March 2011 – October 2011
This seven part ‘2011 Ultimate Endurance Challenge’ which will see me swim, cycle and run 1188 miles, as a fundraising series for CRY.
The 2011 Ultimate Endurance Challenge
27/03/11 – East Leake Triathlon
01/05/11 – Southwell Triathlon
21/05/11 – The 5 Day John O’Groats to Lands End cycle
19/06/11 – Great Nottinghamshire 120k cycle
23/07/11 – The Big Speedo Nottingham 3k swim
11/09/11 – Robin Hood Marathon
08/10/11 – Survival of the Fittest
I finished my 2010 challenge back in October, one week later I was training for the 2011 season. This included giving up alcohol and caffeine, a strict diet and early morning training sessions. No excuses!
I took training very seriously, not missing a single session. By November it became clear that there was no turning back as my training improved, but it was evident that the next few months would become a roller-coaster ride. This included set backs, bad weather, the occasional slow session and personal bests. Because I decided there was no turning back, I carried on training through the good and bad times.
East Leake Triathlon
The East Leake Triathlon started off my Ultimate Endurance Challenge. The race took place on the day we turned our clocks an hour forward to British Summer Time, meaning I lost an hour’s sleep, plus the usual loss of sleep a few athletes experience the night before a race. Despite this I was well prepared for the race and took to it well. This race produced my best result since taking up these sorts of challenges in 2009.
The East Leake triathlon was a well organised event with very helpful marshals/volunteers. It was a great day out and an enjoyable experience to kick of my 2011 season. Without a doubt, this race will feature in my 2012 challenge!
Southwell Triathlon
The second race of my challenge was Southwell Triathlon, which consisted of a 400m swim, 17.6k cycle and a 5k run.
Since the East Leake Triathlon I had been training for my John O’Groats to Lands End 5 day cycle attempt, which included cycling 400 miles in a week during mid-April. When I’d recovered from these sessions I had a week and a half to do some triathlon specific training for Southwell.
I spent many evenings in the pool improving my swimming technique and carried on with my ‘tried and tested’ training methods for cycling and running.
The weather on the day of the event was fantastic, however, some heavy head winds on the second half of the cycle course slowed most competitors. I did this event last year and yet again it proved to be a well organised set up with a great atmosphere.
I completed this race in 62 minutes and 6 seconds, 7 and half minutes faster than last year, which is my fourth consecutive personal best.
Bohdan Dawyd
