Metric Century

What is a metric century? It’s not a measurement of the Goat’s childhood Angus Bull named “Century.” Instead, in a partially less smelly definition, it is a bike ride that consists of 62 miles. One hundred kilometers equals 62 miles; thus the birth of the term “metric century” is born.

The Goat decided to partake of a metric century plus a few more, disguised by the costume of a “family hike” at Zion National Park. It’s amazing how creative this man becomes when drenched in drool from the potential of sweating and experiencing bodily pain. He said to give him about three hours before I drove out to pick him up. Of course, I gave him more than he asked for as always, but his time planning is usually quite accurate. He called from a coffee shop in Springdale, saying he felt great and was ready for a “hike.”

The ride to Zion was not enough for him. He had to go up the canyon and back down to make it a cool 65 mile ride. He experienced some neck pain and did not know why and later attributed it to the new helmet he had never worn before.

I found him snoozing by the river with his face caked in salt AKA dried sweat. We went to the apple orchards and let the kids pick some fresh apples while he cleaned up and changed out of his bike gear. We headed up into the park and did a couple small hikes totaling about 2 ½ miles. The river was nice and cool and everyone enjoyed wading through it, everyone except for the Goat because he didn’t want to get his trail shoes wet. He did it anyway, and they dried out just fine.

The “metric” breakdown of the Goat’s activity consists of a few critical milestones. His weight has dropped down more than 40 pounds since his high point. He is enjoying the new old wardrobe. His custom orthotics arrived and are still in the trial stages of approval or denial. He has mastered some stretching that has greatly improved the Plantar Fasciitis. It appears to be in almost complete remission. He is trail running approximately 27 miles a week and plans to increase that within the next three weeks in preparation for the St. George Marathon. http://www.stgeorgemarathon.com/ It appears that the Goat is well on his way to achieving his goals.