How time flies

Ultra Race Romania 2021 doesn't seem that long ago.  The disappointment of not finishing the race hurt, it still does, but it also made me more determined to come back stronger.  My progress on the physical strength front has been hampered by numerous injuries, neck, shoulder, elbow, calf & hammy but I still going.  There's 66 days till the race and I really need to get stronger.  Today was my first day running with a weighted rucksack (5 kg).  That was after a tough day in the mountains yesterday. 4.5 hours and the conditions were hot, not a cloud in the sky - beautiful.  So beautiful I took time to take pictures, broadcast a couple of FB live videos and even just lie down and listen to..............nothing.  A very different experience from the week before in the Lake District which was beautiful but not my idea of fun with queue's of people walking up the mountain.
But with 66 days to go, every training session is important as I build my strength enabling me to carry my rucksack which will weigh around 10kg.  I will also be preparing the logistics.  My equipment, my food and try desperately to get the weight down from last years 12.5kg which was too heavy.
I'm also preparing my feet which could make or break your race - top tip coming up for anyone running a multi staged ultra race.  My foot preparation is making sure I file off the hard skin that has built up as my runs get longer.  Then I apply Eucerine to my feet before I go to bed.  This cream has 10% Urea and this is the secret ingredient in my opinion to smooth, waxy skin which is less likely to crack and blister.  You should do this all the time but if you haven't started then do so straight away so your feet are in the best shape possible for the race.
I should also be starting my heat chamber training soon so the university can work out my sweat rate and therefore how I should hydrate which the professor thinks was the problem that caused my stomach to shut down last year.
There's a lot of hard work ahead  but I'm looking forward to it.  This is what pushes me beyond my comfort zone.  Yesterday was ok in the mountains but there was an 11 km run out from the mountain and I kept my focus on my pace and ignored the heat.  When I finished I ran straight into the loch fully clothed to cool down.  It was refreshing and I stayed in the water to cool my legs down.  I remember doing the same in Romania on the first two days and it felt fantastic.  Today I ran 17km with tired legs but added the 5km rucksack which was a shock to my system.  The hills took on a whole new challenge and in the 66 days remaining, I have to double the weight.  Fortunately my running partners Beth & Stu were happy with a slower pace today to accommodate me and motivated me to keep going.  I had to stop less than 2km from the finish to take a gel as I was running on empty and wouldn't have made the finish without more fuel.
When I got home I had a massive healthy lunch which is what my body craved.  That was 2 hours ago and I'm hungry again.  So I'll finish by saying what a wonderful weekend of running in the best weather this year.  My dodgy hammy was sorted by my "medical team" and taking it easy during the week.  But I'm now back on it.  In no time I'll be packing my bag for Romania but in the meantime, I'm away to raid the fridge, again!