Giving Thanks Every Day

When I started this blog, internet speeds were still slow and smart phones were in their infancy. What this meant was that blogs were a popular and well-received medium to share people's stories(especially those of us without the connections and/or talent to have lucrative book contracts). Fast forward to present day and podcasts and  vlogs have taken over most people's interests. I look at my own blog list of people I follow and only a handful still write. But here I am. Albeit very infrequently, but still here to express my gratitude for every day I have an opportunity to get out and experience this beautiful world we live in. 

But to satisfy those of you who cannot read a few paragraphs without going through video withdrawal, here is a video for your delight.

It has been a fun few months. I last left off telling you all about the Beerlay. Since then, I did another race put on by the awesome people at Upstate Ultra-the Paris Mountain 25k. I had originally signed up for the 50k, but knew I wasn't ready for that. As luck would have it, the race director let me switch so I could do just one loop. Which was enough! Although in better shape, I would have loved it, as it was I really enjoyed the course which was almost entirely runnable with just two steep climbs and the rest seemingly all downhill. Definitely a race I will do again in the future. 

I soon followed that up with another glutinous race, this time the Krispy Kreme Dash in Myrtle Beach. This was my second year racing it and second time winning. And the prize this year: Another year of donuts! This time a dozen per week. Wow! Talk about developing a dad-bod! 

It was a great weekend having Kenny and Matilda of course, but we were also joined by my parents and brother Drew and his girlfriend Vicki. As with all times with people you love, it went far too quickly but it was still nice to spend time with them. 

Then time travel occurred and it was already Thanksgiving and I was giving thanks for my beautiful wife and adorable daughter as we ate the first Thanksgiving meal with just our family. Decorating our house for Christmas rounded out the weekend. 

It's so easy to get bogged down with the day to day sometime to really step back and appreciate all the wonderful things we have in our lives. But you're here, able to read this, presumably while breathing, likely in a comfortable setting, hopefully with some people who you love around. There is so many things to be grateful for each and everyday, don't wait 364 days before you are again.

Until next time,

Danny

Beer Lay and babies= Best Birthday Ever

I heard "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen the other day and came to a conclusion: I'm officially in my late-mid thirties. Or early late-thirties. Either way, I can race as a Master and by some estimates have seen the best of my days. 

Luckily, I cheerfully disagree. Yes, I may have some grays in the hair and fat in the belly that I didn't have before. And I am considerably slower(physically and probably mentally). But I can honestly say I probably had the best birthday ever this year. 

The actual day was spent with me taking a half day and getting to spend it with Matilda and the evening with Kenny. We had gone up to Charlotte the weekend before and had a wonderful time. Matilda(possibly with Kenny's help) got me some great birthday gifts. Family and friends showered me with well-wishes which is one of the saving graces of social media and text messaging.

If that wasn't enough, my brother Drew treated me to a weekend in Greenville and entry into the Cottonmouth Beerlay: an eight mile race where every two miles you have to drink a beer. 8 miles and 4 beers.

Wait-did I say best birthday ever???

Well eating and drinking is my specialty and I still can somewhat run, so why not? It would be fun! I surely wasn't thinking as much on my third and fourth laps with 3-4 beers in my ever-more bloated belly. And the fact the race came down to a sprint finish added an element of discomfort. 

At least the drinking was fast

Michael Nance-a fellow Harbison Trail runner after the race.

But in reality it was really fun and Drew and I spend the rest of the evening out and about in Greenville and was great catching up. Greenville is a beautiful little city which I hadn't really had an opportunity to explore before. 

Images from Falls Park 

The race was also good preparation for the Krispy Kreme Challenge in Myrtle Beach in a month. I suspect the competition will be steeper this year so I better be on my A game if I want to defend my title. 

That fun weekend really was just icing on the cake as having my beautiful baby to come home to really sealed the deal. It'll be a tough birthday to beat, but next year she'll be walking so who knows?

Until next time, 

Danny

Bjorn Identity

Well hello there!

It has been a long time! This summer flew by. Our bjaby girl is growing up so quickly. She's already "hiked" ten 4,000 foot peaks! Hiking with a backpack and a bjaby in a bjorn is no joke! I was probably more exhausted from those hikes than any other I have done.

Or I could be out of shape.

It was a great summer for spending with family and to relax but not a great summer for fitness. Besides those hikes, I can count on my left hand how many times I went for a run. Suffice it to say, I don't feel very fit.

Out. Of. Shape.

Side-Note: It really should be out of shape to describe fitness(or lack there of). It should be called change of shape. I still have a shape it's just more apple like than it has been in the past.

Change. Of. Shape.

And as ?luck? would have it, Kenny just signed me up for a 50k in 1 MONTH!!!!

Oh and Drew and I did go caving again and definitely felt like the rocks moved a little closer together than last time ;)

Addition. of. Shape.

So I better get back on the running bandwagon. Currently doing 10-15 miles per week with no excuse other than I'd like to spend more time with my girls. And yet, Tilda seems to really enjoy running in the stroller with me so really no excuse.

I bjetter get going.

Until next time,

Danny

Ultrarunning Boy Takes on the World(of Caving)

This past weekend while Kenny and Matilda were away, I headed over to see my brother Andrew and try our hands in a little spelunking. I had seen an article featuring the "most epic trips in each state" and in Georgia it featured the caves in the Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife management area of northern Georgia. Originally, I attempted to get a guided tour but there was no availability so Andrew and I decided to just go up on our own. I tried doing some research online about access but everything was fairly cryptic with people giving generalized location details but nothing specific. From several different blogs, I was able to get a general sense of where to go. The plan was to pack like we were caving but be prepared to end up just going for a hike.

We took off fairly early from his place in Atlanta and less than 2 hours later we were at the fee center for the management area.

Tip: Save yourself some money and register online ahead of time. We paid almost as much for the phone registration service fee as we did to enter the area.

After paying, it was a short drive to a parking area labeled Petty John's. Could it really be this easy to find? A 800 foot walk confirmed that we were here. The only caves that I have been to have either been above ground rock formations that you scramble through or ones with lights, tourists, and hand rails. This was neither. It was just a unmarked hole in the ground leading god knows where.

Had Andrew not been there, I probably would have turned back(or continued on for a hike). But knowing why he had come, I decided to go on.

Tip: Pack for 58 degree weather. Standing outside the hole was like an air conditioner blowing on us. Supposedly it stays like this year round.

After changing into long sleeves, putting on our knee pads, gloves and headlamps, we descended inside.

Just entering the cave was a leap of faith as we had to trust that there were no snakes, spiders, bears or serial killers on below. When I say below I mean below. It was a rock scramble down probably 20 feet or so before opening up to a large cavern. This I could handle. After taking a few pictures and turning off our headlamps to get a sense of how pitch-black dark it was down here, we continued on.

We had a vague sense of the lay out of the cave. Down across down again. It seemed to be general gist. So we scrambled down and then up across the cavern and came across a little hole in the ground.


 Down again we climbed. It did open up again but to a much smaller room with a choice of left or right. Great-Give Wrong Way Ferreira an opportunity to get lost in a cave.

Cognizant of this, I made sure to have Andrew focus on the directions so we could get out.

Tip:Don't go caving with Danny unless you have a good sense of direction.

We went to the right which got narrower and narrower. The pitch of the rock also got steeper which was concerning because everything was muddy so there was concern about being able to get back up. I'd down-climb a little and then re-climb it to make sure that we could successfully get back out.


This made of slower going but at least I'm sitting in front of the computer writing this instead of sitting in a cave I cannot get out of.

We continued in this manner until we came to an opening that was probably mid shin deep of water and we made the smart decision to turn back to avoid making our already slick sneakers worse.



We climbed/scrambled back up to the junction and proceeded to go the other direction. After a while this way we came across a hole that was so small that I couldn't enter it with my backpack on. We went in a while, but I could feel that wave of panic that I wanted to avoid so I recommended we turned back.

On our way back out, I tried to convince Andrew that we needed to stay left and ascend while he correctly brought us out on the right.

Tip: Don't go caving with Danny unless you have a good sense of direction and know how to ignore him.

We had spent a few hours down there and probably explored about 1/6th of the entire available cave system. It really was an epic(ly frightening) experience, and he and I have committed to coming back more prepared and explore more.

Only 49 more "epic" adventures ahead.

Until next time,

Danny

Ultrarunning Boy Takes on the World(of Children's Books)

My mom gave me recently a book entitled: Raising  Bookworms by Emma Walton Hamilton who incidentally is Julie Andrews daughter. I love Song of Music and Mary Poppins so why wouldn't I read a book by Mary's(errr Julie's) daughter. I'm glad I did!

It had some really good practical suggestions that I plan to implement with baby Ferreira, but there was one specific one that I already started. And it was creating books specific to my daughter. So I've written 5 "books" for Tilda Bear so far that I plan to read to her. Emma talks about increased interest in reading when the book relates to the child, so how awesome is it that these are about my daughter?

The only downside is that they're written by me. So expect sophomoric(at best) stories, bad rhymes and even worse illustrations. But considering she won't know any better, Matilda hopefully won't be put off by them for at least the first few years:)

Here's what I've written thus far:

Matilda the Brave

Matilda the Brave-First Year of Travels

Matilda the Brave-A Visit From Her Cousins

Matilda the Brave-Healthy and Strong

Matilda the Brave-Parts of the Body

I don't expect to be on the New York Times bestseller list(or the Concord Monitor's) but it's been fun to create these little books for Tilda that she can always have and even find online. If anyone actually wants to buy one(trust me: they are not literary classics) save yourself money and use the promo code:FIFTEEN to save 15%.

And I know there are always a few people who delight in finding typographical errors, so(just like the blog) I have left some in for you:) Enjoy!

I plan to keep on writing them as Tilda grows up and hopefully they'll mature as she does. Stay tuned!


Until next time,

Danny

Ultrarunning Boy takes on the world(of sleep deprivation)!

As I am sure most of you are aware, baby Ferreira has arrived!

In with the baby, out with the sleep. Never one to sacrifice sleep, this is a novel experience. I'm already back at work but feel like I'm floating through the days. Not particularly witty when rested, I'm down right dense now. That feeling of apathy that I had late in the Vermont 100(88.6 for me) has returned. Not at all to my beautiful daughter or lovely wife, but to all things that require enough. Like going a run, answering phone calls, or writing a comprehensive blog about how awesome my baby is.

Or how great it has been with both my brother Matty and his family and sister Marilyn coming down to visit her. And my mom and brother Drew will be coming soon as well. And everyone else gets to meet her when we come up to New Hampshire this summer. Let's just say-all things Matilda are great and not pressure me into having to dedicate any more of my limited brain capacity to anything besides looking at her cute little face.

Trust me, despite sleep deprivation which can affect everything from above noted motivation, to memory, balance, and weight gain issues, I cannot get enough of Tilda Bear. And I wouldn't trade all the sleep in the world for her. She's just perfect and she will get there-sleepwise.

Until then don't expect any well-worded blogs or conversations with me though.


Until then,

(a sleep deprived) Danny

Ultrarunning Boy Takes on the World( of biking with a baby)?

As you may or may not know, I am pretty excited about Baby Ferreira's arrival. I have been doing some research on bike trailers and seeing if there are ones that are compatible with infant car seats so I can take her out for rides(we already have a infant jogging stroller). I started doing some research and found out that it might not be such a good idea. 

Here's a synopsis of a pediatrician's concerns:

“It’s not about crashes at all, it’s about the potential for repeated mild trauma to the brain because of bumps associated with everyday road conditions. What is undocumented is what is happening to the brain during the bumps. Think of the movement of a bobble head doll in slow motion — that’s what may be happening to the brain in the skull inside the infant’s head after some big bumps. Neurodevelopment is critical during the younger years. An infant’s brain is a bunch of neurons, uninsulated wires, if you will. During the first year the infant is developing the myelin sheath, which insulates the neurons and sets the stage for all the development and learning that the brain does next. If you had to pick a time when it is most important to protect the brain from excess vibration or bumps and jostling about it would be during that first year after birth.”

So it looks like I will not be getting a bike trailer, at least not for the first year. And any running we do will be only on the smoothest pavement around. We cannot help what brains she was born with but we can help her keep the ones she has:) 

Until next time,

Danny

Ultrarunning Boy Takes on the World(of Black Mountain Marathon)

This past weekend, Kenny and I headed up to Asheville so I could run the Black Mountain Marathon. The marathon is considered the "fun run" as it is run beside the infamous Mount Mitchell Challenge. I had thrown my name in for the challenge but hadn't gotten selected. Thinking this was probably in my best interest, I didn't think much of it until I ran with Rick from the Harbison Trail Runners in mid-November. He mentioned that he might be able to get me in the marathon if I won't. I was non-committal about it with my attention on the Mobile Marathon. And he didn't mention it again until the new year when he confirmed that he could, in fact, get me in. Crap. Now I would have to run a marathon that starts with 14 miles of ascending.

A little backstory- When I first starting dating Kenny, she had entered the half marathon that runs from the Loudon Speedway to downtown Concord. I had agreed to pace her for the last 5-6 miles. It touted that the last four miles were "all downhill". Well, imagine Kenny's surprise when she came across that uphill by Shaker Hill School. Suffice it to say that she spent a fair amount of those four miles grumbling. This has become a running joke between us whenever we do a race that supposedly is flat or mostly downhill. 

A little more backstory-The Mount Mitchell Challenge is one of the few races that I was aware of in the Southeast before moving down here. Since then I have come across some pretty great ones, no small part due to the Harbison Trail Runners, the races they throw and recommendations they make. But before I found them, I hadn't heard of anything other than MMC and its 40 miles of running to the highest peak on the East Coast. The first 20 or so were all climbing. This sounded like, to sound millennial, epic. The Black Mountain Marathon is the exact same course but turns but 6  miles before the summit. 

Back to the story. Once again  finding myself grossly underprepared for this race, I nevertheless had high expectations for myself. I had looked up the race results and spoken with some people and it sounded like it would be fair to expect 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per mile slower than a road marathon. So I went into the race thinking a 3:30 would be a good goal. Well, the mountain had other ideas for me. 

Never before in a race have I had to walk in the first 3 miles. There is a patch of ~1/4 mile pavement before you jump on the trail that I would say was as steep as Mount Washington. This may not be true but it certainly felt like it. And judging by the fact that everyone around me was also walking, I think it is fairly accurate. Shortly thereafter we hit the trail which was surprisingly runnable. I kept on having to hold myself back in fear that I would make a big pass and then come to a steep incline and have to walk again. But it never happened. The next 11 miles were all(for the most part) totally runnable with the biggest challenge coming in the form of golf ball sized rocks that kept pummeling my left foot. This foot is the one that I stress fractured mid-Flying Pig Marathon back in 2010 and still have residual pain from on occasion. Like when I repeatedly step right on a rock. 

So my mile splits to the turn around was slower than I'd had hoped but not due to the pitch of the climb but rather the terrain. At the turn around, I was informed I was in 7th place in the marathon. 

Side-note- The majority of the competitive runners do the Challenge, so while I was 7th in the marathon, I would have been something like 20th in the Challenge even though they were doing 14 extra miles!

On the descent, I was greeted by dozens of cheering Harbison runners still making their ascent(again because they were pacing themselves for 40!). It was really nice to have some camaraderie at a race Less nice? Those same stinking rocks. On an otherwise, fast descent, I spent my time carefully picking my line to avoid landing on my left foot. Which is fairly hard to do with ~90 foot strikes per minute. Then add it a few sneaky UPHILLS! Where did those come from? I laughed to myself when I realized I was pulling a Kendra ;) Suffice it to say, I didn't have the descent I wanted but I was able to negative split the race and barely sneak under 4 hours. 

Back on the pavement, and very uncomfortable. 

Despite my little pity-party it was definitely a fun race and I plan to do it again. After it, I passed by hundreds of people lining the streets waiting for Billy Graham's motorcade to go by. We lucked out that it didn't impact traffic where we were staying so Kenny and I spent the rest of the day in Asheville. Which turned into a beautiful day. We had such a good day and slept very well that night. 

All in all, a fun weekend marking the last marathon I will do pre-baby Ferreira. Who knows how things will go after that?

Until next time,

Danny 

Ultrarunning Boy Takes on the World!(of parenting)

Well hello there!

As you may or may not have noticed, the title of this blog has changed. If you haven't already switched over and still are interested in reading about Irongirl, you can find out more here  at her blog.

The change in name reflects the likely change in focus of my posts (and my life) going forward. With a beautiful, smart, powerful young lady on the way, I suspect I will have many things to say, few of which are ultrarunning or triathlon related.

But don't despair! I will still be entering in(often times, fabulously underprepared) events that challenge me physically or mentally. The only difference will be that I may have a little mud turtle hanging out along side.

Side-Bar- For those of you that do not know the mud turtle reference, check out Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees. Well worth the read.

Anyway, I suspect I will continue to get myself and baby Ferreira into plenty of mischief, and I will make sure to check you all updated on the progress.

Until Next Time,


Danny

Mobile Marathon

This past weekend, Kenny and I headed to Alabama partially as a babymoon and partially for me to run the Mobile Marathon. We headed out Thursday night after work and made it to Montgomery by 10pm due to the beneficial time zone change in our favor. We awoke, did a nice little jog to explore the area and then headed to the Civil Rights Memorial. Designed by the same artist who did the Vietnam Memorial in DC, it was simplistic in design but overpowering in its significance. What a sad and shameful time in US history.

We then headed down to Gulf Shores in an ill-advised beach day. The 20 mph winds and 30 degree temps kept us from staying out on the beautiful white sand beaches for more than a few minutes, but did not prevent us from finding a great little diner for a tasty lunch. 

Bundled up on the beach

Downtown Mobile

The next day we spent in downtown Mobile, which I liken to a cleaner New Orleans. Similiar architecture and both seem to be built around Mardi Gras(Mobile was actually the first in the nation to celebrate). Another good meal, race expo and a few beers at the Biergarten right on Dauphin St, rounded out a good day in Alabama. 

Beignets!

The next morning was race day. Kenny had mapped out the course and decided to run to a few spots that she could spectate and still be back for the finish. Apparently we had underestimated the distances as she had thought she'd be doing 6 but ended up closer to 8.5. Pretty impressive for being  6 1/2 months pregnant! 

Having her on the course was a great help and kept me running hard in the first half. Unfortunately she wasn't there when I fell apart the second half. The wind and the hills in the second half, plus a much needed bathroom break, kept me from a sub 3 hour marathon, but after a few years of sub par races, I will take a 3:03 and 8th place finish. And that meant that I am now 50% complete my marathon challenge of running a marathon in every state. 

Post-race band

Definitely a good course and one I'd recommend. Plus a far more fun little city than I had expected. The best part? The race which is a fund raiser for a charity helping adults with cognitive impairments, gives out awards hand-painted by the residents. That along made it all worth while. 

Front of the award(I was given the 9th place award, even though I am recorded as 8th-I'll take it either way)

 Up next? I was able to get into the Black Mountain Marathon in the end of February so that should be interesting... 

Until then,

Danny

2017 was an Epic (Fail)

At the onset of 2017, I made a goal to run 2017 miles during the year. Well, let me tell you. I. Did. Not. Make. It. Not even close. In fact I was able two hundred miles less than the year before. I should have ushered in the New Year partying like it was 1572, because that was the mileage I was able to run this year. But interestingly, the year 1572 is the 2116 in the Buddhist calendar so it's actually kind of like I ran MORE miles than I had planned. FAIL!

So was 2017 a bust? Hardly. Just because my running(and races) suffered, does not mean this year was a fail. In fact, I'd call it epic.

Starting with New Year's Day(2017) still coming home from NYC Times Square Festivities,
 a whirlwind trip to Nashville with Kenny and Andrew

Nashville

pacing Kenny to a BQ(in my opinion at least) at Wrightsville Beach

Pre-race

 winning the Krispy Kreme dash

Krispy Kreme Champ!

winning the Get to the Green 15k, and Quarry Crusher as well as the Burger Challenge at Pawley's Front Porch multiple times.

Food!

So despite the running and bad performances, not an awful race season wins-wise.

And then add in a fun trip to Europe when Kenny and I road tripped to Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France, and Netherlands while also visiting Turkey, fun trips to Savannah, Las Vegas, Charleston, Asheville, Boone, Atlanta, New England and discovering a fun National Park and several state parks in our own backyard.

Top it off with two separate trips to the Finlands: Finland and Newfoundland and the trips end of 2017 was great.

Icebergs in Newfoundland

My parents

In addition to our Newfoundland trip, my parents joined us down in South Carolina, we visited them and my two nieces and new nephew multiple times.  I met and welcomed two new additions to the extended family courtesy of my cousins, Joey and Ryan.

What else?

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Kenny and I got married by my sister at the Outer Banks on the ocean! And we have a little one on the way.

Baby Ferreira

Looks like life happens when you're making running plans. And 2017 will definitely go down as one of the best.


Until next time,

Danny