Given relationship struggles lately I couldn't fall asleep until about 1:45 a.m. After little more than two hours' sleep, I got up and drove to the start at Pines Park, arriving at 4:50. Moderate temps, comfortable. I set out at 5:15 as dawn crept up over the corn fields.
The course will roughly loop Lake Okoboji and then overlap the first 5.5 miles. The first four miles took me past expensive summer homes (Warren Buffet has one here) and over small but frequent hills. Mile 6 brought two ladies with noisemakers and a cute little dog, evidently crossbred with some rodent. Shortly thereafter, I saw serious rain to the west, and one bolt of lightning, but the storm never reached us.
The town of Wahpeton brought more lakeside homes and people out on morning strolls. Bikers began passing us back on Hwy 86. Turning east toward Manhattan Point, I chatted with Peitra from Canada, and Randy, with his multicolor "Jesus is Lord" outfit. The two-mile stretch to the north on Hwy 86 seemed insufferably long, especially as the sun beat down on my right side. At m16 I felt my first significant, though brief, slowdown. I also remembered that five more miles would get me to the m21 I'd already seen, which would then mean only another 5-miler. It helps to think of it in chunks. I put out a fairly strong m25 and final kick, but overall today brought my worst road performance lately.
Chuck's 50 & DC Marathons Starting Line UCSC/ACSC | YIA | AHS Class of 1974 Camp Wiregrass | Coral Gables Congregational Church Concerts | Is There Anybody Out There? | Presidential Election 2004 all images and text © chuck bryant
|
