Run DMZ

It was exactly five years ago that I said so long to blogging here on Run DMZ. I figured I’d give this another go, even if the focus and frequency shift and I write for an audience of one. Since leaving Run DMZ: I lost both of my parents and gained a son-in-law (with another son-in-law coming in September). I quit my non-profit job and went back to information security. I returned to my running roots: purely for pleasure, not PRs. I re-discovered the joys of BodyPump, even if I just quit the gym where I took classes. I dumped DailyMile and joined Instagram. I fell in love with hiking, despite it often feeling unrequited. How all this happened is worthy of another post. Or six.

  Normally this is a day I look forward to every year because it marks another milestone in this blog’s history. This time, however, I post with far more reluctance than I imagined. Eight years ago I started this blog on a Wednesday night right after the family shared a spaghetti dinner at our then-home in Scripps Ranch. I christened it Run-DMZ to marry my favorite avocation with my then vocation, which was working full time in information security. My techie friends thought the title was clever. Blogs evolve over time and this one was no exception. I shared – and overshared – far more of myself than I originally intended. But, really, those are the best posts, aren’t they? And because I was the same in the real world, strangers sometimes recognized me and some said they immediately related to me. This I consider my greatest success as a blogger. I have met both online and in person some amazing people who confided in me and who gained my own confidence, saving me ...

This photo was taken by my friend Cindy E. years ago. It was waiting for me three-quarters of the way through the El Cajon 20k, my favorite local race. I remember how good it made me feel to be surprised and to be recognized. I also remember how I just flew up that huge hill. Things have not improved since Saturday's "incident." Monday morning I worked out at the gym, per my usual routine. After a rowing session, I hit the mat to do some "PT exercises" to prevent another back injury and then headed to the locker room, where my lower back began to spasm the same way it had almost a year ago. Ironic, I know. I made it only until 1 p.m. at work. I had to make a flier for an event today and I just learned nobody took one. I have to give a 5 a.m. Webinar to students in another country and I just learned my audio isn't working. I also just learned my medical appointment to get a diagnoses, some x-rays and, I prayed, some new medications was canceled. My d...

Whatever rough morning you think you’re having, I’m about to trump it. We’re going deep into TMI territory, folks. Even seasoned search crews will wince. This morning our Saturday walk/run/hike group met up at Mule Hill Trail in Escondido for a lovely hike on a fog-shrouded path that meanders along farmland and this morning included a close(ish) encounter with a coyote so large we initially mistook it for a deer. This course is totally runnable, but I decided to just walk at a brisk pace to avoid jarring my intestines. I’d “gone” before we arrived, but I still had reservations. I walked. I talked. And I talked a lot. At no time did I feel any, let say, sensation even as we all got into our cars at the end of the hike to head to a special breakfast at the Golden Egg Omelette restaurant. Instinctively, I felt my backside before I sat down and … oh God, it wasn’t just moist with sweat. And my hand didn’t come up just wet. I gagged, grabbed a towel and began to wipe as everyone ...

There's this DIY blog I read each week, not because I have an interest in redoing my entire house but because I am fascinated by the family. Husband and wife are both full-time bloggers and make in the six figures basically recording their homelife. They even wrote a book based on the blog and it was almost instantly a New York Times bestseller. They have a huge following and get sponsors to give them great loot to give away. They have a no swag policy, meaning they won't take freebies from companies. This is genius because it makes them appear to have a lot of integrity when I suspect it's really because if they buy a product or service and then blog about it, they can deduct it as a business expense.  They moderate up to 10,000 comments a day (I am not kidding). And they love to take pictures of themselves and do Q&A videos where you feel like you are right there in their living room or kitchen. They just did a book tour and people all across the country lo...