Miles and miles...

Time for a status report on the Trail to 1000. I've run about 100 miles since officially taking on this goal. As predicted I am slightly behind schedule as I continue to build back my weekly mileage after last months 50k run. The good news is that I feel strong and continue to put in a few extra miles every week. Soon I should be back to what I was running pre-race, and then some. It's all about building that training base!

Speaking of training base, it's just over a year now since I ran my first road marathon. Since then I have openly fallen in love with trail running and ran a 30k trail run, and a 50k trail run. I'll stick with the 50k distance for now and plan to complete one or two more by the end of the year. The next "logical" step after that is a 50 miler. That will likely be next years goal.


So enough delay, here are the stats as of yesterday:

129 days down
236 days to go
324.4 miles run
675.6 miles to go
2.51 miles a day averaged
2.74 miles a day needed

Lastly, since this has been a running post, I know everyone is dying for a gear report about my Nine Trails shorts. Crickets... Well I'm going to talk about them anyway. The original post explaining the situation is here. The short review...about the...shorts. They are great. The stitching has changed a little bit from the last model and it is an improvement more so with quality than function. I think the liner material is a little different as well, but very comfortable. The pockets are still roomy enough that I can get my whole hand in them, though all I tend to carry is an iPod shuffle and a handheld for short runs. If the run is more than 6-8 miles, I have my hydration pack with pockets for other consumables.

Do you run? If so do you carry anything or have any favorite "gear" (be it sneakers, socks, shorts, hydration device - whatever)?

The Final Countdown...

Remember that song? Sure you do. The title is an accurate description of the Chan household as Nicole prepares for her international adventure. Wejust got back from picking up some electronics necessities such as a portable external hard drive to keep up with backups of her laptop. First we went to Souplantation for AYCE (all you can eat) soup and salad! Yum.

Okay go back in time a few days...are you there? Nicole and I recently celebrated her birthday. Her first one since we have lived out in sunny CA. We spent the day at the dog beach with Benton, then went out for sushi off Third Street, and to see the new X-Men movie. Fun, delicious, and entertaining in that order.

The beach...one wet dog.


The seemingly empty sushi restaurant...oh so good.


The action movie...very well done.


That's all for now.

Ironclad Guarantee...

Delicious. We went back to Tacos Por Favor the other night. I have had some requests for more pictures of said food...so here you go ST!




Nicole and I found alternate modes of transportation on the way home. I'm totally going to win with my race car...which by the way I could barely get out of!




Yesterday Nicole and I picked out and bought her luggage for Thailand. We didn't have a "proper" set since we always just travel with backpacks small enough for overhead carry on. Three months working in a foreign country warrants a little more space in the baggage area.

Warning...here comes my version of a rant. After selecting the luggage at the unnamed store, I found two dress shirts to try on. When I went to the dressing room the attendant informed me that I would need to go elsewhere to get the security tags removed. Okay, so I went to customer service and waited in line. When I finally got to the front and asked if the tags could be removed so that I could try the shirts on, the conversation went a little something like this:

"You want to try on both these shirts?"
"Yes, I do."
"They're the same size."
"Yes, I know."
"I can only take the tag off one at a time since it's the same size."
"Really?"
"Yes, if you want to try two on, you have to come back to get the other tag removed."
(What?) Now for the visual of the shirts. One was all black with a subtle line pattern and the other was light blue with pin stripes. Ah yes, besides being totally different colors and styles they were also made by different companies or people or whoever that designed the shirts. Am I alone in thinking this is a weird policy? It wasn't a rack of $500 shirts, it was two shirts that were on sale. The shirts happen to be the same size...because well, I know my shirt size. How about that? And so I walked away in disbelief with two shirts...one with a security tag, and one that had been released under my careful watch to be tried on in the dressing room...maybe even purchased...if they let me.

Aftermath:
It was the blue shirt that got the tag removed. It fit good. I bought it. I never tried on the second shirt. I'm not a big fan of shopping in the first place, and when it becomes that big a challenge and frustration forget it. Rant complete.

If you are still reading this post after that, I had an awesome customer service experience at Patagonia. No sarcasm involved there. The story in brief - last year Nicole got me a great pair of running shorts at a fantastic discount. Shortly after wearing them, stitching around one of the pockets came a little unraveled. No big deal and nothing that affected performance or was going to get worse. She went to return them for me and they told her that new styles of these shorts would be out in the spring and that we could get a store credit for the return now, or keep wearing them until the new shorts came out, then get them replaced. What?


Yes, true to their word, after 6 months and at least 500 trail miles in the shorts, Patagonia replaced the shorts no questions asked. They call it their Ironclad guarantee. I call it building great customer relationships. This is not uncommon among serious companies in the outdoor industry. REI is another amazing example of a satisfaction guarantee being a real thing, not a tactic with no substance to get you to buy stuff. Bravo.

I break in the shorts tomorrow. I am excited. Strange? Maybe.

ADZPCTKO trip report

*If you don't already know the news, check out the previous post for word about Nicole's summer opportunity in Thailand!


Nicole and I spent an awesome weekend just outside Campo, CA. Campo is located just a few miles north of the Mexico border. We were there for the 11th annual ADZPCTKO...that is, the Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off. Basically this is a gathering of cool people who have hiked the PCT, are thru-hiker wannabies, or are setting off to hike the trail this year.

The Pacific Crest Trail is a 2650 mile footpath extending from Mexico to Canada. The trail travels through California, Oregon, and Washington state covering everything from desert terrain to 13,000 ft snow covered mountain passes. Each year around 300 people attempt to make the journey, with about half succeeding. Fun fact: fewer people have thru-hiked the PCT than have climbed Mt. Everest.


It was great to reconnect with the trail community. We met up with Figgy and Stitch who I knew from the 2007 hike of the Appalachian Trail. Other AT friends Clearwater, Chuck Norris, and Tigger were also in attendance and hiked the PCT in 2008.

Pictured below in front of the PCT XPRS with Nicole and I are Walt, Pat, Stitch, and Figgy. Walt and Pat are amazing AT trail angels from Waynesboro, VA who drove across the country to attend the kickoff before flying to Hawaii for more adventures. Walt hiked the PCT in 2003 and Pat drove the PCT XPRS meeting Walt at road crossings and supporting his journey.


Below is a close up shot showing part of the trail marker indicating...well as it says...the southern terminus of the PCT. The wall that you see behind it is the US/Mexico border. Another trail marker similar to this one marks the northern terminus of the PCT in Manning Park on the US/Canada border.


That way to Canada...

Parting shot - Saturday morning our crew went for a nice hike southbound on the PCT.


If anyone is interested I can post a follow up about ADZPCTKO with more pictures, thoughts about some of the events/films that occurred, a description of the worst campsite ever, weather report, etc. Let me know in the comments, and pose questions if you feel so inclined. Thanks.

Bye for now.

I Know What You're Doing This Summer...

Big news for the Chans - specifically for my wonderful and talented wife.

As some of you may already know, Nicole was awarded a fellowship this summer through her graduate program at Art Center College of Design. She will be designing a web campaign to promote awareness about the problem with violence against women in Asia. It is a three month long project...working for the United Nations! Oh yeah, did I forget to mention, she will be working from Bangkok, Thailand!

The work she will be doing directly relates to the kind of human rights issues that her graduate thesis will be based on.

While I won't be able to spend all three months with her in Thailand, I will be visiting. Will the puppies and I miss her? You bet, but an opportunity this amazing is impossible to pass up! That's it in brief.

Join me in congratulating Nicole!

Link Up with Earth Day...

Happy Earth Day.
Don't save all of your tree hugging efforts for only one day a year. Contribute just a little bit of time and energy on a regular basis and the planet will thank you. I will thank you too. It's easy...

1. Check out blogs that are green and fuzzy. Well maybe not fuzzy.
2. Recycle. Seriously it's not that hard and does make a difference. E-waste is a big problem.
3. Use "friendly" products for cleaning your house and yourself.
4. Use public transportation when possible, compost, change a light bulb, etc, etc, etc.
5. Make your own list and share it with others.

So anyway, you don't have to live in a shack off the grid, but with minimal effort you can do good things.


"The mountains are calling and I must go." - John Muir

Santa Monica, CA 90405

Brief Santa Monica update...

We've been having a great time in sunny CA with S&E. It's been really hot the past couple days, they'll be going back East with tans. On with the update...

Below are bikes lined up as far as the eye can see on Main Street near Ocean Park Blvd. These are people who rode down to check out the Farmers Market and to walk around Main Street. Nice. The guy in the orange vest is one of the bike valets.


Next picture below...what the heck is that? Well, it's a walking tree, but not an Ent.


See him in the middle walking across he street? He's a street performer often seen on the boardwalk in Venice, here on Main Street in Santa Monica, and occasionally on 3rd Street.

Speaking of 3rd Street. I have mentioned the band Seis Cuerdas previously. I am mentioning them again. We checked them out Saturday evening. This isn't our video, but you get the idea. They are awesome.



S&E are out for an anniversary dinner right now. Nicole and I are going to finish up watching Frida. And with that...I'm out.