As I finished my run this morning, I managed to just pass the 75,000 km mark of running since I last had a day off, on August 25, 2004. That’s 4,194 days of consecutive running. No doubt the consistency has been a key factor in my ability to run around the world. But I never expected that to be the culmination when I started that unbroken streak eleven and half years ago. In fact, I had no conscious intentions of creating such a streak at the time. It just sort of happened.

And it’s now more than a week since I’ve had even a twinge or niggle in either calf, so I’m close to declaring myself fully recovered. Another week should put it beyond doubt.

Below is a lovely scene, taken by Carmel as I ran alongside the Erie Canal in upstate New York. It was autumn and the leaves were beginning their kaleidoscope act for another year. It was an extremely pleasant place to run, completely free of traffic.

On This Day

Feb 18, 2012

Distance today = 53.71 km; Total distance = 2227.02 km; Location = Plaskett, California – 35 54.653′ N, 121 27.957′ W; Start time = 0940, Finish time = 170

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/150647390

Now that was a great day of running. This stretch of coast is truly spectacular. Just have a look at the photos. And I still have another day of it to come.

But there was more. It began when I was joined by a cyclist who asked “Are you the guy running around the world?” We talked for a while, until he told me about the fellow who is planning to do a triathlon around the world – starting with a swim across the Atlantic Ocean. What?????????????

A little after that, a local policeman pulled up in his California Highway Patrol vehicle (yes, a real ChiPs car). He also asked “Are you the guy running around the world?” He even stopped and got out and shook my hand.

But wait, there’s more. Just down the road, another cyclist rode by and said there were two girls down the road on bikes who were riding from the tip of South America to Alaska. He said I should talk to them (I assume all these people knew who I was because of the news item on KSBW two evenings before).

As we approached, I spoke with the girls and told them what I was doing. We stopped and chatted for a while longer and took photos of each other and exchanged cards. They were two young Swiss girls – Monica and Martina – and had been at it for nearly two years already. It’s great to see people being so adventurous.

It was a pretty eventful start to the day. While the remainder was quieter, it was still a very enjoyable run.

Mobile reception was still non-existent, so there is no tracker update. We are staying some way down the road in San Simeon (I will actually run to here tomorrow). There is reception here with AT&T, but as I am on T-Mobile, I can only access phone calls and texts, not data (such as Google Maps, the tracker, internet etc.). I will have to wait until I have T-Mobile coverage for these things. Very disappointing – I’m not used to being out of range for so long.

Feb 18, 2013

Distance today = 52.04 km; Total distance = 16,711.24 km; Location = Urbiola, Spain – 42 37.000′ N, 02 06.130′ W; Start time = 0850, Finish time = 1711

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/275296183

If every day was like today, I’d be very happy. The morning was crisp, but not cold. The afternoon was warm, but not hot. There was a light breeze, but not a wind. It was hilly, to the extent that it afforded good views, but wasn’t mountainous. And the Spanish countryside was pleasing to the eye.

The first part of the day was quite hilarious, depending on your sense of humour. Google Maps took me down a little back road, which is normally a good thing. However, the road soon disappeared and I was left with a muddy vineyard to run through. There was no semblance of even a path. I had to step my way through puddles between rows of grapevines, simply following the track of the non-existent road that was showing on my map. Thankfully, it finally joined a dirt track, and I was back in the game.

It was a very misty morning, to the point that visibility got down to about twenty metres at one stage. Nature called, and I decided it was a good place to stop – a quiet gravel back road, shrouded in fog – as private as you can get. By the time I finished, however, the fog had parted slightly, and visibility was now about thirty metres, revealing several farmworkers tending the vines, and looking straight at me. Talk about being caught with your pants down. I had to laugh.

By mid-morning I had reached the city of Logrono. Many old cities that have expanded in recent times can be quite unappealing. This is true of Logrono in the outer suburbs. But, once in the old part of town, it’s a different thing. I ran right through the narrow streets of the ancient city, and across an old bridge – well worth the effort.

The rest of the day involved quite a bit of climbing and some great views. The Camino de Santiago continues to parallel the road I’ve been running on. It’s even steeper than the road.

I finished the day in gentle sunshine, well pleased with a relatively easy 52 km. I have a similar distance tomorrow to get me to Pamplona.