Popping my cherry
- Feb 25, 2016
- 3 min read
Imagine the strength that others can gain purely by being given the knowledge of what they are capable of. I am hoping to support the Haemophilia Society to provide more sufferers with this knowledge and in turn help them reach their potential. Will you join me?
With the start of my training for this event, I am endeavouring on my first ever blog. I have never been any good at English Literature and avoid reading wherever possible. This is a huge step for me so please bear with me and excuse the grammatical errors that there WILL be.
I guess a good place for me to start is telling you a little about myself. I am a 24 year old male and have been a sufferer of Haemophilia A (mild) since the day I came into this wonderful world. While growing up, I tried my best to still live life as anyone else would (much to my mother’s dismay), but there were obvious limitations to what I could put my body through. This can make you self-conscious and feel left out.
One of the first rules you learn as a child with a bleeding disorders is NO CONTACT SPORTS. This means no football, no rugby, no cricket, no hockey… the list continues. Any chance of being hit, whether by a person or object, was off the cards. Fortunately for myself, being a mild sufferer, I managed to play these to a non-competitive level. As long as wore all the safety equipment and treated any bumps that I got seriously. Others with my disorder are not so lucky. It can feel crippling. Standing on the touch line learning to referee a game of rugby rather than getting stuck in; being ultra-cautious when in possession of the ball and having to off-load early so that you did not receive a tackle. When you are young, and the children around you don’t fully understand it, it can be a embarrassing, scary and a source of ridicule. The Haemophilia Society is there for support during these years for sufferers, friend, families and concerned citizens. I will go into the disorder further in future posts.
So going away from contact sports, to help raise money for the Haemophilia Society to keep up their support for ALL those with bleeding disorders (not just Haemophilia) I am going to participate in the Weymouth Ironman 70.3. This is a gruelling challenge of 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles cycling and 13.1 miles running back-to-back. I have spent a lot of my life in the pool growing up as it was the safest sport for me to do but have decreased my participation since leaving school. I have started running and cycling for a commuting mechanism but I have never attempted a triathlon at any level. So I thought I’d jump in with one that is further than the Olympic distances the Brownlee brothers cover.
I have participated in many charity events in the past, but this is the first one that I am not sure if I will actually be able to complete. Last year I did the Brighton marathon to raise money for the Haemophilia Society and that was a struggle after the 16th mile. Several injuries during the training period threw me off, especially at the end but I was determined to keep going as I knew that there are people were counting on me. The few hours of pain that I went through will help many children (and adults) understand their disorder and the limitations. Knowing this can help you manage your life and help you live it how it is intended. Because I was helped to find mine, I focused my efforts in the pool where there were reduced risks of being hit. Through a lot of hard work due to not being naturally talented, I managed to have a rather successful time reaching 32nd in the country for my age.
Imagine the strength that others can gain purely by being given the knowledge of what they are capable of. I am hoping to support the Haemophilia Society to provide more sufferers with this knowledge and in turn help them reach their potential. Will you join me?
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