2013 in Review

As 2013 winds down and I look back on it, it has turned out to be an extremely productive year. The year didn’t start off that different than the previous years other than my regular trips to the gym to work out. I had never been a fan of the gym – I don’t like crowds and I always preferred to do any workouts at home, though I don’t have any weights and was limited to bodyweight exercises. A group of friends at work play soccer on Thursdays and in the spring, we decided to add a second day of soccer on Mondays. I played both days most weeks from New Year’s to Memorial Day.

One thing I tried to do more this year was take chances and opportunities. I liken it to the movie Yes Man where Jim Carrey’s character says yes to anything that comes his way, though I was les liberal with my acceptances. In February I agreed to be team captain of our company’s Relay for Life team. We hadn’t fielded a team in 2012 and our team in 2011 was small, so I was hoping to get a good bounce-back. We rolled through several fundraisers – one a week – for two months until the night of the Relay. We ended up raising around $4500 in two months’ time with a sizable team of almost twenty walkers. It was exhausting and I swore that I would not be captaining again in 2014, though I did write up all my thoughts on the process – what worked, what didn’t, and thoughts for next year – to be given to the next captain.

On February 13^th, I took the day off work to spend the day at the movie theatre watching a Die Hard marathon before a late-night premiere of the new movie, A Good Day to Die Hard. I had never seen the first three movies on the big screen, so it was worth the admission just for that experience, as Die Hard is my favorite movie. The new movie was pretty bad – it made an okay action movie, mostly forgettable, but it was a horrible Die Hard movie. I wouldn’t see any other Hollywood movies in theatres this year, but I did see Mile… Mile and a Half at the Athen’s Theatre in Deland, where I would also see All Shook Up and The King is Back, and I also saw Appalachian Impressions.

Also in February and March, a coworker asked if I wanted to canoe down Rock Springs Run, which we did four times over about five or six weeks, culminating in an overnight camping trip at the Otter Campsite along the run. This led to many weekends hanging out and many new experiences throughout the year.

In early February, I had gotten an email about the Space Coast Marathon and how they were planning to do a five-year event with medals celebrating the space shuttles. I immediately signed up for the marathon, figuring I had a whole year to get ready for it. I had always wanted to do a marathon and a flat Florida course seemed like a good start. I wouldn’t actually start training for several months though.

In late April I started running shorter races, the Healthy Heart 10K, the Run for the Trees 5K, the Seminole High School Spirit 5K, the Rescue Run 5K, the Lake Mary 5K, and The Nude Run 5K. A friend had told me about the Healthy Heart 10K, happening just down the street from where I live and I had only run one 10K previously, so I jumped on it. The Run for the Trees 5K was one I had run before, but you get a tree for completing it, so I had specifically looked it up online in order to run it again. It also runs through private communities that have very nice scenery. The Rescue Run 5K is one that happens in the park next to where I work and our company sponsors a team every year, so I competed in it for the third or fourth time. The Seminole High School Spirit 5K runs through my old high school and the parking lot of my old middle school, so it was a nostalgic race for me and also culminated in my fastest 5K ever. The Lake Mary 5K was another race close by that took place near the library I go to, so it was a familiar area. I decided to do the Nude Run 5K while looking for races with something exciting to offer, as opposed to the mundane show up and run 5K.

Seminole State Forest

I’ve been through the Seminole State Forest on several occasions as it’s only fifteen minutes from my house. My first trip through the forest was in May of 2010. My buddy and I decided to hike the Florida Trail from just outside my house for a few days North before turning around and returning home. The first day we made it along the bike paths, stopping for lunch at Papa Joe’s, a local pizza place, and down a two-lane road before crossing over 46 and heading into the forest. Soon after that, we were back out of the forest and walking along 46 and over a bridge in a pouring thunderstorm with cars whizzing by. Shortly after the bridge was the turn off for Seminole State Forest.

We entered the park and I paid our fees before we ventured off into the woods. The first campsite is less than a mile into the park and has a shelter there. We got there around three in the afternoon and decided to stop there for the night. There was a bicycle in the shelter, but no one to be found. Eventually the owner of the bike returned and explained that he had been out geocaching. He stuck around for a short while and then left. When the sun was ready to sink, we tried to hang our food in a bear bag, but got our anchor bag stuck in the tree and had to abort that plan.

The bugs were coming out and we had no dry wood to start a fire. We set up a tent inside the shelter and camped in there for the night, as no one else had come to the campsite. The next morning, being low on water, we headed out early without breakfast to try and make it to the next water source. My buddy had to stop frequently, slowing us down and eventually we ran out of water. We eventually came across the second campsite right next to the river, but it was covered in bugs and we had no filter so we moved on.

We eventually passed the third campsite, which is right on the trail, but has nothing special about it. My buddy stopped at a horse trough to drink the water there while I tried to get him to push forward. Once we reached the Northern terminus of the park, we called a ride and headed home.

The next time I headed into the park was earlier this year to camp out for the night. I went with a different friend this time and we were undecided on where to camp. We stopped at the shelter for a few minutes before pushing on to the second campsite. Upon reaching the second campsite, we were spotted by the local insects and so I used my water purifier to refill my water bottle – I do learn from my mistakes. We headed back to the shelter and decided to camp out there. I quickly stored away some dry wood before the rain came and got a fire going – again I do learn from previous experiences.

The bugs weren’t too bad, so we laid out on the two raised platforms that are in the shelter.  The next morning we left early and headed to the local IHOP for breakfast.

The third time I went to Seminole State Forest was after being unable to obtain a campsite at Hillsborough River State Park. We stopped by the forest late in the night and I quickly squirrelled away some burnable items and got a fire going. This time we set up a tent in the shelter because of the bugs. The next morning, again we left early and made our way to IHOP for breakfast.

One day before work, I decided to stop by the forest and go for a run from the entrance to the shelter and back. On the run, I saw a deer as I ran past and startled it into running into the forest, which in turn startled me. That was the only other time I’ve been to the Seminole State Forest. It’s a great place to hike and camp, though it does have quite a few spider webs and ticks.

Mile… Mile and a Half

Way back on July 18^th, I went to the Athens Theatre in Deland, Florida to see a screening of the movie Mile… Mile and a Half, a film documenting a thru-hiking trip of the John Muir Trail taken by a group of friends. I had never been to the Athens Theatre, though I had frequently ate lunch just down the street, and I had never paid more than a passing thought to the John Muir Trail, instead focusing more on longer trails such as the Appalachian Trail, Florida Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and the JMT’s longer neighbor, the Pacific Crest Trail.

The Athens Theatre was a great venue and from the moment I arrived, the lobby area was packed with people. I forwent browsing the memorabilia they were selling there, instead opting to find a good seat. As I entered the theatre, I was informed that the balcony section was also available and as this event didn’t have any assigned seating, I could sit anywhere I liked. I made my way to the balcony and sat in the front row there, a great view of both the stage and the floating screen that the movie was projected on.

Mile… Mile and a Half started off by following a group of five friends who were embarking on a thru-hike of the John Muir Trail. Early on in the trip one member of the team drops out, but they meet up with others along the way, increasing their group size. The movie features amazing scenery throughout California from Yosemite National Park to Mount Whitney, interspersed with humorous and thought-provoking dialogue in a visually pleasing real-life story of life on the trail.

I won’t give away any more of the story, but I highly recommend checking out any showings near you (check the Mile… Mile and a Half Events Page) or buy the DVD. After the movie, two of the members of the group, Ric and Jen Serena, who are from Central Florida, fielded questions from the audience. It was a great experience and I was really happy that I had decided to go. The John Muir Trail is now on my bucket list.

If anyone reading this has seen the movie or been to the event, what were your thoughts? Did it make you want to go out an hike the John Muir Trail?

Revisit: 10 Goals for Age 27

About forty days ago I wrote ten goals for myself that I want to complete before I turn 28 next August. A few of those goals I’m making good strides towards, while others have been left behind. I figured I’d revisit the goals to fortify where I stand and review where action needs to be taken.

1: Complete a Marathon

I’m already signed up for the Space Coast Marathon on December 1^st. My running schedule is currently short runs on Tuesday, medium runs on Thursday, and long runs on Saturday. My short runs are currently at four miles and shouldn’t bump up for a few more weeks. My medium runs are at seven miles, bumping up next week I think. My long runs have maxed out at thirteen miles so far, dropping down to ten miles last weekend, but jumping up to fifteen and sixteen miles this weekend and next. The injuries are starting to build, so I need to be careful and may need to take a day or two off to gain some extra rest.

 

2: Quit My Job

This was one that I was pushing off until the beginning of next year for a few reasons. After having trouble finding a new job, I was looking forward to taking an extended vacation and doing some traveling with some time off before jumping back into the workforce. Last week I was approached by another manager who asked if I’d be interested in working for him. I’ve already been doing some work with him over the past few months and it’s much better than what I’m doing currently. He’s in the process of trying to get some job openings approved and I’m at the top of his list, so now I guess I have options on this one.

 

3: Train for a Triathlon

After getting my bike shortly before my last post, I’ve been putting a lot of miles on it – over 125 so far. I’ve also started swimming regularly, both at the ocean and in springs, and have worked my way up to ten straight minutes of freestyle swimming. I used MapMyRun.com to map out Wekiva Springs State Park’s swimming area and found that a loop around is 200 meters. I only need to complete 400 meters in the Beat the Heat Sprint Triathlon I signed up for and I completed that in my ten minutes last weekend, give or take a few dozen meters since it’s hard to map out with all the trees there. I’ve gone on multiple bike rides around ten to twelve miles and one that was fourteen miles; the Sprint Triathlon distance is 20K or 12.4 miles. The run will only be a 5K or 3.1 miles, so that should not be any problem.

 

4: Go to a Medieval Faire

There’s nothing around here during this time of year and I’m pretty loaded with other stuff to do. Once late-fall and winter hit, there will be many options to experience around Florida, so it’ll just be picking a weekend and driving somewhere.

 

5: Get a Tattoo

I have a few design ideas for tattoos, but sizing and placement are still up in the air. Since I’m so busy training for Tough Mudder, the Triathlon, and the Marathon, this would probably be a good one to do after those events. In fact, I’ll have two and a half weeks off in late December, which I’m thinking of spending up North. My brother loves getting tattoos, so this might be a good option to do then.

 

6: Hike a Long Trail

This would be a lot easier if I didn’t have a job. The Appalachian Trail would take about four months, the Florida Trail would take about two months, and the John Muir Trail would take about three weeks. If I do find myself without a job come next year, I could take on any of the three, although the AT and FT would be more fitting for an early-year start. If I wind up with a new job, the John Muir Trail may be a good fit, as it’ll take a reasonable amount of time, but I would need to wait until the summer months to hike it.

 

7: Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

The one’s been on the bucket list for a while, but it takes a fair amount of time – a week and a half including travel – and a lot of money – close to $4000 for the whole trip. The optimal time to climb seems to be the fall (spring for the Southern Hemisphere) which is already booked for this year and too short notice to get ready anyway. They was the one I threw on the list as a crazy option, so I didn’t expect to actually complete it. There’s still hope, but it’s unlikely I’ll get through this an the long trail above, if I can manage either.

 

8: Ride a Roller Coaster at Night

I already bought a ticket to Howl O Scream at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I’m planning on October 19^th for the trip, so this one should be bagged and tagged pretty soon!

 

9: Learn to Scuba Dive

This one’s a little pricier than I had first thought, but not too bad. There’s a two-week class in November that I’m looking to take, but it’s the two weeks in between my Triathlon and my Marathon. I probably would end up doing something those weekends anyway, but when the calendar starts filling up, it all starts seeming a little overwhelming. Then once the training is complete, I’ll need to find some places to scuba dive.

 

10: Build and Launch a PVC Rocket

I was big into trying this a few months ago while reading Rocket Boys, but with all the training I’m doing now, it’s taken a back seat mentally. I’d still like to do it, but maybe it can wait until the winter months when I have less going on.

Top 7 Places: Trails I Want To Hike

I’ve had a fascination with hiking and long trails for a few years now. I had never been much of an outdoorsman, but while having lunch on my birthday with some friends, one friend brought up the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail. He said it was long and might take a month to complete. I was fascinated by the idea – it was a challenge based on its scope, but easy in small doses. Upon further research, I found that my friend didn’t know what he was talking about. The idea stuck however, and here are seven long trails that I’d love to hike from end to end.

 

7: E8 European Long Distance Path

This European footpath travels through Ireland, a country I’ve already mentioned being at the top of my to-visit list, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. I’ve picked this path mostly because it passes through Ireland, although having never been to Europe before, getting to pass through so many countries is also enticing.

 

6: New England Trail

My original home, New England, always calls out to me. I try to return as often as possible to visit family and friends and get to enjoy the change in scenery, from fall foliage to winter blankets. It’s a short trail covering only 220 miles through southern New England.

 

5: Continental Divide Trail

The youngest of the Triple Crown routes, the Continental Divide Trail isn’t exactly complete at this point, which leaves it mostly to experienced hikers. The trail follows the Rocky Mountains through the heart of America, from Mexico to Canada through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. The CDT is one of the longer paths at 3100 miles.

 

4: Pacific Crest Trail

Another of the Triple Crown trails, the Pacific Crest Trail travels through the west coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington. At 2650 miles, the PCT is about an equal length from the longer CDT and shorter Appalachian Trail.

 

3: Florida Trail

The trail of my current home-state, the Florida Trail racks up about 1400 miles, but has multiple sections where you can choose to go an Eastern route or a Western route. One such fork in the road goes around Lake Okeechobee on either side. Another such fork splits between Kissimmee and Ocala making up an Eastern and Western corridor. I actually live and work less than a quarter mile from the Eastern corridor, which has made it somewhat familiar to me.

 

2: John Muir Trail

I really hadn’t considered this trail until I saw the movie “Mile… Mile and a Half”.  It’s a shorter trail at about 210 miles, but hits beautiful scenery through California from Yosemite to Mount Whitney. It has a short hiking window of July through September due to the amount of snow in the higher elevations, which can even linger into the Summer months.

 

1: Appalachian Trail

“The Green Tunnel” stretches from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, stretching about 2200 miles. It typically takes about four to six months to complete and is considered a social trail due to the number of thru-hikers, section-hikers, and day-hikers. The trail runs through fourteen states, including five of the six New England states, which holds a special place in my heart.

10 Goals for Age 27

I recently turned 27 years old and I’ve decided to come up with a list of 10 goals to complete before I turn 28. Some will be simple, some will be hard, and maybe I’ll throw something nearly impossible in here too, just for fun.

1. Complete a marathon
   Here’s a goal I’ve already been working towards. I’ve signed up for the Space Coast Marathon on December 1^st. From today (August 23^rd) that means it’s 100 days away! The longest road-race I’ve run has been a 10k (6.2 miles). I’ve run, back-to-back, a 5-miler and 2-miler for a total of 7 miles with a  short break in between. And I’ve also run Tough Mudder, which was around 11 or 12 miles. Outside of organized races, the longest run I’ve had has been 19 miles.
   The marathon will take place from 6:30 to 13:30, giving me 7 hours to complete the race. I’m planning to run/walk at either 1min/1min or 1min/2min. My training so far has been 1min/1min up to 5 miles.
2. Quit my job
   This has been one of those things that has slowly grown from a wishful thought to a need in order to remain sane. I really can’t take much longer. Luckily, I have fourteen more vacation days to take this year, plus five carried over to next year, so that should keep me going just long enough. I’ve spent some time checking out job offers elsewhere, as well as seeking a raise at my current company, but alas to no avail.
3. Swim and Bike more – Train for a Triathlon
   I just got bought a used bike off of a friend, so hopefully I can start putting some miles on it – especially since I only live a mile and a half from work. Unfortunately, I haven’t ridden a bike since 1996, when I was ten and crashed my bike after a dumbass game of “look ma, no hands!”Tangent: Okay, so I’m 10 years old, going around my neighborhood on my bike. I decide to play a little “look ma, no hands” and coast for a bit with my hands in the air. I safely grab back onto the handlebars and decide to up it to “look ma, no feet.” I take my feet off the pedals and hold them up, still coasting along. I safely return them to the pedals and decide to really up the stakes – no hands or feet. I try it for a second and quickly return all my appendages to their appropriate positions in order to prepare for a turn. I turn down the next road and let loose again – no hands or feet. I coast a several feet before losing balance, crashing hard into the sidewalk and getting my thigh stuck under the seat, wedged between the seat and the bar. Being completely unable to free myself, I yelled for help. After about 30 seconds of struggling, I finally freed my leg from its trap, only to have the woman who lived in the house I was in front of come running out not five seconds later. She saw me all scraped up and assumed I had been yelling for help because I was hurt. Embarrassed, I let her wipe my wounds before assuring her I was fine to walk back home. So now, I just don’t ask people for help. I’ll do it myself if I have to.
   
   Swimming might be a little trickier. I have a pool at my house, but I prefer not to swim in cat urine and feces, so I avoid it. There’s a pool in the apartment complex by work, but it’s not exactly large and if there’re people there, it becomes a chore to avoid them. The gym I go to doesn’t have a pool, but the YMCA down the street does. However, it’s too far from work to swim during lunch, or work out at, which would mean I would need two gym memberships.
   And all this leads up to completing my first triathlon (probably a sprint).
4. Go to a Medieval Faire
   I’ve always been fascinated with medieval times. Swords, knights, jousting – it’s all so interesting to me. So the last year or so I’ve been looking at medieval faires in my area. They’re all a good two-hour-plus drive, which turned me off a little bit, but after making four-and-twelve-hour drives this past year, two hours just doesn’t seem like all that much anymore. Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the summer, so it’ll be November until one pops up.
5. Get a Tattoo
   This has been something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while, but the art had never formed in my mind. Now I have a couple of designs created in Photoshop that I really like. Next up is figuring out placement and size. And it doesn’t hurt that after a year of working out, I feel like I have at least a little more canvas to work with.
6. Hike a Long Trail
   The three that stand out the most as possibilities are the Appalachian Trail, which is 2200 miles and would take at least four months, the Florida Trail, which is 1400 miles and would take at least a couple months, and the John Muir Trail, which is a short 210 miles and would only take a few weeks. Peak season for John Muir is July – September and requires permits, so that’s just about passed. Peak start for the Florida Trail is January, and peak start for the Appalachian Trail is March-May. Perhaps one of those is in the forecast this year – and would even help satisfy Goal #2 most likely.
7. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro
   The easiest of the Seven Summits, Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest point in Africa. It would take about a week and a half to fly out there, climb it, and return home. It would also take about $4000 to complete. The best times to climb seem to be August – October, when there’s less chance of rain, but that also means everyone else is going at that time and it gets crowded. During the high precipitation months, the traffic is low, but there might not be views to behold.
8. Ride a Roller Coaster at Night
   This has been on my list for a while. And while I’ve ridden some Disney coasters in the dark, I need something a little more extreme to fulfill this bucket-list item. Busch Gardens would be the primo choice due to their immense selection of sweet coasters, but Universal has a few decent choices as well. And the parks are always open late for the Halloween shows, so perhaps that’ll be the perfect opportunity.
9. Learn to Scuba Dive
   Another bucket-list item that’s taken a back-seat. Wouldn’t mind having a new hobby come next summer – which in Florida is really April – November. My brother is into diving, so it’ll be another activity we can partake in when I visit my New England friends and family.
10. Build and Launch a PVC Rocket
    Ever since reading Rocket Boys, I’ve had the compulsion to build a rocket and fire it off. After some research, PVC rockets seem to be relatively easy to make and the parts are relatively cheap. The trouble here would be finding a suitable launch site and also having something to protect against exploding or misguided rockets. And I don’t really want my car to be that thing. Don’t hurt the Camaro!