Journal
The Final Countdown
Now for a couple of my previous challenges I have wanted to use this sound track but I have been saving it. I think it is an awesome tune to start this expedition that myself, Jamie Anderson and Team leader Alex Hibbert are soon to start.
In the next couple of days once everything is ready, people are fully recovered from illness and we will be heading out onto the ice along this epic route, with staggering scenery and a fantastic team.
Like all good plans there has been a slight change of plan. Due to the conditions, a non-supported route of this length isn't feasible for this expedition. The more than average snow that has fallen this year slowed us considerably during our test run. So instead we are going to be resupplied. There are lots of cliches that we can use like we have adapted and overcome or something a long those lines. The good news though is that it was resolved with a lot of discussions around routes, logistics and ice forecasts. We are all extremely excited about the start of it and will keep you up dated with our progress.
Nearly at the start line
Thanks to everyone for your messages over the last few days. Our launch date at the start of the week has been knocked back a little for a couple of reasons - firstly due to what we assumed was a minor airport-caused sniffle, but developing into full-blown respiratory infections for first Alex and Jamie soon after. Benno has miraculously side-stepped the biological onslaught. Secondly, our freight was nigh on destroyed by the carrier, so a half-day repack became three days of painstaking re-organisation and finding lost items. The weather has been stable at around -30 to -35 degrees and with a little wind, settling at around -40. It looks to be staying that way so it's really only our frustration that has suffered from the delay. It's been vital for Jamie and me to recover fully, otherwise we'd be sure to take another health dive after the toil begins. We think we're more or less there now and so, packed, we're looking to move north soon. A final factor is that the snowfall here so far this winter has been huge. Even skidoo-powered hunters are returning with news of tough surfaces. This means that we have taken the decision to ship some of our supplies up the coast to pick up later in the journey. In the interests of full disclosure, this means that although we will travel man-powered (what some still refer to as unassisted or unsupported), our status with now be 'with resupplies'.
The hiccup in preparations have allowed us to integrate into the community here in Qikiqtarjuaq and our heartfelt thanks go to Louis, the guesthouse host and enormously so to Chris, Glen and Halie from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who have taken us into their home and offered every help possible.
So, with a brief show of the northern lights, hour on hour of repacking and wistful looks towards the headland we want to aim for first, we'll get going as soon as possible. We need to ensure we are all able to sleep fully the night without wheezing and major signs of illness and without any elevated temperature first though. Being impatient will only end in tears after all and we have time. The ice ahead appears to be 'okay'. A couple of broken sections which we'll avoid due to the bears that will congregate and the tough navigation they'll cause. Stay tuned to Twitter, the tracker and the blog all! Cheers.
Science in Endurance
Having been in discussion with the human performance lab at gsk we managed to find a slot prior to our departure for some testing at their facilities in London. I had been on a tour of the place but it is a completely different experience being involved in the research they are carrying out. The aim of the day was to do some body composition work to understand how we adapt as a result of extreme endurance challenges like our north west passage expedition.
The facilities themselves are incredible, used by a range of athletes from the brownlie brothers to jenson button. They include all the training and testing equipment they might use so they can do the analysis of results in house whilst the physical or mental testing is taking place. And for the day team North was in the building. We started the session with a dexa scan.
This machine went along the length of our body taking an image of the bone, fat, muscle and other tissues to understand our composition. Next up was the body pod which is a similar test but uses air displacement rather than an imagery technique to achieve this. One of the advantages for us was that the software calculates your calories required to maintain your body weight based on the analysis.
The final stage was in the cold chamber for our own testing and understanding of our bodies reaction in cold climates. Now although we only got down to the equivalent of a warm day for our route at -16C it did highlight how quickly we would cool down as well as leaning more about our layering system with similar equipment to what we would be using. Overall it did show our nutrition had enabled us to reach our target weight and composition of putting on around 7kg in fat and muscle.
Thanks to all those at the lab as well as for the nutritional advice from PND consulting and supplies of maxi nutrition.
Food for Thought
A lot of people ask how the trip works, what we will be taking with us and especially what food we will be eating.The expedition aims to be unsupported and unassisted. The unassisted part means we have to do it under our own power; no kites, dogs or any other method of assistance is allowed. Our dogs are being used solely for warning against possible risks from polar bears. The unsupported means that we carry everything with us from start to finish that we might need.
To achieve this we are taking a huge amount of equipment, fuel and food. Each person will be pulling around the 250kg mark. This is the equivalent of 3 average sized adult blokes on a sled being dragged along. Or to put this into numbers 260 freeze dried meals 650 maxi nutrition protein bars, black friar flapjack and cake 70 large packs of chocolate buttons 60 packs of Wild West jerky Then a couple of treats like mixed nuts, wine gums or saucisson. Drinks include hot chocolate, tea and maxi nutrition shakes. These do vary between each team member but it gives you an idea of the quantity and volume of the food alone. This all results in us having 2 rather plump and considerably heavy pulks (sleds) to pull each.
This is heavy on a flat icy surface but when it come to having any fresh powder or the gentlest of slopes then it's more like a rugby scrummage session. More of either can result in us having to shuttle our pulks along 1 at a time. Let the pulling commence!
Preparation for going North
Preparation, preparation preparation Even more so compared to my previous races and expeditions this adventure has required far more planning and preparation. It's remoteness, environmental conditions where temperatures drop to -40C as well as the 1800 mile distance to be skied make our decisions and actions critical long before we reach the start line. This has meant there has been a huge amount to learn and understand from the route, kit, nutrition and climate factors. As well as how all these will change as there is a huge shift in temperatures through the season of winter into spring. On top of this we have the physical and mental aspects.
To conquer this we have spent many a sunny and rainy evening sitting round a table covered in an array of maps, kit, food, electronics and other assorted goodies going through it all. This has resulted in a few odd looks as we tried out some face masks whilst in a warm london pub. Many aspects to the trip are very similar to any other race, trip or expedition, the biggest difference is that a bit like in my Atlantic row there are no shops and the volume of kit is far higher. We will each be man hauling around 250kg worth of equipment at the start with everything we need for the entirety of the trip. For the 3 of us that is almost as much as the weight of our entire boat.
Getting ready to pull this has meant for all of us a large part of our time being spent doing exercise and more recently eating to gain the necessary weight to be in the best possible shape to pull this. I still enjoy being able to do a mixture of sports so my training has mixed cycling, running and the gym with climbing and whilst it was warmer stand up paddle boarding. All of this will come together for the expedition as we begin our traverse across the frozen arctic sea.
Final Reflections
With the new year, it being in the final count down before we depart onto the ice and 2 years since I departed Gran Canaria to start rowing the Atlantic Ocean, it's a perfect time to reflect on everything, go through our final checklists and focus on what the coming months will entail. Since the 8 of us arrived on the shores of Gran Canaria we completed the row and since our return there have been marriages, Indian Ocean rows, adventures around the world, new jobs and countless more stories. Looking back on it all it's really quite an impressive and broad list of achievements. As we head towards the ice we will be thinking of the little goals a long the way as we break the 1900 miles into mentally more manageable chunks. We have been putting the physical, mental and preparatory work in for a while and it's now time to turn our attentions to the doing bit. So whether you are just starting, in the middle or coming to the end of a plan or New Years resolution all the best with it. Would be great to hear or see some pictures of your own inspiring stories before we head off on our own adventure, like all good ideas anything worthwhile is good solid work.
The Green Light
2014 was an interesting year, not assisted by injury. However a while back and slightly nervously I booked an appointment with complete physio. It wasn't that I was having issues but more of a check up to make sure my progress was on track. At the time I had a few ideas on what next year could involve, so I had everything crossed that day as I cycled over. Relaxing in the foyer it certainly felt under different circumstances from when I had hobbled off my bike and through the door back in February. Following that appointment there was to be no cycling for a while, which as a form of exercise, enjoyment and my method of transport round london. It was a bit gutting!
I talked through the progress I had made with Chris and Emma-Jane, his colleague, before completing the final stages of recovery by myself. It was all topped off with discussing the plan for 2015.
The session was planned to conduct a series of tests to check for areas for improvement. Constantly wondering what a good result was vs what I was experiencing, knowing that despite this Chris would feedback at the end. With the initial tests complete it was time for some on my core as well. This was something I had been working on as it was a key part of my training.
Tests complete and the consensus was very positive, there were some minor areas to work on but everyone can always improve. Even Ueli steck a renowned athlete apparently went in to be physiologically tested only to be told he was quiet normal to which he was pleased as he felt that meant there was lots of opportunity to improve further. Not that I am comparing myself to him in anyway but for such an incredible athlete to have this attitude I think demonstrates really well the idea of always aiming to improve.
Check out a wee article about him below
Www.rocketrides.com/?p=1696
Most importantly it meant that my ideas for 2015 could go from hopefuls to in the calendar!
A big thanks to Chris and Emma at complete physio for the work they did would highly recommend them.
