Preparing my body

Early morning yoga was a great start to the day. Then to a full on day of one deadline after another - I just love the end of a tax year! Then to the main session of the day - a sports massage. Grant "went in deep" as I am far enough away from the event to recover. As I haven't been doing big miles in the last few weeks my legs weren't too bad. My back was ok but my shoulders were tight - I put that down to the pressure of work. But I'll be back on his bench on Tuesday for my final massage. He's booked me in for 1.5 hours as he will be making sure everything is in order. So tonight I am relaxing, chilling with some good food. My race food has arrived and tomorrow I will start preparing my rucksack and drawing up the final list, including toilet roll. Mustn't forget that!

Inspirational young people

Tonight I was giving a "Mission Ironman" speach meant to inspire a group of young people who had completed a leadership qualification. I was the fifth speaker, the first four being young people presenting what they had done during their course. They were a hard act to follow as their stories were truelly inspirational. I had built my presentation specifically aimed at how with the right mindset you could achieve whatever you wanted. To demonstrate this at the end I invited two young people up to break 3/4 of an inch piece of wood with their bare hand. This is a daunting task but Alan was right up for it and confidently smashed the wood. Jenna on the other hand wasn't quite so sure and one her first attempt her hand bounced off the wood. "I knew I couldn't do it" she said - and she was right. But after a wee pep talk from me she smashed the wood on her second attempt to loud applause from the audience which included the Lord Provist of Glasgow. It was the perfect example of how your mindset determines the outcome and both volunteers who were brave enough to step forward, not knowing what I was going to ask them to do, will never forget the experience. The teachers and parents should be so proud of these young people who have got a head start on other pupils who haven't gone through this leadership course. I just hope that some of my messages will help them on their journey. It certainly was the highlight of my day which started with a yoga session and then a 10 km run in the snow. Now for bed to recover!

Active rest

This morning started with an early morning yoga session. It's the same every time. Stiff as a board at the start and by the end feeling more flexible and refreshed. I cannot imagine what my legs and lower back would be like if I didn't practise my yoga. It may not be perfect but it works. What followed was a hectic day and I didn't get home till late so I binned the proposed run as it was dark. My throat has also been sore and with the temperature at 1 degree I decided to take the rest. That doesn't sit well with me but I am so close I can't take any chances. I'll run tomorrow morning and hope this will keep me ticking over till I do some more miles at the weekend. Tapering is frustrating and niggles and feeling crap come with it. The negative thoughts also creep in so I've some work to do getting prepared.

Eating an elephant

On reading the rules for the third time I realised my doctor had signed the medical certificate but not the ECG graphs. Lucky I spotted that or else it could have been a catastrophy in the desert! Fortunately he was happy to sign them so I can breath a sigh of relief. Not everyone is so lucky and a number of athletes are having to go to a specialist to get signed off. I ordered my food today so that's another major one off the list. I will start laying out my kit this week and checking it off against the manditory items just to make sure, again! Someone posted the weather forecast in Morocco and on Saturday it will be a nice 31 degrees. However an MdS vet posted we should add another 15 degrees for the desert - that is going to be extremely tough. The advice I have been given is to start slow and walk before you think you need to walk - don't think that will be a problem as my rucksack will weigh 10kg on day 1. Day 2 I suspect has some big dunes and when you consider the shock to the system from day 1 and the fatigue as you are repeating a marathon from the day before, pacing will be essential. As I go to sleep at night my last thought is about the MdS and my first thought is the same when I wake up. I've been here before with Ironman but this is different, it's a 6 day event so I need to ignore the enormity of the event and remember you eat an elephant in slices!

Ice Station Zebra

It was an old film, 1968, but I remember the cold the extreme cold. I ran through the Whitlee Wind Farm (the largest in Europe) at 9.15am this morning with a bunch of mates. The snow almost came up to your knees at times and the drifting snow was forced into our faces by the almost gale force wind. As I tried to think of something nice to keep the negative thoughts out, the film Ice Station Zebra came into my mind. But that didn't warm me up. So I thought of what my surroundings will be like in 2 weeks time. The snow will be replaced by sand and -4 degrees by 40 degrees. A slight contrast. That was my last long run, although quite short at 17km, before I leave on 3rd April. So my training now reduces and I've booked a couple of sports massage. I will keep my yoga up, but not 108 Sun Salutations, to stay supple and will be eating well to get my body ready. The journey continues.

Race food sorted

Winter to continues to play havoc with my training plans. Snow and a strong chilling wind meant my run on the beach was cancelled. Tomorrow I hope the overnight temperature won't create a risk of a twisted ankle due to the frozen snow. It's not ideal when I am meant to be tapering so I turned the fire on in the TV room and had a sweat fest on my turbo trainer. I need to keep the fitness level up and spinning my legs was good following yesterday's mega yoga session which had left me tired and with some protesting muscles. The heat won't do me any harm as I'll be heading into temperatures of at least 30 degrees - a bit of a step up from todays zero degrees! My freeze dried food had also arrived so I had the pleasure of testing it. Fortunately it was much better than the first batch so I spent a few hours pulling together my diet for the 6 days that require a minimum of 2,000 calories a day. I feel a lot more comfortable about this now although I need to go shopping for gels and powders next week.and rechecking So it's getting close and the planning is all important as any small detail missed could spell disaster. A lot of checking to be done!

Sun Salutation A

Last night I was at a black tie awards dinner for the IOD but I behaved myself, stayed off the booze and left early but that meant getting home at 11.30pm. I had a 5.40am start this morning and an appointment with my yoga teacher on my mat at 6.15am. I didn't know what to expect today and she certainly didn't disappoint by trying something I had never done before - 108 Sun Salutation A's. The Sun Salutation A is a warm up exercise and I normally do 5! But 108 in a row - OMG sweat fest plus! It took me 1hr and 4 minutes and she had 3 heaters on in the room. At one stage a towel had to go on my mat as it was so slippy! I had decided not to wear a top and the sweat just pored off me. It's an exercise in breathing rather than a physical one although I think I am already beginning to feel muscles protesting from this mornings exertions! Pam filmed some of the workout and hopefully it will encourage steckies like me to give it a go. The benefits are incredible even if you can't fold in half - which I can't. The exercise emphasises the importance of breathing in your well being. Now in case you think I am going to be wearing Jesus sandles and a robe next, think again. But how often do you take the time out of your day to focus on your breathing. Try it now. Breath in and out through your nose. Concentrate on the breath and it won't be long before you'll notice a difference. I think we should all take time out to do this in our stressful lives. In less than 2 weeks I'll be in the Sahara Desert about to start the journey of a lifetime in the Marathon des Sables. The air will be like a furnace but I'll be practising my breathing as this, along with a strong mental approach, is what will get me through the toughest challenge of my life (so far!).