Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update # ummm lets go 28?

Goal Update
After reaching my 1000 mile goal last week, I honestly didn’t know when I would accomplish my next goal for 2017. I was doubtfully optimistic that I would set a PR at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday, but sometimes you just have to ignore the doubt and control your own fate. Remember, no one owns you anything. I am still trying to wake up from the dream that was Sunday, October 9th, 2017 and all I can say is this is going to be one hell of a month!

Now that it has been 3 days since I last ran (who cares if it was a sub 3 hour marathon), I feel back to near full strength and will hop on my bikes tomorrow to begin logging miles. Some light jogging is scheduled in the near future, with a well deserved massage before that happens.

Weekly update
Miles Run: 32.55 [1036.5] -- CHALLENGE ACCOMPLISHED
Tacos Ate: 21 [828]
Miles Biked: 0 [1156.0]

By my watch, only mile 24 was >7min/mile. Yes, I am upset about it. No I do not want to taco bout it

Things I worked on - Chicago Marathon Recap

A brief peek into my head during the run...
I'm in back, don't worry I am chasing them and passed them
"You're going too fast Zach. Slow down... Well shit, this doesn't feel tough, just go another mile. What's the worst that could happen? There are so many people, if you pass out, you'll wake up in the hospital with parts of a great story!"
But seriously, what a fantastic race! Where else can you get such an amazing crowd that are cheering on runners for over 25 miles?!?!? Never in my life have I felt so accepted, appreciated, congratulated and even praised for anything. Chicago; you are the BEST!
Some other highlights of the run:
At mile 7, I spilled water on myself and my music player died.
At mile 8, the music returned.
At mile 9, I saw my best friends cheering me on and gave them sweaty high 5s.
At mile 13, I was still slightly ahead of pace.
At mile 14, my music player ran out of battery.
At mile 16, I started to feel at hot spot on my foot
At mile 20, I felt that blister on the ball of my foot every time my right foot hit the ground.
At mile 23, I nearly tackled a family that decided it was okay to cross the street in front of me.
At mile 24, my legs started to feel heavy and I had my first and only >7/mile minute split.
At 800m out, everything started to go numb.
At 300m out, there was a 'hill' which was just rude.
At mile 26.18, I think my eyes were trying to water, but I was so dehydrated they couldn't.
At mile 26.2 I crossed the finish line and accomplished not only my 'drop dead' goal (BQ), but my 'you're dreaming' goal (sub 3).
At mile 26.5, they gave me a $180 beer.
At mile 26.8, they told me I could not leave the athlete area with any beer.
At mile 26.78 a girl who finished in 303 and I chatted for a few minutes trying to appreciate the beer without throwing up.
At mile 26.9, there was a curb.
At mile 27, I found my parents and friends.
At mile 27.1, the post party began!
If I was given the opportunity to summarize the past year in 5 words or less it would be: anything is possible! Also, I should probably start calling myself a marathoner now!
The Three Best Friends that Anyone Could Have

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

“Unless you have the mindset, skillset does not matter.” - Tim Grover
“If you’re not all in, you’re all out.” - Chris Lee

Random of the Week

Two successful launches and landings this week! Pretty sure I have touched things that have now gone to space. :) Check them out on the SpaceX YouTube Channel!

Time to write post: 12 minutes

Monday, October 2, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update on a Monday...

Goal Update
Since I decided to uproot my life and move to LA to work at SpaceX, my attention and dedication to this blog has deteriorated. Not an excuse, just stating the facts. Sorry to those of you that looked forward to reading my weekly blog, I just do not have the bandwidth to continue at the cadence that I held while living in Michigan. Don’t worry, I am still learning a ton; really - I learned basic rocket science in a week, now understand the rocket engine cycle and controls, and have touched parts that have gone to space!

You can thank my father for this random ass update - every time we talk he asks when I will be writing another blog post because there is a small quorum who take time out of their busy days to glance through my ramblings. For that, I sincerely thank you; and thank you dad for making me do this.

The main reason for the random Monday update is that this morning, I ran my 1000th mile of the year! Now the only problem is, what do I do for the next 3 months??? Yes, I do have some tacos to eat and miles to bike. Don’t worry, I am working on those as well - check out the numbers.

September update
Miles Run: 204.78 [1000.87] -- COMPLETE -- 250 ahead of schedule
Tacos Ate: 104 [798] -- 47 ahead of schedule
Miles Biked: 87 [1156.0] -- 358 behind schedule

Things I worked on

Becoming a rocket scientist. (Still in progress)
Building rockets. (Still doing that)
But really, how cool is that? Here are a few videos that hopefully get you as excited as I am every day to “go to work”.
BFR | Earth to Earth (Big Falcon Rocket - get anywhere in the world in less than an hour)
How Not to land an Orbital Rocket Booster (when at first you don't succeed, try again)
Making Life Multiplanetary (That’s my boss - and no, I did not know about the BFR earth to earth plan.)

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

“Once you stop learning, you start dying.” - Albert Einstein

Random of the Week

This entire post is random! 1000 miles done, got some biking to do and some tacos to eat. Chicago Marathon coming up on Sunday. Two SpaceX launches this weekend with a 36 hour turn over! As always tune in on Spacex.com/webcast to see them live or view the recording on the SpaceX YouTube Channel!

Time to write post: 19 minutes

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update #26

Goal Update
Well, I have been slacking still. But I have picked a marathon training plan, and without counting the race, I will be running 540 - 677 miles in these 16 weeks! If that isn’t enough, am really looking to bike commute to work (it's literally 75 and sunny every day in LA) which will add another 5-7 miles each way (~1200 miles). I am starting to think my goals were a little weak this year.

Weekly update
Miles Run: 10.14. [488.4]
Tacos Ate: 18 [501] -- HALFWAY!!!
Miles Biked: 7.5 [990.2]

Things I worked on

Still studying that rocket science and looking for a permanent place to live. That has been consuming most of my waking hours when I am not running or biking.
I did however drive 3 hours north this weekend to watch the Iridium-2 launch from Vandenberg, California. Luckily the fog held off and we could see and hear the rocket! Pretty freaking awesome!

View from Vandenberg Launch Viewing Site 

Iridium-2 Launch 
Bulgaria-1 Launch

Favorite Podcasts of the Week

“Bryan is an actor, comedian, and podcaster who grew up traveling the world. He holds a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, is certain of comedy’s power to change the world, and is older than you probably think he is.”

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

“Embrace the chaos.” - Bryan Callen

Random of the Week

Well, the dream continues. Two launches, two successful landings, on two coasts within 48 hours! What a way to end week #1!
Friday - BulgariaSat-1 (second ever use of a flight proven rocket)
Sunday - Iridium-2 (10 more satellites)

Time to write post: 22 minutes

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update #25

Goal Update
KInd of exhausted from changing over to the west coast time zone and moving, but still logging some limited miles… But running along the beach is like a dream! More to come soon as I ramp up for marathon training!

Weekly update
Miles Run: 11.28 [478.3]
Tacos Ate: 28 [483]
Miles Biked: 9.5 [982.7]

Things I worked on

Becoming a rocket engineer. But seriously, I haven’t done much since the move other than some much needed R&R. Here are some projects I wrapped up before dismantling my CNC and moving it to my parents house.
Sign for a customer

Parts for my new desk

Favorite Podcasts of the Week

“HE'S THE ONLY MAN TO EVER CLIMB MT. EVEREST . . . BLIND.
But that’s not Erik Weihenmayer‘s most amazing achievement.
By a long shot.”

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

"PUSH - Persistence until success happens” - many

Random of the Week

It’s been like a dream for the past week and a half. Quit my job, finished up my renovations on my house, jumped onto a plane and got off the plane to “73, sunny with a slight ocean breeze” and no plans to return to sender. My new home; well it feels more like a vacation destination or paradise. If the location wasn’t enough, I can now call myself part of the coolest, smartest group of people to perhaps ever exist with the main goal of bringing mankind to mars. Seriously, the last 5 days have been epic! And I don’t see it slowing down. More information to come soon. Until then, shoot for the moon, because I damn well missed and now I am building rockets to take mankind to mars! (and beyond).

Time to write post: 17 minutes

Weekly Wednesday Update #24

Coming to you a little delayed..

Spent the weekend and first couple days of the week working on the house. Almost ready to sell; couldn't have done it without the help of my very talented father. Thanks pops!

Car and stuff was taken from the house and on its way out to LA where I will join it Saturday.

Delayed posts to resume once I get a little settled... so maybe July?

Weekly Wednesday Update #23

Coming to you a little late...

Last day of work was today. Got everything I needed to get done and now time to fix up the house. Regular blog posts will resume once I get settled in my new home on the west coast!

Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Weekly Wednesday Update #22

Goal Update
As predicted, LASIK knocked me out of commission for a few days; WORTH IT. Seriously, only regret I have is not doing it sooner. It is still surreal to that I can wake up and see 15/20 (better than 20/20) without the need of glasses or contacts. Again, once I get my life back into order, I will begin the marathon training to reach that sub 3 hour marathon goal.

Weekly update
Miles Run: 6.25 [448.49]
Tacos Ate: 17 [426]
Miles Biked: 12.41 [973.2]

Things I worked on

Does beginning to organize all the shit I have, packing, unpacking, doing one load of laundry and then repacking count? Literally though, I have been doing a lot of travel, not a lot of work on things. But hey, I have spent a ton of time with family and friends over the past week which in my mind is the most important thing anyways. Over the next two weeks I will be doing work on a lot of projects as it’s become a now or very-difficult-to-complete-in-foreseeable-future type of thing…

Favorite Podcasts of the Week

“Kyle does incredible work in supporting people to overcome their biggest limiting beliefs – while allowing them to laugh about it and have fun. I love this about his approach since so much of transformational self-development work is so serious and lacks humor.”
"Clay Collins of LeadPages returns to the Smart Passive Income Podcast for another incredible, value-packed (and potentially record-breaking) episode. This time, Clay is dropping serious knowledge on building a seven-figure business, step by step."

Favorite Quote(s) of the Week

"The only thing that is constant is change" - Heraclitus

“Everything I'm scared of loosing will have to be taken away from me to make room for what I really am.” - Kyle Cease

Random of the Week

Remember how last week I said my parents were correct and hard work pays off? Well if getting a job offer at SpaceX and then accepting it was not exciting enough, I found out this on Thursday of last week.


Last check box I needed to complete in order to become a Licensed Professional Engineer! Well, at least in Michigan, I will have to transfer the license to my future home in California! And if that was not enough excitement, I then saw my best friends over the weekend, got LASIK surgery, and now have 15/20 vision. Next stop, Louisiana for my brother and future sister-in-law’s engagement party!

Time to write post: 32 minutes