I really don't want to write another entry about Nick but I feel I have to clarify my earlier post dedicated to him. Nick's unfortunate passing has created much frustration, unhappiness and unculpation among many and I have to admit that it has affected me quite a bit.

I don't mean to say that Nick should be blamed for his own death. Definitely not. I just want a balanced approach to the whole affair which, right from the start, has been nothing but a blaming game. Doctors did this, RTP should have done that, competitors shouldn't have left Nick, etc etc. I hate it when the blame game starts because there will never be an end to it. Let's look for solutions instead of pointing at someone else. Turn the tragedy of Nick's passing into something worthwhile. His life should be celebrated and his death a painful reminder to us all. What is the point of blaming someone / something else when nothing can be changed?

So, like I said, whatever is is, however it is, I want to remember Nick the way I met him in his last few days. It is a very sobering thought for me to have someone died in my first ever ultra in my life. It will always be a painful and humbling reminder of why I want to push myself to such extremes.

Dear Nick, on the night before your death while everyone was relaxing at Camp (on the sand dunes), I looked up at the blanket of stars and listened to the song "Now Comes the Night" on my ipod. It is meant for you and I want you to know that you will never be forgotten.


Now Comes the Night by Rob Thomas

When the hour is upon us
And our beauty surely gone
No you will not be forgotten
No you will not be alone

And when the day has all but ended
And our echo starts to fade
No you will not be alone then
And you will not be afraid
No you will not be afraid

When the fog has finally lifted
From my cold and tired brow
No I will not leave you crying
And I will not let you down
No I will not let you down
I will not let you down

Now comes the night
Feel it fading away
And the soul underneath
Is it all that remains
So just slide over here
Leave your fear in the fray
Let us hold to each other
Until the end of our days

When the hour is upon us
And our beauty surely gone
No you will not be forgotten
No you will not be alone
No you will not be alone

Before getting onto the "aftermath" post where I will write my afterthoughts, I want to say that I am deeply saddened by the death of Nick Kruse, who collapsed during Stage 4 (the never-ending gulley when temperatures soared to 40+ degrees) and had to be rushed to the hospital because he had a heatstroke. He was in a coma for 3 days before passing away on Saturday late afternoon. The dinner banquet, meant to be a celebration for many, was no doubt rather sombre. I recall that I first spoke to him on check-in day at the hotel when we had to go through the mandatory pack check. He had his shiny sunglasses on, his hair was messy, he had a silly but infectious laugh. He told me that he was probably the only person in the room who was starting the Gobi race with a blister, as he dropped something heavy on his foot a few days ago and decided to go for a run to see how his foot will hold up; however in the end he developed a blister. I laughed at the irony of it and wished him well. That seems like a lifetime ago.

His death made me realize that we are treading on a very fine line when pushing one's boundaries to the extreme. Events such as these desert races are not easy. They are not meant to be easy. I did not sign up for a 250km run in the desert to expect conditions to be like that in Hong Kong. I signed up for an event that will push me beyond what I thought I am capable of.

There has been much finger-pointing because of Nick's passing. People were frustrated with the lack of communication from RTP. Some said the gulleys were too brutal, that the heat was too unbearable and that there should be another checkpoint in between. Many ifs, many buts. My thoughts? That as with anything there are always two sides to the story.

Whoever signs up for a race like the Gobi should be fully aware that this is a tough endurance ultra race. It's a 7-day, self-supported race in the desert. A desert is an unforgiving place with ridiculously extreme temperatures, and the only way to survive this is to make sure you have a strong body and strong mind. A strong body means that you have to stay very disciplined with hydration and electrolytes-intake. My method is the 6 minutes run / 6 minutes walk and using the "downtime" of the walk I do what I have to do: drink, eat, take electrolytes (I take two endurolytes every hour), take photographs, let my heartrate drop to recover. That's my rhythm. Other competitors have a different method. I know Uncle (Shirish Apte) drinks and eats every 20 minutes. Whatever you have, stick to it and stick to it. And stick to it. Keep up the hydration and you wouldn't be in trouble. Tweak it a bit if you have to (I changed the number of endurolytes to 3 per hour when on day 1 my leg started cramping) but always remember to hydrate.

Now I don't know if Nick was hydrating or not, and I may never know. But what I know is that the guys who end up in the medical tent with IV drips and heaving their guts out did not keep up with the hydration. You may think that you are drinking enough but if you are not peeing during the race, then you are not hydrating enough. I feel it is everyone's own responsibility to make sure that you are keeping up with the fluid intake. No one can ensure that except yourself.

So while I feel that perhaps something more could be done to avert such a tragedy of the passing of a young man's life, I also know that it is not RTP's responsibility to make sure that every single competitor is drinking. How can they? And how unfair it is to blame everything on them.

But here's to you, Nick. Whatever it is, however it is, you are the crazy, wonderful person who collected interesting rocks along the course of the race and I will always remember you this way. You will be remembered.

Wow, what a day. What a very long day.
 
We woke up at 4:30am since the start time was supposed to be 6am but at 5am we were told that start-off was pushed back to 8. Everyone was grumpy this time and not just me! I was hoping it wouldn't be as warm as the day before because it was crazy hot at night; no one could sleep in the hall and we had to move out. Even with that it was not until 10pm when I finally slept.
 
The trail took us down to the river and after about a gadzillion river crossings we got to the road which leads to a Uigher town. It was interesting to see all the locals (and their houses and painted gates) who were out in full force saying hello and the kids were amazing. Because the road was pretty flat I decided to keep up a good running pace instead of taking pictures. One of the kids actually ran with me for a bit, how cute.
 
So I was feeling pretty strong all the way into the salt flats (weird landscape with big holes full of silver water) and into the Turpan Basin. This was it, the infamous desert, but man, did we lucked out! There was cloud cover almost all morning and when the sun came out, I dropped my pace and power-walked. To keep myself entertained I counted the number of animals I encountered in the desert - 45 lizards (2 dead), 2 dead birds, 1 butterfly, 1 dead hedgehog. And then I repeated this a million times.
 
Into CP 5 I was still strong but I thought I should change socks. That was a big mistake because about 5km in, blisters started forming on my heel of my left foot. It bugged me for a while and then it got really bad. By that time I was out of the desert and going past villages (with melon and grape plantations). Some of the villages offered me a slice of their melons - boy, was I tempted!! After a week without any fresh fruit I was desperate. Also very tempted to hop on one of the motorcycles to take me further down the road.
 
But I kept going, talking to myself, and basically resetting the whole day's mileage back to a marathon at CP5. In Thomas the tank engine's voice I introduced myself: Hello, I'm Denvy, the marathon runner. So silly but it worked! Ha. I was thinking of everything to keep myself amused. I stayed disciplined with the electrolytes and water, and kept the food going too. However by CP 8 I was in serious pain. The blister grew to a blood blister and I could not do anything about it. This was on top of the other 5 blisters popping up everywhere, even those that I have poked yesterday. It was a nightmare. Every step was a struggle.
 
At CP 9 I was ready to give up. I was exhausted and I had ran out of food - no more gels, no more Clif bars - because I thought I would be slow enough to have a hot meal at CP 7 but instead I carried on. I had a serving of Recoverite which really helped (but no more Perpetuem!), and one sachet of Justin's maple almond butter. That was it. And this would be the hardest part of the course. I was literally falling asleep while walking but I had to stay alert as the pink flags were very inconsistent because the local kids were taking them away. I was too tired to be annoyed but kept focusing on where the guy in front of me was heading to. At last I got to the sand dunes. Just 5km more, but oh, were they formidable. The sun was setting and the glow on the dunes were stunning. I was so glad I still had some light to tackle the dunes as I had been on my feet for 13 hours by then, and walking was painful and I just didn't have the energy to see where the next flag was.
 
At least the landscape was gorgeous. I took some pictures for the first time in the day and then trudged on. At this point, I was in a lot of pain. I was questioning myself why I was doing this. I wanted to just drop down and go to sleep. But I kept on drinking and putting the salts in, and told myself that I'm almost back. One sand dune at a time, every trudge, every step, I took it one by one. From somewhere inside me, I dug deep to keep going. Where that resolve came from I still don't know. And then finally I heard the drums back at camp - that was the sweetest sound I have ever heard. The sweet sweet sound of the drums. I knew I was getting closer. One last challenge - there were no more flags?! So I followed the foot-prints in the sand and finally got over the last sand dune. Oh the camp was such a beautiful sight. It was a very emotional moment for me. I came in #11 overall for the long day (I think?) and #1 for female. Just incredible. I'm still reeling from the shock of it all. There are at least 5 excellent and experienced female ultra-runners in the mix and I came in before them! Crazy.
 
The campsite is called "The Oven" but it sure didn't feel like this yesterday. The stars were out and it was so beautiful I (almost) thought the 99km was worth it. The sand was soft and made a nice change to the rocks that we are used to camping at but they really get everywhere! I tried sleeping outside the tent as it was windy and rather warm but with sand blown into my face every 5 minutes I had to move indoors.
 
It's now 8:30pm as I write this, it's still hot here but it was up to 55 degrees in the afternoon at 3pm! At least half of the competitors arrive between 7am to 6pm and I cannot even begin to imagine how they got through the sand dunes in the brutal heat of the day. The day before at the never-ending gulley people were already dropping like flies; the carnage today was even worse. The RTP staff has been very good though, staying calm and getting medical help out there very quickly. It's never easy to organize an event as big as this so hats off to them!
 
The last few people made it back at 6pm, after 33 hours on the road (with a few hours' nap at one of the CP). I am in total awe of them. Every time someone appears over the last sand dune, the drums start to beat and everyone cheers them on. It's a celebration every time. Such a special feeling of camaraderie we share here. Kumi (the 62 year old Japanese grandmother) made it back and she was so overwhelmed she cried - such a trooper.
 
One rest day today and then tomorrow we will hit the sand dunes again. With my feet in such bad shape my strategy is to just walk through it. I'm down to one serving of chicken korma today (800 cal) but I am starving so will have to go around and ask for food. How sad! I was dreaming of dim sum this morning...
 
All in all, my feet are in very bad shape, I have a racking cough developing, I am on antibiotics because of my infected blister but I am in good spirits. I have sand in my hair, I smell, my skin is very dry, I must look so awful but I am happy to be out here in the desert. Such an incredible journey. I never knew I could do something as challenging as this - this is definitely the hardest thing I have ever done in my life - but I have done the bulk of it. This will be my last blog entry until I get back to Urumqi or maybe even Hong Kong, so signing off for now. I will definitely write more when I'm back to close this chapter.
 
Everyone, thank you so much for all the messages of support and encouragement. I wouldn't have been able to do it without any of you.
 
LH4 and LSW Hashers - You are the reason why I'm fit enough to do this race. And make me enjoy it too. The whole thing is like a big hash!!
 
Ning - Yes I will take some "samples" back for you. No stones though - too heavy!! And the toilets? Disgusting. They're just holes in the ground. And I had to stop 4 times to pee during the day, which is a very good sign as it means I was hydrating enough.
 
Martijn H. - You were right all along :D
 
Amanda PZ - how about sending some food to "The Oven, Gobi Desert"? ;)
 
Tara - I wish I have more food!
 
Jo Eades + Steph Case - Thank you ladies for the sage advice. I really wouldn't be able to here without the help you have given me. Maybe one day I will have the honour to race with you two!
 
Natalia W - What can I say, except thank you (again!). You rock.
 
Ting - Did you can the salmon for me?? Love the Dr Suess quotes.
 
Rui - Your constant messages of support mean the world to me :) xx
 
Junice + Vincent - You guys would LOVE it here. Remember, I DID ask you first to join the race with me!!
 
Mom and Dad - I'm safe now so there's no need to worry anymore :) Love you.
 
W - LD and MS are too funny. I miss them and you. I will be home soon! Book me a spa treatment at the Mandarin, ok? And sushi for dinner? :D
 

Hey everyone!
 
It was a difficult start this morning since we have to wake up at 2:30am to get ready for the bus by 3:45am. I was grumpy with the lack of sleep (couldn't sleep early enough as the villagers were still milling about and talking and cooking till 10pm) and to make it worse I had to have breakfast while on the bus. Now, porridge with sultanas isn't usually a bad thing but after 4 days of porridge for breakfast I was seriously craving for sausage and eggs, or kaya toast, or pancakes. Anything but porridge. I am SO sick of oats.
 
By the time we arrived at the vineyard there was only 10 minutes to the start-time, so again I didn't have enough time to stretch. The race started off into a wide open area which didn't do me any good psychologically as I could see the other runners snaking out in front of me, as far as the eye could see. My legs weren't warmed up yet, I was still half-awake and to top it off, I got a nose bleed. What a way to start a day. I must have made quite a sight: power-walking while holding on to the poles in one hand and stuffing tissue paper up my nostril trying to stop the blood from flowing. Nice.
 
I then started talking to myself to bring myself into the "zone" where I stay strong and I have to say, all your messages are helping. I re-played all the messages in my head and they did the trick. I got trotting off again and then came to CP1 quite strongly. After that, the race truly begins...
 
Flaming Mountain is every runner's worst nightmare. Ups and downs, and all that red soft sand. I knew then that was when the race started as that's what the desert is about. Running on sand is hard enough; to tackle it with with a pack and day 4-tired legs make it even more challenging. Thank goodness I have poles - they helped me so much, so thanks once again Natalia. It's as if you're walking with me every step of the way.
 
I passed some guys along the way and came into CP 2 feeling better. But I soon found out that this was the hardest part of the race so far. The past 3 days were nothing, they were just warm-up runs. The sun was soon out in full force and with the temperature rising every degree by the minute, I was baking. The gulley we walked into just kept going on and on, never-ending and always snaking about. This should be called the never-ending gulley! I even had to ration my water as I only had 1.5 litres but with the sun beating down on me, I was tempted to take huge gulps.
 
Finally I saw the Camp in the distance and it was a nice sandy downhill from there. It was quite stunning to see the valley - or is this the infamous Turpan Basin? - and Camp today is in 'Uighur Ghost Town' in the middle of nowhere. We are all sleeping in the big hall (part of the museum) but it's way too hot to stay in there. As I type this, the last few competitors are just coming in and everyone is giving them a standing ovation. The temperature is now probably in the 40s and I cannot imagine how they can stay out in that heat for so long. Such a remarkable achievement.
 
So the damage so far: 3 new blisters today, one under my toenail. It isn't pretty. Both ankles feel sore as I rolled them a bit today. Hamstring is still very tight. But I shan't complain because it's not time yet. Tomorrow is the real test, and whoever makes it to the top 50 is still anyone's guess. I am staying positive but it is getting harder. It is brutal out there and to do 100km in this heat is insane. I already heard there were people going crazy in the gulley, throwing stones at no one in particular and collapsing as they had run out of water and electrolytes.
 
I know I did a good time today and I came in third female, just behind Lisa and Dee, both such strong runners. Lisa is a famous ultra-runner and she even wrote a book about it, so to come in just after her is something I am very proud of. I just want to maintain this speed tomorrow and I will be very happy. Tomorrow's strategy is to go faster first thing in the day to try to cover as much distance as I can before the heat kills us all. Once the sun starts shining, I will go slower and maintain a fast-ish walking pace. And then come into the finish line with a smile on my face. Sounds good?
 
Thanks for all the messages, everyone. When I read them I start crying, just can't help but feel so emotional about the whole thing. But tears are meant for tomorrow, and tomorrow is a new day. Love you all.
 
W - Staying strong for you. See you very soon! xx

Today was a good day. Just brilliant. Well, it didn't start very well as I thought the start-off was at 9am as usual but it was actually 8am, so when everyone was rustling about at 6am I got annoyed and snoozed some more. Delian finally woke me up at 6:45am and it was a mad scramble to get everything ready. I cannot emphasize how important it is to be organized, as the last thing you want to do is to forget to put your electrolytes for in your main pack instead of the small front pouch.
 
Because I woke up late I only took Arcoxia (a very strong anti-inflammatory and painkiller) after breakfast and it didn't start working till much later. We started off down the canyon right into the valley and it was awful. Every step still hurt and worst of all, we had the river crossings to deal with and the large stones/rocks to run on! It was every runner's nightmare. One wrong move and there goes your ankle. So I decided to take it easy even though everyone was storming ahead of me. The leg was still hurting so I only ran when I could. The trail then led us into the side of the canyon where there was a little forest and it felt as if I was running a hash, with the pink flags and ribbons marking the way. I was almost expecting someone to shout "trail!" when I was running through it.
 
The river crossings were a lot of fun although of course my feet were soaked through. The water was cold and current strong so it was a bit of a challenge to get across without stumbling in. How those top runners just skip through it is beyond me. Maybe they have some special powers that allow them to float over the river?! Good thing the weather was dry so the shoes dried out pretty quickly. I should add here that I already have a blister under my callus on the ball of my left foot, so getting my feet wet wasn't a good thing despite the refreshing moment.
 
After about 5 crossings (and plenty more stream crossings) we came to CP 1. It was then a straight uphill on a rocky road, which was much better to run on. Once I got up to the hill, my pain started to go away and I felt stronger. Better still, up on the hill it was a straight road along the top of the canyon and it was just spectacular. I know I've said that the scenery is stunning but today it was simply breathtaking. I could see the canyon going on for miles and with the mountains as the backdrop it just made running such a joy. Also there was a large cloud cover so it was perfect. I stepped on the gas and pounded down the road - it was such a great run! I have trained for this with a 9-10kg pack so with my bag already lighter without Day 1 and 2's food, I was almost flying. I think it's also because I was having fun, which helped with my morale a lot.
 
Once the road ended it was where the flaming mountains started. Up and down we went, all red rocks, quite a sight. But luckily the cloud cover was still there (and it even drizzled a bit!!) so again I ran when I could and walked when the trail went up. And then it was another long road with a slight downhill gradient, perfect for running so I hit it hard and sped up. It was such a joy to run the last part, although the volunteers said it was 5km but it certainly felt more like 7km!
 
I'm the second female in today and I'm very chuffed about it as I was only a few minutes behind the first woman in. The trick is to take Arcoxia earlier in the day and to stretch stretch stretch. Oh apparently it's not my IT band that's hurting, it's one of my hamstring muscles! Hm.
 
So today our campsite is at Peach Village, a truly quaint local Uyghur village where they have a peach plantation, hence the village name. Instead of tents we will be staying in their houses made out of clay and straw. The bonus is that there is a clear stream next to the village which everyone used to take a rinse and soak in. Just wonderful. I went in without hesitation even though the water was icy cold.. I sat in it so the water came up to my waist and it was the PERFECT therapy for my legs. Ice-bath after a run! Whee... I'm ready to run 30km again. I rinsed out my race shirt, my socks and buff - so pleased that they are all clean.. or shall I say, less dirty. There's also a mirror in the house that I'm in and surprisingly I don't look too grimy! Hooray :D I bet the boys will start shaving again...
 
So all in all it was a wonderful day. I am enjoying every minute of it here - life should be like this, I reckon, as all I do is run, eat and sleep. Brilliant. Some people are already down with diarrhea so I am making sure my hands are clean (alcohol gel is so important!) and that I am staying strong and healthy. I am being very disciplined about hydrating so all is good, and my appetite is going through the roof which is a good sign. Well, not so good when I go to bed or wake up hungry but Jeanette and Lars (a lovely Danish couple living in HK) have been so kind to supply me with cup noodles which they wanted to chuck out.
 
Now as I sit here in the Cybertent the cloud cover has gone and the sun is out shining, it's boiling hot now and I'm very thankful that I managed to get in when it was still cool. I feel very sorry for the last few people who are still out there.. and Kumi (the 61 year old Japanese woman in my tent) is one of them. I hope she makes it.
 
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow we will have cloud cover again, otherwise it's going to be brutal. We're going into the Flaming Mountains proper (today was only a teaser), and apparently it's never usually under 40 degrees up there. Wish me luck!
 
Ning - Thanks for the World Cup updates! Do let me know the result after the games. Yes, I am very grateful that you introduced me to the world of hashing. Heh.
 
Amanda PZ - not sure if I finished writing what I'm supposed to yesterday, but anyway I met Malcolm Binns today and he said he knows Lance. Small world! Thank you once again for your help, the Hammer stuff is keeping me strong. At the canyon today I thought of how you would have enjoyed kayaking down the river.
 
Stephanie Case - You are hilarious!! HA :D I don't know about putting the guys in their place; you know I'm just running this race for the experience and for fun. I'm still amazed that I'm doing so well. Must be all that speed training that you told me to do!
 
Rebecca and Charlie - Great to hear from you but I sure don't miss the L5s!
 
Mandy - you're in my thoughts, big hugs
 
Martijn H. - I AM trying!! Ha!
 
Elaine Cheung - I hope they are going to pay you well! Thanks for all the advice you've given me, such a great help.
 
W - Sooo good to hear from the kids and you :D Heehee. Tell them to be good, and I will be home soon. Miss you all lots. xx
 
Thanks all for the messages, keep it coming!!
 

Hello folks! We're done with Stage 2 and I'm very very happy to come in second female with Amanda Clarke. Actually I'm still very surprised that I came in first yesterday, it's just crazy because I am a true rookie here. Anyway, it was a very tough first 15km of the race and my IT band was hurting like hell. The ups were actually ok - I know my fitness can take me over all that hills - but going down was agony. I took it easy when I could but it started to get really bad when I got to Check Point 1. Every step was painful (right behind the knee) and I was wishing Dr Cosman and Alan could help me get rid of the pain. Thankfully the landscape was stunning. CP 1 was at a small village and then it led through fields of sage (smells so good!) and along the bank of a large river bed.
 
When I got to CP 2, my leg got even worse. The trail was on a long dusty road, perfect for running and picking up the pace but with every step pain was firing up around my knee and IT band.. all the way up to the hip flexor. It was bad. I gritted my teeth and ran when I could but walked most of it, which slowed me down quite a bit.
 
Amanda and I decided to finish the last part together and with one big river to cross, we thought we should remove our shoes. The water felt amazingly refreshing and after we put on our dry socks and shoes, we went up the hill and back into camp. It was a great timing considering how bad my leg was hurting but now I am very worried about the next few days. Already one of the top female runners had to pull out because she injured her knee.
 
So I have been stretching and stretching non-stop since I made it back into camp. Someone brought a tennis ball so I used it to massage the IT band, and I've also applied voltaren, took some neurofen and then stretched some more. I can only hope that my leg will feel better tomorrow. I was so tempted to go back down to the river for an ice-bath to help with circulation but sadly we are not allowed to leave the camp site.
 
So far it has been a great experience; meeting inspiring people is just one aspect of a RTP race. Christian the guy from Austria in my tent is one of the top runners. He told me that when he was young he was severely overweight, smoked 40 ciggs a day and couldn't even bend over (standing up) to tie his shoelaces. He then decided that he will get fit and started his first exercise by walking 4 minutes to the bus-stop and progressed slowly everyday to where he is now. Just amazing. And of course there're the spectacular mountains - oh Julie, I could picture you telling me about this rift and that riverbank, etc - and the locals. They look so different, so Asian, really! Mel, you probably know what I'm talking about having been to Kazakhstan before. The best bit is knowing that dinosaurs once roamed this area.. I keep thinking that maybe I'll kick up a fossil bone or something!
 
The weather has been ok so far but when we got to camp it got brutal. It was scorching hot and so dry. Definitely not used to this weather. But now as I am typing this, heavy rain clouds are forming over the distance and I'm sure the temperature has dropped by 5 degrees. This is what Gobi is like - so unpredictable, and exactly how this race is going to be. Who is going to be in the top 10 is anyone's guess. I am keeping positive and strong but really hoping my legs will hold!
 
Thank you all for the wonderful messages! So lovely to hear from all of you. I promise I will be careful and believe me, I am drinking a LOT and keeping up with the calories. I just had dinner, chicken korma, and surprisingly it was good. Or maybe I'm just starving. That 800 calorie meal is just not enough! So tempted to break into Day 5's bag to have another meal. Jo Eades - you'll probably tell me to, to lighten my load! Ha! :D
 
W - I ran past a herd of goats at the village and there was a sweet dog as well. Reminded me of you and of course LD and MS. I hope all is well xx
 
Ning - Stop telling me what you had for dinner! Especially at Iggy's....
 
Mom and Dad - Yes I will be careful, I promise :) Love you too.
 
Ting - GREAT quote!
 
Amanda PZ - Ha! :D
 
Thanks once again everyone, please keep the messages coming! Tomorrow we are heading to Daheyan Canyon, also know as the Never Ending Canyon. Sounds like a lot of fun doesn't it?! Alright it's 7pm and it's time for bed. At least it isn't as cold as yesterday (I was freezing through the night)..
 
Sending lots of love from the Gobi xx

Wow what a day, I actually came in first for women's! Amazing but let's just hope I can maintain this speed for the rest of the race.
 
The road was pretty flat and dusty for the first 9km which I ran and walked most of, and then the trail became very rocky. Imagine a trail without a trail. I had to watch where I stepped all the time which actually helped the monotony of the run as I didn't have to think of anything else. The scenery was spectacular - I was surrounded my mountain ranges that just went on forever. I stopped every so often to take pictures - just couldn't help it!
 
After checkpoint 3 the tough hills started - it was a straight up 150m or so, and I broke out the walking poles. Thank you so much Natalia Watkins, for lending me the poles! They helped me so much, going up and down those hills. I must have passed at least 5-6 guys going up... it must be all that hill training and crazy shiggy hash runs in HK that trained me up so well. The weather was also perfect; it was cool at 18 degrees and with wind chill it was about 15.  Running in 100% humidity in HK is finally doing me some good. When the breeze came I broke out into a run and that helped put in more distance between myself and the rest.
 
We went past hundreds of rolling grass hills and they were full of life - butterflies, crickets, cows... RTP must also have a morbid sense of humour; they stuck a pink flag (which marks the way) into a dead cow. Some sort of hidden message that if you don't make it you will die in the desert?!
 
So the rolling hills went on up and down, and the downs were perhaps worse than the ups. There was an especially steep slope where it was just slates of rocks (Julie - you probably know what sort of rock I'm talking about!) and going down means sliding on the rocks all the time. Crazy. Again, thank you Natalia for the poles - really don't know how I will do without them!
 
My legs are relatively ok except for my left hip flexor which started hurting in the last 15km so I powered walk most of it. My knees are nagging just a bit so I have to get that all sorted. We have now 218km more to go and I do feel good about it.. I just wish it isn't so cold here!!
 
Thanks everyone for your messages - sooooo good to read them at the end of a long day!
 
W - I hope it stops raining soon. Thinking of you every step of the way.
 
Teresa - Lovely to hear from you! Important game tonight eh, I will be cheering England on from the Gobi!
 
Jackie - I'll give you a big hug when you're back!
 
GB - LOL !!! Keep those corny jokes coming...
 
 
Tomorrow's run will be 29km with no elevation. I will have to do the six minute walk/six minute run again. Thank you Martijn for your advice - most helpful!
 
Oh the only downside for today is that I don't think I brought enough electrolytes. I actually had to break into tomorrow's stash for one more electrolyte pill. Hmmm... now I have to start bartering my almond maple butter...

I'm here at Camp 1 at Gaoyacun Village, a beautiful green oasis in the old Uigher village, flanked by the Tian Shan mountains on the north. It took us 4 hours to get here and that was not without any misadventure. The roads were so rocky the bus took a hit and the driver refused to drive! Anyway after some negotiations we are all here at camp, had our dinner - the first of many freeze dried food, I had savoury mince with rice - and ready for bed.
 
Everyone is in high spirits and ready to go. I for one, am so ready but am enjoying every minute of it so far. I have met people from all walks of life; I even have a 61-year old Japanese woman in my tent. She's going to kick some ass tomorrow and I will be huffing to keep up with her...
 
The Japanese are very well-prepared and Ken whom I spoke to on the bus told me what he will be having for the next few days - sushi, ramen, beef teriyaki, tonkatsu and wait for it... unagi!!! All freeze-dried food. Guess who's going to be his best friend this trip..
 
Tomorrow we have 32km to tackle which starts with a dusty road before heading up into the hill and plains, and then down to the camp. My final pack weighs 7.75kg (without water) and I am mighty pleased with the weight especially since some people had a pack as heavy as 14kg! I did have to take out some energy gels and put in macadamia nuts instead. Macadamis nuts are the most calorie dense food ever. I wish I can take nuts instead of gels and protein powder but I tend to get sore throat easily... and nuts are just the worst.
 
It is very cold here and I am definitely underdressed, so I will have to crawl into my marmot atom sleeping bag to stay toasty soon. Eric LaHaie - I want to kick your butt! You said it's going to be hot but we are freezing here. Lucy Tang even has her sarong from China Southern wrapped tight. We're both thinking how we are going to give you a proper scolding for your "sage advice".
 
Anyway, if we have the same fine weather tomorrow I think everyone will do very well - it's dry and cold at 15 degrees, what a contrast to Hong Kong's summer. The air is fresh and everything is just exotic and new. It is a gorgeous campsite, I wish I can upload pictures but you will just have to take my word for it that it is the best setting for an outdoor toilet. The sun just set not too long ago at 10:45pm and the sky had turned blue into a thousand species of impossible pink. Stunning!
 
Ning, bro- say hello to mom and dad, I'm ok here and thinking of all of you. Dad will love this place, so many interesting Ugher people for him to photograph.
 
Ting - I got the TCRP buff, great stuff! Thanks also for your note. Looking forward to your Dr Seuss quotes.
 
LD & MS - are you all being good? Not giving any grief to mommy? Miss you so much xx
 
W - I think of you all the time; somehow this reminds me of our trip to Tibet. I promise I will take care of myself :)
 
Signing off for now, I'm hoping the total donations for Shark Rescue has gone up? Remember to leave me messages here!  There will be nothing as good as reading your messages after a hard day out in the desert. Love you all, xx

It took me 4 hours to pack everything and it's already way past my bedtime, but I am now so relieved that everything's done that I just have to squeeze in a last blog entry.

I am so looking forward to a week where I won't have my blackberry - how nice it is to tell clients that I won't have blackberry coverage while I'm away - and also a week of adventure and hardcore stories. Through it all I'm sure I will make plenty of new friends along the way, as already in my preparation for the Gobi I got to know Amanda Clarke pretty well. Like most people who do RTP races, she has a heart of gold. She kindly arranged for a van to bring Delian Gaskell and myself to Shenzhen airport with her other girlfriends which is such a relief. Thank you Amanda!

So, bags all packed and ready to go.. let's hope the journey to Urumqi is smooth-sailing. I've already stocked up on plenty of snacks and this month's Nat Geo magazine to tide me through the China Southern flight. Once I get to Urumqi I doubt I will get any internet connection, so it's bye for now, dear readers! Wish me luck, plenty of it, and send me good vibes. Good good vibes. Ommmmmm....

I have never done anything this massive in my life. I don't even know if I will be doing anything this crazy ever again. I am probably the most inexperienced competitor in the Gobi race, having done nothing even close to a marathon before. I don't know how running a marathon feels like, let alone an ultra. My tent-mates, on the other hand, are all experienced veterans. Some have gone through hundreds of kilometres of desert or mountains, some have even won them. Most have done some form of 100km trailwalker at one point or the other. Me? I'm a real rookie in this big bad world of ultramarathons.

But it's here, and the race will start in five days' time. I'm sure all the competitors have butterflies in their stomachs but mine feel as if the butterflies are strung out on caffeine.

I ask myself why I'm doing this and many reasons come to me but none clearer and stronger than the primary goal - to raise awareness of the importance of sharks. The complete story goes like this: Joe Lin, a friend I have known since high school, did the Gobi last year. He valiantly did it for Save the Children, a registered charity dedicated to creating a positive, lasting change for disadvantaged children. All very inspiring stuff but I asked him why didn't he think about doing it for sharks? For ocean conservation? No one ever do crazy and stupid things for sharks... and then it hit me!! Maybe I can do it? Now I have to tell you that I was, at that time, incredibly unfit and pudgy. I did the occasional hike on the weekend with the dogs and the odd run mid-week at Bowen Road.  I pig out during the week, watch "House" episodes back to back and... well you get the idea. So for me to even think about doing a 250km challenge was crazy. 

But I went ahead and signed up anyway. What was I thinking?! Or not thinking?

I have been asked many times if that's the only thing that's pushing me to do this and the answer is no (of course not!). I am also embarking on this challenge to see how hard I can push myself, to find out just how many days I can go without a shower before I have a breakdown (I'm a clean freak so this is very difficult!), to marvel at the stars in the desert night sky, to do something new and different. But always, it goes back to the sharks. I am doing this for the sharks and the oceans. I want people to know that we have to STOP eating sharks fin soup - it's not a joke anymore. It's not something we can put aside and deal with it later. We have to address it, push for change, educate our kids. Sharks have had bad PR, thanks to films like "Jaws" and "Open Water"; they aren't the cuddly pandas with their cute black eye patches or the elephants with their charming long trunks we see on WWF. Instead they have rows and rows of jagged sharp teeth, mean-looking eyes, rough skin. But what I see is a perfect apex predator with the job to keep the marine ecosystem in check. A healthy shark population is a healthy reef, a healthy sea and most importantly, a sustainable ocean for humans to source our fish from.

So that's the story. I may be the most inexperienced competitor in the Gobi but I am running this with a cause very close to my heart. I want to see our children and grandchildren enjoy the beauty of the oceans and I want us to be able to enjoy a sustainable source of fish and seafood for generations to come. I know we have our own causes to fight for but if this means something to you, please donate to Shark Rescue here: http://www.justgiving.com/shark-rescue

Thank you everyone for your support!

==

Now.. can someone tell me where I can find the "single-use" toothpaste in Hong Kong? You know, those that the airlines hand out to you on the red eye flights?

One week from now I will be in Urumqi, meeting new friends and comparing equipment, getting all excited about the big day. For now, I am content that I finally have everything in order. Yay!!

Thanks to Natalia Watkins who did Australia RTP earlier this year, I got the contacts of Mr Wan the cobbler who sewed the velcro around my shoes. I don't know how he did it but it's machine sewn onto the shoes! Look how even the stitches are -



Pretty amazing. Thank you Natalia! You truly are a star.
(Psst - future RTP competitors, you may want to make friends with Natalia.She is just the loveliest person with the best advice for everything. And I mean, everything. Did I say she is lovely too? And if you want Mr Wan's contact details, just send me a message.)

 I have also sorted out all the Recoverite and Perpetuem I will be bringing, as well as the gels. Gels are heavy, too heavy for a race like this so I will be bringing only two gels a day. Races like the Gobi gets very technical and I have found out that all the training I have put in is actually to find out for myself what works and what doesn't, e.g. Pocari Sweat gives me that bloated feeling so it's just awful when I run, Clif shot gels are just a little too much for me but Hammer gels work wonderfully, etc.



I went to the Crocs shop at Wellington Street today armed with my trusty kitchen weighing scale. I asked for the lightest flip flops and was given two pairs. After weighing both, I bought the ABT (almost barefoot technology) model in baby blue. I wish they had it in pink though! It weighs a total of 184g - very light for flip flops but hotel slippers are lighter (at 80g). Jo Eades commented that she managed to get her hotel slippers down to 60g. I am quite torn about this decision as 100g is a LOT of difference... but do I really want to feel every rock/stone/pebble with the hotel slippers back at camp each day? The Crocs are so comfortable and after a long run I'm sure my feet will feel great in them. Hmmm... decisions decisions.



A few things left to do this weekend: sewing on the country flag patches on the shirts and jacket, get some heavy-duty safety pins, put in a couple of easy runs, go for a massage, spend some time with my loved ones and maybe write my obituary?? After all, RTP just sent all competitors an email saying "...Five years ago, temperatures reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius and with this year’s race taking place in June instead of April, competitors could be racing in similar if not hotter temperatures"

I wonder how hot 50 degrees is? Hotter than a dry sauna? All I know is, meat can be cooked at 50 degrees... slowly but surely. Hm.

Eeps! I cannot believe my last blog entry was more than a month ago. Whatever happened to the time?! Well I suppose with all the training it's hard to maintain a social life, much less a blog, of all things. Training hasn't been going perfectly well but I am very pleased to be fit enough to do hard trainings and come out of it in one piece. There were weeks of hard, hard work and then there were slack weeks.

The hash runs have been a blessing; I cannot imagine how lonely my runs would be if not for the varied trail / urban runs I went through. I started running with the pack since my last entry here and it's probably safe to say that I'm finally getting the hang of it! Jo Eades (yes, that incredible, strong, ultra-fit woman) went for Wednesday's Little Sai Wan hash one fine day, spewed out some sage advice and told me that after a while, I won't even remember that I'm carrying a pack. Well, all I have to say is, I want to know what she has been eating to have shoulders like hers because after trudging through 30km in the hills of Hong Kong, I just want to rip off that pack and throw it over the cliff.

Last week was my last serious training week. Hash runs helped motivate me to put in a couple of intense runs through the rainy days, and then Thursday was the usual trip to Happy Valley's racecourse infield for speed training - thanks to Ruth Hunt who has been such a great help. (Psst - she's Hong Kong's national triathlon coach! and also a wonderful generous lady I met through hashing... you see, hashing isn't always about the beer!) Interval training is really awful. It's hard work, pure sweat and blood - literally. I had my fingers poked a few times to measure some lactic acid tolerance?! I still don't know half of this technical stuff, so don't ask me...

The weekend was my last heavy back to back training. Just in time for Hong Kong's true summer heat to whack me senseless. The heat is one thing, but the humidity - oh the glorious, muggy, 100% sticky post-it ickness - absolutely killed me. I did only 37km on Saturday but with a total elevation gain of 1500m. Even my poor dogs were so tired in the last 5km. Milkshake was following me out of sheer loyalty but if she could speak, she would be begging me to stop.

But as you know, I'm an optimist so I told myself it won't be this humid in the Gobi - what a relief! As if the 45 degrees heat and the fact that I'll be wearing the same sweaty, crusty shirt and shorts day in day out wouldn't matter... but hey, ignorance is bliss and this is one ignorance I should hold on to. Until the 3rd of July.

Equipment-wise, I'm pretty much all done and dusted except for a few "loose change" which I will get on Wednesday, a public holiday here in HK. Good 'ol HK, what would we do without Dragon Boat Festival, Ching Ming Festival and the likes...

So, to the 6 of you reading this (yes, you, the 6 of you who are not watching the World Cup right now... oh hey, did you hear that England drew with the USA?! Most appalling, innit!), thanks for your time and attention. I'm almost at the end of the road and while I have to say it wasn't an easy journey, it was very enjoyable. I loved the challenges, the discipline of having to kick myself out of the apartment to tackle the hills and trails, the mental challenge of having to put in a run every evening after work.. I loved every bit of it. Just 12 more days. 12 more days to the week I have been waiting almost a year for. Can't wait!

ok it's definitely time to shift gear now - I have to start ramping up the miles and increase the backpack weight. It's time to get serious! Which just means I will have to take my backpack on all runs. No more excuses...

So, RTP's Australia just ended. I was following the blogs and progress of Martijn Hoogerwerf, Jo Eades and Stephanie Case (these are some serious hardcore ladies. Really. They are so fit they won't even break out in a sweat if they did Lantau Peak and Sunset Peak) and I came to a few conclusions:

1. It's going to hurt.
2. The heat will sap your energy like a dried sponge dunked in water
3. Carry less stuff, but carry more food. Food is important.
4. The mind will have to overcome everything.
5. It's going to hurt. A LOT.
6. It's going to hurt.
7. It's going to hurt. Bad...

*

I have no idea how many competitors will use the Raidlight bag but mine is already starting to come apart. Granted, I have been using it almost everyday, on runs and on hikes, some of which I got terribly lost and ended up through some of the worst shiggy Hong Kong has to offer. But I would have thought the inside of the bag would be better made? Look at this mess:



Not very pleasant when everything in the bag is covered with this "eraser/glue" bits. Other than this I don't know if it affects the pack in any other way.

Here's another collateral damage:


Any ideas how to patch this? :|

If there is paradise on earth, it will have to be the Maldives (whale sharks! mantas! devil rays!). Having a holiday in the middle of my training didn't seem like a good idea initially but on hindsight it was perfect. My body had a rest and now I am raring to go!

==

The weekend in Singapore was productive; I did a 14km run with backpack on the Saturday with one of my best mates, Tingjun, who will be doing her first marathon in Timor-Leste. It will be held on 20 June and as tempting it is for me to make a trip there, I have the Gobi to think about. The marathon will be too close to the race as I should probably be tapering off by then?

Anyway the run in Singapore almost killed me - I have obviously forgotten how humid the island can be. Running in cool easy breezy 15 degrees in Hong Kong is like a stroll in a park compared to 100% humidity 30 degrees weather!! My shirt was dripping wet and my cap was soaked through. I had to wipe my brows constantly. Ugh. I was at least 20% slower. It was sluggish. It was hell. It was good training for the Gobi.

Sunday came and I went to MacRitchie Reservoir to hit the "boardwalk" trails, but 3km in I landed wrongly on the exposed root of a tree and twisted my ankle. The blinding pain hit me and all I could do was sit there and wince quietly. I started walking back and then 5 minutes later I started running. Ankle wasn't that bad... and I paid the price the next day. I could only limp... and limped all the way to the Maldives. Good thing scuba-diving doesn't have much impact on the joints! After one week on the boat doing nothing but eating and diving and sleeping, my ankle is fine.

==

Mypaper and The Straits Times published an article on my decision to do the Gobi race, which I am very grateful for. Here it is:
http://news.omy.sg/News/Local%2BNews/Story/OMYStory201004120030-142765/2.html

More publicity = more awareness of the importance of sharks! :D

==

Week 7 (this week):
Monday: Rest (it's my birthday after all!)
Tuesday: Ladies Hash, easy 8km (?) run - hamsting tendons are strained
Wednesday: LSW hash probably 10km+
Thursday: 15km with backpack
Friday: 15km with backpack
Saturday: Ladies Hash-away at Shekou, Shenzhen ~10km (?)
Sunday: Back to HK, 20km run with backpack

Total: 78km

Golly, how time flies. It's almost the end of March and I'm on to week 4!

Here is a quick re-cap on my training for week 3:

Monday: 10 minute fast run (with 10kg backpack)
Tuesday: St Patrick's Day Ladies Hash, 7km (with 3kg backpack)
Wednesday: LSW Hash, 8km - at Lamma Island, amazing trails!
Thursday: 12km run
Friday: 12km run (with 4kg backpack)
Saturday: Sai Kung Hash 9km
Sunday: 20km (with 5kg backpack) + 8km easy walk (with 10kg backpack)

Total (run only): 68km

Not fantastic progress, I know. I woke up on Saturday mornings to an awful pain on my left knee and could hardly walk. It got better in the afternoon so I decided to head to Sai Kung for the monthly hash and it was quite a run through the woods and among the farm lands.

My legs were still very tired on Sunday morning and it was agony on the trails. This will probably be what I will go through on Day 3 of the Gobi when my legs are all tired from the lactic build-up and I know that it will be sheer mental power to pull myself through it. It was very tough running at my usual pace so I walked/ran almost the entire way.

==

I will be on a scuba-diving trip next week on a liveaboard so my mileage will be down to a big fat ZERO! However it is the only time I can go for my bi-annual dive trip and I think it will be a good break for my legs. Of course I will not stop training completely; I will do a lot of swimming and weight-lifting (with the air tanks!), as well as push-ups and plank exercises. Skipping will also help - that reminds me, I will have to get skipping ropes.

The trip will take me back to Singapore for the weekend, which is great as it will be super hot and humid and I can do long run before going on the liveaboard proper. Junice and Vincent have kindly offered to bring me for a run around MacRitchie Reservoir - I only hope I can keep up with this uber-fit pair!

==

On to Week 4:
Monday: Sprint interval training
Tuesday: Ladies hash
Wednesday: LSW hash / RacingThePlanet food tasting session
Thursday: REST (Watching Sam Mendes' The Tempest!)
Friday: 20km run (with backpack)
Saturday: 12km run (with backpack) - in Singapore
Sunday: 25km run (with backpack) - in Singapore

Total: About 71km

Ever since I started running seriously, my knees have always hurt. At first I thought I wasn't strong enough (physically) to handle the mileage but after a while it got to the point where I knew I had to seek help.

My physiotherapist's verdict is that my right leg is slightly longer than the left leg and the difference is screwing up my biomechanics. Apparently I overpronate when I run - the complete opposite of what I thought! My arches are relatively high so have always assumed that I am an underpronator. Anyway I got a pair of orthotic insoles made and received them about a month ago. It was difficult to get used to them at first (felt as if there were golf balls under my arch) but now I am comfortable with them. The only thing is that I get blisters on my arches so it's Leuko tape to the rescue.

The insoles however, could only do so much. The pain on my knees comes and goes. Sometimes there is hardly any pain after a long run but they can cripple me after a relatively short and intense run (with backpack). Very puzzling. I was asked to do more strengthening exercises and other simples ones to change my biomechanics, but progress is slow and awfully frustrating. Yesterday when I took the dogs out for a 12km run my shins were hurting every step until the 6km mark, and my right knee had a warm sensation around it - definitely inflammatory? The worst bit is that I know I can go a lot faster (heartrate was only 150bpm) but I know I should listen to my body and not push too hard.

==

On a positive note, the fundraising page for Shark Rescue is up and running!
http://www.justgiving.com/shark-rescue

Please consider making a donation to Shark Rescue via the Shark and Coral Conservation Trust ( registered charity: #1121609). Any amount is much appreciated and will help ensure that you get your fish n chips twenty years later and your great grandchildren will be able to witness the beauty of the oceans.

==

It's a beautiful Friday in Hong Kong - balmy weather at 22 degrees and lovely sunshine. Can't wait to hit the trails!

In summary, I did pretty much what I set out to do for Week 2:

Monday: 6.5km run
Tuesday: 6km run, Ladies Hash
Wednesday: 7km run, LSW Hash
Thursday: Rest
Friday: 12km run (3kg backpack)
Saturday: 8km easy walk (12kg backpack) AM + 12km run (3.5kg backpack) PM
Sunday: 25km run (5kg backpack) AM + 8.5km easy walk (3kg backpack) PM

Total (run only): 68.5km

On Friday when I was running on Bowen Road with my backpack, a tall dude was over-taking me when he glanced at me and I saw that he was also running with a backpack - so without missing a beat he asked "Which one are you doing?" I said - "Gobi March, and you?"
"Australia"
And so we chatted for a bit while we ran. He was obviously going at a faster pace than I was but he was a gent and slowed down while we chatted till we got to the end of Bowen. He introduced himself to me, so I now I will be supporting Martijn Hoogerwerf while he races RacingThePlanet Australia. Go Martijn!

I think it's a funny thing that runners with backpacks meet on a trail and know straight away that they are training for a big event. I kind of like it, this "kindred spirit" connection, with the backpack as a badge of honour.

Speaking of backpacks, my Raidlight Runner R-Light is already looking worse for wear. No holes yet - thankfully - but there are a few hot spots which I will have to mend very soon. I really like this backpack as it fits me very well and it is still one of the lightest 30L backpacks around.

I have also somewhat fixed the problem of the bouncing bottle on the shoulder strap. I tape the bottom half of the bottle to the strap but of course carrying a roll of spare tape in the Gobi will be quite silly! Especially if I will be carrying a roll just for taping up my feet. Hm. I need to find a solution soon.

==

On energy gels:
So far I have tried Clif Shots, Gu gel, Hammer gel and carbBOOM! energy chews. Here's what I think -
Gu gel: quite thick and syrupy, but it goes down well and is the most compact size out of all the energy gels. My favourite is "strawberry banana"
Clif shots: Just a little less syrupy than Gu. Love the "litter leash" as I don't have to fumble with the ends of the packet when I open it. Not all flavours are easy on the stomach - I only like "Razz".
Hammer gel: Despite the large hammer-shaped packets, this is easily the best gel. Not too sweet and not too thick, it has the best consistency out of all tested. So far I have tried "Orange" and "Tropical" and both taste great.
carbBOOM! energy chews: Ok, think gummi bears but bigger and a whole lot harder to chew. Now, think about chewing this while running with a big backpack in the hot desert sun. Not a good idea, you say? I think so too. It was hard to chew and even harder to swallow. Don't think I will use this ever again.

==

Before I sign off, I want to quickly jot down on the first back-to-back training I had over the weekend. Saturday morning was relatively easy as it was a slow walk with a bunch of friends. I did put in a couple of km running with the 12kg backpack though, and it wasn't easy. Running in the late afternoon with the 3.5kg backpack felt good and I upped the intensity, which I paid for the next morning when I hit the trails. My legs felt really tired and my butt hurts - literally. My back was aching and my shoulders felt as if I have done a hundred shoulder presses. But I still made 25km in relatively good time, considering that the sun came out and the humidity started to rise. By 20km, I could feel blisters forming on my left foot, my second toenail on my right foot was bruised and all I wanted was a bubble tea and a hot shower.

On to week 3:

Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 5-6km Ladies Hash (with 4kg backpack)
Wednesday: 12km run (with 4kg backpack)
Thursday: 12km run (with 4kg backpack)
Friday: 5km
Saturday: 20km run (with 5kg backpack)
Sunday: 25km run (with 5kg backpack)

Total: 79km

It was a rest day for me yesterday - not that I had a choice, as I had to attend a farewell dinner at Felix for a colleague. All dandy and very posh, but as I looked at Victoria Harbour on a clear night like yesterday I thought how much I would rather be out on a run. Still it was a good rest and now my legs feel pretty good, except for the nagging pain on my left knee. I have applied a tiny bit of Volatren gel so this morning the pain has subsided. Almost.

Reading the Atacama Crossing competitors' blogs, I suddenly realized that this is not going to be easy. I know this race will be 80% mental, 10% preparation, 10% fitness. Now I know it is truer than ever, and I think all my years playing professional netball* will come in useful as most of the time the deciding factor in winning a game is whoever wants it more. Pain will have to take a backseat if I am do tackle the Gobi and complete it well.

Here are a sample of blogs I follow:
Samantha Gash, currently #5 for the women's category: http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?pid=NDYz&blog=16

Eric LaHaie is currently #2 - he is a machine!
http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?pid=NTgw&blog=16

and 

Stefan Danis, who did the Gobi last year, and is part of the team "Old guys rule". He actually brought champagne and cigars - yes you read it right, champagne - on the race!
http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?pid=NzI4&blog=16


Stefan's latest blog entry made me cry. Here are his words:
"I finished the stage today, sat down, was told there was another earthquake in Santiago today - a 7.2. This may affect our flight back.I walked to the tent and started weeping - don't know why. Sometimes you need to step outside of your comfortable environment and suffer on the salt flats to re-learn to be grateful for the ones you have."

Food for thought for my run now. Heading uphill and then a flat road to Bowen, and back, with a 3kg+ backpack.

*netball = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netball

First time at LSW hash yesterday evening which started at Lam Tin. It was a cold night and  visibility was awesome. I had no expectations and wanted to take it easy but once we started, I couldn't help but pushed myself. After a confusing checkpoint, we found the trail through shrubs and bushes (good thing I was wearing long running tights), and then came upon the stairs that went up and up and up.... and up and up. My quads were seriously hurting and it got so bad I felt as if my legs were made of lactic acid. But I gritted my teeth and went on since I will have a rest day on Thursday.

The view on the top was truly spectacular. I could see all the way to Causeway Bay and beyond, and to my left, the view of Chai Wan. Breathing hard, the crisp clear air cleared my lungs and soon I trotted off with the rest of the pack. Being right at the end of the pack at a hash run can be a good thing because once you hear a groan and a "checkback! $#@^#%&" at the front, you just find an alternative route nearby and go on. If you're lucky it will be the way home, which was pretty much what happened to me and Dr Evil. A very quick run down the trail - good training for me to watch where I step, through a temple in the middle of nowhere, and a few good sprints on solid concrete paths, and it was "on home".

Hashing is great fun and I am starting to get seriously hooked on it. I tell myself that my preparations for Gobi shouldn't always be too serious or I will start to lose interest under the weight of the intense training. Hash runs keep it varied and bring me to places I would never have gone to, and the "on on" dinners are wonderful social events.

*7km, 75% intensity

The LH4 Hash club runs every Tuesday and yesterday was my third run with them. By the time I got to the start point (sitting-out area at the bottom of Aberdeen Reservoir Road) I was already fifteen minutes late. I changed into my running gear in 2 minutes flat and hit the hill hard, following the chalk markings and clumps of flour. My quads were still pretty tight from yesterday's run and my right knee was starting to hurt bad, but I wanted to catch up with the rest of the pack so I persevered on.

Past a few streets and cha chang tengs, round a corner and up some stairs with a tiny temple next to it, and I got to the long road uphill. Past that and it was the start of the trail which leads to Aberdeen Reservoir. It was pitch-black on the trail and with my torch allowing me to see a few meters in front of me, the run was pretty intense - and super fun. Despite the cold frigid air, I was soon warmed up and my legs felt more at ease. I caught up with the tail-end of the pack and offered to carry a small pack from a lady who was clearly struggling to go up the hill. I thought it would be good training for me anyway! 

At the end of the clearing there was a wimp out route but of course I had to take the runner's one. It was a bit boring running on the concrete next to the drain so I pushed myself up to 90% intensity and it was about 5 minutes before I got back "home".

On on was at a Thai restaurant, great food and even better company. I joined as a member officially so had to go through an initiation rite - stripping off my t-shirt and having the LH4 t-shirt put on me - and of course, had to down half a glass of beer. All in all, good fun and I'd like to think of this as my recovery run.

* 6km, 60% intensity
Knees still very sore (but maybe due to the cold?) and quads are tight.

 

 

It was one of those rare cold spring days in Hong Kong. We had summer right after winter (literally: there were 30 degrees days with 98% humidity) and now spring is upon us. It's a funny world on this island. 

I ran home from work with a 8kg backpack but it was only a ten-minute run, so I dropped the backpack and continued on along Bowen Road. I didn't think it was wise to carry any weight especially when my quads were still so sore from Sunday's 25km run along part of Hong Kong trail. It was drizzly and cold but it was most wonderful. Bowen Road is usually choke-full of runners on a Monday evening (I'd like to think that everyone feels guilty after a weekend of excesses so they make up for it with a run on Monday - Punishment Day) but yesterday it was deathly quiet. There was the odd hard-core runner with a bladder hydration pack, the Filipino helpers with their owners' dogs and the sprinkle of casual joggers. I felt at peace running on my own and there is nothing quite like the pounding on the road with the vapour breath puff as my constant companion. Hong Kong is romantic on days like these and sometimes it scares me so much that I will be leaving this city one day. It's not all grime and crowds and people here; there are the vast gorgeous country parks and islands to explore. And running along Bowen Road with the view of Admiralty and Wan Chai shrouded in fog, greenery and fresh air all around, just makes this city even more special.

6.5km, 80% intensity, + core exercises and telemark jumps.  I woke up this morning with very sore knees but the soreness went away after a while. I hope my knees will hold on till after the Gobi. Or maybe 50 years later.

 

 

I ran 25km yesterday morning, starting from where I live on Caine Road and up Old Peak Road (always a killer!) before truly starting on the Hong Kong trail on the Peak. I have never done Stage 2 and 3 of the HK trail so I decided not to take the dogs along just in case some sections of it are not dog-friendly (read: cars and too many people). However, I found it just the opposite. It was a lovely quiet trail over waterfalls and at one point it took me right to the edge of a cliff overlooking Ap Lei Chau although most of Stage 2 was on a proper concrete pavement.

When I got to the end of Stage 3 I decided to go down the hill instead of up as I thought it's a short run down to the nearest road which means I can get into a taxi quicker. So down I went on Aberdeen Reservoir Road and it just kept going down until I bumped into my neighbour K who was walking with her two bichon frises. They are probably the most exercised bichon frises in Hong Kong ! I asked her for directions and even pulled out my map but she said it was best to head back up the hill to Wan Chai Gap Road. At that point I was tired, hungry and wet from the rain, and I would rather go downhill than up again. Thankfully a passer-by offered me some assistance and said it's about a 20 minute run down to Aberdeen. It was more like a 10 minute run and soon I was in a taxi heading home.

Surprisingly my knees didn't hurt. They were a little sore but it wasn't like last Sunday when I was truly struggling to walk after a 20km run. I was chuffed - could it be the orthotic insoles that helped?

Here is the training plan this week:

Week 2
Monday: 6km
Tuesday: 5-6km recovery run (Hash run)
Wednesday: 10km
Thursday: Rest day
Friday: 12km with 3kg backpack
Saturday: 10km easy walk with 12kg backpack (AM) + 12km run with 3kg backpack (PM)
Sunday: 25km run with 3kg backpack (AM) + 8.5km easy walk with 12kg backpack (PM)

Total: 70km (excluding the easy walks)
Easy walks = slow walks with friends and dogs

I am aiming to increase the mileage slowly in the first few weeks but will start running with a backpack. I think this will be one of the biggest adjustments I have to make. Running with a backpack can sometimes be a pain – rubbing on the lower back, chafing on the shoulders, etc. but it would be better to get used to it now than later! Also I can try out various ways to get my water bottles placed at the right level on the shoulder straps. So far running with it really bothers me as the bottle keeps bouncing on my shoulders. I was told to use cable ties to keep it down so I will have to try it out soon to see if it works.

I have been doing my hikes and runs on and off the last couple of months but never consistently due to the holidays - first it was a gastronomy trip to Japan and then a relaxing one to London, then came Christmas and then the New Year's, and finally Chinese New Year caught up and I'm just about done with all that eating.

Of course it is never easy to start a training plan and it is usually the hardest at the beginning, so I have pencilled in a rough weekly training schedule to get myself going:

Week 1
Monday: Light run about 5km
Tuesday: Hash run with beer water at the end
Wednesday: Run/hike up the Peak with backpack
Thursday: 10km run
Friday: REST day
Saturday: Easy hike 12km with 8 kg backpack
Sunday: 25+km run with 4 kg backpack

That totals up to 68km. I know I should take it easy at first as my body slowly adjusts to the intensity but sometimes I wonder if I am too far behind? After all it is just 3.5 months to the race! 

It will be an interesting next 4 months - how am I going to balance training, work, having fun and going on my Sunday dive trips? I suppose one way is to sleep earlier to wake up at 6am for a run. The thing is, I am not a morning person and there is nothing I hate more than waking up before the birds do. That will be my biggest challenge.

It all started with the dogs. I adopted two dogs - Lemondrop and Milkshake - a beagle and a Labrador-cross from the Hong Kong Dog Rescue and they changed my life. Being a responsible dog-owner doesn't merely mean picking up their poop and watering down the pee on the sidewalk. That's just mandatory, basic stuff. Real responsibility means getting up a little earlier to walk them, planning my evenings around them so I can bring them on a long walk and taking them out for hikes on the weekends. Because of that, I discovered that Hong Kong is more than just the skyscrapers and wonton noodles and gritty streets - it's much, much more.

My backyard is Old Peak Road, a steep, pedestrian-only path which leads up Victoria Peak (552m or 1810 feet) and while the climb up is exhausting, the views at the top make every muscle cramp worth it. The loop around the Peak (Lugard Road / Harlech Road) is a gorgeous run; on a good day I can see the Tsing Ma bridge and Lamma Island bathed in the pink glow from the sunset and that never fails to make me realize how lucky I am to be living in Hong Kong.

A roundabout way to answer the question why I'm doing the Gobi March 2010. I started running because of the dogs. Then some more, because Hong Kong's countryside is compelling. And then a LOT more, not only because I was getting fitter, I also wanted to run for a cause. Nothing is closer to my heart than the ocean thanks to my scuba-diving passion, as a result of which I am painfully reminded that sharks are now critically endangered because of the world's insatiable appetite to consume shark fins. I see fewer sharks while diving now than I did ten years ago but why should I be surprised when an estimated 100 million sharks are caught every year?

Many Chinese don't see anything wrong with consuming sharks. I am one of the minority. I'm not too concerned about the cruelty bit where fishermen often slice off the fins and dump the sharks back into the ocean for it to die a slow painful death. Well, maybe just a little. But what I'm truly concerned about is that if sharks become extinct, the fragile ocean ecosystem will be so affected that that is the point of no return. If we get to that point, we might as well throw our hands up in the air, quit our jobs, retreat to the Swiss Alps and enjoy the snow and the skiing until that disappears. But I digress -

So I will put myself in a situation - a point of no return, you may say - to raise awareness of how important sharks are to humanity. Shark Rescue (www.sharkrescue.com) will be my charity of choice and I plan to raise HK$100,000 for them.

* The Plan *
1. I take on a suicidal challenge to complete 250km through the Gobi Desert, the hottest place in China and the most distance point from an ocean in the world. Like I said, suicidal.
2. You can help with a pledge for Shark Rescue.
3. We save sharks, we save the oceans, we can still have our toro sushi twenty years later. Everyone is happy.