> Blog: PGL triathlete sets his sights on success

PGL triathlete sets his sights on success

It takes all sorts of people with all sorts of skills and interests to keep a PGL centre running smoothly. Adam Jackson currently works at PGL Caythorpe Court in Lincolnshire but in his spare time he competes in triathlon and recently represented Great Britain in the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final and World Championships in Chicago.

My name is Adam Jackson; I am 31 years old and a triathlete.

For those of you who don't know about triathlon, it's a multi-discipline sport consisting of a swim, a bike ride and a run. There are different distances within triathlon, sprint, standard, half Ironman and a full Ironman. I have managed to complete all distances during the three years in which I have been competing.

I first found triathlon in 2011 when I entered a sprint distance with a group of friends. We entered it as a laugh and didn't do very well in regards to results, however upon crossing the finish line I was immediately hooked.

This led me to book into the Outlaw Triathlon which is the full Ironman distance. I began to take my training a lot more seriously and dedicated many hours to increase my fitness and ability. The Outlaw was an incredible life experience and since then I have competed in many more triathlon events including the Vitruvian at Rutland and the half Outlaw distance.

Last year I decided to have a change from the long distance so I entered a sprint distance series and came second in my age group overall. This encouraged me to enter the qualifier races for the GB age group.

Once I had entered I needed to maintain and adjust my training regime, which takes a lot of time and energy. I have dedicated a lot of my life to being a triathlete and have made a lot of sacrifices along the way. I train 6-7 days a week, have to maintain a healthy diet and lifestyle and miss out on a lot of social events as I use most weekends to attend competitions. Not only have I adapted my lifestyle, I have also changed my job to work at PGL so that I could be closer to home and work different hours to suit my triathlon training.

Having the opportunity to race in Chicago was amazing and an unforgettable life experience. Racing against other athletes who have worked and trained so hard to get there was a very profound moment.

It was a tough start to the race as Lake Michigan was choppy and cold but I still managed to complete the swim in a respectable time. The transition from swim to bike was longer than I have experienced before in a race but once I got on the bike I was feeling relieved that the swim was over and managed to gain some time and move up position. It was a hot day, the temperature was about 30 degrees making the run particularly testing for many athletes. However, running is my strongest discipline and I managed to move up even further in my position. I crossed the finish line in a time of 1:07:32 coming 23rd overall our of 99 and 5th GB athlete out of 20 in my age group.

The whole experience has motivated me to train even harder so that I can improve and qualify for future races and hopefully finish on the podium. I would like to say a huge thank you to PGL for their sponsorship, as this trip could not have happened without their support. I am truly grateful to PGL for helping me have the opportunity to represent Great Britain.

by Adam Jackson.