With 39 days to go, I have officially been told a bit more information about the trek! Last Sunday we had an information day up in Cannock Chase where we finally got to meet some of the other people going, and to hear about the kit required and the conditions which we could potentially be facing. Kit-wise we got some great tips from people who had previously done the trek, from little things to help keep you warm such as silk liners for sleeping bags to types of food to bring - apparently one year someone brought a pack of Jammy Dodgers, which made them rather popular around the camp! We also got to meet a husky puppy - unbelievably adorable - and see how we will have to harness them up which was great. This was something I had been really worried about, not having much experience with big dogs, but I was really surprised to find that the harness is pretty much what we put on our puppies at home to walk them - so I'm hoping that will give me a head start with the 'husky care' technique needed!

All in all, the more I heard, the more amazed I was that this is what I'll be doing in just over a month. The stories we were told about previous years made it sound really, really hard. Apparently one trek they had temperatures of around -36C (that's COLD!), and on another they ended up having a complete white-out storm which put them back so far on time that the next day they had to sled from 10.30am until midnight. They spoke about snow up to hip height that we have to trudge through - very different from the image I've had in my head of merrily sitting on a sled going over the top of some ice! - and mountains we have to jog up, as on no account can you let go of your sled. If the huskies get free, you essentially can't stop them unless someone jumps onto your sled and hits the brake, so even on the parts where we have to get off and help push we have to keep to their pace. The fact that there is a massive drop-out rate (we were told if there's a group of 20 now, expect 15 to turn up at the airport) is a clear indication of just what a challenge this is. However, although all that has terrified me just a bit, this really will be the most incredible adventure, and the fact that it's raising so much for The British Red Cross just makes it so worthwhile - there's no way Ill be in the drop-out figures!

Training-wise I've had a bit of a disaster (not great after hearing how physical the trek would be at the information day!). Being in my final year at university means that I have a massive work-load 'due in' before the trek, so being in a massive panic about this I've only made it through 3 training sessions this week. The first session was fantastic, and I managed 6500m in 40 minutes! I realise this is quite slow but it was more about distance than speed, and the fact I recovered my breath very quickly suggests that I could go further. I really want to try for 10,000m this week, as I think if I kept a slow pace that it could be done - so we will see how that goes! The data for my second session I'm sorry to say has been lost due to a massive 'tidy-up' of the kitchen which is very frustrating - oops! The fact I hadn't managed to get out much this week however really showed in today's session, as I tried the dreaded intervals. In 8 intervals of 45 seconds (with a 45 second rest in-between) I managed...

Set	Distance (m)	p/500m
1	173	2.10
2	170	2.12
3	173	2.10
4	170	2.12
5	168	2.13
6	168	2.13
7	165	2.16
8	154	2.26

It's fairly obvious from the data that I was dying a little towards the end! However with the trek being scarily close now therell be no breaks allowed this week, no matter how much uni work there is to be done. Expect amazing (ish) rowing results next time!

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