2/24/2013
I woke up to a hotel room in disarray. I had abandoned all my rituals during the time away from the road. In my hurried state I tried to substitute the previous night’s dinner for my breakfast. My body didn’t agree with that decision. Once again I remembered why I maintained a strict and nutritious diet. It was the one thing which helped me preserve my body. In my rush to take off I forgot my phone and I missed out on filming a thank you video to the Howard Johnson Hotel in Pico Rivera. I didn’t want to disappoint the kids so I quickly ran towards McGee Elementary school.
D
espite battling a tiny injury, I arrived at the school in the nick of time. I ran through the principals office and headed straight to the cafeteria where I was greeted by a couple hundred kids. They had an impressive presentation for me. I only hope that I was able to reach them with my message. I wanted to let them know that they could reach any goal they set for themselves. I wanted to show them that if they take care of their minds and their bodies they could achieve greatness. I always say it is about the steps. I read them some passages from “Prince Dee’s Soccer Animals”. After I closed the book they presented me with a bag of sport related goodies. They included items which I will be sure to use on the rest of the journey. Big thanks to Mr. Knapp’s classroom.
The crew spent a bit of time debating what to eat for lunch so I didn’t really get to hit the road till well into the afternoon. Under normal circumstances it wouldn’t have made a big difference to me but on this particular day I wouldn’t be running the entire way. It meant there would be a chance I’d hit night, especially since the days are still relatively short. I had decided to take it easy on my legs and preserve them until we were closer to the finish line. The one thing about reaching any goal is to remember the race is long and really it is against oneself. 
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