A wife and mother whose life was going downhill when she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis - an inflammatory bowel disease. With an encyclopaedic knowledge of every public toilet, bush or tree to dive behind, and after numerous extreme dietary regimes, Caroline elected to have her large intestine removed, and to live with a permanent ileostomy.
The decision she made then, and those she’s made since, have brought her face-to-face with some tough obstacles and hard decisions to make. No-one truly realises their own resilience until they are put in difficult situations. Motivated to learn to swim by her children, her enthusiasm for triathlon was lit after meeting Ironman world champion, Chrissie Wellington.
Caroline has turned her life around from being a self-confessed ‘couch potato’ to a tough ‘can do’ individual who competes in– Ironman triathlons.
Listen to Caroline Now!
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Show notes
What her childhood was like
Hating running and hating sports at school
Deciding to get fit
Becoming ill with Ulcerative Colitis
The challenges of getting diagnosed while pregnant
Making life changing decisions
Trying all the different lifestyle options and various diets
The mental challenge of deciding to do the surgery
The next steps after surgery
Signing up to cycle London to Paris in 24hrs
Why reaching Paris was a major milestone
Falling back to her old couch potato ways
Needing a new challenge
Deciding to face her fear of water and learning how to swim in 2014
Deciding to join her local tri club - North Devon Triathletes
Swimming with a ileostomy
Putting off the running
Getting involved in park run
Fuelling nutrition needs without a large intestine
Making her own food bars
The challenges of hydration
Working with a coach to help with triathlons
Following a 6 day a week training program
Her dream of being an ironman
Getting cut on the bike
Learning from failure
Blogging and social media
Quick Fire Questions
Social Media
Website - www.ironostomy.co.uk
Facebook -@Ironostomy
Twitter - @carolinebramwel
You can also listen to Chrissie Wellington on the Tough Girl Podcast - HERE
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