My UltraLife

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Buenos Aires, Argentina for a business trip.  Since I haven’t had too many Ultra Adventures lately this was really a very exciting trip for me.

It was my first trip to Argentina and only my second time to South America.

After the business meetings were finished Friday evening I slipped on my running shoes and headed for the Natural Ecological reserve.

The trails wind through an area full of ponds, trees, reeds, birds and other small creatures with views of the river on one side and views of the “New” Buenos Aires on the other.

I was impressed with how well the area was patrolled by park rangers; they always checked to be sure you were OK and made sure you knew where you were going.

As I was running along occasionally I would hear some creatures scurry into the low bush along side the trail.  When I first caught sight of the small beasts I must admit I almost jumped through my skin…..it looked like a Huge Rat!

As I kept running I saw more of these little guys and realized they weren’t rats but wild Guinea Pigs!

It was a great run going around almost the entire reserve area, then through the port area and back to my hotel.  The run totaled more than 6.5 miles which was pretty good for me in my current physical condition.

The next morning my friend came to my hotel with bikes.  We started out about 10:30 AM on our bike tour of the city. 

We saw all the main sites of the city and cruised through narrow streets, huge boulevards and vast park areas.  The city of Buenos Aires has a bike trail that will safely take you through most of the city areas.   We didn’t always stick to the bike trail.

It was a great way to see the city. 

We finished back at my hotel at 5:30 PM and except for a few stops we had been riding the whole time.

That night in true Argentine fashion we dined at 10 PM and finished at 1 AM, then we went to another area of town for drinks.  I got back to my hotel at 4 AM!  What a long exciting day.

The morning we took things a bit slower and spent most of the day in the San Telmo area where the street is blocked off for an open market.

By mid-day the streets were packed with vendors, people and entertainers.   It was great for people watching, souvenir shopping and snooping in antique shops.   We walked and walked.  It was a good recovery day after the bike riding.

The weather was perfect.  The sights and food were terrific.

I had an Ultra time in Buenos Aires by running, biking and walking my way around the city.

I even got to try my hand at the Tango! 

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I’ve been Vindicated!  Now there’s proof!

A new Government study shows that people who drink regularly seem to exercise more often than teetotalers. 

What a great use of Obama stimulus money.  See….all those billions weren’t wasted on useless studies.

Government data found the amount of time people devoted to exercise increased with the number of alcoholic drinks they enjoyed each month.

Both moderate and heavy drinkers were also more likely to report vigorous exercise, like jogging, than either light drinkers or abstainers, the researchers report in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The study does not advocate that non-drinkers start getting all boozed up as a method to get motivated for exercise.  

The study doesn’t explain why drinkers exercise more, but it’s worth more study say’s the lead researcher Dr. Michael T. French (in need of additional grant funding I’m guessing).

Relatively heavy drinking might be part of a "sensation-seeking" lifestyle for some people, French and his colleagues speculate.

They also figure us active people are more adventure seeking.  Booze it up and then go in search of that Runners High.

They point out that too much might not be a good thing, but I guess we heavy drinkers already know the ill effects of a bit too much!

Here’s a link to the full story on MSNBC

Study: Regular Drinkers get more exercise

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June of 2008 I was pretty focused on this blog and my goal of running a Double Marathon.  A couple of weeks before the June 2008 picture at the Huntington Beach Pier swim I had run the San Diego Rock-n-Roll Marathon.  That had been my 4th Marathon in 2008.  

The San Diego Marathon was a tough one for me.  I remember thinking, if I can barely run 26 miles, how will I be able to run twice that far with just 3 months left to train.

Honestly I was pretty disgusted with that HB Pier Swim photo.  Look at that Beer Gut!  I could run 20 miles non-stop, but I couldn’t loose the gut.   I realized that just running wasn’t enough.  O.K., yea stop eating might be a good idea too.

I had begun to add swimming to my workout and after that photo I added more swimming, and more sit ups, pull ups, push ups to my workout.  Also as the big day approached I kept adding mileage to the point that I was running 40, 50 even 70 miles per week.

Look what happened by August.  I lost 15 more pounds and gained body strength and overall muscle tone.  I like the August picture.  This was taken just a couple weeks before the big race.  All the work was paying off.

Fast Forward to June 2009, 8 months after the big race and you will find me once again at the Huntington Beach Pier swim.  Back to where I started….actually worse!

This year I haven’t run any Marathons.  I can barely do 10 push ups and I don’t quite remember what a sit up is.

While I have been active.  I do run an average of 15 miles or so per week and I get in the pool 2-3 times a week and even play a bit of water polo, it’s just not the same intensity or mileage logged each week.

I think the lesson learned is that to attain a weight or physical fitness level goal, you have to remain consistent.  

Motivation plays a big part of it.  I didn’t run any Marathons, because I didn’t sign up for any.  And, you can’t expect that just because you ran a Marathon once that you can simply go out and do it any time.  It all takes training.  It takes a level of activity equal to the goal you have set for yourself.

So now I’m disgusted with myself again.  Maybe that will be the motivation to get out of bed early in the morning and slip into those running shoes.

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Eat Fish or DIE an early and painful death.

It seems that Omega-3 Fatty Acid has made the news again and it’s here I tell ya, here to save us all from the ills created by a hustle bustle instant dinner, fast food, no carb lifestyle.  Omega-3 will cure all your ills and help keep your body well oiled for a long and healthy life. 

This simple oily elixir will  prevent Dementia, Allergies, Stroke, Dyslexia, Dropsy, Depression, Senility,  Heart Disease, Obesity, Alzheimer’s, Asthma, Arthritis, High Blood Pressure and Ingrown Toe Nails!  Alright, I added in Dropsy and the Ingrown Toe Nail bit, but if it was the 1890’s I’d feel like I was a Snake Oil sales man. 

A news story in BestLife by Taras Grescoe republished on MSNBC.com demonstrates how our reliance on processed foods has reduced the amount of natural Omega-3’s that once was a big part of our diets.  It is thought that it’s this reduction in natural Omega-3 fatty acid from our diet and the replacement of Omega-6 (it’s nemesis) which is wreaking havoc on our minds and bodies.

Diets took a wrong turn

Western diets have focused on cutting fat and emphasized increasing the amount of protein and cutting carbohydrates.  Everything is FAT FREE, but the problem is fats are essential for life you Fat Head!  Did you know that 60% of your brain is FAT!  The key to good nutrition and health is not cutting out all fats, but supplying your body and brain with the best possible fats.  The right kind of fats.  There is a growing consensus that  Omega-3’s are those good fats.

It reminds me of the movie, Lorenzo’s Oil in which a young boy’s rare brain disease was put in check by treating the boy with a specifically altered olive oil.  Not sure how he ended up.  Very sad movie, but the oil helped.  There you go.

It’s Not your Granddad’s Beef

Your not eating the same beef and chicken your grand daddy ate.  That’s part of the problem.  You see Omega-3’s aren’t just in fish, they are also plentiful in grasses, clover, millet and sweet grass, you know, the type of plants cows used to lazily graze out in the back 40 for four of five years before they became Hamburger Helper.  

Chickens used to run around the farm pecking away on grasses, grubs, purslane (a leafy grass) and loaded up on Omega-3’s.  

Our beef and chicken and their by products such as eggs, milk, cheese used to be rich in  Omega-3 fatty acids.  The American diet naturally contained lots of Omega-3’s without having to load up on Salmon.

Today Cows and chickens are raised on grains and corn.  Cows are ready for slaughter in less than a year and chickens become chicken wings heading for Hooters 6 weeks out of the egg.

So what’s the problem?

Our meat went from growing up eating grassy leafy stuff to being raised on corn, soybeans and other seed oils….and we did too.   The fats contained in these cheaper grains and seed oils are Omega-6’s instead of Omega-3’s.

Omega-6 oils are more rigid fatty acids that give our cell membranes structure while omega-3’s are more fluid, kinda squishy and help our bodies fight inflammation.  

Grandma and Grand dad had an Omega-3 to Omega-6 ration of 1:1.  Today’s Western diet has a ratio of 20:1 with the Omega-6’s winning by a long shot…and that’s the bad news.

Blame it on the Go Go ‘60’s

Research in the 1960’s linked saturated fats and trans fats to fat guys dying of heart attacks and the anti-fat craze started.  Food processors jumped on the band wagon and began using soybean oil which is rich in omega-6 as an alternative to animal fats.   Soybeans once only used in Asia for tofu and soy sauce have now become the second biggest cash crop in the U.S.

Check around your kitchen or read the labels at your grocery store and you’ll notice soybeans and soybean oil in nearly all processed foods from salad dressings to processed cheese to granola bars.   Twenty percent of of American’s calories now come from soybeans.

Eat like an Eskimo

Changing diets have been studied all over the world and when ever a culture changed their diet that was naturally high in omega-3’s to a more westernized diet rich in omega-6’s the result in 20-30 years was always the same; heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and rates of cancer all increased.  It didn’t matter if you lived in Okinawa the home of the longest living humans or an American Indian or an Eskimo, or an Israeli once the diet changed so did the incidence of western maladies.

dem Soybeans, dey  makin us Crazy

"There has been a thousandfold increase in the consumption of soybean oil over the past hundred years," says Joseph Hibbeln, MD, acting chief of the section on nutritional neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. The levels of omega-3’s in American’s bloodstreams is very low.  

"We have changed the composition of people’s bodies and brains," says Dr. Hibbeln. "A very interesting question, to which we don’t yet know the answer, is to what degree has the dietary change altered overall behavior in our society?"

Plenty of studies from all around the world are demonstrating the physical and mental benefits of increased omega-3’s in our diet.  One study on 231 inmates medicated with fish oil resulted in assaults decreasing by 30%.  When homicide rates are compared across countries higher rates of omega-6 correlated with a hundredfold higher murder rate except for in the United States where we seem to kill each other more than any other place on earth no matter what we eat. 

A 2007 study by the National Institutes of Health found a positive correlation between mothers’ consumption of omega-3s during pregnancy and the fine motor skills and verbal IQs of their children.  A higher intake of omega-3 has been shown to positively affect ailments as diverse as stroke, allergies, dementia, and dyslexia.

"Men in their forties and fifties can nearly reverse their risk of dying from sudden cardiac death by eating fish at least three times a week," says Dr. Hibbeln. "And if they want to live longer and happier lives, there’s substantial data that they should increase their body composition of omega-3s."

In other words, our cod-liver-oil-loving grandmothers had it right: Fish really is brain food. And our disastrous decision to replace the omega-3s in our diet with omega-6s might be all the proof anybody needs that, as a species, Homo sapiens are getting demonstrably dumber.

Thank God….there is Hope!

Those fish oil capsules have been available in the vitamin section of the grocery store for years.  Apparently you aren’t buying enough of those because we are all still fat,dumb  and dying.  Now technology is to the rescue.

There is a company called Ocean Nutrition in Nova Scotia that has produced a new microencapsulated fish oil.  This stuff looks like powder and it’s starting to show up in foods like Wonder Bread and Danone liquid yogurt.  Just what we need…another powder to mix into our food.  But wait, this is good fishy powder. They make the micro fish oil powder from real fish they catch and squish into oil then use a special process turning the oil into a powder so it can be used as a food additive that doesn’t taste or smell fishy.  You can bet that you’ll soon see more products professing the added value of being omega-3 enriched.

Best Best - Eat the old fashion way

While omega-3 enriched foods may help a somewhat, your best bet is to make an effort to eat a good old fashioned diet of vegetables, fruits and of course fish.   You can take fish oil tablets, but actually eating fish provides additional nutrients and minerals.

So after all that I guess we are back to the basics we’ve heard over and over again.  Eat a diet with lots of fruits and vegetables which are full of nutrients and anti-oxidants and eat fatty fish like salmon and nuts like walnuts and almonds to build up the levels of omega-3’s in your bloodstream.  That way you will live a long and  healthy life free of Alzheimer’s and dementia so when you’re 102 you’ll know the diet worked!

Get Fishy!

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I was heading down I-5 on the Valentine’s Day afternoon when I got a call inviting me to a hike.   What I didn’t know is that the hike was to begin at 6PM, it was 3 miles up Iron Mountain and it would be cold.

Flashlights and jackets were borrowed and my friends and I met up with a bunch of other people at the base of Iron Mountain in Poway, Ca.

We started treking just as the sun was setting.

I had skipped my morning run hiking up a hill would have to work as the substitute.  I figured that a walk up a hill would be good training for my upcoming trail runs.

The night was clear and cool. There was actually enough light to hike all the way up without a flashlight.  Another guy, Shawn and I broke ahead of the pack and made it up to the top first, but we were soon joined by the rest of the group.

At the top of ‘Ole Iron Top there is a telescope ($.25 not necessary, but the same style) and a picnic table.  As the group assembled an array of wine bottles, snacks, chocolate hearts (ahh) and even Army MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) broke out.   

We all had a great time, but soon it was time to head back down.

It was a great time.

One of the things about living an UltraLife is being spontaneous, living in the moment.

When you get a call inviting you to a hike, say Sure! even if you don’t know what to expect.

You might just meet some great new people and experience a new adventure that you would never have imagined.

Now I’m a night hiker!

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We do have Weather! 

It’s the rainy season in Los Angeles. 

We have 6 or 7 days of rain and then we’re back to our balmy 70-80 degree sunny winter days.

I grew up in Oregon where the rainy season is November – June.  I grew up wet, but I’ve now lived in Southern California for more than 25 years.  That’s longer than I lived in Oregon, so needless to say, I prefer the sunshine.

I try not to run in the rain, so the weather as well as the WinterFest Water Polo Tournament made for the perfect excuse to sit on a bench watching water polo matches and skip running for the weekend.

The Cerritos 14 and under boys won First Place, so it was very stressful for the parents and very exhausting for the kids, but exciting for all.

It was still raining this morning and then quite windy and cold Monday afternoon.  The the clouds were blown away to reveal the snowy result in the San Gabriel Mountains which ring the Los Angeles basin.

All the rain in the lowlands had been a snow storm just a few thousand feet up.

It is truly a spectacular site to see snow capped mountains majestically towering over Los Angeles.

Mount Baldy Ski resort is just a short 45 minute drive from my house.

People often say that Los Angeles is one of the few places in the world where you can surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon.  

When you see such a beautiful site it’s a great reminder that we live in a wonderful place and you forget that you’re moving only 25 miles an hour on the freeway.   At least you have time to gawk at the snow capped mountains!

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My nephew Josh turned 13 yesterday.  Oh My God, now he’s teenager…..my life is over!

He had been planning to play Paintball for his 13th Birthday party for at least 6 months.  This kid likes to plan ahead. 

At least his mother was well broken down in advance of the event and wrote out a big check to allow Josh and 9 of his buddies to be included in the Paintball party.

I happily chaperoned.   I’d never been paintballing before…sounded like fun….and it was a blast!

Everyone had a great time.

We went to a local place called Hollywood Sports in Bellflower.   This place is a huge complex with 4 different themed arena’s (Apocalypse, Forbidden City, Mad Max and Lunar Wars for paintball as well as other sporting events.   

We played 4 matches.  Luckily for the last 2 matches they separated the kids with parents from the more experienced players.  I actually had a chance to advance, shoot and play Army without getting killed in the first 2 minutes of the match!

I thought I was a bit overboard wearing my old Army ROTC fatigues to the place.  To my surprise most people wore full camouflage, brought their own expensive guns and were pretty darned experienced.   There were some serious paintball dudes at this place.   I was surprised how many people were there playing paintball.

The main thing is that Josh had the best Birthday Party ever and all his friends had a great time as well.

Oh and Josh achieved his goal of getting a brand new white T-Shirt painted!   He got machine gunned with 4 paintballs in the second match.   Now he has his trophy to wear to school next week!

Last night on the drive home he started thinking about what he should do for this 16th Birthday party.   It told you this kid plans ahead!

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First Mammoth and now Mt. Baldy all in the same week!  OK, I’ve got a bit of the ski bug.  What’s wrong with that? 

Nothing except I should be training for my trail run.   I wonder if the thigh burn of skiing will help with running up and down mountains?  Probably not. 

But what the heck.  I have the time during the Christmas break and there’s lots of local snow.

For those who are not from Los Angeles, Mt. Baldy is located just North East of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains.  On a clear winter morning (L.A. skies are clear in Winter) you can see Baldy all snow capped to the North East.   I can drive from my home in Cerritos to the parking lot of Mt. Baldy in less than 1 hour.  There are other local ski resorts, but Baldy is the closest and has the most challenging slopes.

This morning it was very cold.  The weather has been a bit crazy in L.A. lately with several big storms rolling in before Christmas.  Mt. Baldy got hit with some rain a couple days ago, then a bit of snow followed by a deep freeze.  The result was plenty of snow turned to ice. 

There was ice everywhere so skiers and snowboarders needed to stick to the groomed runs.   The crowd was light so there was plenty of room, however a few of the steeper runs that were less frequented were like skiing over ice cubes.

As the sun began to melt the ice off the trees you had to watch out for small ice avalanches bringing small icebergs into the run.

Never mind the ice….it was a beautiful day for skiing and I had a wonderful time.  It sure beat fighting the crowds at the mall. 

I went to a mall the day after Christmas and it was a mad house!  I guess the economy is turning around or the sales were just too good for people to ignore.  I’ve never seen it so crazy.  The view from Mt. Baldy was much better than any ole shopping mall!

From the top of Mt. Baldy you had a view of the Los Angeles basin to the South and the Antelope Valley (Palmdale) to the North.

Looking out to the South you could even see the Pacific and Catalina Island (25 miles off shore). In the image below the gold color is the Pacific Ocean.  You can see Catalina island with the distinctive narrow part in the middle with is Twin Harbors.   Along shoreline you can even make out Long Beach Harbor and container ship terminals.

Here are a few more shots of the skiing at Mt. Baldy.   All part of Living an UltraLife!

I Hope you had a wonderful Christmas.  Best Wishes for an Ultra 2009!

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I just got back from 3 days of skiing at Mammoth Mountain!

The skiing was great.  It’s been about 3 years since I’ve skiing.

In the past years I didn’t want to interrupt my running or Triathlon training with a ski trip….what a mistake.  

Skiing is a great sport.

It’s nice to change up your routine and skiing works your thigh muscles like nothing else.

We had a strong winter storm come in during the trip which dumped about 18 inches of soft dry powder.  It was wonderful to float through the wintery fluff.

The last day of skiing was windy but we had clear blue sky.   We took my niece and nephew on the trip.  It was their first time to be in the snow.  Josh learned to snowboard and Hannah skied. 

While the kids were in lessons I had a chance to sneak off to the challenging slopes.   I may not have taken the steep runs as fast as I did a few years ago, but I was surprised that I was able to manage the most challenging runs just like I used to.  

It was a great escape.   I plan to ski quite a bit this year and since it’s storming outside today on Christmas morning, it looks like we will have plenty of local snow.

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We’ve all heard the saying; “You are what you eat”.

I believe the the same is true about what we think.  “We are what we think”.  We become or condition ourselves to act in a way that matches what we think and feel about ourselves.

Recently I have caught myself  saying….”Now that I’m 50….”.  

It happens when I talk about my career; “Now that I’m 50 I should get a real job”.   It has happened when discussing exercise; “Now that I’m 50 I should find new challenges that are less extreme”.  

I hate it.  It scares me.  The last thing I want to do is start thinking old.  I don’t want to condition myself to limit activities or ambitions just because I have reached a certain age.  The scariest thing is that no one has done it too me.  I’m doing it to myself.

The last thing I want to do is sit around reading the newspaper on Saturday mornings instead of running, swimming or biking!

You are what you think you are.   If you think you are old you will become old.  If you think you are not capable, you probably won’t be able to achieve your goal.  It has to do with self esteem, self realization and self confidence.

Just think about all the 30 and 40 year olds out there that could run a Marathon, but they don’t believe they can so they never try.  They never take the first walk or short jog to start getting in shape.  I see so many walking heart attacks out there in restaurants and malls.  I believe that if they just changed the way they thought,  their actions would follow and they would eat less (better) and exercise more.

I hope I have caught and checked my poisonous thoughts.

“Now that I’m 50…..I can do more!”     I can Live an UltraLife!

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     (This picture is several years old but represents my present condition) 

Eat Drink and be Merry…. `Tis the Season and all that crap. 

I’ve been celebrating the grand accomplishment of the “run with Mike Double Marathon” for the past 4 months now.

I’ve eaten those big dinners, drank plenty of beer and wine and really slacked off on my training.

All my celebrating has begun to show.  I have added back the 15 pounds I sweated off during the summer.

I must admit I have been drinking quite a bit of red wine.  I can really see how much when I check the recycling bin and see all the empty bottles.   My trash bin looks like it should be at the back of an Italian restaurant.  But I have been using it for medicinal purposes mostly.

1.) Drown the grief over the loss of my father.

2.) Drown my grief and relief over the loss of my business.

3.) Cure my boredom of being semi-retired.

4.) Try to get as much Reservatrol into my system as possible.

You know scientists have discovered that Reservatrol, found in Red Wine, has the ability to reduce the effects of bad diet, reduce the risk of heart disease, cure cancer, warts, ingrown hairs and old age.   They have tested it on mice and the mice are quite happy and living longer lives.   You’d have to drink about 1,000 bottles of wine per day to get enough Reservatrol into your system to match the dose given to the mice. 

1,000 bottles a day would not be possible on my present available budget so I figure 1 bottle a day is a good enough effort.

But enough is enough.

Time to get back to normal.  As my early NEW Year’s resolutions.  I will:

1.) Cut back on the Big dinners

2.) Reduce my wine consumption even at the risk of growing warts.

3.) Increase my physical exercise.   I’ve got to start running again.

4.) Set a new athletic goal or sign up for an athletic event.

I remember saying this Summer that I wanted to keep in the tip top shape I had attained.  I had worked too hard to get there, but too much travel, good times, grief and free time (honestly, too much free time) made it hard to keep moving at the pace I had been going during the Summer of 2008.    I know I needed to rest a bit.  It’s tough to keep up running 50 to 60 miles per week, but I rested and recreated a bit too much.

Now I know what it takes for me to loose 15 pounds and I know how easy it is to add it back on.

I’ll work to achieve a happy equilibrium.

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You may have noticed I haven’t been posing very often over the past couple of months.  Unemployment can keep you pretty busy! LOL

In late September, just a few days after the Birthday Beach party, my father passed away.  I spent several days in Oregon helping my brother and sister making arrangements.    I visited Oregon again a couple of weeks later for the service.

After the service friends and family gathered back at my brothers house eating and   drinking wine and as always reminiscing and telling stories of our youth.   When we get together it’s always the same thing…we drink and we tell stories.  It’s great fun and we have lots of laughs.  We actually had a pretty fun and action packed youth, so the stories can go on for hours.

While sipping wine and listening to the good ole times, it occurred to me that we need to make sure we have new stories to tell.  We need new adventures and create new memories so we have something to talk about 20 years from now.

During the summer my brother has a film festival at his house called the 4F(Fish, Flyer, Fun, Film…). The Flyer is, you know, those little red wagons, the Radio Flyer!  Well, they used to get those little red wagons and ride them down his hill.  That is until all the wagons broke.  The hillside is littered with little red wagon bones.   More recently we’ve resorted to large pieces of cardboard.

I’m not exactly sure who suggested it, but we decided to slide down the hill right then and there, even though is was 10 o’clock at night.   Even though we were all a bit drunk, I mean medicated with Red Wine.

There was no cardboard available, only a huge O’Bama election sign.  I know it’s probably punishable by law now to deface an O’bama campaign sign…..but it was the only thing we could find!

Unfortunately the sign was plastic and slick and the grass was a bit wet.  Female ingenuity came to the rescue.  My daughter ran to the kitchen brought back liquid butter.  We greased down the backside of the sign and…heck, that thing slide down the hill lickety split!  When we climbed back up Tina (seated above) was holding a jug of Olive Oil!   The sliding continued…..

Our abuse of the sign did not seem to hurt the outcome of the election.  In fact the sign was probably nailed to the side of my Brothers barn the next day.

Sliding down the hill at night was crazy.  It hurt.  I had to wash my jeans and sweatshirt 3 times to get the grass stains out. 

We had great fun, maybe partly to compensate for the sad reason we had all gathered together, but also we created new memories that we can reminisce about for years to come.

So my advice for those that want to Live an UltraLife…..even in the face of adversity, life trials and the death of a family member….look it in the face and dare to do something dramatic or crazy. 

You may not have a grassy hill or an 8 foot O’Bama sign…..but you’ll find something if you try.

Live your life…..create new memories and laugh!

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I haven’t been posting much because honestly I haven’t been doing much! 

Once I had completed the 52 mile run and capped it off with the Long Beach Marathon I frankly needed a rest. 

The MyUltraLife goal is finished….and once you complete an important goal it can actually be a bit of a let down.  The intensity and drive is gone.  You did it…that’s it.  What’s next?

So I’ve been resting, drinking lots of medicinal RedWine but also feeling a bit anxious and let down when tonight I was at the local Target store and this tall guy walked up to me….”Mike!”  I looked at him strangely quickly trying to recall where we must have met.  “You’re MyultraLife Mike”. (probably didn’t hurt that I just happened to be wearing the MyUltraLife T-Shirt) (No I don’t wear it everyday…everywhere I go…..I stopped doing that…haha)

I was shocked.  Someone would actually recognize me from my Blog site.  Wait an even bigger shocker….someone reads my blog site!

It turns out that Ryan Carey of Cerritos, Ca. is an avid runner.  He is running with the goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon.  He runs down the same river bed that I frequent, yet we’ve never met on the trail.

Ryan told me he discovered MyUltraLife during my early posts and followed me through my year long quest for the Double Marathon.  He said it was interesting and he enjoyed following my progress.  

I must say I am flattered and a bit astonished.  My goal for the MyUltraLife blog was just to keep myself motivated.  If I was able to keep people interested and maybe even motivated I feel truly blessed.

Thanks Ryan….you made my day and gave me a timely and needed ego boost.

Keep Living an UltraLife !

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Since I posted the images of the run and the party many people have asked how to download these images for themselves.

In this Post I have included a slide show of the Run and Party photos as well as direct links to the Google Picasa Web Albums so you can view and download images.

“Run with Mike” Double Marathon Slide Show

Thanks for all of your great comments and feedback.

Here is the Link to the  "Run with Mike" Double Marathon Photos

Mike’s 50th Birthday Beach Party and Sumo Wrestling Tournament!

Here is the Link to the Mike’s 50th Birthday Beach Party

I’m glad I did this.  One wild hair of an idea lead to lots of work and fun, but I’m glad it’s over.   Almost 2 weeks later I am trying to get back at it and drag my butt out on the road to get running again.    Most people are asking what’s next?  

If I get enough praise (I live for it) I may just plan the 2nd annual “Run with Mike” Double Marathon in Sept. 2009!   Or maybe something more daring and extreme…..like going out and getting a job!

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First we ran, then we PARTY’ d!

Sunday Sept. 14th we held a Beach Party to celebrate the completion of the Double Marathon, but also to celebrate my 50th Birthday.

I believe everyone loved the location, the weather was great, plenty of food and drink and we had Sumo Wrestling suits!

Thanks to all who came and participated through the weekend. 

This was truly the best Birthday I have ever had.

Thanks to all!

The Runners!

My friends and former co-workers at Lanier

Volley Ball

My Comedian Daughter !                                    The Water Slide !

I said a few words of Thanks          

My Brother said some nice things about me…I didn’t even have to bribe him.

It was a great time for Friends and Family

The Relay Team

And we had Sumo Wrestling!

FATALITY !

A Huge Thank YOU to everyone who helped me celebrate my first 50 years and everyone who helped to make the "MyUltraLife Double Marathon" a huge success.

I promise to keep Living an "UltraLife" and I wish you all an "UltraLife" too!

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