Another easy run this morning – I’d be foolish to go hard so soon after a race. But next week will be a hard one. I expect to do a time trial of Centennial Park on Monday.

Following on from yesterday’s discussion and the comments that ensued, there are several reasons why my stride length might be shorter now. Perhaps it’s my forefoot style. Maybe some people’s stride length increases when they move from heel to forefoot striking. Maybe others experience the opposite. In my case it feels like the latter.

But this is by no means certain. My muscle motion may simply be very limited due to running around the world. Running over 26,000 km with very short shuffling strides must surely have “shortened me up”. It might just take a lot of time to reacclimatize the relevant muscles to longer strides. And, as Grace mentioned to me the other night, if the muscles around the hips and groin aren’t flexible enough, then each stride will necessarily be shorter than if those same muscles were flexible. A bit of stretching wouldn’t go astray. I’ve never been big on stretching (I didn’t stretch once during the whole world run), but I might have to bite the bullet.

The other possibility is that age is gradually showing its hand. I tend to think this option is unlikely. Of course, there would be an element of age involved, but I feel my stride had shortened so much in a relatively short time, it’s unlikely to be completely age related.

Only a proper study and analysis can determine the cause for sure, but if I had to hazard an opinion, I’d say the most likely reason is that my physiology has not fully adapted back after the muscular mono-motion of running around the world.

On This Day

Jul 24, 2012

Distance today = 50.29 km; Total distance = 9656.34 km; Location = Blackland, Illinois – 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 acclimatization. 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 in South Dakota.

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

Jul 24, 2013

Distance for today = 55.67 km; Total distance = 23,669.72 km; Location = Kimba, SA – 33 08.801’ S, 136 24.806′ E; Start time = 0814, Finish time = 1624

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/347416967

Had a better time today, with a long run in the sunshine through lovely farming countryside. I reckon the delicious chili con carne Carmel made last night was the difference.

Michael passed me early on, riding the 56 km to Kimba. Jeff ran the last 15 km with me. He has now reached 96 km in total, passing The Hud, and is closing rapidly on Dave and Barry. He should move into second place on the honour roll tomorrow, but has a long way to go to reach Chook’s 262 km.