Day 19: Ibaque, Colombia.

Regular followers of Team Beck are likely aware that I am a non-coffee drinker. I have never liked the smell, texture or taste of it. No coffee ice cream for me. No espresso-laced desserts for me. On some level, this is good and bad for Marc. He gets almost a full 2nd dessert I may only want a spoonful of, but as the baker of the house, he tends not to experiment with coffee in desserts as much as he would probably like because of my dislike of coffee.

So why are we in the ‘Coffee Triangle’, you may ask? It’s Operation Cincuenta and since it’s all about Marc, we go for coffee given his love of artisanal coffee. I promised Marc that when we got here that I would participate in any and all coffee tastings scheduled. I couldn’t promise loving coffee when all was said and done, but I was going to give my best. 

But first we had our private cooking lesson with the head chef of the hacienda - Ruben. We met him and went to the market with Guillermo, our guide, and Giovanni, our driver. We picked up some veg, meat and other goodies. Along the way (with Guillermo doing an ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC job of translating), Marc and I asked Ruben about weightlifting plus we talked about specific seafood and veg that we have in the Pacific Northwest. 

The questions about lifting came from the fact that Ruben is built like a tank and has arms that could probably break people like they’re a twig. Not sure if Guillermo has ever translated on these topics, but we all seemed to have fun talking about lifting weights, burpees, and other crazy workouts plus sharing videos and pics. We found out later that the boys in the kitchen were impressed with Marc’s shoulders (well, duh - those swimmer shoulders are pretty dreamy) and my front squat PR video.

Ruben walked us through how to make empanadas with cheese only and with beef and

cheese. Plus we learned how to make carimañolas, chuletas and a combo dessert that is best described as chocolate, coffee, dulce de leche and Oreo cookies.  Guillermo stayed on to translate and we all had lots of laughs in addition to learning how to make some tasty food (and have bad carbs for days). And yes, the food was really tasty if I may say so myself.

As Marc mentioned in yesterday’s blog entry, some candle torch blew up towards the end of the meal and almost hit me. Today, Ruben was attempting to showcase the texture of the dulce de leche mixture and as he squeezed the bag, it went flying towards me which also required some agility and dexterity to avoid it all from landing on me. Never a dull moment. As we were finishing up the meat course, we figured that since the dessert would benefit from a ‘set’ period to firm up that we should do the coffee tasting now and have dessert later. Off we went!

Given my dislike for coffee, I decided to treat this activity almost like an academic exercise. Going back to the book reco we made earlier in the week, the way coffee moves from plant to bean to cup is somewhat similar to wine. I kept the bulk of my questions focused from that angle and actually learned a great deal more than I was expecting on this topic. Guillermo also informed us we were going to have a test, which I thought put me at a disadvantage since I don’t like coffee but his reasoning was my wine knowledge would help counter Marc’s taste buds. Hmmmm.

We tasted at an old estate that is owned by the family of César Gaviria, who was President of Colombia when they killed Pablo Escobar. It was very traditional and we learned a bit about how those homes were laid out in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Marc and I also learned how houses with red indicated a liberal political belief from the family in those times. Blue meant conservative beliefs. 

Guillermo explained to Marc and I about the process from seedlings to harvest to being sold to a coffee producer. Coffee here is harvested 2x/year. We learned how it takes 2.5 years from when the seeds are first planted in a nursery to the 1st harvest of the coffee fruit. The peak of a coffee fruit tree is the 3rd harvest and they are pruned in a major way after the 5th harvest cycle. As with wine, the branches are pruned in a less aggressive way throughout each harvest to ensure the best fruit gets the right nutrients.

During the tasting, we first reviewed flavor profiles and aromas, and Marc and I had part 1 of our test. We were given individual water glasses with salt, sour, sweet and bitter and had to guess which one was which. Tie. Then we had part 2. Again, we tied each other using a set of aromas developed by Jean Lenoir. Then we tasted 2 coffees - one was beyond horrible. Guillermo said it was ‘aggressive’ in the favor. I used the word ‘obnoxious’. Then we had a 2nd coffee where it still wasn’t great but I’d call that one ‘aggressive’ instead! Anyway, the test ended in a tie between us.

We came back, packed and had the tasting menu offered by the hacienda. Trout is the local fish in Armenia and I had it for dinner the night before. Tonight they had a ‘trout ceviche’ on the menu. It was really good, and even better, Marc finished all of his! I don’t think Marc has collectively consumed (willingly) as much seafood in his life as he has on this trip. I consider this a victory. Unfortunately I am still not a convert to drinking coffee but I really enjoyed learning about how it was made. We also had a surprise frog visitor during our meal.

We knew we were going to have an absurd amount of dessert between the 2 of us because

of the tasting menu and the 4 desserts we had from the cooking class. Marc and I met a nice family from Brooklyn a couple of nights earlier and in that party were 2 parents and 2 “kids” in their mid-20s. We knew they likely had the metabolisms to take on our “donation”. The dessert with the tasting menu was too “coffee oriented” for me. That said, the tasting menu dessert had a liquid nitrogen component and any leftovers were thrown into the pool, which generated a very cool visual. The dessert we made was great and when the crew from Brooklyn tasted it, they concurred. Score. It must have been the Oreos. 

Marc and I are off to the Amazon tomorrow morning. Internet, if they have it where we are staying, will likely be limited. So if you don’t hear from us for a few days, let’s hope it is because of no WiFi and not because the jungle animals came after us. We hope to be back online on Sunday afternoon. Thanks for tuning in!

More pics HERE.

Day 13: Galápagos Islands (Isla Genovesa), Ecuador.

Marc and I found out last night that today was going to be our final day to snorkel. We had a couple of less than awesome snorkel sessions so many of us had high hopes for our last session this morning. But first we had a walk on Isla Genovesa, which one can call a mecca for birds. 

We were on the 1st boat out to shore and the “dry landing” was definitely an adventure. Actually many of the “dry landings”, which mean your feet aren’t supposed to get wet, have been very adventurous with balancing the tide and where the boat is letting off folks. This could be a variation of the boat being a foot under the landing or a foot over the landing depending on the wind. Today we had to be ready to go at the perfect moment for someone to grab you and for you to jump on land. Fortunately no injuries getting out of and back on to the zodiac when we were done with the walk.

Marc and I saw short-eared owls, blue-footed boobies (yes, you read that correctly), red-footed boobies, Nazca boobies, mockingbirds, frigatebirds, hawks and plenty of other birds to make ornithology enthusiasts go wild after we climbed Prince Philip’s Steps. We saw a small chick being protected by the mother as well as eggs that have been laid but have not hatched as of yet. The bonus was seeing those owls as they really blend well into the habitat.

After the walk and returning to the boat, we had our final snorkel. As the floor was rocky

as opposed to sand, we were hoping the conditions were better for seeing some cool wildlife under water. We did see sea lions (fur and common types), but we also got to see a school of golden cownose rays whizz by us. That was pretty awesome and Marc captured some great video until he was literally kicked in the face multiple times by another snorkeler in the area.

Marc and I decided to opt out of the afternoon activity and just napped/read. It was nice. While we were chilling, one of our fellow passengers saw a ‘hammerhead shark’, which is what I have really wanted to see on this trip, but I was too late. Looks like I won’t see them on this adventure but it was fun being on the lookout. We had a nightly happy hour and then dinner on the boat. But more hijinks awaited....

It was karaoke night on the Xperience. We had musical talents spanning the gamut of decent to, eh....., not so much. Note that I fall in the latter category. Most of the people in the room did contribute on at least one song, which was fun, but I think our guide leading the session was happy when the clock struck 10pm and called it a night for everyone. 

More pics posted HERE.

Day 12: Isabela Island --> Bartolome & Santa Cruz Islands (Galápagos)

We sailed all night from the northwest part of Isabela Island over to Bartolomé Island. There is a short hike to a peak on this island with gorgeous views that happen to be photographed a lot. If you Google the Galápagos you probably see a photo from this lookout without looking very long.

There is a pinnacle rock visible from there that would become our morning snorkeling expedition once we returned to the ship for a quick change. We were on the first zodiac for snorkeling.

SHARK! I finally saw a shark on this one. It was white finned and perhaps 4-5 feet long but not huge in diameter. It was just cruising along and I turned on video and kicked with the fins to keep up. In person it was visible but barely since the section of shore I was closest to was sandy and the water was murkier than I'd like. The video does a poor job of revealing the shark despite following it for 10-15 seconds while recording. I'm going to have to get video from others on board and also perhaps see more sharks!

We ate lunch and chilled on the upper deck for a couple of hours after lunch. Mostly a nice breeze that helped induce a nap for me... All these activities are awesome but also energy draining.

We stopped near Las Bachas Beach on Santa Cruz Island and there was a beach walk with optional snorkel or swim or skip the walk and head to beach for snorkel, swim or beach time. I signed us up for the walk, but we switched to skip that. We were last group to the beach and the conditions weren't great for snorkeling. It was tough just doing a wet landing and getting out of the zodiac.

I went in with mask no snorkel but couldn't really see anything as the waves were churning sand too much. Nobody else came out as far as I did (past the break line) so I came back in and took off wetsuit and mask and just swam a bit. Fortunately they let us leave shortly thereafter as there was nothing visible other than birds and a marine iguana and we were originally going to stay for sunburn for 2 hours. We got first zodiac back to boat to clean up for the evening.

The walking tour that we skipped saw flamingos! That would have been better use of that time but the WaterClown in me wanted more water time when we skipped the walk.

The cocktail hour at 6 involved a ship circumnavigation of Daphne Island just north of Santa Cruz. It's a volcanic cone that has a crater floor that is an important breeding ground for Blue Footed Boobies. We have many pictures of these birds.

So we had another good evening at dinner on the boat. Then I saw a tray of dessert drinks delivered to a table that had the couple celebrating their 50th anniversary this week (Friday) and their kids and those that joined them. It looked amazing. I walked over to ask about it then ordered one for myself.

They called it KAB - Kahlua, Amaretto, Bailey's plus ice and an Oreo cookie. Wow! I don't know proportions and cannot look it up as I write this with no internet access, but yum! Great end of evening dessert.

We went up to top deck after dinner and hung out in cooler air chatting a bit. I learned a new phrase from some 60 year olds trying to make the best of everything. They know I'm turning 50 shortly and told me that your 60s are the "go go" decade, your 70s are the "slow go" decade, and your 80s are the "no go" decade. They didn't give me the 50s decade phrase so perhaps add several go's to the 60s phrase. So enjoy it now! Seems about right...

Day 10: Santiago Island --> Isabella & Fernandina Island (Galápagos)

The day began before 3am because we sailed all evening and overnight. Around 2:30am for at least 90 minutes we were going over some waves possibly going around the North end of Isabela Island and a drawer in the closet was opening and closing regularly along with hangers in the closet bumping the door. And we had a full day planned - both long walks and both wet entry snorkeling adventures.

We pulled into Tagus Cove right at breakfast time and dropped anchor. This cove has centuries of rock carved graffiti from boats who've been here long ago. We took the long hike option which went up part of a volcano for about 30 minutes passing above Darwin Lake along the way. The lake is extremely salty like the Dead Sea. We got some great views along the way and saw a Galápagos Hawk and ventured back down to the zodiac.

We thought we were going back to the boat because that was this option while the other was zooming around in zodiac looking for animals like penguins and turtles. But we were basically shown both sides of the bay too since we had time and we saw more penguins on rock rather than in the water than the boat designated for that assignment.

Sometimes better lucky than good.

It was a quick turnaround to a wet snorkeling expedition in which you just pop into the water from the zodiac rather than getting into wetsuit from shore. I prefer this method as it is less of a mess to clean when returning to the ship at the end. It's also just plain fun falling backwards off the zodiac into the water. The water over here in the West is colder but not too bad in the wetsuit.

We saw penguins swimming, lots of turtles, playful sea lions, and other fish. Some folks saw a shark but we missed it. I got some great photos and videos of all that we saw. Catching the penguin is tricky because it's so fast, but I got a great video keeping it on screen for 5-10 seconds.

As we ate lunch, the boat began the short journey over to Espinoza Point on Fernandina Island for the afternoon adventures that awaited.

We had another wet snorkeling expedition to start at 3:30. We got on second zodiac and by the time we got to drop area, the first group had been in for a few minutes and the overall team decided it was too choppy and difficult to navigate around a rocky outcrop with waves breaking over them. They were getting back into their zodiac.

So we went around that outcrop by boat and were dropped in calmer water. It was murkier than the morning but we still saw new stuff. I got good photos and videos but we actually got on the zodiac early since visibility was not as good as the morning snorkel. Still very enjoyable.

We got back to the main ship and had to quickly change into walking attire for the late afternoon adventure. That involved mostly marine iguanas. Lots and lots of them. And then even more. We also saw sea lions and cactus and other cool stuff but focus was marine iguanas. I've seen a lifetime worth in one afternoon.

We had 5+ minutes to shower for the day when we got back on the boat. We were still relatively early for drinks and dinner because basically everyone was showering too. So we got pictures and enjoyed dinner before learning more about tomorrow expeditions and the Galápagos in general.

The marine iguanas eat algae and they've evolved a gland that takes salt from their blood and allows them to spit it out rather than going through system. El Niño years are particularly bad for them so they've also evolved to shrink body mass by 20% or more to handle fact that the algae doesn't show up in those years and main food source simply isn't present.

Great day!

Day 9: Galápagos Islands (Isla Rábida and Isla Santiago), Ecuador.

I downloaded a bunch of books to my Kindle in anticipation for not having WiFi and having lots of downtime. A miscalculation on my part and I’m talking about the having lots of downtime. The boat serves breakfast at 7am on most mornings and then the last activity ends at roughly 10pm. Now none of these activities are mandatory, but most seem pretty interesting so why wouldn’t you try to maximize your time here?

Our boat has a max of 50 passengers and we are at 41. Everyone has been incredibly friendly and inclusive. We all seem to acknowledge that we may forget someone’s name and no one is going to care. Just be nice and positive, and no one is going to give a crap. With the exception of a lovely couple from Germany, everyone is American. The boat has a crew of 22 people, and they all seem to be very busy between keeping our rooms tidy, maintaining the boat, cooking us endless amounts of food and ensuring our safety. 

Other than the WiFi not working so we could ensure our photos are secured in the event we drop a phone/camera in the water, we don’t need much of anything. Note that when Marc and I went on a tour of the bridge of the boat, we saw a whole new satellite system that was supposed to rectify the WiFi problem. Honestly I just want my photos off of my local devices. Whomever really needs to get in touch with me has a way to do just that.

After breakfast, we went on a walk on Isla Rábida where we saw lava lizards, flamingoes, sea lions (no, they are NOT seals) and a couple of marine iguanas. It’s pretty warm but I would say that even though we are hovering right near the Equator that it is not excessively hot - that whole being on the water thing. Then we went on our 1st snorkeling expedition from the beach. We saw some colorful schools of fish, a spotted eagle ray, and starfish. It was pretty cool. 

After lunch, we went to Isla Isla Santiago for a little hike. Marc and I had the opportunity to see more Sally Lightfoot Crabs, a few more marine iguanas and a number of unique birds. Plus more sea lions. It was super cool. Those crabs have a red color, which really stands out against the black lava rocks.

Marine iguanas didn’t always know how to swim. They learned to swim in order to survive. They are vegetarians and learned to hold their breath for an hour so they can graze on seaweed, since the Galápagos didn’t have much vegetation for them to graze on. Too much seaweed for the iguanas leads to another issue - too much salt. So they have massive “sneezing” salt capabilities. FROM. THEIR. BLOOD. Yes, you read that correctly. 

We came back, showered, ate with the group and then had the overview of activities for the next day so we could choose our activities. Then they showed us a video on the animals of the Galápagos. By the time we went to our room, it was 10pm. Something tells me I won’t be making much progress on my reading list.

You can find more photos on Dropbox here. Note: We have already have A LOT from the Galápagos chapter. You have been warned.

Day 2: Lima, Peru

We got out of the airport with bags and into the hotel faster than we expected. We got a decent amount of sleep before getting a small breakfast at the hotel. We were going on a food tour at 9:30am so we had to save room....

We started in Barranco at a church built when the Spanish first came. The roof of the church was destroyed in the 1940 earthquake that the government has promised to restore. Our guide, Lourdes, said “they’re working on it”, which is about how it looks. We then walked across the “Bridge of Sighs” while holding hands and our breath. Legend has it that is you make a wish and make it across without taking a breath with your beloved, it will come true. We took some more photos and went for a coffee tasting.

Tostaduria Bisetti selects and roasts their own beans on site. I had an Americano and we got Jill a Mochachino with Peruvian chocolate so she could taste. Jill doesn’t drink coffee so I finished mine and most of hers. We did more walking on Barranco and then went into a place for a shake. It has a Peruvian fruit called lúcuma along with ice cream and sugar. It was fairly tasty!

We used the toilet here since our next stop would be the market and it’s much cleaner here. While Jill was away, I talked to Lourdes about awareness of thieves. She said that they are so good they can unzip a backpack and take something without you noticing. She said someone took her wallet from her front pocket and she did not notice it. She called this “manos de mantequilla”. Hands of butter. So smooth.

We then went to the market. We looked at a veggie stand for a while inspecting at least 10 different types of potatoes. We saw many other veggies with variations including black corn and a white corn with HUGE kernels. We learned there are about 3000 varieties of quinoa grown here although only a few are actually known on the market. We were also shown a bunch of fresh seafood and fish caught today. We then hung out at a fruit stand for a while learning about several variations of some fruits and even saw some raw cacao that with some work could become chocolate with the stuff on the inside. We were then given forks and bowls of several fruits to try. One had this gooey seed stuff we were told not to chew - just scoop onto fork and swallow it.

We then over to Miraflores to do two things: 1. learn how to make a Pisco Sour and 2. learn how to make a ceviche. For the Pisco Sour, it’s important to note that today is ‘Election Day’ in Peru. This means no alcohol is allowed to be served through Monday morning so I’m not naming where we went. We got there before the lunch hour so the staff showed us how to make them and then we got to make our own! It was fun AND foamy good!

Once we got that down, we sat down at a table and made our own ceviche with assistance from the chef. We then ate the “appetizer” and it was good. We still had lunch to eat.

Lunch was at Huaca Puallana right next to some Incan ruins. The restaurant is helping to unearth then somewhat. We had a great chicken dish along with  guinea pig (tastes like chicken) and beef heart (a little tough, but not bad). Of course, they then cleared our plates and then brought out 4 different dessert cups like a shake/ice cream. A couple of them had fruit that were good. 3 of them had some or a lot of chocolate! 

It was all so well balanced and tasty - we were so full..... Great way to start the trip in a food city which I’m sure Jill will be talking about in detail over the next several days.

After this food tour, we headed back to the hotel to rest and digest. Eventually I swam in the pool for about 25 minutes and Jill worked out in the gym.

For dinner we went to La Rosa Nautica - the same owner as the place the tour happened to take us for lunch as our final stop. They had a Perry Como & Frank Sinatra Christmas music on a 10 song repeat loop. We heard it at least 3 times and we weren’t really there that long since the voting prevented ordering a bottle of wine. Jill ordered a ceviche starter and a seafood main while I got a pasta dish in a cheese sauce and Arroz con Pato. That duck was a superb Peruvian dish. Jill’s main came first which kind of confused us and the other dish never came. By the time we got the staff to understand what was missing we realized we had eaten so much today that we should just get back to the hotel. We had eaten 2 days worth of food in a single day.

For more pics, please click here.

Making Some Changes

As followers of this feed know, Marc and I have been going to CrossFit for almost 8 years. It seems hard to believe that it has been that long, but it has. Over those years, we have had the opportunity to make new friends, challenge ourselves and have much fun. When I was burnt out during endurance training for half-marathons and marathons, CrossFit was a welcome respite. And who knew minions could do box jumps!?!

Honestly, CrossFit was the first place I ever worked out in that had a positive and an inclusive atmosphere. No gym I ever went to prior had anything remotely close to that. I love how it is normal in every local to cheer on the last person finishing the workout. Keep in mind that each location is individually owned so no mandate exists to adhere to a "code".


It was awesome that we would travel to so many places and do a workout, and walk out with a bunch of local recos on how to spend our time in that region. Our family and friends tagged us as part of the "cult", yet a number of them soon followed and become even more "devoted members of the cult". That was entertaining, but it was also fun seeing them challenge themselves to do things they didn't think were possible for themselves. The phenomenon known as 'Harvelicious' is still the stuff of legend.

Over those same years, Marc and I have had some events happen plus, you know, we're getting older. So we recently decided that we needed to change things. Our interests have changed over that time. Marc still swims, but I run less and we do more hiking together. I definitely still run on occasion plus I practice yoga, but little things kind of kept creeping in making us wonder if we needed to change other aspects of our training to meet our goals.

Enter the 'Delaying Decrepitude' room. The 'No Excuses' room is still around, but is definitely used for more stretching, rolling, etc. But the "D Squared" room has some pretty cool things that will allow us to take our high intensity and strength training to the next level that is more inline with our individual goals. Marc has his goals and I have mine, and some of them do not overlap.

We are excited for this next phase and what it will bring. Obviously no change comes without risk. But you can't grow if you're not willing to adapt and adjust. It will require some adjustments to our routine and more planning on our end, but overall we think this will help us achieve our goals. I have no doubt that we will continue to drop in at local CrossFits when we travel, but for now, it's time to focus on 'Delaying Decrepitude'. Stay tuned.

Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life the Universe and Everything

To begin discussing the answer to this question, I must request that those that don't immediately know the answer please go visit Google or Bing and see some immediate results. We'll wait...

Many of you read The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy and already knew this, but now hopefully everyone is caught up. When I turned 42, I had a great birthday party asking guests to come to the party with a plausible question that gets to this answer. Everyone wrote them down on 3x5 cards and I read them all while laughing hysterically at many of them and we gave out some prizes. Tons of fun and I'll list a few of my favorites here.

• In 1889, Washington joined the union bringing the total number of states to how many?
• What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
• 10! (factorial) seconds is exactly how many days?
• What is the name of space command in Buzz Lightyear?
• How many eyes in a deck of cards?
• What is the only jersey number that has been retired by all MLB teams?

Now let us fast forward to 2015. Jill took up yoga (shocking herself) at Modo Yoga Seattle and did the 30 day challenge in March. Then she kept going and realized that she'd get to 42 days straight of yoga the day before our spring flight to New York and that would end the streak perfectly.

Unfortunately for the both of us, on the evening of day 41, I had a seizure followed by MRI and possibility of an operation on day 42 so Jill didn't complete all 42 days. As everyone knows, I recovered quite well from brain surgery but the seizure also tore two of four tendons in my rotator cuff and I ended up with shoulder surgery a few months later.

The shoulder is doing great because I do everything my PT tells me to do with daily exercises and I have already started swimming once a week just 2 weeks ago. I don't go very far yet, but it feels good to be able to use the shoulder in the pool pain free. I've been going to yoga recently too which has been great for stretching and mobility as I slowly gain strength in the shoulder.

In the meantime, yoga had another 30 day challenge in October and Jill was determined to get to 42 this time. She started early (in September) so that she'd hit 42 at the end of Oct as the challenge ended for everyone else getting to 30 straight days. Congrats Jill on making it!

Bringing 2013 To A Close (Oh, and Becks Are Now Employed).

It is amazing that 2013 is almost done. Fortunately for Marc and I, it was mostly a pretty phenomenal year and we are incredibly grateful for that.

We had the Australian Walkabout for 3+ months, which was an awesome experience and way more worthwhile than we ever could have hoped for.

We watched our parents get healthier and defy their respective ages. We also made our brother-in-law a CrossFit convert after he resisted for so long. :-)

We hosted another successful "Open That Bottle Night" (after we did one in Australia!!!) and JDRF dinner, and we had "Beck The Halls" storm back into our lives with a vengeance! Our families and our friends continue to make us chuckle and to be supportive of our endeavors.

We had visitors from all over, including 4 of our nephews and nieces. We got to spend Thanksgiving in NY and Christmas in SoCal, both of which were so much fun.

We mostly remained injury-free to pursue our fitness activities around swimming, running and CrossFit.

The decision to close Purple Teeth Cellars. Yes, this is a positive thing because we were able to close the business down on our terms so we can focus on other projects going forward.

We both found jobs that we are excited about (more below). It was worth taking the time off and then taking our time to find opportunities that we are passionate about.

And most importantly, we are both healthy and very thankful for that.

Some of the "not so great" things in 2013 include:

The broken hand and recovery with the "purple claw".

3 of our close friends being diagnosed with some form of breast cancer. Fortunately they all seem on the road to recovery. But HUGE dislike here.

The Yankees and the New York Giants 2013 campaigns (ok, this only negatively impacts one of us for this one and truthfully - not a huge deal in the grand scheme of things).

So in reality, it was a very good year for the Becks.

I'll let Marc decide if he wants to talk about his role, but he is happy and excited which is all that matters to me.

About 3+ months ago, I asked a close friend if she wanted to move forward on an idea that we had only talked about in passing. She said yes pretty quickly, which was pretty exciting but a little scary.

Reason it was a little scary was that this is a completely new space for me. We have created a non-profit called "uPower" that will focus on getting underprivileged kids in Seattle to after-school fitness activities. My role is "Executive Director" - aka the "GSD" person. The initial emphasis will be working with local CrossFits here in Seattle and pairing up with local schools.

It's been a busy few months trying to get this off of the ground, but we have made a ton of progress. You won't find a website yet as that is still in development, but behind-the-scenes... trust me, I have been busy working with my co-founder on building the best infrastructure we can so we are hopefully in a position to scale this concept properly. 

I am fortunate to have an awesome Board of Directors to help me out so we can move this concept forward. We are lucky to have a network of people who can connect us with experts as we get more educated on a myriad of topics. And yes, it's a whole new subject matter for me but I am embracing the challenges ahead.

So with that, onward to next year. Hoping for all of you to have a wonderful 2014!

Re-learning Some Previous "Learnings".

As I mentioned last week, I have resumed training with TN Multisports as of this past Monday. In this short time, I have had the opportunity to chastise myself on more than one occasion about "knowing better" when following a training plan.

One of those things is that "you need to go slower in order to get faster". Let's just talk about that mindset is one of the LEAST enjoyable aspects of training for me, yet it is critical. Given that I haven't been training seriously in awhile, I found that I was reminding myself a number of times that I should be going at the pace Coach "+T" has laid out for me. 

I had a track workout on Tuesday. The "good" was that I was mostly pain-free on the hip/knee front. The "not so good" was that I totally overshot my paces by 45 seconds to a minute. I went too fast. It was not smart considering we are trying to build up the running miles in a smart and measured manner. And I didn't get out of the workout what I needed to. I obviously wasn't happy with the effort because it's about not just doing the physical part of the workout, but it's about executing what you have been told to do. Otherwise why do I have a coach?

Fortunately I didn't cause any damage or have any pain the day after as the run I had planned a few days later was really important. I needed to get some tough hill work in for that race I have coming up in 3+ months and where we were going to be was a great place to get the work done. 

Yesterday I went out and completed 6 miles amongst the hills of SF. The run itself wasn't horrible given I haven't done much on the hills front for a long time. It was a challenge keeping the heart rate where it needed to be (lower) as I was climbing some steeper hills.  That said, I'll need to really work on my "hill fitness" because it is pretty low at this stage. Marc and I are plotting where we can replicate some of the hills in the race back home.

So yes, we were in San Francisco for a quick trip. +Marc and I wanted to connect with our winemaker from Purple Teeth Cellars, "+Z",  who repatriated back to Australia a couple of years ago. Him and his family were in town, so we gorged ourselves at The Slanted Door for lunch and a few chuckles. Also were able to have a fun meal at Perbacco, brunch with the cousins at AQ and dinner with other cousins at Quince. Great times all around but after the chaos of what happened at SFO yesterday, we will be happy to be back home.

Taking A Break From "Running For The Sake of Running"

I haven’t trained from a running perspective with any regularity since about early October. Even then I was limping to the start line of the Portland Half Marathon with an injury that started when I ran Ragnar last year (July, 2012). Now I did get in quite a few runs on the “Australian Walkabout”. My goal was to average about 8-10 miles a week, and I hit about 8.5 miles. Those runs were generally more about the scenery than the pace, although it’s fair to say that about 4 or 5 stand out as me testing myself and my fitness while we were away.

To put things in perspective, it wasn’t as though Marc and I weren’t active on our "Australian Walkabout". On the contrary, Marc swam a bunch, I ran over 120 miles and we hiked/walked 340 miles over the course of 3.5 months. That’s not too shabby. Oh, and we kayaked, biked and visited almost every Crossfit in Australia. Well, almost....

Since we have been back, I have been fortunate to be able to resume my 3-4x/week Crossfit regimen plus I have been running about once a week for about 3-4 miles at a relatively easy pace. This is pretty positive since I had to deal with a pesky broken hand and subsequent surgery when we returned from our trip.  With the hand/wrist precluding me from doing any extended running, I decided to get that injury that I mentioned above fixed. Fortunately it is getting better but we still have a long way to go.

The general fitness work is going to come in handy since I found out on Friday that I was randomly selected to run a very popular ½ (and HILLY!) marathon this fall. It should be a fun time as I will be running with at least one good friend and I know a bunch of other folks participating in it.

So now ‘running for the sake of running’ is going to take a back seat. It was fun for the past 9+ months, but time to get back at it, "get my run on" with my buddies, join my TN Multisports mates for track workouts and be more thoughtful about how Crossfit and running intersect as they are both important to me.

I did a track workout about 10 days ago, which was a start, and then yesterday morning, I doubled-up – 5 mile run and then hit Crossfit after for a workout of 18+ minutes. I definitely felt pretty beat after, but I was pleased that my leg/hip seemed ok during both workouts and post. I see more stretching as part of my future.

BTW someone posted a great article on Twitter about newbies and Crossfit. What I liked about it the most was she talked about doing whatever keeps you going back for more physical activity. If Crossfit isn’t your thing, find something that is, makes you smile when you’re done and are going to be motivated to come back to. 

What Running Means To Me.

[Shifting back to beckOn from Facebook Notes now that the walkabout is over.]

I wasn't always a runner. Heck, 10 years ago I could barely make it around a local park near our house. That loop is 2.8 miles, kids. Yeah, it was that bad. And then sometime in late 2004, Marc had the brilliant idea to get more active. So around the loop I went. A lot. This led to injuries, frustrations, success, half-marathons, and finally marathons.

Running also led to a new way to see places, improved self-confidence, better health and friendships. These are people who used to be 'runners whom I was friendly with' to 'friends whom I also happen to run with'. On these runs, sometimes you have those discussions that are of the "what happens on the run, stays on the run" type. Those runs are generally where the transition from "running buddy" to "friend" takes place. 

It can be a run where you are doing 800m repeats feeling like you're going to vomit. But those same repeats are the only thing that keeps you from crying about something going on in your life... you get to take out your anger on the track. Or sharing really fabulous news about something in your life that you are not ready to make public yet. Or just some idea that you have that you need a second opinion on. You get the idea.

BTW the same could be said about Crossfit for me in terms of what I have gained, but I digress.

While we were on our "Australian Walkabout", I used running to check out places that were better seen on foot than by car. Kangaroos, the Australian Formula 1 track, beaches, and of course, running over the Harbour Bridge and by the Sydney Opera House.

Yesterday something horrible happened to the world, and, in essence, to the running community. I feel sorrow and pain for the families who had their lives changed forever by the acts of cowardice. I hope these people can find peace and a path to move forward.

About marathoners....

Marathoners are resilient people who tend not to give up. They go for 26.2 miles in one race for heaven's sake! And they log so many more miles in training for their race. Same with the people that support them. It's rare that a marathoner can cross the finish line without help along the way.

Most people who know me know that I am pretty much anti-New England, except for 3 things - my friends from the area, Maine lobster and the Boston Marathon. 

The Boston Marathon is sacred to marathoners. They have a charity component that we could easily surpass so I could run Boston, but I'll fundraise and run a different race. I will only run Boston if I qualify with a fast enough time. That is non-negotiable for me. It may mean I never run it, but I will always strive to qualify.

The coward(s) who did their deeds yesterday struck the wrong group of people. I have no doubt that the people of Boston will be rebound to be even better than they were before. I certainly know that runners of all stripes will not be intimidated to run in races, or run at all.

I had minor surgery recently to fix a broken bone. I was given the ok to run at a moderate pace. I wasn't sure when I was going to get out there for my 1st real run. Yesterday changed that. 

I ran this afternoon with a close friend, enjoyed the scenery at that same park where I started running all those years ago and then came home to Marc with a huge grin on my face. 

I ran for those who either will never run again or will have a delayed return to running. I also ran for myself. That's what running means to me.

My Australian Summary

Great time and I'm sure I forgot some things.

* +Jill is now known as "Aussie J". That was her nickname on my temporary phone over there.

Best (no particular order)

  Days

    * Great Ocean Road

    * Great Barrier Reef

    * Wilson's Promontory

    * Cradle Mountain / Dove Lake

    * Flight over SW Tasmania and boat ride while out there (wow!)

    * Whitsunday Islands - 3x snorkeling in single day

  Nights

    * New Years Eve

    * Open That Bottle Night

  Wine Regions

    * Barossa

    * Margaret River

    * McLaren Vale

  Sights/Tours (not already mentioned)

    * Ferry system in Sydney Harbour

    * Pinnacles

  Pools (in order)

    * Andrew Charlton Pool (clean)

    * North Sydney Olympic Pool (view/location)

    * Icebergs - Bondi Beach Pool (stunning but cold)

Worst (no order)

  Days

    * King's Canyon --> Alice Springs via Tour Bus (talk about boring and trapped)

    * Fraser Island --> Mackay via car (too long with last 90 minutes dark and animals lurking)

    * Fraser Island (not that great in general other than Champagne Pools)

    * Mount Kosciuszko (drenching rain & no visibility == miserable)

  Nights

    * Fraser Island (salty starter AND main for dinner. yuk.)

    * Daintree (mosquitos)

  Wine Regions

    * Mornington Peninsula

    * Heathcote (there is good stuff here)

    * Grampians area

    * Tasmania

  Sights/Tours (not already mentioned)

    * MONA in Tasmania

    * Bike tour in Melbourne (too much bike WALKING)

2 Apr.: Sydney (NSW) --> "Back In Time" to what should be DFW (US) and then --> SEA (US).

It's time.

Yes, it is that day that we weren't necessarily looking forward to but has arrived. The day when we go home to Seattle. Of course, we are a little blue for our "Australian Walkabout" to end but we are so lucky that we have memories to last a lifetime. We can't complain.

We have definitely been doing much thinking about things around favorites - hike, run (Jill), swim (+Marc), restaurant, wine, city, wine region, best FB comment (the usual), etc. The list can go on and on. We agree on some and differ on others, which is to be expected. But it's fun having that debate. Anything you want to know a favorite of (keep it PG-13, kids... we have a diverse set of friends on here)?

Today actually got off to a great start for us in different ways. Marc went for a swim at the North Sydney Olympic Pool, where he first swam and got to see the sunrise as he walked over the Sydney Harbour Bridge (save the suspense, yes more Sydney Opera House photos). 

Somehow when we "closed out the rum bar" the other night, +Jamie and I hatched a plan to go for an early morning run today. I mentioned randomly that I wanted to check out a run course mapped by a local magazine going along Sydney Harbour, and Jamie jumped out of his chair (well almost) saying that is his regular run that he does to/from work and would take me this morning. We started at his place in Bondi Beach and went all the way into downtown Sydney going along the water much of the way. The skies were blue and the sun was shining. Fabulous way to bring this to a close.

As we sit on the plane waiting to leave, we want to thank you for tuning in on this adventure. It has been more than we ever could have hoped for and we have gotten so much out of it. A separate thank you post will go out upon our return to the many people who helped us out near and far.

It's time to go home and we're very keen on reconnecting with family and friends. Thanks again for tuning in.

Signing off from 'Down Under',
Marc and Jill

P.S. -- We'll see you on the other side.

30 March : Sydney

Our first order of business was some Skype time with Lisa, +Jarrett and family to show them our fabulous view. The only problem is that the lighting in the morning here is somewhat intense in the direction of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. It's better in the afternoon and at sunset (which is what really matters anyway).

After this, we walked over to the Andrew Charlton Pool which is on Woolloomooloo Bay on the east side of the Royal Botanical Gardens. This pool is the cleanest and best overall of the three 50 meter pools I've been to in Sydney. Obviously, the N Sydney pool overlooks the Harbour Bridge and Opera House but the locker rooms were suspicious (I wore sandals at ALL times). Bondi has the ocean view and the nice waves crashing in, but that water is COLD (and this is summer temperature).

As I swam, Jill went for another run. We then had a leisurely lunch and stroll back to the hotel on a different path (for me) than I had been on before. Guess what that means? New angles of the Opera House and many more photos. I cannot stop.

We hung out at the pool for a while again. +Jill wanted the end of our travel time here to be maximum chill and we have truly done this.

We then walked over to the lookout at the bridge pylon which was included in our bridge climb the other day. I think we would both tell people to just pay the $11 per person to only do that and avoid the climb. Why? Hey, I had my camera with me to freely take any and all photos. Cool. More opera house (among other things). They also had plenty of history in the structure too so the info the guide tells you on the climb is basically in here.

On the way back, we checked out the "farmer's market" that was closing down and we may have found tomorrow's breakfast patisserie. Jill then felt compelled to show +Lisa the view in better lighting.

Dinner was at the Bridge Room. Jill had booked the previous night via Amex months ago and they had accepted the reservation despite the establishment being closed for Good Friday. They spent weeks trying to contact the Amex person who booked it to let us know but that person no longer works there. Many places were closed. Last minute notification. Jill was not pleased.

The result of her displeasure was a meal on the house tonight. I ended up with the signature dish for a starter which is a Comte cheese souffle wrapped in prosciutto with figs and pomegranate seeds and some other nice stuff. Delicious. In the end, Jill had them charge us a dollar so we could leave a generous tip because the place was fabulous.

29 Mar: Sydney (NSW).

Well it was time. Time to return to our friends at Crossfit Ignite Sydney, who "took such great care of us" at the beginning of our walkabout. And +Marc and I were in much better 'Crossfit shape' at that point. We walked in and the coaches remembered us and said, "wow, it's been 3 or so months already!". We sighed.

They took note of our modifications (Marc has some tendonitis and I have the gimpy wrist) and made us pay anyway. They wanted to leave us "with something to remember" from our visits there. Marc did a scaled down version (weight wise) of Crossfit Open 13.4 and I did way too many box jumps and air squats with some rowing thrown in. Oy! That said, Marc did a great job on the WOD and had enough energy to cheer me on during mine.

After the WOD, we walked up to Surry Hills where we caught brunch at "Four Ate Five" again, and +Lisa and I got into a marathon GChat session on all sorts of topics. Very entertaining as we waited for a table and for our food. And really after that, it was a nice, ho-hum kind of day....

View from Jill's run: Wedding festivities under the Sydney Harbour Bridge at the Park Hyatt

The sun came out. We laid by the pool. Wrote out some postcards. Walked over to the Harbour Bridge to catch the sunset. Lovely. Just what we wanted. Oh - and I did squeeze in a quick run around The Rocks, the section of town we are staying in.

We then went back to Rockpool Bar & Grill (this one wins the most visited restaurant - 3rd time over our numerous stays in Sydney). +Erik, one of our friends and is celebrating his birthday today (HOLLA!), connected us with one of the sommeliers there, Michael. Michael has been there all 3 times we have went and has taken great care of us with his selection. He outdid himself last night because we wanted to try something we hadn't had yet and not break the bank. And in case you haven't heard, we have tasted A LOT of wine on this trip from Australia.

The food and wine were great. Incredibly stuffed and thankful for a walk back to the hotel, even if it wasn't that long.

I will be repetitive and continue to thank everyone for the comments, private messages and likes on all of the things that we are posting. We do our best to acknowledge all of them, we promise.

27 Mar: Sydney (NSW) --> Bondi Beach (NSW) --> Sydney (NSW) --> Bondi Beach (NSW) --> Sydney (NSW).

Marc in front of Bondi Icebergs after he swam and I ran the Bondi to Coogee trail (and back)

Ok, big day. We had the long awaited and infamous "Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb" as well as the "Revenge on Bondi Beach" on tap.

Breakfast at the hotel and as I was sorting some things out with the Concierge, I noticed +Marc talking to someone as though he knew him. Could it be we ran into someone in Sydney that we knew? Well, sort of. Some of you may remember the couple we met in Port Douglas that had the wife who was worried about getting seasick while snorkeling. Well, Marc recognized the husband and many laughs ensued. Turns out they had a great day snorkeling, which we were really happy to hear about.

We picked up week long metro passes, and then ventured out to Bondi. The last time we were there in early January, we had an unseasonal blustery and cloudy day, and our friends who lived there were very bummed. We knew we needed to get out there when the forecast was good, and sure enough, we had wonderful weather! We first hit a photo gallery called Aquabumps that +Jamie and Mel introduced us to and checked out some interesting photos.

Marc swam at Icebergs again and I was determined to do the full Bondi to Coogee run (out and back). It was more running than I had done on a single run in 2 months plus it was 32C with lots of hills. Brilliant idea, no? Well the run was beautiful and hard... But I did it. At lunch, the gal behind the counter chastised me with a dude reference and doing the run at 7am instead of midday. She probably had a point.

After that, we bussed back into town so we could be ready for the aforementioned "Bridge Climb". We had great weather and views. But without consulting each other, we both found it to be overrated. Seriously. For me, I got a much bigger rush from when I ran across the bridge when we initially arrived in Australia. And then Marc and I walked across it and we were able to get great pics ourselves. See - they don't let you take pics yourselves on the climb but then they gouge you on pics they take so you can "remember the moment". We have no problem spending money on fun and worthwhile things, but this was overpriced and overrated. I know many of you enjoyed it, so maybe it makes us killjoys or whatever, but running/walking across for us was way better and more meaningful.

Jamie, Marc and Jill at "The Corner House": Let's just say it was a late one.....

After the Bridge Climb, we showered and ventured back over to Bondi to meet up with Jamie. Unfortunately Mel was under the weather so she had to cancel. The place on tap was called Rum Diaries since they knew Marc likes his rum. Many laughs, many drinks with some food thrown in plus another rum place across the road made for a very late night for the 3 of us. To the point where we actually closed down the bar! Hmmm. Haven't done that in awhile. I am sure this will make for a very interesting morning.

But seriously.... Fun day for sure.

Thanks again for reading, commenting, liking and messaging.... It is all appreciated.

25 Mar: Port Douglas (QLD).

Bridge over Mossman Gorge

So the only thing we didn't see while we were in the Daintree Rainforest was Mossman Gorge, which is considered a must-see. 

Side note: Did you know that the Daintree Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in history. Yes, older than the Amazon. See - we can be education oriented in these updates!

Anyway we ventured up the 20 km and put on what we hope is the last of the deet (aka poison) to protect us from the mossies. It was raining on and off, so we opted for the shuttle bus from the parking lot to the trailhead. We hiked about 2.5 miles, saw the Gorge, some cassowaries (animals) and other lizzies. It wasn't bad.

Red Claw for Jill

After returning back to Port, we packed, dumped clothes that we have seen way too much of on this trip, and then went out to the beach so Marc could swim and I could run. It was humid and I threw in a couple of speed intervals to see how I would do. All I can say is that I have a lot of work to do. Most of my runs have been of the consistent and steady variety so not having done speedwork in 6 months.... ouch when I am back home. +Marc swam in the "stinger free area" of the beach so it was good.

Marc and his "drink/dessert"

We basically spent the afternoon relaxing, catching some sun and prepping for Sydney, our final stop. Dinner was in town at a place that had some good local seafood other than barramundi (I am "barramundi'ed" out!). Tried some local red claw (crayfish) and snapper. Good stuff. Marc had an after dinner drink that would qualify as a dessert in most places. 

All in all, a nice way to end our time in Queensland. And yeah for hopefully no humidity in Sydney!

Thanks again for tuning in. Your notes are all appreciated.

22 Mar: Port Douglas (QLD) --> Cairns (QLD) --> Port Douglas (QLD).

+Marc and I had to hit Cairns to take care of some errands - most notably paying the speeding ticket I got a couple of weeks earlier ($220 - ouch) and hitting Crossfit Great Barrier Reef. Upon arriving at CF, we noticed that they had bug repellent to offer for their members to use during the WOD. This is working out in the tropics, I guess. We did a basic warm-up and we were both drenched in sweat.

They were doing the 13.3 WOD for the Crossfit Open. 150 Wall Balls, 90 Double Unders and 30 Ring Rows - as far as you can get in 12 minutes. My wrist is still not well, so I couldn't do the Wall Balls and settled for 150 Dumbbell Push Presses on the left. It was a tough workout and we know we will be feeling it in the days to come. The coaches were very nice and gave us a local tip on which "DMV" to hit with the least amount of wait. Gotta love local knowledge.

Sure enough we went to the "DMV" and I was in/out in under 5 minutes but $220 AUD poorer. Ugh. 20 kilometers over the speed limit isn't that fast! Come on! We took care of some snack shopping and then headed back up to "Port" (as the locals call it). The weather still wasn't great so we just walked around the downtown area, picked up some final souvenirs for the family back home, and debated which snorkel trip we wanted to do tomorrow.

After getting the DVD of photos up on Google Drive (painful), we then ventured over to Palm Cove for dinner. Marc had a cocktail that literally was named after one of the lyrics from Barry Manilow's "Copa Cabana" and then a huge storm rolled in that sent everyone going further back in the restaurant (we were inside but the wind and rain were so powerful!). Fortunately the food, wine and service made up for the weather. It did calm down in time for the drive back to "Port", which was a lucky break.

Thanks again for tuning in. We continue to be grateful for all of the "likes", comments and private messages we are receiving.

20 March : Daintree --> Mossman --> Port Douglas

Leaving the rain forest (yay - goodbye mozzies) with an interesting tour: River Snorkeling. Crazy.

I had serious doubts about this in CROCODILE COUNTRY. I was assured by several sources, including Juan from yesterday's tree kangaroo search, that crocs like the tidal area of rivers/streams that are salty, murky, slow moving, and not too cold.

+Jill and I ended up having a blast in some nice refreshing cool water. Drifting down a river looking at logs, fish, and other objects. I spotted a turtle that everyone got to see after that because I announced it. It was not an adult and pretty small so it was a blessing to see it.

After this, we drove to Port Douglas and checked in for a few days. We relaxed by the pool today and ran on four mile beach. We also prepared for 1 of 2 snorkeling excursions to The Reef. I am very happy and excited about this - it's been on my list for a LONG time.

We walked a mile and a half to (and from) dinner at a really good restaurant called Harrisons, which made us think of our nephew, Harrison. It was rich and delicious.