RM: What was your favorite place during your run?PJ: I don't know that I can narrow it down to one. The top 4 (in no particular order) are:
* Nebraska Sand hills - their beauty was a complete surprise, and the quiet country roads and gracious drivers set the tone for the entire trip.
* I thought the Cannon Valley Trail (from Cannon Falls to Red Wing,
Minnesota) was the prettiest trail of the trip.
* Getting into north woods country in Wisconsin was a delight.
* Finally running along the Lake Michigan shoreline - you couldn't wipe the smile off my face...
RM: What is your favorite place running in Michigan?PJ: Of my standard running routes: the shoreline of Little Traverse Bay (via a trail from East Bay Harbor to the Petoskey Wheelway to Beach Road toward Harbor Springs.)
RM: What did you do to relax in Michigan after running 1400 miles?PJ: The BEACH!!!! (At Petoskey State Park) The thought of jumping in the water there kept me going many a day...
RM: How was your run around Mackinaw Island?PJ: Great! We got there early (caught the second ferry) so we missed the big crowds, my younger son ran with me (he crewed during the trip) and my husband (who also crewed during the trip) and a friend from Boulder (who came to Michigan to see me finish) and her friend from Wisconsin rode bikes with me. Mackinac Island is one of my all-time favorite places and it didn't disappoint. It was also the first time my Boulder friend had seen Lake Michigan (much less Mackinac Island or Petoskey) and it was a treat to see the sights with someone new to the Great Lakes.
RM: If you could set up everything to make it happen, would you do it again?PJ: If I had not done it before, but knew it would work out as well as it did this summer, yes. But the itch to run from Colorado to Michigan has been scratched and I don't plan to attempt it again. I was incredibly lucky throughout this trip: weather, roads, traffic, bugs, health, and people - everything treated me with great kindness. I doubt a second run would ever compare to this summer's.
RM: How did you prepare yourself physically for this great adventure and do you think that you did enough prep? Maybe too much? What types of things did you do to get yourself in that type of shape? PJ: Once again, I was very lucky. I ran into Mark Plaatjes (a good acquaintance) last summer and mentioned my plan to run to Michigan and he volunteered to help set up a training plan. It basically consisted of gradually building up my mileage in a 4 week cycle (3 weeks higher mileage, 1 week cut back mileage): July '06 in the 60s, August/September in the 70s, October/November 80s, December/January 90s, February-May ranging from 100-120 with some 30-mile days thrown in. I think it worked out quite well. One thing Mark assured me of was that a training effect would also take place during the run and he was right. I had been worried about not doing a lot of 30-mile back-to-back runs nor any 180-mile weeks (I did have one week of four 30-mile runs and some shorter runs totaling 157 miles for the week) - but my body adjusted over the summer and the 30-mile days became easier and my legs less sore. I also joined a core strength training group last summer through early fall which helped tremendously.
RM: What are some of the things you miss most about Michigan?PJ: The Great Lakes, Little Traverse Bay and Petoskey - what a wonderful area to live in! Colorado has spectacular mountains, but oh how I miss the lakes and my north woods home town...
