“Take wrong turns.  Talk to strangers.  Open unmarked doors.  And if you see a group of people in a field, go find out what they are doing.  Do things without always knowing how they’ll turn out.  You’re curious and smart and bored, and all you see is the choice between working hard and slacking off.  There are so many adventures that you miss because you’re waiting to think of a plan.  To find them, look for tiny interesting choices.  And remember that you are always making up the future as you go.” – Randell Munroe

Well it has been a good AND bad week.  I will start with the good….  Getting the RV ready for a little travel this summer.  And it is always somewhat of a process.  Our RV is a thirty-foot class C Diesel Bigfoot.  We have owed it for about 12 years now.  As a family, when the kids all still lived at home, we took two really long trips out to the West Coast. They were both 25 to 30 days in length.  The two older daughters got really good setting up camp each time we stopped.  Of course, I always got the part of hooking up the sewer. LOL There were some good times in the RV with the family!

It seems like that was just yesterday but in reality, the last big family trip occurred about 10 years ago.  Dang where did the time go?  Oh well what are you going to do?  Since that time, Janet and I have done much smaller trips, and a few longer ones in which we stayed in just one place.  One of my favorite spots is at Tiger Run Resort just outside of Breckenridge proper.  I think I could spend the whole summer in this high mountain environment.  Check out there website even if you don’t own an RV.  They rent small chalets.  You can find them here at:  http://www.tigerrunresort.com/

In hindsight, I sometimes think it might have been better to own a trailer or fifth wheel.   Not only do you get a camper so to speak but a pickup that can be used every day.  And there is not as much maintenance required.  Because it is a motor home you have the transmission and motor to maintain if you are not using it year round.  So far, my plan each year has been to start the engine every 30 to 45 days and drive it.  I store it about 12 miles away and this helps in that process.  I usually try to drive it each time about 30 to 50 miles just to lubricate the engine and transmission.  So far it has worked well.  As of 2018 it only has about 20,000 miles on it.

Funny, ever since we got it back in 2006 I have been thinking about getting a bigger one.  I know this does not fit with the 5-wheel idea, but….  A part of me really wants to own a big class A at some point.

A big diesel pusher.  I think that would be so cool.   I have become one of those that likes to go to a new place to camp so to speak and then I want to be there for a while to just explore the area.  To really get to know the new location.  And this idea really fits in with a much bigger RV.   Well…. maybe someday??  Who knows!!  LOL

I have pulled a car behind it since I have owned it.  The first time with a tow dolly and a Chevy Aveo.  And that was always a process, driving up on the ramps, hooking up the Aveo, making sure the straps were tight, etc.….

Now I am pulling a Subaru Outback with a manual transmission, that can be pulled with all four wheels on the ground.  And so far, it has worked really well.  I am happy with it.  A lot less effort needed than using the tow dolly.    I just need to practice with it more often to get used to it.  This may be one of my goals this summer.  To get really comfortable pulling the Subaru behind the motor home.

 

Well, now for the bad news.   The next Ultra is this Saturday or was supposed to be.  I had some right hip pain while finishing a run last week.  Did not think too much about it and it did not bother me over the weekend at work.   Did a 6-mile walk with Janet on Tuesday and still felt pretty good, just a little soreness in that area.  On Wednesday – went for a short run at about 50% effort, just to see if I was going to have some pain to that hip still.  Well I got about three miles into the run, stopped for a bathroom break and that was it.  Damn, the right hip area actually became painful.  Never really had this happen.  Painful enough that I did not feel I could run at all and even walking was hard.  Luckily, I was not too far from home.

My best guess is that it is an Upper IT band injury or Iliotibial Band.  Most of the individuals I have seen with this injury complain about it in the knee area, but it does run all the way up to the hip.  That is where my pain is, right at that upper Red Dot in the picture.  And it does feel like the Tensor Fascia Latae muscle that connects to the IT band is also sore.  Not sure how I did it.  But my best guess is not enough cross training this year and I may have injured it initially doing Yoga.   Oh well – no matter how I did it, this will be a slight set back, I hope….  Nothing to do but to give myself time to recover and regroup.

Bummed about the Ultra.  It is called the “Dirty Thirty” and I have run it before.  50k distance or about 32 miles.  Great race and volunteers and I was looking forward to running it again.  Check out their web site at:  http://dirty30.org/.  Well time to heal instead and look forward to next year for this one.  My main races this year are the Never Summer 100k and the Run Rabbit Run 100.  And I want to be as healthy for them as possible.  Well that is it for me this time.  I will post again next Friday or Saturday!!  Adios amigos!!