Almost There...!

Packing done, and sorting the last few bits and bobs before heading to the station and down to Gatwick so seems like a good time to reflect on my preparation....

Its been two years since I registered for the MdS and even longer since the idea first captured my imagination and suddenly its here. Its been such a long time coming and taken so much preparation and this has always been the goal but it always seemed like such a long way off. I can't quite believe its here and I'm actually going to this (or try at least!). I've been through stressed, nervous and excited stages but I'm feeling more relaxed now with background excitement and nerves.

I'm trying not to focus too much on the training - I have worked hard and it felt like it was going really well up until the ITB problems started at the beginning of February. Since then I haven't managed to do most of the dedicated training I had planned, though I have carried on doing the training I could (which is a fair amount in reality, just different to what I had planned). The result is that I think I'm in pretty good shape and my ITB feels ok but I'm not sure what impact all of this will have on my running in the desert. I'm prepared to feel my ITB and even have it go properly like it did before but I'm going to take it easy and see how it goes. If need be I'll just do lots of walking! I'll be needing to do a lot of that anyway I think but I'd prefer to be able to make faster progress with the odd spurt of running.

Food and kitwise, I've put a lot of thought into it - I think it'll differ at least to a certain degree from other people's though hopefully not too significantly. I haven't gone for the ultra minimalist approach but I'm reasonably pleased with the weight of my pack. I think the food could be a little lighter and i might shed a out there but I'll make the decision there.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to a memorable experience whatever happens! And the (hopefully!) well deserved rest after :)

3 x 25 Miles Back-to-Back

It’s been a relatively quiet period since the Pilgrims Challenge, with me trying to rest my ITB hoping it will sort itself, and getting a nasty cold which wrote off training up in the lakes.  I've started doing some hot yoga, which I had planned to do anyway as party of an attempt to acclimatize to the Saharan temperatures, but which is also really good for stretching things out.

I had planned to do a big three back-to-back session last weekend (aiming for 3 x 25 miles) and started out with 5-6 kg on my back on the Saturday, planning to run up to Hebden Bridge from Salford up the Rochdale Canal (28.5 miles), extending the run I did last year.  I could feel my ITB twinging from the beginning but it didn't seem to get any worse so I kept going. Then at 18 miles-ish I felt it go properly and so that was the running finished for the day.  I kept going, walking as fast as I could manage, up to Walsden (22.5 miles and 4.5 hours on the move), from where I caught the train back down to Manchester – frustrating but at least the scenery was beautiful, particularly the part I hadn't done before over Littleborough Summit to Walsden. Not an entire loss!

At this point I gave up trying to push things any further by running the following two days, which would have just made things worse with the leg, and so I decided to do the sessions in the gym instead.  Not quite the adventure that I had hoped for; on the Sunday I had planned to run up the Ashton Canal up to Diggle where it (called the Huddersfield narrow canal at this point) goes into a tunnel under the Pennines.  Anyway I got 4.5 hours done in the gym on the Sunday and another 4 hours on the Monday, alternating between fast walking up a 10% gradient (at first at least!) on the treadmill, and time on the elliptical cross trainer with the same pack as the first day (30 mins each and then repeat).  This was the best thing I could think of that would be low impact and minimise aggravating my ITB but still get the extended period of exercise in.  I think it worked but it was VERY boring!  I wasn't as sore afterwards as I expected – I don’t know if that was as a result of the reduced impact, or if the intensity was lower – hopefully the former!

Anyway I think I am going to have to restrict my exercise to the Yoga and this gym work over the next few weeks to let my ITB heal; and spend lots of time on the foam roller!

In other news, I now have my shoes back from the Shoe Healer with the Velcro on and my Gaiters fit nicely – just need to test them out now.  Otherwise I have procured all of the main things (I think!) I need, except for the camera and sunglasses. Need to whittle everything down now to get the weight down now….

More Sand...

I headed out to the beach again last weekend for some more dune fun - 13 miles up and down over and over with the heaviest pack I have trained with yet - 6 - 7 kg. I met a friend out there to train with again and we ended up egging each other on so that every time we found a good dune, we ended running up it again, and again, and again. Good training but very tiring!

It is a lot of fun in a masochistic sort of way, particularly going down the other side. The views were stunning across the bay over to The Wirral and Liverpool, with the wand whipping across the ground with the wind  - wish I had hand my camera with me. 

My legs were absolutely dead by the end, particularly after having run a mile - probably the slowest mile that anyone has ever run - into a 40 mile per hour wind on soft sand.

The next day got 16 very slow miles in with a slightly heavier pack with the middle 7 miles in the gym getting nice and sweaty on the treadmill (without the pack - haven't quite got to running with the heat and the weight yet, we'll get there though!). The weather was horrendous - not exactly representative of Saharan weather- but I managed to avoid the worst of it. By the final four miles home it really felt like I'd run an ultra with the build up of fatigue from the day before! Good practice for running on tired legs!

Country to Capital 2014

So time seems to be going faster and faster and suddenly one of my key prep races has come around. Not being the final target I hadn't given this as much thought as I probably would have done and so despite this being farther than I have ever run before I wasn't really nervous. The furthest I had run in one go before last Saturday was 37 miles on the second day of The Wall, so this was going to be a few miles longer but at least I would be starting with fresh legs this time!

I woke up early as I normally do before a big race and got my porridge down me (seemed a good opportunity to try out one of the dehydrated breakfasts I'll use on the MdS). I had organised everything the night before so was nice and relaxed and headed down the road to Wendover with plenty of time to spare. After registering there was lots of time to mill about which gave me the opportunity to chat to a couple of other 2014 MdS'ers - the first I've met!

At 8.30, 400 of us (it is amazing that there are so many crazy people out there!) headed out onto the country trails of Buckinghamshire. Couldn't have asked for a better morning - clear skies but not freezing, and the light on the countryside was beautiful. The only issue was the low sun that prevented you from seeing where your feet were going. It was mentioned at the pre-race briefing that there was some ankle-deep mud... I did end up quite muddy, all part of the fun and I didn't get any blisters because of it.

I hadn't appreciated quite how much the map booklets we were given were actually needed - in the past any races I have done have been pretty comprehensively way-marked. I was just sort of expecting to put my head down an plod my way through it... Fortunately there were quite a few people about who had done the race in the past and knew the route. I have to confess (a little ashamed) I was pretty lazy when it came to navigation, despite being used to running over the fells on my own and needing to keep tabs on where I am.

The first couple of checkpoints passed pretty quickly it seemed, running through some lovely countryside and pausing every now and again as we came to the odd gate or stile, or points where it wasn't terribly clear where to got (I'm sure I'd have had a better idea of where we were going I'd actually got my booklet out!). I was surrounded by a very friendly bunch and the conversation was great. I love how this sort of running is so much less pressured than running shorter distances and people are more relaxed.

After crossing over the M25 and carrying on along some more rural trails we reached the Grand Union Canal - easy navigation form here on I had been assured, with the exception of a turn off to Paddington 13 miles from the end (which was pretty obvious thankfully!). I have to confess that I wasn't hugely enjoying things at this point as I stomach had been feeling dodgy ever since the first checkpoint where I had pretty stupidly decided to try the fruit cake and carry on running with it. The cake was amazing (worth doing the race again just for that, and I'm not generally a fan of fruit cake), but I should have known better and I paid for it over the next 20-25 miles.

It was much easier going along the canal and despite the state of my stomach I managed to keep a better pace... until the hiccups. I HATE them! They're the perfect thing to make a dodgy stomach worse. I got to checkpoint 3 and decided that the best thing to do was have something to eat even though I didn't feel like it - either it would stay down or it would make me throw up - either way I'd feel better! And it did - a few miles down the canal just after the turn of to Paddington... I disturbed a poor young couple who had evidently come down to the canal for some quite time together with some of the most horrendous wretching noises I am sure anyone has ever come out with (secretly very proud of myself). I did at least manage to get a few meters past them and not do it on their feet, I'm sure they were very grateful.

Anyway by this point there were just over 13 miles to go, and I suddenly felt great. I sped off down the canal determined to make the most of my second wind while it lasted. After a couple of miles it wore off and I fell into step with a couple of other runners who I stuck with for the last 12 miles or so from Checkpoint 4. One of them, Sophie, was an experienced ultramarathon runner and MdS veteran who kept me going with a mixture of her 10 mins running, 2 mins walking routine which really helped with discipline, and some amazing motivating words. Nick, a professional sailor, found his finish legs shortly before the end and managed to pick up the pace (there was no way I could follow!) and Sophie managed to drag me (psychologically) to the end at a very respectable pace for which I am extremely grateful!

My body didn't seem to be in too bad condition all things considered, no blisters at all, which gives me confidence in the shoe and sock combination. I was carrying 3 to 4 kg in my pack which I think I could have done to make heavier (need to carry more on the next race). A good confidence boost overall though!

On the way into Paddington I caught sight of another C2C-er coming in the direction. We caught each other's eye and smiled at each other - no words were exchanged but you know instantly when someone has just been through the same pain as you and come out the other end wincing and grinning at the same time that you have quite a bit in common, and they stand out even in a busy station!

MdS Training Elements

As part of my training planning I've isolated as many of the different training aspects needed to cover the attributes of the MdS (heat, sand etc.) as I could think of and identified what I can do to train for each one. They fit into one of four groups: climate, terrain, distance (multi-day running) and speed/strength. Below is what I have come up with....

Climate

Clearly one of the most significant elements to contend with is the heat. The two ways I have come up with to train myself for the heat are hot yoga, and training in the gym with warm layers and a hat (and looking spectacularly silly!).  The majority of the attention I'll pay to this is in the last couple of months running up to the MdS, however I have started running on the treadmill with thermal layers on (up to 5 miles or so) to get used to running with my core temperature raised. I'll increase the frequency and distance over the next three months or so.

Terrain

From everything that I have read, the terrain varies from flat rocky lake beds to 1000m high mountains to tall sand dunes. Flat, hard ground isn't too difficult to train for in a city- there are lots of pavements to pound. The mountains and dunes require a little more effort to train for however. For the dunes, I have been out to the coast to practice running on sand on repeated inclines and have another two or three trips planned before the MdS. For the mountains have a few weekends in the lakes planned so I can get some long days in the fells. I particularly want to get practice walking fast uphill with a pack on as I am not expecting to be running up any steep inclines in the desert!

Distance

There are two elements to this one: outright distance (non-stop) and repeated long distance runs (back-to-backs). I have been increasing the maximum distance (and time on my feet) up to a maximum 45 miles on the Country to Capital race this weekend.

For back to back training, I started with 3 x 10 miles and I'm working up to 3 x 25 miles (that'll be a fun weekend!). I'm also doing the Pilgrims Challenge race at the beginning of February (2 x 33 miles).

Speed/Strength

I had planned to do more speed work than I have been doing (I've been doing track sessions every other week or so), however I've found that if I try and push it too much I can feel it in my shins over the next few days, so in the interests of self preservation I have been holding off. The track sessions are a good opportunity to do some faster (if not fast) running.

For strength, I've been doing a set of core, upper body and leg strength training exercises, which is not something I have ever done before, but I think is having an effect and is a good way of breaking up the running. Hopefully the increased strength will improve my posture and endurance over long distances and help with carrying a heavy pack over 150 miles.  I have also been doing a proportion of my training with a pack, using copies of the Good Beer Guide for weights (they conveniently weigh approx 1 Kg each), and took a 5 Kg pack with me on my Boxing Day 32 miles. I need to increase this to 9- 10 Kg however ready for the MdS.

Christmas Morning Running

One of my favorite runs of the year is my Christmas morning run - nothing too extreme just a relaxed potter. It is just so quiet, very few people are out and about before 9 am and so there are no cars on the roads - nothing to get run over by or disturb the peaceful morning atmosphere. This is the third year I have got out for an early run and it wasn't any different this year, running along the top of the hill on a gorgeous (and pretty mild for December) morning. No rucksack, and a comfortable amount of clothes - no MdS focused things here, just fun for once!

Mini-Adventure #3: Isaac's Tea Trail

So, Boxing Day 2013, and time for my next mini-adventure. I had been planning this for a little while, knowing that I needed to find something of the right sort of length to do over Xmas. I searched around on the web and came across Isaac's Tea Trail on the Long Distance Walkers Association and the North Pennines Website. It is a 37 mile circular route around remote villages and hamlets in the North Pennines, following the route of an itinerant tea seller called Isaac Holden.

The area south of the A69 in Northumberland and Cumbria is pretty sparsely inhabited and includes some of the most remote places in England. With the small hidden valleys, hill and high exposed moors, it seemed like a good place to get out and train and experience the landscape.

So, having organised my bag the day before (5 Kg), I started out from the market place in Allendale Town where the trail starts half an hour before dawn in attempt to maximise the amount of daylight available (only four days after the winter solstice, this was going to be the biggest issue).  It was a beautiful clear frosty morning and there was a very satisfying crunch underfoot as I started up the valley alongside the River East Allen. The pack didn't feel too heavy and my legs felt fresh which was good but progress was hampered by the number of gates and stiles and working out where the path went across each field - the route is probably more obvious if its light and you're walking! The only company at this point were the sheep in some of the fields who kept following me, evidently convinced I was there to feed them. The only unfriendly on was rather a grumpy looking up in one field, though fortunately I managed to navigate around him without upsetting him - I had a long way to go and didn't fancy being chased!

Frosty road at the top of Allendale before starting out over the moors.

Along the Black Trail looking towards Allenheads

After about 5 miles the trail turns out onto the moors, initially climbing on a well defined track and then heading off to the west over the moors. The views were absolutely stunning and it was clear from the snow on the ground that I was the first person up there that day (probably unsurprisingly!), and could well have been the first person to travel along the path in several days. I felt really privileged to be up there, on what felt like the roof of the world with these amazing views all to myself. I did have camera out a fair few times which hampered progress a little but I was never stopped for long - the wind was whipping across the moor and it was very chilly. These were clearly not conditions reminiscent of the Sahara, however the snow lying on frozen grass and heather on the trail made a good approximation of sand, so I may not have been moving fast (with the rucksack it wasn't so much as a run as a fast walk and bounce between tufts of grass and peat at this point) and been pretty cold, but the terrain was good practice.

View south from the path down to Coalcleugh

There is something about grouse - they never seem to want to fly away until you are within a couple of meters of where they are hiding, and then they jump into the air with very loud squawks, almost as if they are trying to give you a heart attack. Even though this was happening every couple of minutes, it still took me a good couple of hours to stop jumping out of my skin.

Having made it over the moors, admittedly slowly with the terrain and the photo-taking, but feeling fresh, I passed through a gate with a little Welcome to Cumbria sign on it and headed down into Nenthead. It was a little odd to suddenly be down in some form of civilization again and the next section was down the valley to Alston. At this point I was a little concerned about the time, so after following the trail for half an hour or so up and down through fields and round the back of some gardens (one of which had an interesting collection of old red telephone boxes and model villages in), I decided to drop down to the road of a little bit which wouldn't be any shorter but would allow me to make faster progress.

 After rejoining the path and following it down by the river I got to Alston. I took the South Tyne Trail along by the steam railway and I started to make faster progress, rejoining the trail at Kirkhaugh Station and crossing the river. At this point I was starting to feel the distance and was a little worries about the time, knowing I had a fair way to go. I organised to be picked up by the pub in Whitfield instead of going back to Allendale - not too far from the end but I knew the route.

Anyway, the brief section on the road from the river crossing was very pretty and I came within a few meters of a red squirrel on the wall- I haven't seen one in years. The trail then veered off up the side of the valley through some fields to Ayle. At this point I started to feel something pulling slightly in my left hamstring but it didn't get any worse. Another short section on the road and some backwards running up a hill to help with the hamstring and the trail joined a track below some old mine workings. I've seen these from the road above before and always been curious - all part of the adventure.

Abandoned buildings above Nenthead

 Next it was up a rocky track and up over the main road and past the pottery (another thing I've driven past many times over the years but never gone into). Then it was back up onto the moors with the sun getting lower in the sky and casting a lovely golden glow. At either end of the track I came across some old rea advertisements attached to the gate posts which was a nice curious touch. The views were stunning again in the evening light as I got up over the moor and started the descent on the icy track down towards Ninebanks. It was at this point I saw the only other runner I saw that day, dressed in red and coming in the opposite direction. It turned out to be my brother with two dogs which was a nice surprise - he had come with my mum and dad to meet me in Ninebanks which was a nice moral boost - I had started to feel a little tired. 

My brother joined me for the last few miles which was nice company having spent the previous several hours in my own company. We carried on up the road, through the village and then up the hill and through some final few fields and into the woods above Whitfield Hall. I had a surprising amount of energy left and enjoyed the last few miles and it was a lot more fun with the company. 

I had only drunk 1.5 liters (all I had carried with me) over the course of the route and two and a half Clif Bars - not ideal for speedy progress but good practice I think (hope!). We made it down to the pub just after 4.30, completing 8 and a half hours and 32 miles of trail running - a great day out and mini-adventure in a stunning part of the world that I now know that bit better... Onto the next one! 

Back to Back Runs: 15 + 10 + 15 miles

So this set of back-to-back runs was originally supposed to be three 15 milers but I had the opportunity to head out to the seaside to run up some dunes on Saturday, and I wasn't sure my poor little legs could cope with doing the whole 15 miles on the sand with my rucksack so I stuck with a few less miles in the middle.

I have got quite used to go heading out for my runs after work in the dark now, but it is just a little bit more difficult on a Friday when everyone else is heading out to the pub! Anyway I got my first 15 out the way nice and easily running near home. Then it was up early on Saturday morning to meet one of my colleagues at Formby beach for to run up and down some dunes. This is another place that isn't far away from home but I've never been before, nor would it probably occurred to me if I hadn't been looking for some sandy terrain to train on, so it was great to have an excuse to visit.

The first few meters on the sand were decidedly uncomfortable - while my legs felt fine on solid ground, I could really feel the extra effort of moving over the sand, particularly with a few kilos on my back.* We started running up an over every dune we came across, managing a blistering 14 and 17 minute miles for the first 2 miles. This did include a certain amount of route finding  but nonetheless progress was not fast! The ups were tough, often on all fours and once on top we were greeted by amazing views down the coast over the dunes in the winter sun. The downs were a lot of fun and I felt the need to provide a suitably silly accompanying soundtrack on my way down - I'm never really going to grow up!

After three miles or so of grueling dunes, scratchy grasses and nasty spiky plants we ran out of dunes and carried on for a couple of miles (ish) down the beach to take in a little more distance before turning back into the wind. It  had seemed a nice gentle breeze on the way out but suddenly seemed 10 times stronger running back, picking up sand and blowing it in our faces as it went - our very own scouse sand storm! Not fun getting sand in your eyes - definitely need a good pair of wrap-around sunglasses for the MdS. We headed back into the dunes and made it back to the car having done just over 9 miles - quite enough for me!

The next morning I was up and dreading the next installment. In the end though it wasn't nearly as uncomfortable as I had expected. Once I had got my legs going and used to the weight of the pack again it was almost even pleasurable! My legs were tired but didn't seem to have any problems plodding along and I enjoyed a few loops round Salford Quays, dodging a few thousand santas the were pouring in from Old Trafford on the way. I even managed to build in a little more exploration, down the side of the River Irwell on my way back which, while not the prettiest on an overcast December day was interesting, and there is some impressive graffiti (not sure I'd want to head down there on my own with my camera though).

So next set of back-to-backs done and not too sore for it - may have been slow but got some good terrain and a good chunk of distance in, lets hope I keep it up!

*A note on the training pack

I've been using my smaller Inov8 pack (RacePac 16) which is very comfy and made of the same materials as the larger version I'm planning to use in the race. For weight I've been carrying 1.5 litres of water, an old Good Beer Guide wrapped up in a hoodie, supplemented with as much additional clothing and odds and sods I can fit in. Not sure how much it weighs (need to weigh it over xmas!) but I think I'm moving in the right direction and I have a few more iterations of the Good Beer Guide to add as we go on.

Mini Adventure #2: The Edale Skyline

My second mini-adventure started with an unwelcome alarm at 6 am on Saturday morning signalling the need to get out of my nice warm bed in time to get over to Edale in time to see the sun rise. I was planning to run the route of the Edale Skyline,  an annual fell race race of 21 miles and 1400 m of ascent, starting at Edale and hugging the skyline around the valley.

I crawled out of bed, got some porridge and coffee down me and headed off in to the Peaks. After some minor unplanned detours due to a road closure and a stupid car park ticket machine not wanting to let me buy a ticket until 8 am, I set off from the car pack by Mam Tor (just missing the first bits of the sunrise as a result of that ticket machine!). 

There was biting wind but I warmed up quickly, gaining a bit of height getting up onto the ridge and then quickly getting cold again as I got the camera out – couldn’t resist, it was a stunning morning.  The ridge took me up over Lords Seat and after a bit of indecision as to the best route to take over to Brown Knoll I found the path.  This section is hard going over the bog (good training for the sand!) and I wished it had been a little colder over the preceding days as there was only a thin skin of ice over the peat.  I can be a real wimp when it comes to first getting my feet wet, so there was a bit of fannying about trying to keep my feet dry. Once even a tiny dibble of water gets into my shoes I don’t care anymore and will run through anything – you would have thought I’d have grown out of this by now!

Anyway it was a beautiful morning, I had only the grouse and skylarks for company and I was buzzing – definitely worth getting out if bed for. Once I had got by feet wet I was really enjoying the terrain – not moving terribly fast it has to be said, but this wasn’t about speed. I got up onto Brown knoll, had a quick breather (not the first I have to confess, but the earlier stops were mainly driven by photo opportunities), and headed off over towards Kinder – more fun bog and then… out on to a walkers motorway – not nearly so much fun! I met my first people on my way up toward Kinder Low – all nice and cheery having been up for the lovely rise too.

I briefly departed from the route here to pop up to the trig point on Kinder Low.  I’ve only ever been up on Kinder Scout in the cloud so I was curious to get a view over the plateau – and this was supposed to be about exploring after all.

After this point the trail becomes quite rocky with lots of amazing weathered rock formations in a strangely alien looking landscape. I may have been hallucinating, but I was sure I saw what looked like the outline of a family in one of the formations (sculpture not real of course – I’m not that loopy yet). There was a really fun bit with the trail going between the rock in a formation, with some rock acting as stepping stones over a small gully. I was glad I wasn’t doing this bit in the dark!

After a couple of miles I reached the path split down to Edale and having been robbed my opportunity to do the route from the correct start point by the stupid ticket machine, decided I had to go down to the bottom of the valley to make sure I didn’t miss any height gain. The sensible people out for their Saturday walk evidently thought I was out of my mind as I passed them for the second time on my way back up.

As a reward I stopped back on the top for a little lunch and to take in the view. Then set off again round the edge of the moor with a wide open view over to Win Hill. The downhill stretch was lovely but I realised on the way back up again that I hadn’t been quite vigilant enough with my sugar and suddenly found myself very grumpy at the path for daring to go upwards, however gently. That uphill seemed to take ages (I wasn’t moving very fast) but the views were lovely and the sun surprisingly strong. From the top of Win Hill it was a quick (or not so quick) downhill into Hope, past the Cheshire Cheese Pub which looked far too inviting. The final uphill was a 300 m ascent up to the top of Loose Hill, which wasn’t too far but it felt like a very long way with my knackered legs. The views were definitely worth it though, and I could see the entire route.  From there it was just a last couple of miles along the ridge back up to Mam Tor, into the sun. I was rewarded with some spectacular views of some hang-gliders to finish off with.

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!

Wall Run - Learning points (Kit)

I haven’t been running too much over the last 3 weeks or so, so there’s not much to report on that front. I have found since I’ve started running marathons, spending 3 or 4 months training for a specific event, that I tend to have a down period afterwards, loosing concentration a bit. While that hasn’t mattered too much in the past, it is going to matter more now, with the goal further away with many practice events in the meantime.

So, while it is still (sort of!) fresh in my mind it thought it would be a good idea to jot down some thoughts on what I learnt from my first ultra and multiday race and get my mind back on track. One of the main reasons for wanting to do The Wall was to learn something about ultra-distance events with enough time to use it to help shape my training and kit choices.

What it has also done is given me confidence. It has shown that I can cover distances that I previously thought were almost beyond comprehension, and get up the next morning feeling (though tired) that I could go out and do another stage. Definitely positive stuff!

So what exactly did I learn? Probably easiest to split this up…

Kit

I tried using some of the kit I’m hoping to use in the MdS. The main bit of kit I was texting were my compression shorts of the 2XU variety. Reading around I had seen these recommended for use in the desert so and they seemed to be pretty popular so I thought I’d give them a try. I’m pleased to say they were very comfortable (no sign of any unwanted friction). I don’t really know how much the compression helped as I have no experience to compare it to, but the support on my quads did definitely help over the miles.

On my top half I used a Helly Hansen Dry top – I have been running in these on fells for a long time and have always been very comfy and it did its job well here as well. I’m not sure about their SPF however – an important factor in the Sahara, so this might need some investigation.

The socks were hilly twinskins. My feet generally stayed in good condition and I only changed socks at the overnight stop. The only issue was a big blister on the inside of my big toe which I only discovered when I took my shoes off after I’d finished. Unfortunately while the twinskins do seem to work week, they are probably a bit thick and warm for the desert – they’re pretty toasty in the UK! I think the way forward is probably some thin toe socks which will minimise friction between my toes which will be a particularly good thing with sand about.

For hydration I used my Camelbak bladder which was good (very convenient to drink from) but maybe a bit fragile and unhygienic for the desert – it would be a bit of a disaster if it started leaking. It is also more difficult to know how much you have left and it takes longer to refill. I think I’ll stick with bottles.

More to follow on recovery, training and nutrition…

The Wall - Part 2

Day 2

I woke up early and listened to the rain hitting my tent, trying to work out how stiff my legs were. Despite having a warm comfy bed less than 20 miles away I had decided to spend the night camping out with everyone else in order to gain some experience of sleeping cocooned in a sleeping bag with limited space to move. Other than wanting to continue to feel part of the event and not disappear off and come back when it was convenient, I thought it would be a good learning experience, managing recovery with more limited means than back at home.

Having waited for the rain to stop crawled out of my tent I went about sorting myself for the day ahead, getting fluids and food down me and the obligatory visit to the little boys room. I was ready at the start well before 8 am, the earliest start time, with several other eager runners, several of whom I had met during the previous day. We were all ready to get under way and start up the rather steep and scary looking hill we had heard about from the previous year, and seen people going up the previous day.

I was pleasantly surprised at the state of my legs – there seemed to be no obvious niggles, and while stiff, they weren't excessively so and certainly felt like they could keep going another day, though 37 miles gives plenty of time for things to go wrong! I was especially pleased as I was a little worried that I had gone a little fast the first day, and the fact that I didn't feel anywhere near broken helped buoy my confidence. The first climb certainly woke the kegs up but it gave a good excuse to walk early in and gave us something to bond over as we struggled up the heather covered slope. Once at the top it was a nice gentle bimble down the path onto the road towards Newborough with little ascent and I found a comfortable rhythm that felt maintainable with my tired legs, having a nice chat with a lady I had got talking to after the first pit stop at Lanercost the previous day. Curiously, the fact that they felt tired from the outset didn’t really bother me too much – it was expected and didn’t get any worse over the first few miles and so I sort of forgot about it and kept going.

The next stage of the trail took us over Whinnie Hill and down the path behind the house that I grew up in – it was quite a nostalgic experience running down through fields I used to go sledging in and then along the route by the Tyne to Hexham where we used to go on cycle rides when I was small. For me it added a nice personal touch to the experience, which certainly helped. 

I made it into the Hexham pit stop by the rowing club at the end of the third stage (13 miles) in about 2 hrs 8 mins , a bit faster than expected, but then there had been a lot of downhill to help things along. My mum and dad and their friend Sue were waiting to give me a cheer on which gave a bit of a boost, along with the other people at the pit stop clapping people in.

I quickly got my fluid and food down me and then carried on, over the Tyne and on towards Corbridge along a road I have been down countless times in a car and which was surprisingly flatter and shorter than I had remembered it to be. Just before Corbridge the markers directed us down onto the side of the Tyne, a nice change from pounding the roads. We then went up through Corbridge and proceeded to climb a long hill, longer than I remember it being which was quite mentally exhausting but I was pleased with my efforts, running a significant proportion. It was about this time that I started to regularly find myself around a very friendly pair called Dave and Norman, who I would end up running right to the end with. As there weren't many people around us at this point in the race, and sometimes fair distances between marshals it was nice to have people in sight. There was also another nice bloke running close by (who for some reason I never actually introduced myself to) who I had been running with on and off from half way through the third stage on the way to Hexham.

When the route took us back down by the Tyne I had a few miles where the others were behind me along a quite flat road. Although there had been no obvious alternative routes I could take I began to become paranoid after a little while that I had gone the wrong way – there had been a couple of instances earlier in the day where I had managed to miss signs through lack of concentration and Dave and Norman had had to correct me. Fortunately however I came across some course arrows directing me down on to the river bank and I was thoroughly relieved – I knew I couldn't have been far off (I knew the course followed the river at this point) but with those few miles to myself I had had far too much time to over think things! The section along the river involved some nice slidy mud and tall undergrowth which provided a nice change, with a particularly interesting bit with a steep slippery downhill to cross a rocky shallow bit of river. In retrospect that was fun, but with my tired legs I was fairly sure I was going to flying down the slippery slope into a crumpled heap onto the stones below. Fortunately I managed to maintain a little bit of dignity!

I ran the vast majority of that 4^th stage mentally ticking off the familiar railways stops into Newcastle as I went (Stocksfield, Prudhoe, Wylam… etc.) in a rhythm that didn't seem too hard to maintain until we were a mile or two from the final pit stop. At this point (crossing the impressive disused railway bridge at Wylam) the couple of miles I knew were left to the pit stop began to seem never ending, though I did have Dave and Norman in the distance up front to help drag me a long.

Eventually that slog into Newburn was over, and I made it into the pit stop tent just in time to avoid being drenched in a heavy downpour. I was greeted by a comforting sweet smell of toasting waffles – some of the marshals had put a couple of waffles in front of the jet heater in the tent which I thought was a great idea, unfortunately I couldn't stomach one at that point and I grabbed a banana and headed off munching as I went.

At this point my nameless friend I had been running near all day gained a second wind and disappeared, with what must have been an impressive surge of energy. I wasn't in any state to be doing anything remotely similar! I did at least know that as a minimum I could walk the last 7 miles to the end, achieving my aim of completing the race. What I didn't know was how much I could persuade myself to run!

Dave and Norman had set off a couple of minutes before me and they quickly came into view around a corner up ahead. I caught them up and we set off into Newcastle together. Strangely it wasn't much more painful to run than it was to walk, and although I knew I would get to the end significantly quicker if I carried on running it was very very tempting to walk. I am hugely grateful to Dave and Norman for keeping me running over those last 7 miles, it would have been so much more difficult to manage the same pace without them.

We got down onto the quayside and kept expectantly looking out for a first glimpse of the bridges as we rounded the curve in the river. There were the odd small turns we had to make round obstacles on the quay which under normal circumstances would have been easy, however by this point rather being able to dart round them it was more like maneuvering a small oil tanker… The legs were very tired by this stage! 

Eventually the first bridge came into sight and the thrill I had been waiting for started to build. As we approached the first bridge we passed a couple walking down the quay and the gentleman asked where we had run from. At the reply ‘Carlisle’ he responded ‘Bloody Idiots!’. It was a great comic moment, and as he had uttered it in a strong Geordie accent it felt entirely in keeping with the location and experience.

I have loved the view the bridges over the Tyne between Gateshead and Newcastle for as long as I can remember. Running under them, counting down to the Millennium Bridge and the finish, absolutely exhausted and emotional was an amazing experience. There were no crowds or spectators apart from a few at the very finish, but that didn't matter, the rush was better even than the end of the Great North Run where there are thousands of people lining the seafront. Despite being more knackered than I can remember, I ran under the Tyne Bridge and found some energy to pick up the pace which, helped by the man in front, turned into a (sort of) sprint over the Millennium Bridge and into the finish. 69 miles, 12 hours 25 minutes and 23 miles over two days, and my first ultramarathon over!

A thoroughly knackered and pretty red Tom! 

Back to Back Runs Prep, and other Wall Run training

Since doing the Manchester Marathon at the end of April I have more or less followed the suggested training plan on the Wall Run website, which by the looks of it is designed for someone new to ultra marathons – perfect for me! My maximum mileage has been just under 60 miles, further than I have done in the past when marathon training and it hasn't seemed to cause any problems. During the week days I haven’t strayed too far from my previous marathon routine, though with a higher sustained weekly mileage. The main difference has been with the long runs, doing the main distance runs every other week.

As suggested by the plan I did a 30 miler (see separate post) four weeks before the race, and I have done a couple of back to back training runs, a couple of weeks either side, one 12+12 miles, and another 15+12 miles. I organised these by doing the first on the Friday evening and the second on the following morning, trying to keep less than 12 hours between them. I could feel that I was running on tired legs on the second run, but in the scheme of things they didn't seem too bad. I guess being used to longer distances in individual runs helps put the shorter ones into perspective.

I’ve done all the long runs with a pack, attempting to use a greater weight than I’ll be carrying in the Wall Run on the assumption that it is better to be used to a heavier pack than a lighter one! Anyway, I’ll have to carry a significantly heavier pack during the MdS so the earlier l get used to increased weights when running, the better.

So training down, only the race to go! Should be an interesting learning experience... and hopefully at least a bit of fun! (the weather is looking a little wet though..)

First Ultra Distance Run!

Last weekend I completed my first ultra distance training run - i.e. my first run longer than the 26.2 mile marathon distance. At 30 miles it was the longest distance I have ever run (or more accurately run with a bit of walking / staggering). See route below:

Not having any experience of running this far I wasn't entirely sure how it would go, particularly as while I have run 4 marathons up to this point, the mentality and atmosphere during a race is very different. When you are completely knackered during a marathon, there are at least others around you going through the same thing and people cheering you on. On a training run it is just you plodding along the pavement while the world goes about its business around you, which can feel quiet lonely sometimes.

The farthest I had ever run in training before was 22 / 23 miles which had seemed like a bloody long way, and a lot of time spent running, though at less than 3 hours it was significantly less time than I expected it to take me to cover 30 miles (with a practice weight rucksack). Planning the run I arbitrarily decided that I wanted to do it in less than 5 hours, which when thinking about it more seemed quite ambitious! It is a very different type of running pushing past the 26.2 mile distance, moving at speeds that make your marathon pace seem very fast indeed in order to keep your body going.

To make the distance less daunting I broke the distance down into 5 mile segments in my head and promising myself a reward (like some sugar or a walking break), a method that has been commonly recommended through the reading I have done. Happily it seemed to work - less than 5 miles left until the next reward is a lot easier to deal with than 15, or 20 miles!

I was lucky to have a couple of good friends run the first 15 miles with me, which must have been frustrating for them pootling along at such a painfully slow pace, but they were very nice about it! This helped no end psychologically, making the run feel half the length. These first 15 miles were in a big loop around Knutsford and Tatton Park which was lovely change from the standard trudge around south Manchester. They then left me in Knutsford, and I carried on, running home. It really helped to have an end destination rather than just a distance to reach.

I had originally decided to try running and walking at regular intervals, however in the end I ran (slowly!) for the first 10 miles before having my first walking break and taking on some sugar. After that I promised myself a walking break every 5 miles, for half a mile. This held up until the final four miles when I resorted to walking more frequently. I was starting to find it difficult and I could feel the effects of dehydration when I approached the 26 mile mark but I really wanted to be running when passed the 26.2 mile point, as that was the landmark point of the whole experience.

I knew beforehand that walking breaks would be necessary to help me cover the distance, however I had decided that I would not stop, and any walking would be fast, ideally around a 12 minute mile, ensuring that I continued to make sensible progress. Looking at the data from my GPS watch I spent much less time walking than I thought I had and kept a reasonable speed, which was satisfying. Curiously towards the end it was actually less uncomfortable to carry on jogging than it was to walk.

It was a hot day (20 C ish) which was a good thing from an experience point of view, but made the distance all the more daunting. The warmth made me concentrate on drinking more than I might have otherwise have done, which will be crucial in the desert. I took on less food/sugar than I had expected (a clif bar, 3 shot blocs and a bottle of powerade), though I had taken plenty along with me in my rucsack. It wont have helped my pace but I didn't feel any ill effects which is good for confidence that my pace was right.

Anyway 30 miles... a step into the world of ultrarunning and the unknown, pushing the boundaries of my experience and confidence. In the end that is really the whole point of this MdS lark.