Center of the Nation Series day 5: Nebraska

Day 5: Chadron, Nebraska. 

Two words: So. Hard. 

Woke up a few times in the night to terrible storms -- gusting wind and torrential rain. By the morning it seemed it might just clear up, but the weather here on the Plains seems to shift so quickly. 

Today's course had a long stretch of grass in it -- we had gotten a hint of this yesterday, so I wore my ASR GTX and Wil wore his Cascadias. Both of us knew we had made the right decision!

We bundled up in our Gore-Tex jackets, as did many of our fellow runners. Some of us even had plastic ponchos or garbage bags. 

Clint gave the race talk -- only 8 laps today, which just seems "easier". We were all pretty chatty this morning. I think everyone is getting a little giddy. 

We had three new half marathoners with us -- a mom and two little girls. Their dad had been running all week. These girls were faaaaaast! 

It was drizzling as we set off for our first lap. Out on park roads, onto a mown grass path, across a little bridge, farther along the path, and then out along more park roads to the turnaround. 

I'm not gonna lie, this bridge made me nervous EVERY TIME I CROSSED IT. 

The grass was slippery, a bit uneven, and I couldn't run on it. So we ran to the path, walked the path, and then ran on the roads. 

Ah, blessed pavement. 

At the end of the first lap, we both dropped our gore-tex off in our bag. Which of course made the heavens open up again and drench us about a third of the way along lap two. 

We picked up our coats for the third lap... Which of course meant it stopped raining!!

Food highlight: Norm made vegetarian chili mac. Manna from heaven!

We were super happy to be done. We even had time to go back to our suite to get cleaned up. 

Then on the road, where our first stop was Carhenge. 

Which was the site of today's plank. Of course. 

Plankhenge

We stopped in at the Alliance Dairy Queen for, surprisingly enough, the FIRST Blizzard of the trip. 

Then on to Chimney Rock, AKA the "Elk's Penis". No, really. Luckily, no rattlesnakes. 

Then to odd little Sterling Colorado, where we checked into our nice room at the Sundowner, then went into town for a wander around. Main Street is very cute, with public art, pretty buildings, and ... tomorrow is the start of SUGAR BEET DAYS. 

Wil, to woman in a craft booth, with his best English accent: "What's happening here?"

Woman: "We're getting set up for tomorrow... It's Sugar Beet Days."

Wil: "What's that?"

Woman: "Well, it's... SUGAR BEET DAYS."

Tomorrow is DAY SIX. Can't believe it.  

Center of the Nation Series day 4: Wyoming

Day 4: Sundance, Wyoming. 

Slept reasonably well in our Kabin... But Wil had to get up and close the window because it had gotten very cold. So cold that I didn't think it really was all that cold outside, since it had been that cold inside. Still, I swapped the planned shorts for tights and was happy I did. 

We left the campground in the dark, nosing slowly through a gauntlet of fearless deer before getting on the highway. Even on the highway, however, we were worried about deer, so moved along slowly. 

We arrived in Sundance with only 10 minutes to spare, parking waaaaaaay at the end of the field and hurrying to the starting area just in time to hear the race talk. 

The course was another double-out-and-back, and we had 10 laps to do. This really did my head in a bit -- made the day seem longer. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

The course was laid out around some fairgrounds: back and forth between barns and a lake and a camping area. The lake was especially gorgeous as the sun was coming up!

My legs were feeling really tired, and a lot of the course was on rough gravel, which meant I had to be very careful with my steps. So though I had hoped to be a bit faster and run more today, I had to go slowly. 

We had a lot of new faces today, including a woman running her first half marathon. 

Another highlight: today Norm made breakfast pasta with mushrooms and veggies and some egg. Really nice and hot -- especially since we hadn't had breakfast!

Lots of cheering today; apparently Nads earned his Titanium level in Marathon Maniacs. Very nice!

At the end of the race I had sore feet and a fistful of rubber bands. 

We knew that we wouldn't go back to the campground to shower after the race, so we figured we would just be stinky all day. BUT it turns out that the fairgrounds had showers -- HOT showers  -- so after our run we had a chance to get cleaned up before heading on our way. 

We drove southeast and when I saw this, of course, I burst into tears...

It is still so grand, so magnificent, it absolutely silences all cynicism. Well, until I saw this sign anyway: 

(Who knew Jefferson was an ice cream man?)

Of course, had to capture today's plank. My how the people stare....

Mount Plankmore

We then headed in, stopping in Custer for a great lunch at the Black Hills Burger and Bun Co., where I had SALAD (mixed greens!!!) as the side for my delicious "Lousy Hunter" black bean burger. 

We went through Wind Cave -- well, to the visitor's center -- but a combination of timing (wait 45 min for the next 75 min tour) and energy (300 steps down?) meant we gave it a miss. 

Then down to Hot Springs, SD, where our timing was better and we jumped on to a guided tour of the dig site as we walked in. Very cool to see so many mammoth bones! 

Then on to Chadron, where we checked into our palatial room (oh, that's right, I booked the room with the jetted tub!)  before going in search of a drink and some dinner. 

Downtown Chadron is ADORABLE, from is brick storefronts to its 70's-clad Eagle cinema WITH THREE SCREENS. I managed to talk Wil out of seeing Straight Outta Compton... 

Stopped in at the 76 Longbranch Saloon inside the Old Main Street Inn, which was gorgeous -- a perfect time capsule of a bar. We chatted with the lovely owner and nosed around the place. The owner was sad because she didn't think her kids wanted to take the place over, and Wil and I both had that fleeting "what if we sold up and moved out here and took the place over?" moment, before realizing that all seemed way too hard.  

Picked up takeout at the local Chinese restaurant, which was strangely mild, then ate it on our fancy couch in the living room of our suite, while watching the Broncos game. I also had a long soak in the giant jetted tub. Bliss, and a perfect night! 

Center of the Nation Series day 3: South Dakota

Day 3: Belle Fourche, South Dakota

I feel like I *might* be getting the hang of this. We stayed at the Belle Fourche AmericInn, which had amazingly friendly staff, spotlessly clean rooms, and a fantastic breakfast. How fantastic? Well, they had an omelette machine. Mind. Blown. And they had a waffle machine, which always makes Wil so happy.

Then to the start, just a mile. or so away, behind the visitor's center and ... THE CENTER OF THE NATION MONUMENT. 

Today's course was a double out-and-back, which broke up the laps nicely. The big aid station / rubber band stop was in the middle(ish). 

Clint gave the pre-race talk; we had a few first-time half marathoners with us, which was fun. 

That said, it's also been fun to get familiar with our fellow runners. I especially like the end of each race, where everyone says "See you tomorrow!"  It's like a weird family. 

We started off at the top of the hill, for fun, then ran out along the Belle Fourche River, into a neighborhood behind the levee, then back past the start, and then out a little way in the other direction. Then pick up a rubber band, say hi to the crew, and do it again. 

Today had 6 laps, so we decided to run three and a bit... and then walk. A few injured folks, unfortunately, but most everyone we expected to see was there. 

The course was super pretty:

Nice highlight: Leanne ("Leanimal") reached the Sun by completing her 52nd half marathon in 365 days. She ran her last lap holding yellow streamers. Awesome!

After the race we visited the monument to take a few photos:

And then we headed west into Wyoming. Our first stop was Sundance, where we  stopped in for a drink at the Dime Horseshoe Bar ("home of the burnout during Rally"):

Happily fell "victim" to this:

Visited with a famous former resident:

Plank Delaney and the Sundance Kid

And figured out how long it would take us to get to the start from our campsite the next morning. 

Then, this:

What can I say about Devils Tower except that Wil loves it because, on our first road trip in 2005, he still thought it wasn't real. So of course we went to visit the tower and walk around it. 

We then checked into our Kamping Kabin at the Devils Tower KOA -- adorable:

Then a fantastic dinner at the Devils Tower View cafe (great pie!!!), where we happily sat out a storm squall, and then back to the campground, where we amused ourselves by stalking a flock of wild turkeys

Doing a #bonusplank

And watching Close Encounters  while sitting at the base of the tower. 

In bed by 9 -- halfway done!