Tequila Mockingbird

Over the passed two weeks there have been a couple of important progressions and significant lessons learnt regarding both training and fundraising.

On the fundraising perspective I ran my first ever fundraising event; a pub quiz. During previous challenges I could simply rely on creating a justgiving page to reach my target but £9,500 requires a bit more creativity. The pub quiz turned out to be a success with approximately 80 people attending raising nearly £700 through the entry money and a raffle. The quiz was won by my friends from Procurement and the best team name was Tequila Mockingbird. It was great that my work Christmas party was at a suitable venue as I used the fact that we spent a lot of money that night to secure a room at the Doggett's Coat and Badge is Southwark for no charge.

What I learnt was how close I came to making a failure out of a success. In future I think I will not leave it to the day of the quiz to write the questions, buy the raffle ticket book or secure prizes for the raffle. Whilst it was a bit stressful with the quiz master dropping out at the last minute it did mean that I could apply a personal touch to proceedings and banter with the audience of friends, family and work colleagues.

Still, I didn't have too much time to get cocky as I only included nine questions in the first round of ten questions, reduced the audience to tears when I mispronounced the Cedar as Saydar [sic] and was challenged that there was more than one tube station that uses the all the vowels within their name (Mansion House, South Ealing and Heathrow Terminal) rather the one that the question claimed. However, all in all, it was a success and I am now up to £2,800 with a couple of more charity events in the coming months: Paris Marathon sweep stake in April and a Wine & Cheese evening in June.

The second thing I learnt over the last two weeks is that my previous blog should have been named "the loneliness of a long distance runner's other half". As I have started to build my training durations I need to be careful that my wife, Becs, doesn't start feeling like a landlady so I have begun to incorporate more of my training into my commute and also getting up earlier to train before work. This should mean I can spend more time at home in the evenings and at the weekend.

During the week 16th - 22nd January I continued to build my training duration by increasing my running distance to 37.5 miles during the week however I was lighter on the swimming duration as I we went away on long weekend on the Gowyer Peninsula in South Wales. It was a great weekend celebrating my father-in-law's 60th birthday and meeting my new niece. It also provided me my third lesson of the week as it allowed me the opportunity to do some running on the beach. Now I know that most of the professionals go somewhere warm or at altitude but my budget winter training camp has confirmed that I need to include some/a lot of beach running in my acclimatization training next year. The fact that my three mile beach run made me feel as tired as I would expect after a 10 mile run has made me fear the 15% of the MdS over sand dunes. Still, its better to know this now rather than finding it out at some point next year.

I have continued to do some more kit research over the last two weeks. Now that I have ordered my back and front packs I turned to my attention to sports watches/heart monitor and turbo trainers. Whilst not directly related to the MdS I am hoping this will improve the quality of my training and also help me spend more time at home. It is quite scary how little I knew a few years ago and how unsophisticated my training was. I was one of them plodders that concentrated on miles of cycling and running or lengths of swimming. I am still in the transition to becoming a training super star but my new Garmin Forerunner 910xt sports watch and heart monitor will improve my training intensity rather than wasted miles. Secondly my B60-R turbo trainer should improve my cycling as most cyclists put their cycle endurance down to indoor cycling far away from traffic lights and other vehicles.

During week 23rd - 29th January I built my long run up to 16 miles, posting a total of 5 hours of running consisting of 30 miles, and 8k of swimming. Included in the 11 hours of training I also did 20 miles of cycling taking my bike to and from Evans for a service. The last lesson of the week was the need for greater bike maintenance as it cost £150 to replace my rear cassette and rusty chain as I didn't oil my bike before putting in mothballs over Christmas. Expensive week all round really, considering I also bought two tickets and hotel for Becs and I for a romantic weekend in Paris when I do the marathon...

One final thought of the week was the amazement I felt about Djokovic's fitness. When I left for my long training run the Nadal-Djokovic final was 1-0 to Nadal and when I got back home 2-2. These guys are superhuman. Whilst I did 11 hours over the week Djokovic did over 11 hours in two matches within three days and I don't have someone that is trying to stop me every step of the way. It also made me feel sorry for Andy Murray. In any other generation he would already have won multiple grand slams events but unfortunately he is up against three of the all time greats.

Next week I will be continuing the build phase of my 2012 training whilst scheduling the sessions around going to watch West Ham away at Ipswich on Tuesday evening, watching my sister's first half marathon and celebrating my Mum's birthday.

TTFN...

Loneliness of a long distance runner...

Muhammad Ali famously once said that "the fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road long before I dance under the lights" and I suppose there are similarities between boxing and endurance events. The planning and training is more gruelling than the actual event plus the trepidation just before the start when you doubt whether you have done enough training.

With that in mind I decided to get a head start with my initial training to build a solid base for the inevitable pounding of the streets from the Autumn onwards. The first week (2nd Jan - 8th Jan) was interrupted slightly by a wedding in Ireland and a winter golf tournament but, in hindsight, I think it enabled me to back into the swing of things; walking before I could run. Besides, two days in Ireland on a Guinness diet and winning the closest to the pin at golf more than compensated for missing a few training sessions.

Three runs and one cycle later I clocked in at 11.5 miles running and 34.5 miles cycling for the week. I also learnt the value of bike maintenance as, by not regularly oiling my chain, the chain is rusted and I might have worn a few of the cogs. I am sure this will be cemented when I get the bill from Evans Cycles.

By the end of the first week I have also made the first of my key decisions relating to the essential equipment list; what rucksack to take with me on the event. As mentioned on my first blog each runner is self-sufficient on the MdS which means they carry everything minus the tent they sleep in and water for subsequent days. The old adage that the bigger the bag the more you pack seems more pertinent on the MdS as running 156 miles is tough enough without carrying luxury items and the kitchen sink on your back. However, I have decided to get the 30 litre rucksack over its 15 litre and 20 litre cousins.

I suppose the key points that tipped the decision the 30l side were: anecdotes that previous competitors have packed their 15l bag to the brim and didn't have room to squeeze in the mandatory emergency flare that is presented on the start line so had to jettison other items; as an eater it would be wise to pack more than the minimum requirement of 2,000 calories per day to keep me going in the latter miles of the race; and I don't want to be in the middle of the Sahara wishing I had packed something. Still, that being said when I do a trial run of packing the rucksack I want to keep as close 20Kg as possible.

As it seems most competitors on the MdS forums favour the RaidLight rucksacks and I am going to be sheep on this one and will buy their front and back packs as described in the following links http://www.likeys.com/acatalog/info_5.html  and http://www.apex-sports.co.uk/details/443-RaidLight-Equilibre-R-Light-Frontpack. The front pack will avoid a repeat of my bladder breaking at the Breacon Ultra last year which, if repeated in the MdS, would be a disaster as I don't know if there are many running shops in the Sahara where I can buy a replacement water bladder... This also seems to be the theme on the forums.

Week two (9th Jan - 15th Jan) involved starting the weekly increases to my training duration and intensity. I ended up spending 10 hours training consisting of 30 miles of running and 9k of swimming with a mammoth continuous 5k swim on Saturday. My logic is that more cross training will reduce the monotony of repeating endless runs and will also help with my fund raising. As a consequence of choosing to run the MdS for Mencap I am now committed to raise £9,500 for the cause. Thankfully, I have already raised £2,000 and will be contributing a further £2,000 myself to cover the costs to send me out to the Sahara, so this only leaves an additional £5,500 to raise in the remaining 16 months. I also think that I should be in good physical condition to post some respectable lifetime bests.

I have selected four events to keep me focused in 2012: Half-Ironman, Paris Marathon, London Triathlon and 10k swim. I am aiming to break 7 hours for the Half-Ironman, 3:30 for the Marathon, sub-2:30 for the London Triathlon and complete the 10k swim in 4 hours. Anyway, the first event is 12 weeks away so I have more time to get stronger and quicker with improved stamina.

In the next blog I will be focusing on two more bits of training accessories that are being procured  (Cycle Turbo Training and Training watch) plus accounts from my first fundraiser of 2012 (a Pub Quiz at the Doggett Coat and Badge) will have occurred to get me closer to the £9,500 target.

TTFN

A journey of 156 miles begins with a single step (Marathon Des Sables)

Buoyed by my achievements of 2011 and discovering the power of the blog I have entered the Marathon Des Sables in 2013 and have decided to write a blog. The blog will capture my experiences and memories of both the preparation and event itself. It might even prove to be a valuable tool for some other Muppet who bites off more than they can chew and needs to learn a lot; fast...

In the reference books that I used to get me over the line for the ironman they included a whole chapter on post ironman blues. The big advice to avoiding a period of being flat and depressed was to schedule in some short fun events to keep you fit and interested. I do not recall my state of mind when I transferred £500 into the Mencap account the next week but some would argue that it was probably a bit unbalanced. I do know that I had a great time in 2011 planning, training and completing the LeJOG and Ironman so I must have wanted to take on another challenge.

For those not in the know, and for me to realise how much trouble I am in, the following extract from Wikepedia gives a good top to toe introduction to the Marathon des Sables (MdS):

The MdS is a six-day, 251 km (156 mile) ultra marathon, which is the equivalent of six regular marathons. The longest single stage is 91 km (57 mile) long. The race, between the 4th and 15th April 2013, is held in southern Morocco, in the Sahara desert. It is considered the toughest foot race on Earth. Apart from the distance I will be battling extreme conditions (think dunes, 120°F temperatures, sand storms) whilst carrying everything I need for the entire race on my back! The terrain is uneven, rocky, stony ground, and 15-20% of the distance is over sand dunes.

So, as I sit at my dining room table on Monday 16th January 2012, sipping a glass of wine after a nice steak dinner, enjoying all the creature comforts I realise that life, if only for the next 15 months, will not be the same again. Well, as I am sure you are shouting at your computer screen, tough. Do the crime, do the time.

During the preparation I will probably be completing a weekly update of training and how I get on procuring the mandatory kit list (not sure how I am going to run 156 miles carrying a 20kg rucksack). During the race I will probably carry a pencil and paper so I can complete a diary to upload when I cannot move from the sofa on my return.

I will try to keep to the spirit of the LeJOG blog by keeping this blog light and fresh however this time I am light on comrades and alcoholic lubrication to keep highlights flowing so it might get a bit dry in places.

One sobering thought to sign off with, all the information I have read on the Internet tonight seems to suggest that this time next year I should be up around a total distance of 100 mile a week...

On that note I think I might refresh my wine (large) and have a lie on the sofa watching guff while I can.

TTFN