Of all the nights that I should have had a great sleep it was last night — room to myself, dead quiet. But it wasn’t to be, I tossed, I turned, it was warm and still and I was imaging I was being bitted. Still awake at 11.30am with a planned wakeup at 6am, sleep did not come easy. Ai-yai-yai!
A basic breakfast of cereal and (bitter) coffee this morning served in the cafe/restaurant. The coffee may not have been great, but three bowls of it sure did get me wide awake. With a planned start at 8am there was plenty of time to pack up and get myself ready, and I managed a birthday call to Andi on the way to the start line.
It was a rather cold start with some wearing long-sleeve tops for the first leg. Following the river briefly as we left the campsite before turning up a sharp hill and climbing out of the valley into a mist. It was a great way to get the day going. A good deal of today’s elevation (which, in total, was not actually that much) was on the first leg - I managed a steady shuffle for the most part, only breaking into a walk whenever that proved more efficient that running up the hills. With clear blue skies, the first couple of hours was really enjoyable, passing mostly through farmland and the occasional small village.
Aid stations stops have become pretty efficient. Today I used Tailwind between aid stops 1-2 (~10-20km) and stops 3-4 (~30-40km), taking in half an egg, some fruit and bread w/ cheese at each aid station, and usually leaving promptly with a handful of chips and a couple of oatmeal biscuits.
Highlights today included a couple of very friendly herds of cows, a selfie with a horse, a dead badger (only because I can’t recall ever seeing a badger before), a great chat with Jennifer, and some beautiful buildings in a couple of villages that we passed through.
Overall I maintained a really consistent pace today, was a lot more steady than the last two days, and only dropped my overall pace in the last section with had a fair few hilly trail sections. It has warmed to about 25 degrees today, no real cover from clouds. And it was super-still — we passed quite a few stationary wind turbines. As midday came and went I would move to whatever part of the road offered some shade (thankfully we didn’t encounter too many cars, although it was a bit busier on the roads that yesterday — my understanding is that the French kids went back to school today which might be part of the reason behind that).
We finished the last km or so weaving through the town of Saint Benoit du Sault where our wonderful RD Gilles lives. Approaching from one side, we crossed a bridge over the river (that looked a lot like a moat) and climbed up into the town, zigging and zagging down old roads, between beautiful buildings and into the heart of town, before a short downhill run to the campgrounds. It was a relief to be done, the sun felt like it was blazing by this time and I just wanted to get my shoes off and get into the shower.
After a brief relax, Jennifer and I wandered into town for a coffee and beer, grabbed some sunscreen & after-care from the pharmacy and hit the local supermarket for some snacks. I introduced her to the absolute delight that are Snickers Gold icecreams - we stood outside the supermarket scoffing them down. I ate three, she ate two. Yummmm.
Before dinner we enjoyed appetisers in the accomodation’s courtyard: beer, wine, soft drinks, bread, spreads, chips & peanuts, a great time for socialising. Sitting down for an outdoor meal around 7pm, starters was a cucumber dish, grated carrot in a vinaigrette and fresh tomato covered in grated mozzarella. Mains was roast potatoes, sausages and what I assume was pork steaks (I did not partake in the latter). And desert was a small slice of fruit flan.
Despite the tough start to the day (with little sleep), it was a great run — I’m really pleased with how my body is holding together and the small improvements in pace and endurance each day.
Stats for today: 53.60km, 6:21:54, 649m elevation.