About Me

A little bit about me:

I have almost always been active at least in some way shape or form.  I didn’t always enjoy doing formal exercise but generally kept myself moving in one way or another growing up. (I’m sure my mom can attest to that being the case… as I’m sure I was a squirmy little boy.)

Bike: Growing up my family was out side of the city and I think biking became my staple form of transportation in part because it was really the only viable means to get to/from anywhere worthwhile because of the distance.  It was also quite a bit of fun… I learned to ride on some antique Schwinn bikes one of which included a banana saddle and a motorcycle style grip that made “engine” noises… it was the best.  As I got older through junior high and especially high school I graduated to more advanced bicycles and the first bike I bought for myself was an aluminum Schwinn Caliente 10 speed bike from the 1990s.  I did a number of rides on that bike until I bent the frame in a wreck while riding with no hands on the handlebars. (happened when a gust of wind caught the front wheels and I went over the bars…)

Swimming: We also belonged to the YMCA and spent summers at a family cottage on Lake Michigan and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to at least learn how to swim.  During a swimming activity as a boy scout was actually where I learned of my ability to pace myself for endurance events.  When I was a young boy scout I completed the requirements to get my lifesaving merit badge and part of that badge was to swim 1/2 a mile.  I recall clearly starting the swim with my brother and although he started out going out faster then I did I maintained a steady pace and after a while I passed him because I “paced” myself better.

Running: Whereas I have off and on been interested in biking and swimming running was a different beast than the other two activities. Running definitely didn’t come as easily as biking or swimming for me.  I actually had a couple of interesting experiences in my early “formal” running experiences.  The first experience I recall was when I was at a church camp as a youngster… one of the adult leaders invited a number of campers to participate with him when he went out for morning runs although I did it while at camp the habit didn’t end up sticking.  Several years later when I was in Jr. High I tried out for the Jr High Cross country team which was run by one of the science teachers from the high school.  Although I participated and attempted to enjoy cross country in part because I was not skilled (i.e. fast) it just didn’t take and despite racing for at least one and possibly two years I quickly left it behind for several years.  I didn’t start running again until many years later.

I finally started running again many years later… and when that happened I did it on my own terms.  When I was 24 to 25 years old I got tired of my pants getting tighter and me getting more and more out of shape so I decided I needed to get into shape.  I had been juggling for many years and decided that I wanted to start running… I found the idea running to be extremely boring as such I decided to take up joggling… at first it was very hard (not because of the juggling but because I was completely out of shape.)  I gradually built up my miles and although I have had a few years here and there where I have gotten in and out of shape I have been pretty good about staying in condition and really enjoy being active and really enjoy endurance (especially ultra endurance) activities.

I guess I’m of the opinion that life it all about the long game… its not about who gets there first but who can hold out the longest… and is important to make sure that you’re enjoying view along the way to boot.

I hope you enjoy what you see here.