It's getting REALLY near to "Go" time and the nerves are definitely there.  Should I bring this or should I bring that?  The window for opportunity on internet orders is quickly closing and equipment testing time has all but reached its end.

I have just one last weekend to get a hard training run in--then it is rest and sustain time.  

Gear...
My equipment is close to being finalized.  It is either sitting in the my "race & training pile" or in the mail.  I'm still debating on what shirts and t-shirts to bring.  The cobbler did a good job with my shoes.  I took out my half-size-too-big-shoes and 4Desets gaiters on a training run in the sand dunes and I must say--Impressive!  There were times that my shoes and ankles were completely buried in a sand dune and no sand entered my shoes.  I kept looking down at my feet every half hour and thinking “gaiters--what a great invention—love it!”

 

 

Food…

 

Last night I had my first go at an Expeditions Foods dinner.  My husband and I split the Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta—quite tasty.  I’ll give it one more go this weekend and try for a breakfast before a big training run.  Here’s hoping that my stomach can deal with a whopping 800 calories pre-run!

 

 

Accessories…

 

It’s easy to conclude that packing light is a necessity.  Though, there are those few items that are very tempting to bring along.  A toothbrush for one, has definitely made the trip list.  I’ve just about come to the conclusion that my ipod shuffle is a necessity.  The main problem with the ipod is the battery life :/  I’m a rather doubtful that 12 hours will cut it.  Do I want bring multiple?  Or invest in a new MP3 player with a longer battery life?  So many options, so little time.  I’m still debating a camera.  Do I want to lug around mine or is it worth it to spend a little to bring a little?

 

Hey All!  Sorry to keep you waiting for the update on the long stage.  They had the cybertent open for a few hours after the long race but only during the hottest part of the day.  They weren’t so clear on posting the hours.  I went in for long enough to check for blog replies and e-mails but was over heating too much to write anything—then found out too late that they closed the tent up early.

Day Five—you could feel the nerves around camp as we were all packing up for the 2-dayer, 59 mile stretch.  Two of our tentmates were the expert advice givers who had done these races before—and past on as much wisdom as they could.  The key to the day was to keep snacking all day long, try and get down about 100 calories per hours, not much more and no less.

As we started the stage I went slow—felt some IT Band pangs.  IT softened up after the first couple of miles and I started to add some good speed.  There were to be 9 Checkpoints that day.  The first few checkpoints were about 10km apart and the last few 9km apart.  Checkpoint 2 was at the Valley of the Whales National Park.  There were all kinds of whale bones laid out that were found in the area.  The concept was neat—but at the time, it was starting to get hot and didn’t seem all that impressive.  The heat really started to come in between checkpoint 3 and 4.  We hit quite a bit of soft sand and some dunes.  Thankfully they had a car driving back and forth with some extra water.  By checkpoint 4, Dad had caught up.  I left the checkpoint right before him and started to head up the HUGE dune—right at the heat of the day.  This was my LONGEST and SLOWEST time between checkpoints ever.  The sun was just BAKING down and there was little to now wind to be had.  Dad caught up to me again—we walked together for about 10 minutes before he moved on ahead—my energy was hitting a low point and my feet were killing me.  I started to call my feet “My little ovens.”  They were like burning flames in there.  Felt like I had those red hot burners in there—roasting my feet.  They were swelling right up and had some serious heat rash from my toes on up through my ankles.  I would say a good 10 people passed my on this stage.  Killer; just couldn’t get my feet to move fast; I was happy to move at all. 

Checkpoint 5 was up a steep hill and just past the halfway point—what a relief to reach it!  I took my shoes off and found the toes of my Injinji sock were stuck together.  Due to the heat and friction, the fibers had –re-weaved themselves together.  It took some effort to pry toes apart.  The Doc took a look at my feel and gave my some ‘experimental’ anti-inflammatory cream and application gloves to blob onto my feet.  It seemed to help!  As I left checkpoint 5, I did all I could to work on my speed again—it was looking like a long weary day and night ahead and I wanted to get a move on.  I worked out a plan to rotate a run every two flags and walk every two flags (trail markers they had, roughly 25-meters apart).  It worked out really well!  The sun cooled down a bit and was starting to drop—that combined with the ‘experimental foot cream’ work wonders for turning down the burners on my feet.  Checkpoint 6—the long awaited checkpoint.  This was the one where there were tents laid out for an optional sleep and also hot water to cook a dinner or snack.  I ran into Dad again here.  This is also where people were coupling up for the night walk.  The sun was dropping fast and it was high time to dig out the headlamp, red flashing back light and pack take off the sunglasses for the first time ever.  I was hoping to find someone to run some, but most people wanted to walk at that point.  Dad partnered up with a British guy named Chris.  Chris was nursing a stomach sickness and Dad a swollen ankle.  My partner was Christine—a crazy-good-in-shape 46 year old accountant from Toranto.  She was an amazing partner.  She has ran in over 16 marathons around the world!  She held a great walking pace (my feet and ankles soon began to burn again—that mixed with the dark soon made me happy I was walking rather than runner).  It would have been rather silly to try and run at that point—there would surly have been a twisted or sprained ankle had I attempted more than a 400 yard run.  Christine had some good stories and kept us both entertained in the dark.

At that point it we were definitely living checkpoint to checkpoint and constantly searching out the next glow stick to sprint-walk to.  The dark seemed to go on forever—but it was nice to not have the heat of the sun—the temperature was fantastic.

Checkpoint 9—the best ever—the LAST checkpoint of the night.  I had been waiting for this was all day.  The excitement was in the air and we didn’t stay long—ready to hit the trail to camp.  The first half was down the mountain side in a sand-dirt mixture and the last half was dry mud flats—a true feet killer.  The last half was SO frustrating.  We had reach a lake (or so we were told—couldn’t see an ounce of it) and there were some lights on the other side.  The lights weren’t bright but it made it almost impossible to pick out the glow sticks.  It was rough searching them out.  There were several times when we had to guess on the direction and just go.  They for some reason decided to zig-zag at the end—arg I got so frustrated—I just wanted camp!  When we finally saw the camp lights—it was unbelieveable—what a feeling.  Were we really here!  The sound of the drums began—and home it was!  Alina was at the finish-line.  We made it in just a few minutes before 1am.  She was banging the drums, taking our packs off, signing us in and getting our water—one-woman job!  Back at the tent I found that Dad, Devrim and Matt were all still up.  Unable to sleep due to their restless legs and aching joints.  Home at last!  I immediately went to baby-wiping my salt-caked body and throwing on my ‘cleanish’ clothes—a heavenly feeling!  Next up was Expedition Foods Spaghetti Bolognese and bed with my feet up!  Awaiting for the rest of our tentmates to wander in.  I was able to grab a few hours of sleep before sunrise.  No one else from our tent arrived until the sun was in full swing again.

Alright—that’ll just about do it for now.

(blog update written by Morten - aka the husband!)

I just spoke to Carrie on the phone from Cairo. She had just gotten out of the shower for the third time toady!!! She finally got her fingers on some hair conditioner for the third shower. It was so tangled up that she lost some hair trying to untangle it all.

The remaining (107 I do believe) competitors finished the race today by the pyramids in Cairo. Pizza, soda and beer was awaiting them at the finish-line! Carrie had 5 slices!!

There is a banquet dinner tonight that they will be attending before departing Sunday around noon.

Ted and Matt are in good health and says hello to everyone!

Carrie will update her blog once she is back state side.

(We all want to know more about the ruthless 59 miler on Stage 5!!!) 

Thank you for all your support.
She kept mentioning how "awesome" and helpful all the comments and emails have been for them!

First off, THANK YOU ALL SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!  You may never understand how much it means, helps, aids, uplifts, touches (the list goes on) each of us to receive your e-mails and blog replies (I have passed on all the blog messages to Dad & Matt, so that get those too!)
 
I was completely wasted and exhausted yesterday after the stage--don't even remember WHAT I blogged about.  It was hard to pick myself off the floor and even harder to get my legs to move once I was standing.  What I DID manage to do, was eat and snack a lot.  I have been saving my "Spaghetti Bolognese" Expedition Food meal for the later part of event--went down great last night.  Spaghetti is still my favorite food.  It's been my number one for what, 23 years now? (I know at least that it was since before I could pronounce the word)  Anyway, spaghetti; more crumbled up sour cream & onion Pringles (best snack idea ever--thanks for the suggestion Matt); Turkey Jerky from Dad; and thanks to Dad accidently mixing up 2 packets of Cup of Noodles, one of those as well.  The food must be what I've needed--felt great today.
 
Breakfast was some oatmeal and Idahoan Potatoes--no more Expedition breakfasts for me!  I headed out real slow and debated about walking all day.  Matt gave me the camera today, so I was able to get some pretty good photos.  My legs started to warm after the first mile, so I started a slow jog.  Just kept up the jog and walk all day today--even through the heat and it felt great.  Kept thinking about the ridiculously LOOONG distance tomorrow--that kept me going steady.
 
There were a few very beautiful parts about the course today--as well and some very boring, long, hot valleys--with pokey little rocks.  Kept looking for whale bones--didn't see any.  I guess we'll be in that area tomorrow; hopefully it won't be while it's dark out!
 
I'm still completely astonished by how well I feel today--and rather uneasy about it.  I never got tired out on the course and didn't feel bad at all when I finished.  I really shouldn't be feeling this good--maybe the heat has fully soaked my head and put a bit more crazy in there.  Maybe it was all the food last night?  Ate two dinners tonight, Mountain House Lasagna and Meat Sauce as well as Expedition Foods Chicken Tikka. Both were so yummy.  I may be smelling Chicken Tikka all day tomorrow; a tired tent mate accidentally tipped it over as it was 'rehydrating' and it went all over my gaiters and one slipper.  Now I'm the silly one in camp hiking to the loo with one slipper and one Asics.
 
Gaiters: Amazing invention. Manages to keep out the majority of the sand.
 
Slippers: From the hotel.  Work perfect as lightweight shoes to wear around camp.  SUCH a good feeling to take off your running shoes after 20-something miles.
 
The "Loo": Roughly 175 people in camp including volunteers--4 toilets. Well, I can't really say 'toilets.'  They've fixed black tarps in a maze formation to make a little room for each.  We started out with a plastic dish-type thing with a 3-inch hole on one side, situated over a big bucket buried in the sand.  Those lasted about 2 nights.  Don't know if the staff was getting pissed off with people not cleaning up after themselves or what, but down we are just stuck with a big bucket in the ground.  I must say as unpleasant as it sounds, it's better that the dish-thing--as it acted more like a 'platter.'  Just Nasty!
 
More dropouts again today--it continually humbling.  Strong and weak alike are falling out from various ailments.
 
Matt took it easier today--he was happy to.  Dad stole one of my walking buddies  I'm glad he's got a chance to walk with someone--it can really help to get past the long stretches of nothingness.
 
We are all very nervous about tomorrow--with no idea what to expect.  I wanted to finish one last strong stage today--felt great.  Now I don't have to fret about tomorrow--I feel happy and content with how I've held up thus far. I just need to complete tomorrow, however much time it takes, it doesn't matter.
 
I've been getting heat rash every day.  Now it's even sticking around through the night.  It's the worst around my ankles where my gaiters, tights, and socks all meet up.  Itchy and swollen--they just have to make it another 59 miles!!!!  No new blisters today, just the same old ones--and thus far all toenails are still intact (just saw a lady's feet today--loosing/lost four!)
 
Matt wants to say thanks again for all the comments.  Great to hear from the wifey (of course!!), running buddies, family, and all.  It has been great coming into camp every night and reading the encouraging e-mails.  He's not too sure how the final stage will go.  It's a little daunting staring down the barrel of a stage that is 2.5 times longer that what he's ever done.  There's also good news about a single start tomorrow--rather than the original planned segregated start (making the top runners start 2 hours after everyone else).
 
Dad gives a special thanks to his work buddies--says it's really pulling him through and he needs it.
 
Mom & Libby...so great to get your continual support.  Libs, wish you were racing with us!  Mom, wish you were a volunteer (April too)!
 
Morten...apparently there were 'issues' with the e-mails last night and cyberspace had a weird little pick and choose of what e-mails to give us.  So got all yours today--thanks
 
Apparently the cyber tent people set up a satellite dish once a day to send and receive mails, then load them up on a few heavy-duty-death-defying laptops.
 
Alright, the blog tent is getting a bit stinky and there are people waiting for their turn (singing loudly to try and get us to vacate the laptops more quickly).
 
Phew...here goes, big mileage, overnight hiking.  Then Saturday a bus trip to Cairo for a Giza Pyramids finish--can you ask for anything better?

First off...last night's campsite--definitely the racer's least favorite campsite.  We were camping out on the side of a dune, which was not the brightest idea.  All the tents were at an angle.  There were even a few that lost the floor due to the eroding dune.  Not many people from our tent got a good night's sleep--I felt the pain of that during the race today.  Granted, we ARE in the desert and we ARE in sand--but wow, this was the nastiest sand yet.  It was impossible to keep the constant sand and grit off.  It was a constant film on everything--so fine.  Contacts...ouch!  There's nothing like putting millions of little sand particles between your lens and the eyeball.
 
Expedition Foods--The dinner's are great--the breakfasts, not so much.  Today was the 2nd day I've had one to start the day and the 2nd day I've almost lost my breakfast within the first half hour of the start.  I'll have to trade it off or have one of my extra dinners for breakfast.
 
Like I said, I was feeling the lack of sleep today.  My head was just not in it for the first 3 hours.  My MP3 player was my final savior.  I barely used it the first day and none the second.  Don't really know DJ Tiesto--but he kept my plugging away.
 
Dad passed me early today--he's feeling real strong and looks great.  Matt is also keeping up his pace and kept his 4th place spot.  He (as always) is extremely humble and gracious about the whole thing--I hope he continues to do well. 
 
The staff said that today was the hardest--and I can believe it.  Everything thus far has been better than the first day for me--dehydration is NOT fun.  They put in extra water stops and would periodically drive by to ensure we weren't out of water--that really helped.  There were long dry valleys with little wind and plenty of dunes.
 
I basically traveled by myself today, but I would still run across many familiar faces.
 
The tent site tonight is my favorite thus far.  Good breezes and normal sand rather than powder.
 
As always, thanks for the supporting e-mails.  Great to hear from you Libby--hope your research is continuing to go well.  Thanks for the song April
 
Yo Morten...missed hearing from you today 
 
Just two more stages to go.  Tomorrow will be interesting with my super sore legs and mega blisters. Then the next day is the 59km--2 day-er.  Yikes, very nerve racking.
 
Alrighty, off to finish taping my blisters and prep my pack for the day tomorrow--hoping to be mobile.

Phew, one more day down.  Everyone seemed to feel a lot better today.  We learned a good lesson on water and electrolytes; it seems to have paid off.
 
Quite a few people rolled in after dark last night, and we even lost a tent-mate.  I haven't heard yet what the verdict it, but they were took him off to Cairo last night to be checked out by a doctor who could give him a prescription.  He was supposed to have arrived back this morning after an all right car ride, but that was about 24-hours ago, so who knows.  At least 7 people dropped out yesterday and more today.  There are a few people who were given IV drips yesterday and more today as well.  Rules are..you are allowed one IV drip and can continue but if you require more, you are disqualified--how INSANE IS this???  I just hope that Dad, Matt and I don't ever have to be near that stage.
 
Matt finished an amazing 4th again!  How crazy is that!  Sorry Ann, no luck on me being your prized horse this race ( Matt says it's still up in the air...I say--it's etched on stone)!  Dad and I finished near each other again.  This time I beat him by a few people--but he still finished awesome!  Apparently he got to CheckPoint 3 (the last water stop before camp) and found out that I was only 6 minutes ahead of him--he then gave up on his pre-planned break to race after me.  Really??  Why does he feel the need to compete?  Haha!
 
The competition here is the best part... Other than Dad's mentality, there is little to no competition.  People are out there together fighting the long haul and supporting each other.  No one can go through even one checkpoint and say:  'That was easy."  It's often a struggle just for one more step.  The last nine miles today was made possible by a walking partner.  I ended up walking the last 12 or so miles.  My pack is wearing away my skin and my feet are filled with blisters.  Recovery today has taken a bit longer for both me and Matt--though the trek itself seemed waaaaay easier today (yay for forcing down water constantly).  Matt's definitely starting to feel the waer and tear more after today--but I think he's doing AMAZING. Just hope he doesn't push too hard; though I think he's smarter than that and learned that lesson with his "I think I'm going to run a marathon with no training" experience.
 
Mom, we are using sunscreen :)  Though I'm sure we have more color than you would like.  The most welcome sight today were a few clouds that rolled-in for the last 10 minutes of the stage.
 
The Sights: This stage was very beautiful.  I finally felt that I was fully in the Sahara, rather than just a Dutch Oven with a sandy bottom.  The dunes were gorgeous; their beauty made them seem less painful.  We had a huge plateau to climb then traverse...not so beautiful--never thought I would be so thankful to be in sand again.  Morten, the stars are glorious--so clear out there.
 
The Dane:  Of course...it would be the one guy from Denmark who is winning this whole thing :)
 
Once again...what was I thinking.  I'm happy I felt so good today--but still terrifed about the rest of the event.  Should be a long and a very difficult day tomorrow--more dunes, lots of soft sand more climbing and the longest day we've had so far (not to mention we are in the SAHARA--it's HOT)!
 
Thanks to all of you SO much for all the comments and e-mails.  It's the best part of the day (after a yummy freeze dried meal of course) to come in and read all the encouraging words.  Matt and Dad pass on the same!
 
-Carrie

First of all--THANKS for all the messages e-mailed and blog replies.  Matt & Dad say the same, they are thrilled!  Morten, can u pass thihs info onto Ann, she may not be aware of the blog and ability to e-mail Matt (he wasn't until last night).
 
Lisa & Melissa...make sure you proof read before you show posts to your kids :)  And I will definitely have plenty of spelling/grammer issues.
 
Let's start from the get-go.  Arrived in Cairo with a crowd of about 16 other competitors on our last flight leg.  We all made a pit stop at the airport grocery store for loads of water.  We met some really great people and some sure buddies for the trip.
 
Friday:  Did a little sight-seeing with some taxi cab drivers who came across as more like stuntman racecar drivers...thanks to our new friend Tina--she made them pull over to dig the seat belts out of the back seat.  Cairo:  I was a bit 'suprised' with the city.  Apparently not all big cities are made equal.  Looked like 80% of the city was under construction--apparently people save on taxes by not finishing construction.  The most devasting part of it was seeing the results of a car & bike crash and watching them pick the motorcyclist's body being wrapped and taken away by newspapers. 
 
Saturday:  Lots of checking-in, waiting, water drinking and a long bus ride.  Camping out the first night was hot & sandy--real hot and sandy.  No one slept inside their bags...we also had to make a hard decision to close the tent flaps...the people near the edge were starting to get buried in sand.
 
Sunday:  Race start...phew--wow.  It started out fine and dandy.  7AM start time, not too bad for the first 35KM...the last 3KM--was torture.  I am now really questionable on whether I'll make it to the end.  Dad passed me in the last 400 meters--amazing--I'm proud!  Matt finished 4th--even more amazing.  Not too sure my finish, it was in the lower 30s with Dad right before me.  155 competitors total.  It was windy the entire event.  Ran/walked into the wind for most of it--but DID NOT mind, the wind was a welcome relief from the heat.  It was at least 41 degrees C at one point (not too sure of the F conversion yet.  It was a welcome comfort to walk or jog with others along the way--it was easy to get lonely, and even a little scared.
 
Still in the sweltering heat but at least we have tent shade.  My stomach almost lost it in the last bit, but is feeling better now--Matt had the same comments.  Dad is sleeping in the tent now (3 hrs since we finished.
 
Morten, LOVE YOU!  Wish you were here but let me say it now--you are WAY smarter than me--you are so right about opting OUT of this adventure.  I just really really hope that I can make the price worthwhile and finish--it very questionable.
 
Mom, love ya and wow...what a silly crazy family you have--how are you so sane? 
 
Libs, miss ya, were here tenting it liike you :)
 
To the Danes:  Good luck with the Inn :)  Can't wait until you get a break and can visit us in Cali.
 
Joe:  Thanks for the support, still need to meet ya--hopefully soon.
 
April:  Ugh, what was I thinking, you too were right in opting out--love ya.
 
Caitlin:  Love you and I'll be imagining a river float!
 
Amy:  Tris are smarter than marathons--stick with them!
 
Melissa:  Thanks, hope ur girls r enjoying.
 
Lisa:  Remember to tell your students that this wole adventure is NOT normal--and drink water--I've never loved water SO much ( and salt caps)
 
That's it for now!

Well, we made it to London!  Just one leg left until Cairo.  Thanks to Matt's abundant miles, we are able to chill for our 3 hr layover in the BMI Club Lounge--so 'peaceful' as he says.  (other than this really odd metal-hard-to-type keyboard that they have :/

So it begins...

The idea of this race has been on my mind a lot the last few months, but now it is actually a reality.  I officially signed-up, so now it's time to officially get serious.

Sometimes I wonder what I have gotten myself into--but that's where the prep work always begins.  I have a good base, now it's time to really step it up and build upon it.  Yikes!