Contacting me during the event

Hi Guys & gals,

If you would like to write me notes of encouragement or anything under the sun while I’m out in the desert, I can be reached via Racing The Planet website. That’s like the only Internet access that’s available. No facebook, no gmail, no shopping

Here’s what you can do.

(1) Sign up for breaking news here

These updates will keep your friends, family and colleagues abreast of the leaders, the middle of the pack and the back of the pack, as well as weather conditions and general news.  Additionally, at the end of each day, a Stage Update will be posted summarizing the day, as well as video clips and photographs.

(2) EMAIL ME

Your friends, family and colleagues can send you emails during the event by going to the Atacama Crossing website and selecting “Email a Competitor” from the Race Coverage drop-down list.  Note that emails are not private as they can be seen on the spreadsheet by other competitors.

(3) Follow me on my blog in Racing The Planet

My kind cycling friend (an avid scuba diver) has generously sponsored me a Cybertent package so I’m able to post updates to my blog in RTP while I’m out in the wilderness. So on top of sending me email, you can also post comments on my latest blog post and I can reply to you there!

Take care & see you on the other side.

God bless!

Game Changer

I read with envy the training posts that everyone else is writing and wished I had the same to report too.

Truth be told, since coming home from holiday on 16 January, I’ve been in and out of the doctor’s clinic and hospital multiple times. It all started with a stubborn runny nose that fought hard to remain with me, followed by mucus so thick that I had trouble clearing it. Finally after 3 visits to the doctor, they told me to visit a Ear Nose Throat (ENT) specialist instead.

Since it was nearing end January and we were celebrating Chinese New Year here, I could only make the appointment when the holidays were over.

The ENT specialist gave me some antibiotics and other meds to clear the sinus infection. It worked well and took away the persistent throbbing dull pain that I experienced in my right eye. However, I also experienced searing pain in my head that seemed to come and go without any warning. Upon hearing that, the ENT specialist advised me to go for a scan.

Couple of the days later, I went for a follow up visit to see the results of the scan. The scan revealed that my right frontal sinusitis was completely filled with pus! And the nose had difficulty clearing them. A surgical procedure was required to drain them out. So this was what was causing the pain.

I had thought it would be a simple day surgery and I could go back to work after that, and so asked if it could be done that day. Sure, came the reply. Before I knew it, I was being admitted to the hospital, mentally un-prepared, and dressed for work. (The procedure actually required a GA and I would need to be warded for a day!) I wonder who was more amused by my lets-do-it-now attitude, me or the specialist?

Everything came and went fast from the decision onwards. I had to call my insurance agent, my boss to let him know I will be away from work for a few days and my family. Shucks! In my haste to leave the house this morning, I did not hug my dog

The procedure went well and there was minimal pain. However, I was not allowed to blow my nose as it may cause swelling and pressure to build up in my right eye region. Try telling that to someone like me whose nose is uber-sensitive and I might as well cry.

So here I am 1 week post-surgery with no training done for the past 4 weeks or so. Panic is an under-statement. I worry about my lack of training this year. I worry about how my nose will react in the thin *and* DRY air in the desert. I worry about the sand. I worry if my gaiters and my last order of freeze dried food will arrive in time. I worry…

Yes, it is very easy for me to back out now but it is also difficult at the same time. I’m sure you understand why… the past few months of training, planning, anticipation…

Instead, I shall go and try to cover as many meters, km as I can. I will need to manage my own expectations and be smart to know when to let it go. The sun will rise another day.

Till then, take care folks & CYA!!

p/s: The silver lining in this episode is that, at least I know I will not have any issue with air pressure when the air plane descends:P

This has been cross-posted from my blog space in Racing The Planet on 15-Feb-2012.

Review – CW-X Stabilyx tights

I’ve been searching around in stores and on the Net for a pair of full length tights to use for Atacama Crossing. Although I train and run in shorts 100% of the time here in Singapore, the weather conditions and landscape are much different in Atacama. It is a desert. It is hot and dry and spending 6-8 hours daily exposed to the sun under the cloudless sky would probably burn me to a crisp. Since I wasn’t too keen to constantly apply sunblock to my legs, I figured wearing a pair of full length tights should do the trick. It will also help keep the sand away.

In my search, I read many good things about CW-X.

The CW-X Stabilyx tights are advertised as Stability Conditioning wear. The patented CW-X Support Web™ technology mimics kinesiology-taping techniques. This conditioning web is strategically positioned to band together the muscles and ligaments of the lower leg to stabilize the knee and reduce vibration for increased efficiency. The CW-X Support Web also harnesses the midsection, supporting the lower abdominals, hips and back to channel power through the core. There are various models of CW-X tights, each with a varying focus of physical benefits.  These tights range in price from US$65 to $110. The CW-X website has a useful chart that will help guide you to which tight is the best for you. CW-X markets the Stabilyx tight as their best all-round stability tight.

CW-X Stabilyx tights in Raspberry

Review – Expedition Foods Savoury Mince with Rice

Expedition Foods Savoury Mince with Rice

Expedition Foods is the official partner of the world’s leading endurance race series. Based in the United Kingdom, the company takes feedback from casual hikers, athletes, competitors who consume these food during camping, expeditions and races and aims to improve the taste and texture.

Since they are partnering with Racing The Planet, I bought a few packs from the “high calorie serving” just to see how they fare in taste.

Ingredients listing and cooking instructions

800 calories for 178gm ain’t too bad for me.

Choosing a place to stay in Rio de Janeiro

The beauty of the country, Brazil, has been marred by stories heard and read over the Internet about how dangerous the place can be. As much as I may seem to be adventurous, I very much would not like to be mugged or be caught in the middle of a shoot out. Thanks, but no thanks. My life has sufficient stories + drama as it is

After trawling around TripAdvisor, Virtual Tourist, and consulting google maps (extremely useful to pinpoint the exact location where you are staying, as well as giving you a bigger picture where in the country you are located), I narrowed it down to a nice hotel in Copacabana and Casa Cool Beans (rated #1 Rio B&B in TripAdvisor).

Images of Casa Cool Beans

Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge 2012 – race reivew

Prior to leaving for the US, I was tracking the weather in Florida diligently. Temperature in January seem to hover around the tens to low 20 degrees. Seeing that it wasn’t that cold, I packed my usual running gear which consists of running singlet, shorts, my new CW-X full length tights (wanted to test them out for Atacama) and just-in-case, a short sleeve running tee. I packed two sets of running gear as I wasn’t sure if I would be able to wash and dry them in time.

Despite running (and shivering) twice in 5deg temperature, I never seem to learn my lesson Always pack a fleece along! What the organizer failed to inform prior to the race (till you receive and read the information booklet) is that you gotta be at the race site by 4am. Flag off starts at 5:30am and depending on your assigned corral, you can start as late as 6am. This means standing around in the cold for at least an hour and a half. I was assigned to corral G, with a flag off time estimated at 6am.

For both races on that weekend, complimentary bus service is provided from most of the Walt Disney resorts to the starting point. Bus services run from 3am till perhaps 3:45am, as the last bus needs to arrive by 4am. My flag off time on both days were 6am and sunrise is around 7:30am.

Walt Disney World Half Marathon

On Saturday morning, I woke up at 2am with the intention of leaving around 3:30am. Since I have ample time to digest my food prior to the flag off, I decided to pack my breakfast (one bagel, one packet of sports beans, water) along to nibble at the waiting area. Also, as I was not prepared with any warm clothing to dispose of, I wore my short sleeve tee and CW-X tights and loitered in the hotel lobby trying to catch the last bus to the race site since it was freezing cold in the morning. Temperature is probably 8deg but with wind chill, it’s even lower.

Freezing but still smiling

I reached the race site by 4am and started shivering. There isn’t any covered holding area that you can seek shelter in, so I tried to hang around groups of runners hoping that they can provide some reprieve from the wind Another possible place to hide is the bag deposit counters where I spent a fair amount of time.

Port-a-loos are plenty and surprise! surprise! toilet paper is provided.

As this is a Disney run, I saw many runners dressed up in costumes. Spotted fairies, Minnie Mouse (very popular!), goofy and even a trio of runners dressed up as Pirates of the Caribbean. It was like a carnival and the atmosphere was very relax. There were runners of all shapes and sizes, grandpas and grandmas took part as well! Some even came prepared to walk the entire distance!

Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge 2012 – Pre-race

Walt Disney World Marathon is held in Orlando, Florida yearly and consists of Walt Disney World Half Marathon (held on Saturday) and Walt Disney World Marathon (held on the following Sunday). Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge simply means that if you sign up for this, you have to do *BOTH* the half and the full races on that weekend

I admit that it isn’t the lure of running consecutively for two days that got me hooked, it was the Goofy medal that I just had to have! You see, finishers of the half marathon gets a Donal Duck medal and finishers of the full marathon gets a Mickey Mouse medal. And for those goofy enough to do both, you get awarded with a third medal – the much coveted Goofy medal!

To top it off, these medals aren’t just plain ole round or rectangular shape, they are actually shaped like the characters! All the more for me to sign up for Goofy, since I have to fly half way round the world to get them

This race is never far from my mind and was just a matter of when?

Review – Freeze dried food

In addition to the energy bars, nuts, beef jerky and snacks that I intend to munch throughout the walk, another huge main source of calories and energy that we have been told to bring along is freeze dried food. These vacuum packed meals are staples in multi-stage races and expeditions and are typically high in calories (800 per meal). I have a feeling these are probably the only “warm” meals I’ll have during the week.

Meal preparation is easy: Rip open the aluminium foil pack, add hot or boiling water, give the contents a good stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes for the water to be absorbed. Give thanks and tuck in.

I’ve dutifully ordered a few packets from Mountain House as well as Expedition Food, which sounded most appealing, to give it a go.

Here’s my take on Mountain House – Scrambled eggs with Ham and red & green peppers.

Eggs for breakfast?