Day 109

one week.

one single week and 140 miles stands in between the three of us and our lifelong goal of crashing into that pacific ocean! I cannot believe how close we are to that ocean. Sometimes when my mind drifts off I start to think I can smell that salty ocean breeze....but then I snap back into reality and I notice that it's just all the sweat peculating all over my entire body. Yeah, the weather has been mighty hot this past week, with everyday the temperatures have reached and climbed over the century mark. As you probably read in our blog last night, we decided not to stay at the Border Control station for reasons that include but are not limited to:
1) We did not have enough water to last us another day in the hot sun.
2) We just wanted to get to Brawley so we could rest for 2 days.
3) We thought that this last segment of the trip was too easy and figured we could give ourselves a challenge.
4) We, simply put, did not want to spend another day out in the desert in the blazing heat.

So...we needed to get ourselves to Brawley, CA one way or another. So 7pm last night...we patiently waited for the sun to dip below the horizon so that we could forge on without the Ultraviolet rays hitting us...and when I say Ultra...I mean Ultra. But anyways, as soon at the sun set, we were off. We were going at a pretty good pace and we felt pretty good as we started knocking off the miles. Towards mile 15 or so, however, I started feeling pretty tired and exhausted. Due to the fact that I didn't get hardly any sleep yesterday all day because of the intense heat and the fly situation and also coupled with the fact that we were doing another run in the same day...I was starting to feel a little woozy in the head. After about 17 or 18 miles, I asked the guys if we could pitch the tent and sleep for about 4 hours so I could reenergize myself. We found a little place in the middle of the sand dunes and slept from about 11:30 when we finished the running until about 3:30am when we woke up and I felt at least a little rested.

We got up and packed up the tent and little supplies that we had taken out of the jogger for our little catnap and got back on the road with about 27 miles left until Brawley. I was still feeling beat, but a little better about pressing on than I did before we stopped. The moon was full tonight so the way was lit up and we actually could see our moon shadow as Andy told me. We saw the sun come up for about the 7th time in a row. I have become accustomed to seeing that red glow peak out over the horizon. Seeing the sunrise this past week I think might have made up for Los blocking my sunrise at the Grand Canyon...but probably not.

As we continued after the sun came up...the temperature kept rising. It seemed that with every step, the sun was getting higher in the sky and the rays were hitting my back more directly. We were really sweating a lot this morning as it got later and later. We found that the only relief from the sun and the stagnant air was when a giant truck would pass us and blast us with a brief shot of breeze. Sometimes to make the most of the passing truck, I would step out almost immediately behind the truck so I could feel the full force of the air that it pulled behind. As we were coming into the outskirts of Brawley, I saw that there were tiny little water sprinklers that were about 2 inches from the ground watering their respective plants. I walked up to one of these sprinklers and started wetting my hand and hair and eventually my hat. Durkin and Andy followed suit...Durkin put his hands up to the sprinkler and it almost immediately shut off. He told me that it still felt good to have the water touch his hands. I couldn't believe how desperate we were for comfort being out here in this heat! We were grown men, crouching down in some garden utilizing every last ounce of water that came from that little sprinkler. As we walked away I was happy that we had found that and we kept going.

I am going to pause for a second as I tell you a little story about how we pass the time out here on the road....So there is a game that Durkin and I have been playing for years now. This game doesn't really have a name...but the object of the game is to make each other laugh by naming a person that we went to high school with...but more specifically someone that was in our grade. We try and put names out there that we literally have not thought about in ages...and sometimes it brings a giggle to us simply because its a random name we haven't heard in 6 or so years. Since the game has been going on for quite sometime, we have named all of the higher profile names such as Casey Crimmins and Nick Snopkowski. But every now and then, we stun each other with someone that just catches a nerve and we go crazy. Durkin got me with Candice Phisterer today...and I completely lost it. I was so impressed with his memory that I applauded him on the spot. The other day Durkin got me with Christine Devine...and we reminisced about how she won the coach's cup back in 3rd grade...it was a complete blowout. The Coach's Cup is an annual race for the entire 3rd grade where they take the best runner in each of the 3rd grade classes and they all run a 300 meter race. In the qualifying round...I faced off against my class. I placed in a VERY close 2nd place behind Ryan Cox. I was inches away from representing my class in the Coach's Cup...but as history tells us, I did not and it wouldn't have mattered because Christine Devine simply crushed everyone else.

In a similar game, Andy and I name past baseball players and we try and get each other to laugh. The players have to be "semi-famous" or in other words...we can't name Cal Ripkin Jr. and expect the other person to be impressed. I gave him Bip Roberts today...but alas, Andy did not recognize the name...other past names include: Roberto Alomar, Sandy Almoar Jr., Chili Davis, Fred McGriff, Albert Belle, Matt Williams, John Rocker...and the list goes on. I have come to realize that I am far superior in this game to Andrew...but he'll surprise me every now and then.

SO BACK TO TODAY!!!

We rolled into Brawley, CA...exhausted...hot...tired...sweaty...and hungry. We had just completed 70 miles in about 30 hours. It was by far our toughest segment of the trip so far. But we made it and I was personally impressed with all of us that we actually did it. By doing the extra night run, we have become an entire day ahead of schedule and will be taking tomorrow off! So as we came in, we saw a Jack in The Box store and we went in as it was the first sign of real food we had seen in a while. I ordered a really delicious Chicken Sandwich...Durkin got some chicken strips and Andy ordered a burger. As we ate, we met a man named Freddy Cornejo. He was impressed with what we were doing and even contributed to us to help us along the way. He also took a look at our map and gave us his advice on the coming days...there aren't too many left!

We finished eating and we made our way to the Fire Department here in Brawley. We asked if we could spend the night or if they could help us out in anyway and we were quickly put into the helping hands of Captain Manuel Sevilla. He cleared it with the Chief first, but he hooked us up tonight so that we are staying upstairs in their department beds. We were also able to take much needed showers. I took a shower, shaved, and brushed my teeth, and then put on deodorant....and I was pretty much looking and smelling the best I have in a while.

After we got cleaned up, we were called downstairs as the department made us dinner. It was a traditional Southwest and Mexican steak dish served with tortillas. The steak was seasoned perfectly and it was very delicious. On a side note for the dinner...they did have Dr. Pepper.

So now that we are all set for the night...we are just relaxing for the remainder of the night. We were just watching the local news around here, and they were telling us that the temperature was a record breaking 112 degrees today...and the previous record was 108 and that was set in 1988.

So tomorrow, our good friend Rick Decarr is flying into Brawley at around noonish and will be running the final 6 days of the trip with us. All of us are extremely excited to see him and to see a familiar face again. We have said many times over the past month or so that we feel that when Rick arrives on the trip, we feel like the trip will be over. I think a lot of it has to do with Rick being ablee to take our minds off the end being so close. I was telling the guys today that my mind has been so focused on how close we are to finishing and what the end is going to be like and how great we will feel...when in reality it's only making these last couple days drag on longer because thinking about how close we are sometimes makes it feel a little further away. Rick being here will lift some of that and we will just be able to have fun and enjoy these remaining days on the road with one of our best friends. To add to that, only 2 days after Rick gets here, Dan will be coming to run the final 4 days with us. These last days are going to be filled with laughter and a much needed last boost of new energy that will surely feel amazing as we near the end. I am so excited to see Rick and Dan not only for that reason, but also because I really miss them and their friendship and being around them. They are part of our amazingly close circle of friends from college and it seems as different as we have become and as different of lives that we are starting to create for ourselves...we can always return to one place and just be ourselves. Dan has recently moved to Colorado with his wife Abby, so it'll will be really nice to see him because I feel it'll be the last time in a while that I'll get the chance. Anyways....we are all really excited to enjoy these last couple days together...laughing, running, skipping, joking around, slapping, or sometimes even yelling. These days are sure to cap off an amazing run. A run I will never forget. So many memories fit into 4 short months (even though they seemed long at times.) I can't believe that I am typing a blog to all of you talking about the end of something that has been my dream for more than 3 years of my life. We actually went out and did something about a dream we wanted to pursue. Our friend Kerry just posted on the guestbook, telling us about how good it must feel to be proving so many people wrong. This one guy said before we started that if Vegas would put odds on our trip, they would probably put it at 50:1 for us actually completing it...and he would bet for us not to finish. People like that make it that much sweeter that we're finishing. Even friends doubted us...those that knew us the best...but we're finishing. I'm not rubbing it in anyone's face...mainly because the only people that read this blog are those that actually believed in us...as difficult as it may have sounded at first. I remember thinking about the Nation 3 years ago and KNOWING that there was no way I wasn't doing this run. As the time drew nearer...I remember telling my family and how odd it must have sounded...and how at first I felt like they thought I was crazy and it was just some random jobber jabber that I was mumbling....but as the time got closer and closer to February 1st, 2008, they started realizing that I wasn't letting go of my words and that I was actually chasing after something I really believed in. It felt good to have my family come to terms with my dream. It felt really good as the people closest to me started realizing how serious I was and tell me that I could do it. I am pretty sure I made it across this country because of the support I had from my family, my girlfriend, my friends all pushing me along from behind the entire way. Not a step went by that I didn't feel that I was in someone's thoughts somewhere up in New York :) Let me tell you...it felt good and it's going to feel even better when we finish in 7 days.

Thanks for reading and thanks for the support. It's not over yet, but you've brought us this far...BRING US ON IN!!

Ken