OK maybe running isn't quite the best description especially since I am mostly running/jogging on trails but who would have thought that after 20 years of hating running (and that's an understatement) while in the Navy I am finding trailrunning soo much fun. This all started last fall when I decided that after 4 years the screws in my ankle were still annoying me. Removal isn't an option as recovery from that is a year of minimal exercise/stress which means I couldn't even swim or ride a bike. So the only other choice is to start exercising it. Cycling while great exercise does nothing for the bundle of mixxed up nerves in my lower leg and neither does swimming no impact so the joint doesn't get stressed. I bought a pair of running shoes on a whim and started walking, just me and the dog, not really recording the miles just spending an hour or soo wandering the town. Before Xmas I started to run on the road with the dog which she really liked but my hamstrings and calves were screaming. So on a whim I took the dog out to one of her favorite hikes from when I was learning to walk again 4 years ago and we went for a run there. Well other than the fact that what I thought of as good shape turns out to be mediocre, my legs are much happier, not to mention the dog is ecstatic every time we head out now. There is no question I am slow and trail running is slow going even for a fast person. I got a chance to run this morning with a 2 legged person, an old friend from highschool who runs religiously and was able to match her pace for 2.5 miles of very technical trails. That makes me feel good (though she went out for another lap when I was done), showing her a new place to run was also nice as she admitted that most of her spots are feeling stale. The nice thing about trailrunning is that while the miles are nice its really the time running and the scenery that make it so much fun.


Two Replies to Seriously I am running...

Scott Hardie | January 22, 2013
It's good that you're getting out there and enjoying the trail. I have quite a few runner friends who routinely share photos of the wildlife they spot every weekend morning, so I understand what you mean about the value of the scenery.

Tony Peters | January 22, 2013
yeah a lot of the places I am now running are places that I used to hike on the weekends so I know them almost as well as my local streets. Once it warms up I will likely see more wildlife, not much out there now. Of course watching my dog run thought the woods is also highly entertaining.


vagabond-punk

The musings of Tony Peters, a perpetual child, no matter where I am I will find a way to climb something or go skateboarding Read more »

change 2

well I got to work this morning and I got my holiday break back...it seems that our money guys don't want to pay to have 2 groups of people traipsing around the med at roughly the same time soooooo...they want one team to fly from end to end and then back again over a three week period and it's probably gonna end up costing as much if not more than it would for 2 teams to but and here is the part that sucks for me it'll cost less this year, and we are broke this year, Jan 1 starts are next batch of money...so Go »

Art........

OK so since the summer my creative obsession has been growing. It started in my drawing 2 class with a professor who would turn out to be the man who has completely changed how I both look at and create art, Ben Anderson is an interesting man The first serious piece of the semester was Morf, a Gargoyle I created using mostly found metal from a local bike shop (I have taken to visiting on a weekly basis to acquire additional materials....Morf was the first time I have had a piece of art that I am woking to create completely dominate my thoughts. Go »

animals are family

one of our cats, Sketch was diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure) on Friday we spent the weekend at the the animal hospital before bringing her home late sunday night. Her Condition has been mixxed since though we hope for the best. Her heart seems to be OK and her lungs are free of fluid but she got severely dehydrated which has really messed up her digestive track. Go »

Yet another funeral

one of the nice things about coming home after nearly 20 years away is that I get to see family the bad part is that the most common place to see family is at a funeral. Unlike last summer the weather was glorious so we have a couple of hundred people come to lay my Uncle Donny to rest. Everything was pretty straight until one of the grandchildren laid a Hot Wheels car of a 68 Chevelle, exactly like the one Donny drove for nearly 40 years, in the grave. Go »

A good day in the studio

In general this week was horrible I got Gastro and lost a half my remaining class days to finish the pair of sculptures I'm working on.......however today was good I got about 3 hours of alone time in the studio, just my my tools (a pair of angle grinders with wood cutting/shaping disks) a block of wood and a dust collector......... I put about 5 inches of chips in the dust collector and got a good start on the last piece. Go »

got a new drug

2 weeks ago I sold my BMX cruiser with the intention of shedding a toy to buy a bike better suited to commuting to work, at one time I rode a racebike and i really wanted to start riding one again except with the simplicity that I enjoyed on my cruiser....so I bought a fixxed gear, no not going through a mid life crisis I have ridden a fixxed gear before and I know what's involved, it arrived last friday and after a scramble to assemble it (and switch the brakes to motostyle) I rode it to work, I have ridden to work every day for the last week (because it only rains on my day off) and my legs are just starting to adjust I have aches in places I haven't felt in years but I feel better and judging by the way my pants feel I'm sure I'm starting to look healthier too. No riding a fixie is not for everybody, I have people who give me terrified looks when they realize what I'm riding but it works for me and thats what is important, besides when the weather is nice I can leave after work and ride down to the beach and back on a 20 mile loop and still get home in time to make dinner for my wife and I. Go »