The Stoke is High

The stoke is high.

Upper Mike Uhtoff trail during Mtn Trail Run class

Learning to lead climb at Honey Combs during Rock 2 class recently

Raising the stoke is paramount. Its the end game and purpose of life. There aren't other priorities. It is THE singular, defining, and forecasting element of each moment forevermore.

I've had some great running in the last month. I've had some great distractions from my running in the last month. I think they are helping me, and my running. Here's some stoke lifters lately;

-Beautiful cool, crisp, clear with the slightest blue haze weather this late morning to foster the greatness of my run.
-Feeling physically healthy as can be, heart pumping with so much variety I can hardly be not stoked. Running, climbing, resting, and thinking.
-Finding comfort and balance in the everyday, being more present (which I've found hard to describe, sorry).

Since my latest post I've run a 10k and it went great, I was 2nd overall behind a stud who put 2 mins on me in 5 miles. It was the Talent Harvest festival race. I'm feeling really fit and ready to roll. I have Lithia loop trail marathon in a couple weeks and I am approaching/starting my taper now!

My volume of training hasn't been as high as I had planned 6 weeks ago, that's due to some of the stoke raising factors I mentioned above. My confidence in sustaining a homeostatic mental state more than makes up for slight physical deficiencies I may have from a lack of an additional 10-20 miles per week of volume that I may have been doing otherwise.

I once presented a "I believe" paper in front of my high school English class as a senior. It essentially was a long list of bullet points sharing things that I believed, or did not believe. In it, I said I believed in "the purpose of life", and did not expand on that idea. I was questioned afterward about its religious (and otherwise) significance to which I didn't have the time to get into, nor was I sure that I wanted to elaborate for this particular person.

My beautiful bike commute to get some food from the co-op

Regardless, 8 years later, I have found one of many simple, under-explained, brief, and often misunderstood explanations of my purpose of life.

Raise the stoke. Find ways to be stoked. Do it as much as possible. Do in in a variety of ways, perhaps with a variety of people. Find love. With things, feelings, people, movements, moments, memories and thoughts.

While teaching my Mountain Trail Running Class up in the woods of Ashland

I found out recently I am going to be an uncle. That's a big deal. Its an opportunity and a beautiful thing. I'm just glad its my brother becoming a father right now, and not me (yet?).

Stoke is high, and lifting higher. Carpe Diem yolo yada yada yada

Feeding on beautiful fuel, and lots of it