In my last post I mentioned a chap called Tobias Mews who had been the top British finisher in 2011. Well, since then I've been in comms with the man himself who was good enough to take a look at my kit list and offer some advice on how I could get the weight down. He says that if I have serious ambitions for a top 50 spot then every ounce counts. With that thought in mind, I have taken on board some of the tips and my starting weight is now below 9kg.
A thought occurred as I was realigning my kit list that the weight would naturally lessen each day as I worked my way through a mountain of food. I have worked out that by the start of the long stage on day 4, my pack weight should be down to around 7kg, which is well manageable - assuming I've been resting well and taking care of the tootsies!
Things have been progressing well on the heat acclimation (yes, that is the right word) side of things. This has been the one thing that I have not been entirely certain of. In the past I've been on summer exercise in Cyprus (phew!) and competed in Italy in temperatures approaching 40deg C but I keep getting the impression that desert heat is different. Maybe I'm putting too much emphasis on the words of others again instead of trusting to my own abilities. Anyhoow, I've been in touch with various universities who have heat chambers and have a couple of options there. Plus my lovely lady wife has given the OK to spending 4 days in Marrakech exactly 4 weeks before I travel back there for the real thing. Throw in the plan to put halogen heaters in the gym at work and reckon I'll have the heat thing squared away.
Less than 8 months to go now and all the questions above will have been answered!
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