Week between Christmas & New Year – 23rd thru January 2nd – unexpectedly (first time ever) workplace stayed closed, restarting production after the New Year. Count it: 10 days off (including weekends). FAAANNNNTASTIC!
GREAT to have extra time over the holidays. 10 days though, this body gets antsy. Too late to coordinate a family trip but ’nuff time to late-register for a holiday-week marathon 🙂 The Huff, a 50K trail run in rural Indiana…in winter. Hmmm.
Early Friday a.m. flight to Indianapolis, 2+ hour drive to Columbia City. 13 degrees & overcast. Breakfast/lunch/brunch – 5am day start, 2-hour (Eastern) clock jump, time for Indiana food. Snow & colder temps expected 2nd half of day.
Bib pick-up at the print shop which produced our swag shirts. LOVE the Midwest – friendliest folks in the U.S. ❤
Hotel check-in – one gal shop. Same friendly face answered the phone, mopped the front lobby (lotta traveller tracks) AND pushed snow outta handicap parking. Was there in the morning when I checked out too. Give that lady a raise! WOW!
Dinner-dined at Chapman’s, directly ‘cross from the County Courthouse. Standing-room only in this 6-table diner. THE place for eats in downtown Columbia City. Cajun shrimp bowl – tasty, filled the gut. Back on the road, mile-half hotel return, 3 inches of fresh powder. Parked the rental, cranked room heat to HIGH (ice had formed on window inside). COLD blustery nite.
Saturday race day. Woke early, scraped & warmed the car. 30-45 minute drive to Chain O’ Lakes Park in Albion. Winter wonderland.
Arrived 10 minutes til Race Start. 2 degrees above zero & SNOW. THIS is when runners wear spikes – which unfortunately, I failed to pack. Gonna be a Slip & Slide kinda day. 2-lap course, Drop Bag in the Main Tent, food & change of socks awaiting.
Chain O’Lakes State Park: Beautiful wooded trails, difficult weathered terrain. Fresh snow covered long up-n-down stretches of melted/refrozen ice. Tough slow-going trek & C-O-L-D ❄
iPod froze, no music. iPhone froze – one pic, one choppy video. C-O-L-D.
2nd water bottle on my hydration vest FROZE SOLID, only 8 miles in. 3 Aid Stations. Remember the third one best – HUGE bon fire. Camped there 15-20 minutes & drank slushy Coke (only liquid which didn’t freeze in the sub-zero wind). 5 miles more.
Back in the Main Tent, located my Drop Bag & worked off my shoes. Cheeks & beard coated in ice. Slurred speech. Tongue stopped working. This is CRAZY. What am I doing? 50 yards into the 2nd lap, I turned back. Told the race officials, no mas. Penciled my name on a handwritten list (yep, their pen had frozen – HA!). DNF. [More than 50% of today’s field did the same.]
McDonald’s splash bath & a large order of fries. Happy to be on my way HOME. Tough way to end the year.
Hey now – no tears here. Kickin’ off 2018 with FAMILY on the Big Island, Hawaii.
Sis’ birthday run (Hilo to Volcano 50K) just 7 days away. 4000ft climb (ocean-to-mountain). H-U-G-E !
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- last run of 2017
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- Noble County Courthouse
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- pre-race Jambalaya
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- 2 degrees & SNOW
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- beautiful wooded, weathered trails
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- C-O-L-D ❄️
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- one lap DNF, 15.8 miles
The Huff (short clip before iPhone froze)
The first-ever Nebraska Marathon was held on Sunday, October 18, 2015 where almost 900 runners took their mark at Turner Park at Midtown Crossing and crossed the finish line at the Lewis and Clark Landing.
That first year offered a Half, last year the event’s first FULL – this year a mix of running distances. Omaha, new to marathoning? Heck no, this town supports THREE separate marathons.
Ironically, today’s ‘Nebraska’ Marathon comprised more Iowa asphalt than Nebraskan. Crossed the Missouri River before the Half, would cross back into Nebraska post-mile 25.
Chilly morning start – my first of the Fall season. October can be a mixed bag for weather. Thankful for cooler temps. Not a lotta tree cover on America’s Great Plains – Nebraska or Iowa.
Late start with a BIG BANG – it’s the Midwest, no shortage of guns. LOL> Combined Full/Half Start across from the host hotel. GREAT location, GREAT digs – super hospitable! Kudos Team Nebraska 🙂
First Half, scenic Half. Marathon’d 7 days ago, no time goal today. Ran with a Halfer from Columbus. Good conversation, good pace. Said our goodbyes at mile 12, finished my Half right at 2 hours.
Not a lotta natural trees in neighboring Council Bluffs, but miles & miles of maintained bike path. Nice clean community. Tidy parks, manicured ball fields. Norman Rockwell America.
I’ve run all 50 States – 20 of them twice – would definitively say: Middle America, folks living on our Great Plains/America’s Heartland are the kindest/most visitor-friendly states.
Steady headwind 2nd Half however didn’t lose our sun. Small marathon field sparsely spaced along the course. Miles 15 & the turnaround return to 22 were some of the loneliest. Caught a lot of crosswind.
Sub-10 minute miles thru mile 19. 30K in 3 hours. Dropped off soon after. Strava stats recorded 12 & 13-minute pace, miles 22 to 25. Crossed Bob Kerrey Bridge over the Missouri & back into Nebraska, finished a half-mile later at Lewis and Clark Landing.
Another medal, another marathon experience. FAAANNNNTASTIC!
Last chemo- December 22nd. 10 months & 22 marathons later, celebrating Historic #100 in Dublin IRELAND. One month shy of 4 years, soooo many race memories. Thankful for my family, great friends & our SUPPORTIVE INSPIRING run community.
My life 2nd Half, absolutely no regrets. Nothing left undone.
NEBRASKA MARATHON
224 K R Haga 4:43:14.12
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- Lewis and Clark Landing
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- 10 months & 22 marathons later
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- more Iowa asphalt than Nebraskan
Two years ago same month bought an overnight Amtrak ticket to Omaha. Picked up my rental at the Airport, drove to Des Moines for my 50-State ‘Iowa’ marathon. Same event where I enjoyed a VIP performance of Dracula. Still a FUNNY story – LOL>
Fast forward to Thanksgiving 2016. Received an email announcing the 2nd annual Nebraska Marathon. Train ride nostalgia that day I guess. Yep, they got me. Generally I only race register 3-4 months in advance.
Friday night train (7pm ticket), no work day miss 🙂 Parked at DIA, took commuter rail to Union Station. Would be returning Sunday by air. Learned rail isn’t known for on-time punctuality. 2015: train-returned home almost a half-day late.
- 9:45pm Friday: Greeted on-board by a juggler, my seatmate aisle over. Nope, can’t make this stuff up.
- 8:21am Saturday: Tagged a ride Downtown using my Lyft app. No rental required this trek.
Hotel check-in (host hotel assured a post-race shower), bib pick-up (across from baseball’s College World Series), afternoon matinee at the Orpheum (Finding Neverland). Who knew there was so much happening in Omaha!
FOOD.
24 hour fine-dining binge. Tuna burger at Denver’s trendy Hopdoddy. Oktoberfest-celebrated with Bräts & kraut in Omaha. THEN seafood-gorged at Shucks Oyster Bar at happy-hour prices: 99-cent oysters, 35-cent peel-n-eat shrimp. FAAANNNNTASTIC!
It’s not a gland problem folks. I run because I eat ❤
Marathon in morning – might need to circle the Park twice. So much food, so little time.
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- overnight train adventure
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- Good Morning Omaha!
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- pre-race Oktoberfest
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- ‘Finding Neverland’
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- happy-hour food fest
Amtrak juggler
