Mission Complete!

When I woke this morning for the start of day 3, everything hurt and I knew the day was going to be tough.  The last 5 miles of the run was pretty excruciating with swelling in my hip from 3 solid days of running.  It was a great relief to get to Ryde and get into the water to do something other than running.

The swim went really well, although we were pulled off course by the tide a little adding an extra 0.4 miles to the total distance and testing the skills of the watersports team who corrected our course and kept us safe.

Today as we finally walked back up the beach at Stokes Bay, I was in awe of how many people had come down to the beach to support us.  I could hear their cheers from the water and it really spurred us on, so thank you all.

Again I cant thank the support team enough for the work they have put in, not just in the last 3 days, but in the 9 months leading up to the event, you helped us make it the great success it was.  We not only raised a huge amount of money for the charity but also raised the profile of pancreatic cancer.

You have my total gratitude

Kindest regards,

Martyn

Great Wight Attack – Day 2,

Hi all, just a quick update on todays events. Day 2 was a 30 mile endurance run round the hills of the isle.

We set off a 10.30am, from blackgang chine in the pouring rain but the sun was out within the hour as was the suncream making for another hot day.

By mile 4 my Achilles had started to flare up which was frustrating having got through day 1 with no problems. A couple of ibuprofen later and it seemed to settle down to a manageable level.

We passed through the needles (Alum Bay) at around mile 14 where there was an announcement about the event which was great publicity for the charity and many people donated money to the cause.

The last 10 miles, was the most difficult I have ever run as everything was hurting at this point but I was spurred on by people in there cars beeping and waving who had seen the tv coverage.

We were over the moon to reach the finish in Newport square and get back to the hotel for food and treatment.

Time for bed now….need some shuteye before the swim run tomorrow.

Martyn

The Great Wight Attack is here!

Today we started off on the challenge we began planning 9 months ago.

We had a great swim across to the island with very good sea conditions (though at one point the island definitely wasn’t getting any closer!)

The run was tough with the first half in the baking heat, and the last few miles…..felt like I had swim the solent….so pretty tired and achey.

I am now about to hit the hay to recharge ready for tomorrows 30 mile run.

Thanks to everyone who came to our send off, I felt immensely proud at how much support everyone has given.

Martyn

Thanks for your support

Now we are so close to the event, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has supported both us and the event.  I know my Dad would have been proud with how much we have achieved.  I hope you will all be there to see us off on our big departure and (hopefully safe) arrival home.

Kindest regards,

Martyn

10 Days to go!

The rollercoaster ride that is the Great Wight Attack continues.  We had another (and final) training swim in the Itchen on Monday (11/07) evening.  In addition to this, the documentary guys John and Steve were filming  us (so no pressure to perform then! :o)

Im hoping that the swim training I have done over the previous months will all come together on the day and then all I have to do is grit my teeth for the run.  I tried a 4 mile easy run to test out the injury a couple of days ago and it held together, but now its cotton wool time as there isnt enough time to build up the distance without risking further injury.

Fingers crossed as in 10 days its the real deal! 

Thanks again so much to the team at the Watersports centre and the support team as well as the documentary guys for their help.

Martyn

Ups and Downs

As the organisation for the event has been coming together in the last couple of months, the training for the event has been a real rollercoaster ride.  Swimming is still going well (a couple of hours in the sea last night was again good for building confidence. 

The run has taken a dive again with more problems with my left ankle, although the achilles problem is currently not an issue, I have torn a muscle in my lower left calf which is now strapped up.  With 3 weeks to go,this means I most likely have to go to plan B…..NO RUN TRAINING before the event, hope it heals and turn up on the day……hmmm I have had better strategies!

Swimming in the River Itchen

Its been another busy week for the Great Wight Attack Team.  This Monday and Tuesday Dave and I swam with the Watersports RIB support team in the River Itchen.  We covered 2 Nautical miles on Monday and 3 on Tuesday.  This is great news as its a good benchmark that our swim fitness is making good progress.  In addition to this we now are set up with critical signals for during the event.  Many thanks to the Watersports team for their help and support in making this aspect of the event a success.

Getting close now!

Its only 6 weeks til launch day now, I can’t believe where the time has gone.   Another busy week coming up with 2 controlled RIB swims in the River Itchen, more physiotherapy and a comittee meeting.   I have been back running a couple of weeks now trying to build up some distance and it really is hard going.  Ive never trained for anything so tough with such a short period of time…. the clock is now well and truly ticking!

Testing the water!

On Tuesday, Dave and I had our first opportunity for a training swim off the coast of Stokes Bay with the support crafts (both Kayak and RIB).  This meant a fairly brutal 1.4 Nautical mile swim in choppy and chilly conditions (Spring tide).

It also gave us the chance to work on our signals and communication with the support crew, as controlling the risks in this kind of event is critical just in case things go awry.

On the achilles front, I have now completed a couple of short runs and am still undergoing physio, a long way to go but so far so good.

Its all about the treatment.

Not updated for a while but things have been really busy.  I have been having lots or treatment for the achilles injury including scans, physio and even biomechanical testing.   Diagnosis is achilles tendinopthy (inflamed achilles tendon), Now all the tests are done, Im hoping to start some light running.  Fingers crossed as I have a long way to go. 

On the plus side, staying off the running has meant I have been focussing on the swimming and its going well.  More open water sessions needed though, its such a shame they closed the lake at Eastleigh.