Blog for May 2012 in 2012

So...May kicked off with the Concept2 Global Marathon Challenge... I was hoping to complete a full and a half marathon to boost the mileage, but because of time constraints etc I was only able to finish the half marathon. But I do like these challenges that Concept2 put on as they do keep one focused and it's something to look forward to as an incentive to keep going. Also this month the Concept2 challenge series drew to a close with the last round which was a 500 metre sprint. I did manage to do a few of these as I snuck in a quick sprint at the end of my 10km every morning. Didn't do too badly in the sprint round as I came in 5th in this round with 1.33.6... and 6th overall in our mini-league from our rowing club. The other 5 are all younger than me! There are 2 more rounds to do...but they are voluntary and not part of the series. But I will do them as they really do give you something to focus on for the month.

The biggest thing this month was the event I was taking part at the Hilton Hotel in Maidstone in Kent. It is an event that the Hilton Group all over the world put on each year called "Round the world, in a day". They all host events for people to clock up mileage doing different activities and then they get different companies to sponsor them. I decided to row 50km on the ergo. Which went well...with lots of people wanting to talk to me and the occasional person wanting photos...finished it in 3hr 48mins. We also raised over £600 on the day for The Meningitis Trust. That brings my total raised so far to about £1800.

We also had 3 other ergos from the Hotel gym and these were looked after by my wife Miriam, my rowing partner Neil and his girlfriend Les who were getting children to row for 1 minute to see how far they went. This worked really well as we had a lot of them coming back again and again to try and beat their score. I also "inspired" apparently, quite a few adults to seriously think about getting back to, or taking up exercising on the Concept2. As they thought that if I can do challenges like this...with my health problems etc...Then they could.

This month I have also been playing around with Rowpro...it really is a great tool to help you stay focused and I particularly enjoy the pace boats. Not only do they help you keep a set pace...but if you have several going at different paces then it also gives you something interesting to watch. Haven't got into the online rowing as yet...as they haven't been on at a time that has been appropriate for me. But I am hoping to try out the online race nights...they sound fun.

To date...end of May...I have rowed on the erg or river...1,411,054 metres which is 876 miles. So still ahead of schedule...

Later on in the year I am going to be featured in the British rowing magazine "Rowing & regatta" and at the same time I am going to launch a competition to guess the date that I will finish my 2012 miles. I already have some cool prizes...a goody bag from Concept2...some British Rowing Team goodies as quite a few Olympic rowers are supporting my efforts...and more prizes being added all the time...so keep an eye out for details.

And as mentioned earlier...this is all in aid of The Meningitis Trust and you can sponsor me here:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/DarrenSimmons

Cheers

Darren