Challenge update

I haven't blogged for a while, and when I look back, I struggled to keep up the blogging at this time last year. Training is now very time consuming.
Since I last blogged I have managed to complete 2013 accumulated miles from walking, swimming, running and cycling. That's good. My running miles have suffered slightly with the upping of my swimming and cycling. I am currently on 775 miles, whereas I aught to be closer to 852 The good news is that I am finally running pain free, and have been for a week now, long may it last. I still need to up my mileage to 42 miles a week for the rest of the year, that's an average of 6 miles a day. Fingers crossed that this remains an achievable goal.
To help re focus, I have decided to join Juneathon to hopefully get my run mileage back up again.
My run and walk miles have contributed to a moon landing with the
As far as my virtual run to Moscow, well I have passed Hannover and am heading towards Berlin.

On May Day Bank Holiday, Billy and I headed up to Ellerton lake for our first open water swim. I struggled with my breathing and the cold, I had totally lost my confidence. We met a swim coach Pauline Squires, whilst we were there and booked her for the Saturday. Saturday came and it was bitterly cold. Pauline was great and after a very cold hour, we both felt more confident. We celebrated by getting the stove out of the car boot for sausage and egg but ties to warm us up. A week later we went back to Ellerton. And completed a very cold 2 miles in 1:15, we were quite pleased with ourselves. This week we did a similar distance in a similar time in Ripon Racecourse lake. 

Billy and I have been trying to build our bike miles up in Preparation for Outlaw. I feel that the cycle leg is where the biggest improvement (time saving) can be made, so a couple of weeks ago we headed out to Hawes, 36 miles away in the dales. The weather was grim, wet and windy and we were under no illusion as to the hilly ness of the route. It was hard, we were cold and wet and the wind was in our faces most of the way there. After a bacon and egg butty in a cafe, we enjoyed a tail wind most of the way home.

We stopped on the way home to admire the Archimedes screw at Bainbridge which creates hydro electricity for the local community.

On Bank Holiday Monday this week, after a lovely weekends rest (after a 2 mile swim on Saturday morning in the racecourse lake) we went out on our bikes to Easingwold, Coxwold and Kilburn, returning home via Thirsk. Again it was windy, but it was a nice dry day and resulted in a bit of sunburn.

Another part of my challenge is to complete a marathon a month, I have completed 5 so far, January was a training marathon, 3 laps of town. February, was the same. March was Trollers Trot + a bit. April was Blackpool marathon in the first week and Manchester marathon the last week, this means that I still had a marathon to complete in May and I was running out of month. On Wednesday morning I set off to Studley Royal deer park to run 10 laps of front to back gate and back( 2.2 miles) this and the fact that it was 2 miles from home should add up to 26 miles. This was tough, mentally and physically but I was joined by Jo and she chatted to me as we ran 3 laps, this was an enormous moral booster. I left my drink and jacket at the front gate so I could get a drink at the end of each lap. At the end of lap 4, it had gone, I was gutted. Jo ran to Dave Jelly (Jellylegs) house for more water whilst I continued on my repetitive run. Jo had to leave and I continued on on my own, but it felt easier now. Thank you Jo. Good luck on Saturday 1 June with your half marathon fell run. At the end of lap 7 I saw a park warden I asked if she could get in touch with the groundsmen who had been around at the time my bottle and jacket had gone missing. She said she could and reached into her handbag and pulled out an enormous radio, she contacted the groundsman, he said he had my stuff, she asked that it be put back where it was. How easy was that. Thanks Ann. At the end of the next lap I was relieved to see my jacket and bottle returned.
I got to my last lap, I had to fight to get to the top of the hill, I touched the gate, turned and was practically dancing on the way back down, where I reclaimed my jacket and bottle and ran the 2 miles home.
May marathon complete, phew!

And so, tomorrow is 1st June, back to jogging, logging and blogging.
This weekend sees some pretty massive races for the Poppyfielders, Michelle Blackmore is taking on the Swashbuckler 70.3 as a training race for Challenge Roth. Lesley Byrne and Michael Evans are taking on the Inaugural Outlaw half and Mark Dodgson is doing the massive City to Summit,(swim in Firth of Forth, cycle to For William and run a marathon to and up Ben Nevis. Good luck to all of you. Meanwhile, Sid, who inspired us to be doing exercise everyday of 2013 will be training and planning the logistics of completing Outlaw Triathlon in a morphsuit.
Billy and I are heading to Coniston for the Epic Swim, 3.8 km, apparently it's 11 degrees in there at the moment, Bbbrr!