Definitely another good day today if you are a runner who prefers to run without cars passing you as the route today only included about 2.5 miles of paved road. We were rained on for the 12th of 15 days. The rain was not desired, but it only bothered me a small amount today. I note the forecast was for low 40s with feel like temps in the low 30s (ouch) at Lookout Pass and that was simply not the case, so the day was a good one. Yes, so we have conquered our second and highest pass so far as we crossed into Montana at Lookout Pass - elevation 4710 feet. Regrettably, a math error on the turn sheet I made for today probably cost Jennifer 20-30 minutes time. Not good. I was working hard to keep Jennifer in sight all morning and was just 50 yards behind her at mile 16 when I strained my right achilles running/walking up a moderately steep jeep road. I had to drop the pace and favor the right leg for the five miles of very runnable rail trail which took us to the top of Lookout Pass. I was definitely bummed that I couldn't run this super trail, but stuff happens. I reached the top of the pass and took some Advil and liberally rubbed in some recovery cream into the achilles. I now headed downhill and slowly but surely I could run just a bit better each mile and by the time I reached Heidi again eight miles later my left hip bothered me more than the achilles. Bottom line, if my achilles hadn't forced me to drop the pace Jennifer wouldn't have gone off route and lost some time. Bummer.
Justin continues to run well as he fights off ankle swelling.
Nearly 99% of the 600 miles remaining to be run in Montana are road miles. Will the Montana drivers be as considerate as the Washington drivers? We shall see.
41.65 miles, Osburn, ID to Deborgia, MT
Justin 7:49:50
Jennifer 8:57:41
Mike 8:57:41
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Day 14 - All Trail
Today's route was entirely on the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes. Yes, this was the first day of the Run where every step was on trail. It simply doesn't get much better than that! The weather, paved trail, and scenery were conducive to good running. At mile 15.35 the Run passed the 500 mile mark! We followed a nice river for many miles today - different scenery from previous days - all fantastic. HMMMM - maybe there isn't much outdoor scenery I don't like. I also like the green mile markers set out every mile for trail users to use/enjoy. Some folks might say I have Too Much Time On My Hands (Styx, 1981) since I can tell you that the green 47 mile marker is placed only a half mile from the 48 mile marker. I can wonder how that came to be, but it is indeed pointless to do so as I will never know.
And the answer is no - I don't have too Much Time On My Hands
43.25 miles, Harrison to Osburn, ID
Justin 7:19:30
Jennifer 8:07:01
Mike 8:20:08
And the answer is no - I don't have too Much Time On My Hands
43.25 miles, Harrison to Osburn, ID
Justin 7:19:30
Jennifer 8:07:01
Mike 8:20:08
Monday, June 11, 2012
Days 12 and 13 - Into Idaho
Day 12 started with transition. The super duo of Marty and Corky said goodbye and headed east back to the quad cities. The Run would have been tremendously challenged if Marty and Corky had not been here to take care of the runners this past week. GREAT THANKS to Marty and Corky - and we look forward to seeing you two again as we run east! On the other hand, we welcomed Justin's brother Adam to the Run.
After a mile and a half on dirt and asphalt road we transitioned to a very nice gravel road. Just like that the scenery also changed as everywhere we looked there were acres and acres of wheat fields. It was a beautiful sight. Someone stated our views were similar to one of those spectacular Microsoft screen savers. The first twelve miles of this short day flew by with the continuous picture post card views and great weather (a little on the cold side and a nice tail wind). Justin was less than a mile ahead of Jennifer and myself as we transitioned back to the John Wayne Trail for 13 and a half of the remaining 21 miles for the day. Thankfully not all of the old trestles were removed as we crossed a large one just south of Rosalia which allowed for fine viewing of the surrounding area. All in all a good day which would have been better if there weren't so many rocks on this portion of the trail.
Run times reported previously.
Day 13 started with Karen leaving us to head back to Illinois. Besides being a great friend, Karen has been an amazing member of the Run Team. The Run is much better off than we would have been if Karen hadn't been here. GREAT THANKS Karen - we look forward to seeing you again in Illinois!
Two final miles on the John Wayne Trail (which included another trestle crossing - very nice) followed by six miles of rural gravel road through - you guessed it - more acres of wheat and two miles of asphalt road and we were in our second state - The Gem State - Idaho. Jennifer and I were running a similar pace and we arrived at the Idaho sign at the same time. Appropriate pictures were taken by Heidi. The high of passing into another state kept us running strongly for a few miles before the heat finally hit. Yes, after 12 days of cold and cool weather the Run finally found some warm weather. Today was day one for starting a stage in just a t-shirt.
Mile 22 found us turning onto the 72 mile paved Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes which is one of the most outstanding rail trails in the country. One of the highlights of the trail is the 1921 bridge that passes over Coeur d' Alenes Lake which we ran over at mile 31 today. I will harken back to the 1980s and simply state, "Awesome, Dude."
Fairbanks, WA to Harrison, ID 37.63 miles:
Justin 6:20:55
Mike 7:36:54
Jennifer 7:46:44
After a mile and a half on dirt and asphalt road we transitioned to a very nice gravel road. Just like that the scenery also changed as everywhere we looked there were acres and acres of wheat fields. It was a beautiful sight. Someone stated our views were similar to one of those spectacular Microsoft screen savers. The first twelve miles of this short day flew by with the continuous picture post card views and great weather (a little on the cold side and a nice tail wind). Justin was less than a mile ahead of Jennifer and myself as we transitioned back to the John Wayne Trail for 13 and a half of the remaining 21 miles for the day. Thankfully not all of the old trestles were removed as we crossed a large one just south of Rosalia which allowed for fine viewing of the surrounding area. All in all a good day which would have been better if there weren't so many rocks on this portion of the trail.
Run times reported previously.
Day 13 started with Karen leaving us to head back to Illinois. Besides being a great friend, Karen has been an amazing member of the Run Team. The Run is much better off than we would have been if Karen hadn't been here. GREAT THANKS Karen - we look forward to seeing you again in Illinois!
Two final miles on the John Wayne Trail (which included another trestle crossing - very nice) followed by six miles of rural gravel road through - you guessed it - more acres of wheat and two miles of asphalt road and we were in our second state - The Gem State - Idaho. Jennifer and I were running a similar pace and we arrived at the Idaho sign at the same time. Appropriate pictures were taken by Heidi. The high of passing into another state kept us running strongly for a few miles before the heat finally hit. Yes, after 12 days of cold and cool weather the Run finally found some warm weather. Today was day one for starting a stage in just a t-shirt.
Mile 22 found us turning onto the 72 mile paved Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes which is one of the most outstanding rail trails in the country. One of the highlights of the trail is the 1921 bridge that passes over Coeur d' Alenes Lake which we ran over at mile 31 today. I will harken back to the 1980s and simply state, "Awesome, Dude."
Fairbanks, WA to Harrison, ID 37.63 miles:
Justin 6:20:55
Mike 7:36:54
Jennifer 7:46:44
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Day 12 - Exceptional Weather
A super day to run - more later.
Ewan, WA to Fairbanks, WA 33.64 miles
Justin 6:10:10
Jennifer 7:14:01
Mike 7:14:01
Ewan, WA to Fairbanks, WA 33.64 miles
Justin 6:10:10
Jennifer 7:14:01
Mike 7:14:01
Day Twelve starts strong!
All runners in good spirits on this cool windy morning! Many thanks to Corky and Marty for staying to help crew until Justin's brother, Adam, could join us last night!
The day starts with all three runners in good spirits and run/jogging well. Jen's feeling well as is Justin....Mike still fighting the beginnings of a cold...not much coverage today as we're in the middle of "no man's land".
Enjoyed a short stop to say hello and a huge thank you to Joan Harder yesterday...she and her husband, Jack, we're kind enough to allow the runner to run through their property due to a tressle being removed from the JWPT...
Thanks also to Lois and Randy Gust for helping jerryrig Justin's van to dislodge Jen's suitcase:)
Looks like it's going to be a sunny day for the crew and runners:).
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Days 9, 10, and 11: Cold and Rainy
Day 9 started early with the crossing of I-90 bridge over the Columbia River at Vantage, WA. Jennifer, Justin, and I were escorted over the bridge by two WA State Patrol and a WA Department of Transportation vehicle. The crossing went very smoothly. Great thanks to Paula, Rick, Cathy, Ron, Brian, etc for their efforts to make the bridge crossing a safe success! Shortly after crossing the bridge we made our way to nice rural roads running through farm/ranch country. Jennifer and I were running together about mile 11 or so when a good rain swell came through which chilled us both to the bone due to the wind and unusually low temps. The cold was not good for Jennifer's right quad so we walked the route for the rest of the day - once again using hand warmers to stay warm. I like gray days, but the cold rain is not my favorite. No trail on the route today.
44.74 miles - Vantage to near Warden, WA
The day 10 start was once again cool. Seven miles into the day we entered the small town of Warden followed by a Saint Bernard who was with the three of us for three miles. Did the dog make it bakc home? Answer - Unknown. Not surprisingly I thought of my cousin Don who attended Warden High many moons ago. I didn't miss the post office which I would call a typically brick post office built in the 1960s. On the eastern edge of Warden we rejoined the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. We were once again rewarded with great vistas as we continued our way east. Just west of the town of Lind we transitioned back to road to bypass a section of the rail trail with at least five original railroad trestles removed. I enjoyed running through Lind as the small town was being besieged with visitors to the combine derby. Janice took some pictures of me for The Ritzville Adams County Journal to go along with a story that Katelin Davidson was writing about the Run. It was nice to see folks enjoying themselves as they waited for the festivities to start later that night. On the east side of Lind we returned to the trail for another nine miles before calling it a day. For the record, hand warmers were once again used, and we were rained on for the ninth out of ten days.
41.45 miles - Warden to Ralston, WA
The cold temps continued on day 11 - and it rained on us - and we used hand warmers - but overall the weather was very nice as the sky was gray, and for the most part the drizzle was light enough to not really be a bother. Bottom line, it was a super run through Washington scablands with incredible vistas from a rail trail. The route was entirely on the John Wayne Trail today except for five miles run through private property. Great thanks to Jake and Joan Harder who allowed us to pass through their property so that we could easily bypass the removed Cow Creek Trestle and save eight plus miles of running on the trip across the country. Jennifer, Justin, and I were together as we ran into Jake and JC working on a bridge as we ran through which allowed us to enjoy a few minutes of good conversation. Heidi and Karen enjoyed a good visit with Joan and took in the super views of the Harder property and the removed Cow Creek Trestle while we ran. Jennifer's quad was responding to the rigors of the crossing much better today!!! I expect that it won't take long before Justin (who is fighting off some swelling issues) and Jennifer leave me in the dust again just minutes after each day's start.
37.84 miles - Ralston to Ewan, WA
Justin 8:22:41
Mike 9:48:21
Jennifer 10:10:30
44.74 miles - Vantage to near Warden, WA
The day 10 start was once again cool. Seven miles into the day we entered the small town of Warden followed by a Saint Bernard who was with the three of us for three miles. Did the dog make it bakc home? Answer - Unknown. Not surprisingly I thought of my cousin Don who attended Warden High many moons ago. I didn't miss the post office which I would call a typically brick post office built in the 1960s. On the eastern edge of Warden we rejoined the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. We were once again rewarded with great vistas as we continued our way east. Just west of the town of Lind we transitioned back to road to bypass a section of the rail trail with at least five original railroad trestles removed. I enjoyed running through Lind as the small town was being besieged with visitors to the combine derby. Janice took some pictures of me for The Ritzville Adams County Journal to go along with a story that Katelin Davidson was writing about the Run. It was nice to see folks enjoying themselves as they waited for the festivities to start later that night. On the east side of Lind we returned to the trail for another nine miles before calling it a day. For the record, hand warmers were once again used, and we were rained on for the ninth out of ten days.
41.45 miles - Warden to Ralston, WA
The cold temps continued on day 11 - and it rained on us - and we used hand warmers - but overall the weather was very nice as the sky was gray, and for the most part the drizzle was light enough to not really be a bother. Bottom line, it was a super run through Washington scablands with incredible vistas from a rail trail. The route was entirely on the John Wayne Trail today except for five miles run through private property. Great thanks to Jake and Joan Harder who allowed us to pass through their property so that we could easily bypass the removed Cow Creek Trestle and save eight plus miles of running on the trip across the country. Jennifer, Justin, and I were together as we ran into Jake and JC working on a bridge as we ran through which allowed us to enjoy a few minutes of good conversation. Heidi and Karen enjoyed a good visit with Joan and took in the super views of the Harder property and the removed Cow Creek Trestle while we ran. Jennifer's quad was responding to the rigors of the crossing much better today!!! I expect that it won't take long before Justin (who is fighting off some swelling issues) and Jennifer leave me in the dust again just minutes after each day's start.
37.84 miles - Ralston to Ewan, WA
Justin 8:22:41
Mike 9:48:21
Jennifer 10:10:30
Day Eleven starts cool and wet!
Day 11 is off to a good start with all 3 runners walking for a bit to warm the muscles. Start temp is 40 something, but feels like 30 something! 30% chance of rain....well...let's make that 100% chance of sprinkles are in store. Who would have thought we'd be shaking handwarmers to "hand off" to the group as they enter the 3 mile mark??? Good thing the crew packed all those shorts! Lois and Randy live near the start today and came down to wish the runners good luck as they start the day. Lois assured us this is not the normal weather for this time of year in this area of WA :).... indicating that this is the "dry spot". hmmmm.... guess we'll be wishing for this kind of weather in the near future;). Take the blessings where you can get them;)
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