(Note: This is Jacqueline's blogpost for June 18, 2007. "In the field" entries are posted as soon as they are received by the Inquirer's Online Newsdesk.)
Greetings from the desert!
Well the knee definitely spoke to me for the first 6 miles today. I took some advil before the race and rubbed it with tiger balm. The steri strips are holding and there was only minimal bleeding through the night.
We started out at 9 am today. We are still running with mountains on either side of us and "the river wild" to one side at all times. I forgot to mention yesterday that we had a bridge crossing. If you ever saw "Man Who would be King" and recall that bridge in the movie, that's what this was like. We were told at the morning briefing that only two people should be on it at one time, definitely no more than three. I was on the bridge with another competitor when a young woman proceeds to start walking on the bridge...with a cow! No way! She definitely was not at the briefing and the cow had no sense of direction as it was heading straight for me. There was only a cable to hold on to and no safety net to catch you if you fell. A wee bit harrowing.
Okay, back to today. I knew I had to make up alot of time from yesterday due to my knee injury so I proceeded straight through check point one. At check point two I stopped and filled up my bottles and carried on. The route was along a river with lots of rocks. Basically a sprained/broken ankle in the making. The ascents and descents were really challenging on my bad knee, but i was determined to make up time from yesterday.
At the third checkpoint I topped off my bottles, by the way, thanks Ross, the hydration system is working wonderfully. Heart rate is still around 85 while I run and I must say I feel much better at this altitude the yesterday. I finished around 3:15 pm and managed to only acquire one blister which happened to be under the nail of the left toe, the same one which blistered in the Sahara. The doctor said she wasn't going to drain it yet as it was on the side of the nail at the moment. So I will tape it up for tomorrow's run which we were just briefed on.
It isn't the long stage but 40Ks with the first 20 being elevation. We end up at 14,000 feet and were told there still may be snow at the top. We were told not to stay at the top but start on the next stretch as we would descend 1,400 feet within the next few kilometers. They will have donkeys to take people off the course for those who feel the impact of the altitude and just can't carry on.
Tonight we are spending the night in the villagers homes which is a nice treat and will be more comfortable than sleeping on the floor.
I do hope you are enjoying the blogs. Cheers.