100 miles in four days! Tommorow is 46 miles, and the last day is 10. I am so capable of doing this!!!  This event is making me stronger.  As the thousands of steps pass at an average of 11 hours every 25 miles, I am having a new understanding of what means to be patient. I have never really dealt with physical pain before, and I have generally been afraid of it. Of course there is pain much more intense than what I am experiencing, but I realize that it can be endured. Today my feet felt much better than they did yesterday, even though they are in much worse shape. My mind is learning how to handle it. And every difficut ourney begins with a step. And although it may be long, and painful, you will get there. just dont stop.
 
Today we went through about 10 miles of the "salt flats". It is a terrible, terrible place. We got into this stage at about 3 pm, and the day was extremely hot, like 120 degrees. Its a combination of sharp, coral like rock that is really hard on the feet. The white from the ground reflected up and made the place like an oven. My water even got to probably 100 degrees such that it was not refreshing, and couldn't cool me down. I began to get delerious but ust couldn;t stop because that would have prolonged the experience. As bad as it was, it was a very "religious" experience and deepened my connection with God.  Scripture talks alot about how God's presence is like water. Psalm 1. The absence of God (hell) is supposed to be like an unquenchable thirst for the soul.  I really understood this today. The place was as close to hell as I could imagine. There were places where the salt looked like snow, and I wanted to reach down and eat some to cool off and rehydrate. But of course you can't. I felt both a physical thirst, and a spiritual understanding of how much my heart and soul longs to be close to the waters of God. Anyway...
 
 
Much love,
 
-B

Today was better than yesterday, but still very difficult.  26 something miles in 11 hours. Even the runners were getting in about 8 hours, so we were in the middle of the pack today. We went through some beautiful scenery this morning, a canyon with a river that had to be crossed about 40 times. The water was very refreshing and incredibly beautiful. I think they design it that way. Maya is in the med tent having her feet checked. 12 + blisters so far in the toes, she hurts pretty bad but is in very good spirits. Using a baby wipe and brushing your teeth is such a blessing after such a long day. Its about dark so i need to get some dinner (feel pretty weak) and hungry, but i am just counting that my body is eating my stomach fat. Even when taking 2500 + cal a day, which is all you can reasonably carry without breaking your back leaves you in about a 3000-4000 calorie per day deficit. However, the heat makes you lose your appetite. Lots of people with heat stroke today. It was over 120 degrees in the middle of the afternoon. Other than sore feet, maya and I are both doing great. We are going to finish this thing! But it is EXTREME in a way I cant describe.
 
Much lov,
-B

Finished the first 22. something miles on day one. It was humbling. The Atacama desert is a formidible and largely inhospitible. We started the race at 10600 feet in a canyon surrounded by red, water eroded cliffs. Day 1 is called "Navigation by Rock". We thought that would mean that there were big rocks that would guide our way. Wrong. The course was largely gravel about the size of sharp golf balls that you could feel with every step. Its bruising. Checkpoints were about 10 k apart, and generally the only trail was the footpaths of the 154 (out of 160) people that were ahead of us.
 
It was a rough start. We were still packing up our kit when the race started, Maya had a sick stomach which required frequent stops, and eventually got some pretty bad blisters for day one.  At one point she said to me "hunny, I'm scared."  As we were coming into camp, she said "I knew we would have some 'why the hell did we agree to do this moments'... I didn't think it would be on day one." I think her spirits are up since we got to camp. We came in about 20 minutes before a 78 year old welshman who is an inspiration to us all.
 
 
By the way, don't mean to sound like this is a terrible experience. Its just hard. Very hard. We have gone these distances before, but the terrain is so harsh on your feet, is really really dry, and got up to about 95 by late afternoon. By the way, I talked a lot about Maya, I'm fine. Just a liitle sore in the shoulders from carrying the pack and a small blister on my right heel, and tired. But otherwise, I am set up for a good second day. I want to try to get Maya to go faster if she can, even though we were walking slowly, that means more time with the pack on, in the sun, and less recovery time at camp. But generally, she is tougher than me, so I am sure she will pull through strong no matter what and no matter how much it hurts.  Tommorrow is called the "slot canyons"... we'll see what that means.
 
It is a pleasure to meet so many strong souls from around the world. Everyone seems to be in agreement that it is the trials such as this that make us stronger and add depth to life. Also, its breathtakingly beautiful here. When we got to Chile via Antofogasta on the west coast, we came through the driest, flattest deadest terrain I could imagine. NO plants, NO animals, NO birds, NOTHING ALIVE. It was very demoralizing, and it must be the most lifeless place on earth. But here in the Atacama, I am constantly amazed by what beautiful things the Lord has made for us to see and experience. A true unspoiled treasure of the earth. Visit San Pedro de Atacama if you can. I really had to thank Maya for wanting to do this trip. Its truly magical. I have never seen a night sky like this, and it all makes me feel so alive...
 
Much love,
 
-B

So, with the holiday weekend, Maya and I had some intense training planned. We intended to go approximately 50 miles over the next three days in preparation for a fifty miler we are doing January 16.

All geared-up this morning, about .8 miles into our run, I took my eyes off the trail to look at a sign. Not watching my footing, I stepped into a ditch and sprained my ankle. It took the next forty-five minutes to hobble back to the car. I think that if this had been at Atacama, I may have had to DNF at some point following valiant effort. At that pace (assuming no improvement) it would be impossible to cover the distance in the time allotted.

Lesson learned: keep your eyes on your feet lest you risk injury. Also learned: an injured but mobile person can walk approximately one mile per hour.

Valuable information indeed.

-B

As debris in the shoe seems to be the biggest danger for blisters, I have been spending lots of time thinking about Gaiters. Right now I have been leaning toward the "parachute gaiters" here: http://shop.sand-baggers.com/desert-sand-gaiters-long-8-p.asp While they may be (??) the most effective at keeping things out, I am concerned about durability during the salt flats. That is my concern about the 4 Deserts brand (in the store) even though users say they keep things out. What to do? Who has experience here???