Well... I knew May was going to be an epic month but I hadn't quite expected what I got!!! What a month!!! There are certain people in my life who have gone to make it an especially good month and to whom I am extremely grateful! Thank you all!!! First event of the month, and our first big challenge event of the year, was RatRace's Dirty Weekend. Whilst it sounds like something that may threaten (or maybe spice up!!) my marriage, the dirtiness of this weekend was purely of a muddy nature. 20 miles of running interspersed with more than 200 obstacles made for a truly epic day out. The weather was cool with a brisk breeze and a threat of rain so not ideal for a long run interspersed with regular water submersions and I have to say that despite some of the challenges out on the course being quite huge, the weather and cold was probably up there as one of the toughest! We were fine whilst we were moving but if we had to wait in a queue for an obstacle, we were quickly shivering and cramping it. Nonetheless it was an amazing day out and one we all plan to repeat next year. I was pleased to be able to manage the big water jump (from about 2-3 stories high, into a plunge pool) - although I confess it took me a couple of attempts before I plucked up the courage to go through with it!!! I was also pleased to manage all of the climbing obstacles but confess to being utterly rubbish when it came to the hanging ones!!! I will try harder next year, I promise!!! My sincerest thanks go to Rachel and Mark once again for their fabulous company throughout the weekend. It was definitely a weekend of highs and lows, in many ways, but one that left me buzzing for days afterwards, and feeling so grateful for my friends. Next on the agenda was my only scheduled 24 hour race of the year: The Hope 24. This was the race that almost broke me 12 months ago and I was aiming to go back to level the score. The Hope had other ideas!!! Once again the weather proved our undoing. The race started well in mixed sunshine and cloud but rain was forecast to come in at about 4pm, which it duly did... in torrents!!! The weather was so bad that full waterproofs were called into action but the course was becoming extremely slippery and, at about 10pm, the Race Director eventually made the very hard but totally sensible decision to suspend the action until the weather improved. The race eventually restarted just before dawn once the course had been inspected but I had a sore foot from having to switch to my harder soled off-road shoes (for more grip) and had lost my desire to push on by then, with no chance of smashing out high miles. I finally withdrew from the race after 60 miles. It was still a good run after a hard run the previous weekend at Dirty Weekend, so I wasn't unhappy with my performance,,, I will just have to return in a couple of years to have another crack at it!
In the week that followed, things got really interesting however!!! I have previously always shied away from triathlon because I am not a keen swimmer, but have always harboured a desire to go and complete an Ironman Triathlon (yeah I know, I'm a glutton for punishment!). At the beginning of the month, in conflab with one of my clients who had also become a good friend, I had found out that she also wanted to have a go at becoming an Ironman. For those that don't know, that involves a 2.4 mile open water swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a Marathon length run to finish... with a 16/17 hour cut off time (course dependent). Sometimes, it only takes a small spark to light the inferno... Lucy kindly suggested that she would get me round the swim, if I got her round the run, and we could train together for the bike and all would be good! Whilst I would normally shy away from trusting someone else to train me (yeah, I'm a control freak!!!) Lucy has a background in competitive swimming as a junior, has done quite a bit of open water swimming, and is a qualified life guard so I felt in very safe hands... so I went off and did a bit of web-browsing and confirmed dates etc... and suggested that we aim for Ironman Wales in September 2018. It's a bit of a tough course (see my last blog post about the Pendine Ultra - this takes place on the same terrain, starting and finishing just up the road!!) but it's in a beautiful location and with brilliant crowd support Being as bonkers as me, Lucy said yes straight away!!! So we were now officially (quietly) in training for our first Ironman!! Having watched me swim in the pool on the Tuesday after the Hope, Lucy kindly affirmed that although my swimming was ludicrously slow (yes, she did laugh!!!) it wasn't too bad technique-wise and so, fired by this knowledge, I was (just about) confident enough to go for my first open water swim!!! So the following Saturday saw me wetsuit clad, wading into the lake up at Top Barn and cautiously (okay... I was near bloody petrified!!!) completing a single 750m lap. But hey, it was a start. I was completely outside of my comfort zone but felt marvellous afterwards, The Sunday then saw me pacing Lucy round the Worcester Marathon (hilly critter that one!!!), so we both felt that we achieved something that weekend in terms of getting ourselves started on our Ironman journey. Thank you Lucy for putting a toe up my backside for me to take the plunge on this challenge! At the end of May, Ian, Ellie and I flew off to Corfu for a family holiday (which was marvellous by the way, and involved me getting out into the sea each day to get some decent swimming in!!!). Whilst out there, Ian and I celebrated 31 years together. Thank you Mr Wall for your unending tolerance and patience with your crazy mad-head of a wife... without you I could not do this stuff.
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