After a well deserved extra hour in bed I set off on West Colfax Avenue in Denver where the temperature was already quite high. I was joined 4 miles in by local actor and accomplished runner Ben Dicke. Ben has been following the journey via Twitter and it was great to have his company for 3 or so miles. Ben is in training for a 100 mile ultra distance run. Rather him than me!
No sooner had Ben left me when Carrie, who I met last Sunday with John, joined me for a few miles. Carrie left me with a whole box of Honey Stinger Vanilla Waffles and some oil for aching muscles. Fantastic! Thank you Carrie.
By the time I passed the Broncos' "Mile High" Stadium the temperature had increased to around 30 degrees Celsius. I felt much better running at that temperature than, say, 6 weeks ago in the Mojave Desert. The first 13 miles were ran much quicker than usual. Flat(ish) road, lack of altitude (albeit still at 5000 ft) and some good running company were making for another good day.
I reached downtown Denver and decided to take my foot off the pedal. There were a few sights to see and people to watch. There were a lot of colourful characters on Colfax Avenue. It was quite a novelty seeing so many people after having spent so long in the less populated areas.
I took the opportunity to run up the steps of the Colorado State Capital Building while I was there. Not quite Rocky but it's the closest I'll get until I reach the Philadelphia Museum of Art in August.
I finished running at 7 pm after 27 miles in order to get a massage that was kindly arranged by John and Carrie. Their good friend Tracy (pictured below) is a "massage artist" and she spent 2 hours giving me a full body massage. Due to a lack of space, it was done outside the RV. Tracy was very thorough and I felt very relaxed and rejuvenated at the end of it. I can't wait to run in the morning with what now feels like a brand new body.
Thank you to Tracy for giving up her time and skills free of charge. I really appreciate her help, especially after the last few days in the Rocky Mountains. If you're in the Denver area then you should really seek Tracy out. If you live elsewhere, then get to Denver and seek Tracy out! Her website is here.
Tomorrow will see me join Highway 36. I'll be on this road for the next 1000 miles. Let the mental battle commence!
