Richard Rossiter

Like most runners who can also ride a bike but swim like a soggy pipe-cleaner, I've often thought about trying a triathlon and immediately given up on the idea.

Another big factor has been the sheer amount of training triathletes do; not for me. And yet...

my Tuesday started with a 7.30am warm-up for a nicely intense track session with Ric Rojas: a series of alternating 400s and 200s with 200m jog/walk recovery between each effort, starting easy and getting progressively harder.

There were times during the first month of starting Pilates to rehab my adductor strain that I wondered whether I was actually a Pilates practitioner who happened to do a bit of running, rather than a runner using Pilates to recuperate.

It turns out neither is the case. Richard Rossiter, the man in charge at Pilates of Boulder, quickly caught on to the fact that I have running goals at the very limit of my capabilities, and started working on all my weak areas (and there are many!).

Compared to practising a triple axel with double toe loop and back flip to finish while holding a woman wearing lethal ice skate blades above my head, I'd have to say that the technical challenges of running are minimal.

But that won't stop me having a good winge.

After weeks of making sure I am running UNDER 70% of my beart rate reserve, for today's run coach Bobby McGee demands 55 minutes at 75%. Man, this is difficult (winge, winge). We find ourselves between blizzards here in Boulder so for once I know I can pick a route that is on non-icy ground. Which means I am running faster, more easily. (I know, I never stop complaining, do I?)