Day 2: Debrief, Dinners and Jet lag!

Day 2 in Punta Arenas is in the books as we get closer to race day. Fun facts: Sunday is considered a holiday to Chileans and everything is completely shut down- EVERYTHING. Except of course the magical Christmas Chocolate shop that I want to kidnap. 

I still managed to find some wonderful places to eat and found 2 other very nice runner friends to share a dinner with. Sagi from Israel and Daniel from Denmark. I’m always in awe at how friendly runners are both in the race and outside. 

De-Brief

We had our debrief tonight, which is the first time (near) all of the runners got together. I say “near” because there are people living at the base camp that will be participating this year! We will not meet them until we get to camp. During the debrief race director Becca Pizzi shared tons of logistical and race info for us. Becca is not only the reigning winner of the women’s race, but she has won the world marathon challenge (7 marathons, in 7 continents in 7 days) several times! Crazy right?

 

Next steps for the race:

• Monday 12/11 we are to check our checked luggage in and get our boarding passes for the private plane that is waiting on standby
• Monday evening there will be a review of the weather by the pilots to determine if and when we will leave on Wednesday! 

Trying to pack all of the things, but keep enough behind in case the plane isn’t leaving on Wednesday was a bit of a stressful situation but I grabbed a brownie from the hotel kitchen and muddled through. 
There is a logistics group here that organizes these types of expeditions regularly (flight included). They know the right safety precautions and prepare us for waiting if need be. 
Jet LagIt is BRIGHT out until near 11pm and the sun is back up before 5am. It is throwing my entire body off. I cannot sleep but I’m so tired. It will only get worse when we are in Antarctica and there is 24 hours of sunlight 😬 so today I’m determined to get a long nap in! Maybe I need to back off on the kick-you-in-your-soul coffee I’ve been sucking down. One of the biggest challenges to long distance running is sleep deprivation. I can feel when my body hasn’t had enough rest- it results in a much greater exertion level for the same speed. Given the underfoot conditions of the race, I’ll need all the energy I can get 

Fun Facts RE Punta Arenas and Antarctica 

Everything is named after Ferdinand Magellan in this area due to being right on the Strait of Magellan which is a natural passage between the Atlantic and pacific oceans. Why am I kissing the toe of this statue (which by the way is NOT Magellans toe- he is at the top- but is the toe of an aborigine who is hanging out)? It is supposed to be good luck for a safe return. I would very much like to return from Antarctica safely, so I stuck my lips on this very coppery (likely) germ infested toe.

ANTARCTICA IS A DESERTFor those in the back, I repeat louder- Antarctica is, in fact, a polar dessert. Let’s break this down. It has such little actualy precipitation that it is considered a dessert. It is also extremely DRY (very little moisture in the air). 
But wait “it has snow!” Is what you’re saying… yes it does but it rarely actually snows (even in winter). The snow BLOWS from extreme winds, but it’s so cold year round that it’s not like the summer months can even make a dent in the ice/snow that is there. It is made up of ice sheets that develop over years and years. No snow melts.. no snowfall is needed. Mind literally blown by this today! 
That’s it for day 2. Day 3 is all about hurrying to wait. Getting all the luggage delivered and then RESTING while we wait to hear the weather report tonight! 
Stephanie