Workout for 7-17-2013

Today's workout: Row 2000 m buy-in, 3 rounds of 25 squat clean thrusters (75#) and 25 burpees, 2 mile run buy-out.

Rain, Rain, Rain

Major rain all week in Vietnam = hotel gym workouts and a treadmill to log miles this week. It could be worse, however, as to my surprise this hotel actually has a Concept 2 rower: the first time I have seen that. They also have a bunch of free weights and medicine balls that can make for some awesome new CrossFit workouts that I will plan tonight for the rest of the week.

Only 18 days until my 50k!

G2G 2014

I am officially registered for Grand to Grand 2014. I can't wait for the challenge. In the meantime, I have a lot of training and smaller competitions to keep me busy. I also want to note at this point that I am really targeting a pack that is 9kg or less for G2G, which should have a big impact on my results. From what I learned in the Gobi, the think it is definitely doable. It's awesome that Andy Walker will definitely be joining me in the challenge. Since Duncan Wilson is doing G2G 2013 in September, I also hope to gather a few tips for next year.

Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50 km

My next scheduled race is the Dahlgren Heritage Rail Trail 50 km in 3.5 weeks, on August 3, 2013. The course appears to be flat; thus, it should be a pretty quick pace. While I would actually prefer some up-and-downs based on my training, it will be a good opportunity to try out the Brook's Pure Grits I just picked up. I also plan to try out my new race vest in a competition.

Medina Twin Sizzler 10k race results

Even though my pace was a bit crazy through th course, I finished in 43:14; I was just trying for under 45. Not bad for my first "normal" 10k run in several months. Finished 26th overall.

Change of Pace 10k

As a change of pace in my training, I will be participating in Red Cross: Medina Twin Sizzler 10k on July 4th (http://www.redcross.org/news/event/38th-Annual-Twin-Sizzler). It will be interesting to see what my official 10k time is these days since any of my runs over 5k for the last 7 months have been with a 10-15 kg pack. With that said, I suspect that finding a proper pace is going to be a big problem. If I am not careful, I will probably burn out way too early in the race because I will feel fantastic early on.

AK Ultimate Direction Race Vest

On a Shenandoah trail run this past weekend, I just tried out the ak ultimate direction race vest and I really liked it. It is very light and minimalist, and it has a number of easily accessible pockets for gels, electrolytes, mp3, etc. Actually, the setup of access points is very similar to the way I had my Osprey talon 33 pack setup for the Gobi. While I am not a fan of the water bottles that come with the vest, they can easily be replaced by others (i.e., Hydrapak Gel-Bot is my choice of bottle). In short, this vest should work well for future 50ks/50milers/ect.

Gobi Equipment, Food, and Training Review

Now changing gears a bit, first, regarding equipment, I have already made a list of what worked, what didn’t, and what I would change for future races.

Most importantly, concerning food, I would take way more energy gels/chews and bars and I would ditch a good portion of the 3 pounds of 3Fuel I took as a replacement, although I would still consider using the 3Fuel once each morning before running. With respect to food, I need to pack more ramen/noodles as I craved the salt, even for breakfast. Quantity wise, I went through all the food I took, and unlike most people, I really enjoyed my freeze-dried meals all week. I am not sure why this was so different for me: maybe the brands I used (i.e., mountain house and alpine foods instead of the dreaded orange Expedition Foods packages), or maybe just the types of meals I brought (everyone seemed to envy my grilled chicken breast with mashed potatoes and my sheppard’s beef stew with ~4000mg of sodium in the package)? Justin’s nut butters was also essential. Moreover, my electrolyte plan seemed to work well (1 Saltstick every 45 mins and 1 Nuun tab with water every 2 hours). Finally, I note here that I thought the GU Recovery Brew after each day was essential in my recovery plan. I did add about 1000mg of glutamine to each serving, but my experience with GU Recovery Brew has been fantastic in aiding my recovery from day-to-day. I am not sure if I was lucky or what, but I took only 2 motrin, for swelling, all week as far as pain killers go. Everyone around me seemed to be taking painkillers every few hours.

Concerning gear:

First, I loved my shoes: Brook’s Cascadia 7’s with orange Superfeet inserts and lock laces. They held up fantastically and were comfortable on any terrain. Despite the recommendation of 1-2 sizes, I only went up a half size and I experienced very few and only minor blisters; I did pre-tape my feet with Kinseo tape and paper tape each day where I felt hotspots, however. I note that Kinseo tape was essential for me during this event, as I used it for my feet, for added support for my rolled ankle, and on my hips to reduce chaffing from my pack. With that said, I might consider using lighter trail shoes in the next race (maybe the Brook’s Pure Grit). Some people thought gaiters were unnecessary for this race, but I thought they were helpful because there were many pebbles and dust that could wind up in your shoe and result in blisters, particularly when going through brush, stones, etc. I used a pair of Outdoor Research ultra-trail gaiters, which I thought worked great, as they required no under shoe tying or connectors. For socks, I took 2 pairs of Wright Socks Running 2 Socks and 1 Pair of Injinjis. On most days, I simply wore the Wright Socks, with which I only got very minor toe blisters. On the long, 50 mile day, I decided to where the Injinjis under the Wright Socks for added cushion and protection. It might seem like a bit much, but it worked great in preventing any major blisters. Even when completely soaked, the Wright Socks seemed to work really well in preventing major blisters. I was sure that I would have blisters by the end of the day I stepped in a mud pit early on (5 miles into day 3), but surprisingly, I was okay when I took my shoes off at the end of the day. Needless to say, I was extremely happy with my sock selection. I also used a pair of CEP recovery socks for each day after running. These were essential for keeping my foot swelling down and helping me feel fresh each morning, despite rolling my ankle on several occasions, sometimes rather severely. Finally, for footwear each night at camp, I took a pair of Crocs Prepair Slide II, which were extremely comfortable for walking around the rocky terrain, but added minimal weight to my pack.

I also loved my backpack (an Osprey Talon 33). I was originally training with an OMM, but it was a bit uncomfortable. I switched to the Osprey about 2 months before the event, and I am very happy I did. It was durable, comfortable, added minimal weight, and offered a great variety of quick gear access options. I will definitely stick with an Osprey for my next event. I also note that I loved the quick external access to my bladder for adding water at checkpoints. I may consider smaller smaller Osprey pack to reduce weight if I can get my gear into a 25L pack, but I am very pleased with the Osprey line of packs in general. For water bottles I had a Platypus bladder, which conveniently unzipped at the top for quickly adding water at checkpoints. This was very helpful in the early days when I needed the extra water. On my shoulders, I used one raidlight water bottle and one Gel-bot water bottle, both of which I was happy with. In particular, the Gel-bot is an awesome idea as I can eliminate a few grams associated with gel packaging each day and avoid carrying sticky gel packaging during the event.


Clothing-wise, I wore CW-X Pro Compression Tights, 4" Nike Running Shorts, an UnderArmour Long-sleeve Heat Gear Shirt, and an Underarmour running jacket, all of which worked very well and I would surely use again. In particular, the Underamour shirt kept me cool in the hot conditions, and I am very happy with the CW-X line of compression gear, as I used it throughout my training (both shorts and tights). I also used an UnderArmour Cold Black hat, which did a fantastic job of keeping me cool in the desert and preventing sweat from dripping down my face. While others were complaining about their hats, I had nothing to complain about.

For my headphones, I used X-1 Surge Mini Waterproof Sport Headphones. I was pretty impressed by the durability of the headphones during the event. Specifically, in addition to the general abuse to which the headphones were subjected during such an event (e.g., being splashed with water, sweated on profusely, yanked, pulled, twisted, smashed in a bag, etc.), the headphones also held up well on the 5th day of the event, when I went through an awful rain/sleet/snow storm in 32 degree weather at 9500 feet atop a mountain. For my music, I used a cheap usb drive style mp3 player, that worked great. I will say that I used Energizer Ultimate lithium AAA batteries, and I am really impressed by how long they last compared to a regular AAA battery. I only needed about 2.5 AAA batteries for about 33 hours of listening time.

My Marmot Plasma 32 sleeping bag was perfect for the conditions, and the fact that it was water resistant was helpful, as it rained on us almost every night and water dripped through the tent. The sleeping bag did not absorb any water throughout the week. I was also glad to have a Therma-a-rest z-lite sleeping pad, as many of the campsites had rocky terrain.

Finally, I note, that I would ditch or change certain things that resulted in unnecessary weight, and I would also probably get a rain proof jacket.

Regarding training and preparation, I think my training schedule really worked for the most part. My recovery from day to day was phenomenal, as was evident by my improved results each day. The cramping on day 1 sucked, but I am pretty sure that was a result of pre-race dehydration, which can be easily corrected. I also think my over-reliance on 3Fuel was a problem in the first couple of days; as I started to reduce my intake and rely more heavily on gels/chews, my results and how I felt improved drastically. Other than that, my soreness was minimal throughout the week (I do note that after the event my ankles and feet swelled like crazy for about 4 days, but they have since returned to normal). However, for future events, I do think I need to cut back on CrossFit slightly and focus a bit more heavily on running, which I intend to do starting tomorrow. Still, CrossFit will remain a heavy part of my training as work to incorporate a lot of CrossFit Endurance. While others had upper body soreness after day 2 (shoulders, back, etc.), I had NO upper body soreness all week. During this event, I also learned that I really need to increase my hill/mountain work, whether it be doing serious hill repeats on a regular basis or doing some fast-paced hiking in Shenandoah. The climbs were really brutal and some people that trained on similar terrain handled them much better than I did – particularly Day 3, Stage 3, which seemed to straight up for about 2-3km and required scrambling on my knees at times. At the same time, the elevation didn’t really bother me, so the elevation mask must have done something.

Final Thoughts on Gobi 2013

Final Thoughts on the Gobi March 2013 (sorry in advance for the length):

Now that I am back in the U.S., and I have had some time to reflect on the race, I wanted to make a final post based on my experiences and what I learned for future events. I’ll start by saying that even though I never really hit a point where I didn’t think I would finish, the race really was as difficult as I made it sound in the blog posts. The elevation climbs and the terrain were extremely difficult to navigate, and the weather was really just brutal at times (temperature – hot and cold – and precipitation). I think everyone that participated would say the same thing about the difficulty of these and other aspects of the race. Thus, I really did get to test my limits at times, and knowing that I can get through it, I really want to push even harder next time.

With all that said, the scenery was really awesome at this event. We couldn’t have asked for a better race setting. And it was amazing to have the local people cheering you on as you passed. One memorable moment was when I was ascending the mountain on the long day (the ridiculous elevation gain over 20km) and no one was around: I passed a few old men/women sitting in front of the their hut and one of the men stood up and came up to me as I passed because he wanted to shake my hand. He grasped my hand with both of his, smiled, and shook vigorously as if to welcome me to his country. It was very inspiring, and I will never forget it. There were other stories of competitors being asked to sign school children’s arms as they passed (Vanessa informed me of this).

Speaking of Vanessa, even though I didn’t see her that much, it was great to have her there. She really pushed me at check points at times when I was feeling tired. I also think she really enjoyed the entire experience as well, from the scenery, to the people, and even work she was able to do to help the competitors. It was a great experience all-around.
Next, I need to say that my fellow competitors are amazing people that come from all walks of life. I made some really great friends that I look forward to meeting up with at/for future events, maybe even as soon as the end of July.

Before briefly analyzing my equipment, training, and preparation, I want to point out for those that know I dedicated the race to Steve that he will now forever be a part of Syram Lake in China, one of the most beautiful locations I have ever been and where the race concluded and, in the past, where Genghis Khan took his final footsteps. I left a part of him at the lake…

So starting tomorrow, the training will continue for my next big events. Maybe Grand-to-Grand (Grand Canyon)?, Atacama?, and/or even the MDS?, with some other ultras, preferably on trails, along the way (already found a 50-miler in VA for beginning of August). I can’t wait for the next one; I am officially addicted!

Days 5-6

As everyone probably knows by now, the race had to be stopped yesterday bec of weather. Before thathowever, i made it about 54km in about 7.5hrs. I really wish i could have finished the final 20km bec i was feeling really good after check point 5 of 8, a euphoria of knowing i could actually go 75 km in one go after running 4 marathons in the prior 4 days. I was actually really running along at agood pace with a fellow canadian competitor, which was really blowing my mind based on what i had done that day already. The final 20 km would have been nothing and i was hoping to come in at under 10hrs.

In any case, the weather got bad ad they had to stop us. The really annoying thing is that the top people that had gotten as far as we did, including myself, had go throug the worst weather conditions imaginable at the top of the mountain, 9200 feet, before and during the descent. I got rained and hailed on, it was ridiculously windy, and itwas probably 32 degrees. If i hadnt faced my challenges and perservered early in the week, that might have done me in. I basically had to walk sdeways so the hail would stop pelting me in the face. It was really really cold. Smehow i got throug it and started running again. Then it warmed up, i dried and was ready to finish the final 30km only to be stopped with 20km left. It was definitly for the best, however, as many other competitors still had to go through it and it wasnt getting any better.

Regarding the course itself, i smoked through the first 2 stages, 15km, which was relatively flat. Then we had to ascend 1560 meters over about 21 km, which is essentialy nonstop up. I didnt have to stop once over that portion, although i really just maintained a fast walk, which is really what almost everyone did. Some jogs thrown in at times. The incline through rocky fields, etc, was really intense. After reaching thesummit, i started to run again as we went down, with a walk thrown in at one point due to the weather issue described above. 

A couple points to note. Elavation did not affect me at all...way to go elevation training mask. I take back what i said the other day about the stern episodes, they were a life saver on the way up the mountain as i just maintained a fast walk and knew that i had about 10 to 12 hours of running and walking ahead of me on the day. My beard is in full force now ad is longer than it have ever been, and surprisingly i am really not even phased by it. I am not even sore today, which blows my mind, even though i have now done about 212km, 133 miles,  in five days with a backpack. Its true that at these things you meet peopl that turn into lifelong friends. I already see that happening with a few people as we are already starting to plan our next race/challenge (atacoma 2014???). My food planning has been fantastic as all my meals are great adeveryone around me is complaining about theirs. Although, as mentioned the otherday i think, the 3fuel has got t go...gels and the like are much better. Yesterday, i ditched the 3fuel all together for just gels every hour and i felt 10 times better. The other days i used one gel for the whole day, expecting the 3fuel to compensate, and it just wasnt the same. I suspect gels throughout would aid my performance. Also, after thinking about it, i think the 3fuel was part of why i felt dehydrated on day 1, ie the cramping. But these are all good lessons for next time.

So now there is one day left, a 14km, that will probably be underway when you are reading this. I am planning to run it out with everything in the tank. My pack weighs practically nothing now, so hopefully it will be a delightful finish. Thanks for all thesupport this week and talk to you all soon. What an amazing, difficult, and ridiculous experience this has been, and i already look forward to potentially doing it again!!!!

Day 4

100 miles down and 50 to go.  Still cannot believe I have now done 4 marathons in 4 days with lots of weight on my back, through some of the most impossible land imaginable. Today I felt really good, as if I am actually feeling stronger as the week goes on, although I did roll my ankle pretty bad on stage 2 of 4 on this ridiculous rocky terrain. In any case, I was able to shake off the pain (with a Iittle help of adrenaline) and finish 20th on the day. The terrain for stage 4 today was perfect, an asphalt road through a village, which is basically what most of my training involved. I was able to cruise in the final10k in just under 55 mins, which I am really happy about after 3.75 marathons in 4 days and with about a 15 pound bag (still more than what some started the qweek with). I was able to catch and pass 3 people on the stage that had about a 10 minute head start on me. So now, the ankle is a bit sore, but I elavated as soon as I got back to camp, and I jumped in a nearby river with some other competitors for what was essentially an ice bath for my legs bec we are so high in the mountains now. Now I have my compression socks on. I have to say, my lungs felt really good today and the elevation was hardly noticable. 

I also spoke with the photographer today because he was looking to get some pictures of me...he did get some today on the course so I imagine they will be posted soon. One other note: my tent mates are awesome and they have been really helpful. 

Well, off for now. Tomorrow is the brutal stage that I am told will really test my limits beyond imagination: about 50 miles, which I assume will take at least 13 plus hours. After that I am pretty much done. So wish me luck and send some messages that I can read on friday (my off day, I hope). Thanks fop all the support. It really means a lot. One other thing: V is having a good tme also, although I dont see much of her because she is so busy. Almost done now...let's get'er down!

Day 3

Day 3 is finished...I reiterate that this just seems to get more and more difficult. My recovery has been really good, and I feel good in the mornings, the course is just brutal. Today, in stage 3 of 4, we had to climb about 500 meters over about 1 km. It was ridiculous, and definitely the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. Not to mention that we climbed to just over 6000 feet. My lungs felt fine (thank you elevation mask), but my legs could feel the lack of oxygen, and burned like no other (not so thank you elevation mask).

 

SO to start today, I felt really good actually (better than day 1 and day 2, progressively better). Maybe I actually took too long off before the race. After reflecting on the first day cramping, I do know that I think I was just dehydrated from being in China for a week before and eating salty foods and not having enough water. Now that is straightened out, so cramping has been under control. My bag is still way too heavy, but I am putting down my food, so it is getting lighter by the day.

 

Anyway, back to day 3: I was doing well in stage one, feeing good, and then, because I was running alone at the time, I stepped in a stupid mud pit. My shoe stayed in the mud, and my foot came out. Then mud fell straight down into the shoe. I could hardly get the shoe out of the mud, as it was stuck. Then I walked through the muddy water to a nearby rock and scooped it out. On the way, I fell in the mud. I was a mess. Then I started running again, and the same thing happened to the other shoe. Needless to say, I lost about 10 minutes in the process. But it was good fun for the competitors that came up behind me in the meantime. Luckily, there was a nearby stream to wash off a little bit before continuing. In the end, I had to run/walk the 3.5 remaining stages (about 32km) with soaked shoes, although I will say that the drainage on the Brooks Cascadias is pretty good, so my feet werent sloshing around atleast. Amazingly I made it through the day with no new major blisters, just same small ones. I also rolled my ankle slightly on stage 4, so it is a bit sore with my achilles on the same leg. We will see how it feels tomorrow: back into the compression socks. After all that crap, I still managed to finish 23 today. I managed to sprint into the finish just under 5hrs 50 minutes. But I cannot express in words how hard that mountain was to climb. There were definitely times when you had to pretty much crawl up. The breaks were very frequent. Also, as you probably see from the news, more people have dropped out today because of that mountain.

 

It is definitely not going to get easier with another marathon tomorrow and a double marathon on thursday/friday. But I have now made it through basically 3 marathons in three days with lots of weight on my back.

 

Wish me luck and thanks again for the messages! Three more stages to push through...

Day 2

Hello everyone, Day 2 is finished, and you are probably reading Day 1 Bog update as I type this. Today was much better in terms of the cramping (at least I didnt collapse across the finish line in full leg cramps today). I was able to push through and finish 22 today, which actually surprised me because I still had to walk a lot. With that said, it was very very very hard: you would not believe how much walking actually needs to be mixed in with the running to get through this thing.

 

I have to say that there is no way anyone could ever imagine how difficult this is without doing it. I really don;t think there is anything like it. Even the elite runners here are saying how difficult it is. I also was told today, from some people that have done all four events, and are back for the Gobi in their 6th race, that the Gobi is the most difficult of the 4. So apparenly I picked the hardest first.

 

Observations of the day: the terrain was worse than yesterday (the rocks/semiboulders are brutal on the ankes and feet and are even difficult to walk through and the long long inclines are devastating on the legs); after the 3rd of stages today I started reflecting and realized that this truly is my "vision quest" as it is soooo difficult (I really want to just finsh to be honest); I have learned a lot about myself after only 2 days of this brutality that most people I think would find to be just too much; all of the competitors are great in that they always ask if you are okay when passing you and offer items from their pack (or water as a korean competitor gave me some water yesterday when I was out) if needed; my pack was, and still is, way to heavy to start this event (many not needed items); I would change my food planning (3Fuel is good, but I need way less of it, and far more gels and bars to get a good kick at times and because I am starving by about hour 4); I am taking pictures, but really not that many; I am really glad I have a full variety of music because the change helps (today, near the end of the day, I listened to some country music and thought about dad); recording the Howard stern episodes was a waste of time because it takes too much effort to listen and it is easier to just listen to music; while I love CrossFit, it has been a huge contribution to my training, and it helps you build a certain level of mental strength, it really does nothing to prepare you for something like this (I thought it would) because this is a completely different level mental strength (and I am only through day 2, the 50 miler still to come after two more days); I am so far happy with my foot taping techniques (I am really I read the book footcare for athletes - highly recommended although the title might be something different) because it is limiting my foot soreness and blisters (no major blisters so far and really just a couple hotspots).

 

Well, tomorrow brings more very difficult terrain as, in stage 2, we will climb 500meters over 1k (ridiculous). However, after tomorrow I will be nearly half way. I hope I can keep it up and make it to the finish.

 

Also, I will note that U Randys message is on point in that I will surely have a life changing experience out here. I already have and there is still so much to come. Wish me luck!!!!

 

Finally, I want to point out that I should have some good pictures of me around camp (ones that phil long would appreciate - hint: I am only in my really short running shorts, compression socks, and sandals). The point is that people really don;t care about too much around here, except surviving, including me.

 

Again, I really appreciate all of your comments; they are really encouraging and I hope you keep them coming. Oh and there should be some pictures of me somewhere because the photographer has gotten some good ones of me along the course.

Day 1

Let me start by saying thanks for the early messages everyone! They are really encouraging...keep them coming. Next, let me say how F#!%ing difficult this thing is. Day 1 was ruff. I actually felt great through stages 1 and 2 (of 4), running my normal pace and in good shape. However, during both of those stages, the 1.5 liters of water they gave me were not enough. I ran out 3/4 of the way through each. Then I asked for more water at checkpoint 3, and they filled my bladder. However, by this time I was so thirsty that I started cramping like crazy in my quads. Needless to say, I had to walk all of stage 3 (of 4), about 7 miles (of the 26 on the day). I did manage to get my hydration back under control, and proceeded to run about 3/4 of stage 4. But I then ran out of water again, and I really started craming: I walked the rest, except for forcing myself to run the last 100m and then basically collapsing. All in all, I dont think I actually finished that bad (look at the standings bec I am not sure exactly where). The main point of the day: this is going to be very difficult. I talked to the medical staff and they said they would give me more water for each stage tomorrow. Hopefully, that will help eliminate the cramping. I just hope the damage wasnt already done with all the cramping today. We will see. Putting on the compression socks now and going to stretch alot tonight with the Voodoo and tennis ball. I am already starting to feel a little better, I think.

 

Other points of the day: no issues with breathing at elevation so far, terrain is crazy difficult (lots of rocks), I have already learned that I dont give a crap how dirty I am because there are way more important things to think about, I found a friendly Brit to walk with for stage 3 (which really helped pass the difficult time), because I was on the course longer than expected (about 6 hrs 40 mins) I was starving by the end of today, and I can now officially say that I will learn alot about myself during this event (I did listen to U Randys and moms messages today when it was really tough, but I am saving the others for later).

 

Alright, gotta go stretch. Shout out to Praxis community (Tyler, this is already brutal, but you should do one anyway). Vanessa is busy is hell and I hardly see her, but its all good: meeting a ton of great people. There should be some good pics of me on the website, I imagine.

 

Next message tomorrow...Im out!

Tomorrow I tackle the Gobi

Well, I arrived in Bole (the host city) last night after a very interesting short flight from Urumqi. Specifically, I was carrying most of my equipment onto the plane, as suggested, and the plane was a small regional jet with no overhead space. Thus, Vanessa and I, as well as other competitors, held our bags on our laps for the flight; I am sure that would go over well anywhere other than China. In any case, I am here, and we leave for the desert tomorrow around 4pm China time. The race then starts the following morning (Sunday) at 8am. Today I feel good. But as I suspected, I am starting to feel a bit restless having taken off almost a week from working out now: too much time off!!! On the plus side, my legs feel good, my shoulders, arms, and back haven�t felt this un-sore in at least 7 months, and I am pretty much ready to roll. I just finished a light 2000m row and 2 mile treadmill jog to try and get my blood flowing again and wake my body up from its short workout-related hibernation. I will probably do some stretching and a short row tomorrow morning also to get at least a couple days of getting back into my routine before Sunday (side note: I really can�t believe there is a nice rowing machine in such a remote hotel in China). Maybe I am stupid for doing anything before Sunday, as I didn�t see anyone else in the hotel gym when I was there, but my training has been based on basically 2-a-days, with only about 3-4 days off a month, so I feel like I need to do something. I guess I will know next week. Other than that, I will probably just roll out a bit with the lacrosse ball and Voodoo tonight. I also got my pack finalized today, and I think I am going to start with 26.75#, with about 14.75# being food. Having talked to some veteran competitors, I could probably drop some of the food weight because they say I won�t be hungry after day 2-3, but I am erring on the side that I will be hungry, as usual. Based on my typical food consumption, regardless of what I am eating (i.e., freeze dried meals), I feel like I am still going to want to smash some food. In addition, I trained with about 31#, so hopefully, I can handle the weight for the first day (and it doesn't take too much of a toll on me) before it starts drastically dropping for day 2 on. My next post will be from the Desert. I look forward to all of your messages during the race! I�m out� 

Pre-Gobi 2013

After a year of training, I guess I am happy to actually get this thing started. At this point, as I know it is going to be extremely difficult no matter how much I train, I can at least say that I feel ready to attack the Gobi! Here are 25 random thoughts based on my experiences over the last year: (1) My training program has been a lot of fun, and despite playing hockey for 15 of the first 20 years of my life, and doing serious lifting in my late-teens/early 20's, I am definitely currently in the best shape of my life at age 31. (2) Thanks to my Uncle, Randy, who can officially be credited for getting me to go do this race next week. He introduced me up for CrossFit for my b-day over a year ago, and it made me totally re-evaluate my fitness goals. Thus, I committed to this, which at the time seemed very far off. (3) While I did a lot of my own programming, as well, I owe a lot of the training "fun" to my local box (i.e., CrossFit Praxis). (4) My coaches at Praxis, and their great programming, have really contributed to my training experience and development as an athlete. (5) Since I know he will appreciate the shout-out, Pablo Brown (Popi) was integral to my first workout of each day (7 am daily workouts, almost always 5 days a week). I also note that Popi can be credited with the idea of the "elevation training mask," which took my training to a whole different level. See you at 7 am on June 20th! (6) The other coaches at Praxis also each contributed something to my training over the last year, as each helped develop my technique and pushed me passed the point of exhaustion. So thanks to John, Joe, Mike, Carlos, Adam, Derrick, and Tyler. (7) The "exorcist stairs" are f*&^*@# awesome: thanks for finally going with me John. Thanks also for helping me get my first muscle-ups after only 4.5 months of CrossFit'ing. (8) Derrick and Tyler, thanks for pushing me to keep up, beyond exhaustion, in the workouts we did together. (9) CrossFit Endurance has been invaluable in developing my own programming and creating some of my own workouts. (10) I learned that I definitely prefer running on trails to running on streets/sidewalks/roads - the pounding on concrete can be brutal after a while, and boring, especially when wearing a 30# weight vest or pack. (11) To my surprise, I learned that Rock Creek Park actually has quite a few different trails with varying terrain, I was particularly surprised because it is located right in DC. Shenandoah Valley National Park has also been a great place to do trail runs. (12) One of my favorite motivating quotes over the last year: �Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever.� ~Lance Armstrong. I found the quote well before the Oprah interview. (13) I can't wait to have a beer and/or a scotch (or rice wine since I will be in China) after 5.5 months of basically NO alcohol: I admit that I had 2 nights where I had a couple drinks for Steve's passing a couple weeks ago! (14) At the same time, I am kind of scared to think of what I will do with my time after this event is over. I suspect, however, my training will continue into my next challenge, whatever it might be. Another run? More focus on CrossFit? After missing it 2 years in a row at Praxis, maybe I can try doing "Murph" next year. We will have to see. (15) I work for the best law firm in the world (GDLSK LLP) to be able to train as I have and to head out on this 3 week "Odyssey" (as one Partner called it) to China. (16) It seems like preparing and testing all of the equipment, food, etc., for an event like this has taken almost as much time as my training. (17) After getting a blood test in January and being told that I had high blood sugar, I switched to hybrid Paleo/block-oriented diet. I should have done this sooner, as my energy levels and gains went up after only about 2.5 weeks. (18) As a result of a switch to this diet, my appetite also spiked as I cut out almost all processed carbs. (19) I eat a lot during a typical day; while I am taking probably more food than the average person with me during the race, I hope it will be enough. (20) 3Fuel, by CrossFit Endurance founder Brian Mackenzie, which does not give the traditional sugar spike of an energy gel/chew, is awesome. This has served as a great replacement for , and I would say superior product to, traditional energy gels/chews during my training, and I think/hope it will stand up to the challenge during the event. (21) Voodoo Bands and Lacrosse Balls are awesome. Compression gear, which I knew nothing about last year, is also pretty amazing. (22) My wife, Vanessa, has been amazingly understanding in my need to test, change, test, and change again my equipment (this was not a cheap undertaking). (23) Thanks to my family and friends for all of the final motivational words...they have been really helpful! (24) Lastly, I note that I am participating in this race in honor of my Step-dad Steve, whom I dedicated my participation in the race to last September, and whom, unfortunately, passed away on May 7, 2013. Hopefully, this will add additional motivation for me to get to the finish line. (25) After a year, it's definitely go time!!! "In Training, you listen to your body. In competition you tell your body to shut up." ~Rich Froning Friends and Family, please send me messages during the race so I have something to look forward to each day! See you in the Gobi!