What I'm Eating

I give you what I've been eating the most of, for the past couple of months.  Liberal use of spices, and probably too much dark chocolate, should be thrown in here as well.

Injinji Toe Socks Review

Blisters. Something I've never had (knock on wood). My feet get wet, my shoes get wet, and I've still never come down with any type of blister.

This review isn't meant to be any detailed overview, but rather some pros and cons that I've run into with Injinji Toe Socks. Personally, I have no plans to stop wearing these socks. I first started wearing them as they worked well with my Vibrams. From there, I never really stopped. If you want to read Injinji's overview of their socks, you can do that on their website www.injinji.com.

Picture of the original weight.

Pros

• Personally, yet to have a blister.
• Quick to dry.

Cons

• Convenience - these take time to put on, due to having to fit each toe correctly.
• Durability 
• I've noticed this the most with the performance and original versions of the socks. The performance versions breakdown very quickly, and the original weight breakdown a little too quickly as well. The padded mid-weight seem to have the longest lifespan. 
• Cost
• At $16 a pair for the padded mid-weight, $12 a pair for the original weight, and $10 a pair for the lightweight, these certainly aren't cheap.

I would highly recommend these socks to anyone that doesn't mind shelling out the dough, and would personally go for the padded mid-weight, as they seem to have the longest lifespan.

20 Days

'Check this out!'

He pulls up his pant leg past his knee, revealing a massive lateral scar, running from the middle of his thigh down to his knee (at least 12 inches long). It's an injury from a soccer game about 4 years ago. Torn quadriceps.

'I passed out from the pain! My quad completely separated from my knee. It's never the same after an injury like that. Let's take a look at you. You got boxers on? Drop your pants.'

***

I've recently moved out to the Western Washington area, at the request of my employer, and haven't done much running lately. I'm still nursing something funky with my knee. While it has seemed to get slightly better by the day, it still isn't at a level where I can just run on it, for as long as I feel like. Not being able to run has really made me realize how much I miss the sport of ultra-running, and most vital, how happy it really makes me.

My place has a full view of the Puget Sound. The sunsets each night are quite remarkable, but I've yet to find myself thinking 'I could get used to this'. I will hold dear my fond memories of the trails along the South Hill bluffs, where years ago I started my trail running endeavors. I've reflected on successes and failures on those trails. Focused on the past, present, and future. I will forever have memories of exact portions of the trails engraved in my mind - where I took my first fall, recounted a specific day at work, ironed out relationship mistakes, had the best view of the sunset, and most importantly, where I got attacked by an angry mom turkey.

Work is busy. Meetings are scheduled, net profit and revenue discussed. It fills my day, but I don't feel like I'm 'there' yet. Whatever, or wherever, 'there' is. I find myself concerned about all the things that work is going to do to me, that I truly don't want. Dependent on salary and benefits. Planning out the ten days of vacation a year. Fried lunches and the inevitable sickness that accompanies a lifestyle of improper nutrition. Long hours spent being busy and doing things, just to say I've been 'busy doing things'. Not enough time for running, friends, or family. 

Not running results in heightened amounts of pondering. I wonder what people are doing that makes them happy? It's election season, and everyone seems to have a extremely strong opinion on every speech, policy, and candidate. I don't understand, and I think that feeling applies to many other 'things' in life. Cars, money, clothes, dresses, social status, mass parties - to varying degrees, I don't understand. Though, running miles in the woods is not probably understood by the vast majority of the populous, and yet it gives me a indescribable level of satisfaction and happiness. Do I really need to understand the 'why' behind other's passions? No. But, I guess it interests me.

I was able to volunteer at a local trail race for most of the day this past weekend. Helping with parking, timing, and general odds and ends resulted in an extremely satisfying experience. I got paid tremendously well, but not in the direct monetary sense. I got to talk to other runners, garnering knowledge of their running endeavors. I got unending amounts of smiles and thanks from participants. Food and water were present, and frequently provided by the race organizers. I've now got two more volunteer positions set up in October. Two more opportunities to give back, to that which I love so much.

***

My left leg is pushed, pulled, and twisted in various directions.

'It looks good. All this, your quad, all this comes down into this tiny tendon. Isn't our maker great? I mean, that's just amazing to think. You probably just tore about 5,000 of the 54 million fibers that make up your patellar tendon. I'd give it about three weeks completely off. If it's an issue after that, come back and see me.'

So here goes 20 days of push-ups, pull-ups, and ab work.

  

'We All Lose Sometimes'

Recently finished Scott Jurek's book.  It's quite good, and worth a quick read.  My favorite quote is below.

We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterward.

-Scott Jurek, Eat and Run

Injuries, Recovering, Relocating, Reflection.

Injuries

After White River, I ended up taking about four days off, and then went out for an easy run on the bluffs.  My legs were tired, but nothing that prevented me from getting a recovery run in. Unfortunately, five miles in I tweaked my knee.  I didn't think much of it, and rested it for a couple of days, figuring it would go away.  It did, so I ran again over the weekend on Mt. Spokane with my running partner Bruce. My knee decided to really stiffen up, and I completely slowed Bruce down to the point that I was walking and he would go run down the trail and come back to me, just to keep himself moving.  Major bummer, especially because my parents were in town the next weekend, as we planned a trip to Winthrop for the Angels Staircase 60K. I rested my legs all week, the knee got better, and I tried the race, but had to drop about 30 minutes in as my knee started to stiffen again.

Recovering

I rested again for four straight days, and am now back to running.  I did four and half miles Thursday and Friday, followed by six miles on Saturday. My legs finally feel like they are ready to run again - just in time for the Hood to Coast relay this coming weekend in Oregon. I'm fortunate enough to be part of a friends team, and I'm really looking forward to the team aspect of running, my first significant road run, and first night run. I also picked up a pair of road running shoes (Saucony Kinvara 3), and am very happy with them (review forthcoming).

While recovering, I can say I got extremely grumpy/pissy.  I wouldn't say I was depressed, because I'd like to believe that there are plenty of things in life to keep me from getting to that point, but I was certainly frustrated that I couldn't run. I didn't want to swim, tune-up my mountain bike, lift weights, or really engage in any other form of exercise to stay in shape. I even ordered from Dominos one night, because TV told me they had improved their ingredients. I had two pieces, felt sick, and put the rest in the garbage. 

Relocating
Work is moving me out to the Seattle area, so I have started looking at places on the wet (sic) side, and more importantly, determining what will be my training grounds. Luckily, it seems there are many trail running groups out in the Seattle area, which should be fun to get involved with.

Reflection

Somewhere in the midst of recovery, moving logistics, not blogging, consuming cardboard masquerading as food, and being grumpy, I decided I needed to plan for the future. Ultra-running took precedence. I needed to come up with the big races I was going to try to enter for 2013. So here is what I have so far for potential adventures:

• Western States 100 mile (lottery, hard to get into)
• Miwok 100k (lottery, less hard to get into)
• Cascade Crest 100 mile (lottery, less hard to get into)
• Pine to Palm 100 mile (not sure of lottery)
• Sun Mountain 50 mile
• Angels Staircase 60K

As part of my reflection, I also wanted to re-tune my fueling. I've been doing a fair amount of reading and research into Vegan diets, and fueling on fat for races (as opposed to 'carbo loading'). I can't say I have come to any level of certainty of what exactly I'm doing, but I am moving in a certain direction. I like the thought behind using fat as fuel in races. I also want to see what happens when I lessen the amount of animal products in my diet.

Onward.

Pops and Mom at Grand Coulee Dam.

How my father smiles.

PROOF. THE METHOW VALLEY SHITS DEER. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE.