First off I'd like to apologize for not updating this more regularly, sorry! However, what I would like to do is share with you my year in review for being an Altra Ambassador for Altra Zero Drop Shoes, and ooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh damn, what a year it has been.

This year was amazing in so many ways . . . first off I was chosen to be an ambassador for a brand of shoes that I love running and living in, and in that year I don't think I won one darn race! Can you believe that? What I did do was meet a lot of cool people and have some supertasticly wonderful times, conversations and experiences with all sorts of folks while I ran ten "official" 50k's (that's a touch over 31 miles for those of you metrically challenged); two 50 milers; three "official" marathons and four "official" half marathons (the reason I put "official" was because I was also training for a 100 miler and was running roughly 60-80 miles a week too)! All of them were pain, blister and injury free finishes . . . and I'm going to say a big part of it was the awesome shoes!

What I also realized in this year is that I am way better at social media the old fashioned way, talking with my mouth to real life people (not your avatar), in the this incredible 3D place we call the WORLD! So, here are some pictures from this last year . . . ENJOY!

runnin' with my son

shoe tying 101

My amazing wife and our annual 1/2 marathon (this is one of the only time she runs, because she likes running about once every . . . never)!

Capitol Forrest 50 miler

He wanted to hug it out!

Off to Orcas Island 50k!

"Dad, why did it take you so long to run? I'm tired of eating cookies waiting for you."

A little pre-race family gathering!

We had a trunk show at our training studio to share the Altra love!

What can I say? I like to rotate my shoes!

Susie asked if she could run a 50k? I said, "lets go find out!" Sooooooo, we did one Saturday!

They even hold up in the mud!

5 for 5 finishers at White River 50 miler

I hope you enjoyed a few of my pics from last year . . . this was just a fraction of my life! Along with this . . .  my son and I started jiu jitsu and it's been super kick ass! My wife and I have a thriving business of helping people reach their physical goals as well as recover from injury and I have running!

Running is my escape, it's my adventure and sometimes it's my sanity! I hope your 2013 was as incredible as mine, see you in 2014!

Running with My Ultra-Husband Isn't So Bad

Capital City Half-Marathon 2013

My first half-marathon was Capital City May 2012 and I avidly signed up for 3 more last Summer, eager to pursue the highly acclaimed Half-Maniac status. Needless to say I didn't touch another half-marathon until today...

You see, I'm married to an Ultra Runner. Yes, I capitalize Ultra Runner because to me it's significant, a feat in itself and I am so very proud of my husband(Bill, Will, William, Dad, Ultra Runner, Crazy) Call him what you like!

Back to Capital City 2012-I walked a bit, whined a lot, took a bathroom break that turned into no break but a literal walk in the park. However, the BEST was at mile 12!!! I became so overwhelmed with the idea of actually finishing I went into a bit of a panic. Ok, a lot of panic. Panic ATTACK! Bill, my husband, pulled me to the side and firmly reminded me that I could in fact breathe, because I was talking. He shunned away the medic, who was kindly waiting to call the ambulance. My sweet Ultra Runner husband also dropped a few F bombs on me, which he knew I needed, so I could finish the half-marathon I set out to do 2 hours earlier. Thank you Bill!

Capital City 2013-Today, finished, done & feeling good! Well sore, really sore. I don't train for these races, I barely even run. 4 miles alongside Bill nearly killed me a week ago! But here's what I know today, that I didn't know a year ago...1)The mind is a powerful thing, it tells your body what it CAN do! 2)The sense of Community & Camaraderie during the race is SO ME!! 3)Running with my husband, free of a panic attack, is pretty wonderful;)

Perhaps I'll run a bit more on the side, in preparation for a race or two. Until then, I'll enjoy the shoes, the skirts, saying Hi to strangers & enjoy the accomplishment of finishing a race(no matter how hard or slow it may be). Hey, I may even run with my Ultra Running Husband again someday!

Sorry it took so long, but here is a video of foam rolling!  These are some of the basics that should be done everyday if you can . . . have fun!

All these people have improved from foam rolling (except for the dude on the far left, he kept cutting into the picture so we made him join us . . . I'm glad he smiled)!

Do these 3 things everyday! If you are a runner then you need to do these things at a minimum every day.  If you lift weights (your body weight, Olympic lifts or machines at the gym) you need to do these things at a minimum every day.  If you SIT ON YOUR BUTT at work all day then you need to do these things at a minimum every day.  GET IT, EVERYDAY! By doing these foam rolls or SMR listed below everyday it will help to maintain proper hip, back and shoulder function.  These exercises are the most important to help maintain proper function and range of motion.  This should help make the greatest impact on your movement patterns. Are there a lot more areas you can hit and work on? Oh yeah! However, let’s get these areas under control first and then we can go crazy! By practicing these three movements daily you'll find your ‘trouble areas’ and can make the greatest impact on your movement issues.

The first area we need to focus on is the “center quad (the front of your leg)” it is by far one of the most important things to roll on a daily basis.  Why?  Let’s face it as athletes, heck as humans; we tend to be ‘quad dominant.”  After working with most of my clients that complain about back or knee pain once we’ve unlocked the scar tissue in their legs and teach them how to activate the glutes (your butt) . . . back and knee pain seem to disappear. All work and no rolling and stretching will compromise all hip and knee movement.  Thus most people will develop poor or dysfunctional movement patterns and compensations forcing other areas of your body to accommodate. That would stink and can be ABSOLUTELY AVOIDED! Do the following movement as often as you can, but if you workout, run a lot or have sedentary job . . . do it every day. Lay on your foam roller with your quads touching the roller just above your knee caps.  Spread your legs slightly and begin to slowly, SLOWLY work your way up your legs towards your hip.  Every time you feel tightness, gently roll your quads side to side and try and relax the muscle (that may be hard for some as this may really hurt in some places . . . find your happy place).  The more often you do this it will feel less painful.

The inner thigh is the second most important area for you to address on a daily basis. Why is the inside of your leg so important? Well! When the inside of your quad gets tight and locks down, your knees will tend to buckle in and not let your legs work correctly.  Thus in order to function most people will compensate by shortening their strides and shifting their weight side to side unnecessarily. Once again, this can be prevented. Lay on your foam roller with your inner thigh touching the roller just above your knee caps with your foot facing out. Begin to slowly, SLOWLY work your way up your legs towards your hip.  Every time you feel tightness, STOP and relax yourself and your muscle (once again, that may be hard for some as this may really hurt in some places . . . find your happy place). Once at your hip, rotate by pointing your foot down and follow the same process moving down your leg. The more often you do this it will feel less painful.

The third most important area is your side. Our target is the lats. The lats are the largest back muscles and they attach to the back of the hips, most of the spine, most of the ribs, and the upper arm. So, whether running, lifting or just plain living YOU MUST DO THIS AREA IN COORDINATION WITH OUR LEGS! By doing this you will also be working on other muscles that cross your back and a lot of these muscles either help or hurt proper breathing during our activities. In particular if your lats are tight or frozen it will force your arms to be closer to your sides and hinder proper range of motion (as a human you should be able to raise your arms straight above your head towards the sky and have them be straight . . . give it a try, well? If you can’t do it and don’t have some sort of “old war story” to tell me, then you need some lat work). Lay on your foam roller with your arm pit on top and your arm extended straight ahead above your head... Begin to slowly, SLOWLY work your way down your side rolling towards your back not going directly down on the rib cage. Every time you feel tightness, STOP and relax yourself and your muscle (once again, that may be hard for some as this may really hurt in some places . . . find your happy place). Do these three things prior to a workout or run and even at the end of your night or busy day.  Just remember slow is better for this activity. Videos soon to follow!

Feeling good in the woods!

On Saturday, March 2nd, I ran my second Hillbilly Mountain Marathon in Olympia, Washington.  With the goal in mind to crush my time from last year (something about not running in 2 feet of snow might make me a little faster this year, but you never know).  While I did run faster, I didn't quite do what I wanted.

It wasn't equipment, I ran in my Altra's and couldn't have felt better.  People always ask, "how are those shoes?" "Aweome," is the only answer I can ever think to give, "great feel, room for my monkey toes and dang it they look cool"! No, the reason I didn't finish faster was totally mental.

I started great, kept a great pace, felt strong and was doing well until 6 miles left and my brain just told me to stop and take it all in.

You see my wife's grandmother just passed away (she was a huge part of my wife's life and helped raise her as a young child) and I spent the previous week watching and helping her and her family come togethor and plan her memorial.  With the memorial service the day before and seeing the emotion and effect she had on so many people and generations I just found myself in the middle of the marathon lost in thought all of a sudden.  All of a sudden running fast didn't seem so important.  So I just soaked up some of the environment, took pictures, and enjoyed the sideways rain that pelted me as I smiled to the finish line.

On to the next run!

Sometimes you just have to take it in!

This was the first time I wore a pair of Altras and the reason behind the name of this blog!  I was pacing a friend of mine, we'll call her Kim, a.k.a. "Kimpossible", in her first 100 miler (isn't that what friends are for, the 10pm - 4am shift).

She gave me this huge "pacer rule book" that she made and directions with where to meet her by 10pm! Needles to say after stopping by McDonalds for the extra salty fries she requested, I arrived at the spot on the map she handed me . . . oops! Wrong place, and I mean really wrong place! So, 15minutes later, my wife doing cell phone relay directions from home I found it, ran 7 miles to catch up to her (people get so mad when you run by them in the woods with greasy fresh out of the fryer super salty french fries)!

Needles to say she finished her first 100 miler (Pigtails 100 150 200 miler) in 21.53, first woman finisher! So, for those of you that don't know what ultrarunners talk about in the dark while running further than most people will drive in a day . . . her is snapshot into our conversations! Enjoy!

Flying high in my Altra's at the White River 50! 

Hello humans, this little page will be my reports, reviews and stories about my adventures in the world!  Coming soon, the story and video behind the name . . .