Thomas Ivor's Triathlon Triumph - #7kFor700k

On Friday, I did a 3x7km triathlon to raise money for the National Autistic Society's '7k for 700k' appeal, to highlight the 700,000 people in the UK who have Autism, like me.

I had a few difficulties to overcome. The day before the event, we had to survey a new route because someone decided that I wouldn't be able to use the gym for the cycle and run as we'd hoped. They also said they thought the challenge was too much at my age, and that they wouldn't have let their own children do it. This made me a bit cross, but actually it spurred me on and I was even more determined to prove that I could do it! We decided that I would do the cycle and run on a traffic free path by the A45. My NAS collecting tin had also got delayed in the post, but luckily that was waiting on our doorstep when we got home. Later, I got my first pair of running shoes, because Daddy said my trainers were looking a bit tired. I collected up all the things I was going to need, and put my batteries on charge.

Next morning, I woke up and had tons of butterflies in my stomach, so I filled it with porridge. After breakfast I started to get my stuff together; I needed so much kit! I packed one bag for each discipline to help with the transitions.

As soon as I said that I was starting at 10 o’clock that day, people started retweeting me and donating online, which motivated me even more.

Good luck to the mighty @thomas_ivor this weekend! https://t.co/XW3XeDsyOu

— Dave Cornthwaite (@DaveCorn) January 17, 2018

Before you know it I was ready in the water to start my first ever triathlon.

Daddy set the watch going it went “Three, Two”, I felt like Kevin McAllister: "This is it - don’t get scared now" "one, GO!".

The first stint was 1¼ hours, which was quite easy, so then I went for a brief break while AQUA ZUMBA was happening, because ¾ of an hour of loud cheesy pop music often offends, and they make the water very choppy. I had done 100 lengths, or so I thought. We swapped my Swimtag for another one so I didn't get a flat battery and lose my data.

I had a break in the changing room before going back in the water. The second 'third' was incredibly hard, but my swimming teacher Glenn came to swim with me. Also, to spur me on, Daddy kept me posted on the kind people who were donating to the NAS on my fundraising page. One lady had been swimming in the next lane to me! People were also donating using the collecting tin, which I had put on reception. I had a sign next to me in the pool telling people what I was doing, and why.

After another 90 lengths, I got out for some lunch. I had a tuna sandwich, some blue 'super juice' and more bananas. We swapped my Swimtag again but it was taking ages to appear on the app, which meant that I didn't know for certain how many lengths I had left to do.

The last leg was very dull and boring just looking at the same things over and over again (mostly tiles) and the sun was in my eyes, going one way up the pool. I was also getting tired. It got worse when Daddy came and told me that the Swimtag had uploaded 7 lengths less than I thought I'd done, so I was going to have to do some extra to make sure I did 7km. Daddy then made me do 20 more lengths, just to make sure that I had definitely done it!

It was a good job he did because when we got the final download I'd only gone four lengths over!

I touched the wall for the last time and I was out. My legs were like trifle. Time for the cycle!

I was soon changed and Daddy put some air in my tyres. I tried start Strava but I’d already put my gloves on and could not work the screen! Unfortunately, there was a problem with the bluetooth and my sensors wouldn't work, which always seems to happen on important days!

The path was not the best surfaced of all the paths I’ve ever been on but it was very flat. I went past a lot of geese, swans, blackbirds and squirrels. On the way back though I went the wrong way and had to cross all the roads on the retail park again, which took a long time.

Soon in the distance I saw a man who looked like a man from ‘Ikea’ up by McDonalds, it was Daddy in his blue coat and yellow trousers, who had come to watch me across the roundabout safely. “You’ve gone the wrong way son, that's further!” He laughed.  I had a quick chat with him and got on my way again.

I got to the end of the path and waited for the team to arrive. My sister Rhoda was asleep in the back of the car by now! Daddy gave me a banana in exchange for my bike.

The cycle was my recovery for the triathlon. Now it was time for the pain!

Phone - check

Shoes - check

Gloves - check

Let's go!

The first few strides were awful but I found my rhythm. I felt soon very grumpy and tired, though.

It was dark and all the nice things that I saw on the bike were nowhere to be seen. Eventually, at the end of the path, I saw Daddy’s bright yellow trousers in the distance; I made my way towards him feeling tired.

I told him about what had happened on the run so far, ran towards him again for a bit of filming, then said farewell once more, turned round and went back on my way.

Some autistic people need music to help them concentrate on the task at hand and on the run back to the gym, I tried to listen to some music on the phone, but to my disgust the only piece of music I had was the Second movement of Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto number 2, which I think is too sad to run to; it sounds like funeral music!

I needed some encouragement but the path was empty; all you could hear was the ‘zoom zoom’ of the cars, so I tried to cheer myself on but I seemed to go slower than I was before. Eventually I came down the hill for the very last time of the triathlon, going the right way this time!

Daddy and Rhoda were waiting for me with my NAS banner for the finish; soon I was crashing through the banner and reached the end of my triathlon. It had taken me seven hours and twenty three minutes including breaks, made up of:

• Swimming  -7.1km, 3 hours, 8 minutes, 30 seconds
• Bike - 9.57km, 32 minutes, 33 seconds
• Run - 8.45km, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 53 seconds

My total time spent moving was 4 hours, 44 minutes and 56 seconds.

Afterwards I felt very tired, happy and thankful that I could now rest but not for long as I have more adventures planned! I raised more than double my original target of £210 on my JustGiving page, which was incredible.

The next day I felt quite achey and tired. Oh, and hungry! I was back in the pool for my swimming lesson tonight, though.

I would like to say thank you to my family @FamilyByCycle, and also to all my supporters who have put their time and money into supporting me and other people with autism. I even want to thank the people who said I couldn’t do it, because then I was determined to show them that it is possible, for a 9 year old to take on something big and succeed!

Read more posts by Thomas Ivor

Thomas Ivor's 21km charity triathlon - going nowhere, fast!

The National Autistic Society recently launched their '7k for 700k' challenge, in which adults are challenged to swim, run or cycle 7km in a week; Thomas Ivor, at nine, is going to do all three. In one day.

7km on the turbo trainer isn't really a big deal for our long-distance adventurer, but 7km in the pool (4-5 hours, we reckon) is a serious piece of work, which he wants to do now, to reward the efforts of his swimming teachers, Becki and Glenn, one of whom is off to pastures new very soon. From not being able to swim two years ago, Thomas Ivor has gone on to win a race in the Olympic pool in London recently, and now is taking on his first serious endurance distance swim, with an eye on going further in the future. We blame Sean Conway's TV show...

Thomas Ivor swims most days, mid-morning, often during Aqua Zumba (so he can cope with tides and currents!) because he is home educated - it's been like that for well over a year now, because he's one of the 50% of children with a diagnosed Autistic Spectrum Disorder who's had to wait that long for the specialist educational help he needs. As a result, his curriculum is a tailored one, and it's allowed him to master his swimming strokes with regular repetition and guidance from his teachers, who have had to adapt their methods for him, and the wonderful team of lifeguards who have taken him under their wing ever since he won his accreditation to swim in the lanes by himself.

We also want to acknowledge all the folk from the 'adventure community' - some well known names, some less so, but all heroes - who have taken the time to train with, speak with, or otherwise encourage the lad. Many of the difficulties he faces, you would never see, but it all means a great deal to him and helps with his motivation.

Good luck to the mighty @thomas_ivor this weekend! https://t.co/XW3XeDsyOu

— Dave Cornthwaite (@DaveCorn) January 17, 2018

So, tomorrow, Friday 19 January, Thomas Ivor is going to do something about his situation, by making the most of it. He's trying to raise a tenner for every km of his challenge, and if Family ByCycle's readers would like to support him, with a donation or a message on Twitter @Thomas_Ivor - that would be wonderful! He will be back to write it up afterwards - probably quicker than Daddy...

WeeHoo-ing out 2015

Rhoda's Striderbike has been a hit, but we decided that one more ride as a family was on the cards for 2015, so with the trailer folded up, out came the WeeHoo for another run. Rhoda is still a bit small for it so the colder weather gives us an excuse to put the girls in their snow suits (obtained for buttons courtesy of the Dare2B online clearance!)

I'm rapidly growing in confidence with the WeeHoo and its peculiar centre of gravity. So, too, are the girls, and it is definitely much easier to load them and get everything ready, with two pairs of hands. Rhoda cried again early in this afternoon's run but, soon after, had nodded off! After a few laps of the bandstand, Katie was able to sit on my wheel to observe, and reports that it really is very stable and that we can have confidence in both how it tows and how the girls get on with it. We need now to look at pannier solutions. So far nobody seems to have done it with the 2015 model and its asymmetric rear arm. If it requires a welded solution, we want to give it a fair test in standard form, first!

Ruth borrowed her brother's Swisseye 'Young' glasses for eye protection; we were very impressed with the fit on her smaller face, and with the way she left them totally alone under her lid, thoughout the ride.

I dared to bring Katie along the cycle paths we tried in the autumn, which were a pain in the proverbial and littered with broken vodka bottles. Needless to say we returned home once more on the road, much happier with our lot.

Our little microadventure complete, we returned to the house and went off to the gym for a swim. I dropped a quick 1k on the rower as well, in a new PB. There's a turn-up for the books!

We've not covered quite the ground we'd hoped over Christmas. The weather's not played ball and we've had other things to contend with, but we are well set up for 2016. Happy New Year everyone - where will the coming year take you?

Welcome to Big School

We've done it. We've joined the gym.

Thanks to a new Vitality life insurance policy we have commenced a potentially 27 year long version of the Crystal Maze. Between various qualifying forms of exercise, recorded using gadgets, or attending the gym, we pick up points which earn us rewards in the form of reduced premiums in coming years, cheap kit, and perks like trips to the cinema, iTunes vouchers and coffee.

All in all it should be a good thing for us. The cover will be cheaper, and the half price Virgin Active membership means the policy as a whole costs us nothing compared to the full fees at the gym.

In our first week, Katie, now back in her London commute, has walked almost as far as the Proclaimers with her new FitBit, and I have been for some sessions on the WattBike. We've also taken the girls swimming, twice.

Ample trailer parking at the gym!

I'm starting to fit in - or, at least, starting not to draw attention to myself looking like a 'noob'. It's like being at a new school. I've had to learn where the water is. I've demolished (and learned to fix) the paper towel dispenser in the weights area (I wasn't doing any weights, don't worry!). Being there at closing time allowed me finally to work out the layout of the changing rooms without looking dodgy, or walking into the mirrors. I am still mildly perturbed by some of the people and events I have seen, from men in tight white T-shirts and pyjama bottoms eating ostentatiously healthy food and drinking stuff from plastic pots, to the crazy lady who leads the aqua-aerobics. In both cases, I'm convinced they're on something...

The one thing I still can't quite get my head round the idea that driving to the gym to ride on the spot is not quite as much fun as, and more expensive than, hitching the trailer up and just going for a ride. Oddly, when I arrived at the gym having ridden ten miles with the girls in the trailer, the staff on the reception thought I was seriously hardcore!

I suppose when the weather turns foul, I will be glad to have the option - and by the spring maybe I will find myself all the more ready for another season of touring. After all, until we get Ruth riding, the weight in the trailer only increases!

W(h)at(t) Bike?

One of the big differences between Katie and me is our historical approach to exercise. I have ridden my bike, historically, for utility, and for the joy of travelling, more than as a form of disciplined physical training. Katie, on the other hand, was not so long ago a competitive rower, in the gym six days a week, on the river at least two days, cycling a fair mileage to do so. She had a trainer emailing her to dictate our diet; a fit ball long before she was pregnant. Weights. Eating and drinking strange concoctions in tins.

It gave me something of a fright, then, when, after a happy summer's cycling but with an eye on our expanded waistlines (and my plantar fasciitis, and my dicky knee, and my total lack of core stability) and to get the girls swimming, Katie announced her intention to investigate joining a gym.

It's funny how you can get to your thirties and still have never done, even once, certain things which others do every day.

• I have never been inside a bookmaker's shop.
• I have never, even entered a high street travel agency, let alone sat down in one to have someone wearing too much makeup operate a computer for me, to show me misleading pictures of places they've never visited themselves.
• I have never eaten a KFC meal. Not even the chips.
• I have never paid someone to wax, pierce, doodle on or chop off any part of me.

I was going to say I haven't eaten horse, but I once ate a Tesco lasagne and I don't want to mislead; I have been to Nando's, once. Popular as it is with Alan Partridge and Glen Ponder, I'm glad I don't have to go again.

So when Katie chirped up that she was looking at a gym membership for us, the alarm bells went off. I have never entered a private gym. I've seen enough Facebook status updates and #epicfail videos to put me off. I've watched the 'Brittas Empire'. Why, I reasoned, would anyone drive to a building, to pay to ride their bike or run on the spot, before driving home? That's potty. Why would I do that? I could just ride my bike to the gym, save a fortune by not going in, and ride home again.

It was with some, trepidation, then, that I decided to 'stand on the wasp' and pay a visit to one of these hitherto bewildering institutions on Saturday evening.

An hour later, and with both girls having pooped in the nice man's office following the tour, I came out having ticked something off my list. I'd seen a swimming pool that looked more like a hotel's than a municipal leisure centre. I did see, as I feared mirror-walled rooms full of what looked like instruments of torture. I saw people of both genders and all ages in neon clothes, doing the oddest things whilst watching TV.

I was shown the 'spin room', which is nothing to do with the impending political party conferences, where fifty people can ride without anyone crashing, puncturing or even being overtaken. Not that I would be sure to be able to do so, because the seat doesn't go very high on the bikes. My enthusiasm was evaporating in the presence of all these people working hard to go nowhere.

I did, however, amongst the predictably intimidating surroundings, identify a glimmer of hope - something that might offer me a familiar(ish) way in to this strange world. It had a seat and bars that looked like a road bike's. I threw the seat as high as it would go, to try it for size, and discovered it had SPD pedals and actually felt strangely familiar. This was the 'bike that's not a bike' that could tempt me away from my reluctant and uncomfortable stints on the turbo trainer in the lounge. If it's good enough for Mark Beaumont and developed with British Cycling, then I shouldn't turn my nose up at it. It was a WattBike.

A WattBike could be mine for about £30 a week, but for a fraction of that, taking advantage of the facilities being quieter during the day, when I would be most likely to go, I can indeed drive ten minutes from the house and go for a structured training ride whatever the weather is doing - well, it will if I spend £99 on a longer seat post to take with me!

I still feel like I am never going to be one of the 'gym set', and I am unlikely to be seen lifting weights or drinking protein shakes any time soon, but ,aybe, just maybe, taking the girls for a swim and then dropping them off for just an hour will cause me to ride in a more structured way, to reclaim some sustainable long-term fitness in between touring outings, and not to blame the multitude of familiar excuses (some of them good ones) that can stop me getting out on the bike more often than I do.

Do you, and/or your family use a gym, or do you train at home and on the road? What do you think we should do? Leave us a comment below!