I’ve run 135 km this week; my biggest week in a number of months. And it included a good interval session. Tomorrow I’m intending to do a 3 km time trial, just to see where I’m placed in terms of speed. I haven’t done this since before last year’s City to Surf, almost a year ago. On that occasion I think I ran a 10:15. Tomorrow will definitely not be that quick. In fact, I’ll be happy to go under 11 minutes. Let’s see what happens.

More fields of soy beans in Illinois in this photo from the world run. You can almost see the heat shimmering in the air as I ran by this truck.

On This Day

Jul 3, 2012

Distance today = 50.11 km; Total distance = 8703.23 km; Location = Westby, Wisconsin – 43 39.670′ N, 90 51.174′ W; Start time = 0835 Finish time = 1646

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/195493250

The morning conditions were much better, but it didn’t last. The early afternoon, in particular, was stifling. At one point I thought I was going to pass out. But a few drinks and some food from Carmel helped, and the rest of the afternoon was pretty good.

Once again, the scenery was just so beautiful, with tranquil valleys and streams mixed in among green forests and pastures. I even passed a spring this afternoon, and had a drink of pure water coming out of the side of a cliff. It’s hard to beat western Wisconsin.

The milestone for the day was passing the 30% mark for the journey. I’m now closing in on the one-third milestone.

We’re staying one more night with Diane and George, so I commuted back this afternoon, and will head back to my finishing point in the morning. They have been such fantastic hosts – we couldn’t ask for more. Their home looks out over the Mississippi River, and I can see the water flowing slowly downstream as I write – the perfect setting to relax in after a long run in the heat.