I rested the first two weeks of December having had a good previous three week build up. My aim for December was simply to rest up (well, comparatively speaking) and recover, enjoy Christmas and positively stuff myself in preparation for the famine ahead!
Up until Christmas Day I did a few short runs, including a 7.5 miler with a 8.9kg rucksack, and two longs. As this was the heaviest weight to date that I've carried I used a 5 minute run/5 minute walk strategy for this session and felt strong throughout.
The rucksack felt comfortable and my upper back only started getting sore towards the very end. I've been wearing the rucksack for several months now with a gradually increasing weight so getting used to it from an early stage seems to have paid off.
The two long runs/walks included an off-road marathon: 26.2 miles in 6h14m, with 2645 foot of ascent and a 5.5kg rucksack (and 3175 calories burnt that need replacing!).
This marathon was an early start in the semi-darkness and it was a good half hour before it was fully light. A freezing cold winter's morning saw a hard, icy crust on the ground which was manageable for a while but as the temperature rose a little the consequent swampy conditions made it tough under foot: this was very tiring on the legs after a couple of hours.
I used my new Asics Trabuco GTX off-road trainers which actually weren't too great for the day's very muddy terrain; being a Gore-Tex waterproof shoe they won't be my shoe of choice for the MdS as I don't fancy getting trench-foot in the desert! These shoes were effective in keeping the water and mud out . . . as long as it didn't come over the top of the shoe. When that happened (quite often) the Gore-Tex liner prevented the water and mud being squeezed out, which would normally happen through the mesh you have on ordinary trainers. The result was freezing cold, wet feet after 6 hours.
There were no threatening bulls or cows during the marathon effort but three deer ran across my path in Stainburn Forest, their white tails bobbing across the plantation. In one small field I found myself getting a little worried about 50 or so sheep and rams making a baa-ing racket as they galloped to surround me from the front, rear and side to pin me up against the stone wall to my left. I quickened the pace here.
It was a relief to finally finish this session: my legs were cramping over the stiles towards the end and the thick, slippy mud had sapped my legs of their strength. It became a case of simply forcing one leg in front of the other to finish.
With realistically only the top 100 MdS entrants running the whole thing the rest of the field is walking to some degree. So for this marathon I wanted to introduce some longer period of walking to start getting the muscles used to it and so pretty much walked the last three hours (after having spent the first three hours with a run/walk strategy).
I'm glad I did. I can see why long walk training is vital for the MdS and I will need to do more of it to prevent getting too trashed. By the end of the marathon I was tired and my hamstrings and feet really felt the very different gait action (which isn't helped by a weighted rucksack). This was a very different feeling from a session of mostly running. Apparently most hobbling MdS injury victims are a result of a lack of long distance walking in training as competitors are finally forced to walk after a couple of days when the muscles simply aren't used to it.
Five days after the marathon I did a 22.5 mile stint (4h57m), with the obligatory weighted rucksack: more of the muddy slipperiness which really gets to you after a while as it's impossible to maintain any consistent speed!
Again I walked pretty much the last couple of hours of this session and felt it in the hamstrings, feet and knees. Worryingly the knee pain I've picked up recently doesn't seem to be easing off permanently. The cold bath treatment (for the purposes of blog amusement I stuck the thermometer in and I can tell you it was 5C!) followed by a hot bath helped a lot to ease the legs.
My sports massage the day after the 22.5 miler showed that my leg muscles are still surprisingly loose (apart from my quads, which might be causing the knee problem).
Tuesday 27 December 2011
Sunday 25 December 2011
Christmas goodies!
The main disadvantage of training up for the MdS in April of each year is having to train through the misery of a cold, wet British winter. As I've said previously, this is traditionally why the British contingent as a whole doesn't fare too well on the MdS.
The big advantage is that Santa comes about three months before the event, which can mean MdS goodies on Christmas Day!
Having been very good over the year I've now got my first piece of compulsory kit: the compass.
But this is not any ordinary compass: to meet MdS regulations (failure of which means being shot at dawn by the French Foreign Legion (the organiser of the MdS is a chap called Patrick Bauer, a former Legionnaire)) the compass must have 1 or 2 degrees of measurement accuracy.
So I now have the Recta DO 390 compass, so I can get lost in the Sahara to within 2 degrees of accuracy of where I'm not sure I am. But hopefully not as lost as Mauro Prosperi, the Italian policeman who, in the 1994 edition of the race, got lost in a sandstorm. He was discovered 9 days later, having covered a few hundred kilometres into a hospital in neighbouring Algeria, having just survived on his own urine and dead bats.
I've also now got a couple of pairs of the Nike Dri-Fit running shorts with flatlock seams to prevent chaffing. There are as many discussions about the ideal type of undergarment for hot desert conditions as there are the different types and combinations of undergarment available.
For me, and in my better weather sessions, I've found these tight-fitting lycra shorts (loose-fitting = friction = chaffing) don't give me chaffing problems, as long as the seams are in the right place, which is the case with the Nike Dri-Fits.
The low humidity and high heat conditions in the desert should evaporate away any sweat so, hopefully, there should be no chaffing caused by moisture from sweat.
I've also got my first sample dehydrated foods to test. I have to get this right: there are numerous stories of competitors' races ruined because of getting the food wrong (the stomach doesn't always take kindly to a diet of dehydrated or freeze-dried food), let alone the D&V that spreads through camp like wildfire after a couple of days . . .
The big advantage is that Santa comes about three months before the event, which can mean MdS goodies on Christmas Day!
Having been very good over the year I've now got my first piece of compulsory kit: the compass.
But this is not any ordinary compass: to meet MdS regulations (failure of which means being shot at dawn by the French Foreign Legion (the organiser of the MdS is a chap called Patrick Bauer, a former Legionnaire)) the compass must have 1 or 2 degrees of measurement accuracy.
So I now have the Recta DO 390 compass, so I can get lost in the Sahara to within 2 degrees of accuracy of where I'm not sure I am. But hopefully not as lost as Mauro Prosperi, the Italian policeman who, in the 1994 edition of the race, got lost in a sandstorm. He was discovered 9 days later, having covered a few hundred kilometres into a hospital in neighbouring Algeria, having just survived on his own urine and dead bats.
I've also now got a couple of pairs of the Nike Dri-Fit running shorts with flatlock seams to prevent chaffing. There are as many discussions about the ideal type of undergarment for hot desert conditions as there are the different types and combinations of undergarment available.
For me, and in my better weather sessions, I've found these tight-fitting lycra shorts (loose-fitting = friction = chaffing) don't give me chaffing problems, as long as the seams are in the right place, which is the case with the Nike Dri-Fits.
The low humidity and high heat conditions in the desert should evaporate away any sweat so, hopefully, there should be no chaffing caused by moisture from sweat.
I've also got my first sample dehydrated foods to test. I have to get this right: there are numerous stories of competitors' races ruined because of getting the food wrong (the stomach doesn't always take kindly to a diet of dehydrated or freeze-dried food), let alone the D&V that spreads through camp like wildfire after a couple of days . . .
Sunday 27 November 2011
Time to rest
Total miles this week 38 including an 8 mile threshold run (in the dark and through some wooded areas: I need to choose a better headlamp as part of the MdS kit preparations) and a steady 5 miles. I felt too tired to do a back-to-back session in this last of the 3 week cycle.
Sunday
Distance: 25 miles
Ascent: 1495 ft
Rucksack weight: 5kg
Calories burnt: 3493
Calories burnt: 3493
Time: 5h11m
An out and part-way back route along the Dales Way to Grassington then I was picked up in Burnsall. Just before I finished I was zoned-out listening to some music and absolutely bounding along pretending I was playing some drumsticks (no one else was around): I think it was the Maxim chocolate and caramel bar I'd not long had.
I was absolutely buzzing and finished the last quarter mile in 7m30s pace! But as soon as I stopped I felt very sick, so that serves me right.
In the last 3 weeks I've done a back-to-back run/walk twice which has included a long run/walk of more than 20 miles: the longest run/walks for each of the last 3 weeks, with a weighted rucksack, have been 21, 22.5 and today's 25 miles.
I feel I've broken through another barrier but I'm really feeling it. The last week or two I've found myself sleeping a lot more and it's become a little bit more difficult to get out the door to do the long runs. From the research I've read on MdS preparation this reaction is perfectly normal: the body will adjust and allow for increased distances and time on the feet.
To be sure I'm going to take it easy for the next couple of weeks to repair and recover, particularly to give some time to a worrying knee grumble that started coming on a few weeks ago. Jim, my sports masseur, has found the quads muscles of the affected leg particularly tight. Tucking my foot under my behind and leaning right back flat on the bed (it's taken a while to be able to do this!) stretches them out and gives some temporary relief.
On the other side of that rest period the hard work will really have to start in earnest, as will some decision-making on kit and equipment.
The MdS is coming around a lot quicker than I expected. I'm looking forward to some serious Christmas food troughing to get prepared for it.
Sunday 20 November 2011
Feeling weary
Felt fine during this week on the shorter faster runs. Total miles this week 35.5.
Saturday
Distance: 4 miles
Ascent: 284 ft
Rucksack weight: nil
Calories burnt: the calories gained from smelling a couple of Krispy Kreme doughnuts
Time: 42m
I'd planned my long run for today but awoke still feeling tired and my Achilles also felt tired and sore. A general malaise so, following the golden rule of listening to your body, I knew today wasn't the right day. Instead I took it easy around the local reservoir. Got my rucksack ready for tomorrow's effort.
Sunday
Distance: 22.5 miles
Ascent: 2931 ft
Rucksack weight: 5.1kg
Calories burnt: 3500
Time: 6h6m
This was tough work. An easy first couple of miles was followed by 2 or 3 miles straight up to the top of a local moor. The weather was bad: drizzling rain, strong winds, visibility of about 50 metres as a maximum, even worse on top of Bingley Moor. I'd worked out the route I wanted to take in advance and thankfully had brought the (waterproof!) map with me because I ended up having to read off that with the compass in several places. At one point I wasn't in fact on a route I could have sworn I was on and had completely missed the turn I wanted: must have been covered in the peat bog or poor visibility.
A number of times I wanted to jack it in and go home: I was quite cold despite wearing three layers, a wool hat, wool gloves and working hard. But I knew that once I finished all the creature comforts of home would feel all the better (a point well made in Robin Harvie's book "Why We Run", a good read).
I also knew that it was at times such as this where the mental training becomes just as important as the physical: it can be so easy to cave in to what the mind is saying but by changing the approach to the task at hand the body will push on through anything.
I was simply going through that next developmental phase of training for a multi-day event: getting the body used to getting up and doing a large distance day after day even if the mind doesn't at first want to.
Not long after these wobbles, and having got some more food and drink down, I felt a lot better. I saw a few runners up on Rombald's Moor by a plantation who passed me going the other way and I felt oddly much better for having seen humanity for the first time in about 3 hours. After a Maxim chocolate and caramel energy bar (delicious but unfortunately useless for the Sahara heat) I found myself now blasting along an uphill section of a path to a rocky outcrop on the moor, being careful not to send myself off the edge and down the other side.
Descending the other side of the moor I came across my only experience to date of the "glory", an optical phenomenon, as a quick burst of the sun behind me cast my image down on the clouds below me. This was a fascinating sight and I whiled away a couple of minutes waving my arms about in the air to amuse myself by seeing my effect in the "glory" (I'm sure you would too!).
I'd only just passed a couple above me by the rocky outcrop and in my excitement ran back up to them (where I got the energy from I don't know!), gasping: "Look! Quickly! [gasp] The [gasp] halo [gasp] effect!! Come down and have a look!"
I don't think they understood the rarity of this occasion. The wife started fiddling nervously with her belongings while the husband looked at me wide-eyed with his mouth gaping to show his half eaten sandwich, hand suspended mid-way to his mouth deciding whether to finish eating his sandwich or attack.
I left them to it and only realised later, after having fed and watered myself and relaxing in a hot bath to a clearer state of mind, that if I suddenly saw standing in front of me a large, drenched strapping chap with cropped hair who looked as though he hadn't washed, eaten or drunk for three weeks (being out in crap weather for 6 hours produces that effect) gibbering on about coming down to the edge of a precipice then I might become nervous too.
Apologies to that couple in the unlikely event you're reading this!
Saturday
Distance: 4 miles
Ascent: 284 ft
Rucksack weight: nil
Calories burnt: the calories gained from smelling a couple of Krispy Kreme doughnuts
Time: 42m
I'd planned my long run for today but awoke still feeling tired and my Achilles also felt tired and sore. A general malaise so, following the golden rule of listening to your body, I knew today wasn't the right day. Instead I took it easy around the local reservoir. Got my rucksack ready for tomorrow's effort.
Sunday
Distance: 22.5 miles
Ascent: 2931 ft
Rucksack weight: 5.1kg
Calories burnt: 3500
Time: 6h6m
This was tough work. An easy first couple of miles was followed by 2 or 3 miles straight up to the top of a local moor. The weather was bad: drizzling rain, strong winds, visibility of about 50 metres as a maximum, even worse on top of Bingley Moor. I'd worked out the route I wanted to take in advance and thankfully had brought the (waterproof!) map with me because I ended up having to read off that with the compass in several places. At one point I wasn't in fact on a route I could have sworn I was on and had completely missed the turn I wanted: must have been covered in the peat bog or poor visibility.
A number of times I wanted to jack it in and go home: I was quite cold despite wearing three layers, a wool hat, wool gloves and working hard. But I knew that once I finished all the creature comforts of home would feel all the better (a point well made in Robin Harvie's book "Why We Run", a good read).
I also knew that it was at times such as this where the mental training becomes just as important as the physical: it can be so easy to cave in to what the mind is saying but by changing the approach to the task at hand the body will push on through anything.
I was simply going through that next developmental phase of training for a multi-day event: getting the body used to getting up and doing a large distance day after day even if the mind doesn't at first want to.
Not long after these wobbles, and having got some more food and drink down, I felt a lot better. I saw a few runners up on Rombald's Moor by a plantation who passed me going the other way and I felt oddly much better for having seen humanity for the first time in about 3 hours. After a Maxim chocolate and caramel energy bar (delicious but unfortunately useless for the Sahara heat) I found myself now blasting along an uphill section of a path to a rocky outcrop on the moor, being careful not to send myself off the edge and down the other side.
Descending the other side of the moor I came across my only experience to date of the "glory", an optical phenomenon, as a quick burst of the sun behind me cast my image down on the clouds below me. This was a fascinating sight and I whiled away a couple of minutes waving my arms about in the air to amuse myself by seeing my effect in the "glory" (I'm sure you would too!).
I'd only just passed a couple above me by the rocky outcrop and in my excitement ran back up to them (where I got the energy from I don't know!), gasping: "Look! Quickly! [gasp] The [gasp] halo [gasp] effect!! Come down and have a look!"
I don't think they understood the rarity of this occasion. The wife started fiddling nervously with her belongings while the husband looked at me wide-eyed with his mouth gaping to show his half eaten sandwich, hand suspended mid-way to his mouth deciding whether to finish eating his sandwich or attack.
I left them to it and only realised later, after having fed and watered myself and relaxing in a hot bath to a clearer state of mind, that if I suddenly saw standing in front of me a large, drenched strapping chap with cropped hair who looked as though he hadn't washed, eaten or drunk for three weeks (being out in crap weather for 6 hours produces that effect) gibbering on about coming down to the edge of a precipice then I might become nervous too.
Apologies to that couple in the unlikely event you're reading this!
Sunday 13 November 2011
Bulls are quite big . . .
Last week was a rest week: a 4 mile run along a beautiful sandy beach while on holiday in the Outer Hebrides was all I did, other than some core stability work (which is key to helping with the weight of the rucksack on long runs/walks). I knew the coming three weeks were going to see some hard physical work so I wanted to ensure I was as fresh as possible.
This week (total miles 34.2) has seen the usual couple of short mid-week runs: usually faster or "speed play" sessions to try and keep some semblance of basic running speed at between 9 to 10 minute miles.
This weekend has seen a good back-to-back:
Saturday
Distance: 21 miles
Ascent: 2089 ft
Rucksack weight: 2.5kg
Calories burnt: 3090
Time: 4h36m
Over and around the Dales. I started a bit too late in the day bearing in mind how quickly the dark comes in at this time of year. It was cold, some warmth in the sun, crisp, dry and clear. The ground was though very boggy in places because of heavy rains this week.
This week (total miles 34.2) has seen the usual couple of short mid-week runs: usually faster or "speed play" sessions to try and keep some semblance of basic running speed at between 9 to 10 minute miles.
This weekend has seen a good back-to-back:
Saturday
Distance: 21 miles
Ascent: 2089 ft
Rucksack weight: 2.5kg
Calories burnt: 3090
Time: 4h36m
Over and around the Dales. I started a bit too late in the day bearing in mind how quickly the dark comes in at this time of year. It was cold, some warmth in the sun, crisp, dry and clear. The ground was though very boggy in places because of heavy rains this week.
The highlight today was coming across a field full of cows and an extremely large bull. The route I needed was on the other side of this blockage. A high stone wall to my left didn't make it easy to go any other way.
It'll be fine, I thought, they're usually placid and I'll walk around them. They had other ideas: the bull, who had been standing at the back, pushed his way through the parting group of cows and walked proudly to the front. Still I thought it would be fine so slowed a bit and kept walking around them, hugging the stone wall to my left.
A little bit too close for comfort the bull stood square on at me, raised his left leg and stamped it down hard on the ground . . . twice. And then started moving forward.
Survival instinct kicked in! I scrambled over the rough stone wall and the annoying wire fence that was on top of that . . . only to find myself in another field with another group of cows and a bull. I figured I could probably run to the northern wall ahead of me faster than the bull in this field could reach me so I legged it, coming round the back of the cows and bull in the other field to the safety of the path I needed to get to!
A few miles later I looked to the horizon and realised this was taking me longer than I'd anticipated: I had about an hour of light left. I stepped up the pace to finish where I'd parked the car in the almost-dark, feeling okay but tired.
Sunday
Distance: 4.1 miles
Ascent: 618 ft
Rucksack weight: 6.7kg
Calories burnt: a couple of Mars Bars
Calories burnt: a couple of Mars Bars
Time: 51m
The legs felt surprisingly good but with the rucksack soon tired going up a steep hill. The cold bath at the end was more of a shock than usual: I'd forgotten that if the outside temperature has dropped then so has the temperature of the water coming in to the house drawn from the mains! I got out once the legs started going numb and felt better after a hot shower.
Sunday 30 October 2011
A good October push
October has been a great month for the training.
It began with an event, the Grin 'n Bear It, covering 17 miles with 5kg in the rucksack and, the next day, a 5 mile run with 3kg in the rucksack. This was my first back-to-back effort and these will become more regular as time moves on. I don't want to do too many of these just yet as, particularly when running with a weighted rucksack, injuries in the legs, back and shoulders are easy to pick up.
The strength gained from completing the Yorkshireman Off-Road Marathon on 11 September has given me the expected boost I needed for October so the month has looked as follows:
Week ending Sunday 9 October
Total 29 miles including a 20 mile run home (3h41m) with 3kg: this run home was in a record time.
Week ending 16 October
A week off from running/walking as the previous three week cycle saw me run In Pendle's Shadow (19 miles), Grin 'n Bear It (17 miles, with 5 miles the day after) and the 20 mile run home in record time. Instead I did a handful of core stability, stretching and weights sessions.
Week ending 23 October
Total 35.5 miles including the 25 miler John O'Gaunt's Challenge (2,537 foot of ascent) with 5kg in the rucksack. This was a fantastic event: I felt fresh from having had the previous week off but tired significantly towards the end as the top of my back began to feel the rucksack weight. This event also showed that energy gels don't really do much for me at all.
Week ending 30 October
Total 25 miles including a very stormy 18 mile run around the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides while on holiday. The Montane Minimus waterproof running jacket did a very good job (well, as good a job as you can get with "waterproof" jackets)! I had to cut this run short because a storm that came in over the last hour or so of the run started lifting me off my feet, which was unnerving!
So I achieved the objectives I'd set out for October: introduce a back-to-back run and get used to a weekly long run of 20 miles or more, which was largely achieved in the 3 weeks on/1 week off cycle.
On the kit side of things I'm trialing an off-road shoe for the practical point that doing off-road events in the UK over the winter isn't realistic in road running shoes.
At some point I'll need to make a decision on the footwear for the MdS: a road running shoe (I use the Asics Gel Nimbus, a comfortable neutral gait shoe with lots of cushioning that takes my orthotics very well) or a trail shoe (I'm currently using the Asics Gel Trail Sensor 5: OK on grassy trails but little grip on rocks/stones/slippy mud).
There's no real right or wrong answer on that score: the MdS apparently covers terrain where a road running shoe might be better than an off-road trail shoe, e.g., the salt flats, but equally the reverse applies,
e.g., when running up and over a mountain or a rock-strewn desert plain.
I haven't even started considering all the other MdS kit and food I need to worry about!
The objective for November is maintain the regular weekly long distance while introducing a couple more back-to-back run/walks with an increasing weight in the rucksack. And not getting injured.
It began with an event, the Grin 'n Bear It, covering 17 miles with 5kg in the rucksack and, the next day, a 5 mile run with 3kg in the rucksack. This was my first back-to-back effort and these will become more regular as time moves on. I don't want to do too many of these just yet as, particularly when running with a weighted rucksack, injuries in the legs, back and shoulders are easy to pick up.
The strength gained from completing the Yorkshireman Off-Road Marathon on 11 September has given me the expected boost I needed for October so the month has looked as follows:
Week ending Sunday 9 October
Total 29 miles including a 20 mile run home (3h41m) with 3kg: this run home was in a record time.
Week ending 16 October
A week off from running/walking as the previous three week cycle saw me run In Pendle's Shadow (19 miles), Grin 'n Bear It (17 miles, with 5 miles the day after) and the 20 mile run home in record time. Instead I did a handful of core stability, stretching and weights sessions.
Week ending 23 October
Total 35.5 miles including the 25 miler John O'Gaunt's Challenge (2,537 foot of ascent) with 5kg in the rucksack. This was a fantastic event: I felt fresh from having had the previous week off but tired significantly towards the end as the top of my back began to feel the rucksack weight. This event also showed that energy gels don't really do much for me at all.
Week ending 30 October
Total 25 miles including a very stormy 18 mile run around the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides while on holiday. The Montane Minimus waterproof running jacket did a very good job (well, as good a job as you can get with "waterproof" jackets)! I had to cut this run short because a storm that came in over the last hour or so of the run started lifting me off my feet, which was unnerving!
So I achieved the objectives I'd set out for October: introduce a back-to-back run and get used to a weekly long run of 20 miles or more, which was largely achieved in the 3 weeks on/1 week off cycle.
On the kit side of things I'm trialing an off-road shoe for the practical point that doing off-road events in the UK over the winter isn't realistic in road running shoes.
At some point I'll need to make a decision on the footwear for the MdS: a road running shoe (I use the Asics Gel Nimbus, a comfortable neutral gait shoe with lots of cushioning that takes my orthotics very well) or a trail shoe (I'm currently using the Asics Gel Trail Sensor 5: OK on grassy trails but little grip on rocks/stones/slippy mud).
There's no real right or wrong answer on that score: the MdS apparently covers terrain where a road running shoe might be better than an off-road trail shoe, e.g., the salt flats, but equally the reverse applies,
e.g., when running up and over a mountain or a rock-strewn desert plain.
I haven't even started considering all the other MdS kit and food I need to worry about!
The objective for November is maintain the regular weekly long distance while introducing a couple more back-to-back run/walks with an increasing weight in the rucksack. And not getting injured.
Sunday 2 October 2011
Grin 'n Bear It
Distance: 17 miles
Ascent: 1831 ft
Rucksack weight: 5kg
Calories burnt: 2212
Calories burnt: 2212
Time: 4h24m
Yesterday was supposed to have been a 23 mile jaunt across the Peak District.
The website for the "Grin 'n Bear It" event said (and still does!) runners start at 10am so I was surprised when I turned up to be told all the runners had started with the walkers at 8am. Apparently the "running" event was the 16 miler, starting at 10am, although I'd checked in advance to confirm I could run the 23 miler starting at 10am. The overall time limit for the event, per the website, was 11 hours (more than enough).
As an entrant on the day this mix-up wasn't helpful! I can only assume advance entrants received different information in the post. Anyway, the chap running it kindly agreed to let me start on the 23 miler a couple of hours later than everybody else. Unfortunately I was then dropped off along with everyone else at the 16 miler start, so back in the minibus I went to be taken to the 23 miler start.
Already stressed I started off far too quickly with a heavier than usual rucksack weight. I apologised to the first checkpoint marshalls (who looked a little miffed, understandably, but were very good about it), and the second, etc. etc, pointing out the website confusion.
Onwards I went along the course, including 4.5 miles of ascent on an increasingly warm day. At the highest point and another checkpoint ("Sorry, sorry . . . website . . . 10am!") I saw out before me as far as the eye could see a slightly undulating plateau of peat bog. The checkpoint marshalls suggested a relatively dry route and pointed into the distance at a rocky outcrop I was aiming for.
This gave a small inkling of what it might be like crossing one of the endless salt flats or set of small sand dunes in the Sahara.
This felt endless, and was tough on the legs. Trudge, trudge, trudge, sinking, sinking, up, down, up, up, down, fall over . . .
Almost my entire right leg fell into a peat bog and as I pulled myself out I lost my Asics Gel Trail Sensor 5 (the off-road trainer I was testing, new on this morning!).
Clearly I couldn't finish the remaining 10 or so miles without a trainer on my right foot so had to crouch down onto my stomach and spread myself out to distribute my weight across the bog and just catch the opening of the hole I'd left as it was fast closing back in on itself. It took some doing to push my right arm in, almost to the shoulder, to ferret around the peaty mess to find my shoe, and took a good deal of effort to pull my shoe back out.
Shoe recovered, onwards I hopped, skipped and jumped across the moor for what seemed an eternity, following a line of yellow sight flags that never seemed to end. Finally off the moor, just after the next checkpoint and some 2.5 hours after I started I caught and passed the backmarker walker who'd started at 8am: this caused some excitement at the immediately prior checkpoint as they weren't expecting to see that pain-in-the-backside runner for hours yet!
It was here though that a couple of officious types were really trying to put the pressure on for me to jack it in: "It's really hot . . . people are burning up out there, we're hearing on the radio . . . come in to our Land Rover . . . just a short ride to HQ and it'll all be over! Are you sure you're OK? You look a little unwell?" I didn't appreciate this really; the other volunteers were the absolute gold stars you come to expect on these events but these two really did annoy me which only served to boost my energy for the next couple of miles.
By then I was getting a tad cream-crackered and shortly after I stopped for a few minutes to take off a far heavier rucksack: some dastardly types seem to have put rocks in it without me realising. After stretching off and getting some fuel down me I continued on to Winscar Reservoir . . . to see my first apparition shimmering in the distance, an ice cream van!!
You've never seen me move so fast. My mind became full of images of a smiling, chuckling grand-fatherly type, with a soft beard, holding out before me a large '99 with two flakes and hundreds of thousands and an ice-cold can of Coke.
Unfortunately my rucksack could only produce a couple of quid which only went as far as a cola-lolly which didn't taste very nice (but didn't stop me demolishing it in a few seconds) and a cool can of Coke. The bloke in the ice-cream van wasn't chuckling and didn't have a soft beard, though he was smiling.
Still, the sugars gave me a boost to the next road junction (by which time I'd passed another couple of walkers) . . . where the two officious types I'd seen at the earlier checkpoint pulled up in their Land Rover: "Are you sure you don't want a ride back to HQ? You've done really well, no shame in stopping now, you've done fantastic to have run all that way starting late. Up ahead it's a valley and is similar to the fiery depths of Hell, it's so hot, so you are bound to expire."
Or words to that effect.
When I replied that suits me fine because I'm aiming to run in up to 50C in the Sahara next April the officious driver looked a little put out. Unbelievably he didn't attempt to say quietly to a chap in the back: "Do you want to walk with him up this hill and try and convince him to turn in?"
I couldn't believe it! I've never heard of this treatment at any event anytime ever!
So his minion (that's how it looked) jumped out and started walking with me up the steep hill. Being a bit pee'd off by now and feeling absolutely fine the competitive gene in me came out and I thought instead I'd play a little game, the well-known Who Get's Knackered First?
I then put on a fast uphill walk and really pushed it. The poor guy struggled to keep up and started going puce and sweating within a couple of minutes. I thought he was going to keel over. Half way up the hill he looked at me with a quizzical look: "You're fine, there's actually nothing wrong with you is there?"
"Nope!"
I won.
Just before the top of the hill I could see the two officious types stood at the back of their Land Rover. I wondered what they were going to try next. I had visions of them smiling and opening up the back of their Land Rover and in a sweeping arm gesture showing the pile of chocolate-covered Jaffa Cakes before me, stacked to the roof of the Land Rover and falling out of the windows: "All this could be yours . . . if only you'd just ride with us back to HQ!"
Once at the top of the hill there were no Jaffa Cakes but it was just more of the same from the officious two: ". . . really hot down there, still got 6 miles to go, running out of time, dangerous, "elf and safetee" . . . you really need to make a decision, it's up to you of course . . ."
By now it was around 2.30pm so I asked why their website said the time limit was 11 hours, so even had I started as a walker at 8am I still had hours to go and would be finished within 1.5 hours max. There was more of the same from the officious two.
By now I'd had enough. The subtext seemed to be that these two wanted to get home early to enjoy the remainder of the sunshine, though presumably they'd volunteered for this event so it seemed odd.
So I called it a day on the basis of promising myself I'd do a back-to-back and go out tomorrow for 5 miles or so.
I sat waiting in the Land Rover for half an hour while they tried to convince the other walkers behind me to jack it in, during which time I could have just walked 2 of the remaining 6 miles so I became even more annoyed.
Once back at HQ (a few others around me were mumbling about not coming back to do this event again) I grabbed a quick bite to eat and got in the car home for a cold bath.
Still, the positives are having had a hard terrain run with a slightly heavier rucksack and brushing up on navigation skills, so not entirely a waste of time.
Today I did as I'd promised myself and went out for a 5 mile run with about 3kg in the rucksack. This is my first back-to-back run following a hard day. These are an imperative part of MdS training as that is essentially the core of the MdS and I'll have to get used to these, albeit I'll save the heavier days for January and February.
A good sign is that the legs felt perfectly fine during the 5 mile run: that's the magic of the freezing cold bath after yesterday's effort!
Friday 30 September 2011
September review
I'm still sticking with the plan: no more than 3 runs a week and trying to keep the weekly mileage increase to not more than 10%. I'm ensuring I mix in walking with the running: flatter routes mean I usually do 10 minute run/1 minute walk and the walking mix naturally increases the more tired I get. If I come across an incline I walk it.
This strategy has so far seen me avoid any injuries, which is crucial to make sure I get to the MdS start line. I also try to ensure my long runs are done off-road: the impact injury from tarmac or pavement running would be too great, and I'm seeing greater strength gains from running across grass, fields and tracks and trails. The LDWA Challenge events (open to both runners and walkers) have been fantastic for this.
What has also definitely helped is the weekly sports massage (as well as getting my Achilles problems sorted early, and finding a podiatrist who knows what he's talking about when it comes to orthotics!). It's only been this month that I've been able to drop from two massages a week (which I started in July) to one a week. It's taken almost three months to undo all the muscle damage from my poor previous running habits (i.e., heel striking and little stretching). I'm no longer swearing during the sports massage sessions, so that's progress!
Mid-foot striking is now second-nature. There was a spell where, once I was getting tired towards the end of a long run my legs would fall back to heel-strike but focussing on form soon addressed that.
September has been a big push in terms of getting over the psychological barrier of distance: it's been many years since I last ran a marathon so to have done so this month is a good start for the next 6 months slog.
Recovery from long runs is also critical. Much as they are uncomfortable I swear by the post-long run ice cold bath, just enough water solely from the cold tap to cover the legs. The effect is immediate and I find myself able to walk around without much stiffness or pain. Obviously this isn't going to be an available option in the Sahara but the point of this is to reduce the recovery time between the long runs in the build-up phase.
The objective for the next couple of months is to build to a weekly long run of more than 20 miles and try and reduce the recovery time to the next run, maybe introducing a short back-to-back run.
This strategy has so far seen me avoid any injuries, which is crucial to make sure I get to the MdS start line. I also try to ensure my long runs are done off-road: the impact injury from tarmac or pavement running would be too great, and I'm seeing greater strength gains from running across grass, fields and tracks and trails. The LDWA Challenge events (open to both runners and walkers) have been fantastic for this.
What has also definitely helped is the weekly sports massage (as well as getting my Achilles problems sorted early, and finding a podiatrist who knows what he's talking about when it comes to orthotics!). It's only been this month that I've been able to drop from two massages a week (which I started in July) to one a week. It's taken almost three months to undo all the muscle damage from my poor previous running habits (i.e., heel striking and little stretching). I'm no longer swearing during the sports massage sessions, so that's progress!
Mid-foot striking is now second-nature. There was a spell where, once I was getting tired towards the end of a long run my legs would fall back to heel-strike but focussing on form soon addressed that.
September has been a big push in terms of getting over the psychological barrier of distance: it's been many years since I last ran a marathon so to have done so this month is a good start for the next 6 months slog.
Recovery from long runs is also critical. Much as they are uncomfortable I swear by the post-long run ice cold bath, just enough water solely from the cold tap to cover the legs. The effect is immediate and I find myself able to walk around without much stiffness or pain. Obviously this isn't going to be an available option in the Sahara but the point of this is to reduce the recovery time between the long runs in the build-up phase.
The objective for the next couple of months is to build to a weekly long run of more than 20 miles and try and reduce the recovery time to the next run, maybe introducing a short back-to-back run.
Saturday 24 September 2011
In Pendle's Shadow
Distance: 20 miles
Ascent: 3078 ft
Rucksack weight: 3kg
Calories burnt: 3526
Time: 4h57m (including 40 minutes standing around wondering where I am)
Doing this so soon after a marathon wouldn't usually be a good idea, but training for the MdS doesn't allow any let-up unfortunately. This was a LDWA Challenge event, so open to runners, and guaranteed to be tough on the legs. This event also proved that you really do smell quite bad when you get covered in cow and horse poo.
I was backwards and forwards to the car changing my kit just before the off trying to decide what to take: we were in a warm valley floor but up above in the hills it was dark, murky and wet. So I took pretty much everything.
There was no opportunity to run much of the first 3 miles as it was a stiff uphill climb into the clouds. For LDWA events your route is planned out in detail (usually!) on 2 or 3 sides of A4 paper. Guess what happens when it gets wet? My route instructions were becoming a ball of papier-mache and my hands were covered in ink. Initial panic: I'd only covered 4 miles and those people in front of me were getting further away! This meant I ended up going faster than I wanted to in order to keep up with someone who had dry instructions (I could have waited for someone to catch up with me, of course, but that didn't quite seem the thing to do).
By now we'd reached the top of Pendle's Hill and visibility was very poor. Distant flourescent jackets kept disappearing and there wasn't much of a track that I could see, and who knew whether it was the right track per my (now destroyed) instructions? Faster I went to catch Flourescent Green Jacket Man, until I stopped just short of a precipice and found a track down the other side of the hill to my left into the cloud-free valley!
Of course, after several days of rain in the Pennines it's a bog. This isn't ideal for wearing road running trainers, as I soon found by slipping away all over the place (I resolved to get some trail shoes).
To compound the miserableness my now soaked second shorts also started to slip and drop around my ankles: fortunately I was wearing my new Nike Dri-fit lycra shorts underneath (still chaffing-free!). I tried for quite a while to keep the second shorts on: I tucked everything in (didn't work) and jutted out my stomach to create a beer-belly (didn't work: I don't drink).
Eventually I just decided to put up with the cold and put my second shorts into my rucksack. This must have only taken a matter of seconds but didn't help the rest of my run: at this point the route split, separating those running the 20 miler from those running the shorter 11 mile route. Most of the field seemed to be on the 11 mile route which suddenly left me alone. Where had the other 20 mile runners disappeared to in a few seconds? I guessed that the route forward must be this track over here . . . and sure enough found a line of runners up ahead.
This is where I had my experiment with determining whether cow and horse poo smells. So desparate was I to catch up with anyone who had a dry set of 20 miler instructions I failed to stay upright as I ran along the steep side of a very slippy bank (the cows and horses had sensibly moved over to the opposite, drier, bank). Then I slipped and sailed down the steep bank through numerous cow pats and horse dung piles: the whole of my left side was a slick of animal poo.
I was not happy, because that also put paid to me being able to use one of my water bottles. And I really stank.
At the next checkpoint the Immutable Law of Grannies came to the fore. Seeing me completely covered one of the volunteers, a dear old lady (the others had retreated to the back of their cars looking horrified when they saw me coming), pulled out a tiny tissue from her cardigan sleeve and offered it to me:
"Ooh dear, I don't know if this will help to clear you up? I'm really sorry, I haven't got anything else."
"Don't worry, I'm fine, thank you very much anyway."
It's been many years since my Nan, long since departed, did a similar thing for me when out and about. But, satisfied that grannies the world over will still always pull out a tiny tissue from their cardigans to try and clear up any spillage of any size, I knew that all was right with the world. After cheering myself up with a couple of slices of Swiss roll and some jaffa cake I went on my way.
And got very lost. There was no-one around and I was instruction-less. Not knowing where I needed to get to for the next checkpoint made my Ordnance Survey map almost redundant, though I did know my general direction was north-west! Eventually I saw another couple of runners also struggling with a map and a GPS: they had pristine WATER-PROOF PAPER!! instructions, but the route instructions weren't very clear at this point. We decided on the likely route forward and onwards we ran.
Just before the last checkpoint was a very steep downhill. Covered in mess anyway I threw caution to the wind and flew down . . . and my left leg fell, to halfway up my thigh, into a silted quagmire of a stream. The summer's vegetation had covered it very well! My right calf muscle going into painful spasms I managed to pull my left leg out slowly from the clawing mud with a long sucking sound.
Happy that nothing was broken, I shuffled gingerly to the last checkpoint and then onwards to the event HQ to finish. Covered in mud and animal poo I didn't stay too long chatting with the other runners and instead quickly wolfed down my soup and yet more cake and drove home.
But not before calling my wife:
"Er, yep, had a fantastic day. Could you put down some newspaper in the hallway for when I get back?"
"Wwhhhhyyyyyyyyy?!"
"Well . . . I smell a bit, and . . ."
Once home and clean I ordered the ideal solution to disintegrating route instructions for these events (following a handy tip given by another competitor who had an intact set of instructions at the end, albeit very muddy). Useful lesson learnt!
Ascent: 3078 ft
Rucksack weight: 3kg
Calories burnt: 3526
Time: 4h57m (including 40 minutes standing around wondering where I am)
Doing this so soon after a marathon wouldn't usually be a good idea, but training for the MdS doesn't allow any let-up unfortunately. This was a LDWA Challenge event, so open to runners, and guaranteed to be tough on the legs. This event also proved that you really do smell quite bad when you get covered in cow and horse poo.
I was backwards and forwards to the car changing my kit just before the off trying to decide what to take: we were in a warm valley floor but up above in the hills it was dark, murky and wet. So I took pretty much everything.
There was no opportunity to run much of the first 3 miles as it was a stiff uphill climb into the clouds. For LDWA events your route is planned out in detail (usually!) on 2 or 3 sides of A4 paper. Guess what happens when it gets wet? My route instructions were becoming a ball of papier-mache and my hands were covered in ink. Initial panic: I'd only covered 4 miles and those people in front of me were getting further away! This meant I ended up going faster than I wanted to in order to keep up with someone who had dry instructions (I could have waited for someone to catch up with me, of course, but that didn't quite seem the thing to do).
 |
| Not my photo (or dog!) but the visibility says it all. The dog looks as fed up as I felt at this point on top of Pendle's Hill. |
Of course, after several days of rain in the Pennines it's a bog. This isn't ideal for wearing road running trainers, as I soon found by slipping away all over the place (I resolved to get some trail shoes).
To compound the miserableness my now soaked second shorts also started to slip and drop around my ankles: fortunately I was wearing my new Nike Dri-fit lycra shorts underneath (still chaffing-free!). I tried for quite a while to keep the second shorts on: I tucked everything in (didn't work) and jutted out my stomach to create a beer-belly (didn't work: I don't drink).
Eventually I just decided to put up with the cold and put my second shorts into my rucksack. This must have only taken a matter of seconds but didn't help the rest of my run: at this point the route split, separating those running the 20 miler from those running the shorter 11 mile route. Most of the field seemed to be on the 11 mile route which suddenly left me alone. Where had the other 20 mile runners disappeared to in a few seconds? I guessed that the route forward must be this track over here . . . and sure enough found a line of runners up ahead.
This is where I had my experiment with determining whether cow and horse poo smells. So desparate was I to catch up with anyone who had a dry set of 20 miler instructions I failed to stay upright as I ran along the steep side of a very slippy bank (the cows and horses had sensibly moved over to the opposite, drier, bank). Then I slipped and sailed down the steep bank through numerous cow pats and horse dung piles: the whole of my left side was a slick of animal poo.
I was not happy, because that also put paid to me being able to use one of my water bottles. And I really stank.
At the next checkpoint the Immutable Law of Grannies came to the fore. Seeing me completely covered one of the volunteers, a dear old lady (the others had retreated to the back of their cars looking horrified when they saw me coming), pulled out a tiny tissue from her cardigan sleeve and offered it to me:
"Ooh dear, I don't know if this will help to clear you up? I'm really sorry, I haven't got anything else."
"Don't worry, I'm fine, thank you very much anyway."
It's been many years since my Nan, long since departed, did a similar thing for me when out and about. But, satisfied that grannies the world over will still always pull out a tiny tissue from their cardigans to try and clear up any spillage of any size, I knew that all was right with the world. After cheering myself up with a couple of slices of Swiss roll and some jaffa cake I went on my way.
And got very lost. There was no-one around and I was instruction-less. Not knowing where I needed to get to for the next checkpoint made my Ordnance Survey map almost redundant, though I did know my general direction was north-west! Eventually I saw another couple of runners also struggling with a map and a GPS: they had pristine WATER-PROOF PAPER!! instructions, but the route instructions weren't very clear at this point. We decided on the likely route forward and onwards we ran.
Just before the last checkpoint was a very steep downhill. Covered in mess anyway I threw caution to the wind and flew down . . . and my left leg fell, to halfway up my thigh, into a silted quagmire of a stream. The summer's vegetation had covered it very well! My right calf muscle going into painful spasms I managed to pull my left leg out slowly from the clawing mud with a long sucking sound.
Happy that nothing was broken, I shuffled gingerly to the last checkpoint and then onwards to the event HQ to finish. Covered in mud and animal poo I didn't stay too long chatting with the other runners and instead quickly wolfed down my soup and yet more cake and drove home.
But not before calling my wife:
"Er, yep, had a fantastic day. Could you put down some newspaper in the hallway for when I get back?"
 |
| I smelt as bad as I look. |
"Well . . . I smell a bit, and . . ."
Once home and clean I ordered the ideal solution to disintegrating route instructions for these events (following a handy tip given by another competitor who had an intact set of instructions at the end, albeit very muddy). Useful lesson learnt!
Sunday 11 September 2011
Yorkshireman Off-Road Marathon
Distance: 28 miles (yes, a marathon is 26.2 miles but I got lost!)
Ascent: officially 3065 ft (my watch said 3940 ft!)
Rucksack weight: 3kgCalories burnt: 5205
Time: 6h29m
This was a tough off-road event up and down and up and down (and repeat until the finish) the Dales around Haworth. This was my slowest ever official marathon time (including those I ran as part of Ironman triathlons years ago). Still, the winner took 3h20m so this isn't your ordinary road marathon!
It started warm and sunny and we remained lucky with the weather throughout the day, apart from strong winds in places. My plan was to enjoy it and take it easy, with the goal of finishing with enough energy left in the tank in the morning for me to get out for another run if I felt like it. I had no intention of doing so, I just wanted to feel like it!
 |
| Yep, doing this with a rucksack is warm and tiring! (©Eileen Woodhead (woodentops.org.uk)) |
A colour map of the area, plus my compass, were the navigation tools. The organisers had also marked out the course but, as you'd expect, some undesirable elements seemed to have interfered with these markers in some places.
At one point I was running with a group for a short while who had done this event last year; they did an about turn when the scenery didn't look familiar and sure enough the organisers at the next checkpoint confirmed the markers had disappeared (apparently some local farmers don't approve of the event either!). So that diversion cost an extra mile or so!
On top of Harden Moor the markers had disappeared again and in my tired state found myself lost, getting cold on what was now a windy afternoon.
I came across another couple of runners who were also lost. On checking the map I thought we should be to the left of the line of pilons I could see about half a mile to my left whereas the other two thought we should be heading further east to another separate line of pilons about a mile away. . . that didn't sound right to me, so I headed further west and sure enough picked up the route from the map after descending and then ascending yet again. I never saw the other two runners after that: they could still be up there now!
 |
| A smile after 28 miles! |
I didn't really notice the rucksack and fortunately had no blisters. I only had a couple of energy gels and fueled myself with an absolutely delicious Maxim chocolate and caramel energy bar which saw me flying up and down the hills at one point with a big grin on my face . . . or was it the cakes in plentiful supply at the checkpoints!?
My legs were very tired though and I'll need to get some more steep hills into my legs to stand a chance on the dreaded Dunes Day on the MdS.
Wednesday 31 August 2011
Onwards through August
August has been another good month building on July's efforts. The 10 minute run/1 minute walk strategy is working well, though towards the end this becomes more like 5 and 5 or 8 and 2.
The week's mileages have been:
- 27.25 miles (including a 17.25 mile run (3h42m));
- 25.5 miles (including a 18.5 mile run (3h32m));
- 32 miles (including a 20 mile run (3h49m));
- 7.5 miles.
Each long run has included the rucksack with a couple of kilos. Some tightness and pain between the shoulder blades that I've had the last couple of months has gradually eased off. Running with the rucksack with 2-3kgs doesn't affect me as much now (though keeping the speed up proves a challenge).
Increasing long runs through July and August show I'm going to have to make some changes to kit and food.
On each of my long runs I've been trying different types of energy gels, about 2 per hour. After a couple of hours though I start feeling nauseous from energy gel overload and I feel the need for something more solid. On a more practical level I'll be out on each stage of the Marathon des Sables for anywhere between 3 and 5, 6 or more hours and it's not realistic to carry 2 packs of energy gels per hour for each of the 6 stages! I will need to find a product which packs a lot of the right combination of calories into a low weight.
On the kit front there have been some MdS-specific purchases this month.
I've been finding that after a couple of hours I start suffering from (how do I put this?!) chaffing in one's undercarriage! While I can put up with it for those couple of hours and not too much damage is done clearly I need a solution for longer outings.
What I've found are Nike Dri-Fit lycra shorts with flatlock seams (to remove the chaffing from standard seams) which are tight enough to prevent loose fabric chaffing. These didn't give me any problems at all on the 20-miler I did this month and seemed to help in scaring the farm animals away as I approached them (or maybe they were running away laughing).
I didn't much like the Foreign Legionnaires-style hat I bought (the Mammut Nubian cap): on a couple of runs in Portugal on holiday in the low-30Cs I found the cap didn't give enough head ventilation while running; the neck and shoulder flap also simply flew around in the breeze; and the neoprene beak isn't long enough to keep the sun out of the eyes without also wearing sunglasses. So back to the drawing board there.
For the rucksack, and thanks to the forums on this extremely useful MdS website, I've gone for shoulder-mounted Raidlight bottle holders to thread onto the shoulder straps of the OMM32 rucksack. The rucksack does have bottle holding mesh on the sides but I've found them too awkward to get to them easily while out on the trails, and stopping to take the rucksack off to get to them is just a time-wasting faff.
The pure difficulty of this challenge is also coming home as time ploughs on: 20-odd miles or more day after day for a week in 30C to 50C temperatures! The last couple of months I've usually been running in a maximum of the mid-20Cs yet dripping with sweat so how I'll cope in the Sahara is anyone's guess (training through a British winter is why the British contingent traditionally fares the worst on the MdS!).
This emphasises the need to get used to taking on water while training together with a suitable electrolyte replacement.
After a couple of months of trying them Nuun electrolyte tablets aren't agreeing with me. The effervescence they cause in a water bottle has an unfortunate side effect: when pulling up the tab on my water bottle, having shaken the contents for several miles, the bottle explodes berry-flavoured Nuun over my face! I've started trialling instead Elete Tablytes, simply dissolving them in water: tasteless and no fizziness.
There's an awful lot more planning and testing to do.
The plan for September is to see how I get on in a marathon, my first since the Ironman I did in 2005.
The week's mileages have been:
- 27.25 miles (including a 17.25 mile run (3h42m));
- 25.5 miles (including a 18.5 mile run (3h32m));
- 32 miles (including a 20 mile run (3h49m));
- 7.5 miles.
Each long run has included the rucksack with a couple of kilos. Some tightness and pain between the shoulder blades that I've had the last couple of months has gradually eased off. Running with the rucksack with 2-3kgs doesn't affect me as much now (though keeping the speed up proves a challenge).
Increasing long runs through July and August show I'm going to have to make some changes to kit and food.
On each of my long runs I've been trying different types of energy gels, about 2 per hour. After a couple of hours though I start feeling nauseous from energy gel overload and I feel the need for something more solid. On a more practical level I'll be out on each stage of the Marathon des Sables for anywhere between 3 and 5, 6 or more hours and it's not realistic to carry 2 packs of energy gels per hour for each of the 6 stages! I will need to find a product which packs a lot of the right combination of calories into a low weight.
On the kit front there have been some MdS-specific purchases this month.
I've been finding that after a couple of hours I start suffering from (how do I put this?!) chaffing in one's undercarriage! While I can put up with it for those couple of hours and not too much damage is done clearly I need a solution for longer outings.
What I've found are Nike Dri-Fit lycra shorts with flatlock seams (to remove the chaffing from standard seams) which are tight enough to prevent loose fabric chaffing. These didn't give me any problems at all on the 20-miler I did this month and seemed to help in scaring the farm animals away as I approached them (or maybe they were running away laughing).
I didn't much like the Foreign Legionnaires-style hat I bought (the Mammut Nubian cap): on a couple of runs in Portugal on holiday in the low-30Cs I found the cap didn't give enough head ventilation while running; the neck and shoulder flap also simply flew around in the breeze; and the neoprene beak isn't long enough to keep the sun out of the eyes without also wearing sunglasses. So back to the drawing board there.
For the rucksack, and thanks to the forums on this extremely useful MdS website, I've gone for shoulder-mounted Raidlight bottle holders to thread onto the shoulder straps of the OMM32 rucksack. The rucksack does have bottle holding mesh on the sides but I've found them too awkward to get to them easily while out on the trails, and stopping to take the rucksack off to get to them is just a time-wasting faff.
The pure difficulty of this challenge is also coming home as time ploughs on: 20-odd miles or more day after day for a week in 30C to 50C temperatures! The last couple of months I've usually been running in a maximum of the mid-20Cs yet dripping with sweat so how I'll cope in the Sahara is anyone's guess (training through a British winter is why the British contingent traditionally fares the worst on the MdS!).
This emphasises the need to get used to taking on water while training together with a suitable electrolyte replacement.
After a couple of months of trying them Nuun electrolyte tablets aren't agreeing with me. The effervescence they cause in a water bottle has an unfortunate side effect: when pulling up the tab on my water bottle, having shaken the contents for several miles, the bottle explodes berry-flavoured Nuun over my face! I've started trialling instead Elete Tablytes, simply dissolving them in water: tasteless and no fizziness.
There's an awful lot more planning and testing to do.
The plan for September is to see how I get on in a marathon, my first since the Ironman I did in 2005.
Sunday 28 August 2011
Orthotics working!
We're on a family holiday in Portugal. I went out for a hilly run for about 4 miles in the high 20Cs, my second trip in the new orthotics.
No pain or any tightness at all in my Achilles tendons throughout the run (a couple of twinges in the heel as my feet get used to them).
This is a significant improvement and hopefully will allow me now to keep building the frequency of the long runs without causing problems.
No pain or any tightness at all in my Achilles tendons throughout the run (a couple of twinges in the heel as my feet get used to them).
This is a significant improvement and hopefully will allow me now to keep building the frequency of the long runs without causing problems.
Thursday 25 August 2011
New orthotics
I've bitten the bullet and seen a podiatrist today to see whether I need orthotics. The sports massage and heel drop exercises have helped get me mobile but there is some Achilles soreness after a short while, almost as if the Achilles tendons are twisting as a I run.
The assessment is that while I'm walking there's no adverse Achilles reaction. It's when I start running my Achilles start twisting.
In next to no time the podiatrist had knocked up a pair of orthotics for me to wear in my running shoes. He asked me to run up and down outside and I was amazed: no twisting action equalled no pain!
I went out for a 4 mile easy run this evening and felt nothing at all in my Achilles until half hour or so had passed. I'll obviously need to allow some time for these to bed in but this looks promising and gives me some confidence that I might get to the Marathon des Sables start line injury-free.
The assessment is that while I'm walking there's no adverse Achilles reaction. It's when I start running my Achilles start twisting.
In next to no time the podiatrist had knocked up a pair of orthotics for me to wear in my running shoes. He asked me to run up and down outside and I was amazed: no twisting action equalled no pain!
I went out for a 4 mile easy run this evening and felt nothing at all in my Achilles until half hour or so had passed. I'll obviously need to allow some time for these to bed in but this looks promising and gives me some confidence that I might get to the Marathon des Sables start line injury-free.
Sunday 31 July 2011
A good start
The sports massages are still at the painful stage but my calves are loosening up very well. Coupled with stronger Achilles tendons from the heel-drop exercises this has allowed me to have a good start sticking to the plan.
The month started relatively easy so the longest run for that week was just 10.5 miles.
The following three weeks saw a steady increase in the weekly long run: 13.5 miles, 15 miles (2h37m) and an incredibly dull tarmac-all-the-way run home from work of 18.5 miles (3h35m) four days after the 15 miler.
All of these runs were following a format of 10 minute run/1 minute walk until tiredness increased the walk element. During the week before the long run there were a couple of shorter sessions with faster runs or variable speed runs to try and build and maintain a base speed.
Introducing walking into the longer runs is imperative: very few people run the entirety of the Marathon des Sables (perhaps the top 100) so I'm not even going to attempt to run the entirety of my long outings!
Having run the 18.5 miler on tarmac my legs felt it: the legs always feel a run far more than if it had been off-road. I'll be ensuring the majority of my long runs are off-road and hilly as that's more reflective of the terrain in the Sahara desert.
I did recall the ice-cold bath trick after that run: this isn't at all comfortable but works an absolute treat, so straight after the 18.5 mile I screamed into an ice-cold bath to cover my legs.
Result? No soreness the next day!
The month started relatively easy so the longest run for that week was just 10.5 miles.
The following three weeks saw a steady increase in the weekly long run: 13.5 miles, 15 miles (2h37m) and an incredibly dull tarmac-all-the-way run home from work of 18.5 miles (3h35m) four days after the 15 miler.
All of these runs were following a format of 10 minute run/1 minute walk until tiredness increased the walk element. During the week before the long run there were a couple of shorter sessions with faster runs or variable speed runs to try and build and maintain a base speed.
Introducing walking into the longer runs is imperative: very few people run the entirety of the Marathon des Sables (perhaps the top 100) so I'm not even going to attempt to run the entirety of my long outings!
Having run the 18.5 miler on tarmac my legs felt it: the legs always feel a run far more than if it had been off-road. I'll be ensuring the majority of my long runs are off-road and hilly as that's more reflective of the terrain in the Sahara desert.
I did recall the ice-cold bath trick after that run: this isn't at all comfortable but works an absolute treat, so straight after the 18.5 mile I screamed into an ice-cold bath to cover my legs.
Result? No soreness the next day!
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Sports massages hurt . . .
Today I had my first sports massage in umpteen years, so I knew what to expect.
Jim has a fantastic reputation for sorting out knotted muscles. He's the kind of sports massage therapist who can crunch household bricks into dust with his fingers, while laughing . . . ideal for the job then!
After half an hour of uttering every word under the swear-word rainbow, feeling a little nauseous and finishing in a sweat-drenched T-shirt (me, not Jim) Jim's assessment was that my calf muscles contain multiple severe knots . . . as do my hamstrings . . . and my iliotibial band (the hard vertical band of muscle running along the outside of the legs) and my glutes. We didn't get to my quads, so that's for another day.
So it seems likely all these tight muscles (as my wife very often says: "You never stretch off your runs!") must in some way be pulling on my Achilles: the lateral sides of my calf muscles are extremely tight, so that seems to make sense.
I'm booked in for twice a week for the next three months: there's some serious work to do!
Jim has a fantastic reputation for sorting out knotted muscles. He's the kind of sports massage therapist who can crunch household bricks into dust with his fingers, while laughing . . . ideal for the job then!
After half an hour of uttering every word under the swear-word rainbow, feeling a little nauseous and finishing in a sweat-drenched T-shirt (me, not Jim) Jim's assessment was that my calf muscles contain multiple severe knots . . . as do my hamstrings . . . and my iliotibial band (the hard vertical band of muscle running along the outside of the legs) and my glutes. We didn't get to my quads, so that's for another day.
So it seems likely all these tight muscles (as my wife very often says: "You never stretch off your runs!") must in some way be pulling on my Achilles: the lateral sides of my calf muscles are extremely tight, so that seems to make sense.
I'm booked in for twice a week for the next three months: there's some serious work to do!
Thursday 30 June 2011
The beginning of a cunning plan
I now feel confident that I've built a base of cardiovascular fitness that can allow me, as long as I don't get injured, to build up fast over the next 9 months to get ready for the Marathon des Sables in April 2012.
Much as I would have liked to have started seriously at a far earlier time (back in 2009, when I joined the Wait-list) it needs to be recognised that training for an event such as the Marathon des Sables can lead to burn-out, if not injury, well before the event itself. And not just on a physical level but mentally too.
Some would argue that 9 months (OK: 15 months if you include the light work I've done over the last 6 months) of hard training for this event isn't enough and I'd agree for someone who has literally done nothing most of their lives. Fortunately I come from a background of having put myself through some hard training (albeit some years ago now) so my body will recall and accept some of the upcoming training as "the norm". The old saying is true that events such as this become predominantly a mental battle over a body that starts giving up.
What's critical for the Marathon des Sables is recovery from each session and reaching a point where the body will accept getting up the next day and doing it again . . . and again . . . and again.
That will require consecutive day training as well as some big mileages.
My plan for the next 9 months in training for the Marathon des Sables is as follows:
- keep to no more than a 10% increase in the weekly total mileage
This is the standard approach for any training programme: numerous studies prove that any greater increase very quickly leads to breakdowns and injury.
- until the last couple of months (January/February 2012) not having more than 3-4 run or run/walk sessions per week
For similar injury-prevention reasons and to ensure a peak of fitness at the right time. The Marathon des Sables is not just about putting one foot in front of the other for 150 miles (there's the other test of carrying heavy kit) and the event does not permit advance kit drops, which would be difficult anyway as no-one knows the route of the course until the day before it starts! Upper body fitness sessions shouldn't be underestimated and will need attention too so the body is prepared for carrying up to 15kg in weight for 7 days. A couple of sessions a week of weights and core stability work will be needed in addition to the run/walk sessions.
- get used to an increasing weight in the rucksack over the coming months
I'll have to get used to this at some point and personally I think the earlier the better. Carrying extra weight does though change foot-strike in both the running and walking phase of the gait cycle so care needs to be taken not to take on too much too soon and end up with an injury. I'm aiming to leave the UK with a maximum rucksack weight of 10kg before adding the water, distress flare and cooking fuel that I'll collect in Morocco.
- a 3 week/1 week cycle
In other words, build up the longest run and total weekly mileage progressively over a 3 week period with the fourth week being a "do as I please" week to ensure optimal recovery for the next 3 week/1 week cycle. 9 months is a long training period so hammering it week in and week out won't work.
- weights and core stability session
As I mention above a couple of these sessions a week will be needed to help delay the inevitable body breakdown.
Much as I would have liked to have started seriously at a far earlier time (back in 2009, when I joined the Wait-list) it needs to be recognised that training for an event such as the Marathon des Sables can lead to burn-out, if not injury, well before the event itself. And not just on a physical level but mentally too.
Some would argue that 9 months (OK: 15 months if you include the light work I've done over the last 6 months) of hard training for this event isn't enough and I'd agree for someone who has literally done nothing most of their lives. Fortunately I come from a background of having put myself through some hard training (albeit some years ago now) so my body will recall and accept some of the upcoming training as "the norm". The old saying is true that events such as this become predominantly a mental battle over a body that starts giving up.
What's critical for the Marathon des Sables is recovery from each session and reaching a point where the body will accept getting up the next day and doing it again . . . and again . . . and again.
That will require consecutive day training as well as some big mileages.
My plan for the next 9 months in training for the Marathon des Sables is as follows:
- keep to no more than a 10% increase in the weekly total mileage
This is the standard approach for any training programme: numerous studies prove that any greater increase very quickly leads to breakdowns and injury.
- until the last couple of months (January/February 2012) not having more than 3-4 run or run/walk sessions per week
For similar injury-prevention reasons and to ensure a peak of fitness at the right time. The Marathon des Sables is not just about putting one foot in front of the other for 150 miles (there's the other test of carrying heavy kit) and the event does not permit advance kit drops, which would be difficult anyway as no-one knows the route of the course until the day before it starts! Upper body fitness sessions shouldn't be underestimated and will need attention too so the body is prepared for carrying up to 15kg in weight for 7 days. A couple of sessions a week of weights and core stability work will be needed in addition to the run/walk sessions.
- get used to an increasing weight in the rucksack over the coming months
I'll have to get used to this at some point and personally I think the earlier the better. Carrying extra weight does though change foot-strike in both the running and walking phase of the gait cycle so care needs to be taken not to take on too much too soon and end up with an injury. I'm aiming to leave the UK with a maximum rucksack weight of 10kg before adding the water, distress flare and cooking fuel that I'll collect in Morocco.
- a 3 week/1 week cycle
In other words, build up the longest run and total weekly mileage progressively over a 3 week period with the fourth week being a "do as I please" week to ensure optimal recovery for the next 3 week/1 week cycle. 9 months is a long training period so hammering it week in and week out won't work.
- weights and core stability session
As I mention above a couple of these sessions a week will be needed to help delay the inevitable body breakdown.
Saturday 25 June 2011
A milestone! Durham Dales Challenge
Distance: 16 miles (event: Durham Dales Challenge)
Ascent: 1580 ft
Rucksack weight: 2-3kg
Calories burnt: 2794
Time: 3h28m
Since the last update I've had one week off from running, but otherwise I've stuck to the plan: no more than 3 runs a week (and many weeks I've just been out twice, such as this week) and not more than a 10% increase in the weekly mileage.
A couple of weeks ago was the highest weekly mileage at a modest 21.25 miles which included a 13.25 mile run (2h18m) with over 1200 foot of ascent. Unfortunately that run gave me a painful reminder of something I suffered with many years ago when I last went running a few hours: severe nipple abrasion and bleeding! Sufferers will know how painful that is when you're showering down afterwards.
In time for today's run I bought and tried out this American product called NipGuards and I had no problems at all.
For today's run I thought I'd give the Durham Dales Challenge a go.
This is an annual event organised under the Long Distance Walker's Association rules.
The LDWA's events aren't open to runners unless the event is a "Challenge" event. I've read elsewhere that, as these are predominantly off-road events in the hills and dales, they're great training events for the build-up to the Marathon des Sables.
Right up to the starting gun I was fiddling with what kit to carry and ended up running with about 2-3kgs in my rucksack. Yesterday I bought a 4 litre chest pouch to attach to the front of my OMM32 litre rucksack to store a map and food on-the-go. This is something I've read elsewhere as being recommended for the MdS to prevent having to stop too often to get the map/compass/food etc. out.
The chest pouch didn't work for me. After a couple of miles of today's event I found my upper body struggling to dissipate the heat I was generating: it felt like there was no airflow around my back (obviously, with a rucksack on) but also none around my chest. I detached the chest pouch and haven't worn it since. That was an experiment worth trying as I wouldn't want to find this out on the MdS itself.
From the off it took a lot of willpower to reign in a natural desire to want to run the whole thing along with all the other runners so I had to remind myself I'm training for different purposes. Once I settled into a run/walk rhythm I began passing those who'd raced off ahead at the start. The last few miles saw me start to struggle on an increasingly warm day and what felt like an increasingly heavy rucksack; muscle cramps came on as I tried getting my tired legs over yet another stile and my shoulder muscles ached.
I felt quite pleased with today's 16 mile effort with a rucksack and the leg cramping is simply a case of getting the leg muscles stronger and getting the electrolyte balance right in my water intake. Dealing with aching shoulder and neck muscles is a simple case of getting used to wearing an increasingly weighted rucksack. Today's effort meant I felt pleasantly shattered for the rest of the day.
By the winter my body needs to be used to going out for a 20-plus mile run every week. That's quite a jump to go from running 18-20 miles in total each week, as I have done the last couple of weeks, to running that distance in one go on a weekly basis!
Unfortunately though my calves and Achilles still aren't fully performing: while I can get out and keep on my feet for a few hours I finish sore and I know an irreparable injury will come up soon if I'm not careful.
I've been given a recommendation for a sports masseur (i.e., the painful sort, not the wishy-washy-plinky-plonky-soft-music-to-fall-asleep-to sort!), so that's my next stop!
Ascent: 1580 ft
Rucksack weight: 2-3kg
Calories burnt: 2794
Time: 3h28m
Since the last update I've had one week off from running, but otherwise I've stuck to the plan: no more than 3 runs a week (and many weeks I've just been out twice, such as this week) and not more than a 10% increase in the weekly mileage.
Each person will react differently but I do know from previous marathon training that my body starts breaking down after about 3 months on 4-5 runs a week. Hence my intention is to keep the frequency of weekly outings low but keep increasing the distance of the longer run: I have to ensure injuries are kept at bay over the next 9 months or so.
A couple of weeks ago was the highest weekly mileage at a modest 21.25 miles which included a 13.25 mile run (2h18m) with over 1200 foot of ascent. Unfortunately that run gave me a painful reminder of something I suffered with many years ago when I last went running a few hours: severe nipple abrasion and bleeding! Sufferers will know how painful that is when you're showering down afterwards.
In time for today's run I bought and tried out this American product called NipGuards and I had no problems at all.
For today's run I thought I'd give the Durham Dales Challenge a go.
This is an annual event organised under the Long Distance Walker's Association rules.
The LDWA's events aren't open to runners unless the event is a "Challenge" event. I've read elsewhere that, as these are predominantly off-road events in the hills and dales, they're great training events for the build-up to the Marathon des Sables.
Right up to the starting gun I was fiddling with what kit to carry and ended up running with about 2-3kgs in my rucksack. Yesterday I bought a 4 litre chest pouch to attach to the front of my OMM32 litre rucksack to store a map and food on-the-go. This is something I've read elsewhere as being recommended for the MdS to prevent having to stop too often to get the map/compass/food etc. out.
The chest pouch didn't work for me. After a couple of miles of today's event I found my upper body struggling to dissipate the heat I was generating: it felt like there was no airflow around my back (obviously, with a rucksack on) but also none around my chest. I detached the chest pouch and haven't worn it since. That was an experiment worth trying as I wouldn't want to find this out on the MdS itself.
From the off it took a lot of willpower to reign in a natural desire to want to run the whole thing along with all the other runners so I had to remind myself I'm training for different purposes. Once I settled into a run/walk rhythm I began passing those who'd raced off ahead at the start. The last few miles saw me start to struggle on an increasingly warm day and what felt like an increasingly heavy rucksack; muscle cramps came on as I tried getting my tired legs over yet another stile and my shoulder muscles ached.
I felt quite pleased with today's 16 mile effort with a rucksack and the leg cramping is simply a case of getting the leg muscles stronger and getting the electrolyte balance right in my water intake. Dealing with aching shoulder and neck muscles is a simple case of getting used to wearing an increasingly weighted rucksack. Today's effort meant I felt pleasantly shattered for the rest of the day.
By the winter my body needs to be used to going out for a 20-plus mile run every week. That's quite a jump to go from running 18-20 miles in total each week, as I have done the last couple of weeks, to running that distance in one go on a weekly basis!
Unfortunately though my calves and Achilles still aren't fully performing: while I can get out and keep on my feet for a few hours I finish sore and I know an irreparable injury will come up soon if I'm not careful.
I've been given a recommendation for a sports masseur (i.e., the painful sort, not the wishy-washy-plinky-plonky-soft-music-to-fall-asleep-to sort!), so that's my next stop!
Sunday 1 May 2011
Progress, but not quite right . . .
Without a doubt the Achilles rehab work I went through earlier this year has helped me get through the training ceiling I had reached: since my three week lay off from running and walking ended in late January 2011 there has only been one week where I haven't run. I've also lost a few pounds!
But my calves and Achilles remain tight and the soreness doesn't completely go while out running. The positive is that I can actually keep moving, whereas 6 months ago I'd be brought to a stop. While the current state of affairs would be fine if all I wanted to do was run a few miles a week it's no good for the Marathon des Sables: currently I'd be lucky to get to Checkpoint 2 on day 1.
A new trick I've learnt is keeping my legs outstretched in front of me and placing a Boots frozen cold compress under my Achilles. Twenty minutes of that and I'm up walking around as if nothing has happened . . . until my calves and Achilles seize up again.
That deals with the symptoms, but the cause hasn't been found: I've been trying heel lifts without success and different makes and model of running shoe: the ASICS Gel Nimbus seems to give me the most cushioned and comfortable ride so I'll give these a shot for a while.
Dr. Speight had mentioned some months ago it might be worth my while seeing a podiatrist about orthotics but I'm reluctant to do so considering the expensive waste of time that's been in the past.
I've been sticking to the plan of no more than 3 runs a week and keeping to the 10%-per-week mileage increase rule; on a couple of occasions I've been out with my OMM 32 litre rucksack with a kilo or two to start getting used to it.
For the next couple of months I'll be in double-digit weekly mileage territory so I'll have to see how things hold up.
But my calves and Achilles remain tight and the soreness doesn't completely go while out running. The positive is that I can actually keep moving, whereas 6 months ago I'd be brought to a stop. While the current state of affairs would be fine if all I wanted to do was run a few miles a week it's no good for the Marathon des Sables: currently I'd be lucky to get to Checkpoint 2 on day 1.
A new trick I've learnt is keeping my legs outstretched in front of me and placing a Boots frozen cold compress under my Achilles. Twenty minutes of that and I'm up walking around as if nothing has happened . . . until my calves and Achilles seize up again.
That deals with the symptoms, but the cause hasn't been found: I've been trying heel lifts without success and different makes and model of running shoe: the ASICS Gel Nimbus seems to give me the most cushioned and comfortable ride so I'll give these a shot for a while.
Dr. Speight had mentioned some months ago it might be worth my while seeing a podiatrist about orthotics but I'm reluctant to do so considering the expensive waste of time that's been in the past.
I've been sticking to the plan of no more than 3 runs a week and keeping to the 10%-per-week mileage increase rule; on a couple of occasions I've been out with my OMM 32 litre rucksack with a kilo or two to start getting used to it.
For the next couple of months I'll be in double-digit weekly mileage territory so I'll have to see how things hold up.
Sunday 23 January 2011
Have the heel drops worked?
It took me about a week to get enough strength in my calves to do the heel-drop exercises properly. After that, I was off!
When I introduced the 10kg rucksack, which felt heavy (so how am I going to carry this kind of weight on the MdS?!), I felt as though I was starting the Achilles rehabilitation all over again but a week or so of the rucksack heel drops saw me get used to it.
This has been my first week back at running/walking since the beginning of December 2010, when the Achilles tendon pain was just getting too much (and which led me to Dr. Speight in the first place).
Having religiously stuck to the exercise programme Dr. Speight gave me I have managed to run 10.5 miles this week, albeit very slowly. This is the most I've done in a week since July last year! What's been amazing is the effect on my Achilles tendons: some tightness (which I'm able to stretch out) but no pain for the first time in eons. I even managed an hour's run/walk today and while the Achilles tendons were a little sore they calmed down significantly after some deep stretching.
Touch wood, but I seem to have found a resolution to this problem I've had for literally years.
The plan for the next 6 months or so is to very gradually build the endurance and capability to stay on my feet without seeing me revert to having Achilles problems. I plan to do this as follows:
- no more than 3 runs a week;
- total mileage per week not to exceed more than 10% of the previous week's total mileage;
- get the training in to aim for an autumn marathon.
I do feel concerned though that this might be a little late in the day: back in 2009, when I got on to the MdS 2012 Wait-list (at position 83; I'm now at position 70), my plan had been to be marathon fit by the spring of this year . . . that isn't going to happen.
Am I going to run out of time to get fit enough for hauling myself and up to 15kg of kit across the Moroccan Sahara less than 15 months from now?
When I introduced the 10kg rucksack, which felt heavy (so how am I going to carry this kind of weight on the MdS?!), I felt as though I was starting the Achilles rehabilitation all over again but a week or so of the rucksack heel drops saw me get used to it.
This has been my first week back at running/walking since the beginning of December 2010, when the Achilles tendon pain was just getting too much (and which led me to Dr. Speight in the first place).
Having religiously stuck to the exercise programme Dr. Speight gave me I have managed to run 10.5 miles this week, albeit very slowly. This is the most I've done in a week since July last year! What's been amazing is the effect on my Achilles tendons: some tightness (which I'm able to stretch out) but no pain for the first time in eons. I even managed an hour's run/walk today and while the Achilles tendons were a little sore they calmed down significantly after some deep stretching.
Touch wood, but I seem to have found a resolution to this problem I've had for literally years.
The plan for the next 6 months or so is to very gradually build the endurance and capability to stay on my feet without seeing me revert to having Achilles problems. I plan to do this as follows:
- no more than 3 runs a week;
- total mileage per week not to exceed more than 10% of the previous week's total mileage;
- get the training in to aim for an autumn marathon.
I do feel concerned though that this might be a little late in the day: back in 2009, when I got on to the MdS 2012 Wait-list (at position 83; I'm now at position 70), my plan had been to be marathon fit by the spring of this year . . . that isn't going to happen.
Am I going to run out of time to get fit enough for hauling myself and up to 15kg of kit across the Moroccan Sahara less than 15 months from now?
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