Today i've received notification that i've been accepted into the 2008 Marathon Des Sable.
It's a 6 day event over 244Km accross the Sahara Desert. The equivalent of a marathon every day. For detailed information see www.saharamarathon.co.uk .
I believe everyone should set themselves an impossible challenge at least once in their lives. This is mine.
I've never run a marathon before. I've run in events for the last couple of years, but no more than 10k off road. Now I have to not only train to run a marathon. I have to train well beyond that distance. One stage of the MDS is 80Km. So I need to be an accomplished ultra-distance runner in 2 years time, to stand a chance. Did I mention temperatures reach 125F, oh and that you have to carry all your own food and equipment for the 6 days.
I've been running 2 or 3 times a week for the last couple of years, but only short distances (up to 10 miles). Now everything changes.
For the next 13 weeks, i'm doing a marathon training program. I'll post that in at some point. I've jumped in at week 3 on the program as that's about my level at the moment.
When I can run 26 miles, i'll start ultra (over 26.2miles) training. I'll then start to add weight to a back pack up to about 10 or 12 Kilos. Then I need to get some climate training in!
I use a GPS with Heart Rate Monitor and data recorder. I'll post my results from the week in as often as I can.
I'll need every day of this 2 years to give myself a fighting chance of making it. Wish me luck.
2 comments:
hi just wondered what GPS data recorder you use and what you would recommend
At the time I made this post I (in 2006) I was using a Timex Bodylink system. I still use the watch and GPS, but their data recorder is useless. I've had three of them and they are all terrible. They turn themselves off all the time, and rarely record data for more than a few miles. When I am out on long events (4 hours+) I carry a PDA, installed with Memory Map, and it tracks my route, speed and time. It can be downloaded into Memory Map on my PC, or imported into Google Earth.
If you are looking for an all in one watch-based system then have a look at the Garmin 310XT. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=27335&ra=true
It now has a 20 hour battery life, so is suitable for use on longer events, which its predesessors weren't.
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