No no, no one's gone mental on the boat - not yet, anyway. After the rough seas of last night, we finally made it to the Gerlache Strait en route to Dorion Bay which is the setting for stage 4 (the final stage) commencing noon time today. After breakfast this morning we were treated to a National Geographic wildlife spectacle right on our doorstep as a pod of some 20 killer whales (Orcas) swam by, then embarked on a penguin rampage. The sea was awash with small pods of Orcas chasing and rounding up penguins as the rest of us scrambled all over the ship for the best viewing platform. Some rooted for the little fellas while others cheered as the Orcas devoured yet another bird in tuxedo.
 
But that was just the appetiser as the Orcas then set their sights on a mother and child pair of humpback whales. According to the captain and researchers on board, the Orcas would attack and drown the humpback before consuming it and for several minutes we were captivated by the way they went about their work. It seemed they were gunning for the child and the mother tried protecting it and keeping it afloat but it didn't stand a chance. We were told that this was a very rare sighting and we are indeed privileged to bear witness to Mother Nature at work.
 
The scenery here is absolutely spectacular as you can imagine, unspoilt, pure beauty that baffles the imagination. In the same way that it is extreme, unforgiving and dangerous for the unprepared, it is awe-inspiring, uplifting and breathtaking. We are now anchored off Dorion Bay in a sea of calm surrounded by mountains of white and small blue icebergs floating by. Sometimes it is hard to tell where the mountains and sky meet, but at some areas there is a sliver of silver that separates the two. Insane. 
 
Am off to prepare for this final stage. If you are looking at the pics, I am Bib 28. I know it is hard to tell with everyone wrapped up like ninjas. Will wrap up with your warm embrace through your thoughts, prayers, messages and news from home. Only 9 more hours of running today and will try to clock up as much mileage as I can. Running with heart, mind and legs.

The day ended the way it started – driving wind and snow. And snow doesn’t drop gently to the ground here in Antarctica. The karabatic winds whip and shoot it horizontally smack into you. And if you leave any inch of skin exposed, it’s gonna hurt. Big time.
 
And so Day 3 began with a 4am breakfast. We were woken by the Star Wars theme song playing over the tannoy; and it sure looked like we had landed at some distant planet in the galaxy. Overnight we had travelled from King George’s Island to Deception Island, the captain skillfully navigating the ship through a perilous 200 metre opening in the rocks to calm waters. Outside was pure white and we were psyched up for a 15-hour day.
 
Okay this is so abrupt but the ship has started moving and I’m feeling sick. AGAIN!
 
But just want to say that today was a fab day. Something was driving me and it must be your prayers and thoughts fortifying my spirit. Felt strong. Keep the emails coming in. Below are all the things I wanted to blog about but will tell you when I see you all. That or it’ll be in my book.
 
Go The Distance.
Looking forward to going up hills.
Foot flat like car tires in winter for grip.
Half steps, not leaps.
Downhill on snow technique like rocking horse on stick.
Respect the land.
Obstacles as friends and allies.
Developing Mastery practice.
Thinking about else.
Toe, knee, bum.
Clapping for others.
Run then steady brisk walk.    
Mark Jaget.
Cold wind, sunny skies, driving wind.
Cold, sweaty hot, cold.
Seals and penguins.
Changing landscape.
Praying.
15 to 11 hours.
90km to 60kms to 46km to 57.5km
 
Love you all much xoxo

Crazy stuff going on with the blogs, so hope this second one in two days is going out…
 
As I sit here typing this, it is raging with snow outside. Thick fat flakes are being whipped horizontally by the sweeping wind. It is Day 2 at King George’s Island. When we heard last night that we would be back on the same course this morning, there was a sense of disappointment as we had hoped to be running in different areas of the Antarctic and not returning to the same muddy slush and icy pools of yesterday. The good thing, though, about going back to familiar ground is that we can prepare more adequately in terms of gear and strategy.
 
So out came the gaiters, thick gloves, balaclavas and other additional adjustments as we headed out to the island today. There was an air of expectancy and the overall mood quite matched the cloudy skies as we lined up at the start point for what was meant to a ten-hour day. But as usual, Antarctica has the last say. Midway through the first circuit, the fog and clouds swept in, casting quite an eerie light over the landscape as the ghostly figures of competitors disappeared and reappeared out of the fog. Time was called and we were herded back onto the Zodiacs for the short ride back to the ship. So we’ve only had a mere warm up of a few kilometres today.
 
I’m still not sure which is worse, slushy mud or slippery ice. The common factor is that your feet get wet from both. But I learnt a little valuable something from Gunnar, a 60-something year old from Norway. He must know a thing or two about walking in snow and ice and he taught me to tread deliberately but lightly, instead of stomping or kicking about. This worked a treat, and I liken this technique to stealing downstairs early on Christmas morning when everyone is still asleep to take a look at what Santa left under the Christmas tree. It takes more concentration and requires a deftness of touch but certainly leads to less slipping about and more firmness in footing and grip.
 
I am eating well now and keeping my food down, which can only strengthen me for the days to come. It is only lunchtime right now and should the raging snow storm subside, we may still head back out onto the course. Once in a while penguins do pop around to say hi and we even encountered a seal yesterday. And this morning there were lots of small icebergs floating about. They must have broken off a larger piece somewhere close by.
 
Big warm hugs to those of you who have been emailing and commenting on the blog. I am deriving plenty of lessons and heartfelt warmth from you and this keeps me going forward. Keep them coming please.
 
A big hug and kiss specially to Jillian – love you honey – and my mum and dad – love you both plenty.
 
Empowering lesson #2: I learnt how to tread on ice from Gunnar. What can you learn and from whom, today, to smoothen and ease your own journey?
 

Terra Firma. It was great to finally hit land. The two and a half days of sailing were quite a nightmare for me. Apparently we were lucky and the Drake was kind, considering what it normally throws up. But the two to four metres of waves that we experienced were enough to send me into a spin. Seasickness engulfed me within hours and for two whole days I was practically bedridden. Missed all six meals and apart from the mandatory briefings and toilet visits - which were few and far between, considering I drank only half a litre off water during this period - I was ensconced in my bed. When the prescribed medication had no effect, the doctors finally decided to put me on an IV drip. And this was before the race had even begun! I had 2 litres of saline plus anti nausea and glucose fluids pumped into me and by this morning, I was feeling almost brand new and could eat my first meal in three days. It amazing what a few bags of fluid can do!:-)
 
The original plan had been a 4am breakfast followed by 15 hours of running, from 6am to 9pm, but I was ever so glad to hear the announcement over the tannoy at 3am that we had arrived at King George's Island but the 35 knots winds were preventing us from docking, so that meant a couple of hours of extra sleep. Just what the doctor ordered!
 
The winds finally died down sufficiently for us to transfer via the Zodiacs to shore and by 12 noon we were flagged off. The circuit was a 14.5km double loop through a section of the island past the Russian, Chilean and Uruguayan research stations. The terrain can best be described as gravel on a good day. On this day, we experienced gravel, ice and snow. This quickly became muddy and slushy akin to chocolate fudge and ice shavings. As the day wore on and the sun beat down and more feet tramped through the same sections, whole areas became pools of water and deep thickness of sticky mud. Everyone ran with cold wet feet throughout the day and one person had to withdraw because of frost bite on his toes. Many experienced harrowing moments of sinking thigh deep into freezing cold water. It certainly has the effect of waking us from our stupor! It didn't help that temperatures were around freezing plus wind chill (total about minus 5 degrees Celsius) and the winds were just whipping non stop.
 
All in, am pleased with my performance considering the conditions as well as my poor state of health. Many of us completed a marathon's worth of distance, with the front runner, Ryan Sandes, rumoured to have managed double that. What!?
 
Thank you all for your heartwarming emails. I am certain your spirits were behind me all of today. I am now back in the pink of health, smiling and grinning widely, proud to have run my first marathon on The White Continent, excited to be in Antarctica and looking forward to a sumptuous dinner tonight.  
 
Empowering message #1: I had an IV drip to perk me up and bring me back to the pink of health. What can you do for yourself to similarly raise your spirits?  
 

This is it. It is time. In a matter of hours we board the ship bound for Antarctica. My 2 week holiday in Argentina is over and it is time to shake off the inertia, get switched on and focus on the task at hand. 

Most, if not all, the competitors are in town and it was good to see familiar faces and old friends once again and to meet new ones. Swapping stories and laughter over lunch and dinner brought with it a sense of security as well as the sobering realisation that ahead lies the great unknown. 

The Last Desert is a different beast altogether and even though everyone here has competed in at least two other events, those races took place in 'hot' deserts. Antarctica comes with a new set of conditions and hence presents a completely new challenge. It will be daunting and dramatic, intimidating and invigorating. That familiar sense of excitement and anxiety is setting in. That is a good sign; nothing like a little edge to sharpen the senses. I am sure it will heighten until I take my first step. I now need to be on top of my game mentally and physically. The latter I can't do much about anymore, but I have two days of sailing to turn on my inner game and bring myself into balance. 
 
Many of you have sent beautiful and life-affirming messages of love and blessings. Your thoughts and prayers fill my heart with warmth and ignite the fire in my soul. I will go forth and take on this race with integrity. That is my promise.  

May I also be so bold as to ask that you continue to spread the good word and contribute with equal magnanimity to the children of Gracehaven through www.give.sg/org/TSA/bravingantarctica

I thank you on their behalf.

I think I overdid it yesterday. Thought I’d have a crack at Cerro Guanaco in Tierra del Fuego National Park , final warm up before heading to Antarctica . Meant to be a 6 to 8 hour round trip to the summit, the entire way up is a continuous and strenuous uphill through beech forest, multiple crossings of a small river, through peat bogs and mucky swamps, across snow and ice, and finally straight up along exposed gravel and rock. 

Setting off at the stroke of noon, I gave myself a self imposed turnaround time of 3 hours which I followed to the letter. I always like to play it safe and leave myself a cushion, taking into account changes in weather, unforeseen circumstances etc. This meant I was about 10 minutes from the summit when I stopped for a short break before heading back down.  
 

Sitting on the edge of the steep and jagged ridge, fully exposed to the elements, I had a new-found respect for mountaineers. Just dealing with the voices of fear demons in the head is challenging enough, nevermind coping with the technical aspects of climbing. 
 

The going was extremely tough, there were bits of uphill where I had to use my hands and practically scramble upwards. At places where snow had turned into ice, I had to dig my fingers in just to get a grip and stop myself from falling and sliding down. Not a trek for the faint hearted, that’s for sure.  
 

I was mentally exhausted by the time I began to make my way down and stumbled and tripped over several times. Fortunately the worst that happened was sinking my foot ankle deep into the peat bogs. Twice! Yucks! Still, it could have been worse.  
 

Am paying the price today and have been laying in bed recuperating. My holiday is now over. Tomorrow we board the ship for Antarctica . Race time. 
 

Ps I have posted a few pictures on my Facebook page. If you want to see all the pics from , do send me an email [email protected] and I shall forward you a link. To read more about my past fortnight in , go to www.dreamscomealive.com

Am in Ushuaia with less than a week to go before boarding the ship. Until then, am blogging on www.dreamscomealive.com