Zen Eating

The essence of Zen is simplicity. The complications of our minds keep us distant from reality. If stripped bare of thought our mind expands in infinite direction and expression - pure consciousness. That's reality - a truth nearer than our own fingerprints. And yet we miss it. No greater example of this is shown by the food we eat - we have complicated our diets beyond recognition from what even a generation ago would know as food. We eat ingredients that belong in labs and not on kitchen tables. Our sense of taste has been distorted to tell us lies instead of wholesome nourishment. It's far from reality. And our bodies know it. It rebels in inflammation and distress. Yet we are so far in thought(s) from reality that even this we deny and continue with our slow death of poison. It's time to simplify. To strip bare our cupboards, tables and minds. Recognize food. Real food. A meal can be made from just fruit. Or vegetables. Herbs and spices provide flavor - made up condiments and sauces don't - they complicate. Strip the thought of processed meat and animal products from the mind - eat local. Find a farm that provides honest cruelty free animal products (if meat is a must) and eat in the manner of our distant tribesmen ancestors when meat was hard to come by - use it sparingly, for flavor. Many Asian cultures continue to eat this way. A very simple diet. No complications. Healthy. Enjoy.






Peace,
Eric

Doubt

Today - on a 6 miles snow run - I had my first doubts about the upcoming 100. No real reason for it - I'm coming off of three 50k races in a four week block. Feeling strong and recovering well. Yet the doubt hit me none the less. I have a choice. Let the doubt consume me and give less than my best effort race day and in training. Or - use the doubt to fuel both training and race day performance. In essence doubt is just a thought - no real meaning behind it until we assign our own personal baggage to it. And we all have baggage. And we all allow it to take control of our thoughts at times. It's natural. Yet we can just as easily cut the cords to this baggage and allow it to once more be a thought that passes. No need to add the weight of our anxiety to a thought - or at the very least keep it weighed down. We cut the cord with the knife of awareness. Nothing more. Just by simply observing the thought, noting the thought and even noting the baggage attached is enough to set us free. Awareness brings choice. And it's choice - and the wisdom gained - that equals true freedom.


Peace,
Eric

Barren

Trees now
barren -

Bloom promise in
my mind.
                                                                                       

~
Everything holds promise - winter the
blurred edge of spring and
again to new seasons.
And so to are lines to hard realities...in
time another season
falls.

Race Review - Seneca Creek - Greenway 50k 2013

This years Seneca Creek - Greenway 50k and Marathon can best be summed up in one word - long. Or two words - really long. Of course if I want to add in some words I would choose - fun, scenic, runnable and awesome. With cheerful and helpful volunteers thrown in as well. Seneca Creek is not quite a Fat Ass and not yet a full blown "event" although I can certainly see it heading in that direction. Race chips and a little higher donation request for the first time - I see tech shirts in its future. We'll see.
Also for the first time (that I'm aware) the course was run in reverse of it's original, regular route. This was due to increase of runners and limited space at Riley's Lock for the after party. I liked it this way - there is a section on the trail that is just mud infested no matter what. It could rain three weeks before and not a drop since and it would be mud filled. Usually we hit this section on tired legs. This year, almost right off the bat and feeling fresh - I loved it! Either way the route ends up hill - getting the mud run out of the way first did seem to make a difference. The extra miles may have even things out a bit though. My Garmin Fennix - battery life 20-50 hours - conked out (again) around the 3 hour mark. I have no idea of the actual distance. Race Director Harvey Sugar says 34+ for the 50k and 30 for the marathon. Talking to runners with working watches at the end of the race and they reported anywhere from 35 to 37 for the 50k . So we know it was long. Really long. But as mentioned - very runnable. Plenty of hills but no real soul crushers until the very end. And it was pretty and a great day to be running - so extra miles equal extra time doing what we love. Maybe I did grumble a little though - but only to myself (I don't think anyone heard me)
This was Harvey Sugar's first time out as RD and he was taking over for the legendary Ed Shultze. Big shoes to fill and Harvey did an excellent job. Thanks for your hard work and effort Harvey - it definitely paid off in a quality day. As always I'm amazed that people volunteer their time and effort on a cold (or wet, hot, windy....) day to feed, hydrate and save runners from traffic hazards. Yet they do and they do it all with grace and a smile. Thank you! That's the one part of a race that never goes wrong. Unlike my Garmin Fennix which has failed the ultra test for the 4th time this year. However I am still a big fan of Garmin and hopeful for the Fennix - and better yet REI (who hands down has the single best return policy in the business) is exchanging it for a new watch. Here's a plug for REI - if you're looking to gear up for your next adventure - they're the place to go.
So another great race. I run this every year on tired legs from previous 50k's in a four week span. This year was a little tough as I kept a full training schedule to prep for the C&O 100 in April. Next year I may skip a race and see what I can do on this course alone. I hate skipping races though...

Thanks for reading!

Peace,
Eric

Spring

It's almost Spring. An exciting time. We set out new goals and resolutions in Winter - yet it is Spring that's the time of renewal and rebirth. Let the past remain in the Winter of our lives -your Spring is now and it's time for you to become - the person you were always meant to be.

Peace,
Eric

Trails

and trails...still never

ending -

 

yet now only in

my dreams.






`

Tomorrow's Run

Tomorrow is the Seneca Creek 50k and the last in a series of winter races that began in the first weekend of January. From this point my focus will be 100% on the C&O 100 on April 27th-28th. It was a fun, tough winter and puts in a great position of recovery from 3 50ks in less then 3 weeks and upping my training mileage through the rest of March and early April. I hope to break new ground volume wise. We'll see. With new mileage also comes new ground in recovery and self-belief. More than ever I will need to use all the tools in the recovery toolbox as well as principles of meditation and awareness to maintain the needed focus. It's an exciting time. A scary time. And a time to give my best.

Peace,
Eric