Mud Suckage

Momentum doesn't last long when your shoes almost get sucked off your feet every other step. The Buckeye Trail is a mud trap. Although the water crossing had receded to its usual ankle deepness since my last run here, the rest of the trail was still soaked from the incessant rain.

(I suppose it would be snow if not for global warming.)

My left calf started cramping halfway through my Saturday long run, and my right ankle was giving me a case of the limps shortly after I finished. All the mud was causing me to waste a lot of motion pushing off into a series of sinking pits. I couldn't seem to get it into my thick skull that I should just lift my feet instead.

Thankfully, a solid regimen of RICE had my ankle feeling mostly better by Sunday. This morning, a barefoot run resulted in no ill effects.

Back to the Buckeye Trail run: I was gobsmacked by the heat. It has been a long time since I had to deal with such high temperatures. Between that and the mud, I took plenty of walk breaks. I can't wait until I can make it through without. I was quite glad that I didn't run Sunday, because along with the heat was a hefty dose of humidity -- a preview of summer.

How the Viper started his weekend.