Day 82: Feeling Strong.

Norm, former Army Ranger who served in Vietnam. Official for the RAAM race.

RAAM race team from England.

Dominick and Lindsay finishing the day with me.

Awesome people!!

Well, I tied the record today, 7 straight good running days. Actually, I feel much better during this streak than I did during the last one. I have raised the intervals to 5 miles at a time, so I am doing 15 miles during the morning set, with just one 5 mile run after lunch. It seems to be working pretty well these last 3 days. Hoping for one more good day tomorrow to break the record, and the way I am feeling right now, it's gonna happen. Got passed all day today by cyclists racing in the RAAM race, which stands for Race Across America. These people are nuts, haha. They ride basically nonstop, and are covering about 3,000 miles across the USA in anywhere from 6 to 12 days!! I was fortunate to meet a former Army Ranger who served in Vietnam, who is serving as an official for the race. Also, I got to meet a few of the members from one of the race teams, and they were extremely encouraging of my run. Dominick and Lindsay, a couple of members from the team based out of England, actually nearly got hit by traffic just to run across the road and finish the day with me. Really neat stuff today.
Now, for the bad news. We are going to double check during the day off, but it appears that due to a small, near 200 mile glitch in the planned route, I may be stepping up the intensity of the runs a bit from here on out. If it turns out to be true, the total mileage for the trip will be closer to 2,340 miles, instead of 2,100. What does that all mean? Well, in case you all haven't heard yet, I am getting the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at the last Saturday home game for the WV Power at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston on August 27th. This is fantastic news, since I absolutely love going to games there!! Unfortunately, if the mileage actually is 2,340 miles, if I were to continue at my current pace, I would be scheduled to make it home on August 26th. That's if there are no problems, like bad weather. I just can't take the chance on cutting it that close. So, if the mileage is longer, starting next set, I will be upping the daily runs to 25 miles. It is a very scary thought, only because I know how brutal 20 miles a day is. But, if it is the case, so be it. I will take the new challenge head on, and I will make the 25 miles a day necessary. I'll keep you all posted on the change if it needs to be made. Otherwise, all is well out here on the road. I am feeling very confident about the journey at the moment, although I am very homesick. I know this is a necessary journey, and all the pain and suffering will be soooooo worth it when I see the bypass in town, and I set my feet on the courthouse lawn. I look forward to seeing you all there.