Paul's Blog
As I become more crazy in my adventures and challenges - I now have a dedicated website for my next (and most daunting) challenge.
www.tohellandback.co.uk
On the 2nd May 2016 I will start cycling from Land’s End to John O’ Groats and then back down to Brathay on the northern shores of Lake Windermere. I have allowed myself 10 days for this section of the challenge, that’s going to equate to an average of over 130 miles a day, every day, for 10 days. If I am very lucky this is going to be 8-9 hours of riding plus breaks, if I am not so lucky it could be a nightmare 12+ hours in the saddle.
It’s going to hurt.......a lot.
Once I make it back to Brathay I will be preparing myself to swim the length of the lake, an estimated distance of 10ish miles in one day. I have no idea how long this day will be, I will be tired, I will struggle to get energy into my body whilst in the water and it is so weather dependant.
It’s going to be cold........very cold.
The very next day I will be embarking on the Brathay 10 in 10, a marathon every day for 10 consecutive days, on the same undulating route around Lake Windermere, hard enough on its own without having cycled and swam for 11 days beforehand, just off the scale if you have.
It’s going to be tough.......very, very tough.
www.tohellandback.co.uk
Please visit the new site to be kept up to date on my training an preperation for this event.
The blog posts below will remain here, but won't be updated.
The Brathay Trust http://www.brathay.org.uk/ Brathay is one of those charities that perhaps operates under the radar but does some fantastic work with children and young adults in helping them to make a postive contribution to their communities. Those who are in care, who are not in education, who may be in gangs, or even sexually exploited are taken on several courses and given the chance to intergrate themselves back into society and lead a normal, better life.
Most of you will know by now that I belong to a group of select nutcases around the country that decide to do mad endurance events on a whim and whilst attempting these madcap ideas I try and raise some cash for a couple of charities This year I'm doing or I should say attempting the Wasdale X, possibly the toughest long distance triathalon in the country. Also I shall be dabbling in the odd marathon, having a crack at Outlaw in July and also Barcallona Ironman in the autumn. Should keep me out of trouble!!
Feeling a Tad Tingly!! Phew, after Outlaw I took a well earned 6 days break to re-charge the batteries and catch up with work stuff, a necessary evil, work stuff that is. I then did a few days gentle training and found myself on the start line for the inaugural Hoad Hill Marathon. It was the day before my birthday, not any old birthday I hasten to add, but my 50th and I had decided that this marathon was part of my celebrations. In true Lake District style precipitation was falling freely from above as myself and a group of…
Time will tell, but first the a little matter of The Lions Bridge marathon, a wee nimble around the lanes and trails of Leigh. This is one of Malc’s marathons, you know, the ones where you just rock up, register and run. A great day out, that on this occasion was 6 laps of a 4.36 miles or there abouts. I set off treating this as a long training run, no heroics, just run at a good steady pace and enjoy it, and that’s exactly what I did. I had no issues, felt comfortable all the way around…
I realise that I have been neglecting you all, all 53 ½ of you that is. I just don’t know where the time goes, one minute it is April and the next thing here we are in the middle of July. A quick resume of the last few weeks for you. The Brathay 10 in 10 came and went during the month of May. For those of you who do follow me you will know that this event is a real toughy. 10 marathons in 10 days to support the work that Brathay do with under privileged children and young…
Spring steps Well what a few weeks it’s been, a month of two halves you could almost say! Since my last confession I have been and had some more work done on my neck and I am pleased to report that at the moment it seems to be behaving itself. It still creaks and groans a bit but in general has not been affecting me too much during the last few weeks. After finally managing to get some miles in the legs I rocked up at Leigh for The Gin Pit Double, a weekend event with, as its name suggests…
Winter Woe Forgive me for it has been far too long since my last confession…, I mean blog. I will attempt to peel back the layers of my memory and reveal what exciting things I have been up to. A few weeks after Mallorca I found myself in a somewhat misty and murky York for a mimble around the streets and countryside of this wonderful city. I had no preconceptions about this race, just wanted to run and see how it went, and it went well as it happens. After several miles of running, with great support from the people…
Mallorca Mayhem As promised we are now on the other side, and what a busy time it has been. Monday morning-silly o’clock - Trudi and I travelled to Mallorca. We were joined for the week by Steve, Trudi’s brother, Nicola, Trudi’s sister and her family, Barry and their two boys Daniel and Benjamin. The idea was that these guys would be able to have a family holiday while I was busy checking routes, registering and being briefed. We arrived to some rather British weather which was not what we wanted, at least we were used to it! I spent an…
Thursday, 18 September 2014 20:15
Pre Mallorca jitters anyone?.........No!.......Just me then
Written by Paul Dewar
Pre Mallorca jitters anyone….No, just me then Wow, what happened to the last 5 weeks, they have absolutely flown by, and hasn’t the weather been behaving itself. It does make it so much easier to get out the door and run/bike/swim when the sun is shining. I have tried to cram in as much training as possible over the last few weeks without over doing it. Hopefully I have just about got the balance right. I have to say that there is not much to report for once, no accidents, no fighting against the elements or arguing with cars. The…
Here comes the Summer So, where were we? Ah Yes, I remember, which I am surprised about after the bang to my head. I now realise, some 10 weeks later, how lucky I actually am . A week or two after the accident I was sent for several X-Rays on my back, neck and shoulders, there was a worry that I might have done something nasty and my physio didn’t want to start doing any deep work until I had been thoroughly checked out. My GP agreed and I was zapped full of radiation the next day. Fortunately, there was…
So K2B training was all but over, and I was beginning to taper down for once, not something I tend to do all that often! Trudi has started running and we occasionally go out together so that I can show her some of the routes that I run and give any advice/get earache for running too fast. On the Tuesday before the K2B I decided to run 5 miles with her and then I was going to go for a club run later on. (this is my kind of tapering – 2 runs in a day!!) We set off to…
Two weeks later, and I was in Blackpool. I like running here, it is the marathon that I hold my personal best on from many years ago. As usual I went through the usual shenanigans before the start, chatting to several friends and deciding what to wear. The gun went and the field set off, I immediately realised that the wind was blowing a lot stronger than I first thought and that it would be hard stick to my game plan, ah the game plan I hear you say, well the game plan was to run a sub 3.30 hour…
What’s with the Wind?!? A week after my Bolton outing I found myself in Leigh for The Gin Pit Double. I love this event although 11 miles along the canal can be hard work. Having done it twice before I knew what to expect. The route is varied and pretty much off road with no major uphills, although there are stretches along the canal that are resplendent in that muddy stuff. Day one was a mixed bag weather wise, rain, a bit of hail, more rain, wind and to top it all even more rain with the last few miles…
Has Spring arrived yet?? Well I know it has been a while, but I have had some foot issues you know! What, you hadn’t heard! Tut, tut, don’t you read my blogs. Having taken December and the best part of January off from running, I tentatively started doing some bike work at the end of January and then stepped out into the cold and ran a mile around the block. It was so good to get out and feel the road under my feet again as it had been far too long since my last outing. Within a week I…
But before it does I must first deal with the old year, or at least the end of it. After the effort of The Run On Water my foot as you may recall was, how shall we say, buggered. I had planned to run the Langdale and York Marathons but for once a bit of common sense prevailed and I had to stand by and watch instead. I particularly like Langdale as it is set in the Langdale Valley surrounded by the Pikes and is a beautiful part of the world. I’m very fortunate to live in these parts as…
Cast of characters: Sara – A slip of a lady with massive determination and bundles of energy. Sally F– 10 in 10 winner, fantastic runner/ultra runner preparing for an ice ultra next year. Cath – A powerful lady with guts and determination. Already has a 50+ miler under her belt. Phil – A big lad with a big heart. Already with a GUC finish under his belt (Birmingham – London canal -145 miles non stop) Adrian – Conceived the event. Knows all about running through the pain barrier as he ran the last few days of the 10 in 10…
I make no apologies for the length of this blog. This event has been on my mind for the best part of a year! The more observant amongst you may well have noticed a slight hiccup in the order of things. I have decided to miss July, or rather be very brief about July. The weather was hot, very hot. I ran just the one marathon at Coniston over the trails. A lovely run with wonderful views over the lakes and fells. Met up with some marathon buddies and slogged it out in the heat. My time was terrible but…
June The first Monday in June was to be a baptism, literally. My mentor for this Ironman journey is a guy named Paul McKenny who has given me loads of hints and tips, after all, I blame him for getting me involved in this whole adventure. Monday night he had organised a few guys to go for a dip in Coniston Water as the first open water swim of the season. The other 3 guys were all experienced tri-athletes who have several ironman races between them, and then there was me. I class myself more as an afflete, someone who…
May The month of May has become synonymous with The Brathay Trust 10 in 10 since I took part in it last year and became only the 47th person to complete this epic endurance challenge. More to follow on that later. During April I had started training on the bike and also swimming. The swimming was the one discipline that worried me the most, I can swim but this 2.4 mile swim that had to be completed was definitely entering unknown waters. (get it, waters, swimming, oh never mind). I started having swimming lessons to get my technique sorted and…
April So, what happened in April I hear you cry, I have very good hearing you know. Well as I recall I only did two marathons in April. The first one was at Blackpool, starting at the football stadium and onto the promenade for a 13 mile down and back that had to be negotiated twice. I like Blackpool for running as this is the marathon that I ran my personal best at many, many years ago back in 2003, although the route is slightly different now. The course is very flat and lends itself to fast times in the…
Well this could be a massive blog or a serious of smaller ones. I suspect the latter as time is tight and my mind is full of other stuff which restricts the normal ebb and flow of my genius writing. I jest of course, about the genius bit that is. As Capt Farquart has been toiling away for the past few months building this spectacular new website for us I have been unable, or probably more closer to the truth un-inspired and training too hard to actually get my backside into gear and put finger to keyboard. At last it…
