Gary Fegan
Ironman madness
Fundraising for Marie Curie
Story
Yeah I know...not another request for your money but...
I thought I'd give triathlon ago...then I got speaking to a few people in London..then I thought may as well go the full hog and now I've committed myself to doing an Ironman. So what is it? Well its a little swim of 2.4 miles (3.8km) followed by a little trip on a bike of 112 miles (180km) then a little jog of a full marathon 26.2 miles (42.2km). On the whole an event that will take over half a day to complete (the cut-off time is 16 hours), will require months of training (many thanks to Ella for letting me do this) and generally push myself to the limit. Yeah, even I'm reconsidering whilst writing this!!! So that's where the charity aspect comes in. Like the Edinburgh marathon I need a reason not to quit and turn off the alarm when it tells me I need to get a 6 mile run in before I go to work and what better charity to help than one that's helped people I've known through their struggle with cancer and giving them dignity and quality of life to the end.
I've set a pretty high target to raise for Marie Curie but this is to stop me just paying the damn thing myself when the going gets tough...and I know it will. So dig deep please and thanks a lot for helping me achieve this goal and at the same time helping others.
Details at www.ironman.ch
Update - Ran Loch Ness marathon (day after 32nd birthday) and had quite an eventful race. Preperation hadn't been to hot due to injury and two weeks holiday. I started off well and finished not so well but still with a PB of 3:22:40. Although I had the syptoms of hypothermia at the end - Got the all clear from the Dr. though. Now to start cycling and swimming practice. Thanks to those who have sponsored me so far.
Completed my 2nd ever triathlon on New Years Day. It went well and I came in a respectable 42nd out of 330 starters. Not to bad considering the 45mph wind, hail and thunder! Completed my 2nd Tough Guy (www.toughguy.co.uk)- see piccy! Did really well this year due to a pretty good start. Next year its fancy dress! Training is going well, up to 80 miles on the bike and currently training for Lochaber marathon on the 24th of April, should be interesting as I plan on cycling up to Fort William from Stirling, then back again the day afterwards. Swimming is coming along but this is by far the most technical aspect of the sport. I thought I could swim before I started all of this....it seems not! UPDATE 26/04/05 Lochaber completed in sub 3:09:20 (37th) which is a PB by 13 minutes woohoo! Cycled up with a couple of nutters on a tandem but after a blistering run in the sunshine I thought it best to take an offered lift on the way back. Right need to work on this cycling now! UPDATE 26/05/05 Well last week saw me break 20 hours training in a week for the first time...it also saw me nearly break my bike and myself after coming off at over 35mph at Meggot reservoir.....thankfully nothing too serious was damaged apart from my pride. Sod's law that it should happen the furthest point from home and take me another 3 hours to get home looking and feeling the worse for wear. Next event is a 1/2 Ironman distance Tri at Bala in Wales followed by the Edinburgh marathon the follwing weekend. Obviously running the marathon on its own is too easy...so I'm planning a 50 mile cycle before the start. I'm beginning to look forward to finishing this for a well earned break and much drunkeness. UPDATE 06/06/05 Completed Bala middle distance (almost 1/2 Ironman) and I can safely say it was the toughest thing I've ever done. The weather was kind after a dreadful day on Saturday. Came in at 4-38.04 86th overall (70th in cat). Very pleased but still ots of work to do. UPDATE 13/06/05 Lots of updates....must be getting close! Ran Edinburgh marathon yesterday in 3:15:55 (second best marathon time) or something but kept it to a long training run apart from the last 2 miles, which I raced with a clubmate. Was very comfortable all the way around and this will be my last big run before the day! UPDATE 01/07/05 It's July - wibble - So it's taper time. This means cutting down the training and letting the body recover from the months of slog. So the mind wants to put in extra training and for the first time you actually have to stop yourself from over-doing it. Wish I'd felt like this 2 months ago. IT'S DONE!!!! An amazing day if a tad warm. in the 33 degree heat of Zurich I finished in 10 hours 48 minutes and change.....Well under my target of 12 hours. A massive thanks to Ella for putting up with this whole rollercoaster for the last year. And thanks to all that have sponsored me.... G
I thought I'd give triathlon ago...then I got speaking to a few people in London..then I thought may as well go the full hog and now I've committed myself to doing an Ironman. So what is it? Well its a little swim of 2.4 miles (3.8km) followed by a little trip on a bike of 112 miles (180km) then a little jog of a full marathon 26.2 miles (42.2km). On the whole an event that will take over half a day to complete (the cut-off time is 16 hours), will require months of training (many thanks to Ella for letting me do this) and generally push myself to the limit. Yeah, even I'm reconsidering whilst writing this!!! So that's where the charity aspect comes in. Like the Edinburgh marathon I need a reason not to quit and turn off the alarm when it tells me I need to get a 6 mile run in before I go to work and what better charity to help than one that's helped people I've known through their struggle with cancer and giving them dignity and quality of life to the end.
I've set a pretty high target to raise for Marie Curie but this is to stop me just paying the damn thing myself when the going gets tough...and I know it will. So dig deep please and thanks a lot for helping me achieve this goal and at the same time helping others.
Details at www.ironman.ch
Update - Ran Loch Ness marathon (day after 32nd birthday) and had quite an eventful race. Preperation hadn't been to hot due to injury and two weeks holiday. I started off well and finished not so well but still with a PB of 3:22:40. Although I had the syptoms of hypothermia at the end - Got the all clear from the Dr. though. Now to start cycling and swimming practice. Thanks to those who have sponsored me so far.
Completed my 2nd ever triathlon on New Years Day. It went well and I came in a respectable 42nd out of 330 starters. Not to bad considering the 45mph wind, hail and thunder! Completed my 2nd Tough Guy (www.toughguy.co.uk)- see piccy! Did really well this year due to a pretty good start. Next year its fancy dress! Training is going well, up to 80 miles on the bike and currently training for Lochaber marathon on the 24th of April, should be interesting as I plan on cycling up to Fort William from Stirling, then back again the day afterwards. Swimming is coming along but this is by far the most technical aspect of the sport. I thought I could swim before I started all of this....it seems not! UPDATE 26/04/05 Lochaber completed in sub 3:09:20 (37th) which is a PB by 13 minutes woohoo! Cycled up with a couple of nutters on a tandem but after a blistering run in the sunshine I thought it best to take an offered lift on the way back. Right need to work on this cycling now! UPDATE 26/05/05 Well last week saw me break 20 hours training in a week for the first time...it also saw me nearly break my bike and myself after coming off at over 35mph at Meggot reservoir.....thankfully nothing too serious was damaged apart from my pride. Sod's law that it should happen the furthest point from home and take me another 3 hours to get home looking and feeling the worse for wear. Next event is a 1/2 Ironman distance Tri at Bala in Wales followed by the Edinburgh marathon the follwing weekend. Obviously running the marathon on its own is too easy...so I'm planning a 50 mile cycle before the start. I'm beginning to look forward to finishing this for a well earned break and much drunkeness. UPDATE 06/06/05 Completed Bala middle distance (almost 1/2 Ironman) and I can safely say it was the toughest thing I've ever done. The weather was kind after a dreadful day on Saturday. Came in at 4-38.04 86th overall (70th in cat). Very pleased but still ots of work to do. UPDATE 13/06/05 Lots of updates....must be getting close! Ran Edinburgh marathon yesterday in 3:15:55 (second best marathon time) or something but kept it to a long training run apart from the last 2 miles, which I raced with a clubmate. Was very comfortable all the way around and this will be my last big run before the day! UPDATE 01/07/05 It's July - wibble - So it's taper time. This means cutting down the training and letting the body recover from the months of slog. So the mind wants to put in extra training and for the first time you actually have to stop yourself from over-doing it. Wish I'd felt like this 2 months ago. IT'S DONE!!!! An amazing day if a tad warm. in the 33 degree heat of Zurich I finished in 10 hours 48 minutes and change.....Well under my target of 12 hours. A massive thanks to Ella for putting up with this whole rollercoaster for the last year. And thanks to all that have sponsored me.... G