Friday 1 July 2011

Day 60 - A late finish to the day

Following the morning session of 13 miles and the 200 mile round trip to the bus station day 60 resumed just after 9 pm with the temperature still at a very uncomfortable 89 degrees Fahrenheit. It wasn't long before the sun went down and, as per usual, it was quite unnerving running in the dark. A noise here and some movement in the bushes there and it was all a bit Scooby Doo! 


Shelli, doing a great job driving the RV, stayed in close proximity and I managed to get to the 23 mile point just after midnight. Despite a shortfall in miles the time was right to stop running. I was incredibly sleepy after having been awake since 5 am the previous day. 

This day was another step in the right direction to shifting the run to a much safer set of hours during the day. While it's still hot and humid during the darker hours it's not only safer for me but for the support team also. Imagine, if you can and outside temperature of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Then imagine how uncomfortable it is being stuck in an RV with that outside temperature. The safety of both me and my support team is paramount. 

The scheduled start time tomorrow (today!) is 0530 and I'll be running until just before noon. Then it will be a chance to catch up on some lost sleep and start the second session of the day at around 9 pm again. 

If there's one thing that this run has demanded it is the need to adapt to ever changing conditions. Desert, snow, extreme heat, altitude, severe storms. This run has had it's fill of challenges. There will be many more to come over the remaining 40 days.