I like new. I like new ideas, new projects, and new years. And this year is a whole lot of new. Not only is it a new year and a new decade (numerically), but it’s also a new stage in my life: I’m returning to work after nearly 8 months on disability. I’m hoping I have a new lease on life, too. I have very high expectations for this year, and decade.

It was a cool Saturday morning in the woods in the appropriately named town of Woodside. I was excited, but not overly – I had been practicing and training for this moment for a long, long time. In a way, I had been waiting for this day ever since I was a teenager. I spent countless days dreaming of how amazing it would feel. Especially at the end, after all of my hard work paid off.

Half of my battle is mental. While I have nearly constant physical pain, I have to also battle with my mind. Some days I wake up filled with hope and thoughts of running freely through the mountains. Others, like today, it’s hard to feel motivated to do anything, even dream. But I do. I figure [...]

I finished reading Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes this morning. I was inspired, and tired. After reading about Dean’s long and extreme runs up and down the Sierra mountains, the scorching heat of Death Valley, and to the South Pole, I decided I had to set out on my own adventure. Surely, with the endorphins racing through [...]