I accidently stumbled upon the idea of doing a full ironman in a brief conversation I had with a friend at football. He suggested entering a team to do the Outlaw Ironman event in Nottingham, with the pretence of someone doing the swim; he would do the bike leg and I would do the run. I thought about it for a couple of days and in my head it was really appealing. Within a week I had bought a bike and decided I would like to have a go at doing the full event myself instead of just the run! My rationale was the standard “marathon” would be too “easy”......... My friends and family think I am mad for entering especially after showing off my swimming skills on a recent holiday. My family witnessed the hilarious 50 metres followed by me nearly drowning at the end, just 3,750 metres short of the required distance on the day......! 

Not only is doing the above slightly crazy, it is expensive! Ironman Triathletes are without doubt some of the fittest, mentally tough people you will come across in the world. At elite level they can complete the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run in under 9 hours. It is simply astounding the dedication these people have and the prize money and funding across the UK is shocking in comparison to the dedication and time required to be an Ironman athlete.

That said I am not raising money for Ironman UK, I am taking on this huge challenge looking to raise money for a charity in my local community called Ashgate Hospice. All costs of doing the event are covered by me so 100% of the donations go to Ashgate. Any sponsorship of any amount would be greatly appreciated by Ashgate Hospice and the patients they are caring for. Ashgate Hospice does an amazing job making life as comfortable as possible for people in palliative care. It costs the Independent charity around £5m a year to run, so relies heavily on people fundraising and making donations; approximately £3M or 60% of the funding per year is generated this way. The pain and suffering I will have to endure in the coming 4 months and on the actual day is nothing in comparison to what the patients and the families of patients go through day to day, so please donate whatever you can.

You can read more about the charity here http://www.ashgatehospice.org/about_us.php

For those who don’t know what an ironman is let me try and elaborate.

The event consists of a 2.4 mile swim dwarfing the 50 metre performance I produced above, the more terrifying though is entering the water with 1500 samurai looking warriors in wetsuits who will not simply let you swim but wrestle for every inch of space you try and gain thinking nothing of simply swimming over the top of you and potentially drowning you in the process; I am terrified of doing this particular part!

After that 1 ½ to 2 hours of unadulterated pleasure, we enter the bike leg; a nice steady 112 miles. I was of the opinion cycling is “easy” and it would simply be a necessary evil before the real manly run at the end. Oh how I was in for a shock. After picking up my brand new road bike, and dressed in all my brand new expensive lycra gear (yes i am now part of the bike w**ker gang) hopped on and clipped into the infamous “clipless pedals” and set off on the streets of Sheffield like Bradley Wiggins on Mont Ventoux, anyway I zoomed up my first hill feeling good only to be greeted by a red light, no problem I will just unclip......... Panic....... Funny body movements........  Bang....... I had graciously gone bum over face within 500 metres of my cycling debut; lying at the traffic lights with my feet clipped in, the bike upside down I can only imagine the van drivers delight and laughing behind me, I was simply thinking if only my friends and family could see me now! So 111.7 miles short of the required distance in my first outing was a sign of very “easy” things to come!

After the 112 mile bike ride flying into the transition area when I am sure by this point my backside and bike will be in the spiritual sense “as one” I will dump all the bike gear and after a quick change into the suitable running attire set off on the nice steady 26.2 mile run. Only now after a few 1 hour runs (where I come back drained and flake out on the sofa) do I realise just how far the “easy” 26.2 miles actually is! Running is mind numbingly endless; 10 minutes can feel like 60 minutes, and when you run and run after doing the delights above can you begin to comprehend just difficult this particular spontaneous moment of madness will be.

You can see my training progress here

http://www.strava.com/athletes/zach_law 

See event details here

http://www.onestepbeyond.org.uk/the-outlaw-triathlon.php

You can also donate via

Text IRNM85 £2 /£5 / £10 to 70070 to donate now. eg IRNM85 £5