Climbing Over the Cairn

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   Finally a good run. about 16 miles, temps in the 50's and pouring rain. really beautiful. the last several weeks have been really "uncomfortable." between a pulled calf muscle and a lower back issue it's been both a literal and figurative pain in the ass. getting back on track with my sleep and diet along with a bit of stretching and working the rollers here and there have made a huge difference. I've felt so heavy and stiff for so long now that I had forgotten what it felt like to do anything other than a miserable death march through the woods. I had made my peace with it as I knew eventually it would go away but it's hard to stay motivated when your only progress is feeling "less bad" rather than "more good."
   I think the focus on stretching and rollers have made the biggest difference but finally taking off some of the few winter pounds probably had a lot to do with it. I've been trying something new with my smoothies. I usually just run everything through the juicer but lately I've been soaking kale overnight in coconut water and lemon juice. The next day I dump it in the vitamix with either a banana or a couple slices of fresh pineapple. I throw in a mix of "powders" like macca, spirulina, hemp seed, ground flax seed and psyllium seed. I've been doing this about four or five times a week the last couple weeks. Really think it helps with the "healing" and recovery process. As far as food goes, it's been a real chore trying to keep up with fresh vegetables lately so I've just given in to eating frozen. I have a ceasar salad for lunch with chicken sometimes, and about two pounds of a mix of frozen veggies for dinner. The kale smoothie is right after work. Not to sure how sustainable the frozen veggie thing is, it seems kind of "lazy" but i feel better and weight is coming off.
   I'm two weeks out from my first ultra of the year. The Peterson Ridge Rumble (http://www.petersonridgerumble.com/). A 40 mile trail run. I'm not quite prepared for it, I've already got a few 20 milers out of the way this year so I know I can get that far without a problem and 30 should go alright. Anything past that could go either way. That's cool. It's really just a prep race for a couple races coming up in June and July. This looks like fun and I've always wanted to do something in Sisters, Or. Run, ride, whatever. Just seems like a cool place to spend a couple days. And a good opportunity to shake it up physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So....the next couple weeks will be tapering. I've never really got that part down. I can do heavy miles, recovery and just all out nothing but the idea of winding down is terrifying. Always afraid I'll lose everything I've worked for. Last season was me just pushing all my limits, running without food or water. Random big miles (along with random big "crashes"). This time around I'm being a little more thoughtful about it. carrying food and water, writing out and sticking to a plan. Trying to, anyway. planning my races and which ones I'll use as prep, fun or adventure and which ones I'll actually go at for results.
   Anyway, the last couple months have been hard. Feeling like shit, crappy weather, no one to run with to share the misery, blah, blah, blah. It ain't all good times and inspiration. Sometimes it's just fucking work and you don't feel like there's anything coming back at all but it's days like this that remind me how it's supposed to feel and reminds me to work through those other obstacles to find the trail again. sometimes those obstacles are really cairns, marking our direction.



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