Day Zero - Life in the Fast Lane ?

Day zero of our 8 Marathons in 9 days in 7 different states & starting with 7 straight tomorrow here in Salt Lake City. Today was a day for getting ourselves sorted but when Jet Lag has you up at 4.30am there's plenty of time to kill, A quick hello to a few folks back home on t'intenet before breakfast & a bit of sight seeing. We left the hotel around 6.45 & headed West, we found a great Rock Station Utah 106.5 & away went accompanied by The Who,Aerosmith & Metallica. We were we heading ? The Bonneville Salt Flats - home of many land speed records - we went out seeking inspiration for a a fast run down Big Cottonswood Canyon. The race shirt says "Go Big or Go Home" & we're gonna Go Big - although not sure if that relates to fast food orders ? over here, probably. We left our Airport hotel as the sun rose & it was looking like a lovely day in prospect - how wrong we were as it hammered with rain & there have been flood warnings & roads up in Boulder, our final destination, washed away by the speed & volume of water falling from above. We reached the salt flats & looked out on the majestic open space before us with the mountains behind & Traviss Recounted tales of his Salt Flats 100 mile race earlier this year. Sir Malcolm Campbell set the first speed record there back in 1935 & we bumped into a man from Bolton (probably ?) but certainly that part of the UK & he was preparing for a crack at 400 mph on 2 wheels - wow !!! That's a fraction quicker than our anticipated marathon pace in the morning !!! We carried on to the Nevada border & within 1 or 2 inches of the border there was a casino - I kid you not. I had my photo taken With Cowboy Will nailing the ET pose, before getting back on the road to Salt Lake City with half an hour the opening bars of the Eagles classic Life in the fast line came on the radio & managed a wry smile at the irony given where we'd been. A small expo with about 15 display booths mainly focusing on jewelery & running wallets & headbands. The race bag featured a very nice Navy Blue shirt - I splashed out an extra $2.50 for the long sleeved version, there was a personalised luggage tag & a pair of gloves - A steak dinner & back to hotel to prepare for the cavalry charge down Big Cottonwood Canyon. The race starts at 10,000 feet & finishes at 5,000 feet with a 30% chance of Thunder storms. i have never been at that altitude before unless encased in a British Airways tin can so how the body will cope is anyone's guess ? I still haven't decided on my race strategy but have decided on my footwear & gonna give the Hokas one last throw of the dice. Tomorrows blog might well be a late one as after the marathon we have a 419 mile drive three quarters of the way to Billings Montana & day 2 of the challenge & what will be my double digit state, Number 10 in Montana. Keep on running Foxy in the USA