Today was an Absolute Bloodbath

April 26, 2010 - PRLog -- Today was an absolute bloodbath.  Plain and simple.  Think I now have some idea of what Rocky felt like fighting the Russian.  Only difference...there's no chance a monster left knocks this harsh environment out.  Just left the med tent after receiving liters of much needed IV.  Feel like death.  But I can fortuitously announce that I am alive and through uncompromising determination still in the race.  In and amongst itself that is quite an accomplishment.  

The race started at 7:00 local time with a beautiful ceremony and the aboriginal children leading the way.  I felt great but knew it would be a hard day so ran within myself and stayed comfortably at the front of the pack for the first four miles.  Around then things took an immediate turn for the worse.  I took a headfirst digger at mile four in the heavy brush into a ditch.  Fortunately I was ok but I managed to lose my electrolytes from my front pouch and didn't realize it at the time so I just kept cranking.  When I reached for them 45 minutes in they weren't there but I was doing well so I kept pushing to Check Point 1.  There I had to dig in the pack for more losing crucial time.  

In the panic the bag ripped open and another days worth of pills spilled out into the brush.  But I took four down and figured I'd be good to go.  Little did I know at the time it was already too late.  I was way behind for this unforgiving and relentlessly brutal climate.  So I kept pushing and got to CP2 (halfway) in 2:44.  20th position out of 200.  Solid.  That's when it really went downhill.

About half a mile later I started getting very dizzy, blurred vision and felt nauseous.  I was beyond dehydrated and depleted.  At that time I started vomiting.  The vomiting continued for the next six hours and I spent more time lying the bushes under the intense heat.  Oh yea and it was 100 degrees and very humid. I couldn't keep water down and I couldn't keep food down.  So I was very weak.  In the midst of all this my left shoulder strap ripped on my pack so I was carrying it on one shoulder until I had someone help with a quick fix hours later.  So I just kept fighting, kept plodding, kept collapsing in the brush and kept getting sick.  Finally by 4:00 the sun was down enough and I started feeling a little better.  

It ended up taking me almost three times as long to finish the second half of the course at it did the first but I made it across the finish line.  Quitting was not an option because if I just laid out there it would've taken the staff 3+ hours to find me and it would've already been too late.  This brush is so thick, so sharp and neverending.  You cant access the course by vehicle only chopper.  Really not enjoyable to run through like the Sahara was.  Can't run fast out here.  

The river crossings were cool but other than that this course just physically manhandled us.  Even Paul Liebenberg (second guy ever to complete the 4deserts in one-year and prohibitive favorite) passed out in the brush and didn't remember being found by another runner.  He gutted through it too and came in behind me.  Crazy.   At this point if I can recover fully (which is a major question mark) I have serious payback on the mind for tomorrow.  Drink more, eat more, and keep up with the electrolytes.  At this point it's only going to get harder and the only way to win will be by decision so I've gotta take it the distance.  Eye of the tiger

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