Posted by Agnes Oquendo on September 09, 2001 at 00:40:41:
The day started out with a hazy sun and high humidity. An occasional sidewalk
appeared with the continuous slanted concrete shoulder. Port St. Lucie had a
bicycle route but it was also on a slant. After running on this surface for
almost a week, Lou has had to adjust by slowing down his pace and has agreed to
wear an ace wrap around his left ankle to help with the adjustment. There is
a slight discomfort in the area but it is tolerable. Taking a day off is not
out of the question but we would like to make Miami by Monday. So keep the
e-mails, messages and prayers coming to help us through the home stretch.
As we were making our way to Stuart, we were greeted by a fierce rainstorm
that forced us to stop for a short while and gave Lou an unscheduled breaktime.
I have run in the rain many times but not quite like this where visibility is
just about impossible. So to see Lou out there running in a heatwave with
high humidity and torrential rainstorms day after day, logging in more than a
marathon a day for 36 days to date, is better than any Nike commercial I have
ever seen. His commitment and determination have grown stronger by the hope of
making a difference to the 190,000 women to be diagnosed with breast cancer
this year.
Once the rain lightened up, we continued on. The rain stopped by the time we
arrived at the Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart. That's where we met the Sailfish
Striders of Stuart -- Bonny, Charlie, Bob, Mark, Dave and Darlene. Bob chose to
run across the bridge with Lou and then Bonny took over for a while. The
company was refreshing. Lou says that, after meeting the Vero Beach Sunrunners
and now the Sailfish Striders, he is sure that Ponce DeLeon was right about the
Fountain of Youth being in Florida.
Thanks Bonny, Bob, Charlie, Mark, Dave and Darlene for meeting up with us, you
brightened up our day (it must be in the water). Between the company and ibuprophen,
we were able to put in 47 miles today.
Thanks and goodnight.
'Til tomorrow, Love Lou & Agnes