Race Travel...The Hurry Up and The Wait

Smashing the Sand Barrier... 4,000 kilometers of Desert Competition.

PART ONE... I will be blogging while I am travelling mainly so I can remember this trip and use some details for a book that I have been working on forever.  Sections of it will seem mundane to some... but for others...especially for non-runners.... it could prove to be informative.

Getting ready to head out for a big race is never easy.  I hate packing and usually put it off until the last minute.  I throw all of my race gear into my carry on and bring it on the plane with me,  along with my race backpack with all of the supplies I will need for the event. This way... if my luggage gets lost... I will still have everything with me for the race.  I have seen too many people get sidelined by having their luggage lost with their race gear in it. 

I don't understand how people seem to think that it will never happen to them.  I have had my bags go missing twice.  For The Libyan Challenge, I travelled from Canada to Paris in order to catch a flight to Libya.  I arrived in Paris, but my luggage did not.  Luckily, I was in Paris for a few days and my bags caught up to me before I left for Libya.  But I had my race gear with me. 

On another occasion I was travelling to Namibia.  My bag did not make it.  All of my travel is usually associated with racing and in the last 13 years of racing, I have always had my gear with me. The races I am going to are usually held in the middle of nowhere.  If  you lose your gear it is very difficult to replace it.  But it is still a major pain not to have your luggage arrive.  In Namibia I had to go out and buy clothing and shower supplies because it took a week for my bag to catch up with me.  At least these things can be purchased without any trouble...but is always seems like such a waste of money to replace them while you are waiting for your missing bags.

If a runner does happen to lose their race luggage... they can usually go on to run in the event...but it is all with borrowed gear...which sucks.  Other runners usually bring extras with them of all sorts of things. Once it's determined that someone needs help... competitors will throw all of their extra supplies into a pile.  The runner can then go through it and pick out what they need.  If there are some things that aren't in the pile...then the call will go out for any outstanding missing items.  I have even seen an athlete that didn't have running shoes, and someone had brought a spare pair that just happened to be the same size!

I have just checked in at the Jacksonville Airport in Florida and I am putting in time waiting for my flight to New York.  I have a layover in the Big Apple before catching another flight to Istanbul.  And then from Istanbul I will fly to Muscat, Oman.  It is Thursday afternoon and I won't arrive in Oman until Saturday morning.  With this many transfers I am going to be sure to track my luggage before every flight.  I will go to the airline counter and make sure my bag is accounted for and that it is on the same flight I'm taking. 

Killing time in the airport is challenging.  I consider the entire trip to my final destination as a marathon before the ultramarathon.  I have my little workspace set up.  I bring my laptop with me and get work done on the computer.  I have my cell phone charging beside me... and I have a TV in front of me which is set on CNN.  So I am keeping on top of what is going on in the world as I work my way through various time zones.

People watching is always fun.  You see all kinds coming and going.  I just watched one woman walk by me in skin tight skinny jeans and what looked like 4 or 5 inch heels.  I will never understand why a woman will travel with heels.  Why?  You usually have to do so much walking...and what happens if you are late for a flight? This woman could barely walk in those heels... it just doesn't look good to me at all.  It just seems women handicap themselves with fashion.  But then maybe I'm just jealous.  I haven't worn heels in years.  I am too scared now of spraining an ankle and wrecking my training...so I just stick to flats

I start off at the first airport with my own food prepared at home.  I am always hungry though, and have already devoured my chicken sandwiches and chips, along with a fruit cup and a banana.  Trying to eat relatively healthy while on the road is tough, and as you know, airport food is so expensive. I also make sure I hydrate well.. 

During the flight I have movies and shows that I can watch on my laptop.  For this trip I have three books with me.  I am reading Lone Survivor, which is about a Navy Seal operation in Afghanistan.  And I have two travel guides... one about Oman and the other about Turkey.  I will be spending a few free days in both countries.

I carry a file with all of the race information in it.  I will usually take the time to read and re-read the material to make sure I am familiar with all of it so I can land completely prepared.  I also go over the race course over and over again...memorizing every detail.  I visualize myself getting dressed for the race and then take myself through every step of the event to the finish line.

I also like to get my sleep.  For the long trip from New York to Istanbul I will take a sleeping pill so that I can get some rest.  Finally I make sure I walk around a lot between flights and elevate my feet while sitting in the airport. I will also stretch a bit if I can.

I happen to be phobic about germs.  I probably go overboard in avoiding getting sick.  I have antiseptic wipes to clean everything I use.  In a plane I will wipe down the food tray before I touch it, the seat arms and the controls for the TV.  I will also wipe down the overhead light and air control.  I take a cloth with me to the bathroom so I don't have to touch the door handles going in or coming out.  I also carry multiple little bottles of Purell so I can keep my hands clean. I don't want to have months of training go down the drain by getting sick while travelling.

I remember a flight home from the Marathon des Sables one year.  One of the runners I was travelling with became seriously sick.  He ended up on the floor between the seats, throwing up.  The flight attendants couldn't move him and he was just administered to while on the floor.  The ambulance was waiting on the tarmac when we landed and he was loaded up and rushed off to the hospital.  We later learned that he had contracted flesh eating disease but survived.

My flight to New York is just about to board...so I am going to sign out for now.  Will update this travel section later.


PART TWO...


Okay...you are going to laugh!  My trip from Jacksonville to New York was very interesting to say the least.  Okay...first of all... we had to board a plane that looked just slightly larger than a Cessna.  It was a Delta CRJ 900 that had 76 seats.  Every single person boarding had to check in their carry on luggage! I can't remember the last time I have flown in an aircraft this small.  The overhead compartments were the size of a breadbox!  So there you go... I had to put my carry on bag with all my race gear in it underneath in the hold... the bag that is supposed to never leave my side during the entire trip!!!

As a result... all I had on the plane with me was my race pack.  The only thing I had time to grab out of my carry on was my laptop.  When the plane took off... I wasn't allowed to keep the computer on my lap... and I wasn't allowed to put it in the pocket of the seat in front of me.  So guess where it had to go?  On the floor underneath the seat in front of me.  Yes, I know.  I am a germaphobic... and there is my laptop sitting on the germy carpeting that probably never gets properly cleaned.  Yuck!  I am probably going to get sick for sure.

I didn't have my Purell...I didn't have my disinfectant wipes... my books were all in the carry on and my race files.  Brutal!  So I watched a couple of episodes of Two and a Half Men to cheer me up and had a drink to wash away the sour taste in my mouth!

Flying over New York at night was stunning.  I love this city so much.  I have vacationed here twice before.  My first visit was in 1994 to run my very first marathon.  The New York City marathon has got to be one of the most exciting races in the world!  I enjoyed it so much I came back a few years later to run it again.  I think the city is fantastic...and I would love to spend time here again one day.  I hear New York is fantastic at Christmas... so maybe one day!

We landed and had to get out of the plane on a ladder that they pulled up for us to disembark onto the tarmac.  Are you kidding me?  The stairs had snow on them... and it was freezing out!  And then we had to walk down this outdoor covered hallway of sorts to get into the terminal.  All I kept thinking about is was the girl I saw in the Jacksonville airport that was wearing the 5 inch heels.  How would she have managed!!!!

Then we had to go outside again to get to Terminal One for our International Flight.  I haven't landed at JFK before... and is it just me... or is it a gong show in here?  I don't know... it didn't seem to be very organized. I had to walk outside to get to the International terminal from the one I was in.  Maybe I took a wrong turn?  But I was dragging my carry on up some snow covered gravel beside the road.  And then when I went to cross the road I nearly got run over by a taxi!

I went upstairs to spend some time in the Food Court.  From where I was sitting I could look directly over the security checkpoint area.  I don't know... but does that seem very secure to be directly overtop of security with only a railing as a barrier?  It just didn't seem to make sense to me.

Anyway, I witnessed a very interesting incident.  There was an Asian traveler who had been pulled aside and the agents had pulled everything out of his backpack.  There was some really weird looking stuff in there.  It appeared that he might have been an electrician or something.  Among all the gear he had was this little black case, and when they opened it there were all these tools that looked rather suspicious... and some looked kind of dangerous.  Pointy screwdrivers, wiring, rolls of tape and one of the agents had a giant pair of wire strippers in his hand. 

 I couldn't hear them talking... but body and hand language speaks volumes.  The security agents were shaking their heads and were saying no, no, no... and the passenger was waving his arms around and seemed to be saying everything is fine...But after about 5 minutes of arm waving and protestations...the passenger was led away along with all of his offending stuff.  Hmmmm.

So I had to wait half-an-hour for the check in counter at Turkish Airlines to open.  I decided to secure first place in line and wait it out.  The counter opened and a very pleasant agent helped me out.  I didn't have any bags to check because they were going straight through from Jacksonville.  Looking back on it this might be a problem...we'll see.  But I am tracking the bags at every gate.

But get this...and this is a first for me.  Carry on bags going onto Turkish Airlines flights are only allowed to weigh 15 pounds!  I have never had my carry on weighed before.  So it turned out my bag was 30 pounds!  He told me I could check it in for free if I wanted.  No, that was not going to happen.  It is my race stuff if you remember. " So what do I do now" I asked.  He told me I was going to have to lose the weight. " Really, you can't give me a break?"  Nope...apparently not.

So... you are going to think I'm bad... but hey, desperate people do desperate things.   I took some heavy items out of the bag and put them on the floor.  He weighed the bag again and I passed!  He put a clearance sticker on it and gave it back to me.  I then put the bag on the ground below his counter and proceeded to put everything back in the bag.  The counter was so high that he couldn't see what I was doing as I  crouched down on the ground!  Ha!  It was like a comedy...taking everything out and then turning around and putting everything right back in! 

Security went off without a hitch and now here I am, sitting at the gate waiting for my flight to Istanbul.  I have always wanted to go to Turkey!  I just have a short layover there... but on the way home from the race I am going spend almost a week in Istanbul.  It will be a little R and R after the race before heading straight back to Miami.  I love exotic cities.  I can't wait to tour around Istanbul and visit the Grand Bazaar.  I am looking forward to seeing how the Turkish city compares to Marrakech. 

But I am getting ahead of myself.  I will spend a few hours in Istanbul, and then fly on to Oman.  As soon as I land I have to buy a visa and then grab a cab to the hotel.  My flight arrives in Oman at 6am so I sure hope I can check into my room right away.  I haven't taken care of that angle yet... but maybe I can do so while I'm killing time in Istanbul.  I am not going to wait until 1pm or 3pm to get into my room.  But how many people can there be coming and going from this hotel in Muscat?  How busy can it get there?  The hotel can't possibly be full could it? 


PART THREE...


I landed in Istanbul and what a treat!  I mean that literally!  The International Terminal had various shops featuring traditional Turkish souvenirs... and one of the delicacies they carry is Turkish Delight!

I first heard of Turkish Delight a few years ago when I was watching the movie "Narnia".  The little boy in the movie is being given Turkish Delights by the evil Queen.  I thought... Gee, is there such a treat?  So I googled it...(I happen to love, love, love google) and sure enough... Turkish Delights was an actual sweet.  When I learned I was going to be in Turkey, one the things on my To Do list was to try the treat.

It is so good!  It is hard to even describe.  I initially thought it was going to be like a pastry, but it's not.  And it can't really be called candy either.  It is a really soft gelatinous piece of sugar that can have various coatings like icing sugar or pistachios.  It is not too sweet, but sweet enough.  Simply delicious.  I was at the airport for a few hours so I sampled a lot... but I bought a box too to enjoy while in Oman.

I put in time at the Turkish Airport and eventually the gate that we were departing from was posted.  Lo and behold there were 3 other French runners there.  I had met them before at another race and so we chatted a bit.  They were using their broken English and I was using my bad French, but we managed to get by.

Our flight was due to board at 9pm.  But for some reason the sign said that the flight to Moscow was boarding.  What?  I went up to check...and sure enough the gates had been changed on us.  So we grabbed our bags and scurried over the right gate and they were in the middle of boarding.  And here we saw more runners lined up.

Runners in our sport are always easy to spot.  First, the are all carrying their race backpacks with them.  And they may be wearing a previous race T shirt. The running shoes is also a telltale sign.  I guess it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure it out. They are pretty much all very lean, and also you can tell most have endured the elements.  The wind and sun have etched their way onto their faces...implying many stories to be told.

We boarded the flight and made ourselves comfortable for the next 6 hours.  Oh My God...seats in economy are so tight.  I get so claustrophopic sitting there.  You can't lean sideways, forward or too far back.  I would give almost anything to fly First Class.  The few times I have done so it has been a joy.  I am so soft!

I will tell you though that I think the food served on Turkish Airlines is fantastic.  I usually hear people cutting down airline food, but their meals were really good.  I had a couple of glasses of Turkish wine with it...which wasn't that bad... and used it to wash down a sleeping pill.  Now that's smart...Oh Well.

We landed in Oman in the dark at 6am.  I disembarked and headed straight to the Visa Counter.  I was first there and purchased by Visa to get into the country.  From there I made it through security and on to pick up my bags.  I started to get worried.  It took forever for them to make it onto the carousel...but they had made it!   Hallelujah!!!!

Headed to the exit, made a right and went straight to the taxi stand to get a cab to the Hotel.  So far, so good!  Arrived at the Hotel and thought I was the first one there, but damn!  Three other French runners made it before me and they were passed out on the lobby couches.  "What's Up?"
They weren't going to give us our rooms until 10am...and it was only 7 am!!!!  Sit around in the lobby for 3 hours?!!!  I mean checking in at 10 is better than 1pm or 3pm... but after 2 days of travelling all I wanted to do was shower and go to bed.

I made frequent trips to the front desk for information and eventually learned that these were a block of rooms that had been purchased and that weren't to be made available until 10am.  It wasn't that they had to clean the rooms from previous guests.  "Come On!"  You don't have to wait until exactly 10...no one will care if you let us in at 9am!!!  Finally she relented and we all got to head to our rooms!  Yay!

I didn't even bother to clean up.  I fell into bed and slept for at least a couple of hours.  I woke up showered, and then slept for another couple of hours!  One of the reasons I love racing so much is learning to appreciate the very simple things in life.  The sheets on the bed were so white and clean, the air conditioning felt so great, the hot shower was awesome and cold bottled water is the best!

We went for a walk and checked out the neighborhood.  Our hotel is on the very outskirts of town so we are out in suburbia.  We found a few convenience stores and stocked up on bottled water.  Then we grabbed breakfast at the hotel.  It was a really nice buffet featuring some traditional Turkish food and western breakfast items.  I had an omelet , cheese, beef samosas, hummus and some turkey sausage.

Then back to bed to sleep some more.  Woke up a couple of hours later and decided to grab a taxi and travel to the souq at the other end of town.  Taxis are not cheap here.  In other countries like Morocco, grabbing a cab is the easiest and cheapest way to get around.  Not here.

The souq is just off the beach and featured the traditional items you would find at an Arabic market ... Cheap trinkets, pashmina shawls, brass camels, fridge magnets, T-shirts etc etc.  There was a boardwalk that men were fishing from and women were strolling along walking with their children.  Overlooking the street is a giant fort...............  The sun began to go down and it was a very pretty evening... and not too hot or too cold.

I had to barter with a taxi driver again to get home. " No, No, No...  you must pay 5 Rials."  But I only want to pay 3 Rials.  "No, No, No... Impossible"    Forget it then.... I'll walk.    "Okay, Okay...4 Rials"  Still a rip off.

The day was done and I was ready to crash.  The only thing was that I was starting to feel sick.  What's going on?  As I started to think about it... I was hit by a horrifying realization.  I had been so tired when I arrived that I had put my toothbrush under the faucet, rather than use bottled water.  Oh No.  This was not good at all.  I have a very sensitive stomach...and I cannot tell you how many times I have had dysentery.  It is not fun.  Oh no.  My stomach was starting to tighten up with dread.

I talked with one of the other runners in the lobby, and he reassured me that Omani water is not that bad and I shouldn't have a problem.  I hadn't swallowed the water, so I thought I should be okay.  It wasn't advisable to drink it.... but a little bit of moisture on the toothbrush should be fine.  No worries.

I got to the room and the shit hit the fan.  Yup, it pretty much did.  I couldn't determine whether I wanted to vomit first or relieve the diarrhea first.  It kept up for hours.  I was in the bathroom every 5 minutes it seemed and I had trouble walking upright because my guts were in knots.  Great.  I forced myself to drink bottled water throughout so I wouldn't dehydrate.

There can only be three things that I can think of that caused this... the tap water... the prunes I ate to stay regular... or it was food poisoning.  I have been through this so often I am tempted to guess it was the water.  I will find out for sure when I get home.  I'll get blood work done and that will determine if I had dysentery.  I was coming home with dysentery so many times a few years back...that I actually received a call from the Center for disease control....trying to figure out if there was a problem they should be aware of  in my neighborhood.

It is early Sunday morning now, January 26.  We gather in the hotel lobby at noon for the three hour ride to the White Beach where camp is set up.  Time is going by too fast now.  I won't be in communication now until the end of the event.  If you visit my Facebook Page I have posted the website where you can follow the race live.  Thank you so much everyone for your best wishes... will be thinking of you while I am out under the stars in my desert playground.


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