What They Said

"We'd all be much happier if we magnified our blessings rather than our disappointments" - Abraham Lincoln

"We've become a nation of wusses. The Chinese are kicking butt in everything. If this was China do you think the Chinese would call off the game? People would have been marching down to the stadium and they would have been doing calculus on the way down." - Gov Ed Rendell

"Pockets are just mobile trash cans" - Marco Jewell

Finally some words every parent should remember

A Poem by Lee Fisher

A careful man I want to be,

A little fellow follows me;

I do not dare to go astray,

For fear he'll go the self-same way.

I cannot once escape his eyes,

Whatever he sees me do, he tries;

Like me he says he's going to be,

The little chap who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine,

Believes in every word of mine;

The base in me he must not see,

The little chap who follows me,

I must remember as I go,

Through summer's sun and winter's snow;

I am building for the years to be

That little chap who follows me.

Happy New Year to All!

It's a good life....

Dave

Turks and Caicos 2010

My List

1. Be True to Yourself

2. Help Others

3. Make each Day your Maserpiece

4. Drink deeply from good books.

5. Make friendship a fine art

6. Build a shelter against a rainy day

7. Pray for guidance and count and give thanks for your blessings every day.

Coach Wooden, One-On One

My Christmas Wish List

1. That Larry and everyone else with cancer gets healthy again.

2. The George comes back from his accident and that his family gets George back.

3. That the Sun and Water are warm in the Turks

4. That we as a culture wake up and realize that what we see in our government, the stone walling, bickering, party line bullshit is a reflection of us. We put them in that place because they were like us. Until we grasp the ideas to Be Different they won't change. They will continue to reflect who we are and what we "want" and we will continue to see crap like we are seeing.

It's a good life...

Dave

Good By

Those that know me well know I'm never satisfied with the work I do. It's the constant desire to improve. Each time I see a project, a presentation or a shoe after completion I see things I can do better. For shoes that goes back way before I moved to this side of the industry. The millions of shoes I bought or had influence on were never 100% right. It's just how I'm wired. The great thing I hope is that I don't hold that value to anyone else.

When we hand out shoes for wear testing I have a specific rule. Don't ever tell me you love the shoe. Tell me when you hate it. The only way we can improve is to get our wear testers to understand that we are not looking for the good stuff. We already know what that is. We are looking for the problems.

Which brings me to the Zoot Ultra Ovwa. The brief for this, sorry Asics, be the Noosa killer. That was basically it. What we received in design was a great start. After over a year of development and roughly 2 months from launch I'm breaking a rule. I'm actually blown away by this shoe. I don't usually find a shoe I want to run in again and again and again. This is one I want to. Before my adidas and Zoot jobs I always ran in many, many shoes but kept two shoes on the side that I needed for those energy boosting runs. The Nike Zoom Elite and the Asics DS Trainer. Since moving to this side of the industry I really haven't had a shoe I kept running in. Sure there were good shoes but not shoes I'd consider my go to shoe. So I found that shoe this fall in the Ovwa but just because I like it mean's nothing. Others have to give me that same feedback. Recently we handed out all sizes of all our shoes for wear testing. I'm looking for the problems of course but I'm also somewhat hopeful that this shoe is as good as I think. Then it came. The Athlete who I trust to tell me when something sucks "Dave, This is the best Zoot shoe ever". The Apparel Designer who ran her first marathon last June, sent me a text me on a Saturday "Ultra Ovwa, awesome, awesome!"

Some Detail

Category - Stability

Midsole Heights: 19mm heel, 9mm forefoot

Weight: less than 9 oz

The best running shoes in the world have great Balance. The only way you know is to run in them and feel it. Because I do this for a living I can do some things at my desk that can show me great balance. Often times if you tell me a shoe sucks I can put it on a desk and find the problem you are feeling. It's a gift that doesn't really do me much good because I can't do that with my own life. But I can see it in a shoe and this shoe has it and I know why but I'm not giving that secret away.

I humbly suggest when you are out looking for a new shoe for 2011 that makes you feel fast, give this shoe a chance. You won't be sorry. Available in March.

It's a good life....

Dave

Be Humble

If you've been reading the last week you'll know that I've hooked in to the idea and the movement to Be Different. The day I had today is an indication of how important it is. The day needs no explanation as my German friend Marcus says "It is what it is"

The point I want to make today is to be different is the hard road. As MLB player Mike Sweeny said" it's counter cultural, it's swimming up stream" And we both agree we're in this 100%. Our culture can't afford to continue down the path we are on. Our kids, my son Marco, deserves better than what we are giving. Some words to represent a little of what it means to Be Different:

Live with Intention

Live with Integrity

Be Fair

Be Humble

Be Merciful

I know for a fact that in my goal to live 2011 with the daily thought of What Would Papi Do, This is what Papi would do.

It's a good life....

Dave

The Ease that is Running

Yesterday I packed my bike into the car for a lunch time ride. If you include the packing of the car remembering everything I might need and then the preparation for the ride, the true time spent on a one hour twenty minute ride was one hour forty five.

Today it was a run day. Pair of shorts, shirt, shoes. Run time was one hour fourteen minutes. Prep time plus run time one hour 20 minutes max. Running is just easy.

I posted this the other day on Facebook. As long as you have shorts and shoes and of course if you are a woman a bra, the best place to run is wherever you are at this minute. That's the simplicity that is running. Anywhere, anytime just go. It's that easy.

It's a good life....

Dave

Road to Fitness Week #50

Today I was given a workout that included 40 minutes of climbing. Very difficult to do living along the coast of California. Yes if I drove a bit inland I can find a 40 minute hill but not here. So each time this workout comes along I opt for a shorter hill but one I can repeat easily each time I get this workout. So it was up Double Peak Road I went. The picture above is from the top looking east. Not band for December morning. The workout calls for 20 minutes at the bottom of the steady zone and then 20 minutes at Moderate Hard. Total climbing today was 20 minutes so it went 15 minutes of steady and 5 minutes of moderate hard. Overall it felt really good although controlling myself in December (for the first time ever) I was climbing really slow. Hopefully that means I'll be able to climb really fast when it counts.

It's a good life...

Dave

The Primal Life - Pot Roast

This was dinner tonight. Although I spent way too much on the meat itself, it was worth it. Knowing I can make the same meal and save about 40% in cost on the meat makes it taste even better.

Why was it Primal:

Beef Pot Roast - Carrots - Cauliflower - Onions - Garlic - Water.

The Rub I used I made up: Oregano, All Spice, Chili Pepper, Sea Salt, Pepper.

Slow Cooker - 9 hours

We had a simple salad to go with it. What, no potatoes? Who makes a roast with no Potatoes?Cauliflower is a great substitute and it's a primal food.

Why write about the food I'm eating. The results speak for themselves.

Current Training: 7 hours a week - Down from 10-11 hours in September-October

Load - Light - All the work is at a comfortable pace. No heavy breathing.

Weights: Two sessions a week. Squats, Pull Ups, Shoulder Press and some planks.

Current weight: 144 steady - down from 155 in September.

Body Composition - Just ask Mary - I ran up along side her yesterday while she was finishing her run. Because it's San Diego and it was warm I ran without a shirt. She said, "Damn, you look hot today".

If you read into the science of this eating/training (I think coach would agree with it) it goes like this. Your body has a max glycogen storage but does not have a maximum fat storage. If you train your body to burn glycogen (carbohydrates) you can continue to store fat. Generally that fat comes from Carbohydrates that don't get stored as glycogen but get converted to fat in the body. Primal eating + smart training teaches your body to use fat as fuel. The more you learn to do this the better it is for you in the long term. December is the perfect time to teach your body new tricks. How do I know I've trained my body to burn fat, ask Mary. Her comments were not just to be nice, they were real. More work to be done but it's getting there. I must state that I am not on a No Carbohydrate diet. The Carbs I eat are from natural sources (fruit, veggies, and the Heed I drink on my bike). They do not come from bread, grains, beans or sugar.

It's a good life...

Dave

Be Different

There is a movement here in San Diego from a group including a local radio morning show DJ. It's called Be Different. I'm with it 100%. There are way too many distractions out there right now causing us to act in a way that deserves a change. It seams to me like it's one great big world of impatience. One of the things that drives me crazy and I'm just as guilty as all is what I'm going to call Smart Phone Love. On fields, beaches, sidewalks and airports around the world I see mostly men paying more attention to their smart phones then anything else around them. Daily I see a man standing beside a son or daughter giving his 100% attention to his phone. The opportunity is there to make a huge difference in a child's life but no the phone gets the attention. So In my small world I would like to propose a Smart Phone and Computer ban on Sundays. Between now and the end of January give it a try. Don't send an email, post on facebook or twitter on Sundays. See if your life is different. Challenge everyone you know. I think we can drive a difference just by giving up one day a week and dedicating that day to those close to us. Notice I didn't say give up your phone. Call someone, actually talk to them on Sunday instead of those other ways of communication.

What have you got to lose? I think it's a great way to Be Different.

It's a good life...

Dave

Too Many Shoes not enough Feet.

This week I've come across two write-ups on shoes. The first was a technical description of midsole heights and the offset between the heel and forefoot of your running shoe. I'd love to tell you the shoe industry has some real knowledge on the best offset but we don't. We all have a good theory behind why we do the the things we do. Generally we can execute our theory in a lab but the real world on your feet is completely different. This topic has really become a hot topic because of the Barefoot Craze. I was in retail stores earlier this week and the Vibram 5 Fingers and Nike Free's are rolling off the shelfs. Apparently the New Balance "Bare Foot" shoe is going crazy too. Saucony has one on the way too. I'm still not 100% sure that this is a trend. The more interesting thing for me is not the stated offset it's the real offset and the real midsole heights. I'll let you read through the blog. If you are geeky about shoes like me you'll understand what I say when I say stated vs. real. Read here.

Which brings me to the next blog. A shoe experiment. I wrote about this when I wrote about Triathlon Running. To refresh, read it here.

Another guy posted this on a forum. "I have run in the Gel Kayano for 7 years. I decided to switch and bought a pair of Newtons. Biggest mistake of my life. I had lower leg pain for months. I just bought the Kayano 16 and my legs couldn't be happier" - Read the Shoe experiment. Maybe it's the same guy?

That brings me to the final point. Why would a little company like Zoot try to get into this mess that is running shoes. Especially when I'm telling you to stick with what works. Well the easy answer is I've been in the business long enough to know that your favorite running shoe will get screwed up and we think we can make enough of a difference for you to give us a try. Once you do and they work for you, why would you ever switch out?

It's a good life...

Dave

The World's Worst

My favorite blogger Seth Godin wrote this blog yesterday. You could apply this thought to the following and more:

The World's Worst.......
-Husband
-Father
-Son
-etc.

It's a good life....
Dave

Triathlon Running

It all started with a quote off the letsrun.com homepage. When I say it, it was a great debate on slowtwitch.com about running. Here is the quote:

"If the most common question I get asked is, 'How do I run a fast marathon?,' the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th ... most common questions have something to do with diet, running form, sleep, footwear, stretching, weights; anything but actual running. American runners seem to have an unending fascination with all these extra-curricular activities, yet we continue to get slower at running marathons ... If you want to improve your performance in the marathon, stop worrying about minimalist shoes, caveman diets, and new-age running form, and start worrying about getting out the door and running a little more than you did last week. High mileage works!" -Pete Gilmore

But the real question is not how to run a fast marathon at all on Slowtwitch. It’s how to run fast off the bike and maybe how to compete in the sport. To know this it’s important to look back at history:

Simon Whitfield – Simon came out of relative obscurity to win the first ever men’s Triathlon Olympic Gold. He did it with a run that set the tone for how ITU style racing is won, on the run. Simon was 28^th out of the water that day. After some near misses on the bike he came in 27^th. His 30:52 in the 10K was 16 seconds faster than the next fastest run split. Although he had to sprint to win it was a forgone conclusion. The best athlete, the best runner on the day won.

Paula Newby Fraser – The Queen of Kona. Known for tearing it up on the famed bike course. But Paula was and is a runner. Her quirky running style with a left leg that kicks out was so tough on the run only her meltdown at 25 miles kept her from winning 9 World Championships. In her 8 victories she ran between 3:05:24 and 3:08:10 for the first 5 victories. Her run times slowed to 3:23:30 the year before her collapse. The year after her collapse she got her run mojo back and went 3:09:45 for her final victory on the Big Island.

In Ironman World Championships racing you only need to go back to 1989. IronWar. Mark Allen and Dave Scott ran toe to toe for 24 miles. Mark’s run time on that day was 2:40:04 and it set the stage for how the race is won. Sure Norman came through with two winning performances off the bike, but it’s on the run where the winners have been decided. Luc Van Lierde ran 2:41:48 to win. Tim Deboom won twice with masterful running. Peter Reid won when he ran well. Crowie, enough said. Macca all 6 feet 170 lbs of him ran 2:43:41 in 2010 to win.

The point of this historical view is that in races all over the world you can win from your strength on the bike. That is proven again and again. But when it really counts at the World Championships it’s running that gets you there. This is not just a pro thing either. Look through the age groups and you’ll see that the faster runner usually wins.

This is not an anti-bike article. In fact it’s clear from all the results that you need to ride fast to put yourself in contention. It’s also widely known that to run fast off the bike you need to be as fresh as possible at the end of the ride. The only way to do that is ride your bike often and make sure above all else that you are comfortable on that bike. The top pro’s and the top fit experts all agree that an uncomfortable super aero position won’t get you too far. An aero position that is comfortable is ideal.

This article is about how to run for triathlon. For those of you who are limited in your running due to bad knees or backs I apologize. I feel most for you because you can’t enjoy the pureness that is running. When I say pureness what I mean is that it’s by far the most freeing and it’s the easiest. Think about how much time you prepare for a run vs the preparation time for a ride or a swim. Then think about where you do it. Bikes for the most part need good roads and good weather. To swim you need a pool or open “warm” water. Running you need shoes and the right clothing. Any weather is fine and virtually anywhere is fine.

The quote above is full of items to talk about and I’m going to address all of them. I’ll start with all the things listed as “I get asked about everything but running”.

Running Shoes

This could take articles and it probably will but honest to goodness truth is running shoes can’t change your running. The only magic running shoe is the one that works for you and if there was a magic running shoe I would have developed it by now and become a millionaire. That said don’t go with the latest trends, don’t listen to any of your friends, don’t read the forums about shoe suggestions, talk to a professional and get fit right the first time. My golden rule is go with the lightest shoe you can get away with. That mean’s if you need stability find the least amount of stability you can run efficiently in. There is no sense in running in more shoe than you need. In fact it will probably slow you down. So what about this barefoot or low profile trend you keep reading about. If barefoot is the least amount of shoe you can get away with go for it. You now fit in a unique 2% of the modern running population. As for low profile, if you can get away with it, then great for you. You just saved yourself lots of weight on your feet. But again, not everyone can go that low. So bottom line, see a professional.

Diet – Eat like crap, run like crap. Eat well (whatever that mean’s for you) run well.

Weights – All the best runners do some form of strength training. In the western world that mean’s you taking time out to hit the gym or your own personal circuit. In Kenya I can speak from experience, the majority of the athletes get their strength from their daily life. They aren’t hanging around in compression with their feet up. They are working to live along with running. For them that usually means on the farm. Remember the stories of the winners. The first thing they buy with their new found money is usually a tractor. I don't know a professional triathlete or an age group super star who doesn't do some form of strength training.

Stretching – That’s a personal thing. If you are naturally flexible you don’t need to stretch. If you are naturally tight you probably do. Alan Lunn from the Wolf Studio in Solana Beach, CA says that a somewhat tight hamstring is good for runners. (contact Alan from his website to clarify this for you). So you should know if stretching is for you. More than likely it is.

Sleep – I wrote about sleep here. The more the better.

Running Form – Good running form will only help you run faster. I mentioned Paula and her quirky running form. I only mentioned her left leg kicking out. Other than that her form was flawless. What does it look like. Fairly upright with no real lean forward or backward. Float – No Bounce. Shorter more frequent strides vs. longer strides. Everything else will slow you down. How you get this form is varied but the one real way is to run lots of miles with a couple of days of running drills and strides. Both drills and strides teach your body what it feels like to run correctly without killing you in the process.

So now it’s down to running and what’s the best running you can do. It’s early December when racing is a long ways away. If your goal is to run better next year the time is now and the mileage should be high. Mr. Gilmore says “High Mileage Works”. For you what does that mean and how do you go about it. My good friend Greg McMillan of McMillan Running of Flagstaff, Arizona says that long slow runs in the winter build capillaries and those capillaries once built carry more blood to working muscles (something you need in season). Greg should know, he coaches runners for a living and has worked side by side with arguably the best running coaches ever, to name the short list, Lydiard, Daniels and Dr. Gabriele Rosa.

But like Gilbert, Greg coaches runners so volume can’t be judged. Let’s see what some of the experts in the field of triathlon say. Maffetone who helped get Mark Allen to all those victories reportedly taught Mark to slow down. In simple terms he stressed training at or below you maximum aerobic heart rate. Using his formula of 180 – your age then adding or subtracting based on experience and injury rate leaves you with a fairly good number. For most if you aren’t used to this aerobic number you won’t believe how slow you have to go. Joe Friel has a great graph in his book the Triathlete’s Training Bible. The graph shows early season (base building) with progressive volume building while intensity stays low. As the season approaches and intensity goes up, volume naturally has to come down. These experts and more will tell you. If you want to run fast in August you have got to run “slow’ in December and you have got to run a bunch. For me personally I think it’s about 40 – 50% more than my normal running during the “season”. So if my in season running is 30 miles/week I need to be running at least 45 miles now. Or if my in season is 4 hours I need to run 6 hours now. Because I’m running longer or more often I can’t do the intensity. My body won’t work. So I have to keep sharp with drills and Strides. 95% of the time running, drills or strides I concentrate on form. Upright, float and quick steps. The one sport that takes a back seat during this time is swimming. If I can improve a couple minutes on the swim next year I’ll be lucky and I know it’s not about volume right now. To ease some of the pounding of winter running, I'll hit the treadmill a couple times a week. Good steady pace running for 45 - 50 minutes will keep the feet moving quickly without putting huge strain. Check out the articles on Rinny this year and you'll see her doing some treadmill work.

Some things to think about when it comes to running.

Heart Rate/Perceived Effort

Because running has impact and considerable effort you can reach high heart rates quickly. So keeping your heart rate (effort) low seems unreasonable. Coach Gordo Byrn goes as far as incorporating 1 minute walking breaks in each 10 minutes segment all in an effort to get that heart rate down. Mostly so you can go longer I might add.

Consistency

The second important point about running is consistency. I’ll put it another way first to make my point. Swimming is 80% or higher form. Once you learn the form you’ve got it. Because there is no impact your body remembers that form. Take a long break from swimming and you can come back quickly because you remember the form and the lack of impact allows you to get in shape quickly. The same goes with riding a bike. Running though isn’t like that. It doesn’t matter what kind of runner you are, take a long break and it takes a long time to come back. So consistency is the best bet. For me during this time of the year it mean’s running 6 days a week. Yes I know that’s like a runner but that’s what it takes. It takes running to run it’s that simple.

Conclusions

1. If you want to run faster next summer start running now and increasing your total time spent running gradually.

2. Form will follow if you do the drills and strides and simply run more.

3. Be smart about the other aspects that affect your running, shoes, diet, sleep etc.

4. Run Consistently slow at this time of year. Your body will appreciate it and you’ll get to run more often.

It’s a good life…

Dave

Sleep

It's an often overlooked activity in life. I know people who "live" off 4 hours of sleep a night. I also know people who struggle every night to get to sleep and finally I know people who struggle to wake up. I don't know many people who say they sleep well.

Why is sleeping like a baby just for babies? Why can't we just go back to sleeping well?

Last night I got 10 hours of uninterrupted deep sleep. I had it coming for sure. Last week in Germany I would sleep 10 or 11pm to 1 am. Then 3 am to 5 am. That's not good sleep. My mentality when I travel like that is to appreciate what I get and roll with it. But it comes back to "get" me at home. So last night was the night. 10 hours of down time. The great thing is this morning I feel better than I've felt in two weeks. So to me that mean's I'm back to normal.

I'm no sleep expert but I read often about it and I actively pursue it daily so I feel expert enough to write about it. First I must say I come from a family that can sleep. When I was 16 my father took me to a Cheap Trick concert. While I rocked out he slept. How can anyone sleep in something that loud? Anyway once asleep I'm out, but often times I struggle to get to sleep and if it's not enough sleep I struggle to wake up. So what causes this:

Food - The more I learn about what's good for my body the more I'm convinced that food is the biggest culprit. I don't expect everyone to follow my Primal methods of eating but I would give this advice. No Sugar after 6pm. If you are a late eater like we are (8pm is not rare for dinner at our house) then stick with that. But on those occasions where we eat earlier I always have a high quality snack (Nuts and berries) one hour before bed.

Screens - Computer, TV, video games - We purposely don't have a tv in our bedroom. The idea is to stay away from a screen roughly one hour before bed time. That mean's we pick up a book or a magazine or my gosh have a conversation. We certainly are not perfect at this but it's a good goal to shoot for.

Pain - Pain is the worst when you are trying to sleep. Pain in the back is probably the biggest pain we suffer. I think the key to this is find out what's wrong and find some good stretches that can subdue the pain. I've learned that stretching at night is the best for me. This helps to relax my muscles and I wake up ready to go.

Work/Family - Troubles or challenges here probably cost a huge amount of sleep. They sure have in my life. For work I make it a point to stop any work at 7 pm. That's hard when a great deal of my work is in China but as long as I'm consistent, they know what to expect from me. As for Family, work on that all day and going to sleep is much easier.

So these are the things I work on for Sleep. My goal is 7-8 hours. I hope if you are struggling with sleep these tips can help you too.

It's a good life...

Dave

Gone Primal

Recently if you've been reading I went Gluten Free about 2 months ago. The initial results were pleasing with a 5 lb drop in static weight. Yep, just by cutting wheat out of my diet. As of this week I've gone Primal. I've known Mark Sisson for who knows how many years. I've followed his website for probably as long as it has been up. I decided if I was going Gluten free I might as well go all the way and go Primal. For the most part outside of food I am primal. My coach Gordo, gives me a relatively primal system to follow. I get lots of sleep and I love to play. So the biggest change for me is food. First let me list out what I won't eat:

- Grains - Of any kind - Wheat, corn, oats, etc.

- Big Starchy things like potatoes.

- Legumes - I know, no more refried beans but that's ok.

- Coke - Oh my gosh!

What I will eat

-Eggs

- Meat - All Kinds

- Fruit

- Veggies - The golden rule - If you can eat them raw as well as cooked, eat them.

In reality, I feel better when I eat this way. It's not the first time I've done this it's simply something I feel I need to do to live. I plan to live a strong healthy life for a long time. Family history is against me. My father suffered a heart attack at 55 and my mother has Alzeimer's. So I have to do things fairly drastic to avoid both. That and I have been in an energy rut for too long. So getting serious about what goes into my body seems right.

If you look at the list of things I can eat it's tasty. Fruit is good right! Meat done right melts in your mouth. Eggs are perfect food and can be dressed up like this morning: 3 Eggs scrambled, Left over Tri Tip and a hint of cheddar cheese. Outstanding!

Now those of you who remember and tried the Adkins diet there is a major difference. That diet fully limited your carbs. In the Primal world Carbs are the basis of your diet just the naturally occurring good ones. Fruit and veggies are all carbs. If you eat them, the right one's they are good for you. So those athletes that worry I'm eating too much fat and not enough carbs, wait and see. So far it's really good. No issues with energy in fact my energy is strong.

It's a good life...

Dave

-

I like you better

as Dave - So my wife of 17 years tells me. I guess I can except that my first name is my best name and any nickname current or future is just that a nickname. It's not who I am.

It's a good life....

Dave

Airline Travel and the TSA

There's been a great deal of complaining about the new rules at with Airline travel and the TSA. I don't think I've set any records or anything but I think I've become somewhat an expert in air travel this year. 50 segments on United and probably 25 or so on other airlines mean's I've become friend of the TSA. This and I've never been pat down and only had my bag searched once.

Here's what I see that is causing people problems.

1. Way too much stuff - I know they are charging for bags. So travel light. The more stuff you try to take on the plane the more you will mess up in security.

2. Toiletries - Don't even try to skirt the rules. They will get you every time. Use a plastic bag and don't go over the bottle volume limit.

3. Things in pockets - Just empty your pockets into your back pack. It's easier and you most likely won't forget whatever it is you forgot in your pocket.

4. Pissed off travelers - It seems to me the more pissed off you are when you are traveling the more likely you will do something stupid in the TSA line and get secondary inspection. Remember the service industry is just plain hard. They are trying but they are not always the best. Relax and give people a break. You won't be pissed off and you won't forget that you had that second cell phone in your pocket.

5. Don't talk back - If they ask you to secondary inspection go peacefully. The best line I heard out of a traveler - "Ok, This is how it's going to work" - Yeah right, say that in TSA and you may never get on the plane.

I think the important thing to remember is travel changed on September 11th. Yes, the airlines are there to serve you the paying customer but not at all costs. You as the traveler have the responsibility to know the rules, have patience and above all keep calm. And for gosh sakes smile and say thanks as often as you can. It goes a long way.

It's a good life....

Super

You Can Go Back

This morning Germany time I ran an old loop I used to to when we lived there. It was a rough night thanks to some severe jet lag so I had no expectations on the run. But sometimes that's the best thing when running. As it turned out this morning no expectations led to a great run. The run took place entirely in the dark. I started through the town of Grossenseebach, ran by our old house and out the farm track. Then back towards the forest. There was enough light from the moon that the paths were easy to see. That is until I entered the forest. In the forest everything went black so I relied on memory. It's interesting how much I remembered. I knew where the dips in the trail were, I knew in the super dark section where the trail went off camber. It was actually really cool to experience. Overall the 54 minutes run flew by. I guess that's because I was absolutely enjoying the run. I can't wait to do it again some time.

It's a good life....

Super

Gluten Free

I haven't been too public about this recently but I went Gluten free the last week of September. I didn't do it because of any know allergies. I did it because I believe it's the right thing to do for the long term health of my body. I'll write more about this as I continue down this path. The results speak for themselves:

Training Volume unchanged.

Before weight: Consistent 153lbs.

Today weight: 147 lbs

It's a good life....

Dave

Float

Float - To glide across the earth without bounce, without strain and with purpose.

Marco and I have been working on Float. It's very important in running to float. Every runner from time to time does not float. It wasn't until my last trip to china that I found my float. I noticed recently while Marco was running that he was bounding. We had a workout given by his coach recently to run 600m repeats. We ran side by side and focused on float. The more he found his float the faster he ran. There was a father on the track watching his daughter play field hockey. He said in amazement "I've never seen a kid that young run like that, it is beautiful". Float.

Today I lost my running float. Probably something to do with traveling across the US, the Atlantic and half of Europe. Hopefully it's back tomorrow.

But float is not just running. Float should be life. Glide across the earth without bounce, without strain and with purpose.

It's a good life....

Dave

Off to Germany

We moved to Germany 4 years ago and it was our second time to the country. We moved back just over a year ago and now I can't seem to stay away. I never had a reason to go to Germany and now I go at least twice a year. It's funny how life comes around like that. It's not rough this time. The Bavarian Alps await.

It's a good life....

Dave

WWPD - 2011 Goals

Based on the crazy year I've had, one in which I'm happy to put behind me I've taken a different approach to my goals. My Dad (Papi) is not here to provide input but I sure can use his life as a guide to what would make the most impact on my life. So the goals are titled WWPD (What Would Papi Do) goals.

Marriage - Simply put my goal is to put Mary first in everything I do. Through all the things flying around if Mary goes first we all win. She deserves that kind of attention and she will get it.

Marco - We are going to learn something together. We'll work on it this winter and by spring we'll make it ours. It will really be up to him. I know what I want to learn but if it's not what he wants we won't do it.

Money - Save, Save and Save. Our current savings rate is about 15% of our income. My goal is to get it closer to 25% of my income. In this world where we are lucky to have a job, a 25% savings is the smart thing. To do this I'm going to have to cut some of the things I take for granted. More on this as the year goes on. Any suggestions would be great.

Motivation - Papi spent the last 20 years of his life continually refining his faith. I think I need to do the same thing and first up may be that I define it. Then I need to continually refine it. I think this leads me to question it all. I can say right now that I don't define myself by a religion. Some heavy research is needed here. Some help or direction from others is welcome.

Me - I split me into two places that matter most.

1. Competition - I can't lie, I still want to compete. Last year I did zero in this world. At the end something had to give. My "Fitness" didn't give but I did no racing. So in 2011 I plan to do an Ironman and to do well in it. What that mean's is I have to cross the line and feel like I gave it everything and the results show. I also have to do this in the scope of everything here. I've been known in my younger days to put this first. That will not get me anywhere.

2. Relationships - This is one Papi was a master of. He had more personal relationships then anyone I know. I have 360 or so friends on my Facebook page but I don't know how many are truly personal. That needs to change. So my goal is to develop relationships all year long. This is probably the biggest stretch for me. Personal is the hard part. I have lots of relationships but personal is not what I would call them.

Now if I read this as Papi I think he would sign up for it. Put family first, take care of your money, build relationships and realize you are just a part of something bigger.

It's a good life...

Dave

New Blog Posting Home

Endorphin Fanatics is moving. Or at least my Blog postings are moving. To read what I have to say go to http://www.davejewellsandiego.blogspot.com/

It's a good life...

Dave

Run for Chelsea

Today marked a giant leap in the fight against the sickos like the guy who took Chelsea and Ambers life. When I saw the news it brought back emotions from that day in March when the running community of San Diego got together to finish that run for Chelsea. I said it then and I say it now, I sure hope we never have to put on another run for that reason. But I say this that I still go out the door in the early morning and look to the sky and say Chelsea, This one's for you!

Click on Chelsea's name to view the video made about the run.

It's a good life....

Dave

2010 Goal Review

The picture above is just an image that I like to keep in mind. Scout is a very vocal dog. Not the kind of dog that Barks all that much. The kind of dog who howls at you when she has something to tell you. She has an I want to eat howl, a take me out howl, and her best is a "You Suck" Howl. Typically that one is saved for me when I've don't something wrong. Which is generally often.

This brings me to the 2010 goals.

Family - Essentially my goal was to spend more individual time with Marco and Mary, spend more together time with them and to keep taking care of my mother. Although I think I've had glimpses of greatness, I haven't been consistent in this world. We all feel it and it's something that needs drastic attention in 2011. Part of that but certainly not all of this is tied to travel away from home. I clearly spent way too much time on the road and I'm about to do that again. The only way I can curtail this is to keep convincing the parent company that I know what I'm doing and that it will take more bodies to be really effective. One body I'm confident is on the way. But Family is #1 and will always be #1. If I can keep the last 12 weeks in consistency I think I'll be headed in the right direction.

Financial - Done. On to the next goal.

Racing - Disaster. I've "raced" once this year. In fact it doesn't even count. Getting hit by a car in March didn't help. Going on the road for some crazy number of days doesn't help. All of it adds up to the heaviest I've ever been in my life. Although I'm getting some of that fit feeling back I'm still a disaster when it comes to putting it all together. I'm still not 100% convinced I'm going about it the right way.

So if I look at these goals in isolation I sucked. But we put goals out there to improve who we are. I've learned a great deal this past year. About what makes me happy and what I simply don't like. Some of that I've shared but much of it I've kept to myself. I might get fired if I shared everything. So it's on to the 2011 goals. By the middle of October they'll be in print on this blog.

It's a good life....

Dave

Deep Thoughts

It is with some sadness that I write tonight. Jim MacLaren passed away this week. I first met Jim in 1988 at a Triathlon. I saw him again that same year at the Ironman World Championships where he redefined what an athlete was to me. He with one real leg and one prosthetic leg (before running advancements in prosthetic legs) raced the Ironman and finished in the top of his class. Not the top of the disabled class but he was up there in his age group. Heck he finished in the top 1/2 of the entire race. Click on his name and watch an emotional video of the man and his mark on history. He simply changed perceptions for himself and thousands who have followed.

This brings me to my deep thoughts. I've read two books in the last 2 weeks. Both were about men. Both were 99.9% void of women. Both had a topic that brings up the deep thoughts.

Running on Faith by Jason Lester - Jason's story is one of craziness. Like Jim he was faced with a disability caused by a moving vehicle. Their stories are stories of heart break and gut wrenching determination. Jason who can do amazing things without the use of his right arm credits all of his will and determination to God. His belief is that God has guided him (opened the door) to do the athletic events that he does.

The other book I read was War by Sebastian Junger - It's a page turner from cover to cover if you like this stuff. What struck me is that the main character (a real Soldier) has determined that God does not live in the Valley where this Army base is.

Two men are lucky to be alive. To that by one way or another they have seen "hell". One who feels God is the reason he's alive and on his path. One that feels God wasn't there to keep him alive in the first place and wasn't there when his friends were killed in front of his eyes.

I'm not questioning God or questioning the two lead characters. I'm simply showing you what I read and it does bring up some deep thoughts.

One thing for sure after reading both books. If I hear another athlete equate what they do or what they have done to a "Battlefield" I may throw their book out a window. Unless you've been there, on a real battlefield with real bullets you have no idea what it's like. And you have no right to equate what you do to that. It's not fair to the Soldiers and it's not fair to your readers.

Although I say it with a heavy heart...

It's a good life.....

Dave

Time for Review

It's time to review those 2010 Goals. I'll get to this in the next week. We set goals to stretch us, we set goals to focus us and we set them to keep life as fresh as possible. Sometimes they come together with ease, sometimes they are really hard and sometimes they just don't go as planned. The great thing about this week is it will allow me to put down 2010 and get ready for 2011. If you know how my life as a product person goes, I've already started planning product for 2012. So half my battle is knowing what year it really is. More on that later.

An update on the back and stuff. The folks at Wolf Studio have been working hard to get me back to health. It's amazing sometimes what we consider health. For many that means true illness. For me it means running the 10 miles I ran yesterday comfortably. Right now I'm not so comfortable and it's not fitness it's body health. So anyway two sessions a week with them are doing wonders. Session #1 is always strength work. It's not your typical big weight stuff. It's 100% balance and form that then leads to strength. It's amazingly hard and that's because it geared towards my weak points. The other day is soft tissue massage. Today was spent mostly on my left shoulder that is ultra tight thanks, to cars, swimming and life. There was also some work done on my psoas muscles. If you ever want to feel pain have those muscles worked on. There's a fairly good chance yours are tight.

It's a good life....

Dave

Spring 2012 Already

Last night after 6 months of planning and a week of confirming I finished the Spring 2012 product briefs. That's right folks it's August 2010 and we and the rest of the shoe industry have planned out what we are doing in Spring 2012. So last night I sent the briefs off to our ultra talented designer. I expected a response sometime this morning with a plan for a conference call to clear up any questions. What I got instead was this:

"Dave, I'm bubbling up with excitement to start the new season's designs. I just read through everything you sent me and all is well understood. My Pencil is good to go"

I can't tell you how much fun it is to work with someone with that kind of passion.

It's a good life...

Dave

PS. That's the very cool Zoot Ovwa above. Spring 2011

Chasing the Sunrise

By now most people who know me, know that morning is my time. I think I inherited this from my father. He was totally on to something. I get a great deal more done before 10am than I do from 4 to 10pm that's for dang sure. Yesterday found me on my bike at 6am. After a late night for me anyway with some late night frantic text messages to Mary, the morning was here. I could sleep through my plan or just go out there and get it done. It's a good thing I didn't look outside before I got dressed to go. 95% of my ride was done in fog. There was no sun, no sky just a thick blanket of fog. I say 95% because that 5% of sun that I got made up for all the 95% I didn't. As I started the climb up Double Peak I noticed the fog getting thicker. Into San Elijo hills it was about as twice as thick as it was at the bottom. Leaving the village and continuing up it just got worse. By the time I got to the turn off to Double Peak Road the visibility was maybe 100 feet. And then it got real thick. Heading up the first steep part of the road and it looked bleak. I thought to myself, this is one thick band of Fog, even DP is covered. There is a gate that's half way up the DP road. From the Gate to the top it might be a mile but I think less. But I think the average gradient after the gate is 17% so it doesn't really matter how long it is. At the gate it was still foggy and dim. Forty yards past the gate and all of the sudden rays of light began piercing through. 100 yards from the gate and I was in bright clear sunlight. Morning sun light that is warm and inviting. It was simply a beautiful site. I had sun. From the top of DP the view is always spectacular. Looking west you can see the big blue ocean. Looking north you can usually see the San Bernadino Mountains north east of LA. Looking east are just the beautiful valleys of the San Diego coastal range. But yesterday there was none of that. Yesterday everything was covered in Fog except, the big green water tank that marks the "you're almost there" point of the climb. It looked like a space ship hovering in the fog. The the west nothing but white. To the north the peaks of the Mountains were showing through, nothing else. To the east just one peak was showing. At the top of that peak is a house. Wow I know they paid dearly for that house on that space but man do they have the sunrise views.

Two things that will never get old:

Double Peak

The Sunrise.

When they are together it's simply outstanding.

It's a good life...

Dave

If

Rudyard Kipling
If

If If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two imposters just the same; If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools; If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breath a word about your loss; If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on"; If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! It's a good life.... Dave

They've Been Used

The best youth sports t-shirts have got to be cross country shirts. They always have a bit of attitude and a bit of fun on them. Two that were prevalent and the recent cross country camp:

You May Beat Me, But you'll have to Bleed to Do it! - Pre

Our Workouts are Your Sports Punishment

Then there were these two quotes directed at me. They sure have a way of creating some motivation:

They Felt Used - referring to my legs - Corina the Sports Performance Practitioner

You've aged in the last two years - My Wife. She did finish with I can't wait until you get back to your young self.

It's a good life....

Dave

The American Dream

Pictured above is the start of yet another great American Story. One of chance, hard work and a bit of belief in yourself. It's a wine story from Sonoma, California and it goes like this. Senior Guerrero started his wine career loading boxes of wine on trucks. Not hard to put things together but he's of Latin decent and probably didn't come from money as you imagine people in the wine business do. He was either a migrant worker or maybe the son of a migrant worker or maybe the grandson of a migrant worker. 25 years ago, he got a job. One that would pay his rent and buy him food. It was just a job. Loading boxes on trucks. Today with passion, class in a rather romantic setting, Senior Guerrero pedals his wine. Not the wine of the rich farmer he works for. No, it's his. His winery, his creation, his beliefs on how wine should be made, his sweat and his life. All from loading boxes on a truck.

You can only by it in Sonoma or on his website. It's well worth the $28.

It's a good life....

Dave

Crooked Back

I went to the Performance Sports Injury Clinic today (http://beachwalkwolf.com/) for a soft tissue massage and analysis from my previous visit. As I walked in the two practitioners looked at me with worried faces. They said after pleasantries, come in and sit down. We want to talk to you for a bit. They showed me pictures of myself with my shirt off (some people don't like to see pictures of themselves they explained). From the front I look a bit dumpy and a bit unbalanced. Remember there is 18% body fat there and it should be closer to 10%. From the side you can see my protruding belly. Not one to be proud of but kind of odd on the skinny frame. Then came the back picture. Oh what a sight. Right hip higher then the left. Left Scapula lifted and protruding out. Shorts sitting at an angle because well, that's the way the hips are set.

The next thing out of his mouth was "I don't know how you do it?" "If you were to come in here with this back and say something like I want to do an Ironman, I'd tell you there is no way you'll be able to run" "yet here you are just off 5 days of twice a day running". And then he said, the only sign I think you are showing is that of someone with a ruptured disc. So my hips are not in alignment, my back looks like the picture above and now I may have a ruptured disc. Yet I just ran quite a bit, relatively pain free.

Then I had my Massage and came out feeling worked. Alain says to Corina, "how did his legs feel, anything tight" She says, "his legs feel like they've been used, I mean they were rock hard but after just a bit they relaxed and went soft". "Other than some tightness in the neck everything felt great"I guess thank goodness for strong legs.

More to come on this here problem.

It's a good life...

Dave

My Aching Back

Ok, so that's not me in the picture. But that picture pretty much explains my aching back. I went to the Wolf Studios (http://www.beachwalkwolf.com/) to get a total body assessment. I figured I'd been treating the pain long enough. Time to figure it all out again. You see this is not new to me. Ever since I had a major bike crash in the late 80's I've been dealing off and on with low back pain. This recent flair up is due to stress of life and a car accident. So off to the Wolf Studio to get to the bottom of this. When I mean total body assessment I'm not talking about Dr. Type. No these folks spent 2 hours watching me perform tasks, stand on scales, and tried to see what kind of base strength or weakness I had. My results are the following:

The Good

1. I can train 8 hours a week and live through it.

2. My upper ab strength is outstanding.

3. My overall leg strength is outstanding.

4. It's a good thing I do what I do or this problem would be a major problem. Here's to a healthy overly active lifestyle.

The Bad

1. 18% body fat - Not bad in fact really good for the average guy but I'm not average and I shouldn't have that much.

2. Protruding belly - It's not natural and it's being caused by the protection mechanism in the back.

3. Rotated Hips

4. Right hip raised and rotated.

5. Weak or not engaged internal back muscles. Again Pain protection.

6. 155.5lbs Heaviest of my life.

7. This is the BIG ONE - I load 20 more lbs on my left side than on my right. There is a reason that everything happens to my left side. The BIG ONE.

So next up is some soft tissue work to see if they can relieve that 20lb difference. I know a little secret, yes they will be able to relieve it temporarily but then it's up to some really isolated core work to keep it balanced. That's what they will teach me. I know some of it, that's how I manage to get 8 hours in a week. But they will then teach me more of it. Oh and get the 18% down, and the 155.5 lbs down and a few other things.

The folks at Wolf are fairly new to the San Diego area. They are exceptional at what they do. If you are hurting and can't figure it out go see them. Mention my name and you'll get the evaluation and a group of one on one sessions with them free.

It's a good life...

Dave

2 Sheets to the Wind

My Itunes was playing the other day and Public Image Limited came on. Johnny Rotten in his Post Punk (Sexpistols) days. A line in the song struck a cord. The line goes like this:

"2 Sheets to the Wind, 3 Sheets to set sail"

Johnny may have been talking about heavy drinking. When your 2 sheets to the wind, you are one hurting drunk. But by the 3rd sheet you just might be ready to set sail again. Or as I like to look at it, don't give up. Just because you hit that barrier, keep going. The other side just might have you flying again.

It's a good life...

Dave

10 Mile Wednesday

I tried a new run group today and loved it. The same group that I swam with on Monday only larger. It's called 10 mile Wednesday. We started out slow which was good. At the 30 minute point just at the end of the San Elijo Lagoon Trail we stopped and waited for everyone. Or I should say they stopped and waited for me. I started extra slow so I was second to last. The the group split up, those running short turned around. Those going the full 10 soldiered on. At this point the pace picked up a bit but so did the hills. It's Rancho Santa Fe so you knew hills were involved. We looped around and made it back to the trail head. Stopped and then hit the final section. At this point either the pace picked up or the legs got heavy. I stayed with the front the hole time but it sure felt hard. 1:20 on the nose. With a 30 minute first 3 miles it made for a quick run coming back.

The best part is that my Keys fell off the the back tire and got stuck somewhere above the road. As I was cooling down, two of the guys were under my car fishing the keys out for me. Now that's just pure class if you ask me. The entire spirt of the 10mw group.

My favorite quote and there is always someone right:

"I'm going to run with you guys some day with Fresh Legs." and then very quietly he said "that's assuming you were on fresh legs today"

It's a good life...

Dave

Much Love and Respect

Recently I've gotten comments from people reading this blog. Dave, are you ok? Let me know what I can do. This is not the Dave I knew from Road Runner Sports. I fully appreciate the concern and let me explain. I have always tried to be open an honest about my life. I have 6 priorities in life and when they gel I am the most content person in the world but when one doesn't it tends to be a spiral affect.

Those 6 are:

Mary and Marco

Family

Work - Zoot

Recreation - Triathlon

Financial

Spiritual

So where did the current spiral start - probably Financial but I'll start with work. Was I told up front that I'd make 6 trips to China in one year, 2 trips to Germany, an estimated 15 other trips already this year to retailers, events and more. No. I was not told that would be the case and so I did not prep Mary and Marco, my Recreation and my Financial status for it. I'm also not blaming those who did not tell me. But because I am who I am, I put my head down and got it done. Now that I have time to reflect in this blog, I did not and am not doing it well or right. So that is why I have to fix my World. I have to fix my world with at least Two more trips to China this year, one trip to Germany and market trips that will put me out another 2+ weeks. If you add that up it's at least 5 total weeks on the road in hotels, on planes away from Mary and Marco between now and December 1st. I can and I will make this a better experience. This is why we call it life. This is why I get up every day with energy and endorphins to tackle it. It's never going to be perfect but if those 6 things are all headed in the right direction they sure can feel perfect to me and everyone I come in contact with.

Thanks to everyone who has reached out. I love all of you.

It's a good life....

Dave

Dawn Patrol

Today I met a group at the Cove in La Jolla for a Dawn Patrol swim. I'm totally out of swimming shape again but I figured what better way to get back in shape. I've swum at the cove many times before but never at Dawn. Two things stood out on this day. Flat water and a view of the bottom. Generally the water is not flat. There is usually a good size roll to the water given that the shore is not far off. Clarity is hit or miss. When it's clear like today, it's really clear. Other times you can barely see you hand in front of you.

There were 7 of us on the swim. We started out easy to buoy #1. Instantly I realized the organizer is a swimmer. He says water polo but darn he can swim. He sat waiting at the buoy for what seemed like forever. On the swim to the next buoy I fought hard to stay with Mr. Water Polo. I managed to stay much closer but he still dropped me. The final stretch to the turn around was to the shore. I held strong but could now feel the Kayak adventure with Marco in my arms. The return back to the cove was the longest section and my arms gave way. This gave me the perfect opportunity to search the world below.

Lots of Clown Fish and a good number of Rays not sure which kind. There were some bigger fish down deeper and the entire swim back was to a chorus of barks from the Seals on the rocks. Not one complaint from me even though my arms felt like they would fall off.

It's a good life....

Dave

Word of the Day

Karma

It's a good life...
Dave

Junior Boys Workout

Since my buddies Craig and Paul execute the Big Boy Workout each Wednesday in the Herzogenaruach, area of Germany I couldn't steal that. So today I did the Junior Boys workout. It was a scheduled run for Marco and his Cross Country team. Today it was around Lake Miramar. 5 miles of twisting-turning-undulating paved path around the lake. The workout was to run to the 2.5 mile mark at an easy effort and throw in 2 X 5 minutes of Tempo with 5 minutes at that easy pace in between each effort. The group of 10 started together but within the first 200 meters two boys went off the front at a fairly good clip. I was comfortable with Marco running with his buddy Nelson. After all, running should be fun and if you can run with a best buddy even better. So I left Marco and headed for the boys up front. It took a good while to catch them. Their "Easy" was fairly steady. It was fairly hot for 7:30am and sweat was already rolling off my visor. The boys began counting down by the 1/4 mile. At 2.5 miles they were off. 1 minute into the 5 minutes the thought crossed my head that this is more than I care to do but then what the heck. I stuck it out and it wasn't that bad. We were back to "Easy". 5 minutes later we were on and the first 2 minutes was up a slight grade the entire way. The boys were hanging tough and even picked it up off the top of the hill. By this point I could see the finish area. We finished the 5 minutes and I made the suggestion that we would run out of space to finish this easy 5 minutes and that we should go past the finish area and add on to get the 5 minutes. The response I got was what I thought o.k. As we approached the finish area I was checking my watch to determine how much extra we would be adding and then bam "This is where we started" came from one of them and they stopped. 37:04. It took me 20 minutes to understand. They wanted that time so they could compare it to everyone else. Running 40 minutes wasn't the workout to them. Running one lap and timing it was they're workout. Now I know the Junior Boys Workout.

It's a good life...

Dave

My World #2

Today marks exactly one year since I left my life in the 3 stripes. I know this because my friend Paul posted this picture on Facebook and it was those mugs that put me under on the 15th of July 2009. I ended up sleeping off the beer in my car. Better to do that than drive home.

As posted earlier this week My World is in a shambles and it's up to me to fix it. Nobody else is going to fix it for me. Any time I'm feeling this way I always happen upon a book. Not because I'm looking for one but because I think it finds me. The book this time is Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox. Family ties was one of my favorite shows and it's only fitting that I buy his books. But why now, why a year after the book was published? Again, I think the book found me.

I read a statement today in the book that actually hit hard. We look up to guys like Lance Armstrong and Michael J. Fox because they turned a negative into an extreme positive. Lance was a great athlete before cancer and he proved you can come back. Michael was a hilarious actor and used his fame and desire to build one of the largest foundations in the world. The subject of the quote is being Heroic. We think of Lance and Michael as heroes. It's only natural. But Michael puts it this way "I didn't choose to have Parkinson's. I agree that if I took on the condition and everything that comes with it just to become an advocate on behalf of others so afflicted well yeah, that would be historically heroic. But in a way, I'm just rolling with the punches" That's powerful when you really think about it.

It's a good life....

Dave

Calgary

Where the biggest thing in the Summer months is the Stampede. Cowboys descend on Calgary to ride bulls, rope pony's and drive their ford trucks. The entire town is dressed and ready to go! Hopefully they accept a runner for an hour on their roads.

It's a good life..

Dave

My World

It's a disaster right now. But as they say, it has to hit the bottom to get to the top. The only thing really good right now is that I'm typing this at 4:15 in the morning and the Tour De France is on TV. Here you go, out in the open.

1. I'm traveling way too much.

2. Because of my travel and my attitude and my work focus and my idiocy my wife is pissed at me.

3. My company was 11 people in September when I started, it's 8 today. You'd think the 8 got along I mean it's 8 people right. Well not exactly. There seems to be the happy group and the pissed off group. The only thing I know is the Happy group reads this blog. Hmm!

4. I can't sleep. For 4 weeks now, I'm up at 1 am and maybe back asleep by 3. It's 4:15am so you put the math together.

5. Marco is mad at me because I travel too much.

6. Training sucks. My body hurts most days, because I can't sleep, nothing feels good. The strange thing is the only time I truly feel good is when I'm sweating like crazy. Go figure. Nothing hurts, My mind goes blank and I feel good.

7. I weigh 156lbs. Are you kidding me, I've never weighed that much.

8. My dog is so mad at me the other day when I was traveling she peed on the carpet. She didn't do that as a puppy and she has feelings. She follows me around like a lost dog and right now she sees my bag packed and I know Mary is going to text me with something that says Scout.....

8. I called my mom the other day. I know she's sick and doesn't always know what's going on around her but it's still really hard

9. My Dad passed away in November and he's the guy I'd unload all this stuff on in the past and he'd find a way to fix it or at least make it feel better.

This is My World, and only I can fix it. I'm not depressed I'm pissed. I'm pissed that My world sucks like this. I know in reality this is nothing. I don't have cancer, my son is a great kid, my wife is stunningly beautiful, smart and on my side, my dog is simply the greatest dog a person could ask for and I do running shoes and talk running and triathlon for a living. I can run, ride and swim with the best athletes in the world. Still! I mean really!

My World, I'm aiming to fix you!

It's a good life....

Dave

No Wonder

No wonder I had trouble getting up Double Peak. I stepped on the scale today and it read 156lbs. The most I've ever weighed, ever. Not by a pound or two but four pounds heavier than ever before and a full 14lbs heavier than true racing weight.

It's a good life....

Dave

Cross Country Starts and Death on Double Peak

It's fun to start a run with a group of 12 and 13 year olds. There is no easing into it. No vision of what lies ahead. The sign said 2.7 miles at the start. To them 2.7 miles is an easy one, why not just go hard. And hard is what they did at the start. Straight up hill as hard as they could. By the time we got to the top all you could hear was this gasping for air. Marco the deep thinker that he is tried to tell me a story of when he and Papi tried to cross the damn but he could barely get, "Me "breath, breath, breath "and Papi," breath breath breath "were right" breath breath breath.... They never settled down. They just ran hard the entire way. Kids and their sense of nothing in the future. It's just right now.

Later in the afternoon, I took a spin up Double Peak. It was my first road ride in three weeks. This was going to be a test. Although the marine layer has socked the coast in with very little sun the last couple weeks (or so I've heard), the sun was blazing on the slopes of DP. With the breeze at my back and the hot sun beating down I started climbing. The early part of the climb is not easy but the energy level is always there. 20 minutes later and the pitch goes to some estimated pitch of 18%. By the time I got to that point, I couldn't hold the handlebars with much grip. There was so much sweat pouring off my head, my arms and everywhere else on my body, that the handlebars were now ultra slick. This created a problem because I could barely turn the pedals. In fact there was a point when I though walking would be the best option. Luckily nobody was with me so speech was not part of the climb. If I had to talk it would have been much like the story from Marco. One word lots of breaths. I dug deep and continued on. Just 3 more minutes and I'd be at the top. The view from the top of DP is worth the ride up. Deep valleys, the grand Pacific Ocean and everything between the two. When you are at the highest point along the costal range you have the advantage. Then it was time of the ride down and that's where the 3 week break showed up the most. My down hill bravado just wasn't there. Luckily within 30 seconds all the sweat was gone.

It's good to be home.

It's a good life...
Dave