MdS Stage 1 - Jebel Irha / Oued Tijekht: 36.2 KM
05 April 2015
The previous night was by far the best night of sleep that I've had in the last few weeks. Partially in part because I was still a little tired but I'm also fully recovered from TWS (Technology Withdrawal Syndrome)! This morning we were awoken by the Berbers as like every morning from here on out. As soon as the sun comes up they are in full-on tear down mode and they skillfully do it when you are still sleeping or moving around under the tent. It's amazing to watch them tear the bivouac down.
Roadbook for the first stage:
The route for stage 1 would start by taking us up a small rocky pass and then through some small sand dunes. Around seven kilometers we climb up another jebel (mountain) and back down the other side, cross a bridge, then run some sandy dunes and rolling hills. We'll cruise across a plateau and through Aithoulhetan Erg dunes. Once we clear the dunes, we'll run through a stoney valley up Ammessoui Jebel and finally cross stage 1 finish line.
The Starting Line
This morning there was a sense of calmness that ran through my veins. After months of training, I'll finally be able to toe the line of MdS....a dream of mine. What's interesting about stage races is the fact that everyday there's a start and a finish. Everyday there are goals and strategies that we'll employ in hope that each of us can accomplish what we all came here for. Unbeknownst to all of us, we'll pass through this portal and enter the Saharan desert and, each time we do, we'll discover that even the best laid plans won't hold up in entirety.
A few hours after this photo was taken we gathered for the first announcements of MdS and the official start of the race. Once the announcements are done, they crank up the music and the countdown begins!
For months, I've poured over countless articles/blogs and watched tons of videos about MdS. Out of all the review of resources, one message has always resonated in my mind...don't screw up your feet. As I stand there waiting for the music to end, I am pondering strategies for not screwing up my feet and I decide to start out walking for the first stage. I struggle with this because I'm here to run MdS not walk. As the countdown ends, I cross through the portal and instead of screaming through the "highway to hell", I pass under the portal like a scared rat.
I walk for the first mile before I even begin to start jogging. For some reason, my initial run strategy flew right out the door. I started in the back of the crowd and now I am jogging and trying to weave and bob in and around many racers. I finally catch my grove and settle into a nice running pace and in little time, I reach my first MdS checkpoint.
Moving through checkpoints is pretty simple with the only complicated tasks being to pick up your water ration, get your checkpoint card punched, discard your empty water bottles and trash, and move out of the CP as fast as possible.
The running after the first checkpoint went even better then the first leg. I made up lots of time running through the rolling hills and dunes. I was finally feeling confident again. My legs felt good and I felt like I was finally acclimated to the heat. As I came out of the sand dunes, I ran into another U.S. runner, Garth Reader (897). Garth is a veteran of MdS and he is a very talented runner. As I passed Garth, something occurred to me that maybe I might be going too fast and I should just hang with Garth. I asked if he didn't mind and we both ran to check point 2 together. Garth gave me some pointers about checkpoint entry/exit strategy as we passed through CP2. We continued to run together and I quickly became the student. As we ran across the stoney valley, Garth showed me strategy on how to set goals and utilize a good run/walk strategy to keep pace. As we neared 30km, I began to get extremely tired and Garth slowly pulled away from me. He encouraged me to keep up but for some reason walking felt so much better at that point. In my mind, I was good with walking the last 6km of stage 1. The flat was pretty inviting and occasionally I would start to run again. As I neared the end of the valley, you could see a giant wall of steepness. I knew there was a hill but I never imagined we would run up to the top of a ridge to finish stage 1. As luck would have it, a hidden notch was revealed and before I knew it, I was running again and heading straight for the stage finish.
I crossed the finish line, drank some hot moroccan tea, grabbed my water ration, and headed for the tents. I had roughly 150 yards to walk to get to our tent and I began to reflect on my performance. My biggest critique was starting too slow and I promised myself that I would line up near the front during all the stages from hear on out.
I approached the U.S. tents and was immediately cheered on by the runners that came in before me. I looked up and saw Meghan Hicks, Liza Howard, Dave Mackey, Garth Reader hanging out under the tent. I sat down and we talked about how the day went and joked about different thoughts that were cruising through our crazy heads. A few minutes later, Anthony Rodale and Linda Stewart rolled in looking fresh. As we sat there watching people finish, I learned from the veterans that it's customary to square up the berber tents and be ready to help your tent-mates when they arrive. I'm now off to get ours squared away.
Berber tents are pretty high maintenance. The tents are erected by the Berbers and it's up to the racers to put the finishing touches to the tents. The first person in usually pulls the carpet out and begins to get rid of any rocks and shrubs that are in the sleeping area. As more folks arrive, the group works to make any major improvements to the actual tent. The most important task is to clear the ground your sleeping on and get the carpet ready for others to arrive. The carpets can have anything attached to them and we found thorns to needles to used syringes in them. It's a very vital task!
After our carpet was clear, I laid down to rest for a few minutes and then recorded the following video that summed up the day.
For months, I've poured over countless articles/blogs and watched tons of videos about MdS. Out of all the review of resources, one message has always resonated in my mind...don't screw up your feet. As I stand there waiting for the music to end, I am pondering strategies for not screwing up my feet and I decide to start out walking for the first stage. I struggle with this because I'm here to run MdS not walk. As the countdown ends, I cross through the portal and instead of screaming through the "highway to hell", I pass under the portal like a scared rat.
I walk for the first mile before I even begin to start jogging. For some reason, my initial run strategy flew right out the door. I started in the back of the crowd and now I am jogging and trying to weave and bob in and around many racers. I finally catch my grove and settle into a nice running pace and in little time, I reach my first MdS checkpoint.
Moving through checkpoints is pretty simple with the only complicated tasks being to pick up your water ration, get your checkpoint card punched, discard your empty water bottles and trash, and move out of the CP as fast as possible.
The running after the first checkpoint went even better then the first leg. I made up lots of time running through the rolling hills and dunes. I was finally feeling confident again. My legs felt good and I felt like I was finally acclimated to the heat. As I came out of the sand dunes, I ran into another U.S. runner, Garth Reader (897). Garth is a veteran of MdS and he is a very talented runner. As I passed Garth, something occurred to me that maybe I might be going too fast and I should just hang with Garth. I asked if he didn't mind and we both ran to check point 2 together. Garth gave me some pointers about checkpoint entry/exit strategy as we passed through CP2. We continued to run together and I quickly became the student. As we ran across the stoney valley, Garth showed me strategy on how to set goals and utilize a good run/walk strategy to keep pace. As we neared 30km, I began to get extremely tired and Garth slowly pulled away from me. He encouraged me to keep up but for some reason walking felt so much better at that point. In my mind, I was good with walking the last 6km of stage 1. The flat was pretty inviting and occasionally I would start to run again. As I neared the end of the valley, you could see a giant wall of steepness. I knew there was a hill but I never imagined we would run up to the top of a ridge to finish stage 1. As luck would have it, a hidden notch was revealed and before I knew it, I was running again and heading straight for the stage finish.
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| Garth and I shortly after CP 2 running in the stoney valley |
I approached the U.S. tents and was immediately cheered on by the runners that came in before me. I looked up and saw Meghan Hicks, Liza Howard, Dave Mackey, Garth Reader hanging out under the tent. I sat down and we talked about how the day went and joked about different thoughts that were cruising through our crazy heads. A few minutes later, Anthony Rodale and Linda Stewart rolled in looking fresh. As we sat there watching people finish, I learned from the veterans that it's customary to square up the berber tents and be ready to help your tent-mates when they arrive. I'm now off to get ours squared away.
Berber tents are pretty high maintenance. The tents are erected by the Berbers and it's up to the racers to put the finishing touches to the tents. The first person in usually pulls the carpet out and begins to get rid of any rocks and shrubs that are in the sleeping area. As more folks arrive, the group works to make any major improvements to the actual tent. The most important task is to clear the ground your sleeping on and get the carpet ready for others to arrive. The carpets can have anything attached to them and we found thorns to needles to used syringes in them. It's a very vital task!
After our carpet was clear, I laid down to rest for a few minutes and then recorded the following video that summed up the day.
My hope in doing a daily reflection was to make sure that I continued to stay grounded in my confidence and my abilities. Truth be told...deep down inside, I already knew that I was going to come back to MdS again.
Slightly after this recording tent mates started to roll in one by one. First was Martin Mack, followed by Alissa Larson, then Felicia Wilkerson and Mosi Smith, Dean Patterson, Patrick Tomada, and Rachel Moss.
With everyone and doing relatively well, we all do some feet fixin', have some dinner, and hoop in our sleeping bags. Most of us watch the sunset from inside our sleeping bags and begin to tell jokes as we each fall asleep in our own dreams. Tomorrow is going to be a little shorter but the ease of distance is thwarted by the amount of mountains we'll be running up and down. I'm excited about tomorrow! I love running mountains and have looked forward to this stage of MdS.
Slightly after this recording tent mates started to roll in one by one. First was Martin Mack, followed by Alissa Larson, then Felicia Wilkerson and Mosi Smith, Dean Patterson, Patrick Tomada, and Rachel Moss.
With everyone and doing relatively well, we all do some feet fixin', have some dinner, and hoop in our sleeping bags. Most of us watch the sunset from inside our sleeping bags and begin to tell jokes as we each fall asleep in our own dreams. Tomorrow is going to be a little shorter but the ease of distance is thwarted by the amount of mountains we'll be running up and down. I'm excited about tomorrow! I love running mountains and have looked forward to this stage of MdS.
Stage 1 Statistics
Official Time: 4:53:16
Position: 186
Average Pace: 13:00
Elevation Gain: 1,053 ft
Average HR: 170
Estimated Calories Burned: 3,446
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