It’s hard for me not to like my hometown of San Diego, despite the fact that I’m peppered repeatedly upon arrival to answer the question  ”Why did you move away from here?”  Good question to ponder as I sit in the airport and reflect on this nice stopover on the way back to Sweden (via San Fran and Washington DC).

Temps were in the mid 80s F (high 20s C) all week for my family visit, where I spent some quality time with my little nephew Max.  I ramped up my training again — slowly but surely — and even got a little help from Max.

 

Max was nice enough to show me how to use the paddle like a Star Wars-inspired light saber. Maybe I can use the force to catch some nice waves, hey buddy?

I enjoyed a beautiful 3-hour road bike ride in the hot sun with Corey Mergler, a high school buddy I hadn’t seen in years. I remembered him as the ‘heat-throwing’ pitcher from Little League — all muscle and power. He didn’t disappointed 15 years on — he took off on the first hill, relying instinctually on his short-twitch muscles. But this (considerably lighter) endurance athlete had the last laugh near the top when he started to flare out.  Corey inquired about some tips on how to use his Heart Rate Monitor and I suspect that next time he’ll be a tough partner to ride with.  He doesn’t like to lose.

We captured the nice sentiment from the bike-friendly community here in Southern California near the top …

 

Mergler sweatin’ it out on the long climb…

Thanks to my friends at the San Diego Canoe and Kayak Center I got out on the water for the first time in weeks. I worked patiently on technique drills to find that old rhythm I had back in January. I also did some filming for my upcoming training weekend, lecture, and paddle clinic in Söderhamn in late May (read more here in Swedish).  Here I am trying to “hold the boat on a rail” to work the abs and improve balance.

To my right …

and to my left …

 

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My mom gave me a bunch of articles to read on the plane. One tried to answer the question, “Does endurance racing affect lifespan?”  There is no clear answer, but a few interesting study results…

– A 2011 study found that endurance athletes over 50 had more scarring in the heart than similarly aged males that didn’t exercise (uh oh  …)

… but …

– A study of Tour de France riders (who train like freaks) lived, on average, 8 years longer than similarly aged men (ah ha !)

…but…

– A massive study of 50,000 individuals found that people who run between 1 to 20 miles a week have a 20% less chance of dying prematurely (nice…), but those who ran more than 20 miles a week had no such benefit ! (…uh oh …)

The suggestion by the researcher: all in moderation Hmm, not so good for people like us.

I could use the excuse of “moderation” for skipping out on the planned 50-mile ultra run  this weekend in Lake Sonoma, but the truth is that I’m not in any position to run that far after my 6-week hiatus (I’ve compromised with my friends and agreed to run 25 miles at a very slow pace). So I’m gonna cheer on my buddy Grant — a man who has gone through the “short-twitch” to “long twitch”  transformation over his career. In college he could dunk a basketball despite his 5 foot 11 frame. Then, two years ago, he was one of only a handful of trail runners in the US to complete the ‘Grand Slam’ — finishing four 100-mile races in two months (The Western States 100, Leadville 100, The Vermont 100, Wasatch 100). An impressive feat for anybody, but even more for a short-twitch muscle guy.  I don’t think he can dunk a basketball anymore …

Grant at Explore Sweden Kittelfjäll in 2005, racing with me on Team Nomad … tough-guy look.

 

Love your muscles and treat them well. Whatever kind you got …

Scott