Wisconsin has been very very good to me

The trip through Wisconsin has been absolutely fantastic so far! A look back over the past six days:

• The first full day in Wisconsin took us along the Great River Road then up out of the Mississippi River Valley through little winding canyons - stunning scenery all along the way. (Picture below: Lake Pepin along the Mississippi River)
• I did have a very upset stomach and headache as I started that first day and ran for the first hour or so just sipping iced tea. Then Kendall and Paul made me a bit of oatmeal; it seemed to settle things down. Kendall next stopped at a bakery in the little town of Maiden Rock where he found cranberry wild rice bread. Delicious! I nibbled on that for the rest of the day and felt better and better with each nibble. This experience has really changed how I eat during the run. I think my stomach was simply rebelling against my six-days-a-week diet of gu and clif shot blocks. Now I do take a gu about an hour into the run, but after that I nibble on bread. The Great Harvest Bakery of Longmont has been supremely generous throughout my run, sending bread, cookies, rolls, homemade energy bars, brownies...you name it, they've sent it from their bakery. One of their breads, "Happy Whole Grain" is my favorite. So now my most frequent request when I come up to my support crew is for "Happy Bread." Consequently, my stomach is the best it's been for this whole trip.
• After climbing up out of the Mississippi River Valley, my next road was Highway 10. I've been worried about this road ever since I finalized my route. With over 60 miles scheduled on Hwy 10, it was going to be an aruduous stretch if the traffic was heavy and the shoulder was dicey. It was not that bad of a road - but certainly too busy for any kind of daydreaming to take place. However, Kendall and Paul came through once again! After reaching Mondovi (30 miles into the Highway 10 portion of the run), they spotted the Buffalo River ATV trail paralleling the highway. Upon checking our Gazeteer (a must-have map book for anyone doing back country exploring through the states - Lysa introduced us to it in Nebraska), the guys discovered that I could run the trail for the rest of the planned Highway 10 distance. So, Mondovi-to-Fairchild was 33 miles of cinder/dirt trail with only a couple dozen ATVs the whole time. Fantastic!

Turkeys clearing the road next to the Buffalo River Trail

• The ATV trail was followed by lovely little county roads and a most generous display of hospitality. Running buddy AndyE's wife Sandy is from Wisconsin. It just so happens that Andy and Sandy are in Wisconsin bopping around to various family gatherings. And it just so happens that Sandy's brother lives on a farm very near my route. And it just so happens that he recently renovated the farmhouse and put in a guest quarters. And it just so happens that he invited us to stay in his guest quarters. And it just so happens that AndyE volunteered to be my support crew for a couple of days while Kendall and Paul took a break at Mike's farm. What a grand couple of days it was. Absolutely beautiful countryside with heron, sandhill cranes, turkeys, deer, singing bull frogs, woods, rolling hills, lakes, Amish horses & buggies sharing the shoulder with me, and AndyE providing stellar support. (It's not every day that you can climb a hill with a little subaru putting along next to you belting out Willie Nelson tunes!) And each night we spent in the luxury of Sandy's brother's home with a whirlpool bath, comfy bed, TV for my teenaged-tired-of-the-RV-with-his-parents son, delicious food, and cows and sheep to keep us entertained out back. (By the way, if you're ever in the Marshfield, Wisconsin area and are in need of comfortable quarters to stay in, I highly recommend "Anna's Inn" at Mike Albee's farm. Mike is just now getting it ready to rent out to guests.)

AndyE, Mike, Paula & Paul at Mike's farm

• The two days with AndyE also underscored how lucky I've been with the weather. The first day it was pouring rain as we set out from the farm. We got to my starting point, stepped outside of the car, and the rain stopped. At noon, we took our midday break, it started raining again, we went back to my starting point, and within a few minutes of the afternoon run, the rain stopped. All the while it stayed cool. The second day offered up a cool foggy morning. It moved into the upper 80s for the afternoon, but being only half the day and with AndyE offering drinks every mile along the way, the heat was quite manageable. However, the dingbat who laid out the daily route is going to need a talking to. For some inexplicable reason, she (me) decided 32 miles would be a good idea for this day. It probably had something to do with wanting to finish on the east side of the Wisconsin River, which is just how I ended the run on July 17 - which also happens to be the day I topped 1000 miles for the trip!

• Yesterday (July 18), was the day I ran from Mosinee to the Mountain-Bay trailhead in Weston in the morning then met up with a gang of folks to start off the afternoon on the trail that will take me most of the way to Lake Michigan. Valerie Parker, a runner who works for the Village of Weston and who helped me out with my route through this part of Wisconsin, had organized this gathering. It was quite a treat to have so many folks meet up with us. The gathering included reporter Keith Uhlig and photographer Butch from the Wausau Daily Herald (check out www.wausaudailyherald.com for July 19), Barb Schira (president of the Wausau Area Runners Club) who enthusiastically accompanied us for a few miles, Helen Pagenkopf (president of the Marathon County Friends of the Mountain-Bay Trail) who rode with us for several miles sharing a wealth of information and history about the trail all along the way, and Valerie who ran with me for 11 of my afternoon miles filling me in on all sorts of tidbits about the area. Great company!

Helen, Valerie, Paula, Barb & Paul at the Mountain-Bay trailhead

• Another weather luck phenomenon: as we finished up our midday break in the parking lot of the trailhead, a storm blew through with rain and wind. As the gang arrived, we learned that golf ball sized hail had hit the town about 11 miles east of where we were. And as we got about 5 miles down the trail, we started encountering trees that had been blown over....literally dozens of trees. It was quite the challenge for a few miles, lifting the bike (Paul was riding with us) and climbing over the trees. It was dumb luck, and just a matter of an hour, that we weren't caught in that storm. Whew!

Helen, Paula & Valerie and the newly wind-blown trees
of the Mountain-Bay Trail

Numbers and such:

• Today is our 44th day on the road.
• PJ Run miles-to-date: 1049.5.
• Three bottles of sunscreen emptied.
• One pair of shoes retired, with a second pair on the verge.
• An estimated 2.5 days of running to get my first glimpse of Lake Michigan and three days (starting tomorrow) to get to the Michigan state line!
  

Wisconsin Schedule (subject to change)

A number of folks have said that they want to meet up with us while we're in Wisconsin. Here's our schedule as it stands today - but it could change at any moment for any reason.

July 14th: ~Durand to ~Strum/Osseo via Hwy 10.
July 15th: Strum/Osseo to Fairchild via Hwy 10, then NE on county roads.
July 16: county roads to Spencer.
July 17: Spencer to Mosinee via county roads.
July 18th: Mosinee to Weston (midday break).
July 18th (pm): Mountain-Bay trail to Eland.
July 19th: Rest Day.
July 20th: Mountail-Bay Trail - Eland to Shawano.
July 21st (am): Mountain-bay trail to Bonduel.
July 21st (pm): Bonduel to Hwy 41/141 via county roads.
July 22: Hwy 41/141 to Peshtigo via county roads along Lake Michigan!
July 23: Peshtigo to Michigan via Hwy 41.

Cannon Falls - to - WISCONSIN!

A quick post 'cuz today is turning out to be a very busy day off in Red Wing Minnesota: laundry, lunch & visit with friends from Boulder (complete with care packages, news from home and great conversation YAY), a movie, shopping, a visit with a friend/former co-worker - yep yep busy busy!

If you ever happen to find yourself in the Cannon Falls-Red Wing area of Minnesota, I highly recommend the Cannon Valley Trail - the loveliest trail of the trip so far: a canopy of trees, the air filled with birdsong, wildflowers galore, a doe and two fawns, the cry of the eagle (and an eagle's nest), the river meandering nearby. A great day of running to finish off my running week.

And! The yesterday culminated with a zigzag through Red Wing to the bridge over the Mississippi River and on into WISCONSIN! I must confess to being a bit numb by the time I got to the land of cheese curds and brats, but a brief rainstorm invigorated me, and the rainbows that filled the sky overhead as I finished my last six miles of the day/week added a smile to the early evening.

Minnesota - a bit of everything

Big tractor, little runner, Minnesota county roads

Such variety in Minnesota:

• Corn! Soybeans! More than I ever knew existed in Minnesota.
  
• Lots of pig farms (noisy), lots of turkey farms...one turkey barn that was, literally, .2 miles long (measured on my GPS).
  
• My first bald eagle sighting of the trip.
• Yesterday: the first jet sighting/hearing since the fourth day out of Boulder.
• A dry summer - so, fortunately, very few mosquitoes so far. Only one day with a major buzzing, biting bombardment of bugs.
• A campground adjacent to a replica of a pioneer village in Butterfield - with a tour offered by the campground manager. General store, giant tractors, broom making, copier lathe, miniature railroad... All done by volunteers, all for the threshing bee in August.
• The hottest, most humid weather of the trip. So much so, that I took the afternoon off this past Saturday, opting to drive to the Twin Cities to visit my cousin rather than continue to run in the 99 degree high humid day. The morning's run seems to have had a lasting effect, though, as running on Sunday and Monday (still in the 90s, still humid) was a struggle.
• Quiet county roads for the road portions of the trip.
• Extensive trails: so far, the Red Jacket Trail (~6 miles) and the Sakatah Singing Hills Trail (39 miles). Refreshing shady bits along the way, cornfields shifting to thick foliage, tall trees, lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks. Paul typically rides a fully-stocked bike along with me on the trail portions of the run. I learn all kinds of interesting things this way. For example, yesterday Paul explained the interrelationship of sugar tariffs and the price of corn.

Paul & Paula starting the last 27 miles of the Sakatah State Trail

• My first "meltdown" of the trip - after the third consecutive hot, humid day (yesterday).
• A fantastic day of running today: temperatures 10-20 degrees cooler, light cloud cover, tailwind whenever I was east-bound, iced before I ran, used the stick before I ran, ate well during the day - and was joined for the last several miles by a former co-worker/long-time friend who now lives in Minnesota (he on bike and with lively conversation). Today's run of 31 miles took 7 hours 47 minutes, whereas yesterday's run of 27 miles took 8 hours 18 minutes (note: I start my watch with my first step of the day, and stop it with the last step of the day - and only stop it mid-run for midday break...so all walking, drinking, eating, chatting, sightseeing detours, etc. get timed). Today, blissfully, I actually felt like I was running, not just slogging through the miles. What a difference a day - and improved weather and a visitor - make!

Bob Kulus, Paula & Paul finishing up July 10 at the Cannon Valley Trailhead

Numbers:

• 35 trip days (including days off)
• 836.5 miles run
• One pair of shoes retired (after yesterday's run) - out of four in rotation.
  

Tomorrow: the Cannon Valley Trail to Red Wing!

Road ramblings from the past 4 weeks

Which way do I go? (in Jackson, Minnesota, July 4, 2007)

Four weeks and one day - and 705.5 miles ago, this adventure began! And today, July 5th, is a rest day in Fairmont, Minnesota which happens to be celebrating its sesquicentennial and put on one heckuva fireworks show last night. Being able to stay up late to watch fireworks and sleep in the following morning was one reason we chose today as our rest day rather than taking all of the 4th off. And boy oh boy did I need a rest. Since my leg soreness, I've not had a full day off - and it turns out I've run 414 miles over the last 12 days. I was none too perky by the end of yesterday's run. But! Some ice towels, cold drinks, an ice bath, and a meal later - I was on the rebound and stayed awake oohing and ahhhing the fireworks until 11 p.m. Now, half a rest day, another ice bath, a latte, and a pizza later, I feel like a new woman!

Now for the road ramblings:

• Waving. I do believe it's a Nebraska countryside national pastime and there's a fair share of it here in Minnesota as well. And it's contagious. The passing motorist waves; I wave. I wave; the passing motorist waves. Truckers seem to wave the biggest - arm high up in the air so I wave high back at them. There are the fingers lifted off the steering wheel waves, the wiggly finger waves, the waggly hand wave, the palm straight out wave, the wave from the wrist, the wave from the elbow, the pump the arm in the air wave, the peace sign wave, the guy who moved his arms like he was running wave, and the oh-my-gawd-don't-wave-with-your-steering-wheel-hand-while-holding-the-cell-phone-with-your-other-hand-wave.
  
• Kendall also gets waves as he drives down the road in our motor home. Our motor home, by the way, is now named Hedwig: a bright white, smooth-gliding, welcome sight.
  
• The most tempting looking diversion so far: tubers on Cedar Creek near Ericson, Nebraska. Floating in water would be a delightful antidote to soaking in sweat on some of these hot humid days! Overall, though, I've been really lucky weather-wise. The hottest was in Colorado (close to 100 - but a dry heat), I've had a few humid-90s days, a bunch of humid-80s days, and some fantastic light cloud cover and/or fog, light wind, 70s-80s days.
  
• Which leads me to my next ramble: the best campground shower hands down was at the Jackson, Minnesota KOA. Big clean shower - with a lock on the door, two hooks, temperature controlled by the showerer (many campgrounds come with a one-temp shower), with a nozzle I could take down and use to spray my legs with cold water, and a giant shower head that did a marvelous job of dousing me in hot water when I was ready for real shower business.
• I started this run with a plan to run 37 minutes, walk three minutes, walk the hills, drink at least every 20 minutes and eat every 40 minutes. Ah well, it was a good thought. There have been so many hills (once I left eastern Colorado), just walking the hills provides plenty walking interludes. And the guys (if not biking with me), leap frog me every two miles for drink/food. If for some reason they can't meet me each two miles, I carry my single water bottle belt which is good for about an hour without additional aid. I'm definitely drinking more than I ever did in training. Sometimes I wonder if I'm gushing sweat or gatorade.
• Another plan was to have a full-leg ice bath at the end of each day - and we brought a big plastic tub thing with that in mind. It's turned out to be very tricky to fill the tub with ice water - and/or to soak in the tub outside with mosquitoes buzzing about. A decent substitute has been iced towel rub downs and soaking at least my feet in ice water. And if there's no water available for that, at least wrapping my feet in ice packs. Ice still remains the miracle drug of this long distance runner.
  
• As for the guys and their roadside support - they're top drawer. One tough end-of-day (the northernmost bit of Iowa - I was fighting some stomach upset the last few miles) they started meeting me with musical entertainment. "There she was just a runnin' down the street...singing doowahdiddy diddy dum diddy doo" (Paul was on chorus and was cracking up cuz he didn't know which song Kendall was going to sing - just that he was to sing chorus. I didn't know there were so many variations on doowahdiddy.) Also "It's a long way to Minnesota" - which Paul and I turned into "It's a short way to Minnesota" when he ran the last mile with me.
• At one stop in northern Iowa, a fellow pulled into the road the guys were waiting on and asked Kendall if he was checking out every county road in Iowa. Apparently he'd seen Hedwig many a time throughout the day. Kendall said no, they were the support vehicle for his wife who was running. Truck Guy: "Where are you from?" K: "Boulder" TG: "Where are you going?" K: "Michigan" TG: "Now hold on a minute; you want to run that by me one more time?"
• At another stop, in Minnesota, a cyclist came up to Kendall and asked him how far I was running - apparently he had seen me and the support crew during his grain truck deliveries back and forth along the county roads. He had great advice for Kendall on the various routes I'll be taking from here north to Mankato and the Sakatah State Trail.
  
• Brain over body. Sometimes I feel so tired I think the body is cooked and brain is fried. Then I'll be standing at the highest point in Iowa - Hawkeye Point, 1670 feet - ready to quit for the day, the guys will point to some silos a couple miles downhill and tell me it's the state line, and I'll be running again. Undoubtedly the body is still cooked, but the brain has taken over, focusing forward.
• As for moving forward, back when my leg was hurt and I really didn't know what was going to transpire, 19-year-old Paul gave me very sage advice. Something along the lines of "Mom, when you get up in the morning, just take it one step at a time and we'll see how it goes." That next day it went 22 miles.
• Minnesota county roads are unbelievable. The shoulder-less roads still have at least a ribbon of dirt/grass you can step off on if need be due to passing traffic - but the traffic volume is extraordinarily light along the shoulderless roads. I timed a full 15 minutes between cars along one stretch and pretty much all traffic that has passed has moved to the other lane. It feels like farm country again.
• A couple of days ago there were big black clouds all around us with thunder rumbling in the distance. The temperature was falling, the wind was picking up, and when I met up with the guys, Kendall commented that there was an unusual smell in the air. My response: "That would be me, dear."
  
• Yesterday I had to turn myself around in a circle: there was corn, soybeans, and blue sky for as far as the eye could see, 360 degrees.
• Also yesterday we finished off our second bottle of sunscreen - and our first roll of RV toilet paper.
  
• For a July 4th surprise - we had our first along-the-road visitor! My cousin who lives in the Twin Cities rode his motorcycle down yesterday and joined us for lunch. What a treat!
• Additional treats: text messages, emails, blog comments, web page guest book entries. All very much appreciated. Thank you!

Iowa to MINNESOTA!

After 3+ hours of running on Iowa's shoulder-less, no line-of-site, 60 mph-speed-limit county roads, we made an executive decision to live to run another day and bailed off the country roads and jump onto state highway 60. So, Kendall picked me up on county road K49, we spent the night in Le Mars, then I ran east a bit to a road that would take me north of Le Mars, to a road I could run west to Highway 60, and I've been on Highway 60 ever since.

It turned out to be a fine decision: four-lane divided highway thus plenty of room for cars to maneuver past me (and most drivers more than willing to do so), a double-wide shoulder (one width asphalt, one width runnable gravel) thus plenty of room for me to maneuver, and only a wee bit more traffic than on the county roads. Yayy! Just two downsides to Highway 60: a little trickier to find rendezvous points with Kendall & Paul and Hedwig (our newlyish named RV) and not possible to have a cyclist with me...so all solo running. Also about 7 miles from the end of the day today (after 50 miles of Highway 60), it went down to 2 lanes - but still with a good shoulder.

And speaking of the end of the day today: my final step of the day - 32 miles from the start of the day - was in MINNESOTA! What with the route change, I entered the state about 30 miles west of the originally-planned Minnesota entry point so I'll get some extra Minnesota miles - but a big chunk of the ~200 Minnesota miles will be on trail. I'm psyched!

Various numbers from the past couple of days:
- 4 dead skunks in one day (yesterday)
- 3 chicken trucks - feathers everywhere
- 3 cell phone carcasses
- 1 strand of silver beads
- 1 sheriff curious about what we were up to
- 1 toenail (from my left little toe) now deposited in the soil of Alton Iowa
- 1 trailer-full of a donkey baseball team
- and, as of 7 p.m. (ish) Central Time today, 645.5 trip miles!

Farewell Nebraska - HELLO IOWA!!!

Paula - amazed that she made it to Iowa!

Yes, indeed, I'm now in Iowa! But I must say, Nebraska was very very good to me: many delightful running weather days, gorgeous scenery throughout the Sandhills, a stellar 31-miles of crushed limestone Cowboy Trail (almost like having a day off, my legs were so happy), wide-shouldered country roads with cautious drivers, and wonderfully warm-hearted people throughout.

And, today, I crossed into Iowa! By way of bike trails from Dakota City (where we stayed at a lovely campground right on the Missouri), through South Sioux City, over the Missouri, and into/through Sioux City - with the capable and enjoyable guide services of Randy from the Missouri River Runners. After leaving Randy and the bike trails I headed through running buddy Patti's old neighborhood of Leeds, then out on county roads per the advice of the Iowa Department of Transportation. They're right about less traffic on these roads - but the shoulder is non-runnable/non-existent, and drivers don't seem to be disposed to move over at all as they barrel down the roads at 60 mph. We've already been reworking the route to avoid the heavy tourist area of Spirit Lake since I'm behind schedule and would be landing there during the holiday week. I think we'll now rework it further to try to find a compromise between no-shoulder county roads and heavier-traffic roads. This little project is still keeping me on my toes (so to speak)!

Errata:

• Kendall asked me if I was feeling bullet proof yet. No way. Between the Leg Incident and the heat (always respect the heat), I'm still feeling very mortal - but a very happy mortal!
• Corn has grown from calf-high in Colorado to taller-than-me now in eastern Nebraska and Iowa.
• I got spoiled this morning with a bit of flat as I finished off Nebraska. But Iowa is treating me to hills again. No chance of getting bored on this run. Nope nope!
• While camping at the combo campground and airport in Wayne, Nebraska we were treated to a firefly show - blinking glow lights covering the grass as far as we could see, right at sunset. Magic!
• New claim to fame: I appear to be capable of starting pig stampedes just by running by (and, well, making a comment about the size of their ears).
  
• Food roadkill to date: velveeta cheese package melted all over the asphalt (in Colorado), a hamburger sandwich with each layer dribbling down the road, a pork chop (yesterday), and a large bunch of bananas (today).
• And, thanks to all these miles, today I ate my first entire ice cream sundae at Blue Bunny headquarters in Le Mars, Iowa. Yummm!

Paula & Paul on the Nebraska-Iowa state line (over the Missouri River)

Days 15-20 Burwell-to-Norfolk (ish)

Coming out of the fog near Burwell, Nebraska

My first hiccup.

• Day 15 (June 20): Nice early start, feeling very good after my rest day, cruising the hilly curvy Victoria Springs road toward Taylor. By late morning, the top of my right foot was a bit sore - I thought maybe the knot in my laces was in the wrong place. During the afternoon the pain got worse and worked its way up my lower leg. I ended the day on the top of Divide Hill 5 miles south of Taylor. We stayed in a great little hotel in Taylor that night - with a bathtub for a long ice soak.
• Day 16 (June 21): Got back out on the road and only made it 5 miles (to the intersection of 183 and 91 for those of you following along at home) before I decided the leg needed attention. So it was off to Burwell for a visit to a Physical Therapist (thanks Andy!), a day of icing, and a relaxing day at the Calamus Reservoir campground. The probable problem is an inflamed muscle - perhaps from the curvy hilly road and fighting the cross winds (blowing from the south as I head east).
• Day 17 (June 22): Tried running again and quit at two miles...still too painful. I climbed in the RV and told Lysa we should just head back into Burwell for coffee. A most excellent move! We asked a woman we saw walking down the street about coffee spots and she told us that every Friday the Senior Center offers up pie and coffee for 1.25. So off to the Senior Center we went! 'Twas easy to find as we just followed the woman carrying a big pumpkin pie. When I got up to the pie display, the woman working the counter asked if I was the person running across the country. I was rather taken aback by the question and replied "Yes. How did you know?" She looked over at a long table filled with women about my mom's age +/- 10-20 years (mom is 86) and said "The girls were talking about you." It turns out that some of the women volunteer at the Chamber of Commerce and saw my letter describing my planned trip and asking for information about the Burwell area. So we got our pie and sat down with "the girls" and had a most delightful morning! Thank you, Burwell! The rest of the day was spent seeing sights, icing, and getting massage lessons by phone from Holly "Magic Fingers Beggsy" - which have made a tremendous difference.
• Day 18 (June 23): After all the hoopla at the Burwell Senior Center yesterday I really believed that I should at least run past Burwell - so it was back to yesterday's finishing point and I put in a very slow 15 miles to the Willow Springs campground two miles past Burwell. My leg was pretty darned sore by that point and I wondered just how my adventure would proceed. Kendall and Paul returned in the evening - the girls' week was wrapping up. I surely did appreciate Lysa's companionship - a fountain of knowledge, great sense of humor, and as easy going with this sweaty high-maintenance runner as could be.
  
• Day 19 (June 24): Ran conservatively from the campground, enjoying the coolness of our third consecutive morning of fog, icing my leg every few miles - and managed 12 miles in the morning followed by 10 miles in the afternoon (finishing in Ericson) - much to my surprise. Weehaww! The adventure rolls on!
• Day 20 (June 25): Another good day - 28 miles total in still-hilly, still-warm/hot, still-humid, still-windy Nebraska. After the run, we continued north 20+ miles to the nearest campground we could find info on - in Neligh, Nebraska.
  
• Day 21 (June 26): So there we are in the Neligh Town Park campground, spitting distance from the Cowboy Trail. Our choice was to drive back south the 20+ miles for more two-lane road running, jumping off every time a vehicle dashed by - or - start the Cowboy Trail from our campsite (joining the trail about 5 miles northwest of the originally planned starting point). Given that I was 3 days behind schedule, and was seriously jonesing for some trail running, I opted for the route change. Thus today's run became 31 miles of all Cowboy Trail. My legs are so happy.

Some highlights of the past week (besides the Burwell Senior Center pie & coffee and the week with Lysa):

• Waking up to the sound of birds
• Surrounded by corn: corn in fields, corn kernels along the road, pieces of corn stalks scattered about, campground shower curtains patterned like corn
• Prairie parking lot (cars in a field buried in prairie grass)
• Spectacular scenery throughout the sandhills that I never would have seen had I not gone on this adventure
• Paul riding his bike along with me, describing the new Spiderman movie - and the nearby cows all gathering up along the fence to hear his narrative
• Speaking of cows: two dark brown cows with white tails (like cream dripping down from their backs) - and a giant bull (he stood a head above all the other cows) with a humoungous head that looked a whole lot like a Klingon.
  
• More and more types of wildflowers springing up along the way
• Frappucino at the end of another hot day - ohhh did that taste good (I've not been drinking coffee on my running days)
• Ericson: the home of the Starving Stallion Saloon along the highway and the Hungry Horse Bar & Grill in town.
• Brand new road surface for a few miles - and got to see how the paint truck lays stripes down on the road (both middle stripes and one shoulder strip all at one time)
• Ran faster than the earth-moving machine that was packing down a long strip of dirt - the only thing I've run faster than this whole trip!
• Grasshoppers and caterpillars blown tumbling down the road in the Nebraska wind
• Every town - and I mean every town - we've stopped in for our midday break has had a town park with a baseball field - and usually water and restrooms!
• A cake walk (with over 100 slots) painted on Main Street in Meadow Grove
• The Cowboy Trail with wild raspberries growing along the trail
  
• The Cowboy Trail where we could stand still and hear nothing but birds
• The peacefulness of this country that is infusing my soul

Miles-to-date: 484.5

Days 10-14: Ogallala-to-Victoria Springs, Nebraska

Done with Week 2 - Victoria Springs Rd, Nebraska Sand Hills

Day 14, my second rest day! Reporting from Broken Bow, Nebraska. (By the way, if you ever find yourself near Broken Bow, check out Emily's Soda Fountain - a most excellent refreshment stop!)

Nebraska, so far, has been a journey along the oh-so-straight Lincoln Highway followed by the rambling sand hills (the operative word being “hills”). The Lincoln Highway was great: long views, very little traffic, the traffic that there was had friendly drivers (most everybody gave me plenty of room and a wave – including one fellow who did the running motion with his arms as he passed by with a big smile), trains chugging along nearby…some of the most peaceful running I’ve ever experienced. And the sand hills have been absolutely gorgeous – rolling, nooks and crannies, trees and ranch land, cows (much more skittish than those in Boulder, I’ve started a number of mini stampedes), horses (most who want to run along with me a bit – and five who trotted out from behind hay bales and stood all in a perfect chorus line to watch me run by), birds (I do believe I’ll be hearing the squawking of red-winged blackbirds all the way to Michigan), grains ever-waving in the wind. Not a bit boring so far!

Snippets:

• A favorite fence decoration seems to be boots stuck upside down on fence posts.

• Saw my first cross-country non-motorized traveling compatriot – a cyclist who, when I hollered “where are you going?” responded with “across the country.” I hollered back “I’m running to Michigan” and we exchanged good lucks.


• After I said “I’m running to Michigan” it dawned on me that I am running to Michigan – not planning to, not training for it, not thinking about it – I am running to Michigan. Holy cow!


• So far I’ve rescued 3 turtles that were out in the highway. One expressed his gratitude by pooping as I carried it over to the grass.


• At one point, running toward North Platte, we had trains on 3 sides of us. Trains have been very fun – about a third will toot at me when I wave, and, if the train and I are going at just the right speeds, my foot falls go in synch with their chugging.


• Also, if I’m going at a certain speed, the Beverly Hillbillies theme song pops into my head. Please, someone, give me a different song!


• Had our first law enforcement stop – a sheriff north of North Platte. “Going for a little walk?” (as Kendall and Paul accompanied me a bit after I grabbed a popsicle from the motorhome). “Just running to Michigan sir…”


• Incredible tailwind north of North Platte. How windy was it? Paul was on the bike and, after waiting for me to catch up, could catch back up to me again without pedaling – on the uphills!


• Speaking of Paul, I swear he’s figured out how to fix every single thing that has broken (or that we thought had broken) on the RV.


• If you happen to be a cyclist and find yourself in mid-Nebraska, Highway 92, get out and ride. It’s a great rolling low traffic mighty lovely road!


• Most entertaining pick-me-up: my husband belting out “Pretty Woman” from the RV window as he passed by towards the end of a long hot day.


• Most surprising pick-me-up: A text message saying “Go Paula Go” from a mystery person towards the end of another warm afternoon. Whoever you are: thank you! It brought a huge smile to my face - and feet!


• Lysa joined us at the end of Day 12 (June 17). She’s now my support crew while Kendall and Paul take a week’s break back in Boulder. Nice change of pace…all girls…a rarity in my life (all boys at home, mostly boys for running partners, mostly boys in my professional field).


• Ran into our first road construction just west of Merna when we were headed back out to my afternoon starting point after our midday break. The flag guy chatted with us a bit as we waited at their check point and we told him what we were doing. Then, as I ran back through the construction, he applauded as I went by.


• We had our first mapping snafu: gmap showed that the road through Merna off Highway 92 went straight through to Victoria Springs Road. Nope. A dead end. Fortunately, Merna is a tiny town and the road a few blocks up did go through. The detour also offered the opportunity for a fellow (who had passed me on the road at least a couple times) to ask how far I was running each day and when he learned what direction we were going in gave us a recommendation for the most excellent campground we ended up staying in that night.


• Nebraska weather has alternated between sunny/hot (80s-90s)/muggy/windy and cloudy/cool (60s)/breezy – i.e., tough running days and just about perfect running days. Day 13 was a combination of both: perfect running in the morning (so I put in 17 miles) and hot afternoon (when I only needed to do 13 and was glad of it).

What makes the run go well:

• Post-run ice


• Feet up


• Using the “stick” after each run


• Nap at midday break


• EAT


• Follow run/walk pattern of 37 minutes/3 minutes and walk up hills


• Drink at each 20 minutes or sooner, and eat at each 40.

What makes the run go poorly:

• Skipping any of the things that make the run go well.

Stats:

• 353 trip miles to-date


• This was my first consecutive 6 days of at least 30 miles per day (the first two days of the run week were 32 miles each trying to make up for the lost miles from the prior week’s car breakdown and late start day).


• On the road time averages 8+ hours per day (I start the watch when I start running in the morning and only stop it at midday break and end-of-day; no stopping the watch for drinking, eating, putting ice in my hat, chatting with folks, picture taking, peeing…).


• Midday break is about two hours. That gives me a 10 hour day – just like when I was working – only this is oh so much more relaxing!

To all who have sent greetings – THANK YOU! They are much appreciated!!!!

Days 8 & 9 - so long Colorado, hello Nebraska!

Nebraska, 8 a.m., June 14, 2007

Gotta be quick about this - time to get some sleep!
Day 8 - I tried hard to get to the state line, but 32 miles in headwind, light rain and cool weather (actually delightfully cool given the previous heat) caught up to me and we spent the night in Julesberg. Paul ran with me for 6 miles in the morning and we discussed ideas for musical tunes. How do "Take Heed, It's a Tumbleweed," the "County Line Polka," and "Knee Slap Hoe Down" sound do y'all?

Day 9 - NEBRASKA! My first new state! Very exciting - running along the Lincoln Highway, the Pony Express Trail, and the California Wagon Train Trail - nifty! Another cool day too. It started muggy but by the afternoon, the mugginess disappeared and I had the best running weather of the trip by far: light clouds, 60s, very light wind. I wanted to be conservative given yesterday's hard day so I ran only 15 in the morning (lunching at Big Springs city park - Big Springs was one of the schools that traded books with Kendall's school) and planned just 15 for the afternoon. But the conditions were so great, after running the afternoon 15, I switched into crocs and walked the last two miles into Ogallala - where we are now camped. (If you can call sleeping in an RV campground with internet and cable access - not to mention hot water showers and flush toilets - camping!)

Next up for the evening's entertainment: figuring out what to do about the blister on top of the blister on my left heel - where I've never before had blisters.

Miles today: 32.
Trip miles: 233

Tomorrow: Ogallala to half-way-ish to North Platte.