6/8/2015

Brattleboro had a big parade called the strolling of the heifers. It was the reason there were no vacancies in town. As I ran through the streets I tried my best to spot bovine creatures wandering through the streets. They never materialized. I ran into lots of hippie types though. In the town I saw little pieces of yesterday being consumed by nature. Old nonfunctional cars peeked out the earth, struggling to stay in the light.

The hills continued for miles. Luckily for me, my legs had been accustomed to climbing from all the previous days. As the end of my run neared, all the climbing had come to a peak. The payoff was big. After the hump, I let gravity do its thing. The downhill grade gave the legs the boost they needed. They carried me into the little town of Wilmington...

6/5/2015

We had gotten up bright and early to make sure the meters across the street were fed. A continental breakfast and a little conversation with Marilee and Dave started my day. I learned a lot about the area from them and about the next state I would enter. My body felt fatigue despite having slept like a bear in winter. Of course I knew what my day would be like. I would run and think deep thoughts. Some of those thoughts turned towards the books we had created and the things which needed to happen. I tried to remind myself just to do what I could and give my full effort to the task at hand.

When we reached the location where we had retired the previous day, I confided in Crystal that I had let negative thoughts creep into my head...

6/5/2015

My eyes were sealed shut and my limbs were limp like noodles. A roaring lion couldn’t have scared my comatose body to life. It took every ounce of strength to will myself out of my state of slumber. Were the miles beginning to catch up with me? Or was my footwear the culprit? Perhaps it was a little of both. I stepped out of bed as if there were needles under my feet. It was a ritual that I practiced every morning. I would iron out every kink in the body before making myself take more steps.

Crystal had become accustomed to organizing the trailer anytime we stopped at a campground. She probably didn’t realize we had been at a campground just about every day in recent memory. The chores routinely cut into my start times but having a clean trailer did give me peace of mind.

T...