Adam's page
Adam Moran is raising money for Parkinson’s UK
Story
Well after a year off any personal challenges I thought it would be a good idea to embark another one. At the start of 2018 I could not run more than 500m without being out of breath and generally didn't enjoy running, but to try and not be "Fat & Forty" I did couch to 5K and then regularly throughout 2018 did 5K runs in addition to upping the distance every now and again doing 10k runs.
Fast forward to 2019 I have decided to use my new found ability of being able to run more than 500m and add to it another new challenge, swimming (which I am able to do, but with no real natural ability, more of a life skill) then on top of this add in cycling, you can see where this is ending up...
I have decided to do my first Triathlon for a charity very close to my heart Parkinson's UK more on this later... However it is not just a quick splash and dash Sprint triathlon as that would be too easy, I have decided my first Triathlon will be Stafford 70.3 a half ironman. This consists of:-
- 1.2 mile swim (around 95 lengths of the average swimming pool)
- 56 mile bike ride
- 13 mile run (half marathon)
With time cut offs always looking over your shoulder. Other additional challenges to consider doing this event are:-
- During the event I expect to burn around 6,000 to 7,000 calories, so I have to work out how I fuel myself correctly otherwise I hit the wall and can't do anything thing other than walk. The event also starts at 7.00am so no big monster breakfast to get me through the day. Probably porridge oats and apple juice (cold) Ergh. Then numerous energy gels ergh.
- Run after cycling, known as a brick run. A horrible feeling of your legs feeling like jelly and concrete all at the same time, all you really want to do is sit with your feet up not run 13 miles.
- Swimming in a lake, I have never swum open water before, its full of giant carp and sharks right?
- Training for the last 3.5 months I have been doing one of the disciplines everyday of the week apart from one rest day. This included running a couple of half marathons on the way to work at 6.00am in January which was pretty unpleasant. Also doing something everyday is pretty tedious after a while.
- Physio - to ensure I am preventing injuring myself and look after muscles in my legs I see a physio every eight weeks to 'tune' my legs up which ordinarily reduces me to tears for an hour due to pain.
- Protein - eating a high protein diet is both dull and repetitive, only so many tuna and chicken salads I can cope with and if I had a £1 for every time someone says at work, oooh that looks healthy every time I make a salad in the work kitchen... plus everyone thinks you're some bandwagon weirdo for eating "high protein" food.
I have chosen to do this challenges for a charity very close to my heart, Parkinson's UK. Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition. This means that it causes problems in the brain and gets worse over time. There's currently no cure for Parkinson's and it is not yet known why people get the condition.
My father was diagnosed with Parkinson's around 7 years ago. Prior to this he was pretty active, playing golf, walking and a regular attendee watching rugby at Sale. Over the years his condition has deteriorated, and now struggles to get out of the house, has to use a stair-lift, is no longer able to drive and relies heavily on my mother to care for him. Some days his Parkinson's is so bad he will need to spend a lot of the day in bed and getting the right balance of medication is critical to how he feels and what he is able to do on any given day. His life has significantly changed since being diagnosed with the condition.
Parkinson's UK use the money raised to steer groundbreaking research to improve treatments and to find a cure - in years rather than decades. They also support thousands of people living with the condition to take control. Plus work with health and social care professionals to help drive better care. Any money raised will also be ringfenced to be benefit the Trafford Branch of Parkinson's UK.
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.