My first creation for the 30 Days of Creativity project was simple, but it was a busy day, what with WordCamp OC and the Mile…Mile and a Half premiere. I started with a photo that I took on our Bald Mountain hike at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in Sonoma, applied some text reminding everyone that June 1st is National Trails Day, and softened it in Instagram. Done.
Have you been to a PechaKucha Night? These lively events feature short, six-minute presentations with precisely 20 slides — each slide displayed for 20 seconds–20×20. It’s been adapted by other groups such as Ignite (who uses a 20×15 format). One of the wonderful things about these events are the energy and fun. The 20×20 cadence requires presenters to be concise and really get to the salient points. And conversely, if a speaker sucks, the suffering only lasts for six minutes.
I’ll be presenting tonight at the first quarterly PechaKucha Night Fullerton. Interested in joining a group of smart, artistic, creative and thoughtful folks? Get all the details.
On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th, 2013, I completed the LA Marathon–my second marathon, and the first in over five years. Though my official time was a modest 5:28:44, my previous time was just over 6 hours. Running a marathon requires a huge commitment of time and energy — two resources that are finite and precious. The training can be tedious and painful, and the race itself strained my 50-year-old body.
So why did I run the LA Marathon? Let me begin with a little background.
I started running back in 1976. I was in ninth grade, and I joined the cross-country team at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. When the cross-country season ended in November, we’d start the “Roadrunners Club” to keep up our endurance for the spring track season. We’d tally our miles accumulated through the winter, and the coach awarded us with a red t-shirt with the cartoon Roadrunner on the front, and our mileage ironed-on the back. We didn’t call it gamification back then, but that was the general idea.
I continued running when my family moved to Irvine. I didn’t break any records, except occasionally my own. I wasn’t the fastest, and not the slowest. But I showed up, and I ran, even though I never really considered myself a runner. I’ve heard it said that “a jogger runs, but a runner jogs.” Clearly, I was a jogger.
I’ve run on-and-off through the years, though not consistently. But in 2007, I decided to run my first marathon. I trained with Team in Training, raising over $2000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. A month before the marathon, I came home from a one week vacation with a bug that turned into walking pneumonia. I was in bed for one solid week, and missed my longest training run. But the training still paid off, and I completed the San Diego Rock-and-Roll Marathon. As in high school, I wasn’t the fastest (not by a long shot) but I wasn’t the slowest, either.
After that first marathon, I turned my interest to other physical activities, first mountain biking, and then (after breaking my wrist on the San Juan trail) hiking. I set my sights on a new goal: through-hiking the John Muir Trail, 30 years from when I first hiked it at 18. This epic backpacking trip required months of planning, training and preparation. And in the process, SoCal Hiker was born. I focused all available time and energy on training for hiking long miles on the trail at high elevations, carrying everything I need on my back. There is a time for everything, and this was not the time for running.
Last year I decided it was the time for running once again, and I began training for the La Jolla Half Marathon. This is a beautiful course, running along the coast from Del Mar to La Jolla Cove. I followed the Jeff Galloway run-walk method, and finished with a time that I was happy with (2:20, and my personal best). I thought about maybe running a marathon again, someday. But not until October 2012 did I commit to running this year’s LA Marathon. I blame my friend Jeff Turner for lighting the fire under me.
Just completed a 2.83 mi run – With this run, I am publicly declaring my I tent to run the LA Marath … http://t.co/GHKQbWGR #RunKeeper
— Jeff Turner (@jeffturner) October 27, 2012
This time, I followed Jeff Gaudette’s beginner marathon training plan through RunKeeper… mostly. I started training in November, and logged 369.7 miles and over 80 hours of running. A few snafus kept me from completing all the runs I had scheduled, including travel with 18 days in Mumbai and a brief bout with the flu. But I kept plugging away, and on March 17th, I was proudly among the 25,000 runners wreaking havoc with LA street traffic. I finished in 5 hours, 28 minutes — improving my 2007 marathon time by more than 30 minutes.
As you see, it’s been a long journey to get there, with a lot of sweat, blood and probably a few proverbial tears as well. Was it worth it? Why did I subject my fifty-year-old body to such a demanding task? What’s the ROI?
I ran this marathon for LA. My wife and I moved to Los Angeles last year, and are loving it. This marathon was my tribute to a wonderful city, and the route itself takes you on a grand tour of that city– from Dodger Stadium to Chinatown, through the soaring skyscrapers of downtown LA and the gleaming Walt Disney Concert Hall, through the heart of Hollywood, past the Chinese Theater, the Walk of Stars; down the Sunset Strip, Rodeo Drive, and stretching out to the beautiful bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica. It’s a terrific route, and the crowds lining the streets, cheering, passing out orange slices or water, and sharing high-fives made it even better.
I ran this marathon for me. Because I still can. Because I have the persistence to stick to the training, and the determination to reach the finish line. Because it makes me stronger.
Most of all, I ran this marathon for the ones I love. I ran for my wife, who inspires me to do more, and cheers me on. I ran for my children and my grand-children, to inspire them as well. To demonstrate that my “old man powers” (thanks, Dan) can do pretty amazing things. And to show them that if I can do it, they can do amazing things, too!
There are life lessons in training for and running a marathon. Like so many things in life that we aspire to, it requires planning, hard work and preparation. Obstacles will arise, and you may have to adjust and adapt. Set big, bold goals. Do the hard work, and cross that finish line. That lesson is worth retelling– to myself, my family and my friends. And that is why I ran the LA Marathon.
What is your marathon? Are you ready?
I am a hiker, which for me, means hiking at least once a week. When time permits, I plan a longer hike on the weekend — 10+ miles — but I almost always hike at least once on a weeknight. During my three weeks in Paris, I did a lot of walking, but no hiking. Tonight was my first time back out on the trails since returning to California a week ago.
I’ve led a hike on Wednesday night for almost two years now. During the summer when the days are longer, we usually head for the local hills between San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano on a modified 4.6 mile loop we’ve dubbed Roller Coaster Ridge for its up-and-down inclines. It’s a great mid-week stress-buster, and with over 1,000 feet of total vertical gain, a pretty decent workout, too.
But one of my favorite parts of leading this hike is sharing it with others and the social aspect of the hike. There are The Regulars: the people who will usually be there hiking with me 4 out of 5 times. The Newbies, who are curious about the trail, the area or just getting into hiking. And The Out-of-Towners, usually devout hikers here on vacation, and looking for a chance to stretch their legs on our coastal trails.
The size of the group really doesn’t matter. Sometimes there are just two of us, as it was the first time I hiked with my fiancée, Joan. Other times the group swells to 15 or more. But usually there are five to seven of us on any given Wednesday night. We gather at the trailhead shortly before 6pm, break a sweat on the climb, soak in the views of the coastline to the southwest and the mountains to the northeast. And we talk.
Last year when Joan and I hiked the John Muir Trail, she observed that the people we met were — simply put — wonderful. It didn’t matter what they looked like, their social status or age — they were friendly, warm and polite. There was a kinship among backpackers and hikers that is special. In sharing the outdoor experience, the sweat and the patient plodding up long, unforgiving hills, we become brothers and sisters.
And for me, those Wednesday night hikes is a communion of kindred souls. A chance to take in the fresh, sea air. To watch the sun melt into the ocean. To catch up with friends, old and new. And to recharge my body, mind and soul.
After our hike, we sit around the table at Wahoo’s and share a well-earned taco and a cold beer, swapping stories about our weeks and plans for the weekend ahead. Yes, life is good.
If you’d like to join me on any Wednesday night hike, just let me know.
Tonight, Joan and I picked up the keys to our new place. By the end of July, we’ll be moving out of our respective duplexes and into our new beach shack.
While the new place has much more space than either of our current homes, we’ll still have to consolidate our furniture make it work (one bed, not two; one couch, not two; etc.).
The new place has a great open living area and a wonderful, French doors that open onto a private courtyard in front. And you can even catch a peek at the ocean from the patio.
Of course the flip side to all this good news? I have to pack, and move by the end of this month. I better get started.
Today is a travel day. Our driver picks us up in front of the apartment at 10am (Paris time, mind you). From CDG we take a short flight to Heathrow, then the long leg to LAX.
Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately?) there’s no wifi on these flights, and I’ve got to get ready to go. This post will be short and sweet.
Paris has been amazing. The people have been warm and wonderful, with the occasional big city indifference. Joan and I loved being here for three weeks. I could see living here some day — not forever — but definitely for a while.
I enjoyed the break from the routine, and will resume more serious posts as soon as I get settled back into the groove. Hope you enjoyed following my Project 365 photos during our holiday.
If you look closely, you’ll find our lock on this bridge near Notre Dame.
This is a wonderfully odd real-world meme. The story I heard from a guy in our cooking glass (who has lived here in Paris for the past nine years) was that the guy who started this was despondant over unrequited love. He “locked his love” to the bridge, the jumped off and drowned in the Seine.
Not sure if that’s true, but since then, lovers have taken the idea to an extreme. And area sales of padlocks and Sharpie pens has never been better.
Oh, if you look closely, you’ll see a padlock for Joan and I, too. And that alone was reason enough for me to chose this as my Day 189 photo for Project 365.
For more on our trip to Paris, check out Joan’s travel blog and our Memolane timeline.
