Final preparation for Marathon Des Sables (involving mostly Wine and Doughnuts)

Well as im sitting here on the train to Tartu, drinking coffee with white sugar and eating a lovely jam doughnut, im beginning to wonder what i should actually be doing the week before a big race.

Its almost impossible to conceptualise what a desert ultramarathon will be like from here in the frozen north, with a temperature change of 50 degrees, a heart attack is definately in the running. I'll feel pretty stupid if that happens.

However, although I was quite chuffed with my ability in the cold weather, after a month in the hot - I feel im cheating by running in the indoor track- I did a little fast half marathon on Sunday, in 1 hr 30, with no backpack, indoors to ensure technique was still there (well...kind of) but this kind of temperate enviroment is so far removed from the hot and dry and mountainous desert, which drains every inch of your energy - there are so many uncertainties regarding what kind of time i should be aiming for, i dont think theres anything i can do to know that right now except estimate...at the moment my experience is

Cool Weather Marathon, no backpack, flat ground - 3.5- 4hrs
Hot weather Marathon, no backpack, flat ground - 4 -4.5hrs
Hot weather Marathon, full backpack, bad terrain and up and down steep hills - 6- 7 hrs

So im reading books that say the average pace for Marathon de Sable is 4miles an hour, or 6.5hrs for a marathon. Which is basically, like the 3rd above- walking, which means im at about average pace for the race right now (disapointing, bearing in mind ive been thinking about training for 6 months now) Ok i understand steep hills (like my last big run in the back of Jaco) its physically impossible to run up and down, but surely the whole distance isnt like that? While i cant see myself briskly sprinting up 1000m sand dunes in 45degree heat for 20miles, im sure the terrain is mixedso i hope to get that up to at least 5-6km an hour.

So all i can do now is avoid getting sick or injured (i have a niggling ant bite on my ankle which has opened up, so ill try to see a chiropractor today) and well...apart from that ill just drink and wait. Probably i shouldnt really drink, but im sticking just to wine. And i am in Estonia after all (which still has 2 metres of snow AND IS STILL SNOWING)

Seriously though. This week, my training will consist of i think one long walk in the snow, with a pack on. Possibly drunk but its no matter. I need to read up on Chi-Walking and i really should look at my diet and buy a ground mat so i dont freeze at night. Theres no amount of Yoga that can put off my impending and inadequetly trained for doom now. It kind of serves me right really for getting into such stupid things - why didnt I stick to something safe like Muy Thai?

I'll write a diary on the race and put it in here afterwards. Seriously,  i hope that it doesnt get embarrassing or involve any airlifts or other pansy style cop-outs. Or my leg being amputated. I can promise you that there will be moments when ill lull between conciousness and semi-conciousness, but i will try to stay alive the whole way. I have some really good power songs in my i-pod. From what i read, the real enemy is nutrition and keeping hydrated and salted up throughout the time, as all your sodium sweats out constantly. So basically drinking wine as training is ok. Well done Alan, by writing about it your almost there...

Au Revoir and wish me luck!

ps I'd like to thank Nick Constantine of Soul in Motion for his support and help in my Chi-Running. If anyone is in Scotland/North of England and wants to change their whole running technique, his website is here

Jaco, Costa Rica

I just got back from a great longish run through the sunset, so i'm writing this with endorphins coming out of my ears ;o)

Finally i think i've cracked the Chi-Running technique and am back coming towards peak fitness - about time, since the race is less than a month away now. I heard from a freind that i'm Estonias first ever and sole representative in the Marathon Des Sable this year, which means i only have to finish it to be a record holder!

When the tide is low it's perfect, apart from the heat and humidity (and rivers)

The running in Jaco beach, here in Costa Rica is pretty simple. There are i beleive some good trails (i'll hope run some this week with a guy i met who organises adventure racing in CR) But the main obvious running choice is the beach. It's 5km long, so you can do up and down for 10km or twice for 20km (like i did today) or 3 times for 30km etc. I don't know, i thought there would be a breeze, but the humidity is still hellova high, and is probably the biggest limiting factor in running in hot tropical areas. There are two rivers, and one has a croc so be careful, but its actually quite cooling to run through these on a hot day anyway.

My first race when i got here was a 7km night race in Jaco, and even then the humidity is around 70-80% so the sweat simply drips off you or sticks there - i.e. sweating doesnt cool you down so you overheat, which of course saps your energy and, in time kills you (see last blog post)

I think however after 2 weeks here, my body has got used to it, and id say i can run normally with my full pack on for an unlimited period of time (boredom permitting!)

The main things i was thinking about today was technique - after about 10km, i felt a little tug in my knee, and in my lower back, so set about altering my posture to fix that. So with a bit of focus and thinking about the techniques Nick Constantine showed me in my last Chi -Running lesson i mentaly listed the things i still need to make sure im not doing -

1. I need to keep making stupid looking but effective prancing leg movements to ensure i was landing on the middle of my foot, not the heel. In the sand i was checking this too, and it seemed my footprint showed im landing in the middle - i'll need to take a video to check that.

2. I must make sure my knees are behind my centre of gravity and so arent taking any pressure or acting as brakes (i.e. most western runners do this, stop it!)

3. I need to peel my feet off the ground, rather than any sudden movements (thats easy in the beach Thankfully)

4. I need to relax my calves and ankles so the oxygen can get to them ok - i thought about this earlier before the run and incoroporated some ankle rolls and shaking my legs about much to bystanders amusement, before the run.

Anyway, with 2 weeks left here in Jaco, before two weeks of travelling before the race, i intend to now start on a 3x20km and 1x40km runs a week regime, to get me match fit, with surfing and yoga in between days to strengthen my middle more (and make me look more handsome generally of course ;o) )

But i know that in the back of my mind is the 92-94km day in the MDS, so its likely on the second 40km day, i'll attempt something crazy to whet my 'Ultra' appetite - (and make me realise that im actualy not so fit after all !) ;o) watch this space!!

Chi - Running - It's Not All About Looking Like an Idiot

Some Poor Buggers Feet (taken from googling 'Marathon Des Sable Feet')

 I had a 'Chi-Running' lesson last week in Edinburgh. If you want to see me prancing around like a fat turkey on amphetamines, with tights on, you can watch the video, ill put it up when i work out how to.

Dont watch it if you have a crush on me girls, you'll change your mind, really....

Plagiarised from my trainer Nick Constantines website -

'ChiRunning combines the inner focus and flow of T'ai Chi with the power and energy of running to create a revolutionary running form and philosophy that takes the pounding, pain, and potential damage out of the sport of running. The ChiRunning program increases mental clarity and focus, enhances the joy of running, and turns running into a safe and effective lifelong program for health, fitness, and well-being.'

Despite seeming a bit like a Chinese Eckhart Tolle, the main principles are sound -

1. It's all about biomechanics. You dont see gazelles getting sore knees. Or even cats for that matter. Thats because they move efficiently. In the west, people run like clunky robots, with terrible technique, which is why they end up with niggling injuries that keep with them all their running lives, or keeps people saying total crap like 'yeah i cant run, i get sore knees/back/shins...' doh!  Chi-running aims to allow you to run smoothly and without injuring yourself for long distances.

2. To run ludicrously long distances without getting injured, you need to sort out the basic technique perfectly first. The whole intelligence here is to tweak your technique and improve it so you both speed up dont die.

The Videos (thanks to and another free plug for Nick Constantine from soul in motion ) were extremely helpful. Not only did they show me that actually i'm not all that good looking after all, Nick was kind enough to put me through a structured programme where i could see where I was making small errors in technique, so I could fix them, followed by a powerpoint focussing on where I can improve (In my case i needed to relax my ankles, and watch my footstrike, and increase my cadence towards 175 per minute)

And stop eating pot noodles.

Anyway I recommend the lessons, i'm looking forward to using the remainder of this month (in an extremely cold and icy Baltic Estonia) to run indoors with my pack, get my technique right, and build up to some decent mileage. And to try not to drink more than 3 nights a week. Bring on the Marathon Des Sables!