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Sunday 29 July 2012

I'm NOT a virgin

Where do I start?

Today saw me enter my first triathlon. And boy did I learn so much!!!

With hindsight I am so glad that I entered a triathlon before London as I really did learn a lot.

This post will discuss my triathlon debut in detail. If you're not interested in reading it all, well tough. I'm not giving anything away early.

Pre race


The nerves from earlier in the week weren't there last night or this morning, I even managed to sleep well. Who knows where they went. I think I transferred them to the Mrs as she was a wreck this morning. She even put on Twitter how nervous she was. Bless her.

Bless the wife for flapping this morning
Thanks for the reply IMW
I think I was so calm as I had checked and double checked all my gear.

Registration and transition

I was amazed at how much stuff you were given at registration. I got an envelope containing race numbers and the like, a timing chip and a race t-shirt.

I then went through to the transition area and managed to set up all my stuff correctly.

My transition area - all neatly laid out

It seemed to take forever to get this done and next thing I knew it was time for the race briefing, which meant I was less than 20 minutes away from race start. I was in wave 1 for the race and had the number below. I assumed this meant they ranked me a number 2 for the race like they do on the Olympics.

My race number
Oh well my dreams were dashed when I saw that most of the people in wave 1 had no affiliation to a triathlon club. It must be the novice category and must then be sorted alphabetically.

Swim


After the briefing, it was time to head to the lake for my favourite part of triathlon. I have been doing a lot of training in this discipline this week as I knew I would not break myself while swimming. I did learn some important lessons this week though.

The start of the swim. I'm in one of the yellow hats.

I do not swim straight. I think I managed to correct this during the 750m swim around the lake at Hatfield Marina. My route can be seen below.

My route around the swim was straights
On entering the water I was amazed at how clear the water was. Much better than in Ham or Hampstead where I train. I stupidly got caught in the middle of my wave of 36 swimmers. This held me up at the start slightly but after I broke free I settled into my stroke. The swim mostly went without a problem apart form two times where the lake choppiness caused me to inhale water but I peresevered and exited the water in a time of 00:14:17 according to the timing gate at the entrance to T1. I can live with that.

I even managed to exit the water in a jog
With a perfect swim I think I could steal nearly a minute off this as inhaling water shocked me and I had to stop to sort my head out and reset myself.

T1

What a disaster I had in T1. I honestly don't know what was going on but I managed to lose 04:19 in the transition area.  I think I can put this mostly down to three things.

  1. Feeling dizzy after the swim (is there anything I can do to stop this?),
  2. Putting on socks and shoes prior to the bike, I need to practice this as its a lot quicker than getting socks and shoes on then running in them to the mount line.
  3. Forgetting to put things on in the right order. I forgot my bike top and forgot my race belt and was basically a bit of a nightmare but it was my first triathlon.
In comparison one of my Twitfriends completed T1 in 1:08. Hmm I think I definitely have some improvement to do there.

Bike

The bike ride went to plan. I've set myself a target of an average speed of 25.75km/h so I can complete the 40km of the London Triathlon in about 01:30:00. I beat my average pace by half a km/h and managed 26.2km/h. I completed the 24km on 00:53:42 which I was chuffed with. My one learning point, aerobars do make a difference I got powered past by numerous people in a more aero position than me so I have decided I am off to TFN in Nottingham this week to but some aerobars prior to my triathlon in London. This will give me 8 weeks to practice with them prior to my next race triathlon.

I even look quite comfortable on the bike
T2

My T2 time wasn't great but this was because I had to put on my achilles strap. This is unavoidable for the moment until my tendinitis goes. I was in and out of T2 in 1:43 after racking my bike and putting my achilles strap and trainers on. I knew things were going too well at this point.

Run

Well what to say about my least favourite discipline in triathlon? I had a disaster after about 200m of the 5km. Somehow and I have no idea how I managed it, I managed to turn my right ankle and perform an unplanned ninja roll in front of the Mrs. During this fall/roll I managed to pull something in my left calf as well. I very nearly quit the race as I could barely walk. After a quick regroup and some words of encouragement from the Mrs and my friend Nick I set off again at a slight disadvantage.

Jogging away after my fall
I had to stop once more after my fall to retie my laces as I assumed these were to blame. I limp rulked around the course and it was the other competitors that kept me going with words of encouragement like
  • Keep on going lad
  • You can do it
These were shouted at me as I was passed during my rulking. My left calf felt really tight but I soldiered on.

I was amazed by the sense of camaraderie that exists in triathlon after this. It really is inspiring as people  who are short of breath run past you and try to encourage you. AMAZING!

With under 200m to go I managed to go over on my ankle again but I got back up again and ran to the line.

The finish line is in sight
My run time was 37:32 which is a full 4 minutes slower than my PB over 5km. The numerous scrapes, sore muscles and twisted ankles will not have helped my progress. I also don't think the offroad portion of the run route will have helped matters as I haven't practiced this as London is all on the road.

In total my time for the Hatfield Triathlon was 01:51:33, which was outside my aim of 01:45 but given the difficulties in T1, the run and the longer bike route I am thrilled. I can't wait until London but I have some work to do on transitions, and running before then. I've got a few scrapes as well but I can chalk them up to experience.

I also struggled with nutrition during the triathlon and know that I didn't drink enough during the bike ride.

According to my timing slip I finished 57th out of all the men which I am pleased with.

My timing slip
The one thing missing from this triathlon in my opinion was a medal. I would have liked to have had a medal from my first triathlon but I did get a T-shirt.

Sorry of this post has been a bit long but it is an important time in my journey. I have completed my first triathlon.

Thanks for reading,

Michael


Thursday 26 July 2012

Nerves kicking in

The nerves are starting to kick in over the event at the weekend. Note how I am not referring to it as a race.

I've started to write a list of the things that I need for the triathlon and I never write lists.

Could someone who has done a tri or two have a look at the list below and let me know on here or via Twitter if I have forgotten anything.

I really want this event to go off without a hitch so your input is greatly appreciated.

  • General
    • Drink
    • Bottle
    • Transition bag
    •  Normal Clothes
    •  Flip flops

  • Swim
    • Trisuit
    • Wetsuit
    • Goggles
    • Swim hat
    • Compressport calf guards
    • Watch
    • Bodyglide

  • Bike
    • Shoes
    • Gels
    • Drink
    • Helmet
    • Glasses
    • Socks

  • Run
    • Trainers
    • Drinks bottle
    • Sport beans
    • Achilles support
Thanks for your help,

Michael 

Sunday 22 July 2012

Le Tour de Doncaster - a week of achievements

I started this week on a high having completed my first run last weekend since my injury.

On Monday I went to the Runners Need store in Canary Wharf to get a copy of A life without limits signed by its author, the current Ironman World Champion. Chrissie Wellington. Chrissie also gave a speech and it was very inspirational especially the part were she said amateur athletes (like me) inspire her as we have to manage training around a job and a life. It makes you realise how truly different triathlon is compared to other sports. In what other sport (marathon running excluded) could you line up with elite athletes and compete against them on the same day on the same course. It's amazing. The speech by Chrissie was amazing. She is so down to earth. I wish her well in her future and whatever that holds. She hasn't made any decisions about 2013 but did let slip some things which are on her bucket list, those being completing a marathon (after training for one properly), competing in the TDF against men and also doing an ultra. 

She wrote such a lovely message in my book and I will look after it for years to come.

My signed copy of A life without limits by Chrissie Wellington


On Tuesday I decided to see how uninjured I was and went for my usual rulk around Regents Park after work. My legs were feeling really strong so I decided to see what I could do. I don't know if it was the fact I had someone to chase but using my usual run 4 and walk 2 lamppost technique I managed to take over a minute off my 5k time to reduce it to 33:05 and reduced my 1k time to 06:19. I was so thrilled with this as it was only my second run since injury.

On Wednesday I was meant to go for an Open Water Swim at Ham Lake with RG Active but unfortunately the traffic in London intervened. It took me two and a half hours to travel 15 miles and the Olympics haven't even started yet. It wasn't a complete waste of time as I had to administer first aid to someone who had dived in to shallow water and managed to cut his head quite badly.

The other reason it wasn't a waste of time was that I purchased some new cycle clothing which had two bonuses. One it fits well and two I now feel like I'm a member of RG Active or as they affectionately call themselves "Team Green". I wish there was a Northern branch of RG Active as they really are a good bunch and make you feel welcome no matter what your ability. I can say this honestly and would recommend them to anyone struggling with any aspect of triathlon who lives in or around London. I wish I lived closer to their Richmond base and had access to my bike so I could benefit from training other than swimming. I've even committed to going to their training camp in Majorca next year and I can't wait.

My new cycling kit

Despite the setback on Wednesday I decided to venture into South West London again for the RG Active pool session at Hampton Pool. The traffic didn't intervene on this occasion and I made it with 45 minutes to spare which was a relief after Wednesday. I decided to try and see how swimming in a pool in a wetsuit felt as I have been struggling to gauge how fast I go in open water. My best set of 4 lengths (144m as the pool is 36m long) was 02:20 which equates to 1:37/100m which is quite quick for a normal bloke from Lancashire. However the swim was not all good news. I have realised my wetsuit is too big for me as I end up with pockets of water that slosh round my arms. This makes swimming difficult as I am lifting more weight as I take on more water. Normally a quick phone to the hire place and this wouldn't be a problem but I am not chancing this with a week to go until my first triathlon so I will change it afterwards. After six or seven sets of four lengths I decided to dispose of my wetsuit and just swim in my trisuit. Apart from feeling free again and only having to lift my arms (instead of my arms plus water) there was no benefit as my speed drastically slowed in just my trisuit. I was amazed as to how much difference the wetsuit made to my pace.

Another important lesson learnt.

My next training session was a bike ride on Saturday and I went on my new 20km loop around the North of Doncaster. I managed to take a full five minutes off my time from last week to reduce it to 00:47:33. This equates to an average pace of 25.7km/h which was the pace I had set myself on my Garmin and over the 40km of my olympic distance tri would mean a bike leg of 01:33. I can live with that. And without anyone to reduce wind resistance as well. Thrilled doesn't come close.

As it's my birthday we had a BBQ at ours and despite the alcohol madness that ensued I still managed to get up for another run with Sam at 9AM (after 7 hours sleep). Today I managed to run and I mean properly run 2.5km, when you consider how downtrodden I was 8 weeks ago about running this an achievement. I completed just over 5km with Sam and did lots of stretching. I also managed to do some running without my achilles support which was another first.

The pace was similar to me rulking so now I have a decision to make. Do I rulk in my triathlon next week or do I push myself and attempt to run it all? The pace is similar so it will ultimately be decided by comfort.

Other than all the above I have been watching the TDF and what a result it is that Bradley Wiggins won. I hope this is a taste of things to come with the Olympics coming up. Lots of GB medals would be greatly appreciated by me. Come on Team GB.

Still off the evil cigarettes and loving the fact I am getting fitter and faster.

This time next week I will have completed my first triathlon and I can't wait. I am not setting myself a time but I know what I would like to achieve. I am on this journey to complete and not compete. I need to remember this next week but I think I will probably forget in the heat of battle. LOL.

I have also cancelled my gym membership as I wasn't using it enough. I was spending more time training outside so hope I can keep this up until my triathlon in September. Then I will have to ascertain how I am going to complete winter training.

Remember you can sponsor me via my Justgiving page. It is for Cancer Research and will be appreciated by me personally.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Sunday 15 July 2012

Running man

Not a lot to say about this week. Unfortunately.

I went to the RG Active Openwater Swim at Hampstead Heath on Tuesday. I was really late to this as I left work late. My Garmin didn't manage to find any satellites so I had to recreate the swim using Endomondo when I got home. In total I swam nearly half a mile. I don't know if my wetsuit has got bigger or I have got smaller but I am starting to notice that my wetsuit is developing pockets which fill with water particularly around my arms. This feels a little fresh when swimming in open water. It also makes swimming more difficult due to the extra weight.

I didn't manage to do any training on Wednesday as yet again I was late leaving work and I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to go to the gym.

On Thursday I was going to go for my first run since injury but a combination of circumstances led to this not happening, Firstly I forgot my achilles support. Then  I realise dI'd also forgotten my headphones and I can't abide running without music. I know I will have to do it during the triathlons but that is different as there will be other people and the crowd. Then as I was debating going for the run without the achilles support, the heavens opened. This made my mind up, there was no way I was running now.

Thanks to Twitter I was persuaded to go the RG Active swim at Hampton Pool. For those not in the know. Hampton Pool is a 36m long open water pool where the water is constantly heated. I was so glad I went to this swimming session. I had a really good time. My Garmin got a bit confused with all the different strokes and drills we did. At the end it said I had swum a total os 2772m. According to my maths this was out by 17 lengths so in total I swam 2160m. Not bad for an hour;s work with rest periods. This is the furthest I have swum since I started on my journey. It was really nice to meet some new people who also truing with Rg Active.

Next time I think I will take my wetsuit as "apparently" it is easier to swim when wearing a wetsuit. When I got back to the hotel I was in a word KNACKERED.

Now onto my new obsession.

Barefoot running. Since reading "Born to Run by Chris McDougall", my every waking (non working) moment seems to be spent researching barefoot running and the benefits that it can lead to. I am really intrigued due to its apparent health benefits.

I say health benefits as no injuries is healthier than constantly being injured.

I've been researching brands, how to transition and lots of other things about barefoot running.

I had managed to narrow the brand of shoe down to two, either a Newton or a Merrell. The barefoot shoes by Merrell seem more natural due to their lack of cushioning and I feel that if I can learn to run in these then I could run in anything, even Vibram Fivefingers.

So on Saturday I decided to go and try on some Merrell shoes. I tried on two pairs. The Barefoot Run Bare Access and the Barefoot Run Trail Glove. The Trail Glove seemed to fit my foot better as it had more arch support. So £85 later I walked out of the shop with a new pair of trainers. They feel so different to any other pair of shoes. Your feet feel so free. I can't wait until I can start to run in these but I am not planning on starting running until after my two triathlons for this season. I just plan on wearing them over the next 10 weeks as much as possible to strengthen my feet.

My new Barefoot trainers. Picture robbed of the Merrell website.


The other thing I noticed on wearing these shoes was that the pain in my achilles tendon goes away. Weird. I really want to run in the shoes now but for once in my life I am going to have to be patient as I don't want to injure myself before either of my two triathlons.

I will save my transition until the off season.

On Sunday it was finally time to see whether I could run again.

After much procrastinating in the morning (I think this was partly born by fear of pain) I went for a rulk around my neighbourhood. I took in some hills as well to keep me on my toes and stop me aggravating my problem tendon. Apart form the fact I was blowing out my ar$e at the end (it is amazing what two weeks of not running can do to you) there were no major problems.

When I got back I decided to brick this with a bike ride. Given the weather was so good I decided to do this outside. I've even found a 20km route which starts and ends at my house. The time was ok but I was held up by roadworks and a persistent headwind along one road. I should really have biked more but had other tasks to do so stopped after one lap.

There's not a lot else that I have to tell you.

Remember you can sponsor me via Justgiving or by texting NSMK50 £2 to 70070. It only takes thirty seconds to send that text.

Thanks for reading and I'll update you all over the week as to how I'm getting on now that I'm a running man again.

Michael

Monday 9 July 2012

100 days ago......

Well today marks a multitude of anniversaries (of sorts).

100 days ago I was still a smoker and this blog along with the help of support of my family and friends (both real and virtual) have helped me be a non smoker for 100 days. That's nearly a third of a year. Or more impressively nearly 9 million seconds.

The first 95 of those days was a doddle but recently I have been struggling with cravings but I am determined to remain strong and not undo all the good I have done in the last 100 days.

I went back to the doctors and got prescribed another two weeks of champix to get me over this slight bump in the road. The doctor told me to make them last for four weeks or more which is equivalent to half of the prescribed dose.

I still think I am doing bloody well and only wish I had something to show for all my hard work. Oh wait............

I do:
  • an increased lung function
  • healthier outlook on life
  • more energy
  • some new friends
AND
  • most importantly a new passion in triathlon. I really can't believe how much I look forward to the training. I'm really missing the running at the moment but I'll get to that a little later.
Today also marks 20 days until my triathlon debut. I know I shouldn't be nervous but I am a little. It's not fear of distance as it is only a sprint but is the fear of the unknown in transitions (the 4th discipline). This is the one element of my training I haven't practiced but this is the point of this triathlon so that I don't come a cropper in London which is a lot bigger and thus daunting.

The distance involved in the London Triathlon doesn't even faze me as I know I can do all the elements separately. 1.5km swim (done), 40km bike (done both on the turbo and on the road), 10km run (done but I slightly broke myself). Altogether may prove a little difficult but I have 11 weeks to sort that out and as stated previously I am doing these triathlons to complete not compete.

Now for the injury update.

I went to the doctors and he said it was probably (how can doctors be so vague when you want a definitive answer) tendon related so as I had booked the physio as well I decided to go for a second opinion. After telling my physio the symptoms he had a wry grin on his face. I asked why and he said from my description he thought he knew what was wrong but wanted to do some tests.

After the tests (which involved contorting my foot into different positions) he said he was correct and I had aggravated a tendon underneath my heel, hence the shooting pain in front of my ankle on walking. Bonus I now knew what was up.

He even gave me a treatment regime which involves contorting my foot to stretch the tendon and rolling a can of beans under my foot (Chickpeas will have to do). He told me not to run for another week and see how I got on. Then next weekend to do some hill runs (which do not sound fun). Might have a VERY gentle jog on Thursday to see how it feels. I know why he has prescribed hill runs. It is because it is impossible to heel strike when running uphill as you will fall over.

This then led to a discussion on minimalist running. I explained how I used to run on my toes and how heel striking feels alien to me. He said it would be better for me to remain injury free if I could transition to minimalist running as there is less impact. However he said to complete this seasons two triathlons by heel striking as this is what I have practiced and then in the off season to get some training on midfoot striking which will involve strengthening different muscles and retraining myself.

Retraining myself to run. Bit late at 30 but apparently it will lead to less time injured, which is a bonus.

If anyone is considering minimalist running, I can only recommend Born to Run by Christopher McDougall as a superb read on the subject. It really will open your mind to the possibility and also dispel a lot of myths.

On leaving the physio, it was time to drop my Madone off for her first service as the gears were starting to slip. Me and the wife then went to look at some transitions bags for my birthday present and she lovingly bought me a Huub transition bag (which even Mary Poppins would be proud of) and I bought some Compressport running socks. The real reason for the trip to TFN was to look at some Pearl Izumi Fly IV shoes (which I was disappointed with as they didn't fit).

I then went to pick my bike from Rotherham and decided to look at their bike shoes. After 20 minutes looking at boxes I noticed they had a pair of triathlon shoes by a company called Polaris and the only pair they had were in my size. Fate? I tried them and they were so comfy. Needless to say they were purchased.

My new shoes
We then went home and didn't do much for the rest of Saturday apart from chill out.

Sunday was spent completing the weekly 40km on my bike using the turbo trainer as I didn't want to have any mishaps so I practiced unclipping and clipping back in in my new bike shoes. They really are so much more comfy than my old ones. Okay so they're a little on the green side and don't match my bike but the comfyness makes up for that.

I completed the 40km using intervals and decided to see how fast I could go. I managed to pedal to a top speed of 80.2km/h and I would like to apologise to my neighbours for the guttural scream that I emitted when pedalling to this speed. I nearly scared myself. My cadence was a blistering 166rpm at this speed. That nearly three revolutions a second. I actually shocked myself with this. The total time  for 40.24km was 01:09:32 and my best 5k was 00:06:53 which is 43km/h. WOWSERS

All in all a positive weekend even with the bad news about my foot.

That's all I've got to tell you for now apart from the fact I have now reached my first target of £600 for Cancer Research.

Thanks for reading and for your constant support,

Michael


Thursday 5 July 2012

What is it with me and injuries

Before I started this quest I could count on one hand the number of injuries I'd had over the previous 5 years. About none.

Since I started the quest I seem to be finding new ways of hurting myself.

Be that falling off my bike (injury to my pride as it was in front of a friend)

or

Random niggles in both my knees (serves me right for being overweight)

or

Running and giving myself achilles tendinitis, which by the way I still have but am now learning to live with by utilising a tendon strap so there is some tension in my tendon when running. This is going to slow my transition times down, but is a necessity.

However on Sunday I managed to injure myself and

a) I don't know what I did.
b) I don't know what is wrong.

Basically after my run on Sunday and after I'd finished updating my blog. I developed what can only be described as severe pain in my heel. It started as a niggle but when walking felt like someone was stabbing the outside of my right heel with a knife.

I soldiered on thru Monday at work in my normal shoes but the pain was getting worse even with my newly acquired Orthaheels in my shoes. It got so bad that the pain was searing up the outside of my ankle bone by the end of the day.

Not good.

I had visions of having plantar fasciitis, which is a condition that affects runners and can lead to layoffs of up to six months. This would have been a disaster for my upcoming triathlons, however one of the problems associated with PF is that the pain is a lot worse in the morning. The pain was no worse on Monday AM when I got up or on Tuesday AM so I doubt it is that.

Anyway I digress. Most bizarrely when I wear my running shoes the pain subsides massively so I have had to wear these at all times during the week even to work which looks a little bizarre with a shirt and trousers.

So now I am in a quandary as to what is wrong with me.

I know I can jog in my running shoes and I know the niggle is there but on a pain scale of 1-10 (1 being a midge bite and 10 being unplanned amputation) it appears to be 0.5.

Before anyone tells me off for being stupid, I am not running and am resting but I had to see if I could jog and I can.

I am going to see a doctor and hopefully a physio at the weekend who can hopefully fix me with their combined efforts so that I can go for a run on Sunday with my PT but if I can't the training will consist of biking and swimming and maybe some weights.

The training this week has consisted of a pool swim on Tuesday (1km in 20 minutes) and an open water swim last night at the beautiful Ham Lake (thanks to @Annelovesthegym for the photo below) with RG Active. I wasn't really feeling the swim last night as I felt tired but I persevered despite me getting cramp and missing the final lap.



Another learning point, turn your bloody posh watch on when you start swimming and not after your warm up as you miss about 300m. Very unimpressed but at least Endomondo came to my rescue as I could work out the distance thanks to their route drawing facility.

I also had a breakthrough of sorts this week, I've nearly finished my Champix and have been cutting down gradually but hand't taken a pill for about a week and got the biggest craving for a cigarette ever (which is bloody bizarre as I haven't had any so far and it's nearly been 100 days and the nicotine is well and truly out of my system), however I remained strong and didn't give in and remembered that they are crap for me (and everyone else who is still a slave to the little monster). Like I said a breakthrough of sorts. But still well done me.

Right that's it from me I'm about to hobble off to the gym and go for a swim.

Remember you can still sponsor me via Justgiving. I'm nearly at target 1 (£600 so I can race) but want to smash that and if I'm honest I want to smash target 2 (£1000) as well.

Update - not going to the gym tonight as there appears to be roadworks on the way to the hotel. The bus ride is taking forever.

Thanks for reading,

Michael

Sunday 1 July 2012

Big hurdle overcome today

Right I know it's been over a week since my last update and I apologise for that. It's been a hectic week at work and my training has suffered because of it.

Since my last update I have only trained 6 times.

Those six training sessions have consisted of


  • 2 bike rides totalling 116.87km. This was so I could complete the #12xIronman challenge for June.
  • 3 rulks totalling 21.5km
  • 1 Open water swim totalling 1.17km
Thats nearly the same as a half ironman in just over a weeks training. For details on the training, please click the links below.

The bike rides were completed mostly on my turbo trainer as the weather last weekend was atrocious. I went on a bike ride but cut it short after I nearly got blown into a bus on the Sunday ride and the Saturday ride was spent on my turbo while watching the ITU race from Kitzbuhel.

The runs were completed as two just over 5km runs (one on Sunday and one on Thursday) and DRUM ROLL PLEASE........................................................

ONE 10KM RUN

This is a pivotal moment in my triathlon training as just over a month ago I nearly threw in the towel as I was struggling with running. And due to my PT my confidence has increased and I have realised I can run. The time was 01:13:26 for the 10.36km but I am still thrilled with myself. Now I just need to work on consistency and then increasing my pace. I am over the moon. A little stiff in my knees but over the moon. I decided to reward myself with a Jellybaby after each km. This seemed to break the run down enough for me to cope with the increased distance. Bribery and corruption works wonders.

The Open water swim was completed with RG Active. I really can't stress enough how wonderful the training with this company is. They break everything down and get you to complete drills and then explain why we are completing the drills. I felt amazing after the swim. I am starting to enjoy open water swimming more than pool swimming.

According to Endomondo I have burned nearly 22000 calories during the month of June. This has been my most consistent month training since I started my quest. I trained on 19 of the 30 days and completed 27 different training sessions. I have also taken myself 153 miles under my own steam. And the best part I have enjoyed it all.

In four weeks today I'll have completed my first triathlon and eight weeks after that I'll have completed the London Triathlon. I am so proud of myself and so is my wife. Last weekend she bought me a gold medal for all my hard work. And the bonus was it was chocolate.


Other than all of the above there's not  a lot else I've been up to. I've started reading Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run by Andy Holgate. I feel there are a lot of parallels between Andy's quest and mine in so much as writing this blog is very motivational to me and I have decided to complete an ironman at some point in the future. I've even taken to reading some of the funny parts aloud to my Mrs. God knows what she thinks of me.

Remember you can sponsor me vis my Justgiving page. I am nearly at the target that Cancer Research have set me of £600 but this is not the target I have set myself.

Thanks for reading,

Michael