OrdinaryBloke

I took the little FLIP camera out and now in under 2 mins you can see what 15km in the Californian evening is like.

The team is all over the place at the moment. I am in San Diego with the family at the Medical Rehabilitation & Kinematics Lab as we get intensive therapy for our daughter Zara. Tom is back in Australia working and Georgie has been in Italy doing some lunatic swimming holiday that would scare the hell out of me but then again my swimming abilities are up there with my ballet skills.

Whilst in San Diego, I am running every day to get the mileage up and in the glorious sun shine with low humidity, I am finding it a breeze. I am averaging 15km per day and rarely feel my heart rate being challenged in any form. I am also taking the opportunity to load up on kit as the stores here are great for the outdoors and the prices are a lot cheaper than Singapore!

I signed up for a training weekend in Hong Kong for the Sahara race at the end of August. The weekend will be a 30km each day run with pack and overnight camp out. It will be a great opportunity to test kit, question the experts and see where I am fitness wise before I head into the final month before heading to the Sahara.

On the 3rd August I will be heading to Hotham with Tom and Georgie. We will be spending three days on the technical side of cross country skiing before we head off into the mountains for a mini expedition to test our skills in the snow. I am looking forward to it as it will be the first time we have trained together and the first time I have been on skies!

Back in March, when Tom and I sat down to consider who we could approach as our team mate, we both knew what we wanted.  We knew that someone we were going to spend so much time needed to be someone we got on with first and foremost. It would be one thing spending a month in North Pole in a tent with each other but there is also the training trips planned to Victoria and Norway. Secondly, we needed someone with the competitive spirit, as we are not entering this race to just complete it. With all that considered, we both came up with the same person in Georgie Jones, a strong athlete with a great track record in triathlon and the half Iron Man distance. Tom, who still works with Georgie, had a call with her to gauge interest and it was strong. Georgie took the weekend to think it over and I met with her on the Monday to answer any questions she may have. However, Georgie had given it thought and felt the time commitment would be too much having taken on a new role and with a travel schedule that would see her move through more than 3 continents some months. We were back to square 1!

Roll on three weeks and Georgie was beginning to try and find solutions and like Tom and I, was keen to find a justification to all her training. Conversations re-started and solutions were found so we are thrilled to be able to announce our team in now complete with Georgie Jones, Tom Clipston and myself. We met for the first time as a team this week with the legendary Marcel who helped us get our strength and conditioning program underway.  On Monday next week we will depart on a three day mission to Children’s Surgical Centre in Cambodia so I can introduce the guys to the team over there. Our fundraising aim for this expedition is 2,000 operations to be funded for the children so I am eager for the guys to see what we will working towards.

We get back at midnight on the 16th and I have one day in Singapore before I depart for a month in the USA with the family as Zara has a month of intensive treatment and therapy at Medical Rehabilitation and Kinematics Lab in San Diego. When I return on the 19th July, I will have a week in Singapore before departing to Hotham, in Victoria, Australia where we will do some technical cross country training before setting off for a training trip in the mountains.

We will post some updates and pictures from Cambodia next week.

Arriving at Changi airport I received a text from Paul to say he thought he may have gone a little lightweight on the packing. When we had climbed Kinabalu in 2006, Paul had packed so much it nearly killed him, so it did not surprise me that he looked to carry the essentials only on what would be five times harder than Kinabalu. When he arrived he had what looked like a day pack on his back so I asked him if he had checked his luggage in to be told that this was all he had. Granted, it all all fitted in but that was before he added food, water and his share of the group equipment such as the tent, it was going to be a squeeze!

Tom was at the airport to meet us along with John Morgan, our support man for the trip. Tom and I have known John for a good few years and I credit/blame him for my sense of adventure. This is the man that took the London taxi from Buckingham Palace to the Sydney Opera House and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for children’s charity in the process. He met his wonderful wife Shilly in Africa where he was driving from one end to the other in a VW Beetle.

After dinner (cooked by Tom) we headed to the guest house at the back of Tom’s home in Bunbury. Laid out on the table was a massive amount of food and additional equipment. It quickly became apparent to Paul that he would need to be really creative to have any chance of eating and drinking in the days to follow but after much pushing he managed to get it all in. All in all our packs weighed around 25-27kg’s, a fact I am not convinced we had given enough thought to previously!

That night I could hear the rain on the roof and it did not stop. When the alarm went off at 4am I could still here it coming down and we began to accept that the weather was not always going to be to our liking. We got into the car with it still dark outside and drove the 100km’s or so to the Cape Naturaliste lighthouse. It was cold when he got out of the car but the rain had eased to a drizzle. Packs on we set off at steady pace with our headlamps on.

If you did this track in the seven days they suggest, you would be treated to some of the most beautiful coastal views interspersed with forest and fauna that only WA can deliver so perfectly. Unfortunately, with two days to accomplish our agenda, it was head down and get on with it. Our first stop, after two hours was for a mere five minutes before we set off in land again on what seemed like a constant ascent. The packs were getting dug in to our backs and the weather decided to turn for the worse. Three hours later and it became apparent we had chosen the wrong path and we learnt our first lesson on navigation as we added 6km to our day.

By midday, with 6 hrs completed we had all but ceased talking with most subjects exhausted. All three of us plugged into our music or audiobooks and in single file did our best to keep an even pace over the rocks, beach and coastal paths. My biggest challenge was regulating my body temperature. I had layered correctly but there was a need to make sure you responded to the ever changing conditions otherwise you would sweat too much and then freeze when the pace dropped.

As the first day ended, the map told us that we had a final 4km to get through to a suitable campsite. We had completed 44km in the day, 6km less than planned and we were a little disappointed as we believed we had done our best. As the sun set we arrived under the lights of our head lamps to an area of flat grass within earshot of the crashing waves from the Indian Ocean. We got the tent up pretty quickly (this will have to improve at the Pole) and set about boiling water from the rain barrel and cooking dinner. We were totally exhausted with a 5am start ahead of us so I cannot remember when we went to sleep but I am betting we were all gone by 9am.

When we woke the final morning it was cold and we quickly had a coffee and some oatmeal using the water we had prepared from the night before. Tearing down camp was done at a decent pace to make sure we kept warm and we were off on a 20km leg. It was still very dark so we were all under headlamps and with no music to ensure we could hear each other with the paths running along the cliffs. It was tough work with the weather changing quite quickly which meant we had to get into waterproofs quickly before we got drenched. We would stop every few hours to eat something and take on some water. It is amazing the effect food has on your performance. We were burning close to 1000 calories an hour and at the end of a period you could feel your energy and concentration starting to reduce. A quick break and an energy gel, trail mix or piece of chocolate and you felt everything lift and you were ready to go again.

With a final scramble over some rocks, we spotted the wonderful Mr Morgan ahead of us. John was a complete hero for us throughout the expedition, quite frankly we would never have been able to do it without him. He was always one step ahead of us with our water, advice and timings on the route as well as essentials such as Nurofen plus and tape for our blisters. This last part was especially important as Tom had been hit early on the first day with blisters and they are truly debilitating when you are trying to achieve what we were trying. As we rehydrated and looked at our map, we could see we needed to pick up the pace. We decided to dump anything but the essentials and filled a pack with food and water. We then set off on a 21km section, at full pace, which was both exhilarating and exhausting. The weather was warming up and the sun was out as we pounded up and down the hills and sand tracks that we share with motor cross riders probably thinking we were mad. At an average pace of 9km/hr we were really moving on difficult terrain but it was great to feel the fitness was there to sustain it and we all looked untroubled by the exertions. Running in full walking boots makes for heavy work and little cushioning but they gave me the stability needed for this terrain and protection from the inevitable toe strikes. The problem we did have however was water. One bottle was lost in the 1st km (by me) and that left us with three litres which just wasn’t enough with me alone consuming on average 1 litre an hour. However, we knew there wasn’t anything we could do about it so we just buckled down and ploughed on.

John was surprised to see us when we arrived an hour ahead of schedule. We were still in good shape and wolfed down as much calories as we could get in our bodies plus litres of water. I started to feel some discomfort in my feet and knew that it was trouble. Tom was barracking me to deal with it now but I didn’t fancy it. Eventually I pulled my boots and socks off my feet and as I feared, I had nasty blisters. There was little choice, the knife came out and repairs were done before we set off again for the km’s that would take us past the 50k m for the day.

As we came into the final checkpoint of the day the sun was setting and we were 6km from our overnight. We set off along the beach, delighted with our progress, a little sorer than the start of the day, but in control. However, we hadn’t really looked at the detail on the route and it quickly became a difficult track including both down a cliff and up the other side. Darkness set in and there was  nothing on the cliff tops but us and  the odd kangaroo (they were bigger than me) so it was headlamps on. Concentration needed to be 100% as the temperature dropped and the track got ever closer to the cliff edge. Tom was on lead and there were a number of times when we stopped to make the path choice and were alarmed to see what the other option would have led us to.

We rolled into camp that had been recce’d by John earlier. The tent went up faster and we dived into another meal of dehydrated curry and discussed the day. I mentioned we had yet to see any snakes upon which Tom tells me I had stepped over one that day but he hadn’t bothered to tell me!

We were up at 3.30am on the final morning and were underway with a light drizzle and temperatures of 7 degrees. The first 15km were in the forest which presented us with a whole new challenge, that being spiders. For whatever reason, these beasts set their giant webs at our head height and sat in the middle of them. On five separate occasions Tom halted our progress having come across a web with an undoubtedly poisonous spider sitting in wait. We quickly passed underneath not wanting to think about what it would have been like to run into the hairy beast face first. The km’s passed by slowly and the constant up and down hills were taking their toll on Paul and I. I plugged into my music and lost myself to block out the increasing discomfort from pain in both knees and of course the blisters that were not improving. Uphill was a huge struggle for me whilst Paul was having a terrible time on the downhill. Eventually we hit the coast again but the rain came in and there was a 5km stretch of strength sapping sand ahead. My knees were crumbling so I told the guys to head on without me and keep the pace up. It was a painful climax to the challenge for me and John, watching us through binoculars, said he could see it was a struggle. I concentrated on focusing on one foot in front of the other and telling myself there was no other choice, I had to get it done.

On arrival I was immediately into the Ibuprofen as if they were sweets before swallowing as much water as I could get into me. It had been a fantastic experience and with many, many lessons learnt. Some of which are

-It is good to know the route but you need to know what the route and terrain will contain.

-Fueling is critical, you have to take on water and food regular for endurance work like this and be disciplined in taking it.

-Foot maintenance is not to be left until the last minute. As soon as you feel a hot spot you have to deal with it.

-Clothing choices are critical, I am delighted to have found the perfect base layer from North Face that I will be using at the Sahara having used it last week. Overall I was happy with my kit.

-Ultra distances are more about the mental game than physical but you need to prepare your body properly and in my case the knees need work.

- You can gain two hours a day with a proper set up and tear down of camp

- Define the roles for the team up front on all duties so each member knows what they need to be concentrating on.

- Bring John Morgan everywhere you do a challenge (if only  I could do that at the Sahara and Pole)

That night we checked into a motel just so we could get a shower before we ate something hot. It felt wonderful after three days of exertion to get out of the dirty clothes and get clean with hot water. Next door to us were a gang of bikers who were drinking beer and catching up. The always friendly Mr Morgan offered them a hello but the response was not so polite. With a mischievous grin on his face he disappeared into our room and put the tv on full volume before closing the door. With wafer thin walls, our bikers were going to be very upset when they tried to sleep later  with the room next door blaring out noise from the TV. We would be long gone, with the door locked.

I don’t remember the drive back to Tom’s, I was asleep in the back and upon arrival I marched to my bed and that was me done until the following morning. The following morning Paul was in some distress with blisters and a rash on his legs. He had obviously been bitten and the venom was taking affect. A quick call to the doctor and it was off to the hospital but I am pleased to report he was patched up and once he had his antibiotics we headed to the airport.

Arriving home is always good when you have been away but this was even better as Sandy was there waiting for me at the airport. This lady is the rock solid support that allows me to get involved in these silly adventures. We were up well past midnight catching up and validating whether my mental state was normal for a male fast approaching forty! We both agreed it wasn’t, never has been and is unlikely to ever be but she loved me anyway.

Finding the 3rd team mate continues but there is a renewed glimmer of hope that someone we previously approached will now join us. I really hope so as the dynamics and skills this person would bring to the team is fantastic, so let’s see how we are doing in a few days.

Training continues to be uphill though I have stuck to it and I can feel the improvements coming slowly. My strength work is helping me cope, especially as my stronger core is helping with my efficiencies, or inefficiencies in my case. I am extending my daily runs out and my longs are 2.5hrs and now include a pack. Monday’s run was in the heat of the day and I blew it badly but on reflection that was a nutrition error. I am now (not surprisingly) down 5kg since I started training in earnest 3 weeks ago. I have been very disciplined with my eating and no alcohol of any sort has passed my lips during this period. I am off to HK today and with me will be my CNP MR’s and a host of other nutritional stuff so that I remain in control of my intake and not at the mercy of the airlines or hotels.

Tom and I had a catch-up last night on the phone to get up to date. He did a half iron man this weekend (1.9 km swim, 90 km ride, 21.1 km run) in 5.5hrs so it is fair to say he is doing well on his training. We chatted about kit for the cape to cape next week along with other logistics and then as casual as anything he drops in “well we will finish Saturday, get a meal and a good nights sleep and I have signed us up for a half marathon on the Sunday morning”. Typical Tom, we hit the extremes on the first session out!

I will be back early next week with a posting just before I head to WA for the Cape to Cape.

Training has gone well this week, mostly base aerobic work with three runs and strength work. I will be out again this evening for a pacey 7.5km and then plan to repeat tomorrow before moving out a 12.5km on Sunday. Sandy has joined me once this week and is definitely getting faster and she even had the cheek to say that it wasn’t a very hard run when we finished. How six months makes a world of difference, Sandy struggled around the entire course then!

Preparations for the Cape to Cape, 135km weekend in Western Australia continue. Tom and I will be now be joined by our good friend Paul Castle who has been on oceans and up mountains with us in the past. Paul loves the outdoors and long distance running so was more than game to come and have a weekend in WA. We also received an email from John Morgan, another good friend of ours who has retired and lives in Adelaide. He had read that we were doing the Cape to Cape and asked if we needed someone to run support. The answer was a resounding yes so we are now getting into the finer details of the plans.

Paul got in touch with the lady who runs the Cape to Cape website about further information and told her our plans. He received the following email in response.

Hi Paul
Margaret van Dorssen gave me your details and I have posted your guidebook
today – airmail – so i hope it reaches you in plenty of time.
Margaret said you were planning to do the walk in 3 days – the whole Cape to
Cape is 135 km long and it is quite tough going in places, especially the
soft sandy beaches (!), so 3 days would be a bit ambitious for the whole
walk – very fit bushwalkers can do it in 5 days, but 6 or 7 is more usual
and more realistic.
However, you may be thinking of just doing half or a section with the time
that you have.
Anyway, have a good look through the guidebook – there is a distance chart
near the back – and e-mail me with any queries you might have.
There is quite a bit of information on our website:
www.capetocapetrack.com.au if you haven’t already seen that.
Kind regards
Jane

Doing half of it!! This lady clearly underestimates our immaturity as this email has only made us want to prove them wrong! Three days it is and actually, three days it has to be as Paul and I have a flight to catch on the Sunday!

Just back from a few days on a Malaysian island and I have to say I feel all the better for it. Comprehensive training starts tomorrow so it was nice to get away without thinking about anything else but the kids and Sandy. Whilst away, I took the Solio charger with me to give it a thorough test. This small piece of kit is supposed to be used for charging electrical items using the power of the sun only. This will be something we will very much need in the Pole to charge GPS, SAT Phone etc and something I will need in the Sahara as a way to keep my ipod charged for the many hours out in the sun running each day. The kit is simple to set up , it fans out and you stick it directly in the sunlight. Now, I am male so the instructions rarely get read at the best of times but surely even I cannot get it wrong? Well I did something because it hardly charged anything. Conor’s Itouch was done twice but my phone was barely touched. I WILL now take a look at the instructions but I fear we are back to square one on this piece of the kit challenge.

Our third team member has had to withdraw which is a disappointment. It is a massive challenge and huge commitment so we are grateful that we have found out now as we start preparations in earnest. We have approached our agreed choice about joining and she has said that she would be very keen. This weekend we will try and iron some details out and hopefully be able to move on from this stage as the organisers are keen for us to get our sizing in for kit fitting!

This week will see me complete  twice daily/6 days of training with running each morning (shorts, longs, fartlek) with my wife Sandy (the natural runner in the family) followed by strength and core work on the TRX as well as at VBC@Havelock where we have purchased the latest in strength and conditioning equipment. I am looking forward to the discipline to be quite frank, I thrive on working through the aches and pains as well as seeing the improvement in both physical and mental terms.

I will back this week with team mate update and how I am adjusting to the full training load.

It has been a busy few weeks of events, culminating in the massive Suntec one in Singapore on Saturday. With them now completed, I am heading to Rawa Island in Malaysia for a few days on the beach with my family. When I get back, my wife Sandy and I are heading out with our good friends Chris and Noreen Snell for dinner and no doubt a few too many drinks in the case of Chris and I. Sunday morning, I will enter the monastery, which is the term we use to describe the proper start of training when we are competing at the boxing club.  I have 172 days until I compete the Sahara race and I need to start getting the mileage up as well a developing my core strength to help with efficiency. I will subjecting myself to a barrage of tests in the coming week including V02 Max at a sports clinic so I can train at optimal throughout and I have got the nutritional plan in place now so I can help my body on recovery.

Last night I met one of my team mates for the North Pole race, Tom Clipston. I can announce Tom joining the team as he has now been able to secure the necessary permissions. Tom is hitting 40 like myself this year and this has always been on his hit list. We have known each for seven years now and worked together for four of them. Residing in Western Australia, Tom, originally from the UK, shares a very similar outlook to competition and challenges to myself. We have been up mountains together and sailed through force 8 gales as well as wrong parts of town in many countries in the early hours of the morning. Like me, Tom wants to win the Polar race. We see no reason in competing unless that is the aim and last night was spent discussing the training challenges, strategy and plans. Tom is coming to the end of his training plan for a half Iron Man he has coming up in a few weeks before we set out on the Cape to Cape 135km training trek we have planned for 13th May.

Our third team mate would seem to be running into some challenges based on his recent lack of communication. However, we will find out today whether he is in or not and to make sure we did not lose any momentum if the answer is negative, we have decided on a back-up to approach. Interestingly, the third member is female and well known to us both. A natural athlete, arguably elite level in endurance sports, she has the both the ability and drive to take on such a challenge. Whether she wants to share a tent with two hairy ass males for four weeks in the arctic is another question but we will have the discussion if the need arises.

That’s me for now, though next week I will be on daily postings as we get the training underway.