http://www.strava.com/activities/179877303

There are only a handful of activities that present our human nature in stark relief and a run through the forest is near the top of the list.  In an increasingly frenetic world, it’s one of only things that makes me feel human after staring at a computer most of the day.

I left late in the day as a result of a busy schedule and planned to do an easy /short loop to Washington Park.

It ultimately turned into a tempo run as I bounded down the trail shirtless scaring tourists taking pictures in the Japanese Garden thinking, “what the fuck could you possibly be taking pictures of and will you ever look at them again ?? — probably not. Ever.” There is a massive industry in the storage of bits that we will never look at again.

If you record every experience you have –  are you fully experiencing it, or partially experiencing it so that you can partially relive it through pictures in the future?

GoPro culture. I think the backlash will be an aspiration to anonymity. Famously (un)famous. We’ve become a culture of neurotic digital pack rats.

Except my little bro. He’s a bad ass.

Kailua 25kts surf run from Robert Rivard on Vimeo.

I lie awake visualizing the route and for a brief moment was terrified of the possibilities, the ‘what-if’s’;  but then a gentle calm came over me and I knew it would be like going home …and I fell soundly asleep.

pre-go

• eos 1p
• cat’s meow
• jetboil
• pillow
• puffy
• oatmeal/coffee
• sunblock

go

• UD pack
• 70oz bladder
• 1 bottle
• tailwind
• poles
• map
• gps
• phone
• SPOT
• headlamp
• golite shell
• gloves
• sunhat
• sunglasses
• buff
• gels/blocks/real food
• arm warmers
• fa mini-kit
• shuffle
• lighter
• space bag

post-go

• 4 gallons water
• change of clothes
• towel
• cooler w/real food/fruit

…I think.

• Moved the entrance to the left side
• Ladder is attached/base is leveled
• Cross braces attached

It’s very solid now – no twisting.

And what’s the second thing they do when they run up the ladder?
Start climbing up the walls on the inside!! Ahhhhhh!!!!! Nonononono!!!!

(the first thing was to have a dance party)

Everyone was knackered.

(Except these two)

Finished reading Scott Jurek’s book and there are a some good quotes. This is the one that I liked right at the end:

We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It’s not the losing that defines us. It’s how we lose. It’s what we do afterward.

There are a few good recipes included as well.

Running up Balch Creek today I was surprised how low the water was – really just a trickle and some stagnant pools across the wide expanse of rocks. I can’t remember when it rained last. As I gained elevation on the trail I saw a group of kids playing on the rocks, their parents sitting alongside the trail.

In an instant the littlest one slipped on a wet rock and at full velocity from 3 feet up, his head connected with a rock on the creek bed. I slowed my run and stared at the parents…they didn’t move. The woman looked up at me and then back at the kids and I ran past listening to the little boy wail. After about 5 wtf’s  (silently to myself), I realized that if he’s screaming that loudly, he probably wasn’t knocked unconscious.

I thought of the little boy who sits with his mom while she panhandles the stopped cars sitting idle on their way over the Hawthorne Bridge. He plays with an empty Gatorade bottle and some cardboard, sometimes he’s drawing. He’ll probably grow up to be a baron of industry, water trading or nanobots, and he’ll tell his story at college commencement speeches. How he sat drawing on a piece of cardboard by the side of the road while his mom begged for money so they could eat.

I haven’t had an off day in quite a while; today my number was up. Not sure if it was the heat, dinner last night or just being tired from yesterday’s speedwork. The high intensity work zaps me.  It was the kind of run where you think about finding a nice spot of shade in the woods and curling up in the fetal position to take a nap. My stomach was wrecked, my legs were dead and a bug flew in my eye — that kind of run. When I got back to the office I chugged some coconut water from the kitchen (is there anything more pretentious?), inhaled a banana and ate pretzels and drank water at my desk for the rest of the day before riding home.

Tweaked.

http://www.strava.com/activities/177013810

Huevos in cast iron.

When I worked in D.C. I had client work in New York and used to take Amtrak from Union Station to Penn Station. The Acela was a little bit more expensive than the standard Amtrak… and newer… and had nice desks for working… but it only got there about 15 minutes faster than the cheaper (older) train. It turns out the train could go faster, but the tracks weren’t built for the trains to move at any higher speeds.

I was caught by the train again today on my run. I think I’ve just stumbled onto the schedule. The train rolls across the Steel Bridge at noon every Wednesday. Reminds me of Taleb’s Turkey Problem.

This time it was actually moving…and then stopped. Same thing happened. It’s such a fascinating study in behavior and group dynamics. Guy next to me says, “you could go under…”. I briefly calculated the acceleration of a stopped freight train… reasoned that it probably wouldn’t move backwards… and could be crossed under the train close to the wheels in the direction the train was rolling and then concluded: absolutely not.

I walked down the cars again, found a ladder between two tankers, climbed up and over, jumped down the other side and started my watch. I never saw the guy next to me again.

On the way back I realized that I can continue running straight up Naito Pkwy and stay on the sidewalk that goes through a tunnel *under* the tracks.

No more train jumping for me.

http://www.strava.com/activities/176474970

Lactate threshold training again today – I like doing it on the flats as it’s much more of a controlled environment; straight and flat. I might start going to the track, but I can’t stand the thought of running in circles. This area is an industrial zone, just warehouses and machine shops, not much traffic…kind of dirty and gritty. I like it.

 

 

http://www.strava.com/activities/175486655

Really nice run today. I took the weekend off and spoiled Whimsy & Delight all day on Saturday (and made sure to let them know they were being spoiled). Today I felt like getting after it. This run used to be such a big mental leap. It’s not that far, but it covers a lot of ground – it’s probably 85% singletrack trail through the fortress of solitude (FP). I’m not exactly sure when I decided to do the loop vs. a shorter out/back. I’ve done this one so many times that I have the entire mental map, every turn and climb and descent committed to memory.

During periods of intense focus on my runs I’ve noticed that I squeeze the thumb and middle finger of my right hand tightly, like I’ve caught some invisible thread and need to hold on to it with all my will.  When I realize what I’m doing, I open my hand,  roll my shoulders and try to relax my upper body. And then I catch myself doing it again. That invisible thread that pulls me along up and down mountains and through the forest. I’ve never seen it but I know it’s there.

There are books written about the mental side of running, the lessons derived from being in this active/meditative state. The one that I’ve been thinking about lately relates mostly to running ultras … but life as well (is there a difference?). If you’re feeling great, enjoy it and keep going, it won’t last forever. If you’re feeling bad, enjoy it and keep going, it won’t last forever.

I’ve been thinking about what’s next after my last race. I had a great run, finished strong – needed very little recovery (I took one day off) and took no Vitamin I afterwards. The only injury I sustained was a severe chafe/burn where my vest and bottle was rubbing my chest for 50 miles. That’s all healed up now.

I picked up a SPOT personal locator beacon last weekend and a pair of carbon fiber running poles. Plans are underway. Both items are really just safety devices. The beacon will allow me to send an email via satellite ping that I’m okay, or an email that I need assistance, or it can send an SOS that will initiate SAR if something goes terribly wrong. The poles will allow me to use my upper body to power hike steep climbs. And hobble out if something goes terribly wrong.

Feels good to be planning and training with a specific goal in mind.