I have never been much of a gym guy. I have only been on a treadmill 3 times in my life. P90x was my go to with Bowflex dumbbells and a pull-up bar. I mainly did and still do just lite weights or body weight work outs.
6 gallons = 48ish lbs.
Now I workout with what I have around me. Six gallon water jugs, benches, tree stumps and of course my favorite endless trails!
Endless Trails!
I can honestly say my workouts now are better cause it’s not the same old mundane routine. Experiment with what you got. Push-ups, squats, sit-ups, sidewalks and trails are all free and easy to do anytime. Start small, start short. You’ll progress soon enough with time and dedication. And you don’t even have to be a dirtbag living in a van to curl a water jug!
Life is a learning tool. If we study it by living in the moment we’ll be happy every moment of our lives.
Walls of Jericho in Alabama Photo Credit Zach Andrews
This weekend marked 3 months into my journey. I have been to 9 states (SD, NE, MO, AR, TN, MS, LA, FL & AL) and put on 6,123 miles! Words can not describe what an amazing experience the last few months have been. Well actually let me try: Thankful, honored, rad, interesting, scary, beautiful, cold, dirty, happy, crazy, emotional, joyful, smelly, loved…I could go on and on but most of all I am truly grateful. Grateful for the words of encouragement, the support from family and friends and for all my new friends I have met along the way.
I can not believe my JAdRunning Facebook page has hit 248 likes! Half the likes are from people I didn’t even know when I started or haven’t even met. Honored to have everyone of you following my adventure!
Also, if there is a place you think I should check out please comment and let me I know. If you think you know someone that may like my page please share it www.facebook.com/jadrunning.
Zach and I at Kings Chair overlook in Oak Mountain State Park
This weekend in Birmingham I met up with Fellow Dirtbag Runner Zach for some beautiful running because of social media! Meeting people is how I get to see the best of the best in everyone’s stomping ground.
Trust me I don’t mind being stalked…well the friendly stalking that is!!
It rained non stop from the time I left Gulf Shores, Alabama until I got to Pensacola, Florida. Pensacola was one of the many places where my Mom lived after my brothers and I moved back to South Dakota with our Dad. Her free spirit gene must have been past on to me since I am now on my own life’s quest. I remember that she loved Pensacola and only left because of Hurricane Ike’s devastation. So after re-aggravating a foot injury in Memphis I got the idea to head south to explore Mom’s favorite place. As I rolled along the coast I could see why she loved it. Even in the heavy rain the white sandy beaches were beautiful! I had a strong consideration sloshing around my brain to run the beach in the rain. That idea got squashed when I came across the National Naval Aviation Museum on the Navy Base in Pensacola. I spent the day walking around the large museum filled with historic planes from WWI to present.
Just as the sun was about to set, the pounding rains trickled to a sprinkle for about ten minutes which opened to a beautiful sunset. Watching sunsets in Florida was my moms favorite thing to do. Catching the the beauty of a sunset in one of her favorite places made my journey that much brighter!
Waking up early to get to Gulf Island National Seashore was my days top mission. As I was walking along the beach with the pup I was secretly looking for a sand dollar. Complete sand dollars are difficult to find but my mom would always walk the beach looking for some. Only seeing seashells Jayden lead me off the path of where the tide had left most of the good treasures.
Following him I noticed what looked like a half broken sand dollar, but after I brushed away the sand I found it to be complete! To me the sunset and sand dollar are just signs that my journey is headed on the right path.
After 3 months on the road there are two morals of this journey. Rain or shine we can always find true beauty everywhere. And, break the flow of normalcy and get off the beaten trail!
I headed north into De Soto National Forest from Biloxi Mississippi to check off another naked forest shower off my list. When I rolled into Airey Campground it was full of cars and my first thought was to crowed for me. I pulled around to park and I got a friendly wave from a couple relaxing in chairs by their white sprinter van. The friendly gesture helped changed my mind about the crowdedness. I think Jayden (my dog) gets more excited then I do for new places cause he was hyper after the short 45 minute drive from the Gulf. So I exchanged a few quick hellos with the two couples to hit the trail and burn off his energy. Just off the campground lake is Tuxachanie Trail. A 22 mile trail system that leads to an old World War II POW camp and the Airey camp ground is at mile 5.5. Well the pups walk was short lived as we walked just around the bend of the lake til he motioned he was ready to go back. With the freedom I have I now I let pup dictate how far and where he wants to explore when it’s his time. As we came back the two couples were about to head out for a run/hike. My bum foot loomed over my head for a brief little bit til they all said I should tag along. Sold! Doesn’t take much to convince a runner to run even on a bum foot. Along the way the five of us switch around talking and telling stories. We ended up doing a 12 mile run/hike that felt much shorter because of everyones presents.
Steven and Jen are from Toronto, Canada and now live in a Sprinter van they custom built and converted into their home on wheels. They sold their houses and put life on hold to explore the USA with the intent to see all the National Parks. It was cool to hear that they have had similar VanLife experiences as I have in my short 3 months. You can follow their adventure at www.nomadsinnature.com.
Matt and Chloe are road tripping and pitching a tent on their life’s adventure. Matt has a pretty rad work schedule that gives him five weeks on and five weeks off. So on his five weeks off the two of them drive across the country living life and exploring nature. Chloe is from Colorado so we made joke together about how this areas elevation is lacking how it easy it felt. Matt’s job opened my eyes possible new job field that could allow one to be a dirtbag with a real job.
Rodrigo is a young surfer from Miami, Florida area and was waiting for his girlfriend Kelsey to arrive in Biloxi by bus from Maryland the next day I arrived. He has had the dream to travel to California and then South America in search of waves and a minimal life. Their story of drug addiction at a young age to where they are now is pretty amazing. The plan they have to get them from A to B will be a great story and build great inner strength. They make crafts, bracelets, necklaces and will sell them as they travel to make money. The support they give each other will keep them on the straight and narrow path toward a happy life.
Mr. Bill is great man and a retired Vietnam Veteran. This guy has his VanLife down to a science. He lives throughout the local campgrounds of Mississippi in his van named after his late dog. He has a “tiny house” on a few acres 10 minute from the camp but travels around to enjoy the different nature scenes. Around the camp fire he would tell us stories about the war and the craziness that was involved. One night he recited a poem he wrote as he was going over to Vietnam. It was an touching moment to have a guy who looks hard on the outside open up and show true emotion.
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How high I look, how far I see the world is so confusing to me.
People are hard, people are cruel and it seems they've forgotten how to play their cool.
They cheat, they lie, they steal, they kill and so my heart tells me I've had my pill.
I'm alone in this world and I stay this way til my heart and my mind convince me to stray.
I hope and I pray that someday the world will be together again and never stray. -Bill
My foot injury kind of provoked this journey down along the flat gulf coast so I was not provoked to run as much. Again, like a broken record it was meant to be!
