Beyond Work
People call it "aging." I call it something you can train for. Here's how I spend my time outside of work — and why.
🏃 Outdoors & Family
Here's the honest reason I stay this active: everyone talks about aging like it's a thing that just happens to you. I don't see it that way. The strength and energy I want to have at 60 aren't going to show up on their own — I'm building them right now, one workout at a time. So being outside isn't really a hobby for me, it's more like preparation. And the best part of it is almost never doing it alone — most of these hours end up shared with my kids, whether they're on the trail with me or waiting at the finish line.
Strength Training
5 AM, most days — I'm a 5 AM club person. The whole point is getting this in and being ready for the day before the world wakes up. It's the one I take most seriously, because everything else runs on it: it's what keeps me energized through the day and the week, and it's where the strength for every other activity on this page actually comes from.
Running
Saturday mornings are for long runs. I've raced almost 30 half marathons now, and honestly the race is the easy part — I look forward to the months of early mornings that get me there more than the medal at the end.
Hiking
My Sunday reset. No phone signal, no meetings, just whatever's on the trail in front of me. Some of my clearest thinking happens a few miles in, when my brain finally stops trying to solve anything.
Trail Running & Scenic Walks
For the in-between days, when a full run feels like too much but sitting still feels like too little. I'll pick whichever trail has the best view and let the pace sort itself out.
Healthy Eating
Less a routine, more a daily decision. I eat to keep fueling everything else on this page — not because some trend told me to.
Mountain Biking
My weekend wildcard, whenever I can steal an afternoon for it. I'm still not great at it, and I like that — it's a good, humbling reminder of what it feels like to be a total beginner again.
👨👩👧👦 Family Vacations & Outdoor Adventures
Everything above is really just training for this. Whatever shape I'm building on the trail or in the gym, the point of it is to keep up — with my kids, on a trip, on a random Tuesday. So this part isn't a separate hobby, it's the whole reason for the rest of it.
Family Vacations
A few times a year we go somewhere new, and it's almost never a trip where we just sit still. If there's a mountain, a trail, or water nearby, that's where we end up. It's less about the destination and more about doing something together that a normal week doesn't leave room for.
Family Outdoor Days
Closer to home, most weekends have at least one outdoor block built in — a bike ride, a local trail, or just a park with enough room to run. Nothing planned too far in advance, just time outside together before the week starts over.
📚 Always Learning
I treat my mind the same way I treat my body — use it or lose it. So outside of work, I go out of my way to be bad at new things on purpose: financial planning, taxation, real estate, making YouTube videos, and most recently, using AI to actually build things instead of just reading about it. This site is proof of that last one — I built it myself with AI tools, mostly to see how far I could push the idea.
None of it is for work. It's the same instinct that gets me out on a trail: staying capable, staying curious, and reminding myself every so often what it feels like to not be the expert in the room.