tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63122213387189693532024-02-06T20:39:28.104-08:00Sarah and Ellie Do The OlympicsWe're trying all 114 women's Olympic events in the four years between London and RioAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-70747635857987839732016-08-27T04:29:00.001-07:002016-08-27T04:29:04.319-07:00114. Steeplechase<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Steeplechase </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 21st August 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Colchester Harriers Athletics Club</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: Free </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Steeplechase is an obsticle race around a running track over a distance of 3000m and gets it's name from the horse racing event. In the women's competition, five hurdles 30 inches high are placed around the track. One hurdle is located in front of a water jump through which athletes travel. The hurdles are much sturdier than normal hurdles and don't fall over if hit. Athletes can use the hurdles to step on to help jumping over. Over the course of a race. athletes tackle 28 hurdles and seven water jumps. The winner is the fastest competitor over the line. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 9:08.37 (3000m), Habiba Ghribi, Tunisia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 10:47.23 (1500m) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 17:24.10 (1500m) </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.19px; line-height: 18.47px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: Somehow, after four years and 113 events, we found ourselves on the date of our deadline, and up at the track for our final event! In true 114 Olympic Games style, things didn't go smoothly; despite our coach Chris' best intentions, someone drained the water out of the water jump, so we were left with a deep, slippery slope to drop in to and climb up! We ran our Steeplechase over half the Olympic distance, and it was a really enjoyable event to go out on! We were helped round by two of the Harriers, and it was fun clambering over the solid hurdles and into the water drop. We had friends and family there to cheer us on, and it was a really fun way to end our Challenge! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><i>Ellie: </i>OUR LAST EVENT! This is such an odd feeling, to be writing up our last event. It feels so unreal! I'm really glad to be with the Harriers for this as we've been working with them for a great deal of the athletics during our challenge. The steeplechase is a real test of endurance involving a 3000m race, hurdles (that are really solid and would be very sore to mistime) and water (very slippy surface even without the proper water levels!). It was so nice to have some guidance from Eliza and Luke today and to have our long-term coach, Chris, there too. We also had friends at the track to cheer us on, which was lovely. So what now? A new challenge? Well, in the short term, we're off to the pub!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Huge thanks to Chris and the Harriers for all the help and support they've given us during the Challenge! </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-20199520517366230132016-08-24T10:58:00.003-07:002016-08-26T10:25:02.813-07:00113. Marathon<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Marathon </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 15th September 2013 and 14th - 18th August 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: The Essex Way & 2012 Olympic route</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: Free </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The marathon is raced over 26.2 miles on a street course. The athlete to complete the course in the fastest time wins.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 2:23:07, Tiki Gelana, Ethiopia. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 8:40:00 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 10:37.00</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.19px; line-height: 18.47px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: When we started this challenge, I thought it would be easy to find time within the four years to train and run a marathon. Alas, life, work and the little matter of 113 other events got in the way and after two operations on my leg last year, I had to accept it wasn't going to happen. Luckily back in 2013, one year after Rio, I went mad and decided to walk 26.2 miles one day. I'd had it in mind to do for a while, so got up early one morning and dragging Greg along with me, headed to the Essex Way. The route runs 82 miles from Epping to Harwich, and I drew up a 26.2 mile section from Aldham to Harwich. Things started really well. In fact for the first 13 miles everything was going smoothly and we were really enjoying it, making excellent time! We'd had a couple of hiccups with wrong directions but quickly righted our paths. Then the erratic signposts disappeared completely, our map-reading let us down and we found ourselves on a five mile detour. With perfect timing, the rain started pouring, the aches set in and our spirits sank. Luckily I'd borrowed a Garmain watch, so I could keep track of the distance or I would have had no idea how far we'd traveled! We finally got back on track, soaking wet and just wanted to get the damn thing finished. There were a couple more unintentional detours, but we eventually got to the imaginary finish line. With all the detours, we didn't make it to Harwich, and actually finished in Mistley. It was certainly an experience, and I was more than a little hobbly the next day. I still hope that one day I might run a marathon...maybe the training will be more realistic to fit in without the other 113 events! </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><i>Ellie: </i>I always knew that to run or to walk the marathon in one go would be far beyond my capabilities. After the <a href="http://sarahandelliedotheolympics.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/50-20k-race-walk.html" target="_blank">Race Walk</a> I found it difficult to walk for a week so I knew I had to modify my approach for this event so that the same didn't happen again. I chose to walk the 2012 marathon route, which is really picturesque, over 5 consecutive days. It was a lot more manageable than I expected and although not something I'd want to do regularly, it was a really nice way to see the city and get a bit of 'fresh' air and exercise. It is also so inexpensive as exercise and sightseeing goes! Above is my silly face - one mugshot for every mile - including some helpful walkers along the way - Elaine and John, Wellington, Justice and the Queen Mother to name but a few! </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-50890411741501691152016-08-14T04:03:00.000-07:002016-08-14T04:03:28.697-07:00112. 800m Freestyle<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: 800m Freestyle </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 10th August 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: London Aquatics Centre</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £4.50 each</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Competitors swim 16 lengths of freestyle as fast as possible. Some part of the swimmer must touch the wall at the end of each length and at the finish. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 8:14.63, Katie Ledecky, USA.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 29:00.00 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 26:20.00</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.19px; line-height: 18.47px;"><span style="font-family: "arial";"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: Our final trip to the Olympic pool for the Challenge, and it was a big one; the 800m Freestyle. We both decided to give warm ups a miss and just get on with it. We dove in and got stuck in for the next half hour. At points I felt like I was pretty much stationary, and I kept getting preoccupied by a niggling pain in my hand. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I was thinking about; mainly trying to concentrate on keeping my breathing even and not bashing in to other swimmers. I'm pleased coming in under 30 minutes, and can't quite believe we're now done with the swimming! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><i>Ellie: </i>That's our final swimming event ticked off and, for some reason, it feels like a particular mile stone. I've loved swimming all my life and this was a great event to finish on. it's a significant distance but easily achievable in an evening. I feel really powerful in the water - my size and my disability don't effect me as much as on dry land and I can feel the progress I'm making. I seemed to be in the zone tonight and I'm super proud of my time. I even got to change into the medium speed lane which I've never done before!</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-84109818256068898842016-08-14T03:59:00.001-07:002016-08-18T12:16:28.769-07:00111. Triathlon<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Triathlon </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 15th July 2016 (Ellie) & 29th July 2016 (Sarah) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Queen Elizabeth Park, Stratford (Ellie) & Various locations around Colchester (Sarah)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: Free swim, £2 for the Santander bike, Free 'run' (Ellie). £4.90 swim, free cycle and run (Sarah).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Triathlon is a multi-disciplined event, with three stages linked by transitions. The order of the events is; swim, cycle, run. The length of each stage can change depending on the event, but the Olympic distances are always; 1500m swim, 40K cycle and 10K run. The fastest athlete to complete the overall course is the winner. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBGLxnrHHAAekOK6ny82jUWFAk8sKIofRsx4o1Z5ha3A3pONfjYsa4aHdnUTadgCuIDNaZap4RL3pLG7ksUrxXleE9xun6EMhyphenhyphengFbYPzPsLBp-D5VZAeucL8svNLwU-3bnX8I0ldybeMl/s1600/WP_20160729_09_32_11_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBGLxnrHHAAekOK6ny82jUWFAk8sKIofRsx4o1Z5ha3A3pONfjYsa4aHdnUTadgCuIDNaZap4RL3pLG7ksUrxXleE9xun6EMhyphenhyphengFbYPzPsLBp-D5VZAeucL8svNLwU-3bnX8I0ldybeMl/s200/WP_20160729_09_32_11_Pro.jpg" width="169" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swim</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZxISg_rV0TS6OcA5igZvQAEbDFqUQj3SqxtME9n7S5RNxPMdiCH-_HQibzTHvU3Zv-IhLZkkjWHWDSfrdjDG1lLkWSDMTjlZ9YabxAQBBKi2iCxYL0kaiCSpxec9_lENzdnxTVHEEVwg/s1600/WP_20160729_10_54_10_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZxISg_rV0TS6OcA5igZvQAEbDFqUQj3SqxtME9n7S5RNxPMdiCH-_HQibzTHvU3Zv-IhLZkkjWHWDSfrdjDG1lLkWSDMTjlZ9YabxAQBBKi2iCxYL0kaiCSpxec9_lENzdnxTVHEEVwg/s200/WP_20160729_10_54_10_Pro.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycle</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYWEN5T471WwXWL-sHy2Boz1CUcafRe_VDVzNNemVBpwRkgZ8HkIM1tFAYmu_zvra-dWfCd0NZQdGBpEvlFzKwBlnh2yvroSYZ3f8tlzFv6J6ojJnNMHUdffcVAQw92U4DarRzeP4gitr/s1600/WP_20160729_12_22_59_Pro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYWEN5T471WwXWL-sHy2Boz1CUcafRe_VDVzNNemVBpwRkgZ8HkIM1tFAYmu_zvra-dWfCd0NZQdGBpEvlFzKwBlnh2yvroSYZ3f8tlzFv6J6ojJnNMHUdffcVAQw92U4DarRzeP4gitr/s200/WP_20160729_12_22_59_Pro.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Run</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUircuCO8uXP-gI5Iv0NsMf3qyqWYXQo0vkuPFFjKofhOcCpdl-vger03IhtWVUQtL9qTOIlPrk0kXAx6GKAk7C79k2WYYlGRTm5Cm0Cb1T4EXuszeH_3OTUGjbHO8q4m_YZlTOnkfjcdJ/s1600/PhotoGrid_1468622925702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUircuCO8uXP-gI5Iv0NsMf3qyqWYXQo0vkuPFFjKofhOcCpdl-vger03IhtWVUQtL9qTOIlPrk0kXAx6GKAk7C79k2WYYlGRTm5Cm0Cb1T4EXuszeH_3OTUGjbHO8q4m_YZlTOnkfjcdJ/s320/PhotoGrid_1468622925702.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cycling around the Olympic Park and Victoria Park</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking through the Olympic Park</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nicola Spirig, Switzerland. 1:59.48 - Olympic Distance - 1500m Swim, 40K Cycle, 10K Run.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our Results:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 2:17.25 - Sprint Distance - 750m Swim, 20K Cycle, 5K Run.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 1:50.00 - Super Sprint Distance - 400m Swim, 10K Cycle, 3K 'Run'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: How much training is required for a sprint triathlon? Well, it turns out if you're not bothered about your time, then not a lot! This was hard, but I was expecting that after not putting in very much preperation. I even forgot to get any energy snacks or isotonic drinks, so ended up doing my Triathlon on a bowl of Cheerios. I was least looking forward to the swim, but it turned out to be my favourite stage, and I felt completely pumped when I got out the pool. The swim to cycle transition wasn't too bad, but my legs started to feel a bit wobbly during the cycle. I eventually finished, locked my bike up and attempted to run. Oh wow, the transition from cycle to run was <i>so</i> hard! My legs felt like they were made out of concrete, and it took about a mile for them to settle down. The middle section of the run was a slog, but the endorphins kicked in again on my way home, and I finished the race feeling euphoric. Then sick. And it took me about three hours to cool down to any kind of normal temperature. This was a big one, and I feel really proud having completed it. As the Challenge draws to a close, I'm wary of commiting to any other sporting events for a while, but I could definitely see myself returning to this one, but maybe doing a bit more training next time.... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: I have invented a new type of Triathlon, it is called the leisure triathlon. I wanted to complete my triathlon in the Olympic Park; I live so close and definitely don't take advantage of it being on my doorstep. So I started with a lovely swim in the Olympic Pool - realising again that I am so much quicker if I don't move my legs. Then I borrowed a Santander bike and had one of the most pleasant and pain free cycles of recent times around the park and into Victoria Park. I then completed my run (walk obvs) by walking home. I managed to pick a really lovely evening, I chatted to people, heard the musicians at Lovebox in Victoria Park, saw bats, rode past my old house and petted a Chihuahua. I would highly recommend a similar activity to anyone looking for some low-impact sport and the combination of sports meant I didn't get bored with any one activity; the cycling gave me time to explore my neighbourhood in a low-impact way. I'd really like to do a proper super sprint triathlon now and get a medal given to me rather than buying myself one from eBay.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-78255438904832486202016-08-06T05:53:00.001-07:002016-08-06T05:53:35.122-07:00110. Track Cycling - Omnium<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Track Cycling - Omnium </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 17th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Preston Park Velodrome </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £70.00 each for the session (five events) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Omnium consists of six events with a points-based placing system. It's usually held over two days. The events are:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1. Flying Lap: individual time trial over 250m with a 'flying start'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2. Points Race: 20K points race with scoring for intermediate sprints and for lapping the pack. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3. Elimination Race: the last rider over the start-line every two laps is eliminated until one remains. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4. Individual Pursuit: ridden over 3K.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5. Scratch Race: over 10K, all riders compete to be the first over the line. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6. Time Trial: over 500m, two riders start on opposite sides of the track, and ride at once.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Flying Lap</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Points Race</span></div>
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Time Trial</div>
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Elimination Race</div>
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Individual Pursuit</div>
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Scratch Race</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: Laura Trott, Great Britain. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: We left the small matter of the Omnium to last; an event that in itself has six sub-events. By this point in the day,we were pretty knackered, but we dug in and I really enjoyed this intense event! My favourites were probably the Flying Lap and Elimination Race. By the time we got to the Scratch Race, my legs were getting so tired and I had to force myself to keep pushing as much as possible. What an amazing day we had on the track! I bloody love cycling, and the whole day was so much fun. It really gave us insight into the skill and tactics involved in all these event, and I can't wait to watch the track cycling in Rio, understanding a little bit more about what's going on! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: Although, not my favourite events I've really enjoyed today. Getting all of our friends together and doing something out of the ordinary is really lovely and I'll remember it for a long time. It also reminded me of when Sarah and I went to Amsterdam at the very beginning of our challenge and spent a day cycling around the parks and talking about the 4 years to come... it's gone so quickly! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A massive thank you to Carl, Clare, Claire, Greg and Laura for all their help, patience and stamina today. We genuinely couldn't have done it without you. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-72979386291429778362016-08-06T05:35:00.001-07:002016-08-06T05:35:16.646-07:00109. Track Cycling - Keirin<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Track Cycling - Keirin </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 17th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Preston Park Velodrome </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £70.00 each for the session (five events) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Six riders follow a motorised derny around the track, which gradually picks up speed before leaving the track with around two laps to go. The derny increases speed from 30 km/hr to 50 km/hr. Once it's left the track, the riders race to the finish line. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: Victoria Pendleton, Great Britain. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Team 114 Results:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1st - Clare (5:01.99) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">2nd - Laura</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">3rd - Sarah</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">4th - Claire</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">5th - Greg</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">6th - Ellie</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: We roped Carl in to be our derny, and he did an excellent job leading us round the track and gradually increasing our speed. On our longer track, we rode two laps behind derny-Carl and one lap racing. As with most of these races, we all started jovial and jostling for space, but as it got nearer to Carl leaving the track, it all got a bit tactical! It was lots of fun, and as with all of these track events, I'd happily do them again! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: Well, the allure of cycling was really wearing thin by this point. I'm quite happy cycling for pleasure, pootling around but anything where I 'have' to go fast or long distances isn't really my thing.... that being said, it was really nice to watch the race finish and see everyone else compete to be the best! </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-54796315829270920892016-08-06T05:20:00.001-07:002016-08-06T05:20:13.507-07:00108. Track Cycling - Team Pursuit<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Track Cycling - Team Pursuit </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 17th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Preston Park Velodrome </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £70.00 each for the session (five events) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Two teams of three cyclists start on opposite sides of the track. The winner is the team that finishes the 3K race in the quickest time, or if they catch the other team. Cyclists on the same team take it in turns leading, like a relay. After they have done their stint at the front, they move to the back. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 3:14.051 - Danielle King, Laura Trott, Joanna Rowsell, Great Britain. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah, Laura & Greg: 5:21.79 win</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie, Carl & Clare: Caught at the above time - 3.5 laps. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: A single lap of an Olympic velodrome is 250m, but Preston Park velodrome is much longer at 579.03m a lap. This means the track is far less steep and has much longer straights. For all our track cycling events we halved the number of Olympic laps to take our extra distance in to account. Before we reached the starting line, my team shared some tactics and had a practice on how to maneuver from the front to back of the line to make sure we didn't crash in to each other during the race. We set off and found our pace and decided we'd go for the overtake for the win rather than going to full race distance. In theory the plan sounded fine, but when we made the break, our tight peloton opened out and we had to close back together so not to leave anyone behind. On our next try we were expertly blocked by Clare and Carl on the other team, but eventually made our way through their weaving! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: This event was much more style with a team around you and cooperation one of the main things to keep in mind. I felt a little like I was ugly duckling in company of swans but it was nice to just be on the water with them!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-61339110849200936642016-08-06T05:18:00.001-07:002016-08-06T05:18:10.567-07:00107. Track Cycling - Individual Sprint<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Track Cycling - Individual Sprint </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 17th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Preston Park Velodrome </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £70.00 each for the session (five events) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Two riders start side by side and cover three laps, but only the last 200m is timed. Riders need strength and speed as well as tactical awareness as riders will change their speed and position on the track to try and surprise the opponent. Generally the races have a slow start and a game of cat and mouse ensues. The result is based on the best of three races. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 0.11.218 seconds - Anna Meares, Australia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 0.14.77</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 0.20.97</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: This is always such a fun event to watch on tv, with the tactics and almost stationary starts on near-verticle velodrome walls showing just how skilled the pros are. We got an even better understanding when we did our taster in Manchester velodrome and experienced just how steep the banking is for ourselves. Luckily this outdoor track is far lass daunting with only a couple of steeper corners (which were still pretty gentle!). In our race, we started fairly leisurely, then at our 200m marker, I decided to step on it; trying to use the corner banking to nip up behind Ellie then drop down in front. It was lots of fun, and I would happily do it again and again! The tactics would be different in each race, and I really like the idea of trying to out-smart your opponent. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: I was completely out-foxed in this sprint which is a little annoying as Sarah was essentially telling me what she was going to do before she did it... </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-43416153461737798562016-08-06T05:09:00.000-07:002016-08-06T05:09:35.591-07:00106. Track Cycling - Team Sprint<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Track Cycling - Team Sprint </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 17th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Preston Park Velodrome </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £70.00 each for the session (five events) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: There are two cyclists on a team, and each team starts on different sides of the track. Each member of the team must lead for one lap, but you cannot overtake your teammate before the line. The event is raced over two laps. The competition is held in heats with the fastest teams progressing to the final. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: 0.32.978 seconds - Kristina Vogel & Miriam Welte, Germany.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah & Greg: 1.20.20</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie & Laura: 2.03.04</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: After our taster session in Manchester velodrome a couple of years ago, we have been trying to arrange the track cycling events. As there are only a few velodromes in the country, let alone in the East, we found it very tricky. We were unable to get any affordable options at the indoor velodromes, so we set our sights on the outdoor tracks, and luckily Preston Park was a winner. We roped in some friends and spent a sunny Sunday afternoon racing round in circles. Our first event was the team sprint. Greg and I decided to take the first half of the race at a comfortable speed then ramp up the pace for the finish. It was really fun zooming around with the only focus to go as fast as possible! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: Not owning my own road/track bike has put me at a little disadvantage on this event. The lovely people at <a href="http://www.cyclebrighton.com/" target="_blank">Cycle Brighton</a> kitted me out with a functioning bike but it was very heavy and I didn't really understand the gears! This actually led to some really nice support and advice from fellow riders and soon I was racing about, adjusting the gears like there was no tomorrow. This was a flat out start to our velodrome day with 2 laps to be completed as quickly as possible between 2 riders. It was a great event to kick off with!</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-89646809823061849492016-08-03T11:46:00.000-07:002016-08-03T11:46:05.418-07:00105. Equestrian - Eventing <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Equestrian - Eventing </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 2nd & 3rd July 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Brook Farm Stables, Alresford Essex </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £26 each per lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Eventing event has both individual and team competitions, and consists of three tests. The first phase is the dressage test, then the cross-country, then the stadium jumping.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cross-country:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Jumping:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Individual: Michael Jung, Germany</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Team: Thomsen, Schrade, Klimke, Auffarth, Jung, Germany. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: This is a bit like a triathlon for horses and would be a real test of skills for the pros. For us, it was another test to not fall off the horses. We began to see the range of expertise needed for each section of the event, and it was good to get introduced to the riding stance for cross-country. It feels like you're going to tip over the horse's head, and that was going at a strolling-pace, let alone full gallop. Each time we went horse riding, I felt relieved to get back to solid-ground, but I really did enjoy the lessons much more than I'd anticipated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>Horse riding is another sport that requires far more from a rider than what you see on the surface. Things like balance and poise, anticipating what your horse is going to do so developing a relationship with it. There is far more going on than what you see on the surface. These lessons were something that neither of were looking forward to but we've both come away pleasantly surprised and I would definitely do something similar again. </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-70216516701524198342016-07-23T07:03:00.001-07:002016-07-24T11:41:01.305-07:00104. Diving - Synchronized 10m Platform<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Diving - Synchronized 10m Platform </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 6th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Waltham Forest Diving Club, London Aquatics Centre </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £5.00</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The 10m Platform involves</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> diving or falling into the water from a platform 10 metres high. It requires poise and great courage. During the fall, athletes can perform a number of spins, flips and twists before hitting the water at speeds up to 55mph, with as little water disturbance as possible. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Platforms are 10 metres high, and 21ft long with a non-slip surface. The pair of divers must perform five synchronized dives from at least four different categories, with at least one forward-facing dive and one can't be performed from a standing position. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The first two dives are assigned a 2.0 difficulty and the remaining three have no set level. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: Chen Ruolin & Wang Hao, China</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: Before our final diving lesson, I even searched the rules for how to be disqualified for the 10m Platform event; so eager was I to get out of it! After being too scared to do the individual dives, there was no way we were going to do the synchro dive. I haven't even got my arms positioned correctly in this picture. Oh well, we'll chalk this 10m Platform experience up as an incite into our own limitations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: We're writing these updates a little while after the experience and I feel like saying that one day I'll manage this 10m dive. In reality, as soon as we get to the top of the board I felt totally sick and so it is really unlikely that I'll ever manage it but it's been great to join a diving club and have some training in something I really enjoy so you never know.... except I do... but maybe... obviously not... maybe?</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-20256780230039411702016-07-20T12:05:00.002-07:002016-07-24T11:39:23.237-07:00103. Diving - Individual 10m Platform<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Diving - Individual 10m Platform </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 6th July 2016 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Waltham Forest Diving Club, London Aquatics Centre </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £5.00</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The 10m Platform involves</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> diving or falling into the water from a platform 10 metres high. It requires poise and great courage. During the fall, athletes can perform a number of spins, flips and twists before hitting the water at speeds up to 55mph, with as little water disturbance as possible. Each dive has an assigned degree of difficulty, upon which their score is based, along with the ease displayed by the athletes. The Platforms are 10 metres high, and 21ft long with a non-slip surface. Women must complete five dives, with no limit of difficulty. The five dives can be picked from the following categories; Forward, Back, Reverse, Inward, Twisting and Armstand. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: Chen Ruolin, China</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Sarah</em>: This was it. The big one. There were many, many doubters that we'd ever complete this. Over the last four years, we've tried to remain optimistic (or naive) and entered in to our lessons with Waltham Forest club with high hopes. Not 10m high hopes though. Following our 3m Springboard events, I was under no illusion that I would ever get off the 10m Platform. Look at it! It's ridiculously high. I was hopeful that I might find someone to push me off the 5m platform, and would enthusistically chalk that up as a success. We joined the club for their dry-side training and a couple of lessons in the pool attempting to master different dives. I was pleased to force myself off the 3m Platform but otherwise, I just wasn't able to progress any further. Despite our nervousness, the club were sure we'd be able to do the 10m, but I can categorically say I will never voluntarily jump off that board! I have huge respect for anyone who can do it - and there were people flinging themselves off as we cowered away. We managed to get ourselves up on the board, but were very glad to return to dry land. We tried. We failed. But we gave it a good go, and pushed ourselves to the limits of our courage. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><em>Ellie</em>: For some reason I thought this one would be fine. Not easy, but doable. As soon as we stood on the 10m platform I knew that it wasn't going to be the case. It is completely terrifying. One of the things that I remember from the London Olympics is a very green looking diver who had misjudged his dive and dislocated his shoulder. If a highly trained individual can get damaged like that then a complete <strike>idiot</strike> novice like me would stand no chance. I'm really pleased with the progress I made with Waltham Forest, my technique is loads better after just a few sessions. Although I doubt I'll ever get off the 10m platform I would love to continue learning. </span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-10476080117824036642016-07-15T11:18:00.002-07:002016-07-15T11:18:39.415-07:00102. Modern Pentathlon<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Modern Pentathlon</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 12th March 2016, 2nd & 6th July 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Dacorum Modern Pentathlon, Hemel Hempstead & Brooke Farm Stables, Alresford & London Aquatics Centre. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £40 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Over one day, competitors epee fence against every other athlete before moving on to swim 200m freestyle, then ride a horse over a 12-jump course. After the first three events, athletes total scores are converted to a time handicap which determines starting times for the combines run and shoot. During the final two events, athletes shoot a set of five targets with a laser pistol within 70 seconds, then run 1000m and repeat three times. The winner is the athlete who crosses the finish line first. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal London 2012: Laura Asadauskaite, Lithuania </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Day One- The things we do for this Challenge. After an incredibly busy working week, I dragged myself out of bed at 6.30am and we drove to the depths of Hemel Hempstead to join the Modern Pentathlon club for the Eastern Region at one of their training sessions. We kicked off with the combined laser shoot and run element; we did ten laps of the track (a total of 4000m; 1000m more than the Olympic athletes!), pausing to shoot our target at the end of each lap. I tried to hold my breath and shoot to get as steady as possible (not that this had much effect on my aim!), and we were told afterwards that it's best to arrive and shoot as quickly as possible whilst your heart rate is still rising. After lunch, we stepped up to the piste for some fencing. It was interesting re-visiting this event, but it's not one of my favourites and I was ready for the metaphorical final whistle two hours later. After the sweaty matches, it would have been brilliant to jump in to the pool for the final event of the day, but unfortunately I'm still unable to get the operation wound on my leg wet, so we had to call it a day. As the club doesn't do the horse element of Modern Pentathlon (surprisingly few clubs in the country do...our nearest is Yorkshire!), we'll stretch our competition to a second day later in the year when we can complete the Show Jumping and Swim elements in the same day. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Day Two & Three- Well, it was the plan back in March to complete the final two elements in one day, but bad scheduling meant we had to spread them over two days! We completed our horse element in our lessons at Brooke Farm Stables; walking our horses over a course of 'jumps', and a couple of days later visited the Olympic Pool for the 200m swim. Although we've had a bit of a dis-jointed experience of the Modern Pentathlon, I've enjoyed the variety of sports involved and have way more appreciation of how exhausting it must be for the pros completing all of these in the same day. Each event seems so different from the other, and the skill to complete each at such high standard is very impressive. . .</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thank goodness for Sarah and her car and her being able to drive her car and being able to drive her car at 7am. We began this event in Hemel Hempstead and finished a few months later with our horses and swimming nearer to home. It would be a real test of stamina to complete all of these events on the same day and I look forward to checking in on the event during Rio 2016. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Run: Never my strength, but I did like the combined nature of this part of the Mod. Pen. as I'm going to term it. To make the Mod. Pen in general and the run and shoot in specific, more interesting to watch for the spectators, the run and the shoot were combined in 2009. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/sports/olympics/27pentathlon.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Some</a> say the event should be renamed the Tetrathlon... but that is a proper tongue twister! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Shoot: I really enjoyed the shooting element to the Mod. Pen. It was interesting to use a new type of gun, the laser, and good to hear the different knacks needed to succeed. I also liked that you aren't penalised as such if you miss the target. You can shoot as many times as needed in 50 seconds to reach 5 on target shots with the benefit coming from finishing quickly to continue your run. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fence: I really did enjoy fencing. It was nice to revisit the sport and to see what aspects of the training had and hadn't remained in my brain. Enough that I don't think I disgraced myself which is all I ask! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Horse: After a bit of a delay we picked this event up again and completed our riding/jumping. I'd never ridden a horse before and the mod. pen and equestrian events have been a valuable way to dispel my horse anxiety. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Swim: After our long distance outdoor swim a few weeks ago this 200m swim seems like luxury and a nice, gentle end to an odd and out of the ordinary event!</span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-45972660612642896482016-07-15T10:55:00.001-07:002016-07-15T10:55:12.788-07:00101. Equestrian - Dressage<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Equestrian - Dressage </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 3rd July 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Brook Farm Stables, Alresford Essex </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £26 each per lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The team and individual competitions use the same result. There are three phases with the last only being used for the individual event. Dressage is a highly skilled form of riding performed both in exhibition and competition. The horse and rider are expected to perform a series of movements from memory. The horse should react smoothly to minimal comands from the rider. The competition consists of a series of individual tests with increasing levels of difficulty and are performed in an arena with letters positioned around to specify where movements are to take place. Judges score each movement on a basis appropriate to the skill of the test. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Individual: Charlotte Dujardin, Great Britain </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Team: Hester, Dujardin, Bechtolscheimer, Great Britain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: It was surprisingly achievable to put together a beginners dressage performance. We were taught a routine that consisted of us moving the horse in different directions between letters hung around the arena, performing 's' shapes, walking the horse on loose reins, stopping at specified points and walking on again. We were also taught how to command the horse to walk sideways and turn 90 degrees on the front-foot. My horse Bella, and trainer Jo, showed lots of patience as I tried to remember the instructions, and at points it seemed Bella remembered more than I did. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br />Ellie: </i>Dressage has been a really interesting lesson in the relationship between rider and horse. We have learnt more about how vital it is to be a relaxed rider, how precise and firm each command of the feet and hands needs to be and, specifically with Dressage, the finesse that you are looking to achieve with each detailed movement. Our routine was simple for our novice riding abilities but the result was very interesting to watch and to be involved in. The feeling of movement when Rudi walked sideways was particularly interesting and, being a fan of ceremony, I liked the end salute to the judge and the pat to the horse to say 'job well done'! </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-3991696756715537452016-07-03T09:04:00.000-07:002016-07-04T11:40:38.337-07:00100. Equestrian - Jumping<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Equestrian - Jumping </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 2nd July 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Brook Farm Stables, Alresford Essex </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £26 each per lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Jumping event has both individual and team competitions. There are five rounds of jumping conducted in two stages. The first three rounds are made up of qualifications. The second and third rounds are also used for the team event. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The course is held over show jumping obstacles; including verticals, double and triple combinations with many turns and changes of direction. The goal is to jump cleanly over the set course within an allocated time. Time-faults are assessed for exceeding the time allowance. Jumping faults are assessed for knocking down posts and refusals from the horse to jump. Horses get a limited number of refusals before being disqualified. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Individual: Steve Guerdat, Switzerland. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Team: Brash, Charles, Maher, Skelton, Great Britain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: When we started the challenge, we swore we wouldn't leave the horses to the end. And with two months to go, we've pretty much managed it! We've both been really nervous about the horse events, and were unsure how we'd be able to complete them. Luckily, Jo from Brooke Farm really got what we are trying to do and has found a way of enabling us to conquer beginners version of the equestrian events. We were thrown right in to it with the Jumping. Or in our case, stepping. We had a really good introduction on how to handle the horse, and how to relax in the saddle, before completing a multi-'jump' pole-course; steering our horses (Bella and Rudi!) around the paddock. It was definitely less terrifying than I'd been expecting, and six hours later have just about regained the feeling in my bum and thighs. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><br />Ellie: </i>Either me and Rudi had a natural telepathy or this horse knew what he was doing. I imagine it's the former even though this was the first time I've ridden a horse. Learning to control a cheeky horse is very satisfying and when coupled with a course and some 'jumps' I can really see how people get into horse riding. We were talked through a circuit and integrated some poles to jump over. We were able to steer the horses using voice, reins and feet and I was surprised at how those commands became fairly natural. I also like to think that Rudi and I connected and that he enjoyed the daft things I was saying to him but he was probably just humouring me.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-18419237656300692362016-06-20T09:31:00.002-07:002016-06-20T09:31:59.650-07:0099. Open-Water Marathon<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Open-Water Marathon </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 18th June 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: The Serpentine, London </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £4.80 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The women's open-water swim marathon took place over a distance of 10k in the Serpentine in London. The event is a real test of strength and endurance. Athletes raced six laps around the lake, with the fastest taking the gold medal. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: 1:57:38.2 - Eva Risztov, Hungary (10K) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie & Sarah: 0:48:37.1 (1K) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: It's always a bonus to be able to complete our events in an actual Olympic venue, but for some reason it took us a while to link the fact that the open-swim was held in the Serpentine, and that it would be easy for us to do the same! We arrived early on Saturday morning to a grey and dull day, which meant we only had to share the lake with some serious wet-suited swimmers. </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It definitely wasn't as cold as I'd been expecting, but still fairly bracing when we got in!</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I love swimming, but feel nervous being out of my depth when I can't see the bottom, so have always avoided the Serpentine in the past. It took a while to feel confident in the water, and we did a fair bit of faffing about, but we soon both warmed up and got in to the swim, doing faster laps as we went along, and ended up steaming along with faces in the water. We swam the longest distance we'll cover in the challenge; 1km (one tenth of the Olympic distance!), and I definitely felt like I had more in the tank. Hurray for open-water swimming! </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>I really enjoyed this event and am happy to add it to the list of things I will try and continue when we finish in the summer. I'm so non-hardy when it comes to cold water but I really surprised myself by handling the Serpentine's chilly 15C without so much as a wince. 1k is the furthest I've swum in one go, as far as I remember, and it was tough going when you get your stride on. I felt a bit dizzy and disorientated at times but I think this all comes down to not really knowing my stroke to breath ratio. I also felt quite squeamish about the alleged snail parasites that could be lurking in the water... but bobbing along on my back or powering along front crawl were both really enjoyable and I'd love to see myself progress to longer distance, quicker times or events where I get a real medal not a chocolate one!</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-62897018793418450722016-06-16T10:35:00.000-07:002016-07-11T08:55:56.592-07:0098. 10,000m<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: 10,000m </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 12th May 2013 + 14th June 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Colchester 10K Race + Along the banks of the river Thames </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £16 + Free </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Athletes race around the track 25 times, completing the course in the fastest time possible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPhm75wD0HQM3uMxe0jN06ga2vohVoSv9IoH1uAmHEH-9Jwn8DG71wNwcqjR8TjSMq1DxU9alimT2QjLI8K7K0myYqq2W3ovrtxpdqqib1gB5xv4WYp3puxmO-mDDnYMqe7OIr2oNvILj/s1600/DSCN0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnPhm75wD0HQM3uMxe0jN06ga2vohVoSv9IoH1uAmHEH-9Jwn8DG71wNwcqjR8TjSMq1DxU9alimT2QjLI8K7K0myYqq2W3ovrtxpdqqib1gB5xv4WYp3puxmO-mDDnYMqe7OIr2oNvILj/s200/DSCN0658.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6jtPUd8XMZ_itbaLaNxhrNR-25yOA1fUY3rXqQlJT-4Letgjcm71qK3qrCYGohERvla9ZsNWgqFCEfcsRIOoBhyphenhyphen7C7AXe2LuRNMUrwKGOFZyoRdeG_5G6kCPwN5HnsKw8lJgWls_QgAK/s1600/DSCN0659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd6jtPUd8XMZ_itbaLaNxhrNR-25yOA1fUY3rXqQlJT-4Letgjcm71qK3qrCYGohERvla9ZsNWgqFCEfcsRIOoBhyphenhyphen7C7AXe2LuRNMUrwKGOFZyoRdeG_5G6kCPwN5HnsKw8lJgWls_QgAK/s200/DSCN0659.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: 30:20.75 - Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopia.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: Sort of 2 hours</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 1:09:52</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: It's strange writing about an event that happened three years ago! My memory is a little rusty, but I do remember how good it felt crossing that finish line! Greg and I signed up to the Colchester 10k and put the bupa training plan in to action. Despite all the preparation, we both felt a little daunted amongst the proper club runners. We decided to start from the back, take our time and run our own race. It soon paid off, and we started overtaking other back-runners. The course was nice and flat, and circled around the Garrison part of Colchester, and area I don't know to well. All in all, it was a surprisingly pleasant way to spend the morning! Having recently completed my 5k on the track, I can only imagine how psychologically difficult it would be to run this distance completely on the track.</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>My 10k was a far more leisurely experience. I wanted to use the distance to see the more touristy areas of London on foot and to understand how the river joins them all up. I chose a really lovely evening which was an achievement in itself with the weather we've had recently. It felt like a really calm wander apart from the last 3k where I really needed a wee - made ironic by the fact that my route looks like a tap. I also saw my first ever London rat - he was brilliant! </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-15906274826144208062016-06-09T12:33:00.002-07:002016-06-09T12:34:09.142-07:0097. Sailing - Laser Radial<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Sailing - Laser Radial</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 9th June 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Alton Water Sailing Club </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £25 each for 3 hour lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Laser Radial is a one person dinghy; a popular design of small sailing dinghy. It's a single-handed boat (sailed by one person). The Olympic course had a target time of 60 minutes for races and 30 minutes for medal races, for which ten boats qualified. There were many course configurations that race management could choose from. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLfZDetYXV25vgelJCXD_Mllb6owu2GbOeadHpKWMxuR425VD4-IqNHxsLv3t0rWgbb-1RCI0WOpiNn6La9wu4ymtarfY747w22Eba1JNQ67SXifeCFiBipM0I0MryejMV4fgzYtPsDsY/s1600/DSCN6639.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLfZDetYXV25vgelJCXD_Mllb6owu2GbOeadHpKWMxuR425VD4-IqNHxsLv3t0rWgbb-1RCI0WOpiNn6La9wu4ymtarfY747w22Eba1JNQ67SXifeCFiBipM0I0MryejMV4fgzYtPsDsY/s200/DSCN6639.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiH_dwdtHeDKECkUkvBr2BToWpM1iIyER1f1fe5EbyvS0yGieJtI3UN0TUC6mEAM06W2CDxThpDrfwsuQmeQdpIUE7tyCAE7UfYaMm45BHQ_Ywpd-LKVDZTpUOW3HBPn6nL0hhDd0Iy8K/s1600/DSCN6641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPiH_dwdtHeDKECkUkvBr2BToWpM1iIyER1f1fe5EbyvS0yGieJtI3UN0TUC6mEAM06W2CDxThpDrfwsuQmeQdpIUE7tyCAE7UfYaMm45BHQ_Ywpd-LKVDZTpUOW3HBPn6nL0hhDd0Iy8K/s200/DSCN6641.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">Result:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: Xu Lijia, China. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: One more time on the water, and I was sure we'd go in. We weren't banking on nearly completely still conditions, which may not have been ideal for sailing, but it was ideal for us! A quick refresher on the shore from our instructor James, and we took to the water for a gentle...well....'float' you could call it. Or 'drift'. The wind was playing games with us and appearing on the water everywhere but where we were. We tried to chase it, but as soon as we got to the spot, it dropped. It would have been nice if there were a little more wind so we could have felt some speed and attempted some tacks, but this was a lovely relaxing way to end our sailing events. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie:</em> Our last sailing event of our challenge and we were trusted to be in charge of a boat by ourselves. I was certain I was going to capsize and/or ruin a really expensive boat. Luckily, for me and for the boat, the water was really calm and there was so little wind that we could really take our time and amble across the water. Surprisingly, this was by far my favourite sailing lesson. I felt that there was very little pressure because the weather was so forgiving and we had plenty of time to chat about sailing and Alton Water. We did have to give up on our sail when the wind gave up on us but we'd had a good outing and it was a lovely session to end on.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-81067657052121779472016-05-17T13:11:00.003-07:002016-05-17T13:11:50.248-07:0096. 25m Pistol<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: 25m Pistol </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 14th May 2016 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Jersey Shooting Club </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £23 each. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The first qualifying stage is the Precision Stage, where athletes shoot six series of five shots each, with a maximum of five minutes to fire each series. Fired at a precision target - 50mm diameter. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The second qualifying stage is the Rapid Fire Stage, where athletes shoot six series of five shots, with three seconds to fire each shot, and a seven second break between each series. The rapid fire target has a 100mm diameter.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Scores from each round are combined, and the eight best shooters advance to the final. In the final, athletes shoot four series of five shots with a three second limit for each shot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Results:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: 591 - Kim Jang-Mi, South Korea. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 258 </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 374</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: After our postponed trip in November, we were so happy to finally make it over to Jersey and meet the lovely team at Jersey Shooting Club. We started with a thorough introduction and safety talk about handling the pistol. We both feel quite nervous for the shooting events, so it was good to run over this again. After the talk and some cuddles with Mr Magnum the cat, we made our way out on to the first range to warm up on the 12.5m targets. With practice and good pointers, we progressed to the 25m range and took a while to get used to the new distance...the targets felt so much further away, definitely reflected in our aim. We gradually found our feet and practiced both the Precision and the Rapid elements of the event. I found I was more accurate at the Rapid fire, I think as I didn't have time to over-think my aim before the target turned away between shots. We then launched in to the actual event; the Precision and Rapid rounds using the same Olympic timings and rules. Between series, Derek used the wand to count our shots and Nikki recorded the scores. I was much more accurate in this discipline than I have been in any of the other shooting events, and chuffed with my end score. We had such a great day with the club, who couldn't have been more accommodating or helpful! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>This has been one of the most highly anticipated events of the whole challenge. As the type of pistol used in this event is banned in mainland Britain we contacted UK shooting for some advice, thinking we'd need to go far, far away, and they put us in contact with the lovely Nikki at Jersey Shooting. The whole team were happy to help from the start of our conversations and we booked to visit in November 2015 but a giant storm cancelled our ferry crossing. Thankfully the May weather was very pleasant and we finally made it to the club. It was wonderful to spend the day with the club and I felt so welcome.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The shooting events are always hard for me as they are so out of my comfort zone and I am very aware of the responsibility of handling guns. I do enjoy the routine of loading, adjusting my stance, aiming and firing though and it is really satisfying to make a good shot. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Luck was not with me today and I couldn't get the hang of the rapid shoot especially. However, the club were full of praise and encouragement and we received lovely medals.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Massive thanks to Nikki, Derek, Peter and the whole team at Jersey Shooting Club! And also to Mr Magnum, the big, beautiful cat! </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-78022838407723887022016-05-16T02:04:00.000-07:002016-05-16T02:04:10.097-07:00Bonus Event #6 - Netball<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Event: Netball </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Date: 5th May 2016</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Location: Brightlingsea Sports Centre </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Cost: £20 court</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18.47px;">Rules: There are seven players in a full team, and they pass the ball down the court and shoot in to their goal. Everyone is assigned either attack or defence positions that define their role within the team and restrict their movement on the court. During play, the player with the ball can't take more than one step before passing it and must pass the ball or shoot at the goal within three seconds. Goals can only be scored by the Goal Attack or Goal Shooter. Matches last 60 minutes and are divided in to 15 minute quarters. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Event:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlsvd0i7weuTcrMy2ubWMABlM-sLB-qWkw_gYN8qLogXg7ZhbRncvxLqgZ0ksGxg33LzWKJsACLuvfwJ4e1C63v9Mk3-hcqfyc4d4rtINTcFI-gPyzJ76ly8qGKQXTDK0HtZ_286gmLGi/s1600/DSCN6051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlsvd0i7weuTcrMy2ubWMABlM-sLB-qWkw_gYN8qLogXg7ZhbRncvxLqgZ0ksGxg33LzWKJsACLuvfwJ4e1C63v9Mk3-hcqfyc4d4rtINTcFI-gPyzJ76ly8qGKQXTDK0HtZ_286gmLGi/s200/DSCN6051.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJOf4oxCy5eiKxW_FLfLXrkTs2ImlO1a0o29grXcZpWuDqNx2UsHYk_gSjtRNlUr9ET4heWMRPNrhAmL_IJFs0Q3h89GIoU5bUYhMN-5Ji_DdrxMlD2a-vQ64eVeixRuBgqkPUgTVkXyM/s1600/DSCN6052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipJOf4oxCy5eiKxW_FLfLXrkTs2ImlO1a0o29grXcZpWuDqNx2UsHYk_gSjtRNlUr9ET4heWMRPNrhAmL_IJFs0Q3h89GIoU5bUYhMN-5Ji_DdrxMlD2a-vQ64eVeixRuBgqkPUgTVkXyM/s200/DSCN6052.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyQyfGFS3_5vekpbOA2UXXx0fu0lYV0BtFXxWrUyMNA4SbBxZQAtorqqS4lz7Ia98O51MJ8BhfPVwJmf3jTMEV7ji32FXyPRyoEh2OCD8JZCGif-omubWaJ8uuiMdBIeWxX1CuS50iuHw/s1600/DSCN6070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEyQyfGFS3_5vekpbOA2UXXx0fu0lYV0BtFXxWrUyMNA4SbBxZQAtorqqS4lz7Ia98O51MJ8BhfPVwJmf3jTMEV7ji32FXyPRyoEh2OCD8JZCGif-omubWaJ8uuiMdBIeWxX1CuS50iuHw/s200/DSCN6070.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q5oD9VFqNUCijWOEkx0CflSS2t7IrfBFyUN5L5dLnJ31yLdVJtD7j6qcS0nR92IjY6erEJhoSVDjtPcCGzMDJ_cwmHJebWYPkYSBFrX79Sm83xrUoeHEandtlJ7YZ3an95EQINJV30z2/s1600/DSCN6073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Q5oD9VFqNUCijWOEkx0CflSS2t7IrfBFyUN5L5dLnJ31yLdVJtD7j6qcS0nR92IjY6erEJhoSVDjtPcCGzMDJ_cwmHJebWYPkYSBFrX79Sm83xrUoeHEandtlJ7YZ3an95EQINJV30z2/s200/DSCN6073.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Score: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Bibs 5 v 6 Non-Bibs </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.47px;">Comments:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Sarah: </em>Our latest bonus event saw us take on one of my favourite sports! It proved difficult to recruit enough players for a full team, so we had a really fast and furious half-pitch game with smaller teams. My shooting had got pretty rusty, and I'd forgotten <strike>how tiring</strike> what a great workout it is, but the match definitely reignited my love for the sport. The game even converted the doubters we'd roped in; it was so much fun and everyone went away pumped up with plans to get a regular team organised! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><em>Ellie: </em>After an incredibly busy day at work in London I missed the bulk of this bonus event but it was very nice to arrive and see people really invested in their team. We had a shoot out to end the session and I was reminded that I was much better suited to the defensive positions!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-77030582549395578362016-05-07T09:56:00.001-07:002016-05-07T09:56:29.493-07:0095. 5000m<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: 5000m </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 27th April + 1st May 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Wivenhoe Trail + Colchester Athletics Track </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: Free </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: Athletes run around the track 12.5 times in this long-distance event, completing the race in the fastest time possible. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQUZfukSpSHIlQqKZ5ctkQoCvzrtprWg1VeDmkvP1al0upEv70NcejjsPUoy_YgoSGxrPLnSJKeO9ATzvpPW63Qutc6__z9jQZPlI1sG3bQs-IhcJkgH26a32opVBaE_h9p-h6vyJ84Edx/s1600/DSCN5991.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQUZfukSpSHIlQqKZ5ctkQoCvzrtprWg1VeDmkvP1al0upEv70NcejjsPUoy_YgoSGxrPLnSJKeO9ATzvpPW63Qutc6__z9jQZPlI1sG3bQs-IhcJkgH26a32opVBaE_h9p-h6vyJ84Edx/s320/DSCN5991.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ9hvYSfOSDh3qSDHZNw-vyQTQPJKiFi2UYTVxTT_Bhzzu071V3eQrOik0OJ5tcy99kKTDrNYYpiWa9caqhPBnp3qgRCsVBiRbYoPgLpyrB80-uoShD308CTBfSHw5jjkN5ZHxEGvXKmQ/s1600/DSCN6032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGZ9hvYSfOSDh3qSDHZNw-vyQTQPJKiFi2UYTVxTT_Bhzzu071V3eQrOik0OJ5tcy99kKTDrNYYpiWa9caqhPBnp3qgRCsVBiRbYoPgLpyrB80-uoShD308CTBfSHw5jjkN5ZHxEGvXKmQ/s320/DSCN6032.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge thanks to Eliza, Imogen and Rachel for helping me across the line! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Times:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: 15:04.25 - Meseret Defar, Kenya. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ellie: 1:11:44.30</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sarah: 35:17.19</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: From the start of the Challenge, I knew I wanted to try this one on the track to experience the monotony of repetitive laps and just make it that bit harder for myself. I was, of course, cursing that decision when I went up to the track, and felt pretty daunted by the distance ahead. Although I'd been training hard, I definitely had the pre-race nerves. Our coach Chris had come up with a really great plan to have one of the Harriers run two laps with me, then swap over and repeat for the whole distance. I'd also roped my husband Greg in to run with me, and they all really helped me along. With them changing every couple of laps, it really broke the distance down into smaller chunks, and I kept visualising where I would be equivalent to in my normal running route. The laps didn't fly by, but they definitely ticked down steadily, and the whole thing was much more fun than I'd been expecting. I even managed a 'sprint' finish when I was joined by all the Harriers in the final half-lap! I'll definitely stick to countryside running in future, but am really glad I was able to experience long-distance on the track. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>I am never going to be a runner and I'm not too worried about that but it really made me think about the best way to complete the distance races. I decided that a 5k walk with Sarah would be the best way to do it. I wanted to reassure myself that this kind of distance that can seem quite intimidating is not as far as I thought and so we had a really pleasant walk along the quay and beyond. It was a great chance to catch up and essentially I didn't notice the walking which really is my idea of exercise heaven. I'll be trying this sort of distance more regularly for a wander to let of steam or check out the neighbourhood.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-33691262396646217672016-04-28T12:08:00.000-07:002016-04-28T12:10:38.140-07:0094. Sailing - Women's RS:X - Windsurfing<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Sailing - Women's RS:X - Windsurfing</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 27th April 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Alton Water Sailing Club </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £25 each for 3 hour lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The target time for the Olympic course was 30 minutes for points races and 20 minutes in the medal race. The organisers choose the route from various course configurations. The boats have a dagger-board and sail of a specified size, and their are designed to allow windsurfing in low and moderate wind. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Result:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: Marina Alabau, Spain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: Arriving at Alton Water, we were greeted by the wind buffeting over the surface and after last week's lesson being cancelled due to lack of wind, we were faced by another cancellation due to <em>too much</em> wind. We persuaded our instructor Guy to give us a shot at windsurfing, although we were absolutely dreading spending three hours in the freezing water. I wasn't particularly looking forward to this event, and it came as a complete surprise that windsurfing turned out to be one of our most fun, laughter-filled sports! We were both pretty terrible, but in the best possible way. It took us the whole session to stand comfortably on the boards. I eventually managed to glide somewhat clumsily over the water doing some simple turns. To get to that stage, we repeatedly fell in the water again, and again, and again. Rather than be frustrating, it was just very funny and thankfully our wetsuits and new super-warm wetsocks did the trick and kept the cold out until the very end of the lesson. I would definitely do this one again! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie:</em> If you had told me at 7.30am when I got up that I'd be in Alton Water most of the morning I would have gone back to bed and ignored any calls from Sarah especially as there had been snow in Essex the day before! As it turned out, the sun was beautiful, the water refreshing and windsurfing was one of the most enjoyable watersport so far! After less than 30 minutes I was very in to this event, giving a running commentary throughout my efforts to get upright and we'd already started changing the terminology, calling the up-haul cord the U-Haul. It takes a lot of core strength and balance to get on your feet and travelling and I'm very pleased that I managed to stand up on the board - the travelling I did was only towards the water but, as Sarah says, that was actually really funny. It was very nice to just float on the board and kick your legs and watch the other person get on with it too! This is a sport I doubt I'll ever become remotely proficient at but it's one that I'd have another go at without any need to get better.</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-72866849482244795912016-04-20T05:54:00.000-07:002016-05-07T09:52:07.279-07:0093. Canoe Slalom<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Canoe Slalom Women's K1 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 2nd November 2014 + 16th April 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Lee Valley White Water </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £50 each</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: In heats each competitor has two runs of the slalom course. The fifteen athletes with the best time qualify for the semi-finals, where they get one run of the course each, with the best ten progressing to the final. The course is a timed-run down a white water course with natural hazards and eddies and between 18 - 25 gates. Red gates must be tackled upstream, green gates downstream. Touching a gate adds two seconds time penalty to the run, and missing a gate completely is a 50 second penalty. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Result:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: Emilie Fer, France.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: Over the course of the Challenge we've been lucky enough to work with some amazing clubs and have received the help of some really dedicated, kind individuals who have helped us achieve what, at times, has felt like the impossible. We try to arrange as much as possible ourselves, but for the trickier events we do rely on people being kind enough to help us out. You may notice that there is a small gap of 17 months between the two parts to this event; officially making Canoe Slalom our longest event to complete! We first visited Lee Valley White Water Centre back in November 2014 where we were given the chance to try our hand at the slalom course; the boats are really zippy, and controlling the turns and completing the course was lots of fun. But we wanted more! We wanted to experience the white water for ourselves, which it turns out is incredibly hard to arrange. The club said they would help us out, but unfortunately months and months passed with numerous unreplied emails and no progress, which was all a bit frustrating. We finally accepted defeat, and booked ourselves on to a pretty expensive 'Hotdog' session as a way to get on the white water. I would say it was worth the wait, but in fact it was horrible! We were on the Legacy loop and spent more time in the water than out. The boats were incredibly hard to control, and unfortunately we weren't given much guidance on how to correct the boat when it turned to the side (which resulted in an instant dunking). Falling in to the white water is as scary as it looks; you get pulled around and just have to go with it and rely on the buoyancy aid, but there were repeatedly moments of panic when I went in. I'd definitely had enough halfway through the lesson, and was glad when we made our way back to calmer waters. I'm definitely glad to have this out the way, and look forward to never doing it again! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie:</em> As Sarah says our Canoe Slalom event is in two parts. Our non-white water experience was in sharp contrast to our white water 'hotdog' day. I felt it was hard enough to control the slalom canoes around the legacy course without the hindrance of turbulent conditions - the boats respond to the lightest of touch and even sitting at an angle will send you in a different direction to the one you think you are heading in. Navigating through the hanging gates needs a lot of mental agility as well as physical as you need to think ahead to meet gates at good angles to take you though to the next.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our time on the white water was through Lee Valley's experience days and people actually do this for fun. Don't get me wrong - I was fascinated by power I could harness during the rare times we were afloat and working with Sarah is always enjoyable but staying in the boat was very hard. Once I'd realised that we wouldn't be able to control ourselves for long I also felt enormous responsibility for the safety of myself and everyone else too... Falling out of a boat in white water is terrifying. I don't think I could explain well enough but I'm still dreaming about it 5 days later. Despite the safety tests and briefing we were given I wasn't able to recall anything when I was being dashed around and submerged for, what felt like, minutes and that caused me so much panic. With 15 minutes of our session left and a particularly fearsome dunking fresh in the memory I was happy to call it an event well and truly ticked off and to never, ever do anything like it again. Good luck to you if you choose to do this with your leisure time!</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-45787531409165094652016-04-09T09:27:00.001-07:002016-04-09T09:27:37.943-07:0092. Sailing - Women's 470<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Sailing - Women's 470 </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 7th April 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Alton Water Sailing Club </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £25 each for 3 hour lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Women's 470 is a two-person dinghy and has a spinnaker and a trapeze, making teamwork essential. The competition runs over eleven races, with a 30 minute target-time for medals. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Result:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: Jo Aleh & Olivia Powrie - New Zealand. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: Sailing buffs may notice we're in the same boat as the Elliott 6m for this event. The good old sturdy Bahia is not a 470. 470s are high-performance boats, and only a fool would let us loose in one of them. The Bahia was perfect for us, and we zipped through the water. I started to understand the connection between moving the tiller in different directions and controlling the main sheet depending on the strength of the wind (check out those sailing terms!), and began to feel a bit more comfortable in the boat. I was mainly very happy to sail for three hours and not go in for a swim! </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie:</em> In this session I was able to sit up on the side of the boat giving me so much more room. I also tried my best to look where I was steering rather than at the controls in my hands. I dread to think what will happen once we're let loose in boats on our own or when we get to try Wind Surfing but now we have retained some more of the information about the weather and the discipline of Sailing we'll stand a much better chance of not getting (too) wet!</span></span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06675902200704710219noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6312221338718969353.post-88487126373578505762016-04-09T09:22:00.001-07:002016-04-09T09:22:20.290-07:0091. Sailing - Women's Elliott 6m<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Event: Sailing - Women's Elliott 6m </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Date: 7th April 2016</span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Location: Alton Water Sailing Club </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Cost: £25 each for 3 hour lesson </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rules: The Elliott 6m is a three- person boat and the competition runs in a match-race format, consisting of round-robin quarter-, semi-, petit- and final rounds. The top eight crews are seeded in to the quarter final. The target course time is 18 minutes.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Event:</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcVv38MBASNTjCPOiLtGmAtR1R7Yqz2jApTZUSdZlafjFfHBOB8N9DwkYjtzTaQWHZ0gHOk7VIWteNuTZpAvtK8b-wJ-hM6vUvwnE4byQoOG1n68C7ZUuSQLVsURaoOs5yGaQwWepuC0n/s1600/DSCN5761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcVv38MBASNTjCPOiLtGmAtR1R7Yqz2jApTZUSdZlafjFfHBOB8N9DwkYjtzTaQWHZ0gHOk7VIWteNuTZpAvtK8b-wJ-hM6vUvwnE4byQoOG1n68C7ZUuSQLVsURaoOs5yGaQwWepuC0n/s320/DSCN5761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK5_4ATKT_rA4qDSogNCuIngAHrWFRyWymJzhFAEHUqlZFwp6z1iLP6UrTQqd-cF03ed_JyjUookn2uy7npWOkeesAbN3hkBi6KBfNCS48j8eeUeRGmoNsh4XexXIXzvQhFKxw4Qf6RhJ/s1600/DSCN5763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK5_4ATKT_rA4qDSogNCuIngAHrWFRyWymJzhFAEHUqlZFwp6z1iLP6UrTQqd-cF03ed_JyjUookn2uy7npWOkeesAbN3hkBi6KBfNCS48j8eeUeRGmoNsh4XexXIXzvQhFKxw4Qf6RhJ/s320/DSCN5763.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Result:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Olympic Gold Medal, London 2012: Tamara Echegoyan, Angela Pumariega & Sofia Tor - Spain. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Comments: <i> </i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Sarah</i>: We visited Alton Water last October for our first sailing lesson. It was all going swimmingly until I capsized the boat and gave us all a dip in the cold water. As a result, I felt quite nervous returning to the boat and desperately didn't want to tip us all in again. The water was freezing today, so the prospect of going in was even worse. It was much windier than when we last came out, but luckily our instructor Pat knew where to head for some sheltered water. He patiently explained how to spot gusts on the water and talked us through performing a tack (turn) and quickly had us sailing across the lake. There is a lot to remember in the boat, but it eventually started to sink in (hmmm, maybe best not to mention sinking!). During each tack I remained convinced I was going to send us overboard, but I did eventually find myself slightly less nervous than when we started. </span><br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><em>Ellie: </em>Sailing is a very odd mix of serenity (when you're not in charge of the boat) and franticness (when you're responsible for keeping everyone dry) and after this lesson I felt that we were slowly moving towards serenity all round! It's really satisfying to be able to read when the wind is coming in and what that means for your boat and sails. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that I retained some information about what bits of the boats were called.... #Boom</span></span><br />
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