The last installment

This blog is now history. I still keep it on the web for reference, but won’t be posting to it in the near future. It has 68 posts, chronicling my training and fundraising- feel free to browse.

It was a good run…

Fund raising summary

Here is a brief summary of the RBMIND-London Triathlon Fund Raising Plan and the results.

The first step was to create a communications strategy. We outlined the goals and then the steps to reach them. These included a monetary target, but also, professional development and raising the exposure of RBMIND. Sorting the technical side- website, blog and draft emails- was done at this stage also.

We then focused on getting a large commercial sponsor to contribute early. This set the standard going forward and gave us credibility with smaller donors.

Lastly, we went out to community groups, friends and family, communicating the importance of RBMIND and how their contributions can make a difference. The blog was very useful tool for this segment- it created a personal connection with individuals.

The results: We raised over £2000. Intangibly, we raised the profile of RBMIND across the local community and about metal health issues to a wider audience.

I’m now writing personal thank you notes to the donors, including a small picture of my finish.

The results are in!

Total time- 2:54:06

Swim- 34:28
Bike- 1:25:13
Run- 44:49

One of my goals was to complete the race in under 3 hours- accomplished.

I'm pretty happy with the result.

Now, bring on the pizza and beer.

Done.

All finished. It was a beautiful day and a cheering family came out to support me.

The results aren't in yet and we're still raising donations for RBMIND, but things look good at this point.

Thanks to everyone who helped out in their various ways.

What to look for

Here's the top to look for in the 100's of people. Thanks to Emma, our Executive Director of RBMIND, for sorting it. It arrived by post this afternoon.

Remember: I'm in the water at 8am, and should be done by 11. Get there early.

And remember also: My number is 4982

Goal # 1 accomplished!

Yes, we've raised- as of this writing- £1700 for Richmond Borough MIND. Truly, a great accomplishment.

Thank you to the many, many contributors. I appreciate your efforts.

I hope we've spread the word a little bit further about the good work that RBMIND do for people who have experienced mental distress.

Sunday race day schedule

If you're coming out to the race:

I'm in the water at 8am. The swim should take me 35 minutes. Then maybe an hour and a bit on the bike, and a 45 minute run. I hope to be done in 3 hours- one of the goals.

I'll most likely be in a bright orange tee shirt. Here's my number.

Here is a link to a map of the course.

The last easy weeekend

So far (it's Saturday eve), it has consisted of two things:

1. Me biking to a pub on Friday night for a pint.
2. Me carrying C around Petworth House on Saturday afternoon.

I may get in a short swim on Sunday.

Time to coast

I did my last heavy workout this past weekend.

Swam for 1600 m on Saturday, biked for 21 miles and ran for 7 miles on Sunday.

Over the next two weeks, I'll do a few short runs, and maybe a bit of hiking with B and C.

The post has arrived

The post delivered my number and all the essentials for the big race.

If your eyes are keen, you can look for this on August 5th.

Why we're here

Here's the response I got from a contributor from my thank you to him:



No worries – its a good cause and one much under exposed (if that’s the right term). One of my brother suffers from schizophrenia so I can see how important some of these day centres can be.



This is why we're doing this.

We're movin' on up!

As of this morning, we've raised £905 for RBMIND. A good result so far, but still short of the £1500 goal.

We did crack the Top 10 Fundraisers for the London Triathlon on the justgiving site though! See here.

You can still contribute (and yes, you can contribute twice, if you'd like) here.

Getting the local press involved

I drafted a press release for the local Richmond media over the weekend.

“Local resident rides in circles for charity”

Hopefully, we can get it into the right hands and we’ll raise the exposure of RBMIND in the community.

If you’d like a copy please leave me a request in the comments.

A light weekend

Since the race is three weekends away, I made this weekend a light workout, knowing that next weekend will be the last big push.

So, I did a short run on Friday.

And even after copious amounts of fairy cakes, scones, and grilled burgers this afternoon at the Ashridge Fun Day, I did manage a quick 6 miles.

A big donation

Well, Freelance Global- the company I work for- really kick-started the fund raising by donating £500 to RBMIND. This is a big step towards my goal of £1500.

I appreciate the contribution, and I know that these Freelance Global funds will make a difference to the people we work with in Richmond.

Two goals

I have two goals for the London Triathlon:
First, raise £1500 for RBMIND.
Second, get it done in under 3 hours.

A brick for the sunny weekend

Since my work weeks are already packed, my long distance training takes place on the weekends. And when it's sunny like this past one, I take full advantage.

Saturday, the entire family spent time at the local pool. After Bella did her laps and Christian splashed about, I settled into completing 75 laps in about 35 minutes. This is 1500 metres, which is the length for the upcoming tri.

Sunday, we all piled in the car and went to Richmond Park. While Bella and Christian spent time with Aunt LM, I biked 21 miles and then immediately ran 7 miles (a "brick" of exercise).

We then walked around Ham House, a National Trust property, to finish off the sunny day.

Fundraising!

I've just set up a fundraising page at Justgiving. This allows people to contribute directly to Richmond Borough MIND- the mental health charity where I am a Trustee.

Please donate as much as you can. Any funds you donate go directly to the local organization- helping people in the local community. And even an amount as small as £5 (US$10) helps RBMIND help people.

Wales 3

As they say:
"A bad day surfing is still better than a good day at the office"

Adam and his rented surf board; Rossilly Bay, Wales

Cross training in Wales 2

Well, it rained for 3 1/2 of the 4 days we were in Wales.

That meant not as much cross training as I would have hoped for.

On the one sunny afternoon, we ventured to Rossilly Bay. The beach was beautiful and I did get some surfing in there.

We also did some walking with The Boy on my back, but not enough to call it training.

And to top it off- we ate well. Lots of Welsh lamb and Welsh cakes.

Cross Training in Wales

We're off to Wales- The Breacon Beacons and The Gower- for a few days. I ran home from the office yesterday- about 8 miles- with the idea that I could cross-train a bit in Wales.

So that means surfing on The Gower and carrying The Boy on my back up and down the hills.

In the zone

On Saturday, I swam 1500 meters- the full distance for the Tri in August.

It felt great.

On Sunday, I ran 5 1/2 miles- just short of the full Tri distance.

It also felt great.

I feel like I've gotten through a psychological wall of resistance. On both days, I felt like I'd found that zone where you just go on autopilot- just glide.

Fundraising

If I can get the pieces in the right places, I'm planning on using the London Triathlon to fund raise for Richmond MIND. I'm a trustee there and it's a good opportunity to create awareness of mental health issues and help our mission.

Today, I've applied for a justgiving account on behalf of the charity. This will allow me to do everything over the net and people to contribute from anywhere in the world.

I hope to have my page up and running by the end of the month and spend July getting the message out.

Windsor Triathlon

Christian and I got up at the crack of dawn today, and drove out to Windsor Castle. We got to see my friend Mike come out of the water here after getting in at 6:40...





This is the start of the bike stage.














Showing up this early and seeing all the people really makes me want to have competed.

By the way...

Here's me at the bike to run transition.

Taken clandestinely with my mobile.

Swimming in Circles

I swam for 30 minutes on Saturday at the pool at Ashridge, and I had the whole thing to myself.

So, I got in the pool and didn't touch the walls or bottom for 30 minutes.

Since I figure the swim portion of the triathlon will last about 35 minutes for me, I need to be prepared for that length with no stopping.

So, I swam in a big circle.

Calm & Cool

Calm and cool while doing sub 8 minute miles.

Blenheim Tri- elites

The top 200 finishers:

Ave:
Swim 00:14:20 Trans00:03:47
Bike 00:35:04 Trans00:01:54
Run 00:23:35 01:18:17

Breakdown:
Swim: 9 minutes per 500 meters
Bike: 21 miles per hour
Run: 7:40 per mile

Per X Breakdown

On the swim:
12 minutes per 500 meters

On the bike:
17 miles per hour ave

On the run:
7:45 minutes per mile

Results: Blenheim Tri

2231 Adam Park

Swim00:18:01 Trans00:06:16
Bike00:43:49 Trans00:02:07
Run00:24:54
Total01:35:06
Place:1171 out of 2071

750km/20km/5km

Last run at ease

I ran home from work today (3 miles) at a slow pace, and now have two days to rest up for the Tri. We're staying at a B&B nearby for Saturday night, so we'll inevitably have a nice country stroll on Saturday afternoon.

My resting pulse rate this evening is: 48 beats a minute.

The Place (or Palace)

The organization has done a good job of emailing information to the competitors leading up to the race.

Today, this was included in one of the links:

Blenheim Palace, the gift of a grateful nation to its saviour John, Duke of Marlborough, is also a gift of a venue for triathlon. Loads of space for parking, a competitor village and a gorgeous view or vista at every turn. There's a lake that, basically, just says "swim in me", a transition area that's the Palace's front yard, a closed cycle circuit that offers plenty of interest and yet is not overly physically challenging and a run route that you will actually want to go back and walk around afterwards -- all of this makes the Mazda Blenheim Triathlon a paradise for a novice triathlete.

Wow, I'm looking forward to the event even more.

By the way, from a customer experience point of view, this really increases my pre-race feeling that I've signed up to a great race.

Last Weekend before the Sprints

Next weekend is the Blenheim Triathlon sprint distance.

I swam 1000 meters on Saturday with B and C.

I biked today. the weather was absolutely foul- cold, rainy and windy. Came home to a warm lunch and a glass of red wine.

This week will be easy, short runs. And then we're off to a B&B near the race for Saturday night.

I've already started packing my gear in anticipation.

Number One Fun

Here's the number to look for at The Blenheim Tri next Sunday.


If the weather is good, it will be a beautiful event.

BTW: I swam 1000 meters today.

Bike offically sorted

I picked up the borrowed bike today from my good friend Jack. I've used it in the past and it rides well. It's a Dawes- I think this one.

C and I cleaned it up this afternoon.

The best part is that I've been training on my mountain bike which is plenty heavy, so this feels light as a feather.

A killer weekend

Run home from work on Friday: 4 miles
Swim with Bella and C on Saturday: 800 meters
Brick with Mike Robertson on Sunday: 14 mile bike ride immediately followed by a 7 mile run (all in the rain).

Limp into work on Monday...

A training run to kill me

We went out of London this past weekend to stay with some friends. They live in a little village called Frieth (located here), in the rolling hills of the Chilterns.

Nigel and I ran about 7 miles on Sunday morning. He's is in pretty good shape, and he punished me on these trails and hills. The views were spectacular from the top, but I couldn't fully appreciate them as I gasped for breath.

All in all, it was a good cross-training exercise, but very demanding.

My race number arrives!

On Friday, I got home from work to find a big envelope. Inside was all the information and race number for the Blenheim Tri in June. Just reading it started to get me excited for the event.

And it looks like a beautiful place for a race.

I'll be doing the sprint distance- 750 m. swim, 20 km bike, 5km bike- on Sunday at 11:45, 3 June.

Bricks and more bricks

I've now gotten into the painful swing of doing bricks (combinations of two triathlon elements) on the weekends. Today, a beautiful Bank Holiday Monday, I biked for 2 laps around Richmond Park, and then ran another lap. Each lap is 7 miles.

This means I can do short runs during the week, long exercise on the weekends, and rest every other day.

Next weekend, a bit of swimming.

Second brick

Sunday, I did my first swim of the season (in fact, first since summer 2005) and felt great. Swimming is my second strongest suit. I did a fast 600 meters and then ran two miles.

The First Brick

It was a glorious week end in London so I was inspired by the sun.

I did my first brick on Sunday- biked for 5 miles, then immediately ran the same course.

Going forward, I think I'll do a brick each week end to gear up for Blenheim in June.

Bike: Potentially sorted

I met my mate Jack over the weekend for a few pints. It looks like I'll borrow his bike for the next 6 months to use for my two races.

I hadn't been able to find a good quality, but cheap alternative to buy. This gives me something light at least. And puts me sorted from the equipment side.

Head Cold

I've had nearly two weeks off from running due to a severe sinus infection. Hope to be back on course this week-end. And swimming for the first time, by the end of the month.

This was most likely a blessing in costume.

Swimming: sorted

There is a local community college down the road from us, and they have a pool. Reasonably priced also.

Bike and Swim

I have commited to finding a swim venue by the end of January. And finding a bike by the end of February.

Good thing my running mileage is up to scratch at this point (8 miles at an 8 minute/mile pace).

End of Year 2006 Goal

Well, I reached my end of year 2006 goal: I ran a half marathon distance.

Back in September, I told myself that I would run that distance by the end of the year, regardless of my entry status to the London Marathon. I did two laps of my Home course- a total of 14 miles. Didn't time myself, but I felt like I was doing 9 minute miles.

This will put me on a good base for the upcoming Triathlons for 2007.