How Hard Can it Be?: November 2012

Friday 30 November 2012

Movember Training Update: 1,000miles and a bad back!

Started the month well with a bike ride around the country lanes of Sandbach which tipped my training and event mile balance for the year over the 1,000mile mark about a month earlier than last year :-)

Also started with the best intentions of supporting Movember but an absent minded shaving accident on the 11th Movember saw the moustache getting an early bath :-(

I've taken up golf! Have I mentioned this? I've been having some lessons which have been going well but after a mid month session strained my back which has impacted the training considerably. That and struggling with motivation to get out on the cold, dark, winter nights!

On a brighter note the RNLI fundraising from my coast to coast bike ride earlier this year is now complete with the final total reaching a whopping £1,872.14 !! Thanks so much to everyone for their donations and huge support!

So... The Movember training update is as follows...

03/11/12 ~ 10.2mile Autumnal bike ride around the country lanes of Sandbach and Bradwall averaging

16.5mph

04/11/12 ~ 3mile run around the Wheelock rail trail in 28mins 43secs

10/11/12 ~ 4mile run around Pwllheli Marina in 41mins 17secs

18/11/12 ~ 4.3miles around Moston and Ettiley Heath with a bad back in 46mins 23secs!

24/11/12 ~ 1,200m swim at Total Fitness in 32mins 11secs

~ 40mins weight training

28/11/12 ~ 1,500m swim at Total Fitness in 38mins 20secs

Why am I doing this?!

I got drawn in to running in 2007 to raise funds for charity and discovered it's a great way to keep in shape! I expanded the fundraising to open water swimming in 2010 and loved that too which lead to taking up cycling and Triathlon's in 2011!

I've kept a training blog for the past three years and found it a huge motivator to get out and do something to report on so here I am again! I'll be keeping a record here of all my training and event ups and downs as well as a few deviations on my hobbies. I'm planning a few events this year for my own benefit and a couple of major events to raise funds again for two charities that mean a lot to me:

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution ~ http://www.rnli.org/

In September 2007 I had an accident whilst sailing my Laser Pico dinghy out at sea off Abersoch, North Wales. The Abersoch crew came to my aid and I'll be eternally grateful ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk6edftmHtg

I spend a lot of time out at sea with family and friends and it made me realise just how dependent we are on this life saving volunteer emergency service funded entirely by charity.

I ran the Great North Run Half Marathon to raise funds for the Abersoch RNLI station in 2008 & 2009. In 2010 I taught myself front crawl and swam a mile in open water at The Great Salford Swim and in 2011 rolled it all up taking on the Tatton Triathlon Olympic Distance.

This year I'm going to extend the cycling by riding Coast to Coast from Morcambe to Bridlington along the 'Way of the Roses' route ~ http://www.wayoftheroses.co.uk/. It's a 170mile ride over 3 days from 24th to the 26th August...

How hard can it be ;-)

The Isaiah Trust ~ http://www.isaiahtrust.org/

A registered charity started in 2001 by two good friends with big hearts, Nicky and Tim. The charity helps kids in Kenya orphaned by aids and surviving on their own on the streets in some of the most apalling conditions imaginable. The lives that these kids endured prior to the charity beggars’ belief and as a parent myself brings tears to my eyes... But the Trust has and continues to do some amazing things for these kids... Providing outreach and rehabilitation centres to give safe havens and remedial education, setting up orphanages and foster parent programmes. Helping children get back in to the state educaion system and providing 'resource centres' for older child who have missed too much schooling to teach them a skill or trade to earn a living. The Trust is now working hard setting up farms to establish sustainable food programs as well as teaching children farming skills. The trust has helped change the lives of so many kids but there are so many more yet to help...

After a four years of running the Great Manchester 10km Run, to raise awareness and funds for the trust last year I ran the Edinburgh Marathon which was awesome! This year I've signed up for the Liverpool Triathlon Olympic Disatance event (1500m swim, 40km bike, 10km run) where I'll be looking to get under that elusive 3 hour target! Watch this space!...