Tripping The Kenyans

Dressed for running success.

Running outside in cold winter weather kinda sucks. There, I said it. 

On Saturday I did a 10-mile long run down near the Chattahoochee River as the temperature had finally climbed into the 40s. It was the first time I’d run outside in over two weeks. Thanks to the rather chilly and windy conditions here in Atlanta, I’d been doing all of my running workouts on the treadmill (or “Dreadmill” as one of my friends says).

While I prefer running outside to plodding along on that never-ending rubber loop, the treadmill is certainly a good option when the alternative is pounding frozen pavement while reminiscing about the joys of having feeling in your extremities.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been rather spoiled running the last 9 years in Los Angeles. While most of the country has the standard four seasons (spring, summer, winter & fall), LA’s weather seems to pretty much consist of one lone 365-day season that I like to call “very nice.” Read the rest of this entry →

Hey Trippers,

I know it’s been a while… okay, a long while… but I’m finally back. Actually, I never went totally away but without a post in several months, I’m sure many of you wondered if I’d tripped my last Kenyan.

Nope.

Thumbs once again are up!

And as you probably gathered from past posts, 2017 was a huge year of transition for me. Pretty much everything in my life has changed and mostly for the better. For starters, I’ve relocated from Los Angeles to Atlanta (for several reasons.) While I still love LA, over the last few years, the ATL has become a very viable film market and presents me with some great new opportunities. I do still plan to spend time in LA whenever possible (looking to hopefully be bicoastal) but Atlanta will be my homebase (the place where I hang my hat) for the foreseeable future. And my whole family lives in Atlanta, so that’s a huge bonus.

In addition, I’ve gone from being stuck in a less-than-satisfying longterm relationship to once again being a happy single guy. I’ve also got a new ride (out with the old SUV in with the new) and many many other changes. Read the rest of this entry →

Hey Trippers.

Remember the end of the movie CAST AWAY, where Tom Hanks’ character is literally standing at the crossroads, trying to decide which way to go next in his life.

That’s kind of where I am at this moment.

For the past six weeks I’ve been navigating some unexpected waters in my life and I’m finally starting to come out the other side. I’ve been focusing solely on the day-to-day things, hence the reason “Tripping The Kenyans” has been unexpectedly dark.

During this turbulent time, I haven’t been running my normal amount (nowhere close actually) and I know my fitness has slipped. On the plus side, I have run a pair of races in the last month: The REVEL Mt. Charleston Half Marathon in Las Vegas and the Memorial Day 10K in Atlanta. Both were a lot of fun. Read the rest of this entry →

LA Marathon Expo ’17

As I sit here with my tired legs still recovering from last Sunday’s Los Angeles Marathon, my mind keeps drifting back to the race. I had grand plans, including the hopes of a marathon PR. Unfortunately, it was not one of my better running days. All my best laid plans (of mice and men) went very much awry.

But rather than focus on why the wheels came off during my marathon, I’d rather highlight how a friend helped me and how I was able to pass that help along.

I had started feeling fatigued way too early in the marathon, around mile 7 (not a good sign) and by mile 12 I knew my day was in the midst of going completely south. All strategy and game plans I had made went right out the window. I was in survival mode (relegated to power walking) with only one goal in mind: finish. Read the rest of this entry →

This past Sunday morning I donned my T2 shirt and cap in preparation to run the Los Angeles Marathon as a proud member of the Team To End AIDS. It was my 8th time running this great race with T2. Unfortunately, it’s also the last time I will be running a marathon with them.

“Good morning T2!”

Sadly, 2017 is the last year of the Team To End AIDS endurance training charity program.

Granted, the entire team knew this bitter fact when we started our training for the 2017 race back in October. We vowed to have one helluva final season. But now that the training is over and the race has been run, the harsh reality has finally hit me.

I’ve been involved with charities before, all of them worthwhile, but T2 wasn’t just another cause I supported. I looked forward to seeing the T2 gang on Saturday the way you look forward to meeting up with your best buddies and hanging out. They were an important part of my life. They were my running family. Read the rest of this entry →

It’s on!

Race week is finally upon us. On Sunday March 19th, myself and approximately 24,999 other pavement pounders will be lacing ’em up for the annual Los Angeles Marathon to trek the 26.2 miles from Dodgers Stadium all the way to the Santa Monica Pier.

For those of you who don’t know about the LA Marathon and its scenic “stadium to the sea” route, you should check it out. It really is quite a sight. Think of it as a running tour of the city.

Okay, actually think of it as a multi-hour sweaty, trying not to heave up your lungs and crash to the ground ending up in the fetal position, running tour of the city. As you question your worth as a human being, you’ll pass by: Dodger Stadium, Disney Hall, The Chinese Theater, Sunset Blvd., Rodeo Drive, the lovely Pacific Ocean and many other sights. Here’s the course map. Read the rest of this entry →

Click above.

There’s a short story I remember from my childhood called “The Fifty First Dragon” by Heywood Broun. Click on the picture to the right to give it a read.

It tells the story of a nervous knight named Gawaine le Cœur-Hardy and how he found confidence thanks to the magic word “Rumplesnitz” given to him by the headmaster.  Gawaine went on to slay more dragons than anyone.

Click on the picture to the right to give it a read.

Good story, isn’t it.

It’s kind of funny because my original running coach, Scott Boliver, used to talk about “slaying the dragon” when it came to running… and in life. As for Coach Scott, he truly was a dragonslayer.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I completed my 50th half marathon (aka slayed 50 dragons) back in December. So the half marathon I ran this past Sunday was my own 51st dragon. Read the rest of this entry →

I hit the “Big 5-0” on Sunday.

Booyah!

No, I’m not 50 years old… not yet.

And I wasn’t recruited by Hawaii 5-0… also not yet.

But the Lexus LaceUp Riverside Half Marathon was a momentous race for me as I completed my 50th half marathon.

That’s right, I’m golden baby.

It took me just under 7 years to log the 655 cumulative race miles (13.1 miles x 50 for those of you bothering to do the math).

Note: In between those halfs I’ve also managed to rack up ten full marathons and twenty 10Ks, but this post isn’t about those. Read the rest of this entry →

A picture is worth a thousand words. -Multiple sources

Earlier this week I posted a bunch of photos from the REVEL Canyon City Half Marathon (yay, free photos) to show how my race went.

On Thursday, however, I received an e-mail that there were a few additional photos to check out. I took a gander and knew I had to share one of them with you. Here it is:

It’s just a shot of me having crossed the finish line looking down at my left wrist for some reason. No big deal, right?

Actually, it’s a very big deal to me. Here’s the story behind it…

I’m actually looking at the blue bracelet on my wrist. And written on the bracelet is one word: Strength.

The bracelet was one of several given to me by Scott Boliver, the man who taught me how to become a marathoner.

I’ve written about Scott before. In fact it was one of my very first posts on Tripping The Kenyans back in January of 2014. Please give it a read. I’ll wait.

Link to my post about Scott Boliver.

So when I got this photo from the race, it really hit home.

I sent it off to Scott’s parents to let them know that even three years after their son’s passing, he still is impacting my life (and I’m not alone). They appreciated it.

My thanks go out to the nameless race photographer who snapped the photo. It captured something very personal and very special to me.

A true Kodak moment.

Smile for the camera…Run on!