Category Archives: Uncategorized

This past week (almost) has been full of ups and downs. After an easy 6 mile run on Thursday, I felt some pretty sharp pain on the top of my left foot. I didn’t think much of it at the time…

Fast forward to Saturday and Sunday..backpacking the 4C Trail. For whatever reason, Ratcliff Lake Recreation Area was closed. We ended up parking at a gas station in Ratcliff. After a bit of road walking, we started the trail at mile 1.7. My total pack load was about 21 pounds – a number that I was pretty satisfied with considering that 13 of those pounds were water. We hiked to mile 12.5ish on Saturday and set up camp around 6pm. I got to test out the JetBoil Flash for the first time and it’s pretty damn impressive. Under 30 seconds to boil water! It’s a little heavy and bulky, but totally worth it considering its spectacular performance.

This was my first time sleeping in a hammock (Hennessey) and I liked it, mostly. I didn’t like the feeling of hanging above the ground because it made me feel a bit exposed. As far as comfort, though, it’s a definite winner. Next weekend I’m going on a shopping spree at REI. I’ll either come out with the REI Quarter Dome 1 or the Hennessey Ultralight…we’ll see.

We got moving Sunday morning around 8:45am. Before that, my breakfast consisted of a rice burrito and coffee. We made it back to my truck around noon. I was pretty impressed with the Neches Bluff Overlook..not an amazing view, but not bad at all.

Back in Huntsville, my roommate and I binged on IHOP. I had a monster cheeseburger with an extra side of fries and a mocha iced coffee. I learned something very tantalizing here – they give free refills on iced coffee. I think I’m in love.

All in all, the trip was a good time. My Talon 22 performed well and was very comfortable. My foot, however, is not having such a good time. More on that soon…

I’ve always liked to push my limits – mentally and physically. It’s almost a tradition for me at this point. Thousands of challenges await us in this world, yet most run from them. I prefer to embrace them.

Two weeks ago, I had never run more than five miles in a single go in my life. I hadn’t even thought about it. Yet on Tuesday, I ran 13. With a 10-pound pack. This isn’t a big deal for runners, sure; I’m not exactly a runner.

The first few miles were a breeze even though my pace was entirely too fast. By mile 5, I felt terrible. And then a mile into my second lap on the Chinquapin Trail everything came together. I’ve heard runners talk about “runner’s high” but I had never experienced it before Tuesday. It was quite a feeling and I didn’t wanna lose it. I blazed from mile 8 to 10.5, feeling wonderful and jamming out to The Rolling Stones after finishing Bryson’s A Walk In The Woods.

But just as quickly as the pieces melded together and propelled me through the woods, they broke apart and spread along the dirt path like fire ants on a mission. The last 2.5 miles of the run was absolute hell. I was probably walking as much as I was running, at least during the last mile.

That’s not the important part, though. I finished the 13 miles in 2:00:00 (my original goal) exactly. That comes out to 9:15/mile and I’ll happily take it. I learned a couple things over these 13 miles. First, I need to learn to hold a steady pace. I’m sure this is a skill that will come in time. Second, I might need to consider wearing my Injini socks with the Five Fingers because I finally developed a blister that bled through the stretchy material of my barefoot shoes and left a rather large red stain.

Off to run another 6.

I awoke at 6am this morning to the sound of rain pelting the tin roof. This is, without a doubt, one of my favorite sounds. I reached over to the window overlooking my couch (yes, I sleep on a couch) and pulled it up several inches, hoping to magnify the sound.

I knew Huntsville State Park would be soaked by the time I actually got my ass up a few hours later. Oh well..I went out anyway. I ran a quick two miles and finished with a very pleasing time – 14:46. This gave me a nice average of 7:23/mile. I think I could have kept up a sub-7:30 pace for another mile, but who knows. My calves were hurtin’ by the end of this one, but I’m just glad I didn’t eat shit – I was slipping all over the place. I seriously considered running this barefoot, but decided to give my Five Fingers a shot in this muddy madness and they performed pretty well.

I’ve got a deload workout tomorrow and then a 6 mile run on Tuesday. I’m going to make that run with my Talon 22, a full 3L bladder, and my hammock. The weight should be around 12 pounds.

Weekly Mileage – 18 (+3 from last week)

I made a trip into Houston yesterday, as is typical of my Friday’s. After a quick stop at the house, I ventured over to REI where I managed to slam my door into some guy’s car. Technically, the wind did it. And of course this happened as he was walking out of the store – perfect. Luckily, he saw what had happened and wasn’t too concerned about the faint red line decorating the driver’s side door. Sweet.

I ended up spending an hour and a half inside this candy land of a store. I walked out with the Osprey Talon 22, Black Diamond Orbit (coolest little lantern ever), two Platypus 17oz collapsible water bottles, some gels (jet blackberry and mint chocolate), and a pack of electrolyte tabs. Successful trip.

Unfortunately, I awoke this morning to the pitter-patter of rain on our tin roof. I do love rain, but I was looking forward to spending the day outside. I guess I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to test out the Talon 22. Speaking of…this pack fits wonderfully. I was primarily focused on the Osprey Talon 22 and Camelbak Rim Runner. The Talon won the ‘pack loaded with a 10-pound pillow while sprinting down the backpack aisle’ test by a landslide.

It feels pretty good, to be honest. Pre-run, I felt good. Mid-run, I felt good. and Post-run, I feel pretty damn good.

Before last week, I had never run on a trail in my life. Nor had I ever run a distance greater than 5 miles. Considering that, I’ve gotta admit that I’m pretty impressed with myself right now.

The first couple of miles were a pain, but eventually I hit my stride and started feeling decent. Early on, I decided to try something I had previously read – cruise the flats, walk the uphills, and blaze the downhills. This strategy worked perfectly. Before mile 10, that is. During mile 9, I felt wonderful. I was planning to push on and tackle the half-marathon distance of 13 miles. As soon as I began on my 10th mile, however, I quickly decided against that.

Regardless, it was a good run – I averaged right around 9 minutes and 10 seconds per mile. My heart rate was 145 within a minute of finishing the last mile. And as I’m looking through the open windows of my living room right at this moment, it seems I beat the rain by a very short amount of time. Lucky me.

As a side note, I carried a Camelbak weighing around 8 pounds. I finished most of the 3L of water that I had packed, and one of the gels. Lemon Sublime, yummy.