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A short (and the last) training trip Posted March 9th, 2010 by Kevinshannon

I’ve just returned from a brief training trip up in the Peak District with my friends Pye and Adi. We spent around 36 hours trekking across Kinder Scout, spent a night under the stars and then a trek back across Kinder Scout to the car. I pretty much summed up the whole trip in a sentence but it was a little more difficult than it reads.

Trekking to Kinder Scout

After arriving a little late, we reached the top well after our targeted time. After checking the map, we decided to make the short 2.5 mile dash across the open moorland. This wouldn’t have been a problem normally, but what we were staring out over was a frozen ‘wonderland’. The snow was 3-4 foot deep in some places which slowed our progress down considerably. We, but especially me (due to the purposely overloaded pack), would sink through the snow after only a few steps, so much of the time was spent struggling to pull ourselves out on to more solid snow. We reached the woodland we intended to sleep in just before dark which gave us ample time to set up our shelters and hammocks.

Trekking to Kinder Scout

The next day we set off once again for several hours of yet again more trekking through deep snow after a quick breakfast of sausages (cheers Pye) and a quick Q&A in front of the camera.

Filming in the woodsWalking to Kinder Scout

The route on the way back to the start point was a longer walk with a long slow accent to the top where we tucked into a well deserved lunch overlooking Manchester and Stockport. Then it was back to the arctic-esqe moorland for more difficult trekking through deep snow. We reached the descent just as the sun set, so spent the next hour navigating our way down a steep gorge over ice and rock – not the most safest of things to do but great fun!

Now that the weekend is over I have no other overnight training trips until I leave. The leaving date is coming around very quickly and the next couple of weeks will be a desperate search for a bit more funding and the last couple of bits of equipment.

This saturday I will be heading to the Lakes for a full day first aid course which has very kindly been donated to me by the guys over at Fieldskills. Hopefully there won’t be any call to use what they teach me but it certainly helps to have the skills handy.

And don’t forget, you or your company can become a partner of the expedition – Find out more here

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Prevention is better than a cure Posted March 9th, 2010 by Johnpomfret

For years now I have explored the hills and mountains and some trips have been ‘extreme’ to say the least. Most of the discomfort areas affect either the feet, under arms or between the legs. All of these areas involve a high degree of friction and there are ways to minimise discomfort.

It’s an old saying I know but prevention really is better than a cure. What you wear is incredibly important and I will address this a little later but for now I am going to elaborate on a few systems that have worked for me and have either been passed onto me by the people who have taught me with me adding my own angle on it or, I may have come across the solution by chance.

Firstly, when involved with endurance events such as the Centurion Way, 100 miles and over 8,000 foot of ascent personal hygiene is vitally important. Baby wipes are a very useful piece of kit to have around. They clean better than toilet tissue alone and so prevent discomfort which later can lead to rashes which in turn can mean the difference between completing and quitting.

Perhaps extreme to some people whenever I leave for a long expedition I remove all hair from potential problem areas. Laugh you might but rest assured it makes life much easier when you’re out in the sticks for a long period of time.

Ok, this is my preventative methods of potential and common problem areas. Feet first, my feet have always been a little on the sensitive side and this is especially so since suffering frostbite in 2006. Wash the feet and allow to thoroughly dry. Then apply a good quality Zinc Oxide Cloth tape to any areas that are prone to blister. When I refer to quality I mean the heavy duty white cloth tape that you sometimes have to ask for. The great thing about Zinc Oxide tape is that when applied to dry skin it moulds to the skin and sticks very well. So well in fact that it often has been removed by being soaked in water.

The second part of the foot treatment is down to preference. Some people prefer a thin lining sock made from either polyamide or silk and then a thicker outer sock for cushioning. Either option is best when the sock has a liberal dusting of ‘Mycota’ foot powder inside to ward off odour and help keep the feet dry and comfortable.

I am particularly passionate about looking after my feet since loosing four toes to frostbite and have been very involved in creating my own range of socks. The Mountain Junky 2/3 season Elite Mountain sock made from the double antibacterial yarns Bamboo and Wool Ultra. I wore a pair of these socks in Africa for nine days continually without a lining sock and they performed great. The picture below shows one of the socks on my return compared to a new and un-used one.

The other sock in the range is the Mountain Junky 4 season Elite Mountain Sock. These socks are made form Wool Ultra which is 20% lighter than merino wool and are great at wicking moisture away efficiently and are perfect for life in the mountains.

Feet out of the way moving up the body to the groin area which, as we all know is seldom discussed and can be made much more comfortable by applying a small amount of petroleum jelly or, as it’s better know ‘Vaseline’ to areas prone to chaffing. When this is combined with proper fitting boxer shorts such as the Mountain Junky Bamboo boxer short range comfort can almost be guaranteed.

Even when you go to this length of prevention when the going gets very difficult things can deteriorate and, often do. So, as a back up system it’s always a good idea to carry some nappy cream with you or even better ‘Sudocreme’. When used on its own it will soon rub off but when mixed with a little Vaseline it stick for much longer and really does speed up the healing process, allowing you to continue with whatever your doing.

Another problem area is under arms and the same concoctions of cream works wonders. As I’m a little on the broad side I often have problems with the strapping on my backpack cutting into the front of my upper arm. So, to remedy this I had a couple of 100mm x 100mm pieces of foam covered in leather and they just push under the straps if I’m carrying a heavy pack making it much more bearable. Note, I did not say enjoyable. Anybody who says humping a pack around is enjoyable must be a sadist.

It’s also very sensible to compliment a good pair of boxer shorts with an equally good base top layer and the Mountain Junky Tech shirt is well up to the job. Made from no less than 95% Bamboo Viscose its hypoallergenic properties combined with natural antibacterial properties your sure to feel comfortable at the end of the day.

Pictures include;
The Mountain Junky Bamboo/Wool Ultra Elite Mountain Sock (before and after 9 day’s of continuous wear)
The Mountain Junky Wool Ultra 4 Season Elite Mountain Sock

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The brick session Posted March 4th, 2010 by ralphhydes

In my last blog I said that I would introduce more sessions to progress your training.

There are some sessions that you should start to implement now into your training programme that will help prepare you further for racing.

One of the key sessions that you can do is a brick session.  A brick session is combining two of the disciplines back to back to get the body used to how you will feel in the race.  In Duathlon and Triathlon the easiest brick session to do is a bike run session.  However, there are variations that you can do such as swim, bike or run, bike, run.  You could even string several sections together such as run, bike, run, bike, run, and bike.

If you are doing brick sessions you obviously need someone to look after your bike or keep it in a safe place.  If you are wearing different shoes for your bike make sure that you have your trainers preferably with elastic laces where you are going to finish the bike legs.  A brick session will help your legs get used to that ‘jelly legs’ sensation that you get from running off the bike.

What you should ensure is keep both the run and bike elements fairly short; for example 10 minutes on the bike followed by 5 minutes on the run.  Three rounds will be 45 minutes.  If you would like to do longer then just do a run off the bike:- for example an hour’s bike and then straight afterwards run for 20 minutes.  To add a further challenge try to run a negative split.  This means that you run the second half of the run faster than the first half.

In order to get the most out of these sessions make sure that you are working at your race pace or slightly faster and as you are approaching the change over point think about what you are going to do.  Jump off the bike at a designated point and run with your bike holding it by the saddle (much quicker and easier than holding the handle bars) then put your bike against a tree, wall or on racking, take your helmet off and change shoes then run quickly for the first 50 metres or so before settling into a comfortable pace.  The fast running will help your legs adjust to running and help make you run faster overall.  It’s harder work, but if you run off slow then you will stay slow!  When returning back to the bike think “…helmet, shoes…”  then jump back on the bike and repeat.

A point to remember is that when you are on the bike, having a quick cadence will also help your legs feel fresher for the run section.  If you are doing a brick session it also helps when you jump back onto the bike if the gearing is light.  You should also practice drinking a carbohydrate drink whilst you are on the bike to help you replenish your fuel stores.  Try to drink a mouthful every 10 minutes of a drink such as Lucozade, Gatorade or HI5.

In my next blog I will suggest a kit list and how to prepare for your race.

Happy training,
Ralph

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