Wall Run Learning Points - Part 2

Recovery

One thing I was particularly unsure about, and wanted to get some experience of was my recovery overnight for the following day’s stage, and how I would fare over the second day. During training I had got into a routine of having a recovery shake* within 15 or 20 minutes of finishing and wearing some Compressport calf compression sleeves for two or three hours after. This seemed to work as my legs weren’t too bad at all the next morning despite having been confined to my sleeping bag and small tent. I think the massage and slowly walking about did their bit as well.

* I’ve found I get on well with the ‘For Goodness Shakes’ but they are a touch on the expensive side so after normal training sessions I’ve been using skimmed milk with a bit of Bourneville cocoa powder and a little sugar which seems to work pretty well.

Nutrition

I didn't end up really using any of the food I had with me, other than a few Clif shot blocs (about 4 each day). I’ll know for another time what the pit stops are like and lighten my pack a bit (not that the extra weight did me any harm from a practice point of view). Each day I had a few handfuls of chocolate covered raisins from the check points, and some peanuts, flapjack and bananas from the more substantial pit stops.

I am surprised by how little I took on, and it probably wouldn't be sustainable for a longer stage race, but I did help me practice eating more ‘real’ food on the go, rather than just swallowing sickly gels all the time. Real food is definitely the answer over these longer distances and timescales.

Training

My training broadly followed the suggested training plan, topping out at about 60 miles per week, with a longest run of 30 miles with a pack. I was surprised how well my body coped in the race, running two days back to back further than I have gone before. I did do two back-to-back sessions in the couple of months before the race, but only short (12+12 and 15+12). I think the combination of the back-to-backs and longer singles runs did work together even though I got nowhere near the actual race conditions. I practiced walking during longer runs (fast walking, not slow ambling, which was tempting at times!) which I think helped me keep the pace up when I did walk.

I could probably have done with a little more trail training, though – I really need to find myself some slippery slopes to run up to practice for those dunes! A little more down hill practice might have been good as - the down hills started to become a bit of a challenge towards the end!