Okay, I thought I probably was finished blogging about the Sahara... but not so!

I have been reliving it every night in my dreams!!  Rodney from the US told me that he had experienced this after his Gobi adventure last year (07).. and I tried to understand  but somehow couldn't really relate.

Well, my Sahara adventure keeps going on and on - as I trudge, run, walk, plod, etc. through every type of sand imaginable in my dreams every night!!! 

Just thought I would blog this - see if anyone else is stuck in the same time warp ?  When I realize I'm dreaming about it again  I wake myself up and remind myself that the Sahara event is over - yet as soon as I fall back asleep - there I am again!!!

Anyone else in this weird time warp??

OH and bye the way - I've just sent in my application for the Gobi March for 09.  I was going to do Atacama in 09 as well - but I'm going to save that till 2010 when I can do Atacama AND the Last Desert in the same year!!

I know that Helen and Sandra were talking about doing Gobi in 09 and perhaps other Sahara competitors?

All the best to everyone and oh - SWEET DREAMS!!!

Lynne

Well I just got home from Egypt last night and wanted to finish up about the last part of the race.

On the morning of the 1st around 4 am we all loaded onto buses at our last camp and started the long drive into Giza for the final leg of the Sahara Race.

After about 6 hours of driving we all got off the buses on a side street in Giza.  Anticipation was buzzing through the runners as we were ready to commence the last portion of the race. 

Running through alleys and streets of Giza was interesting to say the least... lots of horses, people, camels and sand to run through as we strode through the winding streets and up the hill to run around the pyramids and finish at the top of the plateau.  We stopped along the way to take pictures and soak it all in.  Didn't want to rush, wanted to enjoy - and experience.  Once in a lifetime I was having this opportunity and it was truly an incredible experience.  Along the way, Egyptian sellers of souvenirs were appealing to us to purchase things...rent a camel, etc....they are incredibly determined sales people!!

The finish line was at the top of a hill (as usual) and we ran up a ramp with the honour guard of camels on both sides of the ramp as we crossed the finish line.  The band was playing, the crowd was cheering as  the medal was draped around my neck and Mary Gadams gave me a congratulatory hug. 

Finishers taking pictures, family and friends in the finish area patting finishers on the back.  What a jolly mood - a great way to finish the race.  A feeling of elation as the realization that I had just completed  the SAHARA race.  What a feeling of accomplishment.  Particularly after having had such issues with my thyroid and major fatigue for most of the summer.  Then looking around at the other finishers, knowing that we all have our stories, our struggles, our lives outside of training for this event- jobs, kids, parents, responsibilities.... an amazing group of individuals sharing an incredible event with like-minded individuals - people who work hard, are success-driven, goal oriented and adventure minded.  WOW!!

I must thank Mary for coming up with such an outstanding event.  Her vision was incredible and her follow-through truly epic to have developed such an event.  I would highly recommend this series of races to anyone who has ever dreamed of seeing far off exotic places while pursuing the opportunity to train and push themselves to their limits.  I have done Ironman, but for me this event far surpassed the physical requirements needed for Ironman.  The sheer length of this event requires the individual to dig deep and find out what they are made of.  The comradery is outstanding.

I am now trying to absorb all that the event is and was.... and slowly thinking about my next Racing the Planet Adventure.

Sincerely and with all best wishes to the readers of this Blog....

Lynne Harrison

The 28th of July and my training is going well.  I am running, biking and hiking and lifting weights...

Unfortunately for me, my thryroid stopped working late last summer (2007)  before going to Chile as a volunteer for RACING THE PLANET Atacama Crossing.  

I went to the doctor as I had gained about 15 pounds over the previous 8 months or so, and was extremely fatigued.  I tried to use natural products to support my thyroid but nothing seemed to help.

So, when I got back from Chile in September, my doctor put me on a synthetic thryroid replacement.  I hadn't realized how "in the clouds" my head was until after about two weeks on the medication.... when I came out of the clouds and started to feel much more energized (ie.. not falling asleep on the couch at 6:30 pm and waking up long enough to stumble to bed at 11:00pm)...

Anyhow, about two months ago, I started to feel tired again...and more tired than I should feel from the training I've been doing...so last week I went and got my bloodwork done to see if perhaps my thryoid medication needs to be upped.  I will be checking in with my doctor this week to see whats going on. 

Now it seems that I keep running into women around my age (I'm 48) that are having trouble with their thyroid...  It is such a disappointment to me that my body isn't working the way it should.  I detest having to take anything - especially since I am resistant to taking even an aspirin or advil when suggested. 

In the meantime, I'm working hard to eat well, sleep well, hyrdrate well, and train well - all in good balance to ensure that my systems are all working in unison.  I'm slowly increasing my training, but doing lots and lots of cross training to ensure that the whole system works well and isn't over taxed.

Just booked my ticket to Cairo today.  How exciting!!  Also really exciting to be experimenting with different energy supplements to see what works with my body.

I have been using my Ray Zahab designed Racing the Planet pack when I train - although I have to confess I find it hard to believe its going to hold everything I need for the 7 day race...????  (I'm sure I will find a way to just cram it all in there).

Its still hard to imagine what it will be like to race under 48 degrees celsius - but I guess you can't really "get it" till you are there.

anyhow, heading out to go for a run before dinner, and then a hill climb on my bike after dinner!

Hey

its been a whirlwind month!!  Trying to fit training into travelling almost every week.  This month I travelled to Los Angeles with my sister at heart to meet with our script consultant on a movie we are writing.  Then I flew to Vancouver  to participate in my convocation from Simon Fraser University with my Bachelor's degree... Whew - only took me twenty years by correspondence!!!

Then to the interior of British Columbia Canada to watch my 18 year old daughter graduate from high school!!

So I've been running and lifting weights and some mountain bike riding...

Looking forward to Sahara and know its fast approaching!! Only 4 months away!! 

Ok, so here I am in Canmore Alberta... Its June 1st, 2008.... and the countdown begins..... only 147 more days till THE SAHARA RACE begins...

I'm running an hour 5 days a week - and will be running to Banff (22km) twice this month, plus a 44km run (to Banff and back) this month...

I'm also doing a hill climb on my mountain bike  - vertical ascent of about 1,800 to 2,000 feet over about 7.5 km...anywhere from 3-5 times a week.

I'm working on upper body strength too - cause the pack I will be carrying will add stress to my shoulders, pecs, lumber etc...

I have an English Coon Hound named BUDDY that we rescued about 2 years ago from being put down... He looks like a beagle with long legs!!!! 

Buddy will chase rabbits for hours, coyotes, and has apparently treed both cougar and bear.... but Buddy doesn't really like to go for any run more than 20 minutes with me!!!  I end up "taking Buddy for a drag" when I take him out longer than 20 minutes... he has to stop and sniff everything!!!  This is a bummer, as where I live there are cougars, black bears and grizzlies, and I was kind of happy to have company with me as I train on the running trails through the forests and along the Bow River!  Oh well... so much for that one!

The weather in Canmore has finally warmed up - about 15 degrees Celsius today.  Hopefully no more snow - although there is always the chance of snow up high at the mountain tops.  It doesn't generally get much warmer than 25 degrees Celsius in Canmore during the summer - so my plan is to head to the interior of British Columbia (about a 5 hour drive from here) a couple of times this summer to train in the heat (can go up to about 40 - 42 degrees celsius).

My boyfriends daughter Caitlin has been selected to volunteer for the Sahara Race, so it will be great to have her cheering me on !!! 

I've ordered my Ray Zahab designed RACING THE PLANET pack so I can start getting used to it!  and will start training with my GPS so i can figure it all out... since I'm not a techno geek by any stretch of the imagination... as a matter of fact, I don't even own and IPOD, but I am going to get one so I can listen to music on those very long Sahara days!

I've been taking my degree (Bachelor of General Studies) from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC (Vancouver area) for the last 20 years - and I'm happy to say that I am attending convocation on Wednesday the 4th of June - and will be finally picking up my degree! 

In Canada, BEST HEALTH magazine (published by Reader's Digest) just published their summer 2008 issue and there is an article titled "Rebuilding Love" which talks about my boyfriends brain injury and recovery... Go to page 130...

In the meantime, I am finishing off the last few paintings in a series for my July 1st art show at the THE AVENS GALLERY in Canmore Alberta - this series is of deceased and living Alberta Chiefs, Spiritual Leaders and other aboriginals with beautiful faces...  you will be able to see the art on-line by the third week or so in June.. just go to www.theavensgallery.com .

this is me with a painting of Chief Dan Bull Plume.... from a photo taken back in the 1930's..He was a Chief of the South Peigan Indians of Alberta, Canada...

Looking forward to watching the Gobi March on-line - Go Gary BARON!!!!

Well, I'd better go for now - I have a run to do and possibly a dog to drag around with me!!!

Lynne

Hey

thought I would update everyone on what I'm up to...

Biking five mornings a week up a 2,000 foot vertical hill climb over 7 kilometers on a hill behind where I live in Canmore - the beautiful Rocky Mountains!!

Lucky for me I seem to have two crazy friends who are willing to meet me at 7:00 am so we can do it together..  Once it gets a bit warmer we will be meeting at 6:30 and sometimes even 6:00 am - right now its still pretty cold at 7 am - about -4 celsius.. .Unfortunately, for those who use farenheit I can't help you - Canada is a Celsius country and I've long forgotten how to translate from one to the other!

Anyhow, there we are the three of us - chatting the whole way up - having fun - stopping to shed layers as our bodies start to get too hot in our cold weather gear....  and when we get to the top - we look down over our little Rocky Mountain Town and joke about how we could be "at the mall - shopping" or sitting at home eating "bon bons"!  Instead we are living the dream - loving life and feeling our bodies work hard as we ascend the pass. 

On the way down - we "let our hair down" and yippee and hollar and make all sorts of "banshee" sounding noises as we careen around the corners and laugh and feel the wind on our face.  We joke that we are "women who run with the wolves" as we laugh and yodel!  We revert to the 12 year old child that resides in us - the one that revels in seeing the magical mule deer on the climb up - the child that stares at the blue sky during the climb and is amazed by the clarity of the air - and the child that cannot help but be blown away on a daily basis over the beauty of these mountains.

When we get to the bottom we know that we have started another day in the most amazing and fulfilling way.

I'm also lifting weights to keep my muscles strong and supple - and of course running running running. 

Soon I will start to hike the larger hill behind my house with a 25 pound pack..(once the snow is gone that is!!)... I imagine doing this at least once a week - combined with my mountain biking and running and weight training...

My 20 year old son and I are heading to Big Sur in Monteray California next week to run the 9 miler together.... We had initially thought about running the marathon - but I haven't had the time to ready myself for that over the cold Canadian winter... sounds wimpy I know - but when its -30 celsius I just didn't feel like going out for a two hour run!!!  Now thats its warming up I will have the weather in my favour for training for the Sahara.

I called my travel agent yesterday - to book my flight and figure out exactly how long I will go for.  Hoping to possibly do an add on side trip - perhaps sailing down the Nile to Aswan or else hop on a train to Amman and go to Petra....the options are dizzying and I'm so ready for this adventure!

Well, must go for now - off to the office and then a run later this afternoon!

Here I am in the middle of march... mentally preparing for the Sahara in October... Sometimes it seems like such a long way off - yet I know that time does fly - it is relative, and to be absolutely prepared and ready to race I will have to train hard and be able to trust my training.

Its funny, when people ask what I'm training for - and I tell them I'm going to run a 250 km footrace through the Sahara desert - they can't believe it - they think I must be nuts....or masochistic - they cannot for the life of them imagine WHY I would EVER want to participate in such an event!!!

So this makes me ask - what is it about some people that they find excitement and exhilaration in running in one of the world's most alienated habitats?  Are we adrenaline junkies? Maybe some of us are... are we truly crazy ???  nnahhh!!!!  One theory I've heard is that modern life is so blase that people are looking for stimulation and events and activities that make them feel alive.  It might be very interesting to study those that participate in the RACING THE PLANET series - prepare some sort of questionnaire that might narrow down the reasons why people like me enter events like this....Any Sociologists out there looking for a research paper ??  Most likely someone has already figured it out.

For me, my daily run is like a surefooted meditation.  The pounding of my feet on the earth provide the percussion that lets my mind take off out of my body and soar from one thought to another.  An opportunity to feel this earthly body as it is pushed to perform.  Time to ponder my life, my path and my vision.  Running longer and longer seems to be a natural extension of my daily run.  And running in far off places is an opportunity to experience my run in an exotic locale, to push my limits and hopefully finish the race...

I just hosted the annual DASH for CASH ski and snowboard fundraiser at Sunshine Village in Banff Canada.  Its a day of fun - a modified giant slalom (skiing gates) in the morning, lunch, and then race again.  This is the 6th annual fundraiser that I've organized to raise money for the Dave Irwin Foundation for Brain Injury Recovery - www.daveirwinfoundation.org  

We raised about $33,000 on saturday.  Our foundation has three goals:  to raise educate and provide awareness of head injuries - (They aren't contagious and you can't catch one by just talking to a brain injured person)... to raise money for research related to brain injury..... and to provide grants for innovative outreach programs that assist brain injury survivors and their families...     We have raised approximately $150,000 so far, and hope to continue to raise lots of money and lots of awareness... 

We have some great supporters of our event, including SUNSHINE VILLAGE (Mr. Ralph Scurfield), ARAMARK FOODS, ALPINE CANADA, ATOMIC skis, KARBON skiwear, UVEX, SMITH, CARRERA, and GIRO helmets, CLIFBAR, NATURE'S PATH, SKI CANADA MAGAZINE, KOMBI GLOVES, BLISTEX, HAWAIIAN TROPIC, FITTER, AND PAUL MITCHELL HAIR PRODUCTS.  Each participant gets a goody bag with worth almost $300 plus a prize for every team.  A fun one day event for the whole family!

Bode Miller even donated some prizes - he is a strong supporter of brain injury awareness and what Dave Irwin is doing for the brain injury survivor community.

When I decided to race Sahara - I was determined to use the race as an opportunity to raise money for the Dave Irwin Foundation for Brain Injury.. what a great way to race the Sahara!!

Brain injuries are on the rise, and extreme sports become more and more popular - mind you - most of the brain injuries that occur are the result of car accidents.  My spouse (Dave Irwin )  and I often joke how eventually we will all be putting on our helmets before we get into our cars... 

Anyhow... now that the fundraiser is over, its time to put my nose to the grindstone and really get at it!   

I'll be training with BUDDY - my 2 year old English Coon Hound (looks like a foxhound)... he has energy to burn so he'll keep me on my toes!

In the meantime, Dave and I will be keeping busy speaking across Canada about brain injury.  Since the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) did a documentary on Dave and his brain injury and his recovery - we have been inundated with requests to speak.  Go to:

www.cbc.ca/fifth/downhillracer  to see the documentary on Dave.

I will be busy with figuring out my gear over the next little while - with some help from my friend Gary Baron (who is racing Gobi in June)...

Thats all from the beautiful Canadian Rockies for now!!

Well

here I am in a hotel in Innsbruck, Austria having just had a great 16 day ski vacation... wow.. great food, great hotels, great skiing, sunny skies and good weather... a cold beer at the end of the run... hanging out in Kitzuhel, watching the men's world cup Hanemkahn race - considered to be probably the toughest men's downhill course in the world.   Spending time in Schladming, Hinterglem and Saalback, Zell am See.

Ha, flash forward to October of 2008, when I will fly into Cairo and begin my Sahara Adventure...  To compare to this ski trip... well

The food - well, I know that won't be great - but I'm sure after slogging it out in the Sahara that even shoe leather will taste great.... hotels...mmmmm... a tent to sleep 8 and a sleeping bag... yes, doesn't sound like much now.. but I know that I will be tired each night, and my sleeping bag will feel like luxury....

Ok, re: great skiing.. well.... I know that the only "skiing" I will be doing will be "skiing" down the sand dunes, whilst trying to keep the sand out of my shoes.. Ha..

Sunny skies, yes definately... hopefully just sunny and not sandstormy!

Cold beer... now while I know that a cold beer would probably go down real smooth in the Sahara... I'm sure water and electrolytes will do the trick - that is until I get really sick of them!!

Back to Canmore Alberta Canada tomorrow after a 9 hour flight from Frankfurt to Calgary...  Can't wait to eat Canadian food and head to the Bagel Company on Main Street for my Prince of Darkness coffee and a BCLT on toasted multigrain!!!

Back to running, weight training, and riding my road bike in the basement... maybe even a bit of swimming (just for cross training you understand)!!!!

Wow, such a long road to bring me to this place of training for the SAHARA RACE...

I remember as a little girl reading an old book from my grandfather, with pictures of Egypt and the pyramids... always knowing I wanted to go there...

Fast forward many years, me reading about the Gobi March in Outside Magazine... daydreaming of participating...  A few years later my spouse - a former World Cup Alpine skier and two time Olympian suffers a severe brain injury and lands himself in a coma in the hospital.. never expected to live, let alone speak, walk, or ski again... I end up being sole caregiver - teaching him to walk, talk, read, etc.. - a 46 year old newborn learning everything again... 

I know - your'e wondering what this has to do with anything about this race.... WELL.. after doing Ironman and marathons... and realizing more than ever that life is short, there are no guarantees, and wanting to experience as much in my life as possible... I decided it was time to sign up for GOBI 2008...

I volunteered in Chile for the Atacama Crossing in August of 2007 and had such a blast (this volunteering was to give me a chance to see if I was really crazy to think I could participate in such a race).      I was lucky enough to be able to sweep about 80 Km of the course - and I was hooked...  As soon as I got home I signed up for Gobi - only to find out that my 18 year old daughter has high school graduation the same week as GOBI..

Ok, so I've learned to be flexible... so I decided the SAHARA it is.... So here I am...

Well, I'm off to sleep for now - and I'll be blogging when I'm back in Canada - Ciao!!

Lynne