Homeward Bound IV

It will be strange to get on a plane tomorrow and not have to ask if the town 8 miles away has a gas station and a grain elevator. I also look forward to what happens to my legs once they get a few days rest. I imagine my mucles will freak out a bit. They already are actually, after my puny 13 miler today. Perhaps I can use this foundation for some race this fall. That's always the goal but a new school year and my desire to pick up the slack with parenting certainly competes for scheduling. I'll update a bit more after reality sets in. I've had loads of fun sharing these experiences with everyone through the internet and I hope you are looking forward to your next adventure as well.

Homeward Bound III

Turned out it had just reopened as I got there and I filled up on a lemonade and more water. Then it was only 3 to a road junction and only 9 more to Sterling. If I had spent the day counting up to 44 I would have never made it. But 7 here, a little 3 there, it's managable. I even did that on tired legs and little sleep after my sbower stall "nap". Once I heard that I had a ride offer to Denver, my feet felt more sore. My legs ached. I had planned on running 33 today to Brush, CO. I found out a flight change wasn't that expensive and decided to do a short run to finish off the trip. I ran 13 miles to Merino,CO, where I saw I had reached an elevation of 4000 feet on my way to Denver. I took that as another noteworthy accomplishment after coming from less than half that 600 miles earlier. I got lunch in a bar, a ride to Brush, and Jim, his wife Sarah and 2 of their 5 kids picked me up in their van. They treated me to Olive Garden in Denver, then dropped me off at a hotel near the airport

Homeward Bound II

Offering me a ride was a kind gesture and another example of the wonderful hospitality I'd been shown on this trip. I initially dismissed the idea as I was making good progress through Colorado already. But the miles were wearing on my body. Yesterday's 44 was a good lesson about my own capabilities. The first 15 miles of that day were terribly slow and difficult. I like towns to be about 7 miles apart. It makes for a good interval between aid stations of bars, gas stations, and dusty grocery stores. But 15 is a big chunk to bite off mentally. That would be a decent distance for anyone to run. What's interesting is that the 29 miles I ran after that 15 were comparably speaking, a piece of cake. That's because it wasn't really 29 miles. This distance running is all about mind tricks. After tbe 15 it was only 7 miles to the next rown with a cafe. Then it was only 8 more to the next town which had a bar but it might be closed because the owner likes to go to town in the afternoons.

Homeward Bound

The goal of this trip was always to cross Nebraska. I reached that goal two days ago. A secondary goal was to run the additional 241 miles of the American Discovery Trail from the NE border to Denver where the trail joins its own southern and western route. In the past 3 days I've run 75 miles of that. Not surprisingly, the miles were very similar to the stretches in Nebraska. I was impressed that I was able to pull off the 44 mile day on top of a 36 the day before. Last night I got an email from my friend Jim from Gallup in Omaha. He had been one of the 11 to meet me and run the first miles with me in Omaha. He also gave up a Sunday morning to drive 5 hours to run 17 miles with me on a long stretch near Grand Island. Today, he was planning to drive his family from Omaha to Denver. He wanted to know if I wanted a ride.

Fireworks in Ogallala w lightening

Nebraska Commercial

Group run in Omaha: $0.
Taco Tuesday at Husker Bar II: $0.
Sleeping Couches in Ashland, Grand Island, and Kearney: $0.
Sharing hot dogs with Glenn and family at Lake Mac: $0.
Pasta lunch with other Glenn in Ogallala: $0.
Awesome fireworks show:$0.
Many new friendships and an appreciation for an honest way of life: $0.
There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's incredible sponsorship. Thank you Ron at Round the Bend Steakhouse in Ashland and Tim at Ole's Big Game Steakhousein Paxton. My trek across your state was life-changing. Thanks for making it possible.

off the lake part 4

took me to my motel, then offered to buy me lunch. Sitting at Pizza Hut we each ordered a meat pasta marinara. He talked about his four sons, his 14 grand-kids and his 23 great-grand kids. He lives alone in Kansas now but you can quickly tell how much a part of his life his sons are. We talked about families, what causes their downfall, and various ways people succeed in life. 11 hours earlier I was laying on a sandy dirty shower stall floor when a sick (or drunk) camper came into a toilet stall to vomit. Fast forward to noon and I am fed, in town with a room and two new friends. Sometimes, enough is better than a feast. Happy Independence Day, when it's also okay to be dependent on others once in awhile.

off the lake part 3

easier but far more dangerous to hitch if you're female. But with that said, if in a recreation area, and there's a person with a backpack and they look like they talk with nouns AND verbs, they may be worthy of a ride. Keep your wits about you, yes. I think Kris did it right, she passed, turned around and before she opened her door, she asked what I was doing. If it doesn't add up, keep moving. Well, I was just starting to think Nebraska only had two good samaritans and I had already met both when a Buick pulled over. I'm often trying to determine if there is a breed of car that lends itself more to hitchhikers. There is not, unless you consider the state of the car or the space available, in which case, less is infinately better. I've crammed into an already full Pinto but I have yet to be taken in by a couple in a Winnebago. I leave conclusions to you. Inside the Buick was an older man, I would have guessed 72. I would have been wrong, 83. He drove me the full 20 miles into town..

off the lake part 2

to open a new restaurant which will include home-grown fresh vegetables. She drove me past her destination and left me much better than when found. Five miles of road walking put me just past Ash Hollow State Park. If I wasn't so concerned about going the remaining 30 miles to town I would have stopped in. A nice local drove me 5 miles further. At that point I could no longer see the lake, only expansive wheat fields on rolling hills. The visibility must have been 12 miles in all directions, at least.
I was still 20+ miles from Ogallala. I had been walking and standing for 4 hours after the short nit. Being able to see 12 miles ahead and knowing you still have 20 to go makes you try harder at thumbing than walking. I pulled out a $5 bilL. Holding my thumb out and pinching the bill in my fingers, I hoped drivers would see I had money and just needed a ride. Perhaps now is a good time to restate my position on hitching. I wouldn't recommend it. Kids should forget it. It's probably

Off the Lake

And now, for the exciting conclusion to the night at Haunted Lake! Okay, so maybe it wasn't really haunted. After my 3 hour cat nap on a shower curtain in the campground bathhouse, I readied my gear and headed out under dark skies at 6 am. The lake is 60 miles around and my route doesn't quite circle it but almost. Since I was going off route to Ogallala for fireworks today, and the lack of sleep, I walked the road and looked for rides. They were few and far between today. However, one of my new favorite qoutes is, "Enough is as good as a feast." After an hour of walking (and finding a current Iowa plate and a life jacket, a Suziki car pulled over after having turned around for me. It was a woman, Kris, and her dog. They were on their way for a run and decided I looked harmless enough. I was struggling this morning. Tired. Damp. Lots of miles and threat of rain. Kris was a good listener and just what I needed in that moment. What's really cool is that she's putting plans in place for a

used shower curtain as groundcloth and slept 3 hrs

good times

midnit update

11:30 PM, Lake Mccaughney campground. Borrowing an extra 8 feet of cord from a neighbor, I erected my 4 oz 5 x 8 nylon tarp using two picnic tables and two trees. Laying in my down bag on my Tyvek ground cloth, I was impressed. Then the mosquitos came. Trains are non stop. Then thunder and lightening. Tbesd trees have withstood 40+ years of storms, I'll be fine, I thought. Then the rain came. A little mist blowing in on the face. I can handle this. Then the faucet turned on and water began sheeting on the ground. Within a minute I could feel by back getting wet through the down bag. Weighing my options, I stuffed my bag, slung my pack and ran out into the rain, headed for the showerhouse. That's when I fell flat on my face. 80 yards later and soaked, I'm sitting on a two foot wide wooden shower bench under lights that won't turn off. It may be a long night.

Quote of the Day

I ran to lake McConaughy today. Met a farmer who taught me how to tell if a wheat field had been hailed on. There are small pockets in the wheat if so. Then I got a ride across the 3.5 mile dam with no shoulders and "festive" drivers. I think my ride may have been one of them. Finally, as I was running along the 22 mile lake, an SUV pulled over and a guy said, "Hey Hippie Dude."Yes, my barechested sloshy frat boy," I thought. "I could tell you were doing something crazy.. Can we give you something for your hat? Do you want to smoke a bowl with us? You should stay with us tonight. We'll feed you, do some drugs and party." "Thanks, I think I'll keep running." An hour later I had a decidedly different encounter with a family of four ouside their pop-up camper. All I had asked for was to store my pack near their camper while I went for a swim in the lake. That turned into me sitting in their lawn chair sipping a Pepsi, eating a delicious hot dog, and hearing all about his recent triathalon

Cozad, location of the 100th Meridian.. If you're into that kind of thing

A Family Vacation.. On a motorcycle? Look close for the pet crate.

I'm a sucker for horses.

Ole's Wall Art

Waves

I've had all kinds of greetings on this trip. Most from those in passing cars give a wave that can be classified into one of three categories. I call them the doorknob, the pancake, and the wait a minute. The doorknob comes from mostly older men whose hands might have done so much work in their life that the can't fully open them anymore. Doorknobbers lift a semi-opened fist and wave by gently turning their wrist. Pancakers come from an old college volleyball move. Lift your hand off the wheel and hold it out flat, palm down, fingers extended. Lastly, the wait a minute folks only lift one finger as if to indicate, hold on there a second. Oddly, very few people actually wave in the traditional sense. I try and respond with the same as they give but there's only a nanosecond to respond, so that keeps me engaged.

Bailing Hay

North Platte - 35 miles

A mentally tough day with long empty stretches to North Platte. Started off with 13 miles to Brady for a drink. Then 9 more to Maxwell for a late lunch. My ideal afternoon is an easy 9 miles but it was still 14 to the end in North Platte. Perks along the way were another tv interview on the road and meeting a transcon biker from Tucson. Google "crazy guy on a bike" to find his blog. He's 73 and the picture of health. I'm glad I made 35 miles today but I had to earn every inch of it. Luckily the wind picked up in the afternoon and a few clouds hovered over me for a welcome change. I'll post the link for the second tv interview on facebook like I did with the first one. Glad so many of you enjoyed that. Tomorrow evening at Ole's! If you're in the area, I'd love to see you there in Paxton. With the 4th coming up I had been thinking of being in Ogallala for the fireworks but it's looking like strong storms are predicted so I might just start my lap around Lake McConaughy.

meeting a transcon biker from Tucson

The Body

I never understood why cars rusted from winter conditions until this week. I'd been washing out my running outfit each night until a few days ago. I think I was just tired and didn't think a low mileage day warranted another soapy sink session. So I ran in sweat dried clothes one day and parts of my body feel like it's been through the Indiana Blizzard of '78. Who knew salt crystals could take on the properties of shards of glass? Waddling bo-legged into the dollar store, I bought a tube of cream we've used on our own kids, "Boudreaux's Butt Paste." Of course. It works in other areas as well. Laying in a ditch between the highway and the train tracks, I was applying more lotion when I noticed the product label listed its manufacture in none other than Columbus, Indiana - my childhood hometown. Nebraska's a big place but I guess it's still a small world after all.

On the news!

Check out the news piece that aired last night on KHASTV Channel 5:


http://new.khastv.com/videoplaylist.php?playid=21426

Day 14: 25 mi to Gothenburg

I ran into two groups of super-pedestrians today. The first was a pair of guys biking across US to raise money for cleft palatte children. They had spent 3 weeks geitting to central NE from Ca. The second group is 5 young people walking coast to coast to promote Pro-Life advocacy. They take turns walking and rotate through the trailing RV. Remarkably, their team covers 90 miles per day.

Econonmy Update

Someone recently told me that you can directly gauge the state of the economy by how many trains the Union Pacific is running. I don't know what the old average was but for the past 7 days I've been passed by coal trains 136 cars long headed east every ten minutes. That's got to mean something.

The Ethnic Festival

The "Great" Platte River Road Archway

buckin bronco for my girls

Day 11 part 3

We had a cookout at Ft. Kearney and headed back to town exhausted. 30 min later Katie suggested we drive to Valley Park to watch the sunset. After climbing a 6 story tower, the view was worth it. I was in bed by 10, she went out to the bars with her friends before her morning work shift at 5:30 am. Ah, college days. Today, it's 37 miles to the next town but I need to see the tourist trap of the Platte River Gateway Arch, which doesn't open until 9 am. Katie's letting me borrow her bike so if you're in Kearney this morning, don't make fun of the deeply tanned dude riding a girls bike with a license plate that says "Katie".

days 10 & 11 part 2

his job as a youth minister and the state of kids today. The next morning I was slamming away the miles leaving Grand Island when Jim showed up having driven all the way from Omaha. Just the fact that it took him 2 & a half hours to get to me via interstate make me feel like I had made some progress since running from Omaha 12 days earlier. The miles continued to fly by as we tweeted (really) to the blackbirds and waved to passing trains to get a toot-toot every time from conductors. By 4:30 I was at my destination and picked up by Katie, my host. She took me and a friend's dog out to the flooded Platte River to go swimming. After trudging through a marshy trail, we got to the bank when the dog leapt into the water, as usual. But this time the current was swift and Katie yelled, "Save the dog!" She jumped in and was being swept away as well but she caught up to the dog and pushed her to the bank where I was waiting to help. Later we fought swarms of mosquitos to gather some firewood...

Days 10 & 11

This trip is an exercise in accepting the lowest lows that insert themselves with stellar highs. Case in point: my day off in Grand Island. I wanted to take in a museum and some movies. The museum was a couple of miles away and I walked there as the city had no bus service. Once there I visited with the historical reenacters living in the year 1880 and decided to head back to town to watch some movies as the temp was getting back to the 90's. None of the couples leaving the museum would agree to give me a lift back to town. One pair of older woman even said, "You wouldn't want to ride with us if you saw our van - it's a mess." Wanna bet on that. I know people are more cautious these days and the fact that I was at a tourist destination didn't help. I walked back to the far side of town, about 3 mi. This time to get to the theatre. It was cool, dark and lovely. That night I got to meet my other couchsurfing host and we had one of the best conversations of my trip as we taled about...

philosophy part II

I could pick out each fish as they wiggled their little tails with all their minnow might to get back to where they'd come from - to not have to go into the unknown. That's when I saw their next destination: a sewer drain. Oh, I thought. They'll be fine. They'll wash into some stream and build a happy prosperous colony their. I wonder, how many of us are desperately swimming up a paved street, not knowing that where we are inevitibly headed might just be okay or even a betterplace for us.

some thoughts on philosophy

Several days ago as I was leaving Lincoln, I spied an interesting event. Oodles of rain had come down that morning and the water was still sheeting off the high places. A sidewalk which ran down a steep hill had a steady stream running down it, but the sidewalk stopped halfway down the hill. As I neared that end, I spotted a massive migration of fish. They were coming from a puddle that had formed at the end of the walk. As I got closer more of them swam away from their protective eddy and into the main stream going down the curb of the steep street. Thet were tiny minnows but as soon as they realized they were headed somewhere uncontrollably, they desperately tried to reverse course. I felt particularly responsible as I think it was my approach which made them leave. As the slender silver minnows careened down the street, they each rotated around and tried they best to swim up a paved road and back into their puddle. I raced down the hill to see their demise. I could pick out each....

Veggies!

I'm being hosted for two nights by some great guys from couchsurfing.org With 2 million members, couches to sleep on and connections to be made, it's an ideal network for someone doing a trip like this. Just finished a great veggie stir fry dish in a Vietnamese restaurant. Going to head to the live music at the annual "Ethnic Festival" tonight. On tap for tomorrow: a rest day and take in the Stuhr Living History Museum and maybe a movie. Going for a 40 mile day to Kearney on Sun and will be joined by a couple of my new friends from Gallup in Omaha. Misery loves company!

Don't worry Honey, I won't mail this one home to the collection

Tentative Itinerary

Thurs nit: Central City
Fri nit: Grand Island
Sat nit: Grand Island
Sun nit: Kearney
Mon nit: Lexington
Tues nit: Gothenburg
Wed nit: North Platte
Thurs nit: Paxton at Ole's Big Game Fri nit: Lemoyne or Lewellen?
Sat nit: Ogallala or Paxton again
Sun nit: Julesburg, CO, 4th of July.
If still on schedule, may continue running south to Denver by July 10.

Day 7 The Big Easy

Ran 30 miles today from David City turnoff to Stromsburg. Two things helped today: weater and civilization. The high today was only in the 70's with a constant breeze. That was so refreshing. Then there were towns along the way to get food and drink. Here's the rundown of today's intake: 4 slices of last night's left over pizza for breakfast, stop in Rising City for bag of Bugles, soda, and quart of Gatorade. Mile 12 stop in Shelby for grilled ham n cheese and coke. Third fillup of 3 qrt water bag. Mile 23 stop in Osceola for chocolate malt and 2 more quarts of water. Mile 30 done in Stromsburg for cherry smoothie, 1/2 lb bacon cheeseburger w fries, 2 lemonades, pint of pb ice cream and quart of Gatorade. Maybe I'll go lighter on the food tomorrow...

A Few Recent Shots

for my daughters

DAY 5 Monday

Partly cloudy but not enough. Ran 28 miles from Lincoln to Valparaiso. Ran out of water with two miles to go and death-shuffled into town to find my H.S. Pal Ricky waiting for me. He had driven over from Cedar Rapids. It was good timing as town offered no services.

Nebraskans are strong proud people

Having met a number of good folks in this state, there's a sense that Nebraskans can and have endured much. Over the past several days there has been so much rain that many in this area have flooded basements or entire homes. But like life on a farm, you do what it takes to keep going. My host Ross told me a story about his father when he was a boy. There had been a hail storm so bad that all of the crop on the farm had been driven underground. There wasn't green to be seen anywhere. Walking back to the farmhouse after surveying the damage, knowing he'd just lost half of his entire annual income (livestock were still ok), he knew his kids wouldn't understand the news, so he said, "Hey kids, grab some of that big hail. Let's make some ice cream."

leaving Lincoln

pics from day 4

Day 4 Part 2

The immediate thunder that boomed made all three of us scream, not something I'm hearing much from Nebraskan farmers on this trip. The rest of the day my feet hurt a bit but the miles came easy enough. These shorter days are helping me recover my stamina. When I came into Lincoln, I noted that I had arrived at Peter Pan Park - a funny coincidence after writing on day one that my legs were looking for Neverland. Ross, a friend of mine from Lincoln, and "Mr. Trails" as he's known in these parts, picked me up to host me. We went to a running store where I got a pair of road shoes, insoles, and some new socks. Hopefully the fit will be better and my feet will still be able to make miles while they recover. I laugh as I write this because I'm exactly like the people I used to make fun of on the Appalachian Trail: they'd have blisters, but then keep hiking and they'd develop blisters inside their blisters. That won't happen to me, right?

Another wet n wild day

TJ, my host and one of the general managers of the restaurant drove me back to the trail in Eagle this morning. I took care of my blisters last night which had formed on the center of both forefeet and three of my right toes. There were some dark clouds ahead and I thought I was pacing myself to allow the storm to pass in front of me. Just as I crossed a road with a memorial to a biker who was killed in a vehicle collision, I saw some lightening ahead. Wouldn't that be a dandy thing to have happen to me on Father's Day? The nearest farmhouse was a quarter of a mile up a hill back on the road. I decided to press ahead as it didn't look too bad. Just then, a double bolt of lightening stuck the ground on both sides of the trail, causing me to hightail it back up the trail and road to the farmhouse. The farmer must have been watching the whole thing as he and his son were sitting on the porch waiting for me. We sat and watched the storm swirl over the farm and a bolt struck close.

Day 3 Part 2

I held out the card for one of the riders to take. We exchanged no words. As I was running west at 5 miles an hour and they were biking eastat13 miles per hour, there was only a split second for the exchange. And he certainly had no idea what I was handing him. He looked slightly hesitent at first but then grasped it firmly at the last second. It was a success and we never said a word. An hour and a half later they had turned around and when they got back to me
they slowed down to ask questions about my trip. I was able to answer their questions but the most exciting difference
about this year's trip has been the connectivity with friends, fans and family. Being able to upload video of myself running - to be viewed by my mom who is in China this week while my brother conducts a concert with his symphonic choir - is outstanding.

Day 3

My feet usually swell up one half size on these trips so I sized my shoes up for that. On day 1, I felt a slittle slip in them because my feet hadn't swollen yet. I thightened them and that made the material bunch up on top of my foot wear some spots through my skin. To counter that, I loosened the shoes today which relieved the pressure on top but then caused slippage on the bottom. The whole thing is my own fault. If I trained regularly this wouln't be an issue. But since I view my own running as a means of transportation more than sport, I don't usually give my body near the prep it deserves.

After a slow start I adjusted the laces differently and was able to settle into a slow jog. I saw two bikers headed towards me on the path that I had all to myself this morning. I decided to try a new trick. As they were 20 yards away I pulled out a business card and readied to hand it to them. I knew there wouldn't be time to try and stop them so as they were closing in at 5 yds I got ready.

lookit me!

Tastes like chicken.

Eating my first, then my twentieth testicle. They're more slender than you'd think. I asked why. Good reason, they are so huge whole that you couldn't cook the center of one. So each ball is sliced into about 8 disks. So I suppose I had about a 3 ball dinner. Parents bring their kids and give them a plate saying they're chicken nuggets then take a picture of them eating them as they tell them the truth. Brutal.

Day 2 Part 2

"I'm doin just fine", I lied. We agreed to try and meet near The Testicle Festival in 2 hours. There's a pedestrian bridge across the Platte River and people had been giving me various updates about it throughout the day. "You cant get there - the road is closed, the bridge is flooded, and you'll never make it by tonight, no one could. Two out of three were right, well, sort of. The road was closed but only to cars. None of the road crew seemed to mind as I weaved through the asphalt pavers and striping machines. It did mean that I was running on fresh blacktop. MMMmm, fresh backtop. When I got to the pedestrian bridge 4 miles later, the trail to the bridge was under water and I waded knee deep through the mud and water. On the other side of the bridge the reporter from the Lincoln Journal Star and a photographer. They gave me a much welcome ride off my route 3 miles to the Testicle Festival. A freelance writer for The Travel Channel also showed up and interviewed and filmed me and TJ

Day 2

Stayed in the motel room just long enough to know USA would have a hard time handling the smallest country at the world cup. I now see that I missed a good game but I'm glad I put some miles down while it was relatively cool and cloudy. And guess what? My legs found their way back to Neverland! Once I remembered the importance of fueling up every hour the miles have come easier. After a meandering route through some beautiful parks I got to Hwy 50 with a gravel trail running beside. This is the MoPac Trail - a converted rail bed. One section was preserved when a local couple bought the rightaway and then donated it to the local public land managers. With shady trees and scenic trestles it was a vast improvement to the highway shoulder. There were sections of trail which were sunny though. Melting in the afternoon, I decided to lay down on my Tyvek groundcloth. Just as I got comfy in the shade of a tree the phone rang. It was a reporter from Lincoln who was going to try and meet me.

my own road

next to hwy 50. Springfield coming up.

i finally meet my match

werspan lake.

zorinsky lake

Mo pics day 1

The crew from Gallup on the Bob Kerrey Bridge over the Missouri River.

pics from day one

conclusion of day one

Tim and I ran on sidewalks through sunset and then through a raging downpour. The kind of rain that sheets through your hair and pounds your eyelids so you're not even sure where your feet are landing. Done at 10 pm and real hungry after 24 miles. The only pizza co still delivering had to wait an hour to bring my pizza bc their only driver decided to go quad riding. 28 miles tomorrow to Ashland will get me to day one of the famous festival!

First Day

The first days of these trips are always hard. Ultra runners remorse sets in early. What am I doing out here. My secret weapon of relying on past trips failed me today. Is it possible my muscle memory has Alzheimers? My Legs, "What are you doing out here? You can't do this. You've NEVER done this before." Relax, I tell them. Like Wendy talking to Peter Pan, you just have to remember... Running from the airport at 3 pm in 95 degrees and high humidity is not advisable on a first day. 3 miles in I stopped at Gallup and was joined by 11 runners from there. We ran across the bridge to Iowa and back then they stayed with me for a few more miles. It was great to have an enthusiastic welcoming party. The sun and heat took its toll quickly. I stopped for lunch which helped but I was soon struggling again. At mile 15 I was dragging and got a much needed boost from Tim, a local runner and trail angel. He met me for the last 5 miles and brought me cold Gatorade. That did the trick.

Omaha and Lincoln Route

Since there's several people interested in running with me for part of a day, I'm posting a section of my route through Omaha and Lincoln for them to meet up with me. Keep in mind that this is not a direct route by any means! It is quite scenic, however. Zoom in to see just how "scenic" it really is!

Try clicking here, a link should open a map of Nebraska and load the route.

Oh, so that's what those spots are...

At the end of our trip last week, Clara had a few small red spots on the sides of her eyes. She felt fine and acted normally. They inflamed and crusted over. The doctor confirmed today that our little angel has chicken pox. It appears to be a mild case but she can't go back to school for a few more days so I may delay my departure to Omaha until Thursday so Lydia can get some hours in before I leave. More soon. Isn't life just full of uncanny timing?

Another preparation I should be making in the final days is getting some sleep!

Just Days Away...

Being a middle school English teacher allows me to enjoy 'tweens 9 months of the year but it also gives me a few months to do something else - something that makes others grimace, if they weren't grimacing already.

I started my summer vacation promptly with a family trip to the Washington DC area. Mom was celebrating her 7th decade of a fruitful life and all the family was descending on the house of my brother and his greyhound rescue dog. We spent the week taking in the sights and teaching my 5 and 3 year old daughters the finer points of mass transit during rush hour: You'll never be standing far enough away from the tracks for me when a metro train arrives at the station. Being wiggly on the escalator may not be appreciated by all those in suits standing nearby. And, anyone telling you a "short walk" to the metro station has not walked home from one at the end of the day with pre-schoolers.

We did enjoy our time there tremendously. The birthday party was a huge success. Aunts and uncles arrived from near and far to make it special. During the party, I ate my first serving of Maryland Soft Shell Blue Crab. While some complained about the work it took to find the meat, I managed to enlarge my serving to 5 crabs during the meal.

After a week there, Lydia, the girls and I drove to Virginia to stay with my former college roommate, Bert, on his organic farm outside Blacksburg. Bert and his wife Gwynn, and their daughter Zoe were excellent hosts and kept our bellies filled with fresh fruits and veggies like snap peas, raspberries, cherries, lettuce, and fresh sweet herbal tea.

Unfortunately, during our visit there, Robert's grandfather passed away and there was a memorial service for him at our college town in Hanover, Indiana. I had actually sung in the church choir with his grandfather during college and knew him well and decided to drive back with Bert for the service. The family was very welcoming to me and I enjoyed learning more about their history.

Being there gave me time to go for a few runs in the area - something I hadn't been able to do since college 15 years ago. I ran an abandoned road along a ridge overlooking the Ohio River. It was a 15 mile loop and had been one of the cross country team's favorite runs. I headed down the path once more and smiled as I realized how little had changed over the years. I came across four deer and five wild turkeys, as it's a protected corridor for wildlife. As the old road brought me into lower Madison, Indiana I realized there was a change to the route. The end of the road was washed out and had been replaced by a tangle of waist high poison ivy. I eventually had to detour over a metal fence with "pointy things" on top but was able to avoid the ivy. Soon after I came to the entrance to Clifty Falls State Park and the ranger let me use his water to wash off any ivy oils that I may have picked up.

While washing off, he told me about an area of interest in Nebraska worth checking out. Several years ago he helped salvage a Civil War cargo ship on the Missouri River. It had sunk near the time Lincoln was shot. Buried in mud for almost 150 years, the crew uncovered ammunition, jars, and metal cans with their paper labels still intact. The items now rest in a nice museum just east of Omaha.

The remaining ten miles of the run were beautiful as I ran through the shady park and then the sunny highway to return to campus. I was relieved to note that the run didn't seem to hurt me much and I could certainly see doing it twice a day in the coming weeks.

Back on the farm in Virginia, we helped as best we could while entertaining our two kids and their one. We weeded, picked vegetables for the upcoming farmer's market: lettuce, basil, snap peas, beets, fava beans, and spring onions. I helped remove three yellow jacket nests. We stained a large wall of the home they recently built completely on their own. And our impression of the experience? Farming is, as we've all been told, a very hard lifestyle. Physically, we were both drained after a few days of walking the 1/4 mile hill from the house to the terraced farm beds several times a day. Mentally, I don't know how I'd cope knowing that the bulk of my own food as well as my total income depended on the weather and my ability to get water to my investment. But it became readily apparent that these are three people who are living life to a higher standard. Their values truly are an inspiration to us.

Two weeks of my precious summer vacation have now slipped away but the next main attraction is just around the corner.

On Tuesday, I fly into Omaha, Nebraska and begin running across my 28th state, in an effort to cross all 50 states on foot on trails. I've been talking to a worker at Gallup and some runners from that organization may join me for a run across part of the city on Wednesday. I'd welcome anyone that wants to run with me for any part of the trip. Finding the route I'm on can be a bit tricky. I'm following the American Discovery Trail. A description of the route can be found here: www.discoverytrail.org Click on Nebraska and you'll get an idea of where it goes. For the most part, I'll be paralleling the Platte River and back roads and rail trails across the state west to Colorado.

I had intended to stop running when I get to the Colorado state line, but that would leave a section of trail in north eastern Colorado that I wouldn't get to run. The American Discovery Trail goes coast to coast. But in Ohio, it splits into two routes and then rejoins in Denver. I've already done the entire southern route when I ran across the country. Now I'm tackling the northern section and running all the way to Denver would mean I will have traveled nearly every section (excepting northern IL, northern IN and northwestern OH).

My training has been about average for the buildup to these kinds of trips for me. I have done a few long runs in the last couple of months. A 50 miler, several marathon-plus distances, and frequent 30-40 minute jaunts. I've tried to increase the regularity of my running the past few weeks. But I still stick with my philosophy that you don't need to be in peak shape at the start of a multi-day endurance run. If you are patient enough (and mechanically sound), the fitness will come with time. The only caveat to that is that in recent years my trips have gotten much shorter (relatively speaking) so I no longer have the luxury to allow my body to acclimate as it did over a 5 or 8 month period.

The good news is the pack is loaded, the shoes fit, the maps are in hand and I'm excited to run!

Brian



A week later,

Gear is selected - getting excited to run!

I've got my pack: An Osprey Manta 25 day pack.
I've got my bag: A Western Mountaineering Highlite down sleeping bag (16 oz!)
I've got my sponsors: Round the Bend Steakhouse's 17th Annual Testicle Festival and Ole's Big Game Steakhouse.

Everything else is just details, right?

The run starts on June 16 at the Omaha Airport. State number 28 is just a month away.

Nebraska, here I come!

In June 2010, I will attempt to eat and run my way across 523 miles of the great state of Nebraska.

Stay tuned for all of the fun and news!

Brian