COMMUNITY: Don’t let detours ruin trip

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money for the American Heart Association. They have completed 59 counties. This is No. 58. Next: Wapello.

By Daren Schumaker, community contributor

To many, family vacations find their home in the summertime.

Generally such vacations are born in the cold winter months when a map and a calendar are spread out on the kitchen table and dates and a location are circled in red ink. Detailed plans are frequently made so every second away from home can be enjoyed to the fullest.

Despite the best made plans, anyone who has gone on a family vacation or two knows things seldom go as smoothly as they do on paper.

There always are bumps in the road, literally and figuratively, whether they be detours, delays, or unexpected weather.

A few months ago Team 99 Counties made plans for a little vacation of our own, a trip down to Des Moines County where we would end our run in Burlington during Steamboat Days. There was a parade planned, live music and food on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.

It sounded like a good time to us, and we were excited. We even had made plans for a good friend who grew up in Burlington area to run with us and make a homecoming of sorts. Detailed plans had been made. Then the wheels fell off. Our friend was injured to such an extent he wasn't going to be able to run with us.

What were we to do? If we couldn't run across Des Moines County, we shouldn't run at all, right?

Instead of staying in bed with a sour mood, we departed Cedar Rapids at 5 a.m. on the morning of June 14 and took a detour to Webster County in north central Iowa. As we started our eastward march on Highway 7, we noted the presence of another 'friend” who would be joining us for the day, a 25-mile per hour wind out of the south-southeast. The first 10 miles of our detour were relatively uneventful, as we passed the town of Barnum and an ethanol plant. The flat nature of the land afforded us the opportunity to see each of these landmarks for miles before we reached them.

Soon we charged up a steep hill, crossed Highway 169, and entered Fort Dodge where we descended into a valley created by and crossed the Des Moines River. We jumped onto a trail and exited at Central Avenue, passing the Fort Dodge Library and subsequently running through a farmers market, an unexpected but pleasant delay. We danced toward Fifth Avenue South and continued east, completing our 17th mile as we left town on 200th Street. We were eight miles away when we saw Duncombe on the horizon, and the wind reminded us of her presence as we crawled toward our finish. We passed by Duncombe as a storm started to set in, finishing our 27-mile vacation in 3:53:58 and just seconds before the rain started to fall.

Moral of the story? Don't have an 'all-or-nothing” take on life. If we did, we would have stayed in bed with a sour taste in our mouths when our vacation plans changed. Instead of allowing the detours, delays and unexpected weather that life throws at you to win, fight back. Don't stray too far from your plans, especially with regard to your health.

If a family vacation or the weather keeps you from getting out and exercising, it isn't the end of the world. If you don't have time to exercise as long as you wanted to, don't give up on exercise altogether. Don't give up on your health goals. Amend your exercise agenda and do something that fits into your vacation plans. Something is definitely better than nothing.

Stay on track. Keep circling dates on your calendar in red ink, maybe even a 5K or two, where you can turn the lemons of life into a nice cool glass of lemonade. We've already circled a date for next June. Steamboat Days 2015, here we come. Have the lemonade on ice.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease.