Why has it come round so fast?

This time in two weeks Sal and I will be well on our way to Hong Kong full of angst and self doubt. We been trying to compensate for our lack of training by trying to limit pack weights but maybe Chinese customs officials will help us there by nicking all our food!!! Speaking of which we were hopefully going to collect it all today only to find it still hadn't arrived yet, so instead we looked at different jackets and ridiculously expensive sunglasses. Seeing as I managed to lose mine on stage 4 of the Atacama last year I decided against spending $299.00AUD on a pair of Jublo Explorer's despite the sales guy telling me that after two days in the desert I'd be eternally grateful for the investment. Im sure I could lose these or sit on them just as easily as I could a $70.00 pair.

We went for a two our run this morning on a once beautiful sandy track near home only to discover it had been trashed by ignorant horse riders, despite the signs at the trail head prohibiting horses. Because the trail is on the Coastal Plain it is soft and sandy and Horse traffic carves it up mercilessly. Half and hour into the run we also discovered signs of vehicle traffic and five minutes later came upon several construction vehicles widening and laying limestone on the track that had once been a great single track. Ahhh progress. This was the only decent trail close to home so it looks like it's back to the hills east of Perth for us.

We're in a bit of a quandry as to what to take in the way of jackets. If it's not going to be as cold as Atacama will we need our down jackets and is there the possibility of rain or snow as experienced last year??? We're thinking maybe a good thermal top and a Gortex jacket....but the down jacket made such a good pillow....decisions decisions.

All for now.

Steve.

After a night of watching the Atacama 07 DVD'd and drinking the best part of a bottle of Pisco, Sal and I decided we had better get our race brains into gear, trail shoes and packs on and sweat out some of the afore mentioned Pisco.

So Saturday morning saw us attack the foothills of the Darling Ranges about 20km east of Perth. We had managed to convince(read con) the Prendivilles and friends to join us on this two day outing as it would give them a good idea of what to expect in about three weeks. When I say what to expect I mean running long and hard, sleeping rough and backing up the next day.

We planned to run on one of our favourite training trails, The Bibulmun Track, out for 40km Saturday, sleep in the Mt Dale trekking hut over night and back the next day. This section of the track is a challenging as it is beautiful.

We set of a little later than planned but were running by just after 0800. We had a break at 20km to regroup and refuel. After about 20mins we took off again and pushed through to our overnight camp. The hills and terrain, as well as some old injuries saw the 7 of us spread out a little but we were all in camp by about 1600.

The next morning saw us a little stiff and tired but eager to get going. Jaimie, Patrick and Gary Prendiville as well as Mark Dawson took off at around 0645 and Billy Biffin, Sally and I left at a far more leisurely 0730. The run back over Mt Dale was earily beautiful in that the shroud of thick fog reduced visibilty to about 20mtrs. As we got over the other side the cloud began to lift and the views heading back along the Darling Scarp were stunning. The hills however managed to dampen our( Sal and I's) enthusiasm for stunning vista's and Sal on more than one occassion was heard to mutter some rather un ladylike curse's. We all got back to the vehicle's by around 1430-1500 much the worse for wear and tear but better for the experience. Coke, sausage rolls and instant mash went some way to sootheing acheing bodies. Although the pint Sal and I had after getting home hit the spot perfectly.

Be assured the Pisco bottle will remain intact incase it inspires more similar madness.

Till next time folks.

Greetings all, friends and soon to be friends.

Sal and I are back for our second Desert. I just looked at the photo's and the Gobi looks every bit as cosy as the Atacama did last year.

We have just got serious about our preperation for this years little outing and started training. The beer and chips fuelled Atacama recovery period(4 months) has seen us well rested and slightly softer. This was a deliberate plan as we wanted to fit into the Gary and James race mode seeing as we will be tent mates this time around.

We decided that we had better test ourselves a bit this weekend and headed down to Dwellingup, a timber town about 120km south of Perth, and run with a mate, a little 65km mountain bike trail called the Waterous Loop. The distance was twice as far as we had gone since Chile also it was the first time Sal had put her race pack on since the Atacama but what the heck why do things in half measures? The day was long but great and we all finished on our feet and intact. I think it was just the thought of Guinness that got Sal and I through so we rewarded ourselves with a pint once we got home, one was all we could manage though as fatigue got the better of us. An easy bike ride and a few pints Saturday proved an excellent recovery and we even manage a little 10km trot on Sunday. We should probably start to taper now don't want to over do it. Remember what Gary say's ..."no train no pain"

We look forward to meeting and re-meeting everyone in China, the "RTP Crew" and our Atacama Desert mate's.

Yo later