MDS 2009 - Keith

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Better Late than Never

OK so a few weeks late but here's the report.

So what happened then on my first solo jaunt into the world of the ultra-marathon....

I focussed myself on this training run for the entire previous week, as such I made sure I was well hydrated to start with and squeezed in as much sleep as possible. Saturday came round quick enough and before I new it the alarm was sounding at 4am and I was forcing myself out of my scratcher for what was going to be a long hard day on the trail.
The night before I had treated myself to the biggest fish supper and crusty bread I could order and it was still very much lying in my stomach, because of this I didn't need to bother with breakfast and instead loaded up the car and started off for Bridge of Cally Hotel car park which would be the start and finish point.

The circuit from the hotel around the Cateran Trail would be about 50-miles, I intended to carry all my supplies for the duration, that is food and all my water and hydration products. I did this for 2 reasons.
One, I wanted to be entirely self sufficient and have no reason to rely on anything or anybody else.
Two, I wanted to carry a back pack as close to the starting weight of my MDS pack as I could. With 5 x 1.5litre bottles of water + 2 x 800ml drinking bottles as well as warm clothing, food and emergency first aid kit the pack weight was about 10kgs.

I arrived at Bridge of Cally about 0530 and started to prepare for the off. The temperature was easily sub-zero and at that time of the morning just out of my bed I really noticed the cold. The car park was covered ice which was sign of things to come.

With my heart rate monitor attached, hat on, gloves on, running tights on, and warm jacket I picked up my loaded pack for the first time and instantly noticed how heavy it was. At 10kgs it was easily the heaviest running-pack I've used and I immediately thought of lightening the load but I can't do that in the desert as such I strapped myself in and at 6am on the freezing morning I set off into the dark forest.

I was using my head torch for the first hour and a half of the route which followed the Cateran Trail towards Kirkmichael. During this time the only things of note were the following,

1)It was very dark and very icy as such I landed on my arse twice having stepped on sheet ice, trail shoes are great for mud and rocks....hopeless on ice. The first time I went down I actually thought I'd broken my hand which cushioned the fall.

2)In the dark, in the forest in the middle of nowhere, all alone.......now I don't scare easily but I'm not ashamed to say that there were a few occasions when I very nearly papped myself as a woodland creature took umbridge at being woken early from it's slumber by the sound of a heavily laden oaf plodding past it's nest. Trying to locate the source of the noise in pitch black with nothing but a feeble head torch is nigh on impossible, it has to be said my pace quickened somewhat.

3)I saw the sun rise over the distant hills which, in the piece and quiet and solitude of the circumstances I found myself in, was absolutely fantastic.

I kept a healthy pace and with the sun up and the temperature rising I changed into my shorts and running top, this would keep me cooler as well as give me something to change into when the temperature began to drop later in the day.

As I passed by some farm buildings I got the whiff of cooked breakfasts and log fires but I was quite happy with my progress and not too jealous of the luxury the occupants must have been enjoying, plus the fact I had a secret weapon.......Pork Scratchings. I'd picked up this tip from the MDS forum I use quite regularly. It's another variety of salty snack ultra-runners use to give variety to their palates. I had brought a packet with me and was about to trial them for the first time. Now picture the scene, 9.30am I've been running for 3 ½ hours no breakfast and the smell of cooked breakfasts lingering in the air.....now imagine biting into a handful of pork scratchings.... that's right they tasted just like a bacon roll to me....ok, so my imagination might be better than yours but it worked for me and I pushed on towards Enochdhu.


Now, my hydration strategy was to drink 800ml of Isostar fluid every 1 ½ hrs. Because I had 2x800ml bottles strapped to the front of my rucksack this meant that every 3 hours I needed to stop and replenish my water from the bottles in my rucksack. This was ok however because I was on my own the whole process of stopping and taking my pack off sorting out my water then re-harnessing myself took over 5 minutes and was a bit of a plaster, however for today it was a necessary evil. I pushed on towards the Spittal of Glenshee keeping a good average pace and being careful not to overdo it at an early stage.

The last time the three of us did the route the snow was horrendous at this point and today it was not much better. At one stage while battling up to the summit of the main hill at the Spittal the snow was up to my thighs and bloody cold it was too!!

When I reached the Spittal of Glenshee lodge (17 miles 4hours 20min) I decided to make good use of their facilities and lightened my overall load by at least a couple of pounds : )

Coming back outside I realised how cold it was and wasted no time pushing on towards Kirkton of Glen Isla. I was feeling fine at this stage and had remained religious in my fluid consumption with the occasional handful of nuts, scratchings or sweets as my other sustenance. The terrain up until this point had mainly been flat or uphill during the long climb to the Spittal, now the terrain was a lot flatter and followed the valley floor for several miles. This should have made the going a lot easier however, as with the last time I travelled this route the ground was saturated and mainly covered in mud and animal slime. This made the risk of injury greater as well as the need to continually adjust my foot positioning to avoid falling. I decided it was time to break out my Ipod and plugged myself in to Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds, I know this by heart, but it's a story that passes the time and by the time it had finished I was another 1 ½ hours further along my journey.

By this stage I was beginning to feel the effects of fatigue slightly, I had been on the move for seven hours and had travelled about 27 miles this is where the mental battle kicks in, just over half way and still a long way to go. It was about this time that I felt the effects of being alone, in particular having stopped to replenish my water another 5-6minute faff about with the pack I started to run and immediately noticed that I had forgotten to fasten the clip on my pack....AAAAARGGHH. This would be a 2 second job if my mate was there instead it would be another 5 minute faff about if I did it myself. Sod that I tucked in the strap and I knew that nothing was going to fall out so I pushed on without fixing it. This was another valuable lesson about needing to be really disciplined with your kit management, it saves so much hassle, this is a lot easier when you are fresh than fatigued.

By the time I reached Kirkton of Glen Isla I was definitely getting tired. I changed my socks which was a great feeling and I took five minutes to drink and eat some of an energy bar. I still had another 10 miles to Alyth followed by another 10 miles to Bridge of Cally.....must push on. My stomach problems then started to rear it's ugly head again. Slightly different this time, I had huge swings from feeling terrible to feeling great and actually was able to run freely....It was a bit strange.

I had a few stops to replenish water and put on more clothing as by now the sun was beginning to set and it was getting very cold.

About 3 miles outside Alyth I stopped to put on my head torch and I also broke out my walking poles for the first time. The poles are a huge help, they give your walk/run a degree of rhythm which makes a huge difference.

I reached Alyth at about 6pm and checked my watch, I had travelled 43 miles with about another 7 – 8 to go. I do know however that there is a beast of a hill as you come out of Alyth and the last time I got to the top I celebrated with a projectile vomit....

I didn't stop in Alyth and pushed onwards and upwards, I slowed my pace to keep my heart rate down to about 158 bpm. As I crested the hill I got the full brunt of the icy north wind which was absolutely biting. At this stage I am so glad I had travelled the route before because the path crosses some open moorland with numerous dog walking paths criss crossing the hill. I actually got slightly lost but I knew the general direction I should be moving and after about ½ a mile I found the path and pushed on.

I joined the road back towards Bridge Of Cally and I new that within the next 5 miles I would be finished and sitting in my car. The only ordeal between here and the car was twice I paused to wretch but I never actually vomited which I suppose is good news.

At 14 hours and 50 miles covered the car park came into view and the trek was finished. The final scores were as follows

Final readings from Garmin watch.

Distance – 48.56 miles (watch battery failed at this distance)
Time – 13hrs 33mins 57 secs
Pace – 3.6 mph average (Was hoping for between 4 – 4.5mph)
Calories burned – 6071
Average Heart Rate – 140bpm
Maximum Heart Rate – 179bpm
Total Ascent – 10,575 feet

Fluid
750ml water in car before start.
500ml Powerade in car before start.
5.6litres of Powerade drunk during course of route. At 150ml every 15 minutes. Last 2 ¾ hours saw little fluid consumption.

Total weight loss = 15st 3lbs 4 oz starting weight – 14st 9lbs 4oz finishing weight

= 8lbs over 14 hrs

A great experience as far as mental strength of doing an ultra-marathon solo. It's completely different than when you have support or a companion. It has given me some confidence that I can push myself to the limit while on my own, a trait I've no doubt I'll need in the desert!!