Am I Finally Going Mad!?!

Am I Finally Going Mad!?!

Hi all,

After signing up for the Royal Parks Ultra Marathon on the 7th October 2012 I thought I was starting to finally lose the plot and had to question "Why am I going to put my body through all of this"?

Well, now I am well into my training for the Ultra Marathon I thought I would give you a bit of an update on how its all going…

Having completed the UK Ironman 70.3 race back in June I gave my poor old aching body a complete rest for all of about 2 days! (It was then I started to panic about how I was going to train for an Ultra Marathon!

So I went about creating a training plan that would build up my mileage so I could be ready for October. Now having never run this sort of distance I thought I would start slow and see how I got on.

Over the first couple of weeks I built up to my long run (normally at Saturday) to cover 15 miles, then 17miles the following Saturday and last week I found my self doing 20 miles!(Which I managed to convince my partner Nicki to join me on)!  So my total weekly running mileage is now about 45miles a week. This weekend its off for 22miles! Now I know there are a lot of people out there that do this all the time and I can now say I can see the addiction of pushing for more and more…

Now on that note, I have also found myself in the position of signing up for more races! So here is what I now have booked in (so far)-

London Ultra Marathon - 7th October 2012

 

Nike Run to the Beat Half Marathon - 28th October 2012

 

Challenge Roth FULL Ironman Distance Race - 14th July 2013

I am also still looking at several other races that I would love to do, just have to hope the body can stand all the punishment!

The only race I am doing for sponsorship is the Ultra Marathon in October, I am raising money for SCOPE and the Royal Parks Foundation so if you can please follow the link below to sponsor me -

 

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=MarkWiltshire

For anyone else out there training hard for an event or raising money for charity remember to keep smiling and know you are doing a great thing!

Have fun and good luck! 

Mark

IRONMAN UK 70.3 2012 - Tough Day!

Sunday 17th June 2012 - 4am!

The alarm goes off however its not needed as the excitement of the impending day is enough to make sure im awake before it!

We (my partner Nicki and I as I convinced her it was a great idea to enter as well) pack up, have a quick breakfast (Toast and a banana) then head of for the drive to Wimbleball Lake in Exmoor National Park the location for the 2012 UK 70.3 Ironman Event (for those of you who don’t know what a 70.3 Ironman is here is what it entails - 1.2 Mile Swim, 56 Mile Cycle and finishes with a 13.1 Mile Run). It takes about 45 min to drive to the lake however as there are 2000 people in the race this year coming from 40 different countries…. There is a queue! (Oh how the Brits love to queue) however not in the middle of nowhere when you have been hydrating for the last 2 days and you need to get ready to race!

We finally arrive for the race, do a few checks of the bikes in transition etc then back to the car to get the wetsuits on to be ready for the walk down! (Now the walk down at Wimbleball is a 400m walk from transition through the trees then you see the lake! (DARK, COLD, HUGE)!  You are with 1000 (2 start waves of 1000 each this year)other apprehensive looking people  ready to enter the lake!

We get in and as expected its cold! (14.1 degrees to be precise)! You then paddle around for the next 10 min getting to the start position you want, at the front if you want to be hit and partially drowned or at the back if you want an easier time of it!  I went to the front! The national anthem played then off we went….

I had an ok swim (after a shot detour on the first leg, decided to swim towards the bank instead of the buoy) and came out of the water in 32mins, then the 400m run up the hill to transition, although its always great to be out of the water!

Quick change then out onto the bike for what some professional Ironman athletes call the hardest cycle leg of any 70.3 course. Although its only (yeah, only) 56 miles there are a staggering 54 hills on the course and it starts with about 5 miles of climbing to get out of the lake area!

I was hoping to get round in under 3 hours and ended up with a time of 3:07 so not quite what I had wanted but it was tough! The support on the course was, as always, fantastic and it always helps lift you when you hear the cheers and bells ringing on your way to the top of yet another hill!

So, into transition for the last time to change ready for the run….Sounds easy, all that’s left is just a Half Marathon (13.1 miles) however….The runs not flat either! Seriously, after all that climbing on the bike we now need to also do it on the run! The run is a 3 lap course that goes out onto the road for a large hill climb then descent (on concrete) down to the dam, you run across the dam then along the lake side (which also had smaller hills)! From there its out through some fields to a turnaround point then back to the lake to start lap 2!

The first lap went fine and I was starting to get my running legs back after the cycle, lap 2 was not so bad although I was starting to slow a little then lap 3 with less then a mile to go….Cramp in my Hamstring! This is something that happened to me in my last Ironman event and caused me to take a year out as my hamstring cramped so much that I managed to tear a muscle! I stopped, stretched, it went away so I started again only for it to cramp again…. Now at this stage I was thinking about 2 things, my time and not tearing the weak muscle again! It eased and I was able to continue to the finishing chute! As soon as you see that red carpet and the finishing clock its all worth it, the months of training, the beer and wine you couldn’t drink!

I finished in a time of 5:31 (just outside the target I had set myself of 5:30)!

It was a great day and I will never get tired of the fantastic feeling of finishing an event like this and also the amazing support and camaraderie within this sport!

Now its time to start training for my next event which is the Royal Parks ULTRA Marathon on the 7th October 2012. 50km (31miles)! Oh the fun…..

Catch you soon.

Mark 

Fundraising forThe Royal Parks Foundation by doing a Ultra Marathon!

About The Royal Parks Foundation and why I want to help raise money to support them

On October 7th 2012 I am going to be running  the London Royal Parks ULTRA Marathon  (yes, not just a normal marathon for normal people, this is one for the slightly un-hinged)! 

The distance is 50km and my fundraising is 30% for The Royal Parks Foundation

Where your money goes...

The Royal Parks Foundation help keep the Royal Parks in bloomin’ good order, by supporting projects from wildlife conservation and landscape restoration, to community sport, education and art. Imagine how great you’ll feel, knowing you have contributed, when you go through your favourite London Park in years to come!

London's eight amazing Royal Parks need our care.

Looking after 5,000 acres of carefully conserved urban parkland, home to hundreds of thousands of trees, plants and wildlife, plus numerous historic monuments and of course more than 37 million visitors each year, is no small task.

Whilst The Royal Parks receives a government grant for the day-to-day care and management of the lawns, flower beds, roads and paths - keeping them safe and clean, in beautiful condition and bursting with life all year round - that grant has just been cut by 25% and there is little or no funding for sport, education, art, heritage restoration or wildlife conservation projects.

Please follow the below link if you can help me support the team to keep the Royal Parks some of the best in the world, whilst also having the thought of me in a lot of pain on the 7th of October 2012!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkWiltshire

Thanks,

Mark

Fundraising for SCOPE by doing a Ultra Marathon!

About SCOPE and why I want to help raise money to support them

On October 7th 2012 I am going to be running  the London Royal Parks ULTRA Marathon  (yes, not just a normal marathon for normal people, this is one for the slightly un-hinged)!

The distance is 50km and my fundraising is 70% for SCOPE

SCOPE works with disabled people, of all ages, and their families, across England and Wales

Able's story

When Able and his mum contacted Scope, their lives were transformed. Ever since his diagnosis with cerebral palsy, his mum's been determined not to let him miss out on anything. We share that determination.

We take him riding, swimming and to his youth club. With the right support he has these opportunities - and as long as this support continues, we know Able will keep on enjoying his freedom and independence.

A donation of -

£10 could pay for calls from concerned parents of newly diagnosed children

£15 could support a disabled child to take part in confidence-building activities such as attending Brownies

£20 could pay for an hour's home visit to offer advice and assistance to parents

£270 could pay for a home visit to families with a newly diagnosed child with cerebral palsy.

£450 could support 10 disabled people to train for work.

£1,700 could give a disabled child their first fully adapted trike.

£3,000 could buy a communication aid to help disabled students learn and develop.

Please follow the below link if you can help me support Able and people like him, whilst also having the thought of me in a lot of pain on the 7th of October 2012!

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MarkWiltshire

Thanks,

Mark