Apologies for the delaying in adding pictures to the blog, but here you go! Note if you have seen them on facebook they are the same,,,,
Saturday, 20 April 2013
Photos
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Chris's Post-race Thoughts
It feels kind of weird now that something that has occupied my worries for 18 months is now over. I almost feel like I don't know what to do with myself! Of course with term starting tomorrow, coursework to mark and lessons to plan then I have plenty to do but there's definitely a gap!
It turns out that I was only 290th on that last day, which was actually my lowest stage rank. However, it also turns out that a very large number of competitors were saving themselves for the last marathon and so only really pushed themselves then. Several people came in the top 100 despite being below halfway in the overall rankings. This is why Neil and JPD appear much lower in the rankings. If you look at my time relative to the stage winner, to Neil or to JPD then it was indeed my best result.
The reason for this was probably that only by the final day had I worked out my hydration and nutrition strategies. I seem to sweat more than average (maybe this is why I am often colder than others?) and had probably not been having enough salt so far. This certainly caused my dehydration on day one as I actually did have a lot of water in my stomach but it wasn't being absorbed well. I found this out as I had to go for no fewer than three pees that night! I guess this was why I was feeling nauseous as well.
We were supposed to take 2 salt tablets per 1.5l of water but on this last day I took 3 (as well as a small amount of sodium in my lucozade) and I'm sure this was what helped. I also had manged to scrape the re-solidified Haribo out of its pack into small chunks which I took regularly through this stage so I wasn't sugar-low like on day 4. That said, it was still a fear of heatstroke that was the limiting factor on my pace on the final day. 6hrs for a marathon is still a pretty poor time even allowing for the loss of perhaps 45 min due to the dune crossing.
So my final place was 247, which was pleasing as after day 1 I had changed my target from "finishing" to "finishing in the top 250". I am, of course, delighted with this as it's a pretty strong field. However, I probably could have got a fair bit higher with a few things that I now know:
1) Hydration. Drink all the water they give you - on day 1 I only took 1 bottle at one of the checkpoints as I felt I didn't need the weight of 2. This was a poor economy. I also need to keep a very high salt intake. This change was probably worth 30 min on day 1 and another 30 min over the next few days, so 1 hour in all.
2) Nutrition. I need to practise this. Every single day I had a "low" straight after my mid-race snack. I knew this in advance but when you're exercising for this duration then you have to eat. I can get through a normal marathon without eating but that's only about 3 hours. I had planned to take lots of energy through my locozade and I did do this but, frankly, I was quite sick of warm lucozade by the end and often drank the water undiluted instead. As a result I was short on energy at the end of every stage except the last one. On the long stage this was critical and I was seriously hypoglycaemic at the end. That day alone probably cost me nearly 2 hours, all in that last 20km. Neil made 2h 30 on me in that period. I reckon getting this right could have saved me 2 - 3 hours.
3) Finally, I definitely didn't push myself 100% as I had reasoned that the small time to be gained from this was not worth the risk of not finishing. I therefore kept an eye on my heart rate and deliberately kept it well within aerobic levels at all times. Neil and JPD do not think cautiously like this but then Neil did actually come very close to dropping out on stage 4 so perhaps I was right. However, were I to do it again I would work harder. This again would probably be worth an hour over the whole thing.
So, where would I have been with 4 - 5 hours off my time? 102nd to 121st is the answer to that but it's not really a fair question as I am sure that nearly everyone in places 122 - 246 also made mistakes that they could rectify.
Fitness-wise, I had no issues. The 100km/week training left my heart/lungs/legs in great shape and I had relatively few blisters too. In fact, as I type this I feel 90% recovered already and am confident I could go and run at PB pace on Sunday if I had to. However, with hindsight I can see that my training was far too road-specific. This was the case for most of my competitors as they struggled on the interesting terrain too and, in fact, I was quicker than the people near me whenever it got really steep or jagged from the small amount of off-road that I have done. I needed to have done a lot more trail running and also on sand. Quite why I didn't drive up to Hunstanton and do some long days on the beach is a mystery I pondered several times on the long sand sections. The answer, of course, was laziness.
So, would I do it again? There were times such as the last few km of the long day where I would never like to feel like that again. Never in my life have I actually been reduced to ticking every single 100m off. However, I would hope to be in a better place nutrition/hydration-wise next time. I'm also a competitive sod and finishing top 100 might just about be within my capabilities with a few tweaks to the training. If it weren't for the entry cost I would be signing up for 2015 already.
I _really_ enjoyed doing this with my friends too - there is no one better at picking you up when you are down and you benefit from shared energy as well as the bonus of sharing equipment when necessary too. I feel BPBC (Trinity College alumni rowers, for the non-boaties reading this) acquitted themselves very well in this but we all felt we could improve now that we have experience. BPBC could probably put together a very strong team indeed if we were really serious about this and I would be happy to play a domestique role in any such future team. Just let me know...
It turns out that I was only 290th on that last day, which was actually my lowest stage rank. However, it also turns out that a very large number of competitors were saving themselves for the last marathon and so only really pushed themselves then. Several people came in the top 100 despite being below halfway in the overall rankings. This is why Neil and JPD appear much lower in the rankings. If you look at my time relative to the stage winner, to Neil or to JPD then it was indeed my best result.
The reason for this was probably that only by the final day had I worked out my hydration and nutrition strategies. I seem to sweat more than average (maybe this is why I am often colder than others?) and had probably not been having enough salt so far. This certainly caused my dehydration on day one as I actually did have a lot of water in my stomach but it wasn't being absorbed well. I found this out as I had to go for no fewer than three pees that night! I guess this was why I was feeling nauseous as well.
We were supposed to take 2 salt tablets per 1.5l of water but on this last day I took 3 (as well as a small amount of sodium in my lucozade) and I'm sure this was what helped. I also had manged to scrape the re-solidified Haribo out of its pack into small chunks which I took regularly through this stage so I wasn't sugar-low like on day 4. That said, it was still a fear of heatstroke that was the limiting factor on my pace on the final day. 6hrs for a marathon is still a pretty poor time even allowing for the loss of perhaps 45 min due to the dune crossing.
So my final place was 247, which was pleasing as after day 1 I had changed my target from "finishing" to "finishing in the top 250". I am, of course, delighted with this as it's a pretty strong field. However, I probably could have got a fair bit higher with a few things that I now know:
1) Hydration. Drink all the water they give you - on day 1 I only took 1 bottle at one of the checkpoints as I felt I didn't need the weight of 2. This was a poor economy. I also need to keep a very high salt intake. This change was probably worth 30 min on day 1 and another 30 min over the next few days, so 1 hour in all.
2) Nutrition. I need to practise this. Every single day I had a "low" straight after my mid-race snack. I knew this in advance but when you're exercising for this duration then you have to eat. I can get through a normal marathon without eating but that's only about 3 hours. I had planned to take lots of energy through my locozade and I did do this but, frankly, I was quite sick of warm lucozade by the end and often drank the water undiluted instead. As a result I was short on energy at the end of every stage except the last one. On the long stage this was critical and I was seriously hypoglycaemic at the end. That day alone probably cost me nearly 2 hours, all in that last 20km. Neil made 2h 30 on me in that period. I reckon getting this right could have saved me 2 - 3 hours.
3) Finally, I definitely didn't push myself 100% as I had reasoned that the small time to be gained from this was not worth the risk of not finishing. I therefore kept an eye on my heart rate and deliberately kept it well within aerobic levels at all times. Neil and JPD do not think cautiously like this but then Neil did actually come very close to dropping out on stage 4 so perhaps I was right. However, were I to do it again I would work harder. This again would probably be worth an hour over the whole thing.
So, where would I have been with 4 - 5 hours off my time? 102nd to 121st is the answer to that but it's not really a fair question as I am sure that nearly everyone in places 122 - 246 also made mistakes that they could rectify.
Fitness-wise, I had no issues. The 100km/week training left my heart/lungs/legs in great shape and I had relatively few blisters too. In fact, as I type this I feel 90% recovered already and am confident I could go and run at PB pace on Sunday if I had to. However, with hindsight I can see that my training was far too road-specific. This was the case for most of my competitors as they struggled on the interesting terrain too and, in fact, I was quicker than the people near me whenever it got really steep or jagged from the small amount of off-road that I have done. I needed to have done a lot more trail running and also on sand. Quite why I didn't drive up to Hunstanton and do some long days on the beach is a mystery I pondered several times on the long sand sections. The answer, of course, was laziness.
So, would I do it again? There were times such as the last few km of the long day where I would never like to feel like that again. Never in my life have I actually been reduced to ticking every single 100m off. However, I would hope to be in a better place nutrition/hydration-wise next time. I'm also a competitive sod and finishing top 100 might just about be within my capabilities with a few tweaks to the training. If it weren't for the entry cost I would be signing up for 2015 already.
I _really_ enjoyed doing this with my friends too - there is no one better at picking you up when you are down and you benefit from shared energy as well as the bonus of sharing equipment when necessary too. I feel BPBC (Trinity College alumni rowers, for the non-boaties reading this) acquitted themselves very well in this but we all felt we could improve now that we have experience. BPBC could probably put together a very strong team indeed if we were really serious about this and I would be happy to play a domestique role in any such future team. Just let me know...
Sunday, 14 April 2013
Too Many DJs Saved My Life
[Posted by Jon]
I notice that I've also totally forgotten to post anything at all about my iPod.
I didn't use it at all on the first two days - I wanted to save it for when it mattered (along with my other "treats" - gels, sweets, pain killers and caffeine tablets). The second half of the third day mattered; unfortunately the iPod didn't work - I'd been drenching myself in water (I actually had an excess that day) and some must have got in.
However, stuff dries out quickly in the Sahara, and it was up and running again on the fourth day, and I certainly needed it then! I listened to about half of your selections from CP1 to CP4, and none disappointed. Particular highlights were Running For Life by Eliza Doolittle ("Time runs a marathon, I need to carry on"), Where The Streets Have No Name by U2 (multiple lines), Mighty Wings from Top Gun and the Lawrence of Arabia Theme. A selection from Muse (especially Butterflies and Hurricanes - "Change everything you are and everything you were") and Foo Fighters brought me home.
I had to resort to the iPod early on the fifth day, unfortunately I can't report that it helped significantly. Shake It Out by Florence and The Machine brought a wry smile ("Relive your darkest moments" and "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back"). Crazy Frog by Axel F was hideous (I did stick it out as promised though). Don't Stop Me Now by Queen is normally one of my favourite songs and would have been great had I been going well.
So thanks again for your selections and donations - they definitely made a big difference to my performance on the long day. It's amazing to see how the donations have continued to stream in while we were out in the desert! We're more than 90% of the way to our final destination - perhaps you can help us cross our final finish line?
http://virginmoneygiving.com/team/SaharanPrints
I notice that I've also totally forgotten to post anything at all about my iPod.
I didn't use it at all on the first two days - I wanted to save it for when it mattered (along with my other "treats" - gels, sweets, pain killers and caffeine tablets). The second half of the third day mattered; unfortunately the iPod didn't work - I'd been drenching myself in water (I actually had an excess that day) and some must have got in.
However, stuff dries out quickly in the Sahara, and it was up and running again on the fourth day, and I certainly needed it then! I listened to about half of your selections from CP1 to CP4, and none disappointed. Particular highlights were Running For Life by Eliza Doolittle ("Time runs a marathon, I need to carry on"), Where The Streets Have No Name by U2 (multiple lines), Mighty Wings from Top Gun and the Lawrence of Arabia Theme. A selection from Muse (especially Butterflies and Hurricanes - "Change everything you are and everything you were") and Foo Fighters brought me home.
I had to resort to the iPod early on the fifth day, unfortunately I can't report that it helped significantly. Shake It Out by Florence and The Machine brought a wry smile ("Relive your darkest moments" and "It's hard to dance with a devil on your back"). Crazy Frog by Axel F was hideous (I did stick it out as promised though). Don't Stop Me Now by Queen is normally one of my favourite songs and would have been great had I been going well.
So thanks again for your selections and donations - they definitely made a big difference to my performance on the long day. It's amazing to see how the donations have continued to stream in while we were out in the desert! We're more than 90% of the way to our final destination - perhaps you can help us cross our final finish line?
http://virginmoneygiving.com/team/SaharanPrints
Afterthoughts 1
[Posted by Jon]
I'm currently sitting on my bed in our hotel in Ouarzazate. My feet are pretty sore, but they'll be fixed in a few days; otherwise I'm now physically mostly recovered. You might find this lack of complete destruction surprising or disappointing - surely after racing almost six marathons in six days I should be in a worse state than this?
Ideally, yes I would.
The simple truth is that the main limiting factor for me was the heat. The first two days weren't too hot, only around 30°C, but in hindsight I was controlling my pace more due to my temperature than my cardiovascular or muscular fatigue in the last third of those days. The third day was the first properly hot day, and I had to walk a large portion of it, earning my worst result to date.
The fourth (long) stage was also hot, but by now I knew how this felt and had a plan to deal with it - fast walk through the heat, then push on through the second half once it cooled down a bit. This was also the strategy involuntarily imposed on Neil (although I suspect he didn't recover fully - from CP3 to the finish his pace was very similar to mine, whereas for the rest of the week he was much faster).
As previously commented, the last stage was a disaster for me mainly due to the heat. I have identified two other factors that affected my ranking on this stage - the flat terrain (day two with its multiple djebels was my favourite day) and the other competitors - we are quite sure that most of the field took the first three days relatively easy in order to perform well on the long day and especially the marathon stage at the end.
I don't want this to sound like a complaint though. The race is a desert race, and as such dealing with flat, sandy terrain and high temperatures is my responsibility. The inconsistency of the other competitors will ultimately have led to a better overall result, as I'm certain they will have gained less on the last leg than they saved by holding back earlier in the week.
So what would I do differently next time?
I'd certainly improve my acclimatisation, spending the weeks leading up to the event training in a heat chamber or somewhere abroad with similarly intense heat.
I'd also spend much more time training on sand, as the top runners were able to keep running efficiently on the soft stuff, something I wasn't able to do. I'd also spend lots of time training at a slower pace - if I'd had an efficient "middle gear" between my fast walk and steady run then I might have been able to use that when the mercury rose.
I was largely happy with my kit, nutrition and hydration - there are certainly changes I would make but nothing that would significantly affect my result. The biggest changes would probably be not to take a sleeping mat (saving 230g) and a bit less to eat on the day off (saving perhaps 100g).
If I wanted to move up towards Neil's level I'd also need to do a lot more running (which would mean stopping rowing) as even at the start of the day (before it got too hot) I was still slower than most runners who ended up in the top 50.
So, will I do it again? I need a few more days of mental recovery before I will answer that...
I'm currently sitting on my bed in our hotel in Ouarzazate. My feet are pretty sore, but they'll be fixed in a few days; otherwise I'm now physically mostly recovered. You might find this lack of complete destruction surprising or disappointing - surely after racing almost six marathons in six days I should be in a worse state than this?
Ideally, yes I would.
The simple truth is that the main limiting factor for me was the heat. The first two days weren't too hot, only around 30°C, but in hindsight I was controlling my pace more due to my temperature than my cardiovascular or muscular fatigue in the last third of those days. The third day was the first properly hot day, and I had to walk a large portion of it, earning my worst result to date.
The fourth (long) stage was also hot, but by now I knew how this felt and had a plan to deal with it - fast walk through the heat, then push on through the second half once it cooled down a bit. This was also the strategy involuntarily imposed on Neil (although I suspect he didn't recover fully - from CP3 to the finish his pace was very similar to mine, whereas for the rest of the week he was much faster).
As previously commented, the last stage was a disaster for me mainly due to the heat. I have identified two other factors that affected my ranking on this stage - the flat terrain (day two with its multiple djebels was my favourite day) and the other competitors - we are quite sure that most of the field took the first three days relatively easy in order to perform well on the long day and especially the marathon stage at the end.
I don't want this to sound like a complaint though. The race is a desert race, and as such dealing with flat, sandy terrain and high temperatures is my responsibility. The inconsistency of the other competitors will ultimately have led to a better overall result, as I'm certain they will have gained less on the last leg than they saved by holding back earlier in the week.
So what would I do differently next time?
I'd certainly improve my acclimatisation, spending the weeks leading up to the event training in a heat chamber or somewhere abroad with similarly intense heat.
I'd also spend much more time training on sand, as the top runners were able to keep running efficiently on the soft stuff, something I wasn't able to do. I'd also spend lots of time training at a slower pace - if I'd had an efficient "middle gear" between my fast walk and steady run then I might have been able to use that when the mercury rose.
I was largely happy with my kit, nutrition and hydration - there are certainly changes I would make but nothing that would significantly affect my result. The biggest changes would probably be not to take a sleeping mat (saving 230g) and a bit less to eat on the day off (saving perhaps 100g).
If I wanted to move up towards Neil's level I'd also need to do a lot more running (which would mean stopping rowing) as even at the start of the day (before it got too hot) I was still slower than most runners who ended up in the top 50.
So, will I do it again? I need a few more days of mental recovery before I will answer that...
The morning after
[posted by Neil]
Done! I have one of four BPBC finishers' medals, some real food for breakfast, a new marathon PB and the most pathetic post-race beard in the 28-year history of the event.
It's now Sunday morning, and after an all-day, airless coach journey yesterday we're back at the hotel for our last day in Morocco with the rest of the British contingent. By and large, competitors fall into one of two camps: those who can't walk properly because their feet or legs are such a mess, and those who can because something else was their limiting factor.
That limiting factor for me was the heat. From halfway through stage three, the daytime temperatures were into the forties (fifties in the sun), and I suffered very badly. The long stage for me, which should have been one of my best, was almost a disaster - I was extremely close to capitulation with heatstroke in mid-afternoon and it could easily have spelt the end of my race.
From there onwards it was damage limitation. Fortunately this was relatively successful, and even though I slipped down the rankings I managed to cling onto the top twenty and finished in 19th place, three minutes behind 18th and six ahead of 20th. At the last bivouac, someone said to me (jokingly, I think) that if I'd tried harder I'd have made up those three minutes to 18th. I pointed out that if I'd tried to do that, I'd have lost the six minutes to 20th and potentially a great deal more too.
The fact that I finished at all continues to amaze me. When my foot went haywire with less than three weeks to go I was almost certain it would stop me running this race, and I honestly don't think I'd have travelled if it hadn't been for the other three guys and for all your sponsorship. Interestingly, the only time in the week when the foot actually buckled was when I tried to stand up after the final stage: in other words, at exactly the point when it didn't matter any more. The human body is an incredible thing.
Having been incommunicado for well over a week we all have dozens of messages to respond to - please excuse us if it takes us a few days to catch up. We've been overwhelmed by your messages of support, even though we're sure at least one day's worth hasn't reached us yet (we're chasing these); 1000 characters a day just wasn't enough to answer all your questions and concerns but we promise to get back to you all once we're back in the UK. Please badger us if we miss anything!
Neil
Music: That (appallingly bad) song about sitting around all day today in my pants doing absolutely nothing.
Done! I have one of four BPBC finishers' medals, some real food for breakfast, a new marathon PB and the most pathetic post-race beard in the 28-year history of the event.
It's now Sunday morning, and after an all-day, airless coach journey yesterday we're back at the hotel for our last day in Morocco with the rest of the British contingent. By and large, competitors fall into one of two camps: those who can't walk properly because their feet or legs are such a mess, and those who can because something else was their limiting factor.
That limiting factor for me was the heat. From halfway through stage three, the daytime temperatures were into the forties (fifties in the sun), and I suffered very badly. The long stage for me, which should have been one of my best, was almost a disaster - I was extremely close to capitulation with heatstroke in mid-afternoon and it could easily have spelt the end of my race.
From there onwards it was damage limitation. Fortunately this was relatively successful, and even though I slipped down the rankings I managed to cling onto the top twenty and finished in 19th place, three minutes behind 18th and six ahead of 20th. At the last bivouac, someone said to me (jokingly, I think) that if I'd tried harder I'd have made up those three minutes to 18th. I pointed out that if I'd tried to do that, I'd have lost the six minutes to 20th and potentially a great deal more too.
The fact that I finished at all continues to amaze me. When my foot went haywire with less than three weeks to go I was almost certain it would stop me running this race, and I honestly don't think I'd have travelled if it hadn't been for the other three guys and for all your sponsorship. Interestingly, the only time in the week when the foot actually buckled was when I tried to stand up after the final stage: in other words, at exactly the point when it didn't matter any more. The human body is an incredible thing.
Having been incommunicado for well over a week we all have dozens of messages to respond to - please excuse us if it takes us a few days to catch up. We've been overwhelmed by your messages of support, even though we're sure at least one day's worth hasn't reached us yet (we're chasing these); 1000 characters a day just wasn't enough to answer all your questions and concerns but we promise to get back to you all once we're back in the UK. Please badger us if we miss anything!
Neil
Music: That (appallingly bad) song about sitting around all day today in my pants doing absolutely nothing.
Saturday, 13 April 2013
Un petit pois encore
[Posted by Neil]
Today we're allowed another 1000 characters, so here are a few more memories from the week:
- Salt stains, everywhere: face, shirt, shorts, socks. Filthissimo.
- Religiously licking every packet clean.
- Seeing a tape (that's an audio cassette for everyone born after about 1990) in the middle of the sand dunes.
- The wind, which blew sand everywhere, constantly, except during the heat of the day when it was frustratingly absent; and the single cloud today, which provided two minutes of bliss before the blazing sun reappeared.
- Speaking broken French to everyone, including (after the day 3 and 5 finishes) English people.
- On the night section, seeing a snaking line of glowsticks on backpacks ahead and the tune of 'Follow the yellow-brick road' coming into my head, with the words 'Suivez les lumie\res jeunes'. Weird.
By the way, this race is jointly run by the French and the Moroccans. The Moroccans have been great.
Today we're allowed another 1000 characters, so here are a few more memories from the week:
- Salt stains, everywhere: face, shirt, shorts, socks. Filthissimo.
- Religiously licking every packet clean.
- Seeing a tape (that's an audio cassette for everyone born after about 1990) in the middle of the sand dunes.
- The wind, which blew sand everywhere, constantly, except during the heat of the day when it was frustratingly absent; and the single cloud today, which provided two minutes of bliss before the blazing sun reappeared.
- Speaking broken French to everyone, including (after the day 3 and 5 finishes) English people.
- On the night section, seeing a snaking line of glowsticks on backpacks ahead and the tune of 'Follow the yellow-brick road' coming into my head, with the words 'Suivez les lumie\res jeunes'. Weird.
By the way, this race is jointly run by the French and the Moroccans. The Moroccans have been great.
Friday, 12 April 2013
The End Result
[Posted by Simon]
4 finished - and some incredibly positions! Neil is in the top 20 with 4 other Brits - in the previous 27 races there has been 4 or 5 British men in top 20 positions in total! JPD came with ambition of top 100 and smashed that and Chris came without any target but top 250 is above his expectation at the beginning of the week. Great week all round.
My day today was similar in regard to heat that you have read in the other reports but also struggling massively with running out of food (have now had catered dinner tonight (Chris+Tomato=V Happy) so all is good). I was delayed as about 3km from the finish a Spanish competitor collapsed just in front of me. He was so committed to finishing that even when he could not support his weight his poles/legs kept trying to move him forward. We spent a little while treating heatstroke before help arrived and then walked in but was a little anti-climax. I suspect in the coming days & weeks it will become more real!
7km walk tomorrow - then to hotel. Pictures to come.
4 finished - and some incredibly positions! Neil is in the top 20 with 4 other Brits - in the previous 27 races there has been 4 or 5 British men in top 20 positions in total! JPD came with ambition of top 100 and smashed that and Chris came without any target but top 250 is above his expectation at the beginning of the week. Great week all round.
My day today was similar in regard to heat that you have read in the other reports but also struggling massively with running out of food (have now had catered dinner tonight (Chris+Tomato=V Happy) so all is good). I was delayed as about 3km from the finish a Spanish competitor collapsed just in front of me. He was so committed to finishing that even when he could not support his weight his poles/legs kept trying to move him forward. We spent a little while treating heatstroke before help arrived and then walked in but was a little anti-climax. I suspect in the coming days & weeks it will become more real!
7km walk tomorrow - then to hotel. Pictures to come.
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