Today was great as we learned from yesterday’s mistakes and we capitalized on them. We definitely took care of the hydration part today as we constantly had our normal water container along with a reserve for desperate times. One thing we overlooked yesterday was our pacing. Due to the excitement of the journey our pacing may have been quicker than you’d expect for a six day journey. With that in mind we had a goal of pulling back into a comfortable pace that would allow us to have enough in the tank to power through.
There were some awesome moments along the Canal today. The first was seeing a group of students who looked to have been on either a field trip or having a great PE experience cycling the canal. We were greeted with some high fives and bonjours that really brought us to life. But then we met Margaret who is an English woman who has called France home the last thirty years which really changed the game. We struck up a lovely conversation and had her join us for about a kilometer. Before breaking off, she shared her contact info with Ben so that she could get pics (of course we had to do the selfie with her) and to watch the journey. Those moments are what make journeys like this even more special. The people you meet and the breathtaking views of the countryside.
Our afternoon was filled with some challenges with the first one being that we ran into stretches of the canal not being covered with shade. Many kilometers were uncovered which exposed us to the sun with the humidity being up around 70% or so. Walking and finding shade when available made a huge difference. I personally ran into some issues regarding my glutes as it effected the outside of my knee which at times made it difficult to run. I had to remind myself of the purpose of being here and tapping into that inner self to push through( usually with a double pat on my chest as a power up and a smile of gratitude). Constantly I thought to myself that this is exactly how I should feel after running 84 kilometers (52 miles). We are earning our stripes lol. Challenges are not challenges if it is easy.
The evening will be spent resting with some TLC for the body. Looking forward to an awesome day 3 🙏🏾🇫🇷🏃🏽
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