Firstly, thanks to all those that commented on my blogs...I really appreciate your support!

Sorry this entry is late...a lot has happened in the last 48 hours.

On the night before stage 3, we were told that it was going to be easier than stage 2.  Sharlene and I were both feeling good before we started...I was feeling stronger than I had before starting either of the first 2 stages.

The cool morning started with a quick 10 km through shaded, grassy terrain which was very easy to trek through.  We were off to a very quick start and even felt strong to enough to do a little running..we were doing great at checkpoint 1 and were right in the middle of the pack.  I was thinking: finally, we're not going to finish in the bottom 10 today :)

Things changed very quickly...the terrain took a big turn for the worse: various size rocks and boulders through uphill mountains...the sun came out in full force and there was nowhere to hide.  The next 20 km were the most difficult we had faced and must have taken us about 6 hours to complete. 

By the time we reached checkpoint 3, I was totally wiped out.  I knew that despite only having about 8.5 km remaining to finish the day, it was going to be next to impossible.  We kept going....each step came with increasing pain and the 20 pound backpack felt more like 200 pounds.  I've never felt so much pure physical pain and exhaustion.

We finally made it back to camp at 5:28 pm (2 minutes before the day's cut-off time and 9.5 hours after starting this morning).  I knew that I needed to do something to recover quickly...I started drinking water and stretching my legs in my tent...hoping that I would slowly start feeling better.  One of my tent mates suggested I visit the medical tent because I didn't look so good.

On the way there, right in the middle of camp, I blacked out and fell to the ground (very embarrassing).  The physicians ultimately decided that collapsing twice in two days was enough for them to prevent me from continuing the next day.   They gave me IV fluids and my race was over....it was a restless night....both mentally and physically.  I woke up in the morning feeling like I had been hit by a truck.

On one hand, this was a disappointing finish...I didn't know how far we would get when we started, but secretly hoped to finish.  On the other hand, we did 110 km in 3 days, in some of the most challenging terrain on the planet...not bad considering that the most we'd done before was a half marathon. 

One certainty is that I had reached my physical limit...the next two days were definitely going to be more difficult...I wouldn't have finished.

Sharlene was in the same boat...although she recovered better than I, she had to cry her way through various points in the day...right from the morning..she'd already decided that this was it.  I'm proud of her for getting this far.

I'm going to make one more entry within the next couple of days that wraps up my thoughts on this experience.  Once again, thanks for reading...

To any one who's emailed me...I've only received emails until Monday morning so far since the organizers can only download emails when their satellite connection works.

 

Good news is, Sharlene and I both finished Stage 12 today (37 km)...no small feat considering we struggled through Stage 1.

 

Last night, we threw away anything we absolutely didn't need...we also had less meals to carry today...this definitely helped.

 

I also found a technique that worked for me: strictly regulating my breathing and synchronizing this to my trekking poles and water usage.

One thing I can tell you is that hiking 37 km through the desert in beaming heat is going to teach you things that your parents couldn't!

You're forced to have the highest level of respect for the risks that you're taking and you realize that you need to be absolutely everything possible to protect yourself...otherwise you're in huge trouble.  It's amazing how quickly you can go from feeling strong to extremely weak...you have to continuously take preventative measures while you're feeling good...otherwise things change quickly and it can be hard to get back to feeling good again.

 

It's astonishing how many elite athletes are here....the leaders (top 10%) can do 37 km in the desert terrain, with a 20 pound back pack in about 4 hours...most very good runners can't do that in normal weather conditions with no back pack....Sharlene and I are way out of our league.

 

After today's trek, I immediately started to feel weak and had to spend an hour recovering in the medical tent with the doctors.  I've been drinking my entire allotment of water....at the end of today, I was so still so dehydrated that I couldn't stand with my own strength.  I feel good now, a couple's of hours after this incident, after eating a huge 800 calorie dinner (most people burn around 5000 calories per day on the course).

 

Tomorrow's stage 3, and like yesterday, Sharlene and I are going to try...she's got some minor knee issues but I think that's she's generally just more durable than me.  I need to lead the way on the course and push her to maintain a faster pace so that we minimize the time that we spend in the intolerable sun at the end of the day....but so far, it seems like she's generally feeling better in the evening than I....must be that hearty Punjabi blood :)

Sharlene and I got through stage 1 today....definitely not easy despite the fact that is was cut down to 32 km due to high river tides.

 

Basically, my speed is Sharlene's speed since she's a little slower than I if we're both feeling 100%.

 

I felt strong for the first 21 km and was pushing Sharlene to keep up....then, all of a sudden, my energy level plummeted!...my tank felt totally empty and I started feeling light headed at the final check point (10.5km from the finish)....there was a 15 minute period where I didn't know if I could finish...we slowed down, I splashed a lot of water on my face and started using my umbrella (my secret weapon) to shield myself form the glaring desert sun..we finished near the back of the pack....but we finished.

 

There's probably no type of training that can really prepare you for this...it's brutal....and it's only the end of stage 1.

 

Camping is fine...but eating these prepacked meals is another thing....tastes like crap and, as I learned today, not eating enough is probably going to get you in trouble on the course during the day.

 

Right now it feels like going home wouldn't be a bad idea...but I'm sure we will end up trying again tomorrow...we're told it's going to be a tougher day all around...higher altitude, longer distance, more inclines and higher temperatures...if you read this, then praying for us would be much appreciated :)

 

Headed for another prepacked dinner now....then to try to see if there's any way to reduce the weight in our backpacks.

Everything has been great so far....must be because we haven't acually started running yet!

 

Huge welcome party from the locals....fresh fruit and bread served by the organizers...beautiful scenery...I think this will probably be the most up beat I feel over the next week.

 

People are also great...most are in tremendous shape.

 

Didn't sleep more than 5 hours last night....impossible fitting everything into the backpack.

 

Thanks for the welcome email Amer...that was nice.

 

Real work starts tomorrow morning.