January 2007 Entry
Posted February 6, 2007

 

This was a very good month for training. The weather has generally been warm to a hot 30+C, and the bushfires are almost out so all the smoke is also gone and breathing is easier again.

 

I even managed to get a few days away from work this year, which is very strange for me. Generally we are very busy around Christmas completing all the maintenance projects that can only be done while the factory is shut for the holidays. But with a day here and there I managed to do a number of 30+km runs

 

Because the weather was warm I got some good practice handling different combinations of electrolytes. But still have not settled on how I want to handle them. The main thing I have learnt so far is TAKE LOTS OF DIFFERENT FLAVOURS. With the amount we will have to drink lemon/lime Gatorade will taste horrible even after two days.

 

Even managed to do the circuit of the Wilson’s Prom lighthouse. This is the most southerly point of the Australian mainland. It is a very isolated area with only hiking tracks and some amazing ocean views. Due to the ongoing drought in Australia you have to carry in all you own drinking water. Most people manage to complete the circuit in 3 or 4 days. I was pleased to comfortably complete the whole thing in daylight. I took a GPS with me on this trip and even found the advertised distance of 56km was wrong. It is actually closer to 48km. 

 

Am starting to seriously look at my gear for the Gobi and the Sahara. I took Salomon XA Pro 3D shoes to the Atacama and due to the open weave more sand came in through the front than through the top. This time I have talked to a number of sports podiatrists and have just bought a pair of Asics trail shoes. Almost the same weight, a very fine weave so no sand through the front and oh so comfortable. All I need now is a gaiter to keep the sand out of the top and everything will be great. Still have to check out the new RTP gaiter.

 

I am also thinking about varying how I handle my food during the day. Last time I took 7 plastic bags (1 for each day) each contained a mixture of nuts, chips, gels etc. My thinking then was to make sure that I had finished each bag before I got into camp. But during the Atacama event some days I tended to eat too much early in the day and have a difficult (low on energy) later part of the day. Or I would hold off early in the day and eat more later. This way my calorie intake was not evenly spread throughout the day and I had some very good periods and some very low, very difficult periods.

 

This time I will try it another way. On each day the checkpoints will be on average 12 to 15 km apart. I am planning (at this stage) to take about 30 smaller bags for food during the day. The aim is to finish one bag between each checkpoint. I can test this at the Trailwalker event in March. I am hoping this will give me more energy in the later part of the day particularly for the long day.

 

 

December 2006 Entry
Posted January 15, 2007

 

This month my aim was to plan my training program, review where I went wrong in the Atacama and start to build up my fitness. The key to my whole training program is to KEEP IT VARIED. Physical endurance is only part of what is needed, the rest is mental and that is hard to train for. It is a long time to the Sahara and I do not want to get bored or worse still injured.

 

My weekday basic training over summer is to compete in Street/park orienteering, which is very big in Australia. These events are held four nights a week all over Melbourne. It uses a simple black and white map with 20 control points marked. The aim on my course is to get to 15 controls and when I get there mark them on my control card. The hard part is to decide which ones to leave out and still do the best route. So make a good route choice and you might do 8km make a bad route choice and it could be 12km. These events get over 100 people on most nights and with a mass start it can get exciting. I am the only strange one who competes wearing a loaded pack.

 

During most weekends my aim will be to do either a long run or a ride. In December this proved very difficult. In early December, lightening started a number bushfires in NE of Victoria. As I write this they have been burning for almost 6 weeks and have burnt about 1,000,000 hectares.

 

We have had a number days particularly weekends where the smoke haze settled over the city and half the state, visibility was down to 3km or less and breathing while trying to do anything physical was horrible. Thank heavens I could go swimming.

 

Hopefully things will clear a bit and I can get more long runs in during January.

 

November 2006 Entry
Posted January 15, 2007

 

Last August I ran across the finish line of the Atacama Crossing 2006. I was so thrilled about finishing that race I entered the Gobi March 07 almost as soon as I got home from Chile.

 

I watched Sahara 2006 race on the website and simply threw caution to the wind and also entered that race as well.

 

Initially I was thinking one race a year would be plenty but now two. There is still a small doubt but we will see when we get closer to the events.