Latest news with #SwanseaIronman
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
'I used to weigh 23 stone. Now I'm an Ironman'
'I used to weigh 23 stone. Now I'm an Ironman' Owen 'Pedz' Peddle couldn't do a lot at all barely a year ago. He's just completed the Swansea Ironman 70.3 Owen Peddle, who was 23 stone less than a year ago and couldn't do a lot of exercise, has just finished the Swansea Ironman triathlon (Image: Owen Peddle/Instagram ) A man who was 23 stone and couldn't swim a length of a swimming pool a year ago has just completed the Swansea Ironman triathlon. 24-year-old Owen 'Pedz' Peddle has gained a huge following on social media during his journey to reach Sunday's gruelling event while many have told him they've been inspired to 'get off the sofa' because of him. Owen was roared on by a huge crowd beside Swansea beach as he crossed the finish line having completed the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in the searing heat on Sunday. Owen, known affectionately as Pedz by his 31,000 followers on Instagram, said he couldn't stick at the gym barely a year ago and so decided to target something which he 'couldn't do'. 'To sign up for an Ironman when you can't swim a length is pretty extreme,' the DJ reflected. 'I just wanted to lose some weight to be honest.' Content cannot be displayed without consent The rugby fan from Newport has lost around 30 kilos in the process and would have lost a lot more if he didn't need to take on plenty of food to get him through 10-hour training weeks. Article continues below Remembering his life before last September when he was persuaded by his mates to give the event a go, Owen said: 'I was struggling in the gym really. I was struggling to keep the weight off. I'd stop the gym and then put it back on. 'I thought I'd sign up for something which back then I couldn't do. If I signed up for a half marathon or a 10k, theoretically I could just walk those. So I was like: 'Let's do something I can't do.' 'So when I first started I couldn't swim a length at all. I could barely sit on the bike. It wasn't even like I could run.' Owen Peddle finished the Swansea Ironman 70.3 on Sunday despite not being able to swim a length a year ago (Image: Owen Peddle/Instagram ) After he really got into training Owen enlisted the help of a nutritionist. 'I did it all quite slowly. I got used to the training first,' he recalled. 'I didn't want to change my training, my food, my sleep and everything in my life all at once. That is so restrictive and I'd have lost it. So I wanted to just start bit by bit. 'I had to take on plenty of carbs to do the nine to ten hours of training, so I lost the weight slower than I might have, but I'm happy with where I'm at now. 'I didn't do this to lose loads of weight and be skinny. I just wanted to do something I couldn't do. If I lost the weight along the way then great.' Content cannot be displayed without consent Owen said the training has helped him mentally too. 'You just start to learn a bit more resilience in everything you do. It's a nice starting place for my mental health. "I really think it has helped to just clear my mind - to spend time off my phone and spend nine or ten hours a week just training." On Sunday, Owen finished the course in eight hours and 32 minutes. He thanked his followers and said he's been blown away by those who have supported him and got him through much of his training. Article continues below 'So many people have supported me on this journey," he added. "There have been times where I wanted to stop but I couldn't do that knowing I'd have let everyone down on Instagram and TikTok. It's kept me in line a bit as well. 'I can't believe how far I've come really. The other day I was having a haircut and I couldn't look at my phone and I just sat there for like 30 minutes looking in the mirror and smiling to myself. "The last nine months of my life have been mental, actually mental. Dragging myself from where I started to where I am now has been a hell of a journey and I couldn't be prouder of where I am right now."
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Climate
- Wales Online
Wales records hottest day of the year on Saturday
Wales records hottest day of the year on Saturday The country saw UK highs in Cardiff and Usk on Saturday Hundreds packed Barry Island on Saturday for the hottest day of the year (Image: Richard Swingler ) Saturday was Wales' hottest day of the year so far and the hottest day since July of 2022 as temperatures reached scorching highs of 33.1C. The heat bordered on uncomfortable in parts of the south where Cardiff and Usk saw the country's highest recorded temperatures of 33.1C. Just over the border in Ross on Wye the temperature also reached 33.1C. It became so warm there was severe travel disruption after the heat caused a defect in the railway line at Abercynon, preventing services between Pontypridd, Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil. It led to cancellations for the thousands of Stereophonics fans heading into Cardiff city centre who crammed the city on Saturday afternoon despite the sweltering conditions. Transport for Wales has warned travellers of continued disruption into Saturday evening and Sunday. You can recap that here. Scores of people headed to the coast instead as motorists reported queues for the car park at Oxwich Bay were up to an hour long while others typically headed for Barry Island. Pictures taken on Saturday morning, when temperatures were already pushing 30C, showed hundreds of people along the beach near the pleasure park in Barry while car parks were jam-packed. Article continues below A series of running events had to be cancelled too in Eryri due to the heat while Sunday's Swansea Ironman event could be set to be the warmest on record. According to BBC weatherman Derek Brockway Saturday saw the hottest day in Wales since July 2022 where temperatures got to 37.1C in Hawarden, Flintshire. If you're wondering when the heat might become a bit more manageable, you might need to wait another day as the temperatures are expected to reach similar levels on Sunday, likely to be just a degree or two lower with some cloud cover in the afternoon according to the Met Office. Then from Monday it is turning cooler with some rain expected too on Monday and Tuesday which could at times be heavy and thundery. Monday is likely to see highs of 21C and towards the middle of the week it'll likely return to the average temperatures for the year - hovering around 20C and generally pleasant from Wednesday onwards. Records were also broken on Saturday in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, where the fire service issued an extreme risk of wildfire warning, it reached 32C - just the seventh time that has happened since records began. Northern Ireland reached 30C for the first time since July 2022. Article continues below There was also a hosepipe ban declared for millions of people in England while an amber weather warning covered parts of the south.
