After nearly two months of rest and recovery mostly for my cracked ribs we have had a week in a luxury canal boat.  Wood clad walls and floor and granite kitchen and bathroom, central heating, king sized bed, full size shower, 2 TVS, surround sound, on board Wifi, microwave, toaster full oven and hob beautifully crafted boats. Buzzard boat from Becon Park boats.

I even got my running mojo back as I headed off the boat on a 4 mile trail run up the hills and onto Talybont reservoir via an old railway line. I need to get moving again and back to regular exercise as in 9 weeks since ironman I have managed to put an 9 lb in weight ! I am not one for diets at all, but use exercise to balance my love for food and drink. Also after 10  months of intense training for ironman I’m happy to work on a 10 month training year and don’t regret these 2 months of downtime from training. In the time off I have reconnected with friends and family, enjoyed the simple things like going for a drink, meal, curry and had a relaxing holiday on the canal boat with Mike. I have cycled and run a little in the last two week, more to check and see if my limbs still know how to work. As I have a police fitness test coming up in October I need to get a basic level of fitness back for that.

While its back to reality this week, back to work and easing back into training my main challenges and training will commence 1st October. I am taking on the Macmillan Cancer charity Go Sober in October challenge, I will also concentrate on running fitness and getting my truing routine back on track.

Whilst on holiday the weather was kind to us and peaked at 21c with sunshine. A few hazy mornings but warm throughout until a quick thunderstorm one evening cleared the air at the end of the week.

British waterways are the fastest way of slowing you down ! At 2mph we have floated along the canal in a relaxed state, occasionally ploughing & grinding in the shallows. Tree tunnels opened up to views of the Brecon Beacons and Black mountains. As the canal sat high up we floated past chimney tops and looked across villages with views either side. Old railway tracks, foot paths and cycle routes criss crossed the canal along the route.

We have shared the stunning scenery with an abundance of wildlife – sheep of course, pheasants, cows, squirrels, hedgehogs, buzzards, herons, multi national crews including Kiwis Aussies, Americans & Canadians. Plus dodged kids in kayaks scattered across the canal. There was an element of this trp being a floating food & drink festival as we sampled local produce, stocked up in markets and enjoyed being in holiday mode.

This chilled out week is a world away from ironman and triathlon. But I have started to look ahead to my 2015 which will be three main 70.3/middle distance triathlons with some river and sea swims for new interest and a few favourite local sportives I did this year.