Trails and Tribulations Podcast Dissects my Sick Brain

The fine folks at the Trails and Tribulations podcast called me up the other day.  We had a nice chat and they made a show out of it.  It was a great time.  Make sure to visit their site, try out some of their shows, and support fellow ultra-distance athletes who put hard work into sharing our world with others!

Taper Time

I've cut down on the running hours and found myself stumbling across some funny videos. Here's two that I particularly enjoyed:

1. (Not safe for work) F*ck Planet Earth

2. Puppy vs. Robot with classic Nintendo effects

This is why we run

This is what I've been talking about, folks. You run because your ancestors have been doing it for thousands of years just to survive.

ULTRA HUNTING

I talk about this often on my podcasts. Humans are bred to run farther and longer than probably any other terrestrial animal. We use our hands and brains to leverage our endurance by carrying water and outsmarting our prey.

Running is part of our survival. We have an urge to do it, just like sex, eating, and language.

The video reinforces the Galloway method. We are intended to take short breaks on occasion. You call them "aid stations", but your ancestors called it "finding dinner's footprints again." It's not about speed, it's about tenacity.

Don't run like something you're not. Run like you were intended to. Keep up a good pace, take walking breaks, hydrate, envision your next meal scooting off over the horizon, and run with friends.

Big ups to Scott Dunlap for the original post.

Thin is In

I planed on recording this podcast while running, but killed myself via aerobic-ness. So, I recorded it while going on a recover walk while Kai mountain biked in the woods instead.

This is a "meta show." Meta means "the data about the data." What does that mean in tri-terms? If podcasts were a bicycle, this episode would be about how carbon fiber is made. Not exactly useful, but it can be interesting.

Shownotes! No real training, but lots of discussion about

• Voice mail from Hawaii..


• Job's Apple Keynote Speech


• Thin is In.


• The Mac Air is really just an iPod with a keyboard.


• Let's be humans, not consumers.


• Greenpeace is in the PC judging business


• The Planet Bike Superflash will crush your corneas.


• Check me out as I destroy an episode of Trails and Tribulations.


• Josue Stephens is an Ultrarunner in Austin. He's superbad and trying to start his own race in Nicaragua.


• Think the weather sucks? Bill Bowerman says you're a sissy "There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."


• More running quotes.


• Love the trend of tech upgrading old firmware instead of making you buy new crap.


• Runner's high? More crack, please!


• Triboomer is a genius.


• Austin (the person, not the city) has a badass bomber bike.


• Simon is British, and we're ok with that.


• MORE VOICEMAILS!

Bamboo Bike Rack Progress

I have finished treating an 8 foot, 2 x 5 foot, and a 4 foot section of bamboo to make my bike rack. I also have found some pretty good wire laying around to tie it together. Here is a photo of two 5 foot sections wired together. Click HERE for the full res image.

It takes me about 20 minutes to treat 1 foot of bamboo. I still have a 4 x 5 footers and 4 footer to go. It's not hard work, just time consuming. I can tell from the two cross pieces that it is going to look pretty cool. And it is crazy-strong for it's weight. I took a 5 footer and tried to bend it over my knee. I think the most I could get it to flex is maybe a centimeter.

The only thing I worry about now is if it will flop over sideways. Cross-bracing it diagonally to prevent that won't allow the bikes to go where I want, so the best way to prevent that is with joint strength. I'll have to wait and see how it holds up before I stress to much about that factor. My dad is an engineer, so I'm sure I can pull him in for advice when the time comes.

I cracked up when I noticed all the surfboards, bike wheels, bike box, pump, and wetsuits in the picture. Check out the tiny Apple decal on the bike box, too. Somebody's a tri-geek!