Back in 2019, I joined Alba Rosa with the intention of taking part in some cycling time trials. Then COVID happened and everything was cancelled. Thankfully, it appears that we are on our way out of the pandemic, and last week I finally got to try my hand.
I was second to start and second to finish with an overall place of 32 out of 37. Happy with all of that. This was my first time trial and over the 10 miles, I averaged 34.6 kph. There was no wind and the course was flat and straight so it was easy to stay aero. I think it will take a while before I really dial my effort in.
Just released a new course: Couples Counselling using Systemic Family Therapy. Helping couples is a different process to individual psychotherapy as there are two sets of needs and emotions to manage, but also that the relationship itself has emergent properties that need to be handled. Systemic therapy provides that underlying theory that we need to make it work.
When I started this challenge, nobody told me I would have to get up at 6:30 am on a Sunday to go swimming. Is there any higher form of suffering? My arms were heavy and I think this affected my swim stroke was I started to feel pain in my right shoulder towards the end. Luckily, it was the final swim.
Bogdan joined me for the bike course and we headed up into the hills of Wharfedale to take in Harewood, Almscliffe Crag, Stainburn and Leatherley before a cafe stop in Otley to miss some of the rain. The climb back to Leeds was still wet but the sun came back out as we descended back into the city centre.
Finally, Danni joined me for a tour of Meanwood Valley and Headingley to finish the challenge!
Thank you to everyone who has supported the challenge through donating and running and cycling with me. We have now raised over £700 to help Unseen combat modern slavery via the JustGiving page.
Stats
Total time: 23 hours 24 minutes
Distance: 10,650 metres swam, 302 km cycled, 70 kilometres run
Average calories consumed per day: 4,687 kcals
Back in the lake this morning. The temperature had dropped another one and a half degrees and was now down to 11.8. My socks and gloves helped but this time I couldn’t even keep my core body warm. I made it through the first five of six laps but then started to struggle and the water safety team politely but firmly hinted it might be time to get out. I was shivering a lot when I came out and had to stuff my towel in my mouth to stop biting myself.
Under BTF rules, when the water temperature is 11 degrees the maximum swim length is 500 metres. But this is a challenge, not a race, so I decided to use the backup pool swim I had booked for the evening to do another 250 metres, topping the 1,350 metres from the lake up to more than the 1,500-metre target. Tomorrow I am planning to swim in the pool but I have the lake as a backup and if I do end up in the lake, I will be sticking to 500 metres!
The bike was uneventful; an out-and-back to Castleford with a stop for shortbread and brownies on the way. As if that route wasn’t lovely enough already, the little cafe van seems to be there every day.
The run took in several laps of Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve. I ran a strong first three kilometres before running out of energy and dropping down to a walk. This happens a lot when I am fatigued and was a regular feature of GVRAT. Eventually, the blood gets flowing and I can pick the pace up again: I finished with a strong final few kilometres including a 4:18 km at the end.
Swim: Blue Lagoon, 44:57 (plus The Edge, 7:09)
Bike: Castleford out-and-back, 1:30:00
Run: Kirkstall Valley Nature Reserve, 53:42
Day 5 of the 7in7 challenge starts to push the game a little further. The first four days added up to 13 hours of training, which is a lot, but not unheard of on an Ironman triathlete training schedule. But from here on out things get tougher as I crossed the 16-hour mark. Some aches and pains, soreness and chafing but so far it is pretty manageable.
Today’s plan was swim, run, bike. My swim felt good but there was some messing about dodging other swimmers so ended up slower than yesterday. Despite feeling sluggish at the start of the run, I got stronger throughout and felt amazing for the final few kilometres, possibly because I Was coming back down hill. Finally, the bike course took in the Beach Island Loop of Watopia. Thank you to Graeme, Naomi and Leigh for keeping me company.
Today I passed through the halfway point in the 7in7 challenge. And we passed the £600 mark in fundraising for Unseen!
The cold water in the lake seems to have dried my hands out and I’ve been madly moisturising all day. And I forgot to foam roll last night so I felt pretty stiff this morning. Luckily, after an uneventful swim, Laura Henson was able to fit me in for a sports massage. I broke out the overshoes for the bike ride today but the rain mostly stayed away. Finished up with a trail run around Meanwood Valley with Sarah. It’s all downhill from here!
Swim: The Edge, 37:03
Bike: Otley loop, 1:42:18
Run: Meanwood Valley, 1:01:28
Day three was a reverse day: run, bike, swim. Morning run with my dad through the bluebells in Temple Newsam before heading down to Wakefield to cycle with Bogdan. Lovely to have some company for both parts! In the evening, I headed down to the Blue Lagoon for my first lake swim of the year. The water temperature had fallen to 13.1 degrees and it felt freezing! My core was okay but my poor hands and feet.
More importantly, we passed the £500 mark raised for Unseen today. Thank you for all of your generous donations!
Day two complete. My swim stroke is feeling much stronger today. I swam an extra 50 minutes as by the time I checked my watch to see how many lengths remained, I was already past my target. The 1,500 itself was 3 minutes faster than yesterday. The bike was slower due to the route being hillier, and my cleat came loose. Heavy rain and stomach cramps on the run, but it was lovely to be running with the club. Thank you Clare for leading.
Day one in the bank. The pool was busy this morning and it felt like hard work, possibly because I was thinking there was still all of it to do! Luckily, the sun was shining for the rest of the day and I got my summer jersey out for the first time, albeit with a base layer underneath. The run was shorts and t-shirt weather, too. A little soreness in my left glute but no concerns at the moment (of course, it is only day one!).
