Today has been fun. My training today was leading a PT session for the OTC and the Officer Cadets. I started at around midday.
Run
2 Mile warm-up in boots (19 min)
2 Mile run with 35lb rucksack (18 min)
2 Mile run in boots (15 mins)
None of these were a fast pace, but somewhere around 80% effort. It was a good shakeout after not doing much of this type of training for a little while. The ability to transport oneself over distance, especially with additional load, is an essential life skill. Most people recognise that they need to teach their children to swim, not because swimming is a skill they need daily, but because it is one that they could well need in an emergency. I would consider the ability to run, and further to run with weight, to be equally important. The Officer Cadets on this session today had their eyes opened to the difference between general physical fitness, and that fitness specific to load bearing.
Equipment
I slipped the plates out of my weight vest, and used them in my rucksack, along with some regular kit, to make weight today. This is the same approach I used when I set the world record last year. It works well for me and gives a solid mass that sits well against the back. Click the image below to grab your vest, and use TH5 to save.
Food
It's still early, so I can't complete my food for this evening, but so far it's been a standard day with a slight deviation.
At 7am I had 3 rashers of bacon, 3 scrambled eggs and some berries.
At 11am I had 2 snack packs of cheese.
At 2pm I had a flapjack with chocolate and caramel coating.
At 3:15pm I had mince and cheese.
The plan for later is a barbecue, so I'm sure it'll involve steak and salad.
Running with weight today was very satisfying. Without really pushing myself, I reassured myself that I've retained a strong base without biasing loaded endurance at all, and with very low volumes of aerobic base training of late. This bodes well for Mountain Murph and gives me confidence!