Author: rajsactive

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Day Two – Portland Oregon

Today we took a trip out to the gorge for this amazing hike with our friends Jarod and Adina. Jarod knows the gorge well and recommended this hike and it did not disappoint. It only took us about 40 minutes to drive out there from downtown Portland, that was after a stop at HenryHiggins Boiled Bagels

Snipped from Alltrails.com

This is a relatively easy hike with moderate elevation gain but the visuals are stunning. You will hike along the river getting higher above it as you go which changes your perspective.

From the Start

We hiked up to Punchbowl Falls about 3.2 miles up but there was plenty to see along the way.

Here is the Punchbowl. You can get down to it but it’s not easy and didn’t seem worth the time to us.

Punch Bowl Falls

I’d say this hike is family friendly because it’s not steep and you can turn around at any point and feel successful.

Our hiking crew, Fletcher the dog was in the water and missed the picture. Thank you to Jarod and Adina for hosting us.

We wrapped up our trip with a short drive over the bridge to Stevenson WA for lunch. A very cute town with lots of lunch options.

Get out there and have fun.

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Cannon Beach Oregon

We took the 1 hour drive from Portland out to Cannon Beach and boy is it worth it. After breakfast at the Pig and Pancake we started our beach walk at Haystack Rock.

We walked south down the beach and took in the wonderful sites and sounds. It’s a very easy Beach to walk on and we were super fortunate with the weather. I highly recommend the beach and little town.

Lots of tide pools to explore

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60th Year of Life

This year I am turning 60. With such a big birthday it has me reflecting on my life currently and what I still want to accomplish. I’ve heard this point in life called the third act. That’s a nice way to look at it. The third act is where all the track work laid in the first two acts gets you closer to the best part of the journey.

Here is what I know. I want to keep exploring the reasons God put me on this earth. I want to keep striving toward my full potential, and I know I want to continue to have a positive impact on the people around me.

More to come on this but that’s it for now.

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Santa Barbara Get Away

Elizabeth and I decided to make a quick run to Santa Barbara during the holiday week. Part of any get away for us is getting out for an early workout. Here is my write up from the day.

Rainy morning so we decided to make the morning workout a walk. To spice it up we picked two spots on either side of town as our destinations. First Helena’s Bakery for tea and scone, then up to Handlebar Coffee Roasters for coffee and muffins. Such a fun morning.

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Holiday Outing

On these extra holidays Elizabeth and I like to break routine and do some kind of an active outing. Ideally we are exploring somewhere we have never been before. One of the reasons we love the Bay Area so much is there is a never ending list of places to explore.

Today we took the short ferry ride from Tiburon to Angel Island State Park. We took our 28 year old son there when he was a baby and had not gone back since. It was even better than I remembered.

Dock at Angel Island

Here is all the details on the island Angel Island Info. We did 6 miles of hiking and about 1,000 feet climbing and could have easily done 3-5 more miles. We took the Livermore Summit Trail to the top and the views from the island’s summit are unreal. 360 degree view San Francisco, Golden Gate, Bay, and Richmond Bridges.

Golden Gate Bridge

We worked our way down and wanted to check out some of the historical buildings, we chose Fort McDowel. The history of this site going back to the late 1800’s and through WWII was fascinating. The buildings are in pretty good shape considering their age and the weather conditions.

The Hospital

While on that side of the island it is well worth the little extra walk to Quarry Beach. More amazing views and a clean secluded beach. This is an awesome place to picnic. From here you are about 2 miles from the ferry taking the main road. There is more to see on the way back but we wanted to make the next ferry.

Quarry Beach

This is an awesome outing for families of all ages and fitness levels. We will definitely go back and it won’t be 26 years.

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Happy New Year -Half

We are officially half way though 2021. Now is a great time to do. “”Map Check” on your ‘21 goals and objectives. Are you on track, in the weeds and need to course correct, or ahead of plan?

Take a minute to evaluate and maybe even scrap the old plan and create a new one. The point is check in, evaluate, determine if you are where you want to be and then do something about it.

For me, I am happy with where I am at the halfway point of the year in my health and fitness. I am on track to get 1,200 run miles and 6,000 bike miles which are my ‘21 goals. I have made a huge effort to foam roll and stretch this year and it has made a significant difference.

Take away- do your personal map check and make necessary adjustments.

Our Father’s Day workout at Red Rocks Denver
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Workout Variety – Point to Point

I have no problem staying motivated to run and ride. But without being able to add in organized events I have found ways to create my own challenges.

One way I have found is to do point to point runs. You need a way to get back, hopefully a friend will cover you but this opens the door to all kinds of new adventures.

This last Sunday I did something I have been wanting to do a while and that is to get into the hills by my house and run a to the end of the trail. It’s only 8 miles but the elevation gain made it very challenging. Link to my Strava

Point to point trail run

If you are looking to create a challenge for yourself consider a point to point adventure.

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Murph Challenge

One of my favorite fund raiser fitness challenges is the Memorial Day weekend Murph Challenge. I have done it the last 6 years and officially registered through the website the last two.

The challenge is comprised of a 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats, and a final 1 mile run. There are all kinds of variations but I have settled on doing the strength stuff in rounds without assistance, but without a weighted vest. I like to do it for time so I have the comparison from year to year.

Last year I did not prepare well and I paid the price. This year I worked on my pull ups and push ups throughout the spring and it’s amazing what great conditioning these two simple exercises are. I also strategized better on my round count, which saved time and energy. My plan was to do 17 rounds of 6 pull ups, 12 push ups and 18 squats.

I am happy to report I was able to stay on schedule for the 17 rounds and with the runs I finished in a time of 44:36. I don’t know if that’s good compared to others but I do know it’s good for me. That’s a full 10 minutes faster than last year.

You get a great shirt with your donation.
My plan and tracking saved time

As I get older it is important to me to stay on top my fitness and it’s these types of annual challenges that serve as a great measuring stick. Thank you #murphchallenge organization.

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Happy Earth Day

I wanted to do a little something to commentate Earth Day so I decided I would do a trash pick up on my favorite run course this morning. I am blessed to live in an amazing place but there is always a little work to do.

If we all did just one small gesture in the next few days it would have a huge effect. Who knows what the multiplier effect could be.

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January Is A Wrap

And just like that January is behind us. Im going to January a win with 108 run miles and 505 bike miles. Most importantly I end the month physically healthy.

One thing we did this month to enhance our general health was to get a very comprehensive blood panel done through a private company paid out of pocket. Armed with the data we met with our trusted nutritionist to set a supplement and diet strategy for the next six months.

I believe it’s going to be important to proactive with our preventive healthcare. I am excited about the direction we are going.

Explore and Discover

One of our 2021 goals is to explore parks within the Golden Gate Conservancy. This month we got to Fort Funston and the beach there. It was beautiful and very easy to get to. Here are a few pics

Funston Beach
Messing Around