I finished last week with 125 km, bringing my total over the past fortnight to 300 km. I expect that will be enough to get me past my target of 108 km on Friday when I run for 12 hours straight. My current PB was run in extreme heat and humidity last November in Florida, and Friday’s weather conditions will be much more conducive to a better performance. I’m not quite as fit as I was last November, but I’m hoping the better conditions gets me “over the line”. I will be doing very little running ahead of Friday.

I have no idea where this photo was taken, though I know it was on the world run. I think it was somewhere in the US mid west, and I suspect it was one of Carmel’s more artistic and experimental efforts.

On This Day

Aug 8, 2013

Distance today = 54.00 km; Total distance = 24,457.04 km; Location = Cannawigara, South Australia – 36 15.199’ S, 140 40.459′ E; Start time = 0814, Finish time = 1615

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/355307275

The weather was much kinder to me today, with no rain or wind.

After 18 km, I reached a sign indicating it was 2 km to Keith and 500 km to Melbourne. The significance of this is that I took a photo of the same sign in 2010 as I passed it on the Tour de Bois. I clearly remember thinking at the time that I would be passing that same sign in a few years, having run most of the way around the world. That moment arrived today. It almost felt like I had seen the future.

Other than that, the day was fairly uneventful – just a solid 54 km.

N.B. The official distance of 54 km today, differs from the Garmin data by more than 800 metres. For some time now, I have suspected the Garmin device has been short-changing me in regard to the distance I’ve covered on some days. It’s often difficult to be sure of this, so I accept the data as is. However, on certain occasions, like today, it’s easy to check. Running entirely on the same highway, from the 108 km peg to the 162 km peg, I was able to compare the data with three other types of distance markers – the kilometre pegs (each km), distance to town markers (each 5 km), and Google Maps. All three of these were consistent with each other today, but the Garmin differed by the amount mentioned above. When it is so conclusive, I feel it’s important to adjust the total.

Assuming the Garmin has, from time to time, been registering less than what I’ve really run, what implications does this have? Luckily, not much – it simply means I will probably end up running a bit more than what my official total says. At least my official total will be a lower bound – I know I will have run at least that much, and probably more. If it was the other way around, it would be a serious problem, as I couldn’t then be sure I’d run the required distance of at least 26,000 km.

There have been times when the Garmin has attributed more than I have really run, but these occasions have been very rare, extreme in their error, easy to spot, and simple to correct. For example, like the time it added 1,360 km to my distance for that day – it’s not likely I’d ever miss something like that.

PS Thanks to David from Duke’s Motel in Bordertown for his generosity tonight.