Today was definitely a day where victory was snatched from the jaws of defeat.
The start point was a sign for a bank where I’d finished last night in the dark. The early miles, away from Allentown, were pretty tricky with heavy goods vehicles, commuters and a road with no hard shoulder.
I checked in with David Fairlamb with a phone call and he had the following to say later “ I spoke with Mark today, huge positivity in all areas especially the great start and the brilliant support from Deb and Carlton.
I know this time he needs to use more of his memory bank of previous epic runs to push on stronger and overcome any obstacles.
This alongside his incredible mental strength puts him in a really strong position to attack the next 96 days… fab start”
I got to the 4 mile point at Fogelsville and Google Maps was telling me to take a detour. I’ve seen this “kink” in the map for quite a while and always wondered what I’d do when I got over here. The answer was to ignore Google and continue on.
It was really slow going due to my sore feet. Not unexpected based on previous runs.
The route seemed to skirt under or near the interstate road for most of the day.
I sent a message to the support team “NEED SLEEP”. The reply was not one I wanted “Next stop is Lenhartsville which will be your second 9 complete . Probs 30 min sleep is doable then.”. They are utter b******s I thought again.
As it happened, I didn’t feel tired when I got to the first meeting point at 9 miles. I was however feeling quite emotional having spent a few miles reminding myself why I was doing all of this running.
After a quick wrap I was on my way again. This time the target was a sleep at the 18 mile point. I was joined by Deb for a few miles prior to the rest point.
It was a wasted “sleep” as my feet were in far too much pain to relax.
There were a few climbs on the way to Hamburg. Just as I was leaving the town the heavens opened. It was a downpour of biblical proportions. Fortunately the support team were close by. Instead of climbing in the RV, I handed Deb my backpack and continued to use the running momentum I was currently enjoying. There was a huge climb out of Hamburg and it wasn’t the last of the day.
As I got up an and over the climb, I could see Carlton and Deb in the distance taking photos. Deb took this great one of me coming down the other side of the climb. I really attacked the climbs and it paid off big time.
Deb joined me for the final few miles to the finish line in Shartlesville and those miles ticked by quickly. She was great company and set a good pace. I finished up on 31.4 miles for the day.
I’m very pleased that the run mileage is intact after 5 days.
Yet again, the team have worked well today to keep me on track.
The final act of the day was to treat my feet. They were soaked with vinegar first of all. Then l, two of the big blisters were “emptied” and dressed. Hopefully this will allow me to get some more sleep tonight. Thanks go to Deb for going above and beyond the call of duty on that one.
Over a quarter of a million steps have been taken over the last 5 days. My feet certainly feel it!
Tomorrow’s route is 32 miles to Grantville. Day 6
TUNE OF THE DAY: AC DC - It’s a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll.
