As it has got closer to the Marathon des Sables my thoughts have switched to how I can maintain my fitness without risking injury and how do I prepare for the extreme temperatures of the Sahara desert. There is a lot of research out there on training and tapering so I am not going to cover that.The only point I will make is I have found that by listening to how my body feels whether it is hungry, I have a craving for a particular food type or tiredness. It may not be the most scientific method but everyone is different so what works for one person may not necessarily bring out the best in another. More importantly its a bit late to be thinking of what training I could have done and concentrate more on what I can do. On that note there is the heat training side I do think I can make some changes to my training to aid with my preparation and acclimatisation before I reach the desert. I have heard of people paying to go to the Porshe performance centre, others building heated rooms round gym equipment and I have been allowed to take a bike into the sauna at my local gym. However I have decided to make use of my local Bikram yoga centre which not only aids recovery, increases flexibility but also has the added benefit of heat training. Bikram yoga is made up of 26 Hatha yoga positions whilst in a room heated to 40°C. The positions help to stretch and strengthen muscles, ligaments and joints while the increased temperature allows you to get deeper into the positions. I havent been doing it for long enough to really appreciate the benefits however I have met a lot of people from your average joe all the way to ultra runners and rugby players who find it benefits them. I am certainly interested as to how the extra heat will help me whilst I am out in the desert so watch this space.