Center of the Nation Day 6

Finally the last day.  I did some minor surgery, not on my foot, but on my shoe.  I cut a big chunk out of  my left shoe and my little toe was extremely happy and I ran most of today without pain.  It was quite a bit cooler with a nice breeze most of the day.  Between the cooler temperature and the lack of pain, I trimmed at least one hour off each of the other days.  I was still much slower than I ever want to be for a marathon, but at least I was a lot faster than the rest of this week.  Today we ran in Baker, Montana in a nice park once again by a lake.  I'll now be off to Green River, 500 miles to the west, to see about my camper.  I suspect I won't be driving it home. I may even be flying home and coming back when it is repaired.

The final medal with all 6 states

Center of the Nation Day 5

Today we ran in Bowman, North Dakota.  Now my left foot was killing me.  Not just my ankle and the blister, but my little toe was swollen and approaching agony.  I walked the entire day talking with two other walkers.  I got a full discussion of presidential politics from an adamant Donald Trump supporter.  I'm sure not one myself, but his attempts to convert me did a great job of taking my mind off my pain!  The time passed and I reached the finish line. I considered running the last few laps in my bare feet, but did keep both shoes on until the end.

Center of the Nation Day 4

Today we ran in Belle Fourche, South Dakota.  It was pretty today, running along the shore of a lake.  But like the other days, still pretty hot with almost no shade.  It seems like trees are rare in this part of the world.  I had to toss out the gaiters and take the laces out of the top holes of my left shoe to cut down on the pain in my ankle.  I was still mostly plodding along, running as much as I could but still walking quite a bit.  I'm getting tired, probably from the heat as much as from the running itself. The good part is the awesome people I'm with.  The folks who regularly run with Mainly Marathons are a very special bunch of people.  I'm always so happy to see them.  I do get tired from the back to back days, but I keep coming back because I just love their company.

Center of the Nation Day 3

This was the race that inspired me to sign up for this Center of the Nation Series.  When I registered, I still needed Wyoming to complete my goal of running a marathon in all 50 states. But I actually reached that goal on Saturday with Run with the Horses, so now I'm just running this series for the enjoyment of running with my Mainly Marathons Friends.

I was glad I had run Wyoming already because I was feeling really badly when I started this race.  There were many times when I was so tired and sore that I considered dropping down to the half marathon.  But I did manage to struggle through to the end.  It was hot again like the previous days.  Plus the pain in my ankle was getting worse.  I even managed to get a blister on the side of my left foot.  That is something that very rarely happens.  I'm starting to have bad feelings about my current running shoes.  I can tell I'm feeling some stress wondering when I will get my camper back.

It was very foggy in the early morning, but once the fog was gone, the heat came back.

Center of the Nation Day 2

Today was the second day of the Center of the Nation series.  I was so tired from yesterday and I was even slower.  It was still very warm, high 80's and maybe into the low 90's.  I took my time and did some walking with the other runners.  The surface is tricky in places because there were long sections of grass, which were kind of uneven.  I had to take care not to trip.  My left ankle was starting to hurt.  I think my gaiters were pressing on the tongue of my shoe causing bruising and annoying pain.  We ran in a little park in Chadron Nebraska. These back to back marathons are wearing me out!  I still have 4 more to go too.

Center of the Nation Day 1

I started out pretty tired this morning.  I'm still worn out from the 3000 mile drive from Alaska, and the 350 mile drive to Sterling Colorado after the Run With The Horses Marathon.  Today is the first day of the Mainly Marathons Center of the Nation Series.  It was very hot all day, with a final temperature of 97 degrees.  It seemed like there was no way to feel hydrated enough to be comfortable.  I had hoped to be able to push myself for some speed on this set of races, but I can see with these hot temperatures, I'll be happy to just finish. I did more walking than running but did finally finish.  The course was somewhat hilly and the surface was a very fine gravel that was similar to sand.  Not the easiest running surface.

But we did have a beautiful sunrise!

Run With The Horses Marathon

This marathon was one of the toughest ones I've done yet.  High altitude, 6000 to 7500 feet beginning with the climb up the mountain.  But I did successfully complete the race in spite of hot weather and a 50 mph wind.  I was both sunburned and sand blasted.  Of course I was the last finisher but was also first in my age group.  This race was an important milestone for me because it was my 50th state.  I was sad that I didn't see any of the wild horses that they say inhabit this area.

I had an unfortunate event on my way to this race.  I had driven my VW Rialta RV all the way down from Alaska.  40 miles out of Green River an antelope ran in front of my car and I hit and killed it.  I did substantial damage to the front of my vehicle and had to be towed to Green River.  It really interrupted the rest of my plans.  But I did go on to complete the next 6 marathons of the Mainly Marathons Center of the Nation Series using a rental car.  My camper will stay in Green River until it is finally repaired.

The sad camper!

Training Hike

Most of my post marathon soreness is over so I decided to get busy training with my backpack.  There is a steep trail I always see up near Independence Mine at Hatcher Pass.  So I loaded my pack with lots of weight and hiked up there.  It's like so many Alaska trails, straight up the fall line with almost no switchbacks.  But what a workout it was.  It was perfect weather and very beautiful with spectacular views across the valley. I managed to talk my friend Mark into going with me. It was a good day for photography opportunities. 

Archangel Marathon

Another tough marathon at Hatcher Pass.  This one was identical to last month's Hatcher Pass Marathon except it started where that one had finished, and ended where Hatcher Pass Marathon had started.  Hatcher Pass is basically all uphill, while Archangel is mostly downhill. But the first two miles are steep uphill up to Summit Lake.  But that is followed by a very steep few miles straight back down the other side.  After that, the course is still basically downhill, but is relatively gentle and not always obviously downhill.  There are also flat and uphill sections.  The road descends the mountain and follows the creek but it still follows the natural contour of the land.  I do love downhill runs though.  I shaved 2 hours off my time for the Hatcher Pass Marathon.  

Summit Lake