Ohh, I'm So Happy...to be Happy Again!

                                  

July 12th I proclaimed on my Facebook status that I was "sooo in love...with life..." - which was very true at that moment.  Fast-forward to now, July 17th, and I am happy again, but everything in between was blah.  I won't go into the details, but I had to handle a lot of bread toasting for a group of people staying at the hostel.  Though I never ate the bread and washed my hands often, I figure somehow a fraction of a smidge of gluten ended up in my body.  The past few days haven't been entirely robotic, but I've not been optimally well and a few of the milder "this is what gluten does to me" symptoms surfaced.

The symptom that perplexes me the most is my sudden lack of thirst...or inability to feel thirst...even though I should feel thirst...cause I exert energy and sweat a gallons of liquid when I run.  Eventually I end up dehydrated, which simply creates more problems.

Anyway, I'm on the upswing.  After a fatigue-filled run (I haven't experienced one of these in well over six months) two days ago and a day off running yesterday (heavy rains, and even heavier winds), I was armed today with a 'just get out and run' attitude.  Instead of Mr. G (my garmin), I was armed with my camera.

I ran just over two hours on the Oromahoe Road Traverse, which connects Paihia to, you guessed it, Oromahoe Road.  The mossy trail traverses through the wooded hills and ridgelines of the Bay of Islands.  It's a pleasant trail, though illustrates heavily that New Zealand doesn't believe in switchbacks.  Or maybe New Zealand doesn't know switchbacks even exist.  It's good for training, at least.
              
I was reminded of PUDs on the Appalachian Trail.  PUDs = Pointless Ups and Downs.  These things are mental crushers.  You're in a good hiking mood, then bam!, a series of PUDS shows up and you feel a complete mixture of awe and confusion and deep, deep frusteration - why do we have to go UP and DOWN that Everest size mountain (elevation gain = 143 feet) when the trail could have gone AROUND it. Flat. Then eventually you realize that this is, in fact, the very thing you signed up for.

There were some PUDs on this track.  But it's all G.  My mental state of being was healthier with each step and PUDs were tackled.  Granted, this state of being is much easier to maintain without the weight of your life's possessions on your back.

Anyway, trails pretty much rock my world.  Even with PUDs and nonexistant switchbacks.  And I love that I'm able to just go on a hill filled two hour run without any issues or concerns.  I feel great and my body is functioning better than ever!

This is having me contemplating something new...Ultras!