Good Lord. Didn’t I just do a marathon a week ago? Here we go again! This trip, built around marathons has actually been so little about the marathons! This just happens to be one of the activities. The people and the touring and the wildlife have really taken center stage. But today's activity is another marathon. Onward!
6:30 breakfast, everyone is pretty beat up from our Antarctic adventure. Everyone is sick or sore or at least very tired. We’re all very impressed with ourselves that we’re doing this again, but it seems no one is really looking forward to it. I woke up, tired and run down. My throat is still all phlegm-y and my voice is practically gone. (whine whine whine) I’ve never run a marathon in this condition. I’m not nervous. I know I’ll do it, I’m just tired. I have no time goals, I just want to experience it, and finish it.
We all congregated for breakfast and I found that there were so many different outfits and levels of warmth from shorts and tank tops, to me in ColdGear and a wind layer. When we were in town eating and finishing shopping yesterday, the weather was unbelievably erratic. Every 10 or 15 minutes LITERALLY it would change from blowing snow and white-out conditions, to sunny and clear and that LITERALLY went on all day and into the night. (this actually isn't the overdose of drama I warned you about...it really was erratic!) The weather report said mild wind and temperatures up to 45 degrees for race day, but having seen the erratic conditions that were possible, I had no idea what to expect, so I dressed for cold knowing that the temperature forecast of 35-40 Farenheit from 9am to 2pm was probably about accurate.
We had a light breakfast and boarded the bus at 7am. We were on the first bus figuring that would give us plenty of time to fiddle around at the start line, get the bag checked, pee, etc. We were on a small stumpy little bus that was able to maneuver the tight turns into town faster than a big tour bus. It was about an hour drive through Ushuaia and into the national forest which I immediately fell in love with. I’m not usually so struck by places like Petermann Island and this forest, so to have found 2 happy places on 1 trip was pretty crazy. The forest looked like a magical forest where you’d find fairies and elves and unicorns. The moss and grass made almost all the ground cover green so there were charming green clearings on beautiful still ponds or rocky streams and even green on the ground under trees. Mossy bark covered a lot of the trees and there was a kind of tree with a little fuzzy tufts of hair-like material on the branches. All this AND snowcapped mountains in the distance wherever you looked.
It just felt magical to me. At one point I came running into a clearing and on the edge of the tree line there was a white pony and all I could think was that the wood nymph who had been riding it had hopped off just moments ago to dance into the trees collecting flowers.
(I know, I know, so some of the pictures have my thumb in them...it's hard to run a marathon and take pictures at the same time.)
Ok, maybe my brain was a little frost bitten in Antarctica, and due to the overcast conditions the pictures don't do it justice at all, so you'll have to take my word for it, or go see it yourself.
OH OH OH…I almost forgot...to top off it’s quiet wonder, there were little grey bunnies ALL OVER THE PLACE hopping happily around the enchanted wood. Seriously. Bunnies....everywhere! Apparently it's true what they say about rabbits.
So after an hour bus ride, we arrive at the start line where there is a big inflatable starting arch, 2 army tents with the camo mesh covering (we all nervously made jokes about why those might be necessary)
There was a table with drinks and a bathroom trailor and that was it. So our little bus left us there, about 20 of us all alone here with the 4 Argentine army guys who are now covering their truck with the camo mesh stuff. Now we’re wishing we’d gotten on the slower huge tour bus!
Here's the layout. We’re at the south west end of the park, just south of the starting line is the sea, just west about a kilometer or so is Chile. Some people walked down to look at the sea, some the pond with grassy banks, some ran around to warm up a little and some hunkered down in the tents. I hunkered. I was tired and wasn’t particularly interested in thinking about the fact that I was about to do a marathon. (great attitude 'eh?) So we sat and chilled, laughed about this or that and after 20 minutes, 2 more busses finally arrived. We breathed a sigh of relief that we weren’t stuck somewhere alone in the magical forest.
So the bustling began and a short line formed at the potty trailor (for the men’s side, not the ladies which was a nice switch!) There were 2 guys dressed as a penguin and a beaver that people were taking pictures with.
We made our final decisions on dressing (I went with ColdGear leggings and mock, and wind pants and jacket, beanie and gloves) checked our bags and clumped up at the start line. There were probably 250 people.
It was kind of warm and there was no wind in the park so a lot of people were taking off more clothes, but I stuck to my guns remembering that 26 miles is a long way and a lot can change fast at the bottom of the earth.
Finally, at 9:05, after no discernable gun, whistle or gong, we were off. Dad started out running, so I jogged the first quarter mile with him. When he started walking I told him I’d see him at the finish and jogged away. He said he'd be there in about 7 hours. (he was relieved when the race director announced that the 6:30 race time limit wouldn’t be enforced!) So off I went. I ended up running and chatting (more chat than run) with Waichi and Rob almost all the way through the enchanted forest.
We’d walk the hills, stop for pictures, talk and walk and enjoy ourselves. I ducked into the magical woods at one point to relieve myself, and came out just as a bus of photographers was passing. They laughed and pointed and I waived and smiled. *shrug* What else was I going to do?
So we continued on for the whole 18 K through the woods. I was enjoying the relaxing pace but knew at that rate, it would take all day, so I decided to move on. I picked up the pace, still enjoying the view and still taking pictures, but slowly picking up places. I did a solid 9:1 (run/walk) for the next 10 miles into town. I saw Karin and Anders as I made the turn to the airport road. Karin is a GREAT cheerer!
Then I hit the 5K loop through the airport, or should I say it hit me! The wind was unbelievable. It actually pushed me around a bit.
Here's another picture of my thumb AND you can see from the tree how windy it was.
It was stronger than the wind on the glacier, and that was strong!! So at first it was at my back, which was great, then the road turned and it was at my side and COLD! I was glad I’d opted for the 2 layers despite the fact that I got a little hot in fairy land. I put on my hat and gloves and pulled up my hood. I couldn’t figure out a good way to make my hood stay up so I pulled it tight and held it in my teeth. I probably looked like an idiot, but it worked. Then another turn up the hill and the wind was in my face. BRUTAL! Long uphill slog with a constant strong wind. I caught up the Mary and we suffered together. There was no running until we turned the corner and headed back down the hill. Halleluiah, wind at the back, then the side, then in our face again! We finally made it back to where Karin and Jacques were cheering and the wind all but stopped.
So we’re at mile 15, headed back into town, stray dogs all over the place, little children cheering from a window across the street, I was back to my 9:1 and feeling strong.
The first half of the race was just beautiful. It started in the enchanted forest, opened up to beautiful views overlooking Ushuaia, and snowcapped mountains all around. Even the wind torn airport road was lovely with the mountains and white capped waves on the water. Well, after the race, dad commented that the first half of the race was as pretty as the last third was ugly. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
I clipped along into town, down a little residential peninsula, down a dirt road, left at the naval base (there were no signs or course marshalls, and I was a bit worried that I was going the wrong way) Then into town. At this point I could see the finish line about 1K to the left but I had another 8-10 miles out and back to the right and boy did it suuuuuuck!
Ugly main road, trucks, industrial buildings, I even swore I smelled penguin poop a few times. The fun thing was that since it was an out and back, you were passing fellow marathoners the whole way, so you were cheering for each other. I passed the denim brigade who were all running together and looking strong and like they were having a really good time.
I however was slogging up a big hill, walking, hot in my ColdGear, with my wind jacket tied and bunched around my waist. I must have looked lovely, and like I wasn't having a very good time. I was still feeling ok, still picking people off. About 2-3 K (it felt like 200 miles) from the final turn around, we started climbing and the wind picked up again. At our backs, but I knew I’d have to turn into it eventually. After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the turn around and headed down with the wind in my face. UG! I looked for some landmark that I could tell the people behind me to aim for but there was none. Besides, I was beat and just wanted to be done.
I stuck pretty well to my 9:1 but when the wind hit me in the face it was totally demoralizing and made the run seem to go on forever. The course was marked in kilometers, so I was trying to convert to miles the whole race and was not at all successful so I never really had much of an idea where I was. To add to the tough mindset, I’m usually very optimistic about where I am, so I end up thinking I have 3 miles left when I have 6 which when you finally get the math right, is quite a blow. In regular life I'm pretty good at math...I'm not dumb...I promise.
When I passed dad, he asked how far to the turn around. I tiredly told him to just keep going! (2-3 other people had asked me too. I’d estimated kilometers but I had no idea!) I may have been tired when I passed dad, but I somehow had some energy for a goofy little dance!
Finally I limped into town. I was making my way down the street, no marshals, no signs, no spectators and no other runners in sight. I was pretty sure I was in the right place, but would have loved some confirmation. I was tired, I was hot and I wanted to be done. Ushuaia was going on with it’s business while I was trying to finish a marathon and I was annoyed! I just kept going, slowly and painfully.
Then all of a sudden I saw a familiar face and heard the loudest most melodiously wonderfully enthusiastic cheering I’ve ever heard! Carol was on the other side of the street waiting to run in with her husband Rob. (She’d finished about an hour and a half before, 3rd in her age group!) She yelled so loud and gave me the most potent shot of adrenaline I have ever felt. No substance could have effected me the way her screams did. “1K to go GO ANNE WOOOOO…You’re doing GREAT!” I felt like I was on mile 2…in fact, I felt better than mile 2. I picked up the pace. I felt strong. I believed I was strong. I was on FIRE! So I cranked through town, finally saw the finish line. OH A GLORIOUS SIGHT! I was feeling strong, running fast through the streets of Ushuaia. It was so weird. Traffic, shoppers, pedestrians, etc. I passed the denim brigade who had finished about an hour before. They cheered like mad too! Last shot of energy. I crossed the (busy) street and headed across the finish line in around 5:18.
There was a little cheering from some of my Antarctica friends, but 1 voice rang through. James had stayed to cheer me in. How cool is that!
I’m used to finish lines where I finish with clumps of people. Here, I was the only one finishing, so all the cheers were for me. There weren’t that many, but they felt better than all the huge crowds in the world. I wandered a bit, got a medal and a water and a ½ banana and went to find my bag. I was so wired when I finished. I changed my clothes, sat for a few minutes, but people we knew kept coming in so I kept getting up to cheer! It was great to have James there to chat and be silly with while I waited for dad. I bought some popcorn and chocolate milk (great recovery food!) from a street vendor to tide us over.
This is the finish line with all the huge trophys.
Around an hour after I came in, Jacques thought he saw my dad. “No, my dad won’t be in for another 15 minutes at the earliest.” But low and behold, 42 minutes ahead of his goal, blazing to the finish, was my dad! He looked very pleased, mostly to be done I think, but the 42 minutes ahead of goal couldn’t have hurt either. How cool for his first marathon! After he finished, we wandered a bit more, cheered a bit more, grabbed a bunch of people and left to find a place for lunch. It took us a while, but we finally found a nice little café, had beer and Jamon e Queso sandwiches (all sandwiches are ham and cheese, only the bread changes. The guts stay the same.) So we split to go back to the hotel for a shower and a rest. 8pm was dinner. The Ioffe cleaned up on trophys again.
They gave tiny finishers medals and a TON of HUGE cheap plastic trophys to the age group winners, so everyone laughed and joked about how to get them home. One of our runner disassembled hers right there which is what everyone ended up doing. (we not only had the funnest and fastest people on our boat, but we also had the smartest!)
There was a lot of Ioffe cheering to be had. We all really bonded, and we so proud of eachother. It was really fun! One runner had an early flight, so she was getting in her taxi when her trophy was being awarded, so everyone from our ship ran it out to her and presented it to her as she was driving away! It was a very funny sight, and quite a send off for our friend. I bet she'll never have a trophy awarded to her like that again!
There was lots of cheer and a great time had by all. After, we had a really mellow time in the bar, few beers, few last minute hugs, and off to bed to sleep like a rock.
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