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22/6/2015

Part 6 - Lessons Learnt

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There is no point walking away from a 24 hour endurance event, if you have learnt anything.  The Dos and Donts on what we should and shouldnt do.  Please remember is what helps us, this may not be the same for you and your overall lessons may be different.  However everyones tips are greatly appreciated and will always help for future events.
  1. Carry spare batteries (wrap these spare batteries in a waterproof bag a couple of times to make sure they dont get wet)
  2. Put on full wetsuit before it starts getting dark, it will and does start getting cold quickly
  3. Have soup/chicken on the go for quick pick me up
  4. Either have a race belt that's water proof or camelback to put food items/batteries in (but more reluctant with the camelback due to the risk of it getting caught on barbed wire, but as this is a race requirement for Spartan Beast, I will find out how well it works
  5. From Lachlan's post  on Going Long 2015 Facebook page- climb up side of cargo net, stops your feet getting caught in the net
  6. Also from Lachlan's post - pull he tyre from the bigger side rather than from the handle
  7. Take off head torch during cargo crawl as it gets caught
  8. Heat patches or deep heat (I found the heat patches helped with my back a little)
  9. Eat treat items during muddy mile as suggested by Tiffany Nissen
  10. Also suggested by Tiffany, preparing some pre made mashed sweet potatoes, chicken/beef broath (if possible to make at home and bring with next time)
There are going to be a few items that helped with the whole experience including:
  1. It would have to be the prescription pain killers, not sure if I could have done any laps without these never find 4 laps.  Next year I will not jump out in front of car to get more.
  2. Head torch with spare batteries!
  3. Thermos flasks - getting these were amazing, they kept everything hot.  Even it was just hot water on the go
  4. Warm socks x 2 for after the event or in between laps
  5. Big snowboard jacket that you dont mind get wet and dirty, just happy to put on to stay warm.

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17/6/2015

Part 4 - Equipment

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Not having camped since school, we needed to pick up pretty much everything equipment wise to prepare us for the event.  First stop a Tent!

Camping Gear

TENT
It may sound obvious to get a tent, but everyone is different.  Some opted for nothing but a ground sheet as cover (would not recommend) or a canvass cover, some even had just the stand up toilet tents for an easy change, making sure it was as uncomfortable as possible.  However others had the Taj Mahal of tents, there were some incredible set ups, that just produced a high level of tent envy, having that WOW factor.
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We picked up a cheap 4 person dome tent from Kmart $45 which did the job, but you could understand the tent envy when you compared ours.  The tent was supposed to be a 4 man tent, which would have been a stretch to sleep 4 people in it.  We did have enough room to have one sleeping bag, all our dry gear and food though, there was enough room to get changed if you crouched down.   he tent served us well, for what we needed it for, but will probably get another one for next year.  The next one  will include the vestibule, as we will be competing as solos.  

COOKING EQUIPMENT
Kmart and Aldi were our go to shops, our cooking set which was fantastic was and picked up from Kmart $7, it comprised of two little pots and a little frying pan. We also got up some thermos flasks from Aldi $7.99 each, one we had continuously filled with hot water and the other one with hot chicken soup, they worked really well and now get used for Daves work everyday!

The camping stove Dave found in a cupboard at his work and it was on its way out.  It did what it needed to do though and then we threw it away.  We now have time to invest in a descent stove that is also light weight.  We purchased a set of 4 gas canisters from Coles.  Initially we first thought that 4 would not be enough, but only used 1, so 1 pack is definitely enough.  This of course, depends on how much time you will be spending cooking, we only used it to heat up water and had some toast.
BACK UP TORCHES
Since Kmart was serving us so well, we picked up a couple of back up head torches @ $5 each (it didn't really matter if we lost or broke them, it was just good to have some sort of back up).  We didnt end up using, so cant give a review on how they worked, but they were good for 'just in case' purposes.
TENT LIGHT
At the time picking up a $5 dome light from Kmart seemed like a good idea, it would have been better to have a light that we could hang from the top of the tent (novice camping mistake - adding this to lessons learnt).  The dome light will be modified and re-used next year.
SLEEPING BAG AND MAT
Warmth was as always our biggest concern and I really do feel the cold, so we picked up a colder temp Summit sleeping bag with hood from Kmart $49, I still found myself with my thermals on, as well as a fleece blanket (Coles $10).  We also used a gore-tex sleeping bag cover that the Marines use and that has accompanied us around the world (sorry no price on this one).  The camping mat was to make it a little bit more comfortable especially with my back ($10 Kmart) worked well in insulating the body from the cold floor.
TUBS
We picked up some 60 litre tubs (again from Kmart) $10 each (had a better seal on it) to store our event gear and dry clothes.  We had already sorted the clothing into different bags for quick access (this was a tip found on the Going Long Site) and would recommend doing this again, especially if you are in a team.
GROUND SHEET
We purchased a ground sheet with the idea that we can use it outside to roll out on (we didn't think about the night dew), so didn't use it too much as it was too wet.  It we had thought about it, we would have pegged it above the tent just to have some extra covering.
HOT WATER BOTTLE
I ended up walking around everywhere with the hot water bottle underneath my top (this is were having a thermos flask comes in really handy), just having all these little things made everything a lot more comfortable and enjoyable.

Event Wear

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CLOTHING
Aldi had a sale on winter gear, so we also picked up some warm, thick socks $7.99.  Good idea to double on socks (just to stay extra cosy).  Dave wore his Aldi Ski Compression pants $16.99 throughout the whole night while he ran the course.  It is worth just keeping an eye out on these types of Aldi sales, as unfortunately they had ran out of a lot of stuff for me. So I got some thermal plus pants from Katmandu $59.68 (I bought a pair for Dave too, but he didn't use them).  I wore them during the night, underneath another pair of my post race comfy pants.  Also happy to bring along my fake UGG boots for that extra cosiness.

We also got lucky that there was an 2XU warehouse sale happening at the town hall, were we picked up some compression socks $5 each, Tri hat $5 and a few pairs of 2XU gloves at $5 each.  Having Dave's Snowboard jacket kept us warm during our change overs, it was good to have something warm too put on straight  away.  



WETSUIT GEAR
I also found a 2mm rash vest $49 in the sale that I used under my wetsuit for some extra warmth.  I also didnt have my wetsuits in Australia, so had to get a new one as a shortie would not have been sufficient, I also didn't want to borrow one just in case I damaged it.  Fortunately I found one at DFO on sale from $348 to $100.  It was a boys one, but it fitted me really well, with enough room for my compressions underneath and rash vest.  It was also quite comfortable to run in too. Dave took a full spring suit and a shortie with him, he however only used the shortie with a 2mm rash vest underneath and compression pants to cover his legs.
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HEAD LAMP / STROBE LIGHT
For my birthday Dave bought me a good quality LED Lensor head torch, this would have been fantastic if it wasn't for my rookie mistake (I forgot that we had already used it for previous night events), so it ran out of battery.   We also got a smilier set for Dave to have.

We didn't realise we also needed to wear a strobe light during the night too, so we picked up a couple of dog lights from ebay $3.19 each which worked all night.  I just attached it to my wetsuit zip and Dave attached it to his hat.
MOXIE GAITORS
How I wish we had invested in some of these sooner, it would have saved my shins so much pain, bumps and bruises.  These are highly recommend and are really comfy to wear, you hardly noticed wearing them.  Also having the extra support with the compression socks underneath allowed for some additional protection.  I also think that this may have helped with minimising the amounts of cramps I usually have in my carves. Thanks goes to Clem and Alyson from the Compound for these.
SAFETY WHISTLES
We only paid a few dollars for these from Rebel Sports $2.99 and included a lanyard, I just had it around my neck underneath my wetsuit.  This was also an essential True Grit requirement.
FIRST AID BAG
Yep we had a bag with all the essentials, from pain killers, deep heat, heat packs, KT Tape, scissors and a small first aid kit which included bandages etc.  Also in there was some antiseptic powder, just in case we had a major cut and needed to get it cleaned to minimise any possibility of infections especially getting wet and muddy. Happily nothing was required!

Enduro Requirements

The below list are the requirements from the True Grit website.  We were initially questioning whether on not we should take a wetsuit, thank goodness we did.  Wetsuit, hat, gloves, beanie, race belt (we did not have, but have put it on the list for next year), suncream are all highly, highly, highly recommended.  I cannot stress enough that is gets COLD... There is no way around it and I am so pleased I did purchase the wetsuit.

We also had all the suggested items for your camp, even though we didn't use all of them (blister pack, band aids, vaseline).  It was good to have.
This equipment must be carried by each individual and NOT transferred from competitor to competitor. This will be checked and you must have this gear to participate:
  1. Headlamp (Between the hours of sunset & sunrise)
  2. Saftey Whistle (securely on your person, easy to locate and loud enough to be heard from space).
Suggested gear
  • A wetusit might be worth considering. You will get wet on course and temperatures could be around 6 degrees at night. A 6mm surf wetsuit with hood is recommended. 
  • Neoprene gloves
  • Hat
  • 2XU Waterproof jacket
  • Triathlon shoes/Aqua shoes
  • 2XU Gloves
  • Race belt
  • Beanie
  • 2XU Running compressions
  • Personal hydration system
  • Sunscreen
  • Swim cap

Wetsuits are allowed and strongly encouraged in order to stay warm after crossing the water obstacles at night.

Suggestions for your camp
  • Gloves
  • At least one full change of clothing 
  • Camping tent (2 man tent only) per site. Solo and 2 person teams get one site. Three or four person teams get 2 sites.
  • Sleeping bag and light camping mat.
  • Torch or a lantern
  • Dry towels
  • 2XU Compression socks 
  • Extra waterproof clothing 
  • Band-Aids, blister packs
  • Vaseline
  • Earplugs 
  • Additional food and drinks as needed

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21/5/2015

Panic Stations.

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This is not like any other obstacle course race that we have done,usually its a matter of getting everything ready the night before and packing it in the car, and that's it were off and ready to go.  Nope this time a little more preparation is definitely required, especially as I don't think its a matter if we forgot something we can go to the shop and pick it up.  This we can do when we get to Sydney, but we definitely cant do this if were on course.  If were too cold, well its tough shit and we have to deal with it, or if we haven't got enough food, or not comfortable enough.
There are so many what ifs??? I never really considered how organised we needed to be, and we still wont know if we have done enough until we actually start the event.  Some of the lists that people have been posting on the FB page has caused me to go into melt down, they are so excessive (really how much money do these people have?) Compression pants, 4 types of wetsuits, 2 sets of 2XU thermal compression tops and 2 sets of bottoms, wind jacket, wind pants and the list goes on.  OK, so we are faces with two problems 1. we dont have much of this stuff, our races have comprised of us getting in and out, back in the car and heading home for a nice hot shower - never had a need to run in a wetsuit or to purchase a full wetsuit (Isnt this one of the reasons why we moved to Australia).  We only have shortie!!  Problem No 2.  I am not the best at camping, I hate the cold so why would I want to give up a nice cosy bed to sleep on a hard surface, so this means we have absolutely zilch camping, cold or wet weather gear.
Our clothes that we use are usually cold gym clothes that I dont really care about getting torn and ripped, and of course more that happy to throw away after. Now i have to think about layering, whilst running - what happens if I get too hot or too cold??  Seriously the swear words that are coming out at the moment are really not good.  The only good thing would be that there is no harm in being over prepared (again this comes down to money), I didnt really anticipate the overall cost when signing up to this, yes we could borrow items -  but then what happens if we ruin them.  We are better off ruining our own stuff then someone elses, then that moves onto the other debate - if you go expenses (then chances are they are going to get ruined), obstacle runs are definitely not designed to keep your clothes in tact by the end of it. 
So the panic buying has started, I bought a cheap tent form Kmart ($45) which is bloody fantastic, and a sleeping bag (only one as since the plan was that one of us would be on the course at any given time then we should only need one).  I also bought some gels, as we need to test these out at some point before the event.  We were going to wait until we got to Sydney to buy, but then had another panic moment that included (what happens if they sell out), best to just getting shopping and not panicking about picking up a tent, but now just realised I bought the wrong one, I was meant to get one with a front section too to we can leave tubs and stuff outside if its raining.  This is what happens when you start panic buying.  Also bought the weirdest thermal pants from Katmandu, honestly it made perfect sense to me at the time, now I not sure what was the overall intention (its not like we will wear them running around).
Our spare room is turning into its own Enduro equipment room, which now looking at it (thinks we will be paying for some extra luggage along the way).  I will update a shopping / equipment list (and then will make a review of what was needed after the event).  I have bought a full length wetsuit, so feel a little better about that, we really are not going to know until we get there.

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