I'm writing this sat on the ferry about an hour after leaving Heysham, worrying that I've forgotten something important having resisted the urge to stop on the M6 and check the boot to make sure I'd remembered my trainers, gear, first aid kit etc. Things didn't work out yesterday and I didn't get finished on the inbound tanker until 5am, and when the alarm went off at 9.30, I didn't want to get up! Not good practice for the parish, good sleep is a vital part of recovery before the race, but there are a few more days to steady down, and in truth I've been doing so little the last three days that I haven't been tiring myself out.
Travelling across brings it closer now, getting into the atmosphere of the island is the final preparation. I've got my massage tomorrow morning then out for a walk with Dad in the afternoon. Although he's 80, he's still sprightly enough to give me some exercise, although not fast enough for me to do any damage so just gentle blood circulation and keeping things ticking over.
After the massage the toxins and muscle waste will be worked loose so drink lots of water to flush out the system. I've been off red meat for a few days now, it takes an age to break down in the digestive system and apart from solid fat is most likely to give you gippy tummy on the day, a healthy carb diet with a good supply of fibre to flush out the system, with the parish food on friday, little and often as on the day, to get the body used to the feeding regime it has to deal with. I'd check the weather forecast but as it's a fiver an hour to go wi-fi on here, I'll just wait until I get to Peel later on. I'm still hopeful it'll change on the day, although light rain wouldn't be too bad, and if it doesn't then I'm well prepared for a four hour drenching.
As with probably everyone else who's getting ready to toe the line on saturday morning, at the moment, after three days of doing relatively little, I'm feeling bloated, and when I stand up I think I've forgotten how to put one foot in front of the other. Or is that just me? Really though, speaking to others getting ready, negative thoughts are normal, especially during this winding down preparation period. I've thrown away the scales, although trying to cut down on food, especially after eating over 3000 calories a day, is difficult. Doing at least a couple of hours tough training a day keeps the weight down so feeding correctly is vital for energy and recuperation, but at the moment its all about storing up on glycogen for the big day. Having fresh muscles and a full energy store will be beneficial on the day.
Anyway, I feel like crap at the moment, 3 hours sleep and with all the panic and worry about whether I've forgotten anything, with 3 hours before docking in Douglas, I'll finish this later when I've had a chance to check the weather, time to stretch out and have forty winks.
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20:00. (about eight o clock in real money)
Well, finally arrived okay. The atmosphere is building, and driving down Peel road past Marown got me smiling. It was surprising how many people were out walking, especially around the NSC and surrounding areas. I don't know if they were tempted like I was my first time to train every day up to the friday. One thing I've learned especially over the last year is a few days rest before a race is so much more beneficial than trying to pack in that extra mile right up to the end. It'll do more damage than good.
Checked the weather, a little change.
As you can see, the rain will be earlier and heavier. 12mm is half an inch to us oldies, but that'll be before 6am, with it tapering off up to 9am. This is because the Low pressure area is moving more quickly whilst intensifying, so passing over earlier with more intense rainfall. If this keeps up, it'll hopefully pass over during the night and make everything fresh, cool and moist enough to avoid dehydration. The 2mm during Sunday afternoon will be no problem, I'll be lying in front of the telly watching formula 1. The temperature will still be rising during the afternoon though, up to 18 deg C.
So, in conclusion, starting in the rain and drying off before Santon? The other forecasts show pretty much the same, and I'll be checking tomorrow.
An early night for me, got to get back into routine, early alarm tomorrow, one for my massage at 9.30, and to get sleep patterns back so I'm tired early on friday evening. I don't want a repeat of 2009 when next door put the dog in the garden which barked til 2am and I ended up sleeping in the bathtub which was the only place I could get away from the noise.
Does anyone know whereabouts in Douglas I can get some industrial strength earplugs, just in case?
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