What do I know? I'm just a guy!!

Sarah and I had a good laugh last night. It was one of those times when two people are both in a giggly mood and everything becomes funny. So when I shared a silly story about something I had done earlier in the day we were both laughing to the point of tears.

What is it about us guys that makes us so inable to communicate emotions anyway?

Context first. You see, I'm about to run in my first 50 mile race. This in itself is a bit silly, since I've never run a race longer than 10 miles (that's another story, and don't worry...I've done training runs much longer than 10 miles).

I'm actually pretty nervous about this race, since it will be new territory and I don't know whether my body will hold up long enough to let me finish or what pain I might experience along the way. Since I'm a little nervous I am excited to have any friends and family come to help support and cheer me on.

It was in that context that I found out my sister-in-law had asked to remove herself from a commitment she had so she could come and cheer for me. You know the thing about how "actions speak", so when she did this it made me feel really good. Well that's nice, but then comes me being a dopey guy.

I wanted to let her know how much it meant to me (and also to let her know I'd be running for most of the day and that she shouldn't stand in the cold for the whole thing). My plan was something like this...

Give her a big hug and tell her what a 'warm fuzzy' it gave me that she wanted to come support me, and tell her she's a great person.. What really happened...I pinched her on the elbow and said something like "Hey stinker, I heard you're coming to the race".

Doh! Seriously, I'm pretty sure the next generation of "Everybody Loves Raymond" will be loosely focused on my inability to tell people how I feel about them. It'll be something like "He said / He said".

Example: When he said "hey stinker", he meant, "you're so special to me" and when he said "I heard you're coming" he meant "wow, I'm so blessed that you care!" It'll be a witty, lighthearted, feel-good view of the male mind, and the women who are forced to translate what comes out of that mind.

On the flip side, after I shared this story with Sarah and we laughed about it, I realized how thankful I am that I can share things so easily with her. Now if she can help me get better at sharing with everyone else!

Things that make you go "hmmmm"

I like being reminded what I should be focused on...

Today it is on the purpose and function of the church and on where my energy should be. Thanks to a good friend I have some things to think about today. Here's hoping I can keep some perspective and not let work stress me out and distract me too much today!

Soccer anyone?

Been having hard time coming up with blog material since I've been really busy at work lately.

Last weekend was pretty fun. Jim, Mike and I hung out at Jim's house for "stupid guy movie night". We laughed a lot and played goofy games like who can stand on their head the longest. I lost with about 3 seconds. Never have been able to do a handstand/headstand.

Trent came by with Carson, and we were like something out of a movie. 4 20-somethings and a little baby. He is the cutest little guy, and every time I see him I start daydreaming about the little boy who will be part of our family next February (he's kicking like a champ these days too!)

Jim, Mike, and I took turns dancing Carson around the room to keep him quiet, while Trent enjoyed a root beer and watching Carson hang out on guys night with his "uncles". I can't wait until we get to take him on more guy adventures (camping, hiking, more dumb movies, etc...)

After Trent left, Mike decided we were going to go play soccer in the dark and the rain. We had a pretty good time, but of course that leads me to the fact that it wasn't the best idea for me to be out late, running around, the night before a race. The next morning I got to my race 10 minutes before it started because I had misunderstood the start time. I raced horribly, but it was a good mental exercise in toughness and persistence.

This weekend we'll hang out with friends/family again for the 7th annual Thompson Harvest Party. It would be fun someday to own a little barn and make a big deal out of it. Dancing, bobbing for apples, hay rides, yadayada. It's the simple things in life that are so fun!

Western Chicken Burger....Western Chicken Burger...

I went for a great run on Saturday. I've been reading a lot about other people's experiences with "ultra" running and the emotional and physical roller-coaster experiences they've gone through. What has appealed to me is the idea that running really far seems to have the effect of stripping away people's protective layers, and showing them who they really are.

That and it's just really cool to be in the woods and get a lot of views in one day.

I went to Bull of the Woods Wilderness and started my run on the south end (about a 45 minute drive from Salem, OR). It's a nice area, with old-growth Fir and several creeks just made for boulder hopping, and swimming in the summer.

It was a little chilly, and the first 8 miles were a steady uphill (not steep...about 2500 ft over 10 miles). Something about continuously climbing for that distance, the rocky footing, and my being slightly chilled started to get to me. When I got to a saddle (by Battle Ax peak and Beachie Saddle), I took a quick break to check the map and put on my jacket.

It was so strange, but that little break, putting on my jacket, and a Tiger's Milk bar completely changed things for me. It helped that I was now running downhill too (though the trail was still really rocky).

Soon I got to Elk Lake, and some flat ground! I didn't care much that I was on a gravel road, and was happy to be nearing my half-way mark (later I would realize this was not halfway, but rather something like mile 13 of 33). In my relief that I was not lost (I had a few question marks in my head on that), and was on flat ground I accidentally missed the next trailhead.

A little less than 2 miles down the road I started really wondering what was up, so I stopped to pull out the map. I had to do this many times during the day, since the trails were not well marked and were often pretty overgrown. Taking the pack off was a bit of a chore since it involved an intricate dance with my headphones, and 50% of the time they seemed to get tangled with my arm and pack. I was pretty bummed to realize I had strayed and added about 3.5 miles to my day.

When I did find the trailhead I found that I was (for the first time in about 16-ish miles) finally on nice pine-needle carpeted trail in thick woods.

Eventually I stopped at a creek to get some more water, munch on my second energy bar and stretch. I started up again and ended up on more rocky trail pretty quickly, but had some great views as I headed down toward the north side of the wilderness and came close to a place I'd camped before by Welcome Lakes.

I started up trail "573" - none of the trails have names. They're all just numbered, and they each have one small sign. Very easy to miss, so I had many earphone dance removals of my pack to access my map throughout the day.

Trail 573 should really be called "Steep Rocky Rhododendron Branch Game Trail". See, this name would tell people like me what to expect. That is people who just up and say, "I think I can run 30+ miles in the wilderness". Then we might shorten our plans by a few miles, or bring more food for the journey. It was on trail 573 where I started realizing my day was going to take a lot longer than I expected, that I didn't have enough food or drink with me, and that I needed to start walking more. The walking part came naturally since the trail was so steep.

It was also on trail 573 that I started intermittently clapping and making noises with my voice. This was because I realized I was on a trail that nobody uses and there are mountain lions around the area. I figured I didn't want to surprise them, or a bull elk. I'm sure I looked a little silly, and if you'd seen me I suppose you'd think I was getting my groove on to my mp3 player. Then again, the weary look of my face might have just made you think I was a loony tune to avoid.

Either way, I made it up to Twin Lakes, where I should have filled my water bottle, but didn't. After Twin Lakes I climbed up to Silver King mtn, and then Whetstone mtn. I followed a nice ridgeline for a while and seemed to be getting my momentum back, but the trail was still rocky, and I was getting tired.

By Whetstone mtn, I was getting really down. I was hungry to the point of being lightheaded and my arms and hands were tingling. My legs were tired and I could only run for about 5 minutes at a time. I had taken about 1.5 hrs longer than expected and still had a ways to go. I pulled out the map one more time (and grumbled at my headphones).

As I went to put on my pack again, I bent down and felt sore and tired. I think I said something like "ooey wooey" and let out a sigh. Now I hadn't seen a single person all day...about 30 miles at this point. As I put on my pack, I turned to see a young couple approaching from another trail I had just passed. I was too tired to be very embarrassed, and exchanged a polite hello before moving on. A while later I realized I should have asked for some food from them, but then I don't know if I would have done that had I thought of it.

It was at this point when I started walking even the downhills. I tried to run, because I knew Sarah would be nervous by now, having not heard from me. I was just so tired, lightheaded and hungry. The trip down from Whetstone mtn took much longer than I expected and I was feeling really low. I suddenly got this image of the Carl's Junior western chicken sandwich and it's all I could think of. Having sweated out electrolytes all day I could just taste the salty burger...mmm. I just kept seeing the sandwich and wishing so desperately to be done. I was pretty sure I didn't want to run for a long time after this.

It started raining lightly when I finally made it back to the road and knew that I only had a quarter mile to go. I got to the car and put on clean, dry cotton clothes. There's nothing so nice as clean, dry cotton after a long backpacking trip or a hard run. It's honestly part of what kept me going, knowing I had my cotton friends (undies, socks, shirt, pants) waiting for me at the car. I swilled down a carbonated juice drink, started munching on pretzels, and felt a wonderful sense of satisfaction.

Then I started wondering where my next long run would be...

Oh, and I did go get that Carl's Jr burger. Forgot my credit card and had to go back to get it too.

White fur wishes and long mile dreams

I can't think of much to write, yet I feel the need to blog since my friends will probably quit checking in if there's no new content.

So...I'm wearing a dark blue fleece today which is a bit of a faux-pas in my house. This is because we have a tri-colored beagle. Translation: White dog hair and dark fleece do not mix.

Well actually, they mix rather well, and that is the point. People at work today must think my body is somehow shedding little fuzzy white hairs. That or PETA is going to be all over me for wearing a Beagle-fur jacket. If you see a sad man walking home with red paint thrown on his blue fleece with a few white hairs on it, you know it's one of two things....Me after being assaulted by PETA, or a really misguided, patriotic soul (get it, red, white, and blue. You see what I did there was....)

Decided today I'm going to run a 50 mile race on November 6th. I probably actually decided this a long time ago, but finally had the guts to admit it to myself today. If I can run it in under 9 hrs I can qualify for the Western States 100. My mom thinks I'm nuts and may die...I assured her I won't die and that I've been researching how to train for this stuff. I can't convince her I'm not nuts though.

In the meantime I can't decide if I'm more excited for the race itself or for what fun it will be to have my family and friends there to support me and try to share their energy with me to help me finish.

More to come!

My Best Friend

What is your idea of a good friend?

Would it be someone who would give up a Saturday to support you in your need? Would they stand in the rain on your account and never complain? Maybe they would be the one who made sure you had a warm cup of soup waiting for you when you came out of the cold. They might sit in a car for a couple hours so you'd have a dry set of clothes waiting for you.

Now how about if your "need" was really just a whim? If you just felt like going for a 23-ish mile jaunt down the coast, would your friend sacrifice their Saturday to help you do it? If so you're lucky, and like me, you might want to marry that special friend.

Saturday I got to enjoy one of my favorite activities; running in the rain through dense forests and on cliffs overlooking the Pacific. It was outstanding, and I ran farther than I have before. In the meantime my wife, and my buddies' wives - my friends Mike and Jim ran too - were keeping each other company in the rain while they waited for us and served as our "aid stations". We had extra drinks and snacks for the trip, as well as dry shirts and jackets.

Lots of fun, very beautiful, and the scenery was nice too ;-)
Thanks Sarah!!