So I’ve been avoiding thinking about the Gobi for fear.  I did lose a bit of sleep one night so I decided to put it out of my mind.

And yet, this afternoon, I find myself looking at urine colour charts on the racing the planet website (http://www.racingtheplanet.com/medicaltent/hydration_casa.pdf) - how to tell if you are dehydrated.  I laugh out loud.  I think that the world has gone mad.  And then I realise it is not a joke.

I have disgusting camping food and tasty junk food falling out of my shoebox flat.  This morning, ugly ugly leggings arrived at my desk - hi tech support leggings for SERIOUS runners Fedexed from the U.S.  Why did I choose to do this? 

I click through to the latest course notes (http://www.racingtheplanet.com/gobimarch/notes_from_field.shtml) and read the delights of Xinjiang province and the Uygrhur culture that await me.  I forget about the delights of taping my team mates’ stinking feet with duct tape at night after days of pounding across the desert.

It’s going to be marvellous.

Sunday afternoon I sat in my flat and spread food all around me: saltine crackers, pepperami sticks (40), pop pan crackers, dried apricots, cashew nuts, oatmeal, packet soups,  hot chocolate, a ton of electrolyte powders.  I have not saved a penny of my not insignificant salary over the last few months.  Food and kit have drained my bank account (and my sanity).  I made tables of calorific value versus weight - I calculated that we should be deriving 4 calories per gram of food.  Am I a geek?  The amount of food for one day seems inadequate for an eating machine for myself.  2,000 calories?  What is that, 4 mars bars?  I could eat that for an afternoon snack on a normal day at the office (well, maybe a boring day).  Is that really enough for the kind of physical strain that I will be putting my body through?

Training has stopped - I’m all for yoga, carbo loading and lots of rest.  Ooh, and massages.  But I’m strangely bored, not comforted. I begin to wonder what will happen post-Gobi.  Will I get post-Gobi withdrawal depression?  Will I need to run and run and run?  What will I do next year? 

The Gobi is closing in on us.  The sands are getting closer.  It’s time to taper down the training now - the body needs time to rest and recuperate before taking the beating of its life.  My body took quite a beating last weekend on our final training - the Lantau Trail.  It was beautiful, stunning scenery, beautiful beaches, we were shielded by the mist most of the time on top of the peaks, but it was an almost spiritual experience.  Especially with a pretty damn heavy tent in my pack.  The walking was amazing, the shoes were doing good.  I taped my feet (?!) which still seems like an odd practice to prevent blisters.  I didn’t get any (until I put on my high heels back on HK island) so I’m feeling all is in order.  Unfortunately, my “Natural High” dehydrated meal was ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING, but luckily Andrew had an extra pack of Ramen.  I will definitely be trying all my dehydrated good flavours before taking them with me.  I have little faith despite the insistence by the boys (who are not awfully discerning when it comes to food) that it’s “edible”.  Fun at home with Lu trying dehydrated meals for the next few weeks.  But the real bummer with the last training was the unbearable heat and mosquitos when trying to sleep. This is okay though, as firstly, Gobi will be freezing at night and secondly, it is far too hostile a climate for any kinds of insects.  Nice.  Hopefully at least these two obstacles will be removed.  The lack of sleep made day 2 pretty tough, but physically, my body was feeling in peak fighting form!  To be honest, I’m chomping at the bit for it to start now.

I returned to HK on Saturday, stinking.  I really think that the hygiene thing is the worst aspect. 

Back to business:

Thank you, kind employers, Baker & McKenzie, firstly for financially supporting Don & I to enter the race, secondly for contributing HK$25,000 to Sunbeam, and thirdly, thanks to the generous individuals amongst our illustrious organisation who have donated:   Stephen Eno HK$2,000; Tracy Wut HK$500; Yuk Tong Cheung HK$2,000; Carol Wong HK$200; Eugene Lim $500 plus double bonus if we complete which we will; Andrew Aglionby USD320, Amy Ye USD50.

Also thanks to Stuart Wrigley USD75; Fiona Ko & Nick Pike HK$1,000, Neil Arrowsmith HKD500, Stine USD 30.

We’re well on our way with a running total of HK$63,284.00 !!!!

Thank you thank you thank you everybody !!!!

Mr. Daniel Plane, for your HK$500, Charmaine Lee for your US$55, Fergus Fung for your US$80, Nick Larner for your US$100.  Gosh, my friends are wonderful !!!! 

 Running total: HK$3,500

BTW, anyone who’s reading:  we are planning a photo exhibition / cocktail party to thank our kind, generous, warm, wonderful, goodlooking, sexy, brilliant, funny sponsors (and maybe squeeze more money out of you). We’ve yet to fix the venue but we’re looking at 9 / 10 June.  We don’t like making empty promises so we’ve yet to release details, but hopefully you’ll all get a chance to congratulate us, see us crippled and meet each other after the race.

What a great day! 

This afternoon, Mr. Dan Ryan has made an off-line pledge HK$500 outright with an additional HK$500 if we finish (I’m going to count this as HK$1,000 in the running total because THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT WE WILL FINISH),  Mr. Clyde Yee (el rey donde el mundo de salsa y la lei se encuentran) has pledged a very generous HK$1,500 so now we have HKS$6,000.

sorry everyone, but i’ve started to feel a bit negative about the Gobi March.  it’s bound to happen at some stage.  it’s because i feel that it’s taken over my life so much that’s there’s no room for anything else.  the constant training is cool - but there’s so much other stuff too. oh well, best try and drain that negative energy asap!

Louise’s training is hardcore!! 

Apart from the months of training, setting up this blog and website has been an amazing experience.  Thank you so much Sharon @ creativea art link, for all your help. 

 So now we’re going live and global with our fundraising effort.  Please, give give give !!!!

I’ve always had a thing for climbing mountains. When I heard about the Trailwalker, a 100km race across Hong Kong’s arduous Maclehose Trail, I jumped at the chance to join the Bakers team. Strangely enough, not that many other people were jockeying for the team position….

In November 2005, Don & I, along with two other colleagues, completed the Trailwalker. All virgins to this kind of distance, it only required a little bit of disciplinary action (on account of the support team who were late with dinner because they were in the bar) for the Bakers Walkers to finish the non-stop 30 hour journey across some of Hong Kong’s highest peaks.

In December 2005, I participated in the Action Asia Challenge, an 8-hour multi-discipinary adventure race on Lantau Island. Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I biked, kayaked, climbed, ran, swam and swore my way to a new plane of existence. I had the bug,

What could I do that would surpass the feeling of euphoria upon finishing those races? I asked Google. Oh, the Gobi March, of course! Fascinated by Xinjiang, the script and lifestle of the Uyghurs, and that hot man from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The silk road and riches, spices and tongues travelling across rolling open desert plains. Solitude and landscapes. Open skys, herding sheep - it was an almost pastoral scene. Onerous lystart