CRAZY

I had a whole different blog post here that I just deleted. I wrote it a week ago, but things changed so much in a week. The title has a dual meaning because life can be so crazy. A guy I've known for 8.5 years, but hadn't talked to at all for 3.5 years (except one brief encounter, maybe 30 seconds, on a trail) came back into my life about a month ago. I was really hesitant at first but decided to test the waters, and I'm glad I did because he's amazing. The crazy part is that I feel like we've just met each other for the first time. It's so weird. I'm smitten, and I did not see this coming at all. We've been paddle boarding and hiking. Sunrises and sunsets. Cheesy stuff, right? But I've never had the cheesy stuff, and even at age 44, I need that. I know it's all new and things are amazing, but then they tend to fade, but I'm not worried about that. Not every good relationship has to fade; it just evolves into something deeper if it's meant to be. I'm still totally shocked that this just happened, but it feels so right. I was feeling so happy, but the ex-wife wasn't about to let that be.

Now for the other meaning of crazy. Well, remember my "arch enemy" I mention every so often? The one who accused me of having an affair with her husband multiple times back in 2016 and early 2017? Well, she is the NOW ex-wife of the man I'm seeing. And she is fucking bat shit crazy. She really is. I never had an affair with her husband. EVER. This accusation was 100% false, but it didn't matter how many times I told her that, she refused to believe me. Then she went on telling people I try to break up people's marriages. I heard from a lot of people that she told them this. Like WTF. Well, despite my contempt for this person, I've been good about not putting her name in here, but, yesterday she crossed the line. She made a public post on Facebook using my name and trashing him. A friend shared it with me. I was floored. And PISSED. He talked me down twice, but I just couldn't let it sit. So I posted something on Instagram in response. This first part is the screenshot of her post. The second is a screenshot of mine.

So she finally pushed me to publish her name. I wasn't standing for this. I'm so sick of this woman's lies. I told her flat out she was a drama queen and attention seeker, and this is EXACTLY what I was talking about. I honestly think she's mentally ill. And I'm not the only one who thinks this. I just happen to be the only one with balls who ever stood up to her. She makes me sick. A nasty woman. She just couldn't stand to see her ex-husband happy and decided to crush that and make this all about her and how upset she is and seek attention for it. Playing the victim when the two of us being together had nothing to do with her. Nothing.

Two happy people enjoying the sunset on Mt Potash last week. 

I posted that photo on IG and Strava. Now, I'm regretting it because he's getting blamed for it in her untruthful post. He made no "announcement" whatsoever. I'm the one who posted the photo.

I hadn't actually planned to share all of this information yet. The blog post I wrote before was all vague, but now, what's the point? It's all out there for everyone to see already. I don't care, but if I'd known the backlash from her would be this bad, I wouldn't have shared it publicly. Probably a big mistake on my part that he's now suffering from. Stupid social media. But I should be able to post a photo of two happy people on a mountain without an issue. I'm really hoping this dies down, but I have a feeling this is now creating more of a divide between those on each side. The reason I don't have any circles. I lose nothing. Just sit on the fringe of many circles and go about my business. I have a feeling things may be rough for awhile, but I'm sure it will die down eventually, so we can go back to just living our lives.

Sunset from Mt Potash

Our first "date". Sunset paddle on Chocorua Lake.

Almost seems odd to continue on with the blog post I wrote last week after this, but it's already been written so I'll go with it. Probably in need of a subject change anyway. Haha.

I've still been hitting a lot of mountains for most of my runs over the last two weeks and snagging Strava CRs, but two have already been taken away. Haha. Someone suggested I go for the FKT of all the 4000-footers. Haha. Definitely not my thing, and like I mentioned before, I'm running short routes so it's easier for me to snag the CRs. I'm actually starting to feel bad because I'm still unintentionally taking Larisa Danis's CRs. It sucks to get those "Uh oh's" on Strava especially if you had the CR from some long-ass, slick and muddy run while I ran an easy out and back on a dry day. So I'm kind of hoping she takes a few of those back. Sometimes Strava can be mean. Haha.

I only did  three 4000-footers over the last 2 weeks. Either too busy or the driving was too much. But I knew I was going to slow it down a bit for these last few. I'm at 41 now with 7 to go. I did Mt Jefferson, Cannon Mt and Mt Galehead. Jefferson was via the Caps Ridge Trail. I knew it would be crowded, but holy moly was it insane. I finally just had to be rude and run up around people who wouldn't get out of the way. Most people were very friendly, but I could tell others thought I was a jerk, but show some courtesy and move out of the way if you don't know how to walk on anything but a flat sidewalk. My own fault for doing that one on a weekend day, but it was the best day to do that one. Only 4.6 miles round trip with 2,681ft of elevation gain. 1:38:27 for total time. 52:45 for the climb. This is one of the CRs that was taken from me. I would like to do that one again when it isn't crowded. It's a long drive, but a short, awesome run.

Mt Cannon was super easy and short. I was going to go up the Kinsman Ridge Trail from the Tramway lot but after seeing photos of how eroded the trail was, I changed my mind. I chose Hi-Cannon because I figured it would be much less eroded and, fortunately, I was right. Plus, I only saw a few people on the way up. The summit had amazing view AND I lucked out having it all to myself so I stayed up there for about 15 minutes. I regretted my decision taking the route back by Lonesome Lake. The trail was super eroded and rough so it was slow going. Just a little bit before the lake, I started feeling off. The light got "funny", something I've learned to recognize as low blood pressure. I can't really describe the feeling and this "light", but it's basically on a minor scale of what happened when I had anaphylaxis. Plus, I've had it before. Not often, but I have. It's most likely just dehydration/electrolyte imbalance, but I might need to start monitoring my blood pressure every day for a bit to see what it's doing. Once I got to the lake, I sat down for almost 10 minutes and then felt totally fine for the run back down. So whatever it is, it seems to correct itself. Felt fine after that and the rest of the day. 5.1 miles in 1:34:21. 2,360ft of elevation gain.

I finally made the decision to break up North Twin and Galehead into two runs instead of one. I'm glad I did, although it means extra driving for me. I got a late start in the day since I had to sleep in this past Saturday so it was a good choice. Chris Dunn had said it was an easy hike up from the trailhead to Galehead, and he wasn't kidding. Might be one of the easiest trails up there for sure. I had no plan to push myself today, especially since I had just eaten a blueberry cheese danish from Batter Up Bakery haha. So I just ran easy. The lot was half empty so I only ran into a few people on the way up. That was refreshing for a weekend. I was quickly at the hut where I only stopped long enough to drink some water and get my bearings on which direction I was going, then it was a quick .4 miles to the summit of Galehead. I didn't want to hang out at the hut with all the people there. I skipped the view since there were people there and I had the wooded summit to myself. 4000-footer #41 done. I went right back down after that. And wow, the run seemed twice as long as the run up. It was NEVER-ENDING! 9.5 miles total. 2:11:12. 2,536ft of elevation gain.

While I only did the three 4000-footers, I had some other good runs over the last two weeks. I made it over to Pleasant Mt for my annual July run. Normally I attempt the quad (all 4 trails from bottom to top), but I decided to cut it back to a double on my two favorite trails. So I started at the base of the Southwest Ridge Trail. This was the first time ever doing it on fresh legs. Every other year, this has been my last climb and I could barely run a step. Today felt so easy and I ran the whole way. Did it almost 8 minutes faster than last year, my previous fastest time. 21 minutes faster than my slowest time. I went up and over the summit to the Bald Peak Trail where the blueberries were insane. It's the reason I do this run in July. Although I didn't stop for long periods of time, I was constantly grabbing blueberries along the way. The run back up felt the easiest it's ever felt and it's always the second climb of the run so it was comparable to the quad runs. On the way back up, I passed a guy I had passed on the way down. He stepped aside and said, "You're insane, but good luck." Hahaha Funny that he thought running Pleasant Mt was insane. Made me laugh. Hit the summit again and ran back down the SW Ridge Trail to the car. The double was far more pleasant (pun intended) than the quad by far so I'm happy I stuck with that. 10.26 miles. 3,964ft of elevation gain in 2:29:23. I might keep doing this as a double from now on unless I'm desperate for the quad training.

I stayed close to home mostly these two weeks. After spending a half hour pouring over maps trying to decided on a run one day, Mt Isreal in Sandwich caught my eye. I realized I'd never done it so I planned a loop run from Beede Falls up Isreal and then back via Guinea Pond and Sandwich Notch Rd. It was a lot harder of a climb than I expected. I was sucking wind by the time I got to the top. The run down to Guinea Pond was gorgeous trail. I was loving it until my stupid right ankle gave out on me. That one hurt. Ended up hurting the outside of the mid-foot rather than the ankle. I don't know why that happens, but it does often. I'm not tripping or stumbling; it's just giving out. Probably loosened the ligaments up from the two bad sprains I've had on it in the last 7 years. It was fine for the rest of the run but hurt most of the day. Took the next day off and it was fine after that. Good run. Got back to the lot to find some tourist morons stuck in the road completely blocking it. I was nice and offered to help but they didn't need it. After that I just wanted enough space to be able to leave. They eventually got it unstuck, but in the process caused a cluster of confused idiots all in the road. Haha. I made it out and then still came across someone just parked in the middle of the road. So dumb. 7.8 miles. 1:32:51. 1,894ft of elevation gain.

Cow Cave

Mt Isreal Summit

See why I always wear a Buff?

I had some other nice runs. A run from home to B&M Ledge and Whitton Ledge. It started raining and cooled things down so I added on a trip to the Madison Boulder and back.

I look photoshopped into the photo.

Run in the Green Hills. On Peaked

Middle Sister run. Had the summit to myself.

Ran from Tamworth base out and back on Lead Mine for the first time in years. 11 miles.

Took a run up North Moat from Cathedral Ledge Rd via the secret trail instead of from the Diana's Bath lot.

Black Cap Loop yesterday

 Other stuff....

Tropical Storm  Isaias came through on Tuesday. It wasn't as bad as predicted, but there was a lot of damage. I came into the station to help out and be on standby for the second ambulance with Matt. We ended up not needing that, so I helped out Matt with the documentation for all the calls. Spent about 3 hours there. A woman was killed in North Conway that night. Probably by the same micro burst that went through where I ran yesterday. The trail up Black Cap from Thompson Rd and the ridge down to Cranmore had huge blowdowns all together in one spot and on the same trajectory. It's crazy how easily it just pulls trees up by the roots. Kind of a fun night hanging out with everyone. It's funny how I love hanging out there, but at my full time ambulance job, just leave me alone. Haha. Different types of people. 

Cool clouds before the storm...

I ended up going on a transfer with Action one Saturday night since they needed a 3rd rider. It was weird that I hadn't had a beer yet by almost 7pm. I didn't want to do it at first, but it was an emergent transfer for a STEMI to Maine Med. I couldn't justify letting a serious patient have delayed care so I agreed to go. It ended up being alright, and I got paid very well for it. My first time back at MMC since we stopped doing transfers back in 2016. Back then, I used to draw pictures on this white board. I was actually going to draw another one, but there were no dry erase markers. It's actually fitting that there are no more pictures. I'm past that now.

John and I took a lot of walks over these two weeks. Here are some photos. Plus our 8 miles bike ride on Rob Brook Rd. Finally got my mountain bike fixed. It still needs new tires and tubes, but those are completely out of stock indefinitely.

We discovered Chapman Sanctuary for the first time. It was AWESOME. Not another person was there. It was gorgeous, especially the Cold River where we found the best, private swimming hole.

A walk up Heavenly Hill with the dogs.

We've been taking a lot of short walks on the secret brook trail in North Conway lately. We normally run into no one, but we've seen two people, and one of them was someone I knew.

We had just picked up my bike from the shop so John rode it instead of walking.

Rob Brook Road Ride. 8 miles total. Such a nice place to ride. Didn't see another soul... on a Sunday of all things.

Conway Rec Path from the High School

Secret trail to the secret part of Diana's Bath... or so we thought. It turned out to be the toilet of Diana's Bath with toilet paper everywhere. These people are disgusting. At least we had this beautiful waterfall all to ourselves.

Small, deep pool perfect for Chill

Albany Town Forest. Annoyed some tourists across and upstream because Phoenix barks when she plays. They finally left in a huff right before we did. We passed them. They were SO mad. You mad, bro? Do you pay Albany taxes? I didn't think so. Fuck off. So tired of these tourists.

Other stuff...

CROSSFIT! I'm loving it so far. I had 4 personal trainer sessions and have now done two regular classes. It's fun and hard. The people are so nice, and I actually know a lot them already. I'm planning to go 3 days a week, but even that's going to be tough to pull off. I only made it two days last week due to a long group run on Saturday morning. I know I won't see much in the way of results very quickly with only 3 days, but it's all I can do. Looking forward to getting stronger, though!

This blog post definitely didn't flow. Haha. I guess that's what happens when I spend over a week writing it. It just took a few unexpected turns. Hopefully, the next post is back to rainbows and unicorns. I'm not letting this woman ruin a good thing.