Nap time

So I've been telling myself that I would sit down this weekend and put my thoughts together in a succint summary that captures the race with all of its ups and downs, triumphs, defeats, and life lessons. But really, a memory is a living breathing thing, and each time I tell the stories or answer questions, my view shifts, so rather than a penultimate account, I am going to try and put a couple of "thoughts" together as they come to me.

Case in point- I was feeling strong and powerful for most of the race. When asked how I felt afterwards, I repeatedly said that I felt great and hit a new level of physical fitness.

Until today that is... I hiked the Twins and wanted to do nothing except to crawl up into a little ball and take a nap. So much for physical prowess.

Still it was an incredible feeling when I got to checkpoint 7 on the long day and decided to race the clock home, or checkpoint 3 on day 3 with feet wet and blistered, through pure determination I made it to camp in under 7 hours. I definitely broke some physical barriers even if that type of strength is elusive today.

Wheels up

Giddy up...

Here we go..

While in the desert, friends can email messages of support and encouragement via the Racing The Planet website. Any all and all messages would be greatly appreciated as I take on the greatest physical challenge of my life. You have two options:

- Click on this link and you can email me: http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/rtpgmtp.php?SID=3&SBID=RC14

- Read my blog updating my progress here- http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?pid=NTA5&blog=10 the link on the bottom right that says, “Comments” in light blue. At the bottom, there is a little form where you can enter your name, email and comments. Enter the security code, hit submit and voila. It’s a little more public but I know for sure I can see this.

I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive group of friends around me and look forward to catching up with you all in person, over the phone and over email once I'm back in HK the week of June 23rd.

Much love,
Kathryn

Patriotic Toes

Lord only knows what they will look like post race...

Tornado

When I was a little kid, one of my favorite games was called Tornado.

The premise was simple- spin around and around and around until you fall down. Whoever falls down last wins. So long as you play on grass, everybody wins; that dizzy feeling is great.

I sort of feel like I'm in the middle of a game of Tornado with last minute gear checks, project handoff at work, and all the remaining errands- buy Crocs, check; pedicure, check; pack normal clothes for post-trek, uhoh still to do.

I am really looking forward to falling into my Dragonair seat tomorrow and taking a deep breath before the game resets with an 8kg pack on my bag.

Dear Mom and Dad,

As promised, here is a link to my trip blog http://www.4deserts.com/blogs/comptetior_blog_new.php?pid=NTA5&blog=10 and an explanation of how to send messages while I am on my trip. I will be sure to give you a call in Beijing , where I am staying with friends, but after that, I'm not sure how well my phone will work. Why don't you try posting a comment today so that we can make sure it works before I go incommunicado?

We’ve already talked about most of this, but I thought I would put logistics in writing in case any questions come up. So the trip that I am doing is called Racing the Planet. Basically they set up these treks all around the world to show people really interesting and culturally significant places while getting some exercise. Some of the people on the trip are super hardcore athletes and run the entire thing. For those superhumans, this trek is actually a multi-day ultramarathon, so Racing The Planet has put together an awesome medical team that includes a doctor from NASA. How cool is that! I'm sure they will also help mere mortals like me who will be walking the whole thing. Hopefully blisters will be my only reason to seek out their help... So between the medical team and my expat insurance, you have absolutely NOTHING to worry about from a health and wellness perspective. Plus I've put together a spreadsheet with all of the food I'm bringing which includes calorie content, so I will be well fed.

I arrive in Kashgar around 4pm on Friday afternoon and hopefully will get some time to check out the town. As I mentioned last night, the Chinese government is in the process of razing the city to protect it from "earthquakes." It’s a total shame, but I am so glad that I get to see it before the historical City Center is gone. Here a link to the article if you're interested: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/28/world/asia/28kashgar.html?_r=1&scp=5&sq=kashgar&st=cse

Dad, I really wish you were going to be here with me. I think this sort of place would be right up your alley. Apparently there are tons of ruins scattered all over the region from the old Silk Road days. When I’m home I will get you this great book about all the 19th century explorers. You will love it. Mom- apparently the market is incredible. I will break out the camera and post pictures on Facebook (although I doubt the fruits and vegetables will be spectacular as Rennes ) and look for lots of pretty silks and presents for you. As with all of my trips, I think to truly understand the local culture, some quality time in the public houses is required, and apparently the teahouses and bars in Kashgar do not disappoint. I will save that expedition for the end of the trip though.


So Friday to Saturday, we're in a hotel, and then Saturday we are bused out to camp, and we get started on the trek Sunday morning. Basically imagine the Billings’ tents but coed and substitute the Taklamakhan desert for Lake Fairlee . No waterskiing, but we should still have the gorgeous night skies, plus the people I’ve met doing the trek so far are wonderful.

Every day we go through a different type of landscape. The first day we'll see canyons, and the rest of the week will range from dunes to spectacular natural arches. Part of the fun will be discovering new areas. The trek ends on Saturday, followed by a celebration dinner back in Kashgar. Once we get into camp at night, I'll have a chance to go to the cybertent and hop on the Racing the Planet website to let you know how I'm doing. I can't access regular email but you have two options:

1) Click on this link and you can email me: http://www.4deserts.com/gobimarch/rtpgmtp.php?SID=3&SBID=RC14

2) Or click the link on the bottom right that says, “Comments” in light blue. At the bottom, there is a little form where you can enter your name, email and comments. Enter the security code, hit submit and voila. It’s a little more public but I know for sure I can see this.

I know you guys think I’m a little crazy for picking this as my vacation, but you also thought I was a little crazy when I decided to move to Hong Kong at 23 and think about how much you love HK now! You guys brought me up to take risks and make good decisions. I promise not to drag you to this remote region of China . :)

Of course, it’s only because of your love, support, encouragement, and 100% faith that I’m able to take on these incredible challenges. Besides the strong appeal of unplugging my Blackberry for 8 days, I guess this is another chance to push outside my comfort level, see a new (and quickly disappearing) part of the world, and learn a little bit more about myself along the way. Strangely, I suppose this adventure is sort of another milestone on the road to adulthood (despite my continued attempts to delay that reality for as along as possible).

I am so lucky to have you both in my life, and it has been so fun to share the crazy stories from training with you. (I did a quick Google search and confirmed the desert is free of monkeys, so no worries there!) In all my wanderings through the woods these last couple of months, I have often thought how fun it would be if we could all be 26 at the same time, exploring this gigantic world together. Those logistics would be difficult, so I’m glad that I have inherited your adventurous and independent spirits instead.

I will be thinking of you (and probably how much I wish we were back at the Metropole in Hanoi ) over the long trip and look forward to giving you both big hugs in just a few months.

Much love,
Kathryn x

Drumroll please...

My bag is now down below 8kgs. Less than18 pounds for those on the English system...

That's a substantial improvement from the 22 pounds that I was looking at on Sunday night. In addition, almost everything fits inside the bag...

Serious progress. Just about 24 hours til takeoff...

Deep Breaths

I have been completely giddy about the entire Gobi endeavor for the last week or so. Maybe it was just the sugar high hangover from "testing" all the snacks this weekend, but yesterday I could not sit still. Just ask shower man- we had an extensive debate on the efficacy of deodorant wipes after three days without a shower. He won; they didn't make the cut. Sorry boys...

Today, though, I find myself in a quiet moment. There is still a lot of work to be done- both in my usual Hong Kong life and in preparation for the Gobi. I've been diligently crossing off the to-dos from my list, packing and repacking, counting the calorie content of Cheez-Its, and preparing to part with my dignity. Still I am overawed by the enormity of what is about to take place- the landscape, the race, the people, the journey...

I hate that I sound like VW commerical.

Only five days til the gun goes off...Go Gobi...

Two Gobi Goals

1) Enjoy the actual race itself a little bit every day despite the inevitable pain.

2) Take lots of pictures (especially now that I have an awesome new red Canon Ixus camera).

More Packing Advice...

From my friend who showers three times a day:

I bet you've packed way too many toiletries. You should only be bringing a toothbrush and toothpaste. Seriously. Deodorant! Ha! You guys are all going to stink anyway! The day before we left for those NOLS trips we'd all have to weigh in then go through all our stuff with the leaders of the trips. They'd always take about 25% of peoples stuff out. Girls were the worst offenders with all their makeup and toiletries. Totally unnecessary!

Side note- that is the largest number of exclamation points I have EVER seen him use in written correspondence.

Packing: AFTER

It is a miracle that the bag closed. Now I just need to figure out how to eliminate about 2kgs of weight...hmm...

Packing: BEFORE

This is how I spent my Sunday...

New Gobi Worry

Who will I sit next to on the long bus ride out to camp on Saturday?

Uhoh...Back to grade school all over again...

Dumb Move of the Weekend

Move: Dancing in my work pumps at electro-pop show in Beijing

Result: Painful blisters on the top of my big toes

Side note- Beijing music scene, good friends, and Pet Conspiracy make for a very fun evening regardless of blisters

Nationality Patches

Wednesday I dropped off my shirts to have the 4Deserts and nationality patches sewn on the sleeve. Sounds like a simple enough exercise, but of course, nothing is ever simple for me, and so I had a bit of an existential crisis while thinking about what nationality patch to put on my clothes.

Displaying an American flag in many parts of the world can be an incendiary act. I am especially reminded of that sitting in Beijing today, 20 years after Tiannamen Square, where I am prohibited from accessing twitter, youtube, and even my blogging website. I can only write this post by accessing an international network via Citrix.

I am proud to be an American and proud of what the US flag represents especially the values of liberty, justice, and freedom of speech, but then I thought about the prospect of getting lost in the desert. The far western corner of China is home to many of China's military installations, and while it is IMPOSSIBLE that I will run into any of them, that other American value, pragmatism won out, so I will be sporting the HK flag on my arm.

Plus after three years of weekends spent in LKF, I think my future campaign to be POTUS is pretty much doomed anyway...

Encouraging email of the day

From an old Hkiss pal:

Can you pls look into getting a satellite phone?! At least we'll be able to recover your body... and an almost new satellite phone! :)

Packing Practice

My friend J is prepared for everything. We affectionately call her "Mom" because she is incredibly thoughtful and remembers all the little pieces of daily life that we overage adolescents of HK have a tendency to forget- tissues, tylenol, thank you notes, etc.



J has been exploring Asia over the last several months and staying with me between jaunts to India, Nepal, Laos, Bangkok, Burma, and Bhutan. J is the ultimate houseguest- she makes coffee in the morning, runs errands, does dishes, and brings home mint chocolate chip ice cream- Amazing. But I am most grateful for the extended tutorial in packing which I've enjoyed over the last three months.



Initiation happened 7s weekend; we stumbled out of the south stands to J's apartment to sort through old clothes, books, beauty products, and lord only knows what else. It's a blur but three days later, she emerged. Her life downsized from 12 types of suntan lotion to 2 and ten bottles of cold medicine to none. It was an important first step.



Before her India-Nepal-Bhutan adventure, she sat on my living room floor, and we debated the merits of dresses, running shorts, purses, and pain pills. We made sure that J was prepared for trekking in two bags, which she could carry herself. Several hours, outfits, and glasses of wine, later, J was on her way.


The crowning moment came last night. In less than twenty minutes, daydress, sportswear, swimwear, and evening clothes for three weeks in Bali were slotted into their appropriate pockets. Guidebooks, medication and toiletries were prepacked and all she took was a carry on.

I can only hope that Wednesday night as I frantically pack my bag, I can focus on such concise and exact packing.

So let's see, guess I don't need the blackberry charger in the desert, right?

In the Running is on the Today Show

Very exciting news about my charity...

In the Running's Erin Sprague has been selected for SELF Magazine's 2009 "Women Doing Good" award. Her classy mug is featured in the June issue of the magazine, which is on newsstands now. In addition, Erin will appear with the two other winners on the TODAY Show with Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb during the 10am hour on Tuesday, June 2nd.

http://www.intherunning.org/

Taper Tip of the Day

Eat plenty of protein from now on, keep walking/running but less intense and stretch a lot. Oh and pray.

-Peter Dunn

Zen and the Art of China Travel Planning

In most places, if you want to book a trip, you have two options:

1) Find the flights at the cost and times you want via a myriad of airline aggregators, enter your credit card details, and voila, off you go.

2) Call the travel agent, have a conversation about your goals and vision for travel, and they send you an itinerary. Again, voila, off you go.

Traveling in China is never simple though.

You try to book the flights yourself, but the price increases several thousand USD if you decide to pay with a credit card. You try to use the travel agent, but they won't book the flight because you are 10 minutes short of the minimum connecting time. Also they won't answer any of your questions, and the itinerary they send will not start or end in the correct location.

Next time, I will book earlier. (I tell myself that every time.)

In the meantime, I am trying very hard to remember that this is all part of the adventure. Sure, I am probably going to be stuck in the Urumqi airport on the way home. I know my bags are not going to make the connecting flight to Kashgar. And most likely, I will be stuck paying a change fee when my flight from Beijing is delayed and those extra ten minutes would have been helpful.

But at long last, I confirmed seats , and the journey of 250kilometers begins with a double engine Boeing 757 across the great Mongolian plain...

MDI- Monkey Defense Initiative

As a child of the 80s, this is also popularly know as "Trail Wars."