Minooka Miles



A portion of the Yellow Trail @ Minooka Park - Unknown Dog

It's been a month since the Rock-n-Sole Half Marathon - a month since my knee made it's final return to strength and normalcy - a month since I began hitting the trails at Minooka Park. On these unusually hot summer days, it's a relief to run through the woods instead of the sun soaked pavement that radiates heat. Of course I have to run on that blistering asphalt for 2 miles to reach Minooka (I do get a short break with a .5 mile run on grass around a pond that leads to a short tunnel that runs under a 6-lane road), but I know that shade and softly padded earth await me. Though not the sublime mountain trails my friend Jodie in Montana gets to run, Minooka is as good as it gets in Wisconsin, and I'm fortunate it's so close to home. The challenge and variety at this county park helps the miles pass more quickly, and more interestingly.

I typically enter the park near a small man made lake (staffed with a lifeguard) surrounded by willow trees and the occasional angler. Always staying to my right, I access the yellow trail, which offers the maximum park experience. It begins on a gentle wood-chipped path, like the one pictured above, and undulates for the next 5 miles through woods, tall grass prairies, ponds, and two dog parks (one for big dogs, one for small dogs). Along this route, I meet other runners (including Joe - we always seem to cross paths at a certain intersection), hikers, dogs and horses. I watch the earth for rocks, tree roots, holes and horse poop. At times, some of the hills - especially the steep sled hill, which is uphill in the direction I run - pull my nose close to the ground, and I submit to walking to the top, but over time, I hope to mark my progress by being able to run up every single hill without walking. 

When I finish the yellow trail and am spit out to the streets again, it's always a bummer to know I have 2 miles in the blazing sun, amongst the concrete and exhaust of passing cars. Somehow, the steep hills have become preferable, even though I can run much faster on the street. I leave Minooka with dirt coating to my sweaty legs, and minute pieces of the trail stuck in or on my shoes - a wood chip, dirt clumps, a small twig. I arrive home feeling accomplished and renewed from my dance with nature.  

Monsters to Skeletons

For over a year, Joe and I have excitedly planned on doing the Monster Dash Half Marathon in Chicago on Halloween weekend - October 27th to be precise. Most large races open their registration 7-9 months in advance of the race. Not the case with the Monster Dash. January, nothing. February, nada. March? Nope, April, still blank. Starting in May, we began to check their site daily expecting that any minute registration would open, and possibly fill to capacity. We had it all figured out too - the start line for the race, a scenic course along Lake Michigan and surrounding parks, is a few blocks away from our friend's condo, and we were invited to stay with them rather than in a $250/night hotel. But it wasn't to be. Finally, July 1st they opened registration up, BUT guess what else they did? They changed the date from 10/27 to 10/21. This is no good. First of all, the whole point of doing a Halloweeny type race is to do it on Halloween weekend, and secondly, I've known for many months that my brother plans to have his 50th birthday gala on 10/20 - there's no way we could do both. So, we found ourselves scanning through race listings in Runningintheusa.com, and stumbled across a new race - the Skeleton Skamper in Mt. Pleasant (Racine area), WI.

This is the second year the race will be held as both a half marathon, with costumes preferable, and a 5k. We tend to prefer large race venues with at least 3,000 racers, because they are better organized, have more on-lookers, and generate more excitement and energy. However, the good thing about a small start-up race like this (last year they had about 300 runners), is that Joe has an excellent chance of placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in his age group. We have submitted our registration for this 4th and final half marathon of the year, and will begin official training the second week in August.

Now that my knee is in good stead, I hope to rebuild some speed and power, and either PR in October or better my finishing times from the past three races of the year. I'm also considering wearing a costume, but need some clever input. I want a costume that allows my legs to be bare, that will not overheat me, that will not impede movement, and that isn't a hassle for using the bathroom. I'm open to ideas, but please, no suggestions to be a ballerina or a cat - those are super common race costumes.

Colon Health

Joe had his 5th colonoscopy today with Dr. Stein. And? ..... Everything looks GREAT. The doc was able to go all the way to the transverse colon, which they've never been able to do before because of inflammation and the risk for perforation. The doc is very pleased with how well Joe has healed with minimal intestinal scarring. The backstory on scarring: When the colon is inflamed, the mucosal lining tears and bleeds away, causing ulcerations. After the colon simmers down from this inflammation and ulcerations, scar tissue forms that can thicken the colon walls making the passage very narrow. This can lead to pain and or deadly blockages in the bowel. Dr. Stein notes there is "good mucosal recovery", which is great news, because the colon can lose this lining for good if there is too much scar tissue or prolonged periods of active disease occurring. The lining protects against cancer. Since Joe has Pancolitis, meaning his colitis covers the entire length of the colon, including the cecum (about 20% of ulcerative colitis patients have this form, as opposed to just rectal colitis or left-sided colitis), he is at the greatest risk for developing colon cancer. The fact that he has a restored mucosal lining is a relief.  Dr. Stein says the prognosis is good for Joe to retain his colon for several years yet, and with the constant advances in research, this buys us more time for a cure to be found (a cure outside of the removal of the colon!). The contributing factors to Joe's amazing 180° turn around from last summer's status:

1. Great physical health supported by:
    A) Vegan Diet
    B) No smoking or drinking
    C) Running and other fitness activities

2. Expert care from the Froedtert GI Department - ranked within the top 50 GI programs in the country

3. Remicade & Azathioprine

4. Positive thinking - letting the mind affect the body (in a good way)

5. Prayers and well-wishers!

Vacation Destination

Most years we sit down on January 1^st and determine our backpacking trip for the year. This year was not like most years. Instead, we sat down on July 4^th to decide the terms of our August vacation. With the March trip to Utah falling flat (hard race, knee injury, snow precluding backpacking trip), and with the knowledge that we wouldn’t need flight reservations for our second destination of the year, there was less pressure (and frankly, less desire) to plunge hot and heavy into trip planning. 

We will be revisiting a spot we’ve been to twice before. A pristine wilderness that takes effort to reach. We are talking about the largest island in the largest fresh water lake in the world…. Isle Royale (pronounced as Royal). Sitting in Lake Superior, Isle Royale is an island 45 miles in length, 15 miles in width, “owned” by Michigan despite its proximity to Canada and Minnesota, and home to the long-studied special ecological system of moose and wolves. Here’s an excerpt from the Isle Royale National Park website:

The ecological study of wolves on Isle Royale is the longest running large mammal predator-prey study on earth. The park celebrated the study's 50th anniversary in 2008. Research has shown that all members of the Isle Royale wolf population have descended from a single female, who arrived during the late 1940s. This intense level of inbreeding has led to a 50 % loss of genetic variability within the population today. Genetic information also suggest that the island's moose population is most closely related to moose in northwestern Minnesota, perhaps challenging the long-held idea that moose swam across the lake to reach Isle Royale. Did humans bring them here?

A venture by foot, canoe or kayak into the park's interior can transport one back thousands of years. Around 11,000 years ago, two miles of ice lay on top of Isle Royale, pressing it down into the earth and sculpting its topography. This same ice sheet gave birth to Lake Superior as well as hundreds of inland lakes, ponds and bogs. The Greenstone Ridge, which forms the backbone of Isle Royale, is thought by many geologists to be a portion of the largest lava flow on earth. All in all, Isle Royale is a fascinating ecosystem to study.



The red dot, "A", is Isle Royale. The white line separates the U.S. from Canada



There are no bears on this island, and few other mammals save for snowshoe hair and fox, so this is always a welcome bonus for us, as we don’t have to worry about putting our food into the trees or bringing a bear canister.  It will also be refreshing to do a road trip closer to home for a change. That’s what I say now, but let’s hear what I have to say 10 hours later when we reach Grand Portage, MN (the upper NW corner of the state)! We’ll spend the night at a lodge and the next morning we’ll board a ferry for a 2-hour jaunt to Windigo at the western end of the island. We have a 5-day, 5-night backpacking route planned for the last week of August. By that time of year, the mosquitoes and black flies should be done, but it could still get quite hot or become stormy. Unlike the typical late-August weather of our beloved western mountains where it’s in the 70’s with blue skies and occasional clouds mid-day over high mountain peaks, the weather on a Lake Superior island is not as predictable. It’s been 7 years since we last stepped foot on Isle Royale, and it is likely this will be our last time – I’m hopeful it will redeem our Utah disappointments and create rosy final memories of a special wilderness.