Jo Lum is a Sydney-based triathlete and busy mum who has been a regular on the triathlon scene in Sydney for years.
Jo and her friend Katie were originally training for Ironman Australia in 2020.
That race was postponed 4 times - twice in 2020 and then twice in 2021 - before it was eventually cancelled.
So they decided not to let their fitness go to waste and designed and completed a DIY Ironman distance event in May 2021.
They swam 3.8km in a pool, then hopped on their bikes and rode 180km primarily along bike paths, before heading to their respective homes to finish their ‘race’ by running 42km around their neighbourhoods.
There were even race bibs, finisher’s t-shirts and (to their surprise) finishers medals!
I’ve shared this story multiple times over the last few months because it’s a powerful example of two important things:
- focusing on what you can control and
- asking for help (and being willing to accept it when offered).
In this conversation, Jo shares:
* catching the endurance sports bug in her late 20s,
* how she avoids getting stuck in comparison with others,
* the importance of understanding your ‘why’,
* how she used virtual challenges to cope with the isolation over the last 18 months
* the “42.2 in 42 hour” virtual challenge she and her husband organised (14,000 people eventually joined the Facebook group for the challenge),
* the DIY Ironman event she and her friend Kate completed, and
* what she learnt about herself from their DIY Ironman experience.
Click here to listen on iTunes.
Notes and resources:
To find out more about Jo or to say hello, you can find her on Instagram.