Here is my diary from the race, raw and unedited.  I wrote these entries each night after every stage.  You can see how my tone and emotions change during the course of the event :)  Enjoy.


Day 1

We started our 21 miles through some pretty technical terrain.  I hung back, establishing myself in the back of the pack. My strategy for this day was to take it really slow, conserve energy and mitigate the risk of injury.  This strategy worked well for me.  The only slip-up I had was half-rolling my ankle once on some loose rocks.  And there were many loose rocks.  The landscape was absolutely beautiful.  There was a volcano on the skyline which I spotted at different angles at different times of the day. It looked really spectacular, especially at sunset.  At one point, we ran into some wild llamas, or more accurately, they ran into us. A whole herd of llamas crossed the trail in front of us. They were tagged with pink collars so they either belonged to somebody or were being tracked for some reason (research)?

The second last section of Stage 1 was all uphill. I wasn't expecting this and it seemed to go on forever. At this point, it was around 2:00pm, at the hottest part of the day. I even ran out of water a mile before the next checkpoint.

At the end of the day, I finished strong. I could see the next campsite a couple of miles from finishing and when I approached it, someone was beating a drum. I was so happy to finish, I ran the last 100 yards.  No problems with my feet or body.  Everything feels pretty good, aside from my calve sleeves cutting into my leg a little.


Day 2

What an incredible course today. The start of Stage 2 consisted of multiple river crossings.  The river was only 8ft wide and a couple of feet deep but running fast enough to warrant linking arms with fellow racers to stop ourselves getting washed away.  Some sections of the river had sheer canyon walls on either side and sometimes we found ourselves moving downriver with one hand along the side of the rock face, to use as support.  The water was so cold, my feet stayed numb for a good minute whenever I reached the shore.  This was such a technical section, I heard that several competitors did not make the 3-hour cutoff for the 1st checkpoint.  For the difficulty of this first section, it was very fun!

The next section started off fairly easy but we soon found ourselves heading up a steep dirt road to the top of a sheer ridge that looked out over the canyon.  This road seemed to go on forever and I was so happy to make it to the top.  Once there, the view was spectacular.  Then we made our way down the sand dunes which was an amazing experience.  My legs were knee deep as I ran down it.  Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

The last half of this stage was long and mostly flat.  I reached camp at around 7:15pm.  Definitely felt sorer than yesterday.  Muscle fatigue set into my lower back, glutes and shoulders a little.  One tiny blister on my heel, probably due to not changing into dry socks after the river crossing. Still feeling in good spirits!


Day 3

Today was really hard.  25 miles across really technical terrain, and lots of donkey poo with no donkeys in sight.  The last part of the course was the most difficult. I developed some heel blisters where I'd never developed them before but they were manageable.  We left checkpoint 3 at 2:00pm, the hottest part of the day.  It was 40 degrees Celcius.  Then there were sand dunes, lots of them.  I really started to feel the weight of my pack.  My feet hurt more then ever.  I was so happy to see the finish line.  Feeling sore but a good sleep should make for a good recovery to see me through another day.


Day 4

Today was brutal.  I felt strong up to the 8.7 salt flat segment where my feet really started to hurt and my heel blisters worsened.  The uneven ground really beat up my feet.  We came in right before the sweepers tonight after watching the sunset during the last stretch to camp.  I feel very tired and a bit grumpy.  Ok, very grumpy. I am not sure how tomorrow will go but my feet hurt a lot.


Day 5

Stage 5: I have never felt so much pain in my life. 23 hours, 48 miles of misery.  So exhausting.  At one point, I fantasized about collapsing by the side of the road to die.  It felt more like a mental challenge than anything physical.  I could barely walk yet I kept putting one foot in front of the other, staying ahead of each cut-off.  How much pain can one tolerate before giving in?  Anyhow, I made it but not after much sweat and tears.  I thought I would feel a sense of accomplishment after finishing this stage but right now all I can think about is sleep.  One more stage to go.


Day 6

I'm so happy that I recovered nicely after 24 hours of rest.  It was a quick 5 miles to the finish line and what a feeling to cross it!  One of the most amazing moments of my life.  Feeling extremely relieved and accomplished.


Day After the Race

I woke up with a really bad hangover the morning after the awards banquet.  Sam, the event director had literally carried me back to the hotel when I got kicked out of the bar for passing out.  Thank you so much, Sam.  You are awesome.

It will take me a while to process this race. The whole experience was both amazing and horrible at the same time. Mostly amazing but I still feel traumatized by what I put my body through in Stage 5.

What made the race so amazing were the people, and the beautiful scenery.  My tent mates were all fun and inspiring to be around.  The race volunteers were all incredibly nice people and relentlessly supportive.  The other competitors were all really interesting and inspiring human beings.  The desert scenery was so varied and beautiful.  From the beautiful sand dunes, to the desert oases, to the salt flats, to the river canyons, to the Valley of the Moon, to the rocky ridges and a lunar eclipse.

I experienced so many amazing things in my time out there in the desert.  I feel like a different person, a stronger person and a more appreciative human being.

As for what's next, I will have to see.  I would like a different kind of challenge and experience.  I know that I'll be back one day to volunteer for a 4Deserts race.  So many of the competitors here talk about mountaineering and while Everest is not in my sights, I do like the idea of putting on some crampons and getting them stuck into some ice.

It's Sunday evening here in California and I've got everything laid out on my bed, ready to go!  I am feeling extremely determined to finish this race. On Tuesday, I fly out to Chile to sight-see and acclimatize for 3 days prior.

The last 2 weeks have been hectic, full of final preparations.  Some of the most memorable activities have been:

* Summitting Mt. Whitney (14,506ft) with a 21lb pack in one day.  This was grueling.  Surprisingly, I could walk the next day and this gave me a boost in confidence.
* Throwing a Farewell Party with my ever-supportive running friends.  We goofed off and drank beer in the high altitude tent.  This didn't turn out as planned since 7 warm bodies can make the tent feel quite hot, in only a short amount of time!
* Eating cookies and other tasty treats whenever I felt like it.  One needs to put on a bit of body fat to burn off during the race, right?!

In a way, the start line will feel very much like an end.. the end to 14 months of training and adventure.  There are things that I may never had experienced in life, had this race not been an end-goal.  The starting line is the next journey.  On that note, I would like to acknowledge that I could not have gotten this far without the support of others.  A special thank you to:

* Mark - I still don't know how you convinced us to sign up for this, lol.  Thank you for organizing our training schedule and for all of your advice and support.
* Team Atacama - For being so awesome and inspiring!  Thanks for the good times and shared passion.  I hope we are still doing crazy stuff together in 20-30 years' time!
* Jason, my personal trainer - Thanks for kicking my butt over the last 12 months and getting my body in the best shape it's ever been.
* My parents - For all of your love and support, putting worries aside, and being supportive of my entering this race.  I really appreciate it.

I'm looking forward to meeting competitors and race organizers/volunteers from all over the globe.  Travel safe and I'll see you out there :)

For a few weeks now, I've been sleeping in a high altitude tent that covers your bed and simulates low oxygen levels.  The idea is that it should help my body acclimatize before I toe the start line.  So far, here are some challenges I've noticed:

* I am more restless, presumably from my irregular breathing.
* I seem to require more hours of sleep which may be related to the aforementioned restlessness.
* My recovery from training is lengthened.  This is probably the most noticeable thing.  I wake up feeling more fatigued than I would at sea level.
* Mentally, it takes me longer to wake up.  Some mornings, I wake up feeling a little brain-dead and dopey, almost like a hang-over.

Some more positive outcomes are:

* My bowel movement seems to be more regulated.  Very weird.  I wake up and instantly need to go to the restroom.  This will be awesome if it continues during the event.
* I am burning significantly less calories when training.
* My red blood cell count has increased, which means that my body is now more efficient at higher altitudes where there is less oxygen.

I am just hoping that all this training and effort pays off, and that I end up crossing the finish line!

Less than one month before I fly out to Chile, and I think I've got almost everything dialed in.  Labor Day was spent ordering the rest of my supplies and watching documentaries about people trying to climb Mt. Everest (I am crazy but not as crazy as them).

I am very excited about the race, a little nervous but mostly excited!

Hiking 20+ miles with a full pack can be hard on technical terrain. Training in Joshua Tree this weekend made me realize that I still far from ready for Atacama.  This is especially true for my nutrition.  The huge lesson this weekend was to never take food on a training trip that you haven't tried at home first. 

Wins:
* Learned how to poop in the desert.
* Backpack - No bruises or chaffing.
* Only one minor foot blister.
* Body did not feel destroyed after the 1st day. I am getting more physically conditioned!

Challenges:
* Sleeping when the wind is knocking your tent around.
* Hydrating - I need to drink more fluids when not thirsty.
* Liquid carbohydrates - I need to find something that won't upset my stomach.

Yesterday, I underwent LASIK for nearsightedness, having worn contact lenses and glasses since I was a kid. 24-hours later, and I'm doing fantastic. I have 20/15 vision at the start of the healing process, and I'm experiencing no pain or discomfort whatsover. Everything looks so clear and detailed. Technology these days is really incredible!

I'd been thinking about getting LASIK for around half my lifetime. A few months ago, I visited Oakley, hoping to buy some prescription sunglasses for Atacama. I figured that my contact lenses would prove troublesome in the driest desert on Earth, and that my glasses would not protect my eyes from the glaring desert sun. Unfortunately, my eyesight was so poor that they didn't have any sunglasses to accommodate me. Exploring other brands was an option yet that day, I decided I was getting LASIK. This is proving to be one of the best decisions of my life.

My eyes are ready for Atacama. Time to prepare the rest of me.