Kevin Radel and I decided to meet up with Jason while he was in the Madison area. We both wanted a long run, so we went up towards Lodi to catch up with Jason and Timo, who started at about 6:30...
We missed them at the first connector (they were too fast), so we headed to the next connector about 1.6 miles away. We hooked up with them about 10:00 am just North of Lodi. Today was a day with a lot of roads and very little trail. Jason runs faster on roads, but it's harder on the body in some ways.
Jason was moving pretty good when we caught him, and kept moving all day. He spends very little time with Tom at the stops, but is happy to chat and pass the time as long as you can keep up with him. We met up with Dave Sarocka South of Lodi at the edge of the Lodi marsh area and we all ran to the East Lodi Marsh trail together. It was nice to have us all there, and Jason was moving well and strong. Dave stopped after this trail section, but crewed for Kevin and I all day. Thank you Dave!!
Timo stopped at one of the Lodi marsh trails connectors, and Jason, Kevin and I continued to Indian Lake on roads. This 11.9 section of road was long, but we moved steady and well. If you ever run with Jason, be prepared to maintain a good pace. His walking pace uphill is strong and fast, and you will not be taking it easy. We made good time, and Jason said his legs were feeling really good today, Now realize that really good means every step wasn't agony. He still feels pain, but it was less than it had been.
At Indian Lake we picked up Ann Heaslett and continued on to Cross Plains. It was great to have Ann with us with her cheerful smile and chatter. This section was mostly road, but we also ran a 2.9 mile (about) section of trail just outside Cross Plains that was welcome and a pleasure to run. After the trail section, we ran into Cross Plains on Highway 14 which wasn't nearly as pleasant. At that point, after running 0ver 45 miles Jason ran around Cross Plains (with me dragging behind) looking for 1/2 mile of Ice Age trail that he wanted to run before he could call it a day. He finally found it, and ran until the trail ran out. Jason finished his 48 mile day strongly, with a smile and said he had a really good day.
We had a good day too, and enjoyed being a small part of his Ice Age adventure. Jason and Tom met all of us for dinner, and Roy Pirrhumg (sp) even made a special appearance. Others are expected to run with Jason tomorrow and I'm glad to hear that, as I need to recover now!
Brenda
