8/22/2015

The light never penetrated the blinds. No alarm shocked me from slumber. I laid in the king sized bed nestled like a wounded animal. Every muscle in the body was comfortable and motionless. Like a comatose patient regaining consciousness, my finger moved. My fingers closed into a light fist and found my eye. I rubbed the sleep from my face and put my body into a semi-vertical position. I made a cinnamon waffle for breakfast and downed several cups of juice before using the hot tub to expel the aches and pains from my body.

The day began with a dirt road. It was called the Viking trail and it took me eight miles to a town with a sign and three homes. It was the first place Crystal and I would stop and ingest some nutrients. The road was straight with very few motorists...

8/21/2015

When I looked out of the window at the Holiday Inn, the trees seemed to oscillate between forty-five degree angles and seventy degree angles. The rain came down like pellets and the clouds were not happy white cotton balls hanging in the sky. It would have been a hazard to run so Crystal asked the management if we could stay another day. They were happy to accommodate us. I would have liked to have used their swimming pool or played in their arcade but the time off for me meant I could give my legs some much needed rest. I probably had some other work I could have finished but sleep took hold. I used the rest day to shut my body down completely. It was heaven.

The next morning I knew I would run come rain or shine. It didn’t shine. For the first ten miles the rain drizzled...

8/18/2015

Snap, crackle, pop! I wasn’t eating rice krispies for breakfast. That was the sound of my muscles and bones snapping into place. Every morning my body aligned itself after waking. With the luxury of a deep soak everything felt brand new. I continued to be surprised at the resilience of the human body. Perhaps I was doing the right thing by making nutrition a priority in my regimen.

Sweet strawberries topped two waffles for breakfast. I included an omelet in my morning meal but I had to meticulously pick out the tiny pieces of ham inside. That was fine by me. I enjoyed my hearty breakfast and drank a copious amount of peach cocktail. It was not a juice commonly found in the selection provided during hotel breakfasts.

When I hit the Lake Wobegone trail, something in the air was...