Back At It

After a superbly lazy week following the marathon, it was time to get back to it.

I'm doing a very unstructured plan with the aim to put on some muscle and move a bit toward barefoot running.

For packing on weight, I'll lift in the gym twice a week and do plyo and callisthenics at home twice a week.  For barefoot, Alan recently got his license as a vivo barefoot coach, so he's giving me some exercises to do: jumping in place, squats while up on my toes and picking up towels with my toes.

Other than this, I'll be getting out on the bike, swimming and hopefully bouldering once in a while.


On a different note, last weekend was the Ultraman World Championship on the big island of Hawaii.  This is the first year that I really followed the event, and one thing that stands out to me is the age of the competitors.  Most of the male competitors, including the overall winner, are in their high 40's or even 50's.  I guess that gives me plenty of time to prepare!

Read all about it at the links below.

Story behind the race

Athlete bios

(Short) Race report

Full results

Weeks 19 & 20: Kobe Marathon

at the expo with the Kobe Marathon mascot 

You're body can do anything, 

it's just your brain that you have to convince.

Taper time and all is going great!  All of the niggles have melted away, I'm sleeping at least 7 and a half hours a night and regularly doing visualization.

The last couple of pace runs were excellent.  My legs felt really powerful.  Surprisingly powerful.

All signs looking good :)

goodie bag!

Goal Time - 3.08.59
If I hit this goal time, it'll be a personal best (PB) by about 10 minutes.  That may seem like a lot, but my last pure road marathon was New York City in 2009 before venturing into Ironman, ultra-marathons and adventure racing.

To be honest, 3.08.59 feels like a modest goal.  It won't be easy, but I feel I can run faster.  So, I'm going with a stretch goal time of 3.04.59.

Where do I come up with these times, you ask?  Well, 3.08.59 is the main goal as it's just under a Boston Marathon qualifying time.  Not that I'm planning to run Boston anytime soon, but I'd like to run the time.  The stretch goal is more competition.  My old training buddy, Alan, has a 3.05 PB, so I'd REALLY like to run under that.

As for strategy, I'm planning to go through half-way in 1.31.30 (4.20min km/ 7min miles).  At that point, I'll assess how I'm feeling and decide which time to go after.

map of the course

Mental Strategies
Following on from this post's quote and all the training, I know that I'm physically capable of running the stretch goal time.  But, it doesn't matter how much I believe this while sitting on my couch typing this post.  The only time it matters is from tomorrow's gun to the time I cross that finish line.  So, here are a few things I've done to prep.

> Running the course - I was lucky enough to get into a race in my home city.  So, I've run on the course 4 times feeling every last twist, turn and bump with my feet.  The first time didn't feel so great, but I have to say the next few times felt like the k's just flew by.  Hope that's a sign of things to come :)

> Mantras - "Embrace the suck." is a perfect quote from Chris McCormack about how to cope with those tough times in an endurance race.  Read more about McCormack's thoughts HERE.  For me, this is all about finding the mental strength to continue when your body and much of your brain wants to quit.

"You got to want to suffer." advice given to Luke McKenzie by Craig Alexander during last month's Ironman World Championship.  McKenzie was leading the race but in a low spot when he passed Alexander going the other way.  See McKenzie's post race interview HERE.

Sports Yokan, my race nutrition

Nutrition
I'll stick with what's worked in the past.  The week before the race, I limit my fiber intake, especially from two days before.  Also, I'll gradually start adding more carbs by switching my salad snack for fruit and increasing my carbs at meals for extra calories from the missing veg.

The night before is always pasta and tuna.  The sauce is usually just extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

The race starts at 9am, so I'll be up at 5am for my rice and fish breakfast, lay down for a bit longer before getting up for a quick shower.  Then, it's a weak cup of coffee to get my brain and stomach going and out the door.

30mins prior to the race, I'll have a banana if I'm hungry and sip on a sports drink every 5-10mins.  For this race, Sports Yokan is my food nutrition of choice.  Yokan is a popular sweet in Japan, and this product has been adapted for racing.  I used it in the Sahara and it was perfect: not much flavor, easy to eat on the run, settles well and has more calories than standard gels so I don't have to eat as often .


Thanks for listening everyone.

I guess all that's left to do is enjoy 42.2!

Weeks 13-18: Kobe Marathon 2013

The night is darkest before the dawn.

October was a roller coaster but it's ended on an up-swing!

Weeks 13-16
It's hard to even type this, but I got sick.  Again!  To top it off, once that was gone, some niggles became more than just niggles.

This was my third illness this year, which is hard to stomach given I haven't been sick for over 10 years!  It's cliche, but maybe turning 30 really does change things!

I'm taking this as a clear sign that I'm not 'invincible'.  It's time to start paying closer attention to my body and taking days off when needed.  Harder said than done, but in weeks 13 and 15, I followed through and felt great for it after.  Very positive reinforcement!

Weeks 17-18
Feeling stronger and stronger.  Week 17 was my peak training and it went off without a hitch.

On the Tue long I managed to cover about 34km of the Kobe Marathon course which was excellent.  It was the second time I ran on the course and all went smoothly.  More opinion on the course to come in another post.

Week 18 began tapering, and I could feel the extra rest in my legs.  The sprints felt really strong which was a huge boost.

I've also been adding visualization, so focus is growing.  Getting excited!

Week 12: Kobe Marathon 2013

pic from sportsillustrated.cnn.com

There will be obstacles.

There will be doubters.

There will be mistakes.

But with hard work... THERE ARE NO LIMITS.

- Michael Phelps -

First, a round of applause for my beautiful fiancee who ran over a half marathon for the first time!  YAY!  She covered 24.5k and had enough energy to go out afterward.  Superb!

For me, training was surprisingly good this week.  The surprising part came from one of my best pace runs ever which followed a mere 5hrs of sleep.

Thursday morning started with some resistance, much like most of my sprint or pace sessions.  I can't explain why, I'm always a nervous about the discomfort/ pain that comes with these sessions I guess.

Anyway, I strapped on my 3-4kg bag and headed out.  For this session, I run from home to work and on the way take a 30min detour along one of the rivers where I can push the pace without worrying about traffic.  The river paths typically have a 1% gradient, I try to keep it even but if I have to, I try for more up than down.

I eventually got going and decided not to push as usual but rather focus on posture and breathing.  The first k was 4.35 above my 4.20 target pace.  A bit disappointed, but I stuck to the strategy.  From there, everything just rolled.  The second k was 3.53!  In the end, I covered about 7.5k in 30min at a pace of 4.07.  The best part, it felt really smooth (not easy, but smooth).

Man was I stoked for the rest of the day!

Other than that, I haven't been getting enough sleep this week, so we'll see if that impacts Mon and Tue long runs.

8 weeks to go and feeling good!

Week 11: Kobe Marathon 2013

In general, running was good this week, if a bit adventurous.

First for the adventure.  I've made a change from all road to two trail runs and two road runs a week.  I'm loving the trails on Mount Rokko and below are a few reasons why.

But the trails come with some new friends.  Among the snakes and spiders, wild boar are also common.  Now, boar are totally new to me, and I've been inching closer to them with each encounter.  Well, there's no getting any closer after my latest encounter.

pic from www.itsnature.org

Coming down a hill, I spotted a boar.  All I hear are crazy stories of bitten hands and lost fingers, so naturally, I stopped.  Coming down the hill behind me was a couple who also stopped.  The man decided there was no threat and kept walking.  So, soon his wife/ girlfriend and I followed.

Only two steps in, the boar spots the lady and I, and starts heading closer.  I froze and the lady freaked out.  By the time she was done flailing, the boar had touched us both with his snout and (I'm assuming) figuring out we had no food, continued on his way.

I can't say I wasn't scared, but this was definitely a lesson that not all wild boars are out for fingers.  Doesn't mean I won't run the opposite way next time!

Other than this, a fairly standard week.

In health news, two things.  One, week 11 will be my last week of open diet.  From now, I'll be cutting sweets and alcohol in order to lean out for eight weeks time.

Second is my calf.  I've been pounding my calves a lot with hills in the mountain and calf jumps in strength sessions.  It seems to be catching up.  My right calf has a slight pain at the top on the outside which tends to go when I'm running and come after I've stretched and rested.

No diagnosis, but I'm planning to ice and do extra stretching/ self-massage everyday for a week and see how it goes.  If it's not getting better by next week, I may take some time from my running shoes to recover.

Finally, I haven't been posting my training program because I'm trying to take this a little easier than previous races.   But, to give everyone an idea of what I've been doing and what's to come, here's a peak.

Catching Up

Apologies for the extreme absence.  Here's a brief run-down of the last two months.

Week 2 - Jul 8th
Building into training, decided to eat more to maintain or even put on some weight before trying to lose it later.  This only gave me stomach problems, so gave up.

Week 3 - Jul 15th
Started doing sprints, 6 by about 350m.  Realization, I can't sprint.  I've known this for a long time, but it's different when it becomes a reality.  More to come.

Week 4 - Jul 22nd
An international business group here in Kobe asked me to give a motivational/ informational speech about endurance racing and particularly MDS.  Excellent!  Speech to be Sep 7th.

Week 5 & 6 - Jul 29th
Caught a summer cold.  Three runs in 2 weeks.  I don't want to put it down to age, but I used to be able to keep training, add a few hours of sleep and recover.  Not this time.  For whatever reason, I felt and feel that I have to listen to my body more.

Week 7 & 8 - Aug 12th
Back into training plus Summer holiday!  We went to Summer Sonic in Osaka and Shikoku Island for rafting!

John Legend rocking Summer Sonic

enjoying the show

Shimanto River, Shikoku

Happy Raft was our guide, highly recommend
they speak Japanese and English

Week 9 - Aug 26
Nailed a sprint session!  10x about 350m and felt on top of the world!  Not able to maintain great form but pushed hard throughout.  Core lacking strength.  Something to work on.

Week 10 - Sep 2nd
Absorb week plus the speech.  Running was fine and speech was excellent!  It didn't go perfectly, but I was comfortable and got a great reception.  A group of folks even invited me out for tea after!  It was a great day.

Week 1: Kobe Marathon 2013

Here we are again, finally set on another race!

The Kobe Marathon is Sunday, Nov 11, giving me 20 weeks.  This is a good amount of time and with a flat course, my goal is sub 3:10.

But, one big difference this time, I won't let this consume me.  The MDS took over my life (our lives, actually), I wasn't able to study Japanese, and I lost most of what I had learned.  Also, I want to spend more time off-road in the mountains to prep for the Rokko-Juso run the week after Kobe.  This means letting go of specific time/ distance goals for every session.  As such, I won't be posting a training plan every week,  and may not get too training specific.  Let's see how it goes.

Besides, who wouldn't want to spend more time in a place like this :)

Nunobiki Falls, Mt. Rokko

Racing, Racing!

Hey all, finally back in business!

I just found out that I got a place in the 2013 Kobe marathon!  The best part, Natsuko is running as well!  Her first marathon, very exciting.

Also, I've started running with a friend who's preparing for a 100k in Hong Kong.  He has a strong marathon background but hasn't run for years.  So, we're working together to bring back his running fitness.  A very nice project :)

In preparation for his 100k, we'll be running/ jogging/ walking the Rokko-Juso Trail Race, also in Kobe.  This is a 50k trail run through Mt. Rokko which sits just north of Kobe city (check the mountain in the picture above and trail below).

Funnily enough, Rokko-Juso is 6 days after the Kobe marathon, so needless to say, I don't have any dreams of pushing it hard, just take it as it comes.

Anyway, time to scheme up some training plans.  Be back soon with ideas.

Week 20: Marathon des Sables

me on my training beach, 1.5k/ 1m around

"True motivation comes from within. 

No one can hand it to you, but no one can take it away, either."

- anonymous -

As always, I leave the best for last.  I haven't talked about my goal, and there's not much time now, so here's a snapshot.

GOAL: top 50 (1100 runners) and 7min/k (11min/m) pace

Wow, one week to race begins.  Anxious?  You bet.  Packing and putting the finishing touches on my gaiters.  Sewing is way harder than I thought.  We'll see how well my stitching does.

I'm running MDS to help house and feed orphans, and you can still support this great cause.  Click HERE for more info.


PLEASE WRITE TO ME :)  This will be a challenge like no other I've experienced, and I suspect every little boost will help.  Runners can receive emails daily from Apr 6 to 12, so if you'd like to send some support, a funny story or just want to fill me in on the goings on outside the Sahara, here are the directions.

1) Go to the MDS website: http://www.darbaroud.com/en/
2) Click the link "write to a competitor"
3) Put my name and number in the subject: Carlos Medina, 1093
4) Write the message (no attachments please, if there's an attachment, the email will not be received)
5) Click send


Also, runners are allowed one email a day, so I'll send something to Natsuko and she'll try to update the blog.  So stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone for following.  This wouldn't be possible without your support.

Week 19: Marathon des Sables

www.artsofinnovation.com

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go."

- T.S. Eliot -

More funds rolled in this week to help Great Mercy Orphanage become more self-sustaining.  Thanks all!  We're almost 40% of the way to our £2,000 goal!

Check out more HERE.

(Deep voice booming to drum-roll)  "Will runner 1093 of the 28th MDS please stand up."  

That's right, lucky number 1093!  Runners are able to receive emails in the desert, so you'll need my number to write an encouraging note, funny story or anything else.  I'll post more later on how to stay in touch while I'm in the desert.

On training, this week my legs felt fresh, if a bit slow, over the 85k/ 53m of running.  Not much else to add.

Health & Nutrition

All the issues from last week are gone but picked up an interesting new one.  The lower front left part of my right shin was red and swollen.  It looked like a bad bug bite, but it was coming from inside (a tendon?).  I had shin splints a long time ago, this was similar but more painful and lower on the leg.  Well, taking the advice of a 9-time MDS vet, "It's better to show up to the desert healthy and under-trained than injured," I took two days off in a row (can you believe it?!?) to let it rest.  By Sat, it was back to 100%.  Weird.

MDS Gear

Planning to make the final purchases Mon and Tue and be ready to go!  Unofficial weigh-in is just under 8kg/ 17.6lb without water and some of the extras that the organizer provides (race book, emergency flare and salts).  Happy with this weight.

MDS Food

Tested out the desert diet and it went down well.  The first couple days left me a little cranky on lack of calories, about 2200 each day, so I've added some more to bring my daily average intake to just under 2600cal.

mmm...

Next week begins acclimitization.  I wonder if there's a rule against squat thrusts in the sauna?

Week 18: Marathon des Sables

www.vosizneias.com

"It's hard to beat a person who never gives up. "

- Babe Ruth -

Thank you to those who have supported the children at Great Mercy Orphanage :)  We're almost 25% to our £2,000 goal!

If you haven't had a chance, please checkout the FUNDRAISING PAGE.

As for training, it was an amazing week.  In 5 days, I ran 150k/ 94m having cut the walk and bike.  The amazing part was that on all but one of the runs, I wanted to keep going.  It was a good feeling.

Mon - took a rest day in an effort to get rid of this lingering cold

Tue - 50k/ 31m, trying to make sure the cold is gone, I reduced the planned 5hr run to 3hrs and set off.  The sun was shining, and I was feeling peppy, so pushed it to 4hrs. 'Maybe 5hrs?  No way, don't want to push too much.'  Got home after 4hrs, mentioned I was feeling great and didn't want to stop, so Natsuko said, "So, keep going."  'Okay, don't have to tell me twice!'  With that, I took off for another hour.

Wed - 27k/ 17m, 6x5min sprints, wasn't easy to get going, but eventually got rolling and was feeling great, other than one speed bump.  Mid-sprint 3, going uphill, my bag came open and my things flying out!  I stood for a moment, stunned.  Realizing what happened, I slowly gathered my stuff, secured the bag, let off a smile and a chuckle and continued on.

Thu - 40k/ 25m, felt good, didn't want to stop.

Fri and Sat were pretty standard and Sun was time for rest.

Health & Nutrition

Banged up after a long week, but nothing that won't recover over the taper

1) left leg, swollen behind the knee likely due to the nerve problem picked up during the Tango ultra

2) left ankle, rolled it halfway through Thu's run, but is almost back to 100%

3) right knee, front of the knee is swollen and tender, no idea why, hope it'll recover during the taper (just in time to push it further in the desert!)

Sleep is officially better!  Getting at least 7, sometimes 8 and occasionally 9hrs of sleep.  It's amazing how far that extra sleep goes.

Diet is still clean, though took a slight detour for chocolates I received from a student.  The big news, I'm kicking coffee to the side.  Really?!?  Yeah.  The first few days were headache city as I went through withdrawal and tried to hide my yawns throughout work.  It's getting better.

MDS Gear

Have done a couple sessions in the Cascadias and they run nicely.  Honestly, it wasn't love at first step, but that's probably because I went a half size big.  Due to the heat of the desert and pounding of the distance, many people's feet swell.  Generally, they recommend going one US/ UK size bigger (2 sizes if you measure in mm), but your feet get wider, not longer, and with already slim feet, a half size should do me just fine.  After the initial awkward phase, we're quickly becoming good friends.

Other than that, I picked up a solar powered charger to keep my Garmin (and possibly new iPod touch) powered through the race.

MDS Food

Almost finalized on the race diet.  Looking at an average just under 2,500cal a day, which may be on the heavy side, but it's my first time in this kind of race, so I want to be sure.  I'll test out the race diet for 6 days from Thu this week.  We'll see how it goes.

Hard to believe, but it's time to taper!!

Week 17: Marathon des Sables

wakpaper.com

"It's easier to go down a hill than up it,

 but the view is much better at the top."

Weird and busy week.  Weird because I have a slight cold, and busy because I've got no time to post.  (To be honest, I spent my posting time on the couch watching The Mentalist.)

Anyway, I don't get sick much, so this slight cold is definitely a sign, SLOW DOWN!  I rearranged or skipped a lot of non-run sessions to increase sleep.  Helped a little but not 100%, so the same will probably follow next week.

In other news, finally picked up my Brooks Cascadia's (YAY!) and some other gear.  More to come next week.

Week 16: Marathon des Sables

http://askdaguru1.blogspot.com

"Discipline is the fuel of achievement."

All in all, a good week.  It started with a 50km Monday followed by some social life.  Yeah, I said social life!  We went to see Fun. in concert.  In case you don't recognize the band name, I'm sure you've heard at least one song (video below).  The venue was small and the set was awesome!

Anyway, total for the week was 169km/ 105mi (122k/ 76m run, 27k/ 17m walk, 20k/ 12m cycle) which by my calculation is the farthest I've ever run in a week.  Woo hoo!

Following week 15, my left leg was stiff and a bit swollen.  Take a rest you say?  I've got a better idea, just run easy: dropped pack weight to 1-2kg, stuck to packed trails avoiding pavement where possible and reduced time on the sand.  Generally, it worked.  Leg was no worse at the end of nearly 100km over the first two days of the week.  From there, I spent every extra second stretching, icing and compression gearing my legs.

Ready to go for week 17!

Health & Nutrition
Other than the left leg, everything is pretty under control.  Even my feet which were hosting blisters inside of blisters inside of blisters (really?!?  yeah!) have improved.

Pretty full on with the clean diet.  Example: for lunch today, I picked up a fried pork, rice and salad lunch from the store shelf only to guilt myself out of it on the way to the register.  I sheepishly put it back on the shelf and grabbed the salmon version.  I feel much better for it.

MDS Gear
Through lots of research, I've narrowed my shoe search with first choice being Brooks Cascadia 7.   Found a trail running shop in Osaka with a good selection, so heading there on Tue to pick them up (hopefully!).  Other than that, hoping to finalize most of the shopping this week.  Maybe I'll have time soon to go into more detail.

MDS Food
Fine tuning with possible changes below.

- breakfast: maybe alternate between Calorie Mate (popular meal replacement in Japan) and oats

- lunch (on the run): probably add raisins and other dried fruits

- recovery: maybe drop the extra aminos because I can't stomach them after really long runs

- dinner: various dried rice, veg and meat meals (same)

Week 15: Marathon des Sables

pic from Wikipedia

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it."

- Bill Cosby -

No time to post this week.  I ran a lot, there's some pain, but generally still moving.

Got a haircut for the desert and still gathering gear.

In case you missed the last post, I'm raising money to support orphans in Kenya.  Click HERE to donate or read more.

March is coming up and my work schedule will reduce.  YAY!

Week 14: Marathon des Sables

pic from www.tumbler.com

Some people dream of success... others stay awake to achieve it.

A tough week indeed.  Mentally, it was mostly negative.  Mon and Tue long sessions were full of 'can I do this?' and 'why am I doing this?'  Aches and pains only added fuel to the fire including Tue's sure sign of over-use, sore knees.  It didn't get better for the interval sessions.  But, thinking of the sacrifice from others (particularly Natsuko) and motivation from role models (Craig Alexander and James Cracknell to name a couple), I pushed through and even ran the intervals well.

Made it through in one piece and feeling better for it, 'banking memories for tough times in the desert.'

Overall, covered 152k/ 95m (102k/ 64m run, 30k/ 19m walk, 20k/ 12m cycle).  I'm now running with 6-8kg on my back (6 for long, up to 8 for intervals) and will probably stay at this level to avoid anymore stress on my body.

Health & Nutrition

Getting some new/ odd niggles.

1) Long runs, left leg (as always!) was giving me problems, this time the calf.  But, a bit of extra stretching and it's better.  I expect this to continue on long days.

2) On Thu's run, got a sharp pain in the arch of my left foot.  It wasn't unfamiliar, but usually it comes and goes within steps.  To my surprise, it was still with me an hour later.  It eventually went, and let's hope for good.

3) After Fri's walk, a stiffness hit the top, outside of my ankle.  It felt the same as shin splints, just not on the shins!  Iced it, massaged it and it's gone.

We'll see what this week has in store.

As mentioned before, I've started clean diet though not as strict as in the past.  However, I have been using the bathroom a lot in sessions (almost once an hour), so I'm cutting the calories from about 3500 a day to 3000.  Also, had to give some leeway for the incredible valentine's raw chocolate and fig treat that Natsuko cooked up!

MDS: Gear

This week, I got my MDS gaiters!  Now I just need some trail shoes to put them on!  Other than the shoes, the major outstanding item is figuring out how to carry two water bottles.  I've got one with the Osprey Aqua Stow (below on the right) and working on the other.  Hope to finish this in the next couple of weeks.

back from 4.5hr session

MDS: Food

Working out a strategy, but here are thoughts so far:

- breakfast: oats in water with dried fruit and almonds or peanuts

- lunch (on the run): a mix of gels, Clif Bars, squeezable peanut butter and sausage

- recovery: Maxload whey protein with branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) plus extra aminos

- dinner: various dried rice, veg and meat meals

Sorry to blog your ear off.

Training Motivation

When I'm struggling through a training week, I like to take a peek at Craig Alexander's Kona training for motivation.  Enjoy!

Week 13: Marathon des Sables

"Limits like fears are often just an illusion."

- Michael Jordan -

Hey all, not much time to write this week, so here's a run-down.
- Run 95km/ 59mi
- Walk 15km/ 10mi
- Bike 0 (overslept on bike session day)
- Thu was rough so skipped Fri session (see previous post)

Week 14, bring it on!

The Day After

What a day: slept 9.5hrs, no alarm, skipped today's session and a client brought me Kona Coffee fresh from Hawaii.  Feeling on top of the world!

Up at 9am today, there was enough time to get the walk in, but I decided yesterday was a sign that I needed a break.  I feel much better for it, even if my first thought after deciding on the break was, 'okay, when can I make this up?'  Uh, no.  Make the decision and stick with it.  Let it go.

It took me a while to get to this 'let it go' mentality, and I'm still not all the way there.  But, here's an article from Chris McCormack that I read to remind me to listen to my body, make a decision and 'let it go.'

Chris McCormack: How I Stay Injury Free

Overcome It

pic from www.clipartof.com

Today was the first truly bad mental day.  The lack of sleep has left me short of energy and with a limited attention span.  It all came to a head in today's 2hr sprint session.

1) Started late - slow in the morning, so got a late start which always unsettles the nerves
2) Left calf - not even 1min in, discomfort begins, queue a cycling brain
3) Sprints - fell short of hitting all of the sprint times, queue questions of whether I'm 'committed'
4) Gear - water bottle strapped to the bag was bouncing around causing despair about what gear will work
5) Tuned out - around 90mins in my focus was gone with slow reactions and being startled by any noise louder than a mouse

But, in the end, I covered 22km/ 13mi with 4x5min sprints and topped it off with a 60min core and weight session.  Not feeling fresh physically, but mentally, finishing was a boost.  As a treat for overcoming the negativity, I've taken tomorrow morning off work and will sleep without an alarm.  If I wake up in time to train and my calf feels alright, I'll do the walk session.  If not, it won't be missed.

Well, I'll need experiences like today to make it through the desert.  Hopefully more of these to come!

Week 12: Marathon des Sables

pic from www.rebellesociety.com

"Forever is composed of nows."

- Emily Dickinson -

Finally picked up a lot of gear and testing it out.  Some things work, some not.  Hope to go into this more later.  The main outstanding item is trail running shoes (really?!?).  Hopefully next week.

Training was good covering about 116k/ 72.5m (87k/ 54.5m running, 21k/ 13m walk, 8k/ 5m cycle).  The turbo trainer going haywire may have been a blessing as walking gives me more time on my feet.  Also, walk only Thu sessions will be with a 10kg bag to get a feel for carrying a full pack. 

No indications of injury, but I've picked up some blisters which is actually a good thing.  Yeah, good thing.  Add this to one of my naiveties.  I've never had painful blisters.  Not even for the 100k ultra.  But, add time on the sand and voila, blisters!  So, I'm learning how to handle these (better at home than in the desert!). 

Sleep still not good.  I don't see this changing soon, so until I say otherwise, assume sleep is sub-optimal (6-7hrs).

Nutrition is fine taking on 3000 - 4000cal daily depending on training.  I haven't been weighing or taking bf%, but visually, I'm heading in the right direction.  Week 13 will be the last of open diet.  After that, it's no more nutritionally void foods which recently have been sweet breads, peanut butter cups and even McDonald's!  That's right, I ate a full meal at McDonald's for the first time in years.  Kind of a funny story, it took me two days to build up the courage.  I tried on Mon, but a hugely overwhelming guilt turned me around.  I had another go on Tue and success!  I ate me first Big Mac!  It wasn't anything special. The calories were great.

Onward and upward.  Have a great week all.