I’ve been pretty lazy over the last two weeks, not giving anyone much of an update on myself, but you can all relax. I am alive, training well, and counting down the final days to what should be an enthralling marathon.
It’s been pretty good living in the village, with all the hoopla that was carried on with in the media not really being an issue. Sure, things were as pristine as we would have liked them to be, but we have a roof over our head, a place to eat and a place to train. Really, thats all we need. I just think to myself, “get the job done.” Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to be able to stay in five-star accommodation for two weeks, but even that gets boring after a while. There was definitely potential for it to be absolutely fantastic, its just unfortunate we wont see it in all its glory.
Training has been great since I’ve been here. We’ve had to really try hard to get a decent loop in around the village, but its doable. There’s a lot a concrete around, and after a couple of days, I had to reduce the loop to just around near the track in an effort to reduce the impact on my legs. My running at home would be 98-per-cent on grass, so its risky changing to nearly 100-per-cent on road. An hours run around a ten minute grass loop might not sound fun, but hey, I’ve only gotta do it for a couple of days.
The weather itself has been pretty good, not nearly as humid as Cairns was, but the direct sunlight is warm. Hydration is the key. I’ve been paying attention to how much I am sweating, and it seems that although I’m sweating a fair bit, I’m not really losing a lot of salt from my body, which is great. The Doc says that my hydration level are good, so he is happy too.
I’m rooming with Chris Noffke, Fabrice Lappiere, Ben St Lawrence, Lachlan Renshaw and Jeremy Roff. We have all been smashing the water bottles in an effort to stay hydrated and build our own little apartment “wonder”. We were ambitious in trying to build a “water bottle pyramid,” but realized that starting with a base of 56 bottles meant that to get to the top we had to average 21.3 bottles per day over the two weeks. Needless to say, we’ve since lowered our ambitions, and have decided on a mountain-range look.
With only four days left before I race, there isn’t really anymore I can do to get ready. Lots of sleep and fluids. It will be interesting to see how the race pans out. We will be on an 5km out, 5km back course which makes picking where to make a break (if still in contention) easier to do. Once we are on the road, there is nothing more you can do except ensure that you race tactically well, and take on the drinks.
I don’t know how much I’m going to be able to sleep the night before the race, because I’m sure I’ll be anxious. The countdown is on, and I hope I run well. By the time I next blog, hopefully I am sitting here with a medal. The team atmosphere is great here in the village, with everyone hanging out with everyone. The support is fantastic and I’m sure they’ll all be supporting myself, Marty, the two Lisa’s and Michael on race day.
