I woke up early Tuesday morning with daylight sneaking through the curtains of the bedroom, a few minutes before my artificial “sun” alarm clock was due to wake me at 6 AM.
Despite the slightly earlier wake-up, I was eager to get the dogs out, get some breakfast in, and plan another ride in lieu of my normal lumbers.
Then things changed.
OK, the 2024 Lumber Through Hell Tour is temporarily on hold while I let my foot heal from whatever is wrong with it.
I’m not happy about that, but as luck and hard work with the O.G. Mindbender would have it, I know I have choices and options, and one of those options is riding my gahdamn bike
My pledge to take a short break from lumbering was short-lived and unwise.
Part I: Pain and Miles
It’s been a month since the Dog Dirt Incident, and while my foot is void of all bruising, the pain and swelling are the same, if not worse.
I know it’s going to be May this week, but here in mid-Michigan, it finally feels like spring. Sort of.
So starts another week of giving 110% to be half the man I could be. And the week started with my usual 6-mile loop on Monday.
Friday’s lumber was a tough one, and I felt sluggish the whole 6.96 miles. So sluggish that I didn’t have another .04 miles in me to hit a perfect 7.
I really don’t think I ate enough the night before, having made some pasta that, by the time it was ready, I really didn’t like (Why do I always fall for the allure of red sauce pasta?). And my morning’s breakfast wasn’t that filling as I opted to not make a breakfast burrito for the first time this week.
Another week of lumbering is in progress, with 18+ miles in the feetz so far, and reasons for mild celebrations, as I went over 2,000 miles hiked on Tuesday.
After nursing multiple injuries (foot/back/knee), I finally got my body sorted out and finished off my first 30-mile week of lumbering since mid-March, getting in 30.10 miles in 5 days, and it felt damn good!
Even with last week’s Dog Dirt incident(s), I managed to get 21 miles in my feet (one of them black and blue at the time). I could have probably got my 30 in, but I was worried about doing too much, too soon, in regards to my knee.
