6/19/2015
I looked forward to waking up at the Jefferson Clinton Hotel because I knew breakfast would be a treat. Omelets made to order were the perfect way to power up for another day of running. While Crystal and I feasted, rain began to pelt the windows. After filling my stomach I ran to the car and gathered a pungent pile of clothes from the car. The scent of sweat mixed with rainwater permeated the air around me. I felt a slight heat rise to my face as I walked through the luxury hotel with my bag of dirty laundry. The prospect of having all my clothes clean overpowered the embarrassment. With a two o’clock check out time we were free to lounge for a while. Simple relaxing chores weren’t that simple on the road. Our tight schedule meant that each choice had a tradeoff.
The rain finally stopped. When I stepped onto the road there was no trace of the raging water that fell earlier in the morning. The sidewalks were dry and the air was wet. I ran through some ghetto areas of downtown and quickly found myself on the outskirts of town. Only a few miles out and I was once again running through farmland. Once I was running through farmland, the pollen once again kicked up. I could feel the microscopic particles attached to my eyeballs. I sneezed hard and often on my way to Auburn.
The next day I made it a point to get an earlier start to the day. The road to Geneva was a wonderful twenty-five mile run. I ran past a small body of water and my nose detected a fishy smell. When I looked at the water ripples sporadically graced the top. At a closer glance I saw huge fish swimming in every direction. A few miles later I ran through Seneca Falls. It was the birthplace of women’s rights. The town had an older feel. The jaunt through town was short but meaningful.
Waterloo appeared right after Seneca Falls. It was the town where Memorial day began. From there I still had plenty of miles to run but I was able to power myself to Geneva. I wondered if Crystal and I were in for another stretch without lodging and hot running water. We parked next to the train tracks that ran through the town. After two different iron monsters screeched past us we decided to park our trailer next to the lake. It was a beautiful view of calm water. I fell into a deep sleep right after my water bottle shower and I didn’t wake up until the morning when people began flocking to the lakeside.
I battled through street construction in the early morning. Once I got into the countryside I found Crystal parked in a quiet spot by the side of the street. We took a break there and I napped for some time. The terrain had begun to flatten and I had an easy run to Bloomfield. I had decided that I would run with music since there was not much for me to see on this day. Occasionally I spotted deer by the road but that was about the peak of the excitement. We ended up sleeping at a tiny grocery store/gas station parking lot for the evening. Before the sandman took me off to Neverland, I thought about how I was ready for the scenery to change once again.
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