Hi all,

(Congrats to all of you that did the Flight of the Vampire on Saturday. Sorry I wasn't there to cheer you on. I chose to do a trail race out of town that day.)

The weather is getting colder, the holidays are going to pounce on us soon, and the time is about to change. This time of year seems to spark a whole list of excuses for not staying active. I try to set a race in December or January each year in order to not allow the cold to become an excuse. I also force myself to head outside for a run on the first day the temperature drops below freezing so my head can accept that my body is not going to hibernate just because its cold.

In my quest to find a race worthy to motivate me for a long term goal, I found myself gravitating towards what I know and am "comfortable" with. The on-line search started with researching races that were Western States qualifiers. The vast majority of these type of races are in the Midwest and west. A lot are in the cold and at high altitudes. I've never been at high altitude and have no idea how my body would respond. Its also been years since tackling a race distance of 50 miles or more, so then that fear sets in. The search went from Colorado, Utah, and Oregon until I found myself back to the terrain I know here on the East Coast. Fear has a sneaky way of keeping you from expanding your comfort zone and stunting any possibility of personal growth. After catching myself drifting back to what I know, I made a commitment to take on a challenge each year that scares the crap out of me and in a place/on terrain I've never touched. Once I commit to something out of my comfort zone, I become invigorated and flooded with a sense of excitement that leaves me so excited I can't sleep at night. When you are that excited, you train whether its cold, hot, or wet. You keep the ultimate goal fresh in your mind and it makes the realization of the goal all the sweeter when its accomplished. What it also does is force you to embark on a journey, and the journey makes life amazing. Steps with purpose transform you and those around you.

Hi everyone,

More than a few thousand times I've come across people that are unhappy with their health, nutrition, weight, fitness etc... Yet, they don't seem to care too much about DOing anything about it. I am often in the same boat on this one. Many of you have heard my rants in the last few years of how out of shape I am and how I don't have time to train anymore. In reality, thats BULL SHIT! I made the comment of how out of shape I was last week at the front desk after a very brief and dinky 15 minute workout that more than humbled me. Amanda simply said, "Well...Do something about it!"

Thats as simple and as true as it can get. "DO something about it." In other words, "Stop whining. Stop complaining. Stop wishing. Simply DO." The stumbling obstacle for many people is the effort that goes into the doing. They, by definition, are doing, but the effort is a joke. By "doing", they have fooled themselves to believe they are "doing" all that they can. Think again..............

RESULTS take unwavering commitment, dedication, planning, execution, and yes.........much of the time it is NOT comfortable, convenient, or pain free. Hmmmmm......."Pain" free. We've talked about that before. Many of us are afraid to admit or think about the fact that if we've let ourselves go for 2, 10, or 30 years, its going to be a LONGGGG road of redemption. The journey doesn't have to be miserable. But, you may have to embrace discomfort. You may have to embrace a WHOLE heck of a lot of discomfort if you want to speed the process along. Don't misunderstand this email. Many of us haven't remotely tapped into what "pain" and discomfort we can endure or need to endure to accomplish what we "say" we want to accomplish. The point is the self discovery and positive transformations that can occur as a result of pushing past preconceived limits. If you don't embrace the storm, you may never see the calm and amazing beauty of the rainbow.

Life, like an ultramarathon has amazing opportunities to redeem yourself. No matter how awful things get, how searing the pain you're in, salvation awaits.

Its time to up the intensity, to break down walls, raise the bar, and transform ourselves mentally and physically.

"You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside of your comfort zone." ..........Percy Cerutty

"It's only when I get to a place where all my physical and psychological warning lights are flashing red, and then run beyond it, that I hit the sweet spot.".........Scott Jurek

"If you're not on the edge, you are taking up too much room."...........Randy Savage

Whats next?

Hi all!,

You all know Tyler and I ran the Art Loeb last Saturday. You also know I wasn't overly excited. I anticipated pain, exhaustion, and ridiculous soreness for the days that would follow. Like every long run, I learned several valuable lessons.

• Most of the time in life, what we worry about, fear, and anticipate do not happen.
• Things are rarely ever as painful as we anticipate them to be.
• The "journey" is amazing.
• It doesn't matter where the destination is or how long it takes to get there as long as you keep moving forward and are genuinely thankful for each step.
• If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you.
• Your mindset is everything.
• Gummi Bears are amazing!

These are just a few lessons of a Saturday long run. Sometimes it takes jumping into something you perceive as epic in order to break down the barriers that hold you back from experiencing greater adventures. If you are not having those clarifying moments, you may not be challenging your mind/body nearly enough. If you only do the things that you "feel" you could do, then I promise you are not going to reach another level. Every once in a while, we need to take a huge bite out of something that scares the absolute shit out of us. So.... whats next? Foot Hills trail November 16 and 17 sounds about mind boggling enough. I'm in! So.......What is next for YOU?

Hi all,

At times, I wonder why we do what we do. Sometimes, I brush off the question with not much thought, and do it anyway. Often times, regretting the decision later. So, why do I continue on with the same thought processes (or lack of thought process)? I've found, if I think too much about a challenge, I have a tendency to think about all of the reasons I should not do something vs thinking about all the reasons that I should. Some of the most memorable and priceless moments in my life have come from experiences I would not remotely jump into if I would have applied any sort of "logic". I've responded so often to ridiculous proposals, I anticipate my immediate response. "Sure! Lets do it!"

Last week I was asked, "Hey, do you want to run the entire Art Loeb (33 miles of 9,000 feet vertical!) next Saturday?" Without much thought, my answer was "Sure, I'll commit to that." WHAT?! Absolutely no "logic" or thought went into my answer. "Most" people would plan something like that wellll in advance with tons of specific training leading up to the day of misery. Truth be told though, I would probably never do much of anything if I waited until I was "ready". You just have to "DO" and have the mentality that the "doing" is getting you a little more prepared for the next ridiculous challenge. "Doing" in this case, with no prep, will leave me crippled for the next few months. But, not "doing" may lead to a good chance I miss an incredible opportunity and experience at an absolutely gorgeous time of the year. Bring it on! I'm sure I'll learn/experience something new. I'll take the learning, growth, pain, emotional ups and downs over stagnant, stale, same ole same ole any day.

As a trainer, I try to encourage people to tackle new challenges all of the time. I don't care if its a 5k, a hike, a bike ride, or a full marathon. More often than not, I hear, "I'm not ready for that" Stop over thinking, and just DO it. Life is FAR too short. Take a hold of every single opportunity you can and never let go of the willingness to embrace new and different experiences. Do NOT let yourself say, "I'll do it next year" You and I both know that won't happen. Carpe Diem. We don't have that many to seize in our lifetimes. The time is NOW!

Hi all!

I went on a run with Tyler yesterday on trail for the first time in a while. Tyler and I are teaming up do a race this Sunday, so I was determined to take it easy. (If there is such a thing as an "easy" trail run up a mountain.) I did something unheard of. I stopped at the top of John's Rock to take in the scenery. Living among the beauty that we are surrounded by here in the mountains, we too often take it for granted. We simply get too "busy" to breathe. I've found that if you're too busy for a run, for quality family time, or for God, you're simply too busy. I've said this more times than I can count over the years, but fail to actually make changes that will result in a balanced life. Why? Why do we have such a hard time getting rid of the junk in our lives and saying "no"? Two of the greatest gifts we are given are time and energy. We can't afford to waste those, but we do. Two of the main reasons: 1) Fear of rejection (whose approval are you seeking? Does it really matter?) 2) Fear of missing out on good opportunities. (Opportunity should not equal obligation. There are millions of opportunities. There will always be more opportunities than there is time to pursue them.)

In my devotion yesterday, I came across a quote from Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great. "Most of us lead busy but undisciplined lives. We have ever expanding 'to do' lists, trying to build momentum by doing, doing, doing. But, it rarely works. Those who built the good to great companies made as much use of 'stop doing' lists, as 'to do' lists. They displayed a remarkable discipline to unplug from all sorts of extraneous junk and channel their resources into only one or a few areas."

Great leaders, in spite of a multitude of distractions know how to keep things focused.

Today is the day. Lets get focused!