February 27, 2004
When my hip flexor first started to bother me on Day 2 of my first attempt, I never thought it would lead to this. Three weeks after stopping my hike, and still not fully recovered, I have decided to delay my re-start until mid-May or early-June, when I will start from the Pacific Ocean heading east to Quebec.
My heart tells me to get back out on the trail next week, which is when I think I will be ready to start hiking again. But I know that this is a risky move, and in the long-term it is the wrong one. The probability of getting re-injured is very high: I have been cold-turkey for 3-weeks now, unable to build or maintain strength (the lack of which was ultimately to blame for this injury). Plus, soon after starting I will be snowshoeing or XC-skiing through Michigan — something I would have felt comfortable doing 3-weeks ago but not now.
It is very frustrating (as well as a bit painful and humbling) to make this decision. The C2C is a project and a challenge to which I am totally committed. I am not sure if anyone – even my parents – is fully aware of my intense passion for it. Like a girl who plays hard-to-get, now I want to finish the C2C even more – and I think it is an experience deserving of my attention and my dedication.
For the next 8-weeks (starting this Tuesday) I will be working in Boulder, CO, for GoLite on their new website. This is a timely opportunity, and I am guardedly excited about developing new content for the site and training in the Rockies, where the inspiration for the C2C really took hold last summer. Honestly, if I need to delay my re-start by 2.5-3 months – which I feel is the case – I could not ask for a better situation.
After the 8-weeks, I will start in Washington as soon as it becomes feasible, which is usually late-May (depending on snow depths in the Cascades and Glacier). I would pass through the North Country late in the summer – no bugs! – and spend the winter months in Ohio and Pennsylvania, waiting until late-February or March to enter New York. I will donate many ounces of blood to the mayfly and mosquito populations in the spring, and could finish in Quebec by Independence Day 2005.
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