The “before” race photo with the best training partner and adventure wingman. Ever.
Stage One ~ Wide Open Mongolia
And off we go….
Rolling hills and dirt road trails and nothing but green, green, green, as far as the eyes can see. I wanted to burn the green color into my retinas and memory for all time’s sake. I was surrounded by a landscape of colors ~ luscious verdant green with a slight purple hue due to all the lavender and wildflowers covering the hills.
Beware those with grass allergies, Mongolia may not be the
place for you! The fields of green emitted soft grassy smells as we trekked along
the course. Complete aromatherapy immersion.
The course marked for the day, had us passing by gers and
herds of sheep, goats, cows and horses. Families waved and kids high-fived us
as we trekked by their traditional homes, many equipped with a solar panel outside placed next
to the parked Prius and motorbikes.
We traversed over hills and through the valley ending up in
sort of a mud bog. We hopped from berm to berm to the finish line ending at
camp 2.
Misc. notes on day one:
WTF: Blisters on both feet on the first day. Whaaaat?!?! I
trained with these shoes and socks for miles over the last several months.
Blisters were never an issue. Thankful for the doctor’s advice and instructions on blister care and taping offered in the medical tent.
My Piriformis is toast. What a literal pain in the ass. Stretched
and did some yoga and that pretty much took care of it.
Equipment FAIL – the front pouch to my Raidlight pack – the love affair is OVER. Totally my fault. I failed to get the converter buckles off my old Raidlight and attach it to my new pack for correct usage of the front pouch. I couldn’t figure out why the pouch was all floppy. To run with it was a joke, as I had to hold the front pouch like a very pregnant woman holding her baby belly. Frustrated and completely DONE with it, I donated my front pouch that first night to the camp’s “lost” and found collection. Someone who needed a front pouch will certainly score with that find.
Continue the adventure here with "Stage Two ~ The Nomadic Wilderness"
For more stories about outside adventures, rock hounding, road trips, crystal information, and trekking on the trails please check out other postings on Raven's Blog
