Breakfast discussion was all about shoes on or shoes off. Between start and the first CP their were a few river crossings, so wearing shoes was a strategic decision; take shoes off and keep dry feet to avoid foot problems or save time and gush through the water hoping you can run them dry during the day.I opted for the saver option and lost about 10 minutes. The following stage was a 10km uphill a long and beautifull long stretch. My tent mate Marcello caught up so we could share the climb together. Former boldybuilder and getting his grips about this kind of racing as well. Felt strong on the uphill and really strong on the downhill till cp 3. Dokter Sussie complimented my with my current top 40 placement and from cp 3 onwards the running became a mental mindgame. An Ozzie overtook me so now I was down to 41st place making it a top 50. I wanted to keep my top 40 so the remainder of the day was spend jojojing with fellow competitors. Over taking, being overtaken. During the last stages the sun was back and in full glory, must have been 40c ish. No wind and running on an endless windy track. Made some serious progress on the last kilometre overtaking five guys. Felt odd but had to keep on going.
In my pack are two iPod shuffles with a mix of music for when it get’s though. So far they are nicely tucked away.
Seriously glad to get off my feet. Was a long hard run today. Ran pretty much everything. Tip from John Young, run the downhill and walk the uphill. Including every little downhill, even the 50 metres ones are run. So I did and managed to finish at a good placement.
Thanks Chris for the X2O hydration tea bags. Did wonders today for the recovery. My tent mates had to laugh about ‘an electrolyte that makes water more watery…’ Your veggie mix is scheduled for day 6.
