Distance today = 53.57 km; Total distance = 5314.43 km; Location = Saguache – 38 05.343′ N, 106 08.258′ W; Start time = 0832, Finish time = 1618

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/170018203

Wow, 53 km on a dead straight flat road. I actually noticed myself cresting the horizon. I’m glad I had the mountains to give me some perspective.

I awoke to a beautiful day, with clear blue skies and no wind. I made the most of the conditions early on, until the breeze picked up around noon, and those wretched headwinds made themselves known. I still maintain that it’s much better to be running than cycling into a headwind, but that doesn’t mean I like it. The worst thing is not the buffeting, though that’s bad enough. It’s the lack of silence – there’s always a cacophony of rushing air assaulting the ears, making it hard to concentrate on anything. This contrasted drastically with the morning when, between traffic, there were periods of sustained relaxing silence, where all I could here was my own footsteps and breathing.

That said, I was certainly pleased to get into town this afternoon and out of the wind. The motel does not have internet, so I’ve headed down to a bakery. This is where the tracker position is indicating I am, which is not too bad, seeing as my official run position is only just up the road a couple of hundred metres.

I’d like to add, once again, what a great job the support crew are doing. It’s not just the provision of food and drink, should I need it, at strategic locations along the day’s run; it’s also the administrative aspects, with accommodation being researched and booked, meal options investigated and dealt with (sometimes there is no option but to cook in our room), and other issues solved, such as internet access.

Without the crew – Carmel and Libby – I would not be able to do anything like the average daily distance I’ve been managing so far. I really appreciate it when I think of my fellow journey runner, Tony Mangan, who is without a support crew. His daily average is less than mine, and it’s not because he is a lesser runner (in fact, he is definitely better than me – I could not run anything like 426 km in 48 hours). I’m sure Tony would be churning out stellar daily distances if he had the benefit of a support crew like mine. I am very lucky indeed.

As you can see from the link above, the Garmin data uploaded perfectly today, yet yesterday’s is still just sitting there, refusing to upload. At least it was just a one-day problem (I hope).