I'm in Michigan for the holidays. I grew up in West Michigan--Muskegon and Grand Haven area, and went to Fruitport High School. Today I traveled north, a few hours, to a cabin with a couple uncles and extended family, but I hadn't run yet by the time we got there. I should have run in the morning, but I knew there would be some nice dirt roads to run on. Upon arrival, it was already dark, but I had carefully studied the road in the headlights, on the way in, and although they were a little icy, the roads looked smooth and very runnable. I mentioned that I was going to go out for a 10 mile run and they thought I was crazy. "You're going to get lost!" they proclaimed, "Just wait til tomorrow..." I
was told to run a loop around a little lake, that was about 1 mile around. I assured them that I would not get lost and that there was no way I was about to run 10 loops around a lake...Boring! And how do you get lost? I'll just run out-and-back and that's it. I'm thinking, 'I've run tens of thousands of miles in my life, do they really think I don't know how to go out for a run without getting lost?' (Picture of Hedy, telling me not to get lost, with a heavy German accent)So I got dressed up in my gear and started stretching, still receiving warnings that I was going to get lost, so I assured them that I was going to be fine and showed them the map and the GPS I had on my phone. I pointed out the direction I was going to run, just in case I was attacked by a bear or fell asleep and ran off the road. I was not going to get lost!
I stepped outside and it was a bit colder than I was hoping for, but I got my satellite connection and started off. I only made it a hundred meters before I thought about going back. The gravel from the road was just a little too rough for the minimal shoes I was wearing and that would make for a miserable 10 miles. I turned around and took a few steps, but then thought, 'No', it will be fine. I passed a few houses and checked out the Christmas lights, but then I realized that I had already missed my first turn--and it was pretty dark. I looked at my phone and found the next turn to take and proceeded.
Did I mention there was no moon? Well, they also warned me of that before I left the house, too. After I made the next turn, I had to check my phone again to be sure it was correct. The road got pretty narrow and felt more like a driveway. It was REALLY dark, in fact I almost ran off the road. I thought I was right in the middle . It became apparent that I really had NO idea what was going on. There are very few houses, no street lights, and now I am actually wondering if there is a real chance of being attacked by a bear, or wolves, or Harry Henderson himself. There were tall trees closing in on each side of the road and I couldn't believe how dark it was. I was only 3 minutes into my run. (There are a couple pictures of me on my run, and one of me with my cousin Stefan)
So, change of direction, the road had actually smoothed out quite well, a bit icy, but not bad, and I headed to the exit of the 'area', back to the way we drove in. There was a paved road out there somewhere, and I figured it would be the best place to get my workout in.
Now I'm heading in the complete opposite direction of where I said I was going, but I felt confident I'd be alright. I set out with the idea of running 8-10 x 3min ON, 1min OFF, but that changed into a 6-8 mile threshold run. I checked my GPS and at 2 miles I picked up the pace. The main dirt road, albeit very dark, was fun to run even if I couldn't see the details of the surface. The road was a little wider, so, for the most part, the trees weren't tunneling the road with blackness, but only a half mile or so later, all the barely visible contrast started to blend. I trusted that the road was still there, moving beneath me at about 5:20 a mile, but I couldn't tell. In fact, I was startled, to feel pavement under my feet, when I realized I had made it out to the state road. I couldn't even see it!!! Oh well, it was too late to turn back now, and I wasn't about to admit my defeat. I made a turn to the north and proceeded, amazed by how dark it was. If only someone had warned me, right?The white painted line on the side of the road was a little icy compared to the asphalt, so I used that as a marker to make sure I stayed on the road. It came in handy, especially when a car came by. Their brights would blind me and then I could, ironically, see even less. I checked my Heart rate, and it was still in the low 160s, so I picked up the pace. I didn't feel great, and I still haven't had that workout that says 'you're getting there, don't worry', so I decided to modify the workout one more time. 3x2miles with short rest between. 10:56 for the first 2 miles. Ehn, just so-so. I jogged .3 miles and took off again. I reached 5 miles from my starting point and turned back, still in the middle of the 2nd rep. The turnaround hurt more than I wanted it to. Before the change of direction, I figured I had been on a downhill slope, but I didn't realize how long it was until a car came up from behind me and lit up the entire, long, never-ending, hill that lay in front of me. Blah!
I kind of laughed each time a car passed, they had to have been thinking, 'What the hell is this guy doing out here, RUNNING, in the middle of nowhere?' Seriously, there was NOTHING around; still no lights, luckily no bears, or wolves, or yetis, 'Oh my'. I made it up the hill, and luckily on the other side, it went down. I checked my heart rate again, 171-172, that's good. I clicked my lap button, 10:22, that's more like it. Jogged .3 miles again, but this time I was hurting a little more. Minimal shoes, 2.5 miles of slightly slippery roads to start the run, and now 2x2miles, my legs were a bit sore. One more...
I reached the dirt road again, glad that I had checked the distance so I knew where to turn, and tried to speed off into the last mile. The road was much slipperier than it was on the way out, but just as dark. I had Frou Frou, "Details", playing on my phone's speaker, no headphones, this whole time, and laughed again, when I imagined what it would have been like if I had passed someone. The music was louder than my steps, and kept me company, and probably scared off the yetis. My legs really started to get tired and I checked my heart rate again, 173, I backed off a bit, thinking I should keep it around 172. Lap button, 10:36. I'll take that, too. I jogged back to the house in the darkness, and did some light drills before heading inside. My legs were wrecked, but the drills definitely help to start recovery.
I stepped in side and told them how dark it was out there... I didn't get lost! Food was waiting!
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Just for reference, at my best, on a clear and flat bike path in Eugene, OR, I ran 4x2miles, 2min rest, in 9:42, 9:48, 9:52, and 9:59. I'm not there, yet, but I'm hoping that I'm only a couple weeks
away from having that workout where I feel like it's finally coming around. This will be my 3rd week in a row around 50 miles, and I've been doing workouts for the last month.I've been thinking about what it will take to make the Olympic Team, so I'll talk about that in my next blog. Look for it in the near future. I've got some big announcements coming up in the next month, so look on the right side of the screen here to subscribe/follow my blog. Thanks for reading. Merry Christmas! Go run!
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