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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Testimony

I have seen postings on this study circulating for a couple of months. This study illustrates how a sedentary lifestyle can impact long term mobility. It contains a series of images comparing the lean muscle mass in the cross section of a human leg between sedentary person and a triathlete. Now on the two year anniversary of leaving the hospital for a severe illness (see previous post), I want to add my own testimonial.

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Posted by JohnF at 7/15/2012 Leave a Comment!

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Thursday, March 01, 2012

Tongariro Northern Circuit

Red Crater, Tongariro National Park, New ZealandRecently, I spent 4 days hiking the Tongariro Northern Circuit Tramp, one of New Zealand’s Great Walks which circles the Ngauruhoe volcano. I split this trek into 4 days, staying 3 nights in the Magatepopo, Ketetahi, and Waihohonu huts which are setup along the way.

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Posted by JohnF at 3/01/2012 1 Comment

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Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Almost Running Again

Cape Kiawanda State Park, OregonI have used this blog for the occasional update for recent running or travel stories, but I haven’t had much new stuff I felt made a story worthy of a blog post for a while. Although I have had a few posts catching up on old trips as I get by backlog of pictures processed, there hasn’t been much in the running department worthy of a blog post while recovering from last year’s medical issues. So, perhaps it is time for an update.

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Posted by JohnF at 12/07/2011 7 comments

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Sunday, November 20, 2011

Organic Coffee Farm in Nicaragua

Two years ago I took a tour of an organic coffee cooperative in highlands of Nicaragua. The Danilo Gonzalas cooperative was named for a teenager from the area who died fighting against the Contras in the 80’s. I reached the cooperative, traveling with by guide Jessica from ¡Un Buen Viaje!, by local bus from Matagalpa to San Ramon, and then 3km hike to the rural community of La Reyna.

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Posted by JohnF at 11/20/2011 3 comments

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Monday, November 07, 2011

Isla Juan Venado Nature Reserve

Juan Venado Nature ReserveDuring my Nicaragua trip, I visited the coastal Isla Juan Venado Nature Reserve as a day trip from Leon for wildlife viewing. With my guide through Nicaragua, it was a 45 minute local bus ride from Leon to the town of Las Penitas on the coast.

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Posted by JohnF at 11/07/2011 1 Comment

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Saturday, October 08, 2011

Cerro Negro Volcano

Cerro Negro VolcanoThe morning two years ago began long before first light when I left leaving hotel in Leon. We made our way about 6 blocks to the office of Quetzal Trekkers by 4:30. There we met up with our two Quetzal guides and two Danish tourists. The six of us discussed briefly the days plan hike the Cerro Negro volcano. Then we packed our lunches and hurried 4 blocks to the bus stop only to wait in the dark 45 minutes for the first bus to arrive. The Leon guides apologized explaining the local bus schedules were not always unpredictable.

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Posted by JohnF at 10/08/2011 Leave a Comment!

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Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

Bryce CanyonA couple of years ago I did a trip through the Southwestern USA but never posted pictures from Bryce Canyon or Zion National Parks. After getting some questions from friends planning a Zion traverse, I thought perhaps it is time to get back to this story.

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Posted by JohnF at 10/04/2011 Leave a Comment!

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Bighorn Sheep Near Many Glacier

Bighorn Sheep in Glacier National ParkOne of the things I like to do when in places like Glacier National Park is to take a drive near sunset or sunrise to watch for large animals that come out at this time of day, usually away from human activity. However this trip last week I encountered a bunch of Bighorn sheep in a place I was not expecting, in the middle of the day near the most congested road in this part of the park.

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Posted by JohnF at 8/22/2011 Leave a Comment!

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Sunday, July 31, 2011

Leon, Nicaragua

Iglesia de la RecoleccionI am slowly getting around to organizing/culling photos from prior trips. Almost two years ago I visited Leon, Nicaragua, for a few days as part of a 2 week trip around the Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua event. (The next race, by the way, in February 2012 is open for registration).

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Posted by JohnF at 7/31/2011 1 Comment

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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

White Sands National Monument

White Sands National MonumentIn April I visited White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. I arrived in the afternoon and went straight to the park after checking into a motel in the town of Alamogordo. It was a windy afternoon. I hiked the first short mile loop trail I came across to get an introduction to the terrain.

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Posted by JohnF at 7/20/2011 3 comments

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Notable Archived Posts

September 30, 2010

Buenos Aires

Metropolitan Cathedral in Buenos AiresI arrived in Buenos Aires last November a few days before the start of a 3 week tour through Patagonia ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 09/30/2010 4 Comments

September 09, 2010

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Colorful Historic Building in Colonia del SacramentoI took a ferry from Buenos Aires for a day trip to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 09/09/2010 1 Comments

September 03, 2010

Running Saved My Life

Rotoprone BedOver the last couple of months I have been in and out of the hospital or else recovering at home following illness that affected my respiratory system. The short summary is I went into the hospital with advanced respiratory distress (ARDS) a few ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 09/03/2010 18 Comments

May 06, 2010

Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua Race Report

Volcan Madras at SunriseThe 2nd annual Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua (fire and water) was held on Dec 12, 2009 on the island of Ometepe in Nicaragua. The island is formed by two volcanoes, Conception and Maderas, joined by an isthmus. The race courses involve climbing one or both ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 05/06/2010 1 Comments

April 22, 2010

Calzado de Ometepe Kids 5k

The Calzado de Ometepe Kids 5k in Nicaragua was a charity event held in conjunction the Ultramaraton Fuego y Agua allowing the race a way of giving back to the people of the island. This race was for the school children of Ometepe Island to promote fitness and provide shoes for the children. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 04/22/2010 1 Comments

January 31, 2010

Nicaragua: Managua and Coyotepe

Coyotepe Prison, NicaraguaLast December, I arrived in Managua in the early afternoon after an overnight flight from Buenos Aires via Miami after 3 weeks in South America. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 01/31/2010 1 Comments

December 24, 2009

My Best Pictures of 2009

sunset in MauiI have put together a summary of over 40 of my best pictures for this year which can be seen below. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 12/24/2009 4 Comments

November 15, 2009

New York Marathon 2009

I traveled to New York to run the marathon a couple of weeks ago. I put myself in the lottery to gain entry early this year before I had decided what I wanted to ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 11/15/2009 1 Comments

August 01, 2009

Hawaii Ironman 70.3 Triathlon Race Report

Hawaii Ironman 70.3 triathlon, run courseA couple of months ago, and two weeks after the Jemez 50k, I raced in the Hawaii Honu Ironman 70.3 triathlon on the big island. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 08/01/2009 3 Comments

July 27, 2009

Maui and Haleakala National Park

sunset in MauiAfter some time on the Big Island of Hawaii, I went to Maui for a few days. Here I share a few pictres of the beach and Haleakala National Park ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/27/2009 2 Comments

July 09, 2009

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Volcano National Park, Night Lava ViewingLast month I visited Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. The first day’s visit I was with friends and we stopped at several of the overlooks to see the Kilauea Caldera and overlooks of the Kilauea Iki crater, and later I came back on my own for some pictures. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/09/2009 0 Comments

June 19, 2009

Death Valley

I was expecting Death Valley National Park to be all flat desert and sand dunes, and so I was surprised to find much more variety of terrain throughout the park. There were salt flats below sea level next to 11,000 ft mountains, sand dunes, and hilly regions with interesting desert colors in the rock formations. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 06/19/2009 3 Comments

May 21, 2009

Jemez 50k Trail Run

Several of us met Thursday to fly via Dallas to Albuquerque for the Jemez 50 mile or 50k Trail runs. I was in the 50k. It turned out to be the worst day to fly. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 05/21/2009 4 Comments

May 07, 2009

Davis Mountains

I visited for a few days in the Davis Mountains of West Texas ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 05/07/2009 0 Comments

April 14, 2009

Guadalupe Peak

My tour of some state and national parks in the western US began with a stopover in the Guadalupe Mountains National Park. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 04/14/2009 1 Comments

November 25, 2008

Presidential Inauguration 1993

This picture is from the celebration in D.C. around President Clinton's inauguration in 1993. I was ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 11/25/2008 0 Comments

October 26, 2008

Palo Duro Trail Run

I went to Palo Duro Canyon outside of Amarillo, Texas, for a trail run. The canyon, sometimes called the Grand Canyon of Texas is ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 10/26/2008 0 Comments

October 12, 2008

Longhorn Ironman 70.3

Last week was the Longhorn (half) Ironman 70.3 in Austin. I signed up for this race earlier in the year, when I thought this would be a focus race. But then ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 10/12/2008 2 Comments

October 02, 2008

Big Bend Weekend

Last March (2008), I took a trip to Big Bend National Park. Just me and my camera. It has been awhile since I took a trip focused on photography. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 10/02/2008 4 Comments

September 08, 2008

Peru Trek 2008 - Chaskiq Nunan, Part 1

Earlier this year in May, I took a trip to Peru with a several friends I know from the Rogue trail running programs. The trip was excellently run by the tour company IncaRunners. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 09/08/2008 2 Comments

August 24, 2008

Pikes Peak Bust 2008

I wasn’t planning to do this race again so soon, but then a family member offered to schedule her trip to Colorado Springs around the marathon ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 08/24/2008 5 Comments

August 01, 2008

Tibet Trip, Part 3: Everest and Nepal

The remainder of the trip included a visit to the Everest base camp on the Chinese side, and drive through Nepal to Kathmandu. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 08/01/2008 1 Comments

June 24, 2008

Tibet Trip, Part 2

As I approach the 1-year anniversary of this trip, it seemed time to come back to finish the report for the second week before the details slip from my mind. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 06/24/2008 2 Comments

June 19, 2008

Mexico City

I stopped off in Mexico City over Memorial Day weekend on the way back from spending 2 weeks in Peru. If I had come straight home from Peru, it would have put me in Austin on the Friday before Memorial Day. Since it was a long holiday weekend, I ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 06/19/2008 0 Comments

April 13, 2008

Malibu Creek 25K

I visited Los Angeles for a weekend. I saw the Body Worlds exhibit (recommended) and also did the Malibu Creek 25K. The Malibu Creek trail run was in Malibu Creek State Park just outside Los Angeles. The route ran through areas used in the filming of the television show M*A*S*H. The run was organized by ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 04/13/2008 2 Comments

October 07, 2007

Cancun Ironman 70.3

I completed the Cancun Ironman 70.3 Triathlon. Apparently races of this distance are no longer officially called “Half-Ironman” distance triathlons, but instead are branded as “Ironman 70.3” triathlons. The six of us who were racing ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 10/07/2007 6 Comments

July 26, 2007

2007 Tahoe Rim Trail 50k

I went to Lake Tahoe for the Tahoe Rim Trail 50k. I tried to save some vacation time by flying out of Austin on Friday evening after work and returning on ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/26/2007 4 Comments

July 26, 2007

China-Tibet Trip, Part 1

I joined a 2-week tour through China, Tibet, and Nepal. It started out in Beijing, and then took a 2-day train to Lhasa, Tibet. After a few days in Lhasa we traveled for the 2nd week in 4-wheel drive SUV’s across Tibet, visiting ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/26/2007 0 Comments

June 10, 2007

Generating GPS Maps

I get a lot of questions how I generate the map images with overlay of routes I ran that were downloaded from my Garmin Forrunner 305 GPS device. I will explain how I do it here. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 06/10/2007 1 Comments

May 24, 2007

Running Above the Clouds: Guads 2007

I went out to Guadelupe Mountains National Park in west Texas for a weekend of long runs across the park with 25 runners from the Rouge Trail running programs or from HCTR. We drove out on Thursday, leaving at 6:30 am and arriving around 3pm. The first night our cook fixed up a meal with choice of grilled salmon or ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 05/24/2007 0 Comments

May 09, 2007

My Longest Weekend

Report of Shiner G.A.S.P bike ride and Maze 30k ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 05/09/2007 3 Comments

March 03, 2007

2007 AT&T Austin Marathon

The Austin Marathon this year had a new sponsor and a new course. At the start, I started off slow up the first hill on South Congress. Quite a few people passed me here including the 9:45 group. I paused near the 2 mile marker to remove my throwaway long pants. Then I passed ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 03/03/2007 6 Comments

February 28, 2007

I Got Published

The March issue of American Fitness magazine published one of my photographs taken during the 2006 Pikes Peak Marathon. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 02/28/2007 6 Comments

February 17, 2007

I Made the News

The KXAN tv station has been using a picture of me running last year's Austin Marathon as a background image for graphics in their coverage of this year's marathon. No doubt a tribute to my awesome athletic performances ;) ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 02/17/2007 5 Comments

January 20, 2007

2007 Bandera 25K/50K/100K

Last week I ran the Bandera 25K trail run. There were also 50K and 100K runs. I drove out to Bandera the day before. I got there just as dinner started. There was a large mess tent that fit a couple of hundred and we had pasta for dinner. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 01/20/2007 4 Comments

December 31, 2006

India -Part 2: Southern India

After 3 weeks of work in Delhi, I had one week of vacation in India. Originally, I had looked into options to visit areas near the base of the Himalayas, but many of the tours had started to shut down in winter. Then I looked into tours through the Kerala backwaters, but I had waited too long and several tour ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 12/31/2006 2 Comments

November 26, 2006

India -Part 1: Delhi, Agra, and Rajasthan

I am in Noida, India, which is a suburb of Delhi. I am 2 weeks into a trip which will include 3 weeks of business travel followed by 1 week of vacation. During the first two weekends, I have visited Agra, Delhi, and Jaipur, capital of the state or Rajasthan.PhotosPhoto Album, Part IAgra Day TripThe first weekend after a week of work, I arranged a ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 11/26/2006 4 Comments

November 10, 2006

2003 - Peru and the Inca Trail Trek

This is the story of an old trip, posted after someone asked for details. This was a 2-week independent itinerary arranged by Amazon Adventures. The tour operator worked out my transportation between cities, and arranged either for a guide or for me to join a local day tour in each city. ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 11/10/2006 5 Comments

November 05, 2006

Pikes Peak Video

... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 11/05/2006 3 Comments

August 29, 2006

2006 Pikes Peak Marathon

I ran the 2006 Pikes Peak Marathon, which runs up a 7800ft elevation gain to Pikes Peak (14,110ft) and back down. Arkansas has traditionally boasted one of the largest contingents outside Colorado to participate in the races. This was the year that ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 08/29/2006 9 Comments

July 22, 2006

Barr Trail Mountain Race

On July 16, 2006, I ran the Barr Trail Mountain Race in Manitou Springs, Colorado. Twenty-three runners from the Rogue training group in Austin travelled to run the race, and most stayed a few days for additional training runs out of Barr Camp ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/22/2006 1 Comments

July 09, 2006

Austin Hill Comparisons

Comparisons of hill profiles in Ausin ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 07/09/2006 1 Comments

June 17, 2006

Grandma's Marathon

On June 17, I ran Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, MN. Grandma’s Marathon was not originally in my race plan for the year. My focus was to be first on the Freescale Austin Marathon, and then on the Pike’s Peak Marathon. But my parents decided to host a family gathering around this race ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 06/17/2006 0 Comments

Aug 23, 2006

Pikes Peak Ascent 2005

In August of 2005, I ran the Pikes Peak Ascent, (13.2 miles) that runs up the face of Pikes Peak mountain. Race Reports: ... Read the rest of this post...

Posted on 08/23/2005 2 Comments