M.E.

Final Report

2008-03-04T09:32:00.000-08:00

So, did I do it? The short answer is contained within the photo above. Hell Yeah, I freakin did it! How was it? What do you think? Read on for a complete play by play of my 27 hours of joyous suffering. For the full slide show of Bob's awesome photo's go to www.king-dino.com/micah/index.html

2/28 - 4:15 pm
Blake and I arrive at the Coral Casino. We're parked next to a lambo (of course). Bridget meets us at the front desk and lets us in. She informs me that she forgot her camera. Shit. Sorry folks. No photos of Micah in his speedo.

We make our way to the newly renovated posh locker rooms. My plan was to hang out and stretch in the wet sauna before jumping in the pool. This turned out to be quite dangerous. Lying on the floor in the steam room, trying to find some last minute peace, I hear a thunderous sound erupt above my head. "What's that?" I wonder. Moments later I realize my head is directly under a steam vent preparing for a super charge neutron blast. I roll to my side and jump off the floor just in time to avoid a total challenge shut down. Oh man. This is gonna be good.

2/28 - 5:00pm
I dive into the pool and officially begin the challenge. I remember anxiously waiting for my neck to tweak and go completely out, but it seemed to be handling the swim, or "warm up", in the words of Coach Bridget, quite fine. Although it felt very stiff, the swiming didn't seem to be aggravating the condition. However I was spending a great deal of mental energy focusing on relaxing the area and maintaining a straight spine. In the end my challenge swim was probably some of the most efficient and beautiful swimming I have ever done. Half way through I experienced what can only be described as swimmer's high. A feeling of complete streamline through the water. Not any faster than normal, but so much smoother. Swimming went real well, at least until around 2550 meters. Towards the end of the second to last lap I was gifted a calf cramp of birthday challenge potency. It took about 10 minutes for it to disengage, and even then I could barely move my foot without reengaging the muscle contraction. Damn it. I walked it off and breaststroked the final lap.

2700 meters
-2x100 freestyle
-6x400 freestyle
-1x100 breaststroke

2/28 - 6:30pm
After a short break, I get in the jacuzzi and try to massage my calf into a state of relaxation while Bridget teaches Blake about the wonders of swim caps. Rubbing my calf by the jets I simultaneously began prepping myself for the freedive. "Your sick lungs can handle it." "It's like 45 seconds of stress." "You're calf won't cramp up." "Man, I hope my calf doesn't cramp up."

The plan was to do 3 short dives to warm up and then nail it. Breathing in the pool, preparing for my first warm up, I see the lifeguard walking towards me. "Just wanted to let you know that the pool closes in 5 minutes." Great. No time for warm ups. Time to rock. I relax into deep breathes for 2 minutes, allowing my thoughts to simplify and my heart to slow. 4 quick powerful breathes followed by a full inhale and... go. Half way down the pool I feel the anxiety start (much quicker than I was expecting). I sense the surface above me and in a reckless moment consider surfacing to escape the pain, only to realize in the following moment that the pain of failure could be far worse, so I close my eyes and just keep stroking. Glancing forward I see the end of the pool. I can make it. In full panic I make one final stroke. I touch the end and surface gasping for air. I pull off my goggles to look Bridget in the eyes, "I'm ok."

For the record, it was my understanding that the Coral Casino pool was over 50 meters long (and it is). My plan had always been to dive the length of that pool. It seemed close enough to 54 meters to use that perfect number (27x2). From my initial look over the place, I felt as if it was right around 3-5 meters longer than Olympic size. Turns out it's only 1 foot longer. Whatever the case, I completed the challenge as I understood it, but not completely how I had described it. Sorry for any confusion.

2/28 - 8:00 pm
I arrive home for night of cooking and drinking. Wysel was there. He had just arrived from Arizona. What a champ. He drove 7 hours to hang out with my lame ass on my birthday. I open up a bottle of Spanish red and enjoy a glass with a quick dinner of turkey pasilla cakes and seaweed salad from lazy acres (weird I know).

Then it was off to the kitchen to cook for a few hours. My goal was to prep everything I possibly could for the dinner the following evening while simultaneously polishing off 1 of my 2.7 bottles of wine. Things went well. The guys left half way through to go party downtown, so I was able to focus and work efficiently. By about 10:30pm, I was done with all my prep and was catching a pretty strong buzz from the bottle of red. Time for bed.

3/1 - 3:00 am
I wake up to the sounds of howler monkeys dancing in the living room. The roomies were home from the bars and still going strong. My plan was to wake up at 4am for 45 minutes of yoga followed by the headstand, but after rolling around in bed for a bit I decide on skipping the sleep and plunging ahead. Getting out of bed, I notice the beginnings of a moderate hangover and a solid stiff neck. Entering the living room I find 2 passed out drunks and a third dancing by himself half naked in the middle of the room (Any guesses who that might be?)
I roll out my mat and begin. Minutes later the third monkey passes out on the couch and I practice to the sounds of their communal snores. The yoga wasn't officially part of this challenge, but was very necessary to accomplish an endurance headstand. Without a thorough alignment of the shoulders and back, a 27 minute headstand would more or less guarantee an injury.

I start my recently compiled 27 minute song list, take a few breathes, place my elbows, drop my head and slowly raise my feet into sirshasana (headstand). Almost immediately I notice that my shoulders are much more fatigued than I am used to. To avoid neck injury the shoulders take most of the burden in a proper headstand. Creeping up on 10 minutes, the shakes already have begun. Breathing into the strain, I methodically continue to reestablish balance and alignment, allowing my entire body to hold its weight as effortlessly as possible. 20 minutes rolls around and I've begun to drip sweat.. Bythis point panic has set in. Seconds feel like an eternity. The songs seem to go on forever. Half way through the final song I know there are only a few minutes left. I'm gonna make it. As the room goes quiet, I cautiously lower (this is a dangerous moment) and curl into childs posture. The blood drains from my head and I notice my hands and forearms go numb then light up with fresh supply of clean blood. I raise my head and let out a scream, "YES!" The snores continue from the couch. None of the monkeys move an inch. That 27 minutes upside down in my living room may have been one of the most difficult physical challenges I have ever accomplished.

The clock reads 5:oo am and I realize that I've got some extra time to kill before picking up Andy up at 6am. So I take off my shoes and go on an early morning barefoot walk that knocks 0.7 miles off. Upon return, I gather my things and drive off into the sunrise.

3/1 - 6:00am
Andy and I arrive at ROCO where the Minister himself, Bob Banks is waiting. Stepping into the coffee shop, I begin to realize how tired my body already is. Looking people in the eyes was already difficult and there was a persistent naseau that was surely part hangover and part exhaustion. The perfect state of mind for climbing 270 boulder problems.
We shoot the shit for a little bit and then drive up to the Brickyard. The three of us exited our cars to one the most beautiful mornings any of us had ever experienced on West Camino Cielo. Maybe the gods were smiling on me.

I had spent some time working out circuits that would hopefully allow the bouldering to be completed somewhat efficiently. My plan was to get 50 problems done at the Yard (not nearly enough to finish the rest off at Lizards Mouth), but Bob surprised me with some good news. There was a cluster of boulders at the Yard that he always referred to as the VB boulders (VB meaning under V0). I had neglected to include these in my circuit and he figured I could tick off a large amount of problems in this area. We arrive at the VB boulders and begin our long day of bouldering. Well, not until I dawned some purple stretchy pants and racing stripe drag shorts. After all style is good for endurance.

It didn't take long for me to realize that Andy was planning on completing all 270 problems with me. Bob, on the other hand, had a different agenda. "Micah, I'm glad it's not my birthday" he says as he snaps another photo. With the inclusion of the VB boulders and a large cluster of boulders in and around the Hunter S Thompson area, Andy and I were able to tick off 110 problems in about 3 hours.

Another near death experience occurred around problem 85 or so. While topping out a less than perfect problem that has no name and surely never will, I broke off a hold and barely avoided falling 10 ft to certain genetic line destruction via a large sharp and perfectly placed tree stump (very pungi stick like). This was one of many near falls due to less than perfect rock and less than perfect conditions. Although the sun was out for most of the morning, much of the rock that sat under trees was soaking wet in spots and the less popular lines were covered in slick moss. This meant that Andy and I were slipping and sliding more than we would have liked. Yeah, we got charged a little bit extra for the moss.

3/1 - 10:30 am
After a 30 minute break and some food (Andy makes a damn good pizza) we headed up the road to Lizard's Mouth where, with any luck, we could finish off 160 more problems and finish up the day. Remember that weather that I was bragging about. Well, it disappeared. The fog that hours ago was 1000 ft below had moved back into the hills and engulfed us in its cold wet miserableness. Winds picked up and spirits dropped. Shitty doesn't really do my mood justice. I hate climbing when it’s cold. Nothing is worse than numb finger tips that one must trust their life to. My first 50 at Lizards Mouth took almost 2 hours. Luckily more of the gang showed up and kept morale high. Mary, Marcela, Travis, and Jeff, I thank you for every spot and every little bit of motivation.

3/1 - 1:30pm
Sometime around this time problem 200 went down. Andy and I were getting real tired. We took another break and tried to get warm. Sitting and snacking I started to notice how bad my skin was getting. It was more or less on empty. Every pad and even my palms were worn down to the last layers of available friction and protection. Andy didn't look much better. I really didn't want to go climb any more rock, and even though he stayed positive, I don't think he wanted to either.

On our way back up to the rocks, another contingent of support arrived as the sun started to push through the fog once again. "The Homies" made quite an entrance. Blake, David (who drove up from L.A.), Eric and the great Wysel stumbled up the path in classic dirt bag style. Beers and other "things" in tow, they promptly got to work on their own little challenges. Rock jumping, stick fighting, and female photography were their main events. Seen any rippers lately? Also about this time, my beautiful and always supportive girlfriend arrived with a very special present. She presented me with my official 27th birthday challenge shirt that she handmade in classic sweetheart style. With my shirt and a large mob supporting the final effort Andy and I set out to finish what we'd started.

Cramps, blood, bruises, hangovers, and total exhaustion weren't going to stop us. We pushed forward lifting ourselves to some higher level of consciousness that only a Birthday Challenge could usher in. As 4:00pm rolled around we had about 20 more problems to complete. Slowly ticking off classics and not so classics in the Sorry About That area the countdown from our comrades drove us on. 20 more! 10 more! 5 more! It was going to happen. Then the question. What problem would be number 270? Bob and I talked it over and realized that the perfect finale would be the Rat Mantle. It's no giveaway, and in my opinion a total classic. Plus Andy had never done it. So we all walked over to the boulder named after the Birthday Challenge mascot himself, Tuco the Rat, and in turn, Andy and I turned the mantle, pumped our arms to the sky and sat down relieved to be done with the madness.

If one were to add up all the climbing we had just completed it would undoubtedly be something close to 2500 ft. of 5.10. Wow. Big day.

Before saying much more, I have to bow my head to the great Bob Banks. Without Bob's encyclopedic knowledge of Santa Barbara bouldering and his years of Birthday Challenge experience, I would have been hard pressed to complete the climbing component of this challenge. Thanks Bro.

And as said already, Andy for some reason willingly climbed all day with me (even though he had to guide other climbers the following day). His spots, positive vibe and uncanny effort will not go unforgotten. And yes, he looks good in his stretchy pants as well.

3/1 - 4:45 pm
Removing my shoes (BTW: the new 5.10 Vmiles are great) I checked my watch. I had a little more than 3 hours left to complete the remaining tasks. Success was well within reach. After figuring out some car logistics, I cracked open a bottle of white and started walking down West Camino Cielo, barefoot of course. Blake was nominated to man the Mini Cooper and drove 2 miles down the road to mark my final destination and hopefully stay out of trouble for just a little while longer.

Walking alone basking in the golden sun that had now returned in full splendor, I felt what can only be described as a divine sense of peace (A little new age I know, but it was really nice). Of course the alcohol that was now hitting my depleted system must have partly been responsible for this improvement in mood. Normally my tolerance is very high. One bottle of wine is usually enough to get me fairly buzzed, but rarely has any major affects on my system. Well, this bottle was hitting me a little harder than I was used to. Half way through the wonderful Albarino I caught myself talking to absolutely no one. Fragmented sentences and other less than perfect English began to fall out of my mouth uncontrollably. I was getting hammered. By the time I made it to Blake and the Mini the bottle was empty and I was in a complete stupor smiling ear to ear.

3/1 - 6:30 pm
Blake and I arrive home to Bridget, Josh and Wysel decorating the living room. I should have known they'd be up to no good. Strapping on an apron and my trusty Invasion from Planet C hat, I go to work in the kitchen.

My work the night before turned out to be very helpful. The meal came to together very quickly. Chicken and Caulflower Curry, Rajma with Kale and Pumpkin Seeds, and Basmati Brown Rice. Educated Vegetable fare to say the least. My stupor left me with little ability to taste what I was creating, but I guesstimated to the best of my ability.

As the clock neared 8:00pm we took a head count. With only about 16 people in the kitchen at 7:30 I was not very stoked. Somehow, a few last minute phone reminders brought the troops running. Before my time expired, 30 or so people filled their plates and enjoyed their meal just as I finished off yet another bottle of wine (That made 3 bottles in 27 hours, but I figure that should make up for the freedive confussion).

3/1 - 9:30 pm?
After entertaining my friends for longer than they may have liked with various drunken activities I was taken to bed and tucked in by my girl. I'm told that at some point in the evening, somewhere around the time she presented me with one of the best carrot cakes of my life (homemade and improved to perfection), we were prompted to engage in a 27 second kiss. I, of course, was quite into the public display of affection so dove in without delay. Bridget spent the next 27 seconds enduring what she described as a 5 year old with ADD attacking a jar of candy. This may or may not have been done while my pants were stuffed with a large sweet potato, but it doesn't really matter because it happened after my 27 hours expired. There's always next year.

The Final Countdown

2008-02-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Here I sit just hours before the beginning of what could be the most painful and simultaneously enjoyable 27 hours of my life up until this point. It's an odd feeling waiting for the clock to start as I dive into the pool at the Coral Casino. The butterflies, the anticipation, the excitement, the last minute details; they all blend together washing over me like the water I will shortly be dancing with.

Am I ready? Well, the short answer is yes. The longer answer is well..... I wish I didn't feel bronchitis creeping up on me, and I wish that I didn't have a major kink in my neck. And man, I wish there were some more easy boulder problems on West Camino Cielo. I'm a little scared, as I should be. Humble yet secure I step into battle with no one other than myself, which can often times be the most difficult battle of all, but it's so damn fulfilling. I'm ready. I can do this. No big deal.

Tentative Challenge Schedule
Friday
5pm-7pm: Swimming and Freediving
8pm-10pm: Cooking Prep+Wine

Saturday
4am-5:30am: Yoga and Headstand
6:30am-8:30am: Bouldering at the Brickyard
9am-2pm: Bouldering at Lizards Mouth
2pm-3pm: Barefoot Hike
3:30pm-5pm: Bouldering at Painted Cave
5:30pm-8pm: Dinner and Wine
8pm-?????: Whatever the Hell I want!

Dumb Dumb's R Us

2008-02-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

I should have known better. Everything has been going far too well. With less than two weeks left in my challenge I found a way to truly achieve idiot status. I got the flu last week, and yesterday severly tweaked my neck. What's the absolute worse thing one can do training? Yeah, get injured. Nice work Micahman.

So what to do? Giving up is an option. Nah, everyone's doing that. Change my challenge date? That sounds like giving up to me. Oh I know. Continue according to plan and do what I can over the next few days to rehab my neck as far as possible. That's the one.

Two days of rest and restoration will have to be enough. March is approaching and the weather is looking good. Speaking of which, I need all your help Saturday night. Part of this challenge is to feed 27 people a proper meal. This will take place at my house (550 Miramonte Dr in Santa Barbara) at around 6pm. Please come by and help me out with your hungry belly. Bring some drinks if your into that sort of thing.

2/18

Barefoot neighborhood walk, Restorative postures

Bouldering at Lizards Mouth

-worked out circuits in femme Fatale and Sunset Boulevard

2/19

Sun Salutations, Restorative Postures

1 mile in the pool

-800 freestyle

-8x50 dolphin kick drills on 2 minute intervals

-2x200 freestyle

Stroke really coming together. Actually caught up with someone.

Pecan Crusted Turkey Tenderloin, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Rosemary Butter, Warm Radicchio Salad

Late night hike to secret hot springs with Bridget

-Started to feel a little weird tonight. Low energy, a little sick to my stomach. Probably just overdoing it a bit.

2/20

90 minutes of yoga including 20 minute headstand

Started to feel real sick today. I don't like admitting that I'm sick. First of all its a shot to my health guru ego, and more importantly, admitting to sickness is a giving into sickness. You know, mind over matter and all that new age "stuff". By the end of the evening I was in the thick of it. Unable to stay warm, rainbow collard phlegm, weak and achey.... the flu. Love it.

2/21

Slept terribly last night. I woke up at 4am and had to take a bath just to get warm. Got back in bed in alpine gear and slept fittfully, but warm till morning.

Restorative Postures (felt like I had never done yoga before)

Whenever I get sick, I crave spice. Mexican food always sounds good. The problem is Mexican food provides many other things that are definitely not good for one's immune system. Shitty oils, lots of cream, and little to no vegetable matter (most of the time). I want Authentico/Hippie fusion! We settled on Los Arroyos. I hate this place for the most part. Mainly this is due to the unbelievable amount of press they get for their mediocre food. However, they do have a nice salsa bar (which was my main craving at this point). As usual, the food was about a 5 and the clientele was dressed to impress.

As the day progressed my body started to take control of its situation and I began to gain some more energy/heat/strength. Knowing that I would be spending the entire weekend at Bridget's ranch (where I would not be climbing) I forced myself to go do some laps at the shed. Surprisingly I felt quite strong, although I hit the wall after about 2 hours. Campused a bit and got on lap routes.

2/22 - 2/24
Bridget and I left for her families ranch on Friday morning. Not much training this weekend other than some yoga and some light hikes. I had originally hoped to hit it hard the week preceding and then rest up at the ranch for my final push to the challenge, but the flu put a wrench in that wheel.

Well, life goes on, and turns out there's more to life than training :-)

Nestled in the mountains 9 miles off the coast of Big Sur lies 400 acres of pure wilderness heaven. 100 ft pines with football sized cones, wild horses, deer everywhere, golden eagles, raging rivers, mountain lions (there's tracks all over the property), perfect coldwater sandstone and granite (covered in moss currently), and one small modest house. The good life.

Highlights:

-Maggie (one of Bridget's 3 dogs) pooping in the car on the way up there.

-Cooking for myself and someone special with no pressure or time restraints for the first time in a while.

-Meeting and feeding a dozen or so wild horses.

-Exploring only a fraction of the 400 acres (in the rain) and discovering some of the magic.

-Hot showers afterwards.

-Playing the piano for the first time in a while.

-Almost not making it out because of the storm that pounded us all weekend.

2/25

1 mile in the pool (still coughing up phlegm and not able to breathe well)

-100 freestyle

-200 freestyle

-400 freestyle

-400 breaststroke

-2x200 freestyle

-6x15 freedives with 3 breaths resting

2/26

90 minutes of yoga including 15 minute headstand

The sun was out and I was tempted to hit the boulders, but it had rained hard only 72 hours prior, so I made the drive to Vertical Heaven. My plan was to do a high volume day of stuff in the 5.10-5.11 range (V0-V2). As I warmed up I noticed that I still felt a bit weak from my flu and my body wasn't wanting to work hard at all. I went up and down some easy stuff and then got motivated by a 5.12 in the cave. I decided to boulder up a bit of it and down climb something easy next to it. After 3 fairly powerful dead points I went for yet another big move hit the hold strong, caught my momentum and crack, crack, tweak tweak, ouch, ouch, goes my upper right back area (all climbers know this zone: where the traps, back of shoulder, rhomboids, and upper lats meet up under the scapula). It's happened to me a dozen times climbing, practicing yoga, and even using the toilet (no joke). Instant stiff neck. I wanted to cry. I was able to loosen the musculature up with some opposing motions and finished off some more routes with the hope that the continued motion would help relax the area. In the end I topped out a dozen routes.

Returned home that evening and with the help of my girl made my athentico/hippie Mexican dinner a reality:

Adobado Tempeh, Black Beans, Sauteed Eggplant and Peppers broiled with Jack Cheese, Homemade Pico de Gallo, Homemade Hot Red Salsa, Guacamole with Sprouted Wheat Tortillas.

2/27

Real simple Restorative work on shoulders and back.

Pranayama

After a very deep massage from the lovely Bridget the night preceding and some proper restorative work, my neck is probably back to about 50%. Usually when I tweak it like this it takes about a week to get back to 100%. I've got 2 days. Shit.

Weekend Warrior

2008-02-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

As the big day gets closer, I've tried to create multiple activity days for myself that will hopefully increase my tolerance for suffering. These are had to pull off during the week, but the weekends have been filled with a few nice mini adventures. I think it's working. Some notes can be found below.

2/5

I think I did some yoga, but can't really remember

I’ve been hanging out at coffee shops a lot lately (yeah, I’m back on the espresso con pannas), and the pastry selections have been less than inspiring. I love “hippie pastries”. You know, whole grain stuff with good oils etc. So I decided to take the matter into my own hands and created some awesome whole grain all butter Scottish Oat Scones. Yes.

2/6

Restorative poses

Bouldered at the Brickyard. Finally did Lonesome pine (V6) along with an assortment of other moderate classics. Every once in a while I get some perks out of my writing gig. Tonight was one of those. Tre Anelli, a new winery in the valley invited me to their industry party where I was treated to large amounts of wine (1.5 bottles worth?) and some great appetizers.

2/7

1 mile in the pool

-600 freestyle

-4x50 dolphin kick

-2x100 freestyle breathing every 5 strokes

-300 breaststroke

-300 free with leg float

2/8

On Bob's suggestion I decided to check out the boulders at Red Rock for possible Birthday Challenge usage. I hadn't been to Red Rock in a while so it sounded like fun. Of course it was going to be somewhat epic getting to the boulders. The road to red rock was closed due to flooding etc so Bridget and I mounted our bikes, which neither of us had been on in years.

Luckily we both remembered how to work the simple mechanism known as the bicycle and made it through the 7 river crossings ( including the final one which was deep enough to require ditching the bikes and egg beatering across holding our gear above our heads) injury free. I highly recommend everyone try riding a bike with a boulder pad on at least once in their life. Red Rock was beautiful and because the approach required effort, we were alone the entire day except for a brief encounter with two other people. Good stuff. I bouldered a bunch of easy stuff and worked the moves of Seven Year Plan (V7). Bridget made me proud and traversed all the way in and out of the Bro Den even though her instincts told her to swim it instead.

After a cold cold cold ride back to the car we had dinner at Mattei's Tavern in Los Olivos. To be honest, this place is way overpriced, but the food is good, and the crowd is great. I had the buffalo sirloin and a full blown hamstring cramp which created a bit of a scene. "Are you all right sir?" I hear as a squirmed across the floor praying that I might pass out to escape the pain and embarrassment I was experiencing.

2/9

75 min yoga including a 15 minute headstand while being hosed down by Brian. The crux was by far the water that was flowing up my nose. Thanks guys.

Feeling stoked on my bike, I got on with my climbing shoes in tote and rode from my house to Westmont where I bouldered all the up problems on the boulder except for one (that crimpy thing to the left of the hueco on the back side). As the sun started to go down, I realized I was in no condition to ride home, so I coasted over to Bridget's house and acted pathetic enough to earn a ride home in the car. To thank her for her efforts I created a new dish: Butter Chicken and Cauliflower Curry with Pasilla mango chutney. This dish was so good and easy to prepare that I will probably be serving it for the cooking part of my challenge.

2/10

Climbing at Lizards Mouth with Andy, Mary and co.

Good times bouldering with good friends.

Highlights included:

-Andy's awesome style.

-Mary sending Shaken like a tornad0 (v6) not once but twice.

-Andy showing me some great new problems.

-La Super rica and Modelos at the end of the day.

2/11

Neighborhood Walk, Restorative Poses

Tried to swim a 1600 in the pool without stopping. Had to stop at 1200 because I had a splitting headache (probably because my goggles suck. I'm working it out as we speak). Cooled down with a 200 of kickboard.

2/12

Sun Salutations, Restorative Poses

Bouldering at Lizards Mouth. I spent the afternoon mapping out my circuit in the Top of the World, MA area. There is actually a lot of climbable rock in this area including some very nice moderate and sometimes a bit scary problems.

2/13

90 minutes of yoga including headstand variations.

40 problems at Painted Cave.

Hike up Hot Springs trail with Bridget, Blake and Bosco. For those of you that have never done this, you are missing out. You may not believe me when you first arrive at the less than inspiring looking pools, but with the help of a large tarp and the company of some good friends, good times are more or less guaranteed.

-1 hour of hiking

-2.5 hours of soaking

-1 bottle of wine

2/14

Restorative Postures

Valentine's Day

-2 hours finding and "decorating" Bridget's car

-2 hours preparing/serving Pasta Puttanesca for the two of us.

-1.5 bottles of wine-1 large bar of Chilean Chocolate

-Other Activities

2/15

Sun Salutations

1 mile in the pool

-2 x400 freestyle

-4oo breaststroke

-300 freestyle with leg float

-6x15 free dives with 3 breaths in between

-3x25 free dives with 9 breaths in between

-50 meter free dive!

Zen Yai plus 6 beers out and about.

2/16

Sun Salutations

Went climbing at Mr. Lees. The day started off well. Shortly after arriving at the crag, I realized that in true genius style I forgot my harness. Phil was totally stoked of course. Luckily we were able to warm up on White Lotus belaying from the bolt at the bottom of the route. After a few goes Chris arrived (with his harness like a normal climber), and saved me from the certain death that Phil was surely planning on treating me to. In further "normal" style, Chris belayed me on my red point of White Lotus (11d) using a harness made from the rope we were climbing with. He must have foreseen my success, because catching a lead fall on the harness he fashioned out of Phil's "brand new" rope could not only possibly turn him into a castrato, but may have allowed me a the chance to test out my chute less base jumping skills. You’re a good man Chris. Later in the day I got on Drunken Master (12.d) and found may what up the damn thing doing all but one move. There were two harnesses involved in this ascent. I know. Boring.

Other highlights of the day included

-Phil and Chris creating the new and superb true finish to Wild Kingdom

-Steve (Also known as Wolverine) redpointing Hard Boiled (13.b) in style

-D. kicking ass on Wild Kingdom (13.a)

-Woofie (Chris's dog) not trying to kill me

2/17

9o minutes of yoga including 10 minute headstand

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2008-02-04T18:29:00.000-08:00

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for the plants getting some water every now and again, but this is getting ridiculous. How the hell am I supposed to train for this challenge when I can't go climbing outside. In order to pull off 270 boulder problems, I'm not only going to have to be in phonomenal climbing shape, but I'm going to have to have all the circuits wired, and that's hard to do on the couch or climbing in a gym. Oh well, anything that makes a challenge harder qualifies as "good" (at least that's what I want to think).

In other news, OFFICIAL CHALLENGE REVISION:

The pranayama component of this challenge has officially been replaced by a 54 (27x2) meter fin free dynamic free dive. This is a warm up by freediving standards, but given that last month was my first month doing this shit, I feel pretty good about this amount. I've yet to break 45 meters, so we''ll see.

Training Notes Below:

1/26

Sun Salutations, Restortative postures

Went to Vertical Heaven. Bridget joined the boys for her first day of rock climbing. Even with a severly weak left wrist, she was able to flash to routes and get hyper motivated on yet another, pulling off 5.9 moves one handed! I'm gonna find a way to get that left wrist stronger, and with any luck she'll be kicking my ass real soon. I felt real strong on routes. Flashed everything I got on including two 5.11+. Cheers to Vertical Heaven for actually setting some great stuff.

After climbing Bridget and I hiked part of the way up Cathedral peak only to realize that a summit attempt would mean a rainy hike down in the dark. Already tired from climbing at the gym and not in the mood for an epic, we opted to bail arriving back at the car just before dark.

1/27

Sun Salututations

The rain was still coming down hard when I woke up on Sunday. So what do to do? I suit up in a full wetsuit and run up seven falls with Elijah and Elhanan. We made it to the top pool and screwed around for an hour or so. Some may laugh at our antics, calling us names that put our masculinity in question, but I scoff at these folks. Good times are good times. Period.

1/28

90 Minutes of Yoga (15 minute headstand)

1/29

Sun Salutations, Restorative Postures

1 mile in the pool (All freestyle because my groin still felt strained)

-400 freestyle

-2x200 freestyle (breathing every 5 strokes)

-2x100 freestyle (breathing every 7 strokes)

-2x50 freestyle (breathing ever 11 strokes, but had to cheat a little)

-200 kickboard

-300 leg float freestyle

1/30

Sun Salutations, Restorative Postures

Climbed at the Shed. For some reason I felt motivated to campus for the first time in 9 months or so. Campusing is rad, and for those that think Elijahs rungs are too small, I'm gonna have to side with Elijah on this one. They serve their purpose beautifully. I did every combination between 1 and 5 except 1-5. Then I tried my best to get up everyone of Phil's lap problems. Didn't get them all, but was pretty inspired by how many I actually did get up.

1/31

90 minutes of yoga (19 minute headstand). I know I can do 27 minutes on my birthday. It's gonna be great.

2/1

20 or so boulder problems at GVAC.

400 in the pool (shoulders real sore)

6 x 25 free dives

Dinner Party with Roberto Cortez (see the links to the right)

-Billionaires are funny. 20 guests means 4 chefs,6 servers, 2 dishwashers, and far too much undrunk expensive wine. Rob Lowe was there. He's short.

2/2

Barefoot Neihborhood Walk

Restorative Postures

Dinner Party for 10

-Kale, Shitake "Bacon" and Fried Oregano Guacaomole Sandwhiches

-Fennel Dusted Slow Roasted Salmon over Braised Rapini

-Sweet Potato Mascarpone Cakes

-Celery Root and Pistachio Salad

-Lobster Mushroom Rissoto.

5 cocktails with the guys afterward.

2/3

Rain meant more gym climbing. I hustled through 20 or so problems at Vertical Heaven. Yeah, I was that guy covered in sweat running from boulder problem to boulder problem.

400 at the Coral Casino with Bridget.

4 goes at 50 underwater (real close on the second go, and coincidently, real close to a black out)

2/4

Barefoot Neihborhood Walk, Restorative Postures

Repetition is good

2008-01-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Just when I felt like my training was getting a bit monotonous, I realized something. I'm getting strong. I haven't been in this kind of shape for a long time, and it feels really good.

I'm also really busy. As I've mentioned already, this whole working, training and living at the same time is really filling my plate. This being the case, I'm not feeling that motivated to sit and type. Below you'll find basic outlines of the training components of my week, and some other short details.

2/19
Climbing at Mr. Lees
-Redpointed The Shores of Hell (11.b)
-One good redpoint failure on White Lotus (11.d)

2/20
90 Minutes of Yoga
Bouldering with Elijah at Lizards Mouth
-30 or so problems, most of which were far below one star on the quality rating scale. Somehow, we had a nice time though. After more than a decade of hanging out at the Mouth, I still love being there.

2/21
Neighborhood walk
Restorative Postures

2/22
1 mile in the pool
-400 freestyle
-400 breaststroke
-800 freestyle

dynamic free dives
-2 x15 meters
-2 x35 meters
almost 1x 50 meters

2/23
90 minutes of yoga
8 minutes headstand variations

2/24
2000 in the pool
-400 freestyle
-400 breaststroke
-400 freestyle
-200 kickboard
-200 freestyle with leg float
-200 kickboard
-200 freestyle with kickboard
no freedives (my groin has been really sore from breaststroking which is the stroke I use when freediving. Bummer.)

Played an acoustic set at the Mercury Lounge. Good times. Lots of friends showed up. The house was packed. I played well considering how out of practice I am. Drank 5 stiff Belgium beers for free. Yummy.

2/25
Hungover madness.
2.5 movies

Balancing Act

2008-01-14T10:13:00.000-08:00

Ah, another week gone by. Nothing too exciting to report other than the fact that I committed to playing a set at the Mercury lounge this coming Thursday. Just what I need right? Another activity to work into my life.

I guess that's been the recurring theme lately and the overall beauty of my challenge. I've spent most of my life struggling with how best to balance, well, my life. How do I find time to cook, eat, climb, practice yoga, swim, play the guitar, write, spend time with loved ones, sleep and make the money necessary to fund all of this? Well, my hope is that training for this challenge will help answer this question which haunts me on a daily basis.

1/12
Sun Salutations, Restorative postures

Climbing at Mr. Lees
-4 goes on Shores of Hell (11b) including 2 redpoint failures. Redpoint guaranteed next week.
-2 goes on some 11d

Climbing in Santa Maria is hard. Energy levels are rarely high after a day on the overhanging pockets of the Owl Tor and Mr. Lees. After a long day of climbing with cool folks including the ever popular Normal Guy, I was in need of some good food, and I sure as hell wasn't going to be the one to make it. So.... Zen Yai of course. For those of you that haven't had it yet, do yourselves are favor and go order the Duck Curry. It will change your life. I promise. Met up with Phil for drinks at Eos after dinner. 3 Gin and sodas and a complimentary glass of champagne. Time for bed.

1/13
Sun Salutations, Restorative Postures

The sun was out so I headed to Lizards Mouth to get some more problems wired. I ran into some of the UCSB kids that crank pretty hard. They distracted me from my original mission and showed me a new problem that's allot of fun. It's basically a sitstart to Phyllis Diedrickson. Great moves on an overhanging wall lead to a pumpy and fairly difficult topout. It's in the V5 range and well worth a few goes.

I also overheard that someone found a way to brake off part of the undercling on The Dancing Outlaw at The Brickyard. Are you ready for a rant? Well here goes.... That hold was REAL solid. The only way it could have possibly broken off would be if some idiot thought they were so fucking cool that they could climb only days after a heavy rain. Look guys, it's sandstone. It sucks up water, and breaks when weight is applied. Just because you have it wired and the fall won't kill you doesn't mean you can climb on it when it's wet. Quit unnecessarily defacing classics that some of us haven't done yet, and would really enjoy doing at some point. I'm glad people are motivated to climb, but holy shit, have some fucking ethics and wait for the rock to dry out! I haven't been down to the Brickyard yet to look at the damage, but I'll report in when I see it. Enough for now.

Here's a video I found of some random dudes working the Dancing Outlaw (No guys, that's not Lizards Mouth). Sorry about the ending to this. Climbers are dorks. It's not my fault.

I circuited some problems as the sun went down and then had a marvelous pranayama session.

1/14
1 mile in the pool
-400 freestyle
-400 breaststroke
-200 kickboard flutterkick
-200 freestyle with leg float
-4X40 underwater breaststroke
-200 freestyle

Work:
-Cabbage Frittata
-Pineapple and Quinoa Upma
-Celery Root Salad
-Black Mussel, Shitake, and Kale Stew

1/15
75 minute yoga. I skipped the headstand today because I tweaked my neck a bit climbing on Sunday.

Work:
-Jerk Shrimp with Quinoa Cakes, Spiced Black Beans, Curried Winter Squash, and Braised Collard Greens
-Leek Pate and Yellow Beet Borscht
-Roasted Root Vegetable Salad with Chili Honey Mustard Dressing

Went swimming at night after work. A nice change of pace.
1 mile in the pool
-800 freestyle!
-400 breaststroke
-200 flutter kick with kickboard
-200 freestyle with leg float
-6X15m underwater breaststroke with only 3 breaths between go's

1/16
90 minute yoga including 17 minute headstand (yeah my neck is feeling better)
Here's a photo of proper headstand:

Work:
-Mandarin Salad
-Coconut and Banana Bars (gluten free!)
-Wild Rice, Oyster Mushroom and Swiss Cheese Casserole
-Sweet Sesame Snap Peas

3 hours climbing at the shed
Felt strong. My endurance is really coming along. I felt smoother, lighter and quicker than I have in a long time. Made it up 6 or 7 different routes (a few of which I did multiple times). If you've climbed at the shed, you know how much climbing this equates to.

1/17
Barefoot neighborhood walk
Restorative postures
More or less a rest day.

Work:
-Chicken Legs in Viognier Sauce
-Potato Gratin
-Braised Broccoli

1/18
Sun Salutations and Restorative Poses
1 mile in the pool. I had hoped that I would get a big workout in today, but for some reason, I felt really weak, tired and unmotivated today. Probably a case of too much rest (10 hours+ of sleep last night and no drinks)
-200 freestyle
-200 catch up stroke
-4x100 freestyle sprints
-400 breaststroke
-400 freestyle

You're kidding me.... I have to work?

2008-01-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

This week felt pretty hectic with two major shifts in my world. I Started working again, and Bridget disapeared to Honduras.

Still, I'm getting stronger and really enjoying my swim workouts. Turns out swimming is:

-super hard
-super inspiring
-super good for my body

There's much more "yoga" going on in the pool than I once realized. The combination of breathwork, body awareness, core focus and soliltude that it provides has left me very motivated. In fact I am conidering replacing the pranayama in my challenge with some sort of freediving challenge.... 72.9m (27x 2.7) meters underwater in the pool possibly?

1/4
75 min of yoga, 8 minute headstand

Had dinner at Bridget's parent’s house. Met the family etc. I think her parents like me. I was well behaved at least. Food was great. Tim (her dad) prepared venison that he shot himself on his ranch in Nor Cal. I probably polished off a bottle of wine.

1/5
Sun Salutations
Restorative/pranayama

Went to Vertical Heaven with a crew from the shed. Thanks to Paul for getting us in for free. Got on a bunch of routes. I did 10 or so ranging from 5.9 to 5.11+. Man, some of their 5.9's were a bit cruxy; cruxy enough for Phil, Elijah and I to fall on a few of them. And I thought the ratings at the Tor were sandbag.

Lauren hosted Bridget's birthday party tonight. Wow. My girlfriend is really fucking cute. I wish I had a photo of her in the dress she was wearing . Food and drinks galore, but Blake stole the show as usual. I'm not sure what was better: Him eating their goldfish and then vomiting it back up, or him challenging Cloe to a striptease contest and winning.

1/6
20 minute barefoot neighborhood walk
800 m in the pool
Restorative poses
Bridget left for Honduras today. :( She'll be down there for a few weeks studying Manatees (Water cows). I actually think I'm gonna miss her a bit.
Saw Glen Phillips play at Soho. He's always been one of my favorite song writers. In fact the first song I ever learned on the guitar was a Toad the Wet Sprocket song. Good times + 3 cocktails.

1/7
45 min of yoga (sun salutations, restorative and pranayama)

1 mile in the pool
-400 free
-400 free with leg float
-400 breastroke
-200 dolphin bread holds
-200 free

Back to the normal work schedule this week. Made some good stuff.-Banana Raita
-Eastarn Leek Patte on lavash
-Borscht
-Creamy Mushrooms with Tarragon, Shallot and Mascarpone Polenta

1/8
75 minutes of yoga including 15 minute headstand

Duck is one of my favorite things to eat on the planet.
-Duck with Rosemary and spice, Tangerine Carmelized Fennel with Lima Beans, Braised Cabbage

5 Drinks at Agave and Dargans

1/9
2000 meters in the pool!
-400 free
-400 flutter kicking drills
-400 breast
-200 dolphin kicking
-600 free

Hyderbadi Fish Korma with Bamboo Rice and Sweet Spiced Carrots
Genoise Spinach with Goji Berries
Granola
Breakfast Buckwheat
3 hours climbing at the Shed: I felt really strong tonight. I don't know if I've lost weight or what, but I was pulling off some nice moves.
Really tired when I got home. Passed out almost immediately after stuffing my face with leftovers from work.

1/10
90 minutes of yoga including 15 minute headstand (Not much stiffness later on in the day, but there was a really odd crack while I was driving that felt like an awesome chiropractic release. I can still feel my toes, so I assume everything’s fine.

Fresh local lobster for my clients. It's funny how we eat meat all the time and don't think about it at all, but during those few and far between times that we are in charge of the dirty work we feel awful. The nice part is every time I kill my food I almost always prepare and eat it with much more respect and reverence. One of those experiences that we feel truly alive when taking part in.

Vajra played at Soho. I love this band, but they'll never make it where they want to go with their current attitude and approach. A little too much "tell" to go with the "show" if you know what I mean. What happened to the 4 awesome and soulful musicians that I once saw jam their faces off? I polished off 6 gin and sodas trying to come up with an answer.

1/11
The gin and sodas last night left me feeling awful this morning. My planned 2000 was cut short by massive calf cramps.

1800 meters in the pool
-400 free
-400 breast
-200 flutter kick drill
-200 catch up stroke
-100 underwater dolphin kicking
-4x25 breathhold breaststroke
-400 free

Moped through work all day. Hangovers are awesome!

2 Months to Go

2008-01-03T17:00:00.000-08:00

12/30
Restorative Yoga and 6 hours of cooking
12/31
75 minutes of yoga and 10 hours of cooking with Roberto Cortez in LA. Liz Phair was in attendance looking very attractive (she's 44....wow.)
1/1
3 hours of pool fun (wrestling, underwater running, breath holds, diving board climbing,
800 meters or so of swimming, etc)
2 hours of climbing at the Shed
1/2
Sun Salutations and Pranayama

Coach Bridget took me to the Coral Casino for some swim training. In case you were wondering, it's pretty nice in there. I didn't want to leave the lockeroom. So much fun stuff to play with. After exploring for a little bit I swam about a mile in the pool. Bridget had me dolphin kick a few laps, which is absolutly brutal. She's working some of the kinks out of my stroke. I might even pass as a swimmer soon, if I trade in my board shorts for a sweet speedo.

Made some dinner for Bridget, Blake, Josh and I. Another great impov meal: Albacore baked with Potatoes, Leeks and Herbs along with an Arugula, Radish and Asiago Salad. 4 drinks at the James Joyce later on.

1/3
Sun Salutations and Restorative postures

50 problems alone at the Brickyard.... including some scary stuff and some harder stuff.... felt pretty strong the whole time, but I'm exausted now.

Rope Climbing?

2007-12-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

Even though I’ve been rock climbing for almost a decade now, I have only climbed on a rope outside a dozen or so times. Basically I’ve always been satisfied bouldering, and I could never get any of the crew to escort me on a roped adventure. I can’t blame them really. I am a sandbag belayer, and I can’t lead climb to save my life (in fact I’ve never led a route outside in my life…..Wow.)

But somehow all this training got me motivated enough to go climb at the Tor. Yesterday I drove up to Santa Maria with Elijah and we met up with Andy and Mary, who by the way, are fucking awesome folks. They’re both strong as nails, and I rarely meet people this nice who like to climb rocks. Not that Elijah isn’t a nice guy, it’s just that Andy and Mary are new and exciting, thus more noteworthy. However, anyone doubting Elijah’s radness, will have a change of heart as soon as they see him get on a rope at the Owl Tor. Watching him attempt to redpoint Hard Boiled, an extremely tricky 5.13b is a treat. You’re gonna get it real soon buddy.

I warmed up top roping the 5.11b warmup at Mr. Lees and then bouldered the first few moves of Wild Kingdom (I actually hung that terrible mono). The highlight of my day was getting on the Power of Eating, 5.11d in the front area on lead and climbing it bolt to bolt a few times. Normal climbers wouldn’t think much of this less than noteworthy feat, but successfully getting up my first route on lead was exciting and motivating. Screwed around on Auto Magic, 5.12a as well, after watching Andy come real close to a redpoint.

After the long drive home, me and the roomies met up with the wonderful Bridget and her clan of awesome friends for dinner and drinks at the Stateside….

DO NOT EAT HERE!
I don’t know what was worse, the service, the food, or the floor managers ridiculous toupe. The soup was cold, the fish overcooked; the prices high and the portions low; the dining room poorly decorated, the staff overly dressed; and no one had a clue how to perform their job efficiently. I’d rather eat cliff bars only for the rest of my life than give this shithole any more of my money.

Actually had some work today, so no time for training.... just some simple yoga and pranayama. Big swim tommorow hopefully.

Rest

2007-12-28T17:49:00.000-08:00

I actually had some work to do today and I was feeling pretty worn out when I woke up this morning, so not much training on the agenda…. 30 minutes of yoga and that’s it. Going to the Owl Tor tomorrow for some sport climbing. I’ll need my rest. My power endurance is more or less non existent, and climbing 60 ft a go on a 30 degree overhanging wall of pockets will require some sustained strength. More on that tomorrow if my fingers are still functioning.

Drinking a great bottle of wine from Metropolis. They have some of the best inexpensive wine in town (way better than Trader Joes), $7.99 for a very refined organic Spanish red. Love it. Their macaroons aren’t bad either.

Vacation is Great

2007-12-28T00:41:00.000-08:00

Most of my clients have been out of town for the holidays. This has created a wonderful unexpected 2 week vacation. The extra time has lended itself to great multi activity days.

I met Bridget at the pool today. I’ve coerced her into acting as my birthday challenge swim coach. Her decades of mermaid training are improving my swimming dramatically. Thanks Coach.

I swam an 800 of freestyle and then Bridget gave me a quick kick turn lesson. Seemed simple enough…. until my left calf (the bad ankle calf) completely cramped up when I pushed off the wall. Wow. Cramps in cold water are fairly intense. No more kick turns today. Next lesson: Proper Breast Stroke. Keep your knees in and don’t pull back so much with your hands. Swimming is all about technique. After 400 meters of breaststroke I switched back to freestyle for 400 meters. The end result was my first mile in a day. Cheers to me.

Went to Lizards Mouth this afternoon and explored as well as doing a few dozen problems (including the Sorry About That series….awesome).

My chef buddy Robin Goldstein had a group of us over for dinner and drinks this evening. What a fucking treat. Pomegranate mojitos of the highest caliber, and authentic Spanish Tapas up the wazoo! I haven’t been pampered this properly for a while. Thanks Robin. Your approach is a beautiful reminder of why I love food.

Good Karma

2007-12-26T20:09:00.000-08:00

The only yoga inspired aspects to my challenge are the headstand and pranayama sequence. However, a consistent component of my training will be my daily yoga practice.

I have been practicing yoga for about 8 years. For 5 of these years (2000-2005) my practice was very strict and very intense. Basically I was a fulltime Ashtanga practioner. Ashtanga yoga is a very physical and orthodox style. 6 days a week I would practice a specific sequence of postures which would take me anywhere from 2 to 3 hours. For more on the specifics of this method see www.ashtanga.com

In fact, I was so committed to Ashtanga, that I slowly lost interest in climbing, partly because I was using all my available physical energy during my morning yoga practice. Ashtanga significantly improved my body awareness, core strength, physical endurance, and my concentration. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for this practice was strong enough to tear the meniscus in both of my knees (left in 2004 and the right in 2005). I had surgery on the left knee, but I have yet to repair the right. My left knee has about 80% of its flexibility and my right is around 40%. I don’t really notice the knees that much in squatting or extension type movements (including landing from high falls), but twisting at the knee joint is very scary to say the least. The end result of this experience is that I have been forced to take a step back and reevaluate my approach to yoga practice. I’ve learned a lot about my body and mind’s mechanics, but at a bit of price.

Some people don’t understand why I still practice yoga, given that it has caused two of the most significant injuries I have ever sustained. The simple answer is that I don’t know how to not practice. Whereas my original intention may have been more physically based; trying to achieve and master new poses etc, yoga is much more of a soul maintenance activity for me these days. Not that I don’t still enjoy the physical challenges and benefits that it offers, but I find that more than anything else, I practice to stay sane, balanced and strong in more levels than just my physical body.

That all being said, I thought I would explain in a bit more detail what my current yoga practice actually involves….

My current asana (pose) practice is based almost completely on Ashtanga poses and their sequencing, including the classical vinyasa entrances and exits to poses. It moves away from traditional Ashtanga in that I don’t stick to the prescribed sequence of poses and I tend to hold certain poses for more than the usual Ashtanga amount of 5 breaths. Rather I have selected poses that feel the most beneficial to my current bodies needs (in total about ½ as many as I used to use) and I have connected them in a bit more poetic way. This practice takes me approximately 75 minutes, but is getting longer because of the extended headstand that I am training for. For those that have dabbled in yoga the best description of what I am doing is a flow sequence based on Ashtanga. The usual flow is sun salutations, standing postures, seated forward folds and twists, backbends, finshing postures (mainly inversions). I’ve been doing this “flow” practice 3 -4 days a week.

On days where I don’t do this fairly physical practice, I have been practicing a half dozen or so restorative postures. These poses are very mellow, relaxing and opening to the body in a much more gentle way than the practice described above. After spending about 20 minutes with these postures I do my pranayama practice.

Pranayama is most easily translated as “breath control”. There is quite a bit of subtlety to this practice, but the basic jist is that I utilize a few different breathing techniques to extend the length of my breaths and enable myself to hold it for extended periods of time. The subtle yet potent concentration and body control gained from pranayama is fascinating and very fulfilling. In yoga philosophy pranayama is considered the bridge between asana (pose practices) and mediation. In asana one works at refining and aligning the body. In pranayama one works to refine and align the breath (which is intimately related to energy channels, chi, whatever you want to call it). In meditation one works to refine and align the contents of the mind. Oh and in case you were wondering, the mind part is by far the most difficult and advanced stuff. Just about any exercise is easy compared to meditation. If you don’ believe me, try sitting on the floor and counting your breaths from 1 -10 over and over again for an hour. You’ll lose count a lot.

12/26/07
90 minute yoga routine including a 14 minute headstand.
-my neck was a little sore after practice today. I guess 48 hours rest wasn’t quite enough for the extended headstand. I’m curious what it will feel like tomorrow.

I wanted to do some endurance Bouldering today as well so I drove up to west camino cielo around 3:00 pm. My plan was to do 50 problems at Lizards Mouth. Well, that didn’t work out…..

I could barely get out of my car the wind was so strong today. I’ve spent a decent amount of time up on the mountain, and I got to tell you this has got to be one of the most insane days I’ve seen up there. 40 degrees and hurricane winds… there was no way in hell that I was bouldering at Lizards Mouth.

So I retreated down the hill to the Brickyard hoping that it would be less affected by the wind. It was a little better down there, but still freezing and way too windy for my taste. As I was trotting down the trail I tripped and buzzed my left ankle which I had only recently rehabilitated from a complete ligament rupture 5 months ago. “Be careful stupid”.

I started climbing (chalk bagless because I’m an idiot and left it in my car). After 28 problems, a few of which I was almost blown off the top of, I heard a very loud yelp a few boulders away. Hmmm. I was definitely more tired than I expected to be after only 28 problems so I went to check out the mystery noise. I stumbled upon two younger chaps. One of whom had just sprained (or broken?) his right ankle. He wasn’t very stoked.

I had told myself that I was going to do 50 problems, but because I had recently fallen into the same misfortune this guy was dealing with, I opted for karma over training. I hiked their pads out for them and then came back down to help carry the fallen soldier to his car. Two trips up and down the brickyard approach (the second of which was weighted) turned out to be somewhat physical. I called it a day.

Another great dinner:
Allspice, Coriander, and Cumin Duck Breast Confit with a Pasilla Pepper Red Wine Sauce, Cabbage and Mushroom Cakes.

I love duck. I love spice. I really like the combo. Half a bottle of wine with dinner. Going out for drinks tonight… My guess is I’ll be in the 4-6 range.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-25T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is the first of many posts that will chronical my training and life during the final days before my 27th Birthday Challenge.

In homage to the true gentleman and warriors of my past; men who opened my eyes to another way, a passionate and authentic approach to the world, with little concern for the concept of “the right way”; I announce my forthcoming 27th Birthday Challenge.

On March 4th 2008, in 27 hours or less, I will attempt to…

Climb 270 boulder problems

Swim 2700 meters

Hike barefoot 2.7 miles.

Perform a 27 minute headstand.

Complete one three breath cycle of pranayama with 27 sec holds between inhale and exhale.

Prepare and serve a proper meal for 27 people

Drink 2.7 bottles of wine.

(Oh, I reserve the right to alter this challenge up until one month prior to my birthday...yeah, call me what you will, but it's my challenge and I'll do it how I want to)

12/24/07
1 hour of yoga plus a 13 minute headstand.
I've slowly been increasing the length of my headstand over the past month from 5 minutes to this new high. Things really start to get interesting after 10 minutes... My shoulders burn (like a 7 or 8 on the intensity scale), but I feel as if I can maintain the headstand as long as I am willing to put up with the burn, boredom, focus etc. required to keep myself balanced properly. I feel like the crux of my training is going to be learning to relax into this anxiety.

800 meters in the pool
Swimming, like the headstand, is an exercise in relaxation rather than effort. More often than not I find myself srtuggling not to struggle in the pool. Today was a struggling day, but I completed my goal distance in a fairly short time (just under 20 minutes).

My shoulders were tired. I figured a homemade meal was deserved. Wild Mushroom Trout Rolls with Mandarin Braised Cabbage was the end product. Pretty good except I under seasoned the wild mushrooms. Either way, pretty nice for dinner alone on a Monday.

12/25/07

I love being a Jew on Christmas.... Much more freedom than other legal holidays, I have absolutly no obligations. The only bummer is that almost eveyone else I know spends the day with their own families, more often than not leaving me alone to engage solo adventures of my choice.

Well, except for Bob Banks.... This fine gentlemen and I have spent many a Christmas day bouldering. On a whim I got in touch with him this year. Somehow the stars aligned and we met up at Lizards Mouth for a quick late afternoon boulder sesh. All in all, I'd say we had a good time, especially considering the fact that it had to be under 45 degrees. We climbed some classics and explored some new projects in the area. Most of our time was spent on the so called Gangster Hippie (I can't stand the name of this problem). I made it to my usual high point and Bob almost pulled off the scary/physical/humbling/8 ft high mantle. Nice work old man. I'm just stoked that he enjoyed the problem enough that he might come back again and give me some more spots. My fingers are crossed.

Dinner at the parents house afterward. Ate some good grub and drank at least a bottle of wine.

Not really a great training day, but bouldering with an old buddy is always a treat that I'm happy to indulge in, and a free meal with the family is joy of some of the highest caliber.

Merry Christmas.