got back into singapore just past midnight on a quiet tuesday morning. we were all exhausted after more than a full day of flying cum waiting.

to those who have been with me on this journey, thank you. words cannot describe the effects you have on every step of my way.

my results:

55th overall
4th women
1st women 30-39

[technically 3rd, for women's 1st and 3rd were from the same age cat!]

pretty amazing huh? i still have no idea how it was possible.

i am swarmed with emotions and i have no idea where and when to start sorting them. they say 30% of gobi march participants quit from their day jobs after the event. i shouldnt become a statistic for i love my job.

meeting the ultramarathon man himself

round the globe to discover a real great friend

my favorite volunteer :)

our smelly tent

we survived!

i would like to thank the organisers of racing the planet for putting on such a great event. i look forward to more deserts!

please refer to my indecent obsession blog for post race updates and reviews.

keep on running and you will believe!

The jingle of that advertisement was what went on and on in my head. It actually kept me going. The toilets were quite an experience.
After 3 days of eating and eating, we finally stood at the start line for the start at 915am. My strategy? Run when I could and walk when I need to.
The first 10k went quite well as we crossed the same d*** river countless times. Thank goodness the dry and hot weather dried the shoes out in no time. Checkpoints 1 and 2 went by pretty quickly but enroute checkpoint 3, the same weather turned on us. The mercilesss sun beamed relentlessly on us and only the passing clouds bought temporary respite.
I started walking more and running less. I simply wanted to finish. The final 8km was brutal, the never ending stretch was demoralizing but I knew I had to go on. To reduce weight, I gave away some of my mamee to the local kids.
After 6hr 29min, I crossed the finish line and soaked in the stream that flowed through the village we are staying with tonight. Heavens.
I am basically fine except for a heat induced headache. NO BLISTERS! Some kickass celebrex got the swelling on the ankle down. The knee feels ok. Everyone from the Singapore contingent managed to complete today safely.
Time to sleep and fight another day tomorrow. One down, 6 more to go (!!!).
*thanks to all for your motivating lines, keep them coming J
**happy anniversary nik!

<<taken from indecentobsession.wordpress.com>>

temperatures hit at least 30degC on my 5:37hr/30km hike-a-jog this morning/afternoon. after going in circles on some suburban streets then some trails, we finally got to where we wanted to be. thank goodness i had a friend for company.

thank goodness she is still my friend after our hike in circles :) did i mention she had run 9hr the day before :o

here is my learning experience:

1. the feet: injini crew + one size bigger salomon xa pro 3d

currently, there does not seem to be any hot spot on the feet with this combo. however, i am pretty sure the anticipated river crossings during the race would change the whole dynamics with wet socks and shoes. hence, i am inclined to change into my crocs and perhaps tape them to the feet during the crossings. i must also remember the advice to tend to any discomfort at the earliest opportunity.

the debate to bring gaiters has been going on in my mind. with this combo, i hardly had any foreign objects entering the shoes while she, with her asics trail shoes, was annoyed at having to remove them at times to clear the gravel and bits that had gotten in. i would bring the pair of traditional short gaiters in my luggage to kashgar and decide if i would bring them on the race itself. i am more inclined not to though.

2. on-the-move nutrition: carbo pro + emergenC + luna bar + mamee + endurolyte

since i was advised that by day 03, there would be no appetite to eat from, i intend to consume most of the on-the-move nutrition through water. i didnt need to eat much on this hike/run either.

the carbo pro did not give me any problems, neither did it make the water weird. every scoop of 28.5g gives me over a 100g of pure carbo. the plan is to spike the 1.5l bottles of water provided by the organisers with 2 scoops, which i guess should last me anywhere from 1.5-2hr.

after 2hr into the hike, i fizzled on a sachet of emergenC for electrolytes and a boost of vitamins. there is a high chance that i decide to dissolve 2 sachets into the carbo pro-ed water on the race.

the only solid food i took was a luna bar, which tasted awesome :) however, due to the heat, it did kinda 'melt' onto the wrapping, just a little. makes me wonder if it would hold up in the desert heat.

the other component to the day nutrition, which i have not tried, is a snack called mamee. a pack of this fried-noodle, almost like instant noodles, has 117g of calories packed into 25g. although far from being nutritious, the sodium it contains should give the much needed salty kick.

the final component is endurolyte, electrolyte tablets. i am still debating if i should bring them for i have not tried them and would not get them till just before the race.

3. solarfocus solaruno slim charger + ipod nano + garmin forerunner 305

the solar charger works :) it dutifully charged the nano. both of these items i would likely bring. on the other hand, i am not so sure about the forerunner 305. it would be cool to have gps tracking the distance but i am worried it might be a white elephant if the solar charger fails to fire it.

4. sun protection for the brain: outdoor research sun runner cap + mec expresso shades + dermatone z-cote

a lightweight, UPF 30+ cap with panels. it was on sale last weekend in rei and i am so glad i have finally gotten my hands on it :)

5. sun protection for the body: mec rapidi long sleeves + sugoi long tights

not intending to apply sunscreen to the body, i am opting for the 'cover from head to toe' way. the only worry is the tights getting too 'hot' from the heat in the desert.

6. recovery: whey protein shake

it didnt taste good at all! will have to look for an alternative now.

we were brisk walking most of the time, but started jogging towards the last hour. i was pleasantly surprised i could still jog at a good pace with the 10kg :) best of all, no pain in the knee! perhaps it simply need lots of warming up.

guess not.

thanks to gary for putting it into perspective in his blog, 51 days... counting down in weeks does not remind me the gravity of it all.

the itb has been fighting me the past 3 weeks. i do hope the battle would be over real soon so i might get back on track.

7 more weeks.