Today’s breakfast was sponsored by Sandra Harrison. I set off a little late this morning after trying to get my blog up to date. The Mobile Internet signal has been very poor in east Missouri and getting a good blog update has proved difficult.
The temperature at 10 am was absolutely stifling! This was easy the hottest and most humid day to date on this tour. As ever, though, I was up for the challenge and it was a case of getting my head down and putting one foot in front of the other. I no longer carry water on my back or round my waist so I met Steve and Katy in the “Rennal Car” every few miles.
I got to the 8 mile point by lunchtime and the team and I went to McDonalds for a burger* and some free Wi-Fi. Shelli was already there catching up on some admin. Lunch today was sponsored by Marie Johnson.
When I got going again the temperature had increased, as had the humidity. It was dangerously hot and I only managed a further 3 miles before calling it a day. I was literally hundreds of yards away from the Illinois State Line and the Mississippi River. So close!
I didn’t think it was a good idea to carry on when my legs turned to jelly and my knees started to wobble with every footplant. I got back to the RV and was smothered in icy towels to get my temperature down. I felt by this time I was past the point of no return so the team and I made our way to the Jellystone Park campsite. Many thanks to Deb at the park for letting us stay there for a night free of charge and to Shelli for making the arrangements.
Shortly after the RV was hooked up we all went to the lake on the campsite for a swim. It was as warm as a warm bath. It was the first time in months that my legs had been fully submerged in water. It was bliss!
Katy cooked a fantastic Chilli for tea which was sponsored by Marie Johnson. An early night was had and more importantly 16 hours of recovery was on the cards. Last week’s recovery time was between 11 – 12 hours and it was 6 – 10 hours the week before that. 16 hours would probably mean a strong day tomorrow and the chance of running 35 miles incident free.
* Dave Fairlamb and Mark Fleming read this so we’ll leave it as “a burger”.
