — including a 65 km run week with a 28 km long run on Saturday and a 4-hour ride on Sunday. It’s probably one of my biggest weeks to date, not just in numbers but in consistency and mindset.

I’ve been training more by time rather than distance. Focusing on time helps me tune into how I’m actually feeling, rather than getting caught up in numbers or comparing myself to past stats. It keeps the pressure off and the consistency in.

A little personal win this week was swimming. With three sports, there’s always one that tends to slip — and lately, I’d been struggling to stay consistent and feeling like there was no progress in my swim. But this week, I changed it up and got back into open water. That shift brought back a bit of excitement and reminded me why I love this sport. I’m learning that keeping things fresh — whether it’s a new environment or a different pace — helps me stay motivated and connected to the process.

luckily, I’m only doing 18 hours a week work wise as the uni has broken up for the summer which has been a huge help in managing both training and recovery. I’m up around 6:20 most mornings, often out the door for an early run with my run club on Fridays, and in bed by 10:30 after a massive meal often rice or pasta!

This week reminded me that progress isn’t always in numbers— sometimes it’s changing things up and feeling excited about training again.