Not That Poison Ivy

I distinctly remember, Saturday evening, as I stepped off of the trail in my flip flops, thinking "I sure hope this plant that is snaking over my bare feet isn't poisonous."

And, of course, it was poison ivy. I've spent a lot of time in the woods in my life but this is the first time I have been afflicted. Both of my feet are full of itchy little red sores and they feel like they are on fire. I also have pink eye, or some problem with my right eye that, the more I think about it, may be poison ivy as well (from touching my foot and then rubbing my eye).

I feel pretty. Oh so pretty.

What It's Like to be Posh Spice

The bike shop that sponsors Brad has a huge selection of products, all of which he can get at an insanely discounted price. One of the perks of being married to a sponsored athlete:



Yes, that is a case of Brownie Chocolate Chip Larabars. And a new pair of Smartwool socks for running. I'm a lucky girl.

Feel the Fear

This morning, one of my greatest fears was realized.

OK, maybe that's a little bit dramatic.

This morning I woke up, ate my almond butter and banana oats, and prepared for a trail run. I headed to the Kanawha State Forest with my awesome Garmin (a birthday gift from Brad) and planned to do about 3.5 miles. I chose one of the flattest, most well-traveled trails in the forest, since I was alone, no one knew I was there, and I did not want to carry my phone (not that it would have reception there anyway). I love trail running more and more every time I do it. There's so much to look at and listen to in the woods, I don't even run with my ipod. I heard a lot of woodpeckers today!

I reached the end of the trail and start heading back, trucking along at my slow speed, enjoying nature and really, feeling that all was well in the universe.

And then it happened.

Every time I go hiking or trail running I worry about tripping and falling off a cliff. There are cliffs everywhere in West Virginia, and the trails are pretty gnarly; rooty and rocky, basically one tripping hazard after another.

Today was the day. I felt my toe clip the root and thought "Oh no, I'm going down." There was a fairly steep drop-off to my right, about 6 feet down into a creek bed full of boulders, and to my left, a super steep uphill. When I hit the ground, the only place for me to go would be to the right.

As I was falling, the following thoughts were going through my head:

"Come on, yoga balance, where are you now?"
"I'm going to fall onto those rocks and it's going to hurt."
"How far am I from the end of the trail? Will anyone find me if I can't walk?"
"Oh christ, are those mountain bikers approaching?"
"Shit, I hope it isn't anyone I know."
"What if I get hurt and can't run anymore?"
"Ow, ow, ouch, ow."

That last one was happening as I hit the ground and slid on my left hip, leg, and hand down the hill.

The two mountain bikers were now rushing to see if I was OK (luckily, I didn't know them). I was embarrassed and could feel my face turning red as I tried to assure them I was fine. I got up, assessed the situation, and realized that I really was fine. No blood, not even a scratch, which I thought was amazing but actually shows that I didn't fall as hard or slide as far as I felt like I did.

I climbed back up to the trail, thanked the bikers, and jogged off on my merry way. I escaped unscathed, except for a bruised ego and a slightly swollen palm.

I am now going to soothe my ego with lunch from Subway. It's the little things, you know.

The Future

I've been thinking lately about the course that this blog will take in the future. I have lived in Charleston for over a year now, so I don't really feel like I am documenting my new life here anymore; it's just my life now. Posting has been sporadic because I don't have that many new experiences in Appalachia anymore. I want to keep writing, but I need to switch my focus.

Over the last few years, a lot of my interests have been health and fitness related. I don't want to start a food blog where I take photos of each of my meals (although I read a lot of those blogs) or log every workout (I read those, too). I think I'd like this blog to morph into something more about my life and healthy living in West Virginia, as opposed to my life and being an Appalachian transplant.

An Actual Conversation

Brad and I are driving home from beautiful Davis, WV. I am telling him about a girl who I met that day; in conversation with her, age came up and she was surprised that I am 32.

K: She said she thought I was 24 or 25. I told her I loved her.
Brad: You were wearing those huge sunglasses, weren't you?
K: . . .

OMG a Snake!

Yesterday we went to the house of a partner at Brad's firm for a cocktail party. It was pretty fun; there was good company, good food, a live band, and iced tea flavored vodka. I felt under-educated and underpaid, as I tend to feel at most lawyer gatherings, but I still thoroughly enjoyed myself.

We drove home, making up words to turn an Usher song (the atrocious OMG) into a song about robots and laughing hysterically because, as Brad said this morning, we're like Beavis and Butthead. I don't remember most of our lyrics, but the line "There's so many places to oil you" was definitely in there. Heh heh.

As we were getting out of the car, Brad said, "What is that?" He leans over to investigate and exclaims "It's a snake! Cool." And then my husband, the attorney, crouches down and starts poking the snake with a stick.

This lead to a conversation about the surely thousands of snakes that live in our area, and how surprised we both are that Brad has never seen a rattlesnake (apparently, everyone he knows that lives here and spends any amount of time in the woods has seen one.) I trail run and hike by myself all of the time, and I don't know what I would do if I ran across a rattler. Actually, I do. I'd panic, turn around and run the other way, and maybe cry.

Since the snake sighting, every stick in the grass is suspect. I know they are harmless but I just don't like them. They're fast and slithery! Some of them can kill you!

Running, Camping and Hiking

Some highlights from the last few weeks:

1. I ran my 2nd 5K and finished one minute and 40 seconds faster (or less slow, as the case may be) than my 1st. In 850 degree heat and 1,000% humidity.

2. Celebrated Brad's 31st birthday with an ice cream cake and dinner at Lola's. <3

3. Went camping in the Canaan Valley National Wilderness Refuge in Davis WV with Brad and Ilsa. Saw no wildlife.

4. Ate at Hellbender's twice while in Davis. Drank PBR.

5. Hiked the most difficult 12 miles of my life in the Dolly Sods Wilderness Area. This included calf-deep mud, ankle-rolling rocks and multiple stream crossings.

6. We ALMOST GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING in a large open field on top of a mountain in Dolly Sods. Cloud-to-ground lightning struck about 100 feet away from us. It was one of the scariest things that has ever happened to me; I literally thought I might die.

7. I learned that I really am stronger than I think I am.