The Rose Capital of Iowa

Spent the last week in Iowa visiting my significant others' family, so not a lot of running was to be had.  I did venture out a few days to see the country on foot, so I did manage to get a few miles in, just not as many as I'm used to.



11 miles

 The loop I plotted out took me through the town of State Center (the closest one by a long shot) and then along the dirt roads through the corn fields.  Running through the main drag of town was nice, though I did get some odd looks from the townsfolk.  State Center is a sleepy little town mostly inhabited by the local farmers and their families, much of the town has been preserved from the turn of the century, so many of the buildings still standing were old brick edifices.  I wish I had brought a camera, but the weather had promised to give me a wet morning, which of course, it didn't do anything more than spit at me. 

Luckily I was able to get out on the roads before the combines began to harvest at weeks end so as to see the wide expanses of crop.  Being a city boy, my only experiences with great open spaces being on a cattle ranch, seeing this part of the country before and after harvest was amazing.  As far as I could see, whole fields were blanketed by, for the most part, corn.  Every now and again I stopped just to take it in and watch the fields just roll with the breeze.  I had forgotten how just about every motorist in the country has the habit of waving to you as they pass by, whether they know you or not, and as an added bonus, they even swerved to the far side of the road even though I had plenty of space on the shoulder as I ran against the traffic.

A lot of firsts for the family, especially for Aiden, my 11 month old.  This was not Aiden's first flight but he did get to embark on his first long road trip.  We drove from Iowa to Kinosha, WI to visit more of my girlfriend's family.  During the 5+ hour road trip, we drove over the Mississippi River, a first for me, and along the border of Wisconsin and Illinois.  Cousins, second cousins, aunts and uncles, but most importantly, Molly's grandmother (which would be Aiden's great-grandmother) came by to meet the kiddo and I.  We stayed over night with Molly's favorite aunt and uncle, with whom her grandmother lives with, and stayed up chatting through the night.  We left early afternoon the next day, I wish we could have spent more time as I felt nothing but love from these people who I had just met only the day before.  I was worried Aiden would experience a little bit of anxiety amongst all the new faces, but he took to everyone right away.

On the way back, we made the usual pit stops for bathroom breaks, but pulled over while still in Wisconsin for cheese.  Another reason why I ended up gaining about five pounds over the time away, besides Molly's mother cooking up a storm for breakfast and dinner every day, and her father always urging me to eat just a little more.

Dios, dame fuerza.

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.     -August Wilson

Single loop = 7 miles.

27 miles down on paper Sunday morning.  Woke up at 0430a and officially had dirt under my feet by 0515a.  I actually woke up BEFORE the alarm, which is always a great sign.

Since I was out before 0700a, I had a good hour and a half of night running, which I've been trying to incorporate as much as possible.  The hour or so of running in the dark is always interesting and full of exciting, spooky, heart pounding fun, let me tells ya!  I don't wear music as I try to keep all my senses about me since my field of vision amounts to just what of the night is cut by my flashlight.  Tree roots, branches, even the animals seem to be more abundant in the dark.  Speaking of animals, Sunday morning was actually the first time I've run into a bat on the trail.  Literally.  I ducked down under a low hanging branch, and when I came up I felt my pack pull something with it from the tree.  Something moving.  He seemed to be stuck on my pack before flying off in a fury of high pitched screeching.  Oh, and it just about made me piss my pants.

The sun started peaking through the trees around 0645a, which made me kick up my jets, to the point that I had to remind myself that I was in for a long haul.  Being able to see where your running really does wonders for moral.  I've started bringing de-fizzed Diet Mountain Dew in an extra water bottle just to see how much of an effect the caffeine would have.  I had a few swigs (maybe half a can) after my first loop, which I've extended to 7 miles.  I'm going to have to start bringing 2-litre bottles of de-fizzed Dew as it seemd to help much more than I expected, I'll just have to be careful not to drink too much.  I'm even considering bringing the 5-hour energy shots in case of severe emergencies.

Had the usual arsenal of Cliff Blocks and Shots, along with my gallons of water, but am still on the lookout for a good electrolyte replacement drink besides Gatorade.  I've been reading up about the miracle of coconut water, but as my local market didn't have any (the store associate wondered if it was in the produce section beside the coconuts, and even offered to walk me over) I'll just leave it for next time.  I am glad I didn't bring any so I could isolate any negative effects on myslef to the Diet Dew, thankfully there were none.  The only thing I did forget was gum.  I usually bring a pack as another way of keeping my mind from wandering too much.

I had originally set out to hit between 28-30 miles but stopped short at 27 as I started to bonk super hard.  I had told my GF I'd be back before noon and I think, on a mental level, my body started to shut things down as it was getting closer and closer to my cut off.  I did up my pace as it got closer to 1100a so I could squeeze in as many miles as I could, even though I know better, which I'll also blame the sudden downgrade of energy to.  After I got back to the car and had a couple swigs of ice-cold water and some more de-fizzed Dew in my system I felt I could have pumped out the last 3 miles if I wanted to.  Hell, I felt I could have gone further, a lot further.