Boy have I been busy over the last four weeks. Since it's been a while I'm going with the Cliff Notes version of my last month...I got back from Hawaii on the 12th. That trip ended on a very high note as my last small boat fishing trip involved a plethora of fish, one last tiger shark, and of course getting snagged on the giant island of Hawaii. I got back from Oahu later in the evening on a Monday night and had to be back at work Tuesday morning. That first week back was tough catching up on everything, including sleep but it was also very nice to be back to reality. I think I was getting too comfortable with life on the ship so the timing was perfect for a reality check.
The following weekend, Sept 16-17 Megan and I drove up to Lake Tahoe for the Tough Mudder, Nor Cal.
She was volunteering and I was running the race on Saturday the 17th along with my friend Brad who I know from college. We ran together at UNE for a couple of years and this was the first race since then. I can't really call this a race because it was a team event that was untimed. There were 8 of us and we tried staying together as a team but half of our team was incredibly out of shape and probably shouldn't have been doing this event. After mile 5 it was just 4 of us and that's pretty much how we finished it out. It was 12 miles long up a mountain climbing in elevation from ~6000ft - 9000ft. The obstacles themselves weren't very tough and involved anything from jumping into an ice bath, 10,000 volt wires, a 15-ft. plunge, wall climbs, barbed wire, and even some snow! It was a great time, I'm glad I did it, but it was more hype than tough and I probably wouldn't do one again.
The weekend after that was the California Relay for Life Summit in Anaheim. Each team in the state sent two representatives from their committee to this conference. I was asked to go and represent the Team Development member of our Monterey Peninsula Relay. This 2-day conference was such an experience. I truly wish I could be around people with the same positivity all the time! There was a lot of information thrown at us but I learned a ton about working with team captains, my teammates, sponsors, and how to fund raise more efficiently. At times it was an emotional rollercoaster due to the speakers and stories that were being shared but there was a ton of energy with over 900 people together for the same cause...more birthdays! Please help me out again this year by donating to West Coast Family Ties!!!
The next weekend was a long, somewhat brutal hike from Big Sur Station into Sykes Hot Springs. Megan and I had never been backpacking before and this was one heck of a way to get started. I had run 10 miles in the morning before we left which didn't help much. It was 10 miles in and took about 5 hours to traverse this huge mountain and get down to the river. It was a bit frustrating at times but luckily we didn't kill each other, we eventually landed a place to pitch our tent and then enjoyed the hot, sulfur-smelling water for a while before heading to bed. We awoke at 6:30 and did it all over again only the way back was only 4 hours. We were exhausted when we got back and it was nice to have gotten it done but we probably won't be doing it again.
This past weekend was the first weekend I had to just relax and not worry about having to be anywhere at all. So Friday was a chill day and yesterday we took out the stand-up paddleboards and then I chillaxed the rest of the day...so THAT is a quick summary of what I've been up to over the last 4 weeks. California still amazes me every time I get to go out on a new adventure...
Life is Good!
up next: It's Official!
The following weekend, Sept 16-17 Megan and I drove up to Lake Tahoe for the Tough Mudder, Nor Cal.
She was volunteering and I was running the race on Saturday the 17th along with my friend Brad who I know from college. We ran together at UNE for a couple of years and this was the first race since then. I can't really call this a race because it was a team event that was untimed. There were 8 of us and we tried staying together as a team but half of our team was incredibly out of shape and probably shouldn't have been doing this event. After mile 5 it was just 4 of us and that's pretty much how we finished it out. It was 12 miles long up a mountain climbing in elevation from ~6000ft - 9000ft. The obstacles themselves weren't very tough and involved anything from jumping into an ice bath, 10,000 volt wires, a 15-ft. plunge, wall climbs, barbed wire, and even some snow! It was a great time, I'm glad I did it, but it was more hype than tough and I probably wouldn't do one again.
The weekend after that was the California Relay for Life Summit in Anaheim. Each team in the state sent two representatives from their committee to this conference. I was asked to go and represent the Team Development member of our Monterey Peninsula Relay. This 2-day conference was such an experience. I truly wish I could be around people with the same positivity all the time! There was a lot of information thrown at us but I learned a ton about working with team captains, my teammates, sponsors, and how to fund raise more efficiently. At times it was an emotional rollercoaster due to the speakers and stories that were being shared but there was a ton of energy with over 900 people together for the same cause...more birthdays! Please help me out again this year by donating to West Coast Family Ties!!!
The next weekend was a long, somewhat brutal hike from Big Sur Station into Sykes Hot Springs. Megan and I had never been backpacking before and this was one heck of a way to get started. I had run 10 miles in the morning before we left which didn't help much. It was 10 miles in and took about 5 hours to traverse this huge mountain and get down to the river. It was a bit frustrating at times but luckily we didn't kill each other, we eventually landed a place to pitch our tent and then enjoyed the hot, sulfur-smelling water for a while before heading to bed. We awoke at 6:30 and did it all over again only the way back was only 4 hours. We were exhausted when we got back and it was nice to have gotten it done but we probably won't be doing it again.
This past weekend was the first weekend I had to just relax and not worry about having to be anywhere at all. So Friday was a chill day and yesterday we took out the stand-up paddleboards and then I chillaxed the rest of the day...so THAT is a quick summary of what I've been up to over the last 4 weeks. California still amazes me every time I get to go out on a new adventure...
Life is Good!
up next: It's Official!
What an awesome, yet busy, month. Tired just thinking about doing all those things. When did you sleep?
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