Day 2

Before I write anything else, I should say how grateful I am to all the volunteers who stand for hours in very cold temperatures to supply us with hot drinks, raisins, chocolate, slices of orange, pickled dill cucumbers (for salt).

It makes a huge difference to skiers like me - at 92kg I am already top weight and if I had to carry a few kilos of hot drinks, it would be debatable if I could do it. It is surprising how much you do drink.

Today I was treated to the Lapland "mirage". The notable thing about a mirage is like the end of the rainbow - it moves away as you travel, so you never get any nearer. My Lapland "mirage" are the three thirty something girls skiing together who never go closer or further away.

Conditions were good today; for the first section, I mantained an average of 10 km/hr even after the first rest stop. However, a stretch or two on icy roads, a strong headwind (which also at times obliterated the tracks), and a 20 min lunch stop reduced this average bit by bit. Finally, I have to say that the trail planner must be some sort of sadist, as the last 5km are designed to go up and down the same hill about half a dozen times in the last 5km.

The good news is that I was about an hour faster on this leg than I was two years ago, and the final average of 8.3km/hr is above my minimum target of 8km/hr, which would see me cover the longest leg in under 11 hours, compared to the 12 hours last time which saw me finishing in the dark - something that really slows you down. The overcast sky today gave a very flat light, which made it impossible at times to see where the track grooves actually went - something that is a little disconcerting when doing 40km/hr downhill.

Currently it is snowing heavily - we expect more than 10cm and it will also be warmer tomorrow - probably starting at about -2C and going to +2C by the afternoon. This is not good for skiing. I am having glide wax put on my waxless skis, as in warm and soft snow condtions, the waxless skis keep a more constant performance than waxed skis. The downside is they don't normally glide as well.

I have gained some raw patches on my right forefinger, but these are manageable. I also skied today in the new boots - the ones I am still breaking in. As a result, I have a nice blister. But this will go down, and the next couple of days I will ski in the older, softer boots.

For Chloe and Bethan - I am skiing close to where Father Christmas lives, so if I see him, I will tell him to remember you at Christmas.