Friday 25 July 2014:
There is so much to do ,I feel like my head is going to explode!
Andy and Ross have been sending emails with lists and spread sheets attached. These make me panic. My considered response to this kind of email is to pretend that they don't exist. Any other kind of mail about the race, I'm on it, but a spread sheet or job chart......oh dear they bring me out in a cold sweat.
Today after my regular sports massage session, I came home full of good intentions to sort out the kit mountain in the lounge but I got distracted by writing the blog and then went to the movies with my son instead. It was a cute movie. It was special time with my boy. And then....
"Did you look at my email about the menu and food shop?" Ross asked me, when he got in from work, this evening.
"Er, no
I had to confess I hadn't.
Apparently this weekend is it. Everything has to be bought and packed and...and...and...EEEEK!
I am reacting by becoming inert and entering into a state of disbelief. I can't quite get my head around the magnitude of the task ahead consequently, I have had what my son would call a 'brain fart'.
Slow deep breaths Emma, slow deep breaths.
I will approach this logically and one step at a time. I must on some sub-conscious level be preparing because I have sorted out and tidied up all my sports kit.
I have officially stopped training and am now in pre-race, rest and recover mode. My groin is still niggling, so I need this time. I have been told to use ice packs to help bring down any swelling. That is fine in theory, but have you ever put an ice pack down there for a prolonged period? And whilst in theory this is a rest period, in practice we are hurtling towards leaving day at a rate of knots and there is a lot to do.
Saturday 26 July 2014:
Ross has sheaves of lists and schedules printed out. He took one of our sons to kayak training and I went through the menu and shopping list. I am starting to get a handle on it. We then dashed about getting last minute bits and pieces that we decided we needed before heading to our church building, so we could spread all our kit about and go through the tasks and roles that we will all take during the transition zones during the race. These zones are the replenishment points for our food supplies and where we would get on or off our bikes. I am on food duty and taking notes.
We also checked that we had all the mandatory kit we needed and discovered there were one or two items that we need still. I also discovered whilst sitting at on the floor next to my kit that all my trainers stink like rotten cheese....Yuck! I had to move away from them. I am really glad my nose is far from my feet because I am not looking forward to spending 40 hours in the company of those shoes!
We also discussed strategy (trying to get to all the mandatory check points) and the goal (to cross the finish line together)
Sunday 27 July 2014:
A fairly normal Sunday but in the evening we started weighing white powder into plastic bags.... This is more innocent than it sounds, we portioned out all the energy drinks and the meal replacement powder into zip lock bags so that we can get to it more easily and dilute it without measuring it out first. It does look a bit odd though....
Monday 28 July 2014:
I had my final sports massage followed by a mad dash around the shops to get last minute bits and buy all the food that we will need such as the nuts, dried fruit, lunch bits and veggies for the meals I am cooking. I also remembered to buy the dogs and cats food so that they won't go hungry while we are away...as long as Jack, our son, remembers to feed them....I am sure he will....I have filled the freezer with food for him too, so he won't starve, although at his age he is quite capable of feeding himself.
I spent the evening sorting and piling the food onto the dining room table.....It is chockablock! There is literally nowhere to sit in the lounge side of the room either. Kit, race food, etc. everywhere. The poor dog can't get to his bed and looks confused by the maze of boxes we have created. I had a busy day but hooray, my youngest came home from cub camp so I was thrilled to see him! Although when it came to a nice family meal to celebrate his return, we didn't have anywhere to sit and found ourselves perching anywhere we could.
Tuesday 29 July 2014:
Of course, I pick one of the hottest days of the year to be cooking 3 full dinners in my tiny furnace of a kitchen! I made the pasta bolognaise sauce for the night before the race, the mousaka for our dinner and the Thai chicken curry for when we get back.... I looked the same colour as a Santa suit. I was very relieved to go out for an ice cream with my youngest boy. The ice cream followed bowling, guess who won? I only scored 29, it was a complete whitewash. It was not my finest hour!! I haven't a hope of hitting a target if there is a shooting section in this race. Back home, I spent time doing more sorting and faffing about, including a text discussion with Andy about the team description for the race organisers.
Wednesday 30 July 2014:
The ehic cards are applied for, the travel insurance is organised....
I managed to buy the biltong and droewors, fill gas bottles that we need and do the mummy thing with my youngest two...took them out for lunch and got conned into buying yet more loom bands. (Any parent out there of a children aged between 6 and 14 should know about these little elastic bands!) When I came home, I spent time looking at the pile of clothes I need to insert into a bag and decided to watch my little boy make a loom bands owl for me instead.. As I put the resulting elastic band triumph on my race bag, you could say it was time spent doing race prep...
Suddenly it was 6 pm and the boys were meant to be at my sister's at about 5.... uh oh!
"Quickly boys pack....."
"Mummy, I have no boxers..."
"What do I need to take?"
Me, yelling slightly in a panic, "Get boxers out of the tumble dryer, find socks in the sock box, pack three t-shirts, don't forget your water shoes, you are going kayaking....PLEEEASE pack!!"
Finally, we got into the car with their age appropriate, mandatory equipment: a laptop, a teddy, a nerf gun and the loom bands. (I hope the clothes went too...)
Lots of hugs and kisses later ("we will track you mummy and pray for you") I am just back from dropping the boys at my sister's and picking up the tent. Ross is on the driveway doing last minute adjustments to the bikes, fitting bike computers, extra bottle holders and so on. I am writing this, Will is packing his bag and I am waiting for the beans to be cooked so we can have dinner. Jack is hiding somewhere away from the mayhem.
Then I have some decisions to make about which 3 t-shirts to take and then I will finally chuck my clothes in a bag and throw the stuff in the car. For tomorrow morning, at 6, we leave for Ireland.
I can feel my whole world shrinking into thinking about the race. Race focus which had deserted me in the face of all the last minute packing has returned. I really hope we finish. I have a bubble of excitement in my tummy.....
God bless, speak soon....I will report back as soon as I can! Think of us this weekend the race starts 2 am on Saturday morning.
So, this is it folks, everything we trained for and planned for is coming down to 40 hours in Ireleand....
Beast of Ballyhoura, here we come!
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