Unforgettable Runs: East Lansing, Michigan

Part of the trail (photo credit: lansingrivertrail.org)

     While on a college visit this summer, my dad and I ventured out for a run in East Lansing one morning.  I had found the Lansing River Trail while Googling for good trials to run, and it looked like a very promising option.  We arrived and parked behind a small Seven 11.  I had my little Iron-Kids Triatholon watch that was my older brother's many many years ago (I've since gotten a Garmin for Christmas!), so there was no telling how far I was actually going to run.  I told my dad I was aiming for 8 miles though, so we planned to meet up in an hour or so.  He was planning on getting in five-ish miles.  I took off onto the trail, and was immediately glad I wasn't in Ohio.  There was beautiful foliage, bridges over running water, and the most  beautiful scenery to run by.  I honestly won't ever forget it, because it seemed like a trail you would see out west in the way it was perfectly carved into the surrounding nature.  It was hard to remember I was in East Lansing, MI.

The oh so tempting pond...
(photo credit: lansingrivertrail.org)

The beach part of the Hawk Island Park
(photo credit: http://pk.ingham.org/ParksTrails/HawkIsland.aspx)

     After a while, and a near heart attack from squirrel jumping up at my from a fence, I found myself in the coolest Splash Park and lake area.  I so wish we had one of those here.  Plus, there was a boardwalk that went nearly the whole circumference of the lake.  There was a small dog park as well as fishing area, and the water looked like an irresistible way to cool my sweaty self off.  That was just on the way there too, you can imagine how appealing it seemed on the way back.  That is where the run got interesting.  I passed by a cross country team, a cool looking zoo/park, and some more neat scenery before I stopped at a sign to judge the distance.  "Ok, it says 5 miles, so to get to 10, I just need to go a few more."  Don't ask me how that logic entered my head.  I can only argue that I was tired, out of my element, and burning up from the heat.  I made it 1.5 more miles before my hip started acting up and I looked at my watch  in shock.  "How am I running so slow," I wondered to myself-- misjudging my distance of course.  At that point, I turned around and made my way back.  I'm built for the longer distances, so I always do better after I've got four or so miles under my belt.  Despite the heat, the way back was pretty easy, at least until I was two miles out and saw the beautifully tempting splash park.  My legs were burning, but I knew it was socially unacceptable to either jump the fence into the park or jump into the murky lake beside the pools...

The tempting water... (photo credit: Hawk Island website)

   

     I made my final sprint and finished the run in about an hour in a half.  The first thought that rushed to my head was, "Oh, he's gonna be mad!"  (thinking of my father waiting in the car.)  Only-- he wasn't there.  I figured he'd misjudged the distance as stupidly as I had, so I sat down to stretch and do my leg drains.  Ten minutes later though, I was getting dizzy and realized that I was suffering from the heat and my 13-14 mile run.  I hadn't run that many miles before and I knew I needed some water so I wouldn't pass out.  The car was locked with my phone inside, so I sheepishly walked into the 7 Eleven and asked the cashier for some water.  She gave me a free cup and I gulped it down, giving my stomach that all-familiar ache from too much too fast.  After ten more minutes, I walked back and the cashier graciously lent me her phone, which I used to call my dad, mom, brother, dad, and mom again before someone picked up.  I asked her to keep calling my dad, and went outside to lay on a picnic table and quietly die in my exhaustion.  Finally though, I saw my dad running in--er..."slogging."  He looked like he actually had jumped in that pond.  "Rats," I grumbled to myself, "I told ya' you could have gotten away with it!"  As he explained, he had taken a wrong turn on the way back and didn't realize it for a couple miles.  Hoping I hadn't made the same mistake, he turned around, got lost some more, and then finally made it back.  Crying, I explained to him that 1. I was glad he was safe, 2. I was REALLY worried!, and 3. "I need WATTTTTEERRRR!!!"
     All in all, it was an unforgettable run to say the least.  The trail was amazing-- so much so that I just kept running and was too amazed to properly add up my miles.  Ya, let's go with that.