Sun, Sea, Sand... and a 10mph Headwind

That was the culmination of this week's training, a gentle weekend run! Not quite!!
A 38 mile run on Saturday up the coast from Skegness to Grimsby in the company of a fellow competitor Paul Murgatroyd. Paul organized this little test of our stamina, and what a great job he did.
The varied terrain was really a test of stamina and commitment, and we both added something new to our knowledge base and experience that we can hopefully draw upon and put to effective use in the Sahara. We were joined for a healthy stretch of sand running by Edward and Jack, who are also Sahara bound, but who pealed off after 10 miles to complete their own training plan for the day. Leaving Paul and I to push on towards Mablethorpe and our final objective of Grimsby.

I learned two valuable lessons;
1. How much traction you loose when running 15 miles on sand, and how much harder your hip flexors have to work to lift and propel the weight of your leg forward without the benefit of the push off that you get from solid ground. (That in itself would be energy sapping enough without the added weight of the pack at 8kg)

2.The amount of effort it takes to push against a 10mph headwind to maintain a set pace, and the consequential cost in energy expended, (felt later) of not modifying that pace to a more sustainable one in light of the remaining distance to our objective.

The final 23 miles covered a mixture of road running, country paths, and very muddy fields that saw heavy, soul destroying clay compounding the agony we were feeling in our tired calves and thighs.

I have to be honest and say that the fatigue I felt during the final miles saw me worried, not for the first time, about my ability to endure the dreaded Dunes day in the Sahara. (Mental note taken to learn the above lesson on pace!!)
In addition to the double Marathon stage of 52 miles on the long day 4, 20% of the Marathon Des Sables distance is staged through the dreaded Saharan sand dunes.

This can be spread over several stages, through the dunes on consecutive days, or served with typical french panache as a dedicated punishing single stage. The race route is kept secret until the night before the start and everyone looks with dread to see if this year will contain the Merzouga Dunes, some of the highest in the Sahara at some 600 ft. Usually with a mandatory timed checkpoint at the top of one of them, somewhere out there.

My sense of humour returned as the last five miles approached and I phoned home with a progress report to be informed that a nice hot bath and a very cold beer was waiting for me after my 80 mile drive home, my only concession in training a cold beer at the end... I know I can't have it during the race in the desert, but it certainly put a smile on my face right then.
Paul... I owe you one Fella, Thanks.

see you again soon...