| Stage | 2013 Miles | 2015 Miles | Delta | |
| 1 | 23.0 | 22.4 | -0.6 | |
| 2 | 19.0 | 19.3 | 0.3 | |
| 3 | 23.6 | 22.8 | -0.8 | |
| 4 | 46.9 | 56.9 | 10.0 | |
| 5 | 26.2 | 26.2 | 0.0 | |
| 6 | 4.8 | 7.1 | 2.3 | |
| Race Miles | 138.7 | 147.6 | 8.9 | |
| Total Miles | 143.5 | 154.7 | 11.2 | |
| 2013 Position | 2015 Position | |||
| 1 | 131 | 158 | ||
| 2 | 169 | 122 | ||
| 3 | 151 | 145 | ||
| 4 | 110 | 131 | ||
| 5 | 137 | 231 | ||
| Overall | 111 | 127 | ||
| 2013 Time | 2015 Time | Delta | ||
| 1 | 4:34:30 | 4:45:03 | 0:10:33 | |
| 2 | 4:39:17 | 4:14:01 | (0:25:16) | |
| 3 | 4:53:43 | 4:47:38 | (0:06:05) | |
| 4 | 11:32:39 | 14:09:25 | 2:36:46 | |
| 5 | 5:15:46 | 5:10:52 | (0:04:54) | |
| Overall | 30:55:57 | 33:07:01 | 2:11:04 | |
| 2013 Pace | 2015 Pace | (km/hr) | ||
| 1 | 8.09 | 7.58 | ||
| 2 | 6.66 | 7.32 | ||
| 3 | 7.76 | 7.72 | ||
| 4 | 6.58 | 6.5 | ||
| 5 | 7.98 | 8.11 | ||
| Overall | 7.24 | 7.19 | ||
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Post Race Performance Analysis
With the race and recovery behind me I have had some time to try and assess how I did this year compared to my 2013 performance. Out on the course I was getting the feeling I was way off the pace which turned out to be not quite true. Additionally, it was a surprise that stage 1 and stage 2 were almost identical between the two years. At least those allow a fairly direct comparison. Weather this year I believe played a larger role compared to two years ago. While much cooler it was significantly more windy. So in the end it looks like my pace was very close to where I was at two years ago but the field was perhaps not quite as strong (even though it was 25% larger, about 1,400 vs 1,100). I am happy with my old man performance....
Friday, April 10, 2015
Well it is over. The marathon stage was today. Started off with our tent
blowing down at 4:30 am. I was lucky? to start 1.5 hours later in the top 200.
The first half went fast but the second half was slower. I made up about 800
meters in the dune fields by following my compass and not the crowd. Tenative
results put me 234th for the stage (lost of people running fast) and about 126th
overall. Time was around 5:10. Not too bad. Dirk ran a little faster at about
5:06 putting him overall just over the 300 mark! We have our medals and Dirk
kissed Patrick, thru his pack in the air and took his shirt off. His anticks got
him intervied by some French TV station. Looking forward to a short walk
tomorrow and your emails tonight!
blowing down at 4:30 am. I was lucky? to start 1.5 hours later in the top 200.
The first half went fast but the second half was slower. I made up about 800
meters in the dune fields by following my compass and not the crowd. Tenative
results put me 234th for the stage (lost of people running fast) and about 126th
overall. Time was around 5:10. Not too bad. Dirk ran a little faster at about
5:06 putting him overall just over the 300 mark! We have our medals and Dirk
kissed Patrick, thru his pack in the air and took his shirt off. His anticks got
him intervied by some French TV station. Looking forward to a short walk
tomorrow and your emails tonight!
Stage 4, the long stage is done (57 miles). Quite a suffer-fest. Lots of wind
and sand. Could not eat my breakfast so I was fighting for calories the whole
way. The tea guy slipped me a double shot. Finished the stage in 142nd
position at about 14:12. That brought my overall standing up to 119th. Dirk did
well and came in about 2.5 hours later. he wind was blowing hard all night, in
fact my tent was down when I got in and had to wait 30 minutes to get it set up.
Blisters are not bad for me but Dirk got some good ones. We have the day off.
All but two of our tent mates are in. There will be a lot of people dropping
out on this one. All the emails are great and very much apprecited. One more
marathon tomorrow!
NEWS FLASH: Just found out that the top 200 are starting one hour after
everyone else to compress the finish time line for the marathon. Guess that I
am sort of at the top of the pile. Don't know if we get our medals tomorrow or
what. They are saying that the solidarity stage is timed this year or there are
some prizes for the top three placers in it. I plan on trying to run at over 7
km/hr so I hope to finish in about 6 hours. Lots of sand on the route. My start
time is 8:00 ish. Thought you might like to know.
and sand. Could not eat my breakfast so I was fighting for calories the whole
way. The tea guy slipped me a double shot. Finished the stage in 142nd
position at about 14:12. That brought my overall standing up to 119th. Dirk did
well and came in about 2.5 hours later. he wind was blowing hard all night, in
fact my tent was down when I got in and had to wait 30 minutes to get it set up.
Blisters are not bad for me but Dirk got some good ones. We have the day off.
All but two of our tent mates are in. There will be a lot of people dropping
out on this one. All the emails are great and very much apprecited. One more
marathon tomorrow!
NEWS FLASH: Just found out that the top 200 are starting one hour after
everyone else to compress the finish time line for the marathon. Guess that I
am sort of at the top of the pile. Don't know if we get our medals tomorrow or
what. They are saying that the solidarity stage is timed this year or there are
some prizes for the top three placers in it. I plan on trying to run at over 7
km/hr so I hope to finish in about 6 hours. Lots of sand on the route. My start
time is 8:00 ish. Thought you might like to know.
Monday, April 6, 2015
UPDATE FROM MDS 2015
Stage 2 done. Re-tread of stage 2 from 2013 so I knew what was coming. Did much
better on electrolytes, water and food. Finished strong at about 4:14. The tea
guy score me an extra cup at the finish. Do not know my place. I moved up to
158th for some reason in Stage 1. Dirk made it in much later and is having some
blister problems we will have to work on. Lost my Buff! Thank you all for the
emails they are very much appreciated. About 25% done and the first stage
excitement is done. Look for the webcam feed. Going to go and recover some more.
Breezy now and the hot part of the day. Hope you are checking out the day's
photos and videos. The competition at the front of the pack is fierce.
Stage 2 done. Re-tread of stage 2 from 2013 so I knew what was coming. Did much
better on electrolytes, water and food. Finished strong at about 4:14. The tea
guy score me an extra cup at the finish. Do not know my place. I moved up to
158th for some reason in Stage 1. Dirk made it in much later and is having some
blister problems we will have to work on. Lost my Buff! Thank you all for the
emails they are very much appreciated. About 25% done and the first stage
excitement is done. Look for the webcam feed. Going to go and recover some more.
Breezy now and the hot part of the day. Hope you are checking out the day's
photos and videos. The competition at the front of the pack is fierce.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
MDS 2015 Stage 1
Well Stage 1 is over.
It was a complete repeat of Stage 1 in 2013! Wonder if I was slower this year. Weather is hot and windy, just like Spring Time in NM. I got a little behind in electrolytes and food today but will do better tomorrow. Was doing quite well until about half way through then I had to walk some and recover. Feet are OK. Pack started out at 7.5 kgs (just under 17 lbs) without water. Tomorrow is about 20 miles. Lots of standing around in the sun for everything. The Sultan tea guy is back and one was very excited to see an american (my patch) at the finish today (didn't get me a second cup though). Dirk is hanging in there and finished in an ok state today. Miss seeing family at the finish line but I am looking forward to your emails. Not sure of my standing but it is somewhat irrelevent this early. One US male is in 10th
place. Check out the web site for pictures of the stage, there were lots of
photographers out there.
LISA'S NOTE:
Garth is in 160th overall and is 5th US Individual after Stage 1 :-)
It was a complete repeat of Stage 1 in 2013! Wonder if I was slower this year. Weather is hot and windy, just like Spring Time in NM. I got a little behind in electrolytes and food today but will do better tomorrow. Was doing quite well until about half way through then I had to walk some and recover. Feet are OK. Pack started out at 7.5 kgs (just under 17 lbs) without water. Tomorrow is about 20 miles. Lots of standing around in the sun for everything. The Sultan tea guy is back and one was very excited to see an american (my patch) at the finish today (didn't get me a second cup though). Dirk is hanging in there and finished in an ok state today. Miss seeing family at the finish line but I am looking forward to your emails. Not sure of my standing but it is somewhat irrelevent this early. One US male is in 10th
place. Check out the web site for pictures of the stage, there were lots of
photographers out there.
LISA'S NOTE:
Garth is in 160th overall and is 5th US Individual after Stage 1 :-)
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Ready, Set, Go!
After almost a week of traveling we are here in Ouarzazate one day out from leaving for the bivouac. Packs are ready and a final briefing by Jay is about 30 minutes away. The afternoon wil be devoted to a little more relaxing and sight seeing. The U.S. contingent is here and all are excited. Weather is hot as expected and no clouds. Tomorrow we will be off the grid but look for posts from the field later here, on Facebook or live tracking via Spot at the MDS website
All the preparation and training is done. It's real now!
All the preparation and training is done. It's real now!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Blog Practice
Hi Gang -
Lisa here trying to learn how to post / pirate Garth's blog so I can keep you all updated on his most excellent adventure!
Lisa here trying to learn how to post / pirate Garth's blog so I can keep you all updated on his most excellent adventure!
Monday, March 23, 2015
Training Summary and Review
In 2013 about this time I posted a review of my training activities leading up to my participation in the 28th MDS. Now would be a good time to revisit the numbers to see how they compare to what I have been able to do in preparation for the 30th MDS. Of course your results (mileage) will vary.
From the 1st of January to date:
2013: 550 miles / 2,700 "lb-miles" / avg pack weight 16.5lbs / 16 pack runs
2015: 513 miles / 4,152 lb-miles / avg pack weight 17.5 / 23 pack runs
NOTE: total miles down due to knee injury.
From the 1st of August (when I started training for the 28th MDS) until the end of the year:
2012: 650 miles / 945 lb-miles
2014: 718 miles / 4,800 lb-miles (including Grand-to-Grand Ultra) - WOW over 4X the lb-miles!
Over the past 12 months or so:
2012-2013: 1,750 miles / 3,650 lb-miles.
2014-2015: 1,872 miles / 9,263 lb-miles
So, overall mileage was up slightly but pack running was much higher and thus a great fraction of my runs. This was due to more runs and training for Grand-to-Grand. A back-to-back-to-back type training regime was still employed (with most of the week consolidated into about four or five straight days.) Hills are always a part of the schedule because of where I live. Walking and tempo workouts were on occasions included. I also added more yoga and weight training this time around to help with stretching/balance and strength imbalance issues. Weekly mileage again was never over 70 miles. Most weeks were around 45-50 miles.
I did have two down months (October and November) last year for recovery with very limited miles.
So, overall I have done more than what I did in preparation for the 28th MDS. I have been on the ragged edge of injury with a tweaked kneed that throttled me back somewhat over the last month but I appear to have recovered.
We will see how things go in a couple of weeks
From the 1st of January to date:
2013: 550 miles / 2,700 "lb-miles" / avg pack weight 16.5lbs / 16 pack runs
2015: 513 miles / 4,152 lb-miles / avg pack weight 17.5 / 23 pack runs
NOTE: total miles down due to knee injury.
From the 1st of August (when I started training for the 28th MDS) until the end of the year:
2012: 650 miles / 945 lb-miles
2014: 718 miles / 4,800 lb-miles (including Grand-to-Grand Ultra) - WOW over 4X the lb-miles!
Over the past 12 months or so:
2012-2013: 1,750 miles / 3,650 lb-miles.
2014-2015: 1,872 miles / 9,263 lb-miles
So, overall mileage was up slightly but pack running was much higher and thus a great fraction of my runs. This was due to more runs and training for Grand-to-Grand. A back-to-back-to-back type training regime was still employed (with most of the week consolidated into about four or five straight days.) Hills are always a part of the schedule because of where I live. Walking and tempo workouts were on occasions included. I also added more yoga and weight training this time around to help with stretching/balance and strength imbalance issues. Weekly mileage again was never over 70 miles. Most weeks were around 45-50 miles.
I did have two down months (October and November) last year for recovery with very limited miles.
So, overall I have done more than what I did in preparation for the 28th MDS. I have been on the ragged edge of injury with a tweaked kneed that throttled me back somewhat over the last month but I appear to have recovered.
We will see how things go in a couple of weeks
Friday, March 20, 2015
Médecins dit bon d'aller
The past week saw numerous trips to various medical entities to get all the final paperwork in order. Not only did I have a physical for work but my MDS physical, my MDS resting EKG and because of the hassle I got in 2013 (because I am old I guess) a stress test even though it is not "required". No surprises as expected, healthy as a horse. I am good to go.
It is fortunate that in Los Alamos we have a very good health care community that is in tune with endurance athletes. No hassles with "ultra running is bad for you" and refusal to sign the paper work. I even got my UTMB medical form signed!
To quote Forest Gump: That's good. One less thing.
It is fortunate that in Los Alamos we have a very good health care community that is in tune with endurance athletes. No hassles with "ultra running is bad for you" and refusal to sign the paper work. I even got my UTMB medical form signed!
To quote Forest Gump: That's good. One less thing.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Final Food Listing
Here it is. Approximately. Of course there will be treats at the bivouac before the start.
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