Cocktail parties for triathlons
race or spending any longer in the outdoors than I had to. Now newly single and my friends becoming sparse, a sports club promised exactly the sort of group energy and banter that I craved.
I was nervous though. I envisaged running clubs would be dominated by outdoorsy types who would have little patience with someone like me who likes creature comforts.
BUT desperate to fill the void in my life I went all in. I joined outings to cross country races on Saturdays, buying thermals and waterproofs instead of cocktail dresses, going to the pub with greasy hair and wet feet and returning home blue with cold.
Yet despite my initial reservations I revelled in the challenge. I marvelled at my body’s increasing fitness, I couldn’t believe it could cope with a 10-mile run. It was such a contrast to the “old me” and I got a buzz of satisfaction every time I achieved a new goal.
Before long I got a bike, that meant swapping heels and handbags for trainers and backpacks on a daily basis but I loved the new carefree me. By the following summer my typical weekend would either be a five-hour bike ride with my new friends or a day out to a triathlon or half-marathon. I even qualified as a Team GB triathlete, competing in the World Triathlon Series in Chicago in 2015. The exertion and energy of a big group meant that come Saturday night I no longer craved drink-fuelled excitement.
As a society we need to find alternatives to socialising based on consuming alcohol. Heavy drinking has become one of the biggest causes of chronic illness among the baby boomer generation, according to new data from Public Health England. Alcohol is now the sixth most common cause of disability among people in their 50s and 60s.
We may be living longer but more are spending retirement in poor health thanks to higher rates of heart disease, liver disease, cancers and even alcohol-caused dementia.
I still love a tipple and occasionally I still get drunk. Yet when I do I no longer lie in bed full of self-loathing because I know I have a whole menu of alcohol-free fun things to do next time.
This Girl Ran: Tales Of A Party Girl Turned Triathlete, by Helen Croydon is published by Summersdale, £9.99