Saturday, April 16, 2011

Update

Wasn’t quite sure what this weekend was going to turn out. Almost went to Alaska on a whim, but flight loads didn’t work. Instead checked out the Radical Reels Film Fest as a part of Midwest Mountaineering’s Spring Outdoor Adventure Expo. Now chilling (literally- it snowed last night and our apartment building managers didn’t figure that heat was necessary any longer this year) in my place, and thought I’d dust off the ol’ treadnorth blog. Been dry on the writing side of life lately, seeing as my blog is dedicated largely to adventuring outside, and things have been decidedly focused on the lesser exciting topics of work and more work in the past couple months. Big changes of some sort coming in that realm for me, as I was recalled from my pilot furlough recently. I teach, so I may be splitting my time with that and flying, or may fly full time. So that’s been taking up my brainpower, making big decisions about how (and where) I will spend my workdays.

But the outdoors and the passion I have for it has not been out of sight during this time. I’ve been continuing to run, and have finally been freed from the treadmill months to take things outside and let my toes feel something real. I haven’t been running quite as much as I’d like to due to said work drama, but it’s coming along. I’m stoked for our trails to finish their yearly evolution from snowpack to cold muck to dirt. Last night’s snow didn’t help, but it’s coming. I did pick up a pair of Merril’s new True Glove “barefoot” running shoes and a pair of running gaiters, so I’m more equipped for spring trail running. Haven’t made any big judgments on them yet as I’ve only worn them a couple times, but the initial reaction would be that they have more substance than my VFF’s, yet keep a decent trail feel with zero heel to toe drop. Should end up my shoes for more gravel-y terrain and for when it’s colder out. More on these as I use them.

You’d think I would have blogged this right away, but last month also saw my first pedal stroke off the trainer and outside, which was a huge relief after so much couch time following surgery. I’ve commuted into work a couple times and have been riding on the weekends. I did in fact sign up for MN Ironman in a couple weeks, so we’ll see if my chest likes that or not (more like we’ll see if I think the discomfort is reasonable or not). I’m excited though. It at least feels like I can follow through a bit more on the decisions I want to make outside. My ideas are still much stronger than my body- a balance one has to keep in check to ever get on the other side of said balance.

First post-op ride outside. Rode the Karate Monkey over to Minnehaha Falls (falls are behind me- sorry, you can't see them this time):

View off the Mendota Bridge at a spring-flooded Ft. Snelling State Park:

Climbing has taken a backseat lately, and I hope to get a little of it in sooner than later. Perhaps today or tomorrow I’ll hit the plastic jungle. My chest bar has been feisty, moving and digging nerves under my right pectoral area pretty often whenever I make pushing motions, so that’s been an obvious distraction to climbing without reserve. Three more months of the bar at least is what the doctor says now. Long time, I’m a hard case.

That’s some of what’s been happening in the past several weeks. Oh, and I took my wife to Paris, which will be a post of it’s own. I'm off to figure out the weekend we have free...

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