What should have been an opportunity for a good sleep last night simply wasn’t. A combination of very warm overnight temperatures, the noise of distant trains and the nearby interstate saw me have an uncomfortable and disturbed sleep.
I got out just after 0600 in overcast and cooler conditions. My first mistake of the day was to forget my hi viz vest. There was a lot of traffic on Highway 40 west of Effingham. The hard shoulder disappeared at various points. I also had to make way for farm traffic and the line painter passed by too. It made for a tricky start to the day.
I made it to the RV at the 3 mile point for porridge. Once that had been digested I got back out again. My second mistake of the day was to forget to take painkillers at that break. I had been distracted by looking at the changing weather forecast. Thunderstorms were due from noon all day according to the MET office.
I made it to 8 miles and a large can of beer was waiting for me. It had been so slow going. I knew I’d have to find something extra to minimise the potential damage to mileage today. The skies in the distance were already looking formidable.
I didn’t have any food or even a snooze at the beer can (there’s a sentence you don’t often get to say). I passed Alan my backpack and the walking poles and set off to try and build some pace.
The miles started to fly by. The pace was in line with the proximity of the dark clouds in the distance. The darker they got, the quicker I ran.
Alan played a blinder in the motorhome, driving forwards every two miles. He stood by the roadside and handed an energy bar or a drink. It allowed me to consistently move forward and build pace.
I made it to St. Elmo at the 16 mile point by noon. That was when the heavens were due to open.
I was only 200 meters away from the RV when there was an almighty downpour of rain. By the time I reached the RV, I was wet through.
If it hadn’t been for the rain then I’m certain that I would have continued running and got into the 20s of miles before stopping for lunch.
Unfortunately, there was no sign of the rain dying down until 5pm. I took the opportunity to have a shower, get something to eat and have an hours sleep.
While I was sleeping I heard the intensity of the rain drops lessen on the RV roof. I got up immediately, put my running shoes on and off I went. That was about 2.30pm. I was gutted that I’d lost so much time but running in the rain on these roads didn’t feel safe to me.
It was slow going again unfortunately as I’d lost all my rhythm and momentum.
At the 20 mile point I got a call from Alan from up the road. He could see another bout of torrential rain drifting towards my direction. He drove back to pick me up and we waited on a side road until there was a break in the weather. That wait was 45 minutes unfortunately.
We had a discussion to potentially call it a day given the forecast. I was determined, however, to give it a go.
I went back out at the first sign of a break in the weather. It was still 25 Celsius so wearing a rain jacket and hi viz vest made things even warmer.
I managed to run a further 1.3 miles before the mere was another downpour. I messaged Alan to pick me up. I simply didn’t feel safe on the road in torrential rain. Given that there was no hard shoulder, I felt I was a risk to the oncoming traffic as well as myself.
The image below was the finish point for the day.
While it had been a frustrating and disappointing day there were a few positives to take. Firstly, the teamwork between Alan and I was really good today. We had a good plan to get some quick miles in and it paid off. If we do more of this in the weeks ahead then I think there will be some big mileage days.
Secondly, given my 2 stone weight loss and increased fitness, I’ve shown over the last 3 days that there is some decent quality running starting to appear here and there. I can’t flick it on like a switch unfortunately. What I can do though is try and get my mind and body on the same page so to speak. When they work in unison, then that’s the dream ticket.
Oh! The other positive is that I ran through the 900 mile point today. I almost forgot about that.
The day ended in what should have been the days endpoint. It’s a Walmart car park in Vandalia, Illinois.
We were in need of supplies so I helped Alan with the shopping. The big purchase was a cooked chicken which I had some of in 2 sandwiches with a bit of mustard. They were absolutely delicious. I couldn’t resist getting a picture taken with Deb’s favourite snack.
To spend an hour in Walmart was tiring but the first bit of normality I’ve had for a few weeks. I even treated myself to my favourite shower gel - Dr Squatch (coconut). I’ll use that whenever I’ve had a good day of miles. Otherwise, I’ll be on the cheap stuff. Now there’s an incentive.
TUNE OF THE DAY: (Here comes the) Rain - The Cult
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