Spokane, Christmas Eve, Heavy Snowfall, and Bloody Footprints

10.7 Miles. It was a beautiful run with heavy big snow flakes coming down making for a soft trail. At 23 degrees it took a mile or two for my toes to warm up. It also took frequent stops to warm them with my hands. The Luna ATS's did good in the snow and tracked well up a 500 foot hill.

About two miles into the run I had the odd chance to once again evangelize about the benefits of barefoot running to another runner who intersected my path for a couple miles. He was on a goal to do 50 marathons in 50 States. I told him of my goal to do the Leadville 100 next Summer in these very sandals. I told him I'd never run so far or without so much joy as I have since changing my running style. Unlike my friends at Super Jock and Jill, I suspect this guy might give barefoot running a try at some point.

Toward the end of my run I must admit that an old blister decided to push up and out from under a thick callus and burst itself upon the webbing between my big and second toes. Thus came the bloody snow (for it was a blood blister from earlier in the week) and the end of a short but pleasant run. As the snow had turned to ice I phoned in my girl-friend for a quick evac to the nearest Starbucks.

Comments

Injuries, babies, and running

Let's be honest here. I have very little expectation that many will read this blog. But these days it seems there is very little besides social media like FB, Instagram, and Twitter to chronicle a history of our lives. I wonder what we've lost when all we have are pictures on platforms that are mobile and perhaps impermanent. But then again what things about being a human have ever been permanent? It's all chaff in the wind. Jesus that was deep. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. It's been a minute since I've written in this blog and in that time I've had a platelet rich injection into my left heel after overtraining had left me with a serious case of bursitis. It was I suppose a blessing in disguise that made me rethink my orientation toward training. I've never been the 100 mile a week kind of person and this injury only underlined the fact that I may never be. And now I don't want to be. I've come to realize that at least for me qu

Wy'East Wonder 50k "Fun Run"

I'm writing this more as a reminder to myself than anything else. I want to record that I'm proud of myself for what I accomplished in even starting this race. So without further ado here is the tale: Wy'East was to be my final distance push in training for this summer's 70 miler at FatDog in August. I did expect to be able to finish it was it profiled as an "easy" 50 mile course with buttery trail and a net elevation loss. And as expected the trail was beautiful and buttery, the climbs not too steep and the downhills all runnable and not too steep. What I didn't expect was to get the flu or something like it on the drive down to Hood River and be put in the position to ask my wife (who was already supporting both myself logistics wise and our toddler) to support me in my newfound illness. The last 60 miles from Vancouver, WA to Hood River OR felt like 200. This was the most unsatisfying of flu/food poisoning experiences I've ever had. Having evacuated

R2R2R

I'm new to living in Arizona. I've recently closed on purchasing a home. My home in Chino Valley has beautiful sunsets and deck with extensive dry rot. I'm dodging rusty nails that are backing out of the deck boards. I place my folding nylon chair down to enjoy the sunset. I still haven't started my new job since moving here a few weeks ago. I've arranged my new job to start the Monday after I'm to run this R2R2R thing. My wife is on onboard for one final camping trip. ... But everything is new. I've been ripping up carpet and finishing new floors. My toddler, Kylan has been constantly adjusting to new surroundings. We've driven across the country back and forth twice this summer. We've lived with my aunt and uncle for a month while our new home was closing. We've moved into a new place and just started meeting new friends. Needless to say change is hard on my toddler. He's doing great mostly...but this week he's been having

Dry Wash Runners

Search This Blog