Apr

I have some exciting news. You may know Kate Daley from her role as Chatelaine’s assistant style editor (and from StyleDesk, the blog she writes with our senior style editor, Deb Fulsang). When she’s not being enviously stylish, Kate has some pretty lofty fitness goals: This summer, she’s vowed to complete a triathlon. And lucky for us, she’s agreed to blog about her training, here on Healthwise. Go Kate!

So, this is where it starts: I’ve decided to train for a triathlon. Piece of cake, right? Perhaps it would have been a few years back when I had the time and energy to go to the gym every day. Oh, the good old days.

But right now I’m starting from zero. Literally. I fractured my kneecap back in October. I fell on a slippery floor, ignored my swollen knee for three excruciating weeks, ended up in the ER and finally was forced to wear a full leg brace and use crutches until Christmas. (Yes, that’s me on the right, with my friend, Nadine.) It was terrible but I pushed through it.

So now that the leg brace is off and I’ve stopped limping, I’m on to triathloning. On July 11, I hope to join at least 300 other participants in Joe’s Team Triathlon. The proceeds go to the Princess Margaret Hospital’s head and neck transitional research program. My parents worked with Joe Finley — the Joe in the race’s name — and he’s been battling cancer since 2004. He started the race to raise money and begin his training. Trust me, if you need some inspiration, watch this man, battling cancer and still running triathlons.

Last year I watched my 50-something parents from the sidelines. I felt like a shlump and decided that next year I would do it with them — no excuses.

I’m quite afraid, to be honest, and now that I’ve committed to this, I need to get my butt in gear.

A few weeks ago, I had a good start: At an event hosted by Roxy, I got the chance to train with fitness guru Tommy Europe. For those who don’t know him clearly you aren’t watching enough of The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides. (I love both!) It was more than a little exciting to work out with him. He went easy on me with my healing knee but my muscles were so sore afterwards, I could barely walk, and am still recovering.

So from here on in I’d like to share my training with all of you. It will not be easy. It probably won’t be fun. But there will undoubtedly be funnily painful things to laugh at, some motivation for others starting from zero, and a conglomeration of the great nutrition and exercise advice that I’ll gather as I go. So stay tuned… Ironman, here I come.

– Kate Daley

Healthwise