99.9F - Suzanne Vega

'Like a man on the verge of burning' - Vega

The song is great but the title has always made me chuckle as 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit is actually 37.7 degrees Celsius which isn't exactly burning and if the temperature at the Marathon des Sables was it would be a lot easier. In reality we will be experiencing more like last year's 130F which is 54C which was a lot more challenging I can assure you.

Yesterday in Cardiff it was 50F and only 10C for my MdS Training Day with young Chris Connor where we endured driving, freezing rain and mild hypothermia on our 26.2 mile power walk as he is only just coming back from two stress fractures in his right foot.

It's really hard too keep a constant 15 minute mile pace in such conditions for nearly seven hours, especially when you are freezing your bits off and your feet are not used to being on your feet for so long.

In reality it's great training for the long day and Chris found out that his feet didn't like it that much and will now be taping his feet and finding the instructions for his walking poles that didn't stay at their full length when he used them which was another good learn.

He's a great young man though and if you are walking with him he's very entertaining and has some great stories to take your 'mind off the grind', just don't walk behind him as he's a bit unpredictable with the poles.

It took me a couple of hours to warm up and I'm having a well earned rest day myself today on my taper down to the race.

More tomorrow...

Night and Day (Steel String Mix) - U2

'I think of you night and day' - Bono

I'm meeting SO many people on the lead up to this year's MdS who are thinking about this race...Night and Day and it's my job to make it as easy as possible for them to get to the start line in just a few days time without having a cardiac arrest. 

In some of the cases this has proved harder than others but the interesting thing is that they will ALL BE OK.

All the ones I've coached will be as I've seen them develop over the past year into well accomplished ultra-marathon runners and more than capable of doing a few days and a couple of hundred kms in hot sand dunes.

Their biggest pre-race problem is getting their local GP to sign off their medical forms and ECG's as most Doctors don't like putting their name to a fitness than an illness form. I'm sure more high blood pressure is caused by this form than recorded on it!

I have young Chris Connor coming to see me for his final MdS run thru tomorrow and he has 'Tall R Waves' on his ECG so I rest my case!!!

Now where are my surgical gloves?

Desire - U2

'Gonna go where the bright lights and the big city meet' - Dozier, Holland, Holland, TROY, Maman & Brooks

The Starting Stats

My trip to the smoke yesterday to see my 'Carphone Warehouse, Average to Awesome 12' (#cpwa2a for short) was a real eye opener for them as well as me as we went back to basics and immediately started all of them on my banned substances diet, including Mark who even at his racing weight would benefit from a better quality diet.

Funnily enough, since our last meet on the 3rd of March, some 14 days later the group has grown 2kgs to 931kgs making my sub 900kgs group target all that bit harder.

Hopefully having the eyes of the world as well as their colleagues AND each other watching their progress, it will sharpen the DESIRE to shape up and get firmly into the first phase of getting ready to cover 100kms.

Right now I'm not sure how they'll get on...in my mind I know they can all do it but it's down to their DESIRE and if they buy into the training process I have planned for them. I'm with it 100% - I wonder if they feel the same?

Watch on and I'll keep you posted with their progress and even though there was a 2kgs gain overall, there are a couple of people already leading the weight-loss challenge.

More tomorrow when I have more of their statistics and thoughts, yes thoughts, in place!

'Desire' - that's what you need and maybe it's our anthem right now. 

Anything she does - Genesis

'You'll still be a young girl, when I'm old and grey' - Banks, Collins & Rutherford

What a wonderful weekend of sunshine to be out running and I really enjoyed the first running of the 26.2 mile distance at the Shakespeare Spring Marathon. It lived up to my expectations and with a little bit of polish and less headwind it could well be a real winner.

The Anglo-Celtic Plate would be ideally placed at such a venue as the Long Marston Airfield supplied a perfectly FLAT course to allow for even pacing  and no nasty hill to climb every lap.

It did measure a bit long at 26.64 miles and I knew well before the last extra 2kms that we'd be running long and the final run down a dead-end turn was superfluous IMO. I did 3.57.42 on my watch for the race and 3.53.38 for the Marathon distance so I'll be very happy with that and 24 hours on my legs are virtually ache-free so my recovery is good.

I have a day of coaching my #CPWA2A disciples tomorrow in London and today has just been a great day of rest in the Salter-Coleman household where we are now planning for our second part of the 2014 season.

Happy Days and more tomorrow.

All along the Watchtower - The Jimi Hendrix Experience

'But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate' - Dylan

I'm going back in time again tomorrow as I head back to Stratford-upon-Avon for another marathon on my lead up to the MdS next month. It's only six days since the Barry 40 but I believe that I've recovered sufficiently enough to run a good time on a perfectly flat course on yet more loops...luckily this time on a 5km circuit. I must be going bonkers!

With just the Jurassic Coastal Challenge left next weekend it's starting to feel that I am winding down quite nicely now and I must say that I'm looking forward to testing out my 2014 level of desert fitness in Merzouga.

I'm just going to enjoy my next few weeks and it's taken me a long time to realise that life's too short and I'm having the time of my life right now and just to savour the moment!

More tomorrow... 

Sheer Heart Attack - Queen

'Well you're just seventeen and all you want to do is disappear' - Taylor

No Heart Attack for me today Mr. Taylor! More just pure attack as I was back on good form bashing in good mileage on strong legs which felt revitalised with Spring Sap. Yep, the leaves are showing on the branches down here in God's Country and the Sun even made it thru one of the deepest sea fogs I've seen so far down here.

Let's hope they feel the same as I trip around 26.2 miles of Long Marston Airfield on Saturday as I bash in my penultimate marathon before going to Morocco.

I also have  my 'Carphone Warehouse Average to Awesome Project' (#CPWA2A) prelude starting on Monday which invoves a two-week fitness challenge for my hopefuls to get their teeth into to keep me busy, so I'm looking forward to my time leading up to the MdS. 

More tomorrow

Agent Provocateur - Red Tape

'Bend a little' - Gosling

On a day when Dustmen can't deliver replacement recycling bin-bags as it's against their health and safety policy (just one example of daftness I've encountered today) it feels like I'm drowning in a sea of Red Tape.

The 'Computer definitely said No' on far too many occasions for me today. Imagine if our Health and Safety Executives were wheeled into the middle of the Marathon des Sables... Well there wouldn't be a race would there. Or Men on the Summit of Everest, Stood at the South Pole or on the Surface of the Moon for that matter too.

Where did it all go wrong? - When did we loose our sense of adventure and things get so scary we had to wrap everything up in bubble wrap and paint it with Day-glow paint, in Full Overalls in Safety Masks, wearing goggles after a two week course in paint spraying following a full day of first-aid training. People really worry about putting their name to their opinion and it drives me nuts. People ask me for my opinion everyday and I give it without a disclaimer!

Thing is I've managed to get to 52 quite nicely without heeding too many warning signs such as recent ones I've seen such as, coffee-cup with 'caution contents hot' and peanuts with 'caution pack contains nuts' on them because I KNOW THAT ALREADY. 

Luckily I've worked this out for myself in a trial and error method perfected over many years I've picked up from EXPERIENCE. Yes a term lacking more now than ever in our busy and hectic old lives...

Thing is by now I know what the inherent dangers of most things in life are and I've managed to get this far quite nicely and if I want to go and kill myself running huge distances in sand then it's ok - I'm quite happy and I know the risks. Running in a hi-viz vest ain't gonna help me much out there!.

Life's for living and adventure comes at a price - and I'm fully aware of what that is.

Next time 'the computer says no', just do it anyway. You'll probably survive, I do.

More tomorrow and I'm off to cool down...