Personal Journal

My day-to-day life

by

That Sweet Runners High

6/10/2025

Session: 55-minute walk

Weight: 206.5lbs post walk

Diet: Water fast 48 hours in

Today started just like I figured it would. Early this morning I was trying to talk myself out of walking because my legs were feeling a little rough but that’s always been pretty much normal. There’s usually a part of my mind that doesn’t want to put in the work but thankfully I grown to recognize that and tune it out. I was once again out at Big Creek at 8am this morning and looking to go just a little further. When I first started it was painful but once I got going, it all came together.

I’ll say this about the mushroom coffee; I’m starting to feel some benefits. Today I had a little less anxiety, the energy level was up, and I felt pretty good compared to the last week. I ordered the sleep mix, and I’ll give that a try tonight. Sleep for me is like 4-6 hours of crazy town. There’s snoring, farting, cramping, sweating and lots of hot flashes followed by cold chills. There are moaning nightmares at midnight, cats doing zoomies across my face at 2am and of course, I have to pee at 3am. Let’s see if that mushroom coffee sleep aid can help with all that.

Once I got going on the trail, everything kicked into gear after the first 10 minutes and muscles started to loosen up. About 30 minutes into my walk, I felt that old surge, or “runners high”. If you’ve never experienced runners high, it’s kinda hard to describe but it is a small feeling of euphoria, and I get very comfortable in my pace. It’s like I put it on the cruise control, and I could run forever. Today was a good day and looking forward to tomorrow. I think I’m going to travel to some of the different trails I’ve run over the years and log a few miles. There’s the Silver Comet and the Chattahoochee River run down in the Cobb Co. area and my oldest favorite, Kennesaw Battleground. We’ll see how everything goes with some brisk walking for a few weeks and controlled weight loss.

Chances are that if I run to soon with too much weight on my knees, it will result in stress fractures, so I need to get down into the 175lb range to even think about a 5k. It’s possible to run on two replaced knees but I need to be smart about it. Basically, there’s a metal ball attached to my femur, and it rolls back and forth on a silicone pad on top of the tibia/fibula. My surgeons have told me that the silicone pad has a life expectancy of at least 10 years but if I run, the pad will wear down much quicker. I’m sure weight is a factor on how quick that pad will wear out, but stress fractures in the femur or the tibia/fibula near the knee would probably develop with too much weight, and that would be a showstopper for a while. I had 2 stress fractures in my right tibia back in 96 and even at 36 years old back then, it put me on the sidelines for more than a month. No telling how long it would take to heal at 65 years old.

Favorite tune from today.

Another Fork in the Road

6/9/2025

Session: 50-minute walk

Weight: 212lbs post walk

Diet: Water fast 24 hours in

Thirty years ago, I was invited on a six-mile run with a few officers in my squadron. That six-mile run changed the trajectory of my life and interests, and for the next ten years I enjoyed competitive running, working very hard to compete. I took great care of my body during that ten-year span; I was at my physical peak and some of my very fondest memories were packed inside those 10 years. If you would like to read more about my competitive running years while in the Navy, click on the following link: https://castawayblog.com/2022/07/06/the-running-years/

Twenty years ago, I took a boat ride with a few fishermen. That boat ride changed the trajectory of my life and interests, and for the next twenty years I learned everything I could about fishing on Lake Lanier. I really enjoyed competitive fishing during that span and some of my favorite tournament memories came from that twenty-year span. I’ve really enjoyed fishing here in the south, living on Lanier, meeting fishermen and learning so much about fishing here over those twenty years. I’ve always thought about writing a book about my knowledge learned here on Lanier and I’m still working on that. I’ll have more to follow on that.

A week ago, I was visited in a dream by someone from my past very dear to me, and I was left with an epiphany to make another change which brings me to today. For the past week I’ve been in this battle between the status quo and making a change in my life and interests. For the past 15 years I’ve let myself go, being overweight and completely out of shape. In that span both shoulders have been repaired and are shot again, my knees have been replaced, my spine was surgically repaired and among other injuries throw in three hernia patches as well. Needless to say, I’m probably in pretty rough shape but today I laced up my old Asics running shoes and went for a little walk.

The picture above was taken at the Big Creek trail here in Cumming. It’s just a few miles from my house and I’ve spent hours and hours running this trail over the years. During marathon training it was one of my favorite places to make my long runs. The Big Creek trail runs from Cumming down to Alpharetta and beyond. Years ago, I was a member at the YMCA in Alpharetta and the Big Creek trail runs right next to the parking lot there, so I would usually work out at the Y and then run anywhere from 3-15 miles on the trail. It’s also a great walking trail and if you’ve never checked it out, here’s a link to a website that might be helpful: https://www.bigcreekgreenway.com/

It’s been years since I’ve been to the Big Creek trail but this morning I made a visit. My plan was just a mild walk for an hour or so, just to see how the legs felt. I also started another fast this morning and this time it’s just 2 cups of mushroom coffee in the morning and then just water after that throughout the day. On my last fast, I ate some boiled chicken and steamed asparagus from time to time but this time I’m going to just water fast and test my body with less this time. The mushroom coffee is something new and we’ll have to see how that works out. Here’s a pic of the mushroom coffee I use. some of you might recognize it.

The jury is still out on this stuff, but we’ll see how it does over time. Today my walk felt great, and I really enjoyed being on the trail again. At one point during my walk when there was no one around I started running just to feel it again and it felt great! Obviously, I wasn’t moving fast but I was running, not once but three different times and on my third little run, thankfully no one was around, and I was wearing sunglasses because the tears started flowing. The sites, the smells and the people on the trail filled my mind with old memories and I realized how much I missed the trail and running. I know I need to take small steps but barring any setbacks, my goal is to run again by summers end and be able to run down that beautiful trail when the leaves are turning this fall.

Favorite tune from Today.