Part 1 was posted 6 February 2012.
The remaining key kit choices are:
Sleeping bag and mat
Down sleeping bags are more expensive than synthetic but deliver the lowest weight. I've gone for the Mammut Ajungilak, a down bag giving me that red caterpillar look. It feels very warm and the packaging says it should perform to as low as 5C.
The Thermarest NeoAir XLite is my choice of mat. I'm not sure I fancy a cold and rock stony floor to start with. I'll be interested to see how this performs as it's really a large inflatable crisp packet. If I so much as cough I'm in danger of rolling off it! Not sure it will last a couple of nights on top of sharp stony plains and a couple of thin blankets.
Cooking equipment
I've gone for titanium for all of the cooking pot, stove and spork, making this a very strong but lightweight set of key cooking utensils. I'll collect my hexamine cooking tablets once I get to Morocco.
Sunglasses
My eyesight isn't that great once dusk arrives, nor for long distance. For the night stage this could be a problem as it's pitch black in the middle of the desert save for the minimal amount of light from other competitors' head torches. And I'd like to get an accurate idea of just how far that checkpoint is once it comes into view!
The strength of the sun means I've also had to consider a high strength sunglass.
So I've gone for the Adidas Evil Eye sunglasses: this has my prescription as an insert (solving long distance and poor light problems) and Cat 4 "Space" lenses for the sun. I can pop these out and replace them with a clear lens for the night stage.
The arms are also interchangeable with a headband. This in combination with my Buff and Frillneck desert hat should make any sandstorms less of a problem.
Solar charger
I love my Garmin Forerunner 310XT, giving me heart rate readings, distance covered and speed. While this is considered a luxury for the MdS I'll find it invaluable information on-the-go. The problem is charging. This watch has a 20 hour battery life so I've had to research how to recharge at the end of each day and hope I do the 50-54 mile long stage in less than 20 hours!
The PowerMonkey Explorer is my choice: a pair of solar panels attach to my rucksack and connect to the PowerMonkey battery (which sits in a zipped pocket) for charging. Apparently though it might take 7 hours to fully charge the battery. I'll then connect it to the Garmin watch using the relevant connector to charge up the Garmin.
I'm also taking my iPod Nano which will be my "Break Glass In Case Of Emergency"! A PowerMonkey nut allows me to use the PowerMonkey battery to charge the iPod though with 25 hours of battery life in the iPod I'll hopefully not need to.
Gaiters
The Sandbaggers gaiters have a great reputation for keeping the sand out. I sent them my trainers and got them back within 3 days, complete with the parachute silk knee-length gaiters sewn onto the shoe. Shorter length Raidlight gaiters seem to have had mixed reviews.
Packing all this stuff is something else!
Saturday 31 March 2012
Sunday 18 March 2012
Taper period
There are various opinions on the MdS taper period, the amount of time needed to recover from months of hard training effort and arrive at the beginning of Stage 1 fully refreshed.
Tapering is important from both a physical as well as mental perspective, to arrive physically topped up and mentally raring to go. It's so tempting to keep pushing the distances right up to a week or two before the event but risk arriving stale and tired.
Personally the peak of my training was last week's total of 63 miles, including the 58.6 miles back-to-back. As that was the end of an extended 4 week training cycle with several 20+ mile outings my own taper period will in effect be 4 weeks.
This week has been very light: a "speed play" session of 4 miles (sprinting and resting between lamp posts) and a consistent running speed over a cross-country 18 miles with some ascent where I only walked a total of 10 minutes.
My remaining taper period will be similar. My longest outing this coming week will be about 14 miles and I'll be doing several shorter but fast runs carrying a rucksack not exceeding 5kg. I'll also add in a few swims and weights sessions. The plan is not to go over 30 miles a week over the next couple of weeks.
My final taper week will include Stage 1 of the MdS starting on Sunday 8 April and will be very easy: lots of stretching, a couple of 5 mile runs or walks.
And that's it. The physical training for MdS 2012, which began in January 2011, will be finished.
Tapering is important from both a physical as well as mental perspective, to arrive physically topped up and mentally raring to go. It's so tempting to keep pushing the distances right up to a week or two before the event but risk arriving stale and tired.
Personally the peak of my training was last week's total of 63 miles, including the 58.6 miles back-to-back. As that was the end of an extended 4 week training cycle with several 20+ mile outings my own taper period will in effect be 4 weeks.
This week has been very light: a "speed play" session of 4 miles (sprinting and resting between lamp posts) and a consistent running speed over a cross-country 18 miles with some ascent where I only walked a total of 10 minutes.
My remaining taper period will be similar. My longest outing this coming week will be about 14 miles and I'll be doing several shorter but fast runs carrying a rucksack not exceeding 5kg. I'll also add in a few swims and weights sessions. The plan is not to go over 30 miles a week over the next couple of weeks.
My final taper week will include Stage 1 of the MdS starting on Sunday 8 April and will be very easy: lots of stretching, a couple of 5 mile runs or walks.
And that's it. The physical training for MdS 2012, which began in January 2011, will be finished.
Tuesday 13 March 2012
Lessons learnt
The Grantham Ultra weekend has been invaluable in teaching me a few more lessons.
Body weight
I had been intending to put on a few pounds in the taper period to the MdS start line on the basis (i) I'd need it during the race and (ii) some comments I've seen elsewhere.
But this is of course extra weight that has to be carried. If instead I don't put on a few pounds I'll still arrive in Morocco with fat reserves to use up anyway.
So I'll be looking to keep off the pounds and hopefully shed a few more in my taper period to ensure I start the MdS at my lightest possible weight.
Rucksack weight
The muggy day 2 of the Grantham Ultra wouldn't have been pleasant carrying a heavy rucksack. While I've got used to going out with between 8-11kg I have been trying to convince myself there isn't any real difference between carrying, say, 9.5kg and 10kg.
But over time I really begin to feel every additional gramme with every footstep. Add desert heat and the demands of a multi-stage race and any weight being carried is likely to become uncomfortable as the days progress.
It sounds obvious but my MdS will be easier the lighter the weight of my rucksack: a starting rucksack weight of 10kg which becomes 8kg by the Stage 4 50+ miler will feel harder than a starting weight of 9kg which becomes 7kg by the same time.
So I'm on a mission over the remaining few weeks to shave off as many grammes from everything I carry, including considering whether I really need to carry certain things at all.
Salt
Training through the UK winter I hadn't seen or felt any signs of salt loss but day 2 at Grantham reminded me I do suffer on the salt loss front in warmer weather.
Salt tablets are issued to competitors at the MdS (equal to 20 0.5g salt tablets per day) and the organisers note that "perspiration can make competitors lose up to 15g of salt per day . . ." The NHS recommends 6g of salt is the daily maximum that adults should consume.
Many argue why start taking something you haven't used in training? Others seek to rely solely on electrolytes added to water bottles. For me, I know I will need them and plan to take 2 0.5g salt tablets per hour and see how I go from there.
I'd also noticed during day 2 at Grantham that by the finish I'd hardly touched my sweet foods in my rucksack but had devoured my salty Peperami and salted nuts, so I'll also be changing most of my sweet foods I'd planned for each stage for saltier goodies (peanuts, pretzels, etc.).
Body weight
I had been intending to put on a few pounds in the taper period to the MdS start line on the basis (i) I'd need it during the race and (ii) some comments I've seen elsewhere.
But this is of course extra weight that has to be carried. If instead I don't put on a few pounds I'll still arrive in Morocco with fat reserves to use up anyway.
So I'll be looking to keep off the pounds and hopefully shed a few more in my taper period to ensure I start the MdS at my lightest possible weight.
Rucksack weight
The muggy day 2 of the Grantham Ultra wouldn't have been pleasant carrying a heavy rucksack. While I've got used to going out with between 8-11kg I have been trying to convince myself there isn't any real difference between carrying, say, 9.5kg and 10kg.
But over time I really begin to feel every additional gramme with every footstep. Add desert heat and the demands of a multi-stage race and any weight being carried is likely to become uncomfortable as the days progress.
It sounds obvious but my MdS will be easier the lighter the weight of my rucksack: a starting rucksack weight of 10kg which becomes 8kg by the Stage 4 50+ miler will feel harder than a starting weight of 9kg which becomes 7kg by the same time.
So I'm on a mission over the remaining few weeks to shave off as many grammes from everything I carry, including considering whether I really need to carry certain things at all.
Salt
Training through the UK winter I hadn't seen or felt any signs of salt loss but day 2 at Grantham reminded me I do suffer on the salt loss front in warmer weather.
Salt tablets are issued to competitors at the MdS (equal to 20 0.5g salt tablets per day) and the organisers note that "perspiration can make competitors lose up to 15g of salt per day . . ." The NHS recommends 6g of salt is the daily maximum that adults should consume.
Many argue why start taking something you haven't used in training? Others seek to rely solely on electrolytes added to water bottles. For me, I know I will need them and plan to take 2 0.5g salt tablets per hour and see how I go from there.
I'd also noticed during day 2 at Grantham that by the finish I'd hardly touched my sweet foods in my rucksack but had devoured my salty Peperami and salted nuts, so I'll also be changing most of my sweet foods I'd planned for each stage for saltier goodies (peanuts, pretzels, etc.).
Monday 12 March 2012
ULTRArace Grantham weekend
What a cracking weekend!
My final event for my MdS build up was the ULTRArace Grantham, a double ultra-marathon: 29.3 miles on the Saturday and the same canal route in reverse on the Sunday for another 29.3 miles. Only a few weeks ago I was seriously contemplating pulling out of day 2 and I'm glad I didn't.
Aside from being a great event it was also the first time I've run with other people since the New Hangover Hike on New Year's Day so it made a real difference being able to chat and run with others after so long running and walking alone in the Yorkshire wilderness!
Saturday's 29.3 miles
An early rise to travel to the start after my pre-prepared MdS breakfast: Jordan's Crunchy Oat Cereal with skimmed milk powder and a couple of tablespoons of sugar (just add water).
At the last minute I ditched most of the contents of my rucksack: I had intended to be running with 5.5-7kg but thought better of it, particularly after last week's 11.8kg 23 mile effort. Instead I ended up starting with about 4.5kg in the rucksack.
It was great to be travelling over a completely flat and dry course for a change. My strategy from the off was to run 5 minutes and walk 10 minutes. This meant that within a mile I was all alone and very last! The route and way-markers were very easy to follow though and over the coming hours I passed 9 people to finish 63rd of the 73 starters (I'm never going to set the world alight in this game . . .).
I kept the run/walk strategy going for about 4.5 hours when I then mixed it up while ensuring I still ran for 5 minutes in every 15. I also stuck to the plan of eating something every 45 minutes/1 hour and ensuring I reached each of the three checkpoints and the finish having got through the majority of my fluids: one 710ml bottle with electrolyte tablets and the other 710ml bottle with plain water.
I finished the 29.3 miles in 5h45m, so quite pleased with that, and collected my medal. Conveniently the finish line was the door of the hotel!
A quick check-in and the first thing I did was have my ForGoodnessShakes recovery drink, followed by sitting in freezing cold bath water for 15 minutes (this water must have been pumped directly from the Arctic). Once my hands were going blue, which weren't in the water, I figured it was time to get out.
My legs feeling incredibly recovered I then wallowed in a hot bath for an hour or so then made up my Expedition Foods freeze-dried Chicken Korma with Rice: delicious.
ECG and medical certificate
It's a compulsory MdS requirement to turn up on Administration Day (the day before Stage 1 starts) to hand in a medical certificate signed off by a doctor along with a satisfactory ECG test print-out. This ECG can't be dated more than 30 days before the start of the race. As part of this race weekend a doctor was on site to do the necessary.
The ECG, taken a couple of hours after I finished today's effort, confirmed I'm still alive and all the squiggly lines are in the right places. I also now have squiggly lines over my hairy chest too where it had to be shaved in the right parts before the test.
Ultra-running/MdS evening talk
The majority of runners will have heard of Rory Coleman, the ultra-running legend. In a different lifetime in the 1990s Rory had got used to being an overweight alcoholic smoking 40 a day until realising there was no fun in it. After a breathless 100 metre jog in 1994 Rory was appalled at the state of his body and decided to change things.
Rory has since completed 714 marathons, has 9 Guinness World Records to his name and has completed 180 ultra-marathons (i.e., races that exceed the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles), including running from London to Lisbon . . . just the small matter of 1,275 miles. And 2012 should see Rory complete his 9th MdS . . .
So what Rory has to say about ultra-running is worth listening to.
Rory and his partner Jen Salter are the team behind ULTRArace which organises the Grantham Ultra and other similar events as well as providing coaching and personal training. I picked up lots of useful tips from Rory's talk, some of which challenge the plans and thinking I'd already decided upon for the MdS . . . so back to the drawing board on one or two points.
It was great meeting a few other MdS 2012 entrants and other ultra-runners with other plans, including one guy being trained by Rory for next year's MdS who's so far lost 20 kilos (over 3 stone) . . . in 1 year.
Sunday's 29.3 miles
I woke early for a freeze-dried breakfast (Expedition Foods Fruity Muesli with Milk Powder) and then back to bed for another hour or so before getting up and thoroughly stretching off. I just don't think my body likes hot breakfasts so maybe I'll stick to Jordan's Crunchy Oat cereal during the MdS!
I cleared out some more of my rucksack and went with 4kg.
Emerging from my darkened hotel room into the hotel reception the weather was a surprise: barely a breeze, not a cloud in sight and full sunshine before 9am. A quick change meant I ditched my running longs to just run in shorts but I kept two layers on my top half. I was as unprepared for unseasonably warm weather as most of the field with no hat, sunglasses or sunscreen. I just had one Buff with me to wear as a headband to stop the sweat dripping in my eyes which also meant everything else was exposed to the sun.
I found out today that the race finish in Cotgrave was about 10 miles away from the officially recorded hottest place in the United Kingdom (Watnall, Nottinghamshire: 18.6C). Last week I was running around in temperatures barely reaching 4C.
It was certainly a humid day. I started out more aggressively than the previous day with a 5 minute run/5 minute walk strategy but after about 3 hours this was getting too tiring: in the humid heat and after yesterday's effort my heart rate was spiking too much. I really wished I could dump my rucksack as even with just 4kg I knew that wouldn't help.
So after 3 hours passed I ran what I could, which was little, and mostly walked fast instead. I could tell from the dried salt marks on my clothing that I was sweating out a lot of salts. I had no reason to think I'd need to bring salt tablets with me and the electrolytes I was taking on board weren't helping as much as I needed in the sodium department.
With a couple of hours to the finish I found I couldn't run more than a minute or so without wanting to be sick, my appetite had switched off, my upper leg muscles were cramping up and my hands had swollen a little: all classic signs of low salt! To top it off I found I couldn't turn my head much to the left without a locking back muscle and pain: I've no idea why that started.
With the finish markers in sight I ran the last half mile and finally finished the second day's 29.3 miles just 31 minutes slower than the previous day's in 6h16m, with a combined time of 12h1m27s for the 58.6 miles. A good result and a real confidence booster for the MdS.
I sat down and struggled to get up again without my wife's assistance as my legs were cramping. I still didn't feel like eating though so didn't (a mistake) and instead went straight for a shower.
After a quick chat with Ray McCurdy (who's completed over 160 marathons and will complete his 100th ultra-marathon in the next few weeks) we began the journey home. I knew I badly needed salt so stopped at a service station for some Burger King salty fries: I really didn't feel well standing in a queue in a warm building!
Armed with a Whopper and salty fries I got out of the building sharpish and sat down in the cold shade feeling quite hot, dizzy and sick before I got the hot and cold sweats. The chap emptying the bins looked quite alarmed at the sweating mess sat in front of him and asked if I needed sugar. My long-suffering wife wasn't quite so alarmed: she got used to this on one of our first dates years ago (i.e., me repeatedly throwing up on the hard shoulder of the M1 after carrying on through some pain through a 6 hour track race).
That first salty chip was absolute heaven and I finished off the rest and half the Whopper in double-quick time and felt 100% better! Another bag of salty chips on the way home and I was ready to run again . . . well, sort of . . .
A quick check-in and the first thing I did was have my ForGoodnessShakes recovery drink, followed by sitting in freezing cold bath water for 15 minutes (this water must have been pumped directly from the Arctic). Once my hands were going blue, which weren't in the water, I figured it was time to get out.
My legs feeling incredibly recovered I then wallowed in a hot bath for an hour or so then made up my Expedition Foods freeze-dried Chicken Korma with Rice: delicious.
ECG and medical certificate
It's a compulsory MdS requirement to turn up on Administration Day (the day before Stage 1 starts) to hand in a medical certificate signed off by a doctor along with a satisfactory ECG test print-out. This ECG can't be dated more than 30 days before the start of the race. As part of this race weekend a doctor was on site to do the necessary.
The ECG, taken a couple of hours after I finished today's effort, confirmed I'm still alive and all the squiggly lines are in the right places. I also now have squiggly lines over my hairy chest too where it had to be shaved in the right parts before the test.
Ultra-running/MdS evening talk
The majority of runners will have heard of Rory Coleman, the ultra-running legend. In a different lifetime in the 1990s Rory had got used to being an overweight alcoholic smoking 40 a day until realising there was no fun in it. After a breathless 100 metre jog in 1994 Rory was appalled at the state of his body and decided to change things.
Rory has since completed 714 marathons, has 9 Guinness World Records to his name and has completed 180 ultra-marathons (i.e., races that exceed the standard marathon distance of 26.2 miles), including running from London to Lisbon . . . just the small matter of 1,275 miles. And 2012 should see Rory complete his 9th MdS . . .
So what Rory has to say about ultra-running is worth listening to.
Rory and his partner Jen Salter are the team behind ULTRArace which organises the Grantham Ultra and other similar events as well as providing coaching and personal training. I picked up lots of useful tips from Rory's talk, some of which challenge the plans and thinking I'd already decided upon for the MdS . . . so back to the drawing board on one or two points.
It was great meeting a few other MdS 2012 entrants and other ultra-runners with other plans, including one guy being trained by Rory for next year's MdS who's so far lost 20 kilos (over 3 stone) . . . in 1 year.
Sunday's 29.3 miles
I woke early for a freeze-dried breakfast (Expedition Foods Fruity Muesli with Milk Powder) and then back to bed for another hour or so before getting up and thoroughly stretching off. I just don't think my body likes hot breakfasts so maybe I'll stick to Jordan's Crunchy Oat cereal during the MdS!
I cleared out some more of my rucksack and went with 4kg.
Emerging from my darkened hotel room into the hotel reception the weather was a surprise: barely a breeze, not a cloud in sight and full sunshine before 9am. A quick change meant I ditched my running longs to just run in shorts but I kept two layers on my top half. I was as unprepared for unseasonably warm weather as most of the field with no hat, sunglasses or sunscreen. I just had one Buff with me to wear as a headband to stop the sweat dripping in my eyes which also meant everything else was exposed to the sun.
I found out today that the race finish in Cotgrave was about 10 miles away from the officially recorded hottest place in the United Kingdom (Watnall, Nottinghamshire: 18.6C). Last week I was running around in temperatures barely reaching 4C.
It was certainly a humid day. I started out more aggressively than the previous day with a 5 minute run/5 minute walk strategy but after about 3 hours this was getting too tiring: in the humid heat and after yesterday's effort my heart rate was spiking too much. I really wished I could dump my rucksack as even with just 4kg I knew that wouldn't help.
So after 3 hours passed I ran what I could, which was little, and mostly walked fast instead. I could tell from the dried salt marks on my clothing that I was sweating out a lot of salts. I had no reason to think I'd need to bring salt tablets with me and the electrolytes I was taking on board weren't helping as much as I needed in the sodium department.
With a couple of hours to the finish I found I couldn't run more than a minute or so without wanting to be sick, my appetite had switched off, my upper leg muscles were cramping up and my hands had swollen a little: all classic signs of low salt! To top it off I found I couldn't turn my head much to the left without a locking back muscle and pain: I've no idea why that started.
 |
| Where's that Whopper and salty fries?!? |
I sat down and struggled to get up again without my wife's assistance as my legs were cramping. I still didn't feel like eating though so didn't (a mistake) and instead went straight for a shower.
After a quick chat with Ray McCurdy (who's completed over 160 marathons and will complete his 100th ultra-marathon in the next few weeks) we began the journey home. I knew I badly needed salt so stopped at a service station for some Burger King salty fries: I really didn't feel well standing in a queue in a warm building!
Armed with a Whopper and salty fries I got out of the building sharpish and sat down in the cold shade feeling quite hot, dizzy and sick before I got the hot and cold sweats. The chap emptying the bins looked quite alarmed at the sweating mess sat in front of him and asked if I needed sugar. My long-suffering wife wasn't quite so alarmed: she got used to this on one of our first dates years ago (i.e., me repeatedly throwing up on the hard shoulder of the M1 after carrying on through some pain through a 6 hour track race).
That first salty chip was absolute heaven and I finished off the rest and half the Whopper in double-quick time and felt 100% better! Another bag of salty chips on the way home and I was ready to run again . . . well, sort of . . .
Friday 9 March 2012
Official: excitement has arrived!!
This weekend sees the pinnacle of my Marathon des Sables training when I'll be "competing" in the Grantham Ultra: 29.3 miles on the Saturday, an overnight stop, then running Saturday's route in reverse to complete another 29.3 miles on the Sunday.
Assuming I complete both days this final build-up period will have included the following:
w/e 12 Feb: off week to recover for upcoming cycle;
w/e 19 Feb: 20 miler (8.5kg rucksack)/20 miler (6.6kg rucksack) back-to-back;
w/e 26 Feb: full 26.2 mile marathon with 6.5kg rucksack;
w/e 4 Mar: 23 miles (11.8kg rucksack), day off, 20 miles;
w/e 11 Mar: 29.3 miler/29.3 miler back-to-back.
Which also means I have just 2 hard days to come and my training preparation, which began in earnest in January 2011, is pretty much finished. I'd aim for another 20 miler or so next week and then my 3 week taper period will begin.
So with just 4 weeks to go before I travel to the Sahara I can officially declare that THE EXCITEMENT HAS ARRIVED!
Assuming I complete both days this final build-up period will have included the following:
w/e 12 Feb: off week to recover for upcoming cycle;
w/e 19 Feb: 20 miler (8.5kg rucksack)/20 miler (6.6kg rucksack) back-to-back;
w/e 26 Feb: full 26.2 mile marathon with 6.5kg rucksack;
w/e 4 Mar: 23 miles (11.8kg rucksack), day off, 20 miles;
w/e 11 Mar: 29.3 miler/29.3 miler back-to-back.
Which also means I have just 2 hard days to come and my training preparation, which began in earnest in January 2011, is pretty much finished. I'd aim for another 20 miler or so next week and then my 3 week taper period will begin.
So with just 4 weeks to go before I travel to the Sahara I can officially declare that THE EXCITEMENT HAS ARRIVED!
Sunday 4 March 2012
Heaviest weight to date
Another 50 mile week. I forced myself to solely walk 23 miles on Wednesday with my heaviest rucksack weight to date at 11.8kg (OK, I confess I couldn't resist running the last 10 minutes home . . .).
To add to the difficulty I did this walk over some tough terrain over the moors: stony, rocky, boggy, grassy, taking in over 2,700 foot of ascent. This felt fine and I covered the hilly distance in 6h44m.
The rucksack weight started to take its toll though after about 4 hours, when the muscles of my upper back really started to ache. I also really felt it in the legs as I began to tire from the weight on my back, particularly when descending off the high moors.
What this shows is that it will be critical to try and get my MdS rucksack weight as low as I can get away with: the heavier the weight the slower the run, the more energy being burnt (which isn't being properly replaced) and the longer I'll be out in the desert heat.
I'd intended the next day to go out for a 20 miler but when I woke up I realised I may have pushed it a bit with the previous day's weight. And considering what I've done over the last few weeks I'm really noticing how much more tired I'm feeling generally: injury beckons if I'm not careful.
So it seemed sensible to instead take the day off and I went out for my 20 miler on the Friday.
My intention for this outing was to go out with a far lower weight (just 2kg) but increase the running time along a flat route. It took a good 3-4 miles before the various pains in my overworked hip and buttock muscles eased off.
Other than a 20 minute walking period (waiting for 100g of jelly beans to kick in and do their stuff!) I maintained 8 minute run/2 minute walk for about 3 hours then changed this to a 4 minute run/1 minute walk to finish the 20 miles in 3h58m.
From the off it was a beautifully sunny early spring day. I wanted to give myself a bit of a boiling in the warmth and refused to take off my woolly hat and three layers including a windproof/waterproof jacket which doesn't breath. A few runners I passed were looking at me as if I'd lost the plot (Why's he dressed for the depths of winter when it's dry, sunny and in the mid-teens?!?).
Unsurprisingly I'd used up the 1.5l of water I had with me within 2.5 hours and suffered the rest of the way, but I was not going to remove my woolly hat and three layers!
 |
| It's a long way up, which means a long way back down again with 11.8kgs |
The rucksack weight started to take its toll though after about 4 hours, when the muscles of my upper back really started to ache. I also really felt it in the legs as I began to tire from the weight on my back, particularly when descending off the high moors.
What this shows is that it will be critical to try and get my MdS rucksack weight as low as I can get away with: the heavier the weight the slower the run, the more energy being burnt (which isn't being properly replaced) and the longer I'll be out in the desert heat.
I'd intended the next day to go out for a 20 miler but when I woke up I realised I may have pushed it a bit with the previous day's weight. And considering what I've done over the last few weeks I'm really noticing how much more tired I'm feeling generally: injury beckons if I'm not careful.
So it seemed sensible to instead take the day off and I went out for my 20 miler on the Friday.
My intention for this outing was to go out with a far lower weight (just 2kg) but increase the running time along a flat route. It took a good 3-4 miles before the various pains in my overworked hip and buttock muscles eased off.
Other than a 20 minute walking period (waiting for 100g of jelly beans to kick in and do their stuff!) I maintained 8 minute run/2 minute walk for about 3 hours then changed this to a 4 minute run/1 minute walk to finish the 20 miles in 3h58m.
From the off it was a beautifully sunny early spring day. I wanted to give myself a bit of a boiling in the warmth and refused to take off my woolly hat and three layers including a windproof/waterproof jacket which doesn't breath. A few runners I passed were looking at me as if I'd lost the plot (Why's he dressed for the depths of winter when it's dry, sunny and in the mid-teens?!?).
Unsurprisingly I'd used up the 1.5l of water I had with me within 2.5 hours and suffered the rest of the way, but I was not going to remove my woolly hat and three layers!
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