Week 9

Week 9.

Date	Miles	KM	Time	Avg Pace (Min /Mile)	Avg MPH	Elev Gain (Mtr)	Elev Loss (Mtr)	Calories	HR Zone	Avg HR
26th Feb	5.00	8.05	00:55:48	11:09	5.4	119	116	650	2	147
27th Feb	Rest day
28th Feb	Rest day
29th Feb	11.00	17.70	02:04:17	11:17	5.3	312	328	1304	2	145
1st Mar	Rest day
2nd Mar	5.00	8.05	00:53:33	10:42	5.6	116	101	677	3	154
3rd Mar	Rest day
Week 9	21.00	33.80	03:53:34			547	545	2,631
Week 8	27.43	44.14	05:02:31			421	416	3,176
Week 7	35.87	57.73	06:41:54			829	927	4,444
Week 6	24.82	39.94	04:36:11			395	443	2,830
Week 5	27.70	44.58	05:24:26			671	656	3,235
Week 4	31.50	50.69	06:11:56			806	831	3,528
Week 3	36.50	58.74	06:58:54			873	825	4,390
Week 2	29.70	47.82	05:37:20			629	621	3,720
Week 1	30.00	48.28	05:51:27			629	580	3,633
TOTAL	264.52	425.72	2 days 02:18:13			5,800	5,844	31,587
To go	985.48	1,590.28

I spent last weekend doing a house clearance so only managed 3 sessions again, and unfortunately due to the awful weather the rest of the week I didn't quite hit my weekly target average of 24 miles.

I got absolutely drenched on Monday night while on one of my regular 11 mile loops, to the point that when I got home and opened my coat pocket about half a pint of water came rushing out! 

Conscious of the miles, I headed out again on Wednesday for a short 5 miles and got battered left right and centre by the strong winds, but at least it was dry!

I was hoping to do a quick 5k on Thursday just to hit my weekly target but this time we had strong winds and rain, so I threw the towel in and opted for the sofa instead.

I have generally been quite lucky over the weekends and from around 6pm during the week, but I think last week was the worst weather wise.

The good news is I am still ahead of my 2016 challenge target, and the even better news is there are now less than 1000 miles to go.  Yipee!

During this weeks wet and windy walks I reflected a lot on the second part of my 2016 challenge, to try and raise £2016 for local charity Finley's tracks. 

We all take walking for granted, and while I may have struggled to walk for a few hours through the torrential rain and strong winds it's nothing compared to what Finley and other children suffering from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy go through day after day.

I haven't really thought through how I will go about trying to raise the money, but I don't want to leave it all until the end of the year.

My main events for the rest of this year are:

24th April   Fireman's Walk              31 Miles
14th May    Rotterdam                       50 Miles
18th June    Parish Walk                    85 Miles
14th Aug    Isle of Man Marathon     26.2 Miles 
24th Sept    New York Centurion      100 Miles

I decided to enter the 50 mile race in Rotterdam rather than just do another 50k 3 weeks after the Fireman's.  My mouse hovered over the distance selection box for quite some time, and not just while I decided between 50k or 50 miles but while I decided between 50 and 100 miles!!

I know I have made the right choice because I can't risk any injury for New York even it is 4 months later.

I know I could equally get injured in the Parish which only gives me 3 months to recover, but the difference is I have more experience of the Parish so if something isn't right on the day then hopefully I will have the sense to stop, whereas Rotterdam is an unknown to me. 

Moreover, if I am away from home and racing a new event for the first time I am more likely to ignore common sense and push past a possible injury rather than retire.

Anyway, it's unlikely that I will try and raise sponsorship for each individual event because people will soon get fed up if I keep asking for money every month, although I may make an exception for the USA Centurion.

For now I have setup a just giving page which you can find here:

https://www.justgiving.com/StewJones2016/

I would be very grateful for any type of donation throughout the year, either a one off or a smaller amount after a particular event. 

I'd also like to thank everyone who has already pledged to donate so far, with the most common being 1p per mile, optionally capped at £20.16 :-)

Finally I would just like to add that, unlike other fund raising events, 100% of all donations are for Finley's tracks and you are in no way funding my trip to Rotterdam or New York.

Thank you in advance.