{"id":5794,"date":"2015-03-10T06:36:58","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T11:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/?p=5794"},"modified":"2015-03-10T06:36:58","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T11:36:58","slug":"running-across-lake-superior","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamcrossworld.com\/running\/2015\/running-across-lake-superior\/","title":{"rendered":"Running Across Lake Superior"},"content":{"rendered":"

It isn’t every day you get the opportunity to run across a Great Lake. \u00a0Especially Lake Superior. \u00a0My buddy Brad and I did that over the weekend. \u00a0Our families went up to Bayfield to check out the Superior Ice Caves<\/a> and the Bayfield Winter Festival<\/a>. \u00a0A part of the Bayfield Winter Festival each year is a race across the ice road<\/a> from Bayfield to Madeline Island and back, known as the Run on Water<\/a>. (this year’s winning time was 24:59).<\/p>\n

Smartly for the weather, the race starts at 11am. \u00a0Sadly, for us this was too late in the morning for us to be able to check-out on time and not ruin the day for our families. \u00a0So we set out to run the same course a little earlier in the morning.<\/p>\n

It was a surprisingly warm morning (and weekend) which we were not going to complain about!<\/p>\n

\"2015-03-08-09-51-06\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before we set out on the ice we had to make sure our YakTrax<\/a> were installed. \u00a0Brad was wearing the coilly\u00a0YakTrax Pro<\/a> and I was wearing the new spikey YakTrax Run<\/a>. \u00a0We both had decent traction given that most of the run was on sheer ice, think running on an ice rink! \u00a0This is the view from the Bayfield side of the ice road. \u00a0The road gets plowed and maintained by the County!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The race course was pretty much already setup for us! Pretty low key!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Here we are on Madeline Island at the half way point! They did have mile markers posted for the race, but no sign indicating the turn-around spot. \u00a0So we stepped foot on the island and then turned around!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This is the view from the turn around, looking back at Bayfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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There were a few of these little signs reminding drivers to be careful. \u00a0The speed limit on the road is 15mph, so I guess it is to be extra careful! This year’s race also included a longer bike race that went 12 miles instead of the 4 for the runners. \u00a0I’m not sure what their course was. \u00a0But as we were leaving town we saw some people riding a tandem bike with a race number affixed to the handlebars! And it wasn’t a fat bike.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Here is a picture I took of the ice. \u00a0It was really pretty in places to look down and see 2 feet worth of ice below you!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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We made it to the finish line in one piece! Neither of us fell so that was a great thing!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Here is the GPS of our run! Straight across the lake and back! Pretty unbelievable!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"2015-03-08-09-50-30\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our pace was pretty slow throughout the run. \u00a0We were taking shorter strides than normal and we could both feel it in our quads and hip flexors. \u00a0Shorter strides meant less chance of falling though!!\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"2015-03-08-09-50-47\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Here is the Strava data from the run:<\/p>\n