Running Mantras

Drink it in
But dont eat it

More please.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

If it hurts to run then walk.
If it hurts to run & walk... then RUN.

Speed kills

The greatest distance you have to cover is the 12 inches between your ears.

more miles = more fun

Taking Home With You

I feel stuck in my job because the longer i work for this company (and i should mention that i don't see myself working for them for the rest of my life) the less in touch i feel with la and the freelance work i used to do. Which is my only other serious option unless i go back to school. But the company and life keep giving me things to look forward to and delay my ability to concentrate on figuring out what the next move is. I keep thinking ill take a minute after the next big thing. But its been almost more a year since i have had a breather for more than a day. Last year when i lived in la it was all about the build up to running big 100 mile summer races while commuting to work in costa mesa. Then i moved and spent six months in a cabin training for a winter project on mt kenya while completing the biggest freelance side project of my career and still commuting to the day job. After this i trained for a race in florida while becoming excessively busy at my day job in the new year. Then i had to house hunt and move out of the cabin to a place closer to work just before a trip to Liberia swearing that on my return i would settle into the new apartment and town. But as fate would have it on the way back i met a girl on the plane going to school in la. So i spent the next two months driving BACK to la to see her and basically try not to fall in love while training for a race the weekend after i helped her pack up, said goodbye and she left for the world. I didn't end up doing the race because they sent me to Bosnia for work. As i sit on another nine hour flight away from home i start to experience a recurring anxiety coupled with a helplessness like i have no control over the situation at home or my life in general. Clearly its been one 'marathon' after the next and my excessive 'panic attacks' are not unwarranted. I have been on the move unable to take advantage of the benefits that come from daily repetition and consistency. Where the familiarity of being at 'home' for a stretch of time changes your brain waves(at least i think it does). You can organize thoughts and ideas and a view of the future out of a literal and physical starting point. The trick i suppose is to foster and create a mobile version of this familiar 'environment' around yourself as you travel. Even if it is just in your mind. For example i tell myself that i will try and see the sun every morning. Or i will write down my thoughts each night. These habitual exercises can keep you cognitively plugged into your 'original' psyche at least for a time. Maybe its just coping and surviving the road, but it helps. And i have experienced growth by being cornered in situations that required calm and reason on the run i have discovered the essence of freedom and joy. Ive learned not to cling to life or grasp at it. Ive learned that good things do happen when we let go of our fear. living a life of control, bad things still happen. But the universe brings such amazing opportunities if you open yourself up and let the things you are clinging onto go.

Emotions

Recently i have realized that i am an emotional person. And that this requires an immense amounts of energy. When i am tired i have exaggerated highs and lows. For example if someone coming down the trail does not return my greeting i will turn around and flick them off(behind their back) or mumble some insult (hoping they will hear me). On the other hand if someone says good morning i will become elated with a sense that it is going to be a great day and people are good and the world is spinning in my favor. Of course men are blamed for being too un-emotional and not sharing their feelings. Possibly because since the first time we set foot on a playground any displayed emotion was a weakness and would be exploited by the next guy. Its darwinistic in that way. What happens is that we don't learn how to properly handle emotions throughout life. Ive known so many girls who break up from 'serious' relationships only to meet a guy and get married a year or two after. Whereas I've known just as many dudes that couldn't get over 'that one' girl for years. Not that this is an excuse for guys to shun emotional conversation or blow up and physically abuse people. But its good to know that i can give myself a break and try to rest more instead of fixating on 'that one' girl or lack thereof.

Purpose

What are we to do? How are we to find out the answers? Just keep fighting. Thats how. Find something to stand for and play to win. There aint much more out there.


- Posted from the Road

My Food Table (by color) Top to Bottom

GREEN - Kale, Spinach, Broccoli, Spirulina, Kelp, Herbs
***oregeno has more antioxidants than blueberries!

RED/ORANGE - Peppers, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Squash
***betacarotene is better absorbed if eaten with soluble fat

BLUE/PURPLE - Berries, Grapes
***frozen blueberries are picked fresher and retain nutrition

BROWN - Beans, Whole Grains

WHITE - Bananas, Apples, Corn, Bread

Finding what works for you

People love to give me shit about my nutrition plan or the way i workout. I think its because they need to find a hole in my theorys to make themselves feel better about not being willing to attempt it. Whereas i was willing to try anything and thats how i found something that really works for me.

5 reasons i run

Ive been talking to a lot of people lately who hate running. Whenever i tell them about how far i run they cringe. It made me start wondering why i do it. heres what i came up with:
1 self sufficiency, self confidence
2 simplifies things, boils them down to the most basic
3 To find the good waiting on the other side of pain
4 It tires me out
5 to get in touch with my natural more primal side