Paul Both

Route 66

2012-11-29T10:35:00.002-08:00

One of the reasons why I love Route 66 so much, is because it has character. Billy Connolly said it so well on his show about the Mother Road, "everything isn't beige". Maybe he's been to Irvine, CA.

In it's close to 60 years of "official" existence, 1926- '84, business' along the road needed to find creative ways to lure travelers to their diners, motels, gas stations and souvenir shops. So they would use bright colors, gimmicks, neon and more to get people to stop at their place, instead whizzing on past. Yes, they were often kitschy and gaudy, but they displayed boldness, character and individuality. It worked then, and now it serves as a portal. Visiting these unique places along "The Main Street of America" transports you back to a different time. Whether it's the 1930's when farmer's were escaping the Dust Bowl in search of a better life in California, or the 1950's and 60's where a Nuclear family of four was headed to Disneyland on vacation, you know that these little oasis sprinkled along the roughly 2,400 miles of road from Chicago to Santa Monica, were brief respites for people going somewhere. People that, whether through necessity or adventure, were leaving their "comfort zones" and venturing out onto the open road.

The road has a voice, and it is relentless. It keeps calling like a lost love that may never touch your lips or speak your name again. It lies dormant, waiting for you to reclaim it with passion and the absence of fear.

Facebook- Jan. 25th 2012

Yes, the road has an allure. There are countless books, films and songs written about it. And none more written about than Route 66. There is just something so damn sexy about her. It's not just me who thinks so either. People are flocking to this road. She is arguably more popular around the world than to people whose own town it runs through. I am not entirely sure why other people are fascinated. For me, I was hooked from the start. The fact that in 1928, C.C. Pyle put on a Transcontinental Footrace from Los Angeles to New York via Route 66, known as "the Bunion Run", to happening upon the statue of the winner of that race, Andy Payne, in his hometown of Foyil, Oklahoma, on my own run across America, there have been many reasons for me to feel connected to her.

I am rather embarrassed to admit that when I was originally planning my run, I didn't even know about Route 66. I just opened up Google Maps and sort of just put those two pins on either side of the continent and waited to see where the line went. In fact, the original route only followed 66 to somewhere around Albuquerque. It wasn't until I adjusted the route to go through Tulsa, Oklahoma to see family and talked to a business associate of mine and he said "Oh, you can take Route 66" that I even considered it.

After hearing that, I went to the library and checked out some books that completely intrigued me. Not only was I amazed by the pictures, but the stories and the history! They talked about The Will Rogers Highway (one of the names it's known by) serving as the main highway for people heading west. How the many business' and towns along the highway became prosperous serving those people and then, with the threat of being bypassed by the Interstate, their eventual struggle to survive.

One of the books also talked about traveling in general and this thing called "wanderlust". Boy could I relate to that. During the run, I was so excited to see the things that I had seen in those books. I felt connected to places before I ever got there. On a particularly hard and lonely day, with 30 miles down and a few more to go, I was running into Tucumcari, New Mexico. I ran down a road lined with old broken down, abandoned Motels. It was sad, but for some reason, it gave me solace. Somehow I could relate to the way they were left. They were once pillars in the desert, and now they were vacant and falling apart. I would get closer to them than most people had in years because I wasn't separated or isolated in a car. I passed them slowly and couldn't ignore them.

Tucumcari, New Mexico

But for all of those that were dead, there were as many that were still struggling to stay alive and many even thriving. It seems there are plenty of people out there that want to slow down. They want to see this part of America that was truly unique. They don't want to just get from point A to point B on a Superhighway. There are a lot people who's idea of travel is different than driving down a concrete corridor whose exits all have the same travel center and the same 5 restaurants, making it difficult knowing whether the Cracker Barrel you are in is in Florida or North Dakota. No, there are people who want to see what is in between. The uniqueness of each little town. Their personalities and the people who live there. I wanted to see it. I wanted to see every bit of it.

I had ran almost all of 66 on my run from California to New York. We went though Phoenix, so we missed the California and Arizona parts until Holbrook. Also, we left it in St. Louis, to take the Old National road east to New York. I have since driven most of the Arizona and California parts but that just doesn't compare. I was 60 miles into what was supposed to be an uninterrupted, no drama ride the entire way from Boston to LA via Route 66, but that didn't turn out the way I had hoped. Perhaps that is another one of the reasons why I seem to have such an obsession with this strip of pavement that is only partially still there. And perhaps it wouldn't be out of line for someone to point to this obsession as the cause of me almost biting the big one. And they might have a point. But still, I don't blame her. My love for her doesn't die, it just gets stronger. Because it's not really the road, it's what it represents. It's movement and forward momentum. It's dreams and adventure. It's leaving home and perhaps, coming back home. It's hope! Yes, there are other roads, but this one is special. So I will keep on dreaming about it. And soon, do the whole thing in one shot.

Until then, I am going to go through all of my pictures and do some editing and post them to instagram, Twitter, facebook, Tumblr and wherever else I can annoy the crap out of people. But beyond trying to spread my genuine enthusiasm for Route 66 to other people (the struggling business' could use the customers:) I also have a real interest in photography developing (pun). I've fired up the old Photoshop after many years and am in the market for a nice DSLR. I've even registered at the local Junior College to take some photography classes. I know, I'm a "self taught Man" but, I have a new lease on life, so I am changin' a few things up. Who knows, maybe I can eventually figure out a way to put together my own travel show. Maybe do a show about all of the breweries along the way. I'll just put a twist on it and run or ride a bike between all of them. Yeah, that sounds pretty good!

Until then, I'll leave you with a few of my pictures of Route 66 and hope you will find them as interesting as I do. If you would like to see more of my pictures from the road, you can view them here.

Bluewater, New Mexico

Catoosa, Oklahoma

Seligman, Arizona

Elk City, Oklahoma

Seligman, Arizona

Williams, Arizona

Cool Springs, Arizona

Oh, and that Billy Connolly guy, he also said "Before you judge a man, walk a mile in his shoes. After that who cares?... He's a mile away and you've got his shoes!" He's a funny guy! :)

Paul

My bicycle accident

2012-11-26T12:32:00.002-08:00

"In the blink of an eye" that is how quickly everything can change. But just like an "overnight success", it only appears to be "overnight" because no one sees the countless years the person dedicated to get there. These "blink of an eye" moments, are really just a collision of multiple events, decisions or actions, that have intersected at any one point in time, to create an altering of course, or "life changing event". The collision gets all the attention, but the fascinating part is all the pieces that lead up to it. I have had such a collision. Both figuratively and literally, and thank God, I am here tell about it.

I wrote that opening, two weeks ago. Since then, I have managed to do many things BUT write this post. I have spent countless hours location tagging pictures, posting like crazy on Facebook and organizing everything on my laptop to the point of obsession. It's not that I haven't had time to write this post. I have nothing but time. I have been sitting on my butt for a month as of yesterday. I went from riding my bicycle for close to 75 miles a day to a sudden stop. A very abrupt stop! An extremely violent and violating stop. Oh yes.... THAT stop. That "blink of an eye" moment when you are supposed to see your life flash before your eyes. Well, I don't know about that. What I do know, is that at that moment, there were two things that I thought.

Side note: It's not like I can't talk about this. I talk to everyone about it. Very matter of fact, actually. No emotion, just what happened. I know how lucky I am and surprisingly, given my history with panic disorder, I have taken it extremely well. Maybe too well. Maybe I am waiting for the hammer to come down. I have not had to take a single Xanax that was prescribed to me in Kankakee, Illinois..... Maybe I'm afraid that writing it down here will jog it loose. Maybe, I'm afraid that writing it down, here, will dredge up the reality...... what really happened. Not the physical reality, I have been dealing with that for a month. No, the mental part of it... Writing it down is hard. Articulating it is harder, especially when there is one piece missing....One big important piece... Anyway, enough stalling...

The first thought was "This is NOT supposed to happen"

Riding a bike, you KNOW that something is not supposed to hit you. I didn't hear him coming, I just felt him hit me. It was the most violent and violating force that I have ever felt. Violating is probably the best way to describe it. You know, it's always in the back of your head. You hear all the stories. Everyone tells you they couldn't do what you are doing (riding or running across the country) and then, they tell you the stories. They tell you about so and so who was killed. They tell you about all the crazy drivers out there and how they don't pay attention. And then, they tell you to be careful. But it's not up to you! They mean well, but they don't understand. I actually had this exact conversation with my Mom on this very morning. The only way you can possibly get up and do this every day, the thing that they say they can't do, is to have faith and tell yourself it won't happen to you. You have to turn your back to the very thing that can kill you. You have to be vulnerable, You have to have faith that it won't happen to you. It wasn't supposed to happen to me, and it was!

The next thought..... "This is why I wasn't supposed to go on this trip". And I felt like the biggest asshole for going! Those were the only things I remember about that moment.

From Facebook, November 4th:

I never realized, an obsession and fascination with detective work before. I need to fill in this missing chunk of time. These few seconds that are right at the tip of my brain. Tiny pieces come in flashes when I am in that state between sleep and awake. It's like a name you can't remember, but it's right on the tip of your tongue and it keeps gnawing at you.

I said I didn't lose conscienceless

but I clearly don't remember what happened between the moment I felt the horrific force of impact and the next moment, the panic of me in a ditch feeling for parts that weren't in the right place. I remember what I thought, vividly! But I don't know how I got there.

So, with every new clue, I try to get closer. I study the damage to the panniers, the damage to the car, the damage to my body, and methodically try to piece together the most dramatic, scary and mortal moment of my life.

Another piece of the puzzle was unboxed today and I entered into evidence and consideration, the damage to my bike.

I imagine the best I'll ever be able to do is guess, based on these clues, exactly how everything happened. What part of the car hit what part of me and my bike. If I somersaulted or rolled. Did I go over the handlebars or did I spin off the side like a whirly gig? Why did the bones that were broken, break and why the other ones didn't? What part of me or my bike ripped the side mirror off his truck and shattered the front headlight?..... Why didn't I die?

Perhaps there is one person who knows the answers to some of my questions. Perhaps even though he didn't see me before he hit me, he saw what happened to me after.

But then again, maybe I don't want to know.......

Here is what I do know. It was October 25th, a very windy Thursday. I was on day 22 of my ride from Boston to Santa Monica, CA and I was approaching the 1,200 mile mark. The ride was going amazingly well. I had flown my bike to Boston and spent the first day walking around the city taking in all of the history.

The old State House

I was in heaven! The Freedom Trail, The Granary Cemetery, Paul Revere's house. What a town! I even saw this!

My favorite show

Then, the next day, I set out on my bike for what was supposed to be a 3,400 mile journey.

On the Charles River

I had ridden through the very hilly state of Massachusetts to Albany, New York. In Albany, I rode the Erie Canal, approximately 350 miles to Lake Erie, stopping and camping at some of the 35 locks along the way. It was beautiful!

Lock 20

Camping!

The beautiful bike path

Lock 21

The colors were amazing!

Being on the trail was fantastic, But I was definitely looking forward to what was at the end of that trail.

Niagara Falls

I had looked forward to the Falls and it did not disappoint. The sheer power of the water was amazing. To stand so close to the edge at some spots, with nothing but a metal railing between you and that incredible force. Breathtaking! A woman who takes pictures of people at the falls took this one of me. It was awesome and I could have spent a lot of time there but I had to move on. I found a craft brewery right down the road in Canada!

I was a little worried about the whole Canada thing and going into a different country. You know, the whole....... well.....anyway, they let me in......and ......let me back out. Or better stated, let me out and then let me back in. In fact, the border agents getting back into the states were extremely nice, even driving me and my bike across the bridge after I was told that bicycles couldn't go across (which I only found out after arriving in Sarnia). I only spent three days in Ontario and it was very nice. But, I was glad to be back since I had turned roaming off on my iPhone, which made navigating especially hard, forcing me to go old school with a real paper map.

Now that I was in Michigan (the state where I was born) I had just two days to get to my cousin Karl's house in time for the "Iron Brewer" competition he was holding at his Brew Supply Shop. Talk about perfect timing!

Cool sweatshirt!

I arrived in Grand Ledge at the end of day 16 and I would take my one (and only) rest day, the next day, which was a Saturday. I needed the rest as I had decided that my goal was to get home the day before Thanksgiving. Originally, I wasn't sure if I was going to do the whole 3,400 miles. But now that I was out there, I was having such a great time, I definitely wanted to do all of Route 66. But, I needed to be home for the holiday, which meant that I would need to do roughly 75 miles a day to make it. I could fly home from wherever I was at on November 21st and fly back out to finish, but, I really didn't want to do that. So, I was going to suck it up and do the miles, still trying to take the time to see the sites and take plenty of pictures. After all, it IS the journey, right? But, in all honesty, it wasn't going to be a cakewalk by any means. My bike weighs roughly 120 pounds and between hills, wind, pictures and Breweries, 75 miles a day can be a challenge. But the challenge is good. It makes it that much more fun to be out there.

I left Grand Ledge with my sights set on Chicago. I have flown into and out of Chicago a few times on layovers and even drove in from South Bend, IN just a few months earlier at the end of my DC ride. But I have never actually seen the city. I was very excited! Of course being on a bike, I would really see it.

The Chicago Skyline

An old MGM friend of mine lives in Chicago with his wonderful wife and two children. They were kind enough to invite me to stay with them for the evening. DJ and I went out that night and had a few beers and in the morning, him and his wife and I went and had a really nice breakfast at a really cool Diner. How cool is the city? Where everything was within walking distance from their house. I had a great time with them. I would have liked to have stayed longer, but had to go. Not only did I have a ton of miles to do, but I was also extremely excited to be in Chicago because of what lie at the intersection of Jackson Blvd. and Michigan Ave. The Art Institute of Chicago, you say? Yes... but across the street......!

YES!

I was so excited to be at the start of Route 66! I had done a majority of it on my run across the country in 2010 but didn't do any of the Illinois section because I left it in St. Louis and took the Old National Road east. And although I have driven most of the Arizona and California part, I didn't run that either because I ran through Phoenix. Since my run, I have become so enamored with the Mother Road that I couldn't wait to be on it again. I have multiple books about the history of Route 66 and I have seen so many pictures that I couldn't wait to see all the places that I hadn't seen, for myself.

The 1,150 miles to this point felt like a warmup for what lie ahead. I would be retracing a lot of the steps, literally, from my run, and in a big way, that was comforting. Hindsight has a way putting things in perspective and as I was riding on this trip, some things became very clear. Back in 2010, I was running towards something to be sure. The Statue of Liberty was a symbol for me. But as much as I was running towards it, I think I was also running away. I was running away from home and running away from some things that I needed to face. I have largely dealt with all of those "things" and as I was riding, I realized that I really was coming back home. It was like I was coming full circle. It was a really good feeling. Like I could put all of it to rest and finally move on. Yes, I was glad I was out here. I was glad I bought this bike and I was glad I got on the plane to Boston and was heading home... because I almost didn't. I came very close to calling the whole thing off.

I'm not going to say that I wasn't a little nervous for my other adventures. I was for sure. I spent many restless nights wondering what I had gotten myself into. But, I never had seconds thoughts on going. This trip was different. I kept looking for signs on whether or not I should go. But, instead of hoping that they would all lead me to going, I wanted them to lead me to stay home. All the way up until the day before I was to leave, I would vacillate between going and not. I would flip a coin, it would come up tails (my "no" side) and I would do a "2 out of 3". I actually decided the day before that I wasn't going to go and even called the airline and asked about the cancellation policy and if I lost anything by waiting until the day of the flight to cancel. I didn't, so I decided to wait and see how I felt in the morning. I woke up and hadn't changed my mind. But, as a final contemplation, I sat down and talked to my Mother and asked her what she thought. She, uncharacteristically, said that she thought I SHOULD go and that they (my parents) would be fine and that they would take care of Bella, the family dog that has become MY dog (long story for another post).

Bella

So, with an hour and a half to pack, I gathered everything together, packed my bike in a box and called the cab to take me to the airport. That was the last time that I had any doubts of whether or not I should be on this trip. I had an amazing time. I met so many wonderful people. Anytime I would think about it, I couldn't believe that I almost didn't go. I had no regrets for going. No regrets until 3:11:35 on Thursday October 25th. It wasn't my first thought, It was my second. "This is why I wasn't supposed to come". I felt like such an asshole. I always listen, or try to listen, to that little voice inside my head. It was telling me not to come. I didn't listen and now, I was going to die.

I had just left Wilmington, Illinois, the home of the Launching Pad and the Gemini Giant. I was almost giddy seeing these wonderful icons of Route 66.

The Gemini Giant

I was only 60 miles in and I had already seen so many great places, like Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, Illinois.

Dell Rhea's

And the the Rich and Creamy in Joliet, Illinois.

Rich and Creamy

So I was very excited, to say the least, to be on 66 headed towards St. Louis. The Launching Pad was closed so I went to a great little Pub and Grill called Hayden's Crossing for lunch.

Hayden's Crossing Wilmington, Illinois

It was a wonderful place with wonderful food and a really cool waitress. I was thinking about the little town of Wilmington and how I wished that I could have spent more time there when I stopped to take a picture. I was on I53 which is an original alignment of Route 66, just paved over and now a State highway. It had an abnormally small shoulder, enough that I would take notice and document it. I had struggled with the roads since leaving Chicago. So much so, that the previous night, I left "66" to take a safer road since it was getting dark.

3:10:51

Normally, in a situation like this, I would ride against traffic. Even though it is technically against the law, it seems much safer to be able to see what is coming towards you. Especially on such a long stretch with little cross traffic. For what ever reason, today I didn't. I stopped my bike at 3:10:43. I took this picture at 3:10:51 and I resumed riding at 3:11:21.

Then at precisely 3:11:35, forty four seconds after I took this picture, I felt the most violent and violating thing I have ever felt in my life. I didn't hear him coming. All I felt was the force of a 2007 Ford Ranger going between 50 and 60 MPH strike me from behind.

I was able to gather this information from my Garmin and the picture I took with my iPhone.

As best as I can gather from the information I have, the damage to my property, the damage to me and the damage to his truck, is that he hit my left rear pannier with the front side of his vehicle. I've surmised this because the front light on his truck was broken. Then, his side view mirror hit my back and sheered it off the side of his truck. There is a crumple in the down tube of my bike, where my ankle would have been, both wheels are tweaked and both of the panniers on the left side of my bike were damaged with the rear one being destroyed.

As I said, I remember thinking those two thoughts vividly but I don't remember what happened to me next. The Paramedics asked me if I lost consciousness or blacked out and I told them no. I probably said that because I don't remember "waking up", but I clearly don't remember how I got in that ditch. All I remember is sitting there holding my side, and figuring it was just a matter of time before I died. I don't say that to be dramatic, it's the truth. I can't describe the level of panic I felt the first few moments in that ditch. I knew that what just happened was bad, but I didn't know what was going to happen next.

Fortunately, the driver stopped. He seemed to be about a quarter of a mile down the road before he got out and walked back to where I was. He called 911 and then I waited. I was in a lot of pain and most likely in shock. I had no choice but to try and stay calm. If this was it, there wasn't anything I could do about it. Oddly, a sense of calm came over me. I just slowly leaned myself back and laid in the grass and waited. It's kind of weird, all those years of panic, all those years of being afraid that something bad was going to happen. All of that fear of losing control. All of that worry that death was around every corner, and here I was, laying in a ditch after being hit by a truck and I was finally calm and at peace.

I remember looking around at all of my belongings strewn everywhere. Since I was below the road in the ditch, everything was at eye level. I could see my panniers and stuff laying in the road and the grass. It was very surreal, like a movie. All of the stuff that I had obsessively packed and worried and worried about anytime I would leave it outside a store, was now everywhere, out of my reach. I know that other people stopped but I don't remember how many people and I don't remember anyone talking to me. I also don't remember seeing my bike, my awesome bike! I have no idea where that went.

I just laid there, waiting. I tried to access the damage to my body. I could tell with good certainty that my left ankle was broken.

I was also sure that there was something wrong with my back and ribs. I felt my rib cage and I felt what I thought was a separation. And my back felt like it was cracking. I could still move everything, so I figured I wasn't going to be paralyzed, but it was very painful. At this point I was mostly worried about internal injuries. I knew I had some broken bones and I was worried that they were, or were going to, puncture something. Thankfully, my neck and head didn't hurt at all. I can't explain that since I don't know how I ended up in that ditch and I can't tell you how or what my body did on the way there.

It took about 10 minutes for the ambulance to arrive. I was very relieved when they got there. The Paramedics lifted me onto one of those backboards and put me in a neck brace and lifted me into the ambulance for the very bumpy 25 mile ride to the Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, Illinois. Boy did I feel every bump!

Once I arrived at the hospital, I was given 2 CT scans and several X-rays. Each time having to be lifted onto another table, which was very painful. I waited for close to three hours for the results of the tests, the worst part was not being able to eat or drink anything while waiting for the results. The results came back and I was extremely fortunate. to only have a broken ankle, a broken rib and 9 broken vertebra. If you are into actual medical terms, my injuries were;

Left rib fracture

Transverse displaced fracture through the base of the medial malleolous and a

Fracture of the Spinous Processes T3-T9 and L2-L3

They started pumping me full of pain meds and admitted me. They decided to operate on the ankle and give me some new hardware.

They operated on Friday, late afternoon at around 6pm. I was finally able to eat and drink something, thank God. It had been well over 24 hours and I was famished! Now, I had to figure out how I was going to get home. The logistics would be difficult. The hospital knew that this was a special case and they weren't going to be able to just discharge me like a regular patient. I had no family anywhere close and my only friend nearby was DJ and he was 60 miles away. I had my bike and all my belongings and me that would need to get back home.

Let me just say, everyone involved in this was absolutely amazing. The Police came to the hospital to get a report. They informed me that they had a team come out and scour the site, or the "debris field" for all of my stuff. Somehow they found my iPhone and my wallet and gave that to me before the ambulance took me away (I don't know what I would have done without my iPhone). They found everything else except for my sunglasses, an iPod nano, a Cheers shot glass I had bought for Brittany and some Canadian coins I was saving. They gathered that up and put it in storage next to the Wilmington Police Station.

So, to get me back and my things back home, was going to take some doing. The hospital assigned a social worker to coordinate everything. She found a bike shop near the hospital who could box up my bike for the flight. Now I just needed to get the stuff from Wilmington, which was 25 miles away, to Kankakee and all of it and me to the airport.

My Father and my daughter Brittany flew out on Sunday and stopped in Wilmington, got my bike and belongings and took my bike to the bike shop. Steve, the owner of the bike shop informed me that he wasn't going to be open on Sunday. But when he heard what happened, he said he would box it up if they brought it to his house. Like I said, everyone was amazing! So, Brittany and my Dad flew in on Sunday, went to Wilmington and picked up my bike. They stopped off at Hayden's Crossing and ate dinner and headed to Kankakee. How crazy, I never imagined as I left Hayden's that My Father and Daughter would be three 3 days later under these circumstances. Life is strange.

I have never been so happy to see two people in my life! One of the most difficult calls I've had to make was to Brittany and my Mom while I was in the trauma ward. I texted Brittany and my Dad first. I didn't know at the time what the extent of my injuries were, but I knew I could tell them without knowing and they would be ok. My Mother was a different story. I told them not to tell here until we knew if I was going to be OK. That was a long 3 hours. Anyway, like I said, I was very happy to see them. The hospital let them stay in the room that night and the next morning we drove to Chicago Midway Airport and flew home.

The last month has been a blur. I don't know how close I came to having this be a completely different outcome. Perhaps that is why I am so obsessed with what happened in those few seconds. Working with Motocross riders, I have seen plenty of guys fall off a bike and never walk again. I don't know how or why I was spared that fate. But I think about it. I think about it a lot. The craziest thing is, I am at peace. There is a good chance that I am repressing the memory of what happened in the moments after I was hit. I'm not sure. Like I said, the last month has been a blur. Perhaps part of it has been the shock of going from riding all of those miles everyday, which already puts you in a different state of mind, to not only stopping abruptly but having your whole reality change. Add to that, the trauma of what happened and then to top it off.....pain meds.

It's been difficult. and I know it's not over. The Doctor has told me I can start putting weight on my ankle and now my brain wants to do more than my body will let me. But I do know it will come in time. I will make a full recovery. But of course for me, a full recovery will be when I can run and ride again. I can't wait! I have the rest of Route 66 to do... Against traffic!

Paul

The two party deception

2012-11-09T12:09:00.002-08:00

I have a lot of time on my hands. I also think a lot. That can prove to be a very scary combination. I had planned on posting this to facebook but decided not to and to post here on my blog. I am writing in a little different style than I usually write on here (my blog), but I think that might be good for this one.

I am also writing out of turn. Something happened on my ride from Boston to LA that is the reason I have so much time on my hands. I won't even try and summarize here at this time. I will instead suggest that you friend me on facebook here and you can see there, what happened. Trust me, I have started the post several times, but since I tend to agonize over every word here, it is proving to be more difficult than I would like. I will finish it in the next few days.

Anyway, my friend wrote something on facebook that prompted a response from me that I felt summed up an overall theory that I have, politically. I think more and more people are sensing this truth, but I don't see it articulated very often. I know I have talked about it many times, perhaps too much, but I feel it is so important that I will risk overstating my case (and annoying everyone) to CLEARLY spell it out.

My friend wrote:

Today I am thankful to be an American. I may disagree with a lot of people for what they say...but I SO STRONGLY believe in that right to say it!!! As a country, we are so blessed and we shouldn't forget that.

I responded:

I agree fully!!! We do live in an amazing country, first, because of the wonderful landscape. I have seen so much beauty, through my travels, but I still feel like I have only scratched the surface. There is still so much to see.

Second, the people that I have met are amazing!! We constantly hear how scary and terrible everything and everyone is out there in the world. It's enough to make you not want to leave the house. But, I can tell you, from all my experiences, that it couldn't be further from the truth. 99.9% of the people I meet are kind, loving and helpful. And they are that way to someone (me) whom they could certainly judge and ignore, but they don't. And here is an important point, they don't know, and I don't know, if they are Republicans, Democrats, conservatives or liberals. It doesn't matter. We are just people. Those divisions are false divisions. The country may be "divided" by a line that serves certain agendas very well... BUT we, as human beings, are not divided. In fact it is quite the opposite. We are all connected.

Third, what we can't forget though, is that this country is great because there were a group of people that hated tyranny and believed in freedom and fought for that freedom. People sacrificed their lives for an idea. It was an idea that had never been tried before. We formed a Union, it wasn't perfect, we still had slavery and we didn't completely believe in liberty and freedom for all people but we put in place a form of Government that would at least give us the means to right things that were wrong. It is the mechanism of that Government that is good and that we have to defend at all costs. It is also the concept of freedom and the basic principles of liberty that are exciting and .... well.... liberating, that must be cherished and defended. We must be constantly vigilant lest we take for granted and lose those liberties. We were warned by the architects of this gift that we were given, how easy it would be to lose it. Trading liberty for security is one of many ways.

The biggest mistake that any of us can make, is thinking that the danger only lies with one party. That it is just "them" that want to "fundamentally change America". That if everyone would just convert to "our party" we could fix everything. Step back and you will see that both parties want to strip us of freedoms or have the government control our lives. They just each want to do it in different areas. It is a very sobering realization once you see it. In the interest of keeping this relatively short, I won't list both platforms and the blatant hypocrisy. Besides, I think everyone knows in the back of heir heads already. That is why, I believe, there is such heated and vitriolic debate. If one "side" was truly for freedom and liberty, across the board and the other "side" wasn't, would there really even be a debate? If those really were the two sides of the aisle, would we even need such a large Government? Perhaps, stoking this "division" ensures one thing.. Big government, ironically, to fight big Government. The big government that half of both parties claim they don't want. Is it by design? I will leave that for you to judge.

So why do I say all of this? What is my point?

I AM proud to be an American. We are a great country! We are, for the most part, great people! We need to try and love one another. We need to protect ourselves and our country from the real enemy. And its not the one you think it is by watching one of the cable news shows or listening to one of the talk radio stations. They are entertainers. Their advertising dollars, hence their jobs, depend on you continuing to hate the wrong people.

I see a lot of people filled with anger and hate. I was filled with anger and hate for a long time. It is the majority of the reason that I left a pier in CA and ran to the Statue of Liberty in 2010 on my "Run for Liberty". I did find my liberty. I found it by letting go of my hate. I found it by doing my best to find love and joy again. It's been hard for me to reconcile that sometimes though. Do I not fight things anymore because I want to get along? Do I say, "oh well", and never fight for the things I believe in, in the interest of "getting along"?

The answer is simply this. You must fight the REAL enemy. I assure you, if you are a "Democrat" the enemy is not the "Republicans". If you are a "Republican" the enemy is not the "Democrats". No, if you are an American and you TRULY believe in the constitution and you truly believe in freedom and liberty and all the wonderful things that come with those, along with all the scary parts, and how with freedom and liberty come responsibility and faith. If you believe in all of those things, then the enemy is tyranny! The enemy is all of the forms and threats to liberty and freedom that it disguises itself as.

So, are there 2 sides to all the issues? Yes, but if you divided it along the real lines. The TRUE lines, it wouldn't be close to the 50/50 division we see in our country, like we see now. It would be more like 95/5 and there wouldn't hardly be a debate. And, more telling, there wouldn't be a need for such a large Government (and lobbyists, etc..).

So, yes, we need to get along. We need to find common ground. But the common ground cannot be to accept half of each of the big government platforms. Or to compromise some of our liberties in the interest of "getting along". The common ground of both of the two major parties is that half of each platform believes in freedom and what this country was founded on and what it's core principles are. Lets take those 2 parts, the common ground and adopt them and throw the hypocritical, tyrannical part out the window. Yes, it can be done. After all, our two conventional parties are an invention of politicians and we can choose to shun it just as easily as we have chosen to adopt it.

Paul

Boston!

2012-10-08T07:00:00.001-07:00

Well, so much for writing about the rest of my ride from D.C. To South Bend. Work, traveling for Motocross and life got busy. I'll try and incorporate some stories into future posts, but for now I better talk about where I am now and what I am doing.

I am sitting in a diner in East Greenbush, New York, about 12 miles from the start of The Erie Canal. Yes! Another adventure. My ride a couple months ago was meant to be a test ride for a longer ride starting in October. I had planned to ride from Canada to Mexico but I had been advised that the weather along the Pacific West Coast would be very rainy. So, after long consideration, I decided to fly my bike out to Boston and ride back towards home. My plan is to make it as far as I can by Thanksgiving. If I can pound out a lot of miles, it is possible I can make it home. If not, I'll catch a plane back. This one is about just touring and having fun. I'm always faced with the decision of whether or not to stop and look at something or to keep going so I get in enough miles. I've never regretted stopping but having some goal is good or else I would stop for EVERYTHING. So, that's the plan.

My route is Boston to Albany, where I will ride along the Erie Canal to Niagra Falls. Then Chicago via Canada and then follow Route 66 to Santa Monica. I am excited to see the Illinois section of the Mother Road as I missed this on my run because I didn't go up to Chicago. As far as I am concerned, as long as I get to St Louis, I'll be happy. Anything after that is extra. so, I'll play it by ear and just have fun. For me that is huge!

Of course there is one thing that could get me to end even sooner.... Bella! That's an issue that I'll have to explain in another post. Right now, I've gotta ride.

Paul

D.C. to South Bend, Indiana: Part 1

2012-07-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

Some roads lead to places unexpected. Sometimes, you have the faith to follow that inner voice that is telling you to do something or go somewhere, only to find that where you end up, is not where you thought you were headed. That is a journey and that is not only what I have learned to embrace, but what I look forward to.

"Where are you riding to?" That is the question I heard most often. I guess it was obvious from the amount of stuff I was carrying on my bike that it wasn't a day ride. I should have said South Bend, Indiana since that is where I ended up instead of Buchanan, Michigan where I told everyone. But then maybe the conversations would of been shorter and I would have missed out on getting to know so many people, albeit briefly, along this amazing trip. After all, the people I met, seeing my family and finding peace in Ann Arbor, truly was the best part.

I said Buchanan because that is where the 6th Motocross race of the 12 race series is held. Race #5 was in Mechanicsville, Maryland. Our hotels. However, were in Waldorf, Maryland and South Bend, Indiana. I rode between those two points. Had I rode the direct route between the two, the distance would have been around 700 miles. I took the more scenic (and flat) route by way of the C&O towpath and The Great Allegheny Passage, which follow winding rivers) as well as heading a bit north to Lansing, Michigan by way of Jackson, making my total mileage 920. I was out a total of 19 days but only rode 17. That makes an average of about 55 miles a day. I did a couple of shorter days due to the location of some campsites (and a couple of breweries :) Most days, I rode between 60 and 65 miles, which wasn't bad considering the weight of my bike (103 pounds) and the heat. Ah yes, the heat!!! I managed to pick the two hottest weeks of not only the year, but apparently the last 100 or so years. Yes, record temperatures.

I seem to do well with the heat. I hate being cold, like REALLY hate being cold. Admittedly, it is hard to do lots of miles in the heat and it is preferable to have cooler temperatures while you are running and riding, but you don't do that all day and night, so I enjoyed the warmer weather but this was a bit much for even me. I will say that riding in it was definitely easier than running in it! Honestly, I am not sure I could have ran in it. Riding was easier because you actually create your own breeze which really helps, the problem is stopping. There were a few days where the temperature was in the low 100's with a heat index in the 110's I would be ok while riding but when I would stop, the heat would envelop you and feel like it was choking you. I definitely battled dehydration and the wonderful headaches they bring and places where there was no shade, it was tough to escape the stifling heat in any way other than to just keep peddling until I was done for the day.

But like anything, the pain or discomfort you feel is temporary, luckily. Instead, I am left with all of the wonderful, amazing memories of my ride. I have so many I'm not sure where to begin or which to choose to write about here. So, I guess I'll just let 'er rip.

I started 20 miles south of Washington DC. I was so excited to see our nation's capital! I had been there on a family vacation when I was 14. But, like most teenagers, I was too into music and chicks to care about monuments to presidents. This time was different. I am still into chicks and music :), but also VERY into american history!! There is no better way to see DC than on a bike! Except when you want to go up the steps to the Jefferson Memorial and realize that leaving ALL your belongings for the next 3 weeks, sitting alone, out of sight, while you go read plaques, is not a good idea.

I found a way to take my bike up (elevator) into both memorials and aside from security at the Lincoln memorial telling me that I couldn't have my bike up there, I pretty much got to see everything I wanted. The only thing I wasn't able to see was the Smithsonian. There was nowhere to put my bike. I was bummed, but rationalized it by realizing there was no way I would be able to see everything I wanted to, in an afternoon. I considered getting a room and staying for a day, but opted not to when a) I saw the prices of rooms in the area and b) remembered how many miles I had ahead of me and accepted the fact that I had no idea how this whole thing was gonna go and better make sure that I get to South Bend on time.

DayOne entry, Jun 17, 2012

Georgetown is incredible! Is everybody beautiful in this town? Seriously! It was amazing riding my bike around the Capital. It was easier than running.

So, I saw all I could see and started on the C&O Towpath. I was so excited to be on this trail. It was as beautiful as I had imagined and there was a ton of little signs citing historical information that no matter how hard I try, I can never ride or run past and have to stop, read and take a picture of.

This is easier to do when running. It is harder when riding, as is taking pictures. I take a picture when something special catches my eye (obviously). When composition or contrast is interesting I want to take a picture! When you are riding, by the time you stop, the picture has completely changed. It's different than running. So, I'd stop and either compromise and shoot the new perspective, ride back (annoying) or just forget the shot. This actually bummed me out a bit. Pictures are how I remember my trips. I play them as slideshows and relive so many great places. I wonder how many gaps I have allowed due to the faster pace? Oh well, no matter, my memory is so bad, I'll never know the difference :)

I was excited to spend my first night on the Towpath. I was looking forward to camping and knew of all the campsites along the 330 miles of trail. I rolled up on the first one that was about 10 miles into the trail and saw a sign saying that it was by reservation only and for groups of Boy Scouts or something. I called the number on the sign but got no answer. There was nobody at any of the sights and it was getting dark. The next campground was about 10 miles up so I really had no choice. I chose a sight towards the back, pitched my tent and settled in for the night.

Or, tried to settle in. Actually, there was nothing settling about my first night camping, alone, with over 800 (planned) miles ahead of me with an admittedly semi irrational fear of bears, made more rational by the location of this campsite, directly adjacent to an island named "Bear Island".

Paul

The C and O Canal, The GAP and beyond!

2012-06-10T09:46:00.001-07:00

There is something about traveling that makes me feel connected, connected to God and the universe. For someone that has suffered from panic attacks for much of my life and damn near slipped into agoraphobia a couple times, venturing out beyond any perceived safety into the unknown is very empowering. The less safety nets the better. It's like the parent that tells the kid "if your gonna cry, I'll give you something to cry about". It would be a little silly to be afraid of going to the store when I have been in the middle of the desert, running, with "safety" nowhere in site.

I know, thinking that doing anything in United States is doing something in extreme conditions compared to parts of the rest of the world is a stretch, but it's all relative. And hey, I'm trying to not let myself get carried away. I don't feel the need to go "Into The Wild"..... yet.

No, I will settle for covering the most interesting places I can find using my own power. Whether it be on bike or running, I prefer seeing a place, NOT from inside an enclosed, rolling piece of metal. It is so much more intimate for me and as I have become so enthralled with history and love to read about the places I am going, there really isn't anything more exciting.

SO.... I had been trying to think of a ride I could do before my planned Canada to Mexico ride in the fall. I have been shooting Motocross for the last four weeks and that continues until the first week of September. It is amazing to be traveling to these 12 races around the country. Ok, I am surrounded by metal much of the time. In fact I am typing this from about 30,000 feet in the air, surrounded by metal and hoping it stays that way for the duration of the flight. But I love this type of travel as well, just a bit differently.

Anyway, I have a couple weeks off starting June 17th and I figured I could take my bike out for a nice trial run. But where? I already did a few hundred miles down the coast about a month ago. What about the part of Route 66 that we didn't do on the run because we went through Phoenix? That would be awesome and I would love to do that, and will one of these days, but I am afraid it would be too hot in June... hmm.... I thought, well.. maybe take a train towards the east coast and ride for a couple weeks. Then it dawned on me that the races that straddle the break are in Mechanicsville, Maryland and Buchanan, Michigan. I'm not really sure how mad I would have been at myself if I would have never realized how PERFECT this is!!

I am flying my bike out to this weeks race, then riding the 870 miles to the next race. Not only is it one of my favorite parts of the country, there are also tons of historical sites along the way. Historical sites for our country and a couple personal ones as I will be heading a little farther north and riding through the town I was born in, adding about a hundred miles to the trip, had it been point to point. Of course I am sure I will find most of the craft breweries along the way and as an added bonus, I will be visiting my cousin in Lansing who owns a brew supply store. I actually just found this out last week from my other cousin. He's had it since 1999. How did I just find this out? There is actually a longer story in there, but I think I will save it for another time. Perhaps I will start a journal on the road and post here. Lots of people do that while touring on a bike. Since I am hoping to have more energy cycling rather than running, maybe I can actually keep up with one. Ahhh! I have threatened to do that before, so I won't make any promises.

Speaking of bike touring, here is the full set up.

I shot this while doing an overnighter last week to see if I was forgetting anything. It's best to be prepared! And boy have I prepared. I fretted over every choice, from the bike to the panniers to the camp stove. I am very happy with all my choices and I even realized a little bonus when I discovered that my Ortlieb panniers will also fit very nicely on my baby jogger making me look a lot less homeless!

Yes, I like cycling, but running is still my love and it is nice to know that the things I am getting will work for both. The lightweight camping gear will also work for backpacking if and when I decide to REALLY rough it and do the Appalachian Trail or a backpacking trip in Europe or elsewhere :) But first things first!

I'll head out from Mechanicsville, Maryland and ride through our nation's capital and from there enter the C and O Canal that runs along the Potomac. Then, after about 150 miles, I'll hit Cumberland and start down The Great Allegheny Passage. To say that I am excited about this would be an understatement. Chris and I did about 75 miles of this and it was my favorite part of the run. I always knew I would go back. I didn't think it would be this soon. This really is PERFECT!! Well, except I wouldn't mind having a lady riding with me and tour like these guys. But, you can't have everything.

From there, I will leave The GAP in Pittsburgh and make my way to Ann Arbor then Jackson, up to Lansing and on to Buchanan in time for the race on July 5th. I'll have 19 days to cover the miles which should give me a chance to see a bunch of stuff along the way but still give me a decent amount of miles to do, that I will feel like I have earned that beer (or 2) at the end of the day.

So that's that! That's the map and that's the plan.

As I look out the window of the plane, somewhere over northern Arizona, I am so thankful. Thankful to be traveling. Thankful to be meeting people. Thankful to be seeing so many beautiful things. Thankful to feel connected. But maybe most of all, I'm thankful that I stopped longing to be safe and started living. I think it's true that you don't really appreciate things until you don't have them. Or stated another way, maybe experiencing pain makes pleasure that much better.

As always, I'll post pictures on Facebook. But, I really am going to try and keep a better journal/ travelogue on here. It is much easier to read and eventually Facebook will go the way of MySpace... right? :-D

Paul

Beer cycling?

2012-04-24T12:55:00.003-07:00

Ok, that is one way to describe it. But I'd actually like to think that I am hitting the open road again, mainly to quench my longing for adventure. But, it is true that breweries will be a magnet and will determine some of my route. This is going to be a relatively short trip. I had planned to ride a bicycle from Canada to Mexico once I finished the project I was working on. But, I was advised that weather in the spring, through those states would be less than desirable. I will be starting to shoot Motocross on May 17th so, my window of opportunity has narrowed to only a few short weeks. I will also be running the OC Half Marathon on May 6th along with Brittany and I have several family and friends doing this as their first race. So, I need to stick around the area for that.

I have been so restless since my run. Seeing the over 8,000 pictures rotate as my screensaver, creates such bittersweet memories. In many ways, after doing something like that, you can feel like that was it, the pinnacle! I have spoken to other crossers about this and they said that the way they fought the depression was to have more adventures. This was always the plan. Even when I was out there (crossing) I was talking to Chris and Mike about what was next. I never imagined that it would be the end. I always thought it would be the beginning. For whatever reason, when I got back it didn't quite work out that way. I think partly because I was looking to do something bigger! Perhaps I thought I needed to think of something PERFECT. Now, I realize, I just need to get out there. I need more pictures. I need to create more memories. I need to look FORWARD to my life. And, it doesn't have to be perfect. In fact I don't want it perfect. I don't even want a plan.

So, my non-plan is to pack up the panniers, hook them on to the hybrid and head towards San Clemente this Thursday, April 26th. Julie from PubQuest, along with her bike, is going to take the train up from San Diego and we are going to meet at Pizza Port . Then we are going to make our way down to San Diego hitting breweries along the way. Then I will have 4 or 5 days to make my way back home for the race. It's only 100 miles so I will most likely make some detours. The mileage is not long and it is not an exercise in endurance and I don't have it mapped or planned other than those two destinations. That is out of character for me and very exciting. I just want to explore, have an adventure and see where it takes me. This will also serve as a nice test run for a longer tour in the fall. I'll see how much I like being on a bike as opposed to running and if I decide to do something on a bike, what works equipment wise and what doesn't.

It feels great to sit here and have something to look forward to. I remember on the run when I would look at the map and see a part of the route that I hadn't done yet. I would realize that at that point it was just a line with a name or number on a map, but after I had ran it, it would be a memory and it would, from then on, always hold meaning and, most likely, a really great story. Maybe that is what traveling means to me. Creating a connection between me and places on a map and the people along the way. There is no better, more intimate way to do that than to run or ride it. I am so glad that my run won't be the end of that road, but God willing, just the beginning.

Weight training

2012-02-19T20:17:00.001-08:00

Back in 2005 when I decided to join the gym and dedicate myself to becoming fit, I started out doing what most people do when they join the gym, I started lifting weights. Perhaps it was because I was approaching 40 that I knew I needed a strategy. Or the fact that my job no longer consisted of me "swinging a hammer", which kept me in much better shape then my lifestyle choices would have otherwise. I knew that I needed to be active to prevent myself from getting "out of shape" and feeling the age I was about to become. So, I joined the gym. I had belonged to a gym for years. I payed a lot of money the first 2 years and then was able to keep the membership up for some ridiculously low price, like $25 per year. But, I would go maybe once or twice every two years or so and that was it. It never stuck. I vowed that this time would be different.

looking back, I guess there were a few reasons why I was able to start a routine that eventually turned into a lifestyle that I would never want to abandon. It wasn't that I had more will power. I believe that will power is rarely what's missing, I looked at the endeavor with intrigue. I wanted to learn about fitness and learn the science behind it. I bought a book and made clear goals. I had my workouts and I followed them. It became about that, not getting muscles or really being fit. Of course that was a great benefit from it and it's what started it, but you really have to enjoy it for it to become a lifestyle. It did enjoy it and it made me feel really good.

I worked out lifting weights for about a year, when my daughter Brittany asked me if I would be interested in doing a 5k race. I had never been a runner and in fact HATED running my entire life. I had major leg surgery when I was 8 years old and aside from the pain from that, I was always told (and it's true) that I run funny. But, one of the things that I was doing as part of my workouts, was run/walking on the treadmill. I had gotten up to about 15 minutes straight by this time, so the thought of a 5k (once I figured out how far that was) didn't seem THAT out of the question. So, I told Brittany that I would do it with her.

I remember the first time running went from something I dreaded to something I loved and WANTED to do. I had just finished 2 miles or so on the treadmill. I was sitting on one of those fitness balls and I was dripping sweat and my body felt so relaxed, like I had just gotten out of a jacuzzi. I've always had back problems and used to pop Tylenol like it was candy, just to get relief and to feel like I was feeling right then. I felt amazing and I wanted to ALWAYS feel like that. And it was natural.

The rest, as they say, is history. I fell in love with running and have done a ton of races, did some triathlons, including Ironman, ran across America etc... But it didn't come without a little pain. I went through all the usual growing pains that come from your body adapting to the new stresses that come from running. Shin splints, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis, etc... but I worked through them and look forward to (hopefully) running until the day I die.

But wait! There's just one problem with all of this. That day that I fell in love with running? Just like a teenager falling in love, I dumped everything else in favor of it! Sure, I spent a little time with the weights for a few months. throwing it a bone, doing just enough so I felt like I was doing something. But as my races got longer and my running training schedule got more intense, the less I cared about any type of strength training. Who needed it when running made me feel so good? When I started doing triathlons, at least I was getting more of a balanced workout because of the swimming, but still, when it came time to strength train, I would gloss over it. I just didn't want to train with weights. I hated IT like I used to hate running.

Too much of a good thing is not good and even though I have tried to convince myself that running is all I need, I know better. I have not been overall fit and am in dire need of strength training. So, I have taken these last 2 weeks that I have been recovering from the marathon to get reacquainted and fall back in love with WEIGHT TRAINING!

And, I am happy to report, that with a few helpful tools, it is working and we are rekindling our relationship :)

One of the things that has been really helpful is to have a program to follow. I have tried several apps to help me with this in this past and didn't really like any of them. This time, on Brittany's recommendation, I purchased iPersonalTrainer for the iPhone. It's an amazing app and it's only .99 cents. I look forward to training my 5 days a week and I can really feel the effects of the workouts. Also, they built a new gym near my studio in Burbank and it is a real pleasure to work out there.

I guess what has become obvious to me (again), is what I preach to everyone else. I needed to make weight training fun for me again. It wasn't that I was lacking will power, it was that I didn't give it enough attention and find ways to make it interesting so I would WANT to do it. Now, hopefully I have done that enough that it will stick and it will be something I'll never toss aside in favor of a "new love". I think I have room in my life for both and I'll be better for it.

Paul

Some thoughts on training

2012-02-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

I've been analyzing my finish time in Sunday's marathon and (for once), trying to nail down what I did RIGHT! I've already talked about the fact that I followed Hal Gigdon's training program more carefully and did ALMOST all my speed work and didn't simply run slower to avoid injury. However, there was something else that was different this time around. I didn't overtrain! I did follow Hal Higdon's advanced marathon training plan, but I noticed a couple of weeks ago that the plan I was following lacked an 8-10 mile run midweek, like the plan I had followed before had. There were no mid week runs over 5 miles. I'm certainly ok with doing higher mileage, but I'm thinking that this allowed me to do my speed work more effectively. I also refrained from doing a bunch of extra cycling. I did weight train, but I really did try and save my energy and focus for my MAIN goal which was a sub 4 marathon.

Now, armed with this feedback, I am looking forward to my next goal and FOCUSING on achieving it. One thing I will say though, my legs are still very sore and I have only run one mile since the race. The lower inside of my right shin STILL hurts, so, I do see the potential for injury. I will have to keep that in mind as I shoot for faster times. In any event, I am excited!

I think I will be doing The OC half Marathon on May 6th, where I would like to do around 1:45. My PR is 1:48:17. I think that is doable, given my splits in the full where I was definitely holding back because it was a full marathon. The half is and has always been my favorite distance so I am looking forward to really nailing it. My Niece Stephanie and her Husband Jake will be doing the 5k as their first race (which I am very excited about, and hope to be the first of many for them) along with Brittany doing the half. Then, most likely the Long Beach Marathon on October 7th, where I will try and take everything I learned from Surf City and try and better my time. These three races make up the Beach City Challenge and earns you a cool medal, so why not? I love these races anyway! Brittany has committed to all three and I am looking very forward to doing them with her. It is great to be excited about doing races agin. I realize how much I really miss it!

I am also registered for the Malibu Creek 50k on March 3rd. When I registered, I had thought I would be working until mid March, then have a little time off. The plan was to do my tour (whether running or cycling) from Blaine, Washington to San Diego, CA as soon as I was done with this job. If I was to run it, I figured it would take about two months. I have been also giving serious consideration to cycling it and making it more of a laid back trip where I could have the flexibility to see all the great breweries along that route and see more things and meet more people along the way. I got a call a couple weeks back and got offered to shoot Motocross starting in May, with a couple shoots at the end of April. I shot Supercross for three seasons and love the gig, the people and of course the travel, so I took it. This changes my plans a little for a Canada to Mexico trip. Hmm... what to do? I could fit a cycling trip into that window, but I would have to back out of the 50k since I would need to leave in a couple of weeks. I will be done with the job I am working on, BUT, I started thinking about my training for the upcoming races. Yes, I would be riding the whole time, but it is certainly not the same thing. I don't want to just run these races, I want to better my times and really focus. I've also been getting more dedicated to strength training and muscle building and riding a bike from brewery to brewery WILL be a bit of a setback in that area as well. SO... I have a lot to think about. Right now, it is just trying to prioritize and decide what appeals to me the most. I would also be doing the ride (running it does seem out of the question at this point, given the time constraint) in the rainiest season. I haven't decided yet, I will just keep an open mind and let circumstances point me in the right direction. Either way, I have great things to look forward to and that in itself is a nice change.

Paul

Finally.... A SUB 4 MARATHON!!!!

2012-02-06T20:24:00.000-08:00

Boy am I happy to finally be able to write this post. I finished the Surf City Marathon in 3:56:16!!

I went into the race hoping to finish in under 4 hours, but told myself that I would be happy just to PR. Well, I did both and PR'd by over 10 minutes. I couldn't have been happier.

The wonderful weekend started off on Friday, when my race buddy (and daughter) Brittany and I went to the expo. We love Expos and spent over 3 hours going to every booth, checking out the merchandise and trying all the samples. Unfortunately, our favorite vendor, Dirty Red Gear, wasn't there so I wasn't able to buy Brittany anything from her, but we did see some other cool stuff like this.

Which is something I say, but wouldn't wear. And, this

Which is something we both say, in fact it was printed on Brittany's bib for the race. She didn't end up getting any clothes but we did get new race belts from Hippie Runner and they worked great. They were lightweight and didn't bounce during the race. Yeah, we really do love the expos!

Leaving the expo, we had someone take a picture of us at the entrance and as we were going back to my truck, I looked into my window and caught this.

The inside of my truck was dark but the reflection in the side view mirror was glowing. It was phenomenal! Even better than what I captured, as when I finally got the door open and lined up the shot, the sun had set a little more and it was glowing a little less intense than it was a minute earlier. Nevertheless, it was a magical moment and a precursor of the weekend to come.

My start time for the full was at 6:30 and Brittany's was 8:10 for the half. With almost a full 2 hours between our start times, I wasn't sure if Brittany wanted to go that early with me, but she said that she wouldn't want to sleep in on race morning anyway, so my Dad was kind enough to drive us both down to the race to avoid parking issues and we got to enjoy a perfect morning together.

We got there so early, it was dark and there was hardly anyone there yet.

A few minutes before the start.

I was very nervous for the race. I trained right on my paces and managed to stay injury free, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to achieve my goal. In the past, I know now, that I had trained too slow. I had had injuries and started doing low heart rate training. Well, too much of that makes you... slow! So, I really stuck to my prescribed paces for a 4 hour marathon and this time would have no excuses.

I also decided that instead of going out at a 9:09 pace and trying to maintain that throughout the race (putting a lot of pressure on myself in those last 5 or 6 miles to not slow down) I would do what I know is not recommended and go out a little faster and bank a little time. I was pretty confident I could do this since I did my last 22 mile run at 9:11 pace and that was a training run and felt fine at the end.

Here are my splits with heart rate.

Mile 1 8:41 167
Mile 2 8:25 179
Mile 3 8:25 179
Mile 4 8:38 181
Mile 5 8:19 179
Mile 6 8:25 180
Mile 7 8:16 183
Mile 8 8:21 182
Mile 9 8:35 180
Mile 10 8:10 178
Mile 11 8:27 177
Mile 12 8:33 177
Mile 13 8:23 178
Mile 14 8:17 180
Mile 15 8:33 181
Mile 16 8:30 180
Mile 17 9:03 178
Mile 18 9:30 175
Mile 19 9:25 174
Mile 20 9:56 173
Mile 21 9:49 174
Mile 22 9:23 175
Mile 23 10:10 173
Mile 24 10:33 173
Mile 25 10:31 174
Mile 26 10:13 175
Finish 9:27 179

My overall average heart rate was 177, compared to previous marathons, this was 2-3 bpm lower, so I definitely don't feel like I went out too fast. I slowed at the end mainly due to fatigue in my legs, not overall fatigue and when I finished, I felt great everywhere except my legs. I felt much better than I had in any prior marathon. I had figured that if I could get to mile 20 by about 2:50 minutes, I would have an hour and ten minutes to do the final 6.2 miles. I got to the 20 mile mark at 2:53 and felt comfortable with that. I kept doing math in my head and knew what pace I had to maintain to come in under 4 hours. My legs were feeling heavy and I walked the water stations the last few miles and did a gel and some shot bloks that were provided by the race. By 3:30 I only had 2 1/2 miles left and was pretty sure I was going to make it. I did get a slight cramp in my left calf that luckily didn't turn into a full cramp, then about 5 minutes later, got one in my right calf. I thought, that might be the only thing that might actually stop me from my goal. Luckily it didn't.

Running all of those "marathons" across the country really helped me mentally in the race. It has erased the stigma of 26.2 miles in my head. Yes, there are all the physical things that happen when running 26.2 at this faster pace, but I have run more miles so many times that I could tell myself that it was "no big deal". It worked enough to keep me going and not slow too badly. I only had one pace group pass me and that was the 3:55 pace group. I have had pace groups pass me in past races and it is so demoralizing. Watching your dream go past you literally sucks! But with a 1/2 mile left to go at 3 hours and 50 minutes, I was sure the 4:00 pace group wouldn't pass me this time. It was the best half mile of my life. I enjoyed knowing that I was finally going to break 4 hours and let myself smile and enjoy the crowd. I opted to not listen to any music this race as well. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it, but I sure did not miss it. I felt more present and was able to be in my head more, mostly in a good way.

My Father came out and cheered us on at the finish. Brittany finished the half in 2:28:33 and her goal was 2:30. Mission accomplished for her as well! We met up with my Dad and went to the beer garden and met some friends, then, met a coworker of Brittany's who organizes the cycling volunteers and had a great conversation with them over some Stone IPA. Wow! what an epic day!

Now that I have finally ran a sub 4 marathon, I need to come up with another goal. I would need to shave 26 minutes off of that time to qualify for Boston. Somehow, that seems a little less out of reach now!

Paul

Good training

2011-12-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

My training for the Surf City marathon has been going fantastic! It feels so good to have all of my runs in my calendar and have a specific goal that I am working towards. It makes me a little disappointed in myself that I sputtered along for so many months. But, I am back at it now and I must say, I have never felt this prepared for a race since I started racing. My paces are all on track for my goal time. Looking back through my stats leading up to all of my other races, I am consistently close to a minute per mile faster. That's a good thing. When I first started running, I was plagued (like most people) with some injuries that threatened to sideline me for awhile. That really bummed me out and I discovered low heart rate training. Which basically gets you to slow down a bit, which in turn, tends to mitigate future injury.

I believe in low heart rate training, but like anything, TOO MUCH of a good thing is bad. You HAVE to mix in speed work or else you become, well... slow! It worked out ok for me because I needed that huge aerobic base for my cross country run, but, it wasn't that great for races. Now, I am mixing in speed work, tempo runs, hill training, Lasso 800's etc. and everything is working beautifully. I did my last 20 miler at a 10:01 avg. which is much better than my previous long runs leading up to my marathons. My tempo runs have been very comfortable at around 8:30's and it was effortless to do a sub 9 the last mile of my 12 on Sunday. All very good signs to shoot for a sub 4:00 marathon. Boy wouldn't that be great? But, I will be happy with a PR of 4:07 or less.

Now, all this running has got me thinking about another adventure. Of course running across Europe holds a great appeal for me. But, realistically, that may be a few years off due to logistics. So, maybe something a little more close to home. Possibly the southbound route from Canada to Mexico, or maybe Maine to Key West. An east coast run sounds like so much fun! I have become so fascinated with history that my own little tour of the 13 colonies would be amazing. We'll see, but it is very much on my mind and when I do a big run this time, it will be coming from a happy place. Not running away from anything, but towards something. Meeting great people and seeing beautiful places. That sounds like something to look forward to!

Goals are good!

2011-12-08T20:43:00.001-08:00

Yes, goals are good! It's funny, I kind of forgot this for the last year or so. It was hard to get excited for a race, but once I committed to doing the Surf City Marathon, everything just sort of fell into place. My training has been going very well. I have a goal time in mind and my paces have been right on target for my projected time. It has been nice to be training at higher paces as opposed to the slower paces that I was training at in preparation for my run across America and the couple +50 milers I did earlier this year. I have a 5k this Saturday that I am running with Brittany and I am very excited to be able to do races with her, now that she is a California girl again :)

I would love, of course, to PR the 5k. I'm not sure if I can do better than a 23:13, but I'm gonna try and it's gonna hurt. I get the most nervous for 5k's because there is no time to settle in. It's uncomfortable the whole way at close to my max heart rate. I prefer half marathons, but there's nothing like a 5k to see where you are really at.

I have retired the Vibrams for the time being and have been running in these.

The New Balance Minimalis shoes. After running so many miles in the Vibrams, I needed to find a very light shoe and these are working great. There's no doubt the Vibrams helped my form tremendously and switching to these shoes has made running a faster pace seem almost easy. And now, I can step on rocks and I don't feel it. That's a good thing!

So, I have taken my own advice, registered for races and have very specific training runs in my calendar. All is right with the world.

Paul

Surf City Marathon

2011-11-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had such a bad headache that once it was gone, you felt better than If you had never had it? That describes, pretty well, how I feel right now.

Chris and I finished the run one year ago on Wednesday. It's been an interesting, and quite honestly, a tough year. Ive struggled with setting a new goal, which for me and most people reading this, I'm sure, is a must to keep my sanity. My only real goal for the last year has been to see how much of the beer, that I've been brewing, I can drink every night. Of course, I'm pretty good at hunkering down and achieving the goals that I set for myself..... this probably hasn't been the best thing to spend my time on.

Depression!

Since I have been back from the run, I have become FASCINATED with history, particularly American history. Seeing so many amazing places across this country, especially east of the Mississippi, has given me a voracious appetite to learn as much as I can about our past as a nation. In my studies, I have been especially interested in the Lewis and Clark expedition. For obvious reasons, I am intrigued by their story of crossing this country. It's easy to draw a parallel between theirs and our journey, although, I will concede that even though the "Galt" and the baby jogger and Chris's bike and trailer were harsh conditions, they didn't compare to what Lewis and Clark encountered on their journey west. But what is no doubt the same no matter when and how you embark on such a long trip, is how you are forced to look inward and confront yourself, sometimes what you see is good, sometimes it's not so good. Also, the things that everyone gets accustomed to, the daily routine where your own little world, with it's trivial details, becomes drastically stripped away and suddenly, it's hard not to see the bigger picture. The TV doesn't matter, who's ON the TV, REALLY doesn't matter. How many toys you have or how nice your clothes are, just doesn't seem important. It's hard to step back into "regular life" where those priorities are crammed down everyone's throat 24/7. It's easy to feel like an alien at times.
I've told the story of all the people that tried to hand me money when I was pushing the baby jogger. They thought I was homeless. It makes me think sometimes. "Homeless"?? It has such an automatic negative connotation to it. I'm not talking about freezing, starving people here, with children, looking for shelter. But I would venture to guess that there a a good number of people who CHOOSE to be "homeless". They are "dropping out" if you will, from the rat race that has been created as a result of the industrial revolution. I've seen a documentary on this and there were several people who said it. They don't want to play the game. And I understand. The rat race is a hard thing to go back to and it's hard not to ask "why?" Even though it was way back in 1809, I wonder if these weren't some of the feelings Lewis and Clark had? Sadly, Meriwether Lewis shot himself. Luckily, I haven't been that depressed.

Selfish

I've talked about it before, I believe that the thing that I needed to discover about myself, and I DID, in a REALLY BIG WAY! Was how selfish I've been my entire life.
One of the hardest things for me, has always been to find balance. In this case, it has been about being strong, being true to yourself, not letting people get in your way, being goal oriented and accomplishing anything at all costs!! But, in doing so, I realized out on the run, that I have hurt many people over the years, not caring how they've felt, only caring about myself. It wasn't malicious, it's that my priorities were wrong. I thought that the ends justified the means and that if I could achieve everything that I wanted, I could provide everything to the people that I loved. There's that saying "The road to ruin is paved with good intentions".

It's easy to only think of yourself. More so now, with the "Me Generation" and our reality shows, facebook feeds and twitter feeds all about US. Even my blog, is mostly about me. We have slogans "If it feels good do it!" Or my new favorite "Follow your heart". Which the more I think about it, is just an excuse for people to do whatever they want, often ignoring any commitment they have made. Like they need to do whatever it is that they are being lead to do by some inner voice. I've always listened to that voice inside me, but I've also argued with it when I need to. When we have people like Kim Kardashian (who I have no kind words for) saying that she "followed her heart" and filed for divorce 72 days after getting married. Clearly, not everyone should be listening to their heart.

Of course, listening to your heart can be a really good thing. Again, it's all about balance. As it's never good to hurt someone else. It's also not good to hurt yourself. In my pursuit of being "selfless" I managed to lose myself. It's been nobody's fault but my own. I stopped thinking about me and what I wanted. I stopped communicating with friends. I stopped dreaming about the future. I stopped living, basically. I was waiting.... waiting for something that I had no control over. I've always told my daughters that the best way you can be good for someone, is to be the best person you could be. Here I was, not taking my own advice. Finding that balance is hard. For me, it is being strong, motivated, goal oriented and driven, without hurting anyone in the process.

So, why am I laying this all out in my blog? Because I know we all deal with this in some form or another. If you do endurance sports, you've no doubt wondered if all of your training is taking too much time away from your family. Or if the hobbies you do are worth the time you devote to them, etc. My conclusion is to exercise "rational self interest". I think of it this way, if a plane is going down, and you have a baby next to you, it's better to take the first breath from the oxygen mask, so you can keep giving oxygen to the baby. That's not being selfish, that's balance!

So, I've finally started thinking about me again and registered for my first big race since being back. I'm doing the Surf City Marathon on February 5th. Pretty cool since this was my first Marathon back in 2007. It feels great to be training for a race and have a training schedule in my calendar! It also feels good to be me again, this time, hopefully keeping all of my priorities in order.

What's next?

2011-07-20T19:54:00.000-07:00

What do you do after you've done something you never thought you could do? That is the question I have been asking myself for the past 8 months. For me, that thing was running across the country. It was such an epic journey for me that most things pale in comparison now. It has been hard to get excited about training for any races. Of course, after running such long slow distances, training to get faster at any distance is a formidable enough challenge. I could train specifically for any distance and focus on time. That would be good, but so far I just haven't been able to commit to a race. I did do a 56 miler around a park near me in March and trained to do 100 miles around the same park in April. The park is 4 miles around and it served as a good place to do it for logistical reasons. I had my own little aid station in my truck and 4 miles is a perfect interval. The problem was, BOREDOM! My 100 mile attempt ended in disappointment when I stopped at 14 loops, doing 56 miles once again. Physically, I could have gone on, but the motivation wasn't there. I guess you can't underestimate the threat of an official DNF or just the existence of a good old fashioned finish line. Perhaps even the lack of support from spectators or actual aid stations played a part. I would definitely like to do a 100 miler in the near future, but it will definitely be an organized race! Speaking of long distance races or "Extreme Marathons" if you'd like to call them, I took part in episode of Runner's Roundtable in April. That was fun and there were some interesting stories told of some really cool adventures.

As far as training goes, I have been averaging about 25 miles a week, which is on the low side for me, along with about 2-3 hours of cycling a week. I have started weight training which feels great! Running all of those miles before, left little time for lifting and now the body feels much stronger than I did with my emaciated upper body from my run. Oh, I miss triathlon training! Perhaps another Ironman.....

On the run, we toured several craft breweries and since then, my love for great American made beer has turned into a love for brewing. I brewed my first extract beer in January and just recently started brewing from "all grain". As with any hobby, there are many things to learn and many more things to buy! There is a real science to brewing beer and it is fascinating, all the many aspects of it. And of course very gratifying when you end up with a great finished product. In this case, a closet full of my favorite types of beer! It's a good thing I run so much :)

I've been working on writing my book about the run. I have about 18,000 words, which is 8 chapters in my case. Talk about tough! My original reasons for the run slowly transformed to a spiritual journey in which I confronted many things about myself and my life. There was a lot of time to think during those 120 days of running and what I learned about myself has motivated me to share in my book, what I believe were the reasons that I needed to do the run in the first place and what I learned about myself in the process. Like the memories that came flooding back while running through the desert in winter or through the Great Allegeheny Passage in fall, writing things down about your past can be an emotional experience. It is very cathartic, however and I hope that it is inspiring. AND, I hope that it doesn't suck!

So, the goal now, is to come up with a goal! One that will excite, inspire passion and preferably scare the crap out of me. I don't think there is such a thing as being "fearless". It's doing things in spite of your fear. And that is where I am most comfortable and feel most alive. I'm looking forward to it!!

Cadence

2011-01-30T18:59:00.000-08:00

I just read an article at "The Runner's Roundtable" about the average cadence of 6 Kenyan runners who ran at UTEP. Here are some numbers.

Pace per mile Avg. Cadence

7:40 175

6:43 181

5:58 185

5:22 191

4:58 196

I went back and found my second fastest 5k (my pr race didn't have cadence data) and found these interesting numbers. I ran 3.14 miles in 23.26, which is a 7:27 minute mile. My average cadence was 190! The Kenyans are a whole 2 minutes per mile faster at the same cadence.

My average heart rate for that race was 194. My max heart rate is around 210 and I believe my threshold is around 170. So, I was working hard.

Longer distance as a comparison? My fastest marathon 4:07:44 (9:22 pace) average HR 180, my cadence was 182. Fastest half marathon 1:48:20 (8:16) average HR 190, cadence 182!

What does that tell me? I don't think my fitness level is why I am not fast. I think it is my mechanics. I either fix that or I might as well get used to and be happy, being a slower long distance runner.

How much can you change your natural gait?

Liberty!

2010-11-10T12:11:00.000-08:00

I am VERY happy to report that a goal that felt seemingly impossible and started with a tweet "I think I am going to run across the country" in June of 2009, became a reality on Tuesday, Nov. 2nd 2010. Yes, election day :) We certainly didn't plan it that way, but as with everything on this run (aside from the broken feet and 5 month break) things seemed to go the right way.

Before I get into anything (and I have a lot to write) I want to thank everyone for their encouragement, love and support! I can't begin to express how much it meant to me to know that there were people who cared about what we were doing. There are so many people to thank and I want to list them all but I am terrified of missing someone, which would make me feel terrible, so I will hope that you'll all know that every message, tweet, gesture, phone call, meal, place to stay, or donation (even though 9 times out of 10 we were successful in politely declining them, some people are terribly persistent :) were appreciated beyond words and if there was ever a time while we were out there that I didn't respond appropriately, please forgive me, I was probably really tired :) We never expected anything from anyone on this run, so people's generosity, love and support was humbling and inspiring and has changed me in profound ways.

THANK YOU!

Now for some stats.

Our journey from CA to NY ended up being 2,904 miles. We started at the HB pier in Huntington Beach and ended in Battery Park, NY at the ferry station. I didn't run around the ferry like I said I would. I figured I had earned a ferry ride and quite frankly, I would have looked stupid :) Besides, we could have taken a ferry from NJ and ended up with less miles, so I figured running the 13 miles through Manhattan more than made up for me getting to put my feet up the last 2 miles. AND I get to put "NY" on my leg.

Total running time 714 hours, 11 minutes.

Average pace was 14:41 minutes per mile (I was hoping for under 15!) with an average heart rate of 136.

Of the 2,904 miles, 2,336 were completed on the first part and 567 on the 2nd part.

We completed the run in 146 days (on the road) of which 125 days were running days for an average of 23.23 miles per running day.

Comparing the first part of the run to the 2nd:

I averaged 23.12 miles a running day the first 2,336

and 23.64 miles the last 567 miles (not bad considering, pushing the 100 pound baby jogger over the hills of Pennsylvania:)

According to my Garmin, I burned 532,509 calories. That's ALOT of beer!

Speaking of my Garmin, I tracked EVERY step with my Garmin Forerunner and when I post a picture like the one below, it feels great to know that the line represents GPS data that was gathered from the watch on my wrist. I could be very anal at times as I wanted to be able to zoom in on that line and see where my feet touched the ground all the way across the country. I am so happy to say that I was able to do that (except on the ferry:) and if anyone is interested, email me and I can send you the .GPX file. It's pretty cool to do a tour in Google Earth :)

So now that it is complete, what did it all mean? Or, as a friend of mine asked, "Why do you do this to yourself?" Good question and thank you for asking. I know that you specifically are asking why I abuse my body as you were commenting on a picture of my "Cankle".

But, it gives me a really good opportunity to talk about "why" I decided to do this in the first place. And through that, I hope to answer why I do this to myself.

I was asked many times on the run, why I was running across the country. It was always a hard question to answer and I always struggled with it. Even on the website I dance around the issue. I know that we could have done a much better job of conveying a more focused "mission statement" or "call to action" but somehow and for some reason, we could never package it in such a way. My hope was that somehow people would understand, by the things that I did say, why I was doing this. I know there were a lot of people who understood, but there were many people who weren't following the whole run and may not know why. I hope this will explain it. Now that I am done, perhaps this is the first time I feel the freedom to be completely honest. So, hopefully it's not too much of a drag to talk about. If it is, skip down a couple of paragraphs, it will get a lot more positive. And please understand, as I tell this, that I in no way think my problem is unique. I know that many people are struggling right now, many are much worse off than me, with this economy, and many are out of jobs or in a mortgage that is under water. Which makes it even more important that I tell it. So here goes.

Debt is not an easy thing to talk about. There is a stigma, or at least there used to be, to having a large debt and the stress of owing someone can be very difficult. That is why, with the exception of a few credit cards when I was young, I stayed out of consumer debt. I paid cash for everything and lived within my means. I've always had an independent spirit and always preferred freedom over security. This usually meant that I would prefer being freelance or "self employed" to working for someone. About 10 years ago, I took a big risk and went into debt to finance gear for a recording studio. I struggled for a couple of years but then through perseverance, spending most of my time honing my craft and lots of faith, I started getting some clients. I set up my studio at a Post facility, they had a good amount of work and my risk started to pay off. I paid my taxes but, due to bills, child support, etc. I wasn't making estimates. So, I would be behind and have make an installment agreement. I never missed a payment. But, still, I owed. It was small the first couple of years and it was manageable. But I had a couple of good years, right about the time that I paid off my gear. NO WRITE OFFS!!!! Uh oh! I still lived within my means, but was able to do a few extra things like rent an apartment and pay for my daughter to be in her dorm. Still, nothing extravagant, and no consumer debt. The first year it happened, it put me over the limit of a simple installment agreement and then the second year it became completely overwhelming and unmanageable. Of course, with a tax debt, you are paying interest and penalties and it can spiral out of control very quickly. Mine has "spiraled" to the tune of about $63,000.

Again, I do not say this to elicit a "Poor me" response. I am far from alone. I am just so analytical and anal that I spent so much time analyzing what went wrong and more importantly what is wrong with our system that it drove me to drastic measures. Why didn't I just "shut up" and pay what I "owe". Well, therein lies the crux of the matter. The income tax is based on what a person produces, not on what he consumes. If a person not only gets taxed more because he produces more, but gets taxed at a higher percentage, how could that NOT be a disincentive to produce? I realize that is a pretty broad argument and may fall apart to some degree when you are talking about people who make millions or perhaps billions of dollars. But, when you are comparing people who make $30,000 compared to $80,000 a year and punish the people who make more with a higher tax rate, to me that is the redistribution of wealth. Plain and simple.

Secondly, As anyone who is self employed knows, there is a "Self employment tax" which is the money you pay into Social Security, which is supposed to be for your own retirement. When you are self employed, you pay twice the amount that a person who is employed pays. To add insult to injury, if you owe back taxes, you now must pay interest on your "retirement fund". It is a wonder why anyone still has the stomach to be an entrepreneur in this country. And perhaps that is why so many can't make it. It begins to look awfully appealing to just get a job and be "safe" rather than take any sort of risk. I actually believe that that is what we are seeing in this country. People throwing up their hands and asking why? I believe this is a huge part of our problem. I have thought on occasion that I would be better off getting a low paying service industry job, then to try and pay off what I "owe". Can anyone see the problem with this? It is an unintended consequence of our system.

It's also worth mentioning the problem with "withholding". Most people work for an employer and have their taxes "withheld" from their checks every week. They never see their gross pay so they don't realize that the market will pay whatever they get paid before taxes. They never see that other money, so they never miss it. I have said it for a long time and am now hearing other people say it. If everyone got paid their gross pay and then were required to write a check for their taxes every paycheck, our income tax system would last about 1 week and there would be MANY more people in my situation. Perhaps that is why self employment is discouraged.

The taxes I am talking about is the Federal Income Tax. I want to make it clear that I understand that as a society, we have to pay for things. I want to pay my "fair share" and my belief is that my "fair share" should not be based on what I make. It should be based on what I consume or services that I use. If I go into a store, I am charged for what is in my basket. Can you imagine if your bill were not based on that, but based on your income? That is the income tax.

Our system is broken. Most of us know it. Our country is bankrupt. Even from the time that we started planning this run until now, things have gotten much worse. We are grasping at straws. There is moral hazard everywhere. Our debt has become so large, it almost doesn't mean anything anymore. It is frightening.

There are so many more political points I would like to make but this post would never end. Instead, I will answer the question that I was asked so many times. "Why are you running across the country?"

I originally ran because I was angry at my tax debt for all of the reasons above. I wanted to illustrate a point. If you punish the people who are willing to sacrifice everything, then, as Margaret Thatcher said "You eventually run out of other peoples money". No one will feel the incentive to produce. Everyone will take the "safe job".

That is the reason that I started the run. But as I made my way across the country, many things changed for me. I became less angry (and believe me, I was angry). I looked inside of myself and saw things I liked and things I didn't like. I talked about some of that in my last post. But mostly, I came to realize what really mattered in life. And that I can be angry at our politicians and let it poison me or I can try and change it. If our Government is truly of and by the people, then it is US that need to change.

I saw a beautiful country full of people that have become way too comfortable. We want everything easy. We want to watch other people live their lives on TV rather than go out and live our own. We need to start pushing our lawnmowers instead of sitting on them. We need to start producing more and consuming less. We need to stop looking to the Government to solve all of our problems. We need to take responsibility for ourselves. We all need to strive for something exceptional. We all need to dig down and remember when we had a dream and we need to do something to make it happen. There is nothing special about me. I have only been running for 5 years. I am an average runner at best. Too many people say "I couldn't do that". I am proof that you can do anything that you set your mind to. We need to regain the American spirit that once drove us to be pioneers and hope that we will be rewarded for it.

When I decided to stop in May, it was the most devastating decision I have ever had to make. I don't regret it because I learned more about myself during those 5 months than if I had tried to keep going. Going back out and finishing the run was always the plan but when it came time to do it, I was deathly afraid! I have to thank Chris and my parents from the bottom of my heart because if it hadn't been for them, I am not sure I would have gone back out there. This was the defining moment. And the point is, fear is normal. It is what you do with that fear and whether or not you let it rule you, that determines what you become.

So, what is next for me? Well, I have a bit of a tax debt that I will be working to pay off. Luckily I love what I do, so I will continue to work in sound. I want to start working on some music again and perhaps go out on some auditions for some acting gigs. Also, along the run, I developed a great love for photography. Being on foot gives you a unique perspective and I was able to take pictures in a way that is not practical from a car going 70 MPH down the interstate.

I plan to publish a coffee table book of my favorite shots from the run. I also plan on writing a book about the run that I hope will inspire people. There is so much more I want to say and haven't written about that I believe would be of interest. Like how I dealt with and eventually overcame my panic disorder after facing it head on in Tucumcari, NM. I'll continue to run, but perhaps some nice little short races for awhile :) I would like to do some things for charity. A fellow crosser Ashley Kumlien is planning a cross country relay for MSRuntheUS and another crosser and friend Jim McCord is planning a coast to coast charity relay in 2012. Chris is busy working on the Documentary, So, even though I believe we could have done more while we were out there to have a more coherent message, I pray that we have a shot at making a difference now that we are finished.

So, finally, to my friend that asked me "Why do you do this to yourself?" I say, it is because I always want to push myself. I always want to be the best I can be. I always want to strive for something better and magical! I want to live life to it's fullest! And I know that those things don't come unless you take risks. It may be uncomfortable, it may hurt, you may even fail, perhaps many times. But if you pick yourself back up and learn from your mistakes and keep going, you might actually make it. And it is liberating!

Paul

The journey continues

2010-09-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

As Chris posted .... 10/6/10 ! That is the day that we will be begin finishing what we started. That is the day that we will pack up the xTerra and drive back out to Hebron Ohio and pick up where we left off. This time without the Galt and yes....this time in SHOES! That is the day when, with every step, I will begin to erase the disappointment I have felt the last 4 1/2 months. It's also the day when I will have to confront my fears. Fears that are ironically more pronounced then when I left the pier in Huntington Beach. But, I WILL confront them and we will continue on our journey. And although the biggest lesson that I learned through out this last year, has been to let go. I have had to learn all over again that letting go doesn't mean that you stop fighting and striving for your dreams and goals. For though we may not be in control of our outcomes, we DO have control of our efforts! How ironic that a "control freak" would have to relearn this :)

So, the plan is to restart the run on the 9th. Exactly 5 months after stopping and exactly 9 months to the day from when we started. And although I am very disappointed that I had to stop and we didn't finish in one shot, I am happy that we will be continuing. I will try and post more to this blog, even if they are short posts and I am also going to try and shoot a bit more video and post to YouTube. It should be interesting out there as will we be "roughing it" more than last time... (is that possible?) But, I plan to take more time to enjoy the experience as I know from looking at the pictures from the first 121 days how awesome it is on the road. I am really looking forward to Pennsylvania and seeing the historical sights along the way. Oh boy.... here we go again!

NEVER give up.... cause it's not over until it is over. Those aren't just words, I have truly come to know the meaning.

Soldier on!

Home again

2010-05-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

I've tried several times in the last 5 weeks, to write this blog post. Until now, it has been very difficult to wrap my head around what happened in the 4 months between Jan 9th and May 9th. I am just now getting to the point where I can think about the run and not (still) have it scare the living crap out of me. It's hard to explain why I feel a bit uneasy looking at a map of the U.S. and I am not sure if I really KNOW why, but I will try and shed some light on it and maybe in doing so, I can better understand what is going on in my own head and perhaps I can help other people conquer some of their fears, or maybe, talk some sense into anyone thinking about doing something as crazy as we did :)

It started with a tweet "I think I'm going to run across the country" 6 months before we left the pier in Huntington Beach. It would be my "Run for Liberty" where I would use my love for running to voice my displeasure at what I see as an overreaching government, and more personally, speak out about my own "tax situation". With that first tweet, I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into. I have always been a dreamer and I like to challenge myself with big goals. I know, having done it a few times, how the road to achieving your goals, can be a real roller coaster ride and that it is usually "darkest before the dawn" and how hard it can be to stay the course. I knew the preparation and planning that would go into it, the sacrifice and focus, the training and pain, the excitement and yes, doubt that would all be part of this adventure. Failing, however, would never enter my mind. And if it did? "I'll crawl if I have to" I'd say, and few who know me, doubted me. Winning at all costs? During my journey, I came to realize that some costs are too high (more on that later). First, some statistics...

Our journey lasted 121 days ending in Hebron, Ohio. In that time, I ran 2,336 miles in 100 running days, averaging 23.3 miles a day. I ran for 558 hours, through 10 states. My longest day was 33.15 miles and 7.71 was my shortest. I ran an "ultramarathon" (more than 26.2 miles) 21 of those days. 82 of the days were over 20 miles. The longest stretch without a rest day was 20 days, covering 519 miles. I burned approximately 280,320 calories over the entire run and each one of my feet hit the ground about 3,017,250 times. That's a lot of pounding and in the end, I think was responsible for me falling 525 miles short.

So, what Happened?

I can't stand the thought of quitting! I can be very stubborn and persistent. It's ironic that my stubbornness is what most likely led to me having to stop. I want to be really careful not to start placing blame. I take full responsibility for my decisions and I could have done some things differently and most likely had a better outcome, but to explain what happened, I need to tell the story as it happened.

First of all, I believe in the benefits of barefoot running. It is a great way to improve your form and force yourself to forefoot strike. But like anything, too much of a good thing can be bad. My goal from the beginning was to run across the country in the Vibrams. I imagined that they would want to sponsor me as I would be one of, if not THE first to do so in their shoes. I would find out about a month into the run that they would pass on sponsoring me because I was "Political". Well, this just solidified my determination to cross in the Vibrams. Didn't they realize that by NOT sponsoring me that that was sending a more powerful political message? Didn't they read this from my website? Now I HAD to finish in the Vibrams. Like I said, I'm stubborn.

The first couple of months, my feet held up pretty well. I did bruise my right heal in the first week, after landing pretty hard on some rocks as we were off road in the California desert. But it wasn't bad and it really didn't affect me too much. In fact, looking back at video, I am pleased with how we took those mountains fairly easily. The first time I can remember running into any trouble, was near the beginning of Oklahoma. Chris and I both got sick. He was throwing up, but me, since I never seem to throw up, just felt sick for a couple of days. It slowed my pace and generally messed up my rhythm. I also started missing my family ALOT! I would get pretty emotional out there and I had a few good cries in Oklahoma. I know, sort of embarrassing, but anyone who has done any endurance sports probably know what I mean.

Things turned around a bit (emotionally) in Oklahoma City. We got our first major press coverage there and it felt great to finally start getting our message out. A few days later, we got to Tulsa Oklahoma and spent a couple days with my family. This really helped lift my spirits. We were about half way to New York and physically I was still in decent shape. The front parts of my feet were starting to go numb, but it didn't concern me too much. I still had energy and numb feet were better than painful feet. We were still a couple of days ahead of schedule at this point, so even though I had stepped up the mileage to about 150 miles a week, we were still taking rest days every 6-8 days.

Time was a concern. I really did not want to finish later than May 28th. I had a couple of family things that I wanted to attend to, also, every day that we were out there, cost money and money was an issue (more on that later). We ended up taking an extra rest day in Tulsa and then another day (due to weather) a couple of days later in Chelsea, OK. Now, my comfortable cushion of time was dwindling away. I felt the pressure. By the time we hit Missouri, I was really focused. I thought of little else besides staying on schedule. I did 20 days straight, covering 519 miles. I felt ok during this time (energy wise) in fact, I think I enjoyed Missouri the most. But, things started falling apart with my feet. Anytime I ran on the interstate, things went well. Big wide shoulders with very little debris and rocks. Running on the back roads was a different story.

As you can see, the shoulder is full of ROCKS! If I had been in shoes, I could have ran right over them, but after a couple thousand miles, every tiny little rock felt like a hot poker. Bummer! On roads with a lot of traffic, it was real hard to keep any sort of decent pace. It was much harder to walk than it was to run, both physically and psychologically. The slower pace added hours onto my time everyday, which in turn wore me down physically. By the time I hit Ohio, I was deteriorating rapidly. We took a rest day at the Ohio state line and I knew my feet were pretty bad. They hurt every night up until this point, but I was always surprised at how they would bounce back (relatively) the next morning. I would swear at the end of every day, that my feet wouldn't work the next morning, but somehow, they would feel better the next day. This was starting to not be the case. They had gone from feeling numb to feeling numb and swollen. I also started to feel worn down and sick. Due to the longer days, I often lacked the energy to eat properly at the end of the day. Not good! I used the rest day to try and refuel and give my feet an ice bath (something I'd rather not talk about :). Ironically, as bad as I felt, the day at this Ohio campsite is one of my more fonder memories. It was a rainy day, Chris and Mike went and got some pizza and beer and we sat and listened to music. It was one of the few times I stopped thinking for a moment and enjoyed where I was at. It was day 114.

The next week, and Ohio was pretty much a blur. To stay on schedule, I would need to do at least 25 miles a day. I did 102 miles in the next 4 days and needed another rest day. Things at this point, did not look good. We took a rest day just outside of Columbus and even after resting for a day I was still wrecked. Two rest days after 100 miles, with 550 miles to go. This was the "I'll crawl if I have to" point. Up until now, Mike and "The Galt" would generally go ahead 25 miles or so and find a base camp for the evening. Chris had been riding on his own since Oklahoma (which made more sense, time wise, now that we were out of the desert) and I was running alone with my Nathan hydration pack. If I was going to continue, we needed another strategy. We decided to take it 5 miles at a time. Mike went up 5 miles and waited for me and Chris, it was more of a security blanket for me. If I got in trouble, I wouldn't be out there alone. We did this for 21 miles ending in Hebron, Ohio. I had enough. Chris said I looked like I was in some sort of controlled fall forward mixed in with a shuffle. I ended the day saying that I would see how I felt tomorrow. I was dehydrated and weak. I woke up the next day and knew there was no way I could go back out. I was done. We decided to go 25 miles east, to a campground and see if I could get it together.

There were many factors at play in our decision to stop. First and foremost, at that point I couldn't continue. I have been in situations where I was extremely uncomfortable and in pain. Ironman Arizona '08, where 17% of the field did not finish and this race comes to mind. I feel like I know the difference between wanting to stop and not being able to continue. I felt that my body was done and if I tried to keep going, I was going to do some serious damage to my body. But, it didn't stop me from questioning my resolve. In any event, if I were to try and keep going, I would have to rest up for a few days. Chris, Mike and I talked and I decided to give it a day to see how I felt. I did some major soul searching that night. Not only would I be stopping, but it would force all three of us to stop. This weighed heavily on me as well. It would have to be our decision and the guys were very supportive and I am very thankful for that.

I learned a lot about myself while I was out there. 558 hours of running gives you a lot of time to think. It was like a walkabout meets a near death experience. Not to be overly dramatic, but it really did show me what is important and what is not, on so many levels. It also made me reflect back on my life. Everything came into sharp focus. Some good things, some not so good. One of the "not so good things" is the fact that I have been very selfish at times in my life. This weighed heavily in my decision to stop. I started to think about what I would be risking if we took a week for me to recover. We would be late for sure. It would cost more money (which was getting tight). It would also eat into my remaining time with my daughter Brittany, who is getting married and moving to Colorado at the end of July, and possibly make me late for my daughter's graduation. All things that I was unwilling to sacrifice. I kept thinking, am I willing to sacrifice these things for my pride. At that point, I felt like continuing at all costs would be yet another thing that I was selfish about, so I could say "I ran from CA to NY". Perhaps I was delirious, but I know I wasn't making excuses. The run was over and my body was done. Looking back now, I know I made the right decision. But at the time, it was devastating.

We stayed at the campground for another day and then drove back home in 3 days. My recovery has been difficult. I didn't realize how long it would take to feel "normal" again. I spent the first 2 or 3 weeks, laying in bed. Part exhausted part depressed. It's hard to explain exactly how I've felt. For close to the last year, my life has revolved around this run. When I got home, nothing looked the same. I could write a book on this subject alone. It has been really hard to get my bearings on things. I have felt like a fish out of water. Perhaps some of it is because we didn't finish. A sort of limbo? Or, perhaps, I have changed profoundly and I need to find myself again. I have started to feel better now that I have started training again (mostly cycling) and have worked a few days. Idle time is not good for the body or the mind. But, I am actually starting to feel "normal" again (whatever that means).

So, what now?

Like I said, it has been hard for me to wrap my head around the run. As I start to train again, I am thinking a lot about going back out and finishing. Honestly, that thought has only been in my head for the last week or so. But now, it actually sounds appealing. We learned so much in those 4 months. Things that we could do to make the last 525 miles easier. Also, ways that we could be more effective with our message. There is still work to be done. Maybe, we'll go out and finish the run and then go to some key states and campaign for some candidates... Nevada?? Oh boy! Here I go again......

I apologize if this post is a little rambling and not very elegant sounding. I had to cover a lot of ground and it was hard to get it all down in written form. But, I didn't want to put it off any longer. There is still so much more to say. I do think I am going to start writing a book about my experiences out there. There are some things that I think might help some people, like how I dealt with my panic disorder while I was out there, etc. But, like I said, way too much to post here.

I would like to say THANK YOU to everyone who followed the run! I can't begin to tell you all how much it meant to us to have your support and read your posts on our adventure. It made me feel much less alone out there. I really miss talking to everyone :( I've laid low these last few weeks, I figure you all could use a respite from me and my posts after all the posts during the run ;-) Now that I have actually addressed what happened, I can start talking about the future.

Soldier on!

Paul

Christopher Creek, AZ

2010-02-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, it will be one month since we left on my " Run for Liberty". It's been 30 days and we've gone roughly 550 miles, through 2 states. It's hard to believe that I have covered every one of those miles with my own two feet, under my own power. The irony is, the running has been the easy part. Yes, it hurts at times, especially towards the end of a 26 or 27 mile day, of which there has been quite a few. But for me, running is a comfort, it's familiar. I trained for months, specifically for what I am doing now. I know it well and I usually know what to expect. I wish I could say the same about everything else on this journey.

Everyday brings a new challenge of which I have little control. Most of the logistical duties are handled by Mike. He finds the next base camp, after I determine (roughly) how far we'll be running and riding that day. I look on my Maps app on my iPhone and I try, as best I can, to scope out a road or area that we can safely park, from the sattelite view of the area. Then it goes something like this. "Ok, go up about 24 1/2 miles and you should see a road, we probably can't go any further because there's nothing for another 18 miles". Then, if all goes well, Mike texts or emails the base camp location to me and we run into base camp. So far, that's happened maybe twice :) Ah... The control thing, we have very little of it.

Right now, I am laying in a bed (for the first time in a month) in a cabin in Christopher Creek, AZ, being taught a thing or two about control (or lack thereof). Christopher Creek is a very small town off the (main) highway 260. It has a market, a church and a restaurant/bar called the Creekside Steakhouse. There are 2 mobile home parks and the rest of the residences are cabins. I suspect that most people that live here are happy to be tucked away in the middle of nowhere.

As we were running into "town" on Friday and commenting on how we may have just stepped into heaven (it reminds us of the town in "Big Fish" but with lots of snow) Mike pulled up in my xTerra with the bad news. "The Galt is broken". The leaf spring broke and up until Friday, I'd never heard of a leaf spring. Well, it's now Monday and I sure as hell know about leaf springs. First off, if you are driving 20 miles to a junk yard to find a replacement, take the old one with you before paying $50 for one that's "close, but won't work". Secondly, if you break a leaf spring in the middle of nowhere, you'll probaby have to drive at least 90 miles to get a new one and wait until Monday to do it.

I guess it's ironic that I am running across the country and I am being stopped by a trailer. I don't really know what to think about that. I have been tempted to strap on my Nathan and just go. Or maybe Chris and I could set out and Mike can hang back and catch up when it gets fixed or maybe I should just chill, (did I mention the snow?) "let go" be thankful for the rest and enjoy this little fairy tale town we stumbled into. I mean , there must have been a reason that this happened here, right in front of the Creekside Steakhouse. It could have happened anywhere and as bad as I want to go, I already miss this place.

We did go another 8 miles to the top of the rim on Saturday. At 7,500' elevation, it pretty much flattens out. So today (hopefully) after the Galt gets fixed, Mike will drive us there and we have 23 miles to Heber. After that, we start the long decent to route 66. We are about 310 miles to Albuquerque and will try to make it there by the 20th for a charity 5k.

Hmm, I wonder how much control I have over this one.....

PB

Mobile Blogging from here.

The waiting

2009-12-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

2 weeks until we leave.... and I am sick :(

Not "super bad" sick, just "feel generally shitty" sick. I've taken the last 3 days as rest days, which worked out okay, since it is Christmas :)

Aside from battling this nasty cold (or whatever it is) I have been doing very well in my training. Last week I ran 73 miles and my body is holding up well. I am fully acclimated to my Vibrams, and now, I don't even notice that I am not wearing conventional running shoes. As of today, I have 492 miles on my first set of Vibrams (classics) and they are still going strong. My parents bought me a pair of KSO's for Christmas. These will be better for the cold weather as they cover more of the foot.

I also got a great rain jacket from REI. The Marmot PreCip Jacket

It is tough to dress appropriately when you are running in cold weather. I HATE being cold and I always tend to wear too much when going out on a run, even though I know that 5 minutes in, I will be shedding clothing. I am going to have to go into REI and try different layers under this jacket and try and anticipate the conditions I will be in, the next few months. The jacket is a small and I plan on wearing it over my Nathan hydration pack as well. I have to make sure it will fit in a small. I may have to exchange it for a medium. Did I mention I hate being cold!

Speaking of weather, at least Chris and I will be shielded from the elements, somewhat, in our shiny, new (to us) trailer! Our home for the next 4 odd months, our own 15' of luxury.....

THE GALT MOBILE!!!

That's right! Chris found this little beauty and we couldn't pass it up. It will tow behind my XTerra perfectly and I think it says "Rugged Individualism" like no other trailer (in our price range) that I have seen.

Speaking of "Going Galt", I made a difficult decision a couple of weeks ago, that I won't get into at this time, but although it was a hard choice to make, it afforded the run to become self sustaining, financially. Without us having to take donations or turning the Galt Mobile into "NASCAR" with logos all over it. Now, the only logos or stickers on it, will be ones we really want, to promote our message. We'll have our PubQuest banner and some cool stickers alluding to "Atlas Shrugged" and the like. I'd love to find someone to paint this on the side.

Or maybe this

Then again, we don't want to call too much attention to ourselves. I already feel like I'll be dodging bullets out there. And Chris? well he's afraid of something else entirely.

In any event, we are close and it is VERY real! I am starting to pack and get everything together. Next week, I'll wrap things up at work, and the next week, will be spent making final preparations and alterations to The Galt and buying food, etc. I am really looking forward to this, as running all of these miles and working has been extremely taxing. Hmmm... interesting that I would use that word ;)..... taxing. I digress.

Again, I have to apologize for not updating my blog more often. I have thought many times of abandoning this space since it is so much easier to just update twitter and facebook. But this really is a special place where I feel like I can talk about things that I can't on those other spaces. But, having said that, I do know that once we leave, I won't be able to update here, as much as I would like. So, if you would like to follow, please follow us on twitter and facebook. Also, of course, the "Run For Liberty" website and our "Run For Liberty" facebook page.

Anyone that is in the area, we are leaving the morning of Jan. 9th from the HB Pier. We'll be down there at 8 am and plan to start around 9. Julie from PubQuest is riding the first 3 days with us and it she is helping us coordinate the Craft Breweries and Brew-Pubs that we are stopping at along the way. I have added the places we are stopping, as events on our facebook page, so stop by there to see where we will be the first 3 days. I will be adding them as we make our way across the country. It is a lot of work and since the schedule may change a bit here and there, I felt it better to do it as we go along.

It's already been such a long road and we haven't even started yet. I am tired of waiting. I just want to run!

Paul

8 weeks to go!

2009-11-15T17:34:00.000-08:00

It seems like yesterday when I posted that it was 180 days until the start of the run. Well, a few days back, we hit the 90 day mark and just as I was getting ready to blog about it, we went and changed the date. We are now leaving

Sat. Jan 9th!!!

Which, according to my calculations, is 54 days from now. This is a good thing. I originally set the date for 2 days after the Surf City marathon and the 2nd annual MGM Reunion. There was a problem with that start date. My youngest daughter Jasmine, is graduating from High School on June 16th and our original schedule put us arriving in New York about a week later. I figured I could make up some time and do extra miles. If I not, I would fly back for a couple of days to see her graduate. Dumb idea and way too stressful. So, the decision was made a few days ago to move the start date up a month. What a relief! It has already proved to be a better start date and to be perfectly honest, I would go now if I could. So Jan 9th it is! And I get to see this one Graduate!

My training has been going well. This week I start doing 2 runs a day to see how I'll hold up on the road. I am very excited! My Coach is watching me closely to make sure I'm not overtraining and most of all eating enough.

We have finished episode 4!

Now, with the Long Beach Marathon out of the way, I am looking forward to focusing more on the run. The next episode is going to be about Chris and why he is going on this Whacky adventure. Speaking of Whacky..... Well, I'll wait to talk about that until I know more.... We'll also be shedding some more light on the inspiration for the run, how the Libertarian message plays a part and of course, the Craft Beer connection! Very exciting stuff.

Paul

Sponsors, charities and endorsements

2009-10-27T06:56:00.000-07:00

We are 105 days away from starting the run. It is getting very real and very exciting! I have finished the route and already know there will be some minor changes, such as planned rest days and some detours here and there to hit the local Brewpubs. But it is a good starting point.

As the day approaches, one question grows louder. How are we gonna pay for it? I wrote the paragraphs below to help answer that question. It is going on our website, on our "Sponsor" page. Oh and if anyone knows of someone who needs an RV transported from CA to NY and doesn't mind it taking 4 months, let us know. Another win/win :)

A friend of mine recently offered to donate $100 to the run. It was an odd moment. I was extremely grateful that he would believe in what we are doing enough to give us money to help us accomplish it. But, it brought up some interesting thoughts, regarding charities, sponsors and endorsements.

Let me start by saying, this is in no way a judgement on anyone else, or in any way questioning anyone else's motives. There are many people who do things for charity, as I have in the past, and I am sure that their reasons and motives are genuine. I am now speaking only about myself and our upcoming journey.

I have very specific reasons for wanting to run across the country. They are, by and large, a matter of self preservation. Which, stated another way, could be called selfish. I do hope that through what we are doing, many positive things come out of it and it helps and inspires other people. That part is not selfish, but to try and find a charity to somehow make it seem selfless, would be disingenuous. It would be much easier to sell to people and would probably look better in local newspapers, but it would not be true.

We could put a PayPal link on our website and take donations... for... US. But that would be the antithesis of what we believe in. Working for what you have in life. I certainly don't want to be a charity. It could be argued that spreading the message of personal liberty and less Government is a valuable message and very important to a lot of people, therefore a lot of people would be willing to donate to something that they themselves may not have the time to do. But, again, something just doesn't feel right about asking for money. So, no PayPal link.

So, how do we work our way across the country? Chris and I are in production. We are shooting this for a Documentary and we are posting webisodes as we go. Naturally, there is a good opportunity for companies to sponsor the run in exchange for exposure. Ahh! The old win/win. A mutually agreed to contract, the way it is supposed to be. I believe that we can fund our journey through sponsors. But, with sponsors brings potential pitfalls. Do we have to temper what we say? That doesn't sound good. I can understand a large corporation not wanting to be affiliated with certain things that don't align with their customers views or beliefs, but does a sponsor have to agree with everything I say? Chris and I, as much as we are like minded, do not agree on everything. In fact, we have gotten into a healthy debate or two about a certain subject, but that doesn't stop us from working quite nicely together. Sadly in our current society, it seems the threat of boycotts and the ever present state of "political correctness" has served to strip everyone of their voice, in fear of offending someone. Besides, if a company that makes a Hydration Pack sponsors me, it should be because I use their product and it helped me get across the country, not because of who I voted for in the last election.

We need sponsors so I can run. I am not running to get sponsors. I have been using certain gear since I have been running and unless I legitimately feel like switching to something else I will continue to use them. That is not saying that other products aren't great, I just believe in being honest. I will list the products we use and I would love it if some of them decide to sponsor us. But even if they don't, I am endorsing them. I think that is the way it should be.

Oh, and my friends $100... I told him to keep it. But, if he absolutely insists... well, I can't be rude :)

Paul

The agony of da feet

2009-10-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Oy! Sorry I just couldn't resist, for it is my FEET that I will blame for Sundays disappointment. Let's just get it out of the way-

4:24:07

That's close to 17 minutes SLOWER than lasts years race... I am supposed to be getting faster not slower.

Here are my splits, just to drive the point home.

mile 1 8:59

mile 2 9:10

mile 3 9:12

mile 4 8:52

mile 5 9:04

mile 6 8:54

mile 7 8:32

mile 8 8:50

mile 9 8:50

mile 10 9:00

mile 11 8:56

mile 12 9:06

mile 13 9:14

mile 14 9:24

mile 15 9:25

mile 16 10:06

mile 17 9:46

mile 18 11:14

mile 19 10:43

mile 20 10:45

mile 21 11:21

mile 22 11:46

mile 23 12:29

mile 24 12:22

mile 25 12:10

mile 26 11:32

last .2 10:36

I didn't even make it to mile 15 before I knew things were going south on me. But to be perfectly honest, looking back, I am surprised it went as well as it did. Because a week before the race, I could barely walk. My right foot was so jacked from doing 120 miles in three weeks in the Vibrams that I wasn't sure I could even run the marathon. 2 weeks before the race, every time my right foot hit the ground, it felt like someone was jamming a hot poker into it.

Yes, I overdid it... BIG TIME! But there was a reason. I usually buy new running shoes every 300-400 miles. I had been running in my present shoes about 600 miles (do I REALLY need to buy new shoes every 300 miles just because they SAY I do?). They were literally starting to fall apart and I was faced with a decision. Do I buy another pair of shoes so I can safely finish out my marathon training when I really want to buy the Vibram Five Fingers? Or do I go Gonzo and buy the Vibrams. Ignoring all the advice about safely transitioning to barefoot running and proving that 1. not only do I NOT need the overpriced shoe casts that the Nikes and Asics sell to us runners every 3 months or so, but 2. I also have an extremely high tolerance for pain and I can H.T.F.U. and suffer thru it.

I'm a DUMBASS!!

I ended up with the Vibrams AND a nice new pair of Asics Gel-Hyperspeed 3's

At least they are racing flats and very light. I did the last 2 weeks of training in them but unfortunately the damage was done. Starting barefoot running is a lot like starting running period. When you start running your body has to adjust. During this period of time, if you go too fast, you run the risk of injuring yourself (achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis). Even if you don't injure yourself, there is a period of adjustment where you feel little pains, like shin splints. You need to start slow, to give your body enough time to adapt to the new stresses you are putting on it. I have given this advice to many new runners. Well since running barefoot changes your running form so much (a good thing) then it stands to reason that a different set of muscles are used as well. It ALSO stands to reason that the same precautions should be observed if you go from running close to 5,000 miles one way and then switch everything up overnight. Duh! Enough said.

My Asics sure were purty at the race!

If I had to put my money on what went wrong, I would say that it was because I spent the last 5 weeks doing less than quality training. And if one things for sure, you cannot "wish" yourself a marathon PR. Yes, running and races are a large part "mental" but you cannot fake a marathon. The training has got to be there if you wanna improve your time. It wasn't, so I didn't. Well, it was 5 minutes faster than the LA Marathon in May. So I guess I can be happy about that.

So, Long Beach is behind me and I now have ONE focus. "The Run for Liberty". Yes I will be doing the run in the Vibrams and yes, I will pull my head out of my ass and transition wisely this time. Thankfully, I will have help with that. I have hired a coach to help me prepare for the run. I am really excited about it. He comes highly recommended and he is going to help me with my training and nutrition. I am sure I will be posting a lot about that in the next four months.

118 days!

Time flys!

Paul

Episode 3 Barefoot running

2009-10-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Everything is moving along nicely with the show! I am glad to have the new episode finished and posted. It has taken some patience knowing that we had to devote some time on back story for any of this to make sense. There is still a lot of ground to cover, but it is starting to come together. Here is Episode 3.

It is amazing how the run is taking on a life of it's own. Chris, me and my old friend Mike Cernak from grade school have been hanging out a lot. One of our favorite things to do is go Beer tasting on Friday nights. We LOVE Craft Beer! It's a whole movement that we are very interested in for several reasons. One of which, is the care and individuality that local brewers put into their creations. What better way to get a sense of the different communities that we will be traveling through. Brittany and I went to The Stone Brewing Co. on Sunday and toured the facility. It was amazing and they make great beer! There is a local place in Huntington Beach called BrewBakers, where they actually teach you how, and let you, brew your own beer. what better place to start, than in our own back yard. I am VERY excited to start incorporating this part of the run into the show.

With 4 days left until the Long Beach Marathon, I am going a little crazy with the reduced mileage (taper). It's going to be a busy weekend with our prerace dinner/tweetup on Saturday, then the race on Sunday. After the race we are going to meet up again at Rock Bottom for some microbrew Long Beach style. Hmmm... I am sensing a theme! But of course the main focus for me right now is a sub-4 on Sunday! So, with plenty of rest, some fast healing for my battered feet and some nice cool weather, I am hoping to see a 3:xx:xx on the clock.

Paul

Macro Blogging

2009-09-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

With all of this micro blogging, it is getting harder and harder to find time to do long form posts. I do believe, however, that blogging in long form definitely has its place and isn't going anywhere. I just wish I didn't procrastinate as much and sat down to update this blog more often. But, after updating my facebook page, twitter and dailymile page, I am pretty much "updated out" and struggle to think of anything I haven't already said in a more "stream of conscience" way. But, like I said, long form blogging is different and in this case, gives me a much better way of talking "in long form," which if you are reading this or know me, you already know I like to do. So, here's an update on what's been going on.

Chris and I have 2 episodes in the can for the "Run For Liberty"

Chris is busy cutting episode 3, which will focus on my switch to the Vibram Five Fingers and how that has affected my training for the Long Beach Marathon. The first couple of episodes have been a sort of introduction to me and the run. I am very excited to get more specific about different aspects of what we will be doing as we travel across the country. I am anxious for everyone to meet Chris and hear his story and why he wants to take this journey. We are talking about lots of different things we will be filming and highlighting as we venture across the country. It is looking like we will be roughly following Route 66 to Chicago, then to New York via Washington D.C. In a somewhat new development, we'll be touring as many Craft Breweries, or "microbreweries" as we can along the way. A true slice of Americana. Also, please head over to the map on the website and add yourself, as we are still planning the route and we are more than willing to detour a bit for a good tweetup or run with some friends.

As I said before, when I first told you all about this crazy plan, this is a journey and I can only see the first few feet of the road that lies ahead. As I walk down the road, more presents itself and it is this part that is truly fascinating. The trip is taking turns that I never anticipated and we are still at the beginning. Perhaps the best part is, the idea for this run started in, quite frankly, a VERY negative place. But, as time goes on, those negative feelings and reasons for the run are slowly evaporating and what drives me forward is positive. Although I am running for Liberty, my own and the actual Statue itself, in many ways I have already found it.

Thanks again for following me and if you want more updates than the one a month like I seem to only manage now.... well, you know where to find me!