So, at the end of the year what are the challenges I’d still like to do…
·Coast to coast- yet again this has managed to remain uncompleted. I tried to walk it years ago and got injured, giving up half way after 4 days and 100 miles. This time around I was too vague about when I was going to do it and if it would be on foot or by bicycle. Part of the problem with walking the route is that it takes at least 8 days and factoring in getting from the start and finish points means that in reality at least 10 days is needed. This reduces the times when it is actually possible from a practical point of view as realistically I would only be able to do it in the Easter or summer holidays. Completing the trip as a cycle would involve less time but more planning in terms of equipment. I had wanted to walk the route as I had failed once before but I’m glad that I decided not to spend a week in the hills when there was snow on the ground this Easter.
· Mountain marathon- Still feeling sore from the Sandstone trail I opted not to go for the Lakeland trails marathon. I knew that with the triathlon two weeks later there was no way I could successfully manage to finish them both. I opted to prioritise the triathlon as the swim would be my ultimate challenge of the year.
· Martial arts- I got my adult black belt when I was 11 but haven’t done any martial arts since I was 13. I tried through challenges 30 to learn some Krav Maga but was thwarted 3 times in my attempts to attend an induction session at my local club.
· Cyclo cross race- though I managed to go over Pendle Hill with my bike in the snow I’d still like to compete in an official cyclo-cross race. My downfall with managing this particular challenge this time around was that I left it too late in the year to get myself signed up for a race. I hadn’t realised quite how seasonal cyclocross is.
· Run a Mmile in less than 5 minutes- I’m not sure why this one didn’t come off. I think mainly because other challenges arose that caught my attention.
· 10 peaks- unfortunately with this one once the date for 2012 was announced it was outside of the challenges 30 year. Something I would still like to do in the future though.
· 12 novels- This is perhaps the challenge I’m most disappointed about not completing fully. An avid reader as a child I’ve struggled to read more than one novel every two months during the past year. I had chosen some challenging reads but I’m still to finish: War and Peace, The Histories by Herodotus, Catch 22, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Canterbury Tales, Brave New World, The Old Man and the Sea… I’ve got plenty of summer holiday reading now though 
