The Stories We Tell: Day 7 & 8

From this day forth, all Paddle Forward: Mississippi River posts will neatly package two days into one post. Amazing! How does he do it? Check it out:

Day 7: Paddled with Eric in the morning and Duffed with Lee and Sami in the afternoon: Unknown Mileage

We had to put in our canoes at the base of a high, cliffed bank. Liz was fishing down at the edge of the water as we loaded boats. I glanced over to her as I was carrying down some paddles and noticed that she was struggling with what I thought was a snag. I watched as a monstrous fish broke the surface. In lieu of a fishing net, I offered my hands as the next best thing and ran over to grapple with this behemoth of a northern pike. Liz worked the pole while I scrambled to get a hold on the slimy 2 feet of scales, fins, and teeth. The morning sun beat down in the friendliest of ways as Liz and I held up the magnificent fish. The decision to release this full meal back into the river came when we remembered the stringer system we had set up; we couldn’t figure out a good way to keep the fish in the water rather than drag it on the surface behind the boat. I can’t wait to talk about fishing and filleting fish with my dad after the trip. Despite growing up around fishing and doing it quite often, this is no longer the case but whenever I do go I always think of those times fishing with my dad as a kid.

 

The stories we tell of this journey will define our success, while inspiring others to feel what we felt. I’ve enjoyed teaching while simultaneously learning how to fillet a fish. I like the idea of being co-learners on this trip. Spending 10 hours in a canoe leaves a lot of time for contemplation. Personally, I brought a Russian phrase book as I wanted to focus on getting a feel for the Russian language on this trip. Others committed loosely to other learning goals: Lee wanted to learn Spanish, Natalie decided to learn as much as she could about hockey and the NHL, and Sarah said she would try and learn patience.

 

I wasn’t feeling very well so I duffed after lunch. Even though I felt bad, I tried to be upbeat and involve myself in conversation. Lee is great at maintaining conersation about awesome things. After interning for the Rapid City, SD police department, I was interested to speak with law enforcement officials about the river and what, if any role, it plays in their duties. I would get an opportunity to interact with some of those officials a bit later in this epic but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Later on in the day it was getting very hot. Sami vacated the boats for a cooling swim in the frigid water. That looked like a great way to cool off so I hopped out of the canoe and plunged all the way underwater. My undoing came when the freezing water forced me to surface extremely quickly and shake my head. Head shaking and glasses wearing do not go hand in hand (e.g. I lost my glasses that day). I should be able to run around and get new ones when we are in the Twin Cities. We cooked 2 pike which Liz and I caught for dinner along with walleye from our new friends Emmett and Norm given to us last night at Forestry Station in Jacobson, MN.

Day 8: Paddled with Erika today: Unknown Mileage

 

This trip, documentary, and education are our jobs for the next 62 days. Putting behind petty troubles and focusing on the good we were doing and the good things we experienced daily was an idea I held in my mind throughout the trip. My strategy for surviving this short trip and all things that were to come afterwards can be summed up as such: living minute by minute with a limited vision towards an immediate future, leaving behind missteps and mistakes. Rolling into Palisade, MN we re-supplied and set up camp at an official campground with some much needed outlets. Threw a disc around and went to a bar. Norm, Emmett, and Bubba drove down from Jacobson to meet us down in Palisade. They were real stand-up guys.

I can’t read the comments about how these posts tend to come a day late fast enough because there are so many. Occasionally, Nick needs an extra day to find time to update this blog. He’s now coaching ultimate frisbee at an area high school (the Open World Learning school), planning an event for this summer called Bid for Peace in support of the organization Ultimate Peace, working with the Wild River Academy Fellowship students, planning trips for this summer, and putting together the team as well as the itinerary for the Paddle Forward: Illinois River trip this coming fall. Those worthy distractions certainly don’t leave much time for creating the enthralling, suspenseful, and action-packed blog you see today. When he’s bogged down the blogs may be coming up a bit late. Get off his back about it!

Way Back Wednesday: (1/23/2013 – 1/24/2013)

1/23/2013

60 pushups, 25 squats

full workout with wood chopping/chainsawing with long run

granola, yogurt, banana, grapefruit, cereal, carrots, pita chips, brown dip, hummus, saurkraut, kilbasa, asparagus, yogurt

Run tomorrow, that’s all that matters, do it tomorrow

tired now, sleep now.

1/24/2013

split wood and worked a chainsaw for 5 hours

full workout and a run tomorrow (buy wool toe socks)

granola, banana, yogurt, grapefruit, pineapple, pastrami, hummus, cereal, so much spaghetti

Slowly got ready and grabbed the chainsaw and ax and maul. I split wood for first 3/4 of day. Then mom brought us ginger tea; drank ginger tea and talked with roman about what to do with 35,000 dollars a year for four years instead of college, agreed on travelling. Roman mentioned a want for stability but stability can be found while traveling was my argument. Stability could be fostered through normalcy in its many malleable forms. Re-framing the definition of normal by creating a habitual, repetitive, or consistent routine through reading, working out, or doing something every day. Travelling can be empty in the same way that South Dakota and the wilderness was empty while I was there and the best times were when I was with Grandma; by empty I mean lonely. Having goals to be accomplished through travelling helps as well. I struggled with the chainsaw. I struggled to start it three times. I preferred splitting wood definitely.

My forearms are killing me. Time is sooo relative and it heals absolutely all wounds; give anything enough time and it will cease to be an issue, time and distraction are usually good partners to solving problems or getting over issues more so. The talk with Roman today was excellent, every time we have a conversation like that I realize so much about myself it’s ridiculous. The main points were to always have a goal that can be communicated easily, always present myself in a respectable manner, always have something to give or be able to offer a service, journal or find some way to write my thoughts down. Find stability in every day life even if that means establishing some form of trinket or a daily system that keeps me grounded. I journal every day that is something that helps me focus and find some inner peace and stability. If I didn’t have a computer I would journal in a notebook and I will do that this summer. This exercise of free-association is like dreaming, it allows my brain to jump around and I merely observe and type down what it thinks. I didn’t intend for this to be so long but this exercise grabs me and I cannot stop until I am finished saying what I must say to sum up my life to this point. I have a fantastic year ahead of me full of firsts, learning, teaching, losing, winning, and everything awesome that comes with getting to know new places, jobs, and friends.

The Ice Age is Coming

3/19/2014

Food Eaten:

2 eggs, 1 toast, salsa, 3 slices sharp cheddar; 1 cup coffee

2 cups coffee; 2 corn tortillas, artichoke/spinach hummus, 8 slices swiss cheese, 8 pieces summer sausage, cabbage, collared greens; spoonful of peanut butter; 1 banana

5 table spoons yogurt, honey, granola, 1 banana; 2 cups rice, soy sauce

Workout Summary:

ran 9.93 miles in 80 minutes for 8:00 min/mile

15 pushups

30 bicycle crunches

Entry:

I worked to catch up on my blog most of the morning until 11 when I met with Natalie and Anna to do some work. We planned the College Possible meeting this Friday and talked about capital campaign strategy. I went home intending to work on MNIPL things and catching up there but instead I polished off and finished my blog posts which were eating away at me because I am extremely dedicated to doing a good job on those. Dedication to maintaining this blog stems from a deep enjoyment in writing as a vessel for articulation.

For the IAT run, I called Diane Kay about Adidas Outdoor sponsorships and am drafting a proposal to send to her. It’s my first proposal I will be writing for this expedition and I want to get it right and use it as a draft for other organizations I seek out for sponsorship. I need to figure out how I am going to manage and execute outreach for this adventure. How is adventure learning going to be involved, do I want adventure learning to be involved? should I consult roman on this? yes! I need to call roman and touch base I think hes going to flip shit about this idea nd be all about supporting me. I am super happy and excited that Roman and Jordan are going to be hanging out sometime soon, I”m gald they connected. Then also for the IAT run I called the Ice Ace Trail Alliance and Matt from Canoecopia answered. I spoke with Matt for a solid amount of time and answered a lot of my own unanswered questions posing as questions he asked me and I found answers to them. I was surprised at how calm, calculating, and honest I was in this conversation. Occassionally I will make some things up in a stressful situation simply because it seems easier to me but I am working on not doing that which I succeeded at in this meeting because I did not do that with Matt. Matt put me in touch with Jason Dorgan who set a speed record on the trail in April of 2007 at 22 days and 6 hours on the 1099 mile trail. Jason is on the board at the Ice Age Trail Alliance. There is a woman who ran the trail and a couple other blogs to dig into and contact. Matt will be my main hub for connections and he even mentioned an intricate web of trail angels which will most likely help me out as I spontaneously run into them on my journey. I spoke with Matt about running unsupported as I was looking up exactly what that means, it means nothing to the IATA because for them doing the thru-journey is all that matters and I agree with them. I’ll leave the labelling of my quest to others and do it as I see fit whether that be unsupported, self-supported, or supported. I am extremely excited about this idea and the training has been going extremely well.

The run today felt excellent the entire time, I felt relaxed and strong. Continuing on even farther than I went even crossed my mind for a period although I need to temper mileage increases with time and also speed increases at lower mileages which I have been doing a good job of so far.

Reading Run or Die by Kilian Jornet and also still reading game of thrones (I take back what I said earlier) Game of Thrones is excellent!

3/24/2014

This will be my first entry since the 19th. I have set myself up with an extremely busy life here in the Twin Cities and it may be leading me down a disastrous road. I have the utmost confidence that I can handle all of my obligations without falling down the hole of exhaustion. Any doubt that I cannot competently keep up with my commitments will lead to a swift downsizing in my activities. Writing in my journal is something which helps me to validate a day, then immediately erase all pride, disappointment, vanity, and accomplishment from my memory because tomorrow will always be a chance to become exactly who I want to be; with no preconceived notions.

: Day 6: Sleepy Bear to Jacobson, MN

 

In quotes below is an unfiltered, unedited, Nick Ryan original journal entry from the Paddle Forward: Mississippi River trip.

“Strong paddled to Jacobson. Lunch on sandbar, swimming bear campsite was unavailable. played camoflage. Re-learned cribbage with Eric and Sami. Drank beer and re-supplied booze and condiments.”

As you can see he wasn’t always feeling the most poetic, and even leaves out a number of useful data points from the day. Sometimes the river wins; other times, drinking pbr and playing cribbage way past my bed time teams up with the river and they always win.

Day and Night (1/21/2013 12:24 am – 1/21/2014 11:53 pm)

1/21/2013 12:24 am

Workout Summary:

Full morning workout + 30 pushups

Ran 11 miles around the round valley reservoir with Roman at about 10 min/mi

Workout Premonition:

Full morning workout

Short run through trails near house

Food:

whole wheat  pancakes, bacon, pineapple

banana, smoothie (chia, ginger, banana, ice, etc), chips and brown dip, soup (barley, chicken, yellow soup)

alfredo spaghetti with mushrooms and shrimp, spaghetti squash, venison

Journal:

17th—Ran around finalizing things in DC, Roman got in that night; I Ran that night

18th—Drove to the Big Schloss with Roman and Susie. Hiked up to the little schloss and then hiked farther on to the real deal. That was an awesome day, beautiful views, good conversation, and great friends. That night Roman and I went to Joe Maloney’s place and drank minimal amounts, played halo, watched some of Django.

19th—Packed up, drove Susie into Baltimore, went to Wa Wa’s (mechanical subway) pretty tasty, made it up to Aunt Sandy’s for dinner, saw Ian and Evan, Ian’s wife was there with their daughter. Delicious lasagna, veggies, and meat.

20th–Having traveled a fair amount lately I have realized that no matter where I go there is always a good place to run nearby. If I have a car then I can find the best trails in the area in a matter of minutes. That is something I love about America, the terrain is beautiful and well preserved. Running with a partner removes all potential monotony from the run, and allows for competitive pushing and insightful conversing. When I run with Roman I have a lot of epiphanies I would not have when running alone and am able to completely share my thoughts with him. Running 11 miles, especially when it feels like a breeze, gives me an enormous boost of confidence that can not be compared. That million dollar feeling is better than any drug. Those endorphins coursing through my brain is the greatest high.

Free-Association:

Being at home with the family is great. I really want to run the Leadville 100, it would be a great way for me to do something I’m passionate about and get affirmation in the form of a prize for finishing. Hiking to the big schloss was hilarious and fun as hell. It’s not adventuring for the sake of adventuring. What I enjoyed most about that trip was the time spent with close friends doing something adventurous because I learned so much about Roman and Susie; we were in situations where hilarity, adventure, and danger happened in a span of a couple hours. We pushed out of our comfort zones through taking risks. We struggled climbing down to the schloss. We walked each other through it and were there to catch each other if we fell. I hope to feel that sense of accomplished education through Wild River Academy and become close with a lot of people who are entering their last stage of education and who have so many opportunities and roads ahead of them. It’s not about affecting change, what I want is to encourage others to seek out adventure, try new things with great success, and attack obstacles in their paths with absolute vigor. Learning about the area, animals, and water conservation in Minnesota is going to be interesting and something I am excited about, especially if the three of us do it together. I picture a breakfast club setting in a library where each of us have a book and laugh to ourselves or share info through reading different books together all day everyday; that probably won’t happen. I would also like to run leadville this year but I might not have time to train properly. I can always run a 50k race in Minnesota happening in May which I should sign up for very soon.

1/21/2013 11:53 pm

Workout:

full morning, 4 mile 5:25 min/mi

premonition:

full morning, run of sorts

food:

granola, greek yogurt, granola, banana, cereal

lasagna, saltines and brown dip, carrots and hummus

rice, broccoli, cauliflower, chicken, lasagna

steak burrito w/ peppers & onions, mozzarella cheese, and sour cream

2 white russians

journal:

Feeling a bit sore today from the 11 miler yesterday but decided to run later. This writing style of mine tends to be so data centric and robotic I need to learn how to describe more aesthetically. The run today was short (4 miles) and fast (5 min/mi) but it was one of those runs where it puts things in perspective, meaning that the 11 miler felt easier and lighter whereas the speed run today at 4 miles felt like more of a struggle and a bit more forced. I WILL run the 50k on Lake Superior and I will do it with at least one other person, 60 dollars isn’t that much and I know I must learn to grow with others and take others under my wing sometimes. I’ve always seen myself as someone who is not leading the pack but when it comes to running I have a lot to say and I must say it because people actually respect my opinion; Roman hears what I say and he responds to it by improving his form and hopefully enjoying the running more.

I want to meet someone but I don’t want to put it down as a goal and I don’t want it to happen here on the east coast. I want to meet someone in the midwest, in Minnesota, at a race, during an expo or otherwise while I am doing something I really enjoy. I want to share something with them. Somebody who gets me and my quirks, my “tendencies” as Mary-Ellen puts it, but even people with tendencies want to have them, think it’s unique or sets them apart. It does, everyone has their weirdness or uniquity. I want a girl who is spontaneous and adventurous but with goals and dreams and is capable of enacting those goals and dreams. I want to be able to travel with her, and explore the world around us. I want her to be able to keep up with me. I want to have to keep up with her. As much as I talk about adventuring, it is nothing if it is not experienced with others. Hiking the Schloss with Susie and Roman was more memorable than my most exciting hike alone in SD. The only reason those crazy lonely hikes are memorable is because they are now stories that can be told to others in order to build relationships; not mementos I hold on to personally.

Running and Pooping

I went to the wrong coffee shop this morning before meeting with a new graphic designer connection through Julia. Needless to say, I was running late when I finally got myself from the Purple Onion to Spyhouse on Nicollet. Today was a day of excellent random interactions. The cashier at the Purple Onion talked with me about Canoecopia and her idea for a non-profit organization. I got the baristas to transfer my coffee from a mug to a to go cup and ran out the door on my way across town. Made it to Spyhouse maybe 15 minutes late. My meeting with Patricia should go down in the personal record books as the most awkward professional interaction of my young adult life. I walked up and for some reason I didn’t go to shake her hand, which was out for a hand shake, right away and instead I sort of moved for a hug and then quickly snapped out of the fog I was in and shook her hand. I have no idea why my knee jerk reaction was to hug this stranger but I’m glad I didn’t follow through with that one. We sit down and what I should have said was, “we want to pay you to design for us every once in a while, I’ll send you a portfolio of past projects; now what else are you interested in?” Instead of doing that, I floundered around and filled the conversation with fluff for 10 minutes and then got the point across. Despite/because of this social blunder I felt more prepared for the next time I meet someone, like this Wednesday when I meet with Massoud. Having bad experiences socially helps me to re-gauge my social abilities when I’ve been either comfortable in situations or simply not interacting with people for a long time. From this meeting I went over to Nina’s cafe and bookstore in St. Paul. There I sat and ate the mixto sandwich. I was approached by a middle aged man with a healthy tan and weathered hands. He launched into a spirited conversation on the beautiful weather we were having and how this coffee shop is his favorite in the city. I thought he was fantastic and engaged him in a jubilant exchange of pleasantries. Got to talking about my move from DC and how he grew up in St. Paul and photographed the 1980’s olympic hockey team as they paraded through the streets of St. Paul/Minneapolis. He left for a bit and came back with three framed photos of some hockey players and their gold medals. All in all that was a great interaction. Then Natalie and Anna showed up and we sat together to work on things for wild river academy.

Kelsey came over to eat dinner with Mike. Kelsey and I connected through her interest in the organization Ultimate Peace which works with Israeli and Palestinian high school students; they teach the students the sport while also teaching them to accept one another. It sounds like a great organization and ultimate, being rooted in sportsmanship, is the perfect sport for bringing people together. I plan on attending an organizational meeting regarding the group Bid for Peace, an off shoot and partner of Ultimate Peace. Bid for Peace is organizing a fundraising event for the Ultimate Frisbee US Open being held in Blaine, MN this 2014 fourth of July weekend (more info coming in future posts). I talked about using adventure education for my Ice Age Trail run. Some ideas I was throwing around: students weigh in on what I should do, where I should go, what silly costume I should wear, where I run to train, how I train, talk about physiology and the impact running this much continuously has on the body. I’m not sure how I’m going to reach out for this run, I just know that I will.

Groggily crawled out of bed to a slow morning. Cracking eggs and frying vegetables for breakfast. Working with Liz at the breakfast nook for an hour or two. Liz heads out and I get down to Canoecopia correspondence. I reached out to Keen which is doing a clean river campaign so that could bode well for Wild River Academy. I reached out to Thule, they’re a big car rack company, who knows maybe they will help us. Reached out to Sven at Outdoor Research for a potential Ice Age Trail sponsorship. When I think about camp hammocks my first thought is not that I could use one for over 20 days but when I did some research I may have decided that it would be preferable to a tent. A hammock packs down smaller and lighter, can be put up with ease, and could potentially be a better wind and rain stop than a tent. I have no experience sleeping in camp hammocks and want to try some out before I make a final decision; I also have a lot of time before April 1, 2015.

I put on my running clothes and wasted time on the internet trying to relax before running. I relaxed into the run and a block later slipped on some ice and ate it on the sidewalk. Icy uncertainty combined with slushy, minimal friction to culminate in a physically and mentally demanding run. Running on the soft, forgiving snow increases the repetition of my footfalls while forcing my ankles to engage and strengthen. I find this running to be mentally frustrating but rewarding because it forces me to relax into the run and accept the slow going. At almost my halfway point I hear a crow cawing above and in front of me, it sounded like an angry cawing, so I look up and see a crow chasing a great horned owl. With the frozen Mississippi River as a backdrop, I watched the owl alight on a branch and the crow looks on from another tree. After a couple moments, the crow swoops and the owl takes flight back the way I came. I decide this is a sign and turn to follow the owl, as does the crow. I arrived back at home and immediately ran to the bathroom to poop. I don’t think these poops in timely proximity to my runs have anything to do with the food I’m eating so much as my system re-accustoming itself to running. Every time I go a while without running and then start again my system “cleanses” and I poop a lot. That being said, I am cutting cereal and milk from my diet as a test. I know, I know, what a traitor to the name sake of this blog, but I’m really more committed to what cereal represents rather than the cereal itself.

I took a shower and debated the pros and cons of riding my bike to meet Massoud Amin at the University of Minnesota McNamara Alumni Center. I decided to walk.My meeting with Massoud today was a connection through my Dad. Walking over to the McNamara building I could feel my leg muscles contracting with every step as they processed the run from earlier. I meet Massoud in this room that looks, feels, and sounds like a cathedral: all wooden, angled ceiling with juts and geometric shapes on the walls. Massoud and I took a leisurely stroll in the crisp, afternoon sunlight to a Starbucks where we purchased coffee to go and rambled back to his office. I met with a man in his office who had a definitive passion for the Boundary Waters. He told a story about how he found his “happy place” (reference to meditation) on a trip with a friend where he pushes his canoe off on his own for the day and steps on an island. On this island he feels totally alone, as if he were the first human being to set foot there. In my chest I can feel the wonderment he felt that day. Massoud and I proceeded to his office where we talked about leadership, ourselves, management, and education. I left with promises of future meetings and a feeling that I had met someone whom I would look to for advice, partnership, and encouragement.

I didn’t end up taking out my bike with its new fenders but tomorrow morning the meeting at the Nicollet will be biked to. Now it’s my left foot’s turn to be sore from a run. Now I’m journaling for hours on end and will most likely read Game of Thrones until 1 am. Game of Thrones is good but I find it tediously political and overly involved at times. I’m maybe 75% through the book. This last quarter will determine my commitment level for reading the other books in George R.R. Martin’s series.

Paddle, Portage, Repeat: Day 5: Pokegama Dam – Sleepy Bear Campsite

The Journey continues…

I was walking where we would be putting our boats in just after the dam when I noticed a man fishing at the end of a dock. I walked over to him and asked him what the fishing is like here. He comes out to fish just after the dam because the northerns, catfish, and walley like the currents. He went on to explain that he worked a job he did not enjoy for too long and is happy to be helping the organization Pheasants Forever. He was knowledgeable and opinionated about land management. Conversations with those who have a vested interest in the river excite me and led me to ask if we could interview this man spending his day fishing along the Mississippi River. He said yes so the documentary crew assembled and I slinked off to load boats.

The ever changing river flowed swiftly onward as we distributed our dry bags and packs evenly between the five canoes. Liz and I put in before everyone else and shot down river with the current, got situated in our boat, and pulled off the river into a lily pad filled pond; created at a bend in the river. We figured this would be a perfect, un-fished spot to throw some casts and wait for the rest of our crew. The lily pads provideth naught and we continued on with the four other boats. Throughout the day, Liz and I were looking for fishing spots and trying to catch something edible. We’ve been using spinner lures which Liz was using the other day when she caught the northern pike we had for dinner. A major downfall of attempting to mix making miles and fishing on a canoe trip revealed itself to us in a snagged lure on a log. We tried in vain to bring in this monstrous log fish. We circled the log like a sumo wrestler gauging his opponents weaknesses; like the mighty sumo wrestler we ceded victory to the valiant log, and cut the line. After our vicious log battle the Blandin Paper Mill and the attached dam loomed into view.

The portage around the Blandin Paper Mill was the first of many long, arduous portages. We had to pull out and unload 300 yards from the dam and then 200 more yards to the put in spot after the dam. To give you an idea of what one of our portages looks like, I’ll mention that it takes each boat of two paddlers two trips (the duffer boat can make one and help another boat make one trip as well). When I say portaged I mean carried either a forty pound boat or between 50 to 75 pounds of gear, almost 1000 yards a paddler-pair. Luckily we were able to take a break for lunch after this grueling portage.

Yada, yada, yada, more paddling…

Sleepy Bear Campsite is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In the “corner” of the site there was this treasure chest of a bear box which contained dry firewood, a saw, and an ax for our camping pleasure. After a delicious dinner of noodles in marinara sauce, Natalie read some of Walt Whitman’s “Stories of Myself.” The direction of the book revolved around a specific focus on personal development. I would be interested in reading the full text as we only got a taste of the book from the excerpt read to us by Natalie. Unfortunately, I was extremely tired and took my leave for sleep soon after the reading. Tomorrow we will be paddling into Jacobson, MN where we expect to go into town to resupply some items and explore a little. As I lay in my sleeping bag I talked with Anna about my idyllic conception of a run across the southern border of the USA from Miami, FL to San Diego, CA; dipping into Mexico for a section. I would want to explore the southern border of the United States while bringing that important information to the populace through a blog. Borders in the United States are occasionally on the news and were highlighted frequently for a period of time a couple of years ago but now that issue has dropped into obscurity outside of SW border states. Besides finding the idea of enforced borders in a “freedom” based country perplexing, I also want to bring more information to the public in a radical, hard to ignore way. Sleep Time.

This border run idea was thrown around throughout the trip but as you will see, it lost steam and ultimately never rooted itself in reality. Although, “Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it’s almost impossible to eradicate.” (Inception 2010)

DC on its Last Legs (1/15/2013 + 1/16/2013)

Nick Ryan prepares to leave Washington DC, smashing in as many comfortable January runs as possible for the next year will yield a frigid winter which will cut to his bones, more than he knows.

1/15/2013, 10:50 PM

Workout Summary:

Full workout this morning

6 mile run-9.05 m/mi

Workout Premonition:

Full workout in morning before dentist at ten

run 6 miles after lunch after dentist

Food:

sweet potato pancakes, banana

grapefruit, rest of the veggies and some noodles, pineapple

sweet potato pancake, some blueberries

banana, sweet potato pancakes with chocolate chips, green pepper half

black tea, DC Brau, and veggie sandwich at tryst

bowl of cereal with blueberries, thimble berries, and whole milk

Journal:

Made breakfast

trying to write in an interesting readable fashion is difficult and I’m doing my best to be engaging and interesting. I have a feeling it will turn out quite well, I have read a lot of engaging things in my day and I should be able to piece meal something cool.

also finished filling out the application for incorporation but need office address, our addresses, and potential board members and then need to clean it up.

took a 30 minute nap, if it had been any longer I would’ve slipped into unconsciousness

Exercise:

run was struggle city on the slippery trails at cabin john but I went 6 miles and saw someone else out there doing the same which was awesome, I only wish I was better at communicating with randoms on the “street” because it would have been really cool to run and talk to someone else whom I’ve never met before but he seemed pretty focused and so was I at that point, I can see how people would hallucinate on long runs and I have a lot of preparation ahead of me if I’m going to do Leadville but I’ll have to commit soon or else registration will close and that would be unfortunate.

Showered and metro’d out to Tryst coffee shop to meet Laura. Tryst actually had delicious beer, sandwiches, and tea. I will be using that as nevermind I’m leaving Saturday. I was fifteen minutes early so I figured I would watch her come through the door but I ended up staring at her for like 45 minutes until I figured out that that was her. It turned out just fine because she was incredibly interesting and interested in what I was doing as well. I’m not sure what the protocol is for writing about her but I won’t say anything because that’s all I need to say. She was awesome though and drove me home in her yellow mustang which was sweeeet.

Meeting Laura today was epic. She’s great and does awesome things, we both got really into explaining our pursuits and it was invigorating to share excitement with someone over the same goal but through two totally different means. She’s working bit by bit to assist an organization in the eventual betterment of society and I am working or rather will be working with young people to help them realize that they can do whatever they want because they really can; I am a living example of that. I think that if Laura wants to start a Mosaic company in Italy then she has the connection through family members to make it happen. It was incredible to listen to her dream of starting a mosaic class in Italy. It would be a huge life style transition to try and teach the art of making mosaics in Italy while raising her son, and with a husband who has a solid National Institute of Health job. Starting a family seems to provide the cement for a hopefully stable lifestyle. Those times create a new adventure that has to be embraced and options opportunities and the ability to change swiftly or incongruously gets wiped out. The adventure of having a family and building a life with a committed partner cannot be discounted. As much as travelling the world is an external adventure into the world around us, having a family is an internal adventure which delves into the ideas of place, self, and instilling humanity in a new human. Appreciating this lifestyle is a game of perspective. If having a family is viewed as an adventure and not as a detraction from potential adventure then the joys of parenting, furthering a long-term relationship, and building a nest will flow easily.

All of that being said, I want to stay unstable for an indeterminate period of time. My personal life is still an agile start-up with a bright future. I want to be able to say I’m done with what I’m doing, have a vague idea of what I want to do next, and throw myself at it. Her plan is ambitious and beautiful and she is so righteous in her thoughts about how to positively change the direction of a powerful agency. I hope she succeeds in convincing whoever needs convincing that the organization needs to switch gears or at least direct some resources towards solving the issues she cares about because they affect this country as much or more than what they are already focusing on. She had the fire in her eyes talking about her ideas and that’s what is electrifying, that is what got me so excited. Someone could have boringly, drawled out her exact words and I would have lost interest. Her earnest excitement drew me in and flowed from her into me. Being excited about an idea is the embracing of all possible problems and pairing them with solutions in the moment, on my feet.

1/16/2013, 9:57 PM

Workout Summary:

25 pushups at night

rest day where I ate veggies and a ton of carbs and protein for dinner

Workout Premonition:

Tomorrow I would like to run 12 miles so let’s make that happen out on Rock Creek, SNOW OR SHINE!

Full workout in the morning

Food:

Breakfast was cereal with black and blue berries and banana

I struggled to make tasty lentils and wok-ed veggies, the veggies were good, the lentils not so much

hot OJ at tryst haha delicious

more of my leftover veggie dish, full santa fe chicken sandwich, a meatball, glass of choco milk, 2 pieces of pizza

BIG DINNER DAY

Journal:

I woke up late and felt sluggish, the double day running previously didn’t help, OR DID IT?!?!. I know when my body needs a break, today was that kind of day. The dentist sucked more than usual but it was just a cleaning and insurance covered it so that’s out of the way, I shouldn’t grind my teeth which is good to know I do because I didn’t think I was doing it. Drove to Adams Morgan to meet Aaron at Tryst. He’s getting his business of the ground gathering statistics and preparing programs for Universities to profile good donation prospects. He’s a cool guy but he doesn’t seem totally into his direction; should have brought that up when I was there but oh well he’ll be fine. Drove out to Petworth to pick up Natalie’s bed stuff but forgot I needed the van for it. Ate order out food for dinner and finished catching up with Dr. Who seasons.

Exercise:

Didn’t do much to any working out today. Meeting with Aaron was good although I couldn’t figure out his angle or get behind his business idea. The whole thing sounded half-hearted, especially when he spoke on some things he really wanted to do; that being said, I still verbally supported his thoughts and hope he finds success because he’s a cool dude and will do great, I have no doubt about that. I am pumped to get to Minnesota and eventually have a place of my own, I really like living on my own in a place that I can keep up or live with a small number of others. It would be great to live with Anna out there because she’s awesome and I think we could be accountable for one another and make sure we do the awesome things that we always talk about. I’m not sure about running leadville, I haven’t signed up yet, I don’t think I could get anyone to crew it for me I’ve never had much of a backing to my running career, it’s always been just me which was great from a recreational stand point but if I want to run a race as intense as Leadville I would like to have a dedicated team to be at the aid stations for me. I would like someone to pace me or run it with me too. Roman would be so much fun to run it with although I guarantee the last 75% of the race would be emotionally and psychologically difficult for both of us. We would both struggle but I’m sure if we stuck together we could pull each other out of it and I know for a solid fact that afterwards, finish or not, we would further our relationship immeasurably. Whenever we have been allowed to team up it has been so incredibly epic. End.

Canoecopia “Canoe a Plenty”

I haven’t strictly journaled in a while. It feels as if I have been using my journal as a holding cell for my blog posts instead of a creative space to jot down thoughts about the week. The blog gets more attention than my journal, because of this I miss out on the opportunity to really let loose and express myself with truly no limits; I really do edit my blog posts. I edit the posts so much that I feel stifled sometimes when I don’t journal, so here I am talking about the problem instead of journaling.

I felt so nervous for the first presentation on Saturday at Canoecopia in Madison, WI. I didn’t feel like I was prepared, I switched a lot of the presentation around at the last minute. Of course, when we got to the room 2 minutes before we present the internet is extremely poor. We ended up reaching out to Jordan from OAR Northwest to use his phone as a mobile hot spot. Once the presentation got rolling we were strapped for time. Being one of the later speakers I had to rush through some of my bit in order to help us fit in our time slot. Having to rush in a presentation was helpful for me to gather my thoughts around a theme and focus, instead of filling my time with fluff which I tend to do when given too much time. The first presentation went great for me even though we had technical difficulties and cut some things short I think we totally nailed it as far as what the audience perceived and the message getting across.

Madison, WI is always a great town to go out and have fun because it’s a huge college town and has all of the amenities associated. We headed out to a divey bar somewhere in town and met up with Jordan and Justin from OAR Northwest, a non-profit based in Seattle. Jordan was part of a world record setting team which rowed across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to England and then rowed from Senegal to Miami as part of an adventure education and research trip. These guys were great because they have a drive to reach and educate as large an audience of students as possible through adventures. This Fall, Jordan and his partner are going to row the Mississippi River in a dory rowboat with plans to physically visit three schools in each state they row through while also virtually connecting with schools through the adventure education model. The Paddle Forward crew plans on sharing all of the information we gathered about the river and connections OAR NW should make along the way. Every through paddle is completely different and these guys doing the river and doing it in a similar fashion as to how we did doesn’t detract from our trip in the slightest. I believe that an adventure education centric trip down the Mississippi River could go off every 80 days all summer and fall every summer and fall and each trip would be different and the impact would never diminish.

The second presentation was in a room at the base of a hotel which provided us with reliable internet and a lot of our friends, family, and supporters were in the audience. We were also the last group presenting in that room for the day so we had all the time in the world to elaborate, tell stories, and answer questions afterwards.

Through that first presentation, I met Matt and Jamie with the Ice Age Trail Alliance. I asked Matt if there were any thru-hiking speed records on the IAT. An ultra-marathoner has run the entire IAT in 22 days and 6 hours while being followed by a support van. As far as I can tell through some very rudimentary research, there is no speed record for an unsupported thru-hike of the IAT. Knowing that tid-bit of information I walked around the Canoecopia vendors area and spoke with a woman at the adidas outdoor booth and she mentioned that adidas sponsors athletes in their endeavors. That discussion of sponsorship got me thinking about how I can make this run on the IAT happen in 2015. I want to reach out to Matt and get more information on the trail and start planning for a departure date of April 1st, 2015. I better start running! More information coming about this on a rolling basis.

I want to make this a reality so badly. I need an individual task and I would love doing something like this. I would love it so much. I can’t believe I have never ever met someone who would be willing to do something like this with me. If anything it’s a committment of time to doing something which most people don’t understand. The ‘why?’ which I constantly hear in reference to my running habits has an answer: I run like I do because I can, it feels incredible, and people tell me I can’t.

Spreadin the Word

This weekend holds the promise of an excellent Canoecopia Expo in Madison, WI. Nick will be out of the office until Monday doing presentations on the Paddle Forward: Mississippi River trip with five like-minded adventurers. Therefore, the Friday Paddle Forward post will be cancelled for this week, to be continued next week. If you’re in the Madison area come out to the Alliant Energy Center (The Coliseum), see some presentations, visit the vendors, and hang out with us!