South Loop Marathon

I ran a marathon Friday. Well, I walked some. OK, I walked a lot. But I covered 26.2 on foot. Actually I did 26.25. Time? Don't ask. It's Classified.

This was the fourth 20-miler I have done since I set the Great Geezer Run as my goal for my diabetes fundraiser this year. Twice I have run home from the Minter City United Methodist Church. Once I did the north-on-Highway 49-through-Bledsoe Plantation-to-Money-and-home loop. This time I went south.

I did not leave the house until 10:00 a.m. Stuff. I had to take care of stuff. But finally I was on the way for an adventure before the morning was fully gone. First, I crossed the Popular Street bridge, made my way to the Linear Park and ran it to Highway 82. I crossed the highway and made my way to the industrial park.

Eventually I made it to Highway 49 south, and got off the busy road at Malouf's Trailer Park. There I ate an orange and continued to the old Highway 49 where I went south towards Sidon. I did not go to the biblically named town, however, opting instead to cross the Yazoo River bridge that lies before our huge southern neighbor. Do you know the bridge? That thing is as long and steep as a Carroll County hill.

This picture does not do justice
to the rise this bridge has.

After crossing that bridge, I got on the gravel road that heads north and began to slowly make my way back towards home. Here is where I got into that wide-open-spaces thing. 

Not too long after getting into the vast open delta, I noticed one of my watches was gone. What!?!?! It was the older Garmin, that orange one if you know Garmins, that is minus one strap. I carry it in a pocket on my waist belt. I use it to measure my running distance and the one on my wrist tracks the total distance. So I had to back track and look. A farm hand came by, Fred, who first offered me a ride then helped me look for the watch. He looked a long time and even stopped his truck and got out. I gave up and asked him if he knew Tim Horn. I figured he did since I could not have been too far from Tim's gin. If you find it, I said, give it to Tim. I work with Tim's wife.

I shuffled away sadly, grieving for my missing GPS watch. I found the watch about where I first started looking for it. Then it happened again. Really. The back tracking was breaking my spirit. I found the watch once more and decided that the slip in pocket would not do any longer. I put the valuable instrument in the zip up pocket.

Eventually I made it to that train trestle. 

Yeah, that one. 

I was on pavement now and pretty soon I was shuffling past Florewood and scores of people getting their vaccination. Then I was at Highway 82 on the frontage road by Cannon Motors. Then I crossed the bridge and got on West Claiborne Extended. Here is where my pack ran dry and I only had water in half of one bottle on my belt.

I made it all the way to the boat landing when I realized how close I was to a full marathon. If I went straight home, I would be about one mile short. So what to do? Yeah, I went through the Yazoo River Trail and then out the gravel road. I did the math and went just far enough to turn around and make it back home with the requisite distance. I ran 15.8 miles and walked 10.45 for a total of 26.25. Penny was home and Providentially she was too tired to go out to eat and only wanted to pick up a salad and stay home. I was hobbling around like an old man. She said for the third time since I started this quest, "I don't see how you are going to run to Jackson." I don't either. And that, my friend, is part of the appeal.

Thank you, Jesus, for a good day on the road. May my body respond to this training, and may I make the Great Geezer Run a success.