U is for Utah

Forgive me for the late post for U. I have been very busy this week and you will find out why with my "W" post. We are so close to the end yet it still feels so far away. I have a feeling though that once it is done, I am going to miss it. What can I say, I enjoy pressure on me. It is one reason why I do my adventure runs, to put pressure on myself to run and stay in the best shape I can. One of these mud runs, the "Spartan Beast", will bring me to Utah at the end of June. So I thought Utah would be fitting for my "U" post.

For any who haven't read yet, one of my goals for 2013 is to complete the Trifecta for Spartan obstacle races. This means completing one race at each of the distances in one calendar year. I started the year off strong by completing the Super Spartan at the end of January. If you want, you can read my post for Super Spartan by clicking here. With the short distance coming back to Southern California in November, I was just left with finding a place to do the longest distance. Enter Utah.

Utah has always had my attention as an outdoor person. There are so many things to do, so many places to go and explore. When I saw the distance I need was going to be there, I knew that was where I was going to do it. Now it is a catch-22 because since I am going to race, I can't do too much extra activity before and I certainly won't feel like doing much the day after. So I will get to see some of Utah but this time it will likely be limited to a little bit of Salt Lake City and then whatever I see on the course. If it is anything like the Super Spartan, I will see plenty of mountains and hills. In fact, I will probably hate the mountains of Utah afterwards.

Utah has so much outdoor beauty. Summer or winter, you will find it somewhere. I am sure the Spartan Beast will change my mind about it for a little while but I know in the end I will go back and spend time truly exploring it as I desire to right now.

Have you ever been to Utah? Where did you go? What did you like? What did you see or do? If you are curious about the Spartan Races, you can click here to check out their website and read more. Also, my post for "V" is set to publish this afternoon so please check back for it. I just wanted to give U some time to get read. 

My Dream Adventures

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

- Lao-Tzu

 

If the name of my blog wasn't obvious, I love to go on adventures, both big and small. I'm always looking for the next fun thing to do. The only way to get anywhere is to start going. When Lao-Tzu said his famous quote, the only way to do that was to literally start walking. In this day and age, it takes a little more planning. The list that follows are what I hope to be my next 5 big adventures. Putting them here is my first step. Now the only way to continue is forward. 

 

5) Summit Mt Whitney

 

For those that don't know, Mt' Whitney is the highest point in the lower 48 states. I've always thought how cool been one to try and go higher than the rest. What is the best way to do that? Go to the top of the highest point! The tricky part with this lies in getting the permit. Because it is a popular destination, the only way to get a over night permit (which you need for this hike), is through a lottery. This means I could easily get it this year or I could never get it. However, if I don't try I will never get it. The applications open February 1st.

4) Earn Spartan Race Trifecta Badge

Part of adventure is pushing yourself. Finding out how far you can go. The latest craze to do this is these long mud run/ obstacle course runs. I am signed up for the January 26th race down here in Southern California. This is the first of three races that I will have to do in a calendar year to achieve the coveted (by some) Spartan Trifecta badge. To read more about the Trifecta badge, click here. If you want to see what the Spartan Race is about, click here. If you feel up to it, sign up for one. Start your own adventure. But if you do, just promise me you'll tell me about it.

 

 

3) Mountain Bike in Utah

Yes, that is what the guy was doing in the movie "127 Hours". Sure there is the chance something like that could happen to me. But if you don't risk anything then you will lead a dull life. Utah has some of the most beautiful mountain biking area in the country. I would love to just spend a weekend or a week biking about the wilderness getting lost then finding my way back. It's very rare to find someplace without technology these days but I have a feeling this would be one of those places. Plus, Arches National park is in Utah. I would love to go there and explore too. If I got really lucky I would find the place to do this. Would I do it? Absolutely! I would go just to do this. But I figured I might as well get some great mountain biking in while I'm at it.

 

2) Wingsuit Flying

If skydiving make you feel like you're floating, I imagine wingsuit flying would be like flying. A wingsuit basically turns a human into a flying squirrel. You can soar long distances to increase your free fall time. The hard part about this one is that you need to be certified to sky dive by yourself first as well as have several hundred dives. So this is definitely one I would have to work up to but it is on my list to do. 

 

 

 1) Sail Around the World

This one is a combination of adventure, exploring and surfing for me. I have always wanted to travel the world and explore different places. Throw in my passion for surfing, and you have a perfect adventure. Like the wingsuit adventure, this will have to be something I work towards. But when it happens, it will be very much worth all the work that went into it.

 

 

 

These are the adventures I'd love to go on next. They will take some time and patience obviously. But the only way they will ever happen is to start working towards them, taking my footsteps towards the 1000 mile journey.