22-Sep-2012 05:33:34 AM [(GMT+08:00) Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong, Urumqi]

So haven't been on the blog in a while (and I'm sure I promised I would be on more often, my bad!) and with it being this close to the Sahara Race, I thought I would resurface once again.. The last stretch lies ahead as I'm sure everyone is making their final 'last minute' changes etc to kit, food, kit, food, and probably kit and food. Training for the Sahara has been a lot harder than the training for the Gobi, purely because I had to do the program going through a brutal summer here in Abu Dhabi. With humidity climbing up and over the 80's and sometimes 90's, and temps hitting late 40 deg C and into the 50 deg C range, it has been a true physical and probably more often a mental challenge.. The weather definitely seems to be changing now, the mornings and evenings are cooler and less humid. That something the average person just notices as a changing of the season, has meant so much more to me! Constantly checking the skies, noticing the slightest change in the clouds (or lack thereof) in the sky....and if, when I get up early in the morning for a run, the front door handle has condensation dripping from it...inside the house...due to humidity on the outside (those are times I had to dig really deep!). I know the Sahara is going to throw different challenges at me, different types of ammo that the Gobi might not have had....plenty of loose sand. Lots of it. Oh yes, did I mention I stay in the desert?? ;-) Hope everyone is injury free, hydrated, and with the last bit to go...also randomly getting tiny little butterflies every now and then. Best feeling in the world.. Laters!!