I’m getting pretty good at estimating my race times. The Sutherland the Surf course today was a little different toward the end, with some extra twists and turns instead of the old direct route. I reckon it added at least 100 metres to the distance, perhaps even 150 metres. On the old course my time today of 44:05 would have equated pretty closely to the 43:30 I had estimated.

It was my first race in four years and I felt different to any I can recall. I felt fine and wasn’t hurting much at all, but I just couldn’t move my legs any faster. I can’t decide if this is because my legs are still somewhat in world run mode, or if it’s just age. Whatever it is, based on today, I think I might just scrape under the hour for the City to Surf, but not by much.

It was good to see Kate Day at the finish. Kate ran 87 km in total with me during the world run in three separate stints in the vicinities of Cootamundra, Moss Vale, and Sutherland.

On This Day

Jul 20, 2012

Distance today = 51.55 km; Total distance = 9454.27 km; Location = Kankakee, Illinois (10 km south of) – 41 02.834′ N, 87 53.960′ W; Start time = 0933 Finish time = 1755

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201288949

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/201288926

Maybe I’ve just picked busy roads to run on, but the traffic in Illinois appears to be heavier than anywhere else I’ve been to so far in the US. And the roads had no shoulder, so I found myself running on very uneven gravel off the side of the road. Not the most enjoyable conditions for running.

The weather was better though, as the temperature was down on recent days. I was very pleased to chalk up over 51 km, as I was feeling tired at the start.

I’d like to again thank Sissy and Bob for hosting us these past four days. They are such great people, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Chicago, due in large part to them and the boys. And Sissy makes a fantastic chicken salad, which she provided us with today for lunch. It hints strongly of a Waldorf salad, with celery and walnuts, but is much tastier.

A big birthday hello to Jo and to Vinnie, both of whom share their birthday with the anniversary of Neil Armstrong walking on the moon.

I discovered today that my new Garmin watch automatically saves the data and begins a new activity whenever you connect it to the recharger. I did so in the car today at lunchtime, not realising this fact, which means today’s run is split into two data sets. I will only recharge it during the day in future if there is a high probability I won’t get through the day on a single charge.

Jul 20, 2013

Distance for today = 30.23 km; Total distance = 23,451.27 km; Location = Streaky Bay, SA (30 km south of) – 32 56.905’ S, 134 28.096′ E; Start time = 0818, Finish time = 1236

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/345129606

Just a short run, ahead of the Pewter Mug Day.

Some history on the PMD. School friends, Bill, Tony, Ren, and myself, all received pewter mugs for our 21st birthdays. Ever since, we’ve tried to get together once a year to drink beer from our mugs. We have met at many different locations, but Streaky Bay is one of the most unusual. Unfortunately, Ren couldn’t make it this time, but we decided to go ahead anyway.

I’m sure you’ll hear more about it in tomorrow’s blog. I know it’s a bit of a risky strategy, getting on a bender when I have to run again tomorrow, but I reckon I’ll handle it OK. After all, a world run is about adventure and having fun – it’s not an elite athletic race.

Chook and Silvia bid us farewell this morning. It was great having them along. After his herculean effort yesterday, he has now run a total of 262 km with me, which is pretty much exactly 1% of my total journey. We’ll now see how Dave and The Hud respond.