100k Challenge: Kit Check

One thing I love about training is seeing stuff I never would otherwise. My views of East Sussex these last few weeks have been worth all the slog. Some cold, grey and damp treks but others lit by brilliant sunshine, the smell of grass being cut, birdsong and lots of little ‘treasures’ proved life-enhancing. Wasn’t so keen on the vast amount of roadkill though, nor realising that vergeless country roads are a death trap: no one slows down and when I have to cross to the ‘wrong’ side of the road, as the one facing oncoming traffic was a verge-free, blind bend, the speeding drivers all found time to hoot their horns to correct me! Cars nowadays treat pedestrians like obstacles, not someone you have to share it with deep in the wilds. I did come across some fabulous place names en route and some old road names which definitely wouldn’t get past today’s PC brigade!

This wouldn't get past today's PC brigade!

So, I am getting there. Knees creaking a bit and my back’s playing up a little, but all still on track. I am now embarking on the preparatory stage: kit checking and feet embalming. These little beauties are about to become damn fuglies, as I start soaking them in surgical spirit, trimming my nails as low as they safely go and watching skin harden nicely. If the thought fills you with horror, book a good pedicure for afterwards, because you HAVE to do it. I exhort you not to neglect this bit. Blisters develop on soft, fleshy bits and whilst areas that rub cause them, if the feet themselves are dry as a bone and hard as nails, it will be much harder to create a blister. I did two 3-peaks events and last year’s walk using this tried and tested method, and I barely had any after all three events. Nothing will stop one forming near the end when moisture and heat have built up progressively and you haven’t the time to stop and salve it, but for 90% of the walk it will see you through. The more you wear your boots now the better. Every little bit that doesn’t fit exactly will only rear its ugly head on the day, so take time to solve it now. This weekend I felt discomfort on my right foot from one of my orthotics, so am now planning to buy a new set – a tiny thing really when you are doing normal distances, but make or break on the actual day as to whether the last few miles end up fun or pure slog.

Injuries happen. Twisting an ankle or slipping and cracking something will only happen to the unlucky few. The rest will end up discovering health problems they maybe didn’t know they had or have resuscitated through over-exertion. I am very conscious of my back having had episodes of sciatica in the past. I am therefore wearing my rucksack daily and working hard on maintaining an upright posture once I have it belted up round my middle; the temptation to bend forwards too far when climbing up hills is one I have to resist and work at. I am also loading it with enough weight to have some idea what to expect once everything I will need is in there. If I feel straps rubbing I have time to adjust for a perfect fit and I shouldn’t find it onerous to cart everything I will need on the day.

Other injuries I saw last year included crippling cramps, bloody feet sliced open by bad footwear, total fatigue from not consuming enough en route and all sorts of muscle strains and ligament tears. I was lucky but I am not cavalier and know that it could be me, just as much as anyone else, who ends up having to be massaged at the 75k in order to stagger the last 25k. The organisers run a tight, slick operation and I was mighty impressed by the amount of medical experts on hand towards the end. Ideally I wouldn’t want to be visiting one of them but if needs must, rest assured that you have all the help you might need.

And finally, a word on Camelbaks. Carry one on training walks and check that you are happy using it. I loathed the taste of plastic but found it it did the job. As someone who has never drunk enough fluids, I am conscious that I can’t rely on thirst to tell me when to take more on. With a Camelbak you sip regularly and a little at a time, whenever you want. I refilled at most stops and am sure I drunk more than I would have with conventional water bottles as I didn’t need to reach into a bag to get it.

Ultimately though, if your boots fit, are well broken in, you double-sock and sprinkle talc on them at every long stop, you may escape the whole thing blister-free, especially if you start with tootsies you could grate cheese on. If it tips it down on the day, all bets are off, but as those deeply irritating folk to be found in most offices say, fail to prepare, prepare to fail! At the very least have plenty of Compeed blister plasters with you and whilst they won’t cure a blister, they will help reduce the agony!

100k Challenge: Diet

So by now your training is well underway, isn’t it? Well if not, all is not lost. You do still have 6 weeks left so don’t stress about leaving it too late and get out a pen and paper and draw up a training plan. Stick to it; rigidly. It can still be done, especially if you are generally physically fit and experienced in walking. Don’t let the bad weather (which followed so hot on the heels of the heatwave that my body is still in shock!) give you an excuse not to train, so if it’s raining etc try to get on a treadmill! I must confess that I personally work well with a looming deadline, rather than one that’s a long way off, and as this is my second year of training I have been a little slacker than I would have liked. I’ve given myself a good kick up the backside today though, so thought I’d pass it on! If you can make the 100k the focus of your days between now and 9 June, you will be just fine (though don’t sue me if you end up crawling the last mile!).

So what about food? A lot of people around me were muttering this weekend about carb-loading before the marathon, as I associate with the sort of mental, sporty types who love nothing more than a good challenge! It’s still the best way to ensure slow-release energy for long distances so if you’ve started doing very long training walks (and really, by now, you should have done at least a 15-20miler), then feel free to carb-load away. I can’t eat wheat any more so pasta and bread are off menu, but I eat hearty amounts of potatoes, rice and rye bread instead. After my recent walk on the South Coast I stopped off for a burger made of chickpeas and potatoes and enjoyed every mouthful, safe in the knowledge that I’d earned it.

Fortifying Lunch!

Sugar hits are fine if you start to flag en route, but the best prevention of a dip in energy is to be prepared before you set off. Eat heartily and, whatever you do, don’t try to lose weight as this crucial time. You may have sloughed off a few pounds in training if you were carrying any extra, but don’t get caught up with losing more. What matters right now is having enough fuel to go the distance, so under-eating and watching your weight is a no-no. I admit that I have lost weight since last March when I started to train, but it’s been such a slow and steady trickle that it would certainly be deemed healthy by nutritionists. I’ve built up a lot of muscle at the same time, from making sure I ate lots of good protein with my carbs, so whilst I’m leaner and healthier, sylphlike would be pushing it!

Really learn to listen to your body and what it’s crying out for. Fluids are as essential as solids and sometimes when you think you are hungry you are actually in need of water. Go out on every training walk well prepared for thirst and a dip in energy levels. Some people swear by energy drinks, water with added electrolytes and highly sugary sports juices. Personally, I drink a lot of plain water and eat granola and muesli bars at the same time. Last year, on the actual walk, I had my trusty camelback the whole way and forced myself to sip regularly. At every stop I grabbed a Snickers bar (or 2!) and made sure that I ate something at all the hot meal stations. I learnt that small injections of sugar kept me bowling along at a steady pace and that sometimes by the time I reached the hot food point, I didn’t want it any more, so had to work hard to take on board enough food. Snacks are therefore the order of the day, so start training yourself to eat smaller meals and snacking in between on good things (fruit, nuts etc) so that you are ready for the big day.

In addition, make sure that you are also carrying an emergency bag of something that you know will make you giddy with excitement if you eat too much of it at once. I found jelly babies did the trick for me, though I never touch them between events. I grabbed a bag of them at the half-way point in my marathon and can still recall the high as I gobbled them down and got my energy back. This is what they are good for in my case, but experiment to find your own preference and make sure you pack plenty. The only thing at the bottom of my rucksack at the end of last year’s event was the sports-style nutrition bar that I had always though tasted of cardboard, so even when I was in need of fuel, nothing would make me touch it. Remember to choose what you like, have plenty of it with you and enjoy the fact that for at least one day in your life you can eat with wild abandon; yet another persuasive reason to do the 100k!

The 100k Challenge: Gait

Well it looks like I did something good in a previous life after all, as the fantastic weather we’ve been having has been an absolute bonus where training is concerned. It really is difficult to think of anything better to do than go for a long hike when it’s bright and sunny and, for the time of year, most definitely warm.

On Saturday I went for a long walk down the beach between St Leonards and Hastings and I was pondering all the ways in which the surfaces you walk on determine your walking style. I mostly walk on pavements and sometimes get to go off road on to softer terrain in the park, but when I get the chance to hit sand or shingle I use a whole different set of muscles. The 100k covers a multitude of terrains so use every opportunity you can to walk somewhere challenging as your muscles rapidly become non-responsive if you neglect them.

Gait may have been the least of your concerns up until now (actually getting your head round doing 100k non-stop is probably enough to be going on with!) but like proper kit, good boots, food and rest, this can make or break the day for you. Consider this. Has anyone ever assessed your stride and your posture? Unless you have experienced back problems or running injuries, chances are that other than a cursory seat check in a new workplace, no one has ever commented on how you carry yourself.

My great aunt was the perfect embodiment of Miss Jean Brodie and I was gently tapped on the back every time I was seen to slump. I was in fact so ram rod straight that I ended up developing sciatica so balancing books on one’s head is not necessarily for the best. There are all sorts of ways to adjust your posture (Alexander Technique and Pilates) but make sure that you don’t ignore even the slightest niggle developed when training as it could well be pointing to a problem yet to come to light.

In terms of stride, this is one area that I have worked on since last year’s event as it was most definitely my ‘Achilles heel’ (pardon the pun!). I’m what’s euphemistically known as a short-arse and my little legs give the impression of a rodent scampering along.

I once ran a marathon to win a bet with my 6ft 2” boss, and I swear I did two steps to his every one. I am not about to head to China to be stretched in the manner of a child gymnast, so my only hope of improvement is to lengthen my stride and work the muscles to propel me forward as efficiently as possible.

As last year’s event came to an end my steps were barely a heel width apart and the following day I was walking like John Wayne, so if I achieve nothing else between now and June, I will make sure that I am striding out as far as I can without causing any added pressure on my body.

Joanna Hall is renowned for her walking workshops so if you have any concerns that you aren’t doing it right, consider one of her classes. Also, remember that you are investing in your health and fitness for the long term as you can only be doing good learning to walk as effectively as possible, so any time and money spent on this will prove a worthwhile cause.

Whilst looking at your walking style you also need to make sure that your feet are comfortable and the boots you have are doing everything possible to assist your stride. If they prove too heavy and are dragging your feet down, you will have leaden legs after 10-12 miles. If your toes are squashed together you’ll develop crippling pins and needles. If you’ve got flat feet you must invest in orthotics and if your boots are tight around the heel or ankle you will be blistered up within hours.

I changed my boots part way through training last year and immediately corrected a lot of issues that I had been experiencing. I’d done a 3 Peaks event in my first pair so they had once fitted perfectly, yet all of a sudden they gave me nothing but grief. Feel free to become neurotic about your feet and your legs. Investigate every single muscle strain, shin splint and cramp. Even a minor issue is magnified by 100 when you are running out of steam at the end and facing a climb up and over the South Downs; you can thank me later for sparing you any such concerns!

The 100k Challenge: Safety

Greenwich Park

As the lighter nights approach I am thoroughly looking forward to my long hikes home (yes, I am that mad!) and hoping for some fine weather between now and June. I have been hill running in the park every other evening for the last few weeks for 30 minutes, to break in my legs, and I can already feel the therapeutic powers working their magic.

Switching off from life’s daily stresses is a bonus aspect to training and by the time I get back home from either a run or a walk I have usually worked out a thorny issue or laid down plans for things I’ve long been meaning to do. You see, there are more than just physical benefits to be gained and the mental clarity from last year’s training helped me sort a lot of things out.

One colleague compared me to a dog the other day, saying it was clear that if I hadn’t had my daily exercise that I became snarly and disagreeable! I have to admit they had a point and now the endorphins are back coursing through my veins, I am reminded how vital they were to propel me along on the day itself.

However, I can’t stress enough that safety is an issue and you have to be careful not to switch off, zone out or get complacent. I know that some folk consider an ipod/MP3 player to be an essential accompaniment, but I experimented with these and ruled music out. You are simply not aware of your surroundings and can easily be approached from behind without realising.

Taking the same route at the same time, every single day is also to be avoided because you can be tracked and targeted. Wearing a rucksack is definitely recommended (more on breaking kit in later) but make sure you can fasten it securely if you are walking in a built up/busy area.

Lastly, keep all your valuables hidden, especially mobile phones. I appreciate that the above may sound banal, but I am citing these precautions from personal experience. I was mugged two months after last year’s event, whilst still doing my training walks as the weather was so good.

I had basically fallen into the trap of marching the same route daily then whipping a blackberry out as I neared home to text my hubby about my imminent arrival. I have since learnt that having a hot bath and cup of tea waiting for me at home was all very good, but that it ultimately ended in me lying on the pavement screaming, hoping someone would come out of their house to help me fend off two burly young lads. No saviour appeared, the lads ran off as I had been knocked backwards and was shielding my valuables with my bulk, and I limped home with nothing more than grazes and shock.

My other half made it clear that I wasn’t walking home until the clocks went back this year having had the fright of his life from my experience. I also plan to vary my departure time and route on a regular basis and arrange to meet him on occasion to show any would-be muggers that I am not always alone. Blackberrys are banned and I certainly won’t be playing music! I’ve also got myself a rape alarm for under a tenner, because my experience taught me that whilst householders won’t come out to screams alone, an alarm might make any possible predicament easier for them to identify as an emergency, rather than youths larking about.

My weekend romps (of the athletic kind!) by the seaside have also been restricted to daylight hours only, marked paths and preferably routes used heavily by ramblers. I recall now having gone for runs in the past in forests and woods all alone and not thinking twice about the risks, which is simply foolhardy.

Much as I’d love a dog to take with me, it’s not possible given my living arrangements, but I may badger a neighbour to lend me theirs so I can do some ‘free’ running. I am an independent (some say cavalier) sort and had felt safe enough waltzing through my local area but complacency caught up with me and I learnt the hard way that while it’s nice to be on nodding terms with strangers that you see daily, some folk have other, less pleasant things in mind.

Ideally you will be training with others, but the constraints of daily life mean that you may have to do it alone. So stay safe, stay alert, enjoy the peace and time to clear your head, find a partner if you can and above all use the training time wisely. It has taught me a lot of things and the key thing I have learnt is not to think I know it all.

The 100k Challenge: Planning

What a difference a bit of sunshine makes, when it’s time to get back to some proper training and boy, was it timely this weekend. I’d already vowed to get started before 1 March, but a bit of warmth on the skin was enough to spur me on to do an initial training run yesterday, around the dunes of Camber Sands.

Guess what; yes, I’m hurting today! My calves are screaming for mercy, my thighs feel leaden and my lungs have definitely been given a good clear out, so it’s time to dig out my training diary before it’s too late.

Planning really is key and as long as you stick to a schedule as best you can, you will have every chance of getting to the end of the walk. Of course injury en route or ferociously bad weather could still hinder, but if you’ve put in the effort beforehand you will doubtless drag yourself over the finish line just out of sheer determination not to have wasted all that preparation!

First off, think creatively about whether or not you can build your training in to your daily routine. If you commute, is there any way of changing your current mode of transport to combine some walks? This time last year I was getting a mainline train (the station is just 3 minutes’ walk from my house) to my central London office and back every day. By getting up 30 minutes earlier I factored in a 2mile speed walk to the tube station on my way in and hopped on the jubilee line instead.

In the evenings I did either a 2.5 mile walk from Pall Mall to London Bridge and took a train thereafter or, when it was dry and warm, a 12 mile walk from office to home. A long walk took about 2.5 hours, as opposed to a 40 minute train ride, door to door, so I did need to make some sacrifices in terms of time, but I saved money on train fares and as I fitted in about 3 such walks a week, soon built my fitness up.

I learnt a lot from my evening walks about comfort, style and pace, all of which I will cover off at a later date, but please don’t rely on this walking as your sole form of training. The 100k is all-terrain. One minute you are zipping through sluggish shoppers in Kingston town centre and the next you are climbing hills and jumping stiles in rural Surrey.

If you simply pound pavements your muscles won’t thank you at the end and whilst my other exercise was hill running, it really is horses for courses. I can thoroughly recommend combining walks with swimming, cycling and even pilates, just as long as you are varying the routine.

Of course I didn’t go from nothing to 12 mile walks in one fell swoop and I built my long route up gradually. I chunked the route down in to manageable quarters and did a stage at a time until I felt confident doing the whole thing. I also carried on training after the event, winding down the distances covered in much the same way as I’d built them up.

I learnt to do this after a marathon, when I took too long off after the event and injured my left knee trying to pick up where I left off 2 months down the line; had I eased off rather than stopping altogether, my legs would have sprung back into action and not buckled.

At this stage I’d say your main priority is scheduling your training in. Think out how, plan when and get it down in black and white in a diary. Even those of us with masses of willpower will benefit from having a timetable of sorts, because it is so easy to see 9 June as ages away then wake up one morning at the end of April in a cold sweat thinking it’s now too late…and no, you can’t ‘wing’ it.

My partner last year was convinced she could and had to throw in the towel at 50k. She wasn’t unfit and she had all the kit, all the intentions and a deep desire to do it but…she hadn’t broken in her boots. The blisters got so bad that she couldn’t face the second half and I was obliged to find 2 strangers (albeit very nice strangers!) to agree to carry on and walk at my pace.

I saw a lot of people brought to their knees by blisters and cramps along the way as their feet and their muscles just weren’t ready for the strain. I’ve set myself a target of 3 walks and 2 runs per week. I never totally stopped (still doing a daily 2 mile walk to the tube plus longer at weekends) so that’s quite manageable as it factors in 2 rest days.

If you work up gradually start with one day on, one day off exercise and keep the distances short, gradually increasing them as your confidence grows. Remember the 100k isn’t a sprint but an endurance race and you don’t need to do very long walks until nearer the time. However, if by end March you have done a lengthy walk (say 20-30k) and your body has held up well, you are definitely on track, so make that your goal and work to it.

The 100k Challenge: Commitment

Ilona McAllister, one of our Walk 100 participants

Ah the joy of January when all around are suffering for their festive sins, starting detox programmes, preaching about having a ‘dry’ month and looking thoroughly fed up that it’s all over for another year. To ‘stick with the programme’ as they are inclined to say on US-style motivation programmes, being broadcast on every channel right now (so you can revel in watching others going through the same pain as you) takes commitment and hardcore willpower; only freaks have an overabundance of that in grey, wet, cold and miserable January!

All that said, it is vital that a commitment made now to walking 100k in June is rock solid and this is the moment to weigh up every single aspect of the training, the event itself and the fundraising. Yes, I sound like a proper little school ma’am, citing all that fail to prepare, prepare to fail stuff, but this is not about whether you are committed to doing the challenge but how much you can and will commit to the training.

Are you the sort of person who spends the entire training period diligently following a plan and poring over catalogues of technical rambling gear so that you turn up on the day like a lean, mean, over-enthusiastic Sherpa? Or do you see yourself more like the type who starts off with best intentions, lets them gradually be eroded by more interesting things until the event looms large and the fear and dread begins that you’ve not trained enough? Maybe you prefer to ‘wing it’ and act like it’s not happening, confident that you will pull it out of the bag on the day? Or perhaps you are so sure of your peak physical fitness carrying you through that you do no more than your usual routine for a while then panic and spend a month beforehand training like mad, much like you once crammed for exams at school?

We all have different attitudes towards commitment and most of us can blame our parents for shaping and defining our attitude to following things to fruition. Mine were brought up with a strong protestant work ethic and a wild, hedonistic streak, so they can undo a long period of damn hard work with a single night of revelry. I used to be very much like them, veering wildly from months of serious marathon training and mountain climbing to 2 weeks of binge drinking; until I finally became teetotal 3 years ago and learnt the art of moderation! What I have never forgotten is that dropping out is not an option. Sometimes this is a blessing (when it’s the middle of the night and you are walking in drizzle through a boggy field you will need to constantly remind yourself of that!) and on occasion it’s my undoing, as I discovered when I ended up with sciatica after a marathon…

If we are true to ourselves then we all know what we will do from experience and now is the time to be brutally honest. How am I going to do it? There are so many elements to consider and I hope to deal with the main ones over the next few weeks so that when the date looms large you feel confident, excited, exhilarated and determined to get to the end come hell or high water. Remember, you have to have that fire in your belly that will pull you through the last, gruelling 10k. I should know. There was a moment as we came over the top of the hill for the final descent into Ovingdean that I needed every last drop of strength to stop me hitching a lift from a passing taxi! At that stage we had less than 1.5k to do, so how tragic would it have been to throw it all away for nothing? By that point though your mind is playing tricks on you and if you haven’t got the strength to argue back at the devil sat on your shoulder then you will possibly do daft things.

If all else fails and you get injured, or events conspire to stop you doing the walk don’t forget that there are so many other ways that you can be involved. You could act as a support vehicle and meet the team at check points, proffering hot drinks and first aid and words of encouragement. You could help raise more money by organising fundraisers, highlighting the challenge and adding more cash to their sponsorship total. I am only too aware that I have ‘tapped’ my friends and family for cash every couple of years for 10 years now with my various marathons, 3 peaks and running events. As I got a hefty amount out of them last year I have already started thinking creatively about how to get some money in this year without simply putting my appeal out again on facebook. I have some ideas up my sleeve which I will share another time but even if you know you can’t or won’t be there on the day, you can still be involved in so many ways.

I have no kids and a job which affords me plenty of free time. I have nothing to hold me back yet last year my husband got the news he’d be having his thyroid removed to help restore his sight and the date was just one week after the event. I came close to pulling out when I thought the two things would clash so given we all have unforeseen issues in our lives, if you can see problems already then think very hard about how you will overcome all the obstacles, so that come 9 June you will be skipping to the start line!