Less than 70 hours until the start. Still not sure how I am feeling. People keep asking if I’m excited or nervous etc, but I don’t really think I’m anything. It maybe that I am underselling the size of the challenge, or it maybe that the challenge is not as big as some other people think it is but at the moment, I am just thinking of it as riding to and from work 12 times each day for a week. Put that way it does not sound too bad. I’ll let you know.
I think the decision to cut back on the training has been a good one. My body appears to be working properly. My knees feel fine, my legs are feeling good I feel full of energy and my head is full of positive thoughts. I think if I had continued with the sort of mileage I was covering before Easter I would be both tired, sore and probably a little fed up with cycling.
Food preparations are going well, I have managed to maintain my weight at a very consistent 12 st 4 lb for several weeks, (sad but I weigh in daily) adjusting my food intake as I adjust my activity levels.
I am estimating that I will need to expend around 8000 - 8500 calories each day to complete the ride. I anticipate that consuming this amount each day will prove difficult, so a little stockpiling before I start might help. I am currently over eating – not a chore - so as to add a couple of extra pounds prior to the start of the ride. I am very interested to see what affect the week has on my weight; if the internet is to be believed a deficit of 3200 calories ‘should produce a weight loss of 1 lb, so if I only manage to consume 5000 calories each day I could conceivably lose half a stone over the week.