In Pursuit Of

In Pursuit Of Closing in on 60 in the next couple of years, optimal fitness, both physical and mental, are key to continued adventures. I am not an elite athlete. I was there.

Join me as I share my daily runs, bikes, travels, learning and thoughts. The ongoing story of a 55+ dude and his pursuit of many things, most importantly an ultimate level of health and fitness. I am not a health expert. You can maybe take what I do as inspiration but you should not take it as advice. I'm really not concerned if anyone other than myself reads these posts - "In Pursuit Of" serves a

s a journal of my adventures in battling the Reaper, a war that I hope will go on a long, long, long time. This is not a rags to riches (or couch potato to elite athlete) kind of story. I have always been athletic and even somewhat good at some things physical. I strive to reach a level of ultimate fitness but it's a pursuit that should be ongoing and never really achieved as there should be no real upper limit. Just to be clear, I will neither be a couch potato or elite athlete but I sure hope to be running on a trail with by great grandchildren in the distant future. I had a health and fitness breakthrough about three years ago. I lost 40ish pounds and was running toward ultra distances. But, I wasn't there. I focused solely on running and ended up injured, back to bad eating habits, gaining weight and getting sick. This time. This time, I'll do it right. I still want to run ultra distances but the goal is an all-around fitness lifestyle that strengthens the whole body and mind. Running, biking, winter sports, water sports - you name it, it's all part of the plan. And, the plan really is to stay active every single day. Stay tuned for daily updates on my pursuit of...

Seems like just a regular walk/run map and info, the same as I post all the time here. The one huge difference is spot a...
05/06/2026

Seems like just a regular walk/run map and info, the same as I post all the time here. The one huge difference is spot at the bottom right where the trail meets the road.

A pedestrian bridge has existed there for several months but has been "officially" gated off (though it may or may not have been breached). Today, the gates were gone and this trail loop that started a block from my front door is now open.
To celebrate, we also came across a deer on the trail for the first time in a long time.

Nice little triple-loop run today - definitely helped the step count climb
05/04/2026

Nice little triple-loop run today - definitely helped the step count climb

April's step results - not a bad month but just ramping up for more bigger and betterThe year to date daily average is b...
05/01/2026

April's step results - not a bad month but just ramping up for more bigger and better

The year to date daily average is back up very close to the 13,698 needed for a 2026 year end total o 5,000,000. The past 365 day running total has now risen to 4,228,677 - might see that number reach 5 million by the end of may as lower step days fall off, replaced by higher ones.

Today's hybrid run on the trails. Start and finish at Split Rock Narrows with a full perimeter of Mono Cliffs Provincial...
04/30/2026

Today's hybrid run on the trails. Start and finish at Split Rock Narrows with a full perimeter of Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, including the South Outlier Trail (which is desperate need of some maintenence),

Nearly put in the half marathon distance with over 1,000 feet of elevation gain. Most importantly - injury free and actually feeling pretty good several hours later.

04/30/2026

One of the more rugged sections of trail at Mono Cliffs Provincial Park but the vista is worth it.

In pursuit of: joint and tendon strengthI'm a huge proponent of isometric exercises, especially for us folks closing in ...
04/30/2026

In pursuit of: joint and tendon strength

I'm a huge proponent of isometric exercises, especially for us folks closing in on 60 and beyond. Holding in one position for an amount of time (determined by you) is a strength builder at the muscle level but even more so when it comes to the joints.

Every single day, I do some amount of planks and wall sits, along with a 19 minute dumbbell routine that includes four different arm positions.

Just recently, after knee pain started to creep back in, I started the pictured exercise on a daily basis. I simply go 1:00 to 1:20 per side for 3-5 continuous rounds. I have a variation (where I do the 1:20) where a round consists of one per side and a 1:20 on the balancing board.

It's not a cure-all but it sure has taken a dent out of the knee pain. Also, after a decent trail run, I don't stiffen up completely like I did before.

Today, I did close to 11km on trails with a bit of hills. Tomorrow, it'll be closer to 20km with considerably more hills. It'll be interesting to see the results and how the recovery goes.

04/29/2026

The intricate patterns i weave - because the dog runs with me unleashed, I spend a deal of effort avoiding other humans (the dog is incredibly well behaved or he wouldn't be off-leash).

What was to be 10 laps of what is just under a 1km loop turned onto this because it was surprisingly busy despite the weather not being overly pleasant.

This was supposed to be a simple easy run with few hills prior to bit of a bigger run tomorrow. However, my need to avoi...
04/29/2026

This was supposed to be a simple easy run with few hills prior to bit of a bigger run tomorrow. However, my need to avoid other people on the trail led to one lap on the bigger loop that includes a 400 foot hill.

It all worked out - i feel good, I nudged my vo2 max up a notch and the dog and I were treated to a close encounter with a couple of large whitetail deer.

Oh, and I ditched on a root and didn't break any bones lol

Run or Die: Killian JournetThis is a great up close look at the life of one of the greatest ultrarunners and endurance a...
04/27/2026

Run or Die: Killian Journet

This is a great up close look at the life of one of the greatest ultrarunners and endurance athletes in general on the planet.

Check it out at Amazon: https://amzn.to/4t9n5B6

The mind will shut you down physically when there's still plenty of gas in the tank - if you let it.Lately, I've been re...
04/27/2026

The mind will shut you down physically when there's still plenty of gas in the tank - if you let it.

Lately, I've been re-reading Killian Jornet's book, "Run or Die" and a passage re-minded me of just that concept. He was completing a 175 mile trek around Lake Tahoe and at a low point nearer to the end, his mind wanted to pack it in but he came to the realization that his body still had plenty left and he was able to finish up the final 17 miles or so at a pace I personally can't even sprint on a track.

I've always loved this quote because it is so true. Often, what irritates us about another person is something we, ourse...
04/26/2026

I've always loved this quote because it is so true.

Often, what irritates us about another person is something we, ourselves, do. It is something unflattering about ourselves and it manifests into dislike of others that possess the same habit or trait.

Whether it's a family member, acquaintance or fellow employee - if something about them bugs you, take a look inward and see if there's something that can be improved about you.

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