With what is probably unwarranted optimism, we are now entering our 10th week of training for the big run across Madagascar. Progress so far has been pretty steady, and we are racking up between 70-80 km a week along the dusty tracks of Londolozi.
With advice from friends, ex-rangers and previous competitors, our basic training outline is as follows:
Monday: Core workout and stabilization
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: Medium distance. 12-20 km run + core workout.
Friday: Rest day. We REALLY look forward to Friday!
Weekends: While weekends don’t really exist out here in the bush, we try and structure our training as if they do. We will either do a long-ish run on both Saturday and Sunday, or rest Saturday and do a really long one on Sunday.
Those distances are what we are doing at the moment, but they will be increasing as the weeks progress.
Given that both Pete and I were far from being in peak phyiscal fitness when we started training about two months ago, we’re quite excited to be churning out some good distances consistently, with our packs on our back. The tough thing to simulate is the actual race conditions, as we have no idea what the course itself is going to be like. Luckily the roads out here on Londolozi range from sandy to grass-covered to rocky and most things in between, so it’s probably as close to real single-track trail running that we can get without doing the real thing. Also, given that in the mornings and evenings we are out on game drive, our training has to be in the middle of the day, when the sun is at its zenith.
We have logged over 35 encounters with members of the Big Five so far, with buffalo and elephant being the most consistently seen. Rhino we have bumped into twice, leopards twice and lions once. Believe me, we are doing our best NOT to bump into potentially dangerous game, but the reserve abounds with them, and when covering so much ground on foot, it is inevitable that we will come close a number of times.
Pete and I do not have the luxury of zoning out with music blaring through our iPods while we slog through another long run. We have to be mentally sharp the whole time so as not to suddenly startle anything that could harm us.
Taking everything into consideration, things are looking very positive. The training is going well, fundraising is going well (about R90000 out of our R300000 goal has been earned) and apart from a few aches and pains in the legs, we are feeling pretty confident.
Click on this link if you want to contribute to the cause or learn more about the Good Work Foundation…
Written by James Tyrrell
Well done Pete and James – we’re behind you all the way.
It sounds like you are doing really well James and Pete, and I am behind you all the way as well. Stay safe and keep the updates coming…I love to hear how you are both progressing!
Thank you Jill, we will make sure to keep posting regular updates.
Keep going James & Pete. You are very brave, but I would be happier knowing that you are being “followed” by a wagon that you would be able to jump into in an emergency, because we want to hear all about the happenings on the training sessions when you are done with this 🙂
Thank you Wendy. James and Pete are on full alert and have their radios on them at all times to call for help if need be. They’re also being very good about not using iPods – so that they can hear any noises to alert them to possible dangers! Nothing quite like running in the wild.
Indeed there must be nothing to beat running in the wild, I guess I worry about them even though I know they will be looked after. Look forward to more updates. 🙂
We will be cheering in you on from the US. May you make your goal a reality.
Hi Jan, thanks so much for the support.
Just watched your video and really enjoyed it!! Wishing you both all the best of luck and happy & ‘safe’ training !!
Thank you Carol. We will keep you updated on James and Pete’s progress as we get closer to the big event.
We feel your pain & your joy–good work guys, we are thinking about you & next time you see a rhino, tell him Arden says see you in September.
Loving the progress updates – go Team Londolozi!
Thank you Ryan. Team Londolozi all the way!
Strong effort lads – keep up the good work with the training…it will all count come day-5 in Madagascar! Look forward to further updates. Ps good choice with the OMM 25l packs…