Injury, motivation, and rebirth.

FRoD! Coming out of the month of April, I had just run two tough races and was a little burned out. I have been on this running roller coaster before, I know you have to ride the wave. I slacked off a little, went into Chattooga with no expectations. 2 miles into Chattooga, I severely sprained my left ankle. For a variety of reasons I continued to push and "run" through, finishing in just over 9 hours. A 50k PW. To add insult to injury, I pushed myself into a deep state of dehydration and didn't recover properly. Returning home, I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and blacked out from low blood pressure. My wife decided we needed to call the paramedics, I was taken to the hospital with a diagnosis of Rhabdo. No running for 2 weeks. When I did return, it was awful. I couldn't run a mile. Every run was brutal. I dreaded each trip out the door. I was ready to give it up. Dumb continued to motivate me from a far. Then came Vol State. Reading about all of the runners and their journey. Constant contact with Psyche during her journey. I was starting to get the juice back. Dumb & I decided to take a trip to the Cohutta for a night run on the Tearbritches Trail. Less than 2 miles in, I turn my right ankle. It wasn't as bad as Chattooga, but it was mentally a setback. My confidence was back to square one. I had to take a couple of days off. I've been getting my mojo back. running is still a chore, I've lost a ton of aerobic fitness and muscle endurance. I struggle to run more than a couple of miles without having to stop. But I keep showing up. Laurel Valley awaits. Pinhoti is in the distance. Summer is almost over and with that, the joy will return. I. Can't. Wait. FRoD.

RAGS

This idea is inspired by the LAVS and all of the awesome runners who have stepped on the ferry, and those that have supported them over the years. More history to follow. RAGS is a run across Georgia, starting just across the state line, near Dillard, GA. The finish will be the south part of Tybee Island, GA. Approx. 310 miles (500k) Spring of 2013. Unless we are running another race on Fool's Weekend. FRoD

Tearbritches Trail

Last week, Dumb and I took off at 9:45pm, arriving in the Cohutta Wilderness at the Tearbritches Trailhead at about 11:45pm. Important note, the last 15 miles are on forest road and are slow going. A vehicle with clearance is helpful. We got on trail and were immediately greeted with a tough climb - about 500' in .3-.5 mile. Once atop Bald Mtn (4000') we quickly decended 2000' to the creek. I turned my ankle early on, which made for slow going. Add in a navigational error, where we picked up Hickory Creek Trail instead of Panther Creek Trail, our total trip ended up being around 12 miles. Climbing the 2000' on the way back, at 3am, was just the right amount of suffering. I look forward to getting back to this trail. 3200' in gain for the day.

SCAR

Dr. Horton has done some serious work on this trail...his website I think Matt Kirk's site will be my go to for quick info. Things I really like about this route: Barkley type elevation gain. Long, (long, long, long) stretches without aid or civilization. Ideally a SCAR attempt would be good in March, 'cept that is too close to another eveny I'm interested in.... I think I'd maybe like to break this up into 2 sections before attempting the full. FRoD!

The end goal...

Really important takeaway

In reading P. Melter's RR, I picked up this gem.

By this time of the day I was pretty much drenched in sweat. Again, with 20/20 hindsight I know I should have been pounding more salt. I felt I was okay with water and I was doing well with my fueling plans, which I'd practiced in my training. I kept to a fairly strict intake each half an hour, and that was working well for me. Still, it was getting warmer, and by the time I was approaching Rat Jaw on the short coal road, Carl had joined up, and offered some wise words about how those less smart will run it, while the smart will take the opportunity here to walk and eat and drink. This was the first time I'd done Rat Jaw with the Prison section and it was a nice twist, meeting on ascent those who were just ahead and heading down; then passing by those who were behind me climbing up, on my way down.

In hindsight, James and I walked this section, mostly becasue we had just gotten scraped and were a little unsure if we were headed in the right direction. I don't recall taking in any calories at this point and I know I ran out of water on the way up Rat Jaw, so I must have been drinking. Looking ahead to the next attempt, I will make sure to take in calories and drink, the climb up Rat Jaw is a beast.

The Ring

This is what we dig!



This one will be short & sweet(The blog post, not the race). It is offically added to the bucket list.

The Ring

FRoD!

Coosa Backcountry 50

Yeah, this one has a nice ring to it!

picture this...

13 mile loop with 3500' of gain. One nice long climb of 2200' in a little more than 3 miles. Last three miles are downhill.




Rinse and repeat. 4 loops = healthy 50 miler; 14k in gain (and loss)

September time frame. Who's in? We could drop water at miles 4 & 8 for an unsupported AS.

Cohutta Wilderness

1st up, Jacks River Trail 50k.

The Jacks River Trail is 16.7 miles long, I plan on doing an out and back, for a healthy 50k.

I will update on my progress...

FRoD.

After thoughts

It has been 3 days since I was tapped out and I still haven’t stopped thinking about Barkley.

I was told that I would be a changed man. I believed what I was told, I just didn’t understand.

I see things a little differently. Certain areas of my life have come into greater focus.

The Barkley has changed me.

I thought I knew “hard”.

Nothing could have prepared me for what the Barkley so freely dished out.

The endless climbs.

The quad busting descents.

Bad Thing & Big Hell lived up to their names.

I wanted to quit, but knew the only way back was to continue forward.

Coming up Rough Ridge, the proverbial straw that broke my back.

Who would have thought 400’ would be so hard?

When I asked Laz to tap me out, he asked “Why?”; didn’t I want to continue?

“I’ve had all I could handle.”

No truer words.

The post “run” shower re-energized me, much like the descents gave my legs fresh life.

Maybe I could have made it to the top of Bird.

The walk up the road back to my camp reconfirmed my decision to drop.

It was the right choice.

Sitting around the fire until 4am sat night/sun morning was a highlight.

I learned that even the little I thought I knew, was nothing.

I want to go back.

265 days.

Thomas Armbruster