Weekend of pain DAY THREE

I woke up with sore legs and not much energy - I think it's safe to say a 2 mile swim and a 10k is not the best way to prepare for a triathlon..... 

The sun was out in the Forest of Dean!

Despite the sun being out the water was still pretty cold!!! Argh

I enjoyed the swim- a couple of laps of mallards pike was lovely! I was in the front 5 for the swim and came out in a good position 

Getting out of my wetsuit and onto my bike took a bit longer than expected but I got on ready for a 22.5km cycle. 

It was SO HILLY!!! Oooooph! My legs were already feeling destroyed and at some points I considered hopping off my bike and pushing it up the hill! But I didn't. I got over taken by quite a few people. I really need to work on my cycle...

Getting off the bike my legs felt so wobbly like jelly! But I was determined to get in front of the people who had overtaken me on the bike! 

I got into a rhythm and just went for it. My legs had nothing left in them but I managed to get back in front of a few people. 

I did an extremely cheeky overtake the the final few metres! And right when I crossed the line I thought I was going to throw up...... 

But I DID IT!!!! Wahoooo!!!! I came third in the swim and run but lost it in the cycle sadly! I was 8th female- should have done a lot better. Should have done more cycling training!

 I am now going to have a massive roast lunch and sit on the sofa. 

Thank you soooo much to everyone who sponsored me! You are the best and the only thing that has kept me positive. Macmillan is an ace charity and you should feel super proud of yourselves for giving to them. 

https://www.justgiving.com/Jessica-Verrall

Also- a massive thank you to the family and Craig who drove me around and fed me and looked after me! You guys are the best xx

Weekend of pain DAY TWO

I'm feeling pretty tired today- making sure I am hydrated and full of carbs. This is me hanging out with our cat who also just wants to put her feet up and chill out

I have also been carbo loading which is the best: here's lunch

The weather today has been quite overcast and a lot cooler than yesterday but that is perfect for running. We arrived at Wimbledon Common with our numbers and the sun came out 

Here are the supporters!! 

We did a quick warm up:

And then we were off!!

My legs were feeling a bit tired after the swim but I felt alright

Craig was running with me for solidarity and safe to say he didn't finish out of breath at all and could have done it much faster! 

We had a bit of a struggle around km 6 because the sign pointed the wrong way and we got a bit lost.... We got back on track but it added a bit to our route. OOOPS! 

The run was very pretty through Wimbledon common but was quite hilly! There was a hill called the hill of doom.... Grim 

Anyway- all was fine and we finished in 51 minutes (would have been under 50 of we hadn't got lost...) 

I was the fourth woman!!!

My legs are soreeee now!!! Trying to rest and hydrate before tomorrow's triathlon

Weekend of pain DAY ONE

The weather was absolutely beautiful in Windermere today! The temperature outside was about 25 degrees Celsius and in the water was 17!! Balmy

Nerves were increasing as I saw the 5km swimmers finishing their waves and staggering out of the water... But there was nothing to do but put my wetsuit on and get on with it

We had to get acclimatised to the water and did a little swim in a small bit of the lake- I put my face in and got used to the cold. But it was sooo much warmer than swimming in Scotland! 

The fastest people were told to go to the front and they all ran into the water at the start horn. I hung back a bit not wanting to get kicked in the face! 

The swim was amazing- it wasn't too cold and there were no waves. It was amazing to look up for a breath and see the hills all around. I didn't take a very direct route to the bouys.... I swam on the outer circle of the course to avoid people which probably meant I swam further than strictly necessary! 

I just swam the first lap at an easy

pace and decided that I would push myself for the second lap. I really pushed with my legs and tried to make my stroke long and efficient. I did bursts of sprinting in the final 600 metres and tried to beat the people around me! By the end I was wishing I could do another lap! 

Coming out of the water was really strange... I felt very dizzy and my legs were a bit wobbly

It was a great feeling of achievement! This time 9 months ago I couldn't have swum 200 metres without stopping, let alone 2 miles/3.2km! 

I didn't quite make it under an hour but I am very happy with my time! Next time I'll break the hour!! 

I am totally exhausted now but very happy- 10k tomorrow!!! Let's gooooo!!!! 

Work special

 

Running

Since about November 2014 I have been for 1 (or sometimes 2 or 3) lunch time runs per week. That adds up to 30+ runs!  The work running club (comprising primarily of Mamils) has a standard route around a nearby park which is just over 5 kms...

As you can see we have been for runs in all kinds of wind, rain, sun and even hail!

 

I have to say that these runs haven't always been as easy as I have made out... I always pretend that we are going really slowly and I can run much faster - truthfully I don't think I can run much faster! We have done some pretty fast 5ks and they have been perfect training for the running part of my triathlon. 

 

The park we run around!

Lunch runs are my favourite part of my day (unless its raining) and they have been a really fun part of training!

 

Cycles

On Monday 18 May the CLO cycle club ventured out to South Queensferry.  It was a lovely afternoon before we got on the bikes...... Once on the bikes and on National Cycle Route 1 the heavens opened and we got rained and hailed on.
 

 

We took refuge under a bridge and waited for the worst of the hail to stop - it was so painful! Imagine hundreds of smarties being thrown at you and that is exactly what it felt like.

 

After a few more bouts of rain the weather improved and it was sunny all the way. 

 

 

We cycled through Dalmeny Estate, along beautiful beaches and through woods.  We saw little lambs running around!

We finally reached the Forth Road Bridge and celebrated with a pub dinner! It was a good 40km cycle. 

One lunch time we cycled from work to Portobello for lunch.  The weather this time was lovely! A bit windy but super sunny.  The whole cycle was 15km.  The wind was behind us on the way but when we turned back, full of lunch, we had to cycle into a big headwind the whole way.  It was still great to get outside in the sunshine and get racing on the bike.

 

 

Netball

Eleanor and I have played netball at Go Mammoth league in Edinburgh. It was super fun to play netball again! And Eleanor is a star shooter. I didn't want to play too much in case I injured an ankle.
But I had a great time anyway.

Eleanor ran the Edinburgh marathon on Sunday - and nailed it! Woop! Go her!

Swimming

Tuesday nights = swimming nights!

I have only been a few times but it has been super fun to swim with these babes.  I think it's safe to say we look better without goggles...

 

 

 

PLANK OFF

 

I have been pretty chatty about how good I am at planks - so one day I took on registry to see who is the champion once and for all.   

 

Here we are all ready to go:

 

 

After 38 seconds Lynne was out (although we had only just taught her how to do a plank)

 

 

Ali stayed in for an impressive 1 minute 27 before collapsing

 

 

 

 

That left just Michael and me - my shoulders and abs were screaming and shaking uncontrollably and I only managed to stick in there for 2 minutes 22... Should have done some practice!

 

Michael won with a heroic time of 4 minutes 2 seconds before giving in:

 

 

I think it's safe to say the world record holder (5 hours 15 minutes) is safe for now: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ex-marine-sets-new-record-longest-held-plank-position-article-1.2244908

 

 

 

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I have really enjoyed work this year and everyone has been very generous with sponsorship - so thank you very much!

Also everyone has also given me lots of cake and chocolate to fuel me on with training and looked after me when my muscles have been really sore.

 

I will miss everyone lots

 

 https://www.justgiving.com/Jessica-Verrall

 

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