Back to Lakeshore Park, Barefoot #2
Posted in barefoot, dog running, fivefingers, health, injuries, marathons, races, trail by Nate
This should have been a longer run, but I didn’t feel like emptying the tank. It’s both bogus and sad to me that 4 miles was all I did on this fine, beautiful, near tropical Sunday. But the dismay is diluted with pride in the fact that I ran these slippery, muddy miles barefoot, and that my legs feel wonderful, and that I feel like I could have gone twice as far.
Maybe I’ll try stacking on more miles in the near future. I’m just enjoying it right now.
This was my first post-snow run at Lakeshore for the year. I almost like it better when its frozen; the general pestilence like mosquitoes, horseflies, and Oakley-clad, shirtless frat boys on mountain bikes aren’t there in the winter.
They were out in full force today.
Still, Lakeshore is one of my favorite trails. Not too much climbing, though rife with rolling, gentle ups and downs. The trails are soft on the feet and perfect for barefooting. No huge stretches of wood chips, and maybe only a few spots of sharp gravel – nothing to really ruin your day though.
Great trail, and a great run today. I can’t wait for the summer. Especially once Max gets his mileage up.
Congrats to Dirty and Brian on conquering Trail Marathon today. Hope I can join you next year.
Running with Dogs, Both Dirty and Filthy
Posted in dog running, general, health, injuries, trail by NateI post a ton of entries saying that I’m going to start posting again. It’s true maybe one-third of the time. Here’s to trying:
Physical therapy is concluded and has yielded very positive results. Twice a week, for two months, I worked on strengthening, stretching and balancing exercises. Slowly but surely, strength and flexibility returned and replaced the shooting pains in my right lateral meniscus. The true nature of the injury remains ambiguous on account of the impossibly high cost of MRIs with crap insurance, but the good Doctor McDade and Physical Therapist Weber were able to make educated guesses and point me in the right direction. All-in, I’m thankful I didn’t have to go under the knife, or tube, or whatever they use for arthroscopic surgery these days.
Always go the holistic route if possible.
Last weekend marked the first trail of the year. Dirt Dawg was kind enough to meet me at my local/home trail, Heritage Park, for a painfully slow and short 3.5 miler. Conditions were slushy, hilly, and pretty unforgiving – laughable for someone training for his first 100 miler, but frustrating for someone in my weak condition. All that said, it was great to get off pavement and back in the woods, and nice to catch up with running’s ol’ Dirty.
A few days later, a tropical heatwave swept through southeast MI, launching the temperature to a stratospheric 55. I decided to take Max out for his first legitimate street run, knocking out an easy 1.5 miler just to get him in the groove and show him how things are supposed to work. A few distractions aside, he got the hang of it pretty quickly, and managed to soak up a few pounds of muddy dirt road in the process.
Having knocked out 1.5 so easily, I thought I’d have him try out a 2 miler today. A luxurious coat of fresh snow covered the trails at Lakeshore Park, freezing the mud below it and keeping the top layer soft enough for his adolescent paws and my weak knee. We tried the leash-around-the-waist method, keeping my hands free for balance, and things worked out wonderfully.
That’s about it. Pretty uninspiring, but good news all around. It’s a great feeling to be running again, and I’m thankful that it’s happening with just enough time left to enjoy the snow. Winter trails have always been my favorite. Maybe because it means you have the woods pretty much to yourself. Maybe because everything’s so much more tranquil when it’s below-freezing and covered in white. Maybe because it’s an excuse to run slow and just enjoy it, without feeling like I should be holding a certain pace or hitting a certain time.
- It feels like a Friday night. . .
- Had both a #bowmore and #glenkinchie 12 last night. Killer noses on both, but more on the latter. #singlemalt #scotch #whisky
- Drinking a #glenkinchie 12, waiting for clients. — at Lily's Seafood http://gowal.la/c/2pYgy?137
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