The Travelling Triathlete

Mostly my life is made up of three things:

Travel – I love exploring new places, trying new things, getting lost and noticing little details. I usually travel alone, but always meet fun and interesting people along the way. It’s one of the best things about travelling and now I have friends all over the world it just gives me more excuses to get away!

Triathlon – Well this is three things in itself! I’m mainly a swimmer, I started running in 2011 when I had a sudden urge to run a half marathon, and in 2013 I did my first triathlon on a dodgy mountain bike in a bright yellow skater helmet. I’m now training for my first Ironman in Italy in September 2017. I still hate running and I’ve still never run a marathon or cycled more than 60 miles in one go.

Art and Design – I’ve always loved creating things and have worked my way through most creative disciplines in my life. I now work as a graphic designer and illustrator, so this will be a creative outlet for me as much as anything else, encouraging me to see things and doodle more. I’m a lover of all beautiful things, so I’ll share anything that inspires me.

I’ve recently returned from a weekend in Barcelona where I stayed with one of the loveliest people I met while travelling in Australia last year. It was a wonderfully relaxing and fun weekend filled with delicious tapas, far too much alcohol and a lot of giggles reminiscing about our travels! Even if my trips away aren’t packed with wildly exciting activities, I always seem to be happier spending time doing nothing in another city or environment, than I would be at home.

Two years ago I took a trip to New York as part of my 30th birthday celebrations. I spent almost two weeks in a city overflowing with stimulation, but loved the fact that I had enough time to just be there and absorb the atmosphere for a couple of days. I went running in Central Park, ate my way around the city’s best brunch spots and wandered through the quieter streets taking photographs of the parts that tourists don’t usually notice.

My biggest problem at the moment is overstimulation (and I appreciate that it’s a lovely problem to have!). I’ve been lucky enough to have had so many incredible experiences over the last few years, that when I’m faced with a weekend at home doing nothing on my own, I somehow feel inadequate. Conversely, if my weekends are booked up for the next three months, I begin to panic that I’ll have no free time for spontaneous last minute activities! I often find myself consciously trying to create memories, when the best ones usually happen by accident.

I’ve decided to write this blog as a way to fill my “empty” weekends, as well as to document my busiest times and hopefully inspire and motivate people to create memories and become the best they can be, whilst appreciating all the accidental and spontaneous moments that happen along the way. Writing my journal and curating my photos while I’m travelling is something I look forward to each day, as it gives me an opportunity to remember all the good things I’ve done, even if it didn’t seem particularly exciting at the time. Writing about my memories makes me feel happy and reminds me how fortunate I am to be able to do all these incredible things.

I’m starting this rather late actually. Some of my most exciting adventures have already happened, so I’ll be posting about some of them occasionally as well.

It should not go without saying that my friends and family (including my gorgeous Siberian Husky, Archie!) mean more to me than anything else. I’m lucky to have them all, they make me who I am and I’d be utterly lost without them. Always appreciate the people closest to you, make time for them, call them on the phone, send them messages when they least expect it, let them know they are loved.