Running @TheNorthFace #ECSCA marathon relay was particularly awesome this year. First photo by @matt_anzur.
This is my fifth #NP_PhotoContest entry, though the photos were taken over a month ago. November 18th was one of my favorite days of 2017.
I got my dad to run on a North Face Endurance Challenge relay team for the first time (at 70+, he was the oldest ECSCA relay team participant this year by 17 years!). After running the first leg and resting while Anna did leg 2, I was in good enough shape to run with my dad in relay leg 3 and keep up! Thanks to Matt Anzur for capturing the sheer joy as we returned from Baker Beach. My dad joins #NPSF workouts whenever he can when he is in town, having him participate in ECSCA was extra special.
I also talked my good friend Michele into running the final leg of the relay for our team. Michele has been a great long distance training partner, including on weekends on the Marin hills, or on Golden Gate Park trails. She participates in #NovemberProject events when she can.
Lastly, after just coming to #NPSF for a few weeks, I convinced newcomer Anna to join our relay team, despite her being unsure about the distance (it was the longest she had ever run). We practiced the route early Tuesday morning of race week, which she easily crushed. She was also worried she wasn’t fast enough, and she ran the fastest leg of our team! Anna is now a regular at #NPSF and always brings a great attitude and spirit.
To me our ECSCA team represented a lot of what NovemberProject is all about. Whether older or younger, a seasoned regular, an occasional participant, or a newbie, we run, support each other, and have a great time.
Happy New Year friends, let’s make 2018 even better.
Donate/renew NOW for 2017+2018 for 2-3x match & to #RESIST new #taxlaw! Why:
Why you must act TODAY (everyone)
Several of the above charitable organizations have matching donations that will increase your donation 2-3x IF you donate by end of day TODAY 2017-12-31 US Timezones.
See the 2x/3x next to the @-names for which organizations and how much.
Why you must act TODAY (US friends)
It’s the last day of 2017. By donating today, you MAY*** be able to itemize your donations and deduct them from your 2017 Federal taxes, BUT you may NOT be able to in 2018! See: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/22/business/taxbillroundup.html (many provisions to punish blue states as predicted***).
tl;dr (IANAA, talk to your accountant): In 2018 you can no longer itemize and deduct state income tax (per cited NYT article).
Thus if you usually itemize because your state income tax is more than the standard deduction, you will lose that, and by taking the standard deduction, you won’t be able to itemize & deduct any charitable donations in 2018. So make those donations today instead!
You can donate to all of these organizations online and get an email receipt in minutes (I confirmed this by donating/renewing all the above personally).
See each Twitter profile above for their site/donation URLs.
**Disclosure: I work for @Mozilla, on & with open web standards & communities @indiewebcamp@microformats@W3C@WHATWG supported by @Firefox to provide a more human-centric, private, and secure web for all users. #fightfortheuser
I was honored when Paddy asked me if I could teach #NPSF yoga instead of our usual Friday hills, due to the poor outdoor air quality (unhealthy for everyone) from the north bay fires. Thanks to #TheNorthFace for allowing us early morning use of their space!
This was my first time teaching a full one hour yoga class on my own indoors (having taught outdoors over the summer), as well as first time teaching NPSF as a whole.
I came up with a custom routine (and a new playlist) that I thought would suit NPSFs abilities & challenges, provide a good workout, but perhaps most importantly help people connect with themselves, and hopefully find a sense of peace & calm amongst everything happening at the time.
Interestingly, though anxious at the start, I found myself also feeling more peaceful and calm as the class proceeded. Afterwards I was just grateful I was able to provide and serve a community which has inspired and helped me so much.
Learning to teach yoga and share that has been one of the highlights of 2017. My training @YogaFlowSF also left me with more questions than answers, personal and universal, that I know I will be spending more time thinking about in the coming years. Grateful for all my teachers, past and present.
#TBT to running up Diamond Head last Saturday, and seeing a bright orange #grassrootsgear tagged tanktop coming down the hill. @jhoguem of #NP_DC & I posing just about where we met. 📷 instagram.com/t_moneee
One of the best things about #NovemberProject is randomly running into others, whether across an ocean or in your local park, and instantly bonding over shared values: #wakeupthesun #getoutside #justshowup #bounce #shout #workout #hugitout (or high five it) #neverstopexploring.
This is my fourth #NP_PhotoContest entry. Joint entry with Jessie (@jhoguem), if that’s a thing.
Yesterday morning #NPSF PR Wednesday interrupted after the first lap & burpees with a pit stop run to the nearest Starbucks. Two more laps and called it a morning since everyone else was done. Smaller crowd, though many visitors, still took over upstairs at Jane on Fillmore for breakfast club.
Slept in, missed track Tuesday this morning. Made it to far fewer this year. My notes: * 2017-103 +before: tantek.com/2017/103/t4/track-tuesday-only-did * 2017-156 set 400m PR ~1:26 * 2017-255 did 400 abs 400 * 2017-269 did 400 800 1200 800 400 400 abs * a few more Tuesdays I made it to the abs workout and ran a few laps afterwards
Not sure why it was harder for me to make it to track this year than last. Whatever the reasons, with these notes I’m letting them go.
It’s one thing to wake up in daylight, another to get up in darkness.
One thing to run with a friend, another to run alone.
To run in daylight, another to run in darkness.
From darkness to dawn I made it to Diamond Head, and inside the crater as the sun crested the eastern rim. Less than twenty minutes later I reached the summit. Clear skies overhead, the sun had ducked behind a cloud layer just above the horizon.
This is my second #NP_PhotoContest entry. From the profile you’d think I was part elf.
I’m standing in the same spot as two days ago, and yet, this morning began very differently.
Alone, unmotivated, barely motivated, running, then losing nearly half an hour looking for a restroom, almost quitting and turning back, pressing on to complete a couple of miles, up to the edge of the crater, and having gone that far, finally motivated to push all the way up inside to the top.
In that moment, beyond gratitude, I felt a growing sense of self-reliance, and a lot less self-doubt.
Thanks to running with #NovemberProject, I’ve learned to get up in darkness and wear a headlamp before dawn. Thanks to running trails with #NPSF friends (often at #SFRC), I’ve learned to wear a buff to wipe my brow, carry enough water for the roundtrip, and pack a snack just in case.
Running alone in the dark is still a challenge. There’s always an inside voice of doubt, speaking up at even a hint of exhaustion, tiredness, or breathing difficulty. I’ve learned to live above it by listening to it rather than rejecting it. By allowing myself the option to turn around, in a mile or two, it feels heard. And when that mile or two comes, the voice is almost always completely gone, replaced by feelings of momentum and self-confidence.
About halfway to the summit I saw a #grassrootsgear orange tanktop coming the other way and met Jessie & her friend from NovemberProjectDC! A pleasant friendly surprise among the throngs of half-awake tourists. We stopped to take a photo together.
Standing there at the Diamond Head Summit, I waited for the sun to continue rising above the clouds, still low enough to cast a warm yellow orange glow. Took a few photos, then ran back down, pausing on the street outside Diamond Head to appreciate the chickens, roosters, and doves snacking near the sidewalk, before running back to the beach and finding breakfast.
This morning was OK. Ran with my dad from Waikiki beach to the top of Diamond Head, passing hundreds of tourists along the way. Honestly it felt surreal being able to run up trails and steps that everybody else was hiking. Thanks to my backside-tagged #grassrootsgear shorts, I can’t help but wonder if any of them pondered, what is #NovemberProject? Also wondering what they thought when moments later my 76 year-old dad passed them, chasing me up the hill.
In this moment I’m grateful for so much. Being up here, being able to run up here, being able to run up here with my dad.
Last minute but if you’re in Austin, whether usually or here for @Mozilla #yallhands, come on by for an informal #indieweb meetup for practicing enthusiasts of the #openweb! A few topics:
RSVP: on the Facebook event or post an indie RSVP on your own site! First three may get a special prize! (must attend to get, void where prohibited etc.:)
led #IndieWebCamp #Austin session on Payments, Pledges, and Donations, Oh My! Discussed: * #indieweb.org/pay pages work: tantek.com/pay * #Patreon backlash, creators/patrons stuck * or use Stripe, @W3C #Payment Request API
#NPSF PR Wednesday 37:14, ~3 min slower than last month. Colder (47F), felt harder this month despite music. Maybe three weeks of races caught up with me. Maybe 4500+ meters climbed this month. Maybe both.
Today’s PR Wednesday was not only my slowest this year, it was my slowest since March of two years ago (tantek.com/2015/084/t1).
Every segment was a struggle. I told myself to keep going, one segment at a time. On the last lap just before the Scott street climb, I heard the last part of one of Zip's bounces in my head:
Zipin: Will you ever quit? NPSFs: No, we want some mo', we want some mo', we want some mo'.
And that powered my last hike up Scott street, to my fastest downhill segment of the day, and a more than 2x faster sprint up the steps than the earlier laps.
Just grateful to finish PR Wednesday today to close out my most strenuous month of racing ever.
Counting today, I’ve raced the past four weeks of this month: * 11th tantek.com/2017/315/t1 Mt. Tam Trail Half Marathon * 18th tantek.com/2017/328/t1 The North Face Endurance Challenge California Marathon Relay (2 legs) * 23rd Mountain View Turkey Trot 5km (personal CR, post forthcoming) * 29th @Nov_Project_SF PR Wednesday
And the first week of the month (on the 4th) I set a personal trail distance record of 15+ miles with 3100+ feet of altitude climbed while training with Lillian who did 20+ miles in prep for her 50k at #ECSCA.
All of that added up. According to my Strava I climbed over 4500 *meters* during my runs in November.
That’ll do.
Looking forward to a no-race December. We’ll see if I make it to next month’s PR Wednesday.
Amazing #OptOutside adventure with @Nov_Project_SF this morning. Hiking (and some running) with #headlamps up Mt. Tam before dawn, climbing as the sky lit up, cresting the peak to a beautiful sunrise. Dad had a great time too.
went to ECSCA After Party last Saturday night, had a very different experience than last year’s. Some #YTT lessons, practiced deliberately, followed with self-study, changed my outlook on many things. Similar events, same space, a year apart. Grateful for more, needing less. Listening more, asking less. Open to more, seeing more, hearing more.
Now regularly hosted in 8 cities worldwide (plus a 9th virtual), Homebrew Website Club meetups continue growing steadily, in a true grassroots fashion.
Many other cities have either held pop-ups or are getting started.
Want to organize a Homebrew Website Club meetup in your city?
Check out the list of cities and add your name (and city if it's not there already) as interested in co-organizing!
went to The North Face Endurance Challenge California last Saturday, had a great time in the #ECSCA Marathon relay with dad, @micheleperras, and @annaroosa! I ran: 1:12:03 leg 1 - 10k trail PR 1:19:42 leg 3 with dad. Photos to come.
This is meditation. #FBF to last Saturday, in the zone, racing the Mt. Tam Trail Run half marathon with singular focus. 📷 ChasquiRunner.
Awake the night before @TheNorthFace #ECSCA, thinking back to last Saturday’s challenges and triumphs, this morning’s @Nov_Project_SF hosted Battery Spencer workout for so many incredible humans visiting from near & far, and November Project friends both on their way and watching from afar.
Finished Mt. Tam Trail Run half in 3:32:20. No music, just breathing, footsteps, wind, and the sounds of the forest and other runners. Barely stopped, but there was something about the sun shining through the misty forest that made me pause here to capture it.
Three hours of focusing on my breath, footsteps, hydration, and energy. Meditative, smooth at times, slippery with tricky roots at others, and an uphill struggle before the last peak up to a total of over 3200 feet of vertical climbing.
Finally about a half hour of using gravity, step-by-step at first, then continuously flowing as fast as I could down through the finish.
10th half marathon, and first trail half race. Thanks Michele for the encouragement to join, and fellow #NPSF racers, cheergang, and volunteers @insidetrail!
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