I was up at 5:00 AM this morning after going to sleep around 1:00 AM.  The wind has died down and the chop has stopped but the swells are about 15 feet high and coming right at the bow of the ship, as is the wind.  The speed has picked up a knot or two – depending on if you read it on the way up the swell or on the way down.

The darkness faded to dawn, but was replaced by dense fog.  The lack of anything to look at more than 100 yards has left the bridge empty.  For most of the passengers, the assistance from the “patch” or Dramamine has dissipated and has resulted in most of the passengers laying down in their rooms.  I am back in the library, which is one level lower than the bridge but still in the bow of the ship.  It affords me a comfortable seat and more of a flat view, but is still exciting on the swells that send the spray cascading over the bow and down the sides of the ship.

Latest check of the GPS shows us just below the 60^th degree south, which is just less than halfway from King Georges Island to Cape Horn as of 9:00 AM EDT (or 24 hours after we left Neco Harbor).  We passed King Georges Island last night around 9:00 PM EDT.

Not a whole bunch to report, but the consensus at breakfast was everyone was ready to get off of the ship and, like me, had been ready for a few days.  The hardest part of this marathon was getting there and then getting home.  I am glad that I got this one done now and not at the end of the 7 continents.  It has been really fascinating to listen to the different marathons that people have run all over the world and the reasons for doing or not doing some of them.

For instance, I have always wanted to run the Melbourne Australia Marathon because I have seen a lot of pictures and read a lot about the area.  However, on this trip I ran into a couple from Australia and they were adamant that I need to run the “Outback Marathon” and not Melbourne.  They spent a lot of time explaining that you can visit Melbourne and see all you want to see, but you will never see the “Outback” unless you get to run through it.

I have also heard stories of some of the European Marathons where, if the weather was bad, the volunteers for the water stops left and just put out the cups and water jugs and you had to stop and fill the cups yourself.  I heard that in Kenya everyone got sick from drinking the water.  The one that I found most interesting was the one that Maria had picked for Africa that is called “The Two Oceans Marathon”.  The marathon starts at one ocean and finishes at another ocean.  The interesting thing Maria failed to tell me that in order to run from one ocean to the other ocean that his was actually over a distance of 36 miles and not 26.2.  Kind of reminds me she forgot to look up the details in Sedona, Arizona when she picked that one for me!  I have to say, even though it has the extra miles, it sounds spectacular and I think that will be the one.  What is an extra 10 miles when you travel so many miles to get there?

There were too many suggestions for Asia and I think I will defer to Beth on the best place to marathon there since it will be definitely be a destination marathon.  I am also going to rely on Beth to find a “local” European marathon for me that is close to her new home and that can be run when we do a long weekend visit in the fall.  I can scope out some locations when Maria and I are there this May.

I did not go to the gym this morning because it is in the bottom floor of the ship and has no windows.   When you are down there you can hear the water going around the sides after rocking and rolling all night.  The thought of riding the stationary bike and doing weights with the sounds of sloshing along the side of the boat was not very appealing, and finally I decided to wait until tonight to try the gym.  The climbing of the stairs all day long from the main deck that has the dining room and common bathrooms (I use those so I don’t wake up my seasick roommate) up the bridge on the 6^th deck and back to the 5^th floor library has kept my legs from getting stiff and sore after the marathon.  I just cannot wait to get on land and go for a run.

The really good news is I got the last of the mud out from under my toenails this morning in the shower and they look like they are all going to stay on.  There is no gang green from the frost on my fingers or my toes so I am encouraged that the blisters on my face and ears will heal soon. (Just kidding – wanted to see if you really read this!)  They also came and took away all of the “wetskin” rain suits that were issued when we were heading south.

Just went up the bridge and the visibility is zero and they are just navigating by radar and have the ship heading on a 353 degree heading.  The radar shows no ships, icebergs or land for at least 15 miles, so even the captain is in his room.   As usual, there are two guys on the bridge, one fixed to the radar and the other pacing back and forth looking into the fog.

Hopefully my next post will be “Land Ho!”