We made it through both beach day and the Long March.  It wasn’t easy. 

 

Beach day was, yes, nearly 20 miles – on the sand, only to end the marathon with a haul into a 30mph headwind across tough rocky terrain.  Pretty tough.  We had some fun watching our shadows floss in the desert, but it was no doubt a tough one. 

 

The long stage – yep, sure enough, heat was advertised and heat was there.  Over 90 degrees in the oldest desert was brutal.  We actually did a great job pacing, for fear that heat issues would be a race ender.  We did get some good tunes playing on the way, jammed to Highway to Hell – haha, and of course had plenty of Beyonce for power.   The night portion was so tough.  We were in great spirits, but the soft gravel terrain toward the end that slid your feet while you sunk into it didn’t do great things for our feet.  Every footstep for us was so painful that sometimes we would just cry out in pain, trying to keep going.  We really couldn’t move faster than a little more than 2mph!  Definitely a character builder!  The one very great consolation was the sky full of stars that we gazed at.  Those moments we will remember forever. 

 

One more day.  Dune day.  We are definitely nervous because our feet are so sore we can’t even walk without limping, but everyone’s comments keep us going.  

 

Pray for us tomorrow – we make it through and one more 10k on Saturday to the finish.  I promise the first pic I will post – other than the finish – will be the feet if you dare.  Love you all!

At 21 miles and cooler and some nice flat terrain, today was a confidence builder.

 

Chad and I are suffering with our feet – the doc told me basically the blisters wouldn’t heal by the end of the race, so I’m just sucking it up.   

 

We are staying well ahead of our feared sweep and honestly it’s a little less painful to shuffle instead of walking so a very bright spot. 

 

To remind us why we are here, at the third checkpoint today, we met Art, a Chicago Fireman!  For real, volunteering here!  Honestly, that was just what we needed and he was so happy we were racing for Build Your Own.  

 

This is super hard though, and to say we are feeling great about tomorrow would be a lie.  But we take each day by checkpoints – tomorrow is full marathon with a ton of time on the beach, so we are thinking another 8 hour day – just stay ahead of the sweeps!  

 

Attitude generally good, still a little terrified, and 3 big days to go (one is  50 miler!)  Keep praying Chicago!!  Love you all!

Day 1 was hard!  Thank God for the medical tent because after stage 1 we both have hamburger feet.  We know we”ll be slowing but we are pretty sure we’ll make the cutoffs to continue, but today actually made me want to cry.  

Chad is kicking ass – even through the last rocky road with headwinds so strong I couldn’t keep my hat on!

Tomorrow is a new day – pray for us Chicago (and Argentina!)

While Chad heads to get a last bit of Thai Body Work, I'm just pacing. Garmin will likely tell me I got 12,000 steps by 8am today. We spent last night with a glass of wine, packing of bags of food in a bag to carry on all the way to Namibia. It's almost 30 lbs. Yikes! I'm sure we'll make some last minute changes but with all the gear (except the charger that I am insisting we take so that we can take photos along the way, and also in case I need some emergency Beyonce to push me forward), my pack is just under 22 lbs without water and Chad is about 24 lbs. Let's see how much we really need those extra socks! It's been really fun and terrifying starting this journey over again, at 52. I'm in better shape than I've been in a few years, but there is always the doubt. The sweep pace of 24 minute/miles haunts me. If I'm walking the dogs, we have to move faster than 24 minute miles (sorry dogs!), if I walk to grab coffee, sub 24 minute miles. Every once and awhile, I'll walk slower and ask myself, how does this feel? Slow? Easy? And usually, the answer is, well, it's not THAT slow. Of course, the other wonderful thing about this journey is sharing it with my guy, Chad. Chad is built more like a linebacker than an endurance runner. The training has been grueling for him (well us both of course), but Chad dealt with swollen and painful feet, cankles that lasted a week, and calves of stone. He's pushed through every time, and I'm so proud of him. I can't wait to share this with him. The 2004 Atacama Race changed my life. That sounds crazy, right? But I went in naive, over-confident and was humbled by what I didn't know. I was in great physical shape, but my mind was not as strong. I wanted to quit every day. EVERY DAY. I'm sure if you ask any of the competitors, the one thing they will remember is my wailing at the end of the race. I honestly couldn't believe I had done it. It was awful and wonderful all at once and proved to me that I had strength that I didn't know. Strength I needed to leave a relationship, to start a new one, to find a deeper love than I had known, and to take risks in my life and career that I didn't know were possible. Now I'm sure there's more than one race that changes your life, but if you ask me now, that was the start of it all. Not that the other races were easier, but I had a confidence that I didn't have in Chile. It's funny, because I am terrified again - will I make it? Will Chad be ok? Will we be a good example for our charity and our city? How do you let go of all the things you can't control? It's funny at 52 I still worry what people will think. Will my friends from 15 years ago still accept me? Will I be the one who lets the race staff down? I guess the vast pit of self doubt never ends. This time though, it's for so much more. It's for love. It's to thank the universe for this guy who will take every step with me, the guy who held my hand in the worst moments of my Dad passing, my best moments of a personal best at the Boston Marathon, the guy who makes me laugh when I am crazy and pulls me up when I'm in the vast pit of self doubt. It's also to thank the universe for allowing me to thrive in the best city in the world, my city: CHICAGO! Although I've lived in other places and other countries, Chicago is where my heart beats. I'm so proud to be a Chicagoan, despite the winters. I also know that there is injustice in my city. I'd be in a bubble not to understand the violence that happens only a few miles from our home. I wonder often, how to be the change. It's so easy to get caught up in what we want, how the house looks, how I look, how others see us. It's such a waste of time and thought, and yet. it's there all the time. If there's one thing I guess I can do in life, it's simply, MOVE FORWARD. Using my ability to move forward to raise funds for Chicago kids who want a better life is a no brainer. 80% of Chicago Public School students live under the federal poverty line. Career and technical training in high schools had become non existent even though jobs in the trades are available NOW! We need our kids to have the opportunity to have a career in the trades - an immediate path to the middle class. We race to make sure there are NO hurdles (or sand dunes) for kids who want a career in the trades, so we raise funds for things like transportation, union fees, tools - things I am fortunate enough to take for granted, but are a life changer for our kids. Ready to donate yet? Here ya go: http://weblink.donorperfect.com/TheChildrenTeachersFoundation/BuildYourOwn-ARacefortheTrades OK, I'm off to get my nails done (because, you know, pretty nails in the desert are the most ridiculous thing ever). Then the almost 48 hours to get to the race hotel from Chicago, carrying a bag of astronaut food. I'm crying thinking about it! Excited and nervous! See you in Namibia!