Preparing for what's to come

During 2017 life took a turn and threw me a pretty shitty curve ball so needed one of those significant goals to fill what became a huge void in life.
 
Although I'd done a couple of Ultra Marathons in previous years I knew that having something to challenge me and keep me "distracted" was essentially needed.
Speaking randomly to a friend, he wondered if I'd seen this crazy ultra where you run 6 x marathons in 5 x days through the Amazon Jungle. On top of this it's self sufficient which means carrying EVERYTHING (except water) for the duration.
Now, this may seem like a stupid thing to do but hey, challenges, right??
Next day, Googled it and signed up and then did the research (stupid thing to do, right!)
 
Obviously, besides the climate there's the physical challenges too, and running with an 8kg rucksack is probably the part that worries me the most.
On top of this there's the whole trench foot, jungle wildlife, nutrition and gawd knows what else but the extra weight is my nemesis I think.
So, being someone that needs a little motivation and accountability, I thought I'd have a crack at blogging my journey through to the end of the event in June 2019.
Which brings me nicely into how I'm going to do it.
What I'll do is blog my physical & mental progress along with experiences of how it all goes.
I made a decision to start to train from mid-July having run a 66 miler in one day in May.
So far I've been a little slow in getting going (mostly because of the ridiculous heatwave the UK is experiencing right now).
 
Training run #1 (Baptism of Fire):
Emptied my bladder rucksack and replaced the bladder with a 2kg bag of rice. Hmmmm doesn't sound or look too bad... err wrong!
Only did a flat 6 miler but the weight was an absolutely killer in 27 deg heat!
TBH I struggled quite a bit but managed it at around 11 min miles.
I guess the part of me that felt it the most was my lower back. Maybe the rucksack wasn't the best to use but hey, needed to try it.
Long way to go if the ultra is to be a success in 36 deg with 100% humidity!
 
Training run #2 (Man-up).
Decided to man up and make the most of a slight drop in temperature (down to 24 degs).
loaded up the rucksack with 4kg and did another 6 miler but tightened the straps so it clung like glue. Surprisingly my back seemed to be ok but wow, the weight is HEAVY.
Managed the route but going from 2kg to 4kg was noticeable. If you want to get an idea of how much 8kg is... next time you head off to the supermarket, grab 2 x 4kg sacks of rice!
So today is a rest day (although I'll be teaching karate later).
Plan is to head out again tomorrow for the same 4kg / 6 miler and try to get into a regime.
Being my first ever blog, it'd be great to know if anyone's reading it so pleeeease leave a message, it'll help keep me going!

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Location: Lee-on-the-Solent, UK

Comments

  1. Unknown1 August 2018 at 15:07

    You know you can do it bud. I remember at the end of an injury filled ultra we done together you embraced me at the finish line and called me a warrior. I've never felt such an overwhelming rush of emotion. Achievement, pain, friendship all at once.
    You know what that feeling is like and YOU are a warrior!!
    Just remember those feelings you'll get when you complete that goal. Huge respect dude and much love xx
    Looking forward to this, Pete x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lee Cherry1 August 2018 at 16:25

    I loves a blog, keep 'em coming !
    Would one of these be any good? http://amzn.eu/5oaRIkj

    ReplyDelete
  3. Rob Wood1 August 2018 at 20:31

    Cheers Lee! Tried the link but it bombed out :0/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown1 August 2018 at 20:58

    You should try and get some sort of solar powered camera! I’m dying to know what you see when your out there! - they must exist.. solar powered that works under jungle canopy ��

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rob Wood2 August 2018 at 08:29

    Apparently there's ZERO phone signal & power and little to no direct sunlight under the canopy but they have a pro photographer on each stage. Looking at this years pics i'm sure we won;t be dissapointed :o)

    ReplyDelete

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