So I haven't used my blog much this year. The basic update is that I had a major accident on my road bike leading me to have a steel plate and 8 screws in my right tibia. This happened on June 29th and I have been in recovery since. I have decided to do no official new years resolutions for 2012 but instead am going to take it one day at a time and see where things end up. The list of races below are some of the ones I want to do. There are a few other trips and endurance races I would like to go for and will keep this post updated as they evolve. There are a group of us doing most of these races. Let me know if you want to join in on any or have any others you think I should consider. I have a lot of training to do over the next few months to get into any form of shape as I have done little since the accident. Here is hoping... January: The main event will be getting off the couch and prepping for a February start February 5th TBF XC Race... Continue reading

This week while I was in Toronto I had an idea which I think I like. I get to live quite an adventurous life and I really don't document it well enough. One of my favorite party games is "I Have Never". There are various iterations and versions of this game but the basics are that you have to think of something you have never done and share it with the group. If someone has done it then they swap places with you in the centre of the room and tell the story. There have been many bust-a-gut evenings playing this with friends over a few drinks. The biggest issue I have had playing this game of late however is that there seem to be few things that I have never done. So I have now set myself a challenge to start blogging these and sharing stories about new "Firsts" as they surface. These will come in a random order and will all be tagged under the category of "I Have Never". Last weekend I did my first triathlon. It was a Half-Iron distance in the Napa region. That means it began with a 1.2 mile swim in open water,... Continue reading

It is that time again to publicly communicate my plans and goals for 2011 as I see them today. I will likely add to this list but hopefully not subtract anything. This past year was full of accomplishments on the sports and adventure side. I came 1st in the ultra distance Coastal Trail Blazer Awards for winning and placing on those stupid long runs. I feel good about that and that the 14 ultramarathons actually won me something. I am going to continue to run ultras but not as many this year. I still have to choose which ones I am going to take on in between my other racing schedule (below). Here is what I have set out for this coming year: 1. I am going to be a better husband and father. 2. I am going to lead Brainpark to become very successful. 3. I am going to do my first Ironman in Cozumel Mexico on Nov 27th. To accomplish these 3 significant goals is going to take even more discipline in my life. The old adage of early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise is going to be a mantra this... Continue reading

It has been a while since I posted anything here as I have been doing more writing on the MileASmile and Brainpark websites. A couple of years back I made a personal vow that I would look for something adventurous to do everyday even if it only took 15 minutes. I have been true to doing this for the most part and wish I would have logged it all down. Well, there are somethings I couldn't write publicly about but it would have been good to have a record of events. Adventure for me is when my heart pumps a little faster and I am reminded that I am still alive. Over this past season I have ridden motocross, jumped out of a plane, won an ultramarathon, ran 100 miles, biked Mt Diablo, Jetskied Shasta Lake, got a tattoo, sang karaoke, mooned a restaurant, turned 40 and laughed until my heart is content to name a few. I think I may start doing some shorter posts to log some of the stupid things I get myself into. I hope that I can still keep this rolling as old as I become. I always want to be caught with a sparkle... Continue reading

When I woke up yesterday to the sound of rain my heart sank. My last ultra 3 weeks ago was in the rain and mud and I was hoping for something different this time around. The event was 25 minutes from where I live but I had never been in the park. The event was run by Pacific Coast Trail Runs again, these folks are amazing. The elevation gain was over 5,000 ft throughout the duration of 50KM. This being my 4th race I am getting more familiar with what to expect. This course was a tough one and very technical in places. The majority of the course is single track in the midst of trees. It has breathtaking scenery which is what I enjoy most about trail running. I did well and was keeping up my normal pace for the most part. Then I was faced with some really tough and slippery climbing which burned out my quads for a while. I never stopped going but I felt this one physically more than the previous ones. This course was slower due to climbing under trees, navigating boulders, traversing streams, and at one point wading through a small lake (caused... Continue reading

Tomorrow I face my 4th ultramarathon this year. It is another 50K in the mountains. This time it is in Sequoia park which I think is near Piedmont (Oakland). My training and eating is getting more precise and I feel strong as well as fit for this one. I have ran 122 miles over the last 12 days in varied conditions and speeds to build capacity and feel good today. I really do hope it is a nice day tomorrow after the last mud bath run. It is getting gray and windy outside right now and I really want to have dry dirt under my feet tomorrow. I will report back tomorrow evening with the fine details and debrief. Wish me luck as these runs do not get less intimidating the day before. Continue reading

So another race down and I am learning a lot. I have deduced more about how much to train before each event and what to do for recovery. One of the big differences for this run was that I had built myself up to running 70 miles a week until the week before the race where I eased off and just did 4 or 5 miles each day. I also ate less on the morning of the race as on the other ones I had felt a little bloated. This meant that I relied more heavily on the aid stations and my intake during the run. It was pouring rain from the start in the Woodside mountains (just NW of Palo Alto). I started the race wearing a fashionable bright yellow poncho (no joke) which got interesting stares. I was soaked to the skin even with this before the half-way mark so I peeled it off and donated it to one of the aid stations. My shoes and socks were soaking wet within the first half hour so I have a nice blister to show as a result. I was dreading running in the rain but to be honest it... Continue reading

Over the years I have learned from many consultants that you don't actually need to know anything to help someone. In fact the one's that pretend to know the most (experts) end up being annoying and their opinions grating. Great facilitators have the knack of letting the person/people in question wrestle with the problem and solve it themselves. I am not suggesting that there is no co-creation in solving a problem with someone but rather that it is much better to ask questions and nudge things along instead of directing. Joel Spolsky has a decent in this month's Inc. Magazine called 'How hard could it be?' that resurfaces the Five Whys problem solving technique developed by Toyota after World War II to improve its manufacturing process. The basics of this process is to ask "Why?" five times to get to the root of any failure/issue in order to solve the core problem instead of the symptoms. For instance, imagine the problem you are facing is that you have a dissatisfied client. Why? because the job is only 3/4 complete in their mind. Why? because their expectations were different that what I understood. Why? because I assumed I understood what they... Continue reading