There are only 2 Marathons in Antarctica. One that takes place at the end of November and you actually fly to the continent. The trip is fewer days and it's more expensive. So, Camille and I opted on the more affordable Option 2....a 15-day trip with Marathon Tours to the South Pole via Ship. After a few days in Buenos Aires, we will make our way down to Ushuaia - the Capital city of the Teirra Del Fuego Province. The very southern tip of Argentina. Once there, we will hop on this boat with OneOcean Expeditions....
And "cruise" on down to Antarctica. I've read that as you pass over Drake Passage, the waters can get pretty rough. So, I'll be bringing some Dramamine with me and hope I don't get sea sick. Not really sure if I'm prone to that or not.... I guess I'll find out soon enough.
It will take about a day and half or 2 days to get to King George Island, one of the South Shetland Islands (A group of Antarctic Islands off the coast of the mainland). This is where we will be running the race. The only other people (besides us) that will be there will be the researchers from various countries that are stationed at their respective research base. Them and the penguins. Not your typical marathon where there are usually lots of crowds to cheer and support you on.
The race is different every year depending on the weather and conditions. And on where the researchers say we can and can't go. So, the race organizers will go and set up the day before we race. They used to run on a glacier - but apparently it become unstable a couple of years ago. So, unfortunately, I don't think we'll be doing that.
These are some things we've been told:
Be ready for 0F to 30F degrees. [I don't know what you think...but running in 30F degrees is a lot different than running in 0F degrees. So I've been trying to figure out what to bring to be prepared for either extreme and somewhere in between. Hard task when you have 50-60 degree weather to run in every day here in Cali.]
The wind can drop it another 10 degrees. [Awesome].
"Be prepared for mud. If the weather is warm there is a high possibility of a lot of mud. Shoe gaiters or other type gear may be a good idea." [Got the shoe gaiters. I'd much rather run on snow than in ankle deep mud...which they experienced one year on this race]
We have to bring our own H20. [They'll drop it for us at 4 locations along the course..but we have to provide our own water bottles and fill up water on the boat before the race.]
GU, ShotBlocks, ect... : "you will not be allowed to bring the individual gels packets to shore. We suggest that you purchase the larger bottle of gel liquid and put it in plastic gel flask(s) for use in the race. Solid carbohydrate blocks, such as shot blocks and energy bars must also be removed from the wrappers and put in permanent type containers. Items containing nuts or egg products may not be allowed on shore." [Seriously? Yep. Seriously. It's a serious infraction if you don't follow the rules. So I'm thinking I might go buy some Altoids, empty the container and fill it with my GU Chomps. Any better ideas??]
Hills, Hills, and more Hills [I already mentioned this in a post below...Not looking forward to this part. But I will survive!]
Bathrooms?Portable toilets will be available in tents at the start/finish area and two remote parts of the course. There is no indoor facilities for changing clothes or to stay warm. [And you know how a lot of marathons you see people on the side of the road doing their business...No can do in Antarctica. This would result in immediate disqualification.]
Time Limit - 6.5 hours [Seems like plenty...unless you are running against 40mph winds as one girl that ran the marathon said she experienced]
A picture from MarathonTours.com
Marathon Tours website says this about the marathon....
"The course on King George Island located off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula has marked gravel roads that connect the scientific research bases of Uruguay, Chile, China and Russia. Great care is taken to leave behind zero impact on the environment in this sensitive ecosystem. We are now restricted to having a maximum of 100 passengers ashore for the event at any one time. We guarantee that you will experience a most challenging running experience as well as an experience of a lifetime."
I can't believe this is all just 2 weeks away! I'm excited, nervous, scared, anxious. Almost 4 years after signing up for this thing...it is finally here. I don't think it will really hit me until I'm getting off the boat and stepping on to The Last Continent.
Or just under 20 miles. That's going to be my longest run. And it's what I ran this past Saturday. I felt really good for the first 10 miles and actually did the Dish 2 and almost a half times to start. By mile 14 though I was kind of wanting my run to be over. But I pushed through it and reached my goal. I did take a couple of walk breaks in those last 4 or 5 miles.
I'm happy that I'm going to be tappering now. My legs need to rest up before the marathon. It's less than 3 weeks away! I can't believe it. I leave in 10 days for Argentina!! I'm scared to death. But I think I might actually be able to finish this thing. I'm counting on some really good adrenaline, determination, and praying for as good of weather as we can possibly get down there!!
"The Dish", as they call it, is one my favorite places in Palo Alto. It's a 3.5 mile hilly loop in the Stanford foothills. It got its nickname because there is a big ol' Satelite Dish off the trail.
I've walked The Dish many times. Espescially in the summer and espescially when I was on my mini retirements. It's just a fun way to get exercise and get some sun. [Obviously this picture was taken when I was getting more sun cause I have a little bit of a tan...]
All the times I've walked this thing, there will be a few people that will go speeding by me as they run on by up those crazy hills. I would always think to myself that some day I should really try running that thing.
This might be a good time to tell you - I hate running hills. HATE it. I'm just not good at it. My heart races like a crazy maniac. And I think when I'm trying to get myself up the dang hill that I forget to breath so then I start panting like a crazy person. So, I tend to avoid hills when I go for runs.
But then I got an email from the Antarctica Marathon director in early January that said this.... "How is your training going? Run hills, hills and morehills! It is a strength runner's course with lots of ups and downs."
Ugh! Not what I wanted to hear. And of course, there is no elevation chart or anything on the website because the course changes pretty much every year depending on the weather conditions and where we are allowed to run.
But I still googled..and found this from someone that ran it in 2007 - yep...lots of ups and downs.
I guess the only saving grace is that besides those 2 big spikes they don't look like they are too big of hills....but they do look a little steep. After realizing this - I started freaking out about hill training. So i've been trying to incorporate the dish into my workouts. This is a 6.3 mile run that I do every week that incorporates the dish and you can see the elevation at the bottom...
I'm really hoping that running The Dish is going to prepare me enough for Antarctica. On my long run last week, I ran it twice. I'm thinking on my run this weekend that I might try to do it at least 3 times. Hills = Evil to me. And good always conquers evil, right? :)
Jules and I woke up at 6am Saturday morning to start our run in the dark and in about 23f degrees...which sometimes felt colder when the wind would blow.
I learned one very important thing ----> I need more layers! 23 degrees is a lot colder than I thought!
Before the Run - Early and smiling. Obviously before the run.
The run was so hard for me. I think when I thought Utah would be a good place to get a cold run in, I totally forgot to think about the whole elevation factor. We went up city creek trail in Salt Lake (which is allllll uphill) until I had it with hills....and then with the exception of a few more inclines we stayed pretty much either downhill or flat for the remaining miles.
And my upper body was cold pretty much the entire run. Legs, hands, head were fine. But my core and arms -- cold, cold, cold. Good thing I figured that out before going to the South Pole!
How I felt AFTER the run. DEAD tired.
My legs felt like led by the end of the run. It was not very encouraging. I'm blaming the 4500ft increase in elevation between CA and UT. Thank goodness Antarctica is at sea level!!!
Now - time to go buy a running jacket that is windproof!!!
I'm leaving for Salt Lake tonight to go try to get a colder run in before going to Antarctica. I'm supposed to run 15 miles tomorrow morning with my friend Julie (bless her soul for running with me!). I guess they haven't been having too cold of a winter - so looks like I'll be getting up early to get as much cold air time as I can...... [And then you'll probably find me at Cafe Rio gorging on the best Pork Salad ever].
Apparently we don't get T-shirts for this race (well, unless you want to buy one with this not very attractive logo on it). But we do get free backpacks...Just got mine in the mail yesterday:
I didn't realize how many things you need to think about when running in Antarctica. Like being ready for basically any kind of weather and temperature. I've been doing A LOT of online shopping lately. Making sure I have clothes that will be warm enough for the South Pole.
Apparently one year, the weather was mild for Antarctica and the ground wasn't frozen. So they were running in ankle deep mud. I would much rater run in freezing cold weather than ankle deep mud...but just in case - I got these:
Running gaiters to keep the dirt and mud off and hopefully from getting in the shoes! It was suggested to get some in one of the emails we got about the marathon....
Since China….I’ve been running on and off.
In total, I’ve completed 6 half marathons and 2 marathons. And a handful of 5k's and 10k's.
5k in NYC - May 2008 right after going to China.
Virginia Rock & Roll Marathon in September 2008
The next half I did after the GW was the Virginia Rock & Roll Marathon with my friend Becky. I was not ready for the humidity that day. And I didn't do a whole lot of running the month or 2 leading up to it because of work. But Becky and I still had lots of fun running together.
San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon – May 2009
Jaime wanted to do the RnR San Diego marathon and so I signed up with her. My longest run before this race was 17 miles. Jaime's was 12. We weren't exactly ready for it (you'll see a trend of this) - but we still did it! I don't think I had ever been in so much pain after this race. I vowed never to run a marathon again unless I had finished my training (you'll see that vow didn't last very long)... The race itself was a fun race. Bands everywhere. And San Diego always has nice weather so that is a bonus. But I think the more races I run, the more I like the smaller ones. RnR always have way too many people.
Athens Marathon turned 10k – October 2010
Camille and I signed up to run the original Athens Marathon - from Marathon, Greece to Athens. We were so excited for it. And because I wasn't about to have a repeat of San Diego - I was way more committed to training. I was up to running a 17-mile long run a good 2 months before the marathon so I was definitely on track. But then I got some really bad tendonitis in my right foot. It was really painful just to walk. I and the doctors originally thought it was a stress fracture.
I still went to Athens - but no marathon running for me. I did force myself to run the 10k after not running for nearly 2 months and my foot was sore just after that so it's probably good I didn't still go for it. Besides - I ended up hanging out with Clyde Drexler and Sheri after the 10k while we waited for the marathons. Can't complain about that...
Walt Disney World Half Marathon – January 2011
Camille really wanted to do the "Goofy" challenge at disney. And Lesley was also planning on running that weekend. And I pretty much can't say no to anything... So, I signed up for the half not really knowing if my foot would be ready. I ran a couple of 10k's (longest run this time) before the race. My foot held up for the most part. It was a fun weekend....and Camille did awesome running the Goofy (you run the half on Saturday and the full on Sunday). Maybe some day I'll go back and challenge myself to do that...
Montreal Half Marathon – September 2011
Alex, Me and Beth
Last year, I ran the Montreal Half Marathon with a few of my old basketball friends from back in the day! It was SO much fun to see them an catch up. I had all these grand plans of running all summer to get ready for this race and a couple more I had coming up in October. But I went to India that summer instead and had a hard time fitting in runs in the insane heat and busy schedule I had. As soon as I got home, I started running again trying to ramp up my mileage as much as I could.
The Montreal half was a lot harder than I was expecting. A combination of humidity and a constant incline just about did me in. In fact, I have never seen so many ambulances and people needing help on a course as I did in this race. Sadly, someone that was running the half even died that day. It was just a tough race!
Brenda organized it all..and was injured so couldn't run - but she was an awesome support!
St-George Marathon – October 2011
So - I convinced Jen to enter the lottery to the St-George Marathon with me. Actually - this and the Nike Women's Marathon lottery. We got into both. She tried to back out of St-George, but I wouldn't have any of that. :) I've always heard great things about this race and wanted to do it.
What I wasn't planning on when I convinced Jen not to back out was that my longest run would be the Montreal Half Marathon the week before the St-George Marathon. Oops. Since I hadn't run much and Jen was running another marathon in 2 weeks (I was just running the Nike Women's Half) - we decided to take it easy. And surprisingly, I actually felt great (relatively) at the end of the run. Nothing like San Diego. Great race. I want to do it again sometime. Anyone interested in signing up??
San Francisco Nike Women’s Half Marathon – October 2011
Two weeks after St-George, I ran the Nike Women's half with Linda. And Jen ran the Marathon. It was a fun race - with lots of hills in true San Francisco fashion.. I felt a little sick that day - but still had fun. Especially when we got our Tiffany's necklace from some of San Francisco's finest at the finish line!
Austin 3M Half Marathon – January 2012
I feel like I've been trying to get my brother to run a half marathon for quite some time now. He finally ran one last year with some friends of his and I was worried he would never run another one and so then never run one with me! But thankfully - he asked me if I wanted to run the 3M half in Austin! I just ran this last weekend with him and it was a fun race! I loved it.
The race is really well organized. There is a 7k cap on runners so you don't have too many people on the course. And the Swag Bag and food at the end of the race are pretty darn good. Also - the course has a lot of downhill. I highly recommend it. I had an awesome time running with my bro! I'm up for it next year if anyone wants to do it!
I always hated running growing up. Like when they would make us run
the 1km in high school around the track. I dreaded it. The only
time I liked running was when it was to run up and down a basketball court (or maybe
if I was chasing boys).
In college, I had some friends that had run marathons. My roommate
Joni was one of them. She would get up and go for a run early in the
morning before her early classes and I always just thought how crazy she was to get
up at the crack of dawn to torture herself running. But she loved it. And truth be told, I was actually a little
jealous of her. I remember thinking to myself how it would be amazing if
I could ever run a marathon, but that for me it would be impossible.
The summer after graduation, I set some goals to exercise more and decided that I should give running a try. Luckily
for me, I had a good friend (also never a runner) who was also up for the
challenge! I don't think Myra and I even made it half a mile our first
time out before having to take walk breaks. But we kept at it and before
we knew it, we could run a mile. Then 2! We were so motivated by our
progress! I convinced Myra to sign up for a 5K that was just around the
corner and we continued to run and get ready for it. The Provo Freedom 5k came and
we had yet to run 3 miles...but we went out and we did it! And we felt so
awesome. That summer was when I first learned how anyone can train themselves to become a runner no matter who they are.
For the couple of years that followed, I would run on and off, but never
very far and never consistently. I was working a lot and exercise
typically ended up taking a backseat to my job and social life.
Towards the end of 2007, after a ridiculously intense busy season at work, I
had put on some extra lbs and was just not feeling very healthy and decided I needed to make exercise a priority again. That's when I had a conversation that would change everything.
I love to travel! LOVE it. So, when I met Holly at church and knew
that she had traveled to a lot of different places it was natural for me to ask
her about her next upcoming trips. I am ALWAYS looking for new places to
go and people to travel with. She told me she and her friend Camille were
planning a trip to China and Thailand! The conversation went something like
this:
Me: "Really!? Tell me more! I haven't been to Asia
and I would love to go!"
Holly: "Yeah. Well, first we are going to China to run a marathon
and then we are going to Thailand to tour around."
Me: "Wait a second. Back up!?!! Did you say to run a
marathon? You are going to run a marathon in China? You are going to run a marathon
on your VACATION? Are you kidding me?"
She went on to tell me all about the Great Wall of China Marathon and how
she was going to do the half and Camille was going to run the 26.2. I
thought she was absolutely crazy. Who in their right mind would
pay to go all the way to China to run a marathon. But towards the end of
our conversation, I told her to send the info along anyway. I mean - I
did really want to go to Asia.
I started reading about it and looking at pictures like these....
The stairs you have to climb in the race
.....and kept
telling myself there is no way in the world that I would be able to do
something like that. But then I thought, "well, if there is anything
that would make me run, this would be it."
And the next thing I knew, I signed up and I was committed.
I started working out, eating right, and doing
lots of research on running. My first
few runs were discouraging as I could barely run and I would come home and just have to ice my legs. But I pushed through it and kept
getting better. I still remember the first time I finally ran 5 miles and for the first time felt like maybe I could possibly do this thing.
I worked really hard...followed my running schedule, climbed that stair master at the gym, ate super healthy, lost a bunch of weight, and
before I knew it…It was time to go to China!
The whole China experience was amazing! We met runners from all over the world. For some it was their first race, and others it was their 80th marathon. I was amazed.
Holly, Me and Camille - the night be leaving for China
A couple of days before the race, we walked the great wall portion of the race to get familiar with the stairs and how the race would go. When you see them and realize you are actually going to be running a race on them, you start to think you might be a little crazy. Or at least I did.. The stairs varied in size. Some (most) parts of the wall were steep. And some areas you actually had to go single file (definitely caused a bottleneck on race day) because it was so narrow with no wall on one side. It was pretty intense.
Race day came....And we were pumped! I had crazy butterflies and was so nervous. But I was also super excited. The race was difficult - but it was so awesome. The great wall, the village...everything.
The best part though was crossing the finish line! I did it! Something I never thought I could do! And it was such an amazing feeling. All the sweat, blood and tears was worth that moment right there.
And that is when my real love/hate relationship started. Love because I fell in love with that feeling of crossing the finish line. Hate..because running is still something that is hard for me that I have to work at. Those "easy" 3 or 4 milers just don't exist for me. 3, 4, 10, 15..it doesn't matter. They are all hard. But despite the fact that I sometimes hate running, I also love it. I love that I've met some of the most amazing people from running. I love that it challenges me. I love that I feel healthy. I love that it clears my head. And I love that I can do it anywhere!
