Do it because you can.
I was reading an article in the August edition of Runner’s World Magazine; an interview with Andre Kajlich, the reigning USA Paratriathlete of the Year. In it they discuss how he went from a 24 year old everyday college student with every opportunity before him, to someone who lost both of his legs in an instant in a horrific accident. This article really stuck with me for a few reasons. First for the amazing attitude that Andre has toward his new life. And second the article doesn’t try to canonize him as some stoic figure, but comes across as a thoughtful and honest discussion. The one quote that stuck in my mind was: “It’s an amazing thing, running-especially at that maximum turnover. It’s also amazing to never do something again because you can’t. I’d like to transfer that concept into everyone’s head, because inevitably it will happen to all of us.” You don’t need to be a runner to understand what he is saying. All you need to know is that you need to be doing whatever it is that makes you come alive before you can’t anymore. If nothing else do what makes you happy, do what you feel passionate about, do what gives you purpose and fulfillment…and do it now, because you can! Don’t let another minute pass you by where you aren’t doing what you love or at least planning to do it at the next available moment. I write this not because I have become adept at doing this myself, but because I need to write it out so I can see it plainly for myself. So that I can see how important it is to live life, get dirty, scrape a few knees, laugh and smile at the little things in life. It’s over faster than we can imagine…make it a good one! Read the article here....
The slippery slope to becoming “those kind of people”
We’re those kind of people now aren’t we? Spring said this as we sat down to watch a nature documentary and drink a liter of some kale, ginger, beet and other various fruits and vegetables concoction she had made with our extremely expensive masticating juicer. We’d just spent the weekend Skiing, Rock Climbing, Mountain Biking, Trail Running and felt a little anxious that we hadn’t crammed in more to do. Our spare bedroom has never seen a bed since we moved in, we have racks of our gear strewn about the place in various states of being dried out, aired out, packed or unpacked. We haven’t bought a piece of non-technical clothing in years. It doesn’t matter what garish color it comes in, if it wicks sweat and is quick drying, or has a high heat retention to weight ratio I’m sold. In fact, the more obnoxiously colored the better. I buy my clothes now based primarily on the assumption that I want a search and rescue helicopter to be able to see me better if I have an accident deep in the wilderness. Yup, we’ve become “Outdoorsy!” I used to hate people like me. They made me feel lazy. I’d go play soccer on a Sunday and as I was making my way home from my one bout of aerobic exercise for the week I’d see that guy. That guy who I’d see biking on a Tuesday, running on a Wednesday, carrying a tennis racket on a Thursday. I hated him. How did he have that kind of energy? Like everything, our progression has been a slow process. I’ve heard others say to us: “Wow! You guys are progressing quickly” but to us it feels like we are moving at a snails pace. I guess because we can see each link in the chain it feels slower, like the adage “a watched pot never boils”. We just try to learn something new each time we do something we love outdoors. Our “comfort zone” is something we actively try to find ways to get outside of. Without even noticing it, through doing this, we’ve completely overwritten our past way of life. When I used to see “Outdoorsy” folk and overhear them talking about chia seeds or a new Hot Yoga class they were attending and how strenuous their coming weekend was and how excited for it they were I always thought: “How do people become such a cliché? I mean don’t they see it happening?” Well, as a recent convert I can enthusiastically say, “no, we did not, until now”. It’s only in retrospect that I can see the process. Like dominoes toppling...
Chivalry in the Mountains
This post may ruffle a few feathers but it’s written with the intent to start a conversation rather than create an argument. I want to be very clear from the outset that I’m not saying people shouldn’t be chivalrous. I am saying that a male should be equally chivalrous to other males as well as females when it comes to being in the Mountains. The Modern Western male is all about gender equality. However, some men still make caveats to this equality. They feel it is necessary to hold on to the old gender roles that they tell themselves “benefit Women”, we like to call this “Chivalry” or “Gallantry”. You might say that if it isn’t hurting anyone then why stop? The male wants to do it and the female appreciates the kindness and attention. In a normal social context I’d wholeheartedly agree. Facing the elements and risking your life in the mountains is not a normal social context however. The problem is that in an arena (eg. Mountaineering, Climbing) were a female needs to be equal to a male not only socially, but mentally and physically it does hurt them. It stunts their progress. Progress a male easily makes because nobody is trying to be “nice” to them and inadvertently holding them back. My wife, Spring, is strong. She can run farther and faster than me. Carries a greater percentage of her body weight than me on her back when backpacking and rarely complains about the cold even though, as a female, she feels it more than males. But, even though she has all of these qualities, she frequently confides in me that she doesn’t want to feel like she is a “burden” on the male members of our groups. I often questioned why I don’t feel this way. If I’m slower than some in the group I accept it. If I’m faster I make allowances for those that are slower. I carry my share of the weight and look after myself. Why would Spring feel she could be a burden on the males in the group? Then I seen it. At times some males in groups we would be in would offer to assist or help Spring way more than they’d offer to help other males (even the ones that appeared slower or weaker than her). When we’d take turns carrying our ropes up a mountain some males would insist that Spring should not have to carry it. Now, I know all of these males meant well and our society has brought men up to feel they need to be like this to be a “Gentleman”, and, like I said, in a purely...
Look how far you have come!
“Every pro was once an amateur. Every expert was once a beginner. So dream big and start now.” - Robin Sharma Sometimes it’s good to look back at the point you started from to appreciate where you are now. The other day on my long run I was thinking back to where I was, in regards to fitness and running, about 4 years ago. Back then I couldn’t even run 1 mile without stopping several times. Even 10-15 minutes of constant running felt like such a challenge. Running a marathon had not even crossed my mind and to be honest would have seemed like a pretty crazy idea at the time. Fast forward to today and I am running hours non-stop as part of a training program that will hopefully have me running 50km this August. Everybody starts at the beginning. This is so important to remember. When decided to get back into running I discovered a lot about myself and hit a few personal roadblocks on the way. Several runs ended in tears of frustration and utter disappointment in myself. All I could think about was why couldn’t I run faster, better, longer? I was pushing my body to try to do something I had not taken the time to train it to do and I was getting angry at myself in the process. “Don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.” - John Acuff Today, I am happy to say that I have mellowed out quite a lot in my expectations of myself (notice I didn’t say completely mellowed out, of course I still have self doubting moments). Time (and inevitably getting older in the process), I believe, has a lot to do with this mellowing process. My focus has shifted from trying to be fast for the sake of being fast, to asking myself what I get out of running. Now it is more about the joy that it gives me, the personal satisfaction I feel and the feeling of solitude and freedom. “Set goals you can achieve, and do not fear walking or simply taking a day off from the sport if you feel you need a mental or physical break. Even at the top of my racing form, I walk steep uphills and take 5 minutes during a long run to enjoy the view atop a hill.” - Ultrarunner Nikki Kimball I have slowly discovered how to get my body to do things that I never would have imagined possible just a few short years ago. All it takes is time and a lot of effort! Never stop because you feel like you can’t...
March Training Update
A quick update on how things are going with training. Wow… March went by so fast, it’s now the middle of April and the big day is getting ever closer. Every morning, for at least the last 4 weeks , when I wake up the first thought that usually runs through my mind is how many months and weeks are left until August 10, race day! I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that my mind is so focused on the race. I have to keep reminding myself…. just breathe. I had a couple of weeks in March that I found hard to fit training in. There are so many things that I want to be doing and often running is pushed aside to make room for spending a weekend in the mountains. I want to be out rock climbing, biking, mountaineering and long distance running…but the weekends are not long enough nor do I have enough energy for all of these activities all the time. Really needing to centre my attention on getting my long distance runs in at least 3 weekends a month and saving one weekend for heading out into the mountains. Rock climbing and biking can happen during the week after work so I don’t have to worry too much about those. To add to my frustration I am still having difficulty getting up early to run before work. I need to be doubling up some days, even if it’s running 5km in the morning and another 5-10km in the evening. There is a big gap between the athlete I want to be and the athlete that I am right now. So my longest training run to date has been a 27km trail run with some decent elevation gain/loss. I even had enough energy afterwards to go for a little downhill MTB session with my other half. Feeling pretty strong lately (but have some niggling issues with my right hip and shoulder that I am trying to solve) and want to make sure I am able to maintain this momentum. My diet definitely is playing the largest role (and getting at least 7-8 hrs of sleep every night) in how I feel. I have been putting a lot of focus on eating more natural organic foods and really ramping up the veg & fruit intake. I have also been making sure to get a lot of very dense nutrient rich calories every day, with things like almonds, avocado, salmon, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds etc. In our house we also decided to cut down on dairy so we are only using Almond/Coconut Milk now...
