Ultramarathon | Obsessive Ramblings

Obsessive Ramblings » Entries tagged with "ultramarathon"

SDW100 Recce 1

May 19th, 2013 | 4 Comments

I am not normally one for doing reconnaissance of routes before races. Merely attending a race with a family of 4 takes up enough time as it is, so to visit an area prior to an event with all the associated children logistics, really doesn’t seem fair. The South Downs is so close to where we live though, that it was too good an opportunity to miss for my race in a few weeks time. My schedule … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Discussion, Psychology, Running, Training

Recovery? Don’t talk to me about cross training!

April 25th, 2013 | 6 Comments

I have been going through what I think are fairly normal MdS withdrawal symptoms. Getting back from an event which is in such stark contrast to most others, and far removed from anything most of us would experience in ‘real-life’ is bound the have such an impact. Perhaps less so on those brave individuals in the armed forces, or perhaps civilian firemen, police, etc., who frequently put their lives on the line and who have a familiarity … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Recovery, Running, Training

The Final Week

April 1st, 2013 | 9 Comments

As I enter the last week before the first stage of my adventure in the Moroccan desert, the 28th Marathon des Sables 2013, I am pleased, to say the least that I am now over the hump of my training and touch wood, God willing, fingers crossed, etc, etc, I am now pretty much guaranteed to make it to the start line in as good a condition as I can. Last time it was a different … Read entire article »

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Desert ‘Heat’ Training – UK Style

March 23rd, 2013 | Comments Off

Tapering is going quite well. My desire to reduce my weekly mileage has, through necessity though, been easier to manage than I had anticipated. Liz is away at the moment in South Africa ‘fetching’ her mother, as she is moving back to the UK after well over 50 years. She has lived in the same flat in Bloemfontein for 30 years now, so as you can imagine there is substantial amount of accumulated ‘memorabilia’ to sort … Read entire article »

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Now Rest

March 17th, 2013 | 3 Comments

As I mentioned in my last post, this was a big week. In fact, it was my last big week before leaving for the desert and I had planned it to be my biggest training week, ever. The point with ultras, as with all other athletic training is that there have to be different training approaches for the different types, that is the long, single stage races (like Leadville or the UTMB) in comparison to the more … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Discussion, Injury, Psychology, Running, Training

5 Weeks to Go

March 3rd, 2013 | 9 Comments

As you can probably deduce from the title, 5 weeks today, I will be in the desert. I will actually, God willing, have completed the first stage of the Marathon des Sables, and after 5 years of planning, training, successes, injury, setback, deferral and general graft, I will be back in the Moroccan Sahara, certainly older, hopefully wiser, with a bit more ultrarunning experience under my belt. The Marathon des Sables, or MdS as it is frequently … Read entire article »

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After the Trot

February 9th, 2013 | 4 Comments

The Thames Trot took a bit more out of me than I realised and one week on it’s time for a bit of a post-mortem. During the week, I’ve run a few times, but my legs have definitely been tired. When doing the simplest things, such as climbing the stairs at the Waterloo when rushing for the train, getting moving in the morning, etc., I’ve certainly noticed more fatigue in my legs; more difficult to get … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Discussion, Recovery, Running, Training

Frozen Toes and Cramps – Thames Trot 2013

February 2nd, 2013 | 12 Comments

By the time I had my last foray through the flood waters of the Thames just before Check Point 5, I was past caring about having wet feet, after all the first ‘puddles’ we had to negotiate were within about 200 yards of the start line at Iffley, south of Oxford, and 6 hours later, I had realised the sensation does come back to your toes after a few minutes, even though it feels like … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Discussion, Events, Running

Starting to Get Real (and Exciting)

January 29th, 2013 | 3 Comments

This is where it starts to get real for me. With just over two months to go to the starting line of the Marathon des Sables, I have been going through a spurt of preparation recently. This is probably because I am also focused on my race on Saturday, the Thames Trot. Five years ago (as scary as that now seems) I was toeing the start line of a similar race, the Thames Meander, which followed the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Discussion, Equipment, Food, Nutrition, Psychology, Running, Training

Snowy Run – Revisited

January 20th, 2013 | 9 Comments

When you are training for a big race, consistency is a prime requirement – so today, snow didn’t stop play. There is also a much used phrase which goes something like ‘there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad equipment’ and today I was going to put this to the test. I had prepared everything the previous night, hoping to get out about 5:30am so I stood a chance of getting at least 20 miles … Read entire article »

Filed under: Blogaday, Equipment, Psychology, Running, Training