JOGGING UNDER A BIG SKY

In road races – even relatively long ones – 30 minutes is a lot of time. So when you add 30 minutes to a race time from one race to the next – over the same distance – you have to figure something is going on. Perhaps the race was run at 10,000’ or was one grueling hill after another. Or perhaps the race had so many participants that it wasn’t possible to run much at all. Or – when none of those apply – perhaps it was a serious case of a hamstring not willing to cooperate. In Montana last week, I will have to claim the latter.
On a beautiful morning to run – and starting in a beautiful location along the hills, through the forest, along a river with meadows stretching to one side, and even slightly downhill, the most I could muster was a slow jog – and even that was after walking much of the first mile and into the second. I guess my left hamstring decided I should enjoy this race more by spending more time on the course. After getting a new perspective on half-marathons by watching the vast majority of the participants pass me and by wondering how quickly I could walk the course, I was able to start jogging during Mile 2 and kept jogging to the end – even speeding up through the middle miles of the race. I never caught Karen, but at least I finished and together we hung our medals and checked off State #42 in the process.


I think that Montana’s nickname is confirmed every time I visit. It really DOES have a big sky – it is just a BIG state – and a beautiful one at that. We flew into and out of Spokane and drove I-90 between there and Missoula. Enroute we had a very nice stop in Couer d’Alene, to include a 90-minute boat ride on the lake. Neither of us had ever spent time there and we know now what we have missed and would love to visit again.



And the drive over Lookout Pass from there into Montana and along the Clark Fork is not to be missed. Missoula had its own western charm and retained lots of country, smaller-town traits that made it nice. We didn’t get to spend nearly as much time in the area as we would have liked, but enjoyed what we had.


On the way back to Spokane we rented bikes at Lookout Pass and rode the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha, which is a converted railroad grade that goes through 10 tunnels (including one that is nearly 2 miles long) and over 7 high, old railroad trestles. It was a great ride in some beautiful scenery and certainly a highlight among any bikes rides we have done in the past.







During the trip we spent two nights with Scott and Linda in Spokane and had a nice visit with them. We were extremely grateful that Linda agreed to watch Rachel while we drove over to Missoula and back and they apparently got along well. In Spokane we also spent some time at Riverfront Park, site of the World Expo in Spokane a few years back.


All in all, another memorable trip – even if Jogging was all I could do under Montana’s Big Sky.

RUNNING THE BLACK HILLS

I have occasionally heard rumblings about my blogs being long – which I have typically ignored. However, if this one turns out to be shorter than normal, thank Dacia. She provided a very nice account of our trip to South Dakota – and, with a few exceptions, very accurate. The only thing she didn’t say much about was the race – so I’ll start there.


When we pick our races we look for good organization and reports, places we haven’t been before, and, most of all – a pretty, scenic course. This might be downtown Chicago along Lake Michigan or, more likely, in a scenic area of mountains, lakes, red rock formations, forests or vistas.


Several stand out, among them Estes Park, Valley of Fire, Canyonlands, Traverse City and the Adirondack (but there are many more). We can now add another to the list: The Mickelson Trail in the Black Hills of South Dakota.


The Deadwood Mickelson Trail race immediately appealed to us based on the course comments and the scenery. It did not disappoint. The trail follows an abandoned railroad grade through the heart of the Black Hills.


It has forests, meadows, lakes, mountains and vistas, not to mention that for the half-marathoners, 12 of the 13 miles were downhill (although at 5200’-6200’ in elevation)! The race and trail ended in Deadwood – known in its day as a lawless mining town and where “Wild Bill” Hickok was gunned down and laid to rest – now next to Calamity Jane – also of Deadwood fame.



Now a restored tourist town, it was fun and I had perhaps the best prime rib I have ever tasted at the Buffalo Saloon and Steakhouse. But back to the race, it was well-organized and supported, with a good Expo and pretty good post-race food. It would easily have been another PR for me – probably by 20-30 seconds – if not for a tweaked hamstring in the last mile which stopped me momentarily and definitely slowed me down the rest of the way. But that notwithstanding, it was a great race and setting.




It was also great to have Dacia and Ellie with us. (She indicated she backed out of a previous race; she was right about the Disney World part, but the race was in Mississippi, not Georgia.)








One particularly pleasant surprise from this race was trip planning. I invariably do that (out of necessity) – but in this case I gave Dacia all the literature, asked her to develop a plan and coordinate it with Karen – and she ran with it!




She came up with some great ideas and we did almost all of them.


Jewel Cave, Sylvan Lake, Cathedral Spires and drive, Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, the alpine slide, Storybook Island and the Spearfish Canyon drive were all amazing. (I WILL take credit for the Little Devil’s Tower hike which was spectacular.)




Devil’s Tower National Monument was a great way to end – although I don’t know where Dacia came up with everything being flat around it. Not. Beautiful forests, hills and valleys surrounded it on every side – although it still “sticks out like a sore thumb” as she so eloquently put it.




Okay – so maybe this wasn’t any shorter than usual, but South Dakota, as State #41, was definitely one of our premier trips and destinations. Thanks for going with us, Dacia…..even if you didn’t do much for the “daughters’ track record” of not making it to the race until I have already finished! Thanks for the planning and it was fun having you.