All is well, and it is done!

All is done, and how good it feels! After six weeks of training I finished the McMurdo Marathon yesterday in 3 hours and 50 minutes, which was good enough to take second place. It was my first marathon, and the furthest I had run was 17 miles, so I didn't know what to expect at the end of the race. The day began with a ride in a snow Cat out to the furthest runway. The sky were perfectly blue, not a cloud to be a seen and a very warm day. It was about 26 degress with a cold breeze blowing into our faces, but once the run began everyone seemed to warm up. The whole marathon was run on the Ross ice shelf with amazing views of all the biggest peaks and rock formations around McMurdo. At mile two my breath had settled into the beard and there were crystals hanging around my mouth. The first eight miles were into the wind and the snow was very soft. With each step I would sink down a little and after a few miles that got frustrating. At the eight mile mark I got to the other runway and took a turn with the wind now at my side. The road was much harder here, but it was very slick so I had to be careful of footing with each step. The next 18 miles were kind of a blur. Occasionally I would snap out of the zone and think to myself, "What am I doing? A marathon in Antarctica?" The mind took over, and I had to convince myself that I could sustain this pace until the finish. Later I realized that I had hardly looked around or thought about anything except the snow trail in front of me for about an hour. The snacks I had brought were giving the muscles just enough juice not to cramp. I feared the legs cramping and locking up more than anything, so I did not stop at the rest stations. I snapped out of it big time when I was a mile from the finish, and the body felt as good as it had for the last ten miles or so. Anyone who has run a marathon knows that there are not many things sweeter than crossing the finish line. So as of right now I have no plans for inflicting pain on myself in this way again, but I am very glad I trained for it and did it. I am walking like a old man and eating and sleeping a lot. Now that it's done, back to work tonight.