Fear and Running in Alaska

"I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." - Mark Twain

Emily and I hit the Final Frontier for our 10 year wedding anniversary, spending a week running in a mix of urban and remote wilderness. I recorded a podcast during the week, talking about the Zen approach to fear and a few other things.

Listen in to hear me broadcasting from a remote cabin, a suburban backyard, and an Anchorage restaurant. I reveal how to observe fear instead of becoming it, allowing yourself to live your life to the fullest.

Your links to more podcasts to teach you to deal better with fear are the following -

FEAR - By Zen Master Gil Fronsdal

Zen Garden - By Thich Nhat Hanh

No Ego, No Fear Part 1 and Part 2 by Robina Courtin

Being in Alaska, I go trail running through snow, almost collide with a moose, renew wedding vows next to a glacier, and spot a bear. Plenty of fear to go around, and there's no slowing down.

I also talk about two new pieces of gear that I'm using:

• The Nathan Triangle Pack allows you to carry a 22 oz. water bottle on your waist. I really like it. I can go anywhere I want for two hours and not worry about fueling.

• SLS sent me some compression socks and they work! This was probably the biggest run mileage week of my life (training-wise) and I finished it out with 12 miles wearing these and my legs felt great!

• I am doing a lot of night running to avoid the Texas heat, and the is my new best friend. It's so bright, I think it is actually making car drivers angry. I know that every driver is seeing me, and that's what I'm looking for.

There's also a voicemail at the end of the show from a guy who's making his own tri podcast out of Georgia. I checked it out and it's pretty cool! Here's the link.
SHOWNOTES!

• Chillin' on the deck of a cabin in Hope, Alaska. Population 130.


• Went trail running on the Powerline Trail. Mix of rock and knee deep snow.

• Went running in Anchorage. Almost ran over an "Urban Moose".


• Emily and I renewed our wedding vows standing next to Exit Glacier.


• Hanging out in Samantha's backyard in Anchorage.


• Samantha sings and plays mandolin.


• Gear Review! Nathan Triangle Waist Pack. It's great!


• We go bike riding around Anchorage.


• Emily, Samantha, and I at Bear Tooth's.


• Bike commuting home from work back in Texas.


• The Ragnar cometh.


• Gear Review! Amphipod Xinglet and SLS compression socks.


• Wrap up.


• Voicemails.

Gear Review - JVC Gumy Earbuds

You've probably seen these things all over the place. They're cheap, colorful, and gimmicky. But do they work?

I subscribe to the Can't Replace All Products (C.R.A.P.) purchasing model - if you buy expensive stuff, you'll lose or break it. Buy cheap stuff and it seems to lurk around for eons. I don't know why this happens, but the classic example is sunglasses. There is an inverse relationship of amount paid to lifespan.

Based on the C.R.A.P. model, I wasn't about to buy expensive earphones when I sweat all over them and can easily get them lost or caught in a Zipp 404 at 40 mph. Time to go shopping for cheapos!

So, the sales pitch with the Gummies is that they have a cool texture and come in colors. But do they sound like kag (Texas Aggie technical term) or are they good? Here's the results of my 6 month study on the little guys:

• They sound OK. I'm not blown away, but they aren't bad.


• The gummy texture is only the texture, it's not like they're mushy or anything. BUT, the slight stickiness keeps them in-ear when most would slide out from the sweat. This is a major selling point for me.


• The different colors are a good idea. I buy things in weird colors when I want to find them easily. Get white to match your iPod, or get some other color to pick them out from a jumbled mess of other cords.

So that's basically it. I beat the hell out of these things and they just keep on pumping out sound. I really love how they don't slip out of my ears like most earbuds do. For 10 to 15 bucks, you can't go wrong. Thumbs up!

It’s all downhill from here

I don't think I could have things any better right now.  A sure sign that something terrible will happen soon.

• I bike to work on a chromed out '73 Schwinn Varsity.


• Sometimes I run to work.


• When I run to work, I ride a mile each way to the showers at Gold's Gym on a Sector 9 longboard skateboard.  This was gifted to me by a friend for 8 bucks.


• My buddy is always asking me if I want to drive his '67 GTO.


• I ride a BMC TT02 at my local time trials on Wed. nights.  I even ride there, which takes all of about 15 minutes.


• My kid loves to tag along for rides on his tow-bike.

It's like I'm living in some kind of weird transportation porn movie.  And the whole time I've got theme music provided by my iPod Shuffle.  What a wonderful world we live in.

Are there ways you've turned your commuting/transportation into fun?  Post them in the comments!

Racing Tip - Racing Number Strategies

Speeding up your transition is considered "free time". It takes almost no training; just smarts. Let's look at a familiar culprit - the racing number.

• Use a race belt already. Safety pinning it to your shirt has NOOB written all over it.


• Put it on before the race, adjust it to where you like, then step out of it without undoing the buckle. When you come out of the water, you can slide it right on without fiddling with clips.


• Crumple the race number and then flatten it out. The wrinkles prevent it from flapping in the wind and irritating the hell out of you.


• I place mine in my helmet or across my shoes. Doing so keeps me from forgetting it. Placing things in your way is a strategy many people use to remember important things. For example, if you have something you don't want to forget on your way out the door in the morning, put in in the way of the door so that you have to move it to open the door. Also, don't put things on top of your car. Put them on the hood. They'll be right in your line of sight so you don't drive off without them.

Training Tip - Check your Tires for Glass Before Every Ride.

Flats suck. Everybody knows that. But what everybody doesn't know is that you can prevent most of them.

Here's why:

• Most flats are caused by little bits of glass.


• These little bits usually take plenty of miles to work themselves through the tires and into the tube.


• Checking your tires before you ride often finds these shards before they flat your tire.

Here's how:

• Turn off the lights and very slowly turn your tire with a flashlight pointed at it.


• Glass will glint in the light, showing you were it is.


• Pick out the glass, go riding!

It is important to remember that the second leading cause of flats is too low tire pressure. Check your tires for proper inflation before every ride. Also, I use a headlamp to check for glass and keep my hands free.

If you suspect that you just rode through glass, you can use your bike glove to "wipe" the tires while still moving. This is easy on the front, difficult on the back. Sometimes it's simply worth it to get off the bike, spin the tires, and knock the glass off. Compare 30 seconds of doing that vs. 10 minutes and money spent on a new tube and CO2 instead.