A long post today as I attempt to get you all caught up on Hotham training and the continued Sahara training all at once!
I met Tom coming off his flight from London in Melbourne and we quickly sorted out the car and started loading the kit. Georgie’s flight got in around 90 mins later and after stopping to satisfy (read demand) Georgie’s need for MacDonalds, we started off on the four hour drive. Tom did a sterling job at the wheel considering his jet lag, though alternatives were limited as my licence has ran out and G hadn’t brought hers with her.
We made a stop in Wangaratta to take on supplies. Trail maps, fuel canisters for the stoves, a therma mat for Georgie as well as some food supplies. Spirits were high, we were off to the snow! As we got closer to the mountains the scenery was spectacular, rural Victoria is incredibly beautiful and double so with big blue skies. As we began the ascent to the top of the mountain, the roads became incredibly bendy which made for a nervous Georgie which in turn only encouraged Tom further to increase his speed. It was only when the words “I feel quite sick” were uttered that he slowed to a sensible pace and by that time we were on the mountain with fantastic views of the snow.
When we arrived the lifts were closing, but with X country being our game, we were able to quickly get changed and head out for a quick session. I haven’t been on skis before and only snowboarded once but Tom is a veteran of all disciplines and was very happy to get us started. It was uneventful, no wipe outs and probably gave me some false confidence for the following day!
The next morning we drove 14km to Dinner Plain to meet our X Country coach. Most definitely the most laid back man on the planet. He confessed he had 2 coffees a day. We wondered what he would be like if he didn’t! It became quickly apparent that Georgie was a natural and I was not. I started my now familiar crashing to the floor style of X Country pretty much from the start. We headed into the forest and I struggled to get any momentum which had the obvious affect on confidence which in turn made things worse. The humour and encouragement never stopped, this is a team that works well together and I was consistently getting support from my team mates. We completed four hours and then decided to have lunch which was needed if for nothing else to give my body a rest from the bashing.
That afternoon we headed out again and for reasons I do not know, it all came together and I started to make progress. Sure, I still had some great wipe outs (yes there are plenty on video) but the confidence was growing. The day ended with 6 hrs of X country bagged and we spent the evening in talking. Quote of the day goes to Georgie “Are you going to be dogging Mr Salami?” Let’s just say it was a reference to Tom and myself when we skiing.
We were up early on Thursday with Tom in the kitchen cooking away as Tom does. It is a great skill of his and G and I were certainly not complaining. Spirits were high though Tom did point out that Day 2 often sees people going backwards. How right he was! We set off with our coach on a 12km trail and I was like a new born giraffe. I think I must have fallen AND HARD maybe 40 times in the five hours. Initially it was really funny but then it started to hurt and hurt bad. By thend of the trail I was broken, in need of Ibuprofen and would have been quite happy to keep warm by burning the skis. At lunch Georgie said that our coach has said to her “have you got any marijuana? I think it may help Ian”
That night we had a few drinks and dinner. Well, let’s say I had a few drinks as my team mates went out and when I woke this morning I found Tom asleep, fully clothed on the couch and G nowhere to be seen so I presumed alive in her room.
The plan shifted to get me on downhill skis to see if that would feed my need for momentum. Whilst the first five minutes did not start off promising I progressed pretty quickly and started to enjoy myself. I have never been afraid to try stuff and I was way past caring if I wiped out so with that things started to come together and the day ended up with progress.
Friday we decided I would continue build up experience on the slopes whilst Georgie and Tom would race in a weekly challenge over the 14km X country course. My morning was spent being passed by three year olds on skis whilst I did my best not to wipe them out during one of my regular crashes. The other two did a great job at the race with Tom near his record time and Georgie coming in with a really respectable time which was fantastic considering she had been on skis for three days!
That evening we packed our stuff into the back packs and headed out on the trail to a field in the snow as the sun began to set. It quickly got cold as we set about getting our tent up and the snow melted for the water we would need. We did well, things moved on and we worked well as a team. Tasks completed we dived into the tent with the pitch black surrounding us and threw some water into the foil bags containing our dehydrated meals, which never get any better. I can’t remember when we got to sleep but it was not late as we were tired. I slept fitfully as it was absolutely freezing and my mat was on an uneven patch that left me constantly moving to get comfortable.
We awoke at sunrise and began the morning tasks but these were made absolutely hellish with the freezing boots. We were in a few feet of snow so there was no opportunity to get them warmed up either and after a bit we all started to lose the feeling in our feet. That accelerated us on our tasks and we were on our skis and off as soon as we could which worked a charm as the barrier between our boots and snow provided by the skis was enough.
My X country had not improved so after a few interesting wipe outs we decided it was best for me to return to downhill whilst the other two continued and I headed back to Hotham for some instruction. The day past with some progress on my side and plenty of mileage for the other two and we eventually found ourselves back at the camp for another night under canvas. Lesson learnt from the previous night we put on everything we had and slept a lot better though it was still cold despite having our sub zero bags and mats. Something we will need to consider when it will many multiples colder in the Arctic.
The final day saw me under more instruction and make a lot of progress (from a low base) and the other two head off to do a new track. We ended the day with dinner and a few well earned drinks that in mine and Tom’s case ended in the apartment at 4.30am.
All in all a great trip that brought home to us that fitness is not the challenge here. Technique, preparation, drilling major aspects of the race and kit selection are absolutely critical. We work well as a team, enjoy each others company a great deal and are committed to the same goal but we will be breaking down the race hour by hour and practicing relentlessly.
On arrival back in Singapore, my priority shifted to the Sahara which is now a mere 36 days away. Each weekday now has a 10-15km run in it with one having a morning and evening in the same day. The weekends have got progressively bigger with last weekend seeing me complete a 5hr 30mins on Saturday followed by a 2hrs 50mins on Sunday, complete with pack around Macritchie. I am fortunate to have Michelle with me on each long run which is great for company. I don’t find them tough physically, it is just a challenge to keep the forward momentum for such long periods at a time. This weekend I have a four hour on Saturday and four hour on Sunday to complete with pack before I start a relatively lower training load for a week before the final push to the end. I am also blogging on the Sahara website along with my other competitors so if you have any interest then give it a read.
When not running, I have to spend time on kit selection. I have to carry all my own kit including food, clothes, sleeping bag etc over the 250km course so correct selection to make sure I get the right balance between weight and productivity is critical. I need to get my head around nutrition and work out what will give me the highest calory density without the least weight. This is a big topic and whilst interesting when there are spare hours in the day, there never are so I need to start looking at it properly. Running shoes (Nike) Top (Patagonia), Backpack OMM25L and compression tights (Skins), sleeping bag (marmot) are all selected and tested. I now just need to concentrate on the rest including the long list of mandatory.
Enough for now, I will be be back in the next week or so with another update.
