Double Flat- Must be a Sign…

by siyeh7@hotmail.com · August 31, 2014

Time seemed to come to a stand still yesterday despite the fact that we all feel like “Summer is flying by” (sorry for you teachers out there who are saying “Summer is over… 9 more months…”). As far as I’m concerned on this summer debate, I’m calling it summer till the day comes that 40 degree air and 100% downpour force my hand to an overpriced movie at the theaters for entertainment. But back to yesterday… Okay wait, in order for yesterday to make sense, I need to go back one more day, in fact, I’ve got a solid couple of weeks to explain that led to this magical stopping of time in the middle of an amazing summer.

A couple of crazy friends decided (Matthew Smeltzer and Sarah Peterson) wanted to do a 28 mile trail run through the park and worked out a car swap with me while my friend Mr. Neeeerdig and I began the run from the opposite end. Our intended mission was to test out the mind and body on a somewhat comparable run in preparation for The Rut race which is on both our radars in two weeks. The perks were getting to spend a full day covering some serious ground through the most amazing and wild place in the world while catching up on life and reminiscing about our high school days. We started our run at the head of St. Mary’s lake and ran along the lake till we crossed Red Eagle Creek and made our way up and past Red Eagle Lake. As we neared the lake we crossed paths with our companions and shared some smiles and cheers and sent each other off down the trail for many more miles of wildness and freedom. We ground our way up Triple Divide Pass as fatigue was setting in and all sorts of aches and pains were reminding us the same thing that the surprising views were telling us… we had gone a long way. A quick hello to the friendly mountain goat and bighorn sheep families that were also enjoying a late afternoon siesta and snack and it was down the final 7 miles of trail to Cutbank Creek campground. Like a couple of horses smelling the barn, we kept the pace till we finally came across an adorable and very familiar family sauntering up the trail (Matt Nerdig’s ladies Megan, Addy, and Eva). Seven hours and fourty-five minutes was our total time; not bad, but certainly at a much more leisure pace than what we will want to sustain at The Rut.

So later that night I left the camp to meet Jen at St. Mary’s as she was pedaling up and over the pass to join me for a night of camping and a day of play to follow. Out of nowhere the clouds rolled in and I found Jen just a few miles from the park entrance battling a fierce headwind and wanting to finish her goal, so I scooted to the grocery store to grab her a recovery hot cocoa. BAM! Flat tire number one hits. Rain starts to come down hard, and Jen’s waiting at the park entrance for her chariot. Ok, I’ll just drive on the flat tire the mile back to her, pack her up, and hopefully fix it with a can of Fix-A-Flat. I donned my handy bicycle floor pump and managed to get some air into the tire and definitely identify the gash that air was rushing out of. Back at the airless gas station, I buy some Fix-A-Flat (only can in the store), rush it in amidst the downpour, and gimp back to Cutbank. I figured I might get the goo to settle and coagulate in the gash overnight if I positioned the tire properly and could pump it back up in the morning to get us along to the next adventure. I awoke supremely fatigued from the run which I think was compounded by a big double dip day two days before when I attempted an FKT (Fastest Known Time) on Mt. Brown in GNP and followed it with a four hour alpine loop on the mountain bike in the Swan. Then I looked to the Honda and saw that the flat driver side front tire had infected the passenger side front tire with it’s flatness. Bummer. After an hour or so of finagling with tires, spares, floor pumps, and more Fix-A-Flat, Jen and I resided to throwing in the towel on fun and took the low road back to Kalispell for some new rubber.

On the drive I found myself battling with frustration, fatigue, and slow @$$ drivers in the park. My mind was swinging like an erratic pendulum first thinking I should just chill, and in fact, I should chill more than just today, I should chill for a while. Then I found myself plotting the next adventure. Then I felt myself being anxious for time and fitting “it all” in. Then I felt myself stressed about being prepared for The Rut. Then I found myself wanting to crawl into a bath tub and go to bed for the rest of the day. The hamster wheel never stopped turning before I finally caved to the signs of the double flat, a small fruit fly buzzing around my head, and God straight up telling me to kick my feet up and relax.

And then it happened, I fell asleep. Yes, I Ben Parsons, he who can not nap, fell into a deep slumber for all of thirty minutes. It was amazing. I awoke refreshed, groggy, and best of all, accepting of the turn of the tide.

The other day I was reading about how health is as much about recovery and stress management as it is about pushing oneself and exploring new boundaries. It got me pondering about how I’m doing with this, since obviously I place a good deal of value (okay a great deal) on health. I realized that amidst trying to squeeze the life out of summer in every facet of life, I’ve actually been getting the life squeezed out of me. I’ve found myself dealing with more stress than a guy with a great wife, great job, great family and friends, and no kids should have. My quest for adventure and freedom was starting to come at the cost of stress. Stress on time, stress on responsibilities, and stress on my body.

So even though I can’t say I’ve regretted what life has been like over the last month or so; per week picture 2-3 days of work (24 hours that is- and it’s been busy!), 2 full days in the park, 1-2 days of wedding related festivities (yep, wedding stuff every weekend for a month and continuing on for another couple!), and trying to stay on top of household responsibilities and make sure my wife knows I love her. God bless her for putting up with me! It’s exhausting just writing all this down!

I also can’t say the shift of tides means I’m taking a hiatus from adventures and wildness. It just means I’m going to work on listening better. Listening to my body, listening to God’s subtle voice and hints (I know some of you think he’s not sublte, I’m just not very good at hearing, that’s all), and yes mom, listening to you 😉

But before I sign off, I can say this summer has been one for the history books! Thank to all the friends and fam that have shared the experiences and BIG THANKS to my wife who is my devoted and committed partner through it all.

Here’s a couple photos of the fun…

– FKT attempt on Mt. Brown- 2:48:56- 5,875′ gain, 11.0 miles