Friday, October 26, 2012

I feel angrier, older, and whiter already.

Dear Diary

13. Knock tapas off my bucket list. Herself Dreadpirate Cudney-Black, Mr. Black, and I went to a Tapas bar, had tapas, and listened to really good salsa jazz. The tapas ranged from artichoke with orange goat cheese, to calimari (not deep-fried and rubberly, but braised and buttery soft), grilled beef-wrapped asparagus, and some others, to a finishing touch of tres leches cake which--if you have never tried it, is worth a southwestern plane ticket to Albuquerque.

12. The night before, I ate out with mom-in-law and had dungeness crab on a bed of hand-cut truffle fries. We ate this delight at Desert Fish, the best place to get fresh seafood here in the desert.

11. Besides knocking on the door of my bucket list, these places we listed in a book that an ultra runner I know just got published. Her book was published not too long after she finished Western States. I'm planning to use her book as a guide to working on my bucket list.

My badass travel outfit.
10. The day after the tapas experience, me and four other New Mexico Outlaws that I know ran the Duke City relay. I ran the first leg, and ran 4.4 miles leg in a 10:28 pace. While this is nowhere near as fast as I have run, or would have liked to run, it was a hopeful experience. I trotted back to start, somewhat slower, and waited for Dreadpirate to run the anchor. Our team finished in about 3:48.

9. After I handed off the batan, and stood on the Bosque path, among the blazing orange cottonwoods. The sky was a brilliant turquoise, and it was about 60 degrees out. Hot-air balloons had lifted off and hung in the brilliant sky, like a fantastic mobile. And I thought, life is good.

8. This Saturday I'll toe the start line with several other Outlaws at the Javalina Jundred. I did this race back in 2010, and finished the first 100k, getting my 100k buckle. I told everyone I'd be back in 2012, and well shit, it's here. It sounds really far away back then. Now it's here. It will be tracked here.

7. So, ultrasignup has posted projected times for finishers based on previous finisher times using some mathematical heuristic that I'm no longer in the business of knowing. It projects, that should I actually be able to stay on my feet that long (doubtful) that I will finish 101 miles in less than 30 hours.

6. I was having some seriously painful shoulder and neck stuff. I though it was from my iPad, and I tried yoga, stretching, muscle relaxers, massage, but nothing worked. I finally figured out that it was from the awkward setup of my desk at work. I took some ergonomic advise and moved stuff and waddaya know? It worked. The pain, ever present for six months, is fading. Rapidly.

5. Mini gear review. If you were paying attention two weeks ago you would have seen the Groupon Goods special of three pairs of Injinji performance max socks for $20. I grabbed this, and they arrived yesterday.

Two of the pairs reminded me of "micro crew" socks that Injinji made in the past. These were socks that made me hate my life. They would, within 50 yards, creek down, down, down into my shoe until they wadded up Under my heel. Fuckers. So it was with no small amount of trepidation that I went out for a short run in these. And you know what? Injinji's new design is great. The socks no only see, to last longer now, but they don't creep down in my shoes. So, they are a success.

4. This weekend, I'm packing six drop bags, just in case. Each drop bag will have an Ensure Clear and two Larabars (580 calories), Change of socks, and mile 30 and 60 will have new shoes. Each one will have a card full of platitudes and affirmations and instructions. These instructions come from my pace chart, on which I predict, for instance, that the sun will likely go down during the fourth loop. So, the card will say, MISTY! YOU'RE AWESOME! DON'T FORGET YOUR HEADLAMP AND SPARE BATTERIES!

3. It's supposed to be in the eighties on the trail Saturday afternoon. Suck, suck, suck. I'll be wearing a loose white, wicking shirt; sunscreen, and big-assed wide-brimmed hiking hat, and my cool-off bandana.

I have five bags, for loops 2, 3, 4, 5, and "6 and beyond". Truth be told, I'm expecting to get at least as far as loop 4, which is 100k. Everything I do after that will be further than I've ever gone.

2. As I finish writing this, I'm on Route 66, headed west to Fountain Hills. I'm not crazy about Arizona apart from the good uktrarunning. i always feel like I'm surrounded by super angry old white people. Meanwhile, I'm eating a diet red bull and white chocolate Reese's. Because life is all about balance.

. I'm sending you a picture since my new iPad has cellular data capability:

1.i've just entered Arizona. I feel whiter and angrier already.



 

2 comments:

  1. Good luck at Javelina!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good luck at Javelina! Some parts of Arizona are ok (I love Sedona). I did not know there were white chocolate Reese's, must find. Reese's are some of my all-time favorites but I can't eat milk/dark choc anymore - white is ok.

    ReplyDelete

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