That's better!

Is it really a week since I last posted? I guess I've been busy, sorry.

The really good news is that the sponsorship has been moving ahead really well, and I'm already two thirds of the way to my total - and I haven't even started the challenge yet! I've had amazing support, and I know that there is more to come, so thank you to everyone who has dug deep so far, and to those of you meaning to get round to it, there's really no need to put it off, just log onto my Just Giving page and Bob's your uncle - LOL ;-).

The Cancer Research UK (CRUK) support person in this area, Liz, seems pretty pleased with how I've put things together, and is now looking to get me talking to their press officer to see if we can generate some interest in the 365challenge locally. She reckons that the papers will be interested in the human interest side of my story - what with me being a cancer sufferer in remission and the loss of my sister - but, while I'd like to promote 365challenge and CRUK, I'm a little wary of getting my mug into the papers. But ... it's a good cause, so maybe I could do it. Let's wait and see what the press people have to say.

The other aspect of this challenge is the challenge itself, of course. Last week, after my pathetic 20 length swim, I admit that I was a little concerned at my fitness. But since then, I've been into the gym several times and performed better. I've done a couple of my own version of the 1%ers when it comes to the cycling and the rowing - basically, I thought that if I try to make a point of knocking off at least 1% of the total distances whenever I use the bike or the rowing machine, that would be a good minimum for each visit and make the target very achievable. There will be some days I'll feel like doing more, so over time, I should see these challenges fall into place nicely.

And that's what I've been doing in training, and I'm very pleased with my efforts. I've been covering 16 KM (10 miles) on the bike in about 28 minutes, and 3.5 KM on the rowing machine 15 - 16 minutes, which I'm happy with at this point, but I really hope to see these times come down over the year. As for the swimming, I felt very good today doing a 40 length swim, with my arms only getting tired in the last 100 metres. I think I was inspired by watching the women's 10 KM open water swimming at the Olympics this morning - they were fantastic, arms stroking like metronomes. And what a finish! How hard must it be to lose by 2 seconds after 2 hours of flat-out swimming. Wonderful event ... but don't worry, I'll not be looking to take that on just yet!