In place of running I went to the gym 3 times. On Tuesday I did an hours swimming. I certainly improved this week. My breathing was better, and my front crawl too. I did about 28 lengths. However, I did have to take 30 seconds/1 min break between each one! Swimming is obviously a far more technical sport that running, and I am not very efficient at all it appears. However, towards the end of the swim my foot was beginning to hurt as well.
On Wednesday I did an hour in the gym. I did a mixture of cross training, resistance weight machines, and 15 minutes on the Stairmaster. This is my new discovery, the Stairmaster. I've always just ignored it, and figured it's one of those machines than women go on. I've been looking for an exercise to work my calves. They really burn when you walk for miles up hills, so I want to improve their strength. This machine really does that, and wears you out too. I set it to 'rolling hills' and intensity level 8, and later changed to 9. After 15 minutes I could really feel the burn on the calves, so it works.
The rest of the week I was working in Scotland. A lengthy drive there and back with my ‘poorly’ foot on the accelerator did nothing to aid the healing process at all, as you can imagine. I was hoping the rental car they dropped off would have had cruise control. Sadly, no! I got back on Saturday night, and woke up to a lovely sunny day on Sunday. I can't tell you how hard it was to resist the urge to go walking, but I knew it would do my foot no good at all. Instead I went to the gym again. I only did 20 minutes in the pool, before my foot started to twinge again. I did a couple more lengths (kicking more gently) and got out, not wanting to irritate it. I had not brought my gym kit, as I was planning an hour in the pool. However, I improvised. I dried off my swimming shorts, which are actually running shorts anyway, in the little swimwear dryer there and used my towel for a hand towel. I did 20 minutes on the Stairmaster on 'steady' at level 10. I did 103 floors (3.5km), versus the 47 floors I did on Wednesday. I'm going to use the Stairmaster every week now. Interesting that it didn't irritate my foot at all?
What else can I tell you? Well, I have just booked my flights to Bordeaux and back in June, for La Trans Aqu. I also have had some equipment arrive this week that I'll need for La Trans Aqu as well as the MDS.
Firstly, some Raidlight ankle-gaiters - they are blue, make of lycra and fit over your whole shoe. You have to glue Velcro strips onto your shoes so they attach. If you browse pictures from the MDS or La Trans Aqu on the internet you will see lots of competitors using them.
This is the manufacturer’s link. They don't look much like the rubbish drawing, but you get the idea.
Gaiters
Next up is a Sahara cap, like the one below. Pretty obvious what that is for.
Next item was an Aspivenin - an anti-venom pump. It is a compulsory item on both events. It's basically a large syringe that you attach to your wound (snakebite) and pump to draw out liquid poison. It's debatable as to how effective these are, with certain poisons actually ending up being more dangerous by using one apparently. I read bits about them on the internet, but it was scaring me too much so I stopped. I'd rather not get bitten by anything venomous, especially not in Morocco where if you get bitten by certain snakes you can kiss your ass goodbye within minutes. I doubt i'll even see a snake anyway (all fingers crossed).
Also arrived this week were some Leki Trekking Poles. I've bought the lightest poles that Leki sell for trekking. I bought them for about £20 less than anywhere else in the UK was selling them, and with free delivery. Result!
Manufactuers site
These are designed to ease the burden on your legs, by spreading your weight, and that of your backpack, making your upper body do more work. You expend more energy/calories, but you heal strike with about 20% less force overall apparently. They are also very useful on hills!
I emailed Leki this week and asked should I use Trekking or Nordic poles, explaining my goals. They forwarded my email onto Leki's UK importer, Ardblair Sports. They are not a retailer, rather a distributor to the likes of wiggle (online sports), and all the sports shops all over the country. They import many brands and types of equipment, not just Leki poles. Now, I had already ordered the trekking poles in the few days it took to get the email from them, but they suggested maybe I should use a new Nordic Walking pole - the Carbon Traveller.
You can see it's similar to the trekking pole, in that it collapses down in 3 parts for storage in a backpack. It also has quick release grips, so you are left wearing those half-gloves when you release (very useful for keeping your hands free to eat and drink). I quizzed them some more, and the downside is that the grip on the Nordic poles are slimmer, and not 'shaped' like the trekking pole. They are designed like that because you release your grip on the pole on the backswing as you 'push off'. As a result, after long periods your hand will tire faster than the trekking pole. Turns out the importer are supporting a Team Leki trainer at a trial Nordic Walking event on the 24th Feb at Trentham Gardens near to my home. They have arranged for the trainer to lend me the Carbon traveller for the day and see what I think. If I like them, I can get a special rate from Ardblair sports in return for a report on them for their website.
I also read about, and emailed the manager of an outdoor sports company who completes the LAMM (Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon) this year. Read his story here.
LAMM Story
As you can see, he was sceptic - like me really. Would poles really make a difference? Well it appears so.
It looks like the Nordic variety excels at improving your fitness by providing a more total body workout because of that arm action. Many places cite big improvements in muscle tone of the back as well.
I think I'm going to look into training with Nordic poles to boost fitness and build back muscle, but I suspect I will ultimately use the trekking pole for the comfort and weight-support benefit.
So that is all that arrived this week. When I get paid again, and I'd just like to say thanks to Mr Visa for buying me all that kit, I need to buy a sleeping bag and a bed roll - both ultralite. I'm looking to buy a PHD minimus sleepin bag, just 465 grams, and a Thermarest Prolite 3 to lie on, and hopefully get a goods nights sleep between stages.
Oh, almost forgot, I also bought a knife this week. Well, I won it on an ebay auction. It's an ultralite folding knife, only 17grams and cost me £8 - a Gerber Ultralite LST. Again, this is required equipment for both events.
The sooner I buy all this equipment, the sooner I can get used to carrying and packing it.
The Ardblair Sports company also said they sold 'x-socks' and said a previous MDS competitor had used them and written a report for their website. You can read it, amoungst others, here. Anyway, I'd heard of these and was thinking of trying them but they cost £11 or £12 each! She mentioned the price in the email, but said I could get a discount if I wrote a similar report for their website. I agreed, and have ordered several pairs of the 'Sky Run' socks. I'll let you know how they perform.
I have also been planning my La Trans Aqu food and backpack weight this week, but I'll save that for another week as this post is already much longer than I intended. I have sore fingers as well as a sore foot now.
Until next time...
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