So who am I? Who is Garry Walker? Who WAS Garry Walker?
Garry Walker is a medical sales professional by day, travelling the northern part of the country from the North East of England, all through Scotand and Northern Ireland, and by night (and early morning) he is a GB Age Group triathlete and duathlete, who has turned his life round from a once former self confessed couch potato and slob, weighing in at an astonishing unhealthy obese weight of 16.5 stone. To add to that, throw in the odd very good healthy (or unhealthy) sized meal, washed down with a few pints and no fewer than 25 cigarettes a day, you could say, he was larger than life in more ways than one.
I talk in the third person because, that was then and this is now. A leaner, meaner more successful me tipping the scales at under 69kg dripping wet with the medals to hang around my neck that I once could have only dreamed of.
In 2009 I decided to stop the cigarettes and turn my life around, I saw my already ballooning weight climb and decided to do something about it. This turning point and stark realisation saw me on my first steps of a journey to where I am now. I began to run, not far and by all means not fast. It was more of a fast walk, well maybe not even fast, it was more of a walk. A walk that got further and faster. From literally a few hundred meters to a few miles. I had no target. I had no goals. I just knew, following a conversation that my wife and I had had about wanting to raise a family, that I was never going to bring a child into this world in the state of health that I was in then. I was determined, much like I am now. I had a new found belief in myself, one that I had not seen since the days pre-dating university. The days when I'd not touched a drop of alcohol and used to enjoy the sports I had been encouraged to do by my mam and dad as a child.
Swimming, Cycling and Running.
Hang on a minute. there Is an Idea!!!
In the summer of 2010, two very good friends of mine took part in the Liverpool triathlon for charity, and me, being me, had the strong belief that whatever they could do, I could do better. Considering I had had a background in all three disciplines as a youngster, this was going to be the turning point, the first day of the rest of my life.
The rest is history. It's a long story, and to be honest, I never tire of telling it, confident in the knowledge that everyone that not just hears it, but actually listens to it, is touched in a different way. If you know me, you will know the sacrifices that I have made. if you don't know me then you will read it and begin to understand. If you know the sport of triathlon, you to will understand the sacrifices that we ALL have to make, and if you don't know the sport, I suggest you just search the millions of clips out there on you-tube and many other social media channels to realise just exactly what it takes.
"For when one sport is just not enough" we may jibe.....
If you want the full story, check out my blog www.theharderitri.weebly.com , or we will have to sit down over a drink. But make mine an Erdinger AlkoholFrei, I'm training in the morning!
So my love affair with triathlon had begun and my commitment to race was seen by joining a club and joining the national governing body to get a racing licence. I needed to get out there and train and I needed the advice on what to eat. I couldn't sustain this level of exercise and eat the fast foods and takeaways that I had become all so accustomed to. One thing I am not going to do in this post, is to preach to anyone on what to eat, why they should eat it and what is right and what is wrong, why because different things offer different nutritional benefits to us all in different ways. I don't Diet, I eat what is right for me at the right times, and I am consistent with this. What I do do though is allow myself a treat. I am not a saint.
What I try to do, the majority of the time, is to eat natural healthy and whole unrefined foods that are not from processed stock or pumped full of preservatives and chemicals that in all honesty are pretty bad for us. there are experts out there that talk about this and I am not one of them so am not qualified in anyway to tell you. But and this is a big but... Please listen, understand and weigh up alternatives. there are a lot of fads, a lot of contradictions and a lot of bad examples out there. Just be HEALTHY.
My daily diet consists of Eggs for breakfast, Porridge for lunch with fruit and veg and nuts for snacks and for dinner its a slab of meat or fish with salad or veg! It works for me. It provides me with the right amount of nutrients that I need to perform to my best ability. And.... at the right times. The eggs are a great protein boost to start the day keeps me feeling full and helps prepare and repair my muscles for the demands of the exercise I have just completed or that will be on the programme later in the day. The Flahavans porridge oats provide me with the low GI energy that I need to get me through that session early evening after work followed by a high protein slab of meat or fish helping to repair the muscles post exercise.
Groovy Foods supply some magnificent products that fit nicely into my diet on a daily basis. I cook with the Coconut oil, I also add this to my black coffee. I use the Agave Nectar to naturally sweeten my Flahavans Porridge Oats on a daily basis. I use the darker Nectar to bake with when making cakes and oat bars. A great addition to have in any kitchen store cupboard.
So, I say it works for me, well it has and it does. Maybe the results have spoken for themselves, honours which include
Current (2013) British Age Group Sprint Triathlon Champion, 35-39 years.
2012 European Age Group Sprint Triathlon Champion, 35-39 years
and 4th place in 2013 European Championships.
But let me take you back to some of my earlier points. A) Diets do not work. B) Exercise and healthy eating does work!!! enough said, get out there off your backside and do something useful. But use them together, and in the right proportions.
What will 2014 hold? who knows, April sees me compete in the European Duathlon Championships in Holland, June will see me at the European Triathlon Sprint Championships in Kitzbuhel in Austria, and in October I will be at the European Middle Distance Championships in Mallorca so fingers crossed.
This month has been pivotal in my 2014 season already with the final pieces of the jigsaw being pieced together to now form a complete picture of support that I have at my fingertips while I take part in this sport that I love.
Alongside the fantastic support that I am receiving from Dassi Bikes, AquaSphere Swimwear, Elivar Sports Nutrition, Sigvaris Medical Sports Compression, Natural Hero warming muscle rub and spray, Flahavans Porridge Oats and A1 Multisport, a new headline sponsor has now been announced and new racing team to the UK. A team that is so heavily supported and successful on the continent, headed up by the Raelert Brothers, Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei UK.
Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei UK was announced only a month back, however has been something that has been in the pipeline for some time now, with a brief get together at the Bedford half marathon over the winter, it was a great opportunity for some of the team to get together. Below I have copied the excerpt from Tri247 -
"ERDINGER Alkoholfrei is expanding their athlete sponsorship, creating a triathlon age group team that consists of both rising stars and established internationals. The team represents the diversity of the UK triathlon community, with a cross section of ages, distances and gender.
The Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei UK female athletes are Alice Sharp, Carol Bridge and Boo (Diane) Alder. Alice will be competing in the sprint distance and is one of the UK's up and coming stars. Carol Bridge races Olympic and middle distances, and is a seasoned age grouper having won the Castle Series middle distance title in 2013. Boo Alder is an experienced athlete, competing internationally in both triathlon and duathlon, Boo is also a stalwart of Hillingdon Tri Club.
The Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei UK male athletes are Tom Vickery, Karl Alexander and Garry Walker. Tom will be specialising in Olympic and middle distance, and aims to build on a productive 2013 during which he came 4th in the British Middle Distance Championships. For Karl 2013 was somewhat of a comeback year following a hiatus from sport due to family commitments. Karl is a well-known figure in UK triathlon with many wins to his credit. Garry Walker will be competing in sprint and Olympic distances. Garry is vastly experienced, having already achieved a European age group title in 2012.
These new UK based Team ERDINGER Alkoholfrei athletes, demonstrates ERDINGER's commitment to supporting triathlon and endurance sports outside the German speaking heartlands. Export Director Waltraud Kaiser commented, “It's another step to support the UK triathlon community, we feel it's equally important to support age groupers and regular participants as it is elite athletes. We have a started this program in Germany, and it makes sense to develop the same in the UK. We're very pleased to have such accomplished athletes in our team, and we very much hope they'll inspire people to their own personal successes”.
ERDINGER Alkoholfrei are sponsoring 27 events in the UK throughout 2014. For further details please visit www.erdinger-alkoholfrei.co.uk"
So Where does this leave me now? Up to date, I am very much still an active competing member of Coalfields Race Team in the North East of England, carrying the crest on my new ERDINGER Alkoholfrei race kit, riding on the fabulous new Limited DRC II Aero time trial bike so kindly supported by Dassi Bikes www.dassi.co.uk 2014 is already shaping up to be an epic year with three trips away, Holand, Austria and Mallorca, all to once again pull on the Union Jack and represent my country at my age group in three different disciplines. Duathlon, Sprint and Middle Distance Triathlon. My versatility is growing and I'm still loving every minute of it.
Get out there and give it hell!!!