Claire Stubbs talks to the Western Telegraph as she prepares for the 2016 Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.

Full of adrenaline and alcohol fuelled bravado, you boldly pledge that come the next day, you’ll turn over a new leaf and wholeheartedly commit to a programme of dedicated training in search of sporting excellence.

Nine times out of ten, you’ll wake up the next morning, the pledge is all but a blur, and once the hangover is gone you will return to normality. 

Let’s be honest, it’s a story that many, including myself, can relate to.

It’s also one that Tenby’s Claire Stubbs can also relate to, with one telling difference.

After watching the 2013 Iron Man Wales event ‘on the beer’, Claire did in fact go and dedicate herself to training.

So much so, that less than three years later, the then triathlon novice is now remarkably preparing for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii, this October.

“The whole atmosphere that day (Ironman Wales 2013) was amazing,” she told me, after I had arrived to meet her in Tenby last December ahead of a training run.

“Everything from the volunteers to the organisation was incredible. I told my friend I was going to do it, and she just laughed.”

Her friend was perhaps justified, given that at the time, Claire had never competed in an endurance event, could not swim a length, had never used a road bike, and would soon learn she was prone to sea sickness.

But as a bonus, Claire’s husband, Steve, and her brother, Paul Luger, also signed up.

“Like me, Steve had done nothing like it before,” she said.

“But our children, Thomas (15) and Jasmine (14) were old enough to be in the house on their own, so we trained together.

“We downloaded a six month training plan off the Ironman website and stuck to it.”

The couple prepared by competing in the Cotswolds half marathon, Broad Haven triathlon, and the Tenby Long Course Weekend.

And come the big day itself, Claire insisted there was little in the way of nerves or targets.

“I just wanted to enjoy the day from the moment I woke up at 3am,” she said.

“I don’t usually have breakfast so the hardest part was forcing myself to eat.

“But walking down into town was an experience. Even that early in the morning the place was bustling and you could see so much local support.”

And for Claire and Steve, the day lived up to expectations, with the former returning an impressive debut time of 13 hours 20 minutes, 35 minutes behind her husband.

The next day, the pair entered for the 2015 event, and spent 12 months following the same training schedule as they had done beforehand.

However, this time around, conditions were not as kind as in 2014.

“It was a lot harder the second time,” admitted Claire.

“The swimming and cycling was tougher due to the weather. We were both around 10 minutes down on our times from the previous year, but I wasn’t disappointed because I knew I’d put in 110%.”

And just as well, as the following morning, Claire learned her performance was actually far more astounding than it was disappointing.

“I was at the Ironman Expo in Tenby chatting to people, when someone told me I’d better get to Carew – as the official results had been posted there and I had qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.

“So we (Claire and Steve) went there, I picked up a trophy, and was asked on the spot would if I’d go.”

The then 39-year-old had posted a time good enough for the 35-39 category of the ultimate Ironman event, but was told if she entered she would race in the 40-44 category as she would turn 40 before the Championships.

“I had to decide there and then. There was a £600 entrance fee and I needed photo identification and because I’d been in a rush had forgotten my wallet – so Steve had to go back and get it.

“The whole morning was a total haze and people kept telling me I’d regret it if I didn’t enter.”

Fast forward three months, and sure enough, I’m setting off for a run with an Ironman World Championships entrant.

My only consolation, was that eight months out, Claire was still very much in the early stages of her preparation.

As we embarked on our five mile venture, incorporating the inner loop of the Ironman Wales course, I asked Claire (while I still had the breath to do so) how different she thought Kona would be, as compared to Tenby.

“It’s definitely an advantage living in Tenby for Ironman Wales – you know what to expect and can practice the routes. I do a lot of swimming and cycling with the Tenby Aces so can prepare on that front as well.”

Kona however, will be a different proposition all together.

“The run is very flat I’m told but the heat will be a killer. I’m planning to do some indoor training so I can acclimatise.

“The swim is also non-wetsuit, and swimming is my weakest leg of the three so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t dreading it slightly.

“My target is purely to finish.”

Tellingly, the talking stopped as we approached North Beach, and tackled what Claire assured me were dubbed the ‘suicide steps’. No prizes for guessing why.

And despite only running less than a fifth of the distance required for a marathon, it was easy to see why the Tenby course is regarded amongst the toughest in the world. The terrain fluctuates– and the constant inclines take their toll on tiring legs.

Therefore, it was with some relief when we arrived back at Claire’s home street of Seascape, drenched from another typical day of Pembrokeshire winter weather.

Now in the brief hour that I’d known her, Claire had not struck me as the type to die wondering. And sure enough, her relaxed attitude came to the fore when I asked her how her transition from a person who ‘tried sport back in school’ (her words) to an elite athlete had altered her lifestyle.

“Not at all,” she replied.

“I’m a vegetarian and my diet has remained the same. I don’t deprive my body of anything I like and if you do, you just end up wanting something more.

“I eat and drink as normal. And if I fancy a night out I’ll maybe just train a bit harder beforehand.”

Her answer was as refreshing as it was surprising, given I had braced myself to write a long list of dietary alterations and supplements.

And I would soon learn that she also was not the type to wrap herself in cotton wool, given that she would be embarking on a family ski trip the following month.

“I have stopped roller blading around the place though as I used to enjoy that,” she humorously conceded.

But once we’d discussed her training methods, that include varying her running and cycling distances, and using yoga to help her breathing techniques in the sea swim, the conversation turned serious when Claire explained the real driving force behind her determination.

During the build up to Kona, she will again raise money for the Tenby RNLI, a charity to who she has already donated more than £2000 in sponsorship funds.

The reason why, is close to her heart.

“My dad was six-years-old when he and a group of friends got into trouble in the sea and he was drifting out towards Amroth - the Tenby Lifeboat saved his life,” she said.

“The way I see it, without them my dad would have died young and I wouldn’t be here.

“They are so important to our community and many lives would be lost if they weren’t here. So whenever I’m fundraising I do it for them.”

It had been an intriguing two hours. I had arrived in Seascape that morning envisaging a highly serious competitor obsessed with training routines and self-discipline as she prepared to take on the best in the world.

Instead, I’d found myself interviewing a laidback and outgoing character, whose modest demeanour masks what has been nothing short of a meteoric rise in triathlon these past two and a half years.

She is living proof that dedication and enjoyment can in fact, go hand in hand.

And her advice to anyone who fancies tackling an Ironman?

“Anybody can do it,” she said.

“As long as you are prepared to put the training in then it is achievable.”

She may be right. But deciding to do it, and then within two years qualifying to compete with the best Ironman athletes in the world?

That’s pretty special.

• Anyone wishing to find out more about Claire's fundraising efforts, or is willing to sponsor her, can contact her on the Claire4Kona Facebook page, @Claire4Kona Twitter page, or via petal9060@gmail.com. She is grateful to Nd Toy and Partners Insurance; The New Inn; The Nook; Rembrandt Jewellers; Tenby House Hotel; 1 Formula Fitness; and Steve Davies, managing director of Pure Healthcare Staffing, for their help with sponsorship and her preparation.