Winter Wellbeing Challenge

I had prostate cancer treatment in March 2018 and struggled for some time to talk about it and come to terms with it. You’ll know, from my recent posts, just how much importance I place on encouraging us all to talk about our mental health and wellbeing. Some of you may also be aware that I will be taking part in the ‘Defy The Odds’ challenge in May 2021, along with a team of 29 Lloyds Banking Group colleagues, on a 3 day trek in the Atlas mountains to climb Mount Toubkal. Mount Toubkal's summit sits at a whopping 13,671ft, so the trek will be both physically and mentally challenging, negotiating demanding terrain at high altitude.

In the run up to the event I have set myself a series of challenges to raise funds for Mental Health UK. The first of these will be my Winter Wellbeing Challenge, a ‘virtual’ bike ride from John O’Groats to Lands End to take place over the course of November. This challenge is to remind us all that creating new habits and sustainable change is easier when we do 3%, consistently, every day, over time( typically for 21+ days) rather than go for the 100%, but crash and burn.

 The distance I will need to cycle between the two points will be 874 miles over the 30 days of November, so taking my own advice that ‘consistency is key’, that will mean cycling for roughly 30 miles per day, for every day in November, and, I intend to replicate the terrain, so at a pace of about 18 miles per hour, that is about 1hour 40 minutes per day, every single day, for 30 days.

 If you would like to sponsor me, to help raise valuable funds for Mental Health UK, then follow the embedded link. My aim was to raise £1,000 over the month’s challenge, but thanks to so much generosity I’m already on my way to £1800, so I’m setting a new target of £3000.

 If you read this post and it makes you think about making a new Winter Wellbeing habit for yourself then that would be brilliant too.

 It’s going to be tough, but that’s the idea of a challenge!

 Paul