Covid & heat!

My last event was scheduled to be 9 days after my last Triathlon. 2 days after my wife came down with what we thought was a cold. So I went out and purchased a covid test, just as a precaution. Unfortunately she tested positive. From that second we wore masks and she lived in the bedroom and I lived in the living room. Despite our precautions I still ended up with covid. I still felt awful the 2 days before the half marathon, and was still testing positive, so u had to make the difficult decision to cancel. So I then booked in another half marathon for 2 weeks later. It took a couple of weeks before I could wheel without feeling like I was breathing through a plastic bag. But I was back to it. I was left with no tastebuds or sense of smell, which is awful.

I kept going, and kept training. Then came the weather warning, and an email from the event saying that if the temperatures were predicted to be over 30 degrees on the Sunday (17th) then the half marathon would be demoted to a 10k. As you know, all of my wheeling events are either half or full marathon distance. So a 10k was not far enough. So another difficult decision had to be made. We had a hotel booked as it was near London, and the predicted temperatures were above 30 degrees. So we had to cancel again! Such a nightmare. One thing after another! So now I have another event scheduled for the 13th of August at Kempston Park. Hopefully nothing else will go wrong 🙏 Surely that is it for the bad luck! Oh, amidst the chaos of covid and heat, my footplate on my wheelchair cracked as well! So that’s the 3 events of bad luck 🤞

So I am still working hard. I’ve had to reduce the milage in the past few days to accommodate for the heat. So instead I’ve increased days training. Being mindful of resting adequately and icing my shoulders regularly. In the heat I always wear a hat, and carry an electrolyte replacement drink, as well as energy gels for longer distances. I am now up to 30km distance, but have lots of km to add on. A marathon is 42km. But, I’m almost there. I hope to complete my first marathon in training in the next month.

As for the world records. These have been negotiated with guiness, who have set my times in accordance to the male record as no female records yet exist. This I find a little difficult to fathom. The male who set the record did not have a time to beat, he just set the record originally. Also, the current male record holder, is firstly male, so is naturally stronger than I could ever be. He is also massively taller with much longer limbs, which increased propulsion. So I argued this with guiness, who finally agreed on a more realistic, but still very difficult time for the half, but then now the battle is for the full marathon. They have given me an extra 45 minutes to complete a further half marathon to make it a full marathon, instead of taking the half marathon time set. It’s a little irritating, all the back and forth, and the lack of communication with each other, but hopefully they will get on top of it before London.

As all of you know, I am doing all these events for Blesma. For the support workers who help people like me and their families. The support workers, like mine, who is called Steve, are incredible. I have a set amount that I have to raise before the marathon of £2000. I am hoping to raise £5000 for all of my events and the world records. I have been told by corporate that I must raise £1000 by the 2nd of September and the full £2000 by the marathon or I will not be able to complete it. I need all the help I can get with this. Please share my twitter page @lexialyx and my Instagram page Lexi.alyx.chambers so that I may have a chance of reaching the target set. If I can’t do the marathon, then I can’t attempt the record.

I have some fantastic news coming of a new sponsor, who are incredibly supportive. So hopefully this is the breakthrough that I need for fundraising help. So I will keep you posted of the upcoming fundraising events planned. It is all very exciting.