June is one of my favorite times here in Michigan. Ma Nature flips her switch (yeah, that one, why not, whatever it takes) and deems our state worthy of sun and warm temps after months of cold, miserable weather.
As a bonus, the days are super long; the sun can come up before 5 AM and not fully set until after 10 PM some nights, which is also welcome after 6+ months of darkness and grey.
Then August comes, and it becomes increasingly difficult to drag my ass out of bed when the clock ticks 6:20 AM and the sun is just starting to peak over the horizon. Yes, we still have a couple of months before the time officially changes, but my rhythm method circadian rhythm takes note.
And that brings me to today (Thursday); I was up in the near darkness, saw a few peaks of sunshine, and less than an hour later, I now sit in the dark again as a huge band of thunderstorms approaches from the west. This puts me in a real disco pickle. Do I get my shit together and get out for a hike ASAP before the storm hits? Do I wait until they pass, which could be hours and put me way behind schedule for adulting, or do type this shit and call today a “rest day” from outdoor fat man micro-adventures after yesterday’s [spoiler alert] 7.54-mile lumber through the woods?
Given the ill-written words you see here, I guess you know what I chose.
Let’s rewind.
After a weekend of sleeping with a night splint on my foot, resting, icing, massaging my heel, and dealing with some unexpected stomach issues, I woke up Monday feeling much better, and my foot feeling better than it has in months. I was ecstatic, and while my mind told me not to rush things, I was soon in the woods and knocked out a 6.5 lumber with very little pain in my heel. Progress!!
More icing, massaging with Biofreeze, sleeping with a night splint, etc.
Tuesday was busy and included mowing the vast (not really) estate of the Cul-De-Sac-Shack, which is a two-mile walk when all said in done. Again, this was done with very little pain in my foot.
More icing, massaging with Biofreeze, sleeping with a night splint, etc.
I woke up Wednesday morning with my foot again feeling better than it has in ages. So, I made myself a Cat 5 carb-bomb egg-white breakfast burrito, dumped out, and headed to the trails hoping for at least another 6 miles, but secretly longing for more.
I started out feeling great and somehow turned a 14:13 mile at a lumber, which falls just sort of my jogging pace which has become a bit easier for me but is also my Plantar Fascia killer. Maybe if I lose another couple to 50 pounds.
I eased up a bit after that mile and continued to feel great, so I plodded on and easily hit my first goal of at least 6 miles, and now wanted more. “Let’s try for 8!!” I screamed (inside my head, people).
I took an extra trail spur here and added a trail there, and I was sure I was on track to hit 8. However, I was slowing down, drenched in sweat, and feeling some slight discomfort in my foot.
So, I wisely took the next trail back towards the lot to be safe. I ended with 7.54 miles, which means I only went four-tenths of a mile further than my previous record of 7.50 miles set back in July, but with my foot feeling pretty damn good for the first time in ages, this one felt way better!
More icing, massaging with Biofreeze, sleeping with a night splint, etc.
So now we are back to today; it’s dark as night, the thunder is just starting to crackle, and the rain is falling, so it seems I uncharacalisticly made my second wise decision in less than 24 hours. Surely a record for me!
I am super stoked to have my foot feeling better and to be entertaining the idea of an 8-mile lumber, given that this time last summer, I struggled to complete 5 miles at a walking pace without stopping to stretch out my back and resist the urge to lay down in the dirt and cry like an obese man-child. The human body really is a remarkable thing. Well, maybe not mine, but other people for sure!
Time to finish up the coffee, watch the rain for a bit, and then get the house in order and the coke and hookers out before Wifey returns from a business trip later today. Then more icing, massaging with Biofreeze, sleeping with a night splint, etc.
NOTE: I found this article about “speed hiking” from May 2022. I guess Gor-Tex didn’t want to call in Lumbering but I’m not changing now!
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK/ALBUM OF THE POST
I can’t say enough about how much I love the album Auto-Pain by the band Deeper out of Chicago.
To my ears, this album is a wonderful mix of vintage Wire, early Cure, and Foals. It was released back in 2020, but has been in constant rotation for me this summer.