For new readers

To get an idea of what I'm trying to do and why I think it's possible, check out the following entries, they'll help get you up to speed.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

evolution of suffering

I had intended to take a 'self portrait' photo every hour during the race to document the physical deterioration of my body..... i ended up with about 6 photos covering the entire race.  It turns out that things that sound like a good idea in theory often aren't easily put into practice.  That and i've never been a good picture taker to begin with - so 6 is actually pretty good for me.  the biggest problem for me in the race was my eyes (right eye particularly) and you can probably see some of the damage in the photos - i've learned that there can be 'dry eye' issues that result from lasik (which i had about 10 years ago) that are exacerbated by extreme cold.  Hmmmm.  Gotta figure out a way to keep those goggles on next time i guess!  enjoy the photos....
Here i am an hour before race start (still inside the hotel) with the sheen of vaseline all over my face.  I'd never have thought to do this had it not been for the suggestion of pat white - but without it i'd have had serious issues with frostbite for sure.
At the start line a few minutes before the gun with about 100 other shady looking ninja characters.

Ah, what a difference two hours makes.  this is about 16 or so miles into the race.  temp at starting line was -20 F, it's probably still about -16 here.

this is about 4 hours into the race.  it's a bit warmer now, but still well below zero.  for some reason my right eye always seemed to be colder - the ice never melted from it's eyelashes like it did on the left.....

At the gateway store (CP 1), 35 miles in and about 5 hours into the race.  i stopped here for perhaps half an hour to refill water, warm up, and shovel in tons of food.

Back out on the trail, about 10 hours in.  it's probably around 4 pm and as warm as it'll get for the day.  past gateway i was able to wear goggles without them fogging and this was the only part of the race where my eyes weren't a major issue.

approx. 19 hours in.  I'm riding with Bill Shand at this point, and have already dealt with the first round of sleepmonsters.  The second, third, and fourth rounds still await.  it's a humid night so lots of hoarfrost on everything.

at the CP 3 - nearly 24 hours in.  my right eye is totally worked - i can barely keep it open.  i can barely stay awake.  22 miles left to go! i'm convinced the coming dawn (1 hour away at this point) will give me renewed energy, but this never happens.
In a service hallway at the casino that serves as the finish line....   135 miles, 26 and a half hours, all on three hours a week baby!

No comments:

Post a Comment