Run DMZ

  I finally got to fulfill a planned adventure for 2020, even if it came four months late. Last weekend my sister, her son and I participated in the  San Diego Zoo’s Roar and Snore , an overnight camp in which you experience one of the area’s most popular attractions up close with other families or couples.  Our trip originally was scheduled over Memorial Day weekend, when my nephew turned 12, but that pesky virus shut down everything. Things still aren’t what they were, no matter where you go in San Diego, but the zoo brought back this popular program for the summer and, hopefully, well into the fall and following year.   Getting there : Safari Park (previously known as the Wild Animal Park) is located deep in Escondido. There’s a well-marked exit off the 15 freeway in North County and signs along the roughly five-mile drive to the park on San Pasqual Valley Road.   Parking : It’s $15 for most vehicles, and it costs everyone unless you have a top-tier memb...

I no sooner publicly acknowledged bright sides of pandemic living when we were again thrust into turmoil due to recent incidents showcasing racial inequality. First, there was Ahmaud Arbery,  killed while on a neighborhood jog . It took local law enforcement more than two months to charge two gun-wielding vigilantes with murder despite clear evidence they went well beyond whatever bounds they believed they were entitled to have. I thought back to an early morning jog I took in the mid 1990s in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. I lived in a typical middle-class, mostly white neighborhood bordered by a lower-income, mostly black one. A house I'd run by earlier had been burglarized, and police stopped me a couple of blocks over upon arriving at the scene. And rightly so. Who expects to find someone running for pleasure at 4 in the morning? All I had to do, though, was explain that I was training for a marathon and where I lived and they let me go. Would they have done the same ...

I mentioned when I returned to blogging that hiking is now my primary passion. I also mentioned I'm not very good at it. Coming up in three posts will be ramblings on three big hikes I did and what I learned from each. In some cases, I'm cheating a bit and updating something I wrote and published soon after the events because the thoughts still hold. As I pull these pieces together, I'll leave you with the "travel videos" I made to remember each very different trip. In tech parlance, I am co-locating these digital assets in case they disappear elsewhere on the interweb. I assure you they will never disappear from  my memory. First up: The Grand Canyon Hiking in the Grand Canyon from Run DMZ on Vimeo . Next: The Presidential Range Presidential Range Hike from Run DMZ on Vimeo . Finally: Points West Hiking in the Southwest from Run DMZ on Vimeo .

In the months leading up to both our daughters’ weddings, I watched the television show  Four Weddings . For the unfamiliar, four brides leverage their weddings to win a honeymoon. Most often they are judged by the other three contestants on the venue, decor, bride’s dress, vows, length of service, entertainment, quality of food and quantity of booze.  Rarely does the bride’s parents’ speech play a major factor, but that’s just because they never heard the speeches  I  gave. I got a lot of compliments on both, though perhaps that was just the effects of a five-hour open bar talking. Still, I thought it might be a nice way to introduce you to the newest members of our family. Alex & Alex, August 26, 2017 Scripps Seaside Forum, La Jolla Shores Saturday Afternoon in La Jolla Shores (Wedding Day) from Run DMZ on Vimeo . I’ve been ordered by Her Highness and a high-ranking member of her court to keep it short. So, without further ado: ...

Can't seem to embed the video (anyone beside me starting to have it up to here with Blogger? . . .) There will be a post to go with this video in the coming days. http://vimeo.com/51888519

  This is a news anchor's response to a critical email.

The creator of this short film about a marathon runner from Tennessee asked if I'd check it out and blog about it. I like it. I like the way it's shot. I like the guy who is profiled. He doesn't do anything fancy or special or endorse a certain diet or lifestyle. He just likes to run, and apparently very fast. Thanks, Page. Great work. (What's not so great is broken code that won't allow me to embed the video. I tried and tried and couldn't get it to work, so I'm just including a link to the documentary instead.)

This morning I weighed a running route that is mostly uphill when it dawned on me: run it backwards and it's mostly downhill. You not only finish strong, but you finish faster. So that's what I did. What? You didn't know I'm running again, four months after a serious back injury? You mean to tell me you haven't been keeping up with my daily running log ?! Well, while I try to get over the lack of interest in my life, let me mention that I no longer feel like the same runner and I think that's a good thing. I began running on a lark , and I was kind of a closet runner in my 20s and a competitive one in my 30s. I paid for it in my 40s and now that I'm starting a new decade, I am returning to running being more of a me thing. There's a video from Mizuno's  Mezamashii Run Project that I think perfectly encapsulates this way of thinking, this lifestyle. It's not about counting your calories but counting your blessings. It's not about collectin...

Wine Barrel Tasting in Sonoma County from Run DMZ on Vimeo .

Not sure if you've seen some of the latest videos in the popular Sh*t ______ Say series. Here are a few from the world of running for your viewing pleasure. Barefoot Runners Runners Ultra Runners Triathletes

Buffalo Alley 10k from Run DMZ on Vimeo . This was a lot of fun to compose. Enjoy.

It had been eight years since the family gathered for a true vacation, one purely to reunite, relax and recreate. I picked Lake Tahoe in northern California because it was far from San Diego and because it was within an easy drive for our grown daughters. Adding to the fun, I invited my parents and nephew from central Oregon. We opted for inexpensive accommodations within a neighborhood of motels nestled under tufts of big pines and bordered by casinos, lakefront beach and a modern resort village. The “mountain house” was much nicer than I expected, and everything we did was within easy walking distance. Among our motel perks was a pass to access the nearby state beach, which otherwise costs $20 daily per family. On a cloudless day we set up our towels, slathered on sunscreen and went exploring. My 3-year-old nephew seemed especially pleased with the nearby playground, though he spent most of his time throwing sand, swiping sticks and stalking geese. You can also rent kayaks, rafts, pa...

If you have trouble viewing, go here .

Word of warning to anyone who plans to sip ‘n’ cycle their way through the Santa Ynez Valley: Don’t start off with eight wine tastings at your first stop. We’d no sooner taken our last gulp of cabernet when I was on my last gasp of air trying to get up a small hill on a mountain bike in a radically wrong gear. I slowed. I stopped. I went sideways. Fortunately, I quickly learned how to pace myself on both the bike and the booze as did my friends Sue, Sarah and Tracy, traveling companions I’ve written about previously on Run DMZ. This trip they all flew west and we drove from San Diego to Santa Barbara for several days of R&R in “America’s Riviera,” and that included a day of cycling among the vineyards located along the Foxen Canyon Wine Trail. It’s located in Los Olivos, in the heart of wine country that received a huge publicity boost with the movie Sideways . That’s also the source of the background music in this video. Enjoy. There are plenty of ways to see California wine count...

While I try to decide what to think of these increasingly strong earthquakes we're currently experiencing here in San Diego, I thought I'd share a great talk by Chris Guillebeau at a TEDx conference. I'm a fan of Chris and his blog , and this talk is one reason why. It's about Fear and Permission. A bonus: Chris is a runner. If this embedded link doesn't show well (as appears to be the case on my screen), here is the direct link .

...For this week, anyway. Iron Mountain Hike from Run DMZ on Vimeo . (Featuring my friend Maxine, who invited me on this hike the other weekend.)

Thanks to the generosity of my friend Sue in Florida, my husband and I flew up to northern California for a family reunion centered on a special event: our daughter’s dance showcase. I had a fever that finally broke at 3 a.m., just six hours before we were to board our flight. Unfortunately, other flu symptoms did not abate. In fact, they grew worse over the next two days. But there are some events you can never replicate and this was one of them. Both of our daughters started taking lessons at dance studios just after the diaper stage and continued through their college years. Our younger daughter is graduating early next year, so this was her final performance. That also means it was our final time as parents to attend one of their dance shows after 20-plus years. Students can choreograph dances, and Alex’s number last year was a huge hit (and that’s not just me sayin’ it, either). This year, she decided to stick with the fun vibe and also pay tribute to her many years of dance with ...

During my recent four-month forced hiatus from running, I kept track of calories using a couple of popular calorie counters: Fitday and, later, MyPlate . According to my daily average intake, I should have lost 1.8 pounds a week. Instead, I gained five pounds. Part of the problem was something I wrote about last month : I vastly underestimated my recorded portions and serving sizes. But I also fell for miscalculations on how much I burned exercising. Basically, you cannot trust the accuracy of calorie estimates generated by machines, which tend to provide far more generous numbers than you’ve actually earned. Exercise machine manufacturers want you to believe you’re burning more than you might be so you’ll stick with their product. Calorie counters take your word on weight, age and especially effort. Your number is aggregated with others, from fat to fit, to come up with an average. But we all move mass differently and everything from proper form to a spicy burrito breakfast can impact...