The Endless Summer

For whatever reason I had never seen this hugely influential 1966 surf documentary before, but I just rented it on Netflix and was pretty blown away. It really takes you back to a simple and optimistic time in America that just doesn't exist any more, like when I was a kid and we all thought we'd be living in space by now and driving really cool cars! Anyway, The Endless Summer documents two surfers who travel around the world, following the summer seasons in Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii, all in search of the perfect wave. Very Zen but not in a crunchy granola hippie kind of way. What blew me away was that these guys had no ulterior motives (i.e. fame and fortune) they just loved to surf and were willing to do what they could to be full-time' surf bums'. Pretty inspiring. Makes me want to quit my soulless job immediately, but that's gotta wait until I pay off my rock 'n' roll debts. Up until a year or two ago I still had hopes that I could somehow become an American Tony Wilson or Alan McGee. That said, Wilson just died in his early 50's and based on McGee's MySpace rants that have been forwarded to me (why does he even post on there at his age!) , you gotta wonder about his sanity so maybe it's just as well! So right now my personal Endless Summer is to try to be the best runner I can possibly be. Back in my first life as a runner it was all about the results and I never really thought much about the training and what it took to get there. These days, the journey is the most amazing part. I feel really blessed that I could quit for twenty years and after three years manage to get good enough again that I could run for an Elite Running Club. But much as I love the thrill of competition, I really dig the journey and how all the little pieces of the puzzle lead (like tomorrow's hill repeats in the snow) will maybe lead to the 'perfect' race. Hang Ten!