DAY 1 - ANTARTICA
The day starts with a wake up call from Katy. I asked them to call me in addition to the two phones I had set up with alarms. I didn’t want to miss this trip. I calmly went about my preparations as planned. I feel that I got enough sleep despite the aircon conking out at 2am. My spirits are up.
I head out to the meeting point where all of us would meet before heading to the airport. The first person I get to talk to was Megan from Washington. She turns 50 at the end of the race. She told me that we have seven chances to try during this week. I like having these chances. We had a nice chat during the bus ride.
At the airport, it was surreal to see “Ultima Air Base” in the flight ticker. It’s starting to happen. Then we line up to get our boarding passes then make our way to passport control. I was with Smita and Juan. We had a lovely time chatting when I mentioned about visas I needed to apply for. Smita as it turns out has not accomplished her Australian visa. Good that got sorted out.
Then we boarded the plane. It was unlike any other plane I have ever ridden. You see the bare bones and gears of the plane. Now I know what’s underneath those polished panels in commercial planes. We were served breakfast in a nice box. Smita was my seat mate. It was an uneventful flight and landing was smooth. Too bad we didn’t have any windows to see the amazing landing.
Finally we are in Antarctica. I couldn’t believe my eyes stepping out of the plane. I kept saying wow wow wow. It’s a vast surreal landscape. Unlike any other. The photos don’t do justice to the serene beauty. It was a nice crisp day with quite mild cold (for the rest it was warm, shorts weather).
We then walked to camp where we prepared for the race. We had places for nutrition and resting, tents for our bags and makeshift lockers for things we needed for the race. There were also cubes for solid and liquid waste.
We then made our way to the starting line. We had a fake start for posterity purposes. And then the real start. It would be ten laps of 4.2kms. I felt that my gear was holding up on the first lap. The views were amazing and the sun was still quite high. During the second lap, I felt my sweat getting cold as I was bundled up too much. I decided to shed a layer the next lap. The course is an initial downhill with an aid station midway that would serve as a respite for me during the long race. The return to the starting point has a bit of inclination that started to feel more of a struggle with every ensuing lap. The next lap I changed my top base layer then the bottom base layer was changed on the next lap. I was feeling tired easily because I can’t seem to have that momentum going because I felt I needed to change my gears. Then my tummy started to act up and I had to visit the mid course aid station three times. At one point I thought I soiled myself. There actually was not much waste but my tummy was just queasy from the cold and perhaps the lentils. I really need to watch my nutrition for the next race.
It was almost sunset when I finished. There were just maybe three runners who were running with me and we were far apart. It felt like a struggle the last three laps. I know I would finish but I know it would be tough. It was indeed a long race. I just amused myself by pretending that my shadow was keeping me company. I also joked that I just wanted a sunset run in Antarctica. When I finally finished I felt extreme relief. At this point the temperature was much much colder that I had to wear back another layer.
Upon finishing, I got my finish line shot and asked for an extra photo with the flag. Then it was time to get dressed for the flight back. It was now very cold that I had to rush through my layers in the middle of my tired daze. I was worried that I wouldn’t get to refuel so I just filled up my jug with Tailwind. I didn’t have time to really eat as they started herding us to walk to the plane. Maybe it was best since I also still have a quesy stomach.
On the flight back I could not sleep. I worried that I may not have enough recovery for the next race. I barely stretched and refueled. I didn’t get to do my recovery protocol. But tried to keep calm and said to myself that I will give it my best shot. My hips have a bit of a niggle but I’ll try to address that. I will just take it a step at a time and keep a steady beat. There are less variables involved in this next one. I can focus on executing my plan. I’ve got this.