There’s a bakery in town formally know as Crapola’s. Their main stay is Crapola Granola to promote their goal that everyone has morning movement. They have many other bakery treats but their humor is definitely rooted in the scatological.
At 6:16 AM, with no sign of the sun that rose ten minutes earlier, Terry drove me 14 miles up Echo Trail to the YMCA camp on the North Arm of Burntside Lake. This is the start of the Ely Marathon to be held on September 23 the Autumnal Equinox. I signed up for it a couple months age. And on this morning with the leaden skies, I convinced Terry is that authentic experiences are help for marathon training. But once there, I’m fretting about all the hills and running alone on a deserted road. to drive me to the start for an authentic training experience. He was impatient for me to leave the car. I whined about bears, about the predicted showers and thunder, the increasing wind and the fact that there were no other humans sans a few in cars adored with canoes. Terry gave me a quick goodbye wave as I continue my whinging outside the car as he was driving away. I did mention maybe be he gave a little push when he closed the door.
I continued whining and running while keeping close watch on my watch and my running pace. I have to maintain a ridiculously slow pace in order to finish the marathon and receive a metal and a time. Of course, the time seems too fast for my comfort. As I said the course is hilly. Some hills I think I can barely walk. But mostly young people, like under sixty, and non-runners, think the pace is slow. In fact. I can’t deny it’s slow.
It was totally cloudy, cool, windy, and spitting rain. The bears had no interest in me. With constant concentration, my pace was OK, but I was only doing the 1/2 marathon distance today. But in the real full-marathon distance, I fall apart at the end.
While running on the Ely roads, I have to jump off the road when cars and trucks approach because often there are no shoulders. Today, I gave lots of clearance for a large pickup pulling a huge trailer and a work truck with a huge boom. I don’t want to make this sound too unsafe because I usually scare the drivers who over react and swerve the stealing wheel to the left. They look peevish and repentant for being caught exceeding the speed limit with my life in the balance. But time and time again I reviewed in my mind throwing myself to roll down the ditch out of the way of the vehicle. Both of today’s dangerous drivers give me a smile.
When finally I limped into the our drive, both of the said trucks were there. One guy was by the two sheds. In short order I saw one shed smashed by an excavator. The other truck with his boom high in the air had the pump in place and was unveiling a steady stream of water from a pipe.
Progress.
Mountain Peace 