Courmayeur

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS

Courmayeur is a little jewel in the crown that is the Italian Alps.  It is the prettiest little town you can ever imagine with quaint buildings featuring slate rooftops and every balcony holds little planters filled with red geraniums.  I find myself in heaven wandering down the narrow cobblestone streets, looking in the windows of all the cute little shops featuring everything from fresh cheese (Ahhhhhh, the cheese!) to designer clothing (Hermes?!) to tech shops with fantastic hiking gear (I'll take one of everything please)

Let me backtrack for a second.  Getting here was a breeze...no "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" for me on this trip!  Everything went like clockwork.  Jim and I took a cab to the airport and we arrived early for our first flight, which took us from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to New York.  We had a layover in New York which seemed to go by really quickly and we had a bite to eat at a New York style diner that played 60's music. 

The flight from New York to Milan was surprisingly painfree.  The flight attendants were great, passengers were quiet, there were no screaming babies, and I watched a very touching movie to pass the time..."Darling Companion"  It is a real tear jerker about a woman who finds a dog on the freeway and adopts him.  (DUNE, I MISS YOU!)

I took a sleeping pill after the movie ended and slept through the entire flight.  I woke up for breakfast ( A teeny croissant with 4 pieces of fruit) and then swilled back some swill...(coffee).  There was a huge line waiting to get through customs for foreign visitors, and there were hardly any people waiting at the line for European Union residents.  So I took a chance and headed straight over to the que which only had 3 people in front of me.  When I got to the agent, he looked at my passport and said, " You are Canadian, you are in the wrong line."  I apologized profusely and explained I had not realized and did he really want to turn me away?  He looked at me, and I looked back at him...we both knew that he knew what I was up to.  He smiled, stamped my passport, and said "Go!"

My luggage was all there waiting for me...Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!  I grabbed it, loaded it up and headed out the double doors to look for my driver.  It is not easy getting to Courmayeur from Milan.  Rather than deal with the hassle of buses and trains, Jim had hired a driver to take us straight north to the Alps.  Sure enough, Leonardo was waiting for us and we climbed into his Mercedes for the 2 hour drive.  I tried to stay awake to take in the scenery, but I slept the entire way.  I woke up and there was my home for the next few days....Hotel Croux.

Now back to what I was telling you about this little Italian town.  There are only about 3,000 people that live here.  Courmayeur sits in the Aosta Valley at the foot of Mont Blanc...Western Europe's highest mountain.  On the other side of Mont Blanc is the town of Chamonix, in France.  I have been here for two days now, and I love it!  The people are friendly and every store has a poster or sign up about the race.  I have restrained myself and have not done any shopping here, with the exception of buying a Tor des Geants T-shirt that I really like.

The food is amazing.  I have gone to the market a few times and bought fresh bread, tomatoes, mozzarella, artichokes, olives...well, you get the picture.  It is going to be embarrassing because I will be the only runner in the history of the event that will have to admit to gaining weight at the race.  I will have to practise some restraint.

 But did I mention the gelato shop?  Oh My!!!  I went in there just to look, but I haven't had any yet.  I am fantasizing about the experience...dwelling on what flavor I am going to try...or maybe I will just throw caution to the wind, get really crazy, and put two flavors together!!!  The Chocolate Nutella looks good, really good.  But then so does the Mango, and the Strawberry.  I have always liked Pistachio...and then there is banana, I could pair that with Chocolate and make my own Chunky Monkey.  So many choices...sometimes having a choice is not a good thing!

The start line is already up in town and I have already met some of the other runners.  For the first time in the history of the event, there are some Chinese runners.  I bumped into them yesterday.  I saw two athletic looking guys sitting on the church steps and as I walked by I asked if they were runners.  Turned out it was Daniel Probst and Bruce Grant sitting there taking in the day.  I have also bumped into Wade Repta whom I have raced with previous to this at the Marathon des Sables and at the Atacama Crossing.

Right now it is 2am and I can't sleep.  It is early Saturday morning and I go through race check-in at 2pm this afternoon.  I will get my race number and my bag that I will be able to stuff with stuff and it will be transported to each lifebase I go to during the race.  I am as ready as I'll ever be.  Of course, I look up at the mountains and think that maybe I could have trained harder, or done this or done that to prepare...but that is all just useless second guessing.

  I just want to start now and take this on.  I have heard a gizzilion times that this is the toughest race I will ever do, so I just want to finish the thing.  I have called on everything I know of to help me through this...so hopefully all of the stars will align and I will be able to cross the finish line. There is an Arabic word I love that comes to mind right now as I write this...Inshallah...God Willing...
God Willing...I will finish this race... Inshallah. (Allah)

The race begins at 10am Sunday morning, and will end the following Saturday at 4 pm.  Good Luck to all of the other competitors and a Million Thanks to all of the volunteers who will be helping us along the way...you are all amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!  (I am going to go to bed now...please let me sleep.  I will post again after the race.  Maybe it will seem like a dream...or maybe a nightmare?  I will let you know.)

Suffering...Part One...

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...




DEFINITION OF SUFFERING...WEBSTER DICTIONARY


n. 1. The bearing of pain, inconvenience, or loss; pain endured; distress, loss, or injury incurred; as, sufferings by pain or sorrow; sufferings by want or by wrongs.

a. 1.  Being in pain or grief; having loss, injury, distress, etc.





SUFFERING...PART ONE....

Suffering to me is synonymous with the Marathon des Sables. (MDS)  The Marathon des Sables is a legendary 150 mile (250 km) footrace held every year in the Moroccan Sahara.  It was started back in 1986 by the charismatic Frenchman Patrick Bauer.  It is held in 6 stages over 7 days.  Competitors must be self-sufficient, carrying all of their food and supplies for the event on their backs.  The only things organizers provide are water, tents and medical aid.  Every year about 800 athletes from over 30 countries around the world gather in the Sahara to test themselves in the desert.  The heat, the sand, and the wind test all who venture here.

I am the only woman from the Western Hemisphere to compete in this race 9 times.  I am one of only 32 Canadian women to finish this race and, in fact, only 123 Canadians in total have crossed the finish line in this event.  It is tough...it is named by many to be the toughest ultramarathon on the planet.

MDS was my First Ultramarathon!  Back in 1999 I had competed in 5 marathons. (My first marathon was New York)  I had just left my job as a National Television reporter and I was wondering what I was going to do with the next stage in my life.  I was in a rut and wanted something more out of life.  I loved my career, but it was time for a change.  I was handed an article about two Canadian men competing in the Marathon des Sables, and I was intrigued.  I had always loved to run, and I had always wanted to go to Africa.  This combined both in an epic event. 

I decided to follow the competition and see how they did.  After all, they were training through a Canadian winter and heading over to compete in a desert race.  They both finished!... and I immediately decided that if they could do it, then I could too.  I tracked one of them down to see if I could get any more additional information.

  That is when I met Zac Addorisio.  He was more than helpful...and extremely gracious.  Every month I would call him and he would tirelessly answer all of my questions about gear, food, footcare and more.  He went on to be involved with Racing The Planet and now has his own business...Runners United.  We are still in touch to this day.  It was because of his kindness and generosity that I too, will help out any athlete who approaches me with questions about desert racing.  It passes along the favor.

In 2000, I headed over to Morocco, Africa to take part in this race.  I had trained through the entire winter.  This was a race of Firsts for me...

*  This was my First ultramarathon
*  This was my First time travelling to another country alone.
*  This was my First time camping...I had never before slept in a sleeping bag or in a pitched tent.
*  This was my First time in the desert.
*  This was my First time I would be self-sufficient in a race.




HERE IS WHERE THE SUFFERING SETS IN....TIMELINE...........

Have you ever had a love affair with a race?  You keep going back because you love everything about it?  Yet, that same race does not return the feelings...in fact, it is abusive and keeps beating you down and punishing you time after time after time? Well, that has been my experience with the Marathon des Sables...an event that has kicked my ass so many times that I think I am now afraid to go back.  There are so many other desert ultramarathons that have been tough, but where I have had so much more luck and success.  This one event has been my nemesis.

2000...MARATHON DES SABLES #1.....DNF.......PROBLEM.....DYSENTERY



I arrived in Moroco and when I stepped off the plane I realized I was home.  I breathed in the desert air and knew that I had found my calling.  It was here, in the Sahara.  I love Morocco.  I love the desert.  I love the people here.  I love the culture.  I love the mint tea.  I love the camels...I love it all.

I contracted Dysentery the night before I headed into the desert to set up camp at the race start.  I had uncontrollable vomiting and diarrhea...sometimes both at the same time.  It was awful.  All my tentmates tried to convince me that I was too sick to start.  But I had not travelled all this way, and spent all this time training, and spent all this money, to quit before the event even began.

I started the race.  The days were long...endless.  But I loved the desert...and I loved the new people I met...fellow "Desert Lovers."  I was desperately sick but I always had a smile on my face.  On day 4, however, the long stage, I knew I wasn't going to make the time cutoff.  A jeep headed toward me and it was a race organizer asking me what I wanted to do. 

I made the toughest decision of all...I quit.  He removed my race bib and I wanted to get sick, but it wasn't because of the dysentery.  It was because I had given everything I had to this race, and in return, I was handed a label...quitter.

I was transported back to camp and I lay in the tent by myself.  I had no strength.  I had vomited and crapped out everything I had in my body.  I looked up at the sky in misery and asked a losers question...."Why me?"  And then it came to me.  I would come back.  I would come back next year and finish this race.  I had been on a very steep learning curve and I knew that if I came back I could do this.  I had simply ran into some bad luck.


2001...MARATHON DES SABLES #2...TIME...58:07:31...PLACE...44th ....PROBLEM....
.DYSENTERY........

In my second year at this race, I contracted Dysentery again.  This time it hit me on the long stage, Day Four.  In the middle of the night while racing, I began having stomach pains.  I decided at the last checkpoint before camp that I would rest by the fire for a bit until I started to feel better.  I could not get up.  They dragged me to the Medical Tent and I began to vomit uncontrollably.  I was in and out of consciousness.  They could not find a vein to put the IV in me...I ended up needing 3 or 4 bags that night.  In the morning I had uncontrollable diarrhea.

I got up at 6 am and began the 10 km walk or so into camp.  I think it took me about 3 hours.  I could not stop the diarrhea from running down my legs.  I made it into camp and collapsed.  It was a rest day.  I was sick all day long.  That night I couldn't sleep, because if I drifted off, the diarrhea would seep out of my body and into my sleeping bag.  Everything about me stank.  I'm sure my tentmates loved me.  My diarrhea went from brown to green to rust to clear.  Amazing.

I finished the event, but, of course, I wasn't happy about my performance.  So far, I hadn't run across North Africa...I had crapped across North Africa.  So I decided to go back again and RACE  this event.



2002...MARATHON DES SABLES #3...TIME...39:01:33...PLACE...30th....PROBLEM.....
.IT BAND SYNDROME...

I had a problem with my Iliotibial Band before heading into this race.  It was really acting up on me, and I had some work done on it, but apparently not enough.  Three hours into Day One of the race, my IT band flared up so bad in the shifting sands, that I was forced to walk.

Over the following days I realized that I could run on the hard, flat stretches...but had to walk through the sand or it would aggravate my knee.  I finished the race, but I had hobbled through half of it.  I decided to go back again and give it another go.




2003...MARATHON DES SABLES #4...TIME...56:49:11...PLACE...44th ...PROBLEM
......WRONG SHOES..........

I had purchased a new pair of shoes for this event.  The manufacturer guaranteed that they were impervious to sand.  No sand would get into the shoes to destroy the feet...Awesome!!!

By Day Four, the long stage, my feet were destroyed.  I couldn't understand it.  There was no sand in my shoes this year, but for the first time ever it felt like my feet were swelling up.  The shoes just felt like they were getting tighter and tighter.  The entire layer of skin from the bottoms of my feet and from my toes was gone and my feet looked like raw hamburger.  I had lost half my toenails.  It was really ugly, and really painful.

It was night out, and I was sitting outside the Medical Tent at a checkpoint.  In the light cast by my headlamp I began insanely stabbing at the insoles of my shoes with my knife.  I am not sure exactly what I was thinking at the time.  I can't remember if I was trying to kill my shoes, or just dismember them.  All of a sudden I could see some sand.  I had ripped a hole in the liner that was separating the mesh from my feet.  I turned the shoe over and I swear a half-pound of sand poured out.  I did the same thing to the other shoe with the same result.  A half-pound of sand poured out, forming a mound in front of me.  I could not believe it.  The sand did not get in the shoe, but it could not get out either.  It entered the mesh and got stored between the mesh and the liner and just began building up and squeezing my feet like a vice.

It was great to finally determine the problem, and relieve the pressure on my feet.  But by this point, my race was over.  I finished, but again, there was overwhelming disappointment when I crossed the finish line.  When was I going to master this event? 


2004....MARATHON DES SABLES #5...TIME...39:05:17...PLACE...25th...PROBLEM.
....BLISTERS....


Blisters are not a very serious problem in the big scheme of things.  In the sport of ultramarathon running this is a given.  But bear in mind that this was just my 5th ultramarathon and I was still learning how to build up my pain tolerance.  I was still learning how to suffer AND perform.  I swear I had the back of my heel peel off to the point where I think I wasn't missing a layer of skin but a chunk of flesh as well.  I had my best placing so far...25th isin't bad, but it's not great either.

By now I knew the race very well.  I knew Patrick Bauer, the owner.  He is a handsome, funny, charismatic guy who seems to have more energy and enthusiasm than almost anyone I can think of.  He truly loves the Desert, and loves Morocco.  I knew all of the returning Doctors very well.  At the end of every race I would tell them I never wanted to see them again, but I would always show up the following year on their doorstep at the Medical Tent.  I knew many of the veteran runners.  I especially related to the French runners.  God, they sure know how to have fun at a race!  They gave me the nickname that I have kept to this day, "Lagazelle".  Lahcen Ahansal and I were working on a 3 month camel trek to Tombouctou, but unfortunately, that never came to fruition.

By now, coming to this race was like a reunion with long lost friends.  It was like coming back to my second home.  It had become more than an event...it had become my passion.



2005...MARATHON DES SABLES #6...TIME...43:05:57...PLACE....29th ...PROBLEM..
...THERE WASN'T ONE...



Was I losing my desire to do well at this event?  By now I felt like I could place in the Top Ten women at MDS...but my results were less than stellar.  I cannot even remember why I didn't do that well...I just don't think I went into this race with any hunger.  I needed something to spark my enthusiasm again.

I decided to attempt a World Record.  I wanted to complete 6 Desert Ultramarathons in less than a year.  It had never been attempted before by anybody.  Here is what my schedule looked like.

Guinness World Record Schedule...................

1.  2006...Marathon des Sables...Sahara Desert...Morocco, Africa...150 miles
2.  2006...Gobi March...Gobi Desert...China....150 miles
3.  2006...Atacama Crossing...Atacama Desert...Chile, South America...150 miles
4.  2006...Sahara Race...Sahara Desert...Egypt, Africa...150 miles
5.  2007...Raid Sahara...Sahara Desert...Mauritania, Africa...140 miles
6.  2007...Libyan Challenge...Sahara Desert...Libya, Africa...120 miles


The World Record would begin in the country where I fell in love with the desert, Morocco.


2006......MARATHON DES SABLES #7....DNF......PROBLEM......VIRUS


The first race in the Guinness World Record attempt would be the Marathon des Sables.  What was I thinking?!

At the first CP on Day Two I was hooked up to an IV at a medical tent.  I had been vomiting uncontrollably.  In fact, runners all over camp were getting sick.  There was a huge dropout rate.  Patrick said it was because of the humidity this year, and that athletes were dehydrating.  I am still convinced to this day that there was some kind of virus going around.  I lay there wondering what I was going to do.  I had seen this story play out before.  I had been this sick, and I knew It was going to be nearly impossible to recover from this and finish the race. Was the World Record Attempt over before it even began?

Then I had it.  I would simply start the World Record with the next race in my schedule, The Gobi March.  I decided to quit this MDS, and save my strength for the next event in China, which was only a month away.  Instead of starting the World Record at MDS...I would end the World Record at MDS.


2007...MARATHON DES SABLES #8...TIME..36:19:01...PLACE...18th...PROBLEM..
SPRAIN/FRACTURE....


I had completed 5 Desert Ultramarathons and was on the verge of accomplishing my goal...a Guinness World Record. In fact, I had been on the podium in 3 of the 5 races so far!  All I had to do was finish the Marathon des Sables and the record was mine.

I had just finished the Libyan Challenge, a 120 mile nonstop event.  I had walked the entire course.  I was tired from all the racing I had done, but not overly beat up I don't think.  I had been away from home for over a month.  I had travelled from Canada to Paris.  I spent a few days in Paris and then went on to Libya.  I did the race and then flew back to Paris and then to Marrakesh, Morocco.  I was going to hang out there for a week or so and recover before doing MDS.

I actually had a pretty good race this year!  I was having fun!  And then it happened.  It was during Day Four, the by now infamous Long Stage.  I was running in a really sandy section where a jeep had left some really deep tracks in the sand.  A line of runners had just left the checkpoint and were following each other in a train down one of the tracks.  I jumped out along the side of the track to pass them and when I landed I heard a crack...like a pop.  I fell over and held my ankle.  Oh my God, did it hurt.  One of the runners stopped and came back to me and asked if I wanted a pain killer.  I didn't even ask him what it was.  I gratefully took it and popped it in my mouth.

By the time I hobbled into camp I was delirious.  The pain was so bad I thought I was going to faint at any given moment.  During the rest day I hobbled over to the Medical Tent.  The diagnosis...Third Degree sprain and possible Fracture. (In fact, X Rays taken back in Canada after the event showed a chip of bone missing in my left ankle.)

How was I going to finish this race...and accomplish my goal?  I was going to crawl if I had to.  I grabbed two sticks that served as tent poles and headed out for the second last stage.  It was 42 kms.  If I could finish this marathon, then I only had another 20 kms on the last day and I would have the World Record.

The doctors had pumped me up full of drugs.  One of them told me that what they gave me was like morphine.  That sounded good!  And in fact it was!  I ended up throwing away the sticks, and having one of the best days of my life at MDS.  I felt like I literally floated through that stage.  I was passing people as I ran!  I ran across the finish line and was hugging and kissing everyone I knew who happened to be there.  God, Life was Great!  I wish I knew what they had given me that day...because whatever it was...it was a miracle drug!

I managed to get through the last day and crossed the finish line.  The World Record was mine.  I could not believe that on a Third Degree sprained ankle and fracture,  I had my best time and placing ever...and this was after 5 other races of 150 miles that same year.  18th Place.  This is why I knew I could place in the Top Ten for Women.  So I decided to go back again the following year and nail it!

2008....MARATHON DES SABLES....TIME...61:39:59...PLACE...68th ....PROBLEM.....
DESTROYED FEET..........


I entered the race...but I really don't think my head was in it.  There were other things going on in my life at the time that took away from my training.  Life had gotten in the way...and although the desire to place was still there...the effort wasn't.

I destroyed my feet this time. I can only think that the shoes I wore to the race were too old and had too many miles on them.  I should have broken in new shoes.  My feet were so badly damaged from the sand and the shoes that Doctors treating me were taking pictures of themselves with my feet.  These Doctors have seen it all, but they like to have evidence of their "worst cases".  There was a camera crew there from Wide World of Sports I think it was...that hung around for awhile getting footage.  The female reporter said she had never seen anything like it before.  She thought I was out of the race...and was shocked when she saw me back out on the course the following day.

This was the Long Stage where I wrote my previous blog on Hallucinations.  I actually hallucinated, or was in a delirium, where I could see myself being found dead in the desert the following morning after a night of agony.

I had the worst placing in my nine years of doing this race.  I was done.  I threw in the towel.  That was back in 2008.  Most athletes want to have a perfect 10 if they do an event numerous times.  I stopped at 9...and don't know if there will be 10.  Would you go back?  It has been 4 years since I have been to Morocco.  I miss it.  I miss it alot.  But I still do not have the desire yet to make it    MDS #10.  Maybe one day.

But there are so many Desert Races out there right now.  I am actually the new representative for an exciting new race starting up in 2013 in Oman....ULTRARABIA.  It is a 300 km race through the Empty Quarter!

I have also had better luck at all my other Desert Races.  I am the only Canadian woman to have won a Desert Ultra.  I have been lucky enough to be on the podium at numerous Desert Races now.  I am also the only woman in the world to have run the most distance at Desert Ultramarathons around the world.  I have run 3,799 kilometres in desert competition.  There is so much to do and so little time.


CONCLUSION....

I have experienced suffering.  I have learned how to suffer.  I have learned how to suffer the hard way.  But I think I am getting better at it.  People tell me I will suffer at my next race...the Tor des Geants.  It is a mountain race in the Italian Alps.  A 200 mile nonstop mountain race...the toughest mountain ultra in the world.  I know deserts, I don't know mountains.  But I know suffering.  I can suffer with the best of them.  But why suffer?  Why do ultramarathon runners do this?  I don't know about others, I can only speak for myself.  I will explain in my next blog.

By The Numbers - TDG is The Toughest Mountain Ultra on the Planet

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...


I was supposed to go to this race as a supporter.  I still don't know how I ended up being registered.  I guess it was the idea that this was a new challenge...a chance to test myself in an environment that was unfamiliar to me as an athlete. 

I am glad that I took on this challenge.  It has been a very steep learning curve so far...but I think it will ultimately make me a better runner.  I have become stronger and have enjoyed some new training drills.  I am anxious to see how this will improve my performance in desert racing.

Everyone who has done this race has told me that it is tough...really tough.  I decided to take a look at the numbers and see how this race compared to other mountain ultramarathons.  Numbers don't lie.  And the numbers show that this race is...BY FAR...

THE TOUGHEST MOUNTAIN ULTRA IN THE WORLD!


TOR DES GEANTS....Courmayeur, Italy

Distance...200 miles/330 km
Elevation Gain...24,000 meters
Time...One stage, 150 hours

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ULTRA- TRAIL du MONT- BLANC...Switzerland, France, Italy

Distance...104 miles/168 km
Elevation Gain...9,600 meters
Time...46 hours

TRANSALPINE- RUN...Germany, Italy, Austria

Distance...198 miles/320 km
Elevation Gain...15,000 meters
Time...8 Day Stage Race

TRANSROCKIES RUN...Colorado, United States

Distance...120 miles/193 km
Elevation Gain...6,000 meters
Time...6 Day Stage Race

HARDROCK 100...Colorado, United States

Distance...100 miles/160 km
Elevation Gain...10,360 meters
Time...48 hours

BARKLEY MARATHONS...Tennessee, United States

Distance...100 miles/160 km
Elevation Gain...18,000 meters
Time...60 hours

LA PETITE TROTTE A LEON...Switzerland, France, Italy

Distance...180 miles/290 km
Elevation Gain...22,000 meters elevation gain
Time...138 hours

DEFI DE L'OISANS...France

Distance...124 miles/200 km
Elevation Gain...12,000 meters
Time...8 Day Stage Race

CANADIAN DEATH RACE...Alberta, Canada

Distance...77 miles/125 km
Elevation Gain...5,181 meters
Time...24 hours

Hallucinations I Have Known and Loved

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD, TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS.



There are certain things in life I just love.  I love food....I Thank God I was born to run so that I can eat.  I love ice cubes in my drinks...anything from milk to beer.  I love hot showers.  After a race I can stand under a hot shower forever and savor every second.  And I love to sleep.

I am a master sleeper.  Since I was a child I have loved to sleep.  I used to be able to control my dreams.  My favorite thing to do was visualize a map and I would pick out a country and literally fly there in my dreams.  I have the gift of being able to fall asleep within seconds...and nothing wakes me up.  With all the training I do I need my 8 hours or I am not 100 percent.

This is why I think I will suffer in this upcoming 200 mile non-stop race in Italy.  It is the longest race I will have done to date.  It is going to be a very tough race.  My main goal is to finish the thing under the cutoff time of 150 hours.  That is just short of 6 days.  To finish...I have to keep moving because I am not fast in the mountains.  This means I have to get by on as little sleep as possible...and yet get enough sleep to function.  I am fully expecting to have hallucinations.

I know I will have hallucinations because I have experienced them in the past when I have become deathly tired.  Let me share a couple of them with you.

HALLUCINATION  #1

The first major hallucination I experienced was at the 2002 Marathon des Sables.  It was my third time doing this event.  I was suffering from an IT band inflammation and I had slowed down considerably by day four...which was always the long day of approximately 80 kilometers. 

We woke up in our tents on Day Four and there was a major sandstorm brewing.  The wind was whipping the sand around and people's tents were collapsing around them.  Organizers were trying to decide what to do.  Hold the stage as usual...delay the stage...or cancel the stage.  It was decided that we should push ahead.  As it turns out...this was the first time that the long stage would be held through the sand dunes.  We were heading into trouble.

The winds raged all day long.  It was a long slow day that slowly turned to dusk.  As night settled in athletes were being given safety instructions as they headed back into the storm.  We were given information on what to do should we get lost and were advised to only head out in groups.  As luck would have it I hooked up with a group of burly British guys, some of whom were soldiers.  One guy was the designated navigator.  He knew the compass like the back of his hand.  He led the way, and the rest of us followed in a line.

As we came to a huge dune, he would decide if we were going to go around it or climb up it.  Climbing it was hard.  I would get 3/4's of the way up and then the wind would knock me down.  I would crawl on my hands and knees to the lip of the dune.  As my head crested the top I would get blasted in the face by the wind and sand.  It felt like staring into a blowdryer while someone was throwing a bucket of sand at you.  The sand was like a million needles pricking the body and stinging the flesh.  At the top we would get up and we would do a head count to make sure we hadn't left anyone behind.  This had gone on for hours and hours.

It was early morning darkness...the witching hours.  We had made it out of the dunes and had a few miles to go before getting to camp.  After awhile we could see the lights off in the distance.  They were so close, and yet so far away.  I was completely physically and mentally exhausted.  I was power walking behind a guy who kept me moving.  He was using poles and in the shadows thrown by my headlamp, it looked like his fists were really huge and the sticks were really short, kind of like both hands holding daggers.  Each time he planted a pole in the ground, it looked like a stabbing motion.

The old movie, "The Shining" leapt into my mind.  I could hear the words being chanted from that horror film saying "REDRUM...REDRUM"  which is murder said backwards.  I kept whipping my head around to see who was behind me trying to stab me in the back.  Part of my mind was telling me there was nothing there...and yet the other half of my brain was saying "Look out...someone is trying to kill you"  Let me tell you...it sounds ridiculous, and yet to me it was very real.  It scared the hell out of me. 

We made it across the finish line that night and immediately made our way to our tents and collapsed.  I fell asleep as soon as I hit the ground.  In the morning I shared my hallucinations with the guy I was with.  He confided to me that he too had hallucinated.  It looked like he was so confident leading the way.  But as it turns out...he said he was just following the fish that were swimming up ahead of him in the sand.

HALLUCINATION #2

This too was at the Marathon des Sables.  It was in 2008, my 9th consecutive year participating in my favorite race to date.  I have always loved this event, but for some reason I always have had bad luck here.  I have never had a good race at MDS...I have always had better luck at every other competition I have done.

This year my feet were destroyed.  I mean they were literally torn up by the sand and looked like raw hamburger meat.  I have no idea how this happened.  None.  I felt like I had done everything the same as I had always done...and yet for some reason this happened.  By the long stage I was in severe pain.  It was Day Four and I was heading out yet again into the night.

I didn't know it, but I was dead last.  I was in agony putting one foot in front of the other.  It felt like my feet were literally on fire.  I would actually hesitate before setting each foot down because I dreaded the ensuing pain.  I had tears in my eyes, but I wasn't crying.  I came to a rocky field and my feet screamed at the pain of molding to the uneven ground beneath.  And then it came. Relief.

I began to hallucinate or envision that I was taking off all of my clothing and gear.  This was completely an involuntary state-of-being.  I stood naked in the moonlight and lay down on the rocks, but felt no pain.  I placed my pack over my privates and crossed my arms over my chest.  I knew this would be how I was found in the morning.  I saw my energy form leave my body.  I watched the glowing energy particles rise like a fog in the darkness...hovering and then slowly making its way into the night.  I let myself go.  It was all over.

I don't know if that lasted one second, or minutes or hours.  But the next thing I knew is that I was aware... and that the camels were upon me.  The last person in the race is always accompanied by two camels and their handlers.  People in camp called them "Camels of the Apocalypse".  They had caught up to me after watching me weave for hours. I was beginning to go off course. They were there to help me reach camp.  They couldn't understand much English...and I couldn't speak their language, but we managed to get by with hand signals, a few words and gestures.  They knew I was in pain and I felt they were there to comfort me and help me.

At last I could see the finish line.  All the organizers had come out to greet me and they were yelling and encouraging me forward.  A competitor that was still up came running out to get me and help me in.  I crossed the finish line and Patrick Bauer came forward and gave me a big kiss and a hug.  I love that man.  He is so great.  He was always so cheerful and full of energy.  I asked him if I had made it in under the cutoff time.  He didn't answer my question directly.  He just looked at me and said not to worry...if I wanted to continue in the race...if I was able to continue...I could go on.  I thanked him, and I thanked everyone around me.  I looked back and smiled at the camel handlers and waved.  And then the competitor (I wish I knew who it was) helped me to my tent.  I collapsed and fell asleep.

CONCLUSION...

So, now you know why I am expecting hallucinations during this next race.  I know I am going to be tired...and I know I am going be physically spent.  I have heard of people getting so exhausted during the Tor des Geants that they fall asleep during midstride.  There are stories galore of people collapsing and getting broken and bruised and scraped up.  I just hope that I have worked out a strategy that will have me getting enough sleep that I can continue to compete, but not oversleep that I can't make it to the cutoff points and get disqualified.  It is all strategy Baby!  Here is hoping I get it right!

Everest in Banff?!

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...

My training week in Banff, Alberta, Canada was a huge success!  After weeks of rain in the area, the sun popped out when I arrived and brought out warm temperatures for perfect climbing conditions  the entire time I was there.  I landed in Calgary on Friday night and my parents were there to welcome me...I had not seen them in a a year and half!  It was a great reunion and we headed home to catch up on lost time.

Calgary has sure grown and changed...Wow!  I love this city, I always have.  I could not be here at a better time.  I enjoyed Canada Day, the Calgary Stampede  (The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth) and it was my Mom's Birthday...all in the same week!

It is about an hour or so drive from Calgary to Banff.  I love Banff...it is such a pretty town!  As you look down main street you can see Cascade Mountain off in the distance.  Banff National Park draws people from around the world year round.  There is so much to do here!  Hiking, skiing, climbing, snowboarding, dogsledding, horseback riding and for the less adventurous...shopping! 

The park is actually a United Nations World Heritage Site. Of course, the main reason for the park is for the preservation of the wilderness and the wildlife of which we saw plenty of!  There are big horn sheep, elk, moose, bears, mountain goats right down to cute little chipmunks and all kinds of birds.

Banff is the highest town in Canada...at an elevation of 4,537 feet (1,383 metres)  Right on the outskirts of town is the mountain I would end up spending all of my time on...Sulphur Mountain.  There are so many peaks to explore in the Rockies...but I wanted to keep track of my training and Sulphur was the perfect mountain to train on.

SULPHUR MOUNTAIN.........................

Sulphur Mountain derives it's name from the sulpher hot springs at the base of the mountain.  Unfortunately I never had time to enjoy a soak.  Here are some facts about the mountain...

Starting Elevation.........5,200 feet
Top................................7,484 feet
Total Elevation Gain.....2,286 feet
Distance One Way........3.4 miles / 5.5 km
Total Switchbacks.........28

I was able to get in 5 days of climbing during my holiday.  Every morning I would get up at 3am or so and be out the door by 4 or 5.  The drive and prep took about an hour-and-a-half.  I would usually be on the mountain by 6am or so.  I would spend anywhere from 3 hours to 9 hours a day on the mountain.  My plan...go up and down.  That is how people have described the Tor des Geants to me.  You go up and then you go down...over and over again for 6 days or less.  As you can imagine, by the end of the week I knew every twist and turn on that trail!

The view from the top is spectacular!  It provides views up and down the Bow Valley...the surrounding mountains, the town of Banff, and the famous Banff Springs Hotel.  For those who don't want the climb but desire the view, there is the gondola which makes the trip in 8 minutes!

EVEREST IN BANFF?

Altogether we climbed Sulphur Mountain 12 times, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest from sea level.  (8,848 metres) 

Number of times up the mountain......12 times
Number of metres................................8,848 metres or so
Total mileage.......................................40.8 miles / 65.6 km

TOR DES GEANTS

The Tor Des Geants is 24,000 metres of climbing which is the equivalent of climbing Everest from sea level 3 times.  The race is 330 kilometres long and you have 150 hours in which to do it in.

CONCLUSION

I have derived a huge amount of confidence from that week of training.  I basically did 1/3 of the race elevation gain, which showed me finishing the race is doable for me.  I am at a huge disadvantage from other competitors because I am training for a mountain race living at sea level in Florida.  The week has shown me what I have to do to continue building on what I have learned.  More stairs, more tire dragging, and more strength training! And for me, that means in temperatures of  90 degrees or more!  As I write this, there are 57 days 10 hours and 10 minutes before the race starts...time to get back to work...building on the success of my great week of training in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.  Banff, Alberta, Canada.

Stair Climbing

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...

I am heading to the Canadian Rockies this weekend...I cannot wait!  For months now I have been
visualizing mountains while I train in 90 degree heat in stairwells, on bridges, and in the landfill.  Training in "Flat as ze Pancake" Florida for a mountain race is not easy. Done with that!  The imagination can only take one so far sometimes...I need reality and it is just around the corner...Sunshine, Moose Mountain...Here I come! 

In the meantime, one more stair workout. My coach has me doing a ton of stair work.  I have worked out on stairs before...but that was 5 years ago...and nothing like this.  Did I mention 5 years ago?  I am 5 years older and these stairs are killing me...but man, I must be getting tougher!  What a great workout!  I am usually spent when I finish a session.

I get up at 3am to beat the Florida heat.  I am out the door by 4:30am.  I have to get down 2 Double Expressos, eat some food and catch up on the news before I leave the house.  I do a 1/2 hour power walk now to really warm up my calves and get me pumped up.  I then hit my highrise!  Here is a view of North Miami.  This is what 5am looks like...although some people I know are getting home at this time!

Even though it is early...it is still very hot in this stairwell....88.5 F.  You sweat like a pig during this workout.  I have 27 flights to work with...with my CP on the top floor.  The top floor is locked and so I can't waste time by sticking my head out the door to get some air.  It is cooler outside right now than inside...about 75 F with a breeze!  My CP has a towel to wipe off sweat....Gatorade...food...a notepad and pen to record interval times...insulated bottles with ice inside.. and spare clothing to change into when I leave.

There are 433 stairs going down...and 433 stairs going up.  I do this over and over and over again.  I  have calculated that I usually do about a mile in distance going up and down the stairwell with each workout I do at this point.

My coach plans on introducing weights soon to my routine.  I already have ankle weights and I also own a training vest where I can gradually increase the weight I carry on my torso from 1 to 20lbs.  Wearing the vest will be a real treat in the stairwell which is already like a sauna.

I try and watch my knees during this workout.  This staircase only has turns to one side and I am always turning the same way.  I try not to torque around the corners to avoid excess stress on my outer ankle, calf, knee and hip.  (I have to tell you about my hips one day...not good news)

After the workout I like to stretch a bit and this seems to help reduce the soreness.  I also like to keep flexible.  I have also incorporated push ups into my cool down and calf raises.  So far...so good! 

What next?  I have my eye on the Everest of Florida...I'll keep you posted!  By the way...here is sunrise in North Miami...another day in paradise!  (The summer humidity is a killer though!)  Time to head to the mountains...did I mention I am going to be in the Canadian Rockies this weekend? 
Whoo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!

Tire Pull

CROSSING THE DIVIDE...FROM RACING IN DESERTS AROUND THE WORLD TO TAKING ON THE ITALIAN ALPS...

Well, I appear to have made it through my cycle of injuries and I am back at it in preparation for the
Tor des Geants!  This is Thanks to my Coach Cal and my MDS friend Eric who both provided valuable advice.  I am also trying something new based on a blog post of a running friend of mine, Marshall Ulrich.  I headed out for a long weekend in Ocala National Forest in Florida and brought a tire with me to drag around.  If Marshall says this is the best form of sport-specific cross-training a runner can do, then I am in.

I stay at a cute little cabin in the middle of the woods called Bear Hollow.  It is owned by friends who allow us to use it as a training base.  At 6am  I dragged my cooler out to the side of the sandy road and set up a CP with water, food and electrolytes.  There is a 2 mile loop that circles out and back to the cabin.  I planned to run one loop with the tire, one without, one with the tire, one without and so on and do so for 5 hours.  This would have me done by 11 before the Florida summer heat really kicks in.

I loved pulling the tire!  The resistance it provides really feels good.  It really works on your mid-section, not to mention your calves, quads and glutes!

 

Dragging the tire is helping me to simulate running hills, which is what I need to do for my upcoming Alpine race.  As you know, Florida is flat as ze pancake!

It was a fantastic workout, and I did the same thing the following day for less time.  I was particularly happy that my calves responded well.  I was going to ditch the tire if I felt even the slightest twinge.  So now I am hooked.  I will incorporate this into my training plan for the next 81 days 15 hours and 16 minutes before the race starts!

 

 Even though I have a CP every 2 miles...later in the day when it hits 85 F or 90 F I like to throw on my Diablo.  From Desert racing I have learned the dangers of dehydration and like to sip every 5 minutes to keep hydrated.  I have learned exactly how much water my body needs every hour through extreme trial and error!

An even closer goal to look forward to is my upcoming trip to Calgary, Canada.  I am heading to the Rocky Mountains in 10 days...I am so looking forward to it!  I am going to go play in Banff and Sunshine, and maybe fit in a trip to Kimberley for some climbing.  It is going to be fantastic training and it will be wonderful to hook up again with family and friends!