On the 1st September 2013 I set myself the challenge of rowing one million metres, today I made a breakthrough and reached 500,000!
I thought I might be further on than this by now, however Im still pleased. The planned finish date of 1st April is looking unlikely but we’ll see.
2013 proved to be another good year in terms racing and pushing the boundaries of my physical limit.
2013 started with White Cliffs 100 in March, a hard race which I was pleased to finish.
Next up in April was the 24hr 24 mile swim at Guildford Lido, not particulary liking swimming this event was always going to challenge me, I found the training challenging and at times I struggled to keep the motivation to get to the swimming pool. A great event which is only staged every two years, I can say that now because I finished, no doubt my thoughts may have been different if the result was different!
July saw me finish the Thames Ring 250 mile run, again another event that is only staged every two years, with rumours flying round that 2013 maybe the last year, I had to enter. My body was a wreck by the time I had finished, the only word I can use to describe this race is “destructive”. An awesome achievement which is definitly amongst my most proudest moments.
Two weeks after the Thames Ring I was racing the MidnightMan Iron distance triathlon, mentally I wasnt in the right place to take on this challenge, before the start of the race I said to my wife I would get to the run and complete two laps of eight if I wasnt feeling it I would pull out. The weather was really bad which resulted in alot of the field pulling out on the bike, I did my two laps and called it a day. There was no real reason for the DNF other than not wanting to finish badly enough.
August – Agood friend and I completed an Indoor Double Ironman for charity, 7600m Row, 224 miles on a turbo trainer and 52 miles on a treadmill, this was a long old slog but we raised a fair amount of money for a worthwhile cause, Wiltshire Air Ambulance
Months August through to December saw a period of recovery and a new sort of training. With the intention to take part in the Devize to Westminister Canoe race in 2014 I started kayak training with Mike Trew, meeting up once a week for a paddle on the river. I also set myself the target of rowing One Million Metres on the Concept 2 Rower. Our first kayak race took place, The Stour Descent which suprisingly we finished in first place in the Touring Canoe class.
The rowing on the Concept 2 rower is still going strong, to date I have completed 425,000 metres, I have a target finish date of 1st April 2014.
There it is a snap shot of my year, races for 2014 are still being thought about and I will be posting my intentions shortly.
Chris Ette 