Outdoors this summer with my son

July 31, 2014 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

A summertime fixture for my son’s summer visits has always been some time outside. We have canoed, hiked, ridden bikes across international borders, camped, road-tripped, National/State Park hopped, etc… This year was no different except we did those things in France.

We canoed along the Canal du Garone in my 2014 Father’s Day present – a Big green 3-person canoe. The Ruminator learned about the magic of portaging and that stinging nettles should not exist on this earth. We hiked into the Ariège Pyrenees, climbing 5900+ feet in 4.5 hours. That night we slept in an high alpine Refuge (his first), ate great food, and saw the most amazing mountain waterfalls, wildflowers, streams, and lakes. There were high green fields dotted with cows, sheep and goats before we walked above the tree-line and blue ice floating in the deep alpine lake at the base of the Refuge. It is a memory that I will carry with me for the rest of my days!

There was bike riding, lawn mowing (had to throw that in!!), soccer, long walks and one attempted swim session. He got turned away because he showed up with swim trunks to the pool and here in France you have to wear Speedos – no really, I swear. We also visited one of the prehistoric parks in the area (there are three?!) and got to throw spears at targets as part of one of the interactive displays. There were deer and bison 3D archery targets out in the field along with paper animal targets and we only learned that the 3D ones were just to look at and not to aim at. This information only came after one of my spears sailed over the bison’s neck, clearing it by 2 inches from 50 yards away. I got a stern warning…

Being outside with my kids is one of my true pleasures in this life (My daughter HATES backpacking and sleeping on the ground and is more of an RV girl). I look forward to many more years of it and the inclusion of more children and grand children.

France – The first 30 days.

January 11, 2014 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

Still Love France.
My French has gotten SO bad.
I did forget how slow things are to get done here.
You want a buy/lease a car? Three weeks-ish.
You want cable and internet? 1 month.
Want it to work? 1 more week and 14 phone calls
Love my J-O-B
No such thing as coffee to go… even if you get it in a tiny paper/plastic cup, there is no lid.
Really like the house here. The 16″ thick concrete walls and steel shutters give it a homey crypt-like feeling.
Miss our house in Seattle.
There are doctors who speak English, but their receptionists who book the appointments don’t…
You want groceries on Sunday? Nope, not going to happen
I also forgot how amazing the eggs and meet are.
Want to sit and have coffee and talk to my mom, miss that.
Bread goes with EVERYTHING! Awesome bread.
Having a really hard time finding a shop that sells wood lathes – only power tool I want/need here.
The weather here in winter is better than summer in Hamburg.
Miss my furniture. We have been “Camping” since Halloween and I am about 99.9999% done sitting on the floor to eat my dinner.
Want my tools like a junkie wants their cooking spoon.
Stamps-With-Foot is buying enough cheese to make the regional sale figures blip.
Our dog< Brodie, has fully integrated and will cop a squat in the middle of the street, sneering at anyone who dares to question his right to do so. He goes to restaurants with us like he is a little prince. The wife slips him duck breast, cote of Beaof, and aged cheese under the table. I had 2 glasses of $4 wine that we bought at the grocery store with dinner tonight. It was awesome. No, truly. Wish my kids were here. I miss Starbucks, but I have a Killer espresso machine in the kitchen. Can now watch Netflix and BBC One with country specific VPN accounts - sticking it to the man! Miss my bikes. Can't wait for them to arrive next week (insert giddy face) The designer dog food here is sold in breed specific bags - really. It is crap, but it is packaged well. I have lost a little weight because I am not eating crap and started running again. Very, very nice wooded trail near house - miles and miles long. Flying to Florida for work next week and am bringing home coffee beans, dry dog food, and Cajun Seasoning. Packed an extra duffle bag... Went for a drive in the country today and happened by a 16^th century chalet with turrets and a moat about an hour form the house.
The thought of Stamps-With-Foot driving in France scares the Hell out of me!
Life is damn fine on the whole.

Weekend Update – Spring flowers, Lincoln Park, and thoughts of Arborcide

April 15, 2013 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

Oh Seattle… Why can’t you be pretty and green and sort of warm all year? I keep telling myself that Summer and early fall here make the crappy six month of fallwinterspring all worth it, but that is a hard pill to swallow right now. This has been an especially dreary winter: rain, cooler than normal temps, very few sunny days (I remember 4…) and it didn’t really get cold enough to kill the mosquito eggs, so we are looking forward to a buggy spring. Oh Joy. On the bright side of things, the lawn and garden at La Masion du Talley are erupting with jonquils, tulips, cherry blossoms, the begonias and the dahlias are just coming up, there is green on the espalier apples, new raspberry canes are shooting up, my rose bushes in the back are leafing out, I saw a couple of honey bees out foraging, the grass is lush and green, and the first hints of the lavender up front are coming in. I spent the weekend splitting my time between the inside of the house and the yard. In the last two weeks I have been in Tokyo, Orange Co.., CA and Las Vegas, so my part of the household chores had gone unattended to. Here is how it all went down:

Slept late Saturday.
Breakfast and coffee while sitting next to Brodie.
Washed a load of whites and a load of colors.
Thought about going for a run.
Lost two hours of my life to Pinterest instead…
Put dishes away – some of them anyway.
Stamp-With-Foot took Brodie to new vet.
Got dressed and picked up living room and office.
Wife loves new vet. Brodie, not so much…
Finished a couple of small house projects.
Got ready to take Brodie for a walk in Lincoln Park
Started raining.
Started hailing…
Canceled trip to the park.
Brodie went back to sleep on the couch.
Went downstairs to work on my Workbench of Doom in the basement.
Heard water running outside… SHIT! Gutters overflowing! Downspout Plugged!! FVCK!!!
Ran outside, put ladder up DURING hail storm, dug pine needles and holly leaves out of gutters on both sides of house.
Water started moving down drainpipe.
While on top of wet, slick ladder – wished I possessed The Force – would kill neighbor’s trees and lift them out of the ground like X-wing fighter…
Said loud dirty words about gutters, pine needles and neighbor’s trees.
Squinted eyes, pursed mouth, and made mental note to buy copper nails, a large auger bit, some Drain-O, and a vile of the poison that coated the blade that Bilbo was stabbed with for that hateful tree.
Climbed down slick ladder with frozen hands prayed for a single bolt of well placed lightning.
Went inside, threw wet hat down and stomped downstairs to plan a crime.
Stamps-With-Foot made me coffee.
Felt better & cleaned the basement a little.
Wife took me out on Movie Date.
Had a nice time.
Came home and sat in the hot tub for a good long while – nice light rain fell.
Wife all for me taking a hit out on the tree.
Fell asleep looking at Pinterest again.

Up at the crack of dawn on Sunday: 9:00am
Coffee and breakfast.
Wrote some e-mails and sent a few pics to Instagram
Wife left for appointment and Brodie and I went to C&P Coffee.
Brodie tried to eat a black lab the looked funny at him while I was ordering coffee.
Being French, he has a Napoleon Complex – Really, really.
I grabbed him in mid air and other dog looked like he wanted to tinkle on the carpet: hid behind owner
Brodie looked hard at that dog whole time we were there.
Stopped by Home Depot on the way home and got moss killer for the roof and yard.
Noticed the moss while unstopping gutters.
Came home, cut the grass and spread some Weed&Feed that will lead to the eventual demise of all the dandelions, clover, and nettles that dare to take root in my yard.
Mwahahaha…
Felt happy.
Edged and mowed the front and back yards.
Found a couple of ferociousness dandelion patches.
How had I missed them?!
Got out the instant death weed killer and murdered me some dandelions.
Giggled like Buffalo Bill as he put the lotion in the basket.
Other neighbor walked by told me that I had a beautiful yard.
Beamed with pride and tried not to look like a weed serial killer or that I was hatching a plan to commit arborcide!
Wife came home and helped me spray the roof for moss.
Took off overalls and went with wife and Brodie to Lincoln Park – pretty end to the day!
Went to Trader Joe’s for the week’s worth of groceries.
Stamps-With-Foot made dinner while I worked on some handmade Christmas gifts (starting early)
Looked at Pinterest and Instagram again.
Stole wife’s phone because her pics of Lincoln Park were better than mine.
Heard noise outside.
THE WAS A FVCKING RACCOON ON MY ROOF!!
Thought about getting The Ruminator’s pellet rifle.
Decided I did not want to be on top of ladder and at eye level with mad ‘coon that had just been tagged with a pellet.
Turned the water hose on and ruined his night.
He jumped off roof and into the hated pine tree.
I thought about the pellet rifle again… decided to let the raccoon and tree just have each other.
Came in and wife was asleep and the dog was snoring like a 75 year old alcoholic with sleep apnea.
Wrote a couple blog posts.
Turned off lights, set alarm, and went to snuggle with wife.

What I want Thursday – 4/12/12

April 12, 2012 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

A list of stuff and things that I want currently – not that I necessarily need, but that i wuold like to have or see done/happen:

1. More time to read, write, build, snuggle, climb, bike, run, laugh…
2. A twin Murphy-bed in my office disguised as a mid-century modern wardrobe so that we have more guest space.
3. For my year-long kitchen project to be finished
4. To remember the password for my old laptop so I can have access to 10+ years of pictures…
5. My very own spending money that I can do with what I wish without submitting to a vote/need analysis
6. To have my FVCKIN’ tools back that some asshat stole…
7. A few new t-shirts for summer and a flat belly to reside under them.
8. For my Mother and Sister to find the perfect place in life
9. For all the dandelions in my yard to cease to exist
10. I would very much like for the really sad, really pregnant girl I say in Seattle yesterday to find someone/something/someplace that makes her warm, happy, and safe.

So long 2011, don’t let the door hit you in the @ss…

January 21, 2012 / Matt Talley / Leave a comment

2011 was a hard year for us, like it has been for so many Americans, on a number of levels: I was gone constantly for work – over 100,000 air miles, we had some serious medical bills, there was money spent to help some good people out of a bind, some unexpected home repairs, a layoff, taxes, etc… I also chose 2011 to really work on my weight: putting it on, not taking it off. I just stopped running, biking and lifting for the last half of the year. I blame it on many factors: my work schedule, stress, an injury, laziness, apathy…

As I stand in my birthday suit in front of the mirror, I have done a fine job turning myself into a bald Troll doll. As I had to promise my wife that I would go out without pants anymore (long story), I doubt that anyone will see me in this state, but I KNOW. When dressed for working outside on the weekend, I look remarkably similar to a fvcking garden gnome. I am not happy about this state of affairs! My New Year’s resolution is to rid myself of this baggage by summer. This is also the year that I would like to spend less on shit the I want and truly determine the things that I need before my debit card comes whipping out. I WILL finish all my current cabinet projects, rub my wife’s feet more – it makes her happy. Eat MUCH less sugar, have a prosperous garden and mini-orchard this year. On the literature front, I am planning to put a big dent in the Conan Doyle Sherlock Homes tales, spend some time writing, read all the new crap that I have bought for my Kindle that just sits there and moves farther back in the queue as I keep buying new Kindle crack.

Running in the dark with The Chatty Buddha

March 16, 2011 / Matt Talley / 2 Comments

My Father-in-law was visiting us for a week and in an attempt to support my Santa-to-svelte transformation, he took up the reins to roll me out of bed before work to run with him. He picked the most amazing time to morph into a Drill Instructor: DST-Spring Forward, rain, wind, cold temps… Who wouldn’t want to leave their soft bed and warm wife to slip on still-wet shoes to go run in the dark and shiver as the rain gods pee on them?? Ooh, sign me up!

We ran at Lincoln Park, along the beach, up the hill, and through the trees the first morning for a 3.5 mile jog. That initial run was bearable, but the next Monday morning was a whole other monkey! It was dark, I was tired, a touch hung over, there was pouring rain, the mercury sat at 43 degrees, and no coffee had yet found me. Stamps-With-Foot’s father, who we shall forever more refer to as The Chatty Buddha, had been up for an hour, done some yoga, had coffee, and was full of wit and observations. Without coffee, I am more of a grumpy Neanderthal than 21^st century Renaissance man. It was hard not to send The Chatty Buddha to his celestial reward as we drove over to the park and as we began our run, a quip from him just after my first stride made me fantasize – in Technicolor – about pushing him down a long steep, wet, secluded forest stairway… The sudden stop of rain, cessation of the biting wind, the sound of the trail crunching beneath us, and the sight/smell of the tide coming in – lapping the driftwood logs – made me completely forget about my in-law-patricidal thoughts. We ran 4 miles and that sunrise beach run was the absolute highlight of my day. Well, that and the resolutely frugal Chatty Buddha bought me a soul-satisfying triple Grande 1 pump Starbucks mocha as we headed home. I am really glad he got me out into cold.

Fall is here – Riding and running in the rain

September 17, 2010 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

My ride home on Wednesday was a soggy one. I had planned on a little drizzle, but what I got was a downpour. I forgot to put on the fenders so I had water, mud and road grit striped up my butt and bag. It made for an annoying commute, but it was a self-created annoyance. I should have dressed for the worst and fendered-up. On the positive side, all the cyclists who clogged the Interurban Trail last week in the sunshine were gone and there were only a hardy few, sporting full rain gear, lots of lights, and waterproof panniers. Last night I came home on my normal apres-work 3-mile loop. By the time I got home, my shoes were water-filled and heavy – let’s call it resistance training.

Yep, fall is officially here. My strawberry plant’s leaves are turning red, the heirloom tomatoes that I have fought to save all summer are finally turning from green to red, and it is now time to install extra lights and the fenders on my commuter. This time of year is both comforting and scary for us lovers of the two-wheeler. The trails and paths are free of our spandex clad brethren on their first ever “road bike”, there are very few kids on big-wheels to dodge, the ladies after-work-walking-club (the one that walks 6 abreast on the trails like a Spartan phalanx) has retired to the treadmills at LAFitness. I find that my ride is quiet and boring and drama free… Except that drivers tend to lose what little ability they had to see cyclists. Even with three blinking lights attached all willy-nilly, fall and winter commuters are spooky around intersections and shared roadways.

Running From the Lowest to Highest Point in Seattle

May 14, 2010 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

I ran 6.9 miles Wednesday night (a little more than a 10K) after I got home from work. Sort of a cool route: the lowest point in Seattle to the highest. I ran down to the beach, then made my way via a circuitous route up to 515ish feet above sea level. The high point is 520 feet, but the hill has water towers on it and is surrounded by a fence, so I couldn’t do the “Rocky” dance on the summit. The sun was out, there was a cool breeze coming off the water, and I felt pretty good, though I took it easy with 8:10 minute miles as I don’t want to develop shin splints with all the road miles I am running. I plan to do a nice long trail run this weekend and would like to split my after-work runs into half road and half trail miles, but I find that is it just easier to lace up and run out the door than to drive to a trail-head.

I decided on a long run because I was doing a challenge on Nike+ for 50 miles in a certain time period. I was in the lead, but took the weekend off and fell into second place. That just won’t do so I stepped it up to retake the lead. I went onto nikerunnig.com after dinner to load my mileage and some SOB joined the challenge who already had 126 miles in that time period – there are two weeks left to go in the challenge… By the looks of it this guy runs 10-12 miles a day, so that would be like me showing up at fat camp on field day to take all the blue ribbons from the little salad-dodgers.

It isn’t something to really get worked up over, just more of an annoyance than anything else. I guess this is one of those small things that I am not supposed to sweat… I did, after all, have a nice run, it was a good route, and I finished with a decent time.

Santa Claus-like body fat percentage

May 5, 2010 / Matt Talley / 1 Comment

As far as my overall fitness lever: I have never worked this hard to look this bad! I REALLY miss being 19. The days of drinking lots of beer, eating crap, still looking decent, and performing at an elite level are GONE. I am officially almost old and I have outrageous cookie-handles/spare tire, my arms have shrunk, and my body fat percentage is bordering on Santa Claus level. The months of inactivity after the most recent surgery and gorging myself on coffee (triple Grande one pump mocha with whip…), 1-liter wheat beers, donuts, more beer, cookies, and brownies did little to prepare me for the coming summer. I have been doing yoga at home weekly, but want to find a local class/studio to visit for a weekly or bi-weekly session. Yoga really adds to my climbing and as I have decided to focus on my core (keeps me from stressing robo-shoulder) and my agility, it compliments the abundant AB work – which is not going well since I am starting from scratch again. All the work last summer and fall was for naught. I am slowly working back into my pre-cartwheel down the stairs groove.

The Bionic Shoulder is doing SO much better. I still need the second surgery, but it can wait – no serious rush – and I can do 15 push-ups without it hurting. I have been real careful not to stress it as I am going to need it in as good a shape as possible if I snag a slot on the Alpine Club of Iran Climber Exchange trip that I am hoping to be selected for. I am climbing all right, but I have been hesitant to frequent the rock gym or bounder on plastic holds. I have found that it is REALLY easy to over train and tear something on plastic.

I have logged about 90 running miles in the last 6 weeks, Nike+ has helped with that, but I have been neglecting my two-wheeled mistresses. I may have ridden 120 miles in the last 7 weeks… It is my new commute and the spring rainy season. The ride home has a shitty hill at the end of the 15mile ride and I have to fight traffic some so that puts me off, but more than that, the sun has been shy of late. I am by no means a fair weather cyclist, it is just that rain + traffic + cold + hill = me screwing off instead of riding. I have already paid the entrance fee for the annual Seattle to Portland ride, so I have to cowboy-up and get a bunch more training and commute mile behind me. Speaking of rides: I am also signed up for a Duathalon in June, a couple of 10k road races and a half Marathon this summer, all in an attempt to keep myself on target for the STP ride, the possibility of climbing in Iran and to keep my cookie handles in check.

Santacycling santarun

New Running Partner

April 15, 2010 / Matt Talley

The Nike+ App came with my iPhone and I just started playing with it last week. So far, it has been fairly accurate (after I calibrated the sensor on a local running track) and I have used it on road runs and on a recent trail/hill climb outing and so far the difference between the accelerometer and the GPS distance in minimal. The Nike+ uses so little battery compared to the GPS function that I have tuned the location server off on the phone to conserve battery for important things like phone calls and work e-mail.

I love to run and I find that if I have a partner I get faster and faster until I finally plateau around the 7 minute mile mark for 5+ mile runs. I think that I have the potential to be faster, but since I suffer from Multiple Activity Disorder, I don’t commit the time to train appropriately and I have never invested in a coach to help. My lovely bride hates to run, so I do not have a live-in training companion and so far have not found a neighbor with a similar schedule that is a runner. Nike+ is filling a gap. It is giving me some positive feedback, documents distance and pace, and I can virtually race with people across the country on the inter-webs. I have a couple of buddies in Missouri, Colorado, Germany, California, and Arkansas that run and am hoping to get them set up with Nike+ as well so that we can run as a “group” from time to time.

“I just kept run-ning and run-ning…”

April 5, 2010 / Matt Talley

I have been an avid runner since I was 14 and ran cross-country and middle distance track in high school. After running at 4:00 each morning in the Army, I ran CC for my intramural college team (Fifth Year Freshman), coming in second once after an all night bender of cheap beer, video games, a mascot head, and ladies of questionable character/morality.

I just picked up a new pair of trail shoes and inserts after noticing my old pair had started to fall apart – my big toe sticking out when the side stitching blew was a dead give away. The purchase has me in a reflective mood. Running is for my soul, to keep the pounds that I would add from the constant cookie consumption at bay (I can tear through a box of Somoas/Do-Si-Dos faster than a fat kid at Summer Camp…), to have time to think through things, to enjoy trails, and to make me a better climber and cyclist. I don’t enter every 5 or 10K that comes along as I am slow and lazy. It has to be either a really cool event or be held in an amazing place for me to get up the initiative to actually participate. I have run one Marathon, years ago – probably the last one I will ever do: over trained, lost too much weight, had horrible shin splints, and was sick for two weeks afterward. I will stick to 3-5 mile runs, 2-4 times a week and maybe throw in a 10-12 miler here and there to keep it interesting.

Running is the one constant activity I do that only costs me a pair of shoes every six months or so. I can wear the kicks when not on a trail and just bumming around the yard or if out and about. Cycling and climbing shoes are neither fashionable nor functional while out on the town. I can run from home, on work trips, while visiting the in-laws, etc… There is a lot of running done when the in-laws are in town… I always plan to run on vacations, but find that my trail shoes are the one thing that doesn’t come out of my bag until I return home. Running helps keep me sane.

Cleared to Ride

February 11, 2010 / Matt Talley

No matter what the reason, sitting in a doctor’s office exam room is a stress inducing affair – even when expecting good news. I went to the see my Orthopedist yesterday and my shoulder is healing fine. I am now cleared to ride and run and even engage in limited climbing (though I am not sure what that means…). No more excuses for not getting off my ever-expanding ass and getting outside into the mud and just- sprouting greenery. My surgeon said that I will still need to have my supraspinatus tendon repaired, but that it could wait until fall and after summer cycling/road trips/our wedding. It will also give me some needed time to finish some projects at home. I think the key is listening to my body/shoulder and no pushing things over the limit – listening to the first tinges of pain and backing off before I hurt myself further.

Laurel has a list for me to take care of this weekend – in addition to my own projects, but I am going to spend an hour on the bike and will run in a park by the house on Saturday.

cyclocross-mudjpg-78c3ff99c818fb1e CSM001742

My own personal OCD tracker

April 1, 2009 / Matt Talley

As far as the inter turmoil of nerdy/sporty that I have going on, I did better in 2008 than I did in 2007. A breakdown of the last year’s numbers looks like this:

	2008	2007
Running	139.5 Miles	15.7 Miles
Cycling	945.5 Miles	346.8 Miles
Days Hiked	10 Days	2 Days
Books Read	41 Books	37 Books
Days Off	98 Days	59 Days
Gym	33 Times	11 Times
Miles Traveled	61,341.3 Miles	68,234.2 Miles
Camping	8 Nights	10 Nights
Overtime Worked	0 Hours	300 Hours

I rode more and ran more. Went to the gym and still managed to read a ton of books. Though I did spend entirely too much time surfing Wikipedia, bike sites, and CNN. I am learning to balance my inner geek, though the process is somewhat like a 12-step program where I fall off the wagon occasionally and spend hours designing tool jigs, watching episode after episode of Dexter or Heroes, or ogling over bike frame geometry on the net. I then pick myself up out of my techie gutter and go to a “meeting” by running in the sunshine, exploring a new trail, or flirting with my cute little wife.

Driven Outside

Category: Running