A painful walk...

Monday, August 23, 2010

I was starting to get concerned about the nagging ache in my hip because it was bothering me anytime I was walking. It’s not too bad, but the dull ache could become something more acute and troublesome if I’m in the middle of a 10-hour day of hiking and climbing in three weeks when John and I return to the Adirondacks. I decided, therefore, to try a short hike in the park without the pack.

I started out at a brisk pace with the intent of walking 30 minutes on flat bridle trails. The ache was there and never went away, so I returned home, hit the sofa and applied ice for the next 30 minutes. I sent a note off to the doc to let him know and asked about Aleve and the strengthening exercises he has me doing. I was thinking that, while the pain persists, I’d lay off. It never seems like a good idea to exercise an injury. He keeps saying the bike is okay and so I’ll be back at that tomorrow. What a pisser.

My old high school buddy and retired Top Gun and Navy Captain Todd Miller has been reading the blog and was pleased to see I’m putting in cycling miles again. He and I rode from Willoughby to Buchanan, NY and back after our senior year of high school – an 1,100 mile round trip excursion – to visit my grandparents and just to say we’d done something rather wacky. He’s still cycling, as well and recently completed a century called ‘Mountain Mama’ in Monterey, Va. The course was truly difficult, with 9 climbs totaling elevation climbs of over 7,000 feet. I know he thinks I want to do stupid stuff like that again, but I tend to look for ways to ride around mountains – not over them. I suppose that’s not entirely true – particularly when I’m getting ready for climbing in the Adirondacks, but it my mind there is little worse than climbing long mountains with a bike. It basically just hurts…but he always was the screwier of the two of us.

My pinole continues to rock. I made another batch using Red Raspberry syrup this time. I think the raisins add a lot, as well. I’ve got to be careful though, because I’m starting to treat it like a dessert and I don’t want extra calories. It packed well without crumbling for over a week, which was my goal. I know I can pack it on longer backpacking trips and have an excellent source of complex carbohydrate energy that tastes good and isn’t as expensive as the energy bars.

Hang in there, JD, I'm thinking about you.

Hike duration: 30 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 75.
Calories burned during workout: 150.