Heartland

Sioux Falls Marathon

Published September 13, 2015

Woke tired, body stiff – pre-marathon activities didn’t serve me well this morn. Train hobo Friday night; drove 4 hours thru 3 Midwest states to see Little House. Would I do it again? Heck yeah – it’s the journey I’ll remember, not missed sleep 🙂

Early 6:30am marathon start made it easier to coordinate a post-marathon shower. No begging the hotel for a late check-out this go-around. PLUS ya’ll know, I’m not a fan of running in summer heat. Thanks Sioux Falls!

Arrived early at Howard Wood Field. Struggled to locate the Start (parked on wrong side of the Arena).

Minute to go, ran across a field, hopped a fence & bang – we were off.

Started slow, real slow. ‘though I stayed active all August, hadn’t run 26.2 in 5 weeks – not since marathoning at Crater Lake (Oregon). 4:15 pace group passed at mile 2. Sloooooow start, real slow.

Lotta loops & turns – course reminded [me] of Casper. Entered Falls Park at mile 5 – again, lotta loops & curves (notta fan) but mighty scenic. (Finally) picked up pace & hit stride after looping Downtown. Sioux Falls has an extensive trail system – course stayed on paved path. Nevertheless, appreciated Sioux Falls’ extended Greenway, off and on from mile 8 to mile 21. Well done.

Tagged a runner early at mile 8, caught him on a hill, then stayed close. Mile after mile we jockeyed for lead. Goal: stay close the first half, then to mile 15, then thru 18 miles. Never caught the 4:15 pacers, but wasn’t passed by the 4:30 group either. I could live with that.

‘Tag’ finished mile 19 a tenth-mile ahead, never saw him at 20.

Slogged the last 6 – sluggish 10-minute/miles but didn’t walk. Miles 21 thru 25 were a mix of sun & breeze – not a lotta trees along Kiwanis Avenue. Quads tight, legs heavy – wouldn’t sub-4 or PR today, but mentally a-ok.

Lapped the final point^2 around Howard Wood Field. Nothing like a stadium finish – FAAANNNTASTIC!

1002 HAGA, K R 04:35:06.8 LOUISVILLE CO Marathon

Showered, post-marathon lasagna in Sioux City [Iowa] – then caught a movie (‘A Walk in the Woods’), before travelling another hour-half to Council Bluffs for BBQ & casino hopping. Not a gambler – but I’m a HUGE fan of BBQ 🙂

Denver 7:15am Monday (overnight train), then bus returned to Boulder. Got a nod from a homeless guy also unshaven, long hair, toting a backpack. Would need to pull off ‘restroom sink magic’ to be work-presentable in 10 minutes. All part of the journey, folks. LOL>

Next week – Morgantown, West Virginia.

: Fall marathoning begins. 37th state, 20th marathon of 2015.

: every mile not corn, cropped with soybean

: not a gambler — but a HUGE fan of BBQ

: next weekend: Morgantown, West Virginia

UPDATE – Tuesday, Sept 15th

Back from SD just in time to meet Tom’s family visiting from Jersey. Summer fun celebration at La Rev!

La Revolución Taqueria y Cantina

Posted in Family, Heartland, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged farmsteads | Leave a comment

all roads lead to Little House

Published September 12, 2015

First ‘chapter books’ I read as a boy were the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My 3^rd grade teacher read a chapter aloud from Little House in the Big Woods everyday after lunch. I was hooked. Re-read that book, then the next 8. The family dreamed, struggled & endured. Followed their saga from Wisconsin to Independence Kansas, from Walnut Grove (Minnesota) to De Smet, South Dakota.

The Ingalls lived in the unsettled West – an American West still inhabited by Native Americans, a land teaming with wildlife, a time full of opportunity. Later these books were adapted into my favourite childhood television series. I cheered the Ingalls ‘country girls’, admired Caroline’s quiet inner strength, despised the show’s bully Nellie Olsen, rooted against her mother, Harriet. I loved Miss Beadle, crusty Mr. Edwards and of course – Michael Landon (Pa/Charles Ingalls). Every Monday evening their family was my family.

Fast forward to 2015.

From the time my spot in the Sioux Falls Marathon was booked, my intention was to visit Little House – to go ‘home’.

Friday after work:

Boulder to Denver (via RTD bus)
Denver to Omaha (overnight train)
taxi to Eppley Airfield (Omaha airport), rental car pick-up
Sioux City, Iowa
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
then an hour half of corn – miles & miles of cornfields

All roads lead to ‘Little House’ in De Smet SD, population 1,089 – where 15% of the population still identify as Native American.

Walking thru Ingalls Homestead was more about recalling MY childhood. I walked the grounds; rode a covered wagon to the school house. Thanks Laura Ingalls Wilder for retelling your childhood & introducing us to your family.

Travelled to the town cemetery where Charles (Pa), Caroline (Ma), Mary & Carrie are all buried. Crazy, yes – but needed to know my Monday night fantasy family existed. In some whacked way, guess I needed closure.

: built into the side of a hill, ‘Dugout’ protected settlers from winter wind gusting over the Prairie

: Burvee Shanty – mattress stuffed with corn husk, walls insulated with Newspapers of the day

: Ma’s Little House

: Singer sewing machine

: tens acres: corn, oats & wheat

: covered wagon from Ingalls Homestead to Johnson Prairie School

: one-room school house

: Charles Ingalls’ (Pa) final resting place

miles of cornfield, then this…today I walk ‘Into the Wild’ — FAAANNNTASTIC!

Passed a road sign 15 miles south of De Smet on State Highway 25 – “Into the Wild Was Filmed in This Area”. Kismet.

Have watched this film 20+ times, had a profound effect on my life. Allowed me to dream again…that anything is possible, at any age.

Looped west to Mitchell to view the infamous Corn Palace before [marathon] bib pick-up in Sioux Falls closed. WOW, whatta day!

Early to bed, early to rise – Fall marathon season begins at 630am.

: “World’s Only Corn Palace”

: each year the Corn Palace is stripped & redecorated with new corn & grains

: 275,000 ears of corn are sawed in half lengthwise & nailed to the building

: getting my South Dakota on before tomorrow’s Sioux Falls Marathon

Johnson #20 Prairie School (1881)

Posted in Heartland | Tagged farmsteads, horses, museo | Leave a comment

‘Somewhere in Time’ on Mackinac Island

Published June 28, 2015

What is the proper way to pronounce the word “Mackinac”?

The French Pronounced it “aw” but spelled it “ac”. The British heard it pronounced “aw” so they spelled it that way. Whichever way it is spelled, it is always pronounced “aw”.

Lasagna, 45 minute drive north & a quick 20-minute power nap after finishing marathon #33 – and I’m boarding an early afternoon ferry to Michigan’s Mackinaw Island. Berthed downtown on Main Street, bought a carriage tour ticket & hopped aboard within 5 minutes of arriving on the island. BAM – awesome timing (next tour not for 2 hours).

Traffic on Mackinac Island is limited to bicycles & horse-drawn carriages – automobiles prohibited…pretty cool, huh?

Targeted a visit to Mackinaw & its Grand Hotel because of a sappy 80’s movie starring Jane Seymour & Christopher Reeve, “Somewhere in Time”. Re-watched the movie last week online before marathoning in Michigan.

Don’t think the love story itself drew me in – it was the ability to go back in time & live another era. What would life have been like if I were placed in the early to mid- 1800’s in the American West? Hmm.

Mackinaw’s Carriage Tour hit all island highlights. Started downtown, rode past residences built in the 1910s & ‘20s, the Governor’s ‘Summer Residence’, and – the Grand Hotel.

Built in 1887, the Grand Hotel still looks much like it did a century ago. There are newer hotels with modern facilities on the island – but give me history & creaky wood planks any day. Nothing rivals the Grand Hotel’s long wrap-around wood porch, overlooking the Straits of Mackinac (Lake Huron). Spectacular.

Tour resumed at the island’s working stable (Surrey Hills) where we switched carriages & travelled thru Mackinac Island State Park, stopping briefly at Arch Rock (rest break for the horses).

Tour concluded at Fort Mackinac, built by British troops during the Revolutionary War. I hopped off at Fort Mackinac & walked the trip remainder, down historic Market Street, past “Somewhere in Time” gift shop & multiple fudge stores.

Beautiful day.

Ferried returned, hotelled the night across from Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse.

Early 230am start for the trip home – 4 hour ride to Grand Rapids, 8am Denver flight.