When COVID-19 hit, I needed to do something when the world was falling apart. When the lockdown happened in India, I took to the campus, running laps around the Tiger Turf. Run, turn left, repeat, about a billion times. I was running 5-8 miles on that small, rectangular field, begging for an overuse injury. But on that first run I got the idea in my head to do a marathon on campus - that's about 943 left turns on the turf. Unfortunately (or a big blessing), we took an evacuation flight out of the country that week and repatriated to the USA for the duration. My Two Hearted Marathon (that I missed last year due to the ankle injury) was canceled. Disappointed, I needed a new goal.
Dinking around on Google Maps, I found a trail that I have crossed over and back in the car or a bike every time I went to Big Rapids. Four years of owning this house and I had no idea there was a great trail 15 minutes from me. The White Pine Trail is a 92.2 mile, former railroad track-turned trail, that runs from Walker, MI (Grand Rapids) to Cadillac, MI. It is the longest such trail in Michigan and a state park the entire way (perhaps one of the most narrow state parks in the country!). The trail is relatively wooded, oscillates between paved and dirt sections, and passes through about 10 quaint towns. People run, bike, snowmobile, and ride horses on it. With it right there, I had to run it. Due to my recent disastrous history with ultra events (see pretty much every endurance story I have written in the past 7 years), I quickly pushed out the idea of running it straight through. But why not run the whole thing in segments? My journey had begun.
Since coming back to the US, I had been getting back in running shape. I bumped the miles up, did a 20 miler (which I didn't even do in prep for my fall or winter marathons), and worked up to 60-70 miles per week. I ended a 20 miler with a 6:30 mile. But my best day was the day after I did a 13 miler. Three days before I had slipped a disc in my back helping a friend move junk and was in major pain. I then headed out for my run which was going to be a double run; instead, I did the 13 miles straight in about 7:20/mi. I felt great, so when I had 12 miles more the next day, I was pumped. The route was partially on dirt roads and was very hilly, but I was flying. My last 6 miles were under 7:00/mi and my last 5K in about 20:20 or so, and I was still holding back. The next week I did 5 straight days (14, 12, 13, 10, 10.5) of double digits, all in single runs. I then ended the week poorly with many days on the boat, in the sun, staying up late, and celebrating too much with end-of-year goodbyes. I spent Memorial Day eating brats and tater tots. It was not ideal. Tuesday-Sunday I had 100 miles to run, and for 5 days I would be on the White Pine Trail.
Day 1: Comstock Park to Sand Lake
21.5 miles
3:00:59 (8:25/mi)
Start 6:25am
I arrived at the non-descript trailhead as dawn was breaking. Today was the hottest day of the year so far, and it was a steamy start. I wandered off, feeling very clunky wearing a vest after not using one since the Grand Canyon. I started very slow, cautious not to run too fast too early. Sweat was dripping in the first few moments, and I was soaked by mile 3. Soon after the start, I merged with the true WP trail, having run about a half a mile farther to get there. The trail is mostly flat so there was not much variation, and on I went passing runners and cyclists. I felt better by 8 miles or so and drank about 40oz of water during the run. It wasn't enough. I was goosed in sweat on my first day of a big week, and I knew that would factor in. My feet hurt (all the pavement?) from mile 16 on, and although my time dropped a lot by the end, I was very determined not to run faster with 4 more days left of big runs on this trail.
Day 2: Sand Lake to Stanwood
20.4 miles
2:52:07 (8:27/mi)
Start 6:32am
I was really worried about today, fearing not being able to recover from the first day. But right out the door, I felt better than I thought and even had to put the breaks on early to keep in smart. I saw so many people on the trail yesterday but today I saw just 3 the entire time. It was super humid again and everything seemed to roll on well for a while. But I started to feel cruddy around 12 and bad by 16. The last 4 miles were a huge struggle as I felt really empty and had a sour stomach. Upon finishing, I was pretty spent and struggled most of the afternoon trying to re-hydrate. Temps crept toward 90 again. It was 17 degrees hotter than the historical average for the day and 26 degrees hotter than the same day a week earlier. I picked the wrong window for this run.
Day 3: Stanwood to Paris
16 miles
2:21:04 (8:47/mi)
Humidity: 94%
No. of people I saw on the trail: 3 (1 cyclist, 1 runner, 1 dog walker)
Start: 6:24am
Recovery yesterday was a problem. I couldn't hydrate well, had no appetite, and was very sore. Today started poorly and continued throughout. It was stinking wet out there (with blue skies) and I stumbled from the start. My slowest mile yet was my first one and although I got it back together, I needed multiple walk breaks to get keep from shutting down. I pushed an extra mile on the trail today (to limit tomorrow's distance) and I paid for it dearly. At the finish, I hunched over and threw up. I was dripping with sweat just standing there. The rest of the day was uncomfortable, stomach off, with a splitting headache. My face was ashen and sunk in. My body was not handling the humidity and I was hurting. I feared not being able to finish this journey.
Day 4: Paris to LeRoy
19.34 miles
2:51:47 (8:53/mi)
# of people I saw on the trail: 1 cyclist (in the final quarter-mile)
Start: 7:37am
Amazing what a good night's rest can do. I awoke with less of headache and pain in my legs than I had in the previous 36 hours. I got a later start owing to the cooler temps and further away starting point. Rain greeted me early and held for more than an hour, ranging from drizzle to pouring. The humidity stayed high but the temps were much lower than previous days which helped. I never felt good but even though today was rough, I never felt worse than I did yesterday or in the final miles of day 2. I managed 10 miles of consistent running before taking a walk break and then did 2-3 miles after that with a brief (~1 min) walk. Every half mile felt like 2 full ones, and my pace slipped low even though I felt like I was running faster. I arrived in LeRoy short of distance but the trail broke away from the road and I ended up getting picked up 1.1 miles further down than anticipated. Feeling much better than yesterday, going the extra mile did hurt a bit. But I came home and had a better day than any other, going for a boat ride, doing some dishes after grilling, and a short bike ride. It was my first functional afternoon of the week. I am looking forward to finishing this trail.
Day 5: LeRoy to Cadillac
15 miles
2:02:54 (8:11/mi)
# of people on the trail: 20+
Start: 8:39am
The dawn was crisp, 40 degrees cooler than this week's high, and humidity much lower. It was the perfect recipe for the final day. I had 15 miles of trail left, my shortest day, due to going a bit longer on each of the two previous days. I huffed off, making good time on the trail, but not feeling great in the legs; my IT bands were tight and I felt like I was limping a bit. But my pace was good, and I kept on down the trail, determined to finish this challenge off. I felt better as time went on and soon I was cruising. With a few miles to go, I let go of the worry and cruised, dropping the miles below the 8 min mark. I arrived in Cadillac to an anticlimatic trail finish - the wide path ended at a road and a sidewalk continued around the lake. Neither had a trail marker and the 91st wooded mile marker I had seen was nearly two miles ago (and I knew the trail was 92.2 miles by reports). That about sums it up: an anticlimactic finish for an anticlimatic trail. Paved nearly all the way with almost no turns, there are many better trails, but this one was a good challenge to take on. I felt brilliant afterward, buoyed by the finishing speed and the culmination of 5 days and nearly 100 miles of running. We ordered food for take-away and ate by the lake, chilly in the wind.
And because we like round numbers, I did a nice 7.8 mile run on Sunday to make it 100 miles for the week. I finished the last mile with my girls running with me. In 6 days, I had run more than I have ever run in a week (excluding the week of a 100-mile race). It was very difficult, but not because I couldn't handle the distance. My body was used to bouncing back from 15 mile runs in 7:30/mi pace like a snap and I was feeling the best I have felt, maybe ever. The humidity to start (3 straight days of 90% or more humidity) left me empty, dehydrated and trashed. My body doesn't respond - water doesn't go in or stay in. I deteriorated. The last two days of the trail (when I already had about 60 miles beneath me) were much better because the weather improved. If I had this good weather all week I may have been able to do it much faster, or if I did this trail over 6 or 7 days I would have flown. Then again, if the humidity stayed, I may not have finished, or worse. So, silver linings...
My motivation stemmed from several sources: I kicked it off with David Goggins' Can't Hurt Me, an inspiring story about from the hardest man alive. I re-read Running with the Buffaloes, Once a Runner, and Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. I watched movies like Remember the Titans, Lone Survivor, as well as some of Armstrong's races. If I choose to suffer, it really helps to remember what others have gone through. I wanted to see if I could do it. Why I don't think the body wants the long ultras anymore, I know it has the potential to do more.
Dinking around on Google Maps, I found a trail that I have crossed over and back in the car or a bike every time I went to Big Rapids. Four years of owning this house and I had no idea there was a great trail 15 minutes from me. The White Pine Trail is a 92.2 mile, former railroad track-turned trail, that runs from Walker, MI (Grand Rapids) to Cadillac, MI. It is the longest such trail in Michigan and a state park the entire way (perhaps one of the most narrow state parks in the country!). The trail is relatively wooded, oscillates between paved and dirt sections, and passes through about 10 quaint towns. People run, bike, snowmobile, and ride horses on it. With it right there, I had to run it. Due to my recent disastrous history with ultra events (see pretty much every endurance story I have written in the past 7 years), I quickly pushed out the idea of running it straight through. But why not run the whole thing in segments? My journey had begun.
Since coming back to the US, I had been getting back in running shape. I bumped the miles up, did a 20 miler (which I didn't even do in prep for my fall or winter marathons), and worked up to 60-70 miles per week. I ended a 20 miler with a 6:30 mile. But my best day was the day after I did a 13 miler. Three days before I had slipped a disc in my back helping a friend move junk and was in major pain. I then headed out for my run which was going to be a double run; instead, I did the 13 miles straight in about 7:20/mi. I felt great, so when I had 12 miles more the next day, I was pumped. The route was partially on dirt roads and was very hilly, but I was flying. My last 6 miles were under 7:00/mi and my last 5K in about 20:20 or so, and I was still holding back. The next week I did 5 straight days (14, 12, 13, 10, 10.5) of double digits, all in single runs. I then ended the week poorly with many days on the boat, in the sun, staying up late, and celebrating too much with end-of-year goodbyes. I spent Memorial Day eating brats and tater tots. It was not ideal. Tuesday-Sunday I had 100 miles to run, and for 5 days I would be on the White Pine Trail.
Day 1: Comstock Park to Sand Lake
21.5 miles
3:00:59 (8:25/mi)
Start 6:25am
I arrived at the non-descript trailhead as dawn was breaking. Today was the hottest day of the year so far, and it was a steamy start. I wandered off, feeling very clunky wearing a vest after not using one since the Grand Canyon. I started very slow, cautious not to run too fast too early. Sweat was dripping in the first few moments, and I was soaked by mile 3. Soon after the start, I merged with the true WP trail, having run about a half a mile farther to get there. The trail is mostly flat so there was not much variation, and on I went passing runners and cyclists. I felt better by 8 miles or so and drank about 40oz of water during the run. It wasn't enough. I was goosed in sweat on my first day of a big week, and I knew that would factor in. My feet hurt (all the pavement?) from mile 16 on, and although my time dropped a lot by the end, I was very determined not to run faster with 4 more days left of big runs on this trail.
 |
| Start of the trail |
 |
| finishing up with the girls 21.5 miles later |
 |
| Leg 1 is done |
Day 2: Sand Lake to Stanwood
20.4 miles
2:52:07 (8:27/mi)
Start 6:32am
I was really worried about today, fearing not being able to recover from the first day. But right out the door, I felt better than I thought and even had to put the breaks on early to keep in smart. I saw so many people on the trail yesterday but today I saw just 3 the entire time. It was super humid again and everything seemed to roll on well for a while. But I started to feel cruddy around 12 and bad by 16. The last 4 miles were a huge struggle as I felt really empty and had a sour stomach. Upon finishing, I was pretty spent and struggled most of the afternoon trying to re-hydrate. Temps crept toward 90 again. It was 17 degrees hotter than the historical average for the day and 26 degrees hotter than the same day a week earlier. I picked the wrong window for this run.
 |
| Start of leg 2 |
 |
| A rough finish |
 |
| Hurting bad after 20 more miles in the humidity |
Day 3: Stanwood to Paris
16 miles
2:21:04 (8:47/mi)
Humidity: 94%
No. of people I saw on the trail: 3 (1 cyclist, 1 runner, 1 dog walker)
Start: 6:24am
Recovery yesterday was a problem. I couldn't hydrate well, had no appetite, and was very sore. Today started poorly and continued throughout. It was stinking wet out there (with blue skies) and I stumbled from the start. My slowest mile yet was my first one and although I got it back together, I needed multiple walk breaks to get keep from shutting down. I pushed an extra mile on the trail today (to limit tomorrow's distance) and I paid for it dearly. At the finish, I hunched over and threw up. I was dripping with sweat just standing there. The rest of the day was uncomfortable, stomach off, with a splitting headache. My face was ashen and sunk in. My body was not handling the humidity and I was hurting. I feared not being able to finish this journey.
 |
| Not excited for leg 3 |
 |
| Post vomit at the end, very done and dusted |
19.34 miles
2:51:47 (8:53/mi)
# of people I saw on the trail: 1 cyclist (in the final quarter-mile)
Start: 7:37am
Amazing what a good night's rest can do. I awoke with less of headache and pain in my legs than I had in the previous 36 hours. I got a later start owing to the cooler temps and further away starting point. Rain greeted me early and held for more than an hour, ranging from drizzle to pouring. The humidity stayed high but the temps were much lower than previous days which helped. I never felt good but even though today was rough, I never felt worse than I did yesterday or in the final miles of day 2. I managed 10 miles of consistent running before taking a walk break and then did 2-3 miles after that with a brief (~1 min) walk. Every half mile felt like 2 full ones, and my pace slipped low even though I felt like I was running faster. I arrived in LeRoy short of distance but the trail broke away from the road and I ended up getting picked up 1.1 miles further down than anticipated. Feeling much better than yesterday, going the extra mile did hurt a bit. But I came home and had a better day than any other, going for a boat ride, doing some dishes after grilling, and a short bike ride. It was my first functional afternoon of the week. I am looking forward to finishing this trail.
 |
| Start of leg 4, ready to rock |
 |
| Finishing up well with Kaze |
 |
| 4 down, 1 to go |
Day 5: LeRoy to Cadillac
15 miles
2:02:54 (8:11/mi)
# of people on the trail: 20+
Start: 8:39am
The dawn was crisp, 40 degrees cooler than this week's high, and humidity much lower. It was the perfect recipe for the final day. I had 15 miles of trail left, my shortest day, due to going a bit longer on each of the two previous days. I huffed off, making good time on the trail, but not feeling great in the legs; my IT bands were tight and I felt like I was limping a bit. But my pace was good, and I kept on down the trail, determined to finish this challenge off. I felt better as time went on and soon I was cruising. With a few miles to go, I let go of the worry and cruised, dropping the miles below the 8 min mark. I arrived in Cadillac to an anticlimatic trail finish - the wide path ended at a road and a sidewalk continued around the lake. Neither had a trail marker and the 91st wooded mile marker I had seen was nearly two miles ago (and I knew the trail was 92.2 miles by reports). That about sums it up: an anticlimactic finish for an anticlimatic trail. Paved nearly all the way with almost no turns, there are many better trails, but this one was a good challenge to take on. I felt brilliant afterward, buoyed by the finishing speed and the culmination of 5 days and nearly 100 miles of running. We ordered food for take-away and ate by the lake, chilly in the wind.
 |
| Leg 5 - the end is that way |
 |
| The finish in Cadillac, 92.5 miles later |
 |
| Rounding out the run for an even 15 mi on the day |
And because we like round numbers, I did a nice 7.8 mile run on Sunday to make it 100 miles for the week. I finished the last mile with my girls running with me. In 6 days, I had run more than I have ever run in a week (excluding the week of a 100-mile race). It was very difficult, but not because I couldn't handle the distance. My body was used to bouncing back from 15 mile runs in 7:30/mi pace like a snap and I was feeling the best I have felt, maybe ever. The humidity to start (3 straight days of 90% or more humidity) left me empty, dehydrated and trashed. My body doesn't respond - water doesn't go in or stay in. I deteriorated. The last two days of the trail (when I already had about 60 miles beneath me) were much better because the weather improved. If I had this good weather all week I may have been able to do it much faster, or if I did this trail over 6 or 7 days I would have flown. Then again, if the humidity stayed, I may not have finished, or worse. So, silver linings...
Views From the Trail
My motivation stemmed from several sources: I kicked it off with David Goggins' Can't Hurt Me, an inspiring story about from the hardest man alive. I re-read Running with the Buffaloes, Once a Runner, and Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike. I watched movies like Remember the Titans, Lone Survivor, as well as some of Armstrong's races. If I choose to suffer, it really helps to remember what others have gone through. I wanted to see if I could do it. Why I don't think the body wants the long ultras anymore, I know it has the potential to do more.
 |
| Once a runner... |
