Lawrence Baca, USA
September 30, 2005
First, I wanted to thank God for his protection and guidance. Secondly, I wanted to thank all my friends and family for their support and prayers. Thirdly, I want to thank all the volunteers out here. They have been wonderful. In addition, I want to thank all the competitors for their help. My tent mates have helped me get rid of extra food, gave support and advice throughout the race. All of it was appreciative. One last thing before I go on. I want to let me niece, Jacey, and my girlfriend, Pam, that I am OK and my feet are surviving.
I have no idea where to start. Please excuse the wording, my mind is half baked right now and I am starving. I am also emotionally and physically drained. Here I am on the 6th day now and I just ran my first 80K. I am not good at math but I think it was 50 miles. It was grueling. I don't know how to explain how it felt. The only thing that would come close to it is, take your shoes off and run on gravel for 50 miles after you have run 90 miles the previous days with 20+ lbs on your back with temperatures over 105 degrees and without a bath for 5 days.. I would recommend it to anyone.
Unfortunately, I started off the first day in bad shape. About 10 miles into the race, I had heat exhaustion and that set me week into a recovery mode. It was discouraging since I trained for so long. I was looking for a bush, rock, shade, anything that had shade for every 50 yards or so. There wasn't anything to be found. When I finished that 1st day of racing, I had cramps throughout my body. It was debatable if I would start the next day. The next three stages I did better but my heat exhaustion came back on everyday since then and on the last stage of each. It has been devastating each day to get close to finish line and you get disoriented. It was even hard to walk without falling over. With water rations, limited food, limited shade, and the previous medical situation on day one, these conditions have not helped me to get past the long stages.
Each day I listened to Warren's Summer Jam. This helped me get my mind off the heat, pain, blisters, and the boredom. The emails I received each night have been wonderful. They also gave me something to think about each day. Some of friends will appreciate that I get my daily exfoliation with the wind and sand. And the next time I go across a desert, I will need a car with air conditioning.
We are still waiting on a few individuals to finish the 80K. I think his name is Laurie and 73 years old. He is a fascinating individual and someone you can admire. I need to go now and see them finish and try to get some rest in this blistering heat. Thanks again to everyone for their Love, prayers, and support. See you soon.
Lawrence |
