USA Adventure

Morgantown Marathon

Published September 20, 2015

Lotta strategic planning to complete 50 state marathons in 2 years. A handful of states (RI DE NM & WV in particular) only offer one or 2 races annually. 2 times lucky – signed up for new ‘inaugural’ runs: Angel Fire NM in July & this weekend, Morgantown WV.

Running 11 consecutive weekends – have also become strategic with flights & travel costs. In-n-out of Pittsburgh – Southwest incoming, United outgoing. Met up with fellow Maniac, Stacy & shared car rental, then hotel with another Maniac, Joe from Ohio.

Lotta new friendships in my Quest – LOVE it!

East Coast time change. Jetted south to Morgantown, stopping at my first Harley dealership just over the WV border (minutes before their 5pm close). While I’m mountaineering off-season; Stacy’s a biker – and has collected Harley poker chips as far away as Alaska.

Met up with Mike, a Maniac from Austin, at bib pick-up. Now we were 3 – driving downtown, sharing a brick-oven pizza at Mountain State Brewing & a scenic walk along Morgantown’s Monongahela River before bunking up for the night – another early a.m. marathon.

5am alarm, school bussed to WVU Coliseum, group Maniac pic, National Anthem – tag, we’re off.

Cool morning temps, sunshine, little to no wind – pretty much perfect…and for whatever reason, everything was just clicking today. Slept well, ate well, enjoyed sharing time with other marathoners – head was in the right place.

Hung with the 3:40 pace group thru mile 14 – actually stayed ahead of these pacers up the largest of today’s hills, mile 7 & 8.

holy Mountain Mama – more hills today than any previous race (not the elevation of Oregon’s Crater Lake but a whole lotta hills). Small hills, short extreme climbs, mile-long grinders, rolling hills – every mile, every turn, a new hill.

Last year I chose runs on flat courses – this year I eat hills for breakfast 🙂

4 hour pacers caught me at mile 24. Suppose sub-4 would have been insane after throwing 4 ½s all summer.

Mile Marker 25. Passed by a walker. Assume I must have been running in place or side-to-side….either way, was not moving fast the mile UP to WVU Coliseum. 15 minutes UGLY – but finished #38 with a smile, just over 4 hours. FAAANNNTASTIC!

K R HAGA LOUISVILLE CO 4:14:38.76 9:43/M

Not a lotta tourist time this weekend – but whatta positive experience. Enjoyed the camaraderie of my marathoner community – sharing laughs & a stinky flight home (airport sink bath & a change of clothes was the best we could do this trip). LOL>

Next weekend: Adams County, Ohio – running with the Amish.

: ‘Wild n Wonderful’ West Virginia – expecting a hilly run tomorrow

: poker-chip envy: my first Harley dealership

: scenic walk along Morgantown’s Monongahela River

: carbo-loading: brick-oven pizza at Mountain State Brewing, YUM!

: Marathon Maniacs

: holy Mountain Mama, WV kicked butt!

: See that guy behind us? He’s 22E. He gets to sit between two marathoners who just had an airport bathroom baby wipe shower!

Posted in Marathons/Ultras, Northeast | Tagged rivers-lakes | Leave a comment

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.