Iowa! Who knew how beautiful Iowa was?! And who knew Iowa was not flat?! The Driftless half marathon claims to be one of the most scenic courses you will run and I put them to the test being my State 49 and 103 half marathon! This is another race that had been on my list since before breaking my ankle in 2018 so I was excited to finally do it! It would be my 2nd to last State and my 4th weekend in a row of running a half marathon.
I always imagined Iowa as flat prairie farmland. Little did I know there are actual hills and bluffs and rivers and lakes to break it all up. The farmlands alone were actually quite beautiful themselves, but add in the Fall colors of the leaves and it made for a really surprising and stunning landscape that I was not expecting. By the end of the weekend, I even found myself saying I could possibly live there.
Flights to Iowa from Florida are not cheap and neither are the car rentals which of all the 50 states, Iowa was among the most expensive. I arrived at night, had one full day to explore, run the next day and then fly out after the race, trying to save money. I flew into Cedar Rapids and ended up staying about an hour away from the race start just because I couldn't find anything unique enough for this to be my 2nd to last state! ....I mean, what compares to staying on an old farm grain bin while in farmland state Iowa?! I thoroughly was not disappointed in the experience of the Airbnb nor in driving along the farmlands on the east side of Iowa, but as I finished the race and rushed straight to the airport, I wish I had planned at least one night in Lansing (the finish area) to celebrate. All of the small towns in fact impressed me. They were fun to walk and explore the shops, restaurants, and people. Maybe I'm realizing I'm more of a small-town farm gal after all.
My Airbnb was near the Field of Dreams complex where the movie takes place. What is more appropriate than wrapping up your 50 state goal with a Field of Dreams? It was pretty cool to see and tour the property and learn facts about the current owners, the original land owner/farmer and the movie itself. You could even play ball on the actual field, sit in the actual stands, or porch swing, and walk into the actual cornfields. What made it extra cool is my flight home from New Hampshire the week prior was actually playing this movie! Unfortunately, (or maybe fortunately for baseball players) they will be undertaking a huge project adding extra fields and a hotel for practice and games. They said it's not going to be a tourist trap, but I have doubts. It definitely will not have the small-town farm in the middle of nowhere feel it has now.
After exploring the Field of Dreams site and washing down the largest pretzel (with bacon n cheese) I had ever seen in my life with a corn brewed lager at a local brew pub, I circled around to Pikes Peak State Park which overlooks the Mississippi River with short trails to hike. It was a beautiful Fall day with the leaves changing colors and nice cool temps!
Sun sets early in the Fall in Iowa so I made sure I found my way back to the Airbnb to take in a sunset bonfire where a curious deer walked straight up and joined me! What, a bear the week prior joined me in the backyard in NH, and now a deer in IA!
It was almost a full moon, so it was pretty amazing to lay in bed and see the moon set from the picturesque large windows as I was waking up for the race!
The drive in the pitch dark to race start is not suggested with deer, racoon, and skunk that frequent the dark streets which added extra time as I drove slower.
Thankfully small town races come with friendly people so the conversation kept the time moving! It was an "explain the directions and then 1 2 3 Go" type of start. I put myself in the back not knowing how I would feel after 3 races the prior 3 weeks. My body felt alright but I knew there would be inclines to deal with. And with the cold, I didn't know how quickly my muscles would tighten up. It didn't help the race directors final words as we were lining up were "sorry" for how difficult the course was going to be. She may have gotten into my head a little.
Surprisingly my first mile came quick and super fast but then I realized the rest of the course my laps were off from the course signs, so I knew my gps wasn't calculating properly. Didnt matter, this was a matter of survival for this race!
The first part of the course went on a gravel road along the water. It was a foggy cold morning which made for a beautiful sunrise but what was even more beautiful was the constant raining of the fall leaves. We were constantly being showered with beautifully bright red yellow and orange leaves. Because we were on back roads and it was early, it was super quiet. All you could hear was our steps on the gravel, our breath, some distant geese calling, and if you listened closely enough, the leaves falling. You could actually hear the leaves fall. It probably was one of the most magical running experiences I felt.
As I was embracing the magical Fall moment, I suddenly realized I was running down 'gravel' hills without a panic in my chest. Since falling and breaking my ankle in 2018, sometimes I can't even walk my slanted driveway, much less run a decline, without a flashback of falling. It made me feel like I finally was making some progress.
You wont find spectators on this course; barely a volunteer to pass out water. There maybe was one photographer with a phone camera. The only people you will see are the couple that may be out taking their morning walk or out on their driveway getting their newspaper.
After the run through the woods, we were on a somewhat main road but not a lot of traffic. The rolling hills continued the entire course. I really thought the description had mentioned just one tough area, so every time I conquered a hill, I thought "ok, its gonna be okay from here" and then another hill would come. Being a small race, and not being a strong hill runner, I was alone most of the course. There was a point I got to chat with someone while battling a hill; we encouraged each other and continued on our own ways. It reminded me how much I love races and runners. It is the most friendly of people that you will ever meet in life. Complete strangers willing to give you words of encouragement in your most challenging times.
I don't know if I was becoming delirious from the back to back race weekends, the challenging hills, the freezing cold, or if I was just bored from being mostly alone on the hilly course, but my mind started interviewing my shadow for most of the middle section of the course. I really like when I have runs where I am racing my shadow; sometimes its a friendly competition, other times its a visual reminder of how strong I actually am. I found it really entertaining because I was actually answering my questions and reminiscing the past 12years of my 50 state journey. It was a very surreal moment realizing I only had one more half marathon to run after this one. How is that even possible. Its difficult sometimes to sit back and reflect on it all and realize I just did that. This race was the perfect time to do so.
As I was doing my own interview, I also kept coming across discarded items on the side of the road that reminded me of Dad.....his old black work gloves, Busch beer cans, a pack of Marlboros, even a man that looked just like him walked right passed me out of nowhere. All the signs, including the deer from the night before, just showed me that I was not alone after all. Dad had always kept telling me I better finish the mission. Not that I ever was 'not' going to, but knowing how much he wanted to see me finish and knowing the world kept me from completing it while he was still alive makes it hard.
The Finish line is right near the Black Hawk bridge that crosses over the Mississippi River into Iowa which you see for the last few miles. Bridges and piers, I have come to learn over the years, are deceiving as you think they are much closer than they are. I'm pretty sure the last couple of miles were the most difficult because of this mind trick. Or maybe it was the past 4 weekends catching up with me. Ive done challenges before, but never 4 weekends in a row. I really had no one around me as I finished those last couple of miles.
Even my Finish Line picture, you can see it looks like I ran a race all alone or came in last even though i did not. The expression on my face is priceless though, showing the pure exhaustion of doing 4 half marathons in 4 weekends with the most challenging being the last one, but also feeling that pride of accomplishment! And then there was Just One race left.
The finish line was at the fire station where we parked to take the shuttle. They had a volunteer group providing a hot pancake breakfast for a donation. It was probably one of the best breakfasts I had at a race (because I was that exhausted). I got to chat with one of the hosts who was trying to track down the race director because she was so excited to talk to me about my story. It was really nice to have someone be so excited for me in a moment of my weakness and being alone.
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