A Newbie's Guide to Starting Running

For some reason, about 2 weeks ago (give or take a few days) I decided to try my hand at running long distances. To be completely honest, I've never liked running. I could physically DO it decently fast (I ran sprints in school track teams) but I never particularly liked it. I just ran track because I was fast, got asked to, and I like winning...and fervently turned down any attempts made by coaches trying to get me to join the XC (cross country) teams. Hell No...endurance running has never been fun for me, not to mention I've had exercise induced asthma since I've been 11.

So I have no idea what came over me not too long ago to put on my most minimalist of trail running shoes (that I usually use for hiking), open the front door, and just go. I think part of it was realizing that very soon, I'll be training people in the art of physical fitness. It would feel hypocritical to call myself a decent trainer when I knew deep down I hate running and had never gone more than a couple miles before stopping. So I laced up and decided to jog the 1.5 mile loop I usually walk my dog on around the neighborhood. It went alright...though I haven't been a runner for long I was at least still in shape from the amount of hiking, climbing, lifting, and spinning I do...so the form wasn't amazing, I wasn't the fastest, but I finished. The second day I tried again, this time 2 loops (3 miles). Third day, same thing, 2 loops, 3 miles...kept on like that almost every day and next thing I know by this week it went from me "getting my run over with" to me looking forward to it.

Two days ago after a day of partying, too much beer, and unhealthy food it was night time when I got home. I decided to lace up and go on a light jog (it's become a habit already)...2 laps became 3, 3 became 4...I finally got that runners high (endorphin and serotonin rush in the brain) I've heard people talk about. It was euphoric, and amazing, and made me feel like I could run forever. If only my legs would let me. I ended up doing 4 laps...6 miles that day, and mentally craving more by the end of it. I was NOT expecting such a drastic mental shift so fast. What started as just a way to relate to/ understand training clients who were runners or wanted to run, quickly became an extremely enjoyable pastime with a ripple effect of awesomeness that spilled over to other areas of my life. I absolutely love it.

I did expect maybe some slight physical changes, but not much, since I hike ~10 miles a week anyway. Even though it's still early in the (running) game I'm already noticing a tighter core, tinier waist, and more solid thighs. It's the mental effects that really have me hooked though. As a lifelong insomniac on the days I run I actually can sleep somewhat decently, without a sleep aid. I'm strangely more energetic (I researched why, exercise actually provides us with more potential energy on a cellular level - interesting stuff, but that's another post altogether :) ), more productive, have better posture (this comes with watching your form and correcting problems in it as you run), in a happy and relaxed mood all the time, and I just all-around feel healthier. It even helps with ADHD symptoms and makes it easier to focus on one thing at a time (probably because running forces you to concentrate on one thing).

The best physical adaptation was just that: feeling and seeing my body adapt to endurance running, actually being able to do distances and terrain I never thought I could before. A couple short weeks ago I was definitely in shape, but not a runner by any stretch of the imagination. That first 1.5 mile loop burned, and sucked, and included a little walking because I couldn't jog it all in one go. Yesterday I ran 9 miles, and instead of wishing it was over the whole time I loved every minute of it. That's a big leap in just 2 short weeks. According to most fitness literature, it takes about 4-6 weeks to see results...so there is more awesomeness to come. My ultimate running goal is to be able to trail-run Mt Wilson to the observatory (about 8 miles of straight uphill mountain running).

I never thought I'd be saying this, but if you have ever had any curiosity about running...try it. Running does a body good, and it's cheaper than therapy. Put on your most appropriate shoes and gear, play your favorite music that gets your blood pumping, and get outside. See what you're made of...you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

5 Facts About Fitness That You Probably Didn't Know

It has been quite a while since I've had a chance to post! School is back and session, and I'm going through the training to be a Personal Trainer too. I do have to say the curriculum is a lot more in depth than I expected...which is awesome. Anyway, I've been learning a lot of interesting things about fitness, nutrition, and how it effects our bodies.

1. Music is Power: In a way, it literally is. Studies have shown that people who work out while listening to music improved their performance by up to 15% compared to working out without music. Listening to music can help people in multiple ways, but two of the big ones are: avoiding mental exhaustion and (depending what type of tunes you sweat it out to) stimulating adrenaline production.

Music breaks up the monotony of a workout, especially long endurance training cardio sessions. Keeping yourself mentally stimulated and getting enjoyment from the music makes the entire workout more enjoyable. Multiple studies (and common sense) show that the more a person LIKES their work out the more likely it is they will stick with it long term. As far as the adrenaline goes, some music - especially with heavy basslines or fast BPMs - can stimulate adrenaline.

2. Mind over Matter: Mental exhaustion is a real thing. Long before people get physically exhausted in a workout, where their body cannot handle anymore and needs to stop, they get mentally exhausted. Mental exhaustion is something that can be adapted to and overcome (for longer and longer amounts of time) with integrated training.  Once you realize that it is possible to keep going past the point where your mind tells you to throw in the towel it becomes easier to learn the signs of actual physical exhaustion and listen to those instead. Mindset is a huge part of everything in life, exercise included.  Doing something mentally draining before a workout actually hinders your workout. Same with feeling extreme disdain for workout our, or feeling intimidated by it.

Something that helps me a lot when I'm tired or things start getting boring, is remembering what I'm doing is a choice, and the benefits of it are worth it. Going from a mind set of "Ugh I have to do this" to "I'm CHOOSING to do this." is a small, easy shift of thinking that can have big impacts.

3. The word gym comes from the Greek word "gymnazein"... which literally means "to exercise naked". Maybe that explains the people with no shame who lurk in every chain gyms steam rooms from time to time.

4. Exercise is more effective at increasing your energy levels than caffeine. Exercising does amazing things for energy because it does it at a cellular level. Increased demand on your body to produce energy (like for cardio exercise) makes the mitochondria in cells produce more energy, which stays readily available. The more consistent you work out, the more mitochondria get produced and the cycle continues.

5. Men who work out with a female partner are shown to lift heavier weights and get better results. This is most likely due to our social tendencies as a species more than anything. Humans are social creatures, having other people around who have similar interests serves as good motivation. Also, no one wants to look weaker than other people around them.


Exercise and fitness are so multifaceted, and have some kind of effect on so many different things, sometimes in surprising ways.One thing for sure though, it's always beneficial.  Get it in!

Cordyceps, Nature's Beautiful Killer

You know how some things are better off unknown? That would be the case for cordyceps and me, ever since I found out about it from a nature documentary the first thought of it makes my skin crawl. For the uninitiated, cordyceps is a parasitic fungus that slowly and agonizingly eats away at insects while they're still alive, and replaces their live tissue with long tendrils of fungus...the fungus grows and eventually alters their behavior...making them plant themselves on a leaf or somewhere high that the spores can spread. Then - here's the kicker - a bulbous, fruiting body grows out of the host insect and they slowly die while the spores get distributed among whatever is around the area where they died.

There have been signs of fossilized cordyceps-infected insects from as far back as 48 million years ago. Luckily for humans, the fungus cannot attack our tissues in the way it can for insects and arthropods. Actually, certain strains of cordyceps are known for their medicinal properties and are sold for 10,000 - 60,000 yuan in the Tibetan Plateau. They have also shown anti cancer properties in in vitro and animal studies. In mice, they produced an anti depressant effect. As awesome as all that (and other studies) sounds, I just don't think I have the inclination to ingest something that does THIS to insects. Cordyceps is one of those reminders that insects have to deal with uncomfortable and horrific things too, but I doubt that anyone can refute that it is quite the beautiful killer.

Friday the 13th, Ouija boards, and a haunted night hike to remember.

In Honor of Friday the 13th this post is deliberately creepy. Also, 100% true.

Every Friday the 13th I make it a point to do something that scares me, or has the potential to scare me. Last year it was several haunted hikes. I got a Ouija board, a friend who were equally as crazy as me, and researched the most haunted places in California. After some digging, I found an old Indian burial site (200 years ago a small village was massacred by the Spanish and buried there) called Black Star Canyon that is supposedly one of the most reported paranormal activity sites in the United States, and the scene of many urban legends. We drove a couple hours into the sticks of Orange County and got there around 1am. The last part of the drive was all through isolated mountain roads, pitch black and cavernous, with massive trees on both sides of us. The deeper into the mountains we got, the more unsettled we both got.

Let me tell you a little more about Blackstar Canyon's weird happenings for a moment. People have been found murdered there, this is confirmed from police reports (though that could have more to do with unsavory locals than paranormal). In the 1970's a school bus that was traveling the mountain road lost control and went off a cliff, killing the driver, teacher, and all the students on board. People reported hearing screams and crying coming from the wreckage debris, it was removed in summer of last year (2012). There have been multiple reports of people seeing shadowy, hooded figures on the trail. There is also a homeless man said to live within the canyon and attack hikers for "trespassing". Cults are frequently known to congregate in the canyon at night and perform rituals and animal sacrifices, many reasons people are advised not to go at night.

So, of course we went at night. We wanted to be scared. We pulled up to the parking "lot" (more like parking dirt road) in front of the ominous looking signs at the trail head. There was one other car there, and another pulled up while we were getting the ouija board out of the car and taking shots of liquid courage. The people in the cars acted kind of weird though, as the inside lights were on but no one moved or got out the entire time we were messing around with the board. This was actually my first time playing with a Ouija board, and I had bought a glow-in-the-dark one especially for this haunted Friday the 13th excursion.

We set it on the ground, put our fingertips on the glass and I asked:

"Is there anybody out there?" ..... Nothing.

I tried again.

"Is there anybody out here, that can see us right now?" .

The glass shot over to the "yes".

I thought (from movies, admittedly) that it was supposed to move slowly. I immediately snatched my hand back and accused my friend of moving the glass. He swore that he didn't. I quickly put my hand back on the glass, remembering that if you use the board you are supposed to do a quick ritual of saying goodbye. From the manual: "Failure to close the Ouija board session by saying ‘goodbye’ may result in the contacted entity remaining present long after you have finished playing. Doing could result in the spirit escaping from the board, allowing it to terrorize you and the other players indefinitely."

So yeah, we said goodbye. We kept accusing each other of moving the glass as I packed up the Ouija board and stuck it in my backpack to take with us. We walked up to the entrance and beamed our flashlights toward the signs. I do have to say they are some of the least welcoming entrance signs to a trail I have ever seen. Here they are:

One of the groups got out of their car, went to the signs, stared at them for a long time, and then got back in their car and left. We decided to stick with the plan, and in we went.

The trail was eerie. The remains of burned down trees (or lightning struck trees) left jagged shadows on one side of the trail. We walked silently, alert, listening for anything strange...looking for creepy things. After about an hour of walking the trail uneventfully the trail got a bit more narrow, a sudden gust of wind blew over the canyon, and we decided to try the Ouija board again. We sat on the side of the trail and I dug the board out and set it up on the ground. We put our fingertips on the glass.

"Is anybody out there?" .... nothing.

"Can anyone see us?".... nada.

"Are you still watching us?".....absolutely nothing happened.

Now that we weren't walking we were starting to get cold. We packed up the board and continued to walk the trail. Then we heard something weird. Footsteps, hushed voices. We turned around and were surprised to see....more people. Out of nowhere, behind us on the trail a HUGE group of 20-30 people walked up. We figured they were also there to be spooked on Friday the 13th, cool. We stepped to the side to let them pass, and one of the guys broke off and walked menacingly up to my friend, staring him down.

"What's up?" my friend asked.

No response.

More staring, about an inch away from his face. The guy put his hands in his pockets, then wordlessly turned around and left.

Ohhhkay. I guess that was a signal we weren't welcome there. We shrugged it off and blazed some more as the group continued down the trail. Then started the long walk back to the car in the pitch darkness.

Happy Friday the 13th, people.

Pain and Suffering: You Either Get Over It, or Die Pissed Off

The title and theme of this post makes it sound like it could be somber and depressing, but it wont be. This is just about why pain is an inevitable part of life, no matter who you are, and how it helps us grow. Suffering sucks, but there is always a silver lining to even the deepest of the depths of despair...it makes us stronger and it helps us to grow. A good quote that illustrates that point is this simple one: "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." It isn't the easy things in life that make us who we are...if everything went easily for everyone we would all be the same. There would be nothing to thicken our skin, to teach us lessons that words can't, to force us to see what we are really made of.

There is inevitably going to be some type of suffering in your life. No matter how much you avoid it or how lucky you are, you're going to go through pain. The type of person you are is dependent on how you deal with that pain. Your reaction to things is exactly what makes you who you are. When bad things happen we have two option: Get over it or die pissed off. I know which one I'm choosing.

Trying to avoid pain, or attempting to live life like you're immune to it is not only futile, but also doing yourself a disservice by not allowing yourself to grow. Some people go the route of eventually getting cynical and jaded, but I feel like that is a futile route as well. Sure, you would be disappointed a lot less if you just lowered your expectations and assumed the worst out of everyone and every situation...but ugh, what kind of life would that be to live? Sounds like a miserable existence. That is letting pain affect you in a bad way and mold you into a negative person.

Then there are those who take negativity in stride, and learn from it. Learning from something doesn't have to mean always assuming the worst, it's just knowing all the options that are possible and accepting them, while still striving for the best. Some of the wisest people that I know, or know of, are zen in the face of negativity. They treat everyone around them with respect, even when treated unkindly. They keep their cool, don't act out quickly in anger, and genuinely spread positivity wherever they go. One would think off the bat that these types of people are just the lucky ones, who never had to go through any real pain, and that's why they are who they are. What I've found, however, is that it's usually quite the opposite. Look at Eckhart Tolle, one of the greatest thinkers and spiritual teachers alive today...in his book "The Power of Now" he talks about a time when his life completely crumbled and he found himself homeless, spending his days and nights on a park bench. He could have given up then, a lot of us would. Instead, he grew. He learned and gained strength from the crappy hand he got dealt, and most of us know him now as a bestselling author and spiritual mentor. That dark period in his life was a defining moment in shaping his success, it was a huge catalyst to his growth as a person. In a lot of ways, it helped him find his meaning in life.

The easiest thing to do when faced with hurdles and negative events is to give up. Some situations seem to suck the life right out of you. And if you do give up, you'll probably just get swept under the radar, and life will continue to go on. Nothing will get handed to you. That's why it's important to see pain and suffering for what it really is: an unavoidable part of life, a stepping stone. Everyone goes through it, and it will either ruin you or mold you.

Next time you're going through something that just makes you want to throw your hands up and give up, instead ask yourself how you can grow from it. You wont be hit by anything you can't handle, and life will go on, regardless. Might as well make the most of it, make the most of yourself, and come out a stronger and wiser person instead of a feeble and defeated one. The choice is yours.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.
-Khalil Gibran

The High Sierras .... Like Backpacking on Mars

The High Sierras rock, this is just a little photo montage of my weekend trip up there. I've never been to a landscape where it turns from something so beautifully lush and green to straight rocky desolateness. The beginning of the trail was what you'd expect when you're in the mountains. Trees, lots of trees, animals, pikas (cute squirrel-looking things), gigantic bucks, greenery. 

Then you keep going, up, until you're at 12,000 ft and above the treeline. It turns into a massive rock pile that should be carefully climbed across, glaciers, and beautiful lakes. At the very top it felt like I was on Mars (assuming there was water there at some point), nothing but rocks and water (no trees, no soil). The higher you go, the trails disappear, leaving you to find your way through the crazy terrain with a compass and a topo map.

 Didn't see any bears :( Did see a massive buck and a bunch of pikas though.

 John Muir was a badass.

 Crossing a stream.

 This is where the trees start thinning out, going above the tree-line.

 And this is well above the tree-line, nothing but water, rocks and more rocks.

 And even more rocks.

 Back down in civilization.What better way to reward yourself after a climb than with a brewski? (And it was 110 degrees outside)

10 Statistics You Really Don't Want To Know

I have a habit of collecting weird or interesting facts. There is so much knowledge out there, about so many subjects, it's mind boggling. Here are 10 facts I've come across that are strange, unexpected, and a bit unsettling.

1. The world population has (more than) doubled since 1960.
Population facts are always a little unsettling. I love people, don't get me wrong, but there are just way too many of us. And it's not stopping. In 1960 there were approximately 3 billion people on the planet. That was 50 short years ago, and now it's over 7 billion. That is quite the boom on a planet with finite resources and habitable space, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

2. 1 in 5 women who masturbate don't wash their hands afterwards.
Think of all those hands you shook. I'm not a germaphobe by any means, but that's just nasty.

3. 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
As an avid reader, this bums me out a little. Books are awesome, and just because school is over for some people doesn't mean the quest for learning should stop. That should never stop. Yes, you can learn an amazing amount from reading online articles, watching documentaries, having intellectual discussions...DOING things. But there is really nothing like the carefully written, edited, and verified information inside of so many books. Hell, even a good fiction story does amazing things for keeping one's vocabulary sharp.

4. CPR only works 5-10% of the time.
In some cities, where immediate help may take a bit longer than usual to get there, or a bystander attempts CPR the success rate drops to a mere 1%. From the wiki on CPR: "Estimates vary, but many organizations stress that CPR does not "bring anyone back," it simply preserves the body for defibrillation and advanced life support." Oh, and it also breaks peoples ribs, when done properly. Yikes.

5. In India, a woman is raped every 20 minutes.
A combination of factors, like the preference for sons and female infanticide (leading to a skewed male to female ratio) and lenient penalties for sex offenders has lead to a huge increase in rape in India. This statistic is from the National Crime Records Bureau.

6. Since the 1950s, around 90% of the large predatory fish in the ocean are gone.
FMAP scientists claim that up to 90% of all large predatory fish such as cod, sharks, halibut, grouper, tuna, swordfish, and marlin have been depleted. Industrialized fisheries, FTL (for the lose).

7. There are 35-50 active serial killers in the United States at any given moment.

What makes my skin crawl the most about this is how normal and nice people always say that they seem. I actually had a first-hand experience with this, back in 2010 I was a bartender at a well known casino in Gardena, Ca. One of our semi-regulars there ended up on the news, tied to the rape and murders of multiple women. It's crazy, you really never know, but there are monsters among us...sometimes a lot closer than we think.

8. 50% of healthcare dollars in the US are spent on the last 6 months of life.
Pretty self explanatory, but food for thought.

9. In the US, there's an average of 217 million white blood cells per liter of cow milk.
Those white blood cells come from the pus of the infected teats of the cows.Not to mention, humans are the only animals that drinks ANOTHER mammals breast (teat?) milk, and also the only mammals to drink milk well into adulthood.

10. 5 to 10 percent of all people who ever walked this earth, are alive right now.
The sheer volume of us is mind boggling. The /Homo/ genus has been around for 2.5 million years...and the earliest remains for homo sapiens are around 150,000 years old. That's a huge span of time, yet 5-10% of people to EVER exsist are alive right now, and you're one of them. Life is crazy.