Monday afternoon was rough; my feetz and knee were not happy about my successful-at-the-time attempt to outrun some ongoing injuries earlier in the day.
Tuesday morning shit didn’t hurt any worse than the day before, but I opted not to lumber. Instead, I spent the early morning getting things done inside the Cul-De-Sac-Shack, and then I shifted outside to mow, trim, and sweat all over the lawn before finally collapsing in a gelatinous mass of sweat, fat, and throbbing plantar fascia.
Thankfully, a late lunch of spicy chicken and refried bean tacos boosted my mood and further increased the gelatinous mass mentioned above.
Fast forward to Wednesday morning, and I found myself once again hoping for better feet as I entered the woods.
Nope.
The first mile or two was OK, but soon I found myself in the same situation as Monday, gritting my teeth, saying “fuck it,” and taking off running down the trail. Only this time, I let myself enjoy the process more and savored the fact that while I’m still not running full miles, there was a day not too long ago in my life when the idea of running outside (un-treadmilled) at all would have been the most ludicrous thing ever. I’m not saying it looks pretty, but I think it meets the dictionary requirement for running or at least flailing.
I ended the hike/crawl/lumber/run with 5.03 miles and, despite the earlier pain, a smile on my face. Well, at least until after my shower, when everything got stiff.
THURSDAY
I woke up on Thursday relishing in the fact that despite saying “fuck it” and running through pain, my foot and knee were feeling better than they had in days. Proving once again that if you have pain somewhere, it’s best to double down on the root cause of the pain and smash through it like renegade sperm through a cheap condom.
If you’re having a heart attack, get yourself a vat of gravy, stat! If your tooth aches, grab some rocks and start chewin’, and if you’re experiencing chronic overuse injuries from lumbering 2,000+ miles since climbing out of The Bed of Torment on September 19th, 2022, start running. It’s a fact!1
After the hike, I immediately did my stretching before leaving, and then once home, I iced my knee for a bit and downed a couple Tylenol before getting showered. Then it was off to get shit done before my appointment with the O.G. Mindbender later. I have to say, this is the best I’ve felt post-lumber in a month or more.
FRIDAY
While my foot and knee are feeling better, they’re still bothering me while walking at pace for some reason. Running is fine, but walking quickly is not. With that, I wasted little time before picking up the pace and running on Friday morning.
The result? My best average pace since starting this whole thing back in the fall of 2022; 13:56 per mile over 5.02 miles. Sweet Jeebus!!!
The only downside to my recent lumber/runs is that I’ve been leaving my z50 at home and taking the tiny little Fuji x70. And today was the day I wish I had my zoom!
I was about 3 miles in when an owl swooped down in front of me and perched on a perfectly lit tree limb above. GAHDAMN! I’ve been trying to get a good photo of an owl for years, this was my best chance, and I missed it. Damn.
A couple of friendly mountain bikers passed me on the trail and then saw them again in the lot as I was cooling down.
As they were packing up, the dude yelled over and complimented me on how quickly I was running. I looked behind me to make sure he was talking to me. I said, “Thanks, much appreciated. I guess it’s not bad for a fat man.”
“Faster than I would be!” he replied. Then his lady friend turned around and started talking, and I immediately exclaimed, “Hey, it’s my foot doctor!” I refrained my mentioning that I call her the Queen of Sole on this blog of brain vomit.
When we parted ways both told me to have a great rest of the weekend. I don’t know if I was still riding the high of the lumber or what, but something about the interaction put a smile on my face and made me feel good. Something that rarely happens to me after talking to anyone.
I still need to get 6.5 miles to hit my abbreviated 25-mile goal for the week. Usually, I would bang 6.5 miles out easily and be done, but I think I’m going to opt for two shorter lumbers so as not to push my knee’s luck.
It’s been a slow week for nature photos, but I was able to get some of my winged friends around the house.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK VIDEO OF THE POST
I’ve always half-jokingly said to myself that if/when my body finally shuts downs, rather than buy an e-bike, I would buy a Vespa and travel the gravel roads shooting photos. And with that, I started searching “Off Road Vespa Riding” on YouTube, and OF COURSE there was a rabbit hole to go down.
One video in particular from a couple of years ago, produced by Vespa, recounts the adventures of a woman from the U.K. who rode her Vespa from England to Mongolia and back. Not only is the video amazingly well done, but the woman (Emma Trenchard) is also such a wonderful breath of fresh eccentric air in a world of pickup trucks plastered with right-wing hate-inspired knockoff Punisher logos and tough guy dick-swinging . I find it nearly impossible to watch the adventures of Emma and “Grettle” and not feel good.