Apologies for the tomsnextstep.com web site being offline for the past week or more. I don’t know why it was, but it was a frustrating time. I managed to get the good people at Asia Pacific Digital to locate the problem and get it fixed. Hopefully we won’t see any similar problems occurring in the future.

Anyhow, I’ve lifted my mileage this week, after a month or so of sub 100 km weeks. My right hip is still quite sore at times, but it doesn’t hinder me much when running. That said, it would prevent me from embarking on a serious training program at the moment, so I hope it improves soon. I’m having my annual medical checkup on Thursday, so I might request an MRI scan on the hip if it isn’t any better by then. Even so, I’ll still surpass the 100 km mark this week, so I can’t be too badly off.

Today’s photo from the world run was taken in Colorado, just a few miles from the town of Fairplay (which is directly back in the distance). This town is the real life South Park, and there are murals of the Cartman and the boys all over town.

On This Day

Nov 19, 2012

Distance today = 46.01 km; Total distance = 14,621.16 km; Location = San Luis, Argentina – 33 17.783′ S, 66 17.550′ W; Start time = 0928, Finish time = 1658

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/244968766

It was another tough day, mainly due to the heat. I was basically on one long straight road all day, with temperatures in the mid 30s. And most of the day was uphill, albeit a gentle slope.

There was little to look at, until I approached the city of San Luis. At least the scenery varied a bit in town. I was offered water by some picnickers on the straight road. They must have thought I was out there on that long 55 km stretch without any support.

When I reached San Luis, I turned and looked back. Honestly, you could see all the way back to the previous hill, now more than 60 km in the distance, with the road running like a ribbon all the way to the horizon.

Tomorrow I head toward Villa Mercedes, which will take me two days to reach.