Day 42

Six weeks down, but who's counting at this point? We have arrived in Paris, Texas better than I could have imagined only a few weeks ago. Our road to this point has brought us to many strange and interesting places and today was no different.

I am not sure if this was already mentioned in yesterdays blog but we spent the night in the gym of the Clarksville High School. It was great having an entire school to ourselves and it was one more strange place that we got to experience on this trip. We threw the frisbee around for about an hour and played some other childish games (video coming soon) before calling it a night around 11. We all slept comfortably on a tumbling mat that was in the gym and personally I felt better than I ever have waking up. My legs were not as sore or tight as they usually are and I felt I could start running immediately. This could have something to do with the short day yesterday but I am going to give credit to that glorious mat.

We needed to be out of the school by 7am because the students would be arriving shortly after. I was skeptical that we would be able to pull this off. It usually takes us a good hour to wake up, pack the joggers and be on the road. However, today it only took us an impressive 26 minutes (Ken timed it) before we headed out the door. It was still dark outside and this was something we have not yet experienced prior to today. Although the sun had not yet risen, the weather was surprisingly warm and we knew it was going to be a good day. With Matt's headlamp flashing, we took off down Route 82.

We walked down the road for the first half hour, our usual routine, and watched as the sun rose behind us (I say behind us because if you weren't paying attention we are only heading West). It was a mixture of reds, oranges and pinks. It was simply beautiful to see. Our long pants and shirts were off by 8 and we were completely shirtless by 10. The warm weather has been great not only mentally but physically as well. It has kept our muscles loose and our bodies feeling good. We all pray it will continue to say between 55-65 for the remainder of the trip (not likely but we can all hope).

I commented to the guys how great I was feeling and they both agreed. We have been feeling amazing the last few days and I think our bodies are finally ready to go. Our runs have been a lot quicker in pace and our walking is becoming less and less. It has taken us a good six weeks but I think we might be over the worst of it...at least I am hoping. With 30 miles to cover we all wanted to get in as many miles as we could before stopping for something to eat. There was a town 13 miles away as well as 20 miles and we decided to stop at the second. The run, like most of the last few days, was mildly uneventful since we were all feeling so good. We were able to cover the first 20 miles just under four hours with a few stops here and there for pictures along the way.

After a quick meal at a local diner in Blossom, TX we were back on the road with ten miles left. Up until this point the shoulder we were running on was close to 8 feet wide. We had been spoiled lately, running in such comfort and luxury for almost two weeks but suddenly all that changed. For a solid five miles we ran down Route 82 with hardly any shoulder as traffic went from two lanes to four. We were forced to travel and push the joggers in the grass until at last our super shoulder returned. Everyone was thankful and it once again made me think how strange something so insignificant really is. Before this trip I never paid attention to the shoulders or side walks as I traveled. However, today it is all I do. When we approach a new town or are leaving one we try and find the best way out. It's something as small as this that can make a town great or terrible as far as I am concerned.

We were closing in on Paris and still moving at a quick pace. Ken commented to me that these last few days really improved his confidence about our longer days that are just around the corner. 40 or 45 miles actually seemed doable after feeling so strong today. The 30 miles just flew by and we all felt like we could continue on if needed. It was one of our best finished we have had as a group.

Just before we entered the center of Paris we came across The Texas Tumbling and Trampoline Institute. It caught every ones eye and we all agreed this was somewhere we needed to stop. Teresa Niblett gave us a tour of the place and showed us the practice gym. The place was huge with five giant trampolines and a tumbling mat the size of half a basketball court. After a few minutes of hearing about the club and all the students that train here Matt asked the ever important question. Would it be alright if we jumped on the trampolines? Before I go any further let me explain why we wanted to experience them first hand. Two of the trampolines had giant foam landing pits for the girls to practice their landings. They were two feet deep and the bottom was another super trampoline. We had to try this out for ourselves and hoped Teresa gave us the okay. After a few minutes and some waivers being signed, we were given clearance for takeoff.

Matt went first and absolute bit it. You are suppose to run down a runway, then jump with both feet and get some height before bouncing a second time and landing in the pit. Instead, he belly flopped into the pit. A big big mistake. Ken was next. He landed with little problem before I showed both of them how it was done. Before we left Matt made 4-5 more jumps getting his moneys worth. We were all so excited to be given such an opportunity and tomorrow we are heading back over to talk with some of the girls...and to get a few more jumps in. Before we left Teresa gave us all t-shirts and hoodies as keep sakes. It was something we definitely didn't expect but truly appreciated.

We left the Institute with such excitement that we were practically sprinting towards Paris. Our day on the road was over a few minutes later when Tommy Lewis, our host for the next few days, picked us up just outside of Paris. He was just as excited to meet us as we were to him and was taking pictures as he drove along side of us. We drove back to his house and got cleaned up before heading back out to explore the town. Tommy gave us an extensive tour and brought us over to the Eiffel Tower. It was a smaller scale replica of the real thing only with a giant cowboy hat on top. We headed back to the house before dinner and shot a few games of pool. I have been playing a lot of pool over the past week and I hope it pays off later down the road.

Tommy and his wife Vicky took us out to eat at Ta Molly's Mexican Restaurant. It was a great meal that everyone enjoyed. After dinner we headed back to the house and were interviewed by the local paper. We should be in tomorrow's edition as well as online. Look for it coming soon on the site.

Originally, we planned on hitting up the hot tub and relaxing for the rest of the night but that just didn't happen. We are busy trying to play catch up with the pictures and I am finishing up the blog. Sorry for the lateness as we know many people wait to read our day before they head to bed. Tomorrow should be up a lot earlier and the pictures should be there as well.

If you are keeping track at home, we are closing in on 1,000 miles for the trip. We talked about how to the best way to celebrate such a great accomplishment. As we enter into the quadrupole digits we decided to show how truly amazing this feat is by dining on a couple of Quadstackers from Burger King. Four beef patties for four digits. The quad will be our grand trophy in the next few days to come.

Thanks for reading.

-Andy