Wilderness Running Company

Pre-run at Cove Wash Trailhead, 45 minutes before sunset. It’s good to be back at it.

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Just a week in, the back rehab is going well enough that I’ve cautiously resumed activity. I was feeling pretty great about that on Saturday. So was Joia, aka the post-run golden retriever wet wipe. Yes, it’s a major ewww, but it’s also pretty funny. And I have a very hard time withholding anything from her that literally makes the tail wag the dog.

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This is my main gear closet on yet another 2010 morning in which I didn’t get into it.

I’ve beat around the bush several times over the past month that my year is off to a bad start. This post is either another in that series or the beginning of a new direction. Only time will tell.

The first circle on my 2010 calendar is was Red Hot Moab. Unfortunately, I’ve been sidelined pretty much completely since January 1, first by illness and now by injury. So Red Hot won’t be happening for me. (Since my current issues are back-related and do not respond favorably to travel, I won’t even be attending the event as a sponsor-spectator.)

As you might expect, I’ve gone back and forth several times on Kübler-Ross’s grief spectrum (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance).  I’ve finally concluded that I need to genuinely retrench with respect to my health, instead of merely sucking down a few muscle relaxants and tapping my foot impatiently until I feel juuust good enough to resume thrashing myself. To that end, I have just begun a course of treatment that will throw the kitchen sink at my troubles: acupuncture, ART, chiropractic and PT, supplemented, of course, with “independent study.”

Truthfully, I’ve let a few chronic hot spots hang around as unwelcome guests for far too long with my tendency to treat flare-ups with the bare minimum of medication and rest, and not a thing else. If missing Red Hot 2010 turns out to be the price I had to pay to finally address this stuff, it will be well worth it.

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“Just scooters. Very fast scooters.”

I have only ever had one custom ring tone, for calls from my son. So among the highlights of every week is any time I hear the song below. With a sly, obscure, historical anecdote beneath a punk rock surface, the tune sort of epitomizes the boy.

I know, this One Thing does not in fact have much to do with running. However, at the moment I can certainly relate to the protagonists’ determination to do their “very best” in spite of numerous obstacles and, perhaps, reason itself. (In terms of my personal 2010 running wish list, January was an abject disaster.)

Art Brut
18,000 Lira

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10 lbs of catalogs. And I was picky. A post or two recapping my weekend at Outdoor Retailer starting tomorrow.

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What has passed for the bulk of my training the past two weeks is simply trying to shake a very pesky cold. With just four weeks until Red Hot, I suspect I’ll still be chasing goal fitness when I get to the starting line.

Reminder: Today’s DA (Dutch Auction) item is a GoLite tech top bundle. If you wear a men’s size small (37″ chest), or know someone who does, this is a great chance to acquire a tech top for every occasion at one ridiculously low price. We’ve bundled together our last eight men’s small GoLite tops, ranging from silk-weight to “expedition”-weight and including short sleeves and long, crew necks and zip. Price today: $115 ($360 MSRP). That’s less than $15 per top, and, as always with the DA item, if it doesn’t sell today, the price drops tomorrow. (Remember, Twitter is how we first announce DA items. So follow along there or view our most recent tweets in the widget in the left sidebar here at the blog.)

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