Mission to Morocco - MDS 2011 by Birdypie

Well time really has flown since the last races. I just about managed to stagger round the Punchbowl 30 the week after Druids but it was a tough ask and the legs and feet were pretty mashed after that. The week following all went rather wrong, I was snowed with work and then unfortunately my Mum was ill so all thoughts of anything other than looking after her went out of the window. Thankfully she is home and doing much better now and life returns slowly to normal.

MdS now looms large in just three weeks time. Last week I completed my last pre desert marathon at the Steyning Stinger on the South Downs. I’d run this last year, a tough but beautiful course. This year I made it a bit more interesting by bringing along an 8kg pack to see how I coped with it. The race went pretty well and I was doing fine at half way with the usual run walk tactic. The second half is much tougher with the bigger hills kicking in but I kept positive and just enjoyed the wonderful weather and views. I was pleased to come in only 20 mins slower than last year despite the pack.

Yesterday I was lucky to have a day down at Chichester University using their heat chamber facilities. This was quite some experience. After a good chat with the team there about nutrition and aspects to watch out for during the race I was suddenly dumped into 53 degrees heat with my full pack and kit. It was, frankly, murderous. I managed a jog to start and did initially think that it wasn’t so bad but 20 minutes in and I was suffering with my heart rate up. I stopped at 30 minutes which was less than I’d hoped for. It was a huge shock to the system but this is pretty much as hot as it will get out there and the chamber didn’t replicate any breeze we might experience. It was a huge wake up call about just how tough this event is going to be...as if I needed it. So....yes its getting serious!

Today I am planning an afternoon of race admin just to check I have pretty much everything bought now. I have a couple of bits of food to get in but I think I’m nearly there. Tomorrow Kevin and I are heading down to Camber for a bit of sand dune work....and a nice bit of fish and chips!!

I’ll try and get another couple of blogs in before I go...but expect them to be a bit of a panic shambles.

Enjoy the beautiful spring weather – it really is a perfect day for a run!!