Running too

It rained last night, but had stopped by the time I got out to run. I woke up at midnight last night and spent the next hour trying to sleep. Giving up on that approach, I went to my computer and worked on my latest novel for a while. It's the third book in a fantasy series, Goblin Alley, about a young runner who discovers that alleys connect to the faerie realm, to the goblin city, and he becomes involved in a series of adventures. Naturally, it ends up meaning a lot of running. I'm relaunching the first book next year, along with the second (unreleased right now) and the third.

I'm out of shape right now. My running has an awful lot of walking in it at the moment. That's okay. I got out there and I did what I could. The app didn't track the time I spent fiddling around to take the picture, but according to my stopwatch I was running for exactly 30 minutes.

Daily Challenge 7: Trail

A few sprinkles today, but mostly a nice cloudy day. This time when I went out to run I went off on the undeveloped trail right from the start, and followed it up into town. It's a nice break from the paved trail, if a bit overgrown at points. It obviously gets used, since it isn't completely overgrown.

Daily Challenge 5: Trail Running

Off today, so I waited until I had already spent some time writing and painting before I went outside for my run. I've been reading Eat & Run: My Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness by Scott Jurek (checked out the e-book from my local library). I've been enjoying it so far. Something he said caught my eye. It wasn't anything I haven't heard before, but maybe with enough repetition it'll sink in. He talked about running slow. Walking as needed. Not worrying about time and distance. All good points. The key for me is that I need to put in the time out on my feet. Not run down the street and back, huffing and puffing, gasping for air and call it good after fifteen minutes! So today I set out to do a loop up around through town. I figured even if I walked much of it (which I did), it'd take less than an hour. Mostly because my time to exercise is usually limited. I might have an hour set aside.

It worked out pretty much as I expected. I got too hot, I ran as I could. I left the paved trail for a dirt trail that more or less went the same way, and that was fun. I'd really like to get out more on trails, but to get to most of them I'd have to drive somewhere first. That's usually not an option.

In anycase, it was a nice run/walk. I'm slowly building up my strength and endurance!

Daily Challenge 2: Freezing Fog

I went out for a run this morning, down to the trail and back. I bundled up before going out. It was 25°F, cold, but not too bad. It was also very foggy (see above), and everything was frosted. No barefoot running under these conditions. Instead I wore my Vivobarefoot Breatho shoes, which are nice. I'll start incorporating more barefoot work when the weather improves!

Daily Challenge 34: Out Running

I weighed myself this morning and discovered that my weight continues to go up! I'd hoped that exercising this past week would have brought it down a smidge but I guess not. Oh well. It's not really about the weight, except that it gets easier to do the things I want without carrying around extra weight. I'll keep working on it, right now I'm about 25 pounds heavier than I was this time of the year in 2011.

I went out today for another short run down to the trail and back. One more step along the journey.

Daily Challenge 31: First Post-Op Run

This morning I went out for my first post-op run. I took it very, very slow. I haven't walked much or done anything like this since before the surgery. In fact, the last run I posted here was clear back on September 17th! Part of that was just that I was spending more time on biking and triking. Still, it's been a while and I definitely felt that in my legs. Since I was moving so slowly it wasn't as much work for my lungs. One of these days I want to get a Garmin GPS watch with a heart-rate monitor so that I can track that as well. I'm using Endomondo on my phone right now, but the watch would make a lot of this easier and can sync with the site.

I didn't do this run barefoot! Cold, wet and dark doesn't make for a good combination. I did wear my Vivobarefoot trail running shoes, which I like for conditions like this. As conditions improve I'll work more barefoot runs into my rotation.

In any case, this is a start. I think I'm going to continue alternating exercise forms, and gradually get into shape!

Daily Challenge 15: Deer Crossing

I went out this morning for a quick run around the block. Along the way I encountered a few deer near the road and managed to get a picture.

Daily Challenge 11: Embrace the Darkness

Most mornings, if I get out and run or ride the bike or ride the trike, it's going to be dark. Some mornings like today are crystal clear and I can enjoy looking up at the stars as I run. The moon today is down to a fingernail clipping. Most of the light came from the street lights and the porch lights on at some of the houses and between those, deep pools of darkness. I usually don't have time to wait until it gets light and soon it won't matter. I'll be leaving for work in the dark too. And it won't be long after that before I'm getting home in the dark.

It's time to embrace the darkness and keep going out anyway.

Daily Challenge 7: Bent Rider

Yesterday my car broke down on the way to the store. Fortunately, we hadn't gotten all that far from home, just over two miles. My wife and son (only three), walked on home. While they did that I waited for the tow truck to come. This was all a new experience for me. I've never had a car break down like that before!

When the tow truck arrived we discovered that I didn't have an 'I' ring/screw that hooks to the front of the car for them to pull it up onto the tow truck. I gave the driver permission to do what she could and she got it up there without (I think) any damage to the car. We took it in to a shop right there in Rainier but I won't really know what's wrong until tomorrow since they're closed.

The positives with the experience? The help we got from everyone. A couple strong guys pulled over and helped push the car out of the road. The insurance folks I talked to on the phone were very helpful at getting roadside assistance. The tow truck driver made that whole process easy. Ron, the gentleman that turned around and came back to give me a ride when he saw me walking down the street carrying our car seat. And my mother-in-law who graciously came up a day early so that we could still get shopping done before everyone (except me) goes on a trip to the Oregon coast.

The downside? The expense and the unknown factor. Based on reading I did I think it was probably the plastic shift carrier that broke, but I don't know. Even if that's the case, I don't know how long it'll take to get the parts and get it fixed. I can't do anything about that but wait and see.

With all of that going on I didn't get to the trike yesterday.

Today I got up, worked on editing my latest book, and then when everyone else went out to do the shopping I got to work on the bike and trike.

I installed new clipless pedals on the mountain bike. I cleaned it and lubed the chain. Until the car gets fixed it's going to be my primary means of transportation to and from work. That's ~17 miles each way, starting tomorrow. I like riding and commuting by bike but it does take a lot of time at that distance. Plus I'll still have to deal with the car.

I put the other pedals back on the trike, cleaned and lubed it too. The tires needed air after sitting for over a year. I don't have a floor pump yet that works with presta valves but my hand pump worked well enough to get some air. The pressure wasn't as high as I'd like but enough to ride.

It was lots of fun to get out on the trike! I've missed it. Very different feeling sitting, reclined, inches from the road instead of being perched up on a 29" mountain bike! My muscles told me that they weren't used to riding in that position, so I just took a short ride. I passed another recumbent, a hand-crank recumbent.

My plan, going forward, is to alternate my exercise between the mountain bike, the trike, and running. It'll depend on my mood.

On the other hand, if the car can't be fixed, or is too expensive to fix right now, then I'll be predominantly riding the mountain bike, because I'll have to commute and it's faster than the trike. I might use the trike to ride to the store in Yelm because I've got my plastic tub panniers I made that I could carry groceries. We'll see!

Daily Challenge 3: Running

I'm alternating running, riding the mountain bike, and riding the trike. Over time I expect my distances and time to increase, but I'm trying to take it easy and not push too hard. It was a nice moonlit morning again today. No problem seeing where I was going!

Worf's First Run

Took Worf out for a run this morning around the local streets. Both of us unshod. The roads are rough asphalt with plenty of loose rocks. I forgot to look at the time again, so that's a guess.

Worf, Resting

When we took Worf for his last shots we noticed how leash-shy he acted, so this was a good chance for him to practice being on leash. He did really well. Mostly stuck right by my side, rarely pulled. Never barked or really tried taking off after bunnies. When other dogs barked he ignored them. Cars scared him, but there's little traffic on the street. He crowded my legs as we ran past one car parked on the street, but otherwise handled it fine. I think with a bit more practice he'll turn out to be a good running companion. I'll need to get him down to the trail so we can work on passing other people, dogs, and bicyclists.

As far as I can tell at this point my feet handled the rough surface fine. Nice short run, a bit misty at times but not really rainy. Solid cloud cover and 59° F degrees.

Brakes Fixed

I'm gradually learning how to deal with more mechanical issues on the trike. Today I replaced the brake cables that had gotten so filled with junk that you couldn't even pull the cables out of the housing. New housing and cables and then the brakes work. I think they could still be adjusted better, but they work so much better now! Went for a short ride around through town to try them out. I need to get the chain a little tighter, it bounced off twice, but otherwise everything works great.

Now that I can ride again I plan to increase my mileage on the trike by commuting more regularly. If I'm not riding the trike I'll go for a run. One way or the other I plan to get out each day.

Barefoot Blisters

I went out this morning barefoot, carrying my huaraches in my hands, the Spot GPS strapped to my arm. At 59 °F the cloudy morning felt about perfect for running. Cool without being cold, a light breeze stirring the mostly Douglas fir trees along the road. This road hasn't been repaved in many years and my feet felt all the small stones, the cracks and loose pebbles. I pressed the button on the Spot to track my progress and started out with small, light steps.

The surface felt rough, hard, but not actually painful to run on. I ran as light as I could, each foot fall a nearly silent padding along the road. I wore shorts and a t-shirt but felt comfortably cool. My breaths flowed in and out. My calves felt stiff and tight but I didn't push, letting the run loosen them up as I headed down the road.

A half-mile on I headed down the steep hill to the trail as a car passed me going the same way. The Yelm-Tenino trail felt much smoother after the rough road and I settled into the run, cruising along, enjoying the fact that my feet felt good. At the train crossing I paused and checked my feet. No hot spots. Everything looked good. I kept going.

On up the trail past a woman walking two big dogs, up into town, still barefoot. Surprising, but my feet felt good so I kept carrying the huaraches. Heading through town I ran across a few stretches, at driveways, littered with small gravel. No problem.

It wasn't until I headed on out of the main part of town, back onto the rough road that I thought maybe I'd pushed my bare feet a bit too far. I stopped and checked over the bottoms of my feet and found a blister on the ball of my right foot, and a few other suspicious parts. Rather than risk more problems I slipped on the huaraches and ran the rest of the way home.

A good run, a few blisters, but those will go away soon. Eventually I'll leave the huaraches at home! 3.54 miles on this loop, it's a good start for now. I hope to have my trike's brakes repaired soon and then I'll get back into riding the trike on my commutes more often. I still plan to keep running too.

Final Beach Run

Headed out shod in huaraches until I hit the beach then went barefoot the rest of the run, including the pavement on the way back.


Went out along the beach making good time before turning around after fifteen minutes and heading back. My right foot bothered me some so I ended up walking a bit, so I took longer than planned. The air tasted salty today, the ocean gray and more active beneath mostly cloudy skies. Big clouds hung above the water off the coast.


I like running on the beach. Roads and multi-use trails can't really compete with a beach. The biggest problem with the beach? Development and crowds. The same things that draw me draw everyone else. 


So if I needed to pick between a crowded beach and a quiet forest trail? The forest trail wins every time.


I definitely feel the running in my legs. A small blister on my big toe bugs me a little, but not too much. Mostly I feel strong running. After losing over thirty pounds, it feels great to run!

Hilltop Run

Went running before lunch at the Hilltop. Followed HWY 101 a bit, then took to the back roads (I'd mapped my route before leaving so I didn't get lost) and got to see lots of houses, many nice places, quieter than I'd have thought. VERY hilly terrain, and a section of Bard is nothing but big gravel / dirt road. Bard comes right out across from the Hilltop, but I went the quarter of a mile or so up to the light and crosswalk to cross HWY 101, and then came back down to the Hilltop. I was going to run back to the Anchor after lunch but changed my mind and bummed a ride with one of my fellow students. I felt strong during the run, all in my huaraches, guessing at the time, but that's pretty close given when I checked the time. Maybe I should get a watch.

Camping and Run

Stealth Camping

Last night it looked like a great, if windy night, to go string my Hennessy hammock up between some trees in the woods. It was the first time this year that I've camped out. Sleeping outdoors in the hammock is great fun, cool, listening to the breeze and the whine of mosquitoes (protected from them by the netting), all in the comfort of the hammock. Late in the night I found it a little chilly but that mostly just made me want to stay in the sleeping bag. When I get closer to doing bikepacking trips I'll probably look at a different bag, and maybe a ground pad and bivy. We'll see.

Right about when the sky started getting light I woke up, huddled in the sleeping bag for a few more minutes, then slipped on out of the bag and hammock. I strapped my spot onto my arm and headed out for a morning run up through town and back.

It was a great morning for a run. I stuck to the huaraches for the first leg down to the trail and then ran barefoot for a while until I started feeling a couple hot spots that I noticed the other day. Not really wanting blisters I slipped the huaraches back on and continued running. I made it back up to our street before the plantar fasciitis acted up in my right foot. I ended up walking a bit then to let it relax, but not nearly as much as my last run. Ended up with a better time. Took care of our animals and sat down to ice my foot, drink a banana/blueberry coconut milk smoothie, and write this. Good way to start the day.