Distance today = 50.29 km; Total distance = 9656.34 km; Location = Blackland – 39 46.523′ N, 89 06.233′ W; Start time = 0843 Finish time = 1707

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/202784934

I awoke this morning and sat on the side of the bed – the region where my hamstring attached to my buttock was extremely sore. I was concerned. Not only for my hamstring and ankle, but also because of the 105F (41C) temperature that was predicted.

However, as long as I kept my pace to a gentle eight minutes per kilometre, I found that neither the hamstring nor the ankle gave me any real trouble.

The heat, however, was a little harder to manage, although I am finding I’m handling it better now than I was a few weeks ago – such are the benefits of acclimatisation. It reached 53C (127F) in the sun this afternoon at 3 pm, yet I wasn’t too seriously stressed. Carmel was giving me drinks each two or three kilometres, though.

Just before the end of the day, I passed the original homestead site of Abraham Lincoln’s first home in Illinois. It’s kind of surreal to stand on the exact ground where Lincoln lived and walked around on in 1830, well before he became famous.

And then, just two kilometres later, I passed another big milestone – 6,000 miles for the journey, which means I’m now well over one-third of the way around the world. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I passed the one-quarter mark.

PS Thanks to all those who expressed concern about my injuries yesterday. Based on today’s experience, it’s looking better than expected.