Pierre, SD

La Framboise Island Loop

Run Time: 64:25 + 2-minute kick

It might have been the French who colonialized South Dakota. Given the relative remoteness of the region in whatever century they arrived, one might guess that France was not the center of culture, viniculture, and romance tourism that it is now. Elseways, why would its natives invade the Central North American continent?

This island is in the middle of the Missouri River, which by this time feels like an old friend. If not for some unfortunate name-changes in the river, you could say it starts in either the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana or in Yellowstone, and it ends in New Orleans. Yes, the maps say it starts right off I-90 in Central Montana, and it ends in St. Louis, but the water tells a different story. I cross its path in Great Falls, Williston, Bismarck, Pierre, Sioux City, Omaha, and St. Louis. I love that it starts west, then goes north, then east, then south.

And this island is a great find. Another AllTrails recommendation. I was easily able to get my full 5 miles and not retrace any steps. I could have gotten 10 out of the trail system. It is all wild — no cement once you leave the parking lot. A lot of deer tracks. Very beautiful, even in November.

With the time change, I was lucky to have time to run before dark. I just got it in. My last sales stop of the day was in Fort Pierre, on the west side of the river and in the Mountain time zone. The island, and east of the river, is in the Central time zone. My hotel was downstream 80 miles in a small town called Oacoma, so after the run I had my first darkness drive of the season, which was welcome after so many thousands of daylight driving. No streetlights along Route 83 south of Pierre, just starlights.

Turned out to be my only run of the week, though I did 45 minutes on a rowing machine two nights later in a hotel fitness room. First time on a rowing machine in probably 25 years. You don’t see many in the hotels. I might keep my eye out for them in the winter months. I have to be in a very good mood to want to run in the windy cold these days. I am turning into a fair weather fitness fanatic.

I might be entering a phase of my wife in which I focus on mental health (especially the next four years). My daughter recently shared an excerpt from a my granddaughter’s first conference report in her first year of pre-school. The instructor wrote that she “comes to school calm and happy and enjoys her day here.” This is my new mantra: calm and happy. If I can maintain that through most of the rest of my days on this planet, I feel that I will have made the best of them.

Like most of us, I try to control too many external factors. Even too many internal factors, such as how I feel about running in the windy cold. I try to check every box on my work schedule when I could trip through more quality work than most of my peers. I get stressed about how many podcast episodes I have in my queue — how meaningless is that? I fall too easily into the trap of thinking others are sometimes not in their own dream.

I have had a good run with the running, and I am not going to give it up by any means. I have noticed, however, that my body appreciates days off more these days. I value resilience and antifragility, but to whom do I have to demonstrate it, and to what extent? Why can I not just coast a little at this point?