Sunday long run

I got out at 6 this morning and ran up to work and then back to North Sydney Olympic Pool - about a 30km round trip. I had very little weight in my pack so the run was fairly easy.

Though I'm not a strong swimmer (I am in fact useless, can barely paddle and get overtaken by people twice my age) I know that cross-training is important, especially for the last month, so I laboured through 20 lengths. It felt good to cool my legs in the water after the run.

What really kept me moving was a Peanut Protein Bounce Ball from Bounce Foods. They weigh 42g and contain 209 kcal and 14g protein. Due to the high protein and calorie-to-weight ratio, they're great fuel for long runs and will form a key part of my nutrition plan in the desert. They also taste great and go down easily.

I wrote to the guys at Bounce Foods this week to let them know what I was doing and why I was doing it and to see if they would be willing to get involved. Within about 10 minutes of hitting 'send' on my email, one of Bounce's founders, Andy Hannagan mailed me back to pledge his support!

A couple of emails later and Bounce have agreed to send me a load of their products for free. How good is that? I'm afraid to add up all the costs I've incurred undertaking this event and as I'm a long way from being a professional athlete, getting sponsorship from a company like Bounce is awesome. Aside from the financial aspect, it's also really encouraging to feel that other people get what you're doing and are happy to support you.

Thank you Andy and all at Bounce Foods!