Recently my stress fracture turned six months old. I have long since given up any hope of competing in some of the area's summer flagship races, and I've come to terms with missing the opportunity to see where I would stack up against the country's best in Bend's National Mountain Running Championships. I also gave up hope of competing in the Mt. Ashland Hill climb. As tempting as it may be, I know that I can't enter a race without putting the peddle to the metal in training, and before I can do that, my body has to regain my trust.
One week ago, the high school seniors I worked with throughout the year graduated from their alternative high school. Within 30 seconds of talking to a graduate's mother she was in tears. Graduations at alternative high schools are not taken for granted, and my work has been a powerful way to keep me from moping around all of 2015. Even if my own life has been on hold, I helped 81 young adults get a powerful prerequisite to start theirs.
As long as I can remember, the close of a school year has been followed with a trip into the mountains. Luckily, this year was no different. This weekend's trek into The Sky Lakes Wilderness was certainly not a strenuous backpacking trip. It was however a chance to head into the mountains, and enjoy the relative health that I am enjoying now. Friday night we camped above Cliff Lake. We might have enjoyed the Seven Lake Basin more if it weren't for the incessant and plentiful mosquitoes who enjoyed sucking our blood whenever the opportunity presented itself, which was often. Welcome to Oregon below the tree line baby! Saturday morning we packed up camp with the ruthlessness and efficiency that a couple of Sierra vagabonds take for granted, and bombed up the ridge towards better views, scree, wildflowers and no more mosquitoes. We decided to camp just below the summit of Devil's Peak, and day hiked south along the Pacific Crest Trail for a while.
One week ago, the high school seniors I worked with throughout the year graduated from their alternative high school. Within 30 seconds of talking to a graduate's mother she was in tears. Graduations at alternative high schools are not taken for granted, and my work has been a powerful way to keep me from moping around all of 2015. Even if my own life has been on hold, I helped 81 young adults get a powerful prerequisite to start theirs.
As long as I can remember, the close of a school year has been followed with a trip into the mountains. Luckily, this year was no different. This weekend's trek into The Sky Lakes Wilderness was certainly not a strenuous backpacking trip. It was however a chance to head into the mountains, and enjoy the relative health that I am enjoying now. Friday night we camped above Cliff Lake. We might have enjoyed the Seven Lake Basin more if it weren't for the incessant and plentiful mosquitoes who enjoyed sucking our blood whenever the opportunity presented itself, which was often. Welcome to Oregon below the tree line baby! Saturday morning we packed up camp with the ruthlessness and efficiency that a couple of Sierra vagabonds take for granted, and bombed up the ridge towards better views, scree, wildflowers and no more mosquitoes. We decided to camp just below the summit of Devil's Peak, and day hiked south along the Pacific Crest Trail for a while.
I have been out of my walking boot since the end of March. Nonetheless I can still feel that my right leg does not have the same level of strength and stability as my left leg. I have been vigilant in cross training, including swimming, bicycling, and using the stair master. I also have been weightlifting since before I removed my boot. I feel that while my leg has progressed, this injury continues to keep me guessing as to when I can return to running and full body exercises. I can tell that I am very close to feeling healed, however I trust the sensation of my body more than anybody else in these regards. When it is time to incorporate step ups, plyometrics, back squats, dead lifts and other exercises, I will know.
It is incredibly frustrating to be so close to the end of a long injury. You are ready to return. You know that it would only take a matter of weeks to regain the majority of fitness that you lost. Even though I don't believe it myself sometimes, the fact is that you will run again! In the mean time, you can check out the volcanoes and smell the flowers, because we all know that I won't be stopping to appreciate these in the same way when I am able to compete again.
It is incredibly frustrating to be so close to the end of a long injury. You are ready to return. You know that it would only take a matter of weeks to regain the majority of fitness that you lost. Even though I don't believe it myself sometimes, the fact is that you will run again! In the mean time, you can check out the volcanoes and smell the flowers, because we all know that I won't be stopping to appreciate these in the same way when I am able to compete again.
Injured Athlete Book Club
George Vecsey does a great job of assembling an informative tour of his personal soccer journey, from bumbling high school defender to New York Times sports journalist chasing the world's biggest games and names. Although some of the names are familiar, he is able to add depth to the characters and the sport which I dedicated myself to without hesitation or reservation for 16 years. It may be a timely read, as FIFA cronies such as Sepp Blatter and Jack Warner have their early exploits highlighted. We are also reminded that FIFA was squeamish about the USA hosting the World Cup in 1994. Why? Because of the level of oversight and accountability that would be demanded by holding such an event in the US.
Forget the sports administrators though! This book reminds us of the quirks, brilliance and controversy surrounding Maradona, Baggio and Zidan. Vecsey also does a great job of tracing the public and media attention to the world's game here in the USA. It seems that I was born in the year that the USMNT (US Men's National Team) returned to the World Cup for the first time in 4 decades.
Anyways. No matter what book you bring along, you will almost certainly enjoy it if you are reading it under the same scrubby tree on Devil's Peak that I did. As the pages turned Mt. Shasta and Mt. McLaughlin maintained a commanding presence over the southern horizon.
Forget the sports administrators though! This book reminds us of the quirks, brilliance and controversy surrounding Maradona, Baggio and Zidan. Vecsey also does a great job of tracing the public and media attention to the world's game here in the USA. It seems that I was born in the year that the USMNT (US Men's National Team) returned to the World Cup for the first time in 4 decades.
Anyways. No matter what book you bring along, you will almost certainly enjoy it if you are reading it under the same scrubby tree on Devil's Peak that I did. As the pages turned Mt. Shasta and Mt. McLaughlin maintained a commanding presence over the southern horizon.
I wasn't a fan of Billy Yang's first installment in his 15 hours series, it seemed to represent everything I dislike about the ultra runner scene. Nonetheless, the second installment in his series with Anton Krupicka was dynamite. As one of the sport's greatest, he has dealt with persistent injuries for a while and his perspective is worth your time.