the fantasy to combat sleeplessness was that i was a solitary and indefatigable runner , breasting state-line after state-line like 200-yard finish-tapes except this was a 1500-mile run , pennsylvania , maryland , virginia , the carolinas , the cotton-pickers of georgia applauding me , then the everglades , racing over the backs of slumbering alligators , and finally i reached the vast white empty beach , unless id already fallen asleep .