I found a Triathlon club in Lincolnshire and much to my amazement, they even had a disability club mark and a coach, Judith, more than willing to help me out. She put me in touch with British Triathlon for the open day and has encouraged me since day one. We met at Cranwell for a swim session in late October where I was coached by Doug for the evening. I must have looked like a floundering idiot as some of the drills had me swinging onto my back as my lower trunk control is not good. I could see that I still had lots of improvement to make to improve my self taught technique.
By chance, there was an evening wheelchair coaching session at Cleethorpes Athletics Club the next day run by England Athletics, so I got my second chance to sit in a racing wheelchair after the open day at Loughborough. Only trouble was, the chair was about 11" and it was a pretty painful experience to squeeze my child bearing hips in for the night...The bruises didnt go for weeks. When I tried to get out, I ended up on my back with the chair above my head...
Next day, I visited Draft Wheelchairs and tried a Top End handcycle for the very first time. I fell in love there and then. What an amazing feeling cornering at speed was! Unfortunately, the price tag of £4,400 is prohibitive. We also discussed a racing chair, but they have to be custom built from scatch and cost £2,100. I left feeling demoralised and understanding why there were only three Tri1 female athletes in the World Championships in Budapest.
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