what do you wear in the desert for a week?

Good day peeps.. hope you are all well. So I only have a one month to go until the Marathon des Sables.. 31 days - that's all!.. So last week was a good weeks training - I managed to log 100 miles and 53 of those miles were walked.. I can honestly say my body is starting to complain now but the injuries are not - which is even better news. This week will be fairly light before I go to Arizona on Saturday 5th.
So this will make you laugh if you haven't already .....


Yeah that's me in pretty much my desert clobber.. So let me go through the numbers and explain what's what.
1) Trekmates Cool Sahara Cap - with that sexy looking mane going down the back of my neck ;) . This one comes with a special lining that once wet will keep it cool for 2-3 days.
2) Polaroid Oxyquatic P7006A Sunglasses - they have a strap round the back for windy moments and are fairly tight to the face without being uncomfortable.
3) Cobber - this neck-tie will, like the hat, keep cool for days once it has been submerged in water.
4) OMM Classic Marathon 32L Backpack - although i have tested many this is by far my favourite one - I have a front pack too but i am not sure yet if i will need it.. testing packing this week! (stay tuned for more on that)
5) Nike Pro Compression Vest Skin (under t-shirt) - this collects sweat and helps keep you dry - it also prevents rubbing.
6) Helly Hansen Dry Stripe Tee Shirt - worn loose to wick sweat away again - obviously white to reflect some of the suns rays.
7) Timex Shock Ironman Watch - not taking Garmin with me - this watch will do everything I need - the timing chip that MdS give me will do the rest.
8) Adidas Multi Sport Shorts - NOT the ones in the photo.. these will be white to reflect heat and again are very much like the t shirt, loose and quick drying.
9) Nike Pro Compression Shorts - tight and comfy to keep everything in place and prevent rubbing ;)
10) Sandbaggers Silk Gaiters - to keep the sand OUT of my trainers and off my feet.. They have been stitched to velcro and velcro stitched to the trainers..
11) INOV-8 Roclite 315 trainers - one whole size too large..
11b) Injinji & Wrightsock Socks - 2 pairs to start with - the Injinji's will go on first to stop my toes rubbing against each other and then the Wrightsocks over those until my feet swell up in the heat and i'll lose those.
.............
This clothing list is by no means the best form of everything.. these are items that have worked for me and in some cases hopefully will work.. ie the gaiters... When I get back I'll let you know what did and didn't work as I won't really knowhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif anything until i'm dropped in thehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Sahara wearing pretty much what you see here.... Hmmmm... the fear begins to creep in ;)
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NB : People reading this regarding desert races - please read my about what DID and DID NOT work for me during the race.. http://ray-wise.blogspot.com/2011/04/mds-what-worked-and-what-didnt.html

http://raywise.co.uk/

a day in the life - training for the mds

A few people have asked me how do i fit everything in my life at the moment,, the truth is, its not easy - my friend Rob is helping me organise things and we have weekly meetings so that nothing is forgotten. Work has to come first but apart from that - right now - everything revolves around training. That's not easy when you remember that 'daily tasks' like cleaning washing and eating you have to do... So right now, every day is a training day and everything i do is just that.. here's an example of a weekday at the moment.
05:15 wake up, 20-25 minutes of stretches and exercises . after which i have a large breakfast and then get ready for work..
06:30 leave for work - I always walk to work, its a little over a mile from my flat - just lately I have been putting extra weight in my rucksack from 8kg up to 12kg.
06:50 arrive at work - start at 07:00 and I work until 16:00... While at work I have to find time to do any orders for equipment or food online - its better this way and leaves me more time to training - although it can be more expensive - some items have been acquired through ebay which balances it out.
16:00 leave work - walk to gym.. its about a mile again so another short workout.
16:20 arrive at gym... sessions can last from two to two and a half hours.. longer over the weekends..
18:20 leave gym - walk to shops - i need to do some food shopping - can't do this online, prefer to choose my items..
19:15 arrive home - make a sandwich.. I'd eaten a larger meal at work midday - I've been swapping my meals around depending on what I'm doing after work - but usually the main meal is eaten at midday now.
19:45 time to catch up on the social network - I update throughout the day from work and my mobile but my main writing and updating is done around this time - some days I get more time than others..
20:15 press shots - I tried on my kit and Rob took some photos for the press and social networks.. all good fun.
20:30... rest.. I usually get time to watch a film and relax about here. Although some days i have been going out for late walks with a heavy rucksack, so it does depend on the day.
23:00 bed.. I TRY to get to bed by 11pm, its not always the case but what you save on one day you gain on another.. after all - I'm up at 05:15 again tomorrow :)
...

And that is basically it - not every day is gym day - some days I'll be running instead or on the cycle..I do mix it up... weekends do differ a little and it is possible to get out and socialise a little more. If that happens in the week, training has to go around it.. either before, after or both.

Marathon des Sables in 38 days..

Actually I hope to do it in 6 but given that it is only 38 days away my thoughts are now up and down the scale like you wouldn't believe.. ie - one minute I am full of confindence and the next worries start to creep in.
Running for instance - I managed 30 miles last week - not bad but I am so missing my long runs.. the achilles strain is fine but I have another niggle in the inner left ankle.. gait issue I think - so I have renewed my shoes in hope that is what the problem is.. The funny thing is 3 or 4 monthes ago a niggle like this would not have bothered me but now so close to the race it feels like much more.. I know its not and then I change my mind - lol! So for the hell of it i'm going to take a few days off running and reduce the rucksack weight for walking... So another large mileage week passed - not as large as the week before - just 86 miles logged and again cycling was the main contender... good to be back running though.
In other news most of my kit has now been bought and is ready for the off.. only a few items left to trial and test or to buy.. I'm also compiling a food list - menu sort of thingy for each day.. I've asked a couple of companies to provide some test samples also so lets hope they come though... buying all this equipment and food is expensive business!
...............
A few people have asked "how do you fit it all in".. by this i think they mean training,,, hmmm.. so i'll be doing a midweek blog with a diary of an average day for me - watch out for that.. take care y'all!

Good and Bad news

45 days to go now and training takes a hike up and an Ultra let down! Firstly the good news that my goal of 100 miles was achieved last week - in fact I managed 105. The distance was put together by sessions including walking, cycling and running! Yes I'm running again - although not far but the achilles strain is holding out - so far, so good. It's been a bit annoying not being able to run however, I don't want to spoil the good work by running too far and injuring it again...

With the injury in mind I have pulled out of the London Ultra on the 20th Feb.. I could possibly walk it but that also may be a bad idea,, I know i'd make the distance ( 50 k) but in the long run my fitness is important as i go into March.. So I have deferred to next year on that.

Did some different and more intense training Saturday morning as Rob put me through my paces at St James Park. He made do various things including some work on steps and with weights.. it was fun although tiring after a hard week - in fact my arms are still aching now ;)
Equipment wise I am still waiting on quite a lot of items to be delivered. My first aid kit is nearly complete and the testing of food, should finish by the end of this week..


I had pasta with cheese and ham to try today - tasted nice but a a bit OTT on the onions.


TIPS: You are supposed to add boiling way to the packet and re-seal it for 5 mins.. I found this difficult to mix and some of the food was still not re-formed after five minutes. So I have mixed a few (as in the photo) in a separate airtight bowl - this is very good and the perfect way to go.. However, using this method will add an item to my list (the bowl and lid) and also require some sort of washing.. the cons may out way the pros on this and I think the packet solution could be the way to go in the end..

Facebook group : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22885156891

A run free week!

52 days to go now and it still has not really sunk in as to what awaits me on the MdS. Sure, I'm planning like crazy but the reality of it all is yet to strike.. I'm guessing that will happen when i get back from Arizona.. i'm going there from March 5 - 12.
So this week training has continued but without any running at all - I've still managed to log 82 miles by mainly walking and cycling although that does it include a few other workouts... It all adds up at the end of the week and miles and endurance counts. Walking with weights has encouraged me a lot, after all, I'm not kidding anyone that I'm going to run the whole distance - far from it!
I was going to bring my Sand test report to you today but I cancelled the visit to Camber because of my injury.. that will or should take place NEXT Saturday now.
The weekend after that is the London Ultra.. a 50km foot race which i should be taking part in.. if I do decide to go for it - you can be sure I will not be going as fast as planned or my heal will flare up again... so this is yet to be called whether or not I'm going to do it.. More next week.

Facebook group : http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=22885156891

Ray :)

59 Days to go!

So it's now less than 2 monthes until we fly out to Morocco.. woot to that!.. So what's been happening?..
So as promised I recorded all my miles last week and managed 61 all together.. that includes 38 miles of running,., On Saturday I got a strain on my achilles.. had to walk the last bit and it's going to put me out of running for a while.. that's bad news but not the end of the world - i have to do lots of walking anyway so i've upped the weight in my rucksack and started to go on some long walks.. I've been asked to do some cycling too so will do that tonight also.
Testing wise I have had one of the larger sleeping bags out and tested it in temps of 10C.. It works fine - no chill factor even with no clothes on ;) .. More food has been tested this week and also some socks!.. These are the socks in question...


Injinji socks have slots for each toe - rather like a glove for the foot.. some of my toes are not the straightest and can cause rubbing and blisters.. these boys will sort that out and are very comfy too.. the plan is to wear these as a base layer then the Wrightsocks over the top of them.
We also had a laugh testing my blood group at home the other night - its actually very accurate... I hope!
REMEMBER I am still on the look out small corporate sponsors.. if you think your company might be interested - please let me know!
We've managed to raise over £6,000 now for the Meningitis Trust - if you have not donated yet - every pund or dollar helps.. you can do that here: http://www.justgiving.com/mds2011

ATB Ray x

66 Days till MdS

So Rob and I have got together and he thinks it would be a good idea to blog weekly, right up until I leave for the MdS on March 31,, M Day! Every Monday I will be letting you know what's gone on over the past week and bring you up to date with fund-raising etc..

Jan 24.. 66 Days to go till I leave for the Marathon de Sables.. Nervous>? A few friends have asked.. no, not really - I'm more worried about forgetting anything rather than being nervous just yet.. So we have put together a calendar for the kitchen wall to let Rob and me, know what we should be doing and when!

the calendar in all its glory ;)

For those that missed my last blog - Rob is a great friend who happens to be my flatmate as well.
So this will help when it comes to organising and remembering things - hopefully , so I won't forget to test or try anything and then re-order it if necessary..

This last week has been very productive - mainly I have secured a bar for a party with the help of another great friend - Amanda.. All the details are on Facebook and the small fee collected on the door will be donated to my charity..

Speaking of which, there has been a few significant donations to the sponsor page this week and the total now stands at £5,837.00 - you can see the page for yourself and make a donation HERE.

Most of you know I have been supporting the Meningitis Trust now for quite some time - the work they do is quite amazing but you can help too. Just by reading a little about the signs and symptoms, you might be able to spot it in someone before it takes hold - if you want to learn more, please see this LINK to their website.

Finally, I've had to put the camera down for a bit as the running and organising start to pile up.. last week I did about 39 miles.. which is about average - I'm going to start counting my walking miles also, just to see what sort of distance I cover over a week.. more of that next week.. and much more..
catch you then - and thanks for reading.

Ray.

72 days til the Marathon de Sables 2011!

So with just 72 odd days to go to till I do the Marathon de Sables, I thought I'd let you know briefly as to what's been happening and what will come over the next two month's..
November and the beginning of December last year were bad times - being ill and injured took me out for a little over a month.. Gladly I'm back on track now and it's nice the miles are ticking over again. I'm looking looking to over-do the mileage but between 30-40 miles a week should do me just fine - there should not be any major distractions now either so that's good news..
One of my best pal's; Rob, will be helping me get organised also, I think it's important i take a step back sometimes and the best way of doing that is ask another person's advice.
So over the next few weeks I'll be testing out food and equipment and adding some more miles.. the next and in fact only race before the MdS is the London Ultra - on Feb 20th.. perfect date as it still leaves me 5 weeks till I leave for Morocco on March 31. The London Ultra is 50km long (aprox 31 miles) and starts in Streatham and finishes in Wembley... Should be a good test.
5th March I go away to Arizona to do a LOT of walking - again out there I'll be testing equipment and food, plus testing my own sense in a remote place.. Of coarse I'll be taking my camera too ;)
When I return I'll have about 3 weeks until I flight out to the MdS in Morocco!! March 31!! Can't wait!
I return back on April 11 and with the help of another good friend (Amanda), will be organising a fund-raising party - which will hopefully be also a celebration of me completing this challenge...
More details of these points to come...
Regards, Ray ~xo

Sick

just a quick post to update you on my illness - thanks for all the well wishes by email, text and tweets - sorry i have not answered them all.
On Friday night my abdomen area started hurting.. this persisted all weekend and was both uncomfortable and painful.. I wasn't taking food and barely any water either.. when i did, it was painful after a while as food was digested.. So Sunday night i went to A&E at the Whittington Hosp.
They took me in and was concerned about this and i also had a low heart rate: 36 at one point. So they did lots of tests and after giving me morphine, kept me in overnight.
Monday was the same and i tried to eat but the pain returned after a while.. when all the tested had completed and the doctors were happy it was nothing serious i was allowed to go home. Unfortunately they could not tell me what the problem was - it could be food poisoning or a pulled muscle..??
Anyway as i write i am still weak as i am not eating much - just two slices of bread today but at least the pain has not returned yet,, so maybe i am starting to get better... Hope so, i have booked a trip to Scotland next week..lol..
Ok, thanks again for you wishes - that's how things stand now..
Ray x

Bath Trip

Bath sits right by Bristol on the map but has more history and in my opinion - more picturesque. It was an early start out from Earls Court and on the mini bus to the destination. There was only a few of us on this trip but a perfect number really. We arrived and met another member and after having some lunch we started our walk.
The city has a lot to offer in the way of stone architecture and every street corner there seemed to be another photo opportunity.

Famous sites include the weir (above), the Abbey, the Roman Baths, the Circus and not forgetting the Royal Crescent. We were not blessed with perfect weather but that's not a bad thing and you are constantly being tested as far as the light goes.. I've processed some pictures and uploaded them to my Facebook group.. you can click on the following image and it will take you there,,

Facebook Group

Bath is really worth a visit whether you are travelling to the UK or already live here.. it's a beautiful place with some welcoming people. We were even given a free walking tour of the inner city.. these tours start daily from the Bath Abbey,.,, enjoy.

Dublin Marathon

Dublin: My first marathon outside England and after the disappointment of London I was determined to make amens. Training hadn't been too intense - mainly working on my speed and running 'barefoot' seems to have helped this a lot too. So anyway - Dublin yes, I arrived on the Sunday and after finding my hotel went straight to the Expo.. I walked all the way there (about 5 km) and when I arrived finally got hold of my number and race day instructions..



Expo was nice and not really different than any other so I sat down and had my pasta as you do and joined in the fun.. after a while thought - better be off and get a proper dinner! So I walked back - a longer route taking in Lansdowne Road and its impressive stadium.. took in a bit of Dublin and ate pasta like tomorrow didn't exsist! In the evening I did yet more walking as I wanted to take my camera out and view this place - I must admit I was worried I might tire my legs out! In all I reckon I walked about 15km (8 miles or so) by the time I went back to the hotel to rest...

I got nothing more than broken sleep that night - again I got up worried this might effect my performance. As if that was not enough the temperature outside was about 3-4C! Brrrr! I had my usual breakfast and prep before leaving the hotel very wrapped up and insulated.

Photo : http://racepix.com/

As you can see by the above image I wore my beanie the whole race - I also wore gloves for most of it only taking them off (just before this shot) at about mile 23. It was very cold and I didn't take any clothing off till my body had adjusted to the temperature.. Even then I kept on an old T Shirt to keep in a bit of warmth as i walked up to the start line,.

The race itself: The gun went off just after the hour of 9am (slightly late) and we all rushed off.. around 13,000 people with a goal in their mind. I was ahead of the 3:15 pacemakers and that was the plan I intended to keep.

The Plan: To run a marathon in under 3:15 (3 hours 15 mins) you have to run each KM in under 4.40. (4 minutes 40 seconds) So my plan was to run each KM at about 4.30 and after getting into my groove I resisted the feeling to dart off and kept to my plan..

1 00:04:27 1.00 04:27
2 00:04:16 1.00 04:16
3 00:04:22 1.00 04:22
4 00:04:28 1.00 04:28
5 00:04:25 1.00 04:25
6 00:04:21 1.00 04:21
7 00:04:22 1.00 04:22
8 00:04:23 1.00 04:23
9 00:04:28 1.00 04:28
10 00:04:25 1.00 04:25

My official time at 10km = 44:42

11 00:04:20 1.00 04:20
12 00:04:19 1.00 04:19
13 00:04:17 1.00 04:17
14 00:04:15 1.00 04:15

Now there are 42 Kilometres in a marathon but I find easier to adjust my pace rather than going by miles... which there are 26.2. The first section - although cold - was my favourite and went through Phoenix Park where we saw some deer on the frosty grass.

At around 15km we hit our first hill so I slowed my pace and took long breathes as I plodded up it - it was fairly steep but pretty short.

15 00:04:36 1.00 04:36

The next few Km I really got into my stride - I knew there would be one section this would happen and as it was around this stage I just went with it.

16 00:04:22 1.00 04:22
17 00:04:20 1.00 04:20
18 00:04:20 1.00 04:20
19 00:04:26 1.00 04:26

After my faster section I was approaching the halfway marker - I responsibly took myself down a peg or too and starter to slow down. There were a few slower hilly sections at this point too - nothing serious but enough to tire you if you didn't respect them.

20 00:04:36 1.00 04:36
21 00:04:27 1.00 04:27

At 21km you are helfway.. my official time at this point 01:34:06 - 2 minutes under my schedule! I was happy but knew the second half would be tough.. (my PB for a half marathon is 1:29:54)

The aim for the next few Km was to keep my pace under 4.40 and as close to 4.30 as possible to give myself more breathing space...

22 00:04:35 1.00 04:35
23 00:04:35 1.00 04:35
24 00:04:34 1.00 04:34
25 00:04:33 1.00 04:33
26 00:04:36 1.00 04:36
27 00:04:33 1.00 04:33
28 00:04:33 1.00 04:33
29 00:04:33 1.00 04:33

job done! But at 30km (around 18 miles) my left knee started to hurt - I thought oh know - its London all over again!.. but kept pressing on as my nutrition felt good at this point and i wasn't tired at all. Official time at this point 02:15:08.

30 00:04:40 1.00 04:40
31 00:04:40 1.00 04:40
32 00:04:50 1.00 04:50
33 00:04:47 1.00 04:47
34 00:04:50 1.00 04:50
35 00:04:45 1.00 04:45

As you can see my times started to fall behind here and although the knee pain had gone my left ankle now started to grumble... ugh! My pace started to slow and I kept looking at my watch - everytime I saw it go over 5 minutes I had to shout at myself thinking how annoying it would be if i let myself down after all this way.

36 00:04:52 1.00 04:52
37 00:04:48 1.00 04:48
38 00:04:54 1.00 04:54
39 00:04:55 1.00 04:55

With the end in sight all pains went away but exhaustion started to kick in.. Physically I was done for but I kept saying - only 2 miles to go - you can do it.. just 2 miles miles... I was able to JUST keep the pace over 5 minutes but I was in auto pilot - I could here people shouting my name (from my shirt) but I couldn't respond any more. Everything was concentrated on keeping my legs going.. At so many stages I thought I'd miss out but the 3:15 pace man had not passed me yet... YET!

40 00:04:59 1.00 04:59
41 00:04:51 1.00 04:51
42 00:04:53 1.00 04:53

The final Km was painful.. we rounded Trinity College and the 3:15 paceman caught me - HELP!.. That was it - I found something from somewhere as he shouted LET'S GO to everyone around him - and off I went! LOL.. I picked everything up and flew to the line picking my pace right up to 4.29 for that final sprint... YES!!! Under 3:15!! Quite emotional I can tell you.x

43 00:02:36 0.58 04:29



POST: Have a plan - stick to it... If you know know what you are capable of then don't let yourself down by wimping out.. Stick to the plan - pleasure will overcome the pain in the end.

Course: The Dublin Marathon has a great course with a few hills with quite a few long a lonely (no support) sections - but coming back into the city centre and seeing the crowds 3 or 4 deep is very impressive... a great time of year to run a marathon too.. we were lucky with the weather however. Thanks to everyone for their support - i'm over the moon to get this time which for me gives me 'best for age' entry into a few marathons including London.

Garmin report: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/54519216

Video : http://mysports.tv/events/DM10/redirect.asp?r=545 (look for 545)

Charity : http://www.justgiving.com/mds2011

Official details:

Overall place : 859
Cat. Plce : 88
Runners : 13,200
10km : 00:44:42
Half marathon : 01:34:06
30km : 02:15:08
Gun time : 03:14:45
Chip time : 03:14:29

Ray x

and the winner is: messing about on the river

messing about on the river
Originally uploaded by Ray Wise

Well it's a bit of a shock but I have won another competition - the above image beat off some excellent photos to be placed numero uno! I'm really pleased. The whole thing was run by Thames 21 which is an environmental charity which work on London's waterways. A set of finalists was chosen for their 2011 calendar (including mine) and from that Thames Water chose the winner last night in Bromley -by-Bow.

all finalists are on display at The Millers House Cafe, Three Mills Lane, E3 3DU ~ http://www.housemill.org.uk until the end of October, so if you are in the area - why not pop in and have a look.

I was a blushing winner and almost smiled.. lol.. Still I'm really happy this particular shot won as it has always been one of my favourites. If you are interested in obtaining a copy please follow this link to Getty Images where it is for sale:

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/92873578/Flickr

Thanks again for your support.

Bristol to Southampton cycle ride

So Kevin & I decided to take a ride from Bristol to Southampton.. I routed the trip and avoided most of the main roads.. We added in Cheddar Gorge and the New Forest for fun as they were close by. The weather looked grime, a massive front coming in from the Atlantic - thanking my American friends for that!..lol.. however, the train took us through the wet weather and at Bristol the sun came out on wet roads and it was dry the whole day - we even got a sun tan - ha!

Me just outside Bristol

It wasn't long before we got to Cheddar - its a beautiful place surrounded by steep cliffs casting dark shadows on everything below.. this is a tick in UK hill climbing although I must admit I was expecting more. It starts fairly well and then keeps flattening out on occasion.. there are 2-3 steep sections but not lasting enough to tire you. The main thing in this hill is its length.. even at the top the road doesn't flatten out - it just keep on going up.. we reckon about 4 miles or so from bottom to peak? not sure on that though. You can see the elevation etc on my Gamin route details.


Going up I stopped twice to take photos and fell off my bike trying to mount again - difficult when going up a hill!.. haha (idiot),, At the top Kevin went into the back of me and fell off also!.. he got some cuts and bruises for his troubles but nothing serious. We hacked on and all seemed well.
Warminster was our slight detour - there had to be one!.. Instead of taking an early left and going alongside the A36 we went straight down the A350.. this road is hill city!... up one down it then up another! after about 7-8 big hills we were knackered and stopped to take on fluid and food.

This is where we stopped.

Once we stopped I realised our mistake and we back tracked to the B3089 to cut back eastwards across the country - this mistake cost us 5 miles extra... but the hills was the worse part.




This road was much nicer - yes it had a few hills but not like the 350. Anyway - before long we dropped down into the New Forest, it was not necessary to go this was but we thought it would be nice to ride through it.. and it was! a beautiful place indeed.. a hill to get up to it and another down and out... lots of ponies running wild too and great looking landscape.

The New Forest

Kev in the New Forest

Finally we arrived in Southampton... tired but feeling good after 106 miles of cycling.. a great day and an awesome ride.. would i do it again? Hell yes!

Meningitis Trust IPhone App

APP's on the Iphone come and go but there are not many that can claim to help save lives...



As you know i am collecting donations for the Meningitis Trust (MT) - however I am also trying to promote awareness of the disease. Spotting signs and symptoms are so important as this can attack quickly with devastating effects.
When I heard the the MT had bought out the APP I was only to happy to review it... so above is my short video review.

If you have an Iphone - here is the APP download... (it's totally free)



If you do not have an IPhone - please read the Signs and Symptoms page on the MT website.

More dried food tests...

First on the list was a lunchtime snack I had at work - Batchelors (again) Super Noodles!.. and the flavour was Mild Mexican Chilli ... easy to make with half a pint of boiling water ,, add the noodles & sachet and stir and heat for about 5 minutes.. at the end of it - these things had a pretty salty taste but were nice to eat and as I said - easy to make.. Now for the important stuff:
Weight: 100g in packet.
Calories: 528!!
Protein: 4.6g
Fat: 11.8g
Carbs: 38.8g




Moving on I thought I'd try some pasta.. this recipe was harder to knock up though as it required milk.. (take powered milk?...hmmm)
Batchelors Pasta'n'Sauce - Mild Cheese & Broccoli



300ml milk & 100ml water... recipe asks for butter (15g) which i didn't use... Boil the liquid - add the packet, mix up and then continue to simmer for 5-10 mins.. it took about 10 ALL ROUND to cook this.. annd mighty tasty it was too.. not very salty though - which is to my taste - but we are doing this in the desert and salt is important.. as i have said.


Looks nice eh?... well ok - ish :) ... here's the run down:

Weight: 123g in packet.
Calories: 454
Protein: 18.6g
Fat: 5.8g
Carbs: 81.8g!

nice for a change but not that high in calories - I also don't feel as full after eating it compared to the chili con carni OR the super noodles...

.........
Snacks:

2 snacks on offer:

Olvaltine Buscuits : small packet of 5 buscuits
weight: 37.5 grammes
Calories: 180
Fat: 7g
Carbs: 27g
Protein: 3g

milky taste - certainly fill you up but make you very thirsty!... hmm.. maybe not take these!

Beef Jerky :
now I could not eat a whole pack of this stuff but its ok as a snack as you are going along... I tried the Wild West All Natural Beef Jerky which tastes like dried up pieces of meat you would usually through away.! However.... PER 100 grammes... there are 300 Calories, 41.5 % protein!! 24% Carb & 5% Fat... very salty too! great :)

...ok, I need a beer now.. more to come on this!

1) Chilli & Noodles

TEST 1:
Batchelors Beanfeast Mexican Chilli.. the whole packet weights 120g and serves 2 people.. Recipe is very easy - put 575ml of water in can and mix in the packet... Yes, I used the lot.. However, I only mixed in 500ml of water.. The burner was great and the mix quickly came to the boil and got thicker and thicker... when it was spitting I took it off the heat and let it rest while I cooked the noodles..



I used a titanium t-cup to heat 125ml of water for the noodles...

Sainsbury's Instant Noodles: I used half of the 85g packet. However, I added the noodles BEFORE the water was boiling and a few uncooked noodles were found when eating.. take note ;)

As soon as the noodles were done I mixed them with the chilli.. they didn't absorb all the water but then I may not of divided the packet in a true half?? Yawn...... let's eat.....



Basically the whole meal took about 12 minutes to prep and cook - very easy too.. The food tasted great! Apart from some uncooked noodles.. my fault there. There was enough food to fill me up but if I was hungrier I think I could have eaten the whole pack of noodles too... ;)

Calories: Noodles = 309 (half pack) Chilli = 378 (whole pack)

Total = 687 Calories (if whole pack noodles = 1000 Cal)

protein= 7.5(n) + 30(c) = 37.5 grammes
fat=11.4(n) + 6.6(c) = 16 grammes
carb= 43.8(n) + 25(c) = 68.8 grammes

Chilli contains lots of fibre too and both are rich in salt - which is good.

Verdict.. Weighting in at 205g for both packs, these two mix up and very filling but also tasty dish.. Bonus point for the protein and fibre too.. Happy about this combo!

Dried food testing...

So this is very important testing.. food :) Basically in the desert I am required to carry ALL my provisions with me.. excluding water and tent. Obviously this includes food and lots here has to be taken into consideration. Calorie intake must be as high as possible - but the weight is a factor too... taste very important... so these three things I will be testing out before throwing myself into the unknown.. this will be a little more known then.
Basically it goes like this - I have bought the above foods and will test them for taste first.. I'll post a blog about my results for this and then when I am happy with flavours etc - I want to try a few days living off these products to see how i fair with nutritional value... that's the plan anyway!
The food I have bought is all dried and needs to be reconstituting with water and or milk.. some of these may turn out to be impractical to make in the desert. I won't know until i have tried them.. Snacks as well and really important so I'll be testing a few of those too. Any heated food will be heated as it will in the race - using a butane gas stove...

London to Brighton run!

So the aim of this Ultra was to train for the 50 mile stage of the Marathon de Sables (MdS) next year... So i was in luck when the weather turned out hot... very hot.. Forcast said 29C but running in the sunshine and that goes up to 32-34 or so.. and yes, it was hot! I started at 06.30 from Clapham with two friends, Adam (centre) and Rob (on the right).. it was nice to have some company and start off at a slow pace.. 54 miles to go and i didn't want to waste energy.



Rob last till just before Mitcham about 5 miles in.. at just 9km I had my first toilet stop at Mitcham Common.. at this point the clock said 56 minutes. We were running nice and slowly - it was warm but hadn't heated up too much yet. At Carshalton Adam left me and he ran all the way back to Clapham - good man! So this was my first stage on my own but i managed to keep my speed down. At Woodmansterne I nearly took a wrong turn but checked my map and tracked back about 500m... at this point about 18.32km (about 11 miles) the clock said 1.52 hours... downhill section now! Through a few up and downhills I came to Fannys Farm Shop where Amy was waiting for me.. Great to see her and chat about things from there the weather was really starting to get hot!.. we quickly drank all the water and refilled at a car wash in Nutfield - for free :) cheapest water here!
These roads seemed to go on for ages and we walked a few times so i could get some energy back - plus there was no point on over doing it. James met us in the Outwood area and then there was three!


Before long Amy left us.. If i remember rightly that was at Smallfield.. she had done a great job! At this point around 40km (24.8 miles) and 4 hours in.. me and James took a wrong turn which cost 1 mile but that didn't bother so much... the heat was getting to us though - I had another stop for a Calippo ice pole which did the trick.. Water consumed to this point about 3 litres. It was great to see the Turners Hill sign.. it really did mean progress for me.. lots of walking and running and huge ammount of effort were helping.. James was great - taking photos and enjoying the barriers we were crossing.. Full Marathon and then not long after - my first 50K! We checked at this point 47.23 km and 5hrs 15mins.. Turners Hill here we come!


At Turners Hill I had my first long rest - James left me at this point so i took the opportunity of resting for about 1 hour (and i had a beer lol) .. 51.66KM (32 miles) and 5.49 hours! Phew! I must admit even with the weather the first part was fairly easy for me and a great feeling sitting on the grass chatting to James and his friends... However, I had to press on...
I was now on my own till the end! and that was another 22 miles away.. two nice long downhill stretches took me into the next section toward Ardingly & Haywards Heath - then quickly into the open country and hot sun.. the road was hard to run on most of this section.. no path. I had to keep stopping even from walking and get out the way of traffic.. this was annoying but you have to play safe and keep crossing the road to stay visible to cars and lorries. Ardingly came and went - a lovely village - as too was Lindfield which was full of thatched cottages.. almost every town I went through I bought a litre more of water and filled up my bottles.
At 61.3km (38 miles) I was really slowing down - I really started to think I might not make it.. I had a quick read of comments on Twitter and Facebook - this cheered me up and onwards I plodded.. 6.54 hours at this stage.


Haywards Heath took ages to appear.. it seemed that 3 miles felt like 10 at this point!! more water! legs felt tired and painful - nipples hurt like mad! lol.. and just always felt thirsty.. at HH it was 7.44hours and 66.36 KM. There is a long grinding hill into HH which I walked up all the way but it was tough - very tough. Out of town I had my sights set on Ditchling which was my ultimate checkpoint and goal before Brighton. It was SO HOT.. I cannot tell you how I felt .. jelly babies were going down well and water too - something was missing though.. I needed a break.. And I took 30 minutes in a garden centre just before Ditchling.. 73.47 km (46 miles) and 8.45 hours.. I had a banana bar which tasted as dry as eating sand and a Yazoo choc shake which went down very well.. I ate half the bar and sat in the shade hyping my self up for the last 9 miles.. Mentally I had to overcome some big obstacles at this stage. However, arriving in Ditchling was an amazing moment!

Ditchling in famous for one thing - the Ditchling Beacon.. on the cycle ride its everyones goal to ride up it.. I walked and I am proud of that ;) ... You rise up 814 feet and its the third highest point on the South Downs.. the view from the top is just amazing.


Of coarse - when you are at the top its a downhill section to Brighton... well.. it is on a bike! when you are running it doesn't feel downhill at all on a lot of parts so the walking began again but I could see Brighton in the distance and this spurred me on. at this point the time said 9hours and the distance - 79.33km - which is just under 50 miles..
Some sections to the main Brighton road were quite steep and lovely to run down - but when I reached the road I was as good as there and walking got the better of me most of the way on the outskirts my watch said 10.10 hours and 83.25km.. I needed a break so found a petrol station and fuelled up again drinking more water and Lucozade Sport... rested here for about 15 minutes. by the time I reached the end my Garmin had died - its last reading: 10.45 hours and 54.17 miles..... in kilometers - 87.18....


As you can see by the next picture I got very dirty just running along roads - my lower back suffered a red raw mark from rubbing on my rucksack - my legs were achy all over - I wasn't hungry.. just needed water... I walked straight to the train station - total mileage aprox - 55.5 and around 11 hours to complete.. I learned a lot but it was so worth it.


I want to thanks everyone for your kind texts, tweets & comments during the day.. and especially Amy, Adam, James and Rob for the support runs ,, amazing all of you. :)

London to Brighton route

This Saturday as a training run for my MdS attempt next year - I will be running from London to Brighton, I'm using the SAME route as the BHF Cycle ride I did last weekend... 54 miles... here's the route......

Details in TEXT:

Start at: Clapham Common Southern end.

1. Head southwest on Nightingale Walk toward Clapham Common West Side - 443 ft
2. Slight left at Clapham Common West Side - 69 ft
3. Turn right at Nightingale Ln/B237 Continue to follow Nightingale Ln - 0.7 mi
4. Continue onto Bellevue Rd/B229 Continue to follow B229 Go through 1 roundabout - 0.7 mi
5. Slight right at Burntwood Ln/B229 Go through 1 roundabout - 0.5 mi
6. Turn left at Garratt Ln/A217 Continue to follow A217 Go through 2 roundabouts - 2.3 mi
7. Slight right at London Rd/A217 Go through 1 roundabout - 0.3 mi
8. Slight left to stay on London Rd/A217 Continue to follow A217 - 0.1 mi
9. Slight left at Holborn Way/A217 - 171 ft
10. Continue onto Upper Green W/A236 Continue to follow A236 Go through 1 roundabout - 0.6 mi
11. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto Carshalton Rd/A237 Continue to follow A237 - 1.3 mi
12. Turn right at Hackbridge Rd/B277 Continue to follow B277 - 1.2 mi
13. Turn right at Pound St/A232 - 0.3 mi
14. Continue onto Park Hill/B278 Continue to follow B278 - 2.1 mi
15. Turn right at Croydon Ln/A2022 - 151 ft
16. Turn left at Carshalton Rd/B278 - 0.7 mi
17. Turn left at Rectory Ln/B278 Continue to follow B278 - 0.8 mi
18. Turn left at Chipstead Valley Rd/B2032 - 427 ft
19. Turn right at How Ln - 1.0 mi
20. Continue onto High Rd - 1.5 mi
21. Turn left at Markedge Ln - 1.2 mi
22. Turn right at Gatton Bottom - 0.2 mi
23. Turn left at Rocky Ln - 0.2 mi
24. Turn left to stay on Rocky Ln - 0.8 mi
25. Turn left at London Rd S/A23 - 187 ft
26. Turn right at New Battlebridge Ln - 0.1 mi
27. Continue onto Ormside Way - 92 ft
28. Turn left at New Battlebridge Ln - 203 ft
29. Continue onto Battlebridge Ln - 0.3 mi
30. Turn right at Nutfield Rd - 0.6 mi
31. Slight left at Nutfield Marsh Rd - 1.1 mi
32. Continue onto Church Hill - 0.2 mi
33. Continue onto Cooper's Hill Rd - 1.9 mi
34. Slight left to stay on Cooper's Hill Rd - 0.3 mi
35. Continue onto Prince Of Wales Rd - 0.8 mi
36. Continue onto Dayseys Hill - 0.4 mi
37. Slight right at Rookery Hill - 0.9 mi
38. Continue onto Chapel Rd - 0.6 mi
39. Continue onto Redehall Rd - 1.4 mi
40. Turn left at Effingham Rd/B2037 - 1.1 mi
41. Turn right at W Park Rd/B2028 Continue to follow B2028 Go through 1 roundabout - 11.2 mi
42. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto W Common/B2112 Continue to follow B2112 - 0.8 mi
43. Slight left at Hazelgrove Rd/B2112 Continue to follow B2112 Go through 3 roundabouts - 5.7 mi
44. Slight left at Beacon Rd - 1.5 mi
45. Continue onto Ditchling Rd - 2.6 mi
46. Turn left at Coldean Ln - 1.2 mi
47. Slight left to stay on Coldean Ln - 174 ft
48. Turn right at Lewes Rd/A270 - 2.4 mi
49. Slight left to stay on Lewes Rd/A270 - 171 ft
50. Continue straight onto Richmond Pl/A23 Continue to follow A23 - 0.6 mi
51. Turn left at Steine St - 489 ft
52. Turn left at Marine Parade - 0.2 mi

Arrive at: Marine Parade/A259


Google Map:


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Marathon des Sables: the plan...

Thought I'd just outline what I'm trying to achieve here.. I entered the Marathon des Sables back in the later part of 2008... my entry was accepted but for the year 2011.. here i am suddenly in 2010 looking at less than a year away from going... the actual date we leave is March 31.
I saw the event on a Channel 4 TV program - i was instantly hooked and even while i watched it, I was online getting information.. the rest is history and here we are now...
I'm not only doing this for myself, I thought i'd raqise money for charity along the way.. The Meningitis Trust ( http://www.meningitis-trust.org/ ) improves the lives of people affected by meningitis. They are the only provider of professional meningitis support and aftercare services in the UK, helping thousands of people every year. After a work friend's 2 year old died of meningitis it was my impulse to collect for this.
My donation page can be found here: http://www.justgiving.com/mds2011

The race itself is 150 miles or so across the Sahara Desert in Morocco .. it is over 6 days, this is tough enough but they also ask you to carry ALL your own provisions - the only thing they supply is Water and a Tent... everything else - you carry.
So i have been running lots as you can imagine - plus testing equipment and clothing too.. this year i press on with these things and start adding food to my tests and heat training also... its not scientific and its not too pleasant at times but its working so far and I and slowly feeling ready for the task... more to follow. :)