Midwest Road Trip Report

What constitutes having "been to" a state?  There are two schools of thought and I have 2 sets of standards.  I used to count anything even if I turned around just after crossing the border or I was taken there as a toddler and was too young to remember it.  It is generally agreed upon that airport layovers can never count and I agree.  The more strict standard requires doing something noteworthy such as an overnight stay, visit to a tourist attraction or at least a sit down meal at a local restaurant.  Of course, participation in an organized road race is an automatic qualifier.  I entered 2018 with 49 states in the lenient standard but just 42 for the strict.  I shored up Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut back in May.  Now, it was time to take care of Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa.  That leaves Nebraska as the only visited state that I have not done something and Hawaii as the only one that I have not seen at all.

Someday I might have to bite the bullet and race on back to back days.  I am not in condition to do that at this time.  Instead, I took on a more manageable but still difficult undertaking of 2 half marathons with only a 2 day rest in between.  Neither would be an all out effort.  With the 4th of July holiday falling on a Wednesday this year, it worked out perfectly.  I needed Minnesota and the annual Red White and Boom race is held in Minneapolis.   All I had to do was find a race in a neighboring state over the weekend.  I got it with the Eagle River Chase in Sauk City, Wisconsin (Madison area) on Saturday.  In between, the plan was to tour some Great Lakes scenery in Michigan and Wisconsin and add a detour through Iowa on the way back. 

I flew out of Atlanta to save money and take a direct flight to Minneapolis.  The trip went without a hitch and after picking up my rental car, I went directly to the packet pick up.  The weather was cloudy with occasional rain and temps in the mid-upper 70s.  I was informed via e-mail that the half marathon course would be cut short to 6.7 miles due to predicted heat and humidity.  It proved to be a good call on the part of the RD.  Once the rain stopped and the sun came out, the humidity kicked in BIGLY!  I would have to improvise with a 3.2 mile warm up and 3.2 mile cool down but one way or the other, I was going to cover 13.1 miles to count toward a half marathon in all 50 states.

Despite the warm temps and high humidity, I enjoyed a long walking tour of the city after checking into my hotel.  Highlights included the Stone Arch pedestrian bridge across the Miss' Sippy River with a real nice view of the city skyline plus Nicolette Mall, a clock tower and the Hennipen Ave entertainment district.  There, dinner was an overpriced Fish and chips in the heart of town with no beer of course.  I then settled in for the night and got up early so I could get my 3.2 miles in before the start of race, which I really could not care less how it officially turned out.

Immediately after stepping out the door, it was clear that the RD was right to shorten the race distance.  The low temp was 76 degrees with roads still damp, sunny skies and nearly 100 percent humidity.  That's WORSE than a typical morning in Birmingham, Alabama in early July!  I was already beginning to sweat after walking across the street and after 3.2 miles, I was drenched.  It didn't help either that hydration stations were minimal with small cups not even filled halfway.  Still, I felt reasonably well through 5-6 miles then it turned ugly in a hurry.  After completing the first loop, I actually considered bailing and stepped off the course for a full bottle of water and Gatorade.  Within about 5 minutes, I got back in the race albeit at a much slower pace.  I completed the 2nd loop with 6.7 miles officially and 9.9 total.  I then took another long break and proceeded to do a cool down jog that included several walk breaks.  I'm counting it for now as State #35 for half marathons but I have a feeling that I'll be back after I finish #50.  If I am faced with this situation in an actual race that counts, I would hope that I would be smart enough to do the same thing.

As fate would have it, clouds rolled in towards the end of my cool down jog and a nasty storm hit just after I hit the road towards the shores of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin.  Once I cleared that, the weather would be much better for the remainder of the trip.  The last 2 days were crystal clear with temps in the low 80s.  Most of my trek through Wisconsin was a US highway that ran due east-west towards Green Bay.  The drive was not particularly exciting with lots of corn fields and mostly flat terrain with occasional rolling hills.  The destination was the small town of Algoma, located right on the coast.  The town featured a small beach and a harbor with a lighthouse along with a bar and grill across the street from my hotel.  This time, I did have a drink.  It was a Zima, which I had not drunk since before I turned 21 plus some tasty hot wings.

The scenery in Algoma was pretty nice but it would pale in comparison to Door County the following morning.  I think the best scenery of the trip came at Cave Point County Park with its rocky cliffs and light emerald green water near the edge of the rocks on my hike.  As you can imagine, pictures don't do it justice.  From there, it was just up the road to Whitefish Dunes, which featured another nice hiking trail along with a much nicer beach than Algoma.  This time, I did take a dip.  The water was still quite chilly but tolerable after several minutes.

By early afternoon, I was back on the road toward Munising, Michigan on the Upper Peninsula, better known as the U-P.  Michigan had a different feel than Wisconsin. The road that I traveled was flatter with more pine trees and much of my route offered nice views of the bay shore.  I was now closer to the North Pole than the Equator.  Temps were noticeably cooler and the speech could have passed for Canadian English as I got closer to the border.  I would have liked to have crossed but just didn't have enough time.  It was a beautiful evening with not a cloud in sight on the shores of Lake Superior.

I got up for a rare sit down breakfast the next morning then boarded a boat cruise called the Pictured Rocks.  Here the rock formations were much larger and more colorful than in Wisconsin the previous day.  Again, the color of the water took on a more emerald tint closer to the rocks.   All I can say is it was pretty awesome and well worth the trip.  Great opportunity to shore up Michigan.

Next, it was back south for my 2nd race just outside of Madison, Wisconsin.  I wasn't expecting much but my performance wasn't half bad all things considered.  The early pace felt much too slow but I reminded myself that I was badly under-trained and it could still get ugly so keep it easy.  The course featured a little bit of everything including parks, trails, residential, rural and riverside scenery.  Like the rest of Wisconsin, it was relatively flat with just a few rolling hills.  Conditions were not nearly as severe as the previous race but still less than ideal.  It was in the low 60s at the start but it rapidly warmed to the low 70s with BRIGHT sunshine.  In the end, I faded in Mile 10 and made several extended drink stops along the way but finished in relative comfort with a time of 1:50:31.  I could have broken the barrier easily if I had skipped a few water stops but better safe than sorry.  I was hoping that fixing what I sure hope is the last blockage of my methylation pathway would make me faster overnight.  Not likely.  In fact, because of detox, it will probably get worse initially.  For the last time, all I want is STABILITY!  On the bright side, I have not had any horrible days as of late.

My favorite part of the trip was the opportunity to catch up with my friend Trent after the race.  We met several years ago at Bible study but he's married now and moved up to Wisconsin.  He took me out to lunch and I had a great time.  Sure do miss you Trent.  Come back to the South at least for a visit.  After leaving Madison, I made a small detour so I could cut through Iowa for about an hour on my way back to Minneapolis.  I stopped in the town of Decorah and went on a hike to see a nice waterfall at Dunnings Spring Park.  That qualifies as a tourist attraction.

This does not quite qualify as an epic trip but still a lot of fun nonetheless.  I just wish the weather had cooperated for the first race.  I bet I will return and guess what?  Winnipeg, Manitoba is within a day's drive so that would meet the strict standards for the Canadian provinces.  LOL.