Today was balls to the wall fun. If you can see the pics online - today's course looked like it was going to be another mind **** (you fill in your favorite four letter adjective). It was only 4km but ascended up a large mountain with deep snow, switchbacks zigzagging the entire course. At the start the track was soft, slippery and miserable to climb. 2 steps up, 1

Today was a physical and mental thrashing. I'm completely wrecked. Not gonna spend time going through all the issues I'm dealing with but they are adding up fast. We were supposed to start bright and early but our initial destination was blocked off by multiple glaciers. Completely impassible. Then it looked like we might not race at all today. But after two diversions we finally go out there at Gonzalez Vi Dela a little past noon. What else can I say but it was brutal. The course was only 2.2km in length. First half straight up the hill. Second half straight down. Snow 1-2 feet deep and very sloppy the whole way. So basically the worst hill repeats you could imagine in deep snow for 5-hours. The snow and undulating terrain knocked me on my arse all day long. In areas where it was really deep I basically had to do a full high knee just to get through it. By the end of the day I was having trouble keeping my footing and was falling to the ground often as my quads were on fire and my ankle was throbbing. Guess after the last couple years I had forgotten just how brutal these races are. Pretty bummed with the way today played out. Fortunately I hung in there and kept fighting all day long, not once did I mail it in even though that would've been the easy thing to do. Now its time to regroup and change my mindset. We have what seems like an eternity still to go.

On a positive note the views continue to steal the show. I swear I can't believe a place like this actually exists. And because we're just starting to approach summertime down here, were basically the first group to see a lot of these places this year. Everything is so clean and crisp and untouched. Simply amazing. This pictures must be amazing online. There had to be a couple thousand Gentoo penguins out there cheering us on today. Seriously such odd creatures but so cute. Thanks to everyone for the support. It drives me everyday and I can't wait to get on the computer after a long day to hear from those who mean so much to me. Gonna lay it all out there again tomorrow for The MAGIC Foundation. This organization does phenomenal work assisting families dealing with children with rare growth disorders and they need our help. Please consider supporting my fundraiser at www.crowdrise.com/theresnostoppinggrowth. Thank you so much. Off to bed.

First and foremost I want to thank everyone for all your wishes. Can't tell you how much it means to all us racers to hear from our loved ones after the physical and mental beat-down that is a 4 Deserts event. Today was one for the ages. Most importantly Papa Chim had a successful surgery and has already regained feeling in his leg. So thank the Lord there and thank you to everyone for your prayers. And a HUGE Thank You to Josh Reimer not only for his accurate diagnosis and making it happen, but actually being there in the OR for the procedure. Quite certain that isn't your first time and sure as hell won't be your last. DOCTOR Reimer reporting for duty!!!

Day started off with a minor catastrophe in the Crowley/Chmiel pad.  Little background : since we have sleeping quarters on the boat each night, have access to electricity, and we only need to carry food/gear for each stage (not the entire week) I decided to completely overhaul my nutritional plan this race. My good buddy Jason Fowler in Boston, whose a Kona Ironman champion and knows more about fueling the body than anyone I've ever met, generously put together a customized plan for me. Thanks again SO MUCH my man. It allowed me to scrap those garbage dehydrated foods and put high quality ingredients and real food into the body. He set me up with a number of mixes to blend up each day. So the Magic Bullet made the trip south with me. Well five seconds into using it for the first time, a minor explosion ensued, sending a bunch of sparks into the air along with a cloud of black smoke. Neither the outlet, my converter or the Bullet survived the incident. Not sure what happened but I assume these rinky dink outlets on the MV Plancius cant handle the beast that is The Magic Bullet! Wasn't sure if that was gonna be a bad omen or not. But it was pretty funny. And no surprise to anyone that I was the culprit.

As for today's stage, it was the most breathtaking run I've ever experienced. And one of the greatest days in my running career. Still trying to absorb what happened.  No offense to the Sahara, or the Atacama, but you can't compete with the beauty of the world's coldest desert. Today's stage was 7 hours long on Deception Island (plans changed because of weather) with a 4.7km loop that paralleled the ocean and included two big climbs and picture perfect mountains and vistas surrounding us. It was spectacular. There were penguins and seals everywhere, neither of which were threatened by us so we were able to get very close to them. The footing was all over the place. Lots of deep soft snow. Lots of ice. Some mud. As the day progressed it got really sloppy, really windy and really cold out there. Easy to take a bad fall. I had a tough call before the race as to how many layers I would wear and what footwear. I went minimalist with lighter trail shoes and three long sleeves up top and two pairs of tights. Fortunately with my John Candy Uncle Buck hat I could afford to take those risks knowing zero body heat is escaping that monstrosity.   

I was very nervous towing the line before today's stage. Probably the most nervous I've ever been at a race. Combined with Pops situation, not knowing what to expect from the terrain, not knowing how the ankle would hold up, and not having run close to this length in over 2-years. So I stuck to the strategy, focused on keeping my heart rate in zone 2 the whole day, and then just ran and ran and ran with my head down, with passion and purpose. Not super fast. But like a bulldog trying to overpower the course, not trying to out-finesse it. As the day progressed and weather conditions started deteriorating I felt myself getting stronger and more comfortable and started inching up the leaderboard. Those doubts sort of dissipated and I just felt free to enjoy the run. The way I used to. And I certainly did....you couldn't pry the smile of my face for most of the day. My body starting remembering the old days - what it's like to push the limit of the human heart to the max. By the end of the day I clocked 12 laps (close to 60k) one lap out of the lead behind Chema (the double Olympian 2:08 marathoner) and my roommate and friend Ralph Crowley, who had a beast of a day and continues to run at an elite level. Big ups to both of them. So I think unofficially I'm in a tie for 3rd now.    

Ok so this so crazy I have to write a blog about it to express just how long the odds are for a day like Tuesday to occur inside one family. I've always been a firm believer that while things do happen for a reason...we create our own destinies and we determine our own fate. But stuff like this makes me think there has to be something bigger going on at times.

So lets start here