Countdown to Tor Des Geants 2011

Hi All,

Less than 3 days to go until the Start !!!

All bags are packed, tickets and hotels organised, race equipment checked, double checked, re-checked..

This last week I've been taking it pretty easy, some shorter runs, some relatively gentle hill sessions and commuting the odd day to work by bicycle, so pretty well rested up.
I've been enjoying feeding myself for the race, mainly fish, turkey, assorted vegetables, couscous, sweet potato, rice and quinoa, lovely.

With regards to race kit, I'm going to be running with the 5 litre Salomon S-Lab Advanced Skin Backpack and my 3 litre Inov-8 bumbag. Combining the two I can carry all the required equipment and some race food easily, plus a few extra items,  my total pack weight inc water comes in at a light 3.8 Kg... brilliant.   As a contingency plan I've also packed my Inov-8 Race pro 12 so I can swap packs if necessary.

As for a race plan ......mmmmm...?????!!!

The main plan is to enjoy the atmosphere, take in the scenery and finish within the 150 hour time limit, relatively unscathed !!
The ultimate plan..as above but... to finish inside or close to 100 hours. Then I can chill out for a few days and recover before my flight home.
From the Start at 10..00am (Italian time ) on Sunday 11th, I will try and go out quite positive, stopping to have a rest after the first 24 hours, with the goal to get a few hours in hand so I can easily make the checkpoint cut-off times, especially at the later stages in the race where I will inevitably slow down.

So it's off to Italy tomorrow ! ( Ultra Duck is packed and ready to race !! )
Vicky will be updating the blog whilst I'm away, and if anyone is interested you can follow live times during the race on the official website; www.tordesgeants.it

Cheers for now :-)