Anchorage (part two)

My trip to Anchorage also included something that I rarely participate in and that is a pure running event.In many ways I hate running but I guess that is because most recently I had put on that much weight that it was just so hard.Not only was it hard to physically go through the motions of running but it was hard to get out in public and deal with the thought that I had become fat and useless.I know,by comparison to others, I wasn't huge but to know where I used to be had me looking at my reflection with shame.Pretty much the only time I have enjoyed running over the last year or so was during our Sunday Hash runs in Penticton.For those who don't know what "Hashing" is,well as the saying goes we are a drinking club with a running problem.Generally we play fox and the hound but an adult version with stupid songs,practical jokes and copious amounts of alcohol consumed along the way,all caught for posterity by one or more photo crazy members.It is an absolute hoot and has become one of the true highlights of my life in Penticton.(You can check us out here  http://www.shiggydusters.com/)

 This run was a little more serious in that there was a start line,a finish line somewhere in the distance and the fact that I was wearing a "race number".It was the Mayors Midnight Sun Marathon and for me it was a not much more than a chance to get in a long training run in a place that I'd never been before.I really didn't have any goal time in mind,I just wanted to go for a run and test out the new,slimmer me that had somehow turned up after three months of a monk-like exsistance in Australia's Gold Coast.One thing that I didn't want was a repeat of the mental meltown that I had experienced during the Challenge Cairns Iron-distance triathlon two weekends previous.During the 180k ride portion of that event my head clouded over very badly as my thoughts drifted to the sad realities of a wonderful relationship that had just ended.Four times my wheels came to a stop on that beautiful course and four times I made myself roll on again when all I wanted to do was lay down and stop the pain.Not the pain in my legs but the pain in my heart and my head.I had never before cried during an event but I cried a lot that day.

 The marathon in Anchorage though ended up being a great experience for me as I found myself ticking off the miles quite easily at a pace that would have taken me to a finish time of just under three and a half hours.That isn't fast by any means and I've done that marathon time as part of an Ironman on more than one occaision but given that three months before I coulnd't run for thirty minutes at one time it was looking to be quite an achievement.I ran through the halfway point in around 1:44 and was pretty happy considering I'd been walking through the aid stations and stopping to take photo's along the way.The second half of the race was pretty much all downhill.I figured I'd hit 3:30ish no worries that was until while, taking another photo-op just after mile 15, I slipped on the wet trail and twisted my knee.Oh crap!!!I treid to run but the downhills started to really beat my knee up and by mile 17 I was walking.By the time I hit the mile 18.5 aid station my day was done and with so much ahead of me I decided to save my knee and call it a day.Funnily enough,even though the day didn't work out,I was pretty happy with what I'd done.How much damage I'd done to my knee still remained to be seen.

Back at the hostel the residents had changed from wanna-be fishermen to a building full of mountaineers and that was pretty cool to a non-climbing guy like me.I sat down with a group of Croatian guys who had just returned from climbing Denali with all their fingers and toes still attached.I learned that seven people had already died on the mountain this season and these guys were the last ones to see the last of the fatalities alive.It was weird to think that while I was worried about twisting my knee in a marathon,these guys were witnessing someone die almost twenty thousand feet above me.Perspective!!

I had good reason to be thankful for these Croatian dudes because it wasn't long before I pressed one of them,a doctor,into service.I had started chatting to a young girl in the hostel who I saw was staring at a map of the Inca trail and I casually mentioned that it would be one heel of a hike from Anchorage to Machu Picchu and that maybe she should check out some local maps.She told me that she had been to Mach Picchu last year and that is what got her interested in trekking.She was in Anchorage to participate in a month long outdoor guiding program which would teach outdoor survival and basic mountaineering.I was pretty impressed with her enthusiasm for what she was doing and her attitude in general.What really blew me away was when she told me that she was just sixteen years old!Man oh man what an impressive young lady she turned out to be,strong,smart and full of life.It was durinng our time chatting hat I had my secnd accident we went into the kitchen to put the kettle on and continued to chat while the water heated up.As the kettle started to boil she dropped the tea bag that she was carrying and instictively bent down to pick it up.What she didn't see  was that her long flowing hair had fallen over the spout of the kettle and become tangled,dragging the kettle off the hotplate toward the edge of the stove-top.I saw it and reached out to grab the handle.As I did the lid loosened and a rush of steam shot out burning my fingers.The thing was I couldn't let it go as her hair was still stuck so with one had still getting steamed I had to untangle her hair while trying to convince her to stay still.It all worked out and while I did sustain burns to all the fingers of my left hand at least her young face was spared the prospect of major burns.It was a good karma day for me.Thankfully the good doctor from the Croatian climbing party wasn't far away and he was able too treat my hand with all kinds of stuff that he had in his kit.he even had a look at my leg and then gave me a small bag full of assorted drugs which he told me would help with pain and infection.I'll have to take his word for it as it is all written in Croatian but I'll tell you,the drugs worked!!

  The injury to my knee forced a delay of a few days to my original plan but I'd rather rest up and have everything in working order in a few weeks for Ultraman than let the injury worsen and have me fail yet again So stuck I am in Achorage until I'm able to ride without my knee swelling and able to do stuff pain free.It isn't all bad as I have the continued opportunity to meet more people and obviously the chance to get this blog started.Hopefully though I won't have to wait too long.