Unfit, unhappy & unhealthy to international athlete in 12 months... Read this inspirational story from one of our former colleagues Matt Lloyd... I would like to take a few minutes of your time to explain how Nuffield Health has helped me over the last 12 months to get from an overweight, unfit and unhappy individual to an international athlete. I used to work at the Doncaster branch when it was formerly Cannons Health Club. I returned in February 2013 to become a member of the new Nuffield Fitness and Wellbeing Club. When I first started, the team members recognised me and quite a few friendly comments were made about the change in my body shape and appearance (All negative comments but from friends). I took up the offer of free health MOT’s which were great. It was an eye opener to see on paper how my lifestyle had effected my health. I attended the club regularly and when there was a lack of motivation, the team called to see if they could help. Gail Burton (Fitness Manager) was often on hand to spur me on. Regular health MOT’s proved that the work was paying off. In May 2013 I needed a challenge so I entered the UK’s toughest Ironman Distance Triathlon in May 2014. It sounded crazy but a challenge shouldn’t be easy! This event comprised of 2.5 mile swim in Edinburgh, 112 mile bike ride over the mountains and a marathon run over the summit of the snow covered Ben Nevis. This meant I needed to buy a bike first and then actually enter a triathlon to see what it was all about. In June 2013 (12 months ago), I bought my first second hand bike and started a bit of cycling. In August 2013 I entered my first ever triathlon. It lasted just over an hour and realised that I need to start training very hard. My first ever outdoor triathlon wasn’t until October 2013! My aim for the City to Summit Ironman Triathlon was to survive and complete the event in 18 hours. This would mean making all the cut off times that were in place. After pushing my body to the maximum and a lot of pain and crying, I finished in 15 hours 25 minutes. This put me 24th place overall. Only 91 people completed the event! I dedicated a year of my life to getting fit and healthier. Once I completed the event I was ill for a few weeks and decided I needed a new target. Why not enter the qualification races and attempt to ‘Make the mark’ for the British Team? I entered a qualification race 2 weeks after the epic City to Summit. I was ill, on antibiotics, not sleeping and my full body aching with fatigue. Although I felt that my race didn’t go well, I received an email congratulating me on being successful. I had made the 2nd place on the Great Britain Age Group Team to fly out to Canada in the World Championships. I then raced again in the National Age Group Championships for the UK. I was advised by my doctor and club coaches that I shouldn’t race due to illness. They compromised with me as long as I slowed down and took it easy. I came 20th in my age group! This achievement has been the highlight of the last 12 months. Since January, some of my achievements are below: Derby 10km Road Run Race - 29th / 4229 Retford Half Marathon - 16th / 769 Epworth Triathlon - 4th Ashbourne Triathlon - 3rd Slateman (Snowdonia) Triathlon - 42nd City to Summit Ironman - 24th My sights are now set on Canada but as this is not an elite team and I am not a professional athlete, the trips are to be self funded. This is a one in a life time opportunity for me and I feel that I must have what it takes if I have achieved all this in 12 months. My Nuffield membership has lapsed and the money is being diverted to funding Canada. Most of the equipment that I train and race on is second hand and low specification compared to other faster athletes. I don’t mind this as it shows that I have the skill to out perform them. Nuffield has assisted me improve my lifestyle and health. Achieving things I didn’t think was possible! Matt Lloyd
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 05:30:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015