I’ve been a little off my game lately and haven’t posted for a while. Maybe it’s because I’ve been traveling for nearly 7 months, but I really just couldn’t be arsed. Call it traveller fatigue or what you will. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been too mindful lately. Worrying about what the hell I’m ACTUALLY going to do next year. I had all these grand plans, but I think I am even less sure whether I will go through with them now than ever. The MBA at Vic uni that is…. Just not sure if I can live in Wellington again for a whole bunch of reasons. Not many that I can tell in this forum. Anyway, Colorado rocks. Literally. And it was great catching up with some good friends in Ottawa Canada….
Denver Convention Centre
Denver – The Mile High City! Home to the Denver Broncos who are currently in the running to make the playoffs!!! My flight into Denver (via Houston) was delayed 24 hrs – thanks United!!! I finally made it in to Denver International Airport (DIA) (the 10th busiest in the world apparently), midday on 1 Dec, the first day of the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Cert. I’d been stressing that I was late and would miss out of a heap and although it was bloody annoying, CrossFit were awesome and went out of their way to accommodate me and get me caught up on all the instruction. It was held at CrossFit Verve (a great space by the way), and were lucky enough to have top quality instructors like Josh Everitt and Casey and Bo Burgener (sons of famous Mike). Anyway, it was a cool experience and I learnt a heap. Didn’t have too much time to explore before I headed off to the mountains, but was staying with a couch-surfer called Kerstin in Lakewood. Awesome chick and lovely place in a suburb well serviced by public transport. People in Denver are an outdoor orientated lot…who wouldn’t be with all those mountains on your doorstep. There is a massive REI flagship store there which is pretty “O for Awesome”!!!! Think Khatmandu, but on a scale of x 100 and with a Starbucks attached!!! I also ordered a snowboard, bindings, boots and a bag for under $500 and it was all delivered to my resort at Copper Mountain the next day. I had a few days in Denver after my two weeks snowboarding and checked out a few CrossFit boxes (more later), went to a hockey game, and explored the city.
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Steve Jobs
Apple Store on 5th Ave NYC
The apple revolution. While in Denver I finally got my iPhone replaced and finally finished the Steve Jobs Biography. Thanks to my brother who convinced me Apple was the way to go nearly 2 years ago when I got my first iPhone. But it actually started with an iShuffle, then the iPhone, and more recently my Macbook. I’m addicted. I love apple!! And so do a lot of other people apparently – the Apple store at Cherry Creek was absolutely packed!!! I had to go in twice actually. On a Sunday afternoon after the CrossFit Olympic Lifting Seminar, then again on Monday morning before I travelled to Copper Mountain. Both times it was chocca, even if the mall wasn’t. Somehow I managed to sweet talk my way to a Genius bar appointment and got a new iPhone. Turns out my old phone was actually water damaged and my travel insurance wouldn’t cover it. Shite…. But anyway, the biography was fascinating, if a little long and repetitive. He left a real legacy, he was a hard taskmaster, some would say he was a visionary and a genius. His mantra was to focus on just one or two things and do them well. I like that. And here are a couple of my favorite Quotes.
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs
“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” (Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference, 1997)
Boarding at Copper
Summit Country. Copper Mountain and Winter Park. My only experience of ski towns in New Zealand is a few of the club fields of Canterbury, Ohakune, Wanaka and Queenstown. I guess Queenstown would come close to the resorts of Colorado. I had no idea what to expect, staying at a flash resort right on the mountain. Its pretty cool. Thank goodness for the free mountain passes courtesy of my lifetime Ruapehu pass!!! Perched right at the base of Copper Mountain, there were a bunch of apartment buildings and a smattering of restaurants, bars and shops. Nearby was the town of Frisco, which also serves other nearby resorts including Breckenridge and offers more shopping and a good selection of restaurants. It felt like I was on holiday and it was nice to be in one place for a change and actually unpack some gear and be able to cook. My Paleo diet went out the window for a couple of weeks. Well, not completely, but there was beer, red wine, pizza, dark chocolate and chilli. And lots of powder snow. After 2 days boarding in the man-made stuff it stared snowing and didn’t really stop for the 2 weeks I was there. Good timing!!! It’s been a while since I’ve seen that much powder and it was super fun! Practicing my switch riding and playing around. Moguls and a few jumps. And sore legs from riding so much and the massive long runs. After 7 days at Copper I caught a shuttle to Winter Park a few hours away. Winter Park was a slightly more ‘upmarket’ resort compared to Copper. It also had more variety and more challenging terrain. Not that copper was bad. Anyway – a typical day was a sleep in, walking to the lifts. Boarding until around 2 or 3, then a soak in the hot tub or a lazy couple of apres ski drinks at the pub, followed by a dinner out or making a meal in my unit. The “cheeky monk” at Winter Park had the ‘left hand milk stout nitro’, a creamy ale with hints of roasted coffee and vanilla. Seriously good! I had a couple of rest days while at Winter Park and managed to get a few WOD’s in at “CrossFit Thin Air” just down the road from my resort. A cool wee box (more in a separate post to come).
Sara, Rach and Tony out for a walk in the snow!
A White Christmas in Ottawa!!! After a few more days staying with Kersten in Denver and visiting some local CrossFit boxes, I headed to Ottawa to spend a few days with Rach and Tony who had just moved to the city themselves. It was a real novelty spending Christmas half way around the world. And a white one at that. But it was just nice being with some fellow Kiwis and chilling out for a few days. We explored a bit, relaxed, went to Tony’s boss’s place for dinner, had a lovely Roast Turkey for Christmas dinner, toboggoned, ice skated, walked….. It was jus what the doctor ordered! Thanks guys 😉
Mindfulness vs Mindlessness. When snowboarding you need to be focusing 100% on what you are doing. You are in the moment. Anticipating the next turn. Feeling the snow under your board. Moving your body and balancing continually to stay centered. Half listening to the music playing in the headset of your helmet and enjoying that! I would call this mindlessness. Not thinking of anything in particular, free of worry, weightless. When you’ve got too much time on your hands, or you’re not actively engaged in something, thats when you become mindful…..and perhaps I’ve been a little too much of that lately. Thinking about my past or future, sometimes obsessing and worrying about things. I think in 2013 I need to be more disciplined about controlling my thoughts and not letting them take over. You are what you think after all. But, on the other hand, it’s good to exercise the mind – exploring new ideas and concepts by reading books, articles, news and blogs. Analysing thoughts and emotions. I’ve been doing a lot of that too. But, as always it’s good to have some balance. You can’t live your whole life being ‘mindless’ because you would be void of responsibility and planning your future. And if you are too mindful you’ll never enjoy life!!! 2013 will be about finding that balance.
And heres a link to some pics on my ‘kiwicrossfitodyssey’ Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.534893699856925.128810.471201329559496&type=3
kiwicrossfitodyssey 