Running is simple ... why can't life be? I know, why is this coming from a guy who lives by "Everything to excess and busy people do everything and the rest do ... What?" Yes, it's out of character but...

I'm writing today from the Caribbean island of Dominica; that should help explain things. I'm staying with my family in a cabin with no electricity, an invigorating cold shower and more natural beauty than I can describe. Each day starts with a long mountain run, a jump in the ocean followed by a breakfast consisting of local fruit and honey on some killer biscuit from a tin shack bakery. After a nap and a long swim I fall asleep reading a book in the shade. Dinner in the local village is always a new kind of fish with several unfamiliar starchy vegetables served on a plywood table.

The moral of the story? Jump out of the rut, whatever it takes, and spend some quality down time ... So we can return fit and ready to crank!

Peace out,

Randy Step, an obsessed runner who is feeling as mellow as jello.