29

July

0

Ocean to Mountains to Ocean—Quickly

After helping some open water swimmers get psyched about the ocean on Saturday, I headed up for a quick/big hike in Yosemite. Leaving the Valley early morning I headed up the John Muir Trail to top out in the afternoon in Tuolumne Meadows. I loved the huge/tough push, the heady granite visuals and pristine mountain lakes. Rugged hiking up high never gets easier—given that I have not been doing much hiking specifically, I could really feel the effort in my feet about 6 hours in. Yet the allure for it all just seems to continually deepen. From the ocean, then in close to triple digit heat in the mountains while pushing hard amidst the granite waves, it was sweetly pleasurable to […]

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Category: Adventure

13

July

0

Mom

Heartfelt thanks to all who were able to come to mom’s life celebration. From life-time friends, to neighbors, to even casual acquaintances and inclusive of great food, all at the church and home she loved so much; it was a perfect celebration of my mother, and even moreso because you were a part of it. She was well loved. Mom would have been quite pleased. For those who couldn’t make it, I thought I’d share my eulogy as, even in a partial manner, it exemplifies my unusual bond with my mom: I am one of those fortunate people who had an honest, raw and authentic relationship with my mother. As I say that, it may conjure up images of admiration […]

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Category: Musing

06

June

0

Project What Matters 

What Matters? While crossing Bhutan, trekking and mountain biking in 2011, we started looking at this basic concept with the Bhutanese. Since then I’ve explored further with blog interviews, as well as within much of the writing I did for my new book, Dirty Inspirations: Lessons From the Trenches of Extreme Endurance Sports. The past several months I’ve picked up the thread again while doing a bit of traipsing around, and will fully explore while on an upcoming cycling trip across Spain on the Camino de Santiago trail. Its simple. I engage with another, either a stranger or someone familiar, and at some point in conversation I inquire, “Can I take your photo and then ask you a question?” I […]

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Category: Bhutan

01

June

0

Is Santa Cruz the Best Spot for Young Athletes to Thrive?

 It was an honor to be mentioned in this article about why Santa Cruz produces top runners/athletes, and I’d like to commend Steve Palopoli for writing it, and for nailing the reason—it’s about community. To expand on his premise, I’ll share that in my case, I didn’t just excel at a young age because I lived in an area that is geographically inspiring and has the best weather possible for someone who thrives in the outdoors. Those things definitely mattered, inclusive of all the time I spent at the beach each summer with the Jr. Lifeguard Program (Santa Cruz City) and as a Jr. Guard Instructor (shout out to Jr. Guards!). But the people who surrounded me are the reasons […]

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Category: Books

31

May

0

More Surprise Found Treasure on this ‘Remembering’ Weekend

Unlike the ‘surprise’ out-of-character-card in these photos, Mom loved giving the super dramatic, long winded, “Hallmark” type cards for special occasions. I came across a couple of them yesterday when cleaning out boxes, always signed, Much Love – Mom and Toby (her dog). I used to lovingly tease her about those pre-fabricated cards even though I knew she enjoyed giving them. So I was surprised when I also came across this uncharacteristically hand written card she had penned out for me. She normally let Hallmark call the shots on expressing herself, but with this last card, she seemed to need to say exactly what she wanted to say. Mom and I were very verbal in sharing our love for each […]

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Category: Reflection

27

April

0

Science of Ultra Podcast Interview – All About Possibility

While on my last venture in Bhutan I had the pleasure of chatting with Shawn Bearden of Science of Ultra Podcast. We talk about possibility, joy, adventure and the natural tendency of humans to go after big adventure, all woven within the pages of Dirty Inspirations: Lessons From the Trenches of Extreme Endurance Sports. Shawn was a thoughtful interviewer and I want to thank him for all the work he puts toward a top notch podcast. Enjoy!

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Category: Adventure