Have you ever had to work out the sport that's right for you? Did lockdown change the way you train? Did a friend or family member get you to try something new? For Elly Sykes, lockdown changed everything. Read what Elly has to say herself..
I have always loved sports, particularly team sports. I played absolutely everything at school from netball, hockey, tennis, to getting a black belt in karate. I love the competition and hard training to try and be the best you could, I competed at a regional level in both hockey and netball whilst at school.
I continued to play netball at University but it wasn’t until I started my first job in London that I found it hard to balance the late-night netball training after work and the long weekend travel to matches every week.
That was until Lockdown hit… Yes, I am a lockdown cyclist who fell into triathlon by accident.
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I had always run throughout my childhood but not competitively, just as training - for my netball and hockey fitness. I did my first marathon when I was 19 years old and had no idea how much training and effort it required, hence why I did not enjoy it and said I wasn’t ever running again after that!
Swimming again was something I did at school and sometimes I’d do swim club on the weekends. I definitely wasn’t competitive. I wouldn’t dream of waking up early to swim before school. Looking back at this, I wish I did, then maybe my swim would be a lot better now!
I picked up my first bike during lockdown utilising my works' ‘Ride To Work scheme’. It was a super basic road bike but it did everything I needed it to do. At this point, my parents were also getting into triathlon and I wanted to try cycling with them on the weekends. This is when I got the cycling bug, and I got it bad!
Two years on and I am now competing for Team GB in my age-group (AG) in triathlon. I competed at the AG World Standard Distance Triathlon Championship in Abu Dhabi last year and came 6th in my AG. The field was stacked and I was super happy with my first-ever international race representing Great Britain.
My favourite race so far was my first Ironman 70.3 in Weymouth, my friends and family also came and watched this race which made it more special. Luckily, the sun was shining and we woke up to a beautiful sunrise as we walked down the starting line. I came 3rd in my AG and 6th female overall, I was over the moon with this result, all the training had paid off and I put a great race together.
I work in social media for a cycling/ fitness brand so I am luckily able to fit in training before work, during my lunch breaks and after work when possible. I have found getting into a routine and being consistent with training is the key to success. I can’t overthink everything and the less I think about waking up early and how hard the session is going to be, the better. I do love training and I would be happy to continue training even without racing because it makes me a better and happier person.
Two years on and I am now competing for Team GB in my age-group (AG) in triathlon. I competed at the AG World Standard Distance Triathlon Championship in Abu Dhabi last year and came 6th in my AG. The field was stacked and I was super happy with my first ever international race representing GB.
My favourite race so far was my first Ironman 70.3 in Weymouth, my friends and family also came and watched this race which made it more special. Luckily, the sun was shining and we woke up to a beautiful sunrise as we walked down the starting line. I came 3rd in my AG and 6th female overall, I was over the moon with this result, all the training had paid off and I put a great race together.
I work in social media for a cycling/ fitness brand so I am luckily able to fit in training before work, during my lunch breaks and after work when possible. I have found getting into a routine and being consistent with training is the key to success. I can’t overthink everything and the less I think about waking up early and how hard the session is going to be, the better. I do love training and I would be happy to continue training even without racing because it makes me a better and happier person.
My favourite session is a Long Ride on the weekend with a coffee and cake stop, especially the Bun Run (if you live in London, you know). Towards a race I try to practice my nutrition and fuelling for race day, so these don’t always happen, which is very sad. My least favourite session is a speed swim by myself in a busy leisure centre. I couldn’t think of anything worse and always hope the swimming pool is empty, which it never is.
I've just done Ironman Staffordshire 70.3 and came 3rd in age group and 7th overall which I am delighted about. My next races now are 70.3 World Championship in Finland, AG World Standard Distance Triathlon Championship in Spain and Ironman Croatia 70.3 in October. I’m excited to race, even if I do get nervous beforehand, however, I try to just control my race and do the best I can and then think about the result after!
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