I try and update this blog, on average every one or two weeks. Some newspaper columnists have to produce several hundred words of prose every day. This explains why some newspaper columns are full of such random drivel. As I only have one topic to talk about its becoming harder to think of anything different to write. It probably doesn't help that the posts are becoming longer and so leaving less and less to talk about....
One thing I've said very little about is my actual training. This has been fairly deliberate as I never wanted to write a training blog. However the second most common question is 'How's the training going?' (the first most common is still 'Why?') so perhaps its time to update everyone on where I'm at and how it fits into my mental approach to the MdS.
I've been steadily building my mileage back up since my holiday and am expecting to be back to 50 miles this week. I recently received some very good advice and that was to make all changes gradually. The reason for this is that the cardio-vascular system can be built up quite quickly but muscles and ligaments (especially old ones like mine) take longer to adapt. The result is that its very easy to increase mileage too quickly and injure something - as I'd found earlier in my training as those of you that have been following my blog since the beginning may remember.
My build-up has been achieved by doing multiple runs of six to eight miles rather than any very long runs. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that I think - and I have no evidence for this which is why I don't publish my training plans - that a couple of runs with a few hours break between them should stress my body less. OK so my employer probably wouldn't be too impressed with me referring to my afternoons work as 'a few hours break' but you know what I mean.The plan is to increase the length of some of the runs and reduce the number until I'm ready to increase the mileage again.
I said there were a few reasons for the length of the runs. The second reason is simply that a run of this length can be fitted into my life without too much disruption. This is important as some people find it very hard to balance life and training, fortunately I have some flexibility in my working hours and, most importantly, a very supportive wife who doesn't mind if I get home an hour or two late - although I suspect if I was going to the pub it would be different. Apart from anything else she'd want to know why she wasn't invited.
The last reason for six to eight miles revolves around the mental approach I'm taking to the MdS. The distance varies year to year but a hundred and fifty miles is the usually quoted distance. Its a big number and a mile is quite far so lets try kilometres, they are shorter and more French and so more in keeping with the MdS. Unfortunately being shorter we get more of them, two hundred and forty in fact which is definitely too big a number to tick off in my head. However on the MdS every ten kilometres or so there is a check point. So looking at the distance in terms of check points we get the answer twenty four, still a big number but much more manageable For instance on the long day there will be (about) eight checkpoints. So by the time I'm at the second twenty five percent of the day is over. After four I'm half way. Easy eh?
Well no, of course it won't be easy but I feel that if I break it down into checkpoint-to-checkpoint chunks and take them one at a time it becomes manageable and that's the important point. Hence the six to eight mile runs, that's the sort of spacing the checkpoints are at. Obviously there is much more to training - I've found a decent hill to train on for a start - runs will become longer, weekly mileages will increase, it will get cold and dark and I'll still be running... however I've always believed the mental test is as tough as the physical for the MdS and I think the 'checkpoint game' will help me get through it but like everything else in this race its all personal, different things work for different people. Will this actually work for me? Watch this space to find out...
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