6/12 - Some Minnesota runnin'!

Welpers, we're up in the Great State of Minnesota - doing a little country running!

Doing some running out by the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center.  Dirt roads, some hills and plenty of sunshine, but not as hot as it was in Kansas.  This was our "tune up" run (though we went a little longer between runs than we had hoped).

After much debate on what route to take, we decided to give this dirt road a go.  We ran into the Wolf Ridge Center, for a mile and a half before turning around.  We then ran across the highway and went 1.5 miles on some more dirt.  That stretch had a .7 mile hill to start it out, which gave us a decent elevation gain for the run overall.  The road was little more than a logging road, so traffic was light, at least.

We probably went a little faster than I wanted to, but it felt good the whole way - no knee pain or anything.  That maybe had something to do with the dirt we were running on.  I did, however lose my sunglasses on this ride.  I should have taken a picture - I'd been limping this pair along for some time.  The nose piece fell out (as the glasses had cracked at some point), and I was adjusting them about every half mile or so as I went.  I guess it's good that they broke pre-marathon, as I didn't have to worry about them during the run.

Obviously I'm updating this after the marathon itself, but I must say that we were pretty pumped at this point - both feeling good about our chances.  While still close to 80 degrees, it was still nicer than the miles we'd been putting in so far in Kansas.  We also knew that while we'd be running down on the lake (about 800 feet of elevation below where we were running), it was going to be nicer still.  My new shoes still felt wonder, and at this point it was about deciding on what clothes we were going to wear.  We concluded the run with a big meal and some relaxation - dunking our feet in some very cold water.  Minnesota is nice this time of year...

From here, 4 days to go!

D

Running Total:
June:  19.93
2012:  274.79