The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2016
I got 6.5 hours of sleep, but after putting your body through that punishment, I could have slept for 12! Recovery when going these distances is key. Unfortunately, while rehabbing my ankle over the last few weeks, the body did not get used to the pounding and it showed on Day 2.

The legs and ankles were stiff and unfortunately no amount of positive self-talk was going to get my legs moving much faster than a shuffle on day 2. There is often bad weather through this week and the race organizers try and get as much distance in when the weather is good. A planned 8 hours on Tuesday after what was the long day on day 1, was unwelcome news to the racers. After I shuffled the first lap, it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to loosen the ankles and it made it very difficult to run. Sometimes you just don’t have it. We had a shorter course today that was ¾ full of heavy snow. As it got warmer, the snow got softer and we were climbing in areas through 1-1.5 foot of snow. Where some people were slower in day 1, they got in there groove on day 2. I was the opposite. I knew I was just going to have to grind it out step by step. There was fire in the knees and ankles and I wanted to make sure I would be able to get out there every day. That was the focus coming in with the injury. After getting 33Km in today, I am close to 100Km in two days. I feel good about it and am looking forward to a well needed sleep and recovery tonight to be prepared for tomorrow. At some point this trip we will hit bad weather and likely get a break. Until then I need to be ready to get out there every day. We were fortunate not to have high seas on the way over and it was pretty smooth sailing. In past years, rough seas have had many racers start a little green, which would make very uncomfortable!

With all the alumni, everyone is very supportive of one another in getting the finish line and have the best day possible. With proper rest, tomorrow should go well. As our expedition leader says, everything in Antarctica is ice and weather dependent. We could have a short day, long day or no day tomorrow. If it’s a long one, I may not have an update until Thursday.

Thanks for all the messages of encouragement. I really appreciate it!