In light of the impending holiday shopping season, I thought I'd do a little blog about my favorite athletic and running gear. The Perfect Black Leggings / Crops Lululemon makes pretty much the most comfortable and flattering clothing I've ever worn. If you can get past their weird name and funny logo, you'll find athletic clothing that looks like eye candy and feels like it's...

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           The train rumbled along the worn-down steel tracks, traveling parallel to the Urubamba river-- nature's highway weaving itself up through the Amazon. It was the only way to reach Aguas Calientes, a tiny town nestled at the base of Peru’s ancient landmark, Machu Picchu. We had been traveling for over three hours, going deeper and deeper into the...

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The woman peeled back the skin from the tiny rodent’s body, and I cowered in the corner behind our group. Slicing around its neck, she was able to easily turn its flesh inside out. The muscles and ligaments of the animal were exposed for the first time to the outside air. There was surprisingly little blood. She ripped the skin from the tip...

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So, after my second half marathon in June, I didn't have any races lined up. After five months of continuous racing, I decided to take a breather...and well, that turned into another five months of no racing at all. I decided to drag my currently slow-as-a-snail self out of my training limbo by signing up for a local trail run series. SOAR(Save Open-Space and...

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This is how I feel writing my Master's Thesis! I have several books, articles and post-it notes strewn across my desk. I have papers with outlines, little arrows connecting floating scribbles of information. I am compiling thoughts and ideas from every nook and cranny I can find, and I wonder quite how big this Master's thesis will become. To make my feelings even...

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I finished my "30-Day Vegan" Challenge today. My previous knowledge base on Veganism/ eating a plant-based diet was moderate. So I learned quite a bit. It wasn't easy, but I did my best. I made a few slip ups. I expected that to happen. Here's what I learned: 1. Honey isn't considered Vegan. Oops. Discovered this about half-way through the month. Technically, by...

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Scott Jurek lists twenty-five Vegan recipes in his new book, Eat & Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness.The recipes range from pre-workout smoothies, lentil-mushroom burgers, and even to sweeter desserts like chocolate adzuki bars (very much like a brownie). Initially, I was overwhelmed by the amount of ingredients needed for each meal or snack. It seemed like a lot of work, and like it...

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I recently took minimalist running to an entirely new level. I've started running in sandals. What has compelled me to do such a thing? At last May's Born To Run Ultramarathon, I had the pleasure of both meeting some of the creative minds behind Luna Sandals, and witnessed several of the "Lunar Monkeys" (their affectionate nickname for the sponsored sandal-runners) take on the...

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For as long as I can remember, I've always had a sweet tooth. In fact, I not only have a sweet tooth, but I also have a salt tooth, cheese tooth, and bread tooth. When I was a kid, I remember stock-piling candy bars, chocolate, cereals, and other novelties in a little cabinet in our kitchen. I didn't want anyone to sneak into...

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It took seven long hours for my friends Bobby, Michelle and I to reach San Francisco from Ventura. I spent the better part of the journey squished in the back of the car reading Scott Jurek's book Eat & Run (there really is no good and comfortable way to travel long distances). I also managed to crochet Michelle a miniature owl to hang...

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