Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Europe and Exploration

This will end up being my final post in some time, as I'm off to Europe tomorrow. Trip stops include Ireland, France, and the UK. More could follow depending on if I feel the immediate desire to explore more there or to come back and plan a return adventure.

My first race (truthfully since Cascade) of 2014 will be the Wicklow Way 50K this Saturday. About 6,000+ ft of climbing for the course, so its nothing shabby. Weather looks to be windy and potential for rain, with temps anywhere from low 40's to low 50's. Will be rocking the Pearl Izumi N2's, my Ultraspire Surge, and a camera to take plenty of photos.

Pics shall be posted to the blog upon my return.

Following are pics from a run I did yesterday on Cougar and Squak mountains. Nice mid-day run with some sun, sleet, hail, and mud.



Cougar

Cougar

Squak

Squak

Squak

Cougar

Pearl Izumi M2's...part of the training rotation

Thursday, March 6, 2014

Nutrition and Fueling

Recently, I've had some people ask me what I eat. Well, first off, I rarely resist the opportunity to gorge on junk food. So I try not to stock it or ever buy it for myself, because I know I'm gonna eat it if someone offers me some. The rest of my diet is dialed in, to the point I don't even think much of it anymore. The meals usually include any of the following:

Breakfast
Usually a Smoothie - Kale, Spinach, Carrot Juice or other various juice blend, Banana, Avocado, Blueberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Boysenberries, Raspberries, Peanut Butter, Almond Butter.

Sometimes Steel Cut or Quick Oats or Granola/Almond Milk

Lunch
Soups, Apples, Carrots, Peppers, Beans, Rice, Whole Grain Breads, Nuts or Nut Butters, Fruits/Dried Fruits, Cheese, Smoothies like above.

Dinner
Veggies, Fruits, Brown Rice, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Potatoes, Eggs, Breads, Pastas.

General Guidelines
Organic when possible, but cost comes into play at times.
Supplements are Twin-lab Multivitamin, Reishi Mushroom Extract, Cod Liver Oil, and occasional magnesium supplement.
I attempt to limit meat, dairy, and white rice/pasta/bread consumption. Though, I'm not strictly against any of this.

Splurges
Sometimes you just need to eat an entire pizza. I do that on occasion, along with binges of ice cream and cookies.

Race Fuel
  • Water in my bottles. Nothing else has worked as well for me.
  • S!Caps for electrolytes. Nothing else has worked as well for me.
  • Granola Bars, Dried Fruits, ginger, potatoes and soups, candies and cookies
  • Trying out VFuel Gels when they start stocking them again. I'd like to be able to stomach gels if I need to. After at least reading their marketing pitch, I figure it's worth a shot.

Monday, March 3, 2014

February Training Recap

A very smart month of training. Slowly built my base back up, while dealing with some runners knee. Started with increasing the frequency of easy runs, then increased mileage, and now starting to increase effort. Incorporated some swims and weight training (need to track those better). Fully prepared to embrace March efforts. Happy Training!




Saturday, March 1, 2014

Two Weeks Notice

"...so I'm not exactly sure what my plan is. I just know I want to do these things and for me to do that, I need to step away from the company and resign my position." 

My job for the past seven years, has essentially been rooted in explaining/selling/educating businesses on an intangible product. Phone calls were made, hands were shaken, spreadsheet columns aligned, graphs explained, return on investment described, customer complaints resolved, reports prepared, board presentations given. I worked with a team of other skilled individuals to accomplish goals and provide service to clients. However, there was no further challenge, no real further opportunity for advancement.

So I resigned. Responses from friends and co-workers, largely, were not as I expected. Supportive. Humorous. Encouraging. Many have commented about how they would love to do what I'm doing.

Ultimately, I want to take some time off to do some other things, while deciding what career path to engage next. I like work, contributing to teams, achieving goals and helping people. I can't see myself taking too much time away.

So I'm now going to do some things I've dreamed of.

  • March-ish
    • Sightseeing in Europe. The Wicklow Way 50K in the mountains outside of Dublin on March 22nd.
  • April-ish
    • Running around all the PNW has to offer (Issy Alps, Orcas Island, etc.), exploring next steps career-wise. Yakima Skyline Rim April 20th.
    • Road trip to San Fran for Miwok 100K. Run trails in Oregon and Northern California while heading down. Taper a bit before race.
  • May-ish
    • Road trip/training trip to parks in Northern/Southern Cali and then Arizona and maybe some mountains of Colorado.
    • A Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim run in Mid-May. Run In Zion Canyon. Do some scouting runs in Bryce Canyon.
  • June-ish
    • Two or three week taper leading into Bryce 100M on June 14th. Will involve hiking and swimming and sight-seeing. I envision this also including a lot of time figuring out career steps/applying to jobs.

If you want to join, let me know. dbswoish@gmail.com