Highest Mountain

One of my dearest friends, on reading my last post texted me a Richard Nixon quote that he, correctly felt was apt. It seems that the infamous Nixon had quite a flare for delivering memorable soundbites, as any Google search will testify. The saying in question was that "only if you have been in the deepest valley, can you ever know how magnificent it is to be on the highest mountain.”

Another close friend, who has experienced the expat lifestyle, commented that living abroad accentuates the normal highs and lows that life provides; partly due to the isolation and partly due the fact that this isolation results in any couple living in a bubble, without the distractions of friends and family to de-stress.

I think the most important thing is that life is all rosy again in Chateau Deane and the, alcohol fuelled, argument cleared the air and stopped me for taking Becs' love and support for granted. These challenges are quite resource hungry. They demand a lot of time and money to prepare yourself to be your best the moment the gun goes.

In some ways I regret the post. I regret the post as I feel a tad embarrassed for slightly over egging the demons I am face. I also regret that it has publicised something that was, and probably should have remained, private. Primarily I regret the post as it paints an incorrect picture of my wife and the support she provides.

One reason that I don't regret publishing the post is provides a snap shot of the full range of emotions one goes through on the journey to completing a challenge. I always intended this blog as a warts an all account of my preparation for the MDS such that readers can get an impression of the commitment and emotions that come with obsessing over achieving this feat.

All in all I think that when I receive my medal in the Sahara from the race director my thoughts will pause on that post as one of the reasons that I can marvel at reaching the submit of a high mountain.

The week of the 5th November was, training wise, another good week. I ended up exceeding my target of 35 miles by over ten miles. This was primarily due to my spending 6 hours on the Thursday completing a long walk of 20 miles to clear my head after the said argument with Becs. The week started out with a slow 8 mile run followed by an even slower ten mile run/walk after a rest day from running on Tuesday. I completed the 20 mile walk on Thursday and then finished the week with an 8 mile run on Sunday to complete 46 miles for the week. This week also included 6 gym sessions centred again around strength training of the core and big muscle groups.

The following week, 12th -18th November, went more to plan and I finished bang on target of 40 miles. I was a bit leggy at the start of the week, after the long walk the preceding Thursday, so the pace was marginally slower and my walking stages slightly longer in duration. The long run of the week was on Wednesday consisting of 12 miles. The rest of the week was two 8 mile runs and two 6 mile runs of differing tempo and intensity. My only mistake, in hindsight, was the scheduling of my gym sessions around these runs. As I was a bit leggy at the start I skipped a few gym sessions in the first few days so it concertinaed these sessions, especially the strength training for the legs, towards the back half of the week. This is a mistake I am keen to avoid repeating as my mileage increases.

The good news on Sunday 18th was that my package from Likeys had arrived. Whilst not 100% smooth sailing, the Marmot fleece was out of stock so I replaced this for their desert hat and another water bottle, it does mean that I know that I can expect a two week turnaround on deliveries; which I think is quite good. This delivery meant the start of this current week (19th November) had renewed gusto as, during the run on Monday, I could wear some of the kit I am intending to take and also digest the Peronin shake that should for the basis of my lunch intake.

Monday was a slow 23 mile run along Jumeirah beach to the Burj Al Arab and then back across the Sheikh Zayed Road so that I could weave my way back to the Burj Khalifa through some pretty grotty industrial estates and workers accommodation to find a couple more parks that come recommended.

All in all it was a good run, especially as I have settled back into my normal 25/5 routine of 25 minutes running followed by 5 minutes of walking. Not only does this allow the body to recover (Karl King writes a good article on the merits of following a 25/5 approach that is included in A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultrarunning) but its quite good psychologically as you can break long runs down into running segments.

I did learn a few things during this first dress rehearsal. Firstly the front pack bounces quite a bit. I need to have a play with the straps and weight of contents to see if I can get an optimal relationship to reduce this bounce. Whilst not painful it was quite irritating. I suppose that my final decision when I pack my ruck sack will be whether I take this front pack with me. My first inclination is yes such that when I have eaten a bit of space in my back pack I could simply stuff this into it if need be.

The second pearl of wisdom comes with the positioning of the zips on the front pack. Originally I had the zips centred at the top but the bounce affect caused the zips to move such that its contents spilled, thankfully, on a pavement after a mile or so. After this the zips were to the bottom and side so that gravity could negate this.

The final, and probably most important, lesson was regarding my new purchase of water bottles and shoulder straps for the backpack. I have learnt to be careful when pulling the straw out to start drinking; especially when the electrolyte tabs have only recently been added to the water. A couple of times this pseudo champagne effect caused me to be covered in sticky isotonic drink. which wasn't great. I have now perfected the art of pulling the straw with my teeth so that I can catch this splurge in my mouth.

Today was a slow 8 miler. This means I can fly to Australia tomorrow already on 31 miles for the week knowing that I can do a 10 mile run on Friday, when my friends are at work, and a quick 4 mile run on Saturday to hit my target of 45 miles. More importantly this will mean my running won't interfere with me catching up with everyone.

I am going to stop predicting when I will publish my next post as a quick scan of my last three includes references to my next post being at the beginning of December!!! Instead the plan for week commencing 26th November is a short recovery week of 25 miles. This is important as the last few weeks have been tough on the body and it also means I will not be running much whilst in Oz. Then the first week in December is my first meaningful dress rehearsal; the 1/4 MDS which includes the Dubai Half Marathon. I also hope to order some more kit

MasaAalama...
 

Trouble at Mill

Nights like tonight make me really appreciate that it is a shared journey: the ultra athlete and the other half. Which one is more important I don't know. I hope there is a bit of ying and yang. One can't live without the other.

My entry in the MDS 2013 currently lays in doubt. I have found out in a few short hours that my wife hasn't bought into this as much as I originally thought. I could rescind my entry and join the multitude of men that go down the pub and get smashed.

Quite simply I do these events because of two reasons: my Mum and my legacy.

For those who know me, my mum has always been, and will always be, my motivating factor. Whenever I complete an event, course or education I always go home and present my mum with the certificate or medal. I love my Mum, what boy doesn't, but in my case it's more. In my case its about survival and hope.

In my adult life I have had to live with quite deliberating depression. Some people have understood, others haven't; their loss. Part of the reason I love these challenges is that it is me against the elements. Survival of the fittest. You either roll over and die or you fight. I have always chosen to fight.

One of the reasons the Brecons run was so tough was that at the time I was in the grip of a severe depression but I chose to run 52 miles. Yes, I wasn't as good at it as I could but I beat it. And, yes I went home with my medal.

The legacy bit is that there are, and will be countless, people like me. Depression is the last taboo. Hopefully Obama's re-election will help us move to a world that the rights of marriage, despite sexual orientation, are universal. The last frontier will be mental health.

I have always won my battles because of hope: hope that tomorrow will get better, hope that people will understand and hope that on my death bed I have done my best.

Mental strength is separate to mental health. Yes I might not be 100% every day but I know the days I am 70%+ I am better than most.

Tomorrow is a new day. I hope its better than today. I fight on toward the goal of making my Mum proud once again...

Bring on the MDS!!!
 

Its a Small World

I had only just published my last post when I received a text message from one of my best friends from uni. It turns out that he used to babysit Steve Cushing's children when he was a youth and has managed to connect me to him by e-mail. I am just a little surprised that the Dicky that I know, and love, used to top up his pocket money by being a babysitter...

This connection has grown my MDS network to three finishers. I am also going to try to get in touch with a few other runners I have met at the Ultras I have completed, as I want to avoid leaving anything to chance when it comes to planning and preparation. For example, it is through these networks I have managed to dodge a couple of bullets already: it had not registered in my mind to date that self-sufficiency also meant packing your own toilet paper and that a pillow would be a great comfort during the night. Hopefully any more gaps in my planning will be filled...

I feel obliged to write an abridged version of the blog. Partially because my training has started to nicely ramp up, partially to mark the fact that I have passed the 6 months to go point and partially because I have continued to make progress with my planning and preparation for the event.

If the phrase that every long journey begins with a single step then each step along the way must be important, regardless of its size. If that is the case I made one of the smallest steps this week but overcame something that has, quite frankly, been doing my head in. Where is that damned whistle on the Raidlight bag. Every blog mentions it, Steve Cushing refers to it...

It is quite ironic that when I managed to find it during today's training run I wasn't even wearing that Rucksack but the Inov8 one that I use in training. I quite simply love running. It allows my mind to wander, ponder things and let the stresses of life wash from me. During one such moment I was looking at my chest strap and suddenly wondered why one of the clasps is a different colour and managed to find the said whistle. Its not a very powerful one but none the less it meets the requirement of the MDS such that one essential bit of kit is obtained; and, for once, at zero cost

I also need to clear up something that might have been unclear from the last post, especially as it worried Paul H to such an extent that he e-mailed me in a bit of a tiswas. I just don't want any person who comes across this blog, whilst doing some research, to get the wrong end of the stick and come a cropper in the desert. The subject was bladders versus water bottles. Currently in training I am using my Inov8 rucksack as in contains a bladder and I don't want to start using my Raidlight combo yet.

I am definitely not using a bladder during the MDS and will be using the external pockets of my Raidlight combo to strap, probably 6, water bottles about my person. My decision was made at the Brecons Ultra last year. In the rush to get to the race briefing, I burst my bladder by being too rough hastily squeezing it in place. I won't have the luxury of replacing any faulty kit in the desert unlike at this race last year.

In addition, the bladder also became fiddly later in the race when I was tired, it was dark and conditions didn't really lend themselves to refilling the bladder. The water bottles will be easier to decant and will also reduce the risk of one faulty bit of kit eliminating me from the race as 1) not much goes wrong with water bottles but, more importantly, 2) if 1 breaks I still have the other 5 to full back on. I have always been lucky over to the years to find some guardian angels. Haynesy is proving an excellent sounding board and I look forward to sharing a beer with him in December.

As an aside, I would love to have entered the Brecons Ultra again year, but certain logistical problems couldn't be overcome. It is a tremendous race, is good preparation for anyone entered into the MDS and I would have loved to have improved on my performance from last year. Dulled by a full year training for the Ironman and Lands End to John O'Groats cycle my race disintegrated into a death march. However it was another race completed and was a good entry into the psychological well that I will probably have to drink from during the MDS...

I started my first tranch of procuring kit and essentials this last week. I bought two Raidlight bottle holders which affix to the shoulder straps of my backpack. I have four external pockets that are designed to fit bottles in and these two holders will increase the number to 6. They also each come with a 750ml bottle which have a screw top incorporating a flexible straw so you can drink hands free.

I also bought an array of socks and a pair of twin skin shorts to start testing them for the desert. Most of the advice on blogs and in books is get the decision of what shoes and socks you are going to wear done way in advance. They mention that a lot of the people that have really trashed feet have, amazingly, left deciding and buying socks and shoes to the last minute; sometimes even only weeks to spare.

I have bought three different grades of the Injinji inner toe socks and two different pairs of outers (Wigwam Trail Trax Pro RRP and Bridgedale X-Hale Trailhead). Also, as Likey's are having their end of season sale, I bought a nice Marmot fleece that will be perfect at night in and around the bivvie. Another reason for buying this bundle now is to test the speed and accuracy of delivery to the UAE so I know the drop dead date of ordering any last minute things to replace anything faulty or simply stuff forgotten.

The last item in my Likeys hamper was a sachet of Peronin High Tech Food. I have never used this on any of my previous Ultras or during the Ironman, so I wanted to get one to test in December on one of my long runs, before I go back to the UK. The product information and testimonials on their site are quite impressive as it claims, when mixed with water to make shake, that this lunch on the move passes through the stomach within 7 minutes and then absorbed almost immediately in the intestines providing almost a instant hit of energy.

I have also been munching a few things after training that I think I will be taking with me as treats. Things that are definitely going in the bag are Peparami, Beef Jerky, Super noodles and Lemon Tea powder. The star arrival this week has been the Lemon Tea powder as I think that will be quite nice drink to water to rehydrate myself after I have finished each stage; before making a brew.

During the last week I increased my mileage to 32 miles, slightly above my target of 30 miles. Monday was a 7 mile run which took be to the much heralded Safa Park. Regular readers will note this name from previous posts and sense my 'Cities of Gold'-esque obsession with getting there.

Most will not be too surprised to note, aside from the mileage covered, that I was disappointed, especially as things never really turn out as you expected them. Safa park is the antithesis of an English Park. Not only do you have to pay to get it, it has 6 foot high railings around the outside so you never really feel you are at a park, there are only 3 gates to enter and the running track is around the outside. In addition the logic deifying contradiction between the advice signs and distance markers on the running track summed it up. The sign recommends running counterclockwise yet the distance markers are measured in a clockwise direction.

Tuesday was spent doing a 6 mile run down to Jumeirah beach and back. Whilst not a picturesque beach, it will be a useful spot to do some of my sand running as the public section of the beach must be 3 miles long and contains a concrete running track that separates two different grades of sand. The gulf side seems to be the more softer type of sand whereas the city side of the track seems to be more courser and rockier. I just need to find some dunes now.

The rest of the this week contained two 8 mile runs and finally a shorter 2 mile tempo run. I also weaved in some sessions in the gym concentrating on core strength. With the two rest days I was quite pleased as I built the mileage and felt fresh yet the runs were turning from walk/runs into more run/walks.

I suppose the final thing to mention in this, now quite long, abridge to the blog is that to mark passing the 6 month to go point I watched James Craknell's 'Toughest Race on Earth' DVD. This guy is quite simply a legend. Some would say mad, and I would partially agree, but his dedication and ability to push his body not only to the brink but recover quickly to push again the next day, and the next is outstanding.

It made me quite emotional to think that within 6 months I will, hopefully, facing some of my finest days and finding more out about my ability to survive under pressure, in extreme conditions. Despite the fact that my ambition is at the opposite end to the spectrum that James operated within (he wanted to finish in the top 50 whereas I just want to finish) I am not ashamed to say it also made me nervous. I think this is a good sign as all challenges are things that need to be respected. You can't leave any stone unturned during training and preparation so that you line up at the start 100% prepared to give it your best showing.

The next time I expect to post will now probably be the beginning of December. This should be the end of my recovery week, which I am now going to spend in Australia visiting one of my best mates and introducing myself to his gorgeous little boy. This post will also be at the start of my first dress rehearsal as I am running the Dubai Half-Marathon on the 7th December and planning to run a 1/4 MDS that week.

MasaAalama...

Home Sweet Home...

Since I have returned to Dubai the training and preparation have continued to gather momentum and I have also entered the Dubai Half-Marathon on 7th December. The first week back I managed to combine being a tour guide to my in-laws with some short runs to re-acclimatise to the conditions in Dubai. This week, 15th-21st October, I did 5 short runs totaling 13 miles.

As soon as they were safely tucked on board the plane phase 1b of my MDS training commenced. Phase 1b will cover the period of October to the start of December. This period is designed to increase my weekly mileage up to 45 miles before commencing stage 2 in December. Each week in stage 1b will consist of 5 evenly distanced runs with a couple of rest days included to keep the body fresh and reduce the risk of injury.

Week 1 of phase 1b was a success. Not only did I get up to 25 miles running that week but I managed to get in a 2 mile desert run/walk that week and also found a way of crossing the Sheikh Zeyed Road, which is Dubai's equivalent of the M25. Whilst it is straight rather than an a loop, the Sheikh Zeyed Road bisects Dubai and was the barrier that was separating me from getting to some of the better running spots in Dubai.

Now that I can use one of the Dubai Metro stations to get across, I will be able to run to Jumeirah Beach and Safa Park. I also managed to find a pedestrian route into the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) so have another 6 mile route navigated. The mixture of these out and back routes and shorter 1-5 mile loops around where we live will be vital during this period up until December, when the extra mileage means I will be able to explore further afield.

This last week I have managed to get Matt Slater of the BBC to tweet my blog address to see if I can increase the number of views it gets. I have tried to get both James Cracknell and Ben Foggle to tweet but not having much luck. I will try again at some point as this is to aid getting some companies to put their logo on in return for some donations to Mencap.

I got blown out by Run & Become in the end, as they couldn't see the value in advertisement. Whilst they know their onions on trainers and running kit they seem to be more interested in Sri Chinmoy's running theology than growing a business. My offer of including their logo for free in return for a code that they could track its effectiveness was rebuffed. That being said I will still go in there to buy my gels and other bits of kit...

Still I am still in conversations with a company called London Print Services. They designed and produced some golf shirts for a Golf Society that I belong to, The Chequers Golf Club, so we shall see if anything comes of that.






This past few weeks has seen me also open correspondence with a previous MDS competitor called Paul Haynes. Paul has been extremely valuable with answering some questions on the MDS and, alongside Mr Garner, has given me some excellent advice on kit and training. I have wrapped up all of Paul Haynes' advice into one post: Interview Paul Haynes - MDS 2011.

I have also read two books this last week on the MDS:

- 24th Marathon Des Sables - A competitors Tale by Steve Cushing; and
- The Marathon Des Sables by Mark Hines.

I found Steve Cushings book not only an easier read but also better structured for anyone doing research for the race. In my opinion Mark has fallen between two stools. His book isn't really factual enough to be much use for a future competitor (apart from a few pages in the appendix) but is not funny enough to be an endurance athletes version of a Bill Bryson book.

Steve Cushing's book, together with advice gleaned from the 'Two Pauls' (Garner and Haynes), has enabled me to construct my training plan. I have included the majority of this, and some of the extracts from Mr Haynes' interview, in an updated version of my Completed Research post. This is to avoid too many readers switching off at this point. However, I will include a few of the principles for the casual reader:

1) I followed a lot of the principles of Fink when I trained for the Ironman. One of his main training principles is that you build mileage and intensity over a three week period, by circa 10% each week,  followed by a fourth 'periodisation' week consisting of reduced mileage to recover from three weeks of putting the body under stress;
2) I will do a lot of my running in the middle of the day as it is never too early to start to recreate the conditions I will be running in;

3) I am running with a rucksack, as it contains my water bladder. I will do 1-2 run per week with some items packed in the rucksack. I will not be too scientific but I will add some items of clothing or kit. Each week I will slowly increase the weight so that my body is used to running with the weight;
4) I will be doing three dress rehearsals within my training schedule: one during the week of the Dubai Half-Marathon, one during the Dubai Marathon and one in February. The plan is to follow the schedule of the race, with the first being a quarter of the distance rising to half and then finally being three-quarters the distance. These dress rehearsal will be with the rucksacks laden to 1/4, 1/2 and then 3/4 of the weight I will carry in the desert. I also hope to run the dress rehearsals in January and February in the kit that I will wearing in the desert.
5) I will log the amount of water that I drink on each run;

6) I will try to get an Ultra in the calendar early in the new year but not essential if I am doing the dress rehearsals in 3) above;

7) I am going to try to measure my body temperature at least at the end of a run but hopefully during a run so I can see how my body is reacting to long distances in heat (and no I am not going to have a themometer up where the sun doesn't shine before some Smart Alec suggests it...)

By the next blog I should be up to 45 miles per week, have finalised my proposed kit list and have derived what my nutrition plan will be for the race.

MaAasalaama...

Interview: Paul Hayne - MDS 2011

What year did you do the MDS?

I did the 26th MDS-2011

Where did you finish?

I finished 495th out of 849 competitors. Although I am a competitive person, for me it was all about finishing the MDS. Could I have gone quicker on hindsight? No, I just wanted to finish!

The fear of not finishing was huge for me and really got me through the tough moments! Although the tough moments are in hindsight the best bits! It is those moments that where you find out how you deal with adversity.

What was the contents and weight of your ruck sac?

I carried the Raidlight front and back packs.

Apart from the compulsory kit list and food I took:

- Cooking equipment:
       - Optimus Terra solo cook set (definitely recommend)

       - Esbit Titanium cooking stove (The Esbit fuel blocks have to bought from the Darbaroud website and picked up upon arrival at base camp, as airlines are funny now days with you carrying fuel blocks... I bought two boxes, but this was too much. Basically what we did in our tent was to buddy up the fires and just shared our fuel! Me and a guy called Andy would get the fire going and take it in turns to heat our water.

       - Esbit cooking surround to wrap around the fire as it can get windy and the Esbit fuel can
         get easily blown out; which can be annoying when you are tired and hungry!
       - Tesco Baby Spoon rather than expensive spork (I used the bottom of the water bottles as bowls,
         this means you don't have the worry of washing your own bowl and getting germs!)
- Sleeping:
       - Thermarest NEOAir sleeping mat ( I would definitely recommend as comfortable
         Although, mine did puncture after day 2 so slept rough for remaining days! Bad luck I guess.
       - Yeti vib sleeping bag - expensive but worth it. It gets mighty cold at night!!!!!!!

- Head torch: I used a PETZL Zipka plus 2, was a great torch, and worked really well! The red light function is great when using it in the bivvies as not to blind your mates! Although I have just bought an LED LENSER head torch and its much better!  That said I have not used it for any multi-day events, however I used it for the Lakeland50 this year and was great! It doesn't have the red lamp option...

- Walking Poles
- Knife: I took the credit card style knife/ scissors, but took the other parts out; so only had the knife and scissors. Not only does it save weight but it meant you only had to find one item.

- Small tooth brush and small tooth paste (down to personal preference but was great to clean teeth in the morning)

- spare running top for evening

- lounge wear type trousers for evening

- flip flops- although i lost mine on day 3 and had to blag a pair from the base camp lost property!!!!!!;)
- Antiseptic:  I took a 50ml can of Salvon Dry Antiseptic. The Docs will give you needles and Iodine to treat yourself when you get blister but only if your blisters are not too bad.

Another tip I found was pack kit within kit. During the day I put kit inside my cooking pot. Also, my Anti Venom pump came in a pouch so I stuffed loads of kit into that as well.

What did you wear?

- Skins running shorts (note to self! don't wear pants under these as it can cause the worst chaffing imaginable!!!!!!)
- Rail riders shirt ( would definitely recommend)
- Injinji cap
- injinji socks-inner and Wigwam Terrain Trax Pro Socks as an outer pair. The inner pair are like gloves. The idea is that the inners wick the sweat away from your feet. They are not cheap by any means but running socks are not, and I think its definitely worth spending the money as the feet take a pounding. I took 2 sets with the plan to change both halfway through. However in practise I couldn't put on my second inner socks as my feet had swollen so only wore the thicker outers for the second half of the race.
- Sandbaggers gaiters (would definitely recommend)
- I wore my normal running shoes, with the normal one size bigger (with Velcro stitched to the edges so the gaiters stuck to them)
- 2 buffs (one for neck and one for wrist to wipe sweat etc)
- Julbo sunglasses ( looked crap but definitely recommend as we had a sandstorm on the second day yet my and eyes were fine. Well worth the 80quid!)

Describe your nutrition plan

I'm 6ft 2" about 15 stone, so I am going to burn the calories, so I really couldn't skimp on the calories, although you do have to have a certain amount per day!  Most of my weight in my bag was food! The great thing is that as you go through the event your bag gets lighter and lighter, as you are eating the majority of the weight, such that it should be reasonably light for the 50 mile and marathon days. I ate and needed everything I took and I still lost a shed load of weight!

I unpacked all my freeze dried food into bags that you could then suck the air out and heat seal! this was a great way to save space in your bag. I then wrote on the bag what meal it was, what day and if it was for breakfast or evening meal! I might sound a lot of hassle but well worth doing...

Per day I had:

- Mountain House freeze dry food x3 (one for breakfast, one when I got into base camp and the other one in the eve; although later on in the week the evening meals were eaten one after the other!:) )

- Cliff bars x2
- Sport beans x2
- Peronin x1 ( powdered meal you mix with water, great on the go meal, taken at the mid-way aid station each day)
- Rego recovery x1 (taken as soon as I got into bivvie, plus laying down with feet on ruck sack- helps aid recovery)

For the long, 50 mile, day I doubled my cliff bars, sport beans and peronin.

Also, for the rest day I packed some treats! Obviously this is gonna be personal to you but I packed:

- Nescaffe sachets ( the individual ones white with sugar)

- Smash ( totally recommend)
- Beef jerky ( totally recommend)
- Super noodles!

These treats were totally worth the weight.  I didn't stop on the long day, so had a full rest day, which was great! I spent most of the days eating my treats and having a right laugh with the boys in the bivvie; although most of it is very dark humour, as with most multi-day endurance events. Also, on the rest day I had the obligatory appointment with the, aptly nicknamed, Doc Trotters to sort out an angry blister on my heal! Again its all part of the experience seeing the Docs!

What was the low point and highlight of your race?

My lowest point was the Marathon day; this was the stage after the long day and the rest day (if you finished the long stage in one day). I had kind of got into the mentality that once the long day was done you were home and dry! This is because drop out rate after the long day is really low as after the long day there are only two stages to finish; the Marathon day and a cheeky 10 miler. The day of the Marathon was fecking hot and the route had some tough climbs!  It was a probably made tougher by the fact I had mentally let my guard down! There were other little low moments, but you just crack on as you have got no choice! Losing my flip flops was pretty emotional! You'll find that silly things can annoy you... ;-)




My highlight was simply being at the MDS! I really mean this! For me it was truly a great experience! It was so nice to have no worries for over a week apart from keeping my legs moving, feeding myself and keeping care of my feet! No work, no phone, nothing! I really enjoyed that part of it and it's funny how you quickly adapt into a routine!

What item of your kit proved to be the most valuable?

Definitely the most valuable bit of kit was the packet of wet wipes I put into my bag at the last minute! I got very good at folding as soon as I realised I was running out. Also, pack some alcohol hand sanitiser as you don't want to get sick!

My gaitors were another bit of kit i thought worked well, my ipod was great for the low moments, put some tunes on and just get the legs going! Also I'm glad I took my small digital camera, definitely take time to take it all in and get some great photos!

What item do you wish you left at home?

The piece of kit for me I  wish I'd left at home were my poles! They were a total waste of time. I used them once and hated them. But... if you twist an ankle or your feet get shredded they could be useful...!!!

What training did you do: distance and acclimatisation?

I ran about 3 times a week, including hill sessions, speed work and running a few long miles with weight in my kit bag, i also did circuit sessions once a week. Alas, I didn't have the funds to go anywhere hot so I did all my training in Blighty!

The key races I did in preparation were:

- Poppyline 50 LDWA; and

- Pilgrims Challenge

The Poppyline was a 50 mile race and the Pilgrims Challenge was a two day event, 33 miles each day, on the North Downs Way with camping in a school hall after the first stage.

I would  recommend both events, especially The  Pilgrims Challenges as it is good to get used to running two big stages one after the other.

Any funny stories or anecdotes?

 

Loads of funny stuff happens, but its mainly "you've gotta be there" to find it funny. Some of the other stuff is quite dark humour and best relayed over a pint or two when you are next back in the UK.  My funniest sadomasochistic moment was the fact I got the worst chaffing and had to spend the rest of the day mainly on my knees opening my buttocks to ease the pain!!! :-) Ah, that reminds me I took two pots of Vaseline, the small tin types that people use for their lips.

It's important to keep your sense of humour during the race. Its a bloody stupid thing to be doing if you think about: trudging through the Sahara carrying your own kit!!! However, it's truly an amazing experience and I tried to always keep smiling, even through the tough moments, and remember how lucky I was to be having such an experience!

Our bivvie blew down on the sand storm day, which doesn't sound funny but it was. Every time we fixed it the thing just blew down again! that night I was really pleased I had a surround for my stove!

A lot of the strangest humour was around blisters. One guy in my bivvie got the worst blister on one of his testicles!!! I remember it got so bad that he had to put a blister plaster over it to ease the rubbing and everyone was crying with laughter at his pain when he had to pull the plaster off...

Anything else?

I found Dave Scott at Sandbaggers extremely helpful, with kit choices and nutritional advice. He also runs a seminar in Stevenage in the spring which I went to and found very informative. You can also get your medical/ECG done on the same day; which is handy.

Would you do the MDS again?

I would definitelyto do another multi-day ultra, but not the MDS, just because there are others out there to do.

Something Changed, part 2...

Every since I wrote the 'Something Changed' post something has been niggling at me. It has been a mixture of losing a year and the fact that I am not trusting my own abilities. 

As I am not getting any younger, having a 'gap year' on endurance challenges really causes you to stagnate and lose momentum. It can also result in you reducing the intensity and time spent training; as you have no challenge on the horizon. At worst it could mean that you never get back into the swing of things and never complete the challenge you had in mind.

In addition, I have been pondering the fact I have no DNFs (Did Not Finish) on my racing CV in contrast to the inherent lack of faith I have in my ability, demonstrated by me deferring for a year. To date, I have probably completed circa 30 challenges, of ranging difficulties, with no DNFs. I might not be the quickest and I have never won a race but I have always just 'manned' up on the start line and powered through, regardless of my fitness or mental wellbeing. Why would the MDS be any different if I did my research, preparation and training?

Well the long and short is that, after conversations with Paul Garner (a MDS finisher from 2009, who you will read more about later) and my fitness confident, George Karolemeas, I have decided to re-enter the 2013 iteration of the race. I would like to thank Rachel from Mencap who has rolled with this punch, contacted the organising committee and facilitated me completing all of the necessary paperwork, so I can participate the race in 2013, as originally intended. Always nice when you complete paperwork that asks questions like, who do we deliver your body to if you die...?



Come on Deano, it's time to polish my trusty armour and prepare for battle.

This nicely leads me to the steps that I have taken to catch up the ground that I had lost since I deferred; especially as I am now doing the race in only 7 months time rather than 19 months (as I write these words I can feel my tummy rolling and some brown stuff leaking out of my trouser legs...)

Over the coming months I will reverse my intentions to write this blog every 4-every 6 weeks. Now that I am back in the thick of it, I will revert to writing this blog every 2-3 weeks.

Additionally, I have to push on and make this blog more factual; consisting of my training plan, nutrition plan, kit research/procurements and general preparation. I am also commencing my programme of interviewing previous MDS finishers, so that each blog post will contain a link to a post of each completed interview. 

This will realise two benefits. One will be that I can multiply the amount of information researched. If every competitor spends 20 hours on research, by interviewing 10 people I will have completed 200 hours of research without lifting a finger. Secondly, it will hopefully allow me to glean nuggets of information from people who have completed the race and beaten the terrain and climate that I will be facing in 7 months time. This will include topics like: what worked, what didn't, what would you do differently, etc.

Additionally, it will hopefully help any future troubled soul, who wants to give the MDS a crack, as they should find this blog of use, rather than having to trawl through pages of Google searches for little gems of advice.  You never know, it might also help getting this collection of blog posts published as a book...

With this in mind, I had my first interview with a runner Paul Garner, who even running enthusiasts call a running geek. Paul completed the MDS in 2009; which was a particularly difficult year as the start was delayed a day due to a freak flash flood in the Sahara. This meant that the race consisted of the longest ever stage of 81 miles, to help recover the lost day. This lost day would have been a painful one spent hanging around, filled with uncertainty as to whether the race will actually occur and internal demons as to whether you are capable running the race distance over a shorter time. Still, if you are going to complete the MDS once top kudos points for doing it in the toughest year...

If any of you know Paul Garner, whilst he is excellent at completing bonkers challenges, like running 100 miles in 24 hours, simply things, us mere mortals find easy, like time management and sticking to deadlines are a challenge for our intrepid explorer so at the time of writing this post Paul is still perfecting his answers and his interview will form part of the next post, hopefully (only joking Paul, your help and assistance has proved invaluable and you are my inspiration).

Unlike subsequent interviews, which will probably take place by e-mail, I spent a lovely evening with Paul and his family (the typical running widows you find behind every endurance athlete) at a cracking independent pub, the Seven Stars, in Pewsey. This enabled me to intently question Paul on his preparation and how his race panned out. It even meant I could physically see the kit he took to the Sahara, so I feel I have been able to collapse months of preparation into hours and it has really helped me catch up to where I should have been prior to my deferral.

Going back to an earlier blog, you might remember that I made my first two important decisions: what shoes to wear and what rucksack to run with. To refresh some and bring new readers up to speed, I have bought the ROCLITE 315 trail shoes and a Raidlight combo backpack of 30 litres and its light front-pack sister. I think the one advantage I have over the other competitors is my ability to carry stuff. Not only am I quite strong but I am also planning to lose some weight over training. This should mean that, unlike the leaner runners, who weigh less than 10 stone dripping wet, I will hopefully weigh less than my current weight, full loaded, so my skeleton and muscles should be more than prepared for carrying that weight.

Now I need to start pushing on and decide on what I am going to wear and what will go into the packs...

Over this, and the coming blogs, I will cover the following themes:

- Running Kit;
- Training plan, including taper;
- Food and nutrition;
- Contents of the back and front pack; and
- Night gear, including bedding.

I will include these in one post that I will update consistently over coming blogs so readers can see my research taking shape:

Completed Research

So, kicking off this research, Paul has helped me make great strides, no pun intended, on what I am going to wear:

- Socks: Paul's advice was to go with three pairs of toe-socks, which are shaped like gloves but for your feet. This enables each toe to be separated from its neighbours, containing any foot complaints that might appear in the desert. Paul recommended that I get different gauges of thickness so that I can change thickness to suit my comfort and he suggested that I buy the Injinji make of toe-socks.

,

- Gaiters: an important decision is what gaiters to wear, ensuring that no sand gets into your shoes, as this could have dire consequences on the blister front. Paul's advice was to buy the Raidlight gaiters. All I need to do now is to finalise a cobblers to attach velcro to my shoes so they gaiters attach nice and tight. Paul is going to dig out the name of the person he used so I will include these details in a coming blog.

- Shorts: this was the easiest and quickest of Paul's recommendations; Salomon Twin-skin shorts. Whilst expensive at £40 a pair they mean you don't have to wear any pants, are light weight and are designed to eliminate chaffing; the scourge of any male runners...

- Top: It seems like Mencap will be providing me with a Mencap branded desert running top so at least there is one area that won't require extensive research or outlay...

- Head/Face: the advice here is to get a bandana, that can be manipulated to cover the face during sand storms; wear the Marmot desert hat; and buy a pair of prescription sunglasses.

All in all I think I know what my list for Santa this Christmas is going to include...

It has been nice to come back to the UK to catch up with Family, Friends and West Ham. It has also meant I could get out on my trusty road bike and cycle to friends' wedding (well the wrong town which is a story for another time...), as well as go to Spain on holiday to spend a fantastic week with my nephew. That being said, I am now itching to get back to Dubai to start ramping up my training with next April in mind; and also warm the old bones.

When I get back, I have a lot of books and DVDs to read/watch so I can keep up the momentum with my preparation. I think I am finally making progress on the planning, and can feel myself getting pumped (which is a good sign), but I need to finalise which training plan I will follow. That being said, despite finessing the detail, my general aim is to increase my training up to a peak of 90-100 miles per week in February/March. This will probably consist of four 15 mile runs each week and a long run of between 20 and 30 miles at the weekend. From speaking to Paul Garner this should be plenty to avoid injury and prepare my skeleton and muscles for what they need to endure. More of that in the next blog, once I finished a few of the books I have bought, when I should be able to finalise the training plan  from a position of strength. 

By the next blog I will be back in Dubai, well into my first month of my 6 month training plan and hopefully I will have a couple of company logos to fill up the space on the right of the blog (in return for some much needed donations). Hopefully I might even have received my running gear, so I can begin to wear them in. 

All in all a productive month...

MaAasalaama...

Completed Research FINAL

Running Kit:

- Trail Trainers: ROCLITE 315
- Sandbaggers Gaiters and fitted by Sandbaggers' Cobbler
- Socks: different pairs of Injinji make of toe-socks inners and Wigwam Terrain Trax Pro/Bridgedale Trailhead outers. I have different gauges of thickness for inners. Unless I can't fit everything in I will be taking three pairs or inners and, if feet don't swell too much, change both pairs every couple of days. After testing I decided that I would be taking the two thickest grades of the Injinji toe socks, as the lightest grade pinched my little toes a little bit. 
- Shorts: Under Amour Twin-skin shorts
- Running Top: Mencap branded desert running top and a Rail riders shirt.
- Buffs: 2, one for neck and one for wrist to wipe sweat .
- Hat: Injinji hat;

- Pair of prescription sunglasses: Adidas Devil Eye. I bought via a company called RX Sport they were brilliant.

- Watch: Paul G kindly lent me his Garmin Forerunner 101 watch as uses replaceable rechargeable batteries so ideal for the desert where most people's Garmin styled watches run out after two days.
- HH skins undertop to wick away sweat during the day and keep me warm on the night of the long run.
- Walking poles

Rucksack:

- Raidlight 30L backpack*
- Raidlight Equilibre front pack*
- Raidlight Shoulder bottle holders and bottles x 2

Contents of Rucksacks:

Cooking equipment:

- Optimus Terra solo cook set. Paul H kindly lent me one

- Esbit Titanium cooking stove and Esbit cooking surround. Again Paul H kindly let me borrow his one
- The Esbit fuel blocks. Ordered a couple of packets through the MDS site.
- Spork from a camping shop.

I decided in the end that I wouldn't take any plates or bowls to save weight and space. I can eat my food out of the 'Store and Pour' bags plus if you cut the water bottles they dish out the water in. The bottom can double up as a bowl and the top (with the cap on) can be used, upside down as a cup for tea. 

Sleeping:

- Sleeping Mat: Bought Thermarest NEOAir sleeping mat.

- Sleep Bag: Bought the Mammut Ajungilak Sphere Alpine/Summer Sleeping bag. Expensive at £215 but one of the lightest and most compact and also available in 6 foot +*

- Tyvek Suit
- Mountain Hard Wear Fleece for the camp and to wear on the night of the long stage
- Lounge wear type trousers for evening

- Flip flops

Hygiene

 - Small tooth brush and small tooth paste. I picked up the ones that put in the vanity bags on long haul flights
- Wet wips
- Alcohol based hand sanitiser
- Vaseline tubs
- Toilet paper x 2

Pharmacy items:

- Antiseptic: 50ml can of Salvon Dry Antiseptic*

- Needle and thread for blister draining

Additional Items

- Head torch: PETZL Zipka plus 2 and spare batteries*

- Knife: credit card style knife/ scissors*

 - Compass: Bought one that had 2 degree accuracy*

- 10 safety pins*

- Lighter*

- Whistle: finally, where the one is on by Raidlight bag....**

- Antivenom pump*

- Signalling Mirror*

- Aluminium Survival Sheet*

* Essential kit list

Tip: Pack kit within kit. During the day I will put kit inside my cooking pot. Also, Anti Venom pump comes in a pouch can stuff loads of kit into that as well.

Training plan

Principles that training plan based on

Steve Cushing's training plan was based on the following principle which I have no reason to dispute:

1) Necessary to be on feet for a long time therefore long runs;

2) Much of the MDS will be at a walking pace therefor different strains on legs and different frictional forces on the feet so need to incorporate a lot of walking (do you think pulling a golf trolley counts...);

3) As a lot of mileage per week I will need to back-to-back runs. This will be useful to mimic the race in training. I will make sure that I have two rest days per week;

4) Include some speed work and interval training;

5) As there are hills and dunes during the race (toughest  day has a 1000 metre climb) it is important to do some hill running and some sand sessions; and

6) Continue to do some gym and core muscle sessions for strength and to reduce the risk of injury caused by muscle fatigue and loss of form when running/walking long distance.

To these I have added the following:

1) I will do a lot of my running in the middle of the day as it is never too early to start to recreate the conditions I will be running in;

2) I am running with a rucksack as it contains my water bladder. I will 1-2 run per week with some items packed in the rucksack. I will not being too scientific but add some items of clothing or kit. Each week I will slowly increase the weight so that my body is used to running with the weight;
3) I will be doing three dress rehearsals within my training schedule: one during the week of the Dubai Half-Marathon, one during the Dubai Marathon and one in February. The plan is to follow the schedule of the race, with the first being a quarter of the distance rising to half and then finally being three-quarters the distance. These dress rehearsal will be with the rucks sacks laden to 1/4, 1/2 and then 3/4 on the weight I will carry in the desert. I also hope to run the dress rehearsal in January and February in the kit that I will wearing in the desert.
5) I will log the amount of water that I drink on each run;

6) I will try to get an Ultra in the calendar early in the new year but not essential if I am doing the dress rehearsals in 3) above;

7) I am going to try to measure my body temperature at least at the end of a run but hopefully during a run so I can see how my body is reacting to long distances in heat.

Training schedule

I followed a lot of the principles of Fink when I trained for the Ironman. One of his main principles is that you build mileage and intensity over a three week period by circa 10% and then the fourth week is a week of 'periodisation' consisting of a reduced mileage to recover from three weeks of putting the body under stress such that the risk of injury is reduced. Each week will have two rest days per week.

Phase 1b:

One hill, tempo or sand run per week

- October:  25miles;

- November: 30/35/40/45 miles with final week 25 miles;

Phase 2:

Increase weekly mileage and two hill, tempo or sand runs per week.

- December: 50/60/70/40

First week will be a dress rehersal of a 1/4 MDS (6,7,8,13.1, rest day, 10 and 6) with two days rest before and two days rest afterwards.

Phase 3:

Back-to-back long runs.

- January: 80/85/90/75 miles with the final week 60 miles recovery week.

The 75 mile week is the 1/2 MDS (8, 10,12, 25, rest day, 13 and 7 miles) and I will even eat the food, wear the kit and carry a half bag that I am planning to take to the Sahara

- February: 90/100/110/50

The 110 mile week is the 3/4 MDS (15, 15, 18, 38, rest day, 20 and 5 miles) week with 3/4 bag.

- March: 90/60/60/Taper week 1

- April: Taper week 2

Race commences 5th April

Taper:

MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN
				90min LONG RUN all EASY pace.	30min EASY	REST
30min EASY	60min BILLAT SESSION	REST	30min EASY	60min LONG RUN all EASY pace.	REST	40min EASY
REST pack and kit/food checking	MARATHON DES SABLES Fly Out Easy Jog 20-25min MAX	Drive to START	MdS Registration The daily mileages may alter for 2009	Day 1 START ~15miles	Day 2 ~23miles	Day 3 ~23miles
Day 4 ~48miles	Day 5 Rest	Day 6 26.2miles	Day 7 ~9miles FINISH	HOTEL RELAX/SWIM	Fly Home Keep mobile during flight	RECOVERY Walk
DON’T RUN-	for at least 7 days.	Walk/Swim is great any day.

- Food and nutrition

Decided to go with the Expedition Foods range as easy to get on Amazon and liked the flavours. I decided to follow Paul H's advice and have bought one breakfast, two main courses and one dessert for each day with a spare of each in my bag.

Bought Peronnin powder for lunch. Gone for a mix of Orange, Cocoa and Vanilla. Not great but suffices on the move and easily digested. Will have one a day with two on the long day.

I bought a couple of boxes of the Cliff Bars and a multipack box of Jelly Belly Sports Beans. Will probably have a couple of each a day.

When I get back to the UK in March I will also pick up my usual gels and electrolyte tabs from Run and Become.

I am also going to pack some Super Noodles, Peparami, Beef Jerky, coffee powder and lemon tea powder as treats.

Finally I am going to pack some salt sachets from a fast food outlet as I have been recommended that these are perfect if you need a quick intact of salt rather than salt tablets.

- Rules pages and web sites