There’s only seven weeks now until I leave for Florida for the Icarus Ultrafest and the 12 hour race I’ll be doing there. Given I’m in pretty reasonable shape already, that’s plenty of time to fine-tune with some very long runs. However, it’s not that simple.

Two of those weeks, right in the middle of the seven weeks, I’ll be on the annual Tour de Bois cycling trip. This year we’re riding in country NSW, from Griffith to Mudgee – one wine region to another, although the landscape in between will be somewhat remote. And some of us will be starting early by riding from Goulburn to Griffith. That will make the trip close to 1,100 km in total.

However, the very act of riding for six or so hours each day, even at the leisurely pace it is, will help me develop additional stamina for the 12 hour race. And, on top of that, I’ll probably do what I did during the Tour de Bois rides in the years leading up to the run around the world – run some of the course instead of riding. I will set out early in the day, while the rest of the guys are having breakfast and preparing for the day. When they finally catch me – often not until I’ve already covered around 40 km – I change into my cycling gear and get on my bike (which has been transported to me in the support vehicle). Half a day of running and half a day of cycling – great training.

The last photo I posted was of sea lions, just south of the town of Watsonville in California. A few miles further on I came upon this field of artichokes being tended by Spanish speaking workers. It was a beautiful day for running and one of my favourites from the run around the world.

On This Day

Sep 26, 2012

Distance today = 54.13 km; Total distance = 12,231.80 km; Location = Franklin, Pennsylvania – 41 23.868′ N, 79 50.051′ W; Start time = 0803, Finish time = 1647

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/227245045

Not the best of days. The combination of steady rain for much of the day, coupled with rocky gravel roads, made for tough going. It was nice to get in and finish the day.

It was another long day, and very hilly again. The incessant steep hills are tiring me quite a bit. A single day of such hills would be OK, but weeks of it is wearing me down.

The leaves are now beginning to change colour. It won’t be long until the reds and yellows are as prevalent as greens.