Book Review-Surf is Where you Find It

SURF IS WHERE YOU FIND IT by Gerry Lopez

Published by Patagonia Books

One of the icons of surfing on the North Shore of Hawai’I, Bali and beyond in the 1970’s, Gerry Lopez has written an autobiography that will inspire millions of overworked Americans to put down the iphone and head to the beach. Film buffs might recall him as a co-star in Conan the Barbarian or his cameo in Big Wednesday.

Gerry grew up in Honolulu, Hawai’i, attending the illustrious high school, Punahou, prior to President Obama’s tenure there. Gerry’s parents are a journalist father of Spanish-German heritage, while his mother is Japanese-Hawaiian. To say he is an intelligent man with an ear for dialect, an eye for art and near genius level talent as a surfer would be an understatement.

In 1963, as a high school sophomore, Gerry surfed Pipeline, an incredible and often dangerous section of the North Shore. That would be akin to someone with a driver’s permit driving in the Indianapolis 500. Gerry has surfed with and has awed such big surfing names as Miki Dora, Laird Hamilton and Eddie Aikau.

Gerry’s book describes the surfing culture in Hawai’i from the early 1960’s through the 2000’s, noting the historical figures, epic rides and his own spiritual development. Like a long smooth ride on a longboard, Gerry’s book takes the reader to places and people that are worth knowing. Think of it as a volume of “talk story” that Hawaiians usually tell amongst themselves. So, my suggestion is to take off the work clothes, slip on some shorts and flip flops and read an epic book. You’ll be stoked!

Evolution of a Gooner Fan

Back in my youth, South San Francisco aka South City was full of soccer-kids, jr high and high school soccer was popular. It was taught in PE. And yet, it was like being in a cult-there was no soccer on tv, not even the World Cup, no magazines available locally and the newspapers had very little to offer. The only soccer news we could get was from the month old copies of World Soccer magazine that passed around and coveted. "Just who is this George Best guy anyway?" But, we played. Through school, some pick up games while in the Navy and on some club teams with my mates from Scotland on Sundays while in College. Then came the revolution.

At first, it was just PBS that would show games from Germany or England. Then ESPN was born and all of a sudden, you could watch English League games or even college games. So, I would watch and read the papers. During this time, when my daughters were young, I played defense for a team that consisted of Iranians and me. To say I got an education into Iranian culture is an understatement. Appearing as ordered for a 7:30 practice, I would run laps until 8:30 or 9 when the team would show up, the manager announcing that we had a game at 10. To say my wife, who was at home with two toddlers was not happy would also be an understatement. So ended my playing days on an organized team.

Fast forward to when one of my daughters was in London for University. She lived in North London and by default, became enamored with one Thiery Henry and thus became a casual Arsenal fan. Being a good daughter, she soon sent me some Arsenal Kit and my fandom of the Gunners was born. In the Bay Area I like to go to Maggie's Pub in North Beach to hang out with the Bay Area Gooners.

In New York, I go to the Blind Pig and watch the games with the same daughter who started all of this.

I am so blessed to be a Gooner!  

Into the breach comes Sebastian Coe

Just announced, Sebastian Coe will become the President of the IAAF, the ruling body for Track and Field athletes. His stated goal is to clean up our sport. I sincerely hope he is successful.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/20/sports/international/hard-climb-awaits-sebastian-coe-as-new-president-of-iaaf.html

My sport has always been running. Track, cross-country and more recently, trail running have been my passion since I was in the 5th grade. My first heroes were in fact runners-Jim Ryun-sub 4:00 miler in HIGH SCHOOL, Olympian and Congressman. I also admired and occasional communicate with Gerry Lindgren, the eccentric, but true "phenom" who beat the Russians as a high schooler and is one of the few Americans who beat Steve Prefontaine head to head. None of the above were ever accused of taking performance enhancing drugs.

As I got older and more educated, some would say more cynical, I was curious about the mysterious Lasse Viren and  Waldimar Cierpinski, winners of Olympic Gold medals and little else. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, documents discovered prove without a doubt that Cierpienski was using steroids, cheating Frank Shorter out of getting a 2nd Gold medal in the marathon, something he is still very bitter about.

Other scandals followed: Ben Johnson in the 1988 Games; Regina Jacobs after the 1996 Games; Marion Jones in the 2000 Games and the entire Chinese Distance Running team withdrawing from the 2000 Games for fear of being found to be EPO users. Yes, there are many others and its been a sad history of doping.

The result? Television rarely shows track and field in non-Olympic years for two reasons. First, its just not a popular sport for non-runners. The average American coach potato can't relate at all. Second, the networks and knowledgable viewers can't be sure that the winner of today's event won't be found to be a user a few weeks or months later.

Sebastian Coes mission is clear. Change the image of track from being a dirty sport to one where people can trust the results. How the 1980 Olympian does that will be as interesting as watching a duel between Jim Ryun and Marty Liquori was in the early 70's. Stay tuned track fans!

Why Tom Cruise should be a Trail Runner (if he isn't already)

Let's face it, it is a rare Tom Cruise movie where we don't see him sprinting away from danger or sprinting to jump on an airplane etc. There is even a website dedicated to showing Tom's runs. www.tomcruiserunning.tumblr.com

Still, I think Tom should become a trail runner in real life, here's why:

Privacy

Face it, we trail runners rarely run in crowds if it isn't a race. And, even in most races, you end up running large stretches by yourself. No photographers, no autographs to sign and only the animals-seen and unseen to watch you huff and puff up that steep hill.

Tom is genetically disposed to be a trail runner

For one thing, because of his being a wrestler in high school, his being a rock climber and his "ahem" short stature, Tom has great balance. Perfect for gliding up or down the technical trails. If he falls, he's less likely to be hurt because he knows how to fall.

There are trails everywhere, even in LA

There are well known trails and of course, there are the secret trails that only a select few know about. If Tom flashes his pearly whites at some folks at a running store, he's sure to get a private viewing of some choice single track.

Trail runners are very cool

We won't stare at you at the starting line. We won't laugh if you do a face plant. Hell, we'll probably help you up. And after the race, we'll hand you a beer and laugh about what happened. In short, Tom, we'll treat you like every other trail runner, a special group indeed.

So what do you say Tom, ready to lace em up?

Quick Update

Since my last post, I've had an x--ray and a MRI at my request after the MD's insisted what I had was just a badly sprained ankle. The x-ray found nothing while the MRI found that I had a cyst in the channel that lies between the bottom of the tibia and the actual ankle bone. The MD gave me a choice-take a cortisone shot which wasn't guaranteed to work or have surgery which would mean crutches for 2 weeks and another month in the "boot." I took the shot.

The MD said to take a week off. So, I took the time off, played some golf and then when it was time, took a test run. No pain during the run. The next day, I was worried that the pain would return as it had when I had tried to run the past 3 months. And wonder of wonders, no pain. So I am back to running. Most of the runs have been slow and easy. Today, I took off the training wheels and let it out a bit on a 10K run. Time was 48:00 which was 20 minutes slower than when I was in my 20's, BUT, it was still 7:45 mile pace.

The key now is to be smart and not rush into doing big mileage. But yes, I am indeed on the comeback trail.

In Drydock

Stuck in Drydock

Much like a ship that has been taken out of the water and placed in drydock for repairs, so has been my journey since the Way Too Cool 50K in March. During the last 5 miles of the race, going downhill was really painful. I knew something was wrong but what the heck, I’m a runner and kept going.

After not running the first week after the race, I tried a nice, easy and slow jog around my neighborhood. Well, one out of three was correct, it was slow. Very painful right ankle left me hobbling back to my house for some ice. Another week goes by and it’s a repeat of the first “run.” At the end of April, I had done a total of 3 short runs on a treadmill that left me in pain the next day.

Finally coming to my senses, I went to the Kaiser where they took an x-ray and happily informed me that the foot wasn’t broken but they didn’t know exactly what was wrong. Maybe a really major sprain caused by minor stupidity they laughingly said to me. They told me to take 6 weeks off, no running.

Which brings me to this point, in mid-June. In the past 4 weeks, I’ve played a lot of golf and done some weight lifting. I haven’t gained any weight. still, I can tell I am woefully out of shape and feeling slower by the day. As I drive home from work, I wistfully gaze at people jogging down the sidewalk, feeling as jealous as a Kardashian when she walks past a marble statue of a horse.

This is the week that I dust off the Hokas and see if I can start to reclaim what I’ve lost in the past two months. Wish me luck! 

Why I love golf

Admittedly, some of this is applicable to running, which is why I've included it in this blog.

IT REVEALS CHARACTER

One of the last things I did before being discharged from the Navy was to buy a set of Gary Player irons at the Exchange. Why? I'm still not sure. My Dad played, but my sport was always track and cross country. So off to college I went. One November Saturday, I decided I had to play golf. Never mind that I was in Eugene and it was pouring rain and 40 degrees outside, I just had to play. So off I went to the puny muni, plunked down 10 bucks and ignored the stares of the old guys in the pro shop looking at me like I had lost my mind. Out on the course, I was alone. Except for the sound of the rain hitting the trees and ponds, it was quiet. I loved it. I played a full 18 that day, often hitting 2-3 balls per hole. I played each shot as it lied and only counted my first hit on my score card. I loved that it was just me on the course. I could think and reflect. I liked that my performance was solely up to me, like running and there wasn't any favortism or politics that could affect the outcome. I liked that I obeyed the rules, as much as I knew them at the time even when no one was watching. I learned more about my young 23 year old self than a hundred therapy sessions would have revealed.

SHARED EXPERIENCES MAKE FOR TRUE FRIENDSHIPS

After my round, I came dripping back into the pro shop. The older gentlemen looked at me and asked me how my round went. When I said "it was great!" They nodded and smiled. They got it. Then they invited me to have a glass of whiskey to warm myself up. They were all veterans and once I told them I was recently discharged, they became my friends and one of them a true mentor. I understood then why my Father's golfing friends were so important to him and why he would do anything for them, no questions asked. I feel forever grateful that I have had a great and loyal friend named Kirk who is the first person I think of when I want to play golf and how over the years we've talked about raising our children, work and the passing of our parents while we played.

IT CAN CURE WHAT AILS YOU

I have seen with my own eyes, golfers going through nasty divorces that left them penniless and who would be taken out to the course by his friends. I've seen that this man, so miserable that he could only mumble "getting by" when his friends asked him how he was doing become happy and carefree for the 4-5 hours he was playing. I've seen these men be able to go on with their lives and not despair because they had golf and their friends. I've also seen people suffering from cancer who were able to forget the pain for a few hours by enjoying walking on grass, looking at wildlife and hitting the occasional good shot.

GOLF HAS BLESSED ME

I've never played Pebble Beach, the Olympic Club or any of the other notable courses in the Bay Area. I have played Pacific Grove and been stunned at the beauty of watching the sunset from the 17th tee. I've posed for photos with my friend on the 16th tee at Lincoln Park in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. I've had memorable and wonderful conversations with my wife and 3 daughters on a golf course. I've sat in front of the tv at home all by myself, crying when Ben Crenshaw won the 1984 Masters. I am happy that the very last conversation I had with my Father before he died, was talking about our upcoming round at Pacific Grove. I remember my Father every time I play Pacific Grove, using his favorite phrase that he would yell at the tv when Arnie was playing. CHARGE!!! Golf is special, it is a blessing that all golfers treasure. that's why I love golf.