For an event like the MDS you can’t half ass it and just rock up. Well maybe you could, but I’m not like that.
I’m paying a lot of money to do this challenge, and I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into researching the event, knowing what to expect, how to best prepare both physically and mentally, how to train, what equipment to purchase and how to do the race to the best of my ability.
The main concern I have at the moment is whether or not I’ll be well enough to do the MDS which is coming up really quickly.
It’s almost the end of January now and the MDS takes place at the start of April. That only really gives me eight weeks to do some serious training and increase my millage and get some long distances under my belt.
From my research so many people recommend doing a 50 mile endurance race so you’ve got it under your belt and you know you have it in your legs for the long stage. At the moment I would struggle to go further than eight miles. So I can’t see how I could do this?
However, maybe it’s just a case of taking iron tablets of getting a B12 injection and this may give me back the energy that I’ve been missing over the past few weeks.
I’ve been making a huge effort to keep up with my exercise, and to try and maintain my fitness levels and to not lose any strength. I’ve noticed my running speed and distance has dropped massively and I do struggle to run even short distances.
I’ve managed to maintain doing the weightlifting three times a week, boxing once a week and run club twice a week. But I haven’t been able to get out and get some really good millage under my belt. Which is a huge disadvantage for an endurance event such as this one.
The doctor mentioned the MDS is probably not going to happen for me this year and that I need to look at doing it in 2016 instead. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I really want to do the MDS especially as it’s in its 30th year, I’ve got a great bunch of tent mates lined up and it was the challenge I wanted to use as my launch pad for Tough Girl Challenges.
Ultimately the decision may not come down to me and there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. The good thing is I am fully insured and I’ve spoken to the organizers who say there would be a place for me in the 2016 race.
I’ve got my second blood test booked in for the 26th so it’s now a case of waiting to see what the next set of blood test results will show.