Final preparations (Hannah)

It's now 2 weeks to go until the big day and only 1 week until we fly out to Austria to acclimatise. I can't believe it's this close - we started planning for this event around 2 years ago! But it's definitely all starting to come together...

There's a pile of stuff accumulating on the sitting room floor which has definitely got bigger following some final bits of shopping:

• Waterproof trousers for Brett
• Factor 50 sweat proof sunscreen
• Lots of immodium, compeed and plasters
• Energy gels
• Kelloggs elevenses cake bars
• Cherry Active
• Vital Greens (essentially all your fruit and veg requirements in powdered form)

The last couple are due to nervousness around our diet. In our normal everyday lives we have a diet which is largely made up of fruit and veg. I'd say we easily get through around 10-15 portions per day on average. It's what our bodies are used to and I reckon it helps us stay healthy. During the race we'll be having a "pasta party" each evening. Given the trend towards wheat and gluten free I'm hoping this might include potato and rice options as we've been avoiding pasta for around 2 years now. But catering for 500 participants plus support crew means I'll be suprised if we get the nutritional variety we're able to achieve at home. So we are trying to mitigate that by taking supplements with us. We'll also take a supply of Nakd bars. And are hoping we'll be able to pick up fruit in local shops at the end of each day.

Talking of health and well being - there's been a negative over the past couple of weeks. Brett managed to pick up a really nasty chest infection and persistent headache. Thankfully this was after his main training was complete - and hopefully still far enough in advance of the race. He's pretty much better now and easing himself back into training. So fingers crossed he'll be back to his usual self come race day.

There's also been some fun and games concerning sunglasses. About a month ago my Oakleys decided to give up the ghost after 10 years. So in the interests of time and ease I ordered myself exactly the same again. The only difference being polarised lenses. And unfortunately that difference was more significant than I'd anticipated. I found myself feeling slightly nauseous when I wore them. When I did a quick Google I discovered that this isn't unusual. So it was time for me to learn how to use eBay! Next idea was to buy a new pair of lenses for my half jackets which I use for cycling. Lenses arrive and I discover that my frame is the old style so the lenses don't fit! Take three and I think we're there now.  But I can't say it's been an additional hassle that I've welcomed!

Back in the world of training I've been starting to think about tapering. I don't think the taper is something I've ever really nailed. But I can feel the build up of fatigue in my legs from having run 70 odd miles a week since last Christmas. So I know that getting it right is vital for a successful race. The initial focus has been on weekend runs. Last weekend I "just" ran 3 hours each day and have definitely felt the benefit this week. Weekday training this week has been the same as usual. But now with two weeks to go I'll start winding down more. This weekend will be two laps of Richmond Park on Saturday (25k) and them two again on Sunday. After that I'll be keeping runs to a max of one hour while trying to maintain frequency.  The tough part will be the week before the race when we'll already be on holiday in Austria and there will be a real temptation to stop completely!

I'm also going to keep doing lots of pilates as I find this keeps me supple, keeps my core engaged (which has a noticeable impact on my running form) and makes sure my body stays in exercise mode. The plan is to do at least an hour a day in that last week.

On the recovery side I'm heading to the osteo on Wednesday for a final check up. Just to make sure everything's in alignment before we start. And I've also got a sports massage booked just before we fly, off the back of another one in the week just gone.

So I think the final preparations are all in hand. All I need to do now is pack!

The next entry on here will be a full race report! But in the meantime please follow us on our twitter feed - @teamgoot. Technology willing we'll be posting updates throughout the race.