April 2014

April went really fast.  I keep saying that every month, but its true.  I have to get busy living.  So many great books to read, places to see, people to help, races to run, and so many new things to learn.  Lets Do it.

Travel.  I had a pretty good run this month.  I travelled down to the Southwest of Australia on a road trip for some camping and salmon fishing.  I was buzzing with excitement when reeled in my first salmon with my 35 dollar rod off Shelly Beach in Albany.  We cooked it up immediately with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Life doesn't get much better than that.

For my second swing off of the month, I took a trip to Bali Indonesia.  The balinese are just saints.  The people are so friendly and smile all the time.  I am starting to learn a few more Indonesian words and understand the people.  I was always perplexed and somewhat annoyed at how personal the questions are when you meet someone for the first time.  Where are you from?  What are you going?  Are you married?  etc.  I thought they were just talking to me because they knew i was a tourist and wanted my money.  It turns out it is their way of greeting a stranger and making conversation.  The other person is supposed to show the same interest and ask similar questions.  Anyway, the main reason for going to Bali was to take a wilderness first responder course.  I have wanted to take the course for a few years so just bit the bullet and went for it.  I am not sure how useful the information will be, but it is good knowledge to have.  I just like learning new stuff.

Running in Bali was Fun.  I put a lot of kilometers on the beautiful Champuan Ridge outside of Ubud.  However, I took one off chute and ended up at a pavillion in the middle of a rice field.  There were 4 half naked athletic looking girls standing outside.  It was a Meditation and Hula Hoop Retreat.  There were 150 girls inside each performing for the group.  I only managed 17 minutes on the run that day.  Do you Hoop?

Books.  Really Bad Month.  I basically did not read anything this month.  Played on the phone a lot, listened to a lot of podcasts, and consumed other types of media but not much reading.  Fighting now to get back in the rhythm of things.      

Training.  I have been getting into the weight room a bit more since the start of April.  I am trying to get some leg strength and resiliancy back.  I will keep it up hard for the next 3 months and see if it translates to better running performance.  Experience tells me it will

Looking Forward.  Heading to USA in September.  Next time I get on a plane will be August when i take part in the http://mtrinjaniultra.com/  .  I have 98 days to train.  Apparently it is really hard.  At least the is what the guy who summited MOUNT EVEREST told me.  It took him 3 days to complete the course and he said insane.  Ahh yep, 52km, 5100m vertical gain.  I must say though this is the first time I said hell yea to anything in about a year.  I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to do silly things like this.

Photo is...I dont really know.  I just picked a random one.  It's from Bali though.