Step-up in Training

Early last weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to stay overnight at one of my Saudi friend’s Camel Farm. We drove 250km out of Riyadh and left the motorway on a junction which literally had 100 metres of 3-lane dual carriageway off to the left, which then abruptly stopped and turned into open desert. In the distance I could see a campsite with 3 or 4 tents, a couple of trailers and some pens full of camels. We went into the main tent which had an open fire, rugs and a few typically Arabic hard cushions for propping yourself up against. My friend’s Father was there to meet us and he made me feel most welcome. Over the day I was there we ate traditional food, drank Arabic coffee and took part in administering the camels. This was a fantastic experience and I was truly moved by the way I was treated and looked after by the family. My brief 24 hours living as a Bedouin gave me an entirely new perspective on life in Saudi Arabia and I will never forget it.

The camp site was away from the main farm, which consisted of a barn, single house, some pens, a well and an irrigated circular ‘field’ that is in the process of being prepared for the first plantation of potatoes. The farm is set in a shallow valley in the sand, which has vast tracts of open desert and is surrounded with different kinds of sand banks and dunes of varying height. This is the perfect training area for the MDS and I have a free offer to visit for weekends whenever I chose. I can’t wait to get my trail running shoes now and get out there with my pack.

Training has stepped up a notch over the last week or so. I ran in the Riyadh Runners’ Half Marathon at the Dirab Golf course last Friday carrying my pack with the new front pouch. I ran with Chris and we were on for a 2 hour finish, but Chris’s foot injury flared up again and slowed us on the third and final lap; we finished in just under 2 hours 6 minutes, Chris pipping me with a sneaky sprint finish that I couldn’t stick with (the bugger!). The pack assembly was very comfortable and spread the few kilos I carried well. It will need some modification before upping the loading and doing any real distance, as the pouch bounced annoyingly. Some elastic from the front edges to the pack side straps should sort it out with a Velcro release.

Though this week I have taken to training for an hour before work, just hitting the cardio/fat-burning on the bike and rower. The evenings have entailed double sessions of boxing circuits, sprint circuits and hour long bike stints. This has had the effect of stripping down some of my puppy fat and I’m almost under 90kg for the first time in over 7 years since my boxing days. This weekend has been limited to a single 10 mile lap of the Diplomatic Quarter (with light pack). I had a big Christmas party with friends last night and have spent the remainder of the weekend completing the final regular module of my degree’s first year – study break now until 9 January, so I can really get stuck into admin and sponsorship collection for the MDS.