Catching Up
Sunday, March 22nd, 2009Newsflash: I’m alive and running!! Pardon the silence but it seems I’ve been too busy living my life to blog about it. Many have asked what I did during my break, so here is a quick and colorful recap…
At the end of November, I headed down to So Cal to volunteer at the Santa Barbara 9 Trails Race (aka the Rose Valley 33 Mile Endurance Run). My good buddy Luis did a fantastic job re-routing the entire course to Ojai at the last minute due to several trail and road closures brought on by the Santa Barbara Tea Fire just a few weeks prior to race day.
I refilled water bottles, cheered runners on and soaked up some Vitamin D at an aid station on Nordoff Ridge for most of the morning until Luis put me to work on the grill. Hey, who said vegans can’t make a mean burger?!?!
While it may be hard to sit on the sidelines a race, it is very rewarding, not to mention a ton of fun to give back the sport we all love. If it were not for volunteers, most running races would not happen. Check with your local race directors and running clubs to see how you can help others have a fantastic race experience!
While I was in town, I gave a free pre race slide show on race day nutrition at the Santa Barbara Running Company.
Back in Seattle, I did some trail maintenance and worked on a new trail at Cougar Mountain with the Issaquah Trails Club. Trail maintenance is vital to the preservation of the trails we all enjoy. With the drop in governmental funding for parks and trails throughout the country it is imperative that we pick up a shovel, pick mattock, or McLeod. While it may seem like a thankless job, there is nothing like seeing the fruits of your labor the next time you pass that maintained section of single track. And if you worry that you are missing a run by working on the trails, never fear as trailwork will definitely work you over both aerobically and anaerobically. Just insert some rock splitting and removal to your training plan!
To get involved with trail building and maintenance check with your local hiking clubs, trail work organizations, government land management agencies, trail race directors, or American Trails.
I also gave a presentation at Starbucks Headquarters which was chronicled on the Brooks blog.
What else did I do while on my running hiatus? I spent a lot of time enjoying the wilderness in other capacities like backpacking and hiking…
surfing, sailing,…
and even some rock climbing!
Having more down time made it possible for me to explore various farmers markets (Ballard, University District, Ojai, Ventura), harvest fruit, and make food for friends.
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
– JRR Tolkien
At the end of January, I attended the Outdoor Retailer show to promote the latest version of the Brooks Cascadia 4 which won the “Editor’s Choice” award in Runners World’s “Spring 2009 Trail Shoe Guide.” If you pick up a pair, the insoles have my course record from Western States 100 printed on them.
My racing season began in early February when I flew to Costa Rica to participate in the 6 day Coastal Challenge.
Needless to say, I was a bit out of shape for this but had a blast! I’ll post a race report and photos next time…
Thanks for staying tuned in!
Photo credits: Luis Escobar, J. Vargas
