And I thought I was just going to buy a back pack

I decided that it was about time to order a back pack for the race. So, I took a look at the English mds forum and found a link to a recommended store called Likeys. I gave them a call this afternoon and got a little more than I'd bargained for. I ended up talking to Matt Morris, one of the guys who runs the place, and with his help I pretty much bought the shop, or at least a shade under 700 euros worth. Matt and his business partner Martin Like both run ultra marathons and Matt was a world of knowledge when it comes to equipment. I thought I was going to have to buy each item after trawling through the forums, but Matt knew his stuff and came up with suggestions for everything I needed. I bought a selection of food to try out, first aid kit, pen knife, sleeping bag etc... All of it as light as possible. All in all it's a big weight off my mind and I can start trying everything out and making adjustments to the kit I'll be using in the main event. Now it's time to go and sleep and dream about my early christmas present in the form of a very large box, which should arrive next week with all my new gear.

Back to the grindstone

After coming back from vacation, I've had laser surgery in my right eye, again. It's healing fine and I can see better than before. I've been slowly building up my strength again and trying to improve my sore achilles tendon. I've worked out that it's scarred, since there's a swelling on the tendon just above the heel. It's always very tight in the mornings, so walking down stairs is fun until it's warmed up. I'm trying to stretch and massage it as much as possible. I'm also trying to strengthen the calf by doing calf raises. Fingers crossed that it starts to show improvement soon.

Last weekend I went mountain biking in Switzerland with group of guys from Work. It was amazing. We stayed in the house of one of the guys overlooking snow capped mountain peaks. The house was amazing. It was a typical Swiss mountain house, but way bigger. I ran every morning but one. On the morning of the long drive back to Holland, I ran 16 kms with a vertical difference of 590m. That was a tough one. I found it pretty easy to go to bed early since I've now given up alchohol for the duration. I've decided that my first beer will be as soon as possible after crossing the finishing line. The guys polished off the pre-requisite volumes of beer, while I slept. It was worth it though. Running in the dark with my head tourch and seeing all those stars. Then seeing the mountains as the sun slowly came up. The only vice I indulged in was a well earned cigar.

I've always wanted to hook my bike on a ski lift, go up high and mountain bike down. On this trip I finally got my wish ans it was amazing. We had some great falls, including one ending in a suspected broken rib, but all in all it was just laughs. We even ended up at 3000m on a glacier (we left the bikes at the bottom of the cable car ride).

Next week, I'm ordering the rucksack I'll be running with and putting in c. 80kms, starting tomorrow morning with a 20km run. I still haven't decided on the rucksack, but I'm down to a couple and post a link once I know.

Well, time to read a few more pages of 1984. It's a depressing book, full of hope. Quite a contradiction. Then it's time to sleep before a 05:15 alarm.