Emergence

 Man, that felt like a long one.

Winter, that is.

While I don't think we had quite so many days of snow as last year, we definitely had more big snowfalls - 10cm/4" or more at a time - than I can remember in the past couple of decades. As for the sun? It seemed to go into hibernation.

That's not just my impression, either

Fortunately, we can put it all behind us, because SPRING arrived this week!

Almost worth losing an hour of sleep!

The Rare Charitable Research Reserve singletrack is back open, so I got to say hello to some old friends - by which I mean trails - on my run down to the market on Saturday.

While the weather alternated between blinding sun and blinding snowsqualls

It came up sunny in the afternoon, though, so I did my first double since the end of the 100 in 100 at beautiful Shade's Mills Conservation Area.

I did the 101 runs in 100 days that I'd aimed for.
I decided early on just to take it (relatively) easy, and I'm glad I did.

Sunday was more pleasant still - despite a bit of nasty, gusty wind, I actually had a wonderful traipse through the woods on another trail I'd not seen in some while.

..after the morning's snowsqualls had blown away.

Since then, the temperatures have risen, and I've even been able to get out here and there jacketless and with some exposed skin.

Gasp!

Of course it's not all good news: with the thawing due to sun and overnight freeze happening virtually every day, the ice has been pretty nasty in some places.

I'm sure happy I have traction devices

Even spikes can be somewhat of an issue with the milder temperatures: there's been a lot of mixed ice, snow, and mud out there, which can lead to this.

Not exactly helpful for traction

..but I'm greatly looking forward to clear trails without lumpy, crusted ice and snow. It's been a tough one for my hips, knees, and ankles this year, and I kind of need those.

Especially since this continues to be a thing

So even though there's a freezing rainstorm on the way for tomorrow morning, I'll trust that there are better things ahead!

Though I do love me a sunny day in the snow

Warming

 I know I was kind of harsh on spring about a month and a half ago

In my defense, things looked a lot different outside back then

It's still spring for a few more weeks, but conditions outside are immeasurably more pleasant.

The forests have gone green instead of dirty browns and greys

Instead of last year's dead leaves, the trails are now lined with thousands of beautiful flowers.

Delicately scented phlox

Magnificently perfumed lily of the valley

Cheerful little daisies

..and some kind of flowering tree with which I'm not familiar

While we've struggled to get any consistent heat, I've been able to leave my jackets behind for some time now - even as my cranky ankle still has me oscillating between outings that are more run than walk, and ones that are more walk than run, I'm typically comfortable in shorts or a skirt and t-shirt no matter the actual exertion level.

Nice to be able to pause by a tiny waterfall without getting chilled

The return of the mosquitoes has not necessarily been welcome - I keep forgetting to apply bug spray, and have suffered the consquences.

..though it definitely helps you keep running if you were starting to feel lazy.

So while not everything is wonderful - my ankle is still a problem, and my lower back issues might actually be getting worse - at least it's a great deal lovelier outside to help take my mind off it.

If you've gotta suffer, might as well do so in sunshine, surrounded by flowers

Maybe spring isn't so bad after all.

Printemps-iousness

 I know that spring is some people's favourite season.

..and the "season of rebirth"

That latter bit actually seems sort of appropriate: like birth, spring tends to be messy and exhausting.

With the occasional nasty surprise

Far from the rich hues of autumn or the riotous green of summer, the trails right now are nearly devoid of colour.

Though not devoid of mud and the last (hopefully) of the snowmelt runoff

Yes, I have seen a few flowers here and there..

..but since they've mostly been in gardens (these are my own), that doesn't really improve the trails.

Maybe I'm just cranky, but I don't really find browns and greys all that inspiring.

It's like the ghost of a forest, really

I'm just trying to hang in until the world actually starts to look bright again.

C'mon buds - let's go!

..because right now I'd almost rather be back in the gleaming whiteness of snow.

At least your shoes stay clean, and there aren't any bugs flying in your face.

But then again, what do I know?

The Duck Rule

 I have a rule when it comes to trail running

Yeah, really just one - the rest are more loose guidelines

That rule is pretty simple: if ducks can swim on it - or if they are in fact doing so - then it's not a trail anymore.

Not a trail.

I can handle some wet, even if the wind is howling and blowing fat, fluffy snowflakes around.

This passes the test

When rivers jump their banks and try to pose as trail, though, I'm not having any of it.

I'm on to your shenanigans - NOT A TRAIL

I will even consider it trail if it's a bit flooded, but either too shallow for a duck to swim, or narrow enough to jump over.

Yep, that counts as trail.

..but the moment it's up to or above my ankles and has a current to it, I'm noping out.

The ducks can have it

Unless, of course, it's a point-to-point and I've got no choice..

In that case it's splashy time

Rules were made to be broken, right?

Dirt Therapy

 As I whinged about last week, I've been having a bit of a tough time recently.

Partly due to the chilly, grey weather, which thankfully seems to be breaking at last..

While some things are beyond my ability to control, I've taken some steps to try to help me catch my balance a bit.

Most of those steps have been on dirt.

Which is just as I like it.

Some have been in old, familiar places, from which I've been absent too long.

Places of peace and tranquility

Some of them have been teeming with life..

While the weather hasn't felt like it, spring is in full swing in the woods

..and some have been rather less so.

..though there' still the occasional clump of flowers.

By hook or by crook, four out of the six runs I've gone for since Saturday have been on some form of trail or other.

Assisted by the golden light of lengthening days

It hasn't all been a bed of roses out there - it's the height of midge/mayfly season along the river, where they're so thick they look like a warm weather snowfall in the sun..

They're in your eyes, your mouth, your nose..

As the sun sets they somehow intensify, trying to blot out the last of the daylight..

And somehow even getting inside your clothes - I found three in my bra after this run!

But there are flowers blooming and the drab browns and greys of winter are giving way to the riot of green as a billion tons of sap and chlorophyll stream through trunk and stem.

Nature is the best decorator

I don't know if it's really getting better, but it's not getting worse.

..and that's enough, for now.

I'm just going to keep on running as best I can, searching for the light at the end of the trail.

I can see it - I just don't know if I can reach it.

Wishing you all sunshine and endless miles of enchanting trails - may you always stay fearlessly beyond the black dog's reach.

Baby steps

So, I still haven't gone for a run since I messed myself up almost 2 weeks ago..

..though I'm still getting out on the trails a bit.

See, when I did the stupid 25k run a few hours after my back went pop, I didn't really realise what the problem was...or that it was a much more severe version of something that's been plaguing me for more than a year. All I knew was that it seemed to be mostly ok while running, so I ran.

I'd planned to take some down time after that "race" anyway, and did so - I'm terrible at just lazing around, though, so I went for a few gentle walks with Tank on Sunday, and did some pull-ups n my rock rings in the livingroom. I did shy away from doing offset hanging knee raises, as my back was still quite tender.

Come Monday I was back at the office, and with the power of the internet constantly in front of me, I started doing a bit of searching to see if I could figure out what I'd done to myself.

Paging Dr. Google...paging Dr. Google..

Within a half-hour I'd stumbled on something that not only seemed to fit the symptoms I'd had since Saturday, but also the persistent, burning pain and cramping I'd had in my left glutes, hamstrings, and hip since somewhere around March of 2019.

Spondylolisthesis. 

Basically: I broke a bit off a vertebra, and now it can slip out of place.

So the pressure of the displaced vertebra on my nerves explains the wandering, on-again-off-again pain in my left hip, butt, and leg, plus the lack of flexibility I've been dealing with. I used to be able to fold in half and put my palms flat on the floor; for the past year I've been unable to reach past mid-shin without bending my knees. The worst part is sitting in the car; I'd started to suspect over the last couple of months that it might be something spinal, since I could ease the burning pain in my left glutes and hamstrings by dropping my seat back and laying closer to flat. This rather confirmed it.

For some reason I felt like a spinal injury should probably not be ignored.

Unable to see my awesome RMT, chiropractor, physiotherapist, or osteopath due to the pandemic closing all their practices, I started scouring used sites for something that my RMT had suggested when I texted her about how I'd managed to hurt myself this time. I'm rather embarrassed to say how often those conversations happen..

In any case, I managed to find what I was looking for (at a price I could mostly afford) for sale in Brantford, where Tank and I picked it up on Saturday.

And it sort of stows out of the way..

I got quite a bit of relief from my first use, and have been on it daily since.

Though I can't say it's the most comfortable thing in the world; it's not nearly as nice as the one my RMT has.

The relief from the inversion table hasn't been as marked since that first day, but the back pain hasn't been as bad overall, either. I'm told that this is pretty much as expected for my issue. My reading on the subject also suggests that there's no real treatment for what's wrong with me, apart from rest and strengthening my (already regularly-worked) core musculature to support the slippage. It seems if things get really horrible then spinal fusion is the final resort, but since it has a very poor historical record of proving any relief to patients, that's not a road I really want to contemplate.

So I'm in a bit of a weird place right now. My back has been improving, and I now know that I ran 100km reasonably well last year with it at least partially messed up. That ought to be comforting, but I know I've made it much worse now, and being over forty I'm not sure how well I'll be able to bounce back from this. 

And while I'm enjoying going for more walks with Tanker, I'd really like to be able to run trails again.

I've been trying to take care of myself as best I can - limiting myself to walking on my lunch instead of running, and modifying the strength work I do 5-ish times per week to include more yoga and less stress-inducing bending of my spine. I'm now to the point I can function pain free basically all day, though every now and then I'll move wrong and the pain will flare.

Yes, I've even been doing yoga.

While I know this isn't something with which I should trifle, patience is not my forte, and a nagging part of my brain keeps telling me that I managed to run 25k within hours of the acute injury, so why not go for a run anyway?

I keep trying to shut it up, but on Wednesday, when I found myself out for a lunch walk on a beautiful day (after the stupid mid-May snow finally blew away), wearing running shoes..

Oops.

I ran across an intersection. It was hard to stop my legs when I got to the other side, but I did so. Then I ran another road crossing, and then another. I finished by running along the side of my office building, with a bit of a walk to "cool down" after.

The longest "interval" was about 100 steps.

Then, I waited to see the fallout. My back didn't seem to protest, though; it's still not perfect, but it didn't really seem to get worse.

I haven't tried again yet. The weather was better than expected when I got home from work yesterday, but I went for a walk with Tanker instead. Today is not only my usual day off (though that really just means I didn't do a strength workout this morning before heading to the office), but it's hosing rain out there. Tomorrow is supposed to be the nicest day of the year so far, though, so I may just try pushing my luck a little..

A tiptoe through the trilliums would be lovely!

With trails beginning to re-open throughout the province, I can only hope the worst of this is behind me now. At least I finally know what the problem is, so I'm better equipped to come up with some management strategies. I can't give up hope of getting back to long days of rambling happily through the woods, but I'll try to take it slow and allow myself some time to heal.

Baby steps, right?