“Iron Man. That’s kind of catchy. It’s got a nice ring to it. I mean it’s not technically accurate. The suit’s a gold titanium alloy, but it’s kind of provocative, the imagery anyway.”

This year I got an early Christmas present from myself to myself: Christmas Eve was the day I started training for this Ironman thingy. Unfortunately it was the sort of present that didn’t come with a gift receipt so

on 24 December I got out of bed  and put on my Ironman suit.

My suit isn’t made of iron either. Nor is it a gold-titanium alloy. It’s made of Lycra, sweat and fear. At 9am last Tuesday I wore my suit to Peterborough Regional Swimming Pool. It’s where I swam as a child before getting fish and chips on the way home and I haven’t been back there for more than 10 years. It’s had a few coats of paint since then but the smell is exactly the same.

I swam up and down in my iron swimsuit for half an hour in the pool where I once struggled to do more than a couple of lengths. Then I hit the showers.

Ironmam training is the Christmas gift that keeps on giving with two sports to do on Christmas Eve. Now I feel spoiled. In the afternoon I put on my iron trainers and headed out into the wind for 400m repeats before heading out for a traditional Christmas Eve curry and a few pints that were followed by repeats of a different kind.

On Boxing Day a planned 10-mile run was cut short at 1.5 miles. My suit wasn’t up to the task of defending me from an onslaught from my nemesis ‘Ladybits’ and cramps forced me to stop running. This was unfortunate news for both me and my dad; he’d been escorting me on his bike which I commandeered for the 1.5 mile return journey forcing him to do the running.

Friday started with another 9am swim, cut short just 20 minutes into it with another strategic attack from Ladybits. I retreated and fought back on the Saturday morning by heading to the Peterborough Parkrun and coming first woman.

But Sunday was the most exciting day for this iron woman. All superheros in the making need gadgets and gizmos. The suit is just the beginning. A late Christmas gift in the shape of a turbo trainer is the latest weapon in my arsenal. Together we’ll fight bad weather with indoor cycling and keep my legs pedaling despite snow and ice. 30 minutes of fast pedaling in front of the TV and week one of Ironman training done.