Blog - Page 4 of 17 - Phil Cox

Home

Organising challenges shouldn’t cost anything…should it?

I have always been a believer in making sure that any charity I am raising money for gets the full amount, not just something after expenses have been taken out. In the past, if there were costs to putting on an event then I paid. The ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats in 2012 was expensive with flights, accommodation and food (I eat a lot when I am cycling every day!). I was keen to avoid this kind of expense again.

The Team 14 Ironman wasn’t going to cost much I told myself: I have a bike and the kit that goes with it, I bought a seat pad for the rower and I have a tri-suit, what else do I need? As planning for the day became more detailed I realised that things like energy products for training and the event itself were going to mount up. Sports massage, leaflet design and protein supplements all cost money. It may sound unnecessary but to continue doing the volume of training injury-free and make the event a success, all these items are invaluable. And then there is marketing….

The list could be endless but I have spent time pairing things down and making sure I am getting best value for things I am buying.

Contemplating what the final bill might be, I had the idea of contacting the Wantage Round Table to see if they would be prepared to help with funding some of these items. I wasn’t sure if this was the kind of thing they looked at but thought it was worth a question to Mike Hannaby, Funding Committee Chairman. He was very receptive to the idea especially as Wantage Round Table have worked with the 14 Club in the past.

The proposal was discussed at a committee meeting and in less than a week, I had a payment from the Round Table sat in my bank account ready to meet some of the expenditure generated by the challenge. It felt like Christmas!

I have never been that good at asking other people to help me with things that I dream up but it does appear that there is interest out there and willingness to get involved.  I am extremely grateful to Mike and the Round Table for helping to make Team 14 a success.

The Round Table is always looking for new members to continue with their good work, please take time to have a look at their website below and see what they are up to.

 www.wantage.roundtable.co.uk

Further reading…..

If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

Read More

EKGraphics work with Team 14 to produce a wicked logo!

In order to raise the profile of Team 14’s Sponsored Ironman event on 28th August, I thought it would be a good idea to have a logo to bandy about. Knowing very little about graphic design I thought this was best left to the experts – so I asked Emily of E K Graphics to see what she could do.

Emily’s business has been established since 2008 and predominantly produces high quality work for the music industry; amongst her portfolio are flyers for night club venues, DJ & club logos and album artwork. The image below was featured in issue 88 of Advanced Photoshop magazine (October 2011), a more technical description of how this image was created can be found on the EK Graphics website. I’m a bit of a sci-fi fan and the futuristic feel definitely caught my eye.

Emily’s work is not just limited to the music business; she offers all the usual graphic design services around branding, advertising and office stationery. Having worked with her to produce the Team 14 logo, her customer service and understanding of what clients actually want is second to none. I received a large choice of logos and it was difficult to make a decision as I liked most of them!

The Team 14 logo really captures the essence of the challenge (and I like the futuristic font!).

If you need a graphic design service, look no further than www.ekgraphics.co.uk, a professional and friendly approach is the order of the day! More examples of Emily’s work can be seen on her website.

Thank you Emily for supporting this local charitable event, your help is much appreciated.

Further reading…..

If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

Read More

Team 14 takes shape for a sponsored Ironman.

Team 14 takes shape.

I’ve been very fortunate in the past to get help from the right people when it comes to long challenges. The people I ride/train with are always the first point of call, their experiences and detailed knowledge of what it takes to be successful is invaluable. Mark P, Steve P, Ray, Phil T and Simon S, I count myself lucky to know these chaps, they have the endurance mind set.

Then there are the fitness professionals who share my passion for being healthy and raising money for good causes.

My gym, www.tfdgym.co.uk provided me with a place to train for the LEJOG ride in 2012, they also provided lots of expert knowledge to help me build up to the ride. I am in no doubt that things would have been a lot harder had I not had the right guidance. I met with Lisa and team in early January to float the idea of the Ironman, they have stepped up to the plate again, I was over-whelmed with their offers of help.

At various times over the next few months, I’ll be posting about the people supporting this event which I have chosen to name Team14 (more on that in another bog).

 

The Boss

Lisa is a swimmer; in fact, we both were, swimming at the local club as kids. The word ‘legend’ is sadly over-used in today’s world but it is apt in Lisa’s case. She attempted to swim the English Channel in 2011, was fished out after 15 hours in the water with both eyes swollen shut, protesting that she was in the right place mentally and everything was good…that speaks volumes. The tide had turned within 3 miles of France, that is cruel.  I know this was a warm up for the main event though, to gain experience for when she achieves it at the next attempt!

 

Psychological Edge

Lena is Sports Psychology student and will be helping me to focus on achieving my training goals plus improving my concentration; pacing is key for an event like this and energy margins are slim, I can’t afford to take my eye off the ball. Her holistic approach covers all aspects of training and life; her help will provide a good base to see this challenge in the bag.

 

Strength & Conditioning

Martin will be working on a specific strength and conditioning programme. I like the idea behind this; it’s all about functional fitness, compound movements that employ many muscle groups. Martin is a stickler for correct form and execution, which ticks my OCD boxes nicely!

 

All-round Core Strength

Clare is helping me with core strength and flexibility, one of which is awful! I’ve never been the most flexible person there is but I have adopted a programme of stretching to help.  Additionally, I attended my first Pilates class on Wednesday to get an idea of some core exercise alternatives. My first impression is that anyone can do Pilates but it is difficult to do really well. The foam roller plus a tennis ball have become my best stretching buddies in the last few weeks!

 

I have been training with the event in mind since Christmas; the additional input above will ensure that the programme becomes focused on the end goal. It’s great to be working with Team14!

 

For more information on this event, click here.

Further reading…..

If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

Read More

A New Challenge for 2015 – Team 14 is launched!

Christmas provided some spare time for thinking and planning, I have been wondering about doing another fund raiser for a while given it’s been nearly 3 years since I rode LEJOG. I believe I have come up with a challenge that should capture people’s interest, a solo Ironman – with a twist.

The first problem I had (albeit a nice one) was to decide on a charity. I set myself two simple criteria: small and local. I cast around a few friends for ideas and I also asked colleagues at work. They came up with a cracking charity, www.14club.org.uk based in Wantage. Their website said they provided a social club for people with Learning Disabilities, so I popped along to a club evening to meet Gary and Mark.

It’s a small world, I knew some of the members and the organisers but I had no idea that the club even existed. The atmosphere was relaxed, people were choosing what they wanted to do. There were a number of activities available from chatting with friends, watching a film or doing a craft; a cup of coffee was offered to me and I didn’t say no. My daughter was also along for the ride and she genuinely enjoyed chatting to people.

Volunteers are the mainstays of the club, from drivers (they do not claim fuel) who get the members to and from club night/events to those who help on the night. They do this with a calm, cheery approach which is infectious; they aren’t seeking reward or acclaim, they just want to make sure people have a great time. To do this, they raise all the money they need by themselves; 40 members enjoy what the club has to offer and it costs around £3k a year to run.

The rising cost of essential things like insurance means that fewer events can be run, it’s a simple equation: more cash = more activities, this is where the Ironman comes in.

I will train and undertake to complete an Ironman distance but with one amendment, my knees don’t like running so I will swap the run for an indoor row of the same distance. I am under no illusion as to how hard this will be, that’s why I have been training since Christmas. The distances are:

  •  Swim: 3,900 metres (2.4miles)
  • Ride: 180km (112miles)
  • Row: 42,195 metres (26.2 miles)

 

The swim is my strongest leg, when I am training for an event for example a swim/bike, a typical session would be around 2,800 metres involving some speed work and longer swims; the focus of these sessions is about improving stroke efficiency. Adding on another 1,100m should be OK but I still need to train sensibly for this.

The bike distance is longish but not something that is out of the ball park, again, sensible preparation will ensure that I can complete the mileage in the required time with something in the tank for the row.

The row is a major issue (at the moment), I will be fatigued in the shoulders (which will have stiffened after 8 hours of riding) and my backside tires after about 10,000 metres becoming painful. I think the key here is plenty of interval work at threshold pace and then very slow, long rows to condition my rear end. The combination should get me through to the end. There is no doubt about it, I will need to be much fitter and stronger to get over the finish line, but I have plenty of help.

I will be posting more details of progress and events, in the meantime, more information can be found at

http://www.phil-cox.net/cri-du-chat-syndrome/team-14-ironman-challenge-for-2015/

I am not pushing for donations at this stage given how far away it is but I am looking for a commercial sponsor to be associated with the event, if you think you can help in this respect, please contact me here. However, I’m not going to complain if you want to bung me a few quid, you can donate here

http://make-a-donation.org/fundraisers/team-14-1

Watch this space; the whole day should be fun with lots of opportunity to be involved!

Further reading…..

If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

Read More
My Tweets