As the guys went to bed last night a severe thunder storm warning had been announced that would stretch into the next day and the guys decided to get an early start to try to minimize their time spent in the bad weather. However when the guys awoke and got on the road at 7:30, the weather was surprisingly nice. The sky was filled with swirling clouds, but the temperature was in the 60s. All three were even able to go shirtless for two hours from 9:30 to 11:30.
The headed towards Burnsville AL on RT. 14 and the day had a different feeling than the other days. Andy said that it felt like he was home and he was just out for a nice long run. They would be staying with Lisa again tonight and would head back to where they started the run. Though they would be dropped off tomorrow where they left off today, it felt like they were not accomplishing anything.
But the guys did accomplish a lot today as they covered about 25 miles in about 5 hours. They followed the same strategy as previous days starting off the run with some walking for about a mile. They would run about 1.5 miles and walk for about a half a mile, they moved along at a good pace; and were able to cover about 5 miles per hour.
I have never seen strength and will like that of Ken’s on this trip. Ken’s leg movement is restricted due to the stiffness and muscle soreness he is experiencing. Today he covered the 25 miles with a 15, 13 and 12-minute segments of running filled with brisk walking in between. Though he had to shuffle like an old man for most of the day, he did it. Keep moving ahead Ken, we know you can do it.
Today was not without it’s spoils as the guys found some tremendous ‘gold’ on the side of the road. Two teddy bears, one which will be sent to Ken’s girlfriend Claire, a toy matchbox car for Andy’s nephew Mark Tony and a Bill Cosby type sweater that Ken immediately threw on. They still hope to find two more AL license plates so the whole team can have one.
They were not scheduled to be picked up until they had completed the whole 28 planned miles by the Pennell family, (Though they were staying with Lisa again she could not fit the guys and their gear in her car and a generous Mr. Pennell volunteered to pick them up) but as 12:30 approached the clear sunny skies had turned dark and the a light mist began to fill the air. Mr. Pennell decided that he would pick them up a little earlier than planned. The guys didn't want to cut the day short, as that meant doing more tomorrow, but it was a good thing they did. The rain started coming down and the wind began to pick up.
After they were picked up they went to RYAN's Buffet for lunch that was in one word, "spectacular." (I asked Andy why he liked eating at so many buffets and he said you get a lot for next to nothing). After lunch they got dropped off at Lisa's and rested for the rest of the day. They were glad to be protected from the elements, as the weather got increasingly worse as the day went on. In fact two tornados touched down in the area, one in the plaza where they had lunch just a few hours previously. RYAN's Buffet made it out fine, but a Wal-Mart, Circuit City and some other shops were not so lucky. When I spoke with the guys there was still no power, phone or internet available and cell phone service was terrible-we kept getting cut off from one another.
We are thankful that the guys didn't have to fair any of the bad weather, and that they are staying safely in a warm house tonight. They are headed to Vilula, AL tomorrow where it has been reported a tornado touched down just 8 miles from the town-hopefully the people of Vilula are safe and there is not too much damage.
Thanks for your continued support and keep checking back. I apologize for such a late post.
-Dan
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