Let me hit the promised issues before we get to the title…
1. I have not had a run since the 19th. This makes me feel less than awesome, and i hope to get back on the stick. If you read here regularly, you will know that i have had some difficulty running in the cold weather. I also have generally felt pretty good when i do suck it up and run through the cold, but it is difficult to get out there. We had an actual nice and spring-like week that turned back into cold. In PA we are back to highs near 40 and single digit lows.
I did make one of my three goals that i set through the online nike+ system. Due to taking a week off i did not make my frequency or distance goals for March, but i did meet the ‘pace’ goal. I had 5 runs under a 9’/mile pace. While i do want to work on frequency and distance also, this was a great hurdle to overcome. It seems that my body now knows how to get out there and maintain 8’30”-8’45”. Once i am easily breaking two miles and ready for more, i can begin to do some much more beautiful runs. The route i am using now is pretty boring, but it is a combination of the safest and flatest route under 3 miles i can use without driving somewhere to run. Once you are comfy with even 3.5, there are some really beautiful runs through the farmland, along the ridges of Lancaster’s rolling hills, and beside some nice creeks and rivers.
I have kept up with my indoor activities. I am doing the full stretching routine twice a day, as well as my floor exercises. I am still increasing my reps as i get stronger and build endurance. The morning session is 18 push-ups, 60 twisty crunches, 60 regular crunches, and 60 leg lifts. The evening is 15, 50, 50, 50. Lucas and i are still walking 4-8 miles in the neighborhood everyday, and on the 26th we did 7 or 8 miles in the woods. More on that at the end of this post – or the beginning of the next one.
2. The Spam bin has been fairly boring since the last report. Mostly it has been huge comments filled with online gambling and casino links – nothing suspicious about that… There were two oddly accurate spams though. It took me a minute to be sure that these were spam. Luckily there were two, and they were identical, and the commenters’ email addresses were almost identical, but that aside – oddly on point. It was two or three grammatically correct sentences about the virtues of Dome tents and how they maximum available interior space with a minimum of added weight.
3. The informal poll on discussing hiking equipment – i was going to ask you folks if you were remotely interested in my search for “the right” hiking gear, because if you are not, that could be pretty boring. Then i realized that i don’t really care, and you can skip it if you don’t want to read it. In part, writing about it here helps me organize my thoughts and remember specific products which is extremely helpful when i am face-to-face with a sales person. And i am a process guy. To my way of doing it, there are lots of processes in hiking. The more processes i employ and the more efficient i can make these processes while at home the more relaxing and enjoyable the adventures when i do make it out into the woods. I know that there is at least one other backpacker and several hikers who read this, so i will probably continue to share about the hiking gear process. Hopefully, you guys will continue to chime in with your experience and advice from time to time as well.
I have to go back to job research now but, the title comes from Saturday’s adventure (Mar 26). I went to the REI in Maryland, bought some new hiking pants, and then had a great hike on some new trails. Lucas loved it, and was even peppy around the neighborhood the next day.
Next Up – more on the hiking pants, learning about trails in Southern PA, the most awesome resource for hiking trails in VA…
Pending – job update, vegan vitamin update (i feel good), probably a short piece on race relations in Friday Night Lights in celebration of the final season launch on regular TV (iTunes Store for me) – no spoilers please, and i will warn you of the spoilers in my FNL essay – it will probably be confined to two episodes in season one.