Saturday, April 12, 2008
It's The Weekend... Again...
Wow. Where did that week go?!? Is it just me or are the years actually getting a little shorter each year??
Been quite a busy week, unfortunately had a family funeral on Tuesday, had arranged to meet up with a few friends (work and ex- work) Thursday night, had a takeaway night last night with my mate (mmm... pizza... ) plus my Dad and stepmum are here from Spain at the moment so want to spend a bit of time with them.
So it's been quite hard to try to fit in some training! I have been doing some thinking, after reading advice from this year's MdS finishers. The general consensus seems to be that a lot of folks end up walking a great deal of the MdS, which causes problems if they have mainly trained by running- increased aches, blisters etc. So I think I will put as great an emphasis on walking as well as running. I am also not too worried about increasing speed, but rather time on feet and endurance. Let's face it, I am not exactly going to be in the top 100 finishers. I am going to have to walk a lot, if not most, of it. My aim is to finish the event, hopefully not be last, and have an amazing adventure!
Monday I managed a slowish 10 miles carrying a 3.2kg pack. I have just worked out that the most effective way of weighing a pack is to set my scales to kilos, weigh myself and then weigh myself again wearing the pack. Durr Einstein I'm not!!
Tuesday was the funeral, Wednesday I walked to Body Toning class and back, around 5 miles, with pack. Thursday I missed my gym session, but did park quite a distance away and walk to meet my mates. In fact, I decided to try something a bit new; I wore my ankle weights all day Thursday and Friday. I don't know how much benefit they give, but got to be worth a try! I had a course Friday in Nottingham City, so again parked some distance away and marched there with my weights on. Kept 'em on all day too, so god knows what folks thought! Over the two days I guess I covered at least 3 miles, but I'm not counting it in my weekly total.
I packed my rucksack up to 5.3kg and covered 13 miles today, mostly walking with a little running. I did one of my usual routes, with a little add-on, and just about dodged the worst of the showers. It was great seeing loads of lambs in the fields, being called to safety by their mums when I got too close.
When I got to Rotherby though, it was apparent that they have filled most of the fields with cows. Now, I never used to mind cows, in fact I used to sit and sketch them in my college days. But something's changed, I reckon it's the reports of folks being trampled to death by cattle, but now I find it quite intimidating walking through a field of cows when they start following you... this particular field contained young bullocks... well I say young, but they were still blooming big... and they started jostling, mock charging, etc so I was so pleased when I got out there. I know I'm a wimp, but I may have to avoid this route for a few months, until they have met their sad but inevitable end anyway...
My add on, a different footpath that was supposed to bring me further up along the road, turned out to be up a long, ploughed field, with no provision at all to walk along the side, so negotiating this was a little hairy. There is a road running through a large open meadow between Rotherby and Brooksby, and to my dismay it contained a herd of large bulls, but luckily they more or less ignored me.
I crossed the main Melton Road and munched an oat bar, and luckily the rest of the walk went without incident. At one point, I thought I saw loads of cows in the next field and my heart sank, but I realised they were actually sheep. I like sheep. At least they have the decency to be small and to run away! One ewe had an odd green plastic hood attached to her head, I assume she must have some kind of condition, but it looked for all the world as though she was wearing a green bonnet!
We are going out for Sunday lunch tomorrow but I should be able to get a gym workout in first. Obsessed, moi? I could even do a little gentle 3 miler tomorrow evening to make it a complete 35 mile week...
Been quite a busy week, unfortunately had a family funeral on Tuesday, had arranged to meet up with a few friends (work and ex- work) Thursday night, had a takeaway night last night with my mate (mmm... pizza... ) plus my Dad and stepmum are here from Spain at the moment so want to spend a bit of time with them.
So it's been quite hard to try to fit in some training! I have been doing some thinking, after reading advice from this year's MdS finishers. The general consensus seems to be that a lot of folks end up walking a great deal of the MdS, which causes problems if they have mainly trained by running- increased aches, blisters etc. So I think I will put as great an emphasis on walking as well as running. I am also not too worried about increasing speed, but rather time on feet and endurance. Let's face it, I am not exactly going to be in the top 100 finishers. I am going to have to walk a lot, if not most, of it. My aim is to finish the event, hopefully not be last, and have an amazing adventure!
Monday I managed a slowish 10 miles carrying a 3.2kg pack. I have just worked out that the most effective way of weighing a pack is to set my scales to kilos, weigh myself and then weigh myself again wearing the pack. Durr Einstein I'm not!!
Tuesday was the funeral, Wednesday I walked to Body Toning class and back, around 5 miles, with pack. Thursday I missed my gym session, but did park quite a distance away and walk to meet my mates. In fact, I decided to try something a bit new; I wore my ankle weights all day Thursday and Friday. I don't know how much benefit they give, but got to be worth a try! I had a course Friday in Nottingham City, so again parked some distance away and marched there with my weights on. Kept 'em on all day too, so god knows what folks thought! Over the two days I guess I covered at least 3 miles, but I'm not counting it in my weekly total.
I packed my rucksack up to 5.3kg and covered 13 miles today, mostly walking with a little running. I did one of my usual routes, with a little add-on, and just about dodged the worst of the showers. It was great seeing loads of lambs in the fields, being called to safety by their mums when I got too close.
When I got to Rotherby though, it was apparent that they have filled most of the fields with cows. Now, I never used to mind cows, in fact I used to sit and sketch them in my college days. But something's changed, I reckon it's the reports of folks being trampled to death by cattle, but now I find it quite intimidating walking through a field of cows when they start following you... this particular field contained young bullocks... well I say young, but they were still blooming big... and they started jostling, mock charging, etc so I was so pleased when I got out there. I know I'm a wimp, but I may have to avoid this route for a few months, until they have met their sad but inevitable end anyway...
My add on, a different footpath that was supposed to bring me further up along the road, turned out to be up a long, ploughed field, with no provision at all to walk along the side, so negotiating this was a little hairy. There is a road running through a large open meadow between Rotherby and Brooksby, and to my dismay it contained a herd of large bulls, but luckily they more or less ignored me.
I crossed the main Melton Road and munched an oat bar, and luckily the rest of the walk went without incident. At one point, I thought I saw loads of cows in the next field and my heart sank, but I realised they were actually sheep. I like sheep. At least they have the decency to be small and to run away! One ewe had an odd green plastic hood attached to her head, I assume she must have some kind of condition, but it looked for all the world as though she was wearing a green bonnet!
We are going out for Sunday lunch tomorrow but I should be able to get a gym workout in first. Obsessed, moi? I could even do a little gentle 3 miler tomorrow evening to make it a complete 35 mile week...
Labels: Marathon des Sables, training
