Was out on a hike in Washington and came across Hericium coralloides (Coral Tooth).
Luckily my buddy had a mesh bag and I continued on for 7 miles while carrying like 2lb of mushroom. I got a ton of eyes and a group of older ladies that “threatened” that they were Black Belts and could take it from me.
Decided to make Crab Cakes with them for the first time and MAN did it deliver.
Highly recommend if you come across them!
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 3:00 | No |
| B | 2:55 | No |
| Mile | Time | Elevation (ft) | Avg HR |
|--|------|---|----|
| 1 | 6:44 | -2 | 164
| 2 | 6:39 | 3 | 174
| 3 | 6:37 | -3 | 176
| 4 | 6:41 | -7 | 176
| 5 | 6:42 | -13 | 175
| 6 | 6:36 | -4 | 178
| 7 | 6:30 | 1 | 181
| 8 | 6:40 | 3 | 182
| 9 | 6:45 | 7 | 178
| 10 | 6:45 | 10 | 178
| 11 | 6:50 | 8 | 177
| 12 | 6:51 | -3 | 178
| 13 | 6:59 | 4 | 179
| 14 | 6:59 | 6 | 182
| 15 | 7:07 | Tunnel | 176
| 16 | 7:07 | Tunnel | 174
| 17 | 6:41 | -69 | 175
| 18 | 6:48 | -79 | 172
| 19 | DNF | -83 | 167
I’ve been a mid-distance runner my whole life (29M), (1:59 800m, 4:35 1600m, 17:27 5k). As of more recent, I’ve been getting into longer-distance, running a solo marathon at 3:17 in 2023 (for the sake of completion after having several stress-related injuries), and a half marathon at 1:26 in 2024 (similarly off of little training).
I had decided at the end of December 2025, that I’d train again for a marathon. I had been running ~10mpw at that point, and decided to work up to 40mpw by March and start a marathon block. I didn’t follow any formal marathon plan, but knew that I wanted to build up some lactic threshold speed by May for the Tacoma Half Marathon, and then average 55-60mpw with a peak week of 70 miles. I did speed work around 5:45/mi on Tuesdays, and either Tempo runs at 6:15/mi on Fridays or working MP miles into my long runs. I was doing leg-strengthening exercises 2-3 times a week to avoid injury, but not much more.
On average, every 3rd week I was traveling which would drastically reduce my mileage that week. Because of travel, my peak week was roughly 5-weeks out from the marathon, and was forced to taper 4-weeks out from it (I definitely ended up over-tapering).
Conditions were close to perfect - low 50s F at the start going to mid 60s by the end. - moderate wind. The course was semi-flat gravel most of the way through, though it was rougher than expected with basically a single lane at any point where the gravel was cleared. The first half was mostly-flat, before entering a 2+ mile dark tunnel right after 13.1, which I learned the ground was incredibly rough, sloped, with Swiss Cheese pot holes. Miles 15.5-26.2 were an average -1.5% grade, losing 900ft of elevation until the end.
This being my first organized marathon that I intended to race, I knew I was in shape to go Sub-3 but didn’t know to what extent. My goal was to open steady, trying to stay between 6:40-6:52 during the first 10 miles, before cashing a bit of the banked time for the slight incline and tunnel between miles 11-15 (since I had no clue what to expect in the tunnel and I was glad I did). The hope was that the downhill portion of the race is where I could drop time below 3.
I pretty much had stuck exactly to that plan, averaging 6:40s through the first 10, settling to around 6:56s between 11-15, and effortlessly picking the pace back up to 6:45s at the start of the downhill portion.
Aerobically, my breathing felt smooth, heart rate settled nicely into the mid-170s, and the effort felt sustainable. I would say my legs were 7 out of 10 on the tired scale, but not in pain. I was even getting a bit emotional thinking about how much work I put into this marathon and how pumped I was thinking Sub-3 was on the horizon.
Then right around mile 18, I started feeling a bit of pressure on the outside arch of my right foot. Knowing I’ve fought through moderate stress-related injuries to finish my first marathon, I figured it was nothing. However, this time the dull aching pain became sharp and unbearable unbelievably quickly, within the next quarter mile or so. I came to a full stop, stretched out my foot for a minute, then continued into a run before needing to stop again. I attempted to restart my run 3 or 4 times before starting my walk of shame to the aid station at mile 19 and getting shuttled back to the start. Absolutely devastated.
To be honest, I’m not sure - but can think of a few possible ideas:
For the next 48 hours after the race, I couldn’t put much weight on my right-foot at all. It tells me that I made the right call, as much as I’m a competitor and truly devastated that 6-months of base-building and training went to waste.
What I’m really grappling with now, is that I will be taking 2-weeks off from running due to injury, immediately followed by 3-weeks off due to travel (all which comes after an extended taper). It’s mentally hard thinking about the possibility of my next race being in the Spring of next year and having to train all over again for it. Though if I do, it’s knowing that I can possibly aim for a BQ-time and likely following a formal marathon plan this time around.
We have a small, cabin-like home that’s open concept, with little extra room to play with. Right now, we have an “office” that’s between all 3 bedrooms and a bathroom in this area of extra space. We’re planning on moving the desk into one of the bedrooms for more privacy while on calls, but need some creative ideas on how to fill it!
There’s a beautiful Arizona Cypress in our yard that was healthy up until a few days ago. There has been enough rain that it shouldn’t be too parched, though I will admit the irrigation system in the area is pretty weak. I also can’t spot any pests on the branches. Could it be from excessive rain during the previous fall/winter or direct contact with sunlight?
Edit: Correcting the name in the description. It’s an Arizona Cypress, not Spruce!
This is the third spotting we’ve had this past week. Our road runs along a few tree tops, getting this eye-level photo was a dream.