Monday, January 21, 2008
MDS Seminar; London
Well, it was a blooming long day, but definately well worth the effort of going! I can honestly say that I now feel much more prepared and know more about what to expect...
I got up at the unearthly hour of 4am, and after a rather uneventful journey arrived at Victoria Station in London. Walking from where I left the car to the station in Leicester was a bit daunting as the streets were absolutely deserted (and dark) apart from me and a few inebriated folk.
I found my way to Dean Street, passing Buckingham Palace and cursing myself for not bringing a camera. The seminar was held in the Bath House pub, it was quiet strange everywhere being so quite, I am so used to London being manic! I found the pub, told the girl who answered the door that I was wanting the Upstairs Room (she helpfully informed me it was upstairs!!) and met a guy called Ben who is doing the Libyan Challenge rather than the MdS. When we got upstairs, Luke was there setting everything up and the room slowly filled.
About two thirds of people were doing the MdS in 2009, most of the rest are doing it this year, and the others were doing, or considering, similar races such as the Libyan. Luke has undertaken the MdS twice, as well as lots of other Ultras.
He gace us an introduction to the race, what to expect and what happens before and after etc. Then it was onto training and race psychology- lots of useful pointers but one of the main tips Luke stressed was the importance of having routines during the race; a routine for checkpoints, a routine for getting up in the morning, a routine for after finishing the day's stage...
Also important is getting it figured out in your head why you are actually doing this crazy event before you get to Morocco... for me, I think it's the opportunity to do something so amazingly audacious, challenging and down right stupid... something you may only do once in your lifetime... and something which will be the most amazing adventure ever...
We had a scary talk from Dr Roberts on nutrition. I say scary as he told us how much carbs and protein we should be eating and where we should be getting it from, and I could see everybody nervously glancing round as we all realised how inadequate our diets are...
We also had a talk on injury prevention by a physio, which was useful as he showed us some exercises to do to strengthen calves, backs etc. He did say that due to the heel sinking into the sand, this places additional stress on the Achilles, which is not good news for me, and something I'm going to have to be aware of.
A charity gave us some ideas for fundraising, not sure I can see myself organising a raffle but there were some good ideas.
Luke discussed equipment at some length, plus possible contents of a medical kit. Gearmonster were also there with samples of equipment, and I tried on a few rucsacks after the seminar. I tried on the Raidlight ones, but far more comfy for me was a pack made by Molestar, an American firm. The Molestars are apparently more suited for short folks like me, they can also be placed in the washing machine- the one I tried one looked like new, but I was informed it has actually been through two races- including the MdS. I have left my details and they are going to send me one up to try when they have some in stock, though it's not likely to be until after this year's MdS.
Finally there was a Q & A session with Luke and another MdS veteran. Somebody asked the inevitable question about camel spiders and Luke said he's never see one!!
I have taken loads of notes, and really should get them in some sort of order while it's still fresh in my mind. During the day I alternated from feeling quite good about the MdS to feeling terrified! Also met lots of fellow nutters, sorry, serious endurance athletes and had to curb the urge to ask everyone their current weekly mileage!
Walking back to the station, the streets were packed, which made it feel more like London. Buckingham Palace looked quite spectacular lit up against the night, with occasional white flashes as tourists snapped each other in front of it. As I looked down The Mall I could see the London Eye lit up in moving red, white and blue light.
I had an uneventful trip home, and thankfully the car was ok, but didn't get to bed til midnight. Good job I took yesterday off, still went to the gym though. I have a long slow run to do tonight and am feeling like I cannot be ar*ed. Sometimes it's so hard to make myself get out of the door!
I have a busy week, so may reduce my mileage a bit, have an easier week and a bit of a rest...
I got up at the unearthly hour of 4am, and after a rather uneventful journey arrived at Victoria Station in London. Walking from where I left the car to the station in Leicester was a bit daunting as the streets were absolutely deserted (and dark) apart from me and a few inebriated folk.
I found my way to Dean Street, passing Buckingham Palace and cursing myself for not bringing a camera. The seminar was held in the Bath House pub, it was quiet strange everywhere being so quite, I am so used to London being manic! I found the pub, told the girl who answered the door that I was wanting the Upstairs Room (she helpfully informed me it was upstairs!!) and met a guy called Ben who is doing the Libyan Challenge rather than the MdS. When we got upstairs, Luke was there setting everything up and the room slowly filled.
About two thirds of people were doing the MdS in 2009, most of the rest are doing it this year, and the others were doing, or considering, similar races such as the Libyan. Luke has undertaken the MdS twice, as well as lots of other Ultras.
He gace us an introduction to the race, what to expect and what happens before and after etc. Then it was onto training and race psychology- lots of useful pointers but one of the main tips Luke stressed was the importance of having routines during the race; a routine for checkpoints, a routine for getting up in the morning, a routine for after finishing the day's stage...
Also important is getting it figured out in your head why you are actually doing this crazy event before you get to Morocco... for me, I think it's the opportunity to do something so amazingly audacious, challenging and down right stupid... something you may only do once in your lifetime... and something which will be the most amazing adventure ever...
We had a scary talk from Dr Roberts on nutrition. I say scary as he told us how much carbs and protein we should be eating and where we should be getting it from, and I could see everybody nervously glancing round as we all realised how inadequate our diets are...
We also had a talk on injury prevention by a physio, which was useful as he showed us some exercises to do to strengthen calves, backs etc. He did say that due to the heel sinking into the sand, this places additional stress on the Achilles, which is not good news for me, and something I'm going to have to be aware of.
A charity gave us some ideas for fundraising, not sure I can see myself organising a raffle but there were some good ideas.
Luke discussed equipment at some length, plus possible contents of a medical kit. Gearmonster were also there with samples of equipment, and I tried on a few rucsacks after the seminar. I tried on the Raidlight ones, but far more comfy for me was a pack made by Molestar, an American firm. The Molestars are apparently more suited for short folks like me, they can also be placed in the washing machine- the one I tried one looked like new, but I was informed it has actually been through two races- including the MdS. I have left my details and they are going to send me one up to try when they have some in stock, though it's not likely to be until after this year's MdS.
Finally there was a Q & A session with Luke and another MdS veteran. Somebody asked the inevitable question about camel spiders and Luke said he's never see one!!
I have taken loads of notes, and really should get them in some sort of order while it's still fresh in my mind. During the day I alternated from feeling quite good about the MdS to feeling terrified! Also met lots of fellow nutters, sorry, serious endurance athletes and had to curb the urge to ask everyone their current weekly mileage!
Walking back to the station, the streets were packed, which made it feel more like London. Buckingham Palace looked quite spectacular lit up against the night, with occasional white flashes as tourists snapped each other in front of it. As I looked down The Mall I could see the London Eye lit up in moving red, white and blue light.
I had an uneventful trip home, and thankfully the car was ok, but didn't get to bed til midnight. Good job I took yesterday off, still went to the gym though. I have a long slow run to do tonight and am feeling like I cannot be ar*ed. Sometimes it's so hard to make myself get out of the door!
I have a busy week, so may reduce my mileage a bit, have an easier week and a bit of a rest...
Labels: London, Marathon des Sables seminar
