Countdown to MdS 2009

Resurrection

2009-09-02T13:11:00.007+01:00

Well this blogging idea died a bloody death.

The MdS is over. What a fantastic experience despite the initial concerns arising from monsoon conditions on the way to the first campsite.

We were evacuated from camp to a town called Erfoud and had to sit it out there from the Friday night till the race eventually started on Monday morning. We heard reports that it had last rained during the race in 1997 for a half hour. This was big rain and lasted more than a half hour.

The hotel we relocated to was fine although we ended up 4 to a room due to the sheer volume of miserable runners. Not entirely true, most folks were obviously disappointed but spirits were still high especially at the buffet meal times. I had a couple of brief periods of feeling very sorry for myself. Two years since first signing up, plent of cash splashed, training very hard(relatively speaking) and it looked like there was a chance of The MdS 2009 not happening at all. In the end we had a modified version of 125 miles over five days instead of the intended 150 over seven.

The consensus seemed to be that a tougher route would be welcomed because of the shorter event. The organisers took this on board. Planning the route for each stage had to be taken day by day as much of the intended course through usually dried out lakes and wadis would be impossible due to the amount of fallen rain. A land rover belonging to the organisers had been lost to the flash flooding but this was more than put in to perspective after we heard about a local person dying in the floods. Fortunately our grief reaction was helped to progress by the fact that we hadn't a clue who the person was. Heartless?

The camaraderie at the event was terrific especially from my companions in Tent 70. I absolutely loved going through the dunes(it's what you want in desert experience) however the improvised MdS also took us over some pretty rough stuff underfoot, particularly during the final legs of the longest long stage ever in the history of this event. Stage 3 was 91km(just shy of 57 miles) and i'm sure i kicked every rock in that part of the Sahara desert with the same sore toe. Here's me after 14 hours and 40 mins. I'm sure i could've gone quicker!

The final stage was official marathon distance and seemed to be all uphill. Later that evening we were treated to a performance by the Paris opera and a can of beer.

Overall, my performance delighted me. In previous marathons/triathlons I have finished around the top third of the field. Here it was position 147 out of 812 starters. I was very fortunate in that i didn't get the gut bug so many others had plus injury niggles were minimal and not effecting my performance. Now i've got a multiday stage race under my belt i think i could creep further up the leader board with further attempts provided illness and injury is kept at bay. Unfortunately i am crocked at the moment and due arthroscopy on my dodgy right knee. No running but plent of cycling. I'm pretty sure i've got another comeback in me though.

November already?!

2008-11-10T20:53:00.002Z

I've lost half a stone since starting this programme at the end of September. If i keep it up i should weigh in at 4 stones for the start of the MdS.

I've just finished a big 3 weeks of my plan.

Sunday 26th October - 20 miles running

Monday 27th - 1hr spinning at Gym
Tues - 5 miles
Wed - 8 miles
Thurs - 5 miles
Fri - rest
Sat - 8 miles
Sun - 20 miles

Mon 3rd November - 1 hour spinning
Tues - 5 miles
Wed 8 miles
Thurs - 5 miles
Fri - rest
Sat - 20 miles
Sun 24 miles

I also gave my aarn 30L rucksack it's first outing yesterday and it's rather jolly good. Did the 24 miles carrying food, fluid and some warmer clothes. I managed to achieve a good snug fit though felt the back of my neck being annoyed a bit. I've made an adjustment to the shoulder straps and this seems to have helped as i sit here typing while wearing it.

The front pouches held plenty. I had a 600ml bike bottle and 500ml lucozade sport in each front pocket plus plenty of nibbles stuffed in the elastic pouches. I didn't think i would get my 1L bottle in but I've just tried and it fits very well.

I've run with a camelback rucksack before and have found that to be comfortable but being able to spread the weight all around is far superior. I'm delighted i bought this before they ran out! There's also lots of loose harness flying about while you're running. I'm sure braver men would cut the excess off.One concern i saw has already been highlighted by the ladies section of themds.co.uk forum due to them being blessed with proper chesticles unlike my poor imitations. Mine were misshapen and peculiar to look at due to the intricate harnessing of the Aarn. This may be an issue if you have ample charms.

I feel ok today and think the torture of the cold bath after Saturday's run has helped but I'm really looking forward to the recovery week this week. I'll probably repeat last week after that then have a fortnight's taper for the Beacons ultra.

It's all looking up except my weight, 'cos that's going down. Good times.

Recent training

2008-10-25T10:20:00.003+01:00

So i started the programme on 29/9/08and have been doing lunges and squats 2-3 times per week with all too infrequent core work. I've been trying to make the shorter runs more intense. One of the middle distances a steady upper end run and the other two for easy(ier) endurance. Just realised I've not a had a proper swim for ages now and probably wont until next year unless i decide to use it as a bit of cross training instead of cycling.

Monday 1hr spinning at the gym
Tues 4 miles running
Wed 7 miles
Thu 4 miles
Fri Rest
Sat 7miles
Sun 16miles Total= 38miles

Monday 6th 1hr spinning
Tues 4miles
Wed 7miles
Thu 4miles
Fri Rest
Sat 7miles
Sun 16miles Total=38miles

Monday 13th 1hr spinning
Tues 4miles
Wed 5miles
Thu 4miles
Fri Rest
Sat 7miles
Sun 11miles Total=31miles

Monday 20th Rest
Tuesday 4miles
Wednesday 8miles
Thursday 4miles
Friday rest
Saturday 8miles(Am going out in the next half hour to do this. Thankfully it's pissin down and blowing a gale)
Sunday should be about 17miles

I need to do a bit of joogling with the plan to accommodate http://www.beaconsultra.com/. I'm really looking forward to testing myself against a long distance and will be in good company to help me along. Quite a few of the guys heading to Morocco next year are taking part and i'll probably do most of my kit buying then from http://http://www.likeys.com/ seeing as i'm in the area.

Bad times!

2008-10-25T10:01:00.002+01:00

The past couple of weeks have been unpleasantly upsetting. Ross had his annual review on the 7th of October. A couple of days later the consultant phoned with the news that Ross is now diabetic secondary to the bastard cystic fibrosis.

They wanted to get him into the ward soon and started on insulin. So he was admitted on the Sunday. The initial plan was for his blood sugar levels to be monitored over 24hours, start insulin and get home the following day. He seemed a bit deflated by the news at first but like everything this has thrown at him, he was ready to take it in his stride. It was also the start of the school holidays and although not best pleased he reckoned losing one day to the hospital was tolerable. One turned into 2 etc and 5 days later he was home.

The main stumbling block was his confidence in stabbing himself 4times per day to administer the insulin. I couldn't blame him. The whole week just reminded his mum and me about how unfair this condition can be and something I probably(definitely) try to mentally distance myself from most of the time. I had my meltdown Wednesday into Thursday. Ross had a slight flutter on the Tuesday. He is so resilient and adaptable. Wendy found it tough at the end of the week but that's her story to tell.

A day in hospital can seem like a week and by the time he got home, firing the insulin in was thankfully no big problem. There's still a big learning curve to attack for the next while, diabetes was my worst subject at nurses school, and i'm sure he'll reach the target before i do.

Time to catch up(abridged version)

2008-10-25T09:33:00.003+01:00

Since last here, Elaine and me have had a relaxing fortnight in the Dominican Republic. I managed a few runs and got on the spin bikes at the gym there a couple of times. Unfortunately, the running got knocked on the head at the end of the first week when i got my toe mangled by a big German. He came crashing through the net at the beach volleyball(very inconsiderate).

I have been making good progress on the achilles front due to a regime including icing, rubbing and heating of the offending parts, as suggested by one of the wise men on themds.co.uk.

I have also finally decided to mainly follow the ultra plan on http://www.halhigdon.com. I've been following it for almost four weeks now but I'll be modifying it a little so that i also get some walking time in on the bigger endurance days as well as a little speed and strength stuff. I had started including core strengthening exercises but these have gone by the wayside the past couple of weeks. They will return again along with the squatting and lunging i have kept up, again as recommended by the same wise man. I can really feel the difference with these. Good times!

The time is flying by

2008-09-07T11:19:00.006+01:00

My leg now seems almost completely mended, just a little tight in both achilles at times. A few months ago I had hoped to be doing an ultra distance event this weekend. The niggling injuries really put an end to this hope. I've still got plenty of time to get desert fit, but feel i need the mental prep of being out in difficult conditions for a long time. I really want to experience the suffering before i get there!!!

I have therefore entered the Brecon Beacons Ultra (http://www.beaconsultra.com/) on 6th December. This should be a good 45 miles of misery. It'll also give me a chance to meet some of my potential tent mates in person, as quite a few from themds forum are going along too. No doubt i'll end up buying some kit from http://www.likeys.com/ while there.

My previous Ironman experience should help with my nutrition, hydration and hour upon hour of exerting myself, but swimming and cycling helped balance the abuse your body takes. Being on my feet and carrying all my kit for the duration will be totally different.

Recent training.

Sunday 24th August - Walked the 1 mile uphill to the Greenock Cut. Had a backpack weighing about 4kg, made up of kit and drinks. Did 2 laps of Overton-Cornalees along the cut and back over the road by Loch Thom. Just over 7 miles a lap, then allowed gravity to take me the mile back home. So about 16.5 miles. Think i got a bit carried away.

The pictures were taken on another day.

Monday 25th - 20km cycling
Tuesday - 4 miles running
Wednesday - 6 miles running
Thursday - rest
Friday - 7 miles running
Saturday - 10 miles running
Sunday - 75km cycling

Monday 1st Sept - 20km cycling
Tuesday - rest
Wednesday - 4 miles running
Thursday - rest
Friday - 25km cycling
Saturday - rest

I've been a bit Knackered this week and decided i wont be doing the Great Scottish Run. Will need to follow a schedule of less random training following my holidays. We're off to the Dominican Republic on Wednsday for a fortnights all inclusive. The weather there has become more favourable and hopefully no further tropical storms will come nearby. Here's where we're staying http://www.riu.com/en/clubhotel-riu-bachata-puerto-plata-dominican-republic.html.

I hope to not come back looking like a tellytubby. The running shoes will be coming and there are a few other sports i'll be looking to get in to too.

Adios

The runner returns

2008-08-23T10:15:00.003+01:00

Since last posting almost 1 month ago, i did another couple of bike rides before Elaine, Ross, Kirsty and myself headed off to Bournemouth for a few days. My intention was to attempt a couple of runs on the beach but ended up not bothering. We did a fair amount of walking and i definitely benefitted from the relative rest.

Upon returning i tried a 4 mile run on the Wednesay(August 6th, i think). No real probs so decided to treat myself to new running shoes. Next day, i went to Achilles Heel, Glasgow to have my gait looked at as i'd not had them do this for a few years. There was the ususal pronation problem and it was suggested i could try some orthotic inserts.

Ker-ching, one born every minute.

I wore these for a couple of weeks and there were some adjustment issues but no major concerns initially. One particulr pain was just how hard they feel on your soles after 5-6 miles running. Towards the end of this period i was also having some hip and shin pain. They have now been ditched and my runs without them have been fine.

I'm struggling to remember, again, just what i've done.

Wednesday August 6th- 4miles running
Thursday - 4 miles running( orthotics in)
Friday - 6 miles running
Saturday - rest
Sunday - some form of run

Monday 11th - ? a bike ride
Tuesday - 6miles threshold run
Wednesday - 7 miles off road
Thursday - 6 miles hill run repeats, 200m swimming cool down
Friday - rest
Saturday - 6 miles run, 20km bike
Sunday - 10 miles run

Monday 18th - 25ish km bike
Tuesday - 6 miles threshhold run(orthotics out)
Wednesday - 7 miles run off road
Thursday - 45 km bike
Friday - rest

I've also now got myself into the habit of doing some regular core work, squats, lunges et al. My tits now appear to be reducing in size. That's good news, not a complaint.

I may give the Great Scottish run a go on 7th September.

Overdoing it?

2008-07-29T11:40:00.003+01:00

Have been meaning to update this for a couple of weeks and am now struggling to remember exactly what i have done!

What i know i did do, according to AA route planner, was 104.7 miles of cycling on 13th July. I set off from home, over the Erskine bridge and up Loch Lomond side to Arrochar. The return journey took me down Loch Long and over the hills to Coulport. I just followed the road ahead through Kilcreggan, where i seriously contemplated getting on the boat back to Gourock. I didn't though, and carried on through Garelochhead, Helensburgh, Dumbarton and back over the bridge to get home. I was out for 6.5 hours and this included some stops for photography and pishing! My hope was to do 100miles in less than 6 hours, and i did. This was a favoured route when i did my Ironman prep a couple of years ago.

The week leading up to this effort was a mixture of mainly cycling with a little swimming, cautious running and a couple of hours walking with 10kg on my back. A total of almost 13 hours for the week.

Week beginning 14th July:

Monday: About 25miles cycling

Tuesday: 1000m swim then 4 mile run with the dodgy calf becoming dodgier.

Wednesday: 32 miles cycling

Thursday: about 7 miles walking with 10kg on my back

Friday: rest

Saturday: 104.7 miles of cycling. The above route in reverse(not cycling backwards).

Sunday: 10 mile run. Calf felt like it was going to explode. Not nice. About 14.5 hours in the bag this week.

Monday 21st: about 22 miles cycling

Tuesday: 32 miles cycling

Wednesday: 1000m swim

Thursday: rest day. Was becoming rather crabbit. Wonder if the long bike rides had anything to do with it!!!

Friday: 20 miles cycling

Saturday: 7 miles walking with 12kg on back

Sunday: 40 miles cycling. About 9.5 hours this week.

I may wait till next week before another attempt at running.

Another week down

2008-07-07T14:42:00.009+01:00

Since last here i took a rest day on Monday then did 32 miles on the bike on Tuesday.

Wednesday had me back at the physio and he said i should just get back in to whatever i feel like doing. So, i had a 2000m swim after an amazing comeback at running a whopping 3km. I used the first1km loop to warm up, did plenty of stretching, then finished my final 2 loops of the local Battery Park. I ran on the grass hoping to minimise the impact but think losing a bit of my belly will be a better impact minimiser. My calf felt a wee bit stiff towards the end but no major fallout.

On Thursday i planned to do another couple of hours on the bike but the weather was honking worse than usual. I went to the gym instead. 15mins warm up on the stationary bike, 1hour on the cross trainer, 30mins on the stepper and final 15 mins back on the bike. I was taking it easy with an occasional burst of intensity to relieve the boredom. No leg problems.

Friday had me back at the battery park. I used the 1st lap to warm up, stretched(a lot) then did a further 9km. It felt good to be back running a distance of note. No leg complaints. it's all going to smoothly now.

On Saturday Elaine and me went for a walk. Not a gentle stroll but a manly walk. I decided to handicap myself by putting 10kg of stuff into my backpack. We covered about 11 miles and my quads were feeling it towards the end. A good reminder of a need to get more of this sort of thing done in preparation for next year.

Sunday, felt like going for a long bike ride but just lay down until the feeling passed. i'm stuill feeling a bit fatigued today but will endeavour to do something after work(where i am not writing this!!!)

My knee feels a little spongey today but nothing terribly significant, i hope.

Total swim 2000m
cycled 64 miles
walked 11 miles with 10kg napsack on my back
ran 13km

Total time of about 8.75 hours.

I need to improve my diet.

A good week

2008-06-29T12:49:00.002+01:00

This has been the best week's training i've managed to put in since being injured, and possibly since before the marathon. Still not running though.

Last Sunday had me out on the bike for about 85km. Down to Ardrossan and back in just under 3 hours. Head wind out and no obvious tail wind felt on the return. It must've been there though, because i came back much quicker than i went!

Monday, about 25km of cycling.

Tuesday, more cycling. This time 30km'ish

Wednesday, a change of pace. 2km recovery swim.

Thursday, 11km walk with 3-4kg on my back.

Friday, back on the bike. 35km.

Saturday. Same route as last Sunday with a visit to Port Glasgow first, to boost the distance. 95km covered. Again, that westerly wind slowed me on the way out and helped on the way back, although it didn't particularly feel like it was assisting.

Today, a jaunt to Largs. The wind was worserer than yesterday and i could feel it helping me back up the road until about 10km to go. At this point it seemed to be coming from all angles. 58km.

I'm not sure whether i prefer miles or km. Km sounds more impressive but all my distances are measured in miles in my head first of all. I'll just put whatever i feel like at that particular time.

Total Walked 11ish km or 7ish miles
Swam 2km or 1.25 miles
Cycled 243km or 150ish miles
Time training 11.5 hours

Was having some calf tenderness early in the week when climbing but none for the past couple of days. Physio again on Wednesday, so will hopefully be back attempting something resembling a run late next week.

A good week!

Still injured

2008-06-21T09:55:00.002+01:00

Since last on here i've been using my bike a bit more to try and maintain some degree of fitness. This has worked to a point but you can't beat running for running fitness, unsurprisingly. As a consequence i have now returned to a degree of fatness.

My knee pain became calf pain for those who don't know and was particularly sore when running. Hence very little running. I rested from training on my feet for a week or so then tried an easy 4 mile run on Wednesday. The calf was feeling fine until about 10mins in. It started to get a bit tight but i thought it would be ok because i was taking it relatively easy. Can you see where this is going?

Approaching mile 3 i felt a ripping sensation in the calf. This was not terribly pleasant or even pleasantly terrible. Unable to run any further due to the combination of pain and fear of causing more damage, i hobbled the final mile home.

Went to A&E though i knew there'd be little they could do. Was advised i'd probably got a tear in the muscle. No real guidance beyond a bit of rest and take it easy. Fortunately i was able to get my physio appointment brought forward. It is now just a suspected muscle strain. John, the physio, approaches the treatment with great optimism which i find just as helpful as the exercise regimes he sets.

Hopefully i will be back properly on track very soon before the belly has a chance to get right out of control.

Knee update

2008-05-31T11:16:00.003+01:00

I went to the orthopaedic clinic on Wednesday. Didn't see the surgeon but was given a good going over by the knee specialist physio. He also works with the local football team, my boyhood heroes, http://www.gmfc.net/

He pulled and hauled my leg in many directions and said my knee seems stable enough. Therefore surgery was not indicated, even to have a little look around! I made a point of developing my legs folowing the big injury 9 years ago, and my big thighs seems to have helped! However, he does think i have a patella-femoral tracking issue. This will require some training of the VMO muscle. More exercise from the physio to target this area.

The pain and general feeling of weakness has continued to ease off but i still have no answers to what could have set off the feeling of an acute injury. I suspect a mixture of not allowing myself adequate rest after the Paris marathon, trying to play football and taking to the hills too quickly in the weeks after Paris.

A lesson has been learned!!!(perhaps).

I've done very little running during the past couple of weeks. The past two Sundays have each had me out for about 20 miles in the hills behind Greenock, Inverkip and Wemyss Bay. I walked the first effort and took just under 5 hours 40 but stopped a few times for, ahem, comfort breaks and some photography. Last Sunday I covered the same route and due to feeling ok i put in a few trots along the way. I covered the distance in about 4hours 20 and started with a backpack of about 10kg. This included 3litres of drinks, grub and 6kg of weights off my dumbbells.

A 1500m recovery swim on Monday then nothing other than the physio exercises until yesterday. Did an easy 4 miles running without much problem and will attempt 10miles easy pace today.

Hopefully a corner has been turned.

The dates are in or is it out?!!!

2008-05-17T20:19:00.004+01:00

The next Marathon Des Sables will be taking place 27 March - 6 April 2009.

Thankfully I've rested the past 3 days and my knee is now feeling somewhat better. The training plan really needs to be finalised soon.

I've got physio at the end of the week and will hopefully have a better idea of what ails me then. I may now reconsider my keenness to have the bone butchers open me up.

A long walk will be undertaken tomorrow with an aim to up the ante in the next wee while.

Set back

2008-05-15T18:22:00.000+01:00

Just a grumble post! You may proceed immediately to the last line.

I ruptured my cruciate ligament playing football 9 years ago. The first question i got asked at hospital was, at what level do you participate in sport? I knew then i would not be getting sent to the USA for a nice reconstruction. Instead it was physio all the way and it took about 2 years to feel anywhere near normal again. This may have been due to returning to footie too quickly and too often. Anyway, i chucked the football completely 3-4 years ago and my knee has been swell since then. It is now swell another way!

The footballers were short staffed about 3 weeks ago and invited me back, just to play in goal. Unfortunately i decided the standard had slipped incredibly and ventured outfield for the last 15mins. This went fine with absolutely no probs but later in the week my knee starts to give me a bit of grief. I still ran and cycled but had a bit of a dullness in the knee. It has not improved and i have now called a halt to running meantime. My intention was to continue with the cycling because that's what made up most of my physio rehab.

I went out for a nice 45km ride yesterday which was spoiled at the halfway point by me noticing the front wheel has a terrible wobble. I am now reluctant to use this beautiful steed until it is repaired. Unfortunately, yet again, i can't get to the shop anytime soon.

Back to the kneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. I have had occasional short term aches over the years but this feels like a fresh injury. I went to the docs yesterday and am being reffered to the bone guy. This could be a lengthy wait but i work in the hospital and am practising my terribly pathetic creature look with a view to weaseling an earlier appointment. This and free micropore tape are among the limited benefits of being an NHS employee.

To cut a long story short.

Knee is wonky.I am rather cheesed off.
__________________

Paris marathon recovery

2008-04-14T19:56:00.012+01:00

3hrs 46min 11secs. On the whole i was pleased with this(my 2nd fastest marathon time). I still believe i've got sub 3:30 in me though. This may be put to the test with an autumn marathon. It may not!

I went through the 20 mile mark in Paris in 2:43ish and thought i had a good chance of getting near to 3:30. Unfortunately, my legs had a different plan. While training i had tried to condition myself to believe 4 miles from home was a time to up the pace. It had been working, until marathon day. I just felt like there was no more to give. From early on it felt like my stomach was struggling with the energy food even though it was the same stuff as used in training. Mile 25 was the lowest point with the developing mantra being, fuck doing this in the desert everyday for a week! I so wanted to stop but kept plodding away because i have stopped in the past and it was not a good idea.

Happily, these thoughts disappeared as quick as they arrived after crossing the finish line.

What went wrong? I had been feeling unwell and a bit run down in the week or so prior to the race. It was like man flu, only worse. I do feel this was only a minor contributor though, as was the fueling. The main problem had been not losing enough beef at the start of the training programme. This lesson has now been learned(i hope).

My legs were sore that night and tackling stairs was difficult until the Wednesday. I've done 3 short bike rides and 1 run since the race. Getting about not too bad but still lacking any real power to blast(relatively speaking) up hills. I'll give myself another week of fairly gentle activity before deciding where i'm at and what i'll be doing.

I've had a few beers through the past week(including loads on Saturday) and may have a few more this week. I might even try another day of excess. It was rather good fun, I think!

You have to start somewhere!

2008-03-21T18:22:00.002Z

I'm going to try and remember to keep this up to date during the next year. The blog shall be complete when I return from Morocco sometime in April 2009, hopefully alive and having completed the Marathon des Sable.

I don't have any great training plan sorted for the year ahead(yet) but plan to build on my endurance training of the past couple of years. I've now done 4 full marathons, a half ironman distance and full Ironman Triathlon, plus loads of shorter events since 2004. I still seem to be improving despite the advancing years, although I am finding it increasingly difficult to stop my belly advancing during the lull between events. This is probably because I can be rather greedy with the ale and pies.

I am now approaching the end of week 1 in my 3 week taper for the Paris marathon on 6th April. The peak was achieved last Sunday during a 22 mile run. I seem to have my race day strategies for pacing, hydrating and taking on calories sorted. This will be formally tested on the day. Why didn't I try to lose some more weight 3 months ago?! Refer to the final sentence of the last paragraph.

Looking back I have covered almost 600 miles running plus some cycling and cross training since starting my 18 week programme at the beginning of last December. It's now all about getting the head ready for the on the day pain (and staying away from bad food). When I come back from Paris there will be a couple of weeks belly building before embarking on the final leg of my journey to the Sahara.

I'll try keeping this up to date to monitor my own progress while reporting highs, lows and near misses. The latter usually involves a dead heat sprint between my buttocks and my bowel at the toilet seat finish line! The blog will also allow anyone else to see what is involved in my training regime before they feel suitably motivated to generously sponsor me, when I come round with the sheet. As usual, I'll be collecting for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust with a view to contributing to their cure finding research. Hopefully my son Ross will be near the front of the queue for this when it is realised.

Have a look at http://www.cftrust.org.uk/ for more info.

This years MdS sets off on 27th March. Have a look at http://www.saharamarathon.co.uk/ to view the torture involved.

This week sees a total of 34 running miles, next week= 26miles and then 9 miles the following week prior to race day.