About Me

I've been taking part in Triathlons of increasing distances since 2005 when I took part in the Dorney Super Sprints and I've been hooked ever since. I completed my first Half Ironman last year and feel I'm ready for the big one this year. Ironman is a 140 mile Triathlon consisting of: 2.4 mile Swim (152 lengths of a standard pool) 112 mile Cycle (almost the entire length of the M25) 26.2 mile Run (the equivalent of the London Marathon) To be honest I’m a little bit scared of it but I guess that’s a good thing! I’ve always expected to finish the events I've taken on in the past but I have an enormous amount of respect for Ironman and I am expecting it to test me to my absolute limits. A big part of my motivation for completing Ironman is Tom Prince, the thought of Tom and his family make it all worthwhile and it often keeps me going when my body has long since said it's time to stop. Please read Tom's story opposite and if you would like to help me to raise money for the trust you can do so at www.justgiving.com/markdewey

Tuesday, 23 September 2008

Ironman UK 2008 - I Finished!

Although the training for Ironman was hard and sometimes lonely I was always confident that if I stayed healthy I would be able to finish - but walking through the crowd to the lake on that cold and dark Sunday morning was the loneliest I’ve felt in a long, long time and I was suddenly very aware that there was nowhere to hide and I had to face - whatever was thrown at me over the next 15 hours - alone.

Over the next 140 miles I thought of many things but it was often the thought of Tom and his family that kept me going when my body had long since said it was time to stop. After 15 hours and 9 minutes I crossed the finish line with the greatest sense of achievement I’ve ever felt – something I would highly recommend.

If you would like to sponsor me you can still do so at justgiving.com/markdewey

Thank you for all for visiting my blog I hope you have found it entertaining.


Mark

Thursday, 31 July 2008

Sprains, Trains and two wheeled mobiles

Hello,



It's been a while, please accept my apologies for that. I sprained my ankle out running and had to miss almost 4 weeks of training. However I set myself the target of completing 2 events I'd already entered before assessing my fitness again and I'm pleased to say I finished both events strongly, firstly the Dunwich Dynamo - a120 mile overnight ride from Hackney to the East Coast and secondly the Trentham Big Half. The Dynamo was awesome and I thoroughly enjoyed both the distance and the experience of riding on country lanes through the night - the friend I rode with and I finished in under 7 hours and I was very happy with the way things went and how I felt throughout the ride. It set me up very well for the Trentham half a week later and although I only returned to running anything like properly during the week leading up to the event I was very happy to go quicker in all 3 disciplines than last year and take almost half an hour off my 07 time. I also tried out the energy bars and gels that will be provided during Ironman at both events and had no problems with either and am now quite keen on Cookies and Cream Powerbars! I'm now looking forward to 4 weeks hard training before a week of tapering and carb loading for Ironman.

Thursday, 19 June 2008

New Sponsor Comes on Board

I would like to thank PUKKA PIES who last week kindly agreed to sponsor me and welcome them to the team.

Latest News

Hello,

It has been an exciting few days, I took part in Windsor Triathlon on Sunday (and met James Cracknell) and although the currents in the river were a bit of a chore I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and I beat more my time from last year by a couple of minutes. Training now takes on a whole new complexion with lots of distance work and lots of long lonely runs and cycles. I'm running for an 75 minutes in the woods around Marlow on Tuesday nights and for around 2-3 hours on various routes on Saturdays as well as a marked increase in my cycling mileage and 2 sessions of 2km swimming every week.

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Ladies Night

With training and racing going well it was time to move the the fundraising up a gear and I held my first event last night. The event was a ladies night at the Cox Green Community Centre in Maidenhead where I had arranged for local salons and consultants to treat the girls while I had my legs waxed!

The evening went extremely well and raised over £450 so thank you to all of you who made it along on the night and the answer to the all important question is yes it did hurt - a lot more than I had anticipated!

Dorney Super Sprints

The first Triathlon of the year at Dorney Super Sprints didn't really go to plan, I was out of the water well and moving through the field well when I got a puncture at the start of the second lap so had to retire. I was going back to watch a friend on the Sunday so I had another go and it went really well, although I had commitments in the morning so I couldn't make it for my age group and had to race under 30 which was an experience. 120 of us set off in the swim - the biggets field I've raced in but it went to plan and I was onto the bike before I knew it and posted the fastest cycle and run splits I've ever done at Dorney.

Tuesday, 13 May 2008

Summer's Here

Unfortunately Bracknell Half Marathon didn't really go to plan and despite being on target at 8 miles (a few seconds over the hour) a hilly next 2 miles meant I was behind schedule and I didn't beat the 100 minute barrier (1.42.11) but the race went well and I felt strong towards the end.
I have been experiencing pain in my left knee towards the end of runs recently and the nice massage lady at Bracknell told me I have an "insanely tight ITB" and so now I am on a strict regime of stretching!

With the cycling season now well under way I was starting to feel slightly concerned that my times in the Thursday night 10's weren't really going to plan until last Thursday when I felt much stronger and was able to keep the pressure on the whole way round the 2 laps and clocked 25.56 the fastest on that course since 2005.

I've got my first Triathlon of the season this weekend with the Dorney super Sprints at Eton Rowing Lake on Saturday and I'm thoroughly looking forward to the chance to test myslf in all 3 disciplines.