hello!

 

I can't check this but did my entry go through yesterday where I talked about Stage 2 and 3? It was one longggg entry and I'll be sad if I had forgotten to press the "send" button or it didn't go through. %$#*^$#Q*&^$*&#

 

Will try to recap what I wrote...

 

Stage 2

=======

If stage 1 had been about running through flats and and canyons over sandy ground with loose stones/rocks than stage 2 had us crossing rivers and scrambling up cliffs.. and walking along mountain ridges.

 

The journey to CP 1 was the prettiest that I've seen so far and I was fortunate to have the company of UK competitor, David, who accompanied me through camp to CP1. He made sure I crossed both fast flowing rivers alright and did not roll backwards when I scrambled up the cliff. The first scamble was the rockiest and steepest and we were blessed with beautiful + stunning scenery after we climbed up. Snow-capped Licancabur was on the left, with rough cut ridge mountains and some scattered greenery. Very awesome!

 

After leaving CP1, I continued alone along the mountain ridge and down a huge sand dune to get to CP2. The descent down the sand dune looked steep to me and as it was my first sand dune attempt, it freaked me out a little :P How soft is the sand, I wondered and will I slide all the way down?? Looked over the ridge and was comforted when I saw the many footsteps that went down before me. Figured it was ok and tentatively placed my foot on the sand. It was soft, no doubt, but not so scary as I thought and my poles helped to brake some.

 

Went down the sand dune and walked a further km or so to CP2. Reached there at 12:40pm and was told to double up to CP3 cos the cut off is at 4pm. That's 10.5km in 3.5hr. It sounded doable but the scenery was terribly boring and un-inspiring that I dragged my feet all the way. The sun+heat was also starting to get to me and I slowed down even more *bleah*

 

Reached CP3 a few minutes after cutoff time and was informed that I was not allowed to continue anymore... so yup, was pulled off the course. Mentally, I was spent. Didn't argue and just nodded my head in resignation. Damn xian.

 

Stage 3

======

I was given the option to either continue with the camp to the end of the race, or to return to San Pedro. Financially, it cost too much to go back to San Pedro and try change my air ticket, so I decided to continue with them and try to help out wherever I can.

 

Waved the competitors off, and helped to clear the camp a bit? Most of the hard stuff is actually done by the local staff employed by RTP. They setup and tear down the competitors tent, cleared the portaloos, boiled water for us and generally setup camp. We do the "lighter" stuff like setting up the finishing lines where the competitors run through at the end of the day and clear rubbish, distribute water etc...

 

People at the camp were kept updated with the timings of the fast runners so when they are nearing the camp, we would know and watch out for them. The SOP is to beat the drums and cheered loudly when the run through. Front runners are generally serious people who stopped the timer on their watches the moment they cross the finishing line, and flash their timing chips at the time keepers.

 

Mid-pack runners tend to pull "stunts" as they cross the line and come in hand in hand with other people that they meet on course :) One even knelt down to offer a prayer? and my Korean tent mate rolled in -.-! Guessed they are having fun!

 

It's pretty boring staying at camp and I'm wondering if they will let me out to checkpoints.

 

OH!! SHRI came back last night to rousing cheers and a glorious sunset!! Proud of her to complete the course after being out there for 12 hours!! WELL DONE SHRI!!

 

Stage 4

======

Today is pretty much the same as yesterday. Still in camp. Our campsite for the day is at the salt flats and there are 2 ponds here. Since we got here early, some of us took the opportunity to jump in. The temptation to wash our hair was hard to resist ;) Water is a little salty though. Weather is as hot as yesterday... similar to Malaysia climate except that it's dry and the wind is cool here.

 

******** replies to comments ****

No1. Thank you for your kind comment but I would rather win this AC2012.

 

BIG kid, my entry yesterday didn't get uploaded? WTH man!! retyping and people in queue are glaring at me!! sh**

and the comps here can't translate Chinese characters so I can't see what you have typed :( what did mom say? oppss... hee

 

xpang, sorry but I rather complete it... what spirit??

 

Jiumu, thanks! I can't read the Chinese characters on this computer so most of your message is lost. Nonetheless, thank you for taking time to type such a long one :) I still have one box of PINEAPPLE TARTS to go home to :))) YAY!!

 

Max, thank you for your prayers :) I can feel them..

 

E, once they pulled you out from the course, you can't return back and continue the walk. sucks but that's their rules. The pleasure is ok... Like Nz I bet but with more greens than browns ;) perhaps, next stop, NZ??

 

Moo, thank you again for having me! Say HI to xiao mu gua and Martin. I look forward to finally having that pisco sour!!

 

Beng, yeah I try... but after cheering for one day, I got bored :P must be the heat and the xian-ness of having nothing to do here. The scenery is definitely MUCH better when you are out there walking/running compared to being stuck at one place.

 

LSL, will continue with the camp since my wallet is already holey.

 

NaNa, thank you but I think it's cos I hang out with wayy too many crazy people ;)

 

Mona, thanks! But am not allowed back on the course... sigh...

 

BIG Kid, why didn't I make it faster? was taking some pictures on the sand dune since I figured I may not come this way again ;) and the photog is never near me... haha... might as well take some shots myself for memories.

 

Doc, thank you for writing me so many emails and checking for updates constantly! Now we run faster on Sat ok?

 

Stone, {{{hugs}}} back!

 

Swami, thank you. Shri is one tough fighter!! I'm so happy to see her coming back yesterday!! So close to the cutoff time that all of us were screaming at her to hurry up the slope to camp! Am sure she will have something to say about Stage 3 to you!

 

ANT, oke, will scoop some sand AND volcanic salt for you!!

 

Michael, thank you for your note. Your friend, Ed, is my tent mate and he is F-A-S-T!!

Hi,

 

A recap of stage 2 and stage 3 today.

 

Stage 2

======

If stage 1 course consisted of running/walking over pebbles/stones/rocks and absolutely boring scenery, stage 2 was about getting your feet wet (we had 3 river crossings) and scrambling up rocky ascents! The route from camp 1 to CP 1 saw the runners crossing 2 rivers and scramble up a rocky face up to a mountain ridge. Curse and swear we might, but the moment we reached the top, the view was just stunning! Very pretty, snow capped Licancabur was right there on the left, with reddish brown rigged mountain faces, greenery and the blue blue skies. I was very fortunate to have David, a UK competitor, walked with me from camp to CP1. He made sure I crossed the river crossings safely and chatted throughtout the whole 8.5km. It made a world of difference to have company on the walk, than alone. It is so still and quiet here, that when I stopped to take it all in, there is total silence. CP1 was the prettiest so far as it was on a high high point.

 

Continuing my walk along the ridge line to CP2, there was sand on one side of the cliff and rocks on  the other. I remember looking down the sandy side and thinking how steep it is and how insane it must be to make us go down that way (we were briefed that we will be going down a sand dune to CP2), so imagine my shock when I saw the little pink flags flapping happily in the wind indicating that way down please ;) HORROR!! I just stared at the long and steep slope down and comforted myself by telling myself that, look, there are so many many footsteps on the sand dune and if those folks made it down alright, I should be able to do the same too! So after uttering a prayer, I stepped over the ridge and onto the soft sand. Wahaha.... it's quite fun actually and I used my poles to brake a little. I'm pretty sure the daring ones slid their way down :)

 

Continued a km or so before arriving at CP2 at 12:40pm and there, they informed me that I was over the cutoff time of 12pm, but they allowed me to continue on and to waste no time in getting to CP3 by 4pm.

 

The next leg was totally un-inspiring in terms of terrain and scenery. After the awesome sights earlier on, this was just bleah.

 

The temperate here does get hot but the breeze is always cooling unlike the hot wind we get at home. I find it gets hotter between 2-4pm, anything else is alright. If you can take the heat in Malaysia, then this is nothing ;)

 

So anyway, reached CP3 a few minute after 4pm and was given the sad news.. oh well, I guess I found the straw that broke the camel's back.

You can say it was a "good fight" or whatever, but seriously, not being able to complete is just that. You fail. Nothing can make up for it >.<

 

Stage 3

======

I was given the option to either return to San Pedro or continue with the group. Since I have a good 5 nights here and my flight back to Santiago isn't till Sunday, I decided to hang around and see what I can do or help with. I figured it's too costly to go back San Pedro and change my flight back so... this is the cheaper option :P

 

It's not easy staying here and watching others run cos you know how much you would rather be out there and be tortured.. u understand?

 

So I helped to clean up the camp and moved on to the next camp. We set up the easy stuff and eagerly await the front runners to come back. We beat the drum and cheered loudly when they start streaming in. The course today is tough as the 1st runner only came back after 5 hours compared to the previous days of 3.5hrs?

 

Dunno what else to do and maybe I can be assigned to a checkpoint tomorrow?

 

Take care folks! God Bless :)

 

====

Michael, thanks for your note. Incidentally, Ed is my tent mate! He's fast!

 

LSL, thank you for your encouragement!

 

ANT, if sand is what you want, sand is what you get!

 

BIG kid, it doesn;t get easier, from what I'm hearing about today, the course is tough and will get more so tomorrow and then the long march on day 5 is a killer. I was taking in the scenery and taking some pics of myself and the toys :P Maybe if I didn't do that I might just made the cutoff? But I told myself that I may not come this way again, so what the heck, might as well take some shots for memories :)

 

Stone, thanks chef! haha... funny to hear that xpang is eating :P all day brunch SOUNDS FANTASTIC!! I'm so over clif bars and freeze dried food.

 

Swarmi, thank you! Shri is great! I'm so glad she made it in time yesterday! The last 20km was totally boring stuff...

 

Doc, I believe the view is out on the course ;)

 

Mona, thanks! But once you dropped off or get pulled out, you are not allowed to continue anymore :(

 

NaNa, thanks but I'm not courageous lah...

 

LSL, will continue on and move from camp to camp.

 

Beng, thank you for your support, but this time, it's not so fun to be on the sideline :P

 

Moo, aww... thanks! I can finally have that pisco sour? Send my regards to xiao mu gua and Martin! Looking forward to seeing you guys soon!

 

E, not allowed to walk the course but am hoping that they will allow me to sweep certain sections of the course? keeping my fingers cross :)

 

Max, thank you for your prayers :) I can feel them here :) Keep safe and keep running!

Hi Guys & Gals,

 

Thanks for all your lovely emails and comments. They made me laugh with tears streaming down  face.

 

Have to break the bad news... they got me at Checkpoint 3 today :( I came in minutes after the cut off time at 4pm and disappointedly was not allowed to conitine on. I'm really sorry to let you folks down.

 

So sorry guys :'(

We arrived at camp 1 last night and everyone prompty went to their assigned tent and laid out their stuff. There's 9 of us in tent 11, a couple of which have completed a 4Deserts event, and 3 Korean University students. Everyone's great and friendly. Soon after we arrived, the rain clouds rolled in and it started to rain! Right, in the world's driest desert ;) Have I brought the tropics over? Back to the Korean, they brought so much food that includes Korean cup noodles, 2 cans of luncheon meat, 1 bottle of chili sauce (the bimbimbap variety), loads of sweets and korean stuff. They generously shared them round and everyone was so happy :) And NaNa, one of the guy, Uni, even whipped out a facial mask which he slapped onto his face! Am uoset that I left mine back at my friend's place in Santiago. Guess I'll do major repair when I get back!

 

So today, we were flagged off at 8am for stage 1. There were a total of 3 checkpoints and cut off time for CP2 was 2pm and CP3 was 5pm. The distance was probably 37km and I walked the entire way. It took me a little over 9 hours, and at times I thought it would never end. The roads were either sandy, compact trail roads, and the most brutal of them all were probably after CP2 where we walked forever in roads where it was just loads of loose stones, rocks and gravel. Think of those foot reflexology path we have back home and imagined walking on that for hours, oh, except those stones are loose!! Wanted to cry... and to top it off, the rain clouds were gathering behind me and I could just hear the organizers warning about lightning and to squat down if you encounter lightning. Right! Here I am walking forever in a wide open area where I am obviously the highest point.

 

After clearing that, we began a gradual upslope up the red cliff...very mental cos it was a lot of twist and turns and I kept looking out for CP3. There didn't seem to be one. After struggling for 3 hours+ it finally appeared. From then onwards, it was a further 3.5km to camp!!

 

Here's the breakdown for the distances between checkpoint (CP)

CP1 - 5km

CP2 - 10km+

CP3 - 10km+

Camp - 3.5km

 

Reached camp and was greeted with cheers, claps and drums! haha... so cool...

 

I'm so thankful that the weather was great today, periods of cloudy and no rain/lightning :) It's so mentally challenging and wonder if I will survive tomorrow. The day is generally hot with some cool winds (very interesting) and it only gets really hot hot after 2pm. Sunsets around 8pm. Till last night, I had no idea how bright the moon really is! WOW!

 

My nose is doing great here, so no worries!

 

Till tomorrow, God Bless :) and thanks for your prayers :)

Hi Dan, Sandy & Shrimathi,

This is to let you ladies and guy know that the remaining items of my freeze dried food and gaiters have arrived over the last weekend and this morning All's looking good!!

Hope your weekend has been great and see you folks soon!

Take care & pleasant flights all the way!!

I read with envy the training posts that everyone else is writing and wished I had the same to report too.

Truth be told, since coming home from holiday on 16 January, I've been in and out of the doctor's clinic and hospital multiple times. It all started with a stubborn runny nose that fought hard to remain with me, followed by mucus so thick that I had trouble clearing it. Finally after 3 visits to the doctor, they told be to visit a Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist instead.

Since it was nearing end January and we were celebrating Chinese New Year here, I could only make the appointment when the holidays were over.

The ENT specialist gave me some antibiotics and other meds to clear the sinus infection. It worked well and took away the persistent throbbing dull pain that I experienced in my right eye. However, I also experienced searing pain in my head that seemed to come and go without any warning. Upon hearing that, the ENT specialist advised me to go for a scan.

Couple of the days later, I went for a follow up visit to see the results of the scan. The scan revealed that my right frontal sinusitis was completely filled with pus! And the nose had difficulty clearing them. A surgical procedure was required to drain them out. So this was what was causing the pain.

I had thought it would be a simple day surgery and I could go back to work after that, and so asked if it could be done that day. Sure, came the reply. Before I knew it, I was being admitted to the hospital, mentally un-prepared, and dressed for work. (The procedure actually required a GA and I would need to be warded for a day!) I wonder who was more amused by my lets-do-it-now attitude, me or the specialist?

Everything came and went fast from the decision onwards. I had to call my insurance agent, my boss to let him know I will be away from work for a few days and my family. Shucks! In my haste to leave the house this morning, I did not hug my dog

The procedure went well and there was minimal pain. However, I was not allowed to blow my nose as it may cause swelling and pressure to build up in my right eye region. Try telling that to someone like me whose nose is uber-sensitive and I might as well cry.

So here I am 1 week post-surgery with no training done for the past 4 weeks or so. Panic is an under-statement. I worry about my lack of training this year. I worry about how my nose will react in the thin *and* DRY air in the desert. I worry about the sand. I worry if my gaiters and my last order of freeze dried food will arrive in time. I worry...

Yes, it is very easy for me to back out now but it is also difficult at the same time. I'm sure you understand why... the past few months of training, planning, anticipation...

Instead, I shall go and try to cover as many meters, km as I can. I will need to manage my own expectations and be smart to know when to let it go. The sun will rise another day.

Till then, take care folks & CYA!!

p/s: The silver lining in this episode is that, at least I know I will not have any issue with air pressure when the air plane descends

Hi All,

Just a quick shout out to find out what running shorts or tights will you be using for the race? I'm leaning towards full length tights right now for the support it can give to my knees. But am worried about sand getting in which will lead to chaffing &/or blisters.

Any advice will be appreciated

Hello!

Hope your training is going well.

This is a follow-up to my previous post wrt what do you consume while out training. These are my main takeaways.

1. It is not sufficient to just replenish carbs and electrolytes, proteins are important in longer duration workouts too.

2. Hammer nutrition Perpetuem for protein source.

3. Some alternatives to GU gels are, sports jelly beans, JUBES, GU chomps, UCAN.

4. Electrolytes in tablet form.

I did a quick search on google to see what can be bought locally and below are the items I managed to find.

On my weekend long runs, I usually plan my route such that it takes me through petrol stations and places where I can easily grab a drink to replenish my fluids. Living in an urbanized built up area like Singapore, it's not too hard.

So anyway, last Sunday, I decided to change things a little and brought my hydration pack along. I filled it with water and popped the required amount of nuun tablets (1 tablet per 16oz / 500ml). I also brought a couple of GU gels along. The reason why I chose nuun was because there's zero carbs and zero sugar! A regular can of isotonic drink (330ml 100plus for example) easily packs in 22gm of sugar per can, and during long runs, I can easily consume 4 cans... that's a lot of sugar to me! I'm not sure if I should be worried about this sugar consumption, or not... perhaps it might all just burn off during the run?

What I realized is, nuun + water is not sufficient to stave off the cramps for me during the run. I felt twinges in both calves and rectified it by consuming the gels. At the end of the day, my stomach also felt a little funny.

I'm not sure what is the cause of the upset tummy; could be the nuun, the water I used, hydration bag that's been ignored for a while or maybe just a weak system. Anyhow, I plan to repeat the same experiment again this weekend and see how things go. This time round, I will use bottled water and give my hydration bag a good wash before using. Hopefully that helps.

I really like how nuun + water taste like. It makes it more palatable for drinking with the added benefit of sodium and potassium, but without the sugar. Just need to figure out if it sits down well with the stomach and how much I can take in a day without causing a ruckus.

Just for comparison sake, the nutritional information for nuun and GU gel.

nuun (1 tablet per 16oz/500ml)
calories 4-7
sodium 360mg
potassium 100mg

GU gel (1 pack)
calories 100
sodium 40-55mg
carbohydrates 20-25gm
potassium 30-40mg
sugars 3-4gm

I'm interested to know what you folks consume during activity. Care to share?