Kreig's Endurance for Charity: April 2011

Hi! As the title says, it's just 3 days (ok, 3 days, 3 hours) until I embark on my adventure! Sorry it's been two weeks since my last post. Internet troubles plus training - of sorts - has kept me from you all. However, I have a decent post for you today, and one or two more before I set out. Also, I want to give a great shout-out to Sharon, a friend who will update my blog as I text her from the track. So stay tuned - it could get exciting! Another mention to James, who will update the board at work for my clients, colleagues and customers to also follow my progress.

Anyway, this post is actually a copy-and-paste from a Cool Running forum I've just posted on. For the non-Cool Running (CR) readers, the crux of the background story is that Cliff (aka Sandeater), just a week ago attempted to complete the track in 10 days for a very worthy cause, and unfortunately was forced to call a premature halt to his attempt with diagnosed ruptured achilles. In 5 days Cliff traversed 500km from Albany (the southern half of the track). To follow his amazing journey, and learn about his charity, log onto the Cool Running website. (http://www.coolrunning.com.au/)

So anyway, with that prelude, here's the post I left, after being sent an email by Bernadette; not only WA's, but Australia's and one of the WORLD'S premier long-distance runners. Just quickly though; Bernadette, thanks for the email - it had been too long since I'd been on the Cool Running site, and had completely missed Cliff's amazing journey as it unfolded.

Anyway, blog readers, here's my most recent post:

Wow. I really should have been paying a lot more attention to CR than the 100% neglect I've been showing it! Cliff, I didn't know your attempt was so close to mine! We really could have done some planning together. As it is, if you don't mind helping a fellow CR with the most up-to-date first-hand knowledge I could possibly hope to get, I would be eternally grateful. My number (for the duration of my attempt and in the last few days leading up to it) is 0409 388 989.

I am setting out from the Northern Terminus in Kalamunda at 5am on Monday the 2nd of May, 2011. There is a specific reason I'm traveling north to south - which I will share at a somewhat later date.......

So anyway, I'd better update you all on what I've been up to in the last couple of months.
In a word, training. All sorts of different training!

For instance, the last two weeks my training has been some serious carb loading (yep, carb loading for two weeks!), and I've managed to put on 8kg in those two weeks! I really felt I had to do that, as I lose weight at such a rapid rate that two weeks on the track would leave me underweight and unhealthy no matter how hard I tried to keep my intake up.

So now I've got a little extra 'pudding' to draw from, and a further incentive to make it to the end!
Prior to that, it had mostly been about 'putting kilometres into my legs'. For instance, on my birthday I loaded my inflatable kayak onto my back, walked to the city (from Joondalup, along Wanneroo Rd), paddled up the river for a while and back again, and then did another walk afterwards - after two celebratory birthday pints with a friend.

I've done quite a few runs from Joondalup to Rockingham, and one from Quinns Rocks.

I've done many runs and walks to Fremantle, and have run around Lake Joondalup countless times.

I'd do things like do a half marathon run, then go straight to the gym for a cycle class, then a gym workout, then a quick shower before a full day at work then back at the gym afterwards.

And spent a fair bit of time training on the most northern section of the track (developed a bit of a ritual of stopping at the Mundaring Weir Hotel for a pint each time out). He he

A couple of weeks ago, I took a break from running and did 21 gym classes in 3 days, not slacking off in a single one. Man, were my muscles sore! And did I go through a lot of sweaty shirts in 3 days!!!

And finally, I've been very closely preparing my nutrition for my attempt.

As some of you may be aware, I am undertaking my attempt entirely solo. Entirely. I am setting out with one pack, which will contain absolutely everything I feel I need to take me literally from 'end-to-end'. My one change of plans (from what was stated in the news article) is this - I won't be traversing from Denmark to the re-start of the track in my inflatable kayak. On a recent training session, I deemed it unsuitable for the crossing(due to it leaking in a position I couldn't repair were it to do so again). So I have decided that upon reaching Denmark I will assess the weather and the time of day and decide whether to use the sandbar (if available, probably my first option, because I still don't have to rely on anyone else), the ferry service, or go the long way round via the road.

Anyway because of this solo attempt, this lack of logistical support and even simple food drops, I've had to think long and hard about nutrition, and decided awhile ago that the best course of action would be to carefully blend my own supplemental shakes, thus negating the need for fire, almost completely removing any waste materials, and probably most importantly, minimising the time spent 'preparing' meals.
If this works, I'll be a very happy man. No, it's definitely NOT recommended to live on supplements for extended periods of time, however, I feel for a short two weeks it's not only feasible but not overly detrimental to my body. (The 'detrimental-to-my-body' bit will of course be putting it through the number of kilometres I aim to achieve each day)!

So I have carefully, along with the aid of up-to-date nutritional text books, nutritionist and naturopath consults, come up with a supplemental blend which consists of:

Carbohydrates
Protein
Glucodin
Essential minerals and amino acids
Glucosamine, chondroitin, msm
Magnesium
Creatine etc

Ok, the two glaring omissions are fats, which I'll obtain through nuts (actually, wasabi-coated nuts, for added calories and, quite frankly, as my fun treat each day), and calcium.

I've left out calcium for one very simple reason - I couldn't mix it properly with the rest. I've been playing with the mix for a few months now, and after trialing it on training runs on the northern section of the track, I feel I have developed pretty much the perfect blend for me. A smooth mixture with a pleasant taste, which simply needs water. I keep it in a space bag - yep, one of those bags you put clothes in for easier storage. And I think two weeks without calcium isn't a crucial nutritional neglect.

I haven't blended the final track mix, which I'll do on Saturday night, but I fully expect the bag - almost my entire nutritional intake for the trip - to weigh just 5kg.

Cliff, reading back through your adventures, you certainly allayed one of my biggest fears - the availability of water. Of course, not only am I relying on water for it's own sake, but also for my meals; no way am I going to eat the stuff with a spoon! I was concerned, because when Nikki did the track in '09, she told me that she did, in fact, come across a dry tank, and had to back-track 20km to the last known water source.

So thank you for inadvertently taking care of that concern for me.

I hear you ultra runners asking a question (well, probably a lot of them). But one of those questions is something along the lines of, "Ok, so you've got magnesium, great, but what about sodium"?

And a very valid question.

Here's something not a lot of ultra runners have, I imagine. (Ok, I'm not a 'proven' ultra runner, having not yet competed in an official ultra event, but believe me, it's the heart I have and the way I train)! I have hyperhydrosis. I'm sure most of you know what that is, but if you don't, it means I sweat EXCESSIVELY! To the point of having medication, if I find myself in embarassing situations (like big social events, etc). This means I need to take electrolyte replacement VERY seriously. And just for the record, I haven't taken the pills in quite some time, and won't be taking them with me on the track. After all, I don't expect to shake hands with any royalty on the track, and then, more simply, no one ever drowned in sweat!

So anyway, the point I'm getting to is that I am running a two-bladder system in my pack. Two x two litre bladders. One will contain straight water, and the other will contain an electrolyte replacement. I haven't had to muck around with this at all. Straight-off-the-shelf product, Fuel 02 BodyScience Advanced Endurance Sports Drink. For all of you who haven't discovered this product, I sincerely suggest you check it out. I'll be carrying 1.5kg of the stuff, consuming 100g per day. (Recommended intake 25-75g a day, but I'm betting they weren't figuring on someone doing what I - or, Cliff, or any of you ultras, for that matter - sets out to do. Most people think endurance, they think marathon. Only you crazy nutters in ultra world consider that a relatively easy training run!

I'd like to point out, as a side note, I'm never going to win any sort of speed events. Even by ultra standards. I will never be the guy who finishes the half marathon, marathon, or ultra race first - or even come close to placing. But I am the guy who if you tell him to just keep going, I reckon I will. Cliff, I did a few quick calculations, and mate, you covered some serious distances in relatively short times on each of your days. I won't be anywhere NEAR that. I'm aiming for longevity. I'll be up at 4 or 5 in the morning, and won't stop until about 9 or 10 at night. Yes, I have a good head torch and plenty of batteries! He he. In fact, I bought this one in Borneo, of all places. Came home, and heard about this all-singing, all-dancing you-beaut head torch, and bought it, even though it cost a small fortune. Was merely a candle to the one I bought in Borneo! Couldn't tell you what brand it is - not sure I ever even knew in the first place. But I like it!

So I'm sure all you seasoned ultra athletes have been asking how some blow-in from nowhere, who know one's ever heard of (ok, I've met Dave once), be able to entertain the idea of completing the Bibbulmun Track, end-to-end, entirely solo, in record time. Because I know I'm no athlete. I have looked at doing what it takes - what it would take for ME - to seriously consider this.

I will walk/run longer every day than I reckon just about anyone has done on the track before - about 16 hours a day. I will minimise my weight in every way possible - 10 years in the military has proven to me I really don't need all that much to survive. I have thought EXTREMELY carefully about every single little thing that has gone into my pack! No tent. No sleeping bag. I will be sleeping each night in a very light - although enclosed - hammock. Two minutes to put up, the same to take down. Safe from ground critters and even mosquitos. Save on time. Save on space. Save on weight. Increased comfort. I have the added bonus of not needing to make camp every night - all I need is two trees, and I dare say they're pretty abundant on the Track!

I will be sleeping in BodyScience full-length compression tights and top to aid in muscle recovery each night. I will be running in Salomon shorts, shirt, and Speed Cross 2 (very light) shoes. For the southern sandy/wetter sections, I'll be wearing my very loved (read extremely well-worn!) Vibram Five Fingers. I trialed them on the northern section, and simply ended up in excruciating pain after just 70km (Kalamunda to Brookton Highway). I've run very long distances in them before, but not on that kind of terrain! In fact, the furthest I've run in them (different pair, my first pair) was 147km, when I did the 2009 Cancer Council Relay for Life. That was the day I met Dave, and found out that there's a whole lot of you crazies out there that do this long-distance stuff for fun! hehe

My plan of attack is simple:

Make my daily kilometres. Really, that's it.

I don't care about towns.

I don't even really care about huts - although they could very well serve as an incentive to push on just a few kilometres more.

I don't care about finding food drops, or being in towns during waking hours to buy food - because I don't have to.

I care about achieving my objective.

That sounds very military, very one-dimensional, and quite frankly, very, very selfish.

But here's the thing. Like Cliff, and the majority of the record holders-and-attempters, I'm doing this for charity. Ok, I've really gone about things the wrong way in promoting it. I've pinned my hopes on the media to spread the word far and wide, and save for one lone newspaper article, from which I got two email responses, they have been mute. After all, it's WA - there's always another Bibbulmun Track record attempt around the corner. (Incidentally Cliff, when purchasing my new pack, I heard about your attempt - didn't even occur to me that it was actually YOU they were talking about! Clearly, I should have been logging on to CR a lot more often)!

So I've had very little response. But if you're at all curious, please, read my blog. It's:
http://enduranceforcharity.blogspot.com/

Please read it. Because when I registered my charity, it was people like you - actually, it was you people from the WA ultra scene - that I had in mind when I set this up as a sort of umbrella charity in order to support future feats of endurance for charity, and most certainly not just my own.

So as far as a fundraiser goes, this has been extremely disappointing. It's fizzed. Although, to the few faithful who have supported me, I am eternally grateful!!

Cliff, I am so over the moon for you that you received the support you did - and a very worthy cause indeed! It is EXACTLY what you set out to achieve that I had in mind when setting up this not-for-profit organisation. But I personally didn't 'market' or 'promote' myself very well. The radio stations looked at it, then declined to even interview me. I even had an inside contact at a major national morning breakfast show - not a peep.

Still, I look at it all somewhat philosophically. If I manage to achieve something here, people will notice. I won't be the untested guy trying to do something 'stupid' (according to a lot of people), but the guy who actually did something, regardless of how little recognised initially.

So the thing is this - yes, I'm attempting it because I don't have the money or the time or the training to climb Mount Everest or traverse the Appalachian Trail. But mostly, it's because it IS a world-class, Australian/WEST-Australian trail, and I want to push myself. I truly and utterly want to TEST myself.

But even more than that - Oh! So much more than that! - I want to set my own precedent. I want to show people that I mean what I say. For my sake? Nup. Not at all. I have enough self-worth and intrinsic value to not pin my happiness on the approval of others. But for the sake of OTHERS. Because people - and the media - (and therefore MORE people) notice success, and their spirits are buoyed, if for but an instant, and they are able to allow themselves to get behind something, to support something outside of their own comfortable existence.

When a reporter asked me with so much going on around the country, what made me different, what would make people give their money to my cause, what I was trying to do, over any of the other very worthy causes out there, all I could say to her was that with me, they got the opportunity to see human endeavour at its best. I don't have a lot of money to give. At the moment, I don't have a lot of time to give. But what I do have to give is my body, my mind, and my spirit. As people understand that, as they hopefully see the sacrifice I am about to make, that will stir their own sense of adventure that dwells within their soul.

I know Cliff understands. Given that he never set foot on the track prior to his attempt, I KNOW he understands. I tell people I've trained a fair bit on the very northern section of the track, but when I tell them I haven't set foot on the track south of the Brookton Highway, they are incredulous. But here's the thing. If I, or Cliff, or anyone, for that matter, had previously - quietly - completed the track in even a very respectable time, it wouldn't stir people's thoughts or emotions even a ripple if that person said they were attempting the record. But a newcomer - well, that's something different!

The great lands of Earth have all been discovered. Where does that leave those of us with an adventurous spirit? It leaves us with no other alternative than to test our bodies, our minds, our spirits with undertakings such as these.

I may have failed the good people I'm attempting to raise funds for on this particular venture. Maybe not. Incidentally, I'm not going to tell you Cool Runners who I'm running for - check out my blog to find that out. ;oP

Who knows? Maybe people will come around. After all, we are a generous nation!

But at the end of the day, I believe if I am able to achieve even some small success with this attempt, then it will open doors for future, more successful (support-wise), Endurance for Charity events.

It's at the tip of my tongue to share with you all the next big thing on my agenda. Possibly as soon as the end of this year. It's very exciting, and somewhat (in my mind, at least) monumental.

But hey, first thing's first - one record attempt at a time.

Prior to tonight, I had 3 fears regarding my attempt:

1. Not enough water in the tanks. Thanks to Cliff's recent, epic adventure, that fear has been allayed.

2. Snakes. Despite debate raging as to their presence, my own experience of even the most northern section of the track, along with Cliff's most recent experience, and Nikki's experience at the same time two years ago, doesn't allay this fear one little bit. Knowing me, if I go down, I reckon this will be the reason. Despite the Track Foundation stating they'd never had a reported bite. (Incidentally, on a recent training session on the track - the one with the Vibram Five Fingers - I met Michael, who in previous years completed an end-to-end. He proceeded to tell me how he literally faced off with the biggest tiger snake he'd ever seen in his life).

So yeah. Fear NOT allayed!

3. Injury. Cliff, I totally feel for you mate. I truly do. The achilles heel isn't the crux to a epically-historic legend for no reason; it truly has the ability to cripple a man. The one thing in ANY sport that ensures the outcome is NEVER a certainty, is the prospect of injury. No one can ever predict exactly what might occur in any given second - and that's the duality of life; both the tragedy and the beauty of it.
Am I a certainty to even complete the track, let alone in record time? Not even close! Have I done what I can to ensure I have the best possible chance? Well, I've given myself a fighting chance, I reckon. A few things have been a bit of a guestimate along the way, but when pushing the boundaries of one's self, I reckon that's about all you can ask for.

So, I'm going to re-post this in my blog. For all you Cool Runner's out there, skip this post, and read the preceeding ones.

For you faithful and part-time blog readers, I hope you enjoy this post. It's been an honour to write. Has given a rough indication of where I'm at, 3 days, 4 hours prior to my commencement.

Again, my details:
Blog details: http://enduranceforcharity.blogspot.com/ (here you can read about Endurance for Charity, the current cause being raised for, and the details needed to donate).

Phone number for text messages of support:
0409 388 989

And finally, a personal request. Cliff, please give me a call mate. I not only want to hear about your insights into the southern section of the track - the section that holds the most questions for me - but I want to personally congratulate you on a monumental achievement. As long as you and other people like the ultras of WA are around, the human spirit will continue to flourish richly. I firmly believe had it not been for your injury I would be attempting to achieve what is quite beyond my current abilities; as you would have broken the 10-day barrier - soundly.

Regardless of the outcome of my attempt, be it a success or otherwise, I'd love to catch up with you after I'm done to blow the froth off a couple of cold ones, and share experiences with each other. Perhaps invite a few other ultras too - there is so much I can learn from you all.

One very last note - On Saturday night I will post a complete list of absolutely everything I am taking on the track with me, including the over all weight of my pack. I'm sure a few of you are curious. And you'll be pleased to know that not only will I have a camera with me, but a video camera also. If I happen to make it, I just might be putting the call out to any budding film editors out there!

Kreig's Endurance for Charity

Thursday 28 April 2011

Just 3 days away!!!

Wednesday 13 April 2011

Crazy days!