Tri Challenge

I’m feeling more confident about the London-Brighton bike ride in ten days’ time, having been out again last weekend for a reasonable 15-ish mile ride. OK, it’s nowhere near the distance but at least I don’t feel like I’m going to hit the deck again every time I turn the handlebars. I felt noticeably more relaxed and considerably happier about tackling the roads down to the coast.

I’ve done another six-mile run this week. I would have preferred to do a nine or ten-miler before the St Albans Half Marathon this weekend, but just haven’t been able to find the time. If I run it in two hours and ten minutes, I’ll be happy with that.

I was hoping to go for another half marathon in the autumn to try to break the elusive two-hour mark, but failed to get places in either the Great North Run or Run To The Beat. Instead, I’ve convinced a crowd from work to join me in Devon for the Commando Challenge. This isn’t just about running with no pants on. No, it involves seven miles of cross country running with various team-based challenges around a Royal Marines training course.

The website gves competitors the following handy hints, as if providing advice on the best way of doing one’s laundry:

“Remember to tie your laces tightly or you ARE going to lose your footwear.”

“It really is worth a visit to your local Army Surplus as old combats will not only protect you from cuts & scratches, but also protect your knees in the tunnels.”

“Remember – this is a military fitness test and you should train like the Marines do. During your training runs, drop and do press-ups, squats and crunches. This will prepare you for the frequent mid-race changes from running to crawling and back again.”

Gosh.