Antarctica, 2015

First, Houston...
I spent an inspiring and larynx-destroying weekend in Houston watching both the Olympic marathon trials and the Houston marathon. Meeting Abdi (men's third place finisher) in the lobby of the Hilton was a thrill and I will be cheering hard for him when he competes in London.

Cheering hard for Jess, Beth and Heidi was equally thrilling (where the heck did Heidi go??). Jess had a killer time, Heidi overcame injury and lack of training and Beth bested her goal only four months after having a baby. If being in their company doesn't get you motivated, I don't know what will!

Which led to...
And that's probably why I, an out of shape lapsed runner, decided with spontaneity and total conviction to run the Antarctica marathon. (Having Erika enthusiastically endorse this as a good idea definitely egged me on.)

If race vendors at marathon expos ever wondered if their multitude of brochures have a return on investment, I am proof: I sent in my deposit my first day back in Vermont.

How does this work?
A company called Marathon Tours puts the race the together, running among the base camps of several countries' research stations. (I think the Russian station is the start and finish - slava bogu, a good omen!)

The entire adventure is a roughly two-week expedition on a boat, including penguins, whales, sea kayaking, ice fjords and a marathon thrown in the middle. Read this year's itinerary for an idea.

Why the...?
I may have never liked running, but I have always liked adventure. Running my first marathon WAS an adventure, but now I need something a little bigger and scarier to keep me in the game. I have three years to get back into shape and get ready for the cold. Erika and Beth point out this should be easy in Vermont -- every time it's really cold, really snowy or really windy I have to go outside for run. This weekend is great test!

Here's the plan:

Spring 2012: run 1/2 marathons
Fall 2012: run full marathon, Chicago?
Spring 2013: full marathon, VCM?
Fall 2013: 1/2 marathons
Spring 2014: full marathon, San Diego?
Fall 2014: 1/2 marathons
Spring 2015: Antarctica!!