Job done!!

Well, I have now completed the 4 challenges I set myself, crossing the finish line of the Chester Marathon in 3hours 24mins and 31 seconds. This is me about a minute after finishing! Going against the advice of my parents who said just take it easy, don't push yourself (I don't really think they expected me to heed that!) I set off at what I thought was an appropriate pace only to find I had completed the first mile in just over 6 minutes! A quick adjustment of pace and I was back on between 7 and 7 and half minutes a mile! It was a glorious morning and the run followed a cycle path that i didn't know existed going from Chester down to Queeensferry and the half way point at the Dee.

Julie, Helen and the kids were there to cheer me on yet again, I can't thank them enough for the encouragement, help and patience they have had, which has enabled me to complete this. Particularly Julie who has managed to get the kids to every event and support me along the way, THANK YOU!

The route back followed the same route and as I was at about 16 miles, there was a guy pushing a friend round in a wheel chair, what an amazing effort that is! I kept up quite a consistent pace but at 20 miles I felt a blister on my foot and the legs started to tire and I started clocking just over an 8 minute mile. The 25th mile was a real killer, almost all up hill and took me over 9 minutes! But with end in sight I speeded up and completed the run almost 3 minutes quicker than London. I was very pleased as that meant I have set a PB in every race I have done! My sister Becky, Julies' Mum and Dad and Vicky had turned up to see me finish, for which I was very grateful. My Mum and Dad would have been there if they had not been galavanting around Italy! My toes are a bit of a mess now and I will spare you a picture but I think they will take a while to recover!

The guy with the wheel chair finished to rapturous applause in 4hours 50minutes-amazing!

Thank you for all your support both by way of encouragement and through your generous donations. I am up to about £1800 now and it would be great to get to the £2000 mark so if you were waiting to sponsor me until I had completed it, now is your chance! I will post one last blog in a week or so when i have a final total!

Thanks again,

Matt

Just a half please!

I have now completed the third of my 4 challenges by finishing the Chester half marathon on Sunday. Myself, Nick, Phil and Paul lined up at the start with over 2000 others but unfortunately due to 2 pulled calf muscles Nick was unable to finish. Paul posted a new PB, Phil is still checking and I was thrilled to complete the course in 1 hour 27mins and 31 seconds. I beat my own PB by about 6 minutes and got a top 100 finish, exactly the 100th finisher! I have got my kids started, they ran in the 1 mile fun run around the racecourse! A big thanks to my family for supporting me once again and especially to Julie. Just a marathon to go now and I hope my black toe nails have time to recover!

Men of Harlech!

It was with excitement that we packed up the car and hitched up the caravan on Friday to travel down to our campsite in Porthmadog. However, I was slightly worried by the strong wind that was blowing through Friday night and for most of Saturday! Also down in Porthmadog were our friends Nick and Cookie and their families. We spent Saturday walking and playing on the beach and psychollogically preparing for the challenge ahead! This involved ribbing each other about bikes, prospective pitfalls and the all in one lycra number that I had bought. (I should point out that I had a spare one but after a rather amusing catwalk display from Nick and Cookie donning the said lycra outfit, they both bottled wearing it!!!) After an evening meal of pasta we said our goodbyes after arranging a 6.30am meet the following morning. The early night never materialised, as it very rarely does and i finally got to bed about 12am! I awoke at 6.10 to a glorious morning and after double checking my kit made the short walk to Nick and Cookie's caravan. I arrived to a pan of porridge that was burning nicely and a good pot of coffee! After a swift breakfast we left at 7am to make our way to Harlech. Cookie had the first start time and so we got him there safely and registered. All was going smoothly and two more friends Phil and Dave arrived for their respective start times. We waited to see Cookie exit the pool and start his bike ride- and then wished we hadn't!! As there may be young children reading this lets just say that at one point during the transition from swim to bike he decided to don his birthday suit!! It was now time to get changed and prepare for the swim. After 4 lengths of crawl I went for my more efficient breaststroke and completed the swim in a pleasing 9 mins. The sun was out as I exited the pool and so I decided to just go straight on the bike without changing!(See picture left!) The cycle was along the coastal road towards Barmouth and had some great views, and some cracking hills! From the bike it was straight out on the path to the beach for the final leg, the 6.5k run. A very picturesque run culminated in a very steep ascent to the castle for the finish. I completed the event in 1hr 36mins 50seconds which I was very pleased with for my first and definitely not last triathlon! After we had all comlpeted the triathlon we were able to swap stories and have a group photo (Sorry Phil, you had already gone!). And so all stand up Men of Harlech to recieve the slate medal that cofirms the completion of a very enjoyable triathlon!

There will be tales to be told in the Mill on Thursday, not least the number of ways Cookie could have saved the 4 seconds that Nick beat him by. My tip, if you drop apricots- leave them!! And so a big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far, to my father-in -law for getting my bike up to speed, to Julie for her continued help, love and support and to the The Big Man for giving me the ability and good health to complete the two events so far.

I am now looking forward to the Chester Half Marathon on Sunday where I will be joined by Nick, Paul and yet again Phil, who will have been present at the first 3 of my challenges. I would love to go under an hour and a half, to find out if I do come back next week!!!

Matt

1 down 3 to go!

Thank you for all the good wishes and encouragement you gave me, ahead of and in some cases during the London Marathon on Sunday! I thoroughly enjoyed the first 18 miles and I was on for about 3hrs 15mins but the mile times gradually slowed as I neared the end. The legs got heavy but I knew if I kept going I would achieve my goal of going under 3 hrs 30mins. Not only that but I have taken a pint from Nick by beating the challenge he set me by 28 seconds!! That pint will taste very sweet!

Unfortunately not everything else went quite to plan! After leaving the Wirral at 3.15pm on Friday we eventually arrived at our accommodation at 11.45pm. After a number of toilet stops, break for a McDonald's tea and a not so leisurely 2 hour drive down countless one way streets in central London we finally found our flat, kindly arranged by my sister. It was a great flat apart from the very claustrophobic car lift down to the underground car park. (More about that later!!)

Saturday was a chance to relax, take it easy and prepare for the challenge ahead. Well, that's the theory, and doesn't take into account the 4 desperately excited children, not to mention that poor Toby was on antibiotics for a double ear infection and that his number 2's were, shall we say, less than solid!! After registering it was off to regents Park for a Picnic and games. Unbelievably and for only the second time since my proper training started i developed a blister on my heel which I noticed at about 4pm! By the time we got back to our flat all the local shops were shut( We were in the business district) and all I could get were some pretty rubbish plasters! After a pasta meal, a bath and Match of the day it was to bed!

Sunday began with a bowl of porridge and after a wonderful send off from Julie, Hannah, Helen and the Kids it was off to meet Phil at London Bridge. He arrived with his customary sunglasses and a life saver named Sarah who was also running and he had met on his walk to the station. She turned out to be a life saver, giving me some Compeed to cover my blister in place of the fairly rubbish plasters.

The race started and I felt good, consistently clocking under 7mins 30 for a mile. After a very worrying 10th mile when I thought my knee was going to give way, the pain subsided and I crossed Tower Bridge where the gang, now including mum, dad, Becky, Ruth, Guy and Isaac as well as the aforementioned posse were cheering me on! Julie was doing her Zebedee impression and the smile on her face gave me the determination to complete the next half. The next time i saw them was about 24.5 miles and they provided the spur I needed to get through to the end! The Mall is a great sight and I finished in 3 hrs 27mins 11 seconds! The BBC commentary said London is the World's greatest Marathon and I could not argue with that. The support from the crowds is unbelievable and the atmosphere is second to none!

A nice picnic followed in St Jame's Park with all mentioned above plus an unexpected but very welcome appearance of Franko and Vicky! After an Ice cream and a play in the park it was back to the flat to pack up, give the kids tea and leave for home, sounds simple enough! But no, a flat battery in the underground car park requiring RAC assistance, a baby that has almost run out of nappies and a youngest daughter who threw up mid journey and meant an unscheduled stop on the hard shoulder of the M6 meant that we finally arrived home at about 2.15am!

So it is with apologies i end this blog for the time it has taken to update but i am sure you understand! Thanks again for your support and a special thanks to Julie who has done so much to help me with raising the money, looking after the kids and other such things which has allowed me to train and now complete the first part of my challenge. I love you.

I now hope my legs and particularly my knee recover in time for Sunday week and the Harlech Tri which i am really looking forward to, and if you haven't sponsored me yet it is only a mouse click away!!

Thanks again, Matt

3 Days to go!

Surely those trainers should be on my feet if I am hoping to complete my challenges!! I am fortunate to have a journalist friend who has been able to arrange for my story to be published in the Daily Post and Wirral News and this was the idea of the photographer! You can view the article by clicking on this link:

http://www.wirralnews.co.uk/wirral-news/local-wirral-news/birkenhead-news/2010/04/21/wirral-man-running-two-marathons-a-half-marathon-and-a-traithlon-in-memory-of-sister-in-law-and-nephew-80491-26279291/

My training is all but complete having done an hour on Sunday and a few miles yesterday. I am feeling good apart from a bit of a niggle in my knee which should hopefully clear up! My major concern over the last few weeks has been the lack of a bike for the triathlon, with my road bike having been off the road for about a year and a half! However, my father-in-law is on the job and has spent most of today working on it for me, for which I am very grateful. Thank you for those of you who have sponsored me so far, I am about half way to my target!

What would you do for a pint?

When Nick told me he had pulled his calf muscle 2 weeks before attempting the Paris marathon i thought the pint we had wagered was safe. I have to beat his time by an hour to earn the pint and it is going to be a tall order. He posted a time of 4 hours 27 mins 40 seconds. You can do the maths, I will have to go some to beat that by an hour! However, my 14 miler on Sunday went well and with only a week and a half to go I am starting to feel excited!

It can't be 11 days!!

I really don't know where the time goes! I was hoping to keep the blog more up to date but it seems I have failed miserably so far. My training is going well apart from some niggling pains in my back and neck(and no it's not the kids!) I ran for 3 hours 5 mins last Saturday but don't think my legs were quite ready for it after the 2 and half hours on the previous Monday. The last hour was really tough but I feel quite rested now and ready for a swift 14 miles in the morning! Must give a good luck mention to Nick who is running in the Paris Marathon tomorrow, hope it goes well! Thanks to those of you who have sponsored me so far, it is much appreciated!