In my last post I mentioned a chap called Tobias Mews who had been the top British finisher in 2011. Well, since then I've been in comms with the man himself who was good enough to take a look at my kit list and offer some advice on how I could get the weight down. He says that if I have serious ambitions for a top 50 spot then every ounce counts. With that thought in mind, I have taken on board some of the tips and my starting weight is now below 9kg.
A thought occurred as I was realigning my kit list that the weight would naturally lessen each day as I worked my way through a mountain of food. I have worked out that by the start of the long stage on day 4, my pack weight should be down to around 7kg, which is well manageable - assuming I've been resting well and taking care of the tootsies!
Things have been progressing well on the heat acclimation (yes, that is the right word) side of things. This has been the one thing that I have not been entirely certain of. In the past I've been on summer exercise in Cyprus (phew!) and competed in Italy in temperatures approaching 40deg C but I keep getting the impression that desert heat is different. Maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the words of others again instead of trusting to my own abilities. Anyhoow, I've been in touch with various universities who have heat chambers and have a couple of options there. Plus my lovely lady wife has given the OK to spending 4 days in Marrakech exactly 4 weeks before I travel back there for the real thing. Throw in the plan to put halogen heaters in the gym at work and reckon I'll have the heat thing squared away.
Less than 8 months to go now and all the questions above will have been answered!
Thursday, 18 August 2011
Thursday, 4 August 2011
Training Update, 4th August 2011
I have, in the last couple of months, been starting to get a bit doubtful of my potential performance in April. I had studied the results from this year's race quite stringently and had considered that I could match the required pace to achieve a top 50 finish. In the time that has passed I've had many hints that this may be beyond my reach. Some of these have been verbal and others from reading accounts.
Most recently I have finally got round to watching the James Cracknell programme charting his performance in the 2010 event. I watched this with family members who were amazed that I was still eager to compete in this toughest and most harrowing of competitive events. I don't think for one moment that I could become the highest placed Briton ever but I know that I am certainly capable of pushing myself to extremes. Someone once said "If you don't know your limits, how can you ever hope to exceed them"
So how pleased was I to come across an article in Runners World by Tobias Mews who was this year's highest placed Briton in 21st place.
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/event-editorial/10-ways-to-survive-the-marathon-des-sables/6994.html
This is a man after my own heart and some of the things he said have renewed my belief that I can perform very well come April. I may or may not make the top 50 but it won't be because anyone has told me that I can't.
Following competition in Germany, training is progressing well. On Sat 30th July I put 14kg into a daysack and set off from Llandudno Junction for 2 laps of the Great Orme totalling 20km. On Tuesday I had quite an odd hotch potch of training - did 10km at lunchtime carrying 7.5kg and then in the evening did 2 x 8km with approx 4kg sandwiched around an hour of 8-a-side footy.
On the fundraising front I have now hit the first significant milestone. 10% of the targeted £5000 has now been raised, which is fairly good going. I'm hoping that many people are waiting for closer to the event before making a pledge; I have had a few fairly substantial verbal pledges for the event itself so a few more of those won't go amiss. In the meantime I'll keep plodding away with training and throw the odd mad event into the mix to maintain interest.
I've recently had a thought about running the Anglesey Coastal Path. This is a distance of 125miles and I'm looking to do it over 3 days. Once the logistics and timings are firmer then I'll go public on those.
Cheers
Most recently I have finally got round to watching the James Cracknell programme charting his performance in the 2010 event. I watched this with family members who were amazed that I was still eager to compete in this toughest and most harrowing of competitive events. I don't think for one moment that I could become the highest placed Briton ever but I know that I am certainly capable of pushing myself to extremes. Someone once said "If you don't know your limits, how can you ever hope to exceed them"
So how pleased was I to come across an article in Runners World by Tobias Mews who was this year's highest placed Briton in 21st place.
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/event-editorial/10-ways-to-survive-the-marathon-des-sables/6994.html
This is a man after my own heart and some of the things he said have renewed my belief that I can perform very well come April. I may or may not make the top 50 but it won't be because anyone has told me that I can't.
Following competition in Germany, training is progressing well. On Sat 30th July I put 14kg into a daysack and set off from Llandudno Junction for 2 laps of the Great Orme totalling 20km. On Tuesday I had quite an odd hotch potch of training - did 10km at lunchtime carrying 7.5kg and then in the evening did 2 x 8km with approx 4kg sandwiched around an hour of 8-a-side footy.
On the fundraising front I have now hit the first significant milestone. 10% of the targeted £5000 has now been raised, which is fairly good going. I'm hoping that many people are waiting for closer to the event before making a pledge; I have had a few fairly substantial verbal pledges for the event itself so a few more of those won't go amiss. In the meantime I'll keep plodding away with training and throw the odd mad event into the mix to maintain interest.
I've recently had a thought about running the Anglesey Coastal Path. This is a distance of 125miles and I'm looking to do it over 3 days. Once the logistics and timings are firmer then I'll go public on those.
Cheers
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