It’s been five days and over 200km of racing in the sweltering heat of the Sahara Desert since our colleagues Gavin Lucas (pictured above wearing bib number 84)and Mariska Kempers left for the 250km Sahara Race in Egypt last week.
Tomorrow, the last leg of this journey draws their year-long physical and mental training to a close. Gavin decided to take on the challenge to be a positive influence for his family and friends (listen to him speak about the inspiration for it). Similarly, Mariska wanted to be a good role model to her young daughter. Although their motivation has been simple, the race hasn’t been easy with Mariska suffering painful blisters that forced her to pull out of the second stage. Although Gavin has managed to pull through all five stages, he admits it has been anything but smooth. How could it be when it is 42° and you’re running in a mass of sand?
“I had a very rough time at the end of stage two, emotionally and physically drained, wondering if I would be able to continue,” he wrote. I took a seat in the shade of the tent and for the first time at a checkpoint removed my pack (many breeze right on through after getting their water), and had a snack while the wind cooled me off. An English competitor asked how I was doing, and encouraged me with the fact that we were halfway done for the day.”
Gavin and Mariska’s dedication to the race hasn’t gone unnoticed at the Sympatico.ca offices in Toronto. Says Zebunnisa Mirza, Travel Editor of Sympatico.ca: “When I look at Gavin, his challenge goes beyond just the run. Gavin quit smoking and changed his entire lifestyle just to prepare himself for this feat. He’s been working so hard to take care of himself and it shows. We’ve seen him transform into this incredibly healthy individual. He looks amazing!”
Since the race kicked off on October 2, we have been following each stage closely and marvelling at the commitment and courage both Gavin and Mariska have shared while training and racing through the desert. Even after having her foot taken over by infection and being put on antibiotics during the race, Mariska was still hoping to continue on the rest of the course. “I remain optimistic however and my new ambition is that I can complete 100K of my original 250,” she wrote on her blog.
According to a study published in Canadian Social Trends in 2007, workers spent 45 minutes less on average with their family on workdays in 2005, in comparison to two decades earlier. It’s only natural that we look to draw inspiration from work mates that we spend majority of the day with. And of course, Gavin and Mariska have left an indelible mark on us all.
"In the beginning, I thought what Mariska and Gavin were doing was borderline insane...I still think it’s a little crazy but I also find them both incredibly inspiring," says Melissa Morra, Publisher for Travel and Lifestyle at Sympatico.ca. "Putting your mind to something scary but life-altering, pushing yourself to follow through despite the pain, having the mental strength to do something like this is nothing short of exhilarating. I will forever think about Mariska and Gavin when I’m faced with a tough challenge in life. They are both a true inspiration in my eyes!"
All I can say is we are fortunate to have role models like Gavin and Mariska, whose journey and experience at the Sahara Race will be discussed at the water cooler for a long time to come.
It's hard to believe that Gavin Lucas and Mariska Kempers (pictured above) are already in the Sahara Desert making their way through the 250km of sandy terrain. We've been cheering them on from our offices, carefully following the updates on the 4 Deserts website and clapping with glee every time another stage is completed. Mariska faced a setback with terrible blisters on her feet, which you can read about in her own words here. Gavin has been keeping us updated on his journey through his blog posts as well so we are lucky not to feel too far away from them.
You can still wish them luck through our guest book or send them a direct message through the race website.
Well there's no sugar-coating it anymore; my time is at hand. On Thursday evening I take all my stuff on a plane as we fly together to our date with desiny. My stuff and I.
Regarding this stuff, my family and I took that trip finally to MEC to get some of the things I was missing, and we took care of a fair bit of business. I got: compass, tiny useless knife, whistle, water bottles, compression pants, three pairs of socks. Stuff- and errand-wise, I still need sunglasses (ordered), several more freeze-dried dinners, a drinking cup, a toque, gloves, a "buff", straps to hold my sleeping bag onto the bag, leukotape for my feet, patches sewn onto my shirts and velcro stitched onto my shoes. On this last item particularly I am cutting things a bit close.
At any rate, as of Sunday night I had enough of the required equipment that I felt ready to try stuffing it all in my backback for the first time. Big surprise: There's not much room in this bag, and I still have a fair amount of stuff to get.
It may seem that I am ill-prepared given the late date, but this is how I live my life. If I expected that, in addition to being a healthier person for all this work, that I would also be somehow perfectly organized as well, that would have been unrealistic. I may just be that guy who handles the details at the last possible minute, no matter what.
And though I have some stuff still to do, I'm not prone to worry. Maybe I'm delusional, but I have a pretty solid conviction that everything's going to be ok.
Well, that just about wraps up the pre-race phase, which I hope you have found incredibly fascinating to read about. I will next be writing about the event itself, which updates you can read at http://www.4deserts.com/sahararace/.
Two and a half weeks to go, I'm well into my tapering phase, and I feel just about ready to go.
This despite the fact that I haven't trained quite as much as some of my colleagues, who variously report engaging in such activities as multiple crossfit workouts every week and/or - no joke - sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber. However, the sheer extent of my physical activity to date handily outranks anything I have achieved previously, and it's for this reason that as race day approaches I'm choosing a outlook of cautious optimism over one of creeping dread.
For Saturday's training, I was one of almost 750 people to take part in the 10k "Energizer Night Run" at Sunnybrook Park. It's an unusual race in that it takes place after dark, in the woods, and everyone wears lights on their heads.
I ran without my pack, and while I did not in fact feel light as a feather, I managed to turn in a time of 49 minutes, good for 69th place overall. You may be thinking this time isn't so hot, and it's not, but it was faster than the top guy over 60, and it was revelatory given my previous performances.
Given this improvement, if I had put in three crossfit sessions per week, could I have run faster than more, slightly younger old men? Could I have found the time for this additional training, if I really had wanted to?
I don't think so. Between work and spending time with family and friends, and creating the most excellent lawn anyone has ever seen, there haven't been enough hours in the day for crossfit. As I've said before, the running alone represents enough of a change in my life.
Of course, it still remains to be seen whether this will be enough to get me through the Sahara Race, but whatever happens in Egypt, I'm satisfied with the work I've put in, and I have no regrets!
I wrote before about finding inspiration in the sight of a person working hard. Hammering away now with my heavy bag and barely three weeks to go until the race of my life, it occurs to me that I am now that person.
If not inspiring, it appears I may at least be amusing some folks... the unencumbered of all ages breeze by on runs of their own, or walking their dogs, and many now offer wide smiles as I rattle past. I have never worked so physically hard at something, and I think it very clearly shows, so I believe there's some sympathy in those smiles as well.
At any rate, with my peak distance week completed, the taper now begins, and injury avoidance is critical. To this end, I'll continue taking most weekends off (only now I won't feel bad about it), and perhaps I'll lose the bag a couple of times near the end to see what it feels like to run at 160lbs instead of 180. A colleague blogged recently about doing this and said she felt light as a feather... could that be true for me too?
Support at home is amping up as the event date draws closer, with my wife and kids all providing the cheers each morning, and even the odd hot breakfast. This morning, by request of my 3-year-old, I took her Macca Pacca doll with me in my pack. Maybe I'll take him to Egypt as well, get a picture of him at the Pyramids.
I've also recently figured out how to configure my Nike+ GPS iPhone app so that I hear it in my headphones when Facebook friends "like" my run updates. Perhaps obviously, this really helps too.
Anyway, I have a 10km race on Saturday night, and on Sunday the family will help me shop for the many required items I am still missing for this trip. I found out today that GPS is allowed, so I'll definitely be adding this to the list.
I read once that in a footrace, a horse will beat a human over a short distance, but that the human will win a marathon. I always wondered whether this could be true, given that in western movies, horses seem to take cowboys long distances without much trouble.
I bring this up because my dog and I have run together a great deal, and while my range has gradually expanded, it would seem he's reached his limit. He doesn't limp as much anymore, but he shows little interest in keeping up with me towards the end of our daily 10k. Could it be that dogs are like horses?
Anyway, I capped off four 10k runs last week with a 31k affair Saturday that took me and the group (but not my dog) from Yonge and Bloor down to the Leslie St Spit, and then out to the Beaches and back. Some of our braver number were heading out again Sunday to do it all over again, but I had landscaping work to do, so I figured I'd get my training with the wheelbarrow instead.
My lower back is killing me, but we are all very happy with the result:
I'm not just bragging about my awesome new lawn. There is a tenuous link which relates my showing this picture to my training struggle, and it's this: This fantastic lawn represents only one of several big jobs that need doing around the house, and not hiring people to do such jobs for you requires that you put aside significant chunks of time to do them yourself. Factor in the raising of young children, and the fact that they try to be helpful but usually aren't, and you begin to see just how difficult it is to get things done already, without taking entire mornings off to run ridiculous distances.
I've said this before, but it's to my wife I owe the greatest debt of gratitude for her honest support in this endeavour.
What I haven't said before is thanks to everybody who has sponsored me! If you're still on the fence, you can take care of this nagging bit of business here. NB that a phone number is required, even though there's no asterisk.
Now here's another angle of my lush, carpet-like lawn:
Another week gone, which means fewer than six to go.
I continue to run with my pack in the neighbourhood, and still feel healthy and good to go. At this point my main objective is to avoid injury, so I am listening well to my body, and am extra mindful of any signs of cramp or muscle strain. Ibuprofen helps, when I remember to take it.
Had to miss a 25km run with my colleagues on the weekend owing to some heavy landscaping work that needed doing at home. We had 10 cubic yards of soil to move from our driveway to the back yard, perhaps 2 cubic feet at a time. Do the math (I did) and that amounts to over a hundred wheelbarrow loads taken 100+ feet, not to mention the shoveling. All that to say that I got some exercise in just the same.
Last Thursday some of us participated in a professional photo shoot down on the beach at Ashbridge's Bay, for a marketing promotion. Location was chosen for the sand motif, but most shots were directed upwards from a low angle, as we took turns striking heroic poses in our running gear, staring into the sun with hands on hips, etc. It's a crowded beach, so we drew some onlookers and catcalls, but this only added to the giddiness I felt receiving such star treatment.
Best part is that we're to receive our own hi-res copies, so I'm thinking about getting several life-sized cutouts made and distributing them to my friends as the most excellent gifts ever... how great would that be?
Shopping wise, Mariska's back from vacation and so we'll be going to MEC to pick up some of the stuff we're missing. I'll show some of these in a video post on Friday.
August is fast becoming a frantic month. Continuous layers of unexpected obstacles, family obligations and work challenges have been surfacing. Namely the fact that I realized the week before last that my passport expires right before I’m scheduled to fly out. That’s where I’ve identified that things started getting tense. I of course handled that quickly with a trip to Black’s for a mug shot and immediately off to the Passport office to expedite my renewal.
Last week, was our annual family vacation week at the in-laws cottage. Intended to be a blissful week of serenity. As it turned out there was an urgent work related matter that required I return to the city on the Monday night to help manage the issue. We weren’t able to return to the cottage until Wednesday afternoon and the remainder of the week was somewhat unsettling knowing that I still needed to deal with some concerning matters upon my return to the office.
As much as I sincerely enjoy and appreciate going to the cottage, it really does cut us off from modern day connections that we’ve come to considerably rely on. i.e. the internet! It became very clear to me last week how much I depend on the internet. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t mind the break away from it, but since my life is seemingly hectic for the time being while juggling work, family and training, I’m depending a lot on the internet for a number of conveniences. Everything from accessing my passport renewal application, to researching topics of interest, planning my trip, downloading music, shopping for groceries and right now more importantly making sure that I’ve purchased everything I require on the mandatory list for the race. Not having access this past week was a setback.
My biggest issue currently stressing me out is that I still don’t have the most important item on my list – a backpack! This is something that I don’t feel comfortable buying by a photo alone online. I’ve tried on a few and realized quickly that not all backpacks apply to everyone. I hope to finally knock that one of my list this week when Gavin and I take a much needed trip to Mountain Equipment Coop and Outward Bound.
As promised, here's a brief look at a few of the required items for the Sahara Race. If this leaves you wanting more, check out this video from a golf course.
Plugging away with barely six weeks to go, and I was inspired today to see an old man in the park running in a sweater, with leg weights on under big thick socks. It always lifts my spirits to see people working hard, especially when they don't make it look easy.
Had my mandatory physical examination last week with a doctor I've been seeing for 25 years. He's a bit of a smart alec, but he eventually looked me over and signed the form which certifies me to be "in good general health" (hardly seems enough). He said my blood pressure is good, asked me if I'm eating my veggies, and recommended I get a hepatitis shot. I will look into that.
General-health wise, I'm feeling able and competent, and remain injury free. On this note, we were advised on our weekly call last Monday that crazy high-mileage Sundays ought best to be avoided, so I'm thinking about adding a second short run in the evenings to safely ramp up my weekly totals in the home stretch.
In shopping news, I ordered a number of essential items from the Racing the Planet website early last week, including backpack, gaiters (for keeping sand out of your shoes), and blister kit. When this stuff comes in I will shoot a little video so you can share the intense anxiety with me.
Still on the list: sleeping bag, emergency whistle, nationality flags, electrolyte tablets, shoes (I know!), and 7 days worth of dehydrated food. I look forward to poring over the labels to figure out the best nutrition to weight ratio.
Tomorrow there's a NABS golf tournament at which our fearless leader Stefan has arranged for a number of us to run the course in shifts, with our packs, to raise awareness about the race. I was lucky to get the early shift, so I get to knock off at lunch and go to the office. Some of the others will stay on through the banquet part at the end to pitch for a donation.
Later this week we're doing a photo shoot in the Beaches, with the idea being that we'll be geared up and posed in sand so as to simulate the coming scene in Egypt.
I'm very grateful to those who have sponsored me, and to those who haven't yet figured out how it's done but are trying anyway (you know who you are). Stay tuned for the gear-unboxing video, coming later this week.
