Ice Station Zebra

It was an old film, 1968, but I remember the cold the extreme cold. I ran through the Whitlee Wind Farm (the largest in Europe) at 9.15am this morning with a bunch of mates. The snow almost came up to your knees at times and the drifting snow was forced into our faces by the almost gale force wind. As I tried to think of something nice to keep the negative thoughts out, the film Ice Station Zebra came into my mind. But that didn't warm me up. So I thought of what my surroundings will be like in 2 weeks time. The snow will be replaced by sand and -4 degrees by 40 degrees. A slight contrast. That was my last long run, although quite short at 17km, before I leave on 3rd April. So my training now reduces and I've booked a couple of sports massage. I will keep my yoga up, but not 108 Sun Salutations, to stay supple and will be eating well to get my body ready. The journey continues.

Race food sorted

Winter to continues to play havoc with my training plans. Snow and a strong chilling wind meant my run on the beach was cancelled. Tomorrow I hope the overnight temperature won't create a risk of a twisted ankle due to the frozen snow. It's not ideal when I am meant to be tapering so I turned the fire on in the TV room and had a sweat fest on my turbo trainer. I need to keep the fitness level up and spinning my legs was good following yesterday's mega yoga session which had left me tired and with some protesting muscles. The heat won't do me any harm as I'll be heading into temperatures of at least 30 degrees - a bit of a step up from todays zero degrees! My freeze dried food had also arrived so I had the pleasure of testing it. Fortunately it was much better than the first batch so I spent a few hours pulling together my diet for the 6 days that require a minimum of 2,000 calories a day. I feel a lot more comfortable about this now although I need to go shopping for gels and powders next week.and rechecking So it's getting close and the planning is all important as any small detail missed could spell disaster. A lot of checking to be done!

Sun Salutation A

Last night I was at a black tie awards dinner for the IOD but I behaved myself, stayed off the booze and left early but that meant getting home at 11.30pm. I had a 5.40am start this morning and an appointment with my yoga teacher on my mat at 6.15am. I didn't know what to expect today and she certainly didn't disappoint by trying something I had never done before - 108 Sun Salutation A's. The Sun Salutation A is a warm up exercise and I normally do 5! But 108 in a row - OMG sweat fest plus! It took me 1hr and 4 minutes and she had 3 heaters on in the room. At one stage a towel had to go on my mat as it was so slippy! I had decided not to wear a top and the sweat just pored off me. It's an exercise in breathing rather than a physical one although I think I am already beginning to feel muscles protesting from this mornings exertions! Pam filmed some of the workout and hopefully it will encourage steckies like me to give it a go. The benefits are incredible even if you can't fold in half - which I can't. The exercise emphasises the importance of breathing in your well being. Now in case you think I am going to be wearing Jesus sandles and a robe next, think again. But how often do you take the time out of your day to focus on your breathing. Try it now. Breath in and out through your nose. Concentrate on the breath and it won't be long before you'll notice a difference. I think we should all take time out to do this in our stressful lives. In less than 2 weeks I'll be in the Sahara Desert about to start the journey of a lifetime in the Marathon des Sables. The air will be like a furnace but I'll be practising my breathing as this, along with a strong mental approach, is what will get me through the toughest challenge of my life (so far!).

Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre

Last night was a special night as I had a wee get together of 30 friends at Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre in Glasgow. The idea was to connect people with Maggie's so that they didn't just see it as a cause I supported. It was a magical night as the architecture of the building is designed to create a wonderul atmosphere. This was added to be Mark Russell and his band who played for us, the Maggie's staff who explained what they did and 30 inspirational people who came along to listed to my journey to MdS. Thank you to everyone who came along. It had been a busy day with a 6am 10k run. Not a long run but an important one as it's keeping me ticking over, fit and more importantly injury free. Despite getting back late last night, with no dinner, I made sure I repeated the same run this morning as I have a black tie business dinner tonight and won't be able to train this evening. It will be another late night but stictly no booze as I am back on my yoga mat with Pam at 6.15am tomorrow morning. My fund raising has been slower than usual which is a sign of the economic times we are in but the online total with tax credit plus the offline donations brings my total to £3,000. That's a good start and I am hoping with 16 days to go we will be able to get this higher. If you can sponsor me then go to https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/derekstewart. Thank you for all your support to date.

Blizzard conditions

Call me a wimp but I wasn't heading out into that blizzard this morning. My risk assessment was that if I didn't end up on my arse with a twisted ankle or pulled muscle, I'd catch a cold so I stayed in. However I had a good yoga session which got me mobile before getting on the turbo trainer for a sweat fest - I got complaints from the family because of the smell. I couldn't smell a thing! I tested out my MdS breakfast of 3 wheetabix served with grated macademia nuts and raisins. I had the luxury of milk but it will be powdered milk in the desert. It wasn't too bad although I am sure I'll be craving for solid food after a few days! I've spent tonight getting my presentation finalised for tomorrow night's talk at the Maggie's Centre at Gartnavel Hospital. I don't know how many people will turn up but it could be between 20 - 40 we'll see. They're in for a treat as not only will they learn about the essential work Maggie's does but they will hear a live band whose claim to fame is they supported Snow Patrol - how appropriate for the current weather conditions! I am going to give an insight into my journey but those of you who have followed the blog already know that. The only difference will be you won't get to see the wonderful pictures I have of the Sahara. I'm not making any predictions about tomorrows weather but the forecast isn't good. My plan B will be more yoga and smelly turbo! Till tomorrow goodnight - I'm knackered.

More bloody snow!

This is getting tedious. More bloody snow. Fortunately today is a rest day but tomorrow morning I was going to be up early for a 10 mile run and the forecast isn't looking good. I've always got to weight up the risk v the reward of running in the snow. If it's really bad I'll jump on my turbo trainer. But in the meantime I will work on my presentation for Wednesday night. I always take these occassions seriously because you never know who might be inspired with the message and go on to achieve something they had always though impossible. I'm lucky that I am surrounded by people who have a "can do" attitude. In order to complete the MdS I need to continually challenge myself in training so that when the going gets tough I can see through the pain and keep going. That means tomorrow morning, snow or no snow I'll be putting in 10 miles before breakfast. Take care out there.

Winter wonderland

It's a busy day today which meant an early morning run. I headed out at 7am into a winter wonderland. Not a sole in sight. The crunch every time my foot landed was reasuring as I was worried about ice. It was as much a mental exercise as anything. Running on your own in freezing conditions when you'd rather be having a long lie is the type of sacrifice you have to make on a regular basis if you want to succeed in the Marathon des Sables. I ran 16 miles at a reasonable pace aad it felt good. This is my last long run and that was another important factor especially as I missed my run yesterday. So now my taperring starts. My mileage will reduce as I let my body repaid and I'll have to get the niggle in my back checked out. I still haven't finalised my food for the race although am having a few different types delivered next week. These final preparations can make the difference between success and failure so it will have my full attention. I am speaking at Maggie's Cancer Caring Centre at Gartnavel Hospital on Wednesday evening this week starting at 7pm. I would love it if you could join me and a whol load of supporters, friends and family as we raise awareness of the amazing work Maggie's does and hopefully some money along the way. Now off to the footie with Ali - busy day.