The plethora of reading material on endurance running is so diverse that making up a strategy for an event is as much a science as it is an art.
Endurance events are a balance between the physical requirements of running multiple consecutive marathons and the mental strength required to keep going. However mental strength is something that can be supported by planning and preparation; hence the need for a strategic approach.
Our approach is to create a basic plan to follow, and to evaluate our situation at regular intervals and adapt accordingly. The broad plan would be to determine a pace we think we can maintain, the food intake we will allow ourselves, and the weight we will carry. With these in mind we can then start training accordingly. Blisters, dehydration, injury and an inability to digest the food will obviously require a change of plan.
Since we ran 100km over the Malta Marathon weekend at an average pace of 11km/hr with full pack, we can expect to manage between 6 and 8km/ hr in the desert, bearing in mind that the Jebel stage requires steep limbs of 850m which slow down the average pace considerably.
During training we measured our calorie burn and heart rate to get an idea of calorie consumption from food. Science shows that by keeping a low heart rate the body burns stored fats, so the energy gels are merely fuel to start the fire and keep the blood sugars high enough. Low blood sugars affects your mental strength first, and your body second. In Ironman last year I burnt 9000 calories.
At a low heart rate, this means that I would only need to consume around 2500 calories per day with the expectation to lose fat reserves. The critical issue here is keeping the heart rate low, or else the body will switch to sugar cravings! Ranulph Feinns and Mike Stroud crossed the Antarctic continent in 3 months carrying all their requirements with them on human powered sleds. They burnt 11,000 calories a day and lost a quarter of their body weight, but survived (just!). The body is an amazing machine. The next issue is technical equipment requirements.
The money these companies make from selling 'technical' wear that will make you cooler, warmer, faster and stronger depending on the event, is mind- boggling. I must admit I am a bit of a gadget freak, but the more I realise how adaptable the human body is, the less i believe in technical necessity. A whole new movement has resulted from studies that show that since the inception of cushioned running shoes, the incidence of running injuries has increased.
The cushioning promotes heal striking, which is jarring on the joints, as opposed to the 'proper' movement the foot goes through when running barefoot. This is further emphasised (in books like Born to Run) with comparisons with African and American tribes that run barefoot at speeds that would win competitive marathons, with nothing on their feet except flimsy sandals.
Barefoot running is something to be considered, but requires a slow build up since we've lost our natural ability to run barefoot. Check out FiveFingers 'shoes' to get the idea. Well, we're all packed up and have prepared as best we could with the limited time at our disposal, and we're off tomorrow to Ourzazate via Gatwick. We start running on Sunday.
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