Category: Adventure

SLOW DOWN IN THE HEAT

Some wise words from Coach Bennett from Nike Run about running in the hot weather:

“You don’t get fit by getting heat stroke. You don’t get stronger by being dehydrated. You don’t build endurance by getting sun burned. You don’t get faster by getting hyperthermia. And you don’t earn my respect by putting yourself in dangerous conditions that you are unprepared for. You lose it. Maybe that doesn’t matter to you. But I hope you know that you’ll never run as well as you can by hurting yourself. And that’s what prolonged exercise in extreme temperatures does. It hurts you. It doesn’t make you better. It doesn’t make you stronger. Be smart. be safe. Take care of yourself like you’d take care of someone you care about. Remember that sometimes the best run is no run. If you can do all those things then you’ll be one day closer to running that best run of yours.”

BRITTANY O’NEAL BIKING IN BROOKLYN

Brittany O’Neal with the smooth lines, speed, and power, slicing through Brooklyn streets and making it look easy (it’s not).

I lived in Brooklyn for about five years, and biked a lot of miles, so a few of those streets brought back a lot of memories. I didn’t cover those miles like Brittany does, but hey, that’s okay.

KEEP OUT

I’ve been through this abandoned tunnel multiple times over the years, dating back to the 2000s at the least. We’d park nearby, do a few miles on our mountain bikes, and then come here to cool off and enjoy the scenery on the other side.

Not sure what happened. Must not have been too bad, right? Or else there’d be a real fence here, I’d figure.

GOING OUTSIDE

I deleted my Twitter account 15 days ago, but I think I watched 10 hours of video on Instagram yesterday. Not literally, but it sure feels like it.

When we used to watch four hours of television a day, which would been four or five shows as we flipped around, now we watch four hours of videos on social media platforms and it’s from 10,000 different things.

After a nice six mile run yesterday (photo above), I was wiped out. So in the evening I was scrolling, and scrolling, and scrolling. This kept me up, and then I got to bed late, which messed up my morning plans to travel for another adventure on Sunday morning.

Today I deleted Instagram from my phone. I feel like I gotta delete my account and just be done with it.

BREATH TAKING

Some inspiring videos I’ve watched recently.

Tracksmith is a running brand that’s a little more racing / roadie vibes for me, but I love their photography, branding, and videos. And writing, dear lord:

What can a place really show us? Can we discover a new way of life? Can it open us up to a new part of ourselves? In sports, hardship, strain, and suffering are a given. But can the idyllic nature of training in paradise ease some of that tension and allow an athlete to improve at an accelerated rate?

I love that sorta stuff, and I’m so glad it exists on a website, and YouTube. I’m so tired of “consuming” these amazing things on my phone.

Mind you, I did discover Lachlan Morton doing his Alt Tour a few years back on social media, but again, I’m so glad there’s this 37 minute video to watch. I followed the clips here and there on Instagram stories, but you know how that is – 15 and 30 second blips, all between our friends and the other brands we follow.

I saw some Instagram stories (again) of Lael Wilcox riding to the start of a big race again, so I looked her up on YouTube and found this wonderful video of her riding the Alaska Pipeline – 800 miles in 3 days, 18 hours, and 47 minutes.

Again.. as I ween myself from social media, I feel like watching these sorts of videos is better for my soul, because they’re more like a nourishing meal, rather than some junk from the dollar menu at the food court.

RIDING

Since my half-marathon I haven’t run. A full week without running is odd for me. I haven’t been injured in a long time, and I just sort of always get out there, but for now I’m just letting my guts heal and stuff. No rush.

In the meantime, biking is a lot easier on the bones, so I got in this quick 12 miler or so after working at a nearby Starbucks. Nice way to end the day.