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May
14, 2004
Rolling
Through Iowa
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Fernando
Braz and Mike Barry relax in the RV
after finishing their day of
running.
See more photos in our gallery |
Oceola,
Iowa - After
a very uncomfortable day of running yesterday,
it was a pleasure to see the return of the sun.
Today?s temperatures remained on the
cool side (38-62˚), and the wind continued
to blow strongly from the NW.
Meteorologist, Dave D., once again nailed
the forecast, and he has promised similar
conditions for tomorrow.
Today?s assignment would be
one of our longer days ? 174 miles ?
carrying us from Lincoln, Nebraska to our fifth
state, Iowa.
Group 1 elected to tackle their 17.4 mile
individual chore by running legs of 6, 8, and
3.1 miles.
In the meantime, group 2 drove out to the
mid-point, 87 miles, where they tackled legs of
7, 6, 4.8 miles. We are beginning to feel
confident about our capabilities to endure the
miles we must run, and we are beginning to
experiment with the methodology that will yield
the most effective results.
Each day, one of our primary
concerns is to complete our assignment early
enough to check emails (when service is
available), shower, eat dinner, and get to bed
in a reasonable time frame.
Most of us also try to find time to call
friends and family (when service is available),
get work done for our ?real jobs?, review
and upload photos, write journals, and a host of
other responsibilities.
Unfortunately, it leaves little time on
most days for the team to kick back and enjoy
one another at the end of the day.
The terrain today was both
picturesque and surprisingly hilly.
Unlike the relatively flat farmlands of
Nebraska, Iowa is the epitome of rolling hills.
As such, the farmers predominately grow corn in
a contoured fashion that follows the natural
line of the hills.
Some hills are steep enough that the
farmers employ terraced planting. The runners, on the other hand, simply put the pedal to the
metal on those hills. Shortly after crossing
Missouri River (at the Iowa border), Tom drew
the split that crested a five mile ?hill?.
Though we were on Rte. 34E, Tom renamed that
section ?Mount Iowa?.
Again, today, we enjoyed the
taste of America in all its flavors.
The changes of scenery, the change of
terrain, the change of the accents, all weave
the fabric that is our county.
One constant that we have experienced,
however, is the friendly nature of those we meet
on our passage through their cities and towns.
Today, for example, as Lyn was parked by the
side of Rte. 34 in our chase van, a motorist
traveling on the other side of the highway saw
her with the flashers of the van cautioning
traffic. He
got off at the next exit, returned to Lyn?s
side, and inquired if he could be of assistance.
This was not an isolated occurrence.
Time and again, kind folks have extended
the hand of friendship to us.
The folks of the Midwest are caring, and
sincere people who believe that we must watch
out for each other.
Perhaps this attitude will work its way
back east.
We are still fortunate in the
injury department.
There are lots of sore calf?s, hammys,
knees, and ITB?s, and a couple of mysterious
rashes (hopefully contact dermatitis), and a
fair amount of sleep deprivation. With the help of our support staff, the runners are trying to
eat well, stretch, and rest.
Our support team is no less stressed.
They do an amazing job of protecting the
runners on the road, shopping, doing the wash,
and much more.
The runners help with the chores as well,
it?s a huge job, and that?s what makes all
15 of us the TEAM.
We have become interdependent, and, just
like the Mid-Westerners we?ve met, we must
watch out for each other.
We are continuing to formulate
home-coming plans ? we only have 11 days left!
We hope that all of you will continue to
email, call, and keep us in your thoughts. We
hope that many of you will be able to join us at
the end of our journey when we make our final
run along the Boston Marathon course to Fenway
Park. We
are actually applying for a parade permit in the
town of Hopkinton!
We are now more than half way
home, and tomorrow?s run will bring us to
Burlington, Iowa.
We must be getting close because the
towns are beginning to sound like home! More
adventures to come.
PS
If there are any ideas, comments or
questions about the journal, send me a note:
Tom
@TREKUSA.org
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