So your curmudegeonly correspondent is off to the USA then? Well not exactly, for one reason I can’t actually get travel insurance until someone in the industry works out what the heck Mollaret’s is. Most insurers don’t know and quite frankly aren’t interested in finding out, they hear the word Meningitis as in Mollaret’s Meningitis and then its good night Vienna or it would be if I could actually get there with travel insurance.
No I'm not off to the fair state of Ohio. Being a project manager, FLA’s are a way of life and so for my 2013 challenges why not come up with a Four Letter Acronym? So I have, I can hear the cheers of joy from here…….and do try and control your excitement at the back, yes you at the back :-).
For 2013 I am planning first to do an Olympic distance triathlon, a Half Ironman triathlon and then rounding the year off with another Olympic length race or OHIO for short.
For the unitiated Olympic is a 1500m open water swim, a 40K bike ride followed by a 10K run as demonstrated so abley by the Brownlee brothers at London 2012. Naturally they won’t be in the same race as me as you can imagine how embarrassing it would be for them to have a creaky old codger coming past them, so I'm just doing it to spare their blushes you understand.
I will again be taking on the Half Ironman distance which is a damn sight easier to say than do. This is half as barking mad as a full Ironman which is lets face it pretty damn mad but it involves a 1.2 mile open water swim, a 56 mile bike ride and just in case I'm not tired enough it’s all rounded off by a half marathon. It took me 7 ½ hours to complete that distance this year and my aim is to knock an hour off that time. My current plan is passing the timekeepers brown envelopes stuffed full of cash but in case they are as inscrutible as they should be then it means 8-9 months of, not to put too fine a point on it, hard slog.
Before you ask yes I am two cans short of a six pack and in 2014 I'm dropping another couple by taking on a full ironman but here comes the plug…… virginmoneygiving.com/triformt is the real reason I'm going to OHIO in 2013. Without the Meningitis Trust so many people would be facing greater difficulties and there would be fewer smiles in the world. I have never known such a nice bunch of people so dedicated to helping those who have been affected by this disease. Every time I'm out training and its dark, cold, raining and miserable (now even I'm beginning to wonder why I do this) it’s the thought of the family days, the helpline and all the work the Trust does that keeps me moving forward. Well that and the threats from my coach but I'm sure you get the gist!
So as 2012 comes to a close I have a long triathlon season to look forward to as well as my fiftieth birthday so its going to be quite a year. In 2012 I have so far spent 250 hours training and as I work towards a full Ironman in 2014 I expect this to double. Having survived viral meningitis every step I run, every mile I bike and every length I swim is stamping out the memory of those 6 months in 2002 even though the after effects are all so present. With the help of my generous sponsors we can help the Menigitis Trust help others to do so too and what better reason can there be to go to OHIO?
I will leave you and 2012 with the ringing words of my headmaster as I left school for the last time: 'Davies I am concerned you will never amount to much and what's more Davies I'm concerned you're depriving a village somewhere of its idiot'. I think he had a point!
Seasons greetings, here’s to a wonderful 2013 and think of me heading to OHIO!
P. S. the picture is of me as a London 2012 Gamesmaker on aid station three at the Olympic triathlon in Hyde Park with Jonny Brownlee taking a bottle from me. One of the best experiences of my sporting life!
together we are stronger!
Migraines from viral meningitis
Viral meningitis - I'm struggling 
It's a year. Get over it. 
Meningococcal Meningitis - 4 years on
Do I return to work or have time off? 
