We have no electricity!

The electricity went off yesterday due to our streets transformer getting cooked, apparently by a veld fire. Still off this morning. So we got up in the cold (no electric blanket) and dark, donned our headlights and made tea with a gas cooker. All good fun except it reminded me that headlights and gas stoves is going to be eerily normal in 3 weeks time.
Race starts for me on the 18th June and 3 weeks today should find me crawling across the Maluti mountains where it can get really cold. I am not nearly as race fit as I was last year and right now don't feel in good shape at all. What has changed since my dismal failure last year is better body conditioning by way of Pilates classes. 3 lessons a week and an early morning boot camp style PT session has hopefully helped condition my ITB to take the stain of what is actually a ridiculous race.
Last years race, as short as it was for me, has created a problem - "expectation". Day one last year was huge. I rode a huge stretch that has only ever been done by 3 other riders in the history of the race. Now it seems that anything less this year would be considered weak! Now, others who followed last years race expect that they as well as me can match day one's performance and then follow that up with 2 more days to get to Rhodes in 3 days. That is crazy! I seem to recall that only Tim James and Alex Harris have ever managed that. From what I know of Alex Harris he will be looking to push beyond Rhodes in 3 days this year.
Less than 3 weeks seems too close. Sigh!