day 5
23 miles
total 125
whoosh
whoosh
whoosh
WHOOSH
i will never recommend us 20 for a transcon route.
there has been nothing since leaving boston,
except a neverending stream of cars.
sometimes the shoulder is good
sometimes acceptable
sometimes almost nonexistent.
between the traffic,
and the ubiquitous road construction
progress has been painfully slow.
i take heart that every step brings me closer to a minute without the constant
whoosh, whoosh, whoosh
of passing cars.
and, of course,
i treasure the early morning hours before every person residing in massachussets awakens,
and heads out to spend their day cruising up and down the length of us 20.
yesterday was day 4
and day 4 was the worst day on my test run a year ago.
the day i thought i might not be able to finish.
so it was not unexpected that day 4 was a day of crisis this year…
not helped at all by the 35 mile debacle on day 3.
midafternoon found me on the edge of disaster.
sitting on the bumper of gary david’s car
contemplating whether i could finish the last 7 miles at all.
and trying to calculate the effect on the entire mission.
finally, i went and sat in the front seat
and took a 30 minute nap.
which, naturally, left me feeling horrible
and barely able to move.
none the less, i know the score on these things;
i went out to walk as far as i could get…
and felt better after a little time to fully awaken.
then craig wilson came,
like an angel sent to save my bacon,
and i ended up finishing strong with his inspirational presence leading the way.
who can show the weakness they feel inside,
in the company of a legend?
today was better.
not great,
but much better.
the physical toll has not been unmanageable.
my right knee is a little off.
painful at times,
and easily angered by any lateral force.
my back is….
well, it is my back.
it is what it is.
it is not going to miraculously heal,
but it held up well today,
unlike yesterday when i had to stop and stretch it a million times.
if it does as well as today, i will be gloriously happy.
nothing else is really bothering me,
except fatigue
my previous long week was 117
now i have 125 in only 5 days.
that is a big jump for an old geezer.
and the traffic
dodging my way thru construction zones
and the hills.
coming into marlborough things turned hilly.
and there has not been much letup.
including a mile-long monster near the end of today
that left my legs wobbly.
fortunately, inspiration continued to find me.
gina fioroni stopped to spend a few pleasant miles with me
then norm shephard and jim garcia came along later to help pass more miles pleasantly.
i cannot exaggerate the value of the people who have been coming out to spend their time with me.
just knowing how hard it has to be to maintain the glacial pace of a broken down old codger
i know they are there out of a genuine desire to help me succeed.
i can never adequately express how much that means to me.
on the scientific front;
I made one observation.
it was a horrible idea to have the ocean at such a low elevation.
because of whatever fool that planned that,
no matter which direction you go from the ocean,
there is more climbing than descending.
i hope in the future,
that oceans will be elevated somewhat
to allow journey runners more evenly distributed climbs and descents.
tomorrow was supposed to be my first 30 mile day.
and i was going to be rested to face it.
instead, i am a little beat up from making up for the 35 mile debacle
and the 8 accumulated bonus miles.
if i can pass that test,
maybe i really can do this thing.
of course the one understood reality of a journey run is time.
there is only enough to:
run
resupply
refuel
repair
rest…
and repeat.
so, i apologize for the hasty post.
it is past my bedtime.
laz