What's Your Dream?

At this point in time, other than injury (knock on wood) the only thing that will keep me from finishing Mountain Lakes 100 is not having the correct gear. So I thought I would share why I am concerned and that all I am still needing. I am sure this list won't be complete either.  (UPDATED as of 8/8/17 6:22 PM PDT) Ultimate Direction Adventure Vesta 9L Hydration Vest - Women's Obsidian, M/L Black Diamond Distance Z Z-Poles, Carbon, 110cm - Borrowing!   SaltStick Caps, Electrolyte Replacement Capsules, 100 count bottle  - Gifted!!! Tailwind Nutrition - 7 Stickpack Set by Tailwind Nutrition Huma Chia Energy Gel, Variety Pack, 24 Gels - Premier Sports Nutrition for Endurance Exercise Shock Absorber Women's Active D+ Classc Support Sports Bra, White, 34E UK  - Gifted!!! Altra Trail Gaiter Protective Shoe Covers, Orchid, S Regular US - Borrowing!  Petzl - NAO 575 Lumens - Borrowing! A running puffy jacket  Second pair of Altra shoes   - ...

Like a tornado she swept into my life, turning it sideways and filling it with adventure. I had no idea that in such a short time someone could influence me and my life so much. Her name is Anne Danczyk. I met her on her first day at Amazon. She had just joined my Executive Assistant team; we were at Key Arena for the Amazon Seattle All-Hands, even in a stadium of 30,000 people Anne still stood out. She is a powerhouse of confidence, capturing her audience, not just by her beauty but her passion. She stormed in a few minutes late, literally running from campus due to a slight misunderstanding in the meeting location. Instead of stressing about it, she just laughed and was really happy about making it before the start of the presentations. That just who Anne is, bubbly, silly and carefree.  Anne's life is that of fairy tales, to say that she is a go getter is an understatement of a lifetime. Anne's first job as a young girl was working with horses. She trained to be on the ...

Imagine entering a room where all of your dreams are being stored, walk into the room and just pluck a dream from the shelf, open it up and dive into it. That's what The Trail Running Film Festival was for me. What's more, I don't think I have ever been surrounded by so many people that share the same  dreams and love for the mountains and running as I do. Instead of being afraid of running 100 miles of hell, they join in. Many in the audience completing more races and runs than I could dream of. I sat in a room of my idols as we watched people share their stories in film. We laughed that the same jokes and cried for the same losses. The unity of shared passions was overwhelmingly powerful.  I have held many dreams to myself, tentatively sharing tid bits here and there to my friends but this festival showed me it is silly to be afraid to go for the things that you love. Why not? What would I have to lose? After being surrounded by so many people who love crazy adventur...

June 4th I found myself in Whistler with my running pal Peter. We had decided to run this half marathon several months back without much thought put into the decision, it just sounded like fun at the time. Peter and I at about mile 9 As it turns out the Whistler Half Marathon is very beautiful, the course is lined with all sorts of multi million dollar homes that you get to gawk at when you are running by with sneak peaks of a lake here and there and of course a few snow capped mountains. But, the race is anything but flat!! You just go up and up and up! Eventually towards the back half of the race the course did level out but EEPS! The only negative about the race were the sections of the course that you have to cross through the people ahead of you who had already turned around. There were 4/5 spots like this on the course. Other than that, it was a very well put together race with an incredible finish area right at the Olympic rings! With tons of food and really great swag...

On your bucket list of places you'd like to travel, what's you number one? Loi Krathong the Festival of Lights in Thailand is by far my number one place/festival that I would like to see.  During the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, Bangkok hosts the Festival of lights. Loi Krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle that can float on the water.  They can contain food, nuts, joss sticks   (incense),   flowers, coins and a compulsory candle. Building the Krathong is very symbolic ritual, once the Loi Krathong is made you make a wish and let it float away with the river. The flame of the candle signifies longevity, fulfillment of wishes and release from sins. ( Source ) There are several legends linked to the origins of this festival. One holds that the festival began about 700 years ago when King Ramakhamhaeng of Sukhothai, the first Thai capital, was making a pilgrimage on the river from temple to temple. One of his wives wanted to please both the k...

If you like hiking then you'll love Kendall Katwalk, it's an 11 miles round trip with a 2600 ft elevation gain. Sounds hard but it's one of the easier hikes that I have done here in Washington. There are wild flowers, wild Alpine Blueberries, only about a mile of rocky hiking but easy small rocks with an even trail, a couple open meadows, old growth trees, creeks and even a lake if you are in shape!  (What the rocky section looks like) The the jewel of this hike are the mountain views. You get to enjoy the mountain views about 50% of the time.  (One if the views on the way to the top) Once you reach the top, your breath will be lost from the sheer beauty of the mountains and valleys, not from the hike itself! Once you reach the Katwalk it's a good place to rest and soak up the views. You can continue on to a lake about another mile ahead or turn around, the Katwalk is the 5.5 mile turn around point. To go on you may camp down at the lake.  Sadly the photos do not do it ...