I've always been interested in health and wellbeing. In 2003 I decided to sign up for the London Half-Moon midnight walking half marathon, in support of breast cancer related charities. About halfway through the night my left foot started to ache, which I chalked off to my shoes. I headed for shoe analysis at a trusty well regarded running shop, who told me that they could not sell me new shoes until I had sorted out my foot roll with good orthotic inserts. About a year later, in 2004, with inserts in hand (or should I say, in shoe?), I completed the Full-Moon midnight walking marathon for charity.

The process of sorting out my foot roll led me to an official diagnosis of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, a progressive nerve disease related to the myelin protein covering of the peripheral nerves. An overexpression of myelin protein means that peripheral nerves do not function correctly - nerve signals do not transmit properly, muscles are not stimulated, and the result is muscle atrophy and a loss of sensory function. I am lucky in that my CMT is mild, but it does impact me. I have high arched feet; I can feel extreme fatigue after exercise; I develop all sorts of aches and pains caused by nerve-compromised biomechanics. But... I firmly believe that with the right attitude, nutrition, and activity levels I can minimise the way that CMT impacts my life.

With this in mind, in 2007 I decided to take on the challenge of a triathlon.

Who knew what I was getting myself into?! I finished the London triathlon sprint distance in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and I stepped up my game and added a second triathlon in 2009. I have started to run again after about 25 years. And through a consistent and constant training program I am aiming to complete my first Olympic distance triathlon (1500m swim; 40km bike; 10km run) in 2010.

So far 2010 is turning into a cracking year for my fitness - I have signed up for the following events:

21 March: Sport Relief 3 miler (10.15am start)
18 April: Swim-a-thon 5k swim at London Fields Lido (2pm start)
6 June: Blenheim Sprint triathlon (750m swim; 20km bike; 5km run)
3 July: Great London Swim (1 mile swim at the Excel Centre - the London triathlon course)
18 July: Race for Life Hyde Park 5k
8 August: THE LONDON TRIATHLON (1500m swim; 40km bike; 10km run)
5 September: Great North Swim (1 mile swim at Lake Windermere)

On MyFitnessYear and my blog, you can follow my training, details about my approach to managing my wellbeing with CMT, news on my charity fundraising activities, and of course, you follow the challenges I face while trying to "do it all" - balancing my job, my personal life, and my training!

I publish the following themes - click through and I hope you will find something of interest!

Monday: Training Updates / Thoughts as I swim, bike and run my way to fitness
Tuesday: Fitness Tips - including posts from guest bloggers on how they approach their PT
Wednesday: Charity Fundraising - my own, and interviews with those doing amazing things for charity
Thursday: Random Thoughts
Friday: Food - my favourite recipes, recipes that I have tried from other bloggers, and guest posts

Feel free to click through, send an email or comment, and thanks for following my journey.