This Sunday it is the Ironman
70.3 in Stafford. What is the Ironman 70.3 and how does it differ from an
Ironman I hear some of you cry!!!
It is basically a half
Ironman, so consists of a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and 13 mile run. All in
8.5 hours. However each section has its own cut off, so the swim must be
completed in 1hour 10 minutes, the cycle in 5 hours 30 minutes from the start
of the swim and then 3 hours to complete the run after the 5h 30min!
I am hoping for 7 hours 30
minutes but will more than happy to scrape through in 8 hours 29 minutes! In
all honesty it is the swim which is the biggest worry. I have swam the distance
in the pool in an hour, but it is all breaststroke, so in open water in race
conditions I’m hoping all will go well and the course will be measured to the
nearest millimetre!!!
I have trained for the event
but in all honesty not enough. If I had another 3 to 4 weeks I would be feeling
pretty confident of a sub 7 hour time however having contracted a pretty nasty
disease the beginning of May and being laid up in bed on antibiotics it knocked
my training out by a couple of weeks.
Still it is all part of the
training approach for Triathlon X in September and the start of the midlife
crisis in January!
You can track my (slow) progress at ironman.com and selecting event coverage at the top of the page!
In other news:
I did not make the cut to be
the OMM ambassador which was a big shame and something I would really have
given so much to, but that’s life and good to luck to those chosen!
I have created the Midlife
Crisis poster, and yes it is all my own work. I know, it is hard to believe it
is not professionally designed!!!! J
I am looking for corporate
sponsors to add the logo to the poster and any t-shirts and banners produced
for the challenge, so if anyone is interested then please get in touch!
Here is the
poster in all its glory…….minus those lovely company logos!!! J
There is lots planned with regards training, events planned include:
- Yorkshire 2 peaks (Whernside and Inglebourgh (possibly Pen Y Ghent as well) on 18th June with Robin Tilbrook!
- Yorkshire 3 peaks on Friday 1st July
- Yorkshire 3 peaks on Saturday 9th July as guide and chief motivator for my good friends Karen and Nikki and a good few of their friends who are heading up North to take on the challenge for a couple of charities!
- Spine training, as myself and Robin tackle part of the Pennine Way which will face us in January – 14th and 15th July
- Lakeland 50 on the weekend of the 30th July as we tackle 50 glorious miles through the Lakes in 24 hours!
- Way of the roses cycle, all 175 miles in one day on the 27th August! There is a large contingent signed up for this may of which have joined in previous challenges, will they ever learn….saying that will I?!?!?
So
we have John, David, Chris, Dan, Steve, Tash and Tony for the second half, for
what should be a very tough but ‘enjoyable’ day on the bike……as long as we make
it to Bridlington for last orders!!!
There will, of course, be
lots of runs, swims and cycling in between these challenges as the Triathlon X
approaches in all its painful glory.
You can
follow all the training on Strava and Twitter (@madness4charity). I also have
set up the Madness 4 Charity Facebook page as well!!! So plenty of ways to get
bored and fed up with my inane ramblings!!!
Charities.
The justgiving pages are all
set up, but not yet advertised with over 6 months to the start of the Midlife
Crisis however that has not stopped me receiving my first sponsor for £50 in
support of Bowland Pennine Mountain Rescue from the rather wonderful Thresea!
Thank you for that J
On Tuesday 24th
May, it was 8 years since Matts untimely passing and the reason why myself and
many others do lots of challenges and activities to raise money for CRY. On
Sudnay the 29th May many of his friends and family met up in the
Butcher Brigg beer garden to have a ‘few’ drinks in his memory and laugh and
the many stories we all have! I know his friends from across the UK and the
World also raised a glass to a very special and much missed lad.
So it’s starting to ramp up
to a busy and active old summer, will I finally shift the belly? But it’s all a
great adventure especially as I shall be joined along the way by some fantastic
people who make these challenges (and many who, for some reason, keep coming back for more!!!)
