Day 7 - Sunday, March 28
Small issues accumulating create bigger sometimes unexpected outcomes…and after our 1.5 hour delay yesterday->ran in hottest part of day->missed calories & fluid->lost more weight and slightly dehydrated->back to camp late @10-> and then at 2:30am….
Every small town seems to have a Dollar General - they are really busy and usually the only game in town. Alex found us a spot in the back near the dumpster as agreed with the manager of the store so we would not disrupt parking or deliveries. And then at 2:30am i hear something outdoors. At first i think i must be hearing things but the rustling continues and i realize this is someone doing something right outside my window. I brought a bathrobe with me so when i get up in the morning i use it to have cup of coffee and breakfast then dress to run. And now I grab the bathrobe keeping all the lights off and step down carefully to go outside. Lucky sleeps right next to me on the floor and knows something is amiss as well. I open the door to a full moon and a very big man standing at the dumpster around 5 yards away from me sorting through trash. After i run every day i leave my running shoes outside on the welcome mat and notice the shoes are still there and the RV is untouched. I hit the ground and look at the man, I also know Lucky hasn’t seen him because his in on the top step inside but about to come out and know that if he sees the man, it is unpredictable what he would do. As an aside, I’ve always wondered what Lucky would do i were threatened; while he is a friendly, cuddly beast, he is also a 65 pound agile, chiseled one with fangs that have been sharpened on bones in the wild.. The man looks at me - a guy in a bathrobe who just came outside at 2:30am - and stops what he is doing. Moment of decision. And i do what i always do, talk - i said “good evening sir how you doing?” And signaled for Lucky to stay holding my hand up in a stop sign which he dutifully complies with. The man, almost intelligibly, wishes me good evening as well and gets back to work filling large trash bags with item from the bin he is sorting through. I let him know when i was in high school i worked with my father during summers hauling trash containers and would find great things at the dump and he shared he liked doing that as well. He asks me if i smoke and then a few more minutes of banter I say goodnight and to take care of himself. But, before I get inside in his own gesture of kindness he offers me some of the bounty; brand new scented candles. I thank him but let him know I can’t go lighting fires inside and there it ends with the man walking off into the night with 2 large trash bags full of useful “trash”. Lucky is waiting in the passenger seat of the RV watching, not having ushered a sound. And thus another day begins, albeit earlier than expected, behind on calories and feeling tired.
I know this will be tough day because I’m not feeling good walking out of the RV. Lucky on the other hand is energized for what has become his daily ritual of escorting me for the first 15 miles. The reason is that at 15 he begins to favor his left paw so we keep him under and we know he is fully healed the next day. The route is beautiful today with meandering dirt roads, big trees of pungent lilac and finally some hills, and the miles are not easy. Towards my halfway point of a 30 mile day and with Alex on his way to meet me, i just laid down on Snell Street right off my route on Bay Springs Church Road. With Lucky towering over me as a sentinel, an elderly gentlemen walked out of his little White House with his wife and asked me if I was okay to which i told him i am fine just a little tired. He explained he is an EMT for fire department and thought with a dog standing over me there might be an issue. He went on that there is a dump nearby where animal control leaves dogs and they roam the area freely, he couldn’t tell what was happening with man lying in street and dog standing over him. I told him its a long story but just didn’t have the energy to talk. Alex pulled up and we thanked him for his concern. At this point i had major lower shin pain, feeling 5 out of 10 - a low, and thinking i don’t know if I can make another step. Alex knew to push me to eat a little, have a coffee, take an Aleve and 15 minutes later i was ready to try to go the last 15 and with one step after another and head down i somehow ended up at Soperton 30 miles from where i started.
Today was the last day of heat wave where we have had high 80’s weather, the system is moving in around 4pm with heavy showers and plummeting temperatures forecasted. Today was high 80’s while tomorrow morning will be 40’s.
While today was a real struggle, i am optimistic that i don’t have an injury as it definitely receded and that i can take in calories and fluids to get back on track by tomorrow morning. If not, i might need my first day off after 7 days and 230 miles.
Saw my second interest roadkill - Eastern Kingsnake. There are some roadkill zoologists out there so please correct me if i misidentified.
Last entry today is question my friend Rich asked me about how to train for this type of event. Simple answer is that the body of training I have done for all the events I have ever done is how i trained for this - and i have done many events. On a more practical level - if you can walk or run a marathon then you can probably do the same for an ultra (50k) then you can probably do the same for a 50 miler then you can probably do the same for a 100 miler then you can probably do a few days of 35 miles and then you can probably run across America! That is the physical side - the easier one. The mind is the more important element - the saying goes, “90% of the ultra is in your head, the other 10% is in your mind”. So you need to train your mind on positive thinking, patience and the ability to enjoy solitude. Now that you have the recipe, let me know when you are ready to saddle up for an adventure! I’d be curious to hear what Lisa Batchen Smith has to say about this…
All for now. Thank you for the support - Cheers.
