Great news, completed the long stage and came in quite a bit faster than expected, even though I had no clue how long it would take.  I got in a little over 12 hours so just after 8pm local time and it was really just in time as there were thunderstorms rolling all around the area and it was raining about an hour after I completed.  Everyone was alotted until 9:30 am the following day (friday) to complete the 73k which meant they had 25 hours and 30 mins to finish.  Unfortunately due to the weather they pulled many people off the course at maybe 10 or 11 pm as the lighting was all around and it is difficult to control everyone's safety with everyone spread out.  As today was scheduled to be the rest day they then allowed anyone who wanted to go back out on the course at either the 5th or 6th checkpoint and finish from there today.  So people are still rolling in here at 2:30 local.  It has been amazing how we have either had or at least seen storms every evening we were here it seems.  I guess this is pretty uncommon rain for the area.

As for the day it started off pretty well.  They made much of the course pretty flat and decent running surface so I was able to run much more than usual through the first few sections until it really started to heat up.  My feet (blisters) were hurting from the start, but they were not too bad at first with the help of tape and periodic tylenol.  I think I got through the first 3 sections by about noon and then I had what I knew would be the toughest stretch as we had 2 sections of nearly 14k between checkpoints which is a pretty long way in the hottest part of the day.  The 4th section was long and you feel pretty isolated.  I could usually see 2 or 3 people in the distance ahead and maybe 1 or 2 behind.  I had saved most of my ipod battery so thankfully this helped greatly.  I felt good, but was getting a little loopy so started taking video and talking over the video (my camera is working again).  There was really no more running by this point.  The section was difficult and I didnt want to risk working too hard in the heat of the day.  The end of section 4 was probably the toughest as they had us climb up a huge sand dune that had a rediculously steep gradient.  You could see the thing from 2 or 3 km away and it was a bit disheartening as I approached.  Nothing to do but climb it though so I got through.  The 5th section was another long one that was probably the toughest mentally as it seemed to go on forever and reaching checkpoint 5 was bit as the last two sections were shorter and there were a few more amentinites at cp5 if needed.  My feet were hurting worse at this point and as I was approaching cp5 I felt a blister burst which made the pain much worse.  I hobbled the rest of the way and got a little medical attention at cp5.  At this point I had about 18k left and the feet were killing me.  The pain was probably one of the toughest things I've worked throgh, but there wasn't much else to do except continue moving.  The 6th section went along where I guess there are remnants of land mines from an old war.  We were supposedly several miles from anything active, but could still see the warning signs.  The last section was perhaps the most beautiful, I think it was called the valley of the moon (?), but I stuggled to really enjoy it as my feet were brutal and I could see lightning in the horizon so was a little worried about that as well.  But finally came through after 8pm and before the rain hit.

I feel surprisingly good physically except for my feet.  My legs and most everything else were still pretty strong by the end.  It was clearly a huge challenge, but it is manageable by taking this a small section at a time and trying not to dwell too much on all the pains and challenges.  Not sure if I will do another one of these, but am definitely glad to have done this one.

I still have the last 11km tomorrow to get to the finish in San Pedro where a nice long shower, plenty of pizza and coke will be calling my name.  I do have a pretty nasty hole in the bottom of my foot from pulling tape off.  The last run will likely be pretty painful as well, but shouldn't be much more than 1.5 hours to get it.  Can't wait!!

I don't have time to respond to everyone's comments, but thanks so much for the support.  It is great to hear from everyone, especially those who I haven't spoken to in a long time.  Thanks!

Finished stage 4 and feeling pretty good.  I do think yesterday was a bit tougher with all the hills at the end of the stage, but my time today was about the same, a touch faster I think.  We started off today doing a lot of hill climbing on rocks and some sand.  It was challenging, but is always a bit easier in the early/cooler hours.  My feet were my biggest problem today as I could feel some blisters developing on the bottoms of my feet late in the first stage.  They really started bothering me on the second stage, but there wasnt too much to be done as I didnt really want to stop to try and do something about it in the hot sun.  Other than the feet hurting, the second section wasnt too bad.  Some sections that were pretty good for running, but it was 12k which is a pretty long stage so water is always a concern.  The third stage was to be the big challenge of the day as it is through the salt flats and it nearly 14k between checkpoints so we had to take on an extra liter of water to be safe.  The salt flats are somewhat like dried, crusty coral which can easily cut up your shoes and up your leg.  I think we were pretty lucky though as the path from previous races made the footing not nearly as bad as it could have been.  I was able to jog on some portions of this.  Some of the flats were also a bit muddy.  I am not sure if this is normal of if it is purely due to the recent rains.  It made for difficult footing though.  Basically the 14k was a long walk through the hot part of the day in desolate land.  You could see a few people way ahead and behind and you could see the heat waves on the horizon.  We then finished with a short 3k to the camp.

The big surprise when we get into camp is the two sink holes here that we can swim in.  It is a bit salty, but fantastic as I havent had any type of shower or bath since saturday morning.  It felt fantastic.  I finished several hours ago and I'm sitting here as runners continue to come in.  I believe they have until 8pm tonight (12 hours total) and then we have the long day tomorrow which covers about 45 miles I thinik.  I hope to finish by midnight, which would put my time at 16 hours for that stage.  I dont know what to expect,but just keep moving forward and trying to eat and drink as much as possible.  It stays quite hot here until about 6 or 6:30 and then becomes pleasant.  People around camp are starting to talk about the food and drink they look forward to when we are done.  I have only had water, freeze dried meals, and various race snacks for on the course.  I have been pretty pleased as I havent really struggled with getting enough food as some seem to.  Mostly I want a Mt Dew and large pizza.  I cant wait to get back into San Pedro on Sat and make that happen... and get a shower.

@eli - I'm glad to hear you are studying this desert in school.  that is good timing, hopefully some of my pics will make some of it more real.  although my camera broke today so I probably wont have any more beyond today.

thanks again for all the comments.  It is nice to hear from everyone.  I look forward to getting back and seeing some of the pics they have been putting on the website.

take care everyone, next time I write I will be done with all the real stages!

-mt

Well finished stage 3.  I felt strong much of the day but the last 7km or so were extremely tough.  We started with a "run" through some heavy brush with very difficult footing.  You couldn't really run and it was really single file for the first 30 mins or so.  The legs got cut up quite  a bit as the brush is heavy and near impossible to avoid.  We then had stretches of decent ground, and flat, to run on.  It reminded me of going through dried cornfields in IL w/o the corn.  I was able to maintain a solid run/walk ratio.  Most of the first 2 sectionss were then like this and I got to cp2 in about 2.5 hours and feeling good.  The third section was became nearly impossible to run in most places, we had some mud and a lot of dried mud to slog through and then what I would guess are similar to the salt flats we are supposed to see.  Every step is difficult and I have nearly turned my ankle more times than I count.  The dried, crusty surface also bounced up and cuts up my lower legs as well.  We finished the 3rd section with mostly sand which was really tough move through as well.  At cp3 I was feeling pretty well and turned on my ipod as I knew the last stretch was supposed to be long and difficult.  I actually enjoyed the first 4 or 5 km of this as it was largely rock that I could move on easily, but too tired to run at this point.  The last 6 or 7 km was probably what most ppl think of when they thinnk of the desert: lots of sand and more hills than I cared for.  I was pretty well spent when you come over a ridge to see our next camp, but we still had to go up and down many times before a final brutally steep 25m clmb into camp.  I was barely moving at this point. 

It was a relief to get in and lay down, and start getting recovered for tomorrow.  The pack is noticably lighter now and much easier to pack.  I  have  a few blisters, but not too bad.  Feeling pretty dirty at this piont as we cant really clean too well and have to use our limited water for consumption.  They said that today might be the toughest (other than the long day) so it feels good to get that done.  We have a fun tent overall and are lucky as we only have 8 instead of 9 or 10.  5 english speakers and 3 japanese.  One of our japanes tentmates leads "cheers" just before each stage.  It is pretty funny to see.

thats all I can think of for now.  thanks for the comments, they are nice to see!

-mt

Well I got through the second stage OK.  IT was another tough day.  They apparently had to shorten the course a bit and eliminate some of the river crossings because of all the rain lately.  We still had 4, but much less than we were supposed to have.  The first half of the stage was pretty spectacular with very challenging terrain.  The highlights were after climbing for a while we ran across a ridge and the view into the valley below was awesome.  After running across the ridge and doing some tough climbing we hit the highlight which was a long decent down a huge sand dune.  I’m sure it was the fastest I will move throughout the whole week.  IT was maybe 300 or 400 meters down the dune and many people were shouting with joy going down quickly.  The downside was that my gaiters (the things to keep sand out of shoes) pretty much flipped off as soon as I het the sand so there was some sand that ended up.  Both the shoes and gaiters are looking pretty rough at this point.  The second half of the day was flatter and “easier” but the heat was picking up and my legs were pretty spend so I mostly walked a lot of the last two legs.  The last leg was walking through the remnants of a salt lake and the footing was pretty difficult.  Also the markers were tough to see and I was pretty isolated in that section.   I think that will be the norm as I can run/walk through the cooler hours, but need to walk the later sections.

I think we are done with the rain for now.  The wind at camp yesterday was brutal and nearly blew the tent away a couple of times.  We are camped tonight near a small salt lake and surrounded by mountains all around.  Beautiful, but very hot this afternoon.  I have a couple of blisters from the water/dirt/sand combination, but hopefully can control them.

Now back to relaxing and trying to back to normal if possible to get ready for tomorrow.  I expect it will be a similar stage so I’m sure it will be tough.  I’ll sign in again tomorrow.

-mt

Hey everyone,

I want to start my messages from the race by wishing a happy birthday to my nephew Eli who turned 12 today (mar 4).  Happy birthday kiddo.  Hope you have a good time.

Im sure that everyone thinks they know what the desert is like... rainy with lightning right?  That is what we received on arrival to camp 1 yesterday at about 4:30.  A solid rain with some lighting.  Some of the volunteers were building a dam out of mud to prevent water from running into camp.  Luckily this past for the rest of the evening but I think we got some more over night.  Sleeping wasn't great but I was plenty warm.

The race started at 8am this morning and it was fairly chilly but warmed up pretty quickly.  The first section was pretty simple except for the challenging footing.  It is very easy to either fall or turn an ankle as there are small and large stones everywhere.  The first checkpoint (cp1) came up quickly.  The 2nd section was very difficult terrain but stilll enjoyable as it didnt really heat up.  The section from cp2 to cp3 was brutal.  It heated up and we had to climb up through a small canyon that just kept going up.  That part toook about an hour.  It was a relief to hit cp3 as there were just 3.5 km left into camp for the night.

I arrived in about 4.5 hours and feel ok overall.  Tired, a little burned but no blisters yet.

It is very tough to type here so I am going to wrap it up.  Today was the shortest distance but it was also the highest altitude so I am optimistic the next 3 days will be somewhat similar but of course the cummulativve effect of the week will wear me down.  My foot wasn't really an issue today so hopefully will be ok there.

I'll try and write tomorrow.

-mt

Training
Well I was having a really solid autumn of training.  The weather was really nice and I was enjoying training as much as can be expected.  In October and November I was up to between 50 and 60 miles a week running with the pack and feeling good.  I attempted a 50 mile race in late October, I did not complete the entire race, only went 37.5, but I could have finished by mostly walking if I had been motivated.  Unfortunately by mid to late November I was having a reasonable amount of pain in my left foot that didn't seem to go away as most pains eventually do.  I tried taking increasing number of days off, but with no real improvement.  I didn't bother to visit a doctor as I know what the response would be... "you need to rest and stop running".  I am about 99% sure I have a stress fracture in that foot.  At first I thought maybe a week off would be sufficient, but the internet tells me it can take 6 to 8 weeks to truly heal.  If it takes that long I feel like I will be in a bit of trouble and will have to greatly modify my expectations about running vs. walking during the race.  

So I took about 3+ weeks off from running completely, which is very difficult for me (as I'm sure it is for anyone training).  I guess I have been pretty lucky in the injury department over the years and never really had to do more that take a few days off.  I could only really ride a stationary bike and maybe spend some time on a step machine.  I took my first first run in weeks on Xmas morning and it went alright as far as I can tell.  There are still twinges in my foot that tell me I am not 100% and I need to take it easy, but at least I feel like I can mix in some running now (but w/o pack).  I hope to get in a few short runs (6-8 miles) a week and continue with the low-impact stuff in the gym for a few weeks.  Hopefully after that I will be back to 100%.  That would leave me with about 6 weeks to the race.

Equipment
It has taken some experimentation, and money, but I think I have a solid pack that doesn't tear up my back, the Inov-8 Race Pac 32.  The first one I tried, an Osprey, left me with scars on my upper and lower back and just wasn't working out.  I'm still not sure I have nailed down the trail shoes though.  I was blaming my foot injury on one of the pairs I was trying out, but they seemed to be working ok until the real pain started.  I have a different style to try out, but haven't been out at all on those so I'm still not sure.  As for the other equipment I have nearly all the big stuff purchased and only have the small stuff left I think.  I do want to start doing some initial trial packing to see how bad (heavy) it might be.

Otherwise, I'm excited that the race is getting so close (66 days it seems).  I can't wait to get down there and get started, but I clearly have some work to do before then.

-Mike

Well I completed an Ironman race this weekend in Louisville, KY.  The race overall was enjoyable.  We were very lucky in that the weather was no where near as hot and humid as it has been over the last few years for this particular IM.  I believe it got up to 88F, which is nothing to sneeze at, but for most people who trained in this general part of the US should be pretty used to such weather.  I was slightly disappointed with my time overall, but I honestly expected a little dropoff as I have realized over the summer that my cycling is pretty weak and I just haven't put enough time into improving it.  I seem to focus more on running.  I feel fine physically 48 hours after completion with the only exception being that my left big toe nail got pretty mashed up by the end.  I will have to slowly remove that nail and hope that the pain is tolerable enough in the next few days to resume running.  I want to take a little time to relax physically and mentally, but I want to work to maintain the solid base I should have now.


The next steps...

Now I have the strange feelings I always get after a race that takes up so much time/energy/money for several months.

1. What do I do with all this time now?
2. Even though I was questioning the sanity of doing such races throughout the race, now I'm constantly thinking about which triathlons or other races to sign up for next year.  I can't seem to learn any lessons.  To be completely honest there were some points during the run of my race this weekend where I had "decided" there was no way I was going to actually do Atacama.  Those thoughts are now gone... for the time being.

So I guess the good news is that the Atacama race pretty well takes care of both of those for the next 6 months.  It is time to get back to training with the pack as I pretty well dropped it for the last 6 weeks.  I look forward to getting back to some trails as opposed to the long pavement runs that I largely have to do here in Chicago.  I have signed up for a 50 Mile (about 75k?) race in Utah that is only 6 weeks away.  I really want to get an ultra race or two in as I have never done more than marathon distance.  6 weeks may not be enough time to get properly ready, but I think it will be a good experience and help keep me focused even if it doesn't go smoothly.

I'll check in after this next race if not before.
-mt

Well the summer training has been going well and I completed my first race for the year this past weekend, a 1/2 IM in the middle of nowhere Indiana.  Temps were pretty high, about 90F, but that is pretty standard around here this time of year so I was OK with that.  I struggled with the windy bike though and was a bit disappointed with the overall time.  It was a bit slower than most of my past times, but I was hoping for a stronger time than usual.  The bad news is that I was disheartened by the time, but the good news is that I think it strengthened my eagerness for a different challenge in the form of Atacama and some of the other races I plan to do in preparation.  I have 7 weeks to go until the IM race in Louisville, KY and then I will turn to purely focusing on further distance running.  I'm looking forward to that change.

I've started accumulating some of the necessary race equipment and trying it out in some of my training where possible.  Specifically I've changed my usual long weekend runs from the flat run I normally do along Lake Michigan to a hilly trail run (as hilly as you can get in Illinois) with a pack containing ever increasing weight.  I'm trying out my first trail specific shoes (Inov-8 Roclite 295) and an Osprey backpack.  The shoes seem to be working really well, but the jury is still out on the pack.  I think it will work, but I have to sort out a few little things to determine if it is the best option for me.  I feel like I need to have a lot of these things sorted prior to the end of my summer otherwise it will be difficult to truly test out some of the equipment through the Chicago winter.

That's the update for now.  It is now into the heat and humidity of our summer and is normally the peak of my training.  One of the challenges I will be facing will be maintaining my training after the summer... we will see how that goes.

-mt

After several years of "considering" taking on some type of ultra-marathon challenge I have finally taken the leap and signed up for Atacama 2012.  I was looking through various races for next year over the last few weeks and finally decided it was too tempting to pass up.  I've done mostly Ironman and Half-Ironman triathlons over the last 5 or 6 years, but now feel ready for a different type of challenge.  I am extremely excited about the opportunity to go to a new (to me) country and continent and see parts of it that very few people get to see and experience.  Reading some of the past participants description of the stars in the desert was nearly enough on its own to convince me to sign up.  I'm also excited to face a new challenge and goal over the next 10 months or so.

I am currently training for another half and full Ironman race this summer so my hope is that I will be in good condition after completing those and then my focus can turn fully to Atacama around September 1st which will give me about 6 months to really prepare.  I've already started researching all the required equipment and am anxious to begin testing out some of the more critical things such as trail shoes and backpacks to find the best for me. 

I have, as I'm sure nearly all new competitors have, hundreds of fears, concerns, and questions as I begin preparing for this.  I am lucky to have one great resource at my disposal as my friend Dave, who introduced me to these races and has completed 5 or 6 himself is always willing to answer questions and dole out advice.  My biggest concern, however, is my inability to really train in an environment that will be anything like that of the Atacama.  I live in Chicago, which is exactly like the Chilean desert except for the following:

1.       Chicago is basically at sea-level while the race will be held entirely between 5000 and 10000 feet (1500m - 3000m).

2.       Chicago will be lucky to see high temperatures above freezing (32F, 0C) while the temperature during the day in the desert will generally get above 100+F (40+C).

3.       Chicago and its surrounding area is completely flat while the race will include huge changes in elevation throughout the race.

4.       Chicago will likely be buried in snow while the desert will not.

Anyway, this is my biggest concern and I am trying to come up with plans to work around the issues.  I know many other competitors have had to deal with similar climate issues because, lets face it, there aren't too many places like this desert in the world anyway.

Oh yeah, I'm also really concerned about blisters!

til next time

mt