Spending Time in Australia

What have I been doing with my time being unemployed and in a foreign country? Well, I have been spending a lot of quality time with my parents. I know that may seem like a shock, but to be honest it has been great! I am sure many would have thought I would be out on the town bar hopping around finding my way into Perth's social seen, but I apparently am not that guy. Don't get me wrong I love going to bars having a few, maybe a few too many, but going to a bar alone is an entirely different story. I am no good at going to a bar and picking up a conversation with the guy or girl sitting next to me with out feeling like a huge creep. Back home going out was easy, going to a bar with a few friends in DC or Arlington would inevitable lead to a late night running into old friends or meeting new ones. Friends feed off each other making the whole going out experience much more enjoyable. 

This is not to mean that I have not gone out at all since I have been here. I have gone out a few times with friends even! *Side note; When I was living in Sydney in years 9 and 10, I had a friend that had recently moved out here with her boyfriend and they live just up the road from me in Mt. Hawthorne. When I went to my first AFL game it was with her boyfriend and one of his mates. I guess you could say they are my closest friends in Perth. They are all from Scotland and it is a blast hanging out with them. We have done barbecues  breakfasts, and even gone out for the occasional pints.

Fun fact: In Australia bars are places where you can order a cocktail, pubs are places where you can, but don't. 

I would say the majority of my time here has been spent with mum exploring whether its been by kayak, bike, boat, or foot. We have made a point to get out for an activity at least once a day. Staying inside, restricted to finding a job is no way to live:) Particularly when the weather is as beautiful as it is here. Like in southern California I think the winter time or anytime other than summer is the best time because you get clouds! Clouds give a whole different light and feel to the surrounding desert. Also, they bring moisture which lets the plants turn back to green, the colors are just amazing. I cannot wait until spring here it must be just amazing. One think that I did notice on my cross country drive was that the Northern Arizona and Northern New Mexico are home to some of the bluest skies I have ever seen! (There should be some photos in one of the earlier posts) Perth has a similar sky. We call it Perth Blue because its like no other blue I have ever seen. 

For those of you that had seen me towards the end of my cross country adventure may have noticed that I put on a little over twenty pounds... There is a time of year in the states that I call "eating season" it is the period of time between Thanksgiving and my birthday (January 10th) where there are no diets and no rules.  Overall I consider my self a pretty healthy guy, I push it some days, but feel bad afterwards for what I just did to my body (no one should ever eat a whole pizza to themselves, 40 chicken wings in one sitting or burgers/chipotle as part of a balanced diet). So naturally I take a little break before I go do it all over again. It is not constant consumption during this period though it is close. The big feeds come on and over the holidays, with so much good food to be had my self control goes out the window. I get so excited you could say a practice for the big eating holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas). Hence the 20 plus pounds I put on. Writing that down actually makes me feel a bit ill. 

Point being that I am making an effort to get back into decent if not good shape. Recently, I have developed a fascination about running. I am sure that some of you have read or heard about the new fad in running, "barefoot" running. You have probably seen those vibram five finger running shoes that look ridiculous  People swear by them so I read more and more into. Basically, it lead me to running more on the balls of your feet or forefoot running. Very different than the running that I have done in the past. I have never been a long distance runner, five miles was a good run for me. I was also a huge heel toe guy because that's what I thought the proper running form was. What I thought the shoes I was wearing were designed to handle and in fact they were. Later I learned that running is not about how your shoes were made it was about how your feet were made! Barefoot running was bringing it all back down to the basics. Even now, if you were to go to a grass field kick off your sneakers and run across the field, your head would never touch the ground. Why? Because it HURTS. Humans were all designed with a huge Achilles tendon that runs the back of our legs to our knee. It acts as a spring, why are we trying not to use it. Shoes were invented to protect our feet from sharp objects, running shoes were made for profits. Running shoes make your feet week, barefoot running makes your feet strong. I don't mean to get preachy, but I thought there might be something to it so I got online and learned what I could. 

This is also occurring at a point in my life where I am believing more and more that less it more! I was sold, there are endless forums out there about barefoot running, forefoot running, pure, natural, real hippy stuff. I did read one what I took to be crucial advice and that was to ease into it. Do not just kick off the shoes and start running on your bare feet. You will hurt your self. When you think about it you have been running a certain way for however many years, it will take some time to change the way you run. I took the advice, I was in the market for new running shoes anyway my old Nike's were on their last legs. I read a bit about toe/heal heights of shoes. Decided I would start with something in the middle. Much less heal than my Nike's had. For those of you that know me I research every major purchase to death before pulling the trigger. I ended up with last years model of Brooks Pure Cadence. It was part of Brooks new Pure Project, they have a whole line out with different heal toe heights meant for all different types of runners. I am also a sucker for marketing. 

I wont take you through all the pain of the first few weeks of running on my forefoot, but forewarning, take it easy to start, like no more than two miles to start easy. I have never been so tight. I am sure it had something to do with the fact that I was 20/30 pounds overweight. 

Ran the HBF 12km Run for a Reason
through the city with 30 thousand
other Perth inhabitants. Unbelievable experience 58:20 was my time.

I was looking into marathon training plans, mapping different running routes, and looking for books to read about running. It was sad, but honestly I needed something to occupy my time and between golf, running and hanging out with Mum and Dad, I was good. Why I choose the two least social activities one could imagine after moving to a new country, I do not know. I even looked into getting a device to help me train. A little against the grain of my less is more attitude, but ended up being one of my better investments ever. I got a Garmin Forerunner 10, the entry level Garmin GPS watch. A great buy for a beginner. Right now I do not need all the bells and whistles, I need to know how far and how fast, that's it. This watch does just that, and I must give a shout out to the online team at Garmin you all have put together an excellent website! Simple and easy to use, only suggestion would be to get away from the scrolling, just put the information on another tab. I have only been using it for the better part of a month now and have only just got enough data to do some analysis, but I am sure it will add to the obsession.

The book that I got recommended was Born to Run. I have about two more chapters, don't ruin it. So far it has been an amazing read. It is a book about the greatest ultra marathoners of all time, the Tahamura. A Indian tribe that lives in the Copper Canyons of the Sierra Madres. The book takes you on a mans journey to study the long lost tribe diving into a lot of the science behind running and ultra marathons. Really is an amazing adventure story. I would recommend it to anyone. 

Recap; I spend my time in Perth golfing, running, and exploring with my family and friends. I have lost 20 pounds, 10 miles is now my long run and I am training to run a marathon. Oh and I learned how to putt. Employment is going to be tough.