My 12K Hike And A Couple Of Random Pics

LOVE hiking in these woods!

   A little over a week and a half ago, I did something to my right knee and have been "on the shelf" since then. I was able to get in to see a doctor the following day and he basically diagnosed me with a muscle strain. He said it wasn't too serious and that I should do normal activities for two weeks, walking for two weeks and then return to light running.
   About three days after I saw him, my knee felt fine. Mind you, I could get it into positions where it didn't feel fine but, for the most part, it felt as though I was ahead of the recovery prognosis. I actually felt as though I could run but why take a chance?

Nice to see the green returning!

   Much of the good weather lately has distressed me as I haven't been able to run in it. Today, however, I decided that I would begin the "walking" phase of my recovery. About a month and a half ago I had bought some hiking boots and have only been able to use them on short walks so today gave me the opportunity to give them a true test.
   I live nearby Warbler Woods and Kains Woods, two of London's environmentally significant areas (ESAs) so I thought that I would hike from my house to Warbler, walk all the way through Warbler and then up Commissioners a bit and then down Oxford a bit til I got to the southwest entrance of Kains Woods. I would then walk to the far end of Kains until it popped out into the Riverbend subdivision and from there just walk home along the city streets.
   I also decided to use my urban poles. Doralyn gave me urban poles for Father's Day almost three years ago and I had yet to actually use them. They're not really designed for trails (hence the "urban") but I thought it would at least give me a bit of a feel as to what it would be like using trekking poles.
   It was a beautiful Easter Sunday, weather-wise, and I ran into a lot of other people enjoying the trails. None of them looked like they were on the same kind of mission I was (with me and my poles and camelbak and arm and wrist bands) but we happily chatted as we passed.

My favourite part of the trail,
going up OR down.

  It was kind of a nice change to be out in the woods and not be running and I noticed even more things than I usually do. At the same time, I was working up quite the sweat and did find myself pretty winded at the end of long climbs. I had the camelbak but didn't bother with the bladder, I just filled up a water bottle, threw in half a Nuun, and slid it into one of the front pouches of the vest.

Lots of these growing by the side
of the trail today. Skunk cabbages?

    Round about 9.7 K, I started to feel a burning sensation on the bottom of both of my feet. At this point, I was about 2K from home and just powered through. Once I did get home, I took off my boots and socks and, sure enough, blisters. As the rest of the day progressed, however, I found I could more and more easily walk on them so, hopefully, no big deal. I think I made the major mistake of wearing a cheap pair of work socks, rather than anything designed for mileage, so I guess this was all part of the learning curve. We'll see how they feel tomorrow, and from there we'll make plans for the next long hike and then, hopefully not long after that, back to running! 

Random Pics

After Easter dinner at the Mandarin,
Doralyn and I and our friend, Louise
found ourselves in the backyard,
looking at the plant life. We heard
what sounded like sheets flapping
in the wind and when we looked up
there were turkey vultures soaring
overhead, looking majestic. They
managed to perch on the tiniest
little branches. We were looking
at them flying around and they were
looking at us, waiting for one of us
to drop dead. I was the most
likely candidate....

This is what Doralyn looks like when
she's eating candy floss at the same time
that you ask her to smile. If you
couldn't tell, she's saying "eff you"
at that exact moment!

The Coughing-My-Lungs-Out Blues!

   Well, we're already into the new year and I would love to be able to describe to you all the snowy running I've been doing but the fact of the matter is...I can't! I've actually been sicker than a dog (not sure where that expression comes from) since about Dec. 31, as the woman who was sitting right beside me in the movie theater that evening can attest to.
   What started out as just a small tickle in my chest progressed rapidly to full-fledged, gut-wrenching hacking attacks that are still ongoing (but somewhat diminished) as we speak. I've spent the last four nights on the couch so that Doralyn, my wife, could get a little sleep and basically have slept sitting up because any time I lie down my lungs start to whisper to me (they sound kind of like elephants, trumpeting from afar) and this always leads to another attack. Got bad enough that I even followed my wife's request that I visit the doctor.
   So, there has been no running. This has been okay because when you can't even imagine running you don't miss it all that much!
   I did engage in some running-related stuff over the holidays, courtesy of receiving a CamelBak  hydration vest from Doralyn, a Running Room gift card from my son, Bryant, and a Sport Chek gift card from my stepson, Keenan. 

Hopefully it's left New
Zealand by now!

   After my trail-running experience this past summer, the CamelBak became almost a necessity. Running trails meant being out much longer and prior to that I'd been getting by with an armband bottle. This more or less had been doing the trick while I was only doing 5K runs but was problematic out on the trails. I had my water run out on me a couple of times before I got wise and started carrying a larger bottle in a backpack. This, however, necessitated constantly stopping, removing the backpack, etc. Hence the need for the hydration vest. Oddly enough, we ended up searching all over the internet for the one I wanted and ended up having to order one from New Zealand. And, a little sadly, it is still in transit!

Running Room commercial?
Should I have been paid for this?

   With my Running Room certificate, I went out and bought CamelBak bottles I`ll be able to use in the front of the vest. Then, with a little left over on the card, I was able to pick up some socks, some Nuun, a lock (in case I accidentally actually use my gym membership) and a couple of protein bars the cashier threw in. Good stuff.

And should Sport Chek
pay me, too?

   Then it was on to Sport Chek. There, I was torn between putting the gift card toward hiking boots or trail running shoes. Couldn't find the shoes so bought myself a pair of Merrell Moabs. My wife and I have talked at length about hiking the trails in the London area so this was kind of what I had in mind. If not for being sick, I would have used them by now!
   Hopefully, the lungs will mend soon and I'll actually feel like running!