Mot, the Boys (Danny and Steve) and I all jumped in the car this
weekend and headed to Michigan. Steve's sister has cabin on a lake, and
it was the perfect escape for a nice long weekend.
With a half marathon coming up in two weeks (and because I needed to make up for the double scoop of Saugatuk Mud ice cream on a visit to the Lake Michigan shore the day before - worth it? yes!), I made sure to pack all my running gear and use it at least once.
The day before we left town, I got online and mapped a run that would take me my scheduled 8 miles within the area of the cabin. But, on the drive there, I noticed our road kept crossing the Kal-Haven Trail. I didn't know what it was...but I was intrigued.
That night, while sweating a couple of pounds away in our muggy tent (it was over 100 degree heat index that day - yuck!), I got the Nook out and searched online (via some stolen wifi signal from a neighbor a couple of houses down).
Apparently the trail is over 33 miles long on an abandoned railroad stretch from Kalamazoo to South Haven. We were staying at a cabin a couple of miles from the halfway point. Sweet!!!!!!!
So, Sunday morning, I got up before the group (a number of Steve's family were there as well) and headed for the trail.
After applying 17 gallons of bug spray (on a scale of 1 to 10 on the "effectiveness" scale - 17 gallons of bug spray would turn out to a rate a -3), putting on my Garmin, strapping on my go-go gadget hydration belt (Amphipod rocks!!!)....I left the safety of my Jeep for trails unknown.
(giggle)
The nearest trail head was in town a few miles away. Bloomingdale, MI
The one and only remaining train depot building now serves as a museum for the trail and the area...and also an information center for the trail itself.
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Here's the view looking back at the depot from the trail as it crosses the highway.
I ran from mile 16 to 20...then back again. From Bloomingdale to Gobles, then back.
The trail was great....but the humidity and mosquitoes were ridiculous. The trail was 100% enclosed by trees....making it a hot, humid, tunnel of zero air movement and a mosquito paradise. I was the main course Sunday morning.
My legs, as usual, were horrible. The first half of the run I averaged a 13:30 min/mile pace. The pain was outrageous...but, as usual, I pushed through it knowing that it would go away after 3 or 4 miles.
And, as usual, it did. I ended the run with a 12:30 (ish) average.....so I really made up some time that second half.
I'd love to get on my bike and ride the trail from beginning to end. There are a number of railroad bridges and blueberry fields (I didn't see any, even though the locals assure me I ran by at least one) along the way. But running it in the summer is miserable. I wouldn't recommend it.
Unless you want to be a buffet for tiny flying vampires.
It was, at least the second half, a great run though!!!
(Later in the weekend, I fell down the second half a small flight of stairs off of the back deck of their cabin. Besides some bruises, and a really, really, really sore calf muscle, I came away unscathed and lucky.)
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8 miles, 1:29:34, 12:25 overall average pace (first half did run/walk 1:1 intervals...second half did my usual 2:1), Max HR 187, Avg HR 161, 900 calories, 3 pints of blood donated
:-)
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