My Readjustment

For the last year or so, I have had the feeling that I have kinda gotten this whole life thing figured out... not that I was perfect by any means, but I figured out how it works and how to be a well adjusted young man. but as cliched as this sounds, the last week has kinda put me in my place on a couple different levels... and by my place, I mean this... that I will continue learning about life, people, relationships, and myself until the day I die.

So i haven't run in about a week, which to most normal people sounds like a way to relax. not that more proof was necessary, but I must not be a normal person. By not running this week, I think I have created more stress in my life. Why haven't I been running? This nagging ankle injury (can I even call it that) that has been bugging me for a couple months. I have a sneaking suspicion/hope (i cross my fingers on this one) that it is because my current pair of running shoes have too many miles on them. I bought a new pair and I hope to start running again in the next couple days. this whole ankle injury has proven that I am not totally invincible... not that I ever really believed that, but it was a nice thought.

I also learned a thing or 20 about what it is like to be in a healthy relationship. without going into any details, there was something that I thought was normal that is most likely not normal or healthy in a relationship. Thankfully, I have the most patient girlfriend in the world, so I just wanted to say thanks for being understanding. The most shocking part of this whole realization was that I have thought of so many cases where I totally misinterpretted the situation (or just never thought that my interpretation was weird), which made me feel like quite the dufus. but apparently that is how you learn.

i am a bit tired so i am sure none of this made sense but ohh well. at least it made my fingers more toned.

My Double Trouble

This past weekend (actually june 26th) I ran the Double Trouble 15k/30k trail run. The race was managed by the same person who managed the Ugly mudder, which I blogged about previously. The race is set in the scenic french creek park (which apparently has a national monument of a furnace... ehh?) and is either a 15k or 30k race. The trick with the race is that you can decide to run either the 15k or 30k during the race. If after the first loop you feel that you would like to do another... you can!! needless to say, because of my lackluster training, I was in no shape to run 18 miles on a hilly, rocky trail.

similar to the ugly mudder, I started off quite fast to get ahead of the crowds before the single track started. (note to the reader, I took a 3 week break between writing these two sentences) however, unlike the ugly mudder, I didn't slow down after the first quarter mile. For some reason, most likely pride, stupidity, or both, I tried to keep up this pace for the next two miles. I am guessing I was somewhere in the top 15 at this point. After mile two, I realized that there wasn't a chance I was going to keep up my current pace for another 7.3 miles. I slowed my pace somewhat drastically and went into "tried to finish to maintain your dignity" mode. It felt like I was getting passed by nearly everyone on the course, but by mile 8 I didn't really care... I just wanted to finish. Kristin came to cheer me on at the race (thanks, btw, you are the best!!) so I had to finish, so I just trudged on to the finish at what seemed like a 15 minute pace. I believe I finished in the top 25% with a time of just under 1 hour and 27 minutes. just under a 10 minute pace... which I thought, considering the tremendous heat and lack of training, wasn't too shabby. I don't think I can make this years half-wit half marathon but maybe at next years ugly mudder, I can bounce back and maintain my "goat" nickname.

After the race, i had some very intense soreness in my lower legs, on the outsides of my shins, just above the ankle. I could barely even touch that part of my shin without yelping like a puppy. I can only venture to guess that the muscles that were so sore were stabilizer muscles or something and the rocky terrain overworked these.

For those that are keeping track, I did finish the rear wall a couple weeks back and i think it looks pretty darn good. I did some weeding around there and laid some mulch so hopefully the garden bed will stay clean. I now need to start attacking the jungle that is the rest of my back yard... (more to come on the status of my ankle and other exciting subplots)