Rim to River to Rim in One Day

I seem to be thinking lately in pictures instead of words, so I thought I'd give a recap of my Grand Canyon Hike in pictures. Michelle and I hiked from the top of the North Rim down to the Colorado River and back up again to another part of the North Rim in one day, Signs posted everywhere warned not to attempt this, but it wasn't as hard as they warned. (disclaimer: do not attempt this unless you have really trained thoroughly for it and are willing to take the chance of having to be rescued by a helicopter if you cannot make it back out.)

Our GPS Tracks

Our Camper for the Weekend

Had to make a 7-11 stop for Diet Dr Peppers in the car ride out

We're so happy this early in the day.

The sign that say we SHOULD NOT be doing this hike in one day. What better reason to do it.

Taking a moment to soak it all in.

Soaking my feet and knee in the freezing water.

Couldn't have been a more welcome sign after a hot and dry 13 miles.

Getting towards goofy cause we're so tired.

Taking a moment to look at what we had just climber up. (And resting our feet a little)

We finished our hike right as the full moon was rising.

Happy to be out of that canyon.

Food tastes so much better after a 16.5 mile hike.

My victory pose the next morning.

The Bigger Blue Test

I spent last Saturday in LA at a shoot for The Big Blue Test commercial and it was fantastic.

The Big Blue Test is a month-long program to encourage people to get active and test their blood sugars.

To participate, between October 14 and November 15, test your blood sugars, get active for 14-20 minutes and test again.

Then log on to BigBlueTest.org to share your experience. For every log-in Roche will donate $5 to give life-saving diabetes supplies to those who need them here at home and abroad.

During the shoot, everyone was doing a different activity. Some were running, others doing yoga. They even had a band led by a six-year-old drummer who rocked.

I got the chance to do some tarp surfing which I've always wanted to do.

They rolled out a huge blue tarp and pulled the corner of it to form a huge wave that we would ride skateboards through.

It is probably the only time in my life I will be in a six foot tall, stand-up barrel.

And I got the time to take a few photos, another one of my hobbies. It was great to have professional lighting and a real set to play with.

The last shot I was in was a group shot of the whole cast rounded out by Elliot Yamin. I don't think I've ever heard a sweeter voice in person.

After a day filled with the noise of direction and background conversation, the set was quieted by the call of "Quiet on the set." They actually say that. I laughed to myself.

And then Elliot started singing. Damn, he's good. And not the over-processed, only-good-'cause-he's-been-remastered kind of good.

He's also got some basketball skills to go along with the singing.

This year there is also the BIGger Blue Test and I am going to take this one on. For each 30 days in a row I will test, get active for 20 or more minutes, test again and post my results.

Since getting better from the thyroid drama, I have yet to daily get back into exercise. I have made great strides forward in doing big workouts, but the daily discipline still isn't routine.

How are you planning to do THE BIG BLUE TEST this year??

The Grand Canyon Trial Run

Labor day was a great excuse to get in our first trial hike. Michelle and I are planning to hike/run the Grand canyon from rim to river to rim in one day at the end of September. I chose a 5-mile loop in Encinitas because I was familiar with it and it had some great inclines to mimic the Grand Canyon. Since recovering from thyroid disease that kicked my butt, I'm not as confident of what my body is capable of.

This hike was a great place to test it out. The bottom of the Grand canyon is not the place to figure out that you have gone beyond what you can handle. Because the first part of the hike is spent easily descending, many people venture too far before realizing it is at least twice as hard to hike back out. the official Grand canyon website is littered with warnings about venturing too far.

The Encinitas hike couldn't have gone any better. It was a lovely 82 degrees at noon, similar to the 90 we will encounter in the interior of the canyon. Michelle was a perfect hiking buddy holding a swift pace and keeping the conversation entertaining.

And my new Hoka One One running shoes made the day. They are made for long distance running with 30% extra cushioning in the soles. And I felt every bit of it. It felt like I was hiking on spring loaded marshmallows. I never even felt the trail. T

he last time I hiked the Grand Canyon I wore a twenty pound pair of hiking boots with a steel rod running through the sole. By the time I reached the top my feet had passed through hellishly painful to just plain numb. I know this time my feet might be sore but the will be in much better shape because of the new shoes.