Day 5: A parade of people!!

Today was such an awesome day....mainly thanks to all the great people who were out to help!!! We began at Gray's Lake Park with Alisa, Josh, James, Mary, Dave, Ed, and of course my lovely support crew which was now my MOM and Victoria. Tim was off to Reno for a conference, but I've been getting phone calls all day...i think he was a little nervous leaving me :)

Alisa is the best cheerleader in the world, so of course she had banners, signs, a mannequin with a crazy hat (??), chalk etc. You name it and she was ready! But the best part was just the company. Since Steve Flynn had to drop with a foot injury on day 2, i had run about 90 miles alone. Of course my lovely support crew was meeting me frequently, but there's nothing quite like having someone by your side :) I must say, I have enjoyed my time running along during much of the run. I've listened to music, sang out loud for miles, prayed, thanked everyone and everything i can think of one, meditated etc.....but during those times when it feels like someone is taking a bat to my knee....or during those times when the mileage just seems daunting....it really is nice to have someone to talk to.

I was expecting to start slow today with achy feet and painful IT bands as that as how the last couple of mornings went. But if this trip has taught me anything it is: let go of expectations! So, I began slowly, but within a half mile started running, and felt great! So, I primarily ran with an awesome parade of people on bikes. We chatted, laughed and had a great time! The first 20 miles flew by. At some point, I took a short break and the wind actually got me pretty chilled...which led to the IT bands cramping up. I'd sprawl out alongside the road and Mary Dix would massage my IT bands....she totally rocks! In the afternoon, I walked quite a bit. Honestly, my IT bands weren't as bad as the day before, and I probably could have run more, but after all this time, that steady pain is just getting tiring. Since I had the time today, I walked quite a bit of the last 12 miles. At this time Kelly and Dan from Decatur, Il joined me! Kelly and I went to grad school together, years ago in Ithaca, and we ran our first marathons together. It was so fitting to have her along for this grand adventure. Both Kelly and Dan were fantastic run/hiking buddies!!! I really cannot thank everyone today enough. Having company was so invaluable. I am just incredibly grateful for everyone's support. I know how hard it is to get away, not just for a couple of hours, but for a whole weekend! And everyone's support made this day go so much easier.

Now I am hanging out at a home in Newton. Bruce Thayer, one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, hooked me up with his brother's family in Newton. Not only are they sharing their home with us, but they've made dinner for us, have given me ice packs and been such gracious hosts. SO grateful for NEW friends.

At this point I am now half way done in terms of days, and over half way done in terms of miles. I am thinking that I've done about 180 miles, which leaves me about 135 to go....not so bad. I now have no days over 30 miles, and soon i will be running through my hometown!! I am so excited to see all my Iowa CIty people and hopefully get to run with my dogs some :) They have been my most consistent training buddies, so it only seems fitting that they come out for a bit. Tomorrow I'll have the opportunity to teach some yoga in Grinnell at Grinnell Heritage Farms. I am super excited!

Overall, a fantastic day full of much love and community. Again, I can't help but feel so grateful for this experience. So, despite the fact that my feet are huge, covered in blisters, my IT bands are about to burst etc....i really have it pretty good. I am running because I am free to run. I don't have to worry about food, shelter, and no one has ever tried to harm me. I have lived such a blessed life and I am so grateful for every moment in it that has brought me to this moment.

Day 3/4 Made it to Des Moines!

145 miles done! Yesterday day was so much better than the previous day....although I believe the roller coaster will continue. It is definitely something I've experienced on other endurance events, but this is just the longest one to date!

Yesterday I ran from Adair, IA Van Meter, Iowa. The morning was rough. Imagine running three marathons and then having to get psyched up for a 38 mile day. It didn't help, too, that I got off route a bit and added two miles to my route. Needless to say, the mornings have been daunting. I am so stiff and sore that it is almost impossible to run at first. I try to get psyched up to just walk, but with so much ground to cover, I am super anxious to run. It has been a lovely practice in patience. So, I practiced looking around at the mist lifting out of the valleys as the sun rose. I called upon spirit, ancestors, etc and tried to stay present. I began running miles in honor of different people who were suffering....practicing breathing in suffering and breathing out joy. Somewhere after about two hours, as the sun began to warm my legs, I started to run for real. And, I was running without pain. I continued really running like this for about the next 20 miles until I breaked for lunch. Such a lovely afternoon....the sun was so warm and beautiful!

Later that afternoon, Colin joined me! He drove all the way out from Iowa City to run/hike the last five miles with me. His timing was perfect! Once again, I went three miles further than I had originally planned bringing the days mileage to about 43.

I met up with Ed Fallon in Des Moines and he so graciously got as all settled in at the Catholic Worker house. I continued my evening routine....shower, eat, put legs up the wall and then sleep....this time with an added bonus of a leg massage from Colin!

Then I was up at 4:30 AM in an attempt to get 16 miles in before Yoga in the Park at Des Moines. We were on the road by 5AM....watching lightening in the distance as the sky turned in eerie pink/red color. A beautiful sun rise with thunderheads in the distance! Once again, my IT band was soooo painful, but I'm learning to just keep going anyway....as long as I am not doing any kind of permanent damage! About two hours into the run, the rain started....and then the lightening. At this point I knew Yoga in the Park was off, so I didn't have to rush :) I took a break when a lightening bolt seemed close, and then was blessed to meet up with my buddy Kelly for a cold, wet run into Gray's Lake. Once i started shivering, she actually gave me her own long sleeve shirt to go under my rain coat, leaving her in just a t-shirt! She rocks!

So, now here I sit in the market with Denny Kelly, founder of Yoga in the Park Des Moines, Theresa Opheim, director of Practical Farmers of Iowa, Alisa, Mary, Dave, Kelly, Dan, Victoria, Steve, and Tim! It is practically a party! I am so luck to be surrounded by all these great people. But, after only 4 hours of sleep last night, I am thinking I'll just take a little bit of a nap and hopefully gear up for tomorrow.

Happy Saturday to all!!

Day 2: A day of ups and downs

I am pretty sleepy right now, but I'll try to recap this roller coaster day....my emotional and physical state seemed to mirror the land that I was running on!

The morning was rough. My foot and my knee (IT band) hurt pretty bad and each step seemed so uncomfortable. But, I managed to alternate walking and jogging for about 17 miles into Atlantic. In fact, I started feeling pretty good and even enjoyed a little dancing along the way :) But somewhere around mile 20 everything changed. My IT band REALLY started to hurt...walking became difficult. The self talk started. Things like "Jeanelle, you are going to finish this even if you have to crawl" started going through my head as tears began to flow. I started to feel super emotional and couldn't believe that my knee as hurting this bad. Another mile or two later I stopped for lunch, and after some coaching from friends, I took 400 mg of Advil and hobbled off. At least now I could walk, so that's what I did. I hobbled/walked for the next 8 miles...still feeling super emotional and yet falling in love with the beauty of the country side. Somewhere around this time, some nice man called me on my cell to interview me. I don't even remember what news group it was....it took all I had to answer his questions without crying, so that might be an interesting news article, if I ever see it :)

Anyway, eventually I got to Anita, IA and had about 8 miles left. The walking was going okay but my trail shoes were starting to give me crazy blisters, so on a whim I switched by to the vibrams....and a miracle occurred! All my knee pain went away and I ran the next 8 miles, feeling better than I had all day! In fact, better than i even felt last night! I felt so good I went 3 more miles than planned. A blister popped near the end of the run, so I took my shoes off and jogged the last mile barefoot before deciding that might not be the smartest move and called it a day. But, I felt great! The sun was shining, birds were singing and the country side was gorgeous. All was right in the world again.

So many things today reminded me of my yoga practice and the idea of impermanence. In a yoga pose, I often practice staying with breath and letting sensation wash over me. In fact, I am always encouraging my yoga students to do just that...notice how sensation will rise and fall, emotions will come and go...into awareness and back out of awareness. That very much was part of my practice today. I don't know how many times asked myself "how am i right now?" and could always answer "okay". Much of my emotion was coming from worry about the future..."what if i can't finish?". Sure my knee hurt and walking was painful, but I was still walking. In time the sensation passed through, and spirit gifted me with an incredible evening. All in all I am so grateful for every experience, both the challenging and the easy. It truly is teaching me and opening my heart more to this moment.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring? My knee and foot feels better. I've got some blister issues, but hopefully those won't be too bad. Thirty Eight miles on tap for tomorrow, and then Saturday will be a short day....with Yoga in the Park in Des Moines!

Love to all.

Windy and WIld First Day!!

What an amazing way to start the trip!! We started with a quick splash in the Missouri River...we thought about swimming half of it, but decided with the flooding that it would be a bad idea :) The first 20 miles flew by, as Steve Flynn and I caught up on about a years worth of chatting. Actually, chatting sounds so superficial. Truly the conversation was quite lovely and heartfelt as we discussed a whole range of topics about life.

Around 20 I started to feel an achy IT band and an achy foot, but my energy was high! It was strange. I expected to feel tired and maybe struggle with motivation, as that has happened in previous long runs. I was really surpirsed to feel aches and pains at that point.

We met up with Tim and Victoria for a picnic lunch in the middle of nowhere Iowa...yummy food from the New Pioneer co-op with a single Advil for dessert. The delicious lunch and a little rest was just what we needed. Who would have thought that on the first day of summer, we would be waering sweatshirts, long pants and huddling in the car to stay warm. A perfect day for running! A little mist with a crazy strong westerly wind to gently push us eastward. The rest of the afternoon flew by as well! My favorite part was a remote area in Iowa, perhaps about 25-35 miles into the trip. We were on gravel roads, b-maintenance roads which became impassable, so eventually we ended up walking a railroad track. Gorgeous scenery!!! And that wind!!! At around mile 30 I walked to the top of the hill, let out a couple of yells and enjoyed standing in the wild, amazing countryside! So beautiful.

Around this time, we had the luck of chatting with a local farmer who raises what I call "nicely cared for" pigs. He was so supportive of our run, and super enthusiastic. WHat a nice surprise!

Upin arrving at Hancock, we felt so good that we decided to go 3 extra miles with that lovely wind at our back. After a total of 41 miles, we are in a hotel in Atlantic, IA and I am ready to sit, eat, and go to bed!! So thankful for a glorious day, this amazing mother earth, the wild and windy sky and of course, the support of some many amazing people.

Love to all.

Good times in Omaha!

After a bit of running around and packing, we leisurely left Iowa City, right on time! The ride to Omaha was easy....as usual, I sang and "danced" for most of the four hour car ride. Steve Flynn met us at the Lotus House of Yoga and we all had a great time with the Omaha yoga crew!! Mary Clare was the best yoga hostess ever and I very much enjoyed teaching the evening class....such a beautiful community! After yoga we headed out to Silver Plume for dinner...the "greenest" restaurant in the country, known for its local food. super yummy! if you are ever in Omaha, definitely check the out!

And, now, i am packed and ready to go for tomorrow. Looks like we'll get about 5 hours of sleep before heading out. Kind of feels like I'm adventure racing.

So, how I am I feeling? well, super emotional all day....but in a good way! So grateful to have this opportunity to honor my ancestors, celebrate life, and just be outside on my feet all day long! Every so often doubt creeps in and I remind myself to take it one day at a time and to just be here now. Off to sleep...big day tomorrow :)

L.O.V.E run adventure starts tomorrow!

My first attempt at blogging....I never really thought that this is something I would try, but several people have asked for updates as I run across the state...so here goes!

As many of you know I am running across Iowa in honor of my great grandfather's epic spirit. In 1897 he walked around the world on a bet... Of course, my ancestor would find a way to make a living by doing crazy stunts. He lost an arm while working in a factory as a kid, so he couldn't do the average type of work. Instead, he started doing things like jumping off bridges, walking across states, across the country and eventually around the world. Ironically enough, it took him too long to walk around the world, so he didn't even win the bet. I guess he got caught up in several wars and was help prisoner in Turkey for a while, which could slow a person down!

As many of you also know, i am incredibly passionate about yoga! I couldn't help but take this opportunity to share the joy of yoga as I go. I'm really looking forward to doing a little teaching as I run across the state. Yoga has truly helped me connect back to my heart and has given me tools to move into and through fear. For years anxiety used to be a huge factor in my life. I suffered from panic attacks and fear definitely was limiting my life experience. Thanks to the gift of yoga and other mindful practices, I've found the courage to keep on doing the things that scare me most. As I stay present in fearful situations, the fear melts away and on the other side of fear I've found freedom and love. I truly believe that when people can move out of fear and into love then compassion for all beings will arise.

I'll also be using this whole adventure as a way to raise awareness for the benefit of local food and to fund raise for Practical Farmers of Iowa and Slow Food USA. I am so desperately in love with this planet, and I am always seeking ways to help support this earth. I really appreciate the work that these two organizations are doing to help support a more sustainable food industry. Can you believe that here in the Heartland, with some of the most fertile soil around, the average food travels 1500 miles to reach our plate? There must be better ways!

So, that's the background. Now, I am frantically organizing, packing, and trying to not forget things. I have so much anticipation for this journey and am trying to just go back to my yoga practice of breathing and staying present. I am so ready to just start running! I am really looking forward to seeing the whole state on foot, meeting new people, and spending more time with those who will be on the adventure with me. One key perosn on my journey is my buddy, Steve Flynn, who is going to run the whole thing with me! I couldn't be happier! We were camp counselors at a YMCA camp 15 years ago...and would spend our free time running around the camp lake. We'll see how well those 4 mile runs prepared us for this big adventure :)

I'll do my best to write every day and post pictures! For now, I better get back to packing...and breathing...and loving life!