Slaying The Beast

I recently set myself a challenge in the name of charity..

   Mission:                                 The London Triathlon, ‘Sprint’ Edition
   Detail:                                    750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run
   Date of acceptance:                7^th August 2012
   Deadline:                               22^nd September 2012
   Objective;                               Raise £400 for Amnesty International
   Timescale until completion:      6 weeks

I originally signed up on a day of much coincidence, maybe one in which charity fundraising reps prey upon impressionable & impulsive fools such as myself. As, within a few hours, I had gone from marvelling at the Brownlee brothers’ Olympic Triathlon triumph to stumbling upon Amnesty's online advert for last-minute entries into the London Triathlon. Suddenly I was but 6 weeks away from my own pop at glory, #inspireageneration and all that hash. So then it began…

6 weeks of fatigue, 6 weeks of excitement, 6 weeks of “I can do this”, 6 weeks of “can I do this?”, 6 weeks of recovery shakes, 6 weeks of baking fundraising cakes, 6 weeks of accumulating the required gear, 6 weeks of "this was a ridiculous idea"…

5 weeks culminating in “f@#k, it’s next week”.

However I became consumed by the whole build-up and all its little victories and challenges...  The perpetual game of Tetris that was fitting in the training around my busy working & social life, the weekly transformation in my physical form & fitness, the harassment of family & friends in chasing their donations, and even recording a cheeky (cheesy) sing-song to bring in the punters!

Sure enough the funds came in via my casual topic-dropping in conversation and the occasional Facebook plea, so much so that I was greatly encouraged to have trickled over the £400 target before the race had begun. So, bags all packed with energy bars, easily-identifiable welsh flag for my transition station (yeah I watched the Youtube hints videos), and Amnesty running vest, I made my way down to London... 

And there it was looming over me; a 750m swim in the crowded, murky waters of the Royal Victoria Dock, followed by a 20km cycle in competition with the mass of uber-bikes around me, and a jelly-legged 5km run to finish it off. 

It was painful. It was exhilarating. It was addictive. 

I managed to slay the beast within 1 hour and 34 minutes, smashing my sub 1hr40m target! And despite uttering the words “never again” on 2 or 3 occasions during the route, I was seduced by the intensity & athletic spirit of the experience and have since joined the Sheffield Triathlon Club. Like I said, addictive..

Posing as #1

However, more importantly, the collection pot for Amnesty is now overflowing at a healthy £457 thanks to your generosity. The offline donations, currently at £116, will be donated to the AI Sheffield branch that I work with, whilst the greater proportion of £340 (plus £75 in Gift Aid) will go to the Trust itself. 

On behalf of myself and Amnesty International, I’d like to say a huge thanks to you all for your support, contributions & hearty donations :)

Much love & appreciation,

Daniel.