Day 4,382—Run/Swim on the Chubb Trail and 12 Year Streak Running Anniversary Tomorrow—

 

        It is not like I forgot about it, but when my wife asked me if it was tomorrow, I had to think about it. When she asked me how many years, I had to think about it. I knew I was past 10, but I wasn't sure how many years had passed, so I looked it up before I started. writing. I had a crazy run on the Chubb Trail today. If you’re wondering, the water is high, and many parts of the trail are flooded. The first part of the run is a little over a mile, and it was the deepest, but I knew how deep it likely was, so I risked it. The river water is muddy, so you cannot see the ground, which makes the experience nerve-racking. When I did it, I was wet, but I wondered why I had thought this was a big deal before. The last time I turned back when it was flooded was because it was cold too. Today it was in the 40s, but I knew I would be okay after a while, but still, the water was up to the end of my 3-inch shorts.

        The next water crossing, I didn’t think was that big of a deal. It was a little over two miles into the run, and I knew this one could be avoided, but I didn’t see the alternative path, so I went for it with my phone out in one hand. I was thinking I should record a video of this. What’s the big deal after all? And then, I fell into the water. My phone dropped for a moment. I was able to scramble and get out, but not without landing hard on my left knee. When I looked at it later, there was blood and a little swelling. I turned off my phone once I made it out of the water and just decided I was going to live with it. I didn’t want to turn around now. I had driven all the way out here. There were three more water crossings before I made it out of the Lone Elk side. The only one that kind of scared me was the one where I knew there could be beavers or river otters around, and I heard some water splashing near me. I didn’t think they would attack me, but I knew if anything touched my legs as I slowly walked through this still muddy water that was creeping up my shorts, I was going to freak out.

        I kept thinking about whether Sarah had been watching me on Find My Friends, and now I was gone. I just hoped she hadn’t looked at it yet, so she wouldn’t worry. I made it the full 6.6x miles to the end of the Chubb, turned around, and went back. I only avoided one of the water crossings on the way back. I could have avoided one more, but I figured the practice was good for me. The water gives you blisters, which makes me cautious, but on a day like this, I was only doing 13 and a half, so what’s the big deal? I hope my phone is okay. On my way out, I got to the water crossing closest to the trailhead, and I was about halfway through when I saw two hikers approach and decide to turn around when they saw me walking through the water. I didn’t blame them; I would have probably turned around too if I didn’t know the trail so well and have an idea of what the bottom looked like, because it is daunting when the water is so muddy you cannot see the floor. I think Meramec might mean “muddy river,” but I would need to look it up to be sure. I liked not listening to anything during the run, but I missed being able to take pictures. I wanted to do a video of me walking through the crossings, but I learned today that when crossing water like this, I need both hands free to help my balance, and I need to go slower, just inch my way forward. I am glad I wasn’t fully submerged in the water, but it was close. I hope my phone is okay.