Monthly Archives: May 2018

Exercise, Family, Longivity, Psychology, Religion, Sociology, Trail Running, Transhumanism

MUSINGS FOR FRIDAY 25TH, MAY 2018

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“The pessimist is not guaranteed a tomorrow. And, if tomorrow does come, the pessimist does not expect to feel better at the same point in the race…. indeed, it might feel even worse. So, the pessimist plugs on and accomplishes their goals today. And today is the only day that counts.”  Gary Cantrell

 

Well it has been a good week so far. Got to see some of the family this week and that was a really good thing. I have not seen my sister Cathy in a while and anytime they are up visiting their son in Denver (my nephew) I want to take the opportunity to see them. Even though the visit was brief it was good to see them all.

My wife Janet and Richard (my nephew).

 

My daughter Cathryn and my two great Nephews, Ford and Henry.

 

My sister Cathy and myself.

 

And of course, the proverbial group picture.

Not pictured is my nephew’s wife Laura and my brother in law Rick…somehow, they escaped all the pictures?  Thinking about the two great Nephews gives me pause and I wonder where has the time gone.  And that does make me feel a little old.  Older than I want to be.  And what is that about?  I want to live as long as I can and as healthy as I can.  To be able to truly enjoy life when I am 100 and older.  I don’t want to be confined to a Nursing Home.  I am a believer that there is some really smart guy or gal out there right now working on the longevity questions and how to extend life indefinitely.  But not just indefinitely but to be healthy and fully functioning at the same time.  My oh my how that would change things??!

If you are a true believer in one of the worlds mythologies (religions) then how would you wrap your head around this?  I mean really, how would you and still believe?  If it became possible in the future to not die of old age?  To stay alive as long as you want barring any kind of incurable disease or trauma of some kind.  I don’t think we as a species have thought much about this.   But with that said, some have, especially some of the wealthiest individuals in the world today.  They have put a significant amount of money into this research.  As an example of a few:  Larry Ellison (Cofounder of Oracle), Paul Glenn (Venture Capitalist), Dmitry Itskoy (Russian Multimillionaire), Peter Thiel (PayPal and Facebook fame), and Sergey Brin (Google Cofounder) to just name a few.  This give me the belief that in 20 to 30 years, or maybe sooner, we may have some real progress in longevity.  I have heard that the first kid to live over 150 years of age has already been born.  Can you imagine spending 30 to 40 years in one area of work and passion but then being able to switch to a different field entirely.  Spend the same amount of time and then switching again and again and again.  Wow!  Of course, with all that there would be some big adjustments in current life.  Retirement?  Religion?  Environmental? Family? Sociology? Psychology? etc.… To just name a few.  But maybe this would be the best motivation for humanity to move off world and maybe even to the distance stars?  Some might see a reason why this research needs to be curtailed but for me I don’t see these issues as problems, but challenges for humanity.  From the Trees, to the Plains, and then to the Stars….

The futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil believes that we are approaching this point.  His belief is that the emergence of A.I. will usher in this Golden Age of Humanity.  That what seems impossible now will become common place.  That A.I. will create what he calls the Singularity.  A rapidly developing and accelerating technology growth, an explosion in technological progress that happens overnight.  Now before you start doubting this, you should check out a web site called:  https://phys.org  It is a “churn site.”  It does not publish its own data but short synopsis of research that is occurring around the world.  In almost every field.  And it shows when it was published.  And every day it changes, sometimes hour to hour.  It’s the sheer volume of information in different areas of research that is published each and every day that gives me chills just thinking about it.  I believe that Ray Kurzweil has it right when says we are fast approaching a time when a break through in technology will seem just like magic.

It is like we are on a mathematical curve that approaches an asymptote, the y value changes become larger and larger in relation to x.  Almost to the point that the line described is becoming vertical.  Kurzweil thinks this will be when we truly create AI or Artificial Intelligence and then, well then, all things become possible in short time frames we never thought imaginable.  Have a problem…. get an AI to work on it and bingo solutions appear where there seemed to be none.  Wow!  It would be truly amazing if things work out this way.  Just unreal and if you are still in your 50s or younger and reading this…well you might live to see it happen and more?!

Now some see the immortality question from a little different angle.  They see humanity becoming immortal by embracing Transhumanism.  And to some degree this has already happened in several areas of medicine.  This can be thought of the blending of human and machine so to speak.  If you have any of the following then you could be considered Transhumanist: cataract replacement with artificial lens, joint replacement with mechanical parts, an artificial heart valve, implantable penile prosthesis, pacemakers, even amputees from the last middle east conflict that use advanced prostheses.  All of these can be considered Transhumanism.  And as technology move forward, my guess is that we will see much more of this, no part of the body will be off limits.  My personal opinion is that it will be a blending of human and machine that will truly allow us to be immortal.

Well that is probably enough for this week.  In the word of Gary Cantrell, there is no guarantee for tomorrow.  Not yet anyways.  So, I need to get out and do some training for the next Ultra attempt.  It is June 2nd in Golden Gate State Park.  Called the Dirty Thirty.  Check out the website:  http://dirty30.org/  It is a 50k or about 32 miles.  Here’s hoping to no mud, but of course it is an Ultra and in the mountains.  So, you never know what you are going to get.  Take care my friends…  Have a great Holiday weekend.

Exercise, Genetics, Quad Rock 50, Trail Running

MUSINGS FOR SATURDAY 19TH, MAY 2018

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“Life is good, bad, beautiful and ugly…but it is all experience, so drink it up and guzzle it down my friends, for it is all we are given.”  EB

Well another good week.  RAN the Quad Rock 25 and not the 50 last Saturday and that was an experience…  This was my forth time to run the 25.  And each time it has been different.  This year was no exception.  True to course the weather did not fully cooperate….  Yes it was cool (good for running), yes it did not rain hard (just a light mist), yes there was really no wind, and all of this was fantastic for running…. but it made up for these by giving us runners and spectators a taste of MUD…. REAL MUD!!  Not quite the “Wrath of God” type of mud but close to it.

I have never had the experience of running in mud like this for a long distance.  And what I learned:  It is one thing to just run a mile or two in mud but quite something else to find it on about 40 percent of the course.  Now I am probably exaggerating a little bit because when you are out there in it….  Well it just seemed like it was everywhere.

Think of chocolate cake icing about 3 to 6 inches deep.  Slippery, somewhat sticky to real sticky, and did I say slippery… you get the trail conditions.  Halfway through the first 25-mile lap I was already thinking that one lap of this Mud Fest was enough.  I am a “slow runner” and my best time for this course is 6 hours and 10 minutes.  This year’s mud slowed me down enough that I finished the first lap in 7 hours and 30 minutes.  An hour and 20 minutes longer…. Oh well, that is what I am blaming it on.  It is all EXPERIENCE.

A big THANK YOU to all the volunteers that hung out in the cold and wet.  Without your help and dedication this would have been a much less enjoyable race.  And a shout out to GNAR runners for putting on the Quad Rock.  As always, they put on a great show, no matter the weather.   Will I be back next year??  Absolutely!!  Will I be shooting for the 50 again??  You bet!!

 

Well on a different note this week, I noticed that I have been using an app on my phone to track my calories and food choices among other things, called Lose it!  I have been using the app for about three to four years now. And for me, this is a long time to be using the same phone app.  Wow!  Now you would think my first thought would be I really like this app.  But you would be wrong…my first thought was “WTF” – Where did the time go!!  The “really like part” came as the second thought….

Now, you may be wondering if I have been that “anal” to log every calorie and food choice since I first started using the app….  The answer is no, a resounding no, but at the same time it has really helped me to see trends in how and what I eat and where I could do better.  It can tell me how many calories for the day or week, what are the ratios of fats to carbohydrates and protein.  And one that I have really started to pay more attention to but is not directly related to nutrition.  That one is sleep.  A good way over time to see what your averages are for sleep which can lead to better recovery after those long trail runs.

One of the best features with this app is that it syncs with several other programs.  As an example:  It syncs with Strava, which syncs with Movescount (Suunto Watches) so that my exercise data transfers over in calories burned for the day.  It has helped me to lose about 20lbs since I started ultra-running.  When I turned 50 I was right at 183lbs.  Then over the course of a year I lost down to about 155lbs but became stuck.  I stayed at this weight for about two years.  I would gain a little bit, then lose a little bit.  A kind of Yoyoing back and forth.  Which became very frustrating.

Then I discovered the Lose It app.  Which allowed the better tracking of calories and helped me to drop another 20 lbs.  But, it was not just about the tracking of calories that helped, it was the amount of protein, fat and carbs and the ensuing “change of habits” that really helped.  One of the things that astonishes me now and still does at times, is the amount of food you can put away if you are not being a little more mindful.  As an example, I would come home from work (working night shift) and think nothing of adding a “small snack” before going to bed.  When I started tracking this, the small snack was anywhere from 500 to well over 1000 calories!! Do this a few nights every week and it adds up…. Way up…. It also can give you calories for various types of day to day activity or you can add it after looking up calories burned for a specific activity.   There are also informational sections of the app about food and nutrition.

The developers have recently added one on genetics called embodyDNA.  If you have already had your DNA sequenced by Helix, the National Geographic sponsored one, then for an extra 50 bucks embodyDNA will use it to let you know things about DNA-based insights on BMI, Low Fat Diets, Saturated Fat, Sugar, Exercise and Nutrition.  Also, possible sensitivities like lactose tolerance, gluten tolerance and caffeine metabolism.  I think if you want to get serious about your nutrition and create a food environment to let your body run as efficiently as possible this is one way to do it.   Here is the link to the Lose It! Website:  http://www.loseit.com/  and the embodyDNA site:  https://embodydna.com/

Check them out and let me know what you think!!  Well that is all for this week.  See ya next Friday.  First Columbine Flower for the yard bloomed a few days ago.  Always beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review, Exercise, Psychology, Quad Rock 50, Trail Running

Musing for Friday 11th, May 2018

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Well it’s has been a good week. Lots of resting and waiting and wondering what ifs!!?? The Quad Rock 50 is on Saturday. Did I do enough training, did I do enough specific training… hill work, long steady distance, Aerobic Threshold, Lactate Threshold, and Aerobic Capacity, etc.…. Did I do enough so that I can finish?? Again, I think back to the Ajahn Brahm quote:

“Doing a task is usually easy. Thinking about a task makes it hard.”

So true and add to this the weather change that could be an issue on Saturday AM. Colder and wet? 10 days ago, the forecast was going to be 75 degrees and dry, but now as the time approaches it looks like the best models show a low in the 40s with a high in the 50s and rain? Oh well at least it will be cool but I would prefer not to run in the rain. The muddy trails add some issues but I think this is something to get use to. The unpredictable nature of Ultra Running in the mountains. I do know that once I am doing it……then all this thinking, thinking, thinking and more thinking becomes academic… I am out there doing it.

One of the books that I have read this year is by Matt Fitzgerald called RUN – The Mind-Body Method of RUNNING BY FEEL. I liked the book a lot. For me there were some very useful sections. Chapter 10 was one those. It is titled Anger, Fear, and Speed. Specifically, it was the section that talked about the “Fear of Failure” and the anxiety that it induces. I used to think that the anxiety I experienced days before an event was a bad thing. I would spend countless hours in the days leading up to an event trying to find ways of lessening the anxiety. Not really facing it. And the anxiety would get worse, to the point that I would talk myself out of running. Even after spending countless hours training and planning.

Matt helped me to see the anxiety from an Existentialist view. It is just a symptom or sign that you are challenging yourself. The anxiety is about you pushing yourself into this situation. It is a call to work through the anxiety, fully embracing it, instead of taking the easy way out and just trying to make it go away. By facing the anxiety, the challenge of the race, the pain, you strengthen the core of who you are. It is a chance to step up to what sounds impossible, run 50 miles in my case, and make it possible. The opportunity to move beyond where you are now and become who you see yourself as being. To become more authentic so to speak. And you do this by facing the anxiety, struggling with the anxiety, wrestling with it, and in the end make your decision to race. Success or failure, win or lose, does not really matter, it is that you went to the “abyss” and returned a different person.

You can find the book at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/RUN-Mind-Body-Method-Running-Feel/dp/1934030570

On another note I have been working on getting the garden planted. Always a little iffy at this time of year. Colorado weather this time of year can be a little schizophrenic. Warm and dry one day and cold and snow the next. Last year we had a late spring snow. That caused me to have to replant a lot of things. Usually if the forecast is good through Mother’s Day then you are good to go. Last year I believe it was after Mother’s Day that it snowed. I am risking it again this year but except for the rain and cold on Saturday it seems that the temps will stay above freezing.

Tomatoes and peppers

 

Strawberries

Blueberries

Raspberries

Blackberries – hard to see them with all the other vegetation.

I moved all of the garden plants to the front yard this year. Not enough sun in the backyard when the Ash tree is all leafed out. So hopefully we will get a good crop of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and strawberries. I also planted several raspberry bushes and black berry bushes. So, it will be interesting to see how it all grows this year.

More peppers with cucumbers and lavender and you can just barely see catnip.

I did plant more lavender this year to attract more bees and winged insects. The catnip plant is coming back with force again this year. I had to prune it back multi times last summer.

The Yarrow and Russian Sage is starting out nicely too.

Well that is the start of the garden this year. As things progress or not I will post more photos. I am hoping that I can coax it along and get a pretty good crop. Now I know it is a lot easier to just go to “Whole Paycheck” or one of the Farmer Markets in Fort Collins to get vegetables. But there is something satisfifying about growing your own food. My parents for several years had a garden and I remember picking peas and green beans as a kid. Maybe that is part of the draw? I am not sure. Or maybe it is just my way of being different… putting it in the front yard for all to see?? Never liked mowing grass and if I could I would cover the entire yard with raised garden beds. I am sure that the homeowners association would love that… Oh well I think that is it for me this time. See ya next Friday.

One last picture….How I feel about running right now!!

 

 

 

Dinning, Exercise, Life and Meaning, Psychology, Quad Rock 50, Religion

Musings for Friday 4th, May 2018

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Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.

Joseph Campbell

It has been another good week. Cathryn and Janet both had Birthday’s this past week. Cathryn turned 20 and Janet turned 57. Or as she likes to call it…she has reached “Level 57”. I think that is pretty funny. Myself at the moment, I have reached “Level 56”. When you say it that way, it doesn’t sound so bad. Like you’re in some kind of video game and the object is to reach the highest level. LOL. Now that is funny.

The restaurant for Cathryn’s Birthday is called Café Vino and I would recommend as very good. It is in Fort Collins. Check out their web site at: http://cafevino.com/

The one that we went to for Janet’s Birthday is in Windsor and is called Chimney Park. And it is very good too but has a little different ambiance. Café Vino is a little more relaxed in my opinion and Chimney Park is something I consider more formal. The difference in food quality is minuscule. There are things I can get at Café Vino but not at Chimney Park and vice versa. Of note there is a better beer selection at Café Vino. For me it really comes down to what I am hungry for and whether I want to drive to Windsor or not. The web site for Chimney Park: http://www.chimneypark.com/

My suggestion is check out the menus online and decide from there. I don’t think you will be disappointed by either.

 

On a different note, I have been watching a video series called the “Human Universe.” It is hosted by Physics Professor Brian Cox and it is on Curiosity Stream. The link for the web site: http://curisotystream.com

The series is composed of 5 one hours shows and are listed as follows:
1. Ape-man – Spaceman
2. Why Are We Here?
3. Are We Alone?
4. A Place In Time And Space
5. What Is Our Future?

It was filmed in 2014, so it is about 4 years old, still fairly recent in the scheme of things. They are all pretty good. But the second one raised a few questions. From the closing scenes of the second show:

“If the Theory of Inflation is correct it explains how our universe appeared apparently from nothing. And it also strongly suggests that there is not just our universe but a vast number, perhaps even an infinity of them.”
“We have known for a long time that we are infinitesimal specks in a vast universe, but now the suggestion is that we are infinitesimal specks in a vast infinity of universes.”
“Our current best theory for the origin of the universe, backed up by experimental evidence, suggest that there are an infinite number of universes. An infinite number of copies of you and me and the existence of the whole thing is inevitable, no purpose, nothing special, you are because you have to be.”

 

Now I don’t know about you, but damn that gives me chills just thinking about it. If this was to be proven at some point. It would be a radical change in our cosmology. “An infinite number of copies of you and me and the existence of the whole thing is inevitable, no purpose, nothing special, you are because you have to be.” Wow! Watching this film series reminded me of the quote that I placed at the start of this blog by Joseph Campbell.

“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer.”

I think that the quote fits in very nicely with the above idea of an infinite number of universes. The Universe does not need a purpose to exist. We do not need a meaning to act. The actions that we do, give us the meaning. And you don’t need to have some kind of “mystical being” overseeing it all. The quality of our world is made better by US. We are our own validation, we are our own authority. The power to make the world a better place or not resides in us. Again, Wow! A little scary, and to some degree liberating. Definitely something to ponder……

OK, OK enough of the soapbox for now. The film series is a good one to watch. Here is a trailer from the series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF53SrCIQRI&list=PLrBWchMkYBlD6Dg53t3KGdx2AonTwo_Zq&index=6&t=0s

Last but not least just a quick note about training for the Quad Rock 50. In a nut shell it is going well. No injuries so far this year. And I feel pretty good after a 20-mile training run, as if I could continue on without too much difficulty. I believe this to be a good thing.
I am lucky to live where I do. First it is Colorado, second it is Fort Collins, and third the city of Fort Collins has had a great open space and trail program for about 40 plus years. A few blocks from where I live I can pick up a trail called the Powerline Trail that connects with the trail system in Loveland and to the trail system in Fort Collins. Truly I can get in a very long run just from the house with what I call minimal traffic interference, except for one road crossing. The section of the Powerline trail that I like to use most for running is a 5-mile dirt section next to the concrete path. I have nick named it the treadmill. It is useable in almost any weather, 150’ of elevation gain or loss and it is very close. I think that it beats running in the basement with the TV on hands down expect in the most inclement weather. Well that is it for me. Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Powerline Trail looking North

Powerline Trail looking South towards Loveland. Lots and lots of crab apple trees in this section.