In May I ran a virtual 50k with friends supporting me at the Poto. I got a shirt and a medal from the race that got cancelled due to Covid. (And a medal from Pat that was even better than the one from the race!) Now, it’s September 4th and I’m running a 50k to train up for my 42 mile run along Pictured Rocks that is planned for exactly 1 month later. I guess it’s a good marker of progress when what was worthy of support, a T-shirt and medals is now part of your training. But this doesn’t mean it was easy!
I decided to run at the Brighton Recreation area for a few reasons. It’s hilly, rocky, rooty and sandy the whole way. It’s really a terrible trail and no fun at all which is the exact challenge I needed to be ready. I wanted to practice on a tougher trail than the PRNL. It’s also a 5 mile loop. I added a little to each loop so I could do 5 laps instead of 6 because each lap was soul-sucking even though I reversed directions each time. I needed a loop like this so I could have my van be my aid station as I try to dial in my hydration and caloric needs for the big run. The aid station worked great and I had almost no stomach problems. My legs were another story.
My legs felt tired around mile 8 and the rest was a sore sufferfest. But, a sufferfest that I finished. My time was even a little faster than my first 50k (11 minute PR) and it was hillier than Pictured Rocks will be. I don’t think Pat was thrilled to hear how tough it was since he’ll be running the last 20 miles with me next month but it is what it is. Hopefully with a good taper I’ll feel better longer into the run but the reality is that the run along Pictured Rocks will be beautiful and painful. I can’t wait!
The Portage Lake Lift Bridge making way for the Ranger III which takes hikers to Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior (and will take me for a fast packing trip one day!)
Houghton
As a family we took a trip to the UP in the middle of August and I was able to sneak away for a couple of amazing runs in God’s country. Because of the pandemic, the UP is having a great year for tourism. The businesses were all business when it came to being safe with the virus floating around. We couldn’t find a place to stay 4 nights anywhere so we had to split our trip and that turned out to be wonderful.
To find two nights on a weekend we had to look all the way in Houghton. So our adventure started on top! We spent a day traveling the Keweenaw peninsula, visiting the thimbleberry monks, waterfalls and beach towns that make this one of the most special places on the planet.
At the end of the day I ran an out and back on the Houghton waterfront trail. I started by running across the amazing lift bridge that spans the Portage river and connects Houghton to Hancock and the Keweenaw. This unique draw bridge lifts straight up instead of the more common way of opening like a V. We got to see it in action for a few sailboats and it’s amazing. Unfortunately, as I ran across it stayed level. The Portage river is actually man made and technically turns the rest of the Keweenaw into an island. It was important to dredge the river and open up both sides so ships wouldn’t have to go around the treacherous tip of the peninsula. Now the big ore boats have no need for the Portage River and have no problems on the big lake as long as they are not named Edmund Fitzgerald.
My run took me along the river from the bridge through downtown Houghton, through Michigan Tech to the Nara Nature Center where I expected to run along a boardwalk through a rare type of swamp land. But I was greeted by a sign saying the boardwalk was closed due to a catastrophic rain from 2018 that dropped 7 inches of rain on Houghton! I still ventured out a little ways but it was clearly in a state of dangerous disrepair so I headed back and called it a run.
Of special note: Every month I enter a running challenge with a dozen of my friends (and a few people I’ve never met) through Garmin. As a ran through Houghton on the last day of the month and the challenge I had a slight mileage lead but thought it probably wouldn’t last. Since I was on vacation with my family I couldn’t do anything desperate or heroic if someone jumped ahead of me. In past challenges I’ve ran close to midnight to get the win. A few months earlier I came out on top of a battle with Wes.
During my run I got the notification that Wes was ahead. I looked and saw that he had run a marathon to catch me and pass me so I texted him to congratulate him. He replied that it was also his anniversary so he had won the contest but wasn’t sure if he’d still be married! I have to admit it gave me a bit of a boost to know that someone was out there running a marathon on their anniversary just to catch me in monthly miles! As a minister, I’m usually in the business of helping marriages but this was an exception. (Update: their marriage is fine.)
Pictures below include some vital Keweenaw history.
The Italian Hall Tragedy memorialized by a heartbreaking Woody Guthrie song.
My favorite small waterfall in the UP at Silver Creek
The memorial to Michigan’s almost mythological superhero scientist: Douglass Houghton
A sign at the Jampot that is good advice for runners
A long way to travel for expensive jam (worth it)
And Bishop Baraga keeping watch over the Keweenaw bay (another near mythological Michigander)
Blackrocks to Blackrocks, Ore Docks to Ore Dock
This was an amazing run on an amazing trip! Even the weather was unique. In Houghton, the high was 86F, which is really warm for them. But a cold front came through overnight and it was like God hit the button for fall in the UP. The next day in Marquette it was rainy and the high barely hit 60F. Pretty cool that we got to experience two seasons in one trip!
We stayed across the street from Blackrocks Brewery. And I’m not saying across the street like nearby or down the road. It was right there out our front window! This sparked an idea for an epic Marquette run. I’d go from Blackrocks Brewery to the Black Rocks cliff jumping area at Presque Isle park just north of town. On the way back I’d run underneath the ore docks and head into town to Ore Dock Brewing. One run, two iconic breweries and the two iconic places in Marquette that inspired the breweries’ monickers. The weather was beautiful and the run felt great.
I ran through Northern Michigan University up toward the park. Presque Isle Park is a big one way loop for cars. It’s famous for albino deer which I was on the lookout for but did not see. I didn’t know that it has a single track trail as well as the paved road but it was a great find that made the run more interesting.
The ore docks by the park are active but there was no action this day. In the past we’ve seen the railcars dumping fresh loads of iron ore down the shoots into the giant lake freighters causing the waterline to rise as the big boats fill up with rocks from what’s left of ancient mountains near Negaunee.
I ran along the Superior shoreline past the old ore docks in downtown Marquette for which the brewery is named and then inland two blocks past the sleepy brewery. The hill from downtown up to our place felt great even as I neared 10 miles. Next time, if there are less Covid restrictions, I’ll start with a beer from Blackrocks and end with a beer from Ore Dock.
The time with family (and the dog) was wonderful. The UP brought me refreshment and joy as it always does. And these runs were a great way to enjoy God’s best.
One last thing: God was in the UP with us. I know that sounds strange but it’s true. Because of the virus, everyone has to work from home, including God. So, of course, he’s in da UP!
MI Trail Challenge 