Double Iron UK Triathlon - 4.8/224/52.4 miles

What a slacker!!

2009-07-29T11:44:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that it has been sooooo long since my last post - over 2 months in fact! A lot has happened since the last post. I have been down to Nice, France, and back and completed Ironman France in a decent time of 11hrs 46mins. I have also pushed the boat out in fundraising efforts and have gone past the magic £1,000 mark. A really big thank you to all those friends, family and local community members for your generous support.

Now I am preparing for the big one at the weekend. My recovery since IM France has been good and I feel in great shape. I am also feeling on top of my game since enjoying the feats of the those guys on the Tour de France and witnessing a great comeback by my personal hero, Lance Armstrong. I know I can achieve my goal of completing this Double Iron UK triathlon and just want to get on with it now!

The next BIG idea!

2009-05-19T12:09:00.000-07:00

Fresh from the success of our fundraising efforts in Andover High Street, I had the wizard idea to do something similar very soon. Not content with sitting on a bike going nowhere for 5 hours last time, I have decided to go for the full Double Iron UK distance of 224 miles. Again, travelling nowhere fast!

The plan is to set up the charity stand and bike outside of the Tesco superstore here in Andover on Thursday 21st May. I will start pedalling at 9 o'clock in the morning and finish sometime around 11 o'clock at night. My plan is to take on the distance in 4 hour chunks with a 5 - 10 minute break in between for rest stops. This is a realistic plan as I will be doing likewise on the actual day.

Hopefully, the generosity of the Andover community will be present once again and this time we hope to raise around £700 in one day. Thats approximately £1 per minute!

What a great day!

2009-05-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, Paula (Transform Charity Co-ord) and I set up a charity pitch at the Andover Gardeners Market on the High Street. The plan was to raise awareness of my fundraising efforts and kick start the goal of reaching the target of raising £1,000 for Testway Transform.

At 10am I set about beginning a training ride on a static bike trainer to grab peoples attention and provide me with an opportunity to get some training in. The intention was to do about 3 hours of pedalling, but in the end it went on for 5 hours covering a distance of 85 miles! All the while the generous people of Andover kept filling our buckets with loose change and the odd paper note. The sun was shining all day so plenty of people were out and about soaking up the beautiful weather.

As a result of our efforts we managed to raise £275.25 over the 5 hours. A terrific effort and one which has definitely got the fundraising off to a flying start.

Charity pitch in Andover - Sunday 10th May

2009-05-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

Just to let you know that I will be in Andover High Street on Sunday 10th May to publicise my fundraising efforts for Testway Transform. I will be on a static bike trainer pedalling for hours without going anywhere!

It would be nice to see you there to lend your support...

My biggest swim ever!

2009-05-09T02:36:00.000-07:00

The other evening I set the goal of swimming for 1.5 hours in the local Andover Leisure Centre pool. Basically I said to myself that I would be the first in the pool and keep on swimming until kicking out time. Well I am happy to report that I did just that and kept of swimming for the full 90 minute session. The aquatic equivalent of Forrest Gump!

The whole session was not as boring or hard as I thought it might be. In fact the hardest part of it was the last 15 minutes of the session. Not because I was getting tired, but because this was the first time that I checked my progress by the clock. I had forgotten to wear a watch for the swim so thought no problem, I'll just check my timing on the pool clock. I then thought to myself, why don't I ignore the clock and just concentrate on each stroke or my thoughts at the time. This I did for the next 75 minutes.

Now, here's a strange thing, the moment I checked in with the clock at 75 minutes my swim felt very hard and tiring. Nothing had changed apart from my awareness of time. So a valuable lesson was learned - ignore time and stay in the NOW. The NOW is the only thing that we have control over and can do anything about. I am now convinced that goals, be they athletic, personal or business only seem big or scary when viewed through the filter of time.

For example, say you want a mid-life career change and decide you want to become a Doctor. I would bet that the greatest barrier to stop someone is not the cost, intellectual demands or the method of training. I would suggest that the biggest obstacle is time and the time it will take to train. You see most of us fall in love with the end result - the money, the trappings or the status. But so many of us are put off attaining those things by the process and time involved in getting them; not ignoring the effort involved either. But if you did want to become that Doctor in 6-8 years time, then NOW is the time to start out on that journey. You're going to get to 6-8 years time anyway, so why waste the opportunity! The same can be said for an Ironman or Double Ironman - focus on what you can do now in working towards that goal.

I just need to remember this when the going gets tough and all I want is to finish. I'll let you know what I learn when that NOW comes!

Training is getting BIGGER..!

2009-05-09T02:29:00.000-07:00

After a very pleasant Bank Holiday weekend spent resting and enjoying family life, it was time to get back in the saddle, quite literally and push my training on towards the immediate goal of Ironman France in late June. Taking three days rest was perhaps the hardest thing to do, as ironic as that sounds. Quite often, with the scale of training required for an Ironman, let alone a Double Ironman, an athlete can get so involved and dependent on their training that they take it too far and over-train. Taking time off is the hardest, yet most sensible thing you can do to ensure you stay healthy and the best shape.

So fresh from my weekend I went out for a 3 hour bike ride which turned into 4 hours because I was feeling so good. It would have been 5 hours had I had any drink or food left with me!

In so far as the rest of my training goals left to achieve before France, I have decided that I want to do at least two 5 hour rides and one 6 hour ride; swim at least a couple of 2 hour swims and complete a 3 and 4 hour run before I start to wide it down for France and the Double Iron UK in August o:)

My charity page link

2009-05-02T03:06:00.000-07:00

I have now set up a fundraising page which you can donate online if you wish. I am hoping to raise at least £1,000 for a local Andover charity called Testway Transform. There is a link to the charity over to the right of this blog page.

To help me raise this money and reach my target of £1,000 please click here

Starting to go longer...

2009-05-02T03:00:00.000-07:00

My training is going well and I now find myself starting to put in some nice meaty training sessions. My short runs these days are at least and hour long and I have managed to get in a couple of 2 hour runs and a 2.5 hour run in the last few weeks. My cycling is a little more difficult to fit in with my travels with work, but I am happy that my volume is okay at this stage. I probably need to get a few monster rides into the next couple of weeks of at least 5 hour duration. My swimming is strong and I have done at least a one hour non-stop swim so far (regular Ironman distance) and need to experiment with swimming for a couple of hours to work out what is best drink and nutrition wise, without getting stomach cramps in the pool!

So, so far so good. I am probably not doing as much as some in preparation for the double, but I am happy that I have now done far more than I usually do (distance and duration wise) at this point in my training season :o)

How does someone find time to blog??!

2009-05-02T02:58:00.001-07:00

Once again I find myself falling behind with my blogging and asking myself how on earth do people find the time to blog! At least I am not finding difficulty in finding time to train for the Double Iron UK Triathlon in August; so I think I have the balance right!

Andover Sound

2009-04-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

My first interview with Steve Randall at Andover Sound is now on the web and can be found at by clicking here

Singing in the rain!

2009-04-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

The weather seems to have made a turn for the worse recently so it was with some hesitation that I donned my cycling gear to go for a 3 hour ride yesterday. Getting caught in the rain on a ride is one thing, but to venture out from the house when it is actually tipping it down is another! So, with my Gortex on I ventured out and had a great ride in the rain. The sense of satisfaction when you come home to a hot bath and cup of tea makes it all worth while...although it did take me hours to warm up again.

Back on track...

2009-04-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

It has been a long while since I last posted any comments on this blog. Since that time I have had a bit of a wobble, nearly pulled out of the event entirely and then regained my focus! For a while a few weeks ago I was seriously contemplating withdrawing from the DIUK because of some stress I was feeling in my personal life. In essence, I started to get a little spooked by the amount of jobs that seemed to need my attention and the lack of time I seemed to have to do them all. I started to get very frustrated at the enormity of what I was facing so decided that if I withdrew from the DIUK then all would be well.

This is a common mistake most people make...

Let me explain. When things are going along just fine, life is very easy to deal with and you feel that you can take on anything. When life starts to get a little hectic, we tend to withdraw to the safety of what is comforting. For some, this involves chocolate and for others it means getting stressed out and complaining to anyone that will listen. I found myself doing a little of both and not liking what I was seeing. So, I decided to examine from a detached perspective what was going on with me on the 'inside' and how this is affecting my 'outside'. Or to put it another way, how was my internal reality affecting my external reality? When I did take a step back I soon realised that giving up is not what I do and that even though I had a lot going on in my life, nothing was going to change just by cancelling my place at an event. I also gave myself the chat about feeling a little scared of such a big event and that I would not be the only one going through this in the run up to August.

So, what is the lesson to draw from all of this? Quite simply, that life is full of challenges which we all have to face. Those who are successful in life become successful not because they have less challenges to face, but in fact that they have learned to overcome those challenges where others give up. I'm not about to join the latter just yet!!

First BIG ride of the season

2009-03-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today I managed to juggle my work commitments to fit in a ride of 4 hours in and around the local area. Whilst I am glad it is over now, I realise that 4 hours is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to the demands of the Double Iron UK distances - as a reminder, 224 miles of cycling. Funnily enough, the biggest hurdle to get over is not the distance or time in the saddle (although these hurt!), but rather it is dealing with the boredom and stopping the mind wandering.

You might think that allowing your mind to wander could be a good thing when trying to pass the time on an endurance event. The trouble is, if the mind wanders to thoughts of that lovely bath at the end, or a nice rest or thinking about how much further you still have to go - it can all come undone! As such I try to adopt a slightly Zen approach to my time during these events and try to only focus on the here and now. If you think about it, the now is the only part of your day or life that you can influence. What is done is done and what lies ahead isn't here yet. So to help me through, I concentrate on my swim stroke or pedal rate or count to one hundred in my head. All pretty dull stuff, but seems to work!

So next time you are fretting about what you have done or need to do in the future - STOP! Let it go and enjoy the moment for what it is. For me, spending 4 hours on a bike in the glorious March weather is a great way of experiencing the 'now'.

Creating time to train and other important stuff!

2009-03-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

I had to drop a friend off at Southampton airport this morning for 6:00am, an early start by anyone's standards. I have a busy day ahead of me today so I thought how am I going to get a training session in today that will fit around work and an appointment with Andover Sound this morning. The solution was simple. I decided to drive to the airport in my running gear so the moment I returned home I could leave the car and set off on my run. I figured that as I was up anyway, I may as well stay up! As a result I managed to get a 60 minute run in and still be back home before 8:00am.

So even though there appeared to be no room in my day for my training, I was able to create the time by identifying the potential 'gaps' in my day and then filling them with meaningful activity. For me this happened to be a run, but for others it maybe family time, e-mail sorting, that important telephone call etc. The thing is, it doesn't have to be an early start either. The gaps exist throughout your day and as we all have 24 hours to play with, how creative can you get with your time?

Long time no blog!

2009-03-07T13:09:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that it has been over three weeks since my last blog - shame on me! Despite not having made the time to blog, I have been making the time to train. In the three weeks between blogs I have been busy travelling the UK delivering training in my day job, but have still found the time to get out and get the hours training in that are needed for the Ironman.

My longest cycle so far has been 2.5 hours and my running is consistently now a steady 60 mins minimum. I am now planning my longer rides and runs, which as you can imagine eat up a lot of the day in just time away from anything else. Even though I have been busy recently, I find time to get a long run in by getting up at 5.30am and pounding the streets. This is not as hard as it might seem as the mornings are getting lighter and you feel great having done so much exercise before breakfast!

March will see the first of the bigger rides and I intend to get at least two 3 hour+ rides in and a two hour run. Most seasons I do not hit these kind of distances until about 6 weeks before an event. However, this season is not my ordinary endeavour, with a total of 3 Ironman distances to cover. Speaking of which, I am now getting far more comfortable with the prospect of taking on this schedule. It is all a matter of perspective really.

For example, I was speaking with a chap the other week who had completed 40+ marathon races during 2008 and his friend had completed 49! He told me that running these week in week out is no different to someone doing their weekly 6-miler - it's just a case of what you are conditioned to do that's all!

See, it's all a matter of perspective!

How do you find the time?

2009-02-13T02:30:00.000-08:00

A question a lot of people ask me is how do I find the time to train for an event like the Ironman as well as do all the other things that life throws and demands of us. This is perhaps the hardest challenge of them all. The pressure of getting kids to school, running a business and being away from home a lot adds up to a lot of hours in the day. But think about it for a second, of all those hours being chewed up by daily activities, are they all necessary? Granted, going to work, doing the school run etc are absolutely necessary. But how about the TV, surfing the net and generally doing those tasks which are just eating up time and not producing anything? Well for me it is those periods that I target and use for my training. So it is not unusual (there's a song in there somewhere) to find me out running late at night or early in the morning to get my training in. If I am away living out of a suitcase, there is always room in the case for my trainers and I actually find going for a run in a new city or town is a great way of getting your bearings.

Next time you find yourself wishing you had more time, stop and think. How many of the 24 hours available to me am I actually using in a productive way? Time is the one thing that we all have the same amount of, regardless of age, race, position or wealth. One of my all time heroes, Lance Armstrong, seven times winner of the Tour de France lives by the maxim 'Carpe Diem' - Seize the Day. If anyone knows how precious time is, it is this cancer surviving cycling legend.

Be your own legend and cheat time. Hold fire on that e-mail or TV and go for a walk...or a Double Iron triathlon!!

Radio Ga, Ga!

2009-02-10T07:29:00.000-08:00

I met those lovely chaps at Andover Sound today (see link on the right!) to record an interview to be aired next week. The idea being that if we can tell as many people as possible about this mad bloke in Andover doing the Double Iron UK triathlon, then we may be able to raise awareness of Testway Transform and raise some lovely cash in the process. Hopefully I will be able to grab an audio copy of the interview to post on here once it is aired.

The whole process was less daunting than I thought it would be. Probably because we were not live on air I suppose! Anyway, all the talk of doing the DIUK motivated me to pop down to Andover Leisure Centre and get a cracking work out completed before returning back to work. I am committed now and once it goes public, there is no backing out! Just the motivation I need to keep me going!

Welcome to my blog!

2009-02-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

During the first weekend in August 2009, I will be attempting to complete the Double Iron UK triathlon. This event is for those of us with little or no sense and a desire to hurt ourselves - all in the name of sport and recreation! A triathlon consists of a swim, bike and run. The Double Iron UK triathlon is a 4.8 mile swim, followed by a 224 mile bike ride and finally two marathons back-to-back (52.4 miles). See I told you, you need to have a screw loose!

I will be doing this event to raise money for the local Andover charity - Testway Transform. I haven't set a target yet, but I intend to raise as much money as possible to help local people. I will be setting up a website to donate to directly from the comfort of your keyboard soon. Details to follow in this blog. Please give generously!

Over the coming months I will be documenting my thoughts and feelings as I prepare for this event in order to keep you updated about my progress. All support is gratefully received as I know that this is a physical event beyond anything I have ever attempted before.

For now, thank you for finding this blog and here's to success on the 2nd August!