In an attempt to get my legs awake earlier than usual Wee Kirsty slapped and chopped my legs around a bit before I started running this morning. It worked a treat as I left the Bauers Canyon Ranch RV Park who, incidentally, had let us stay there for free. Thanks to them for that.
My legs were working better than usual but the rest of me was very very sleepy. Probably, because I’d stayed up a little later to reply to some emails, Tweets and to update my blog. I have a backlog of emails to get through so if you're waiting for a reply for anything please be patient, I will get back to you when I can. I've had a lot of encouraging emails from various people. That, together with the support on Twitter and Facebook, is really helping me as I run all of these miles across the USA.
Meanwhile, back to today. It was a beautiful sunny morning as I made my way up the valley. There were pastures with horses grazing, fast flowing streams and the odd waterfall. It was an amazing setting to run in. What was equally as amazing was the climb up and away from Glendale. It went on for 7 miles and the first peak was 6828 ft.
At the first RV meeting point (7 miles) Chef Steve cooked me a Double Decker Bacon and Egg sandwich. That went down a treat and I continued on my way in the glorious sunny setting of Long Valley. At this point I was still very very sleepy.
I had to work incredibly hard on the way up to the day's summit at 7479 ft. For the first time in a while I found myself having to take bigger breaths of air as I climbed and climbed. At the next meeting point (14 miles and 7479 ft) I had to have a now almost traditional "tactical snooze". These early morning wake up calls are a killer!
Post TS (Tactical Snooze) I hit the road again. I found I was running so much quicker. The next 10 miles flew by and I would have continued had it not been for an empty stomach!
I had a bowl of pasta at the 3rd meeting point of the day and the final 6.2 miles were very slow indeed. If only I could have missed the 3rd meeting point out.
I stopped the run at 30.2 miles as a bit of broken skin on my left foot became very sore. My feet have been pain free for almost a week now so I guess I was due for something to happen. On the subject of my feet, they were massively swollen during the first 2 weeks. That swelling has completely gone now fortunately.
I've finished my blog early tonight. Time for a shower then massage then sleep. Then it's all to do again tomorrow. I'm in a good groove now. The scenery is getting better. The miles are ticking by quicker. Most importantly, the fund for St Benedict's Hospice and The Children's Foundation now stands at £33,079.53. If you would like to add to that total, I would very much appreciate it. The following links can be used.
(St Benedict's Hospice)
(The Children's Foundation)
