Ep 8 - Charity Challenge Recap

In this episode of the Progress Pod, the host recaps his recent charity challenge, the David Goggins 4x4x48. He modified the challenge to run 4.4 miles every four hours for 48 hours, raising money for charity. He discusses his preparation, the physical and mental challenges he faced, and the support he received. Despite the difficulty, he enjoyed the challenge and recommends it for those seeking physical and mental growth. Hello and welcome to episode number 8 of the Progress Pod and during this episode I'm going to be following up from last week's episode where I discussed my prep for the charity challenge that I did at the weekend and today's episode I'm going to be doing a bit of a recap. So just to highlight for anyone that doesn't know or haven't listened to the previous podcast, I took on the David Goggins 4x4x48 challenge which was with a slight twist in the sense that if you do the normal 4x4x48 you complete 48 miles over the two days but that's just four miles short of two marathons so I just wanted to mix it up a wee bit and I ended up doing 4.4 miles or 7k every four hours for 48 hours and the reason for doing that was to raise money for a charity called Tiny Tickers so just wanted to say firstly as well thank you to everyone who has donated to the page. I raised over £800 which was far more than initially expected so thanks very much for that and in terms of this podcast I'm just going to run through from start to finish really how I was feeling, what was the toughest runs, the mental battles that I faced, what did I do in between runs, how did it pan out and then just finish off with what my overall thoughts on the challenge were, would I recommend it and those sort of things so in terms of starting it off we started on Thursday the 13th of July at 12 o'clock so midday was going to be the first run and then that was going to take us through to 8am on Saturday morning where we'd finish at Run Club so 12 o'clock Thursday and the lead up to it Wednesday, Thursday morning pretty heavy carb meals, good carb load in there just to make sure I was fully topped up for what was going to be ensuing over the next 48 hours so good carbs in there, lots of oats, lots of rice, lots of pasta, bread, bagels, bananas, you name it, a lot of simple easily digestible carbs, getting that in there just so that my glycogen stores were topped up and the first run I did with my dad and my brother and it was straightforward enough 7km for myself is a standard run, I'm fairly competent when it comes to running so 7km we did at around about 6 minute per kilometre pace so that was nice and easy, straightforward, first one ticked off but I only wish all of them felt like that but then we got to 4 o'clock and I was running with Callum and April from Run Club and at that point again still feeling fresh, 4km done again just over 6 minute per kilometre and just ticking them off at this stage feeling relatively comfortable but what I will say is that it's fairly relentless the challenge in the sense that there's not really much of a gap so by the time you finish the run and came in, settled down a bit, that's almost an hour gone over the 4 hours then what I was doing after every run or trying to was getting a decent stretch and foam rolling and then get something to eat after every single run no matter what time it was at just to keep the body topped up, keep the body fuelled because I was burning just about 500 calories every run so if you do that across 12 runs that's 6,000 calories plus a typical day for me I'd maybe burn like 3,000 calories so you're talking about 12,000 calories being burned over the two days so I would need to eat close to 6,000 just to maintain so I was eating a lot in between so by the time you've stretched, rolled, eaten, settled down a bit, done your run, half the time's already gone and then I was living normal life like the kids were in the house, I was trying to catch up on a wee bit of work, doing a wee bit of messing thankfully I did most of my work prior to Thursday lunch time with the view of not doing much however I was still dipping in and out, answering messages and things like that so it was just normal life so by the time like you'd settled down, answered a few messages I was thinking like I need to get ready to go and get my shoes on for the next run so it was pretty relentless in terms of the four hour gaps just felt tiny and they felt smaller and smaller and smaller as the runs and as the time went on but then we got to 8pm, I ran with Kieran Ingram, this was the quickest run so far I think that was maybe like 5.20 pace, 5.20 per kilometre, we just kind of sped it up at that point, it was a nice night, just felt good and the two of us just ran and got that ticked off so that was me ticked off a half marathon and at that point feeling pretty comfortable, hadn't went to sleep or rest at that point, just felt feeling okay and after that came in, bit of stretching, bite to eat, got a shower and then jumped into bed about half nine and had my alarm set for half eleven, probably didn't fall asleep though till about ten, you know what it's like after exercise, you don't just immediately just conk out most of the time, it takes a wee bit of time for the adrenaline and stuff to die down and obviously I was also in between times trying to upload content, respond to some messages that people had sent about the challenge and things like that so there was other wee things occupying my mind that I wasn't just able to switch off so quickly so probably didn't fall asleep till about ten-ish and back up at half eleven, I think it was actually after ten, it was only about an hour and a bit anyway that I got off sleep and getting up at twelve or half eleven was very challenging because that for me is normally when I'm getting into a good deep sleep and that was really, really hard, trying to just get myself up in the middle of the night, get the shoes on and get out, I actually found it much worse sleeping in between because you're not having a long enough sleep that you're feeling refreshed but at the same time lying down, you're lying down for long enough for the legs to start to seize up and feel heavy and starting to get sore so managed to get out of the twelve o'clock run, neighbour Gav came out with me on that one and also made some cookies for me for after it or his wife Pam did so that was excellent but there, first twelve o'clock run taking us to 28k for the day was actually okay once we got started, it was fine, it was just the initial getting up that I found really, really hard so that was run four completed and then home, what I did after this one, I didn't actually even stretch and roll after this one, I literally just came in, quick bite to eat and lay back down. In terms of what I was eating, I kept it pretty simple, after that run I had a cookie but other than that it was really just pretty boring foods, they were easily digestible, something that's not going to mess about in my stomach, it was just like chicken and rice or I had some, I think after that one I had some muesli or it was maybe some oats, like maybe it was a bagel and banana, like really, really just simple, nothing special except things like that, high carb, every run just something to eat so after that, something to eat, straight into bed, another hour and a half sleep or so, I think the total, I think I got like two hours and ten minutes in total through the night but the 4am one, getting up for that, oh my gosh, it was absolutely pouring wet and again, the legs were starting to seize up because that was another rest but not long enough to revitalise myself, got out, Alan Thomas from Dads of the Drunken Truth in Paisley at four o'clock in the morning to come and support me for this which was absolutely amazing and I really did need support during this one because that was a real struggle actually. We ran the first kilometre, I feel we're going quite fast here and my watch beeped and it was six minutes twenty-five was the kilometre which for myself is a very, very steady pace but it did not feel like that, it was just showing me like how much it was actually taking out of me that I just felt everything was so difficult at that stage. So yeah, we picked it back up and I think we finished at about 5.45 per kilometre. I think across the full 12 runs I had a look and I think the average of the 85k was 5.50 per kilometre, so that was the pace that we averaged over that, the 12 runs. So yeah, got home for that one and decided not to go to sleep, so this was about 5am and I decided I'm just going to stay up because I was feeling, the two runs that I'd done and slept before, it just felt awful. So I said right, just going to stay up, daylight now, kids are going to be getting up soon, let's just stay up and actually when daylight came I got pretty revitalised and restarted again, 8 o'clock, run came round, felt good, hadn't laid down, so my legs were not feeling as sore, felt fresh, this was the only run that I did solo. So got out, ran that, actually had to take a quick pause as I ran by the town centre to nick into the toilet during this one, but back on it and this was my quickest run, under 5 minutes per kilometre. I just had the tunes in, I was just myself, got a wee bit carried away, ended up doing this one really quickly, but during the day ones the next couple of runs were pretty good, enjoyed them, got home, did a really good foam roll, great stretch, ate a big bowl of oats and just felt good at that point. 12 o'clock run came round, was running with Jamie McReady and two of the Progress Project members, Michael Reesie and Fraser Grant, so the four of us out, this was a great run, weather was fine, just the four of us, again steady, 6 minute pace, something like that, but chatting away, this run just went by in the blink of an eye, so that was me already, halfway through and feeling good at that point, I was over a marathon and I was just during the day feeling good. The next one, run number four, got a message on Instagram from a boy, Johnny, who I'd never ever spoken to, just wanted to come and join in a run, didn't know him, didn't follow him and just he decided to come for a run, so him and my sister-in-law Carina came for that one, which was great, the more the merrier, the more that we had stomping the better, so yeah, it was absolutely bucketing wet, the full run this time, but we got it ticked off, I think that was run number eight, again this one was about 540, I think, per kilometre, so again we're in and around that 530 to 6 minute kilometres most runs and yeah, this one was good, after this though, having not slept since, or having been up since half three, got home and was absolutely shattered, I'm not going to lie, it was very, at that point, feeling a wee bit kind of spaced out, zoned out, in terms of kind of not really knowing where I was, what time of day it was, it was just a kind of weird feeling at this point, the legs were starting to get pretty heavy, that was like what we're doing, by that point it was probably around 50, 60k, something like that, we'd been on the legs over the last like 24 hours or so, two hours sleep, it was kids dinner time, so it was mayhem in the house, I was just kind of like, wow, this is where it's starting to really kick in now, in terms of mentally fatigued, legs getting heavy, but I was like determined not to lie down and sleep until after the 8pm one, because I just knew if I fall asleep before this one, this is going to make the 8pm one a slog and I just wanted to stay awake, so managed to kind of get kept going by kids dinner time, getting the kids sorted for bed along with Kirsten and then kids lay down and it was like half seven I think and I'd had something to eat and I was like right, I'm just going to sit down for a second, ended up like dozing off, just to be woken up by a chap at the door, my mate Sparky was coming to join on this run and honestly waking up, literally it was like 15 minutes or not even and I was just, oh my gosh, I did not know where I was, what's happening here and it was just like, the feeling towards that run was a huge struggle, weather wasn't great at that point still, but again, having someone with me, we chatted away, me and Sparky did it again quite fast this one actually, I think it was more 5.30 pace, but ended up being a good run, one of the themes throughout it is, although it was horrible, right before some of the runs, when I maybe woke up, whatever, once you get going, 2, 3, 4pm, you felt fine, you felt fine again, endorphins started getting released, started feeling good again and then when you came back, you were more, you were alert and awake for a while, so the runs were helping in that respect, but it was just such a strange feeling, like that way you just feel like you've been up for, I know I had been up for a while with little sleep, but I felt like at this point I'd been running for days, like weeks sorry, rather than a day and a half, I was just like, really zoned out, but managed to get some food on board again, good stretch and knew I was going to lie down for this one, so lay down, got the head down again for an hour or so, up for the 12 o'clock one, by this point, this is, the 12 o'clock and the 4 o'clock one, which had been run 10 and 11, were absolutely brutal, like they were hard the first night, but the second night after running, what was I at that point, like 60k, 67k, something like that, with 2 hours sleep, this was where the mental challenge was in terms of like, I need to get up and do this, Dave Macmillan, Ross McNeill came, they were meeting me for the midnight one, at that point I could really feel my pace was getting slower, we were roughly just under the 6 minute, but Ross and Graeme were like, oh we're running really really slow and steady, and me I was like, this feels fast, my legs are struggling here, I feel heavy, like brain was absolute mush by that point, in terms of even stringing conversation together was a challenge, just having the people there though, as I said I only did one run solo, that 8 o'clock on the Friday morning, but having people there during the runs was just so helpful, just passed the time, like took my thoughts away from the pain in my legs, the tiredness, so we got through that one, and at that point I was like, I actually got a wee burst of adrenaline after that one, knowing that I had literally the 4am to get through, and then the final one at Run Club, I knew there was going to be like 25 folk there, it was going to be the end, so the Run Club one I wasn't worried about, I just knew I had that last 4am to try and get through, so got home, actually pretty much conked out as soon as I got back, a bit of stretching, and then back up again for the last one, so 3, I'd actually set 3 alarms, one at 3.30, 3.32 and then 3.34, so I could get up, loosen off a wee bit and try and get going again, my wee brother Josh was coming for it, so I somehow, being so tired, managed to put all 3 alarms off without waking, and I just jumped up with a big fright, like, what time is it if I miss the run, like, oh no, and I looked at my watch, it was 3.48, so I still had some time, my body clocked off obviously, knowing that I need to be up every 4 hours to get a run, so I jumped up, no real preparation before this run, had no time to eat or whatever, just had to get the shoes on, and Josh was at the door, and this one, my legs felt like concrete, like actually walking was sore, so it took a good 2-3k before I actually felt like I was moving, it was like absolutely concrete legs for the first kilometre and a half, 2km, but again the daylight started coming during that run, I knew that the end was in sight, and just yeah, picked up again, me and Josh, just a sub 6 minute kilometres, to finish it off with my brother, and then got home again, 5 o'clock, and at that point I was quite buzzing, I knew that the challenge was nearly done, there was no way I was going back to sleep, I just said right, we'll keep it going, the kids were going to be getting up again in the next hour or so, so it was just like, get some food on board, let's relax, and get ready for a run club at 8, and then that was going to be the final run, so kept it going, then Kirsten was coming, my dad was coming, my brother was coming, everybody was coming, the run club was the busiest run club it's been, I think there was like 25 of us, so we headed to run club at 8am for run number 12. So run club was pouring wet rain when we first arrived, but spirits were high, it was a good buzz about run club, just knowing it was the last run, and it was the first week that we were leaving from the new spot, which is Sprout Cafe, and 7k route was planned out, the weather actually dried up quite quickly though, and honestly that last 7k just flew by, the amount of people that were there, just chatting away, just such a good buzz about it, the adrenaline was clearly high at that point, so yeah, kind of coasted through that one, you might not think that the last one's one of the easiest ones, but it was, you would not have thought that I'd already ran 11 7k's in the last like 40, 44 hours or whatever it was, because yeah, breezed through that one at the just over 6 minute kilometres, and it was just a combination of everything, the buzz, the excitement finishing, just everyone being there, so yeah, finished in with Rosie and Evie, my two daughters waiting for me, and then yeah, everybody grabbed a coffee, a wee oak pot and stuff from Sprout, and yeah, it was just a really good atmosphere, a really good way to finish it off, and yeah, just what a challenge, a really, really strange challenge in comparison to what I'm used to, like normally any challenge that I've set myself has always been a case of let's go, do the challenge, get it finished, and then you're home, this was really strange in the sense that it seemed to last for ages, and it was so stop start, stop start nature of it, it was just brutal at times in terms of, you were having that break, but the break wasn't long enough to get a good sleep, but it was long enough for your legs to start seizing up, and you had to watch what you're eating, because you didn't want to eat too much and have stomach issues, and yeah, it was a lot to navigate, I think the sleep deprivation really, really made it so much more difficult mentally, so to kind of summarise it, I would say the runs were not actually as bad as I thought, so they weren't as bad as expectations, managed to handle the runs quite well, but the mental fatigue, tiredness, sleep deprivation was worse than I thought, that was worse than I anticipated, is that my fault for maybe not trying to sleep in amongst more of the runs, potentially, but as I said at the same time, I wasn't just going home to a quiet house with nothing to do, I was going home, the kids were here, my work was still going on in terms of I was still getting messages and things like that, I was living normal life in amongst it, I wasn't just going back to a cave or something like that, so it wasn't as easy just to be like right, I'm going to sleep, so yeah, potentially, if you were just doing it yourself and come back to a quiet house, you could potentially get more sleep in between times, which might make it a bit easier, but again, it all depends, I have actually heard of some people just doing it without any sleep, just going for the full 48 hours because of that feeling when you wake up groggy, your legs are sore, you avoid all that, but at the same time, doing it for 48 hours without sleep would be, I think that would be worse, so yeah, there's so many ways, there's no right or wrong way to do it, it's such a hard event to even train for, just because it's just short runs with four hour breaks in between, it's just a really, really strange challenge, but I would highly recommend it in terms of if you want to see some physical, mental growth, then definitely give it a go, pushing through some dark battles during those night time runs, but yeah, absolutely thoroughly enjoyed the challenge as well as, although I found it difficult at times and brutal at times, definitely the hardest challenge I've ever done, as I said, I've said it to a few people, I would have much preferred just doing a marathon at a steady pace, one day, going home, getting a full night's sleep and waking up and doing another marathon, doing the two marathons split up with no sleep was well harder, but it's no surprise, I don't think Goggins was going to make an easy challenge, but yeah, after Run Club as well, I must say, I was like ready to just go home, get a few hours sleep to have at lunchtime and then get up and try and stay up, sort of get into my routine, couldn't get to sleep when I got home, I don't know if that was just because adrenaline was still buzzing, at that point I was getting loads of messages from everyone saying well done, like I just couldn't relax, so never managed to get to sleep, so I ended up just staying awake again until the night time, so that was me awake again half to three, I think both my sleeps, Friday night was two hours and nine minutes and then Thursday night was like two hours and ten minutes or something, so I think it was just over four hours sleep across the two days, but I made up for it, got to bed at like half seven on Saturday night, got a ten and a half hour sleep, which I think is the longest sleep I've had in about five years, well before Rosie was born anyway, so that kind of made up for things and surprisingly I've recovered really really well, so Saturday, Sunday I ate big, good, lots of food in there, replenishing, I wasn't worried about what kind of food it was, I was just getting the food in, lots, as I said, lots of good sleep Saturday and Sunday, a restful weekend, well as restful as it can be with the kids, but there was nothing strenuous on and just lots of water, getting hydrated, lots of stretching, lots of foam rolling and honestly like I really recovered quickly by Monday, I was back in the gym, I didn't do any running or anything, but did an upper body session, I was feeling fresh again, so yeah, recovered quickly from it and my Garmin watch as well actually said that performance and fitness was improving throughout it, which was mad, so it's obviously been quite a good training session as well, one thing I will say is though that my body battery, if anyone's got a Garmin, it tells you out of 100 what you're charged up, so when you go to sleep, typically I would go to sleep and wake up, body battery would be charged up to around about 90% on a normal night, so my body battery was at 5 from like of the evening and didn't go above 5 again until I had that big sleep on Saturday night, such was the sleep deprivation and the amount of kind of challenge and strain on the body, but yeah, I'll try and recap it now in terms of finishing it off, just want to say thank you again to everybody that joined me in the runs, thank you to everybody that sent me a message, there was loads and loads, I was actually overwhelmed by the support and stuff that I was receiving throughout it, I actually did a poll on Instagram just saying is everybody enjoying this content or am I just boring everyone or bombarding everyone with running challenge videos, but it was my most voted in poll ever with pretty much every single person saying they were enjoying it, so that was good, that was good to hear, so thanks very much to everyone for the messages, thanks to everyone who donated as well, again to the charity Tiny Pickers who I've received a personal message from, they're absolutely delighted, so yeah, all in all, everything went to plan, got through it, it was brutal at times, but I've recovered well with great money for charity and yeah, absolutely delighted, so in terms of the next challenge, it's going to be one that's got to be brutal to be honest, if it's going to beat that, it's got to be pretty horrendous, so don't worry, we'll have a think about it, I'm sure we'll find one that's more challenging, as I said there's loads of challenges going on in the world right now that are crazy, but yeah, I'll find another one, but until then we'll speak to you soon and thanks to everyone that got involved in the challenge.