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March 23, 2009

24=20 Hours of Sunlight: Full Recovery Achieved

By Ou= tside=20 Online
Mar 23, 2009

Comments=20 (1)

Settling = into a bed=20 of downy goodness at southeastern Belize's Machaca = Hill=20 Lodge and contemplating tomorrow=E2=80=99s potential = encounter with=20 whale sharks, I think I'm finally recovered from skiing = 34,500 feet=20 uphill at the 24 Hours = of=20 Sunlight randonee ski race in early February. =

Exercise-induced=20 gastritis? Gone (and I=E2=80=99m still down six pounds = =E2=80=A6 perfect for the=20 upcoming road cycling season). Crampy calves and quads? Also = (mostly) gone. Dry-skin splits on multiple fingers? They = lingered,=20 but Belize=E2=80=99s humidity finally healed them up. =

And the = timing for=20 this full recovery couldn=E2=80=99t be better because down = here in Belize,=20 I=E2=80=99ve got things to do. There are those whale sharks = to meet 80 feet=20 beneath the surface of the Gulf of Honduras near the = world=E2=80=99s second=20 largest barrier reef. There=E2=80=99s also hiking, mountain = biking, and=20 river kayaking. And more specific to Belize there's = chocolate making=20 (perhaps those six pounds won=E2=80=99t stay gone) and = Mayan-ruin excavating=20 (March thru June a University of New Mexico team working on = a=20 recently discovered ruin welcomes guest diggers for the day = or for=20 several weeks).

At = Machaca, they=20 allow =E2=80=93 hope for, even =E2=80=93 guests to indulge = both their inner Indiana=20 Jones and Willy Wonka and then they throw in dashes of = Primal Quest=20 and pampering. (The latter happens at Belize=E2=80=99s = newest spa, Jabulani,=20 which just so happens to be no more than a few steps and = perhaps a=20 howler monkey or toucan away from all of Machaca=E2=80=99s = cabanas.)=20

Each of = Machaca=E2=80=99s 12=20 cabanas, as well as its dining room, an outdoor reception = area where=20 tea is =20 served every afternoon at 4 (go for the lime cake or shrimp=20 wontons), a swimming pool, fire pit, and now, Jabulani, are = tucked=20 into the rainforest canopy 300 feet above the valley floor = (to the=20 north) and the Rio Grande River (immediately = south).

But I = shouldn=E2=80=99t be so=20 flippant about my recovery. After all, pushing your body for = 24=20 hours without rest is serious business. Recovery = didn=E2=80=99t just happen=20 overnight. It required a very special night: one spent in a = villa on=20 a private island.

=20

This = private island =E2=80=93=20 and islet really -- was Cayo=20 Espanto. Cayo is less than a mile off the west coast of = Ambergris=20 Caye, Belize=E2=80=99s largest caye. (A side note for fans = of random trivia:=20 Ambergris Caye=E2=80=99s main city, San Pedro, is the San = Pedro that=20 inspired Madonna=E2=80=99s La Isla Bonita.) =

But at = Cayo, unlike=20 at Machaca, where I=E2=80=99m still really enjoying my = bed=E2=80=99s downy goodness,=20 my full recovery wasn=E2=80=99t so important.

24 hours = of pain=20 deserves two days of total pampering, right?

At Cayo = Espanto,=20 David, the world=E2=80=99s most excellent Houseman (not that = I have many=20 housemen to compare him to) brought me absolutely everything = I=20 needed. As well as many things I didn=E2=80=99t.

The pier = connecting=20 my 1,100-square foot villa and its outdoor shower to land = was 150=20 feet long. I could smell the cookies before David=E2=80=99s = feet hit it.=20

When = ordering an=20 afternoon snack to help me mend after a morning of reading = on a=20 chaise lounge, I showed as much restraint as one could be = expected=20 to when on a private island. I selected only cookies from = the dozen=20 or so items on the tea menu.

I wonder = if Sean=20 Connery opts for the cookies or the crab cakes when he = vacations=20 here? I bet Harrison Ford is a cheese quesadilla = kind-of-guy.=20

But I = digress. Back=20 to my recovery. Did I mention the cookies were too hot = to eat=20 when David set them down on a table he moved to within = arm=E2=80=99s=20 reach of the hammock? And that, even after = polishing=20 off each and every crumb of four cookies, three = hours later=20 I still managed to have room for a four-course = dinner?

Evidently, I=E2=80=99ve=20 already started the caloric loading for next year=E2=80=99s = 24 Hours = of Sunlight=20 race. I won=E2=80=99t start the = training right away=20 though.

Actually, = now that=20 I=E2=80=99m here at Machaca, in the country=E2=80=99s = still-waiting-to-be-discovered=20 southernmost district, Toledo, maybe I will. But it will be=20 cross training. The 11,000-acre private reserve = Machaca is=20 tucked in to and=20 the surrounding area offer plenty of opportunities for = activity and=20 adventure =E2=80=93 remember that hiking, biking, and = archeological digging=20 I already mentioned? There=E2=80=99s all of that =E2=80=A6 = and fishing, caving,=20 tubing, and cannonballing into pools at the bases of = waterfalls. I=20 find myself not minding at all that the nearest ski resort = is=20 thousands of miles away.

So the = physical=20 recovery is done. The mental scar from the 30,000-40,000 = vertical=20 feet a week I was skiing as part of my training will take = longer to=20 heal. While it does though, I=E2=80=99ll stay the course, = thinking ahead to=20 the 5^th annual 24 Hours of Sunlight =E2=80=A6 and = continue my=20 calorie loading. Machaca=E2=80=99s Chef Ken Gundu promised = that dessert=20 would be a chocolate-y wondrous-ness made from the cacao = beans I=20 helped peel, sift, and grind at a farm down the road (all=20 surprisingly aerobic activities that all my ski training did = nothing=20 to prepare me for). =20

-- Dina=20 Mishev

Do you = have favorite=20 ways or places to recover from races? We=E2=80=99d love to = hear how you do=20 it.

For more = quick,=20 tropical getaways, check out our picks for Caribbean Island Escapes.

Email=20 this post

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Hi,
Its great blog .
Thanks for all the=20 information.

Posted by: Discount sunglasses | March=20 25, 2009 at 07:53 AM

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