Davenport Wrap Up & Iowa City Running Recap

Davenport Wrap Up

I had a most excellent time in Davenport.  Was hosted by Rachel & LJ (and their cute puppy "Megatron).

This is "Megatron"

Got to speak 7 time throughout the week.  

Friday morning, got to run with a Davenport local, Scott, and am looking forward to sharing his story in my next blog post.  The gist of my post will be "Running saved his life."  

Was blessed by the great coffee over at Redband Coffee Company.  Really nice people.  In fact they hooked LJ and I up with their specialty "New Orleans Style Iced Coffee."  They gave us a tour of their coffee roasting business.  Really cool place.  Make sure to check it out if you are ever in Davenport (side note: i love their coffee).  

Several of my lunches consisted of cucumbers and tomatoes sprinkled with Udo's Oil.  My new favorite meal.  

Saw my first stick bug. 

Cool quote on the board at the high school I spoke at

I love a good cup of coffee after a long run.  

Went to the Silvis Parade in Illinois

Iowa City Running Recap

• Start Time: 5:00a 
• Finish Time: 9:30p (16.5 hours of running, I was exhausted)
• Total Mileage: 54 miles.
• Weather: Started running before the sun came out.  It was really humid, felt like I was drenched for the first 3 hours.  It was a really hot day, hovering in the upper 80's, mix that in with the humidity, and it was a tough day.
• Had to stop several times under trees to cool down my body temp.  
• With about 10 miles to go, I was determined to quit.  I was laying down in some grass on the side of the road, called my fiance, and she said, "Just try one more mile."  That one mile, turned into two, and then 10.  So thankful for her support.

Update on my left tendon:  It felt really good the first 15 miles, but there was a couple mile stretch of busy roads with no shoulder, and it was super soft due to the rain from the day before, so running in that started to aggravate my tendon.  However, after mile 40, my tendon felt great.  I also switched out shoes, which helped my tendon feel better too.  

Sun rising 

Charley sporting our head light

breathtaking sunrise

I stopped in Moscow Iowa.  Yes, there is a Moscow Iowa.  

Some buffalo on the side of the road

My phone battery was about to die, thanks to my brothers charger on my cart, I can charge my phone while running

the sun setting.  Ran from sunrise to sunset.  

It was a long day.  Was very happy to arrive in Iowa City, now to let my body recover.  Get to speak all day tomorrow at a local elementary school, and all day friday at a high school.  Next Monday will be my biggest test, 68 miles to Grinnell Iowa.