Mark Dowds

A Lifesytle of Adventure

It has been a while since I posted anything here as I have been doing more writing on the MileASmile and Brainpark websites. A couple of years back I made a personal vow that I would look for something adventurous to do everyday even if it only took 15 minutes. I have been true to doing this for the most part and wish I would have logged it all down. Well, there are somethings I couldn't write publicly about but it would have been good to have a record of events.

Adventure for me is when my heart pumps a little faster and I am reminded that I am still alive. Over this past season I have ridden motocross, jumped out of a plane, won an ultramarathon, ran 100 miles, biked Mt Diablo, Jetskied Shasta Lake, got a tattoo, sang karaoke, mooned a restaurant, turned 40 and laughed until my heart is content to name a few. I think I may start doing some shorter posts to log some of the stupid things I get myself into.

I hope that I can still keep this rolling as old as I become. I always want to be caught with a sparkle of mischief in my eyes. I have met too many people who get focused on money, career, fame, or wanting to be liked. I hope that I can continuously navigate around these things without getting stuck and boring. This post was prompted by someone who I haven't seen for 20 years asking about me and whether I was still "mad". The response is a resounding "YES".

For this next season I am not sure all I am going to try. I am doing my first triathlon next month and think I will try an IronMan somewhere within a year. This means I need to re-learn how to swim properly and buy a road bike and learn how to do that as well. On top of this I am noodling on a very stupid running adventure that will make 100 mile race look tame. All this will precede the day I get to ride a motorcycle around central and south america for 6 weeks.

Oh, forgot to mention. I do work as well.

My Personal Goals for 2010

I am mapping out my plans for next year. I turn 40 mid 2010 and I want to make it a year to remember. 5 years ago I told my friends that I wanted to climb Everest in 2010 but many talked me off the ledge and convinced me that it was too risky and that I would be better off playing Russian Roulette.

I am sharing my draft plans with you to seek feedback and also to ask for some help.

I want to do the  Tahoe Rim 100 mile endurance run mid July (the exact dates are announced next week)

For training discipline and qualification stats I will be doing these:

January 10^th – Angel Island 25K 

January 23rd - Pacifica 50K 

February 27th – Sequoia 50K

March 20th - Diablo Trails Challenge 50K

April 17^th – Diablo Mountain 50 Mile 

May 16th - Big Basin 50K 

June 5th - Diablo 50K

July 3^rd – Pacifica 50K 

For context: If I am successful I will have run the equivalent of 12 marathons in 6 months in extreme conditions. Each 50K run will take approximately 6 hours and I need to complete the 50 Mile race in under 12 hours. The final 100 Mile race has to be completed in 30 hours which would necessitate running day and night without sleep. Some can complete this within 24 hours but I do not expect to do anything legendary like that.

So questions:

Would anyone be interested in doing this mountain race in Tahoe in July with me? This would be a huge commitment and I am not sure if I will have any takers on this one.

Would anyone be interested in joining my support crew to help me through the 100 Mile race? This would involve some moral support when I go insane and running some parts of the race beside me to help me keep pace. If you can run at all you are probably faster than I am so you only need to be fit enough to handle running short distances in high altitude (imagine a relay race of friends taking turns to run with me).

Would anyone local here in NorCal be interested in running some of the 50k Ultras listed above alongside me? I am not running for placement. I just need to put time in on the hills.

Also, if anyone has advice for me who has done something as intense as this I am all ears. I need to learn more on energy, clothing, nutrition, hydration etc.

Comments more than welcome.

Less than 18 Months until I am 40

When the bell struck midnight and 2009 began, I could not stop thinking that this is my last full year in my 30's. I am in no hurry to get older as there are a lot of things I want to do before I am 40 and a few things I want in line before the magic day arrives. I say all this to give context to some of the things I have committed to this year. I normally ignore new years resolutions and all that caper but this was a year to write them down and make change.

Here are my commitments:
1. Fit and Forty: I will get very fit this year. To ensure this I set up a group on Gyminee to gather a few friends and draw out my competitive nature. I like to win so this type of accountability helps me. So far I have worked out every day in 2009 and am tracking my nutrition to the minutia.

2. More Adventure: Last year I committed to doing something fun and adventurous every day. In hindsight that was sort of silly as I ran out of ideas within a few months and felt like I needed to start wearing underpants on my head or regularly streaking in new places. This year I am going to do increase the risk I take when I am on a Motocross bike and continue to ride every weekend. In addition, I am going to race the Baja in a truck this coming November. I am also planning a 6 week motorbike adventure to Central and South America (which I hope to do while I am 40).

3. Write a Book: I have written and published in the past but haven't written a lot recently. This will change this year as I venture out to write a business and leadership book. I will write more about this in the months to come. I will have a co-author and will begin the process of finding the right agent within the next couple of months.

4. Grow a Great Company: Over the last 18 months Brainpark has really found its legs and has a phenomenal team. I am going to run hard and help the team take it to the next level this year. We will get noticed in 2009 and solve informational problems within enterprise and education in a way that surprises many.

5. Be Wild: I will continue to be wild and do unpredictable things without concern. I will make people laugh and enjoy laughing myself. I will not take myself serious and will make sure that anyone who does is mocked. I will attempt not to get arrested in the process.

I think that is a healthy enough list. These are not things I hope to do but things I will do. If there is anything here you catch me on ignoring or missing please hold me accountable by giving me a slap in the head and saying "catch a grip big lad".

To Be or Not To Be

Photographs and scenarios. Skin color and clothing. Friends and alibis. All of these and many more make up the investigation towards the discovery of a criminal ’s positive ID. But is the collection of data enough to discover the identity of any person? After all, who is Harry Crumb?

Some of the most gripping thrillers and rib tickling comedies revolve around hidden personas and disguised personalities. One of my favorites was Fletch. Fletch was an undercover investigator of the Clouseau family. Stick-on beards and crazy wigs were the least of his toys of disguise. He carried reams of plastic cards to match every person he became. He had different voices and different wardrobes. He was a master of hiding his true self. With ease he shifted from being one man to becoming another. He was a Jack-of-all-trades as well as the biggest joker in the pack. He’d learned the art of the chameleon, shifting and changing, as the situation required. Who he was would determine who he would be.

Underneath the varied attire there was an unchanging man. When the set ended and the spotlights were switched off, the sunlight of reality shone on the true man, Chevy Chase. But who is Chevy Chase? I suppose it all depends on who he is acting with.

Who are you in reality? Who are you and what do you become as you play out the many scenes of life? What is reality or can it really be determined? Is it enough to say that who you are depends on whom you’re with? Many say things like, “what you see is what you get,” but I suppose this is even subject to who sees or chooses to observe them.

For many years we have tried to become what has been labeled as “authentic.” We have attempted to be the same to every person we encounter. We don’t want the supposedly negative badge of being different with every group of people we hang out with. We are asked to be constant and unchanging in who we are in every scenario. But I would suggest that this is a vain pursuit, not to mention unachievable.

We are not isolated observable machines. We are living, growing, relational beings. It is not wrong to act differently with different people. It is normal. It is how we were created. Fletch may be a far-fetched stereotype but there is some truth in the fact that we create reality. It is what we choose it to be.

We are made up of a growing inter-connection of relationships and we change as frequently as we learn from one another. We become who we need to be within each scenario. The wiser we become, the more we analyze each situation uniquely. Does this person need me to laugh with them or be quiet and listen? Does this organization need my unique gift or my plumbing one? Would it not be awful to be the same all the time? Boxed in, good at one thing in one scenario. We would lose the spontaneity of life and the fun of new discovery.

Look at yourself and blur the lines. Squint your eyes until one thing runs into another; until you lose the definition. Resist your identity getting tied to a job, title or place.

You are much more than you do. Do something different.