And We're Off...

Well, the first one is done and the challenge is underway.  Today was the Pontypool 10km run and it was quite enjoyable!  The morning didn’t start too well when I saw a dusting of snow outside but once that initial panic was over it was all good.  There were around 400 runners in total today which was a really good turn out and being a local race it was nice to see some familiar faces amongst the runners and supporters.  Despite this I was very glad to have my friend Laura with me to keep me company.  I don’t mind doing triathlons and bike rides on my own but I find running a lot easier when I’ve got someone doing it with me and I can have a chat with them instead of checking my GPS every 2 minutes!  I’m very proud of her for coming along and getting around the course, especially when you consider she didn’t really feel well enough to be running and nearly didn’t make the start.  The route itself was quite a nice one with a nasty hill around half way.  There was a bit of a sting in the tail though because we thought we had made it to the end only to realise we had to do a lap of the rugby pitch first!  In the end we did it in 1 hour 9 minutes which I was really pleased with and it has set me up nice now for the half marathon next week.  Well, I say that but my left calf is playing up a little bit.  Hopefully that’ll settle down in time!  So it’s one down, 15 to go.  I’m relieved that I’m finally underway and looking forward to next week now when I’ll face my first big test.  As promised, here’s a picture from today.  Not quite at the finishing line though, it was a bit busy there but it was taken nearby.

Wish me luck for next week and don’t forget, you can still sponsor me online at www.justgiving.com/huw2013

The Plan Is In Place

Sorry that I’ve been a bit quiet on here recently but to be honest other than “I’m still training and it’s going ok” there hasn’t been much else to tell you about. Whilst I’m mentioning it, the training has been going quite well so far although I wasn’t able to stick to my original plan. I think I was a bit over optimistic as to how much I would be able to train but also undervalued the importance of a rest day here and there.

Anyway, the main reason for this post is to let you know that the plan is finally in place for this year and with the exception of 2 things, everything is booked. I wrote everything out the other night and the see it all was a little bit daunting but as the old cliché goes, I’m going to take it one step (swim and pedal stroke!) at a time.

You might have noticed on the right hand side that I have been updating my list as I have been booking things but here is the complete list with distances. For the triathlons the distances are swimming/cycling/running:

Pontypool 10km Run - 24th February (6.2 miles)

Newport Half Marathon - 3rd March (13.1 miles)

Gwent Levels Bike Ride - 17th March (46 miles)

New Forest Cycle Sportive - 13th April (87 miles)

Wye Valley Warrior Cycle Sportive - 19th May (97 miles)

Brecon Triathlon - 1st June (0.2/12.4/3.1 miles)

Blenheim Triathlon - 9th June (0.4/12.2/3.3 miles)

UK 70.3 Triathlon - 16th June (1.2/56/13.1 miles)

Top Barn Triathlon - 30th June (0.4/17.4/3.1 miles)

Isle of Wight Cycle Sportive - 6th July (95 miles)

The Wales Cycle Sportive - 13th July (70 miles)

The London Triathlon - 28th July (0.9/24.8/6.2 miles)

Little Woody Triathlon - 24th August (1.2/56/13.1 miles)

Tough Mudder - 22nd September (10 mile obstacle course)

The Wye Not Tri - 29th September (0.4/12.4/3.1 miles)

Cardiff Half Marathon - 6th October (13.1 miles)

In total I will be covering 4.7 miles swimming, 587.3 miles cycling and 87.4 miles running throughout the year.

So there we are. I just need to get on and do them now.

This is also where you come in. As I said in one of my first posts the whole point of doing these is to raise money for the St. David’s Foundation. I have set up a just giving page (www.justgiving.com/Huw2013) and hopefully I will have some sponsorship forms to carry around with me in the next few days. If you are able to and would like to support me in this “challenge” then any donations will be really appreciated and will give me that extra motivation to keep on going when things get a bit tough and painful as I’m sure they will during some of these events!

My first one is on Sunday so I’ll let you know how it goes and the plan is to have a picture at the finish line of all of these events so hopefully I’ll have that to put on here as well!