In one of many perks of my job, I was recently lucky enough to be offered private coaching with GB swim coach Ben Titley at Speedo HQ. Speedo UK's inner sanctum is tucked away in a quiet London suburb, and comes complete with swimming facilities we

The lovely people at Speedo were kind enough to give me a wetsuit for my moment of swimming glory. It is a thing of beauty - it even has fin bits on the arms and pleasing stretches of gold neoprene.But swimming in it took a bit of getting used to

I started training for my 750m swim leg with a dangerous level of confidence. I had weekly swimming lessons throughout my childhood, topped off with lifesaving training (mostly swimming around in pyjamas staging elaborate 'rescues' of my clubmates

of a spreadsheet that'll take me right through to November. The Training Spreadsheet of Dreams. In an attempt to kick start my training after a knee injury and months of mojo-less apathy, I have booked myself in for the following:- Two open water swims

will be taking on Zurich’s Ironman triathlon course – that’s a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile cycle, and 26.2-mile run (yes, a full marathon). The trip promises to be the biggest and best ever with more than 60 forumites heading to Switzerland's largest city, including

over the Cheshire plain towards the Jodrell Bank telescope. There’s even a swimming pool at the finish to ease tired limbs – the icing on the cake for hard-working runners.More half-marathon highlights... Dunstable Downs Half-Marathon (September

-long festival in Cambeltown and the Mull of Kintyre. As well as the main event, the organizers lay on a dizzying array of events - many of them free. There's an open-top bus tour of the route the day before the race, free swimming, boat tours and an excursion