Rediscovering running through Nike+ running trophies

I ran in high school but wasn't much beyond a sprinter. I had childhood asthma and never developed endurance in running until later in life. And while I never got up to a marathon, about a year after I rediscovered running in 2005 following a hard breakup, I was up to running about 60 miles per week (96 km) with my longest run topping out around 9 miles.

I fell out of running when I moved to the Maldives, where I lived for two years on a small island you could walk around in about 15 minutes. I sporadically ran on a treadmill but it wasn't the same for me, and I fell out of running by 2008.

Over the last five years I've periodically run but never got back to the level I was starting to get proud of.

Enter: Nike+ and the iPod running combination. I had an old iPod Touch lying around that I used just when traveling so I could have a pocketable device I could use to check and send emails to friends while in WiFi zones on the road. I decided recently to give running another try, and since I'd always thought about the Nike+ running app since it came out, I finally gave in and bought a sensor to use with my iPod. Even though it doesn't have GPS mapping of runs (which would be great), the $25 I spent on the sensor and pouch (to make compatible with my Mizuno Ronin 3 running shoes) seemed a good price point to discover if I could get back into running shape.

I'm still struggling a bit with fatigue and knees aching, but I've found the Nike+ interface quite addictive and helpful in pushing myself to best my personal records. While I wish that Nike+ Fuel could be used to purchase Nike gear (they could pick any price point they wanted, like 250 - 750 Fuel points per dollar), I still think it is an interesting system to help motivate people.

Since I started running again with the Nike+ sensor on March 29, 2013, I've acquired about 10 trophies, but looking at the list of Nike+ Trophies (below), I can't help but want more!

Jeremy Wade (River Monsters) spotted fishing for Tarpon & Snook off Sanibel Island, Florda

For those who follow the show River Monsters with Jeremy Wade, I just spoke with a lady who fished with him on Thursday, May 16, 2013 off Sanibel Island, Florida (near Fort Myers) for Tarpon and Snook. They baited using red shrimp thrown in the water. He wasn't filming at the time, so maybe he was prepping for a future show or maybe he was just enjoying himself.

While I don't like the portrayal of animals and fish as monsters, I do appreciate his efforts to discuss natural history of the fish he seeks, the exotic locales, and the fact that he releases the fish that he catches.

Happy fishing Mr. Wade!

Israeli planes bomb Damascus, Syria without reprisals

 As Israel has bombed two sites within Damascus, Syria (article here) I am surprised that Iran and Syria haven't responded with violence, leading me to the conclusion that Israel seems:

1. to be able to attack with impunity any country near them
2. to potentially be trying to draw Iran or Syria into a larger war so that they can bring American support
3. to isolate Gaza further from Hezbollah support in Syria and Lebanon

As the civil war in Syria has been raging for over a year now, the Israeli line that they are protecting themselves through preemptive attack rings hollow since not once has the instability within Syrian borders spilled over into Israel despite Israeli control of the Syrian Golan Heights.

Elsewhere, the "Arab Spring" seems to have stalled and become an Arab Autumn or Fall... as one regime after another seems to falter with misguided steps.

Lightstalkers.org "professional travelers" website

Just learned about Lightstalkers... very interesting community... I like their tagline / mission statement: "Lightstalkers is a professional and social resource for journalists, filmmakers, photographers, and professional travelers. We live and work in uncharted, unstable territory, navigating the grey areas of geography and technology. We travel in countries that are still in development or recently destroyed, using gear just barely out of R&D. Lightstalkers helps us to help each other—it's how we pool our knowledge and experience."

Travel Tuesdays: Where to find McDonald's and Starbucks worldwide

There are very few places worldwide that I've been where I haven't seen a McDonalds or Starbucks, or maybe it just seemed that way. Both are very popular and continuing to grow in influence worldwide even if they seem to have saturated USA markets. In China at least, McDonalds seems to be losing out to KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) but time will tell.

As I travel to new countries, I seek out more remote places, where such franchises are not yet as invasive (even if Pepsi and Coke have long established themselves). I've realized over the years that pretty much anywhere in the world can be reached for under $2000 in airfare (though sometimes many small flights must be assembled when more direct flights are cost prohibitive) and a lot less if stringing together distant locations via a RTW ticket. With this knowledge in mind, there is nothing stopping someone in the mainland US from visiting Hawaii every year for a week or picking a new Caribbean cruise annually.

Since most trips can be completed in total under $2000 (for shorter trips) I have long wondered why so many people I meet don't travel more. Sure, there is disparity of income worldwide and visa issues for many, but most countries in the world are small so there is plenty of opportunity for regional travel. Do you live in Kuala Lumpur? Well, great, then you can visit over a dozen countries with Air Asia and have complete trips under $1000 easily. It is all a matter of prioritization.

So why, if it is cheap and doable, don't more people travel? I think fear of the unknown is the key factor. So many people when the travel to another country seek out the food of their homeland. I've seen many Indian and Chinese tourists travel with their own food. Americans are almost notorious for seeking out McDonalds and Starbucks overseas.

Some might argue that in order to truly get off the beaten track, you must travel to locations without a McDonalds. On the map below, that would be all the grey areas, which now are mainly limited to Central Asian and African countries (with a few other examples spread around the globe).

It is probably not surprising that those grey countries also generally have little western tourism, lending value to my hypothesis that people are afraid to travel and when they do, they'll seek out familiar locations first.

It's a good thing my favorite color is grey :) as I'll have a lot of traveling there in the coming years!