Decisions

Okay so this morning I sat in my pyjamas, nursing a mild hangover, watching The Great North Run. Somewhere between the 12 mile speed-jogging and the final mile sprint-finish I decided that I should probably sign up for some form of fitness challenge. (My decision may have resulted from the realisation that the athletes' jogging pace was definitely faster than my sprinting pace.)

I set myself the goal to find a fitness challenge, something that I have no choice but to train for, and here's what I found:

• London Marathon - 13th April 2014. Completing the Marathon is on my bucket list... but as of yet I haven't even ran a half Marathon, so I don't think it's a good idea to throw myself in at the deep end, especially when I nearly died running a 10km...  I could apply as one of those wacky people who crawl the whole thing, or alternatively I'll give it a year and do it then? 2015 lets have ya'. 

• Big Issue London to Paris Bike Ride - Granted this is nearly 10x longer than the Marathon (230 miles to be precise), so you're probably wondering why i'd even consider this... but this race is a bit different, you're split into groups of similar fitness levels and lead by a professional cycling guide (great job). 
• Day 1 consists of cycling from London to Portsmouth where you catch an overnight ferry.
• Day 2 involves cycling through beautiful French villages where you can stop off for coffee and crusty bread then end the day eating more French food and spending the night in a hotel. 
• Day 3, cycling to Paris and then spending the evening in the beautiful city itself. 
• Day 4, watch the final stage of the Tour De France.  

• Pink Ribbon Walk -When you see the word 'walk' you kind of think that it can't be a fitness goal...Then you change your mind when you realise it's a 20 mile walk (or 10 if you prefer). I do this as my main fitness challenge as I don't think i'd train as hard for this event as I would for others. I would however do the walk separate to the fitness challenge as it's a fun day out; raising money for a great charity whilst having a chin wag at the same time. 

• London 5 or 10K Santa Run - 5 words - Running-Whilst-Dressed-As-Santa....I'm in. 

• Zombie Survival Race - For those of you who struggle to push yourself... What about this; a race where you have no choice but to leg it. Run through water and mud whilst being chased by zombies. Let me just throw a couple of the obstacles out there: Zombie Slalom, The Darkness, Survival Crawl and A-Mazeing...Not for the faint hearted. 

Those are just a few idea's for my fitness challenge, the Zombie Survival Run sounds scarily appealing as does the Big Issue bike ride. If anyone else is training for a challenge then let me know how it's going. If these events don't appeal to you then have a look at this website, it's a site full of fun fitness events. If like me you want something a little bit more exciting than the standard 10km race, then that site is where you should head... think along the lines of swamp mud races and wolf chases? Whatever it is that you're into there will be an event that suits you, find your challenge, set your goal and train.